No idiocy past this point, please

ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ Ao3 is crossdressingdeath!

[evenmorecrows]

fuck it. go my gifs

[muirmarie]

something i find really interesting about (some) people who don't write is the way they'll elevate plot over execution? it's the way you'll sometimes see people who think they have a best-selling book idea, and they want someone to write it for them while thinking they should get the lion's share of the imaginary profits, because it's their idea. and don't get me wrong, ideas are important! plots are important!

but there are so many stories i've read over the years that could be summarized into a few sentences of bland-sounding plot, and it's the execution that matters. it's the writing. it's the writing!

a talented writer can turn a bland plot into a story you want to devour. and someone who only cares about ideas can take the most interesting idea ever conceived and make it unreadable/unwatchable.

like it does feel like there are a Lot of people in this world who don't view writing as a skill that deserves respect, and who think that really it's all about coming up with shiny ideas. and it does feel like that's uhhh infected a LOT of different things in the modern world. tbh.

[spiteswallow]

I humbly suggest that true crime freaks should get into learning about scammers instead of serial killers. I LOVE reading about fraud and grifts and pyramid schemes. true crime ppl have all this paranoid energy about murder, which is rare in the grand scheme of things.....maybe instead that could be channeled into some productive rage toward capitalism.

[spiteswallow]

And u know a side effect of learning about scam artists is that you start to understand certain things about economics, and just how STUPID these systems are and how easily they are taken advantage of....and I'd much rather people gained a passing familiarity with economics than whatever armchair psychologist shit these true crimers get on. We need fewer people who think they're experts on "sociopaths" and more people who understand how people like Elizabeth Holmes and the WeWork guy were able to do what they did

[lindstromm]

Here are some of my favorite books about financial scams:

The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust by Diana B. Henriques.

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis (about the 2008 stock market collapse).

The Caesar's Palace Coup: How a Billionaire Brawl Over the Famous Casino Exposed the Corruption of the Private Equity Industry by Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap. (I admit I've never finished this one; the writing is hard to read.)

The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute, by Zac Bissonette. I bought this book because of the subtitle and I have never regretted it. You must read it.

Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale. They turned this one into a movie! The book was very different and is worth reading.

The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion, by Elliot Brown and Maureen Farrell. I haven't read this one yet, but it's on my tbr pile!

Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy Inside the Catholic Church, by Gareth Gore. I'm reading this one right now. The author is a financial journalist who stumbled onto this story by unraveling a bank failure in Spain.

And here's a list of more non-fiction books about fraud and financial scams. The first book on this list is about Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes, which I also haven't read yet.

Enjoy!

[mossdftba]

Atomic Shrimp on youtube is a fun watch to learn about different kinds of scams!

[toytulini]

Scam Goddess

Scam Goddess is an award-winning comedy podcast dedicated to fraud and all those who practice it. Every episode, the Scam Goddess herself La

theres even podcasts!

https://pca.st/podcast/05a4a460-b5dc-0137-faef-0acc26574db2

[hussyknee]

The most basic, intractable fact about mental illnesses is that you simply cannot willpower your way out of them. The only exceptions to this rule are the ones I have, which continue to disable me due to lack of determination and other grave personal flaws

[oxypill]

going missing soon if uall need anything

[iamafatvagina101]

OK I WILL BECOME PERFECT STARTING NOW

[crossdressingdeath]

Y'know, sex scenes are really difficult to write and I'd need more practice before giving it a real shot, but also I am haunted by the thought of Morgan and Danny's first time including Morgan going to flip them over so she can be on top and accidentally rolling them right off the side of the bed, forcing Danny to catch them both in midair. It would just be fun.

[calellon]

subtle hinting is OVER i want open and direct ravenous thirsting

[ricesinspo]

how to develop oc

give them random or nonsensical personality trait or opinion

ask yourself why

think about it too much

congratulations! they now have a tragic backstory

[crossdressingdeath]

So the Rangers can know about the villain thing and the Re-Gene thing at the end of Retribution (and I suspect they'll find out fairly early into Revelations if they don't know at the end of Retri just because that's a pretty significant variation to have to write around), which leaves the puppet situation as the next most significant Thing they don't know. Please let them find out about that early into Rev. For the drama. And also because in any arrangement of relationships that includes Ortega and the puppet getting romantic Sidestep is eventually going to have to look Ortega—and if relevant their non-Ortega RO(s)—in the face and admit to seducing them (Ortega) in another body and that will just be really funny. Especially if Ortega then admits to it being a honeypot (since Sidestep isn't necessarily aware of that at the end of Retri). Only the most normal relationship drama for these two!

[digitalkiddo]

If you're writing anything involving cons, scams, heists, or morally questionable characters who are very good at lying, here are some free resources I've been using for research. Saving you the "why is this in my search history" anxiety.

1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.

2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.

3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.

4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.

5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.

Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.

Reblog to save for later. Your WIP will thank you.

[sunsetno4]

Doodle of the day, because I missed drawing Vendetta and an additional Themmy is never a bad idea~ <3

Edit: Why do I always forgot the freckles? 🥲

[palmofpeace]

in my heart i hope sidestep was doing like. rei evangelion shit to low-level personnel at the farm when they knew they could get away with it

[palmofpeace]

let them do this !!! 👆👆👆

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

dude this is the playful rudeness website, the fact that it's on this website is the social cue indicating that it's joking

nope 👎

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

actually if I can complain for a minute I think it's so rancid when people are like "uuuh what did you expect from the rudeness website lmaooo" or "uwu it's the piss on the poor website you can't expect anyone to actually read what you said" or "this is literallyyy the autism website" like okay??? your personal perception of tumblr dot com doesn't actually mean people can just speak to each other any which way and expect to never receive any pushback for being a rude ass bitch. christ. get some house training.

[holohedral]

i am not well understood. which is also my fault

[systmiki]

This embroidery isn't very technical, but I've really enjoyed playing with yarn in my art.

[crossdressingdeath]

Do you ever just look back on your life and go "ohhhhhhh having zero (0) real friends until like age 12 at best had Consequences".