some of you seem to be under the unfortunate impression that i enjoy finishing things. i enjoy making things

Andulka
styofa doing anything
occasionally subtle

No title available

Origami Around

titsay
sheepfilms

⁂
almost home
Sweet Seals For You, Always
YOU ARE THE REASON
todays bird
Misplaced Lens Cap
trying on a metaphor

if i look back, i am lost
dirt enthusiast
Not today Justin

Discoholic 🪩

tannertan36
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United Kingdom

seen from United States

seen from Malaysia

seen from Italy
seen from United States

seen from Singapore
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from Austria
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Croatia

seen from United States

seen from Singapore

seen from Brazil

seen from Malaysia
@yupyup666
some of you seem to be under the unfortunate impression that i enjoy finishing things. i enjoy making things
I’m suddenly laughing at the idea of a cliche noir detective story written in the brutally concise style of Hemingway.
A woman walked into my office. She had legs. I noticed her legs. “I have a problem. I need your help,” she said. They always said that. I knew her legs weren’t the problem. I hoped she might want my help with them anyhow.
“Can you pay?” I asked. Of course she could. Her shoes were worth more than my rent. She could pay. “I can pay,” she said. Her eyes were wet. I wondered if anything else was wet. Probably not. I am not handsome. Not since the war. She was looking at my scar. Lots of people do. Most look away. Not her. She did not look away. She looked at my scar and I looked at her legs. There were two of them. I liked that about her. I liked that a whole lot. “Will there be danger?” I asked. There always is. This city bleeds danger, then drinks it right back up again.
“I’m afraid there might be danger,” she said. She had the voice of a beautiful woman. She also had the face and body of a beautiful woman. She was beautiful.
The light from the window was striped. It made stripes on my cigarette smoke. The end of my cigarette crumbled into ash. My marriage had also crumbled into ash.
“I can handle danger,” I said. I patted the butt of my gun. My gun was a Colt. My gun and my scar were all that was left from my time as a soldier. My gun, my scar, and the nightmares. I looked her up and down. “I am good at handling things.”
“It’s about my husband. He’s gone missing.”
She was not wearing a ring. It means something when a woman does not wear a wedding ring. Usually, it means that she is not married. “Seems your ring has also gone missing,” I said. I hoped her dress would join it.
Her red mouth curved upwards. She was smiling a little. “I don’t wear it outside. A diamond that large would only invite trouble.”
“In my experience, trouble doesn’t wait for an invitation.” I looked at her legs again. They were both still there. “When did you last see your husband?”
“oh no, my audience has begun to guess the big twists of my story and are accurately predicting what will happen!”
incorrect response: write the rest of the story to be as twisty, shocking and counter to expectations as possible, regardless of whether this is a logical or satisfying way for the plot to go
correct response:
can someone elaborate on the “make hoax” and “post angry tweet about “leak”“ part. i’m stupid and don’t understand things
sure!
(you’re not stupid. I posted this thinking it would amuse a handful of mutuals who all knew the context and that would be about it, so I didn’t think about providing any other explanation. I had no idea it would spread this far.)
I’ll start from the very beginning just to be thorough. so this is Alex Hirsch, creator and head writer of Gravity Falls, a show which had a big focus on mystery, conspiracies, codes and ciphers, etc. the whole plot is kicked off by one of the main characters finding a mysterious old journal in the woods, which detailed all kinds of weird and supernatural things, but then ended abruptly with the author saying they had to hide the journal because they were being watched. the central driving mystery of the show, therefore, was the question of who wrote the journal and what happened to them.
now, the thing about Gravity Falls is that, while it must be said that the writers weren’t always quite as sure of their plans as we tend to like to think they are, it is very much a fair play mystery, with legitimate clues to what was going on. but the writers were caught off guard by how quickly the show attracted a dedicated audience, including a lot of people outside the primary presumed demographic, who started solving the clues faster than expected. so some of the fans were able to correctly guess who the author was before it was revealed in the show, and the theory started spreading. this put the writers in something of a panic, because this was THE mystery that the whole story revolved around, with ¾ of the show building up to the dramatic reveal in the middle of season 2. they wanted it to be a mystery that could be figured out, sure, but they weren’t prepared for people to solve it so far in advance of when it was planned to be revealed, which would have really taken away from the big moment. they weren’t going to change the main story itself, but having been caught unaware by how much attention the fans were paying, they wanted to up the ante and make the mystery more complex to solve going forward–but first they needed to buy some time and throw the fandom off the scent for a little longer.
hence, Alex’s plan as described above. they whipped up a fake shot that appears to give away the identity of the author as being another character in the show, put it on a screen in the studio as if it was a real animation frame, took a picture of it, and ‘leaked’ it online. it was initially decided to be a hoax (albeit, I think, presumed to be a hoax originating from outside the production team), until Alex posted this tweet:
…before quickly deleting it (though not so quickly that it didn’t get seen, of course).
it worked well enough to distract most people for a while, and wasn’t revealed as a hoax until a year later, when an episode aired that definitively proved that the supposed screenshot could never have happened, at which point Alex owned up to the whole thing as seen in the tweet above. by then the episode with the real reveal wasn’t far off, and while people did still work it out ahead of time, it was more of an “OH MY GOD I KNEW IT!” moment than a “booooooring, we’ve known that for ages” moment, which of course was what the writers wanted all along.
personally I find this a fascinating approach to dealing with the problem of spoilers, because it doesn’t affect the story itself at all; if you watch Gravity Falls today–or if you were watching it when it aired without any significant contact with the fandom–you’d never know about it. ultimately, the problem the writers were facing wasn’t that some people might guess the answer to the mystery–they never wanted to make it completely impossible to predict–so much as it was that they hadn’t designed the story to stand up to so many people working on the puzzle together, which resulted in a sort of total output of puzzle-solving ability that far outstripped the capability of any one solo human being. so their solution is something that’s very much targeted toward delaying that group problem-solving, without actually affecting the experience of any individual person watching the show.
plus, it’s very in keeping with the overall tone of the show.
and now you know!
if your audience guesses the ending of your story
don’t:
change the ending
do:
gaslight them
Silkscreenprint of those two.
having unwashed hair will have you believing shit like i can’t be saved
I'm playing Disco Elysium and I'm very normal about it.
please god watch this right now
The editing of this video is hysterical and genius- they switch between so many editing styles to reflect exactly what kind of thing they're going for in each segment its GREAT.
jokes to make after failure that aren’t self-deprecating:
I’m the best to ever do it
Nobody saw that (best if said loudly)
No one’s ever done it like me
I could be President/they should make me President
Behold, a mere fraction of my power!
The public wants to be me soooooo bad
I’m an expert in (thing you just failed at)
How could this have happened to god’s favorite princess?
Nothing ibuprofen and a glass of water cant fix
I’m being sabotaged
Sunrise, Parabellum
insta: _fiyeli
“You need to believe in things that aren’t true. How else can they become” - Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
it’s seasonal lads
IT’S SEASONAL AGAIN LADS
‘Tis the season so I’ll reblog my absolute favorite Terry Pratchett quote ever
Happy holidays folks
welp
#The wisdom#The kind that sits on your chest heavily#And you don’t so much get over it as you learn to keep existing with its weight
The Rowland S. Howard Reading List: Prose
Alain Fournier Anne Rice Arkady and Boris Strutgatsky Blaise Cendrars Boris Vian Chester Himes, Clive Barker Cormac McCarthy Daniel Woodrell: Winter’s Bone Dashiell Hammett David Grubb: Night of the Hunter David Mitchell: Number9Dream David Peace David Simon Derek Raymond Edgar Allen Poe Edward Gorey Evelyn Waugh Flannery O’Connor: Wiseblood Franz Kafka Fred Vargas Fyodor Dostoyevsky Haruki Murakami J.D. Salinger: Catcher in the Rye J.G Ballard: Super-Cannes Jake Arnott James Ellroy James Joyce Jeff Vandermeer: City of Saints and Madmen Jerome Charyn: War Cries Over Avenue C. Jim Thompson John Steinbeck Jonathan Caroll: Child Across The Sky and Bones of the Moon Joseph Conrad Joyce Carol-Oates: Foxfire Lord Byron Louis-Ferdinand Celine: Journey to the Edge of Night Mark Z. Danielewski: House Of Leaves Martin Amis: London Fields, Time’s Arrow, Michael Bulgakov: The Master and Margarita Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay Michael Moorcock: the Cornelius Quartet Neal Stephenson: Quicksilver and Cryptonomicon Nelson Algren Oscar Wilde Percy Bysshe Shelley Pete Dexter Peter Ackroyd, Peter Straub Ray Bradbury: Dandelion Wine Raymond Chandler Raymond Queneau: The Bark Tree Raymond Radiguet, Tim Lucas: Throat Sprockets Tim Powers: The Stress of Her Regard William Faulkner William Gibson: Neuromancer
"Young silco this" "young silco that" when I was chin deep in the silco trenches it was wrinkly old raisin man or nothing
It’s finally here- after weeks of science, taking suggestions from you guys and making difficult decisions, I can proudly present to you all:
THE DEFINITIVE GAY GAME DIAGRAM™️
Final Patch Notes:
Removed game descriptions bc they were rightfully confusing people and were bad anyway
Added the following games: Lil Gator Game, Off, Spiritfarer, Dark Souls, & Metal Gear
Final Disclaimer:
This isn’t perfect- truly it can never be. Please feel free to change it as you like, make your own better ones, and write convincing paragraphs about where you think your special blorbo game should be. I will read all of them with pride and then completely disregard them.
And also thank you to everyone who suggested games, changes, or just screamed about seeing their favorite game on there! You have been my source of serotonin for weeks now.
Thank you!
deepen the shadows bro. it'll be ok
i meant art-wise but if any dark sorcerers see this. you do you
i got into plants recently and that meant customizing the pots with cowboy fish
thank you so much @ainawgsd this is fabulous!!
There’s a lot of excellent examples of the difference between a million and a billion, but here’s my new personal favorite from a conversation I had today:
A million minutes ago was April 2021, the height of the COVID pandemic.
A billion minutes ago was November 121 CE, the height of the Roman Empire.
as of today (6/30/2025) this post was made over 1.2 million minutes ago. a billion minutes ago was still the height of the roman empire
Arcane S2 and its Critiques Therein..
There is a reason why I side-eye the 'arcane critical'-critical crowd who insist we cannot equate real world politics with fictional universes, or project our 'leftist' agenda on a world of pretend.
There seems this undercurrent of condescension in the attitude, as if it stems from people who have perhaps not considered why they enjoy the shows that they do, or how a certain character or plot makes them feel; either positively, by representation, or negatively, by erasure.
And yet... we are drawn to stories that resonate with our own experiences.
These stories, in turn, are written by writers who live in our world and who often pull their ideas directly from it. We gravitate toward characters who are reflections of ourselves, and avoid the stories which cause us discomfort for whatever reason. Even 'guilty pleasures' stem from an inner desire to explore themes or issues which we know exist (and may be problematic in social spaces) but which, through fantasy, become more bearable because we can safely distance ourselves from what is real.
Ultimately, most writers put something of themselves into their work. A little sliver of self always peeks through the cracks; a touch of idealism here, an emotion felt there, a comment on a political issue sprinkled somewhere in between.
It does not mean that fictional universes are a perfect mirror image of our reality; but it behooves us not to forget how influential 'RL' has been, and always will be, when writing fantasy or science fiction.
Tolkien was undoubtedly inspired by his experiences of war, all of which would later bleed into the pages of his Middle-Earth tales. Even in a tiny microcosm, I notice how life events and current political attitudes affect the way I write my stories, whether they are fan-based or original pieces.
We live in chaotic times. Fiction, at its crux, mirrors that chaos, because it comes about as a result of real life. As much as we wish to escape from harsh truths or present-day issues... they still seep through the veil between imagination and reality.
Escapism should not blind us to the truth that stories are products of our environment, and therefore, inevitably political.
With that in mind, there's something innately disingenuous about insisting that Arcane is somehow separate from real world issues - when, on so many levels, it borrows from real world problems and confronts its viewers with topics which are inherently political: poverty, inequality, state violence ... even the underbelly of the Piltover elite and their dealings with the undercity echoes how we see corruption occurring in governments worldwide.
That the show, by S2, reduces these issues to aesthetics - for instance, the writers admitting they wrote up Vi's backstory with her parents being killed by Enforcers to introduce an element of conflict into hers and Cait's future romance - or, worse, resolves these conflicts without any further nuance - like Sevika becoming a Zaunite representative on a Council that plainly disdains her, and the narrative coming away thinking this is acceptable in lieu of actual independence - is, in essence, disappointing for the themes that were promised.
It feels like the writers realized halfway through writing these plots, that they either did not have the time, budget, know-how or interest in delving too deep into these gritty, tough-to-solve sociopolitical pickles, and instead opted to pander to a (admittedly broad, myself included) subset of viewers who just wanted a sapphic couple with soft angst and sweet reconciliations to contrast all of the ugly machinations happening around them, while the rest of the cast was going through literal hell.
This is not enough to say we shouldn't enjoy Arcane for what it is. I've made plain, on several occasions, that I found the finale visually spectacular, thematically satisfying, and a masterpiece in terms of animation.
And yet, what elevated Arcane S1 to such high levels of acclaim was also its willingness to probe the uncomfortable issues surrounding power, control, exploitation, abuse, morality and free will; as well as, at least initially, its decision to offer a critical lens into how we approach each of these themes, as refracted to a cast of different characters.
We can acknowledge these strengths while simultaneously recognizing their flaws.
Arcane is far more than 'just a video game show.' It's a beautifully designed piece of fiction that deals with so many real-life issues, in spite of its fantasy setting. Yet the criticism that 'we cannot project real world politics onto it' feels inherently unfair - because no story ever exists in a vacuum, least of all one which confronts us with stark contrasts between poverty and wealth, oppression and liberation, authority and agency.
There is nothing wrong with simply wanting to sit back and enjoy the ride. But please spare me the holier-than-thou attitudes whenever people try and open up discourse on why certain shows should take responsibility when it comes to the messages they broadcast.
Because, believe it or not, there exists a slew of media that, in fact, sticks to the landing re: difficult questions about humanity, society and politics. Media that does not ignore, diminish or erase people who are struggling, precisely because those very same issues resonate in real life - and thus, have real consequences for real people.
It isn't asking much that audiences look past the veneer of aestheticism to find the beating heart within stories. Nor should we be belittled for wanting to hold writers to account if the world they create becomes nothing more than a pretty backdrop.
This can be done without hate-mongering, derision or critique; in fact, I'd go so far as saying that critique is a necessary aspect of engaging healthily with art, media and fiction.
At the end of the day, writers are responsible for the world-building of fictional universes and their plot choices; and both things do have an impact on those who watch those worlds come to life. That doesn't mean writers need to pander to every opinion out there; hell, playing to the gallery (and the shippers) rarely ends well, and more often than not detracts from the message of the tale.
But it does mean we can hold storytellers accountable for the impressions they leave behind, for better or worse - especially when said impressions further compound real world experiences of inequality, erasure or prejudice.
As consumers of media, let's be willing to dig beneath the surface to uncover the meanings of story. Let's not settle for anything less than writers who do everything possible to deliver compelling narratives that ask questions which reflect our humanity in meaningful, resonant ways. Let's enjoy our sweet sapphic ships and our goofy doomed sciencebros, while still looking closely at all of the other issues bubbling beneath the surface.
Let's keep up the healthy dialogues and stop dismissing criticism as merely spiteful.
Escapism is only truly fulfilling when, upon returning to the 'real world,' you feel that something has changed inside you; where you have been enriched, uplifted, inspired even... and sometimes, yes, educated.
Stories carry the weight of imagination; and we must allow ourselves to be transformed by wonder. But never forget to question the reality that is portrayed. Stories are born out of humanity, after all, and thus carry within them fragments of us. When we embrace fantasy, we also learn a lot about the way we see ourselves, and the kind of world we choose to live in.
And if all else fails, I guess we'll have fanfic to fall back on.
But that is another post, for another time.
<3