one of the best pieces of advice I've ever heard (for myself, at least) is that if you're in a terrible mood and NOTHING is helping, then start doing the chores/responsibilities/job stuff/etc that you've been putting off. Will it put you in an even worse mood temporarily? Probably, but you're already pissed off, so you might as well double up on it at that point 😭 there's no loss. It's not like finally getting around to cleaning the house and scheduling appointments is going to ruin the good day that you aren't currently having to begin with 💀 And then, when the bad mood passes, you'll have gotten shit done and you'll feel a lot better later, even if in the moment you're having The Worst Time Ever about it.
Idk if this is normal but every time I think about the lost boys my chest gets so tight and I feel like there's a piece of like my soul or something coming alive or whatever
The TLB Gift Exchange 2026 Collection is open for sign-ups
Sign-ups close August 31st — find the collection here.
Other important dates:
Assignments sent out: No later than September 10th
Assignments due: October 21st, at midnight
Collection revealed: October 31st, ~2PM
Creators revealed: November 4th, ~8PM
What do we need to know for signups?
You may request 1-2 fandoms, 1-10 relationships and at least one medium (Fanart, Fanfic, and/or Podfic). You can also request Any, which means you are requesting gifts for any of the nominated relationships for that fandom.
You can offer 1-2 fandoms, each with 1-10 relationships. You can also offer Any, meaning you're willing to create a gift for any nominated relationship in that fandom.
In your additional details, make sure to include any DNWs. These are things you Do Not Want, i.e., things that would ruin a gift for you and which your creator must avoid.
You can also use the additional details box to list likes, prompts, and anything else that might help your creator make a gift you will enjoy. You can also provide a link to a letter posted on your Dreamwidth, Tumblr, etc.
You are only guaranteed a gift if you request at least three distinct relationships, but if you ask for fewer than three relationships, you'll still go out for pinch hits. You'll also have the option to add more requests. The collection will not open until everyone who has requested at least three distinct relationships has a gift.
If you shame or harass other participants, or if there are signs that you have deliberately caused problems in past exchanges, the mod will delete your signup.
How does the matching work?
You will match on at least one fandom, one medium (fic, art, or podfic), and one relationship within that fandom.
If none of your offers match any requests at the time signups close, I'll contact you, and you'll have 24 hours to add relevant offers. If that time elapses, or if you choose not to add any offers, I'll delete your signup.
What are the rules for assignments?
Assignments are only guaranteed to match on one fandom, one relationship, and one medium.
Minimum work requirements for fic and art are one fic of 500 words or one piece of original art that is not on lined paper. (Manips are okay for treats, but they do not fulfill your assignment.) The minimum requirement for podfic is a recorded work of at least 500 words. The work you post must match a medium, fandom, and relationship requested by your recipient.
Works should remain anonymous during the collection's anonymous period. Do not post your work elsewhere, link to it under your name, or put your name anywhere on the AO3 page until after creators have been revealed. Artists may sign their work, and audio recordings may include identification of the podficcer.
What if I can't finish my assignment?
In that case, please default by going to your AO3 assignments page and clicking the "default" button on your assignment. You don't have to contact the mod or explain why you've defaulted. Life happens! If you default, you may still get a gift, but you won't go out as a pinch hit if your creator also defaults.
What about treats?
Treating is allowed and encouraged! In addition to giving gifts to a specific person, you can also post gifts to the collection (i.e., gifts that don't have a listed recipient).
If your AO3 account was created after February 1, 2022 and you would like to receive treats, please make sure your account is set up to allow additional gifts: Go to Preferences and click "Allow anyone to gift me works."
I encourage people who do not want treats, and who have not enabled their account to be open to treats, to specifically mention that in their additional details.
I did not spend years of my life at university studying rome in classes that were over 50% women to let someone say "rome may be for the guys" on my post!!!
men aren't obsessed with Rome they're obsessed with being patriarchs who get to subjugate everyone around them. He doesn't care about Pliny the Elder, he's having wet dreams where he gets to be Caesar. It's unironically the new vegas thing, we're living in an age beyond on-the-nose satire. This was also mussolini's deal
whenever i see people call random edgy but not-at-all harmful artists "degens" i would like to refer them to the first sentence of wikipedia's "degenerate art" article
Reminder that this is the type of art the nazis were referring to:
(Kandinsky)
You cannot "well but I'M not referring to that kind of art, I only mean Dirty Pictures" your way out of this. You are being harmful and need to stop, not rationalise why it's okay for YOU to be doing it. You need to understand
censorship violates the universal human right of free expression and freedom of speech.
fiction is not reality. Fictional characters are not real people.
if someone SAYS a work of fiction inspired them to do bad things, that is not the work of fiction's fault. The person who did bad things is STILL at fault, because they have free will and must be assumed to understand the consequences of their actions.
discomfort is not harm. If a piece of art makes you uncomfortable, that's actually fine. That's the POINT of certain pieces of art. You need to learn to tolerate discomfort.
It is not in fact the government's job to enforce a set of morals on people. That violates people's universal human right to freedom of religion and creed.
There is no such thing as "just a little bit of" censorship.
It does not matter what kind of art it is, when you use the term degenerate to refer to art you don't like, you are using a word that is deeply rooted in bigotry. A word used to target marginalized groups.
I consider myself a real hater but sometimes you really do go too far with haterism. once I had to break mutuals with someone bc they hated the entire art form of poetry and the final straw was when they started hateposting about soup. The food
2087
kianamaiart
romaincrisis
germansingergirl
blakekathryn
