#it’s genuinely been so long since I’ve been able to get invested in a story

[corviddrawsstuff]

I have strong emotions about block people, watch me go insane!

Hels To Pay AU written by @aquaquadrant

#I love the idea of live-blogging but if I don’t say my thoughts out loud right away there’s no point in trying to write them down lol #so I did this! #audio was awful so it’s just subtitles #everything in this video is /pos tho #it’s genuinely been so long since I’ve been able to get invested in a story #so thanks Aqua for all that you do! :D

[littlemisssquiggles]

I'm not sure if you heard the news yet but rooster teeth is getting shut down by Warner Bros and Warner Bros is trying to sell RWBY off to another company at the moment

I hope that the people working at rooster teeth are able to get jobs or have jobs that they can help tie them over till they find new work for a while

And maybe if we're lucky when it comes to RWBY some company will maybe pick them up this year and will possibly get volume 10 by the end of next year or the year after that we'll just have to wait and see I'm not sure if they're still doing RWBY beyond that they were planning to do to cover some stuff that was happening with long and I but I hope the future for this franchise gets better and that this isn't the end

Hi there anon-chan. Yes, I have heard the news about RT shutting down. Heard it as soon as it came out yesterday. I just don’t have much to comment on the matter since I’m still pretty much processing it.

I mean, I’ve been hearing certain-certain Youtubers making bold statements about the end of RT for quite some time now; given all of its recent scandals. But even then, I still sorta wished to hold out on the belief that what they were saying wasn’t entirely true.

I mean, I know RT has definitely been under fire for a while but that was mainly due to the actions of some of the folks that were working in the company. And even then, I was of the opinion, that all the problematic people bringing the company down would just be removed, leaving RT itself to basically rebuild its reputation and get back in the good spirits of both its fans and potential investors; y’know what I mean?

Bottomline, I didn’t want to believe the possibility of RT shutting down since I thought they would’ve been able to make  a comeback somehow. At least when it comes to RWBY.

I’ll be frank with you m’fam. Outside of RWBY (and maybe Red Vs. Blue and Camp Camp; even though I haven’t caught up on those series since their earlier seasons), I have no other personal investment in RT.

I mainly followed RT for RWBY and the members of the CRWBY who worked on it. And even now, in light of the news of its upcoming shut down, I’m more concerned for what the future of RWBY will be beyond RT.

In respect to the CRWBY, I’m genuinely not that worried for them finding work since they’re all very talented creatives who are very, very good in their craft. So I definitely have high hopes for them scoring new work after RT. No doubts about that.

I have heard about WB trying to sell RWBY though; and this is where my main concern lies. I am worried about who RWBY will be sold to next or whether anyone will pick up the IP at all. I know some FNDM members like to hype up RWBY as this big deal series. However, the reality is, outside of the FNDM, RWBY honestly isn’t as well-known as some folks may think. Especially when you consider the fact that all the negatives of RWBY are talked about just as much; maybe even more so than the positives of it.

In the realm of potential buyers for RWBY, I don’t have high hopes for this because, isn’t this not what happened to  GenLock? Who do we blame for the fall of that IP? RT or WB? Didn’t they not “sell” GenLock over to HBO and they ended up butchering the hell out of its second season?

Either way, I don’t want the same to happen to RWBY. It’s already butchered enough by the way RT and its showrunners have been handling it since V3.

My one saving grace is a tweet from Dillon Goo. Apparently, he’s an animator who formerly worked on RWBY back in the days of Monty. Yesterday on Twitter, he expressed interest in purchasing the rights to RWBY to continue the series along with his team.

I don’t know how serious he is about this but I have seen some of his work and it’s actually quite good. I would rather RWBY go to the hands of someone who worked on the show and seems  genuinely passionate about continuing the series and its story as opposed to it going to some mega-money corporate conglomerate who are only interested in making money off the franchise and don’t really give a rat’s ass about its story or appealing to its fanbase.

As a long time fan of RWBY, all I want is for the series to be given to someone who actually gives a shit about RWBY.

Not just as a franchise name but as a story with characters and a world they genuinely enjoyed and wished to continue and expand upon out of a genuine love for it.  

Whether that’s continuing from where the original CRWBY Writers left off or rebooting the story from the ground up, I just want RWBY to be handled by creatives who care about it and want to tell a good story with it.

No senseless pandering that serve nothing for the story or appeasing the “woke crowd” or whatever!

Just telling a genuinely GOOD and CONSISTENT story with these characters and the world they live in.

I rather RWBY be handed over to a fan whose got the money, time and most importantly, the drive to keep the story going rather than another who just wants to milk it for its “brand”.

Ironically, this is what RT has sadly been doing with RWBY for the past couple of years. Since the dawn of its existence, RWBY has spawned books, comics, manga, videogames (console as well as mobile), its own movie (albeit it’s a crossover) and even its own Japanese anime adapation. All these different novelties that were supposed to help expand the world of Remnant and look how far it got it?

Pretty much nowhere because we got all of this expanded material for RWBY and we’re still nowhere close to finishing the main core story from the OG 3D animated series.

Speaking of, regarding the fate of RWBY Beyond, I’m not sure myself anon-chan. I was of the naive notion that since RWBY returning to RT and the debut of RWBY Beyond were announced prior to the news of RT’s shutdown that the company would still move forward with this move and it would mark the official send off for not only RWBY but the company that made it as well. That’s what I was hoping for and what I’m still hoping for since I don’t recall their being an official date for RT’s shut down.

We know the company is dead, we just don’t know the date of the funeral, basically. So until that time comes, I’m gonna innocently hope we still get to see RWBY Beyond before RT shuts down.

I can live with RT shutting down and even RWBY ending if RWBY Beyond is treated as the official final chapter to the story. But that’s just me.

~LMS (2024)

#squiggles answers: rwby #rwby beyond #rwby #rt news #roosterteeth

[firstkanaphans]

hii! i'm a big fan of your fanfics, and as an aspiring writer myself, sometimes I feel sad 'cause I know and feel like I won't ever be as good as you are ☹️ I know I shouldn't compare myself, and I'm trying to get better at it, so I would genuinely like to ask, are there any tips you'd give to authors out there trying to improve? either their writing skills, plot ideas, planning and stuff. thank you, either way, love you! can't wait for your next work ❣️

So, the first thing I want to say is that I have been writing for a long time. I published my first fanfic when I was 12 years old and I’m 31 now, so I’ve been actively writing for the past 19 years (!!!) with almost no break. The way someone explained it to me once was to look at your years writing like levels in a video game. I’m currently at level 19. If you’ve been writing for ten years, you’re at level 10 and it’s certainly not fair to compare yourself to me because the only thing that’s truly going to make you a better writer is to write.

I’m assuming since you called yourself an “aspiring writer” that your eventual goal is publication, so I’ll gear my recommendations towards that. Fanfiction is a completely different animal, but a lot of these tips are applicable to both. The biggest difference is that there’s a lot more freedom in fanfiction. You can write what you want without worrying about three-act structures and you don’t have to invest any work in making people care about the characters because they already do. It is worth noting, however, that if you write, you’re already a writer. 

First, I highly recommend that you read “Save the Cat” by Blake Snyder. It changed my life and I’m not even kidding. It’s an absolutely fantastic book on writing and although it’s geared towards screenwriting instead of novels, everything is still applicable. (There’s actually a newer version called Save the Cat Writes a Novel, but I’ve never actually read that one so I don’t know if it’s as good.) He goes over how to plot a story and also how to write likable characters, which is surprisingly one of the hardest parts of writing original fiction.

The second biggest tip I can give you is to let yourself write badly. Editing is easier than writing. The most important thing is to get words down on the page. You would not believe how bad my first drafts are—and that’s not just me being coy. Honestly, the next time I sit down to write a fanfic, I might save my first draft for anyone who’s interested to read because my first drafts are always bad. Like legitimately. There’s a lot of freedom in letting yourself fail and your writing will turn out better for it.

I would also recommend getting a professional critique if you are able to because you’re never truly going to know what it is you need to improve upon unless someone tells you. Signing up for a writing retreat is a great way to do this or you can look for online critiquing services. I’ve gotten several chapter critiques from Scribbler in the past and I found them very helpful.

But truly, the most important thing is to just have fun. I heard Lin-Manuel Miranda talking about writing Hamilton once and he said that what he constantly kept asking himself was, “If no one else ever sees this, will writing it still have been worth it?” And for him, it was. That’s the kind of energy I try to write with. I write what I want when I want and if I find myself struggling to write a scene because it’s boring, I do something to make it not boring instead. Change things up! Have fun! Because otherwise, what’s the point?

About six years ago, a friend of mine said virtually the same thing you did in this ask: “I’ll never be as good as you.” She had been writing for less than a year at the time. We lost touch when I left fandom to pursue original fiction, but when I came back last year, I looked her up again. She has a Tumblr ficlet pinned at the top of her page with 10K+ notes. I could never.

So don’t count yourself out yet. Just keep writing.

#asks #writing advice

[golden-flute]

Dragon Prince continues to amaze me

Why hello there! I’ve been AWOL on Tumblr for a hot minute, but I finished season 4 of Dragon Prince at like 4:30 a.m. and now have to break down my thoughts or I’ll explode. Sorry if it ends up kind of long and disjointed. Buckle up, buttercup! Spoilers, obvs.

First, Soren and Claudia’s Confrontation Deep Dive

So this is what has taken up most of my brain’s bandwidth since I watched episode 7. Soren is one of my top favorite characters (others include Amaya, Gren, Runaan, and Bait), so I’m totally invested in his growth. Claudia is also very high up on my favorites list and her negative character arc is so amazing to watch. I’m a sucker for complex character stories where not everything ends up tied into a perfect package. This sounds a little sadistic, but I love watching characters struggle and fight for every morsel of happiness they can get their hands on, especially when their desires conflict with each other’s. Just like Soren and Claudia!

I suspect that this is not going to be the only confrontation these two have with each other throughout the remaining seasons. By the end of their conversation in episode 7 of season 4, nothing had really changed, and I think a part of that is due to how Soren approached Claudia. He painted everything in broad strokes, saying that understood how she felt because he had been on “the wrong side,” implying that Claudia was still on the wrong side and, by proxy, a bad person. But he also wanted to make it clear that change was possible. She could still be saved, in a way.

Soren was being aboslutely genuine and heartfelt. He clearly loves Claudia or he wouldn’t have tried to talk to her at all. And from our perspective, he’s absolutely right in his convictions! He’s basically telling Claudia what we, the audience, have been saying for the last three years. But, as we know, Soren is not exactly a “words guy,” and his desperate attempts to make her see things the way he does fall short. Claudia isn’t in the headspace yet where she’s ready for the sort of self-reflection that Soren had already undergone.

Claudia is an incredibly complex person with different motives and world views than her brother, even before they grew apart. Soren, I think, is more comfortable with seeing the world in black and white, and that’s how he explained himself and his thoughts to Claudia. But if/when he speaks with her again, he will have to get on her level and take all of her thoughts, feelings, and motivations into account without talking down to her from a pedestal of righteousness (which is how I think how Claudia would have perceived the episode 7 conversation to be). Only then will Claudia be able to listen and not feel as though he’s trying to take advantage of her, or making her choose sides--something she clearly has an aversion to.

Which brings me to my other thought: I think Soren is going to have another crisis of conscience before the end of the final season. Maybe not as big as the one he had in season 3, because I think that moment fundamentally swayed his morals. But we still have three seasons to go, and I don’t think all of it will be filled with an unchanging, flower-child Soren, beautiful as he is. That wouldn’t necessarily be interesting, and I don’t think Aaron Ehasz would let such a fantastic character off the hook that easily, lol. I’d honestly be fine if Soren stayed in his pure boy form, because he’s so fun to watch.

Buuuut where he’s at right now reminds me a lot of Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2, after he recovered from his illness. At that point, Zuko believed himself cured of any and all bad feelings ever, but it only took seeing Azula again to bring all the trauma back. I don’t think we’ll see as big of a change for Soren (after all, he’s already seen Viren--the primary source of his trauma--again), but there are still a lot of unresolved aspects of his life that need to be ironed out before he truly earns his peace. A big part of his future character changes will revolve around his relationships with Claudia and Viren.

All I really have to say at this point is that I’m so amazed and delighted by Soren as a character. At first, I sort of wrote him off as guy who filled the stereotypical, comical “dumb jock” role, but he’s so much more complex than that, and I really can’t wait to see how his story progresses, whether I’m right or wrong in my guesses.

Next, Soren and Viren

One of my main disappointments from season 4 was the lack of any sort of progression with Soren and Viren’s relationship. And I don’t mean that I expected them to resolve all their differences and decide to be bffs or anything. But... I didn’t expect to get... nothing. If the creators had kept the two separate for the entirety of the season, I would have honestly been fine with that. But they had them meet again, face-to-face, only to have no confrontation at all.

It felt really unsatisfying to go from the end of episode 7, where Soren had such a visceral reaction to learning about Viren’s resurrection, to the start of episode 9, where they’re just quietly walking side-by-side with no context for what happened in between those two moments. Did they talk? Did Soren shut down? Did Viren give him the silent treatment? Did Claudia keep them apart until they entered the Rex Igneous’s lair? We don’t know, all bets are off! And then afterward, Soren acted like it hadn’t happened. I just hope that they don’t just put any conversations in a comic or something, because I think it’s such an important part of Soren’s character. It would feel almost disrespectful to banish their relationship development to a different media format that not everyone may read/see.

I’m hoping this means the writers plan to have a little fun with the whole scenario in future seasons. Soren, Rayla, Callum, and possibly Ezran all have seen Viren alive now, which puts a huge target on Team Aaravos’ backs. Buuuuuut, if Viren kept mum during his and Soren’s reunion, there’s a chance Soren may think that Claudia was conjuring an illusory version, the way she did in season 3. Perhaps they may try to manipulate Soren into thinking it was an illusion to both put Team Ezran off their scent and diminish Soren’s reputation, just like when Viren threw Soren under the bus before about their murder-the-princes “misunderstanding.” At the very least, this sort of scenario would make for an interesting AU fanfic, lol.

I’m trying to keep myself open-minded about this particular issue. I think I feel a bit more rushed about it because I’m imagining the wait between seasons 3 and 4 and thinking of how long we’d have to wait to see anything more from father and son. But the creators have said in recent interviews that the three-year wait was an anomaly caused by the pandemic, and that they’ll be resuming a more regular schedule again. When I think about only having to wait 5-9 months for the next installment, my frustration about the lack of progress in this particular vein subsides a bit.

But still, it would have been nice to get a little more from those precious few Soren/Viren moments if they were going to bring them up at all this season.

Ezran’s Speech

I’m actually really surprised I haven’t seen more people talking about Ez’s speech in episode 3! But then again, after binging the entire season, so much had happened that I’d forgotten about it myself until I went back to watch a bit more carefully. But it was a really powerful moment.

Once again, I saw some ATLA parallels, but I figure if they’re deliberately putting them in anyway, I might as well call them out, lol. I got major Zuko vs. Azula Agni Kai vibes when watching Claudia and Ibis get into an absolutely gnarly fight while Corvus played the fantasy-cello. Something about string instruments playing over really bitter encounters really transforms the moment. It becomes sad rather than epic. Paired with Ezran’s speech about holding love and anger at the same time adds another layer to it as well.

The thing I found most interesting about Claudia and Ibis facing off is that these are two characters known for holding the prejudices that Ezran speaks about. In season 3, Ibis initially brushed Callum off for wanting to learn magic as a human. And even when Callum proved he knew the Sky Arcanum, Ibis told him to run. I think, given, time, he may have changed his tune, and perhaps he did. But from what we saw, he did carry some bias against humans. And then there’s Claudia, who hates so thoroughly that humans are looked down upon by elves and dragons. At first, I thought that might have been Aaravos’ influence on her, but as I re-watched a few key moments in previous seasons, I found a moment that she and Callum talk at the start of season 2, where she also voices similar opinions--that humans were born with nothing but that’s why Dark magic levels the playing field. I think Aaravos just fed that belief in her, but it already existed. Also the fact that Claudia is currently dating an elf! So, in a way, she is also holding her love and anger at the same time. I can imagine it gives her complicated feelings. Brings me back to Rayla calling Callum out for saying that she may be an elf, “but a good elf.”

To have these two particular characters who feel so strongly in their convictions fight while Ezran talks about old wounds just hit the mark. It was a really poignant, if not slightly heavy-handed moment. I don’t feel totally equipped or at rights to find the parallels in today’s world, but I felt them pretty hard during this scene. “Sobering” is a good word to describe it.

Other, less composed, out of order thoughts

Season 4 was very much a transitory season. It was setting up the final three seasons, so it’s understandable that we got more questions than answers this time around. I’m just glad we (hopefully) won’t have to wait another three years for the next season!

The animation was SUPER clean and beautiful this season! There were a few moments that really stood out to me, particularly in the way that Callum gesticulates. Tiny, subtle movements that they could easily leave out but don’t, such as him accidentally knocking his hand into the Tome of Translation when he asks Bait “now what?” Or rubs his face in frustration. Callum is just a jittery, hyper guy, and it’s especially noticeable when those quirks are suppressed by Aaravos’ possession of him. Callum is all about short, quick movements, but as Aaravos, he was slow, fluid, and confident. It was just the perfect amount of unsettling to watch and I loved it.

I love Zubeia so much. We’ve seen badass human moms, and a badass elf mom before, and now we can add badass dragon mom to the list. Honorable mention to the badass aunt!

Corvus is a musician, and I love it so much!

Terry has been adopted by the fandom and I am HERE. FOR. IT. Before the season came out, I saw exactly one (1) comment speculating that he was trans, and I’m so glad they confirmed it in the show! Especially since the comment pointed out that there’s very little representation for trans people who are actively in the transition process. I can’t speak for the trans community, but I feel like Terry could be much-welcomed representation in that regard.

I really love how pure Terry is. I feel like he sort of filled Soren’s vacant role in Claudia’s life as “her doof.” I’m willing to bet we’ll see a comic of Claudia’s travels in those two years, and their subsequent meeting. I’m curious how they found each other and discovered their attraction for one another.

Terry’s megane-shine picture in the credits gave me evil scientist vibes and I love it so much. His curiosity about creating mystery flubber out of Sir Sparklepuff’s chrysalis goo (a string of words as weird and random as the situation which prompted them) was really fun as well.

Viren is a lot of things, but he’s not transphobic. Yet another example of complex, layered characters. Even the “bad guys” can have decent qualities.

Trees to meet you is a thing, lol.

I’d never really shipped Soren with anyone before, but after watching his and Corvus’ interactions in episode 1, I would not be mad at their ship sailing if they felt so inclined. TBD.

More Gren and Amaya friendship! I love seeing those two together, they add years to my life.

Janai’s proposal actually made me cry, it was so cute. And their “two cakes” conversation was so tender and sweet.

The whole conflict between the Sunfire elves and humans in the camp could be an entirely other essay, but again, I don’t really feel equipped to write about it (also it’s like 1am now and my brain isn’t braining well enough to go in-depth about it). But I did notice the parallels with our own current societal problems, and appreciated that, in the end, the answer wasn’t to decide between right and wrong, but to find a way to learn and grow together. (But also that the offender had to show up for her actions and resolved to make things right--though it would have been nice to also see her apologize directly to the elf that she wronged and not just his leader).

Sir Sparklepuff is half creepy, half adorable, and half bizarre. And yes, I know that’s three halves. He gave me major Gollum vibes when he first crawled out of his chrysalis.

LIZARD IN A HAT.

I appreciated that Rex Igneous apologized to Zym when he realized he’d been talking shit about his late papa.

I also appreciated the dragon saber-rattling contest at the end. Again, Zubeia is awesome.

Soren spending half the season in floral pajamas was something I didn’t know I needed.

Also, Soren with the butterfly was pure and delightful. And also a great contrast to Viren and Claudia, who would have seen the butterfly as a means to gain magic. Soren saw the magic of its life, throwing him into sharp contrast with his family.

People have already spotted the parallels between How to Train Your Dragon and Soren befriending Squeaky, but I also KNOW in my heart that we’ll see fanart of Soren in the Chris Pratt Jurassic World pose, like he’s "taming” a bunch of widdle dragons/velociraptors, lol.

RIP Ibis. I talked shit about him a bit, but he really was a cool character.

I swing between being amused by the fart jokes and tired of them. Claudia’s season 1 “It wasn’t the hooooorse” still cracks me up to this day, but I may have to draw the line at “It smells SO good when he farts!”

Again, no Runaan, but RAYLA HAS THE COINS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

I really like that they kind of nerfed Viren in this season. He’s obviously recovering from actually being dead, and he’s also dealing with trauma over how he died. So few adults admit to having similar troubles, so it was neat to see an adult in a show display some vulnerability, even if he’s objectively an evil adult, haha.

I’ve seen some speculation about whether Rayla is actually fully Rayla or not. I’m kind of inclined to agree. Something about her is off. The best argument I saw for this hypothesis was someone pointing out that she argued NOT to defend Squeaky from the Earthblood elf guy, even when Soren was raring to jump in. Season 2 Rayla would have absolutely slapped the bejeezus out of season 4 Rayla for walking away from a dragon in need. Miss “It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s the right thing for ME to do” did not show up that night, and it’s... suspicious. Also the fact that she didn’t remember Ibis’s name? What changed? Signs point to Stella, with her... giant, unblinking eyes that give me Furby vibes, lol. Did she affect Rayla somehow? What happened to Rayla in those two years? She just showed up with no explanation. I think she is actually Rayla, at least physically, based on the fact that she also gave up chasing Viren and Claudia to save her parents and Runaan and also made a very heartfelt speech about how Runaan and Ethari were like fathers to her. That felt super genuine, so... I don’t know where the cutoff is for where the Rayla we know is and who we hung out with for most of season 4.

Soren recognizing the mirror and trying to offer Callum advice on his obsession with magic to avoid seeing him go the same way as Viren.

Also Soren suggesting to Claudia that the world might be better off without magic. I wonder if that’ll be foreshadowing for something?

I can’t believe this is so far down on my list, but Aaravos possessing Callum was SO intense! I actually gasped when Callum turned his head to show his blackened eyes. Aaravos knew exactly how to get to each of them, and I loved it. But then after Aaravos released Callum, it was KIND OF discussed a couple times, but it was just like they were talking about the weather or something. I don’t know... between this and dropping the ball on Soren’s reaction to Viren, this season kind of went wild when it came to following through on some of the most interesting talking points of the entire plot.

I’m surprised how little Aaravos showed up this season, especially since they rebranded it “Mystery of Aaravos.” At least we got a little of his sexy, sexy voice. Erik Dellums, you’ve done it again.

I’m SO excited to see what the creators have got planned for Callum. He was talking to Rayla about his concerns on whether he’s on a path to darkness. One thing I love about this series is that they also explore the concept of “too much of a good thing.” Like I said before, Soren is just too happy and pure for it to last three more seasons--I bet his beliefs will be challenged at some point and he’ll have to defend them. And I think Callum will face a similar challenge when it comes to his obsession with magic. I TOTALLY understand feeling like you can never do anything right and finding that one thing you’re good at and latching onto it. But then when it becomes your entire personality, you run the risk of narrowing your life path to just one, inevitable end. His greatest strength has also become his greatest weakness. I have a feeling that Callum will have to explore that concept a bit in later seasons, with the help of Aaravos, of course. I don’t think he’ll go Claudia-level darkness--he’s pretty self-aware of this potential danger--but I wonder if he’ll become a bit more morally gray as the series progresses. I’m here for it, if that’s the case! I love me some dark character development, after all.

God, how long is this list? I didn’t realize I had this much floating around in my head.

I adored the rock golems! Their designs were GORGEOUS! Did anyone else catch the Over the Garden Wall Easter Egg in the credits? My friends and I adore OtGW and try to watch it every year, and I got way too excited by that find, lol.

Zubeia and Soren’s friendship is so wholesome.

I wonder if we’ll ever see Soren and Claudia’s mom? IS SHE THE NEW URSA? ;P

I’m kind of glad that they backtracked on Callum and Rayla’s relationship. Watching two fifteen-year-olds admit their undying love for each other at the end of season 3 left me with kind of a bad taste in my mouth. That probably sounds a bit unfair, since I know there are plenty of high school sweethearts out there who become each other’s endgames, but... I guess it felt rushed. Season 1-3 covered the span of... what? A few weeks, maybe? A month, at most? In that time, Callum and Rayla went from mortal enemies, to strangers, to friends, to romantic interests. My guess is the writers did that so there would be some sort of closure in case they didn’t get renewed for more seasons, which is fine. But it always just felt off. So I’m glad that a) they backed off a bit this season and are working through a bump in their relationship, b) said relationship is still being worked on at the end of the season, and c) Rayla and Callum communicated their concerns with each other and respected each other’s boundaries. It makes it feel much more realistic and less cookie-cutter. And I’m glad they were renewed for all seven seasons so they don’t feel pressured to rush the relationship development again.

The Earthblood elf designs are so cool! I really love all the elf designs, but the Earthblood elves are really fun and different! Also Terry in activated Earthblood elf mode was so badass! More, more, more! ;P

YIP YIP!

Sad that we didn’t see a glowed-up Queen Anya!

Or Ellis and Ava. Or Lujanne. Didn’t she meet a human while she was on her prank war tangent?

I wonder how our favorite blind, narcoleptic ship captain, Villads-with-a-silent-D, is doing.

Congrats to the Associate Crow Lord on his promotion and his... um... excitement over rare Xadian birds, lol.

At the end of the day, Dragon Prince is a kids show, but I really appreciate that they don’t shy away from real-world issues. They offer a chance for us to view our world through the (more comfortable) lens of a fantasy world. We can see ourselves reflected in these characters, who are incredibly complex and three-dimensional. No one is fully good or fully evil, not Claudia or Viren, or Soren, Ez, or Zym. Maaaaybe Aaravos, lol. I love it when content geared towards kids recognizes that kids are a hell of a lot smarter than they’re given credit for and they don’t talk down to them or avoid covering more difficult subjects. It’s shows like this that will shape today’s kiddos in the same way that shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender shaped my generation.

Okay, I think I might actually be done.

If you’re still reading, you rock! What were some of your favorite part of Dragon Prince?

#the dragon prince #dragon prince #tdp #tdp spoilers #spoilers #soren #claudia #viren #callum #aaravos #rayla #amaya #gren #janai #zym #azymondias #zubeia #terry #terrestrius #runaan #corvus

[bazwillendinflames]

Second Chances (Dylan/Ryan)

When Dylan accidentally overshares his meet cute on his college radio show, the listeners are suddenly invested in his love life. Meanwhile, Ryan is intrigued by his not-so-secret admirer.

When a second chance meeting occurs, will they be able to work it out?

Read on Ao3

Word count: 2423

“I’d take you a lot more seriously if you didn’t fall in love with a hot stranger every week.” 

“Um rude.” It had been at least two weeks since Dylan had last shared his romantic woes with Kaitlyn. “Anyway this wasn’t any hot stranger. He was the one, I could tell.” 

“Oh boy,” Kaitlyn said, taking a long, noisy sip of her iced coffee. “Did you actually talk to this mystery stranger? Or did you just stare like a creep whilst planning your wedding?” 

“Yeah. I mean, words were exchanged. And no one talks on the subway!” Dylan found himself smiling again. Sue him, he was a hopeless romantic. 

“Holy shit. That’s a big step for you.” Kaitlyn seemed genuinely proud of him, which hurt more than her usual sarcasm. “Fine. Tell me about this guy.” 

That was all the encouragement that Dylan needed. He leaned forward. “So, we’re on the train and it comes to a stop with a big screech. And the train announcement says some crackly garbage. And I go ‘anyone able to translate?’” 

“Hilarious,” Kaitlyn said dryly. 

Dylan waved a hand in her direction. “Shush. Let me finish. And then this guy sitting on the other side of the carriage laughs. He laughs at my joke and we make some pretty intense eye contact.” 

“Oh boy.” 

“By the way, this guy, absolutely gorgeous. We’re talking tall, dark and handsome. We’re talking cool punk vibes. He was even wearing a Cult Damage shirt. Hello, hot and good taste in music. We were meant to be.” 

“That’s it?” Kaitlyn asked. “Someone laughed at your lame joke.”

Dylan rolled his eyes. “No. He also said ‘bad day to forget my earbuds’. And then the train started up again.” 

“And now he’s the one?” Kaitlyn asked. “Dude, no.” 

“You mock me now, but…” Dylan stopped half way through his sentence, noticing the red on air sign. “Oh fuck.” 

“What?” Kaitlyn asked. She looked over at the sign too. “Uh, how long has that been on?” 

Dylan had already pressed the nearest button and the next queued up Arctic Monkeys song played. Double checking the mic was actually off this time, he ripped off his headphones and buried his head in his hands. 

“I’m a fucking idiot.” 

“No,” Kaitlyn said. She patted his back. “It was just a little mistake. Look, it’s live college radio, how many people will have actually heard… all that?” 

“I quit.” 

“No you don’t,” Kaitlyn said. “Put your headphones back on, the song is almost over.” 

Dylan pulled himself together, taking a deep breath and getting back into the mindset of funny radio host Dylan. 

“Sorry about that guys,” Kaitlyn said smoothly, “just a few technical problems. But next up we’ll be playing ‘guess that professor’ so get ready…” 

 “So, I’ve heard you are quite the heartbreaker.” Laura grinned at him. “One look and you have them enamoured.” 

She had heard the radio thing too then. “It might not have been me he was talking about.” 

“We both know that it totally was,” Laura said. “It’s fine, I’ll keep you anonymous. Take it as a compliment. You have a secret admirer.” 

“Who does?” Max joined them a moment later, dropping a pile of books on the table with a thud. “Should I be jealous, hun?” 

“You haven’t heard? Ryan has a secret admirer.” 

“It’s not exactly a secret. He said it on the radio and everyone knows who runs the station. It’s on the school website.” 

“Oh wait, you’re the stranger on the train that Dylan Lenivy is in love with?” Max asked. “Good for you dude.” 

“Maybe you should call in?” Laura suggested. 

Even the idea left him modified. “Absolutely not.” 

She smiled. “I’m just teasing.” 

“Anyway, it’s not like he’s not in love with me,” Ryan said. He picked at the black nail varnish on his fingers. He would have brought his fidget cube if he knew she’d bring it up. “It was more of a funny story, ‘oh I’m so hopeless, I’m thinking about someone I met once’ thing.” 

“Take it as a compliment,” Max said, “of anyone he could have chosen to gush about on the radio, he chose you.”

“It’s probably worse for him,” Laura added, “no one has figured it out but us.” “How did you figure it out?” Ryan asked. 

“The band he mentioned. You’re probably the only two people our age who listen to your indie 70s rock.” 

“Hey, for that reason alone, you’re probably soulmates,” Max joked. “I’m going to grab a coffee, you guys want one?” 

Ryan already had one but Laura followed Max up to the counter, the two of them laughing together at something. They made the high school sweetheart thing look easy. It did leave him feeling a little like a third wheel. 

As he waited alone, he found himself thinking back to the radio show. Beyond it being embarrassing to be called out like that, even accidentally, he was intrigued. 

Ryan remembered the moment. He had been trying to figure out the tattoo on his arm, left with nothing to do but people watch with his headphones back at his dorm. He’d thought he been caught out staring, but the cute stranger had smiled at him and made a dumb joke. Maybe Ryan would have said something if he had connected the moment to the same radio station he liked listening to during his morning shifts. He always liked the music they played. 

Not that it would have gone well. He wasn’t good at talking to people. Maybe Dylan would have told the story with the added twist of him ruining any allure with his awkwardness. 

Ryan doubted it, Dylan always seemed so nice. Not that he actually knew him beyond hearing his show. But maybe he wanted to. 

Not that he’d admit it to Laura. 

  Dylan’s little college radio project had started when he was a freshman. He’d always like technical stuff and the idea of getting paid to goof around for a few hours every morning had seemed fun. Kaitlyn had been running it for the last two years and had given a surprisingly intense interview before announcing he started the next day. The forced proximity of having to spend four hours a day had made them fast friends. 

He knew they had some regular listeners, half of his conversations at parties started with ‘aren't you that radio guy’ or ‘I know your voice’. Kaitlyn basically bullied all their friends into tuning in at least once a week and occasionally joining them. 

But now it seemed like half of campus had listened to his embarrassing rant about his crush. Emma had started calling him Romeo and it had quickly caught on. And once Kaitlyn had used the same corny nickname on air, that’s all he was known for. 

Even Mr H, the radio manager, had picked it up. 

“Remember what I said about swearing on air Romeo.” 

So literally everyone knew. 

“I brought you a coffee.” Kaitlyn practically shoved the cup at him. “It’s got oat milk.” 

“You’re being nice to me,” Dylan noted suspiciously. “Why are you being nice to me?” 

“Because it sucks to wake up at six in the morning.” Kaitlyn sipped her own coffee. “Also, sorry about not being supportive.” 

“It’s fine. I’m sure all the teasing will pass.” Dylan could only hope. “I mean it’s good for ratings right?” 

“Yeah. I keep getting suggestions to record our programme. I guess people are invested.” 

“Well I don’t have updates,” he said. His subway experience had been hot stranger free, which was probably for the best. 

“Best not to encourage it,” Kaitlyn agreed. “Come one, we start in ten, we better pick the songs. No more Mitski though.”

“She’s my comfort listening,” Dylan said. 

“One song,” Kaitlyn agreed, “and that’s only because I feel sorry for you.” 

“I’ll take it.” 

  Ryan spent most of his shifts with one earbud in, stacking books at the campus bookstore whilst a steady mix of podcasts, music and radio played. Although the latter was a new addition to his routine. 

Ryan kept listening to the station. He wasn’t sure what he was hoping for - he hadn’t seen Dylan again, even though he was trying to be more alert on the subway. He had been cataloguing all the music mostly, Max’s mention of musical soulmates in mind. 

From their banter, he could usually guess who picked which song. Kaitlyn seemed to like more pop music - she always played at least one Taylor Swift song, along with a rotation of other upbeat music. Dylan was into more indie bands. He had recognised Ryan’s Cult Damage shirt but as far as Ryan could tell, he hadn’t actually played any of their songs. Maybe obscure 70s grunge didn’t fit with the vibe of Walking On Sunshine. 

Dylan wasn’t on air today though. Kaitlyn was joined by Jacob, who had hosted last year. The two of them were making some inside joke about an old cereal that Ryan had never heard of. Whatever the punchline was, he missed completely, because he just realised why Dylan wasn’t on air. 

He was in the book shop. Ryan hid behind a shelf, which wasn’t very professional of him, but helped with his suddenly racing heart. He pulled out his earbud and tucked it into his shirt. He took a steadying breath. He considered hiding in the back and calling Laura, but Dylan had already stepped into the store and seen him. 

Judging by the carefully masked expression he had, Ryan would bet Dylan was banking on him either not remembering him from the subway or having heard the radio, or the rumours around it. Unfortunately for Dylan, Ryan remembered both incidents well. 

“Hi, can I help you find anything?” He asked. He shoved the books he was meant to be putting out onto the nearest shelf. 

“Um…” Dylan dragged it out for a little too long. “Sciences?” 

“It’s on the shelf behind you,” Ryan said. As soon as Dylan turned around, he sped walked away and stood behind the counter, tapping his nails against the plastic table. 

Whilst Dylan was browsing the books, or at least pretending to, Ryan took out his phone and texted Laura.

 I can’t talk right now but Dylan Lenivy is in the store

I might be panicking 

Ok, just remember to breathe

It’s probably more awkward for him than you 

Max says play dumb 

I don’t know

I feel pretty awkward (unsent)

 “Hey.” 

Ryan jumped, almost dropping his phone in the process. He shoved it under a pile of loose postcards and hoped Dylan wasn’t the nosey type. “Hey. Did you find everything?” 

“Yeah.” He seemed grateful for the small talk. 

Ryan ran through his books, both on some kind of physics that was so complicated he wouldn’t be able to decode the title. He went through the process of ringing him up on autopilot. There was a long pause as the till slowly spat out his receipt. 

“I heard you talk about me,” Ryan blurted out. 

Dylan went pink in the face. “Oh fuck me.” 

“Um. It was flattering I guess.” The receipt had stopped half way and Ryan punched the top of the till to get it going. “My friends keep calling you my secret admirer.” 

“It’s not exactly a secret,” Dylan replied. 

“Yeah. That’s what I said.” Ryan finally freed the receipt. “I like your taste in music.” 

“Oh thanks.” Dylan crumpled the receipt into a ball and shoved it and the books into his backpack. “I’m sorry. About objectifying you on live radio. It was an accident and like Kaitlyn said, I’m kinda a hopeless romantic. Emphasis on the hopeless part.” 

“I’m pretty hopeless myself,” Ryan said. “I didn’t mean to blurt out the whole thing earlier.” 

“It’s fine. I’m the idiot who screwed up in the first place.” Dylan finally zipped up his bag. “Okay goodbye forever.” 

“Wait,” Ryan said, before his brain could catch up. “I like you too. I mean I like your show. It’s funny. You’re funny.” 

Dylan had gone past pink and was now very red. Ryan was certain he wasn’t helping. “Thanks. I’m pretty good at putting on funny Dylan. For the show. Obviously in real life I’m a hot mess.” 

“I like hot mess Dylan,” Ryan said. 

“It’s just Dylan Dylan,” he replied. “But feel free to call me hot again. Maybe even in public, you know, to even it out.” 

“Does Dylan Dylan like coffee?” 

He blinked and for a moment Ryan was concerned he had scared him off. 

“Yes. I love coffee. With you. If you’re asking.” 

Ryan wrote his number on the back of one of their free bookmarks. “Maybe call Ryan Ryan up to ask then?” 

Dylan smiled, taking it from him. “I will. I might not even make it out of the store before I do so. Sorry, that was lame. Yes.” 

He left the store and Ryan finally let out the nervous laughter he had been holding in. His phone buzzed. There were a few missed texts from Laura from ten minutes ago. 

 It’ll be fine

Ryan? Are you okay? 

I can come cover for you if want

I can only assume the worse from you not replying 

 He deleted his half finished text and sent a new one. 

 I’m okay

I think I accidentally asked him out 

 The most recent buzz was from an unknown number which Ryan saved as ‘Dylan Dylan’. 

 nice to meet you ryan ryan <3

i will try and be normal on our date 

(it was a date right?) 

  “Okay, it’s time for our request hour. I have already been told that we’re uninvited to brunch if we don’t play Emma’s new favourite song, so let’s kick it off with Natalie.” 

With the song on, Kaitlyn turned to him. “Um, spill.” 

“Because that went well last time?” 

“We’re off,” Kaitlyn said. “You are all smiles this week. What’s it about?”

“My platonic love for my favourite co-host?” Dylan winked at her. 

“Nope.” Kaitlyn crossed her arms. “Dylan, you love telling me your stupid crushes. Who's the newest?” 

“It’s an old stupid crush actually,” he said. “My little slip up actually worked out.” 

Kaitlyn punched his arm. “And you didn’t tell me?”

Dylan rubbed his arm. “I’m telling you now.” 

The song faded out and Dylan switched the mic back on. 

“That was Milk and Bone’s Natalie for Emma. Now, next up we have a request from a certain cute guy I met on the subway.” 

#the quarry #Ryan Erzahler #Dylan Lenivy #Ryan x Dylan #radio heads #the quarry fic

[tobi-smp]

techno literally killed more people with fireworks at the festival than eret “killed” in the final control room. it’s been like 1,5 years, let her have her say, she’s been trampled over and spat out for things that wilbur asked her to do. coming from a techno stan :]

context: [Link]

anon I'm sorry but, I'm genuinely perplexed. there are actually people in the year 2022 that don't know the difference between canon and non-canon deaths? I didn't think that was still a problem we were working through.

to sum it up:

not every death on the server is equal, and in fact Most of them aren’t substantial at all. minecraft is a game that makes death very easy and this is a live improve roleplay between three dozen people, to treat every single death as actual murder would be absurd.

but to take death completely off the table for roleplay purposes would mean cutting off avenues for the stories that they’re able to tell and lower the tension. there would be no revival book without death, there would be november 16th without death, and so there was a compromise.

“canon deaths” are events that people agree to treat separately from non-canon deaths. everyone has three canon lives, and when you lose one this is typically both a physically And mentally traumatic event. this is someone Literally being killed and either respawning with physical scars from their death (like tubbo’s burns) or staying in limbo.

that’s not to say that a non-canon death Can’t have weight, and in fact a character doesn’t need to die at all for it to be traumatizing. it just depends on Intent within the roleplay. there’s a difference between two characters messing with each other for fun and, say, the pit or dream’s physical abuse during exile. and the difference is shown Through the roleplay.

and this is all because minecraft is Limited in how you’re able to interact with the world and with other players. you Can’t show a physical difference between playfully shoving someone into water and trying to drown someone, so the difference has to be acted out.

to interact with the series Without acknowledging all of this is to undermine their ability to Tell a story in the first place. it fundamentally breaks the audience’s relationship with the world and the characters in it.

the final control room was four Canon Deaths happening at once, followed by the loss of tommy’s second life in the duel. there Is no other event on the server where that many canon deaths were lost at once. not manberg v pogtopia, not new l’manberg, not doomsday, not the disc war finale, not the egg arc, none of it. and that’s a Big Deal !

this was a mass slaughter like the server has never seen before or since. and this has had a Massive impact on the characters and what came after it. and to not acknowledge this fact is to, again, not engage with the story as it’s being told.

as for Wilbur having an impact on eret... No He Hasn’t.

that is outright a lie.

wilbur asked eret to join l’manberg and she did. he didn’t ask eret to cause four deaths, he didn’t ask her to make a deal with dream.

wilbur did absolutely nothing to eret personally, he barely even Spoke to her. l’manberg was not hers when it was destroyed. and then wilbur committed suicide.

I genuinely do not see where anybody could get the idea that wilbur Told Eret To Do Something that hurt her in any tangible way.

I’ve been an eret swinger for a long time, I was Invested in her growth as a character and her redemption arc. but people turning around and saying “that guy committing suicide was Really selfish to the person who got him murdered actually” is such a batshit take.

“eret got four people murdered like two years ago, so it should be water under the bridge ! wilbur still needs to be held accountable for killing himself though, he’s a selfish and awful person for having done that,” like. My God.

here are more of my thoughts on the stream and conversation around it for anyone curious [Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5]

#discourse #fandom critical #yeah I'll bet it is coming from a techno stan

[faultychips]

It Begins (Again)!! Switching it up with Picross and Pokémon

Hello and welcome to the new format I'll be using to review game content!! (Those who know me outside of Tumblr know I have a personal site on Neocities where I’ve been posting mini game reviews for a while now. Thankfully this new format lets me start cross-posting to Tumblr, in addition to my own site!) While the old format was fun, it felt a little too restrictive. I want to be able to just talk about video games without putting them into categories; plus I realized it was kind of silly to have categories labeling games as "bad" or whatnot. I've decided that if I simply don't like a game, I just won't talk about it here. But almost every game has something I *do* like in them somewhere, and as much as I'm sure to complain and criticize, I'll include games here because they're worth playing one way or another.

Starting with something I wish I had checked out sooner (and definitely a game worth playing), Picross is a pleasantly fun puzzle game that I recently picked up (I'm playing Picross S8 on the Switch, but you can play it for free on sites like http://liouh.com/picross). Each Picross title will give you a large number of nonograms to solve, which reveals a cute little pixel art image when you've completed it! It's a fairly simple concept but the puzzles in Picross S are a fun challege and there's a variety of kinds of puzzles to choose from (such as Regular, Big Picross, and Color Picross) that keeps each type feeling fresh. I haven't played a true, pure puzzle game in a while so I was expecting to be a little bored with Picross but I think the straightforwardness actually lends a lot to how enjoyable Picross is; it's easy to pick up whenever, whether for a long session of puzzle cracking or for when you need a quick 20-ish minute break. There are a lot of different Picross games, but if you'll pick up any of them, I've seen it recommended that you start from the most recent title and then work your way backwards in release order. I think I agree with that, since Picross S8 has a lot of helpful tutorials and general gameplay polish that I really enjoyed having, and which might not be available in earlier games.

...And also, speaking of complaining, I finished the new Pokémon Violet game that came out last month. I'm in a place where I've decided I'm not going to be buying Pokémon games anymore because their release schedule and quality drops have really started to grind on me, but thankfully I have found ways to play Violet without...spending 60 dollars...so I did that. Without that price tag I was technically able to play the game without the pressure of large personal investment, but that didn't stop the cracks from showing on this one. Honestly it's a perfectly fine game; I had plenty of fun with it, and would end each session excited to get back to playing later. I sunk a good 30+ hours into this thing, so there's definitely something there. Any way you go about it, Pokémon has always had a pretty solid and enjoyable gameplay formula, and despite the new open world feature that element is still very much intact here. However, as much as I enjoyed it, I feel a fair amount of my enjoyment was centered on the story, my favorite parts being the animated cutscenes, which look genuinely amazing. In contrast, when I had to do Pokémon battles inbetween this unraveling story, I found myself getting increasingly irritated, as it started to feel like unengaging and unnecessary padding. The ending of the whole thing is brilliant, and generally feels worth the time I spend getting there, but I can't help but wonder if I could have gotten the same amount of enjoyment out of watching someone else play, or better yet, a highlight reel that cuts out all the slog and boring bits (which there is plenty of). I definitely did not run through all the content and side-quests, but after the credits rolled, any urge I had to ever pick it up again just kind of evaporated. If I ever do, it will probably be when the DLC is released, which I will maybe play, and either way gleefully not pay for.

Aaaand that about wraps it up for my games played over the last few weeks! Not much to talk about for now but with school workloads I haven't had a lot of time to play or to get into new stuff. Hopefully during the next few weeks I can get to some indies I've had my eyes on for a while.... >:-]!

AND LASTLY, THE GAMES:

Picross S8 is available for $9.99 on: Nintendo Switch

Pokémon Violet is available for $59.99 on: Nintendo Switch

or...cough...romslab...dotcom...or somethin...cough...

Thanks for reading!! And see you next week!

#game review #faultychipsgamereviews #hello and hi....hi and hello <3

[euphor1a]

hello. just wanted to say that I love all your works.

funny story, your fic was actually the first ever fanfic that I read. it was a little over a year back, I was in a not-so-good headspace. and just searched up 'yeonjun fanfic' on google lmao just for the heck of it. tried wattpad, was scarred💀 twt was just not for me. and then tried tmblr and was greeted by one of your yeonjun drabbles. ngl, I was a little taken aback at the liberal use of the obscene words lmao. and then since I didn't know how to actually use tmblr, I just read all of your works. and I mean all. so the works that literally don't even exist anymore, I've read them too!

so I've been with your works way back when you were cupidchois. and my tmblr journey began with you so you're like the OG for me lol.

also, the not-so-good-headspace was due to this huge huge life changing entrance exam I had and your fics provided comfort. but when the exam date was too near, I stopped using tmblr for like 3 months.

but before going, I read whatever little part of bewitched you had written and remember thinking that okay when I come back after all this time, it might be a completed series. also, the release date for the yj sugarpapi fic was 14 feb but you said you needed more time. and I thought yeah I'm gonna be gone a long long time. it'll be there when I come back.

if only I knew lol. when I came back you had a brand new blog, half of your fics were missing, sugarpapi never came out, and get this, bewitched had actually gone BACKWARDS because you decided to rewrite it! lmfao, I'm not tryna sound rude or pushy at all. please dont take it the wrong way. the situation was just sooo funny.

so yeah, that's my history with your blog lol.

anywhoo, love your works a whole lot and thank you for introducing me to this hellsite without even knowing it<3

much love<3

... wow 😭😭😭, i’m genuinely struggling to find words to type here. Goodness. This is making me feel so many emotions like kdghfghfgh HOLD AWN 😭

!!! Thank you so much for sending this in, first of all?? This is like a peak moment™ of my tumblr life i’m not even kidding 😭!!! Especially because I kinda ended up joining tumblr in a very similar way, except that my OG was far more consistent than me with their blog and works 😅! Take me back to 2017 pls—

I’m pretty sure a lot of us here actually started out with just searching up fanfics on google and then finding tumblr in the search results. Because same! I did not know something like tumblr existed and my experience with wattpad was equally traumatising 😵; thank god for the hellsite. It sure is very annoying at times but it’s also nice that we can have our own little bubble here!

Lsjskdjkfj “liberal use of the obscene words” IM DYING 😭! Thank you for still reading them though 😭! A part of me is very embarrassed because I’ve... well, grown to find my old stuff very poorly written (hence all the rewriting) but a part of me is? Super fucking flattered? And proud? THANK YOU 🙈🙈

The fact that whatever the fuck I wrote actually provided comfort to a human being is enough for me to just go on and quit everything and live a life of a saint. It’s crazy... I never dared to imagine that my writing could actually do that? Because I always think that whatever I write is pretty forgettable tbh. Like you read it and move on and never think back. Anyway, I hope you are feeling better now, lovely 🥺! I’ve been in similar places throughout my life and damn I know how badly education related pressure fucks you up :(

Ah yes... Bewitched. Sigh. I have a love-hate relationship with that kid. I think I have mentioned this before in some random rant post, but god, rewriting is so hard. Because I spend most of the time regretting how I wrote it instead of the actual fixing and editing and rewriting. I won’t abandon it, but at this rate I’m not sure when I’ll be able to invest myself completely in rewriting either. It’s only harder because my daydreams have no ends and the amount of newer wips that I want to finish and post keeps increasing. And to top it off, there’s ✨real life✨, being an absolute pain in the ass constantly.

Also Sugarpapi 😭! It’s honestly me vs. the unrealistic high standards I’ve set for myself at this point. But you know what? I’ll take my time with it. Because I think taking it slow is better in all aspects. Like yeah, I could just half-ass it and put all the pressure in the world on myself to finish it sometime soon, but we all know that’ll be a mess itself, and will make me one too. It’s coming. I promise. Maybe in another year 💀

“If only I knew” — me at least twice a day skshksjk 😭;; it be like that 🙁! Apologies for the unexpected jump-scares you got from my whole new blog and all :'))

I will eventually repost the works people wanted to be reposted — surprise, almost all of my cupidchois’ masterlist actually ended up there after I rounded everything up (and almost nothing from my bts blog minus the reactions), so there’s that. And, I can’t even explain how much this ask actually means to me. Crazy stuff. Life changing.

Thank you so much!!! I’m sending you a parcel full of positive energy and my love, which is not enough but it’s the best I can do atm </3

#📬; aleyna’s mailbox #jealusty #🌸; my petals! #your username is 🤲🏼 #god i actually took more than 30 minutes to write this what #i was just causally checking my notifications before bed and saw your ask #and it made me feel so elite like i felt so important 😆 #wow.... thanks again! #i should probably go to sleep now tho kdhkdhk it’s 4:30 am yikes 😳 #for safekeeping 💌

[stayarmytinyzenmoa-l]

Am I the only person that doesn’t want YNSH back together?

I stumbled across this series recently and while I was binge reading and I just can’t seem to let go of the feeling that Seonghwa only decided to end the relationship because of the blackmail that Juliet had on him.

Ever since debut Y/N has been hated on for the most ridiculous reasons and has had false rumors/scandals centered around her. A part of me thinks that if Juliet never revealed that she also had dirt on Seonghwa he would have not broken up with her because scandals are nothing new to her. He probably would’ve thought that since it wasn’t anything new it she would be able to handle it.

While Seonghwa on the other hand is an idol that was welled loved ever since he debuted and if not one but two audio recordings of him basically slut shaming his own girlfriend were to ever get released it would be not only his but Ateez’s first official scandal and would impact the whole group. It would tarnish the groups reputation and they would also lose a lot of fans because if a regular person were to listen to those audio clips it would come off as misogynistic. Especially if he planned to ask her out properly the same day one of those audio recordings took place. Nah I want this ship to sink

He still hasn’t been transparent about these things with her and don’t even get home started on the whole “you can have her” 😒 Genuinely disgusts me. Women don’t exist to be viewed as objects for men.

Seonghwa already broke her trust once and I think that’s more than enough reason to cut him out of her life. And I know she hasn’t been the best at dealing with the whole break up situation either but that doesn’t excuse the things he said about her before they dated. Yes people can change but they don’t just change in a matter of months.

Maybe I’m just projecting cause I have major trust issues after having been too nice my whole life and had to learn the hard way to set boundaries 😅 and also had to the hard way two not give people second chances because all the times I’ve had just showed me that I shouldn’t have.

I know this story is fiction but I got invested so quickly can’t wait to see how you plan the rest out.

Sorry I’m advance for the long ask and the typos I have I just got carried away😅

Long response so it's going under the cut!

Ooooo this is an interesting take and one I definitely understand. Firstly, I'm glad you're invested enough to binge the whole series! She's a real long one so I'm glad that it stayed really interesting all the way! And ahhhh I'm happy that you left such a great ask too! I love seeing the different sides when it comes to these two.

But, onto the meat of it yes. You mentioned something that I haven't seen a lot of people talk about to me in my asks. (Y/N), as she's written, is a frequent scandal target simply because it's easy to pin a scandal on her, just as it's easy to prove them false. A silly scandal with a previous lover is almost nothing to her, especially given her rather "free" personality.

That's Seonghwa's flaw, and maybe one person did point it out before, but he's selfish. Or, at least, prior to now. Not once has Seonghwa been seen in a serious scandal aside from when his relationship with (Y/N) was outed to the public, and even then he was still being coddled by the fans while (Y/N) was being berated. I'm not sure how well I wrote it then, but I tried to imply that (Y/N) almost ended the relationship because of it, but it was Seonghwa who convinced her to stay. Regardless, his reasoning for breaking up with her had selfish roots, and even in the current chapter, he's yet to actually tell her about that selfish reason and he still clings onto the "I wanted to protect you" idea, when it isn't the whole truth. (God dammit, Hwa, communicate!)

Also, side note, I'm so glad I got a majority of readers to second guess him with that one line, it really allowed Yangyang to evolve into his Bestie Final form lol, but seriously, fuck misogynists. Seonghwa, at least, acknowledged that it was fucked of him to say that. But also I will confirm that the audios are prior to him actually asking her out, which doesn't change much, they're still incriminating with or without the edits. Especially with ATEEZ being, well, ATEEZ. It wouldn't just break their image, it'll absolutely shatter whatever was left of what he and (Y/N) had in (Y/N)'s eyes because how could you say that about me? You didn't even know me.

But, I understand you, and so does (Y/N). She very nearly cut him out too if not for her group members meddling, but a flaw they share together is that they're both too stubborn. God forbid those audios come out, that might destroy them for good. You're right though, change takes time, and that's part of the reason why they both agreed to wait it out until they had that time to properly work things together, and if they work out, then they do, and if it falls apart at the seams, at least they tried.

And, trust, you should read a few of my other fics, especially Covalence, wow, I really projected onto that (Y/N) when it comes to trust issues. My ex used to go through my texts when he thought I wasn't looking at that just changed me fundamentally, trust became a huge thing for me, which is part of the reason why I decided to use it to really add drama to Prominence, I'm glad it's working out well!

I have to say though, me adding YNSH back to Prominence has me scratching my head sometimes because I've always had this at the back of my mind, then I remember that it's fanfiction lol so I know you're all not expecting a New York Times best seller quality of writing. Sometimes I wonder if I started setting them back together again too soon or if I shouldn't have given them the chance at all.

Luckily, this reckoning will come through a certain character, and depending on how evil I am or how everyone reacts, I will say he's got people rather split on whether they should like him or hate him, which is exactly as I planned muahahaha

But again, thank you so much for sending in an ask! I really enjoyed reading and responding to it <3

#asks #anon #prominence #prominence s2 #prominence spoilers #prominence s2 spoilers #spoilers

[aerial-ace97]

Dirt Poor Robins is one of my favorite bands of all time.  Top 5 at least if not Top 3.  I love albums that have their own sense of story within the album and they have a unique sound and emotional drive that I don’t know that I’ve seen in all but one other band.  In spite of my love for them though, I haven’t listened to them in months.  See they were one of many things that were first introduced to me through a friend who was very close to me.  After a number of unfortunate circumstances, a number of friends exited my life this July.  Ever since then there have been dozens of things that I could not participate in without experiencing some deeply unsettling panic attacks, because of their association with those friends.  I couldn’t listen to the Amazing Devil, or watch more Ted Lasso or Amphibia, or play Half Life.  Even my D&D game and world that I’ve invested years of time into has felt difficult to truly engage with for how engrained they became in it.  All things that were really important to me and I had grown to care about myself but had now become more damaging than they were healing.  But Dirt Poor Robins perhaps hurt most of all.  I had created a whole idea for a campaign based around following the order of the songs, I’d designed characters wholly around concepts of the lyrics, I had weeped over Skywriter so many times on nightly drives for how much it spoke to me.  And all of a sudden I couldn’t listen to it anymore.  Today though, I listened to them again.  I finally felt like I had healed enough that I could genuinely enjoy them again.  Today I was clearing out my room from college to live at home for this next semester, and I had 6 hours of driving to listen to all of the albums.  It still wasn’t... easy.  There were some specific songs that really wanted to push my anxiety into a peak point, like static compiling so aggressively that it breaks a speaker.  But for the most part, I was able to get lost in it again without feeling quite so heartsore.  It was a small step, but also a really huge one.  I don’t know when I’ll listen again, but in listening I knew at least that this was not something that I wanted to give up to my trauma.  There are still so many things that hurt me.  I don’t know that I will ever be able to listen to Lake Song by Of Monsters And Men for a long time yet, even though it is one of my favorite songs.  There are certain phrases and things that I think might likely trigger me for the rest of my life.  Hell I couldn’t even look at one of my dogs for the first month because I would immediately flash back to a signature memory of someone playing with her in the front seat of a car and I would immediately panic.  I couldn’t look at my own dog without getting triggered.  When going back to my room, there was a pig plushie that I still can’t acknowledge and I have no clue what to do with.  I had to pack it and bring it home today and that was a living nightmare.  There are dozens of things in my house that hurt to look at but I also feel like I can’t get rid of because they still mean so much.  So... yeah I have a lot of work to do.  But I’m glad I can listen to Dirt Poor Robins again because maybe that means that things can get better on some level.  Maybe I can reconcile some of these things that once healed me and now destroy me.  Maybe I can find some new way to move forward.  And maybe those who sojourn will own the land.

#Dirt Poor Robins #Vent TW #Panic Attack tw #ptsd tw

[lorazx]

Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a Brand New Era (if they can keep it up)

(read this article on my medium!)

I, like many people, have been a fan of the Pokemon franchise since I was a kid. It was an all-consuming presence ever since I saw an episode on TV at age 5. I’ve played the games, collected cards, even spent a few years trying to “Get Good” at competitive VGC. Needless to say, I was and am very invested into the tiny yellow mouse franchise.

So when Nintendo and Game Freak held a Pokemon Direct to announce the newest entries in the franchise I was keeping a close eye on it. I genuinely liked Sword and Shield despite it’s numerous shortcomings, and was going into this with an optimistic outlook for whatever they were going to announce. After Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, remake of 2007’s originals that are maybe a little too close to the originals, Game Freak revealed… an open world game? That doesn’t have two versions? Is seemingly set in the past? And most importantly, completely upends the way Pokemon played.

I was split. On one hand, Pokemon had gotten repetitive, a stream of games that were, at worst, “okay” and at best “pretty good” and no side games that actually experimented with what a Pokemon game could be, so a new style of game would be great! But I was also beginning to think that maybe Game Freak, despite being attached to the franchise since its inception, shouldn’t make Pokemon games anymore. Maybe the yearly development cycle had finally caught up to them and they couldn’t produce games with the same quality anymore or the team that was working on it just wasn’t able to evolve with the changing landscape of games in its genre. But I was also willing to wait, to give it a chance and see what they were doing. Maybe the extra three months would help?

The more I saw of it the less I understood. It was all so big and ambitious and I wasn’t sure that they could pull it off given their record for “innovations” within the series. A whole game based on the wild areas? The worst part of Sword and Shield? I couldn’t fathom it. I sat through weeks of Twitter Discourse about every new piece of information; the gameplay, the name, the graphics, and I still couldn’t stop feeling concerned for the game every time we heard news about it.

But then the game came out and it was apparently good! It was hard! And interesting! The word “fresh” is being used! I was torn but I also couldn’t stay away, I needed to know if Game Freak could finally find a fresh angle for the long running series.

They... sort of did? Pokemon Legends: Arceus is good, not great, but it is something. Is the game rough around the edges? Yep! Combat is interesting, but it needed more depth, given that the big noble fights amount to running and dodging (fun!) and throwing stuff (less fun) and the action/turn based combat feeling like the old combat, but with higher emphasis on speed and less on placement or strategy. The story is maybe one of the best in the series, but that’s only in context of other Pokemon games (and even then it doesn’t hold a candle to Black and White). The open world is still perhaps it’s weakest aspect, devoid of incentive for exploration other than “Here’s Goomy!”, which is nice, but it doesn’t feel like its enough for a player to want to explore unless they were either going towards 100% Pokedex completion or just really wanted a certain Pokemon. It is also ugly, mostly in the overworld, which lacks the strong and unique aesthetic of the rest of the Pokemon series and in an semi-open world game is obviously not great.

But it’s something. Which for a multi-million dollar company is a small victory, perhaps too small for some people to count but honestly at this point any advancements to this franchise is a win.

There’s been some confusion of whether or not this is a main series title, and ultimately it doesn’t matter. If it isn’t then Game Freak should take as much as possible and build on it for an actual main series game, and this also applies if it is a main series game since if they go back to what they were doing after this then Game Freak has done what they’ve always done, take one step forward then several steps back.

(Update: Game Freak and Nintendo have since revealed Pokemon Scarlet and Violet which continues on the gameplay from Arceus.)

If this all sounds like a person giving a mediocre game a lot of passes, let’s be honest it is, but for a franchise so well-protected, so seemingly uncomfortable with change to so willingly push themselves forward like this should be, no matter how dumb it may seem, something to commend. And maybe when they release the next duo of mainline Pokemon they go back to basics, wasting all the goodwill they’ve built up, we can do this song and dance all over again.

#pokemon #pokemon legends #pokemon legends arceus

[naynay5155]

C!Tommy’s Storyline With C!Dream Is A Very Concerning Depiction Of Abuse

Wild Title 

Okay, I’m sure that this probably isn’t too new information for anyone paying attention to the overall story of the DreamSMP, especially C!Tommy’s storyline, but I figured I’d give my two cents for this anyways. 

C!Tommy is an Abuse Victim who has gone through horrific stuff at the hands of C!Dream. This is not an arguable fact. regardless of if C!Dream had reasons for doing what he did, if C!Dream also later gets abused, or if ultimately the abuse portrayal could be considered in some ways flawed or unrealistic, that stuff doesn’t ultimately matter. Because we’ve seen what happened to C!Tommy during Exile, have seen the physical, emotional, and mental abuse he was put through. Just because they won’t call it Abuse doesn’t mean it isn’t Abuse.

Now, C!Tommy being an abuse victim is an interesting idea from a storytelling perspective. It has a lot of potential to lead to genuine character development, or to affect relationships and story beats in interesting ways. And it could be an interesting way to really say something about abuse and coping with it. 

And to an extent, an argument could be made that it has, though I’d argue the exact way those are handled in canon, but not the point. The point is, abuse is not just something that you get to gloss over. If you want to include themes of abuse in the story, a story you are making available to the public for millions to see, then there needs to be a clear and obvious message being portrayed with including abuse in the story. Preferably, that abuse is bad, and can have majorly negative effects on anyone, especially children. We don’t always get that lucky, but whatever. 

But, from my months of watching the story of the DreamSMP, and trust me I’ve been here a long while, I haven’t seen C!Tommy’s abuse being handled very... well. I could, of course, be wrong in some aspects, and maybe be misremembering stuff since this dumpster fire has been happening for a year now, and feel free to correct me or bring up more points if you know something I don’t. But, I still think that overall, I have a point of view that should be considered. 

So basically, C!Tommy is an abuse victim, right? this is easy to see, very obvious in the way he acts and behaves. Or... is it? 

Abuse is a complex topic and one that, in real life, presents itself in all sorts of forms. Many abuse victims were raised in unloving homes and ended up becoming more vulnerable to abuse later on in life as a result of that. Others never properly learned how to express emotions or turn people down and got taken advantage of. Others were abused from the start, and develop various ways of coping and dealing with that, even ways that they might not be fully conscious of themselves. Abuse is not a one-way street, it could hardly be considered a street at all given how diverse and differing the people who experience it end up developing into are. 

So I’m not saying that, if C!Tommy were a real person, that he isn’t “Being traumatized enough” or that “Why isn’t he more like what I expect him to be like?”. That is not what I’m saying at all.

What I am saying, is that C!Tommy is a fictional character who exists within a narrative, a story. And in a good story, consistency is half the battle. I, as the audience consuming the story, need to be able to look at C!Tommy and pick up on and understand the effects abuse has had on him. And these effects need to be consistent, otherwise, as an audience member, I’m going to get confused and start having questions about why he acts one way here but doesn’t somewhere else.

I also need to be able to clearly see and understand, by being given narrative stepping stones, if something is changing for his character.

As the saying goes, “Show don’t tell”. C!Tommy can’t just say he “Goes to Puffy for Therapy” offhandedly one time, as a means of handwaving away why he doesn’t really consistently act as traumatized as he used to even though it’s literally only been a few weeks, or months at most. To explain how he can jump back between being really sad and depressed about something, to joking about Women and Twitter. It seems weird if he’s able to just so seamlessly, so effortlessly, go back and forth. Almost as if he’s bouncing between OOC and IC, but that’s a whole other discussion. 

Sure, C!Tommy is representing real mental health issues, but he is, ultimately a Fictional Character existing in a story. I need to be given signs, proof, foreshadowing, to explain when he has certain reactions and behaviours in order to understand his character. And these need to be consistent, otherwise we get plotholes and general confusion.

I criticize the inconsistency and the offscreen handwaving because it’s generally not very good writing. It’s the same reason I disliked Eret’s basically off-screen-sort-of-redemption-arc. It’s the same reason people dislike it when Villains of previous seasons suddenly come back as fully reformed good guys for seemingly no reason. There is no arc, no development, no progress is shown to us. 

Because when you’re telling a story about a character having some major change or developing in some way, or having an important character trait, if I don’t see it on screen, then it didn’t happen. How am I supposed to root for C!Tommy’s progress, or understand what he’s doing to progress, if a never see his coping mechanisms? His therapy appointments? 

You can’t just say something, or inconsistently portray something, and expect me to jump through hoops to connect these nearly transparent dots that keep getting thrown around. 

Show don’t tell. Show me Tommy getting better, because otherwise you’re just telling me he made character development, and showing me this completely different character as proof. No, last I remembered C!Tommy was having panic attacks and yelling when C!Dream was even mentioned. You can’t tell me that a day later he can interact normally after days of being in the prison and a month of being dead.

Or, if you are gonna have him flip flop back and forth, don’t have it be so sudden and jarring, give an explanation. Is he faking being fine? Does he have memory issues? C!Tommy doesn’t read to me as the type who’s good at suppressing his emotions, he wears his heart on his sleeve. So you’re going to have to explain, clearly, in a way that isn’t ambiguous, what’s happening with C!Tommy here.

You’re not really saying anything about the abuse C!Tommy goes through, if all of that trauma is automatically wiped from the story when the writers get too lazy or too scared to keep it in. At best, you are showing abuse and trauma for the sole purpose of showing it, with no intention of properly dealing with and addressing it in the story. At worst, you are basically just doing torture porn. 

Pain, Hurt, Trauma for the sake of it. Not with any goal in mind. Just for the drama of it, or to hurt the audience. 

And then your audience is just supposed to take that content in uncritically, and they gain no true understanding of how abuse victims survive and cope after their traumatic treatment.

Exile Arc sure did a good job at making C!Tommy suffer. But as soon as that arc ended, a lot of the stuff that happened in it went completely glossed over and unaddressed for a long while. That might have been fine in the lead-up to Doomsday, since a lot of plot stuff had been going on and stopping to handle C!Tommy’s issues might (Might is heavily doubted cause it certainly isn’t impossible) mess with the pacing a bit. But then after Doomsday, there isn’t really any excuse to put it off. Because nothing was really happening for a good while, and nobody had anything to do plotwise. 

And this became even more true with C!Dream being locked in Prison. Nothing was really happening, so what was stopping the story from taking the time to properly discuss and deal with this stuff?

Well, nothing really. So, the Hotel Arc happened. And oh boy, was it a mess. 

So, C!Tommy being angry at C!Dream for the abuse and trauma he has suffered at Dream’s hand isn’t an issue. It’s an incredibly common thing for victims to feel angry at their abusers, and to even go so far as to wish for vengeance against them in some way. And that’s a totally valid and fine feeling. 

You’re hurting, you’re scared, you’re in pain. I get that. When we’re hurting, we don’t always act rationally or healthily.

But, ultimately, that rage, and hurt, and want for vengeance is not a healthy thing to hold onto. In many circumstances with an abuse victim wanting to inflict pain back on their abuser, we run into various problems. 

For one, getting vengeance on your abuser is quite frequently going to give you more emotional pain than it will fulfilment. Especially if you are young, or are letting this want for vengeance take over your entire livelihood. It does you no good ultimately, to attempt to bring pain to the person who hurt you, because not only will you often be unsuccessful, you frequently won’t find emotional healing and stability in that. 

(The only exception to this rule being if ignoring them or moving on from them isn’t an option for you right now.)

Actions have consequences, and if you invest more time in that person who hurt you, then you have no time to work on yourself or the relationships around you. You have no time to heal, and this can become self-destructive.

Spending time around an abuser, as a victim, is in all likelihood just going to upset you more. You’re retraumatizing yourself by spending time around them, and as you make attempts to give them their comeuppance, you could possibly end up internalizing the methods they used on you, and just end up perpetuating the cycle of abuse again. 

And even if you have no problem with doing that to this particular person, consider how fully internalizing these abusive behaviours could affect your friends or family. Frequently, even when they don’t mean to, abuse victims can internalize the things that they went through and then use those same behaviours against people in their life later on. Being shitty to your support system because of what you went through isn’t a good move, for you or them.

Basically just, an Abuse Victim has more to gain from working on themselves while finding ways to heal and overcome their trauma and abuse, than they do spending their time and energy on the abuser. Its frequently unhealthy, distressing, and self-destructive to indulge in that too much.

(Of course, I don’t speak for everyone, but from what iIve looked into and seen, this is the healthiest method of actually healing from your abuse. That doesn’t mean you just... leave your abuser alone and never address or talk about what they did, you don’t let them get away with it, of course not. It just means you don’t waste your mental well being and time obsessing over someone, especially someone who has hurt you so much.

You deserve better than that. You deserve to heal.)

Now, let’s get back to C!Tommy. 

C!Tommy, instead of finding a proper means of coping with his issues (proper therapy, diagnosis for his issues, forming and maintaining healthy support systems, focusing on things he loves, etc) is shown to repeatedly focus back on C!Dream. When he was making Big Innit Hotel, it did seem like he was to an extent finding ways to cope with his shit. He was still kinda shitty and his hotel was not exactly made and run by the most morally great standards, though I suppose I can’t expect too much when he is a very traumatized teen and doesn’t really know what he’s doing. 

But, ultimately, this all fell apart when he got locked in Pandora’s Vault with C!Dream. Arguably, it was already falling apart the moment he decided to keep pursuing C!Dream even when he was locked up.

See, the thing is, C!Tommy can never just… have trauma. Having trauma that he can healthily and methodically work through is something that for him as a Character, is basically impossible. His character is an angry one, one built on spite and childishness, and who holds the mantle, unfortunately, of “Spunky Male Protagonist In A YA Novel”. So, his mental health issues can never just be a struggle he has to cope with, especially not when the DreamSMP can never seem to have anything between “A lot is happening right now omg” or “Literally nothing is happening and nobody is playing on the server at all omg”.

Instead, his issues have to be seen as a battle, and they fuel the narrative of the story. Him having been abused by C!Dream cannot just exist as a thing that he as a person has to work through slowly with the help of others around him. It has to be seen as this Epic Triumph Against Evil, another battle of Tommyinnit VS Dream on the DreamSMP, a classic Villain versus Hero fight.

This, of course, isn’t too great. By C!Tommy’s abuse plotline being framed in this manner, it makes it so that C!Tommy is constantly obsessing over his abuser and recklessly throwing himself into dangerous and triggering situations is some attempt at an “Epic Battle With Evil”, rather than this being treated like the self-harm it actually is. And yes, it is self-harm, a form of it. 

C!Tommy uses his trauma and issues as fuel for the story, making it so that its impossible for him to truly progress and a character, and the moment he does start growing, he has to get retraumatized again so he goes right back to where he was.

C!Tommy does not become a better person when he’s around C!Dream, nor does he find any form of fulfilment in being around him. He gets shaky and panicky at just the sight of him. He regularly has violent and explosive outbursts at just the mention of him. When C!Dream talks to him, he gets nervous and basically can’t help but listen due to conditioning he still listens to. 

When C!Tommy went to go visit C!Dream the first time in Pandora’s Vault, he brought with him stacks of TnT. He did it because he wanted to mimic what C!Dream had done to him in Exile, where he would take all of C!Tommy’s newly gained items and blow them up underground for dramatic effect. 

C!Dream did this for control over C!Tommy, to manipulate him, for his suffering.

And C!Tommy wanted to do this to C!Dream, because he was feeling vindictive. 

When C!Tommy got into the prison, he mocked C!Dream, hit him repeatedly, and tried to boss him around. He made him write ridiculous books and verbally berated the man. He did this in a feeble attempt to gain some feeling of control over C!Dream. This, evidently, did not work. At best his success was momentary. And this sense of achievement he gained was gained through projecting his abuse trauma onto someone else.

He repeated the cycle. 

After he got brought back from the dead and let out of the prison, he was much much worse. C!Tommy was now paranoid, anxious, constantly thinking about C!Dream, and had his mindset solely on getting revenge on him, by killing him. 

It got so bad, he ended up doing lacklustre “Exposure Therapy” to help himself not panic when he went into Pandora’s Vault to kill C!Dream. It got so bad he dragged C!Tubbo and C!Ranboo into this, putting them in danger and putting more pressure on another two teenagers’ shoulders. 

It got so bad, that Ghostbur died, C!Sam closed off even more, and C!Wilbur came back. 

Objectively, C!Tommy leaving C!Dream alone would be the better thing for everyone. And yet he keeps repeating the cycle. Because C!Tommy is not meant to grow, learn and heal. He is made to suffer. 

The problem is not so much showing an unhealthy depiction of a mentally ill or traumatized person. Because trauma and mental illness and the effects of abuse are not always pretty, and they shouldn’t always have to be portrayed and pretty or sympathetic to be accurate. 

It becomes a problem when you get this depiction of C!Tommy’s coping being presented uncritically to an audience of a lot of underaged and young people. 

Nobody in canon, whether they be adults or fellow teens, has ever tried to question C!Tommy’s methods for coping. C!Ranboo and C!Tubbo just limply went along with his plans for Exposure Therapy with no consideration of if this was a good idea. No adults really offer to genuinely step in and help C!Tommy deal with his shit, and the ones that do leave him or get corrupted in some way, often leaving him with more trauma as they do. 

C!Puffy’s therapy methods are dubious at best, and the most we ever see of her actually helping C!Tommy is her humouring his toxic behaviours, and C!Tommy making offhanded mentions to vague therapists appointments we never see. 

C!Technoblade stopped giving a shit as soon as C!Tommy walked off the screen. C!Wilbur was dead, and now that he isn’t he certainly isn’t helping C!Tommy. C!Phil isn’t C!Tommy’s dad and has no obligation to do anything for him as a result. C!Ranboo has the backbone of a chocolate eclair. C!Tubbo is too busy repressing his own trauma to help C!Tommy with his. C!Sam is being ruled by the prison and C!Quackity. C!Quackity has become an Ancap. 

Nobody in this story is a reliable or trusted person to C!Tommy, who could properly tell him his methods are unhealthy and give him better alternatives. And as a result, nobody is able to tell the audience that C!Tommy is wrong 

Unreliable Narrators are only effective when the narrative in some way has their unreliableness pointed out or proven to the audience. If you go into a story with the assumption that everybody watching will be able to see past C!Tommy’s POV and not take him at face value, then you are naive. Especially when this fandom is made up of many teens and children. 

I only know C!Tommy’s methods are unhealthy because I care way too much and do my research. A vast majority of the world doesn’t have the same understanding and education on these topics, especially not children and teenagers. A good chunk of people, especially neurodivergent and mentally ill people, could very well take the story at face value and automatically assume that what Tommy’s doing is actually a good coping mechanism because they don’t know any better.

There is no clarification or safety net for preventing misinterpretation. And being of the opinion that “Well, they should know better than to trust a bunch of Minecraft Youtubers for this stuff” or “We can’t expect them to be psychologists! You expect too much” is just… not helping. 

Because I shouldn’t have to explain why children and teenagers, especially those that are using these people to cope, are not always going to make level-headed and common-sense decisions. They will be influenced by these Content Creators, whether we think it’s “Stupid” or not. 

And I can say with certainty that, while yes, this might be a bit much to expect from a bunch of British/American white guys who play Minecraft to handle, may I also point out that nobody fucking made them put this stuff in the story. There are ways to write a story without stepping outside of your realm of true understanding. Nobody begged these MCYTs to go and make torture porn for a 16 year old, nobody asked them to touch on topics they have no fucking clue about. 

They put that in themselves. And we have the right to point out the problems and flaws in it, and criticize them for not handling this stuff better. 

You don’t start applying for a job you don’t meet the requirements for. You don’t start an expensive project you can’t finish. 

You don’t include elements in a story you aren’t willing to fully go through with and address in a proper and sensitive way. 

#hope this makes sense #dreamsmp roleplay #dream smp critical #dreamsmp #dream smp #character analysis #c!tommy #c!dream #tw abuse discussion #tw abuse #negativity #dsmp critical #critical dsmp

[luvyanfei]

I just recently found your blog and I really love how you write ^^

I was wondering if I may request hcs of Zhongli and Albedo with a curious / knowledge thirsty s/o? Thank you in advance! ❤

kisjijf ur brain is so massive!!! thank u for the request!!

albedo.

he finds it endearing how curious you are, asking him questions about his experiments and what-not. sometimes, albedo worries that his occupation will annoy you since he’s barely free, but the fact that you’re okay with it pleases him. it makes him feel elated whenever you ask him if it’s alright for you to accompany him during his research. going to dragonspine is a freezing location roaming with dangerous enemies, but he’s made sure you’ll be safe as long as you’re with him.

wearing a heavy winter jacket to protect you from the frigid cold, you walk with hands linked together. he guides you to his personal lab sheltered away in a small cave, holding onto you tightly so you don’t accidentally slip on ice or anything of that sort. once you finally enter a place of security, albedo keenly observes you as you look around in amazement, immediately pointing to a few of his equipment and asking him to tell you what they are.

he answers all your questions with the utmost patience. sure, it would probably irk him a bit if anyone else behaved like this, but you’re different. a sort of different that he can’t quite place his finger on. maybe, it’s because your curiosity seems more adorable and pure than bothersome and nosy. yeah, that’s probably it.

albedo will still try to spare some time for you to go on what’s deemed as an idyllic date, but you’re quick to soothe his guilt by saying you’re having a lot of enjoyment at being able to aid in his research and expanding your knowledge! as long as you’re spending time with him, no matter what you’re doing or where you are, you’re perfectly content.

“albedo, i’ve been wondering, is there anything you’re actually not educated in?”

“hmm,” the light-haired man pauses his brief sketching and brings a finger up to his chin, “there is one thing i want to know.”

“and that is?” a hand presses itself on the wall beside your head as albedo leans in very close, his free hand combing through your hair. you wait for him to continue on with bated breath, heart drumming violently from his sudden action.

he doesn’t answer immediately, kissing you daintily on the forehead before his lips break into a smirk, drinking in your flustered expression.

“well, i’ve never been well-adept in the field of love, and i’m quite curious to find out the reason why my heart tends to skip a beat whenever i see you. so, care to assist me in seeking the answer?”  

zhongli.

you’re honestly a good match for him! zhongli is a rather talkative person who tends to ramble about liyue’s history and other topics that may bore the average person, but you’re one of the rare cases that will take delight in his chattering. he’s not bragging or anything about his library of knowledge, zhongli just tends to get kind of lonely to have no one to share his stories with.

a tiny part of him was a bit suspicious of your personality, the thought that you’re putting up a façade crossed his mind, but it’s long since vanished from his mind. he’s been in your presence for quite a while now to know for sure you’re being genuine, just from your body language alone.

the way you unconsciously lean towards him in an attempt to hear his every word and how your eyes light up whenever he talks about something you’re uneducated about - zhongli savors these little, cute habits of yours. he’s unofficially labelled himself as a sagacious mentor and you his cherished student. he takes his role very seriously, in a somewhat comedic way.

he’ll have you attend ‘field-trips’ with him, only because it’s better if you comprehend history by actually seeing the real thing instead of relying heavily on secondary sources. zhongli is also generous enough to quiz you at the library once you return back from your expeditions. he tries to make it suited to your taste, however, and will offer you plentiful of methods for you to memorize until you can basically mutter it all coherently in your sleep.

zhongli looks up from the novel he’s invested his time in when he feels a light tug on his sleeve and smiles at you kindly. “what is it, my love?” his voice is smooth and calming, like the lapping of waves on the shore.

“zhongli, what does this word mean?” you point at a specific section of the book you’re reading and adjusts your hold on it so he can get a better view.

he only needs to spare a single glimpse till he’s figured out the solution to all your complications, so why shouldn’t this be any different. however, he stares at the page in evident confusion. “i’m afraid i can’t offer you a definition of what the word ‘mimsy’ means."

you shrug your shoulders in understanding. “fair enough. the story is rather nonsensical, perhaps illogical at times, if i may add.” the geo archon nods tenderly, grasping your hand in his.

“then, do you find our relationship to be ‘rather nonsensical’?” zhongli murmurs softly. you never did expect you would end up dating an immortal, but life is full of surprises, as the saying goes, and it’s applicable to yours.

“it should, but for some reason, i think it makes perfect sense!”

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #zhongli #zhongli x reader #albedo x reader #albedo

[dreadnotau]

Happy one year of Dread Not, everyone!

Yeah, it really has been that long already. It honestly doesn’t feel like it’s been a year at all! Even if you just recently found the comic, or stuck with it since the first promotional post, thank you. This project has been one of the most fulfilling I’ve taken on in a long time. And, as usual, I’d like to say some things on this occasion.

Firstly, hoo boy the numbers are bigger than I imagined they’d be. As of writing this, the Tumblr account has 295 followers, and the Twitter account is sitting at a comfortable 41. That is a LOT of people. As some of you may recall, I made a milestone post when we reached 100 followers on Tumblr, and I genuinely thought that would be the biggest milestone I reach that year.

I didn’t even notice when we got past 200 followers (most of whom were coming from my youtube channel of all things), and now we’re close to 300! That’s madness!! Especially for a project like this that’s being handled by exactly one person with minimal help from a friend. (That friend is @meowchela btw I feel like I don’t promote her enough. She’s basically the reason this comic exists at all, she’s wonderful).

Obviously I don’t want this whole post to just be about the metrics, I wanna talk about other things that surround this comic. Like how much of a mess working on it tends to be. I don’t wanna turn this into me whining about school but, long story short, I’m in my last year of high school right now, prepping for college and writing my thesis (I think that’s the right English word…) and it’s all VERY hectic.

I’m not gonna pretend that I’m trying my hardest at all of this, I will be the first to say my time management is awful, I’m just bringing this all up for anyone wondering why updates are so slow, and why I missed the page upload on catholic Christmas. It all gets a bit hard to keep up with sometimes, but I won’t stop working on this comic, that’s for sure! Paradoxically, somehow I’m more motivated to work on Dread Not if I should be doing other things. I think it’s pure spite at this point.

Speaking of responsibility, I promised more bonus content both on Tumblr and on Twitter on several occasions and, as you all can probably see, that has not happened yet. The simplest explanation is that I often don’t have ideas for what kind of bonus content to even make. Sketches of the characters? Finished drawings of the characters? Scrapped scenes from the comic? Non-canon scenarios and scenes? The characters’ design references? Canon facts about the characters and the world that I wasn’t able to include in-comic? More speedpaints??

I’m sure these all sound great on paper, but I have no idea how much time and energy I’d have to potentially allocate for each, and how much they’d actually impact people’s interest in the comic. For now, the bonus content will stay minimal until I can think of something reliable and interesting to release as said bonus content.

If you’re really invested in Dread Not, though, I’d recommend joining the discord server! It’s not too big, it has around 20 people in it so far, and I like to think it’s a fairly casual server! The reason I’m promoting it here is because it helps with my motivation to work on the comic a LOT. It really makes a world of difference when you can talk to people one on one instead of just relying on numbers on a post.

If you don’t want to join the server but still want to share your thoughts on the comic, the ask box is always open, and so are my DMs! Both here and on my main Tumblr. My main Tumblr got a bit of an upgrade recently, so I’ll maybe be more active there than I was before. Maybe. No promises.

On the bright side, I have nearly the whole story planned out now! I know that might not sound like much, but the story has been very loose with it’s structure so far (as you may have noticed). The story jumps from character to character at near random, some ideas are left hanging for tens of pages on end until they’re picked up again, and the narration in the yellow boxes feels arbitrary at best and out of place at worst, at least when I go back and reread it myself. This is because act 1 was sketched out in it’s entirety before I started actually fully rendering and releasing the pages online. So, the story of act 1 was made in a very “explorative” way, in that I had only vague concepts I wanted to get down on paper eventually in my head, and a blank canvas to work with. The pacing and structure of it has been a little lacking because of that, and I’m doing my best to right that wrong by planning out acts 2, 3 and 4 before beginning to sketch them properly.

Speaking of, I can finally put a somewhat number to how long this story will be! All of what’s been released so far, and what I’ll release in the foreseeable future, is only part of Act 1. Act 2 will be a bit more hectic, and although I don’t have the exact number yet, I’m *assuming* the overall page number of it will be similar to Act 1. Act 3 will be a doozy, as it’ll technically have two intermissions as well. And Act 4 is a beast of it's own. It’s all almost too long to even think about without getting stressed immediately. But I know it’ll be worth it! Now that I have an actual path set out for me, I can try and tackle this growing giant of a project with more of a plan than I had when I started.

Although this is Dread Not’s first anniversary, I’ve actually been working on the comic for quite a bit longer than that. If we don’t count the concept phase, then just the comic itself is nearly two years old! (Jesus, time flies) But I do want today, the 23rd of January, to be the proper and official Dread Not Day. It doesn’t have any significance other than bringing a smile to my face, though. And hopefully to yours, too!

Here’s to another great year of working on this behemoth of a project, and probably several more after that because this story isn’t gonna be done anytime soon! Pour one out for my drawing hand, folks, it’s a long road ahead.

And, again, thank you for reading. Thank you for sticking with me and for enjoying what I’ve made. I hope you’ll enjoy what comes next just as much, maybe more. Stay tuned!

#undertale #undertaleau #undertale au #deltarune #deltarune au #deltaruneau #dread not #dreadnot #dread not au #dreadnotau #not comic #toriel #the fusion #corundum #i've already said so much in the post theres no point for me to ramble in the tags as well

[cyndavilachase]

I’m Looking Forward Now 💖Thank you and good bye

So, it’s been a little over a week since Steven Universe Future ended… 

I’ve been hesitant to write this, honestly, but I’m tired of holding myself back from properly expressing myself in fear of appearing overly invested in the media I consume, even in private. Writing helps me organize my thoughts and feelings, and I feel like these thoughts in particular may resonate with many, so I want to share them. I want to talk about what Steven Universe has done for me personally, both as an artist, and as a person.

I’ve been around since the day the first episode of the original series aired. I actually remember when Steven Universe was just a logo on Wikipedia’s “List of Upcoming Cartoon Network Shows” list, back when I was a freshman in high school. It piqued my interest, but when commercials finally dropped for it, I thought it was going to be bad because of the way marketing handled introducing Steven as a likeable character. There was still something about it that made me want to give it a chance though, so I went online and watched the pilot before the first episode's release. I was hooked immediately. I knew I was going to love it, and I did. I fell so absolutely in love with Steven as a character, and the world that he and the gems lived in. I became obsessed. I was always so excited for new episodes to come out. Little did I know what else it would do for me as I went through my adolescence alongside it.

As the show progressed, it was evident that what I wanted out of a western animated childrens’ cartoon was finally coming into fruition: this show was becoming serialized. There was continuity, there was plot, there was character development-- it was getting deep. It was pushing the groundwork that Adventure Time laid out even further (thank you, Adventure Time).  

I will give credit where credit is due: earlier western childrens’ cartoons I grew up with like Hey Arnold, and Rugrats, among others, also touched on heavy topics, but Steven Universe was able to take similar ideas (and even more complex ones, concerning mental health and relationships) and expand on them outside of contained episodes and/or short arcs. These themes, which were a part of the show’s overarching story, spanned across its entirety. Continuity was rampant. 

What did this mean? It meant kids cartoons didn’t have to be silly and fun all the time and characters weren’t just actors playing a part in 11-minute skits. Steven and the gems would remember things that happened to them, and it affected them and how they would function and play a part in their story. This was a huge deal to me as a teenager. I always wanted the cartoons I grew up with featuring kid characters to feel more. In my own work, I often felt discouraged when combining a fun, cutesy western art style with themes as dark or layered as anime would cover. I always thought it had to be one or the other because an audience wouldn’t take a combination of the two seriously enough, based on discussions I had with classmates, friends, and online analysis I read at the time. Steven Universe proved to me otherwise. This show was opening the door for future cartoons exploring in-depth, adult concepts. I felt so seen as a kid, and was inspired to stick with what I love doing.

I was actually very worried about the show’s survival. It was in fact immensely underrated and the fandom was miniscule. Then in 2014, JailBreak dropped, and it’s popularity exploded. Part of it was because of the complex plot and the themes it was covering like I mentioned, but also because of its representation. 

I remember when fandom theorized that Garnet was a fusion due to grand, tragic reasons. Turns out, she’s simply a metaphor for a very loving w|w relationship. This was huge. I cannot stress how important it is that we continue to normalize healthy canon queer relationships in childens’ media, and Steven Universe finally was the first to do that proper. Introducing these themes offers the chance for a kid to sit there and ask themselves, “Why is this demonized by so many people?” I asked myself exactly that. Ruby and Sapphire were my cartoon LGBT rep. They were the first LGBT couple I ever ecstatically drew fanart of. I was dealing with a lot of internalized homophobia at the time, and they showed me that I was allowed to love women and feel normal about it. The process of overcoming this was a long one, but they played a part in my very first steps into becoming comfortable with my sexuality. I could go on and on about it’s representation in general-- how it breaks the mold when it comes to showcasing a diverse set of characters in design, in casting, and in breaking gender roles. It’s focus on love and empathy. Steven himself is a big boy, but he's the protagonist, and the show never once makes fun of his weight, or any other bigger characters for that matter. It wasn’t hard to see why the fandom had grown so large.

Fandom was always a joy for me. It was a hobby I picked up when I was in middle school, like many of us here did. I would always cater my experience to fun, and fun only. I only started getting more deeply involved in SU’s fandom when I had just turned into an adult. During the summer of 2016, between my first and second year of college, I drew for the show almost every day non-stop when the Summer of Steven event was going on and posted them online. This was a form of practice for me in order to become not just more comfortable with experimenting with my art, but also to meet new artists, make new friends, and learn to interact with strangers without fear. I dealt with a ton of anxiety when I was in high school. When I was a senior applying to art school for animation, I decided I was going to overcome that anxiety. I made plans to take baby steps to improve myself over the course of my 4 years of college. Joining the fandom, while unforeseen, was definitely a part of that process. I started feeling more confident in sharing my ideas, even if they were fan-made. I fell in love with storyboarding after that summer, when I took my first storyboarding class, and genuinely felt like I was actually getting somewhere with all of this. I remember finally coming to a point in my classes where I could pitch and not feel hopelessly insecure about it. I was opening up more to my friends and peers. 

But this process, unfortunately, came to a screeching halt. 

My life completely, utterly crumbled under me in the Fall of 2017 due to a series of blows in my personal life that happened in the span of just a couple weeks. My mental health and sense of identity were completely destroyed. All of that confidence I had worked for-- completely ruined. I was alone. I nearly died. My stay at college was extended to 4 and half years, instead of the 4 I had intended. I lost my love for animation-- making it, and watching it. I could no longer watch Steven Universe with the same love I had for it beforehand. It’s a terrible thing, trying to give your attention to something you don’t love anymore, and wanting so desperately to love again. I dropped so many things I loved in my life, including the fandom.

Healing was a long and complicated road. I continued to watch the show all the way up until Change Your Mind aired in the beginning of 2019, and while I still felt empty, that was definitely a turning point for me with it’s encapsulation of self-love. I was hoping James Baxter would get to work on Steven Universe since he guest-animated on Adventure Time, and it was incredible seeing that wish actually come true. The movie came out and while I enjoyed it and thought highly of it, I was still having issues letting myself genuinely love things again, old and new. It was especially difficult because cartoons were my solace as a kid, when things got rough at home. I remember feeling sad because the show ended, and not getting the chance to love it again like I used to while it was still going.

By the time Steven Universe Future was announced, I was finally coming around. I was genuinely starting to feel excitement for art and animation again. I wasn’t expecting there to be a whole new epilogue series, but happily ever after, there we were! Prickly Pear aired, and the implications it left in terms of where the story was going did it. I was finally ready to let myself take the dive back into fandom in January of this year. My art blew up, something I wasn’t expecting considering my 2-year hiatus. Following this, I was invited into a discord server containing some of the biggest writers, artists, editors, and analysts in the fandom. I had no idea there were so many talented people in the fandom, some already with degrees, some getting their degrees-- creating stuff for it on the side just for fun. The amount of passion and productivity level here is insane, and so is the amount of discussion that has come out of it.

I didn’t realize it at first, but it was actually helping me gain back the courage to share ideas. I lost my confidence in pitching while I was taking the time to heal, and graduating meant there would no longer be a classroom setting I could practice in. This group helped immensely. 

I have made so many friends through this wonderful series, and I have so many fond memories talking to like-minded creatives, getting feedback and a myriad of sources for inspiration, as well as all of the memes and jokes and weekly theorizations that came about as we all waited on the edges of our seats for episodes to air. I needed this so badly, I needed to get back in touch with my roots, when I would go absolutely hog-wild over a cartoon I loved with people who loved it as much I did. Future has been a blessing for me in this way. I graduated feeling like I was back at square-one, but now I feel like I’m on my way again.

It’s 2020 and while I’m doing great right now, I am honestly still recovering from the total exhaustion that followed after graduating a few months ago, and finally leaving the campus where my life fell apart behind. Needless to say, watching Future was like looking into a mirror. Watching one of my favorite characters of all time-- one that grew up with me-- go through so many of the same things I went through not too long ago was absolutely insane to watch unfold. It’s such an important thing too, to show a character go through the process of breaking down over trauma and all the nasty things that come with it, and to have them go on the road to healing. Steven got that therapy. He wasn’t blamed. The gems were called out. The finale was everything I could have ever hoped for. The catharsis I experienced watching it was out of this world.

As I continue my own healing journey, I will always look up to the storyboard artists, revisionists, and designers that I have been following over these past 7 years, as well as the new ones introduced in Future. It's been such a joy watching these artists release their promo art for episodes, talk about their experiences working on the show, and post the work they've done for it alongside episodes airing.

Thank you Rebecca Sugar, the Crewniverse, and the fans, for making this such a truly wonderful and unique experience. Thank you for reminding me that I am, and always will be, an artist, a cartoonist, and a fan. Thank you, my followers, for the overwhelmingly positive response to my artwork. I have had so much fun interacting and discussing the show with you all again over these past few months. Steven Universe and it’s fandom will always have a special place in my heart, and it will always be a classic that I will return to for comfort and inspiration for decades to come. I am sad that the cartoon renaissance is over, but so many doors have been opened thanks to this show. I am so, so excited to see what this show will inspire in the future, and I hope one day I get the opportunity to be a part of that. 

Goodbye Steven, thank you for everything. I wish you healing, and I wish Rebecca and the team a well-deserved rest. ♥️

-Cynthia D.

#steven universe #steven universe future #steven universe future finale #steven quartz universe #the future #i am my monster #good bye steven universe #thank you steven universe #crystal gems #garnet #amethyst #pearl #bismuth #lapis #peridot #greg universe #connie maheswaran #lion #su #suf #su future #art #artists on tumblr #illustration #tears #lineless

[blackradandmad]

why blippi is rotting yr children's brains

preface: i literally expect no one to read this. it is an essay length, strong opinion piece critiquing a niche youtube-based children's show that i don't expect most of y'all to even have knowledge of lol. but like, i promise that even if you know nothing about what i'm talking about, in my incredibly, super humble opinion, it's a good piece of writing and interesting nonetheless. anyway if you read this whole thing for some reason yr really hot and we should kiss.

i thoroughly vet everything my child watches before he watches it, episode by episode. and we rarely watch youtube for entertainment; we usually just look up educational videos when he has a question about something and wants more detail than i can provide him. and that's mainly because children's content on youtube is so fucking troubling and distressing. i don't judge parents who give their children a tablet at a restaurant at all bc i've been there and sometimes it's easier on everyone to just put on a video and avoid a giant scene, but i do judge parents who just leave their children alone with youtube kids on autoplay.

take stevin john, a literal millionaire who got famous from dressing up as a silly character called blippi and going on tours of places like aquariums, zoos, construction sites, etc and posting it on youtube. this has branched into a whole empire of blippi videos, hulu shows and specials, live shows and tours (that he outsources to another character actor), merchandise and so on. this 30-something year old man cites his main influence as being mr. rogers, but i question if he's ever even seen an episode of that program.

mr. rogers had no background in early childhood development or media production, but he revolutionized the world of children's media, because he respected his audience and didn't shy away from real world situations, all while creating a show with an enormous heart. mr. rogers begins his episodes by inviting the viewer in, literally changing his attire to be more comfortable, and talking about/doing things he genuinely cares about. whereas mr. rogers calmly and maturely addresses the viewer, blippi puts on a high pitched, contrived voice, interjecting every other sentence with a forced exclamation such as, "teehee! we're having so much fun!"

i don't find it a coincidence that john (blippi) is a veteran, either. his videos are completely devoid of the absurd, abstract, childlike thinking that makes children's media fun, creative, and entertaining. his thinking and process is methodical, devoid of emotion, and very superficial. this line of thinking clearly shows the kind of creative sterilization and emphasis on sameness and conformity instilled in the military. blippi simply observes things and interacts with them in a stale, matter-of-fact way. "this ball is purple! this ball is pink! anyway... what's over there? teehee! a car! vroom, vroom!" objects are colors, toy cars don't do anything but drive, curiosity is simply not encouraged.

he uses the "it's educational!" excuse to hide the fact that his show lacks everything that makes media a valuable resource for children to consume in the first place. further than identifying colors, numbers, and the occasional letter or shape, there is just this total lack of children's need for social and emotional development. when mr. rogers breaks the fourth wall to address the viewer and let them know they're special, it feels authentic and natural, because we've spent the last half hour building whole worlds with diverse characters and unique stories in a pretend neighborhood, learning about and enjoying different musical instruments, being exposed to and making friends with (even if parasocially, it is still a real bond to children when done properly) children who are similar to us in character regardless of physical or environmental differences, feeding the fish, making art together, and so on. when blippi tells the viewer, "you are very special, and i enjoy spending time with you!" it falls completely flat and feels unearned, because the last half hour was spent running around a soft play center pointing at bright, colorful objects, visiting interesting locations like farms or fruit production factories while failing to acknowledge the humanity of the humans actually working there (everything is machine or product focused; the human workers are simply an extension of the machine), learning "fun facts" about elephants that just list attributes of elephants, not taking the opportunity to inform the viewers of elephants' intelligence, or diet, or matriarchal society. it is a loud, sensory overwhelming display of a man so disconnected from the social and emotional needs and desires of children that he assumes they're stupid, easily entertained idiots who only need some silly dances and fast-moving cartoon graphics to give their attention (meaning time and desire to purchase products meaning $$$). john clearly views his audience as a means to gaming the algorithm and ultimately a paycheck by the hollow way he addresses them.

the show is so narcissistic, so focused on all the fun blippi is supposedly having, but he lacks any of the character traits that make individual children's show hosts memorable, so much so that he was able to have someone else who doesn't even vaguely resemble him dress as blippi and impersonate him and host the show or appear at live shows, and it went unnoticed by most of his toddler and child audience. the show is so formulaic and the character of blippi is so unmemorable that instead of taking the blue's clues route of developing a story of the host leaving for college and his brother now stepping in, or making some sort of believable excuse for the change in actors, they can simply swap him out with some random guy and not acknowledge it at all. although a comedy show for older children, the amanda show in no way could or would try to replicate the show with the same name but swapping out amanda bynes with a random teenage girl who is clearly not amanda bynes. it's weird and nonsensical and shows that his character is so much of a farce put on for a paycheck that not even his dedicated audience is affected or even cares when he is replaced by a random, unknown person.

this is completely garbage content made by an opportunist with no experience with children who saw his nephew watching children's youtube content, took it at complete surface level and still hasn't realized that while children's content only looks and feels so easy, entertaining, and enriching because it is so hard to do well. even with outsourcing his music, that aspect of the show still sucks. famous and successful children's musician, raffi, is known for his song describing the life of a little white whale, called "baby beluga." it opens with a calm strumming of his guitar, followed by the lyrics, "baby beluga in the deep blue sea/swim so wild and you swim so free/heaven above/sea below/and a little white whale on the go." is it silly and kind of pointless? yes, but the point is that he is captivating children and showing them the fun of listening to music, dancing, singing, and appreciating art. the "excavator song" featured in an episode of blippi about construction vehicles opens with what sounds like a default garageband loop and the flatly sung lyrics, "i'm an excavator/i'm an excavator/hey dirt, see you later/i'm an excavator." i don't feel i have to meticulously analyze the aforementioned lyrics; the stark contrast should speak for itself.

i have a million more criticisms about both blippi specifically and youtube children's content as a whole, but this is already so long and i doubt many people will get this far anyway. it's an issue i was completely apathetic towards until i had my own child and had to wean him off these kinds of junk food shows because i realized the fast-paced visuals and bright colors and repetitive songs/lyrics were putting him in this spaced-out, fugue state, and he thought he could demand this show or that show whenever he wanted. the moment he started regularly yelling things like, "watch! cars!" or "no! click it!" i knew i had to be a lot more invested in the things he watched even if just for entertainment or as a soothing message. i showed him an episode of mr. rogers yesterday and feared it would be too slow to hold his attention, but he was mesmerized, greeting and interacting with mr. rogers verbally, asking me, "what's that?" to different objects on the screen. since purging this low-brow children's entertainment, he has had a noticeable increase in attention span and concentration, can focus on a task for longer amounts of times, is more likely to "read"/look through books without me initiating it, and doesn't throw a fit when the tv/my laptop is off.

i just know that for me, growing up with so much unsupervised internet access definitely led me to real-world pain and consequences, and it seems like now children are born with an iphone as an extension of their arm. if my child is going to be consuming videos, i'm definitely supervising every second and am going to be highly critical of the videos and the credentials (or lack thereof) of the creators and team behind it. but i also know, from pure observation admittedly, that parents letting youtube kids autoplay parent their children for hours at a time is not an uncommon occurrence. and it worries me that a generation of children are being raised on videos that rely on being as loud and bright and superficially enjoyable as possible. what's the use of a child knowing their colors and alphabet if they don't know how to treat people with kindness and empathy and respect? there is something wrong for a children's show host to plug the spelling of his name at the end of his videos ("well, that's the end of this video. but if you wanna watch more of my videos, just type in my name! can you spell my name with me? b-l-i-p-p-i!") after essentially rotting his audiences' brains for a half hour. there's something so insidious about the prioritization of naming different parts of construction vehicles over honest depictions of and conversations about dealing with feelings, or why someone with autism may act differently than you, or what to do when you feel lonely, or ways to make art and express yrself creatively. also, not to mention the blatant police propaganda and outright worship is seriously jarring; as a black mother to a visibly non-white child, i cannot sit there and watch blippi show kids how to be a bootlicker for the shittiest profession on earth, but that could be a whole essay in and of itself.

anyway, thanks for reading, if yr looking for quality children's content, i recommend, in no specific order: mr. rogers, sesame street, the electric company, molly of denali, daniel tiger, bluey!, blue's clues, the odd squad, word party, trash truck, puffin rock, uhh... that's definitely not an extensive list but that's just off the dome!!! ok bye y'all <333

#lil rambles #long post t #idk why it's formatted like this ig cos i copy pasted from my fb? #whatever anyway idk why i waste my writing skills on shit literally nobody else but me cares abt #blippi #children's television