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genericpuff · 2 days

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You know what do you think of hanza cancelling her own comic that is the guy upstairs? Like for me,I really really hope she's okay. And I know blacklightjack(he make a video about this) and the line he says about artists need to grow a thicker skin is just. I'm sorry like,look I get what he's saying but hanza have to cancel the comic because of toxic shippers. Sure,you can just ignore them and pretend they don't exist but they will still still still annoy you and h*rass you to the point you can't take it anymore and have to cancel the comic because of the whole goddamn toxic fanbase.

(as a Malaysian myself,I need to say this,I really hope hanza is alright. And in my language saya harap dia dapat bantuan Dan menjaga kesihatan sendiri)

So...

sigh I feel like this isn't the answer or essay you expected but I hope you're open to at least hearing it out all the same.

I do not think Hanza handled the situation in a way that benefitted her as a creator or her audience of people who genuinely love her work.

I DO think she was justified to be pissed off with the people harassing her. Those people suck ass and they're the definition of "this is why we can't have nice things."

But like... the notion of "you need to grow thicker skin" is true in being a creator who puts their work out into the world for an audience. Hear me out, this does NOT mean "creators aren't allowed to have feelings". But it does mean that you have to find peace with the fact that there are gonna be weirdos and assholes who take shit too far within your community. You don't necessarily deserve that. But you can't give those people power over you by going scorched earth in the way that Hanza did, because who does it really benefit? Hanza is now out a job and she's soiled her own reputation with her audience by basically going "FINE, because of these few people who were shit, NO ONE gets to have a good time!" And that's just... not a productive or healthy way to deal with these issues because it's just doing what those trolls and shitheads likely wanted. They wanted a reaction out of her, and she delivered it to them on a silver platter.

Like, I think of the dumbasses complaining about Hanza "taking advantage of the dark romance community" (she didn't, she just made a horror thriller comic that they felt entitled to see romance in) and guess what? Now those dumbasses have power over here because she ended the comic and in their heads, I'm sure they're thinking "good riddance". By choosing to not only end her comic, but spoil it entirely for her fans who were there in good faith, Hanza gave power to the people who weren't even a part of her target audience to begin with.

I do think it's ironic if people assume I'd automatically boo the "grow thicker skin" mantra because like, y'all... many of my complaints here are literally about people like Rachel who behave badly with their audience and desperately needed to grow thicker skin. In a lot of ways she's not even reacting to direct harassers, she's reacting to people simply discussing her comic in their own spaces which aren't mean for her. If she spoiled the ending of LO for her fans and ended the comic prematurely, I would feel awful, but... it still would have been her decision at the end of the day that she'd have to stand by and take responsibility for.

I think, at best, if I were to give her any unsolicited advice, she should have just put the comic on hiatus, taken a break, focused on her mental health and given herself enough distance to ask herself if she wanted to continue TGU. Maybe it still would have ended the same way, but at least she would have given herself the time and space to heal and rationalize her choices.

Instead, by choosing the nuclear option of spoiling the series for her readers and axing the comic - just to backpedal and go back to "no no it's just an indefinite hiatus!" - she gave up her power to the people who were harassing her. She reacted in a way that gave them power over her, not herself over them.

And I say this as someone who's currently on an indefinite hiatus with their main project, which I still have not spoiled for the 5 readers I have, despite the fact that I have zero clue when I'll return or if I'll even be able to. Whether or not Cyra and co. break out of the Reaper Society is now a 2 year old question.

I say this all as someone who has been harassed and is still harassed for doing what I wanna do. My first ever webcomic website when I was like 17 used to get emails and comments from shitty classmates and other local yokels who knew of me and wanted to pick fights over a teenager's dumb lil' gag comics. I kept making those comics anyways for myself and for the people who did like reading them, until I was ready to drop the comic on my own terms and move onto my next project, which would be Reaper. Reaper also got a lot of nonsense complaints and harassment. As did my fanfiction projects, as did my digital art, as did everything that I've ever put out into the world through the Internet, because the Internet just sucks for everyone always and then you die 🤣

And now, 10+ years later, I get the occasional "you're a shitty talentless person who isn't gonna amount to anything and yaddayaddayadda" which, to be fair, is a reaction from the folks who are unhappy with my intentions to make a Lore Olympus rewrite comic!

But I'm not going to give them power over me by stopping. I have a story I want to tell and if I stopped telling that story due to the shitty things they had to say and do, then I would be punishing myself and punishing my audience for the actions of a few bad apples. I do not deserve to have those abusive actions targeted at me (though they surely do and that's on them) and I do not have to put up with it, but I genuinely would not be able to live with myself if I gave them power over me by reacting in such an explosive way that my bloody remains land on everyone around me, including the people who were supportive and loved my work along the way.

That said, I also don't know to what extent Hanza was harassed. I've seen people claim she was doxxed, but have yet to see any evidence of that. I have seen people claim she got death threats, but Hanza hasn't shown anything to back that up. I'm going to assume the best of her that the harassment must have gotten pretty fucking bad for her to want to quit, and again, that is justified, and I cannot in any way use my experiences as a way to diminish hers. Maybe she just flat out isn't interested in making TGU anymore which... I can definitely say I relate to that, too.

There's this sort of mindfulness technique in stress and emotional management where you have to recognize that other people's actions are NOT your responsibility, but your REACTION is, because your reaction is what you can control and have power over.

Rachel Smythe finished LO in spite of what wackjobs like me said (and still say) about her and she has power in that perseverance, power that wackjobs like me cannot and *should* not try to take away from her.

mongie decided Webtoons was not suited for her work and vision and decided to put the comic on hiatus until she could get her distribution rights back and continue Let's Play on another platform. She has power in that decision and integrity, power that Webtoons cannot take away from her.

Whether or not you like my work, whatever opinion you have of it that you're entitled to, I have power in knowing that I started a project that I now love dearly and can take pride in, and has brought closure to people like me who were left disappointed by LO. I have power in that stubbornness and refusal to let other people determine what I'm capable of.

Even if you remove the external influence of the audience from the picture, we all have power as creators that we need to harness and take ownership in.

By going nuclear and spoiling her comic for her audience and ending it entirely, Hanza may have gotten the short term satisfaction of turning the school bus around to go back home, but she still disrespected herself and robbed herself of her own power as a creator which will ultimately stick with her far more than it will the harassers who will inevitably move on to some other target and forget she even existed. And that's a decision that she has to live with.

The harassers got under Hanza's skin and gave her more than enough reason to feel frustrated. But they did not choose to spoil and end the comic. She did. And she is ultimately the only one who will have to live with the consequences of that.

I do hope she's okay and that she's getting the time and space she needs to heal from this. If this truly is the outcome that she feels gives her the most power and the ends justified the means for her, I hope she found strength in it, regardless of the opinions of people like myself that ultimately should not matter to her. I hope the people harassing her get what's coming for them whether it be actually getting called out or just the universe delivering karmic retribution on them. I hope Hanza can find joy and peace again either in TGU or whatever project she pursues next. But most importantly, I hope she finds the confidence and power she needs to stick to her guns and create what she wants to create, unapologetically.

"Growing thicker skin" doesn't mean we as creators have to be comfortable with abuse - it just means we need to do ourselves the honor and favor of making decisions that give ourselves power rather than giving it away to the abusers who do not have to live our lives at the end of it all.

And that is my very big bag of cents on that.

#ask me anything #ama #anon ama #anon ask me anything #webtoon critical

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wonton4rang · 2 days

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She's got a boyfriend anyways ¡!

pairing: taesan x reader.

warnings: +18, smut, cheating, cursing, unprotected sex (do better 🙏), and i think that's about it.

summary: where your boyfriend is part of a band where taesan is, the boy always making you look twice until you couldn't hold it any longer the moment y'all got alone.

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you always had a thing for band boys, they looked so hot when they were singing their lungs out or playing some instrument or even writing lyrics and letting some sighs out of frustration when they couldn't get that rhyme.

so it wasn't a surprise that your boyfriend was in a band, taking you to practice every Friday afternoon before going out at night. they were five in the band, your boyfriend included, but somehow only four of them went out every Friday night. so that day you got curious about the fifth boy.

"baby, aren't you coming with us?" your boyfriend said while he packed his battery drumsticks in their case, setting it aside and taking his bag to put it over his shoulder.

"i think i'm gonna pass today" you replied, your eyes following the fifth boy's back when he left the garage and went into the house. "i don't feel so good"

"are you sick? do you want me to stay with you?" you just denied with your head and a smile, getting an approving nod from your boyfriend. "if you feel bad, taesan is inside, tell him to call me"

and with that, he left. all of them did. except for taesan who was upstairs. but you already knew that, though.

you've been seeing him for months now, always feeling his gaze in your back but getting nothing but radio silence when you turned around. you could even swear he stares at you when you kiss your boyfriend.

but again, you couldn't confirm anything.

that until today, you hoped so. you went into the house all the boys shared and took a trip upstairs, trying to be as quiet as possible when you finally reached the second floor, looking for taesan's door and finding it when you saw the nirvana poster on it.

you knocked once and didn't get an answer, knocked a second time and your fist was knocking on air when the door was opened to show the boy you were looking for. he looked confused as to why you were there, and why were you knocking on his door.

"hey" you softly said, biting your bottom lip when he just lifted an eyebrow. "i stayed behind today and thought we could be each other's company"

"why?"

"do you mind if i come in?"

taesan wasn't the most talkative or kind person to say the least, so he just moved out the way for you to enter his room beford closing the door behind you two. you whispered a quick "thank you" and he just went to his desk, right beside his bed, and kept writing what it seemed to be lyrics to a song when you got closer.

"this is why you stay behind every Friday?" he immediately closed the notebook and looked up at you.

"that and the fact that i don't like bars"

"why not?"

"they are too noisy and people are just crazy out there" he was honest, and you appreciated that. a quick gaze was provided to you before he said "you can sit down there if you want to"

his head signalled his bed before he stood up and went to his music player, putting on a song you didn't recognize but it was good, some good guitar and drums going on that had you nodding your head to the beat while sitting on his bed.

"you don't talk much, do you?" he laughed and you just couldn't help it but laugh too. "i'm being serious! sometimes i think that you are looking at me and want to talk to you but then i notice you were not"

"i was" taesan lets out and you just slowly stopped laughing to face him. "i am looking at you sometimes"

"you know that's kinda creepy, right?" he just shrugged. "why don't you just talk to me?"

"you are always with him, how could i get close to you?"

"well, he's not here now" was all you answered and you could feel your cheeks burning up when he just stared into your eyes for a few seconds, slowly getting closer and sitting besides you on his bed. "you can talk to me now that he's not here"

"i never said i wanted to talk to you"

and he was right, he never said he only wanted to talk to you. but he understood soon enough that he could do more than that in the moment your right hand went to his thigh, squeezing the flesh under his jeans a little bit while your eyes met his.

"and what do you want to do with me?"

bad question, wrong timing, unfortunate moment. but taesan didn't care how bad of an idea this was when his lips finally crashed against yours. a feeling that he was craving for months finally being a reality.

his hand grabbed your face and his lips moved fast, his tongue immediately trying to enter your mouth and you allowing him. firstly, you thought on pulling out but when he towered you and layed you down on his bed, the thought slipped out your mind like that little moan out your lips that allowed him to explore your mouth.

he placed himself in between your legs and you felt the friction right away due to the fact that you were wearing jeans too and the way he started grinding down made you see stars.

"t-taesan, wait" you stopped him from kissing your lips but he went for your neck, his hands grabbing your thighs and his hips pressing down on you with the perfect strength to make you mewl. "are you going to-"

"would you let me?" was all he replied when he finally left your neck, his lips looking bruised and his cheeks flushed, his black hair making him look very pale yet cute when he asked again "would you let me fuck you?"

"i- i want you to" it was true, every Friday for the last three months you were thinking about him, about his pretty eyes, the way his voice sounded when he sang and the way his fingers played that guitar like it was nothing. you needed him.

"but?"

"i need you to fuck me with your fingers first, please"

taesan's cock twitched inside his jeans at the petition and he just nodded after kissing your lips briefly.

he helped you out of your pants and dropped them somewhere in his bedroom's floor, your panties were next and you could already feel the thrill when his eyes glued to your pussy. it was already glistening because you've been thinking about him this whole afternoon.

how would his fingers feel rubbing your clit, how would they feel inside of your soaked cunt while he fucked them in and out of you, how would he sound when you rode the shit out of him, those were all the things you occupied your mind with today. and you felt kinda guilty about your boyfriend but there wasn't much you could do about it.

if it kept going on like this it would eventually happen anyways.

so when taesan's finger finally brushed against your pussy you twitched, biting your bottom lip and looking for his eyes to beg him to touch you properly. he understood right away because he finally ghosted your entrance, making circles there before quietly asking for your permission to go in.

at first it was just one finger, his middle one, he entered it until his knuckle hit your cunt, removing it slowly so he could thrust it in this time, the wet sound making him leak some pre-cum in his underwear. but it was not until he added a second finger that you opened up your eyes with a satisfied moan, arching your back a little bit when you felt the stretch, you held his wrist and tried to control the pace but he was much stronger than you were so it was useless.

you were with your legs open, taesan on your side while one of his hands fucked you and the other one held your face so he could kiss you. the only problem in that equation was the moment he stopped just fucking his fingers into you and instead starting to curl them up inside your pussy, making you jump when he hit that bulge of nerves.

the way he laughed at you just make you hornier. his pace speeding up after his lips left yours and he just looked at you, looking for anything that signaled him to stop but only finding more reasons to keep doing his best and try to make you come.

"can i eat you out?" he would whisper, not really in his right mind when all he could hear were your pleadings for him to go faster. "please, y/n"

you just nodded as you could, knowing that even if you didn't show restraint or a negative response he wouldn't move an inch without you giving him the permission to do so.

so as soon as he saw the green light he went down on you, immediately wrapping his lips around your sensitive clit while he kept twitching his fingers inside of you.

"taesan, wait" you moaned as you could, trying to stop him before coming undone in his mouth, you didn't want to come like that, not so fast at least. "i'm going to c-cum, stop"

he didn't listen, and you knew you were fucked up (literally) when you tried to close your thighs, wrapping them around the boy's head before he opened your legs again with his free hand. giving you a look of disapproval before making his way up your chest with his free hand, reaching for your mouth and entering his thumb to play with your tongue.

everything was so hot that you couldn't help but humping his face a little bit before coming in his tongue, feeling him thrusting the wet muscle inside your soaked hole before he gave a last long lick and went back to stand on his knees in his own bed.

"that was amazing" you mouthered while you saw him unbuckle his pants. "you did so good"

"if you keep saying those things i won't be able to hold back"

"i don't want you to" was all you answered, your fingers playing with your pussy while you looked at him taking pants off with a confused look. "i want you to be rough, let it all out in me"

"y/n, i-"

"i can take it, please"

"i don't doubt it but are you sure? i don't want to hurt you"

"just do it"

and to be honest he was praying for you to allow him to fuck you up. he was so needy and he was actually surprised that he didn't cum in his pants during the whole eating you out thing.

so when his pants finally fell on his bedroom's floor, he shyly smiled, palming his erection through the fabric of his underwear and backing up a little bit when you tried to touch him too.

"don't" he just said, lowering his underwear and revealing his swollen dick, already dripping pre-cum, making him blush when your eyes got fixed in his cock. "i wanna cum while i fuck you"

and who were you to deny him? so you just opened your legs a little bit more, inviting him to finally mess you up. but he stopped, his eyes looking for something he obviously didn't find when he clicked his tongue and passed a hand through his hair.

"i don't have any condoms, do you?" you nodded and tried looking around too just to remember you left your backpack downstairs.

"it's on my bag, downstairs" your voice went out in a whisper but taesan didn't care, trying to leave his bed to look for them. that until you got up and stopped his moves. "can't we just do it like this?"

"i don't think that's-"

"i really need you, please, i can't wait any longer"

taesan was pretty, smart, he did not have any compulsive thoughts, he was nice and lovely, but he was a man at the end of the day. so he just gave in this time, laying you back in his bed while he kissed you softly and aligned his dick in your entrance.

he pushed a little and weakly moaned at the wet feeling of your slippery cunt, his head going in and stretching you out in a way that made your hips move a little bit, causing him to slip deeper into your cunt.

"fuck, it feels so nice" his hands went to the back of your thighs and he pushed them to fold you a little bit, allowing his dick to go futher inside of you before he trailed it out again. "god, you are so wet and warm"

"do it faster, tae, c'mon"

your hands went up to cup his face when he got closer to yours, kissing his lips almost immediately when he gave you a harsh thrust, followed by another, and a third one.

holy shit.

your pussy felt so sensitive because of your previous orgasm that you felt ashamed about how horny he was making you feel all over again, his thrusts were rough, rougher that you expected, and the way he angled your legs made him fuck you in the right place over and over.

he was driving you crazy.

the way your tongues met and the nasty sound of your soaked cunt and your saliva mixing filled the room alongside the long forgotten music in the background just made your skin get goosebumps. taesan was so hot, so pretty yet so strong and rough that it just made you tremble in his embrace.

his hips went down enough to brush against your clit and you found yourself stopping the kiss to go down his neck instead, holding for dear life to the hair in his nape and tangling your legs around his waist when he placed his arms around your head, looking straight into your eyes while he fucked you senseless.

"i'm gonna cum soon" he warned you when his thrusts became sloppy and his voice became more whiny. everything seemed so personal with his eyes staring deep into yours while he chased his high, bringing you a second one without noticing when he started sweetly moaning your name. you clenched around his cock and he could just press his eyes shut close. "god, y/n, stop doing that"

"you feel so good, pretty, so hard" he wasn't the strongest soldier out there and you knew that, you noticed how he reacted to pet names and compliments before, his cheeks flushing and his lips trembling before he lowered his head. "i can't stop doing that when you make me feel so good"

"i need to cum, oh my god, i'm gonna cum" was the only thing he said when he tried to pull out but your legs didn't let him, your arms pulling him closer to you so you could brush his lips with yours. "y/n, stop, let me o-out"

"please cum inside, i want you to" his dark eyes got watery for a second because he was holding back so bad, his hips still rooting into your abused cunt, mixing his pre-cum leak with your cum like a mad man, you could feel his shoulders tense and his dick twitch inside your throbbing and sensitive pussy. "that's it, so good, tae"

"fuck" he muttered, his eyes falling shut when he finally came inside of you, giving one last deep thrust that made you twitch and let out a high pitched moan right against his lips. "you good?"

"better than ever"

his lips crashed against yours for a while, his arms practically hugging the frame of your head, his weight in top of you while his tongue pushed through, his dick still inside of your pussy while it went soft, making you throbb a little when he pulled out with a soft moan.

"let's clean up" was his first suggestion. "that was amazing, y/n, thank you. for everything"

"always. you know we could-"

"i don't think that's okay, though" he knew what you were going to say. but as much as he liked you, he wanted to think that he still had some conscience left. "i can't be fucking my friend's girlfriend, you know how he'll feel if he ever found out?"

"he doesn't have to"

again. taesan was a man. and as much as he liked his friend, he liked you better. his friend won't make him cum, and if he did, that'd be weird as fuck.

"you promise?" he asked, he did like you but that didn't mean that he wanted to lose his friend or be the friend who fucked their friend's girl.

"i do"

and you could just know that every Friday night you were not going to the bar like before, telling your boyfriend you were on this diet and couldn't drink alcohol. he still tried to take you with the excuse of buying you alcohol free drinks but you denied, explaining how bad you'll feel seeing the alcohol and not being able to drink it.

explaining how this diet was soooo important for you.

yeah, sure. bet.

cause taesan was waiting for you every friday in his room, you guys kissing, fucking and even singing together to some old the carpenters songs he loved, introducing you to some bands you never heard of before.

you guys got along pretty well. and so did him and your ignorant and neglecting boyfriend, laughing and hugging the man that's fucking his girl every Friday night.

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#boynextdoor imagines #boynextdoor scenarios #boynextdoor x reader #boynextdoor smut #taesan smut #taesan x reader

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lotusarchon · 9 hours

Text

loverboy(s) (sun wukong + macaque x reader

content warnings: reader is IMPLIED female, second pov (you/your), foul language, minor threats, mini headcanon for macaque

author notes: to that one anon, happy birthday! i apologize for taking forever but i hope you liked this! its a bit funny seeing a few people who share the same birth month as myself (my fave lesbian genshin impact writer also shares the same birth month with me YAYY). i hope you had a wonderful day today, nonnie <3

“I told you. The cake goes on that side, fucking dumbass.”

“Who the FUCK are you calling dumbass? No, no no, come here. Come here and face me, you snarky little bitch. Come over here right now and tell me to my face I'm a dumbass. You wanna lose your other eye, huh? You want me to beat the shit out of you, is that it!?”

You mentally sigh as the monkey turns away, obviously not in the mood to actually pick a fight. Of course, it could also be because MK had begged the two monkeys to just get along if only for today, just for your sake, which, you won't lie, you did appreciate the sentiment but …

Holy fuck they hated each other's guts.

You won't deny being surprised that they had bothered to show up. MK had insisted you hold a party for your special day, and well. You can't exactly say no to the most stubborn person you'll ever meet. You'd think the party would be small and mainly of the Monkie Kid crew, but god no.

That noodle boy invited everyone he knew.

And I mean, everyone. Even the little Bai He was here, playing with Mo.

And of course, the Great Sage Equal To Heaven and the amazing Six Eared Macaque too.

You almost contemplated making a run for it when Macaque approached you, but Pigsy gave you such a scolding to not break MK's fragile heart (pft), and so, you were trapped in a social conversation.

(Oh, the horrors.)

“Nice party you have here.”

“Thanks.”

…

Yeah, I forgot to mention; you two suck at making a good conversation. Well, not so much you than Macaque mainly, who tried, you know, he really does, but inevitably just sucks.

But that's fine. Macaque's quiet most of the time and it's a little comforting. You don't like speaking much anyway, so it works out for the both of you. A bit.

You can't say the same for Wukong though. He's…well. He's certainly very outgoing. The minute he shows up he goes straight for the food (Pigsy is not gonna be happy about that), and then he finds his way to you as well.

“Hey there birthday girl.” Wukong gently pinches your cheek. He smiles warmly, and you can't help but return his smile with your own. “Nice party you've got going on. How come you didn't invite me yourself, mmh? Too shy to meet the awesome Great Sage?”

Before you can reply, Macaque scoffs, “MK invited most of us, don't be an ass.”

Wukong sighs. He glances at his ‘friend’ for a minute, and glances back at you.

“I can't believe MK invited him.”

“I'm allowed to be where I want, thanks.”

“Uh huh. I call dibs on the cake, by the way.”

“It's not your cake you fucking dick.”

“Blah blah, me and (Name) can't hear you.” Wukong turns with you in his arms, guiding you in the opposite direction of where Macaque broods. You wave at Macaque before allowing Wukong to take you…god alone knows where, and he pats your head affectionately. “Sorry about that. Still, happy birthday (Name)! I got you something!”

He releases his hold on you, and you give him a look.

“Is it made out of hair?” You demand, watching as he pouts and looks offended.

“Hey! Not everything I have is made from hair!” He protests, but you can definitely see the way his eyes dart away―he most definitely did, in fact, contemplate giving you a gift made of hair. You loved the guy but….you really had to question how his head works sometimes.

Well. At least you don't have to worry about hair strands all over your room…

“Is it a peach?”

Wukong groans. “(Name), could you have a little faith in me?”

You look him dead in the eye, and answer gently, “Absolutely not.”

“Rude. But fair. And no, it's not a peach. Those are my specialties.”

A pause.

“And I also ate them on my way here.”

You sigh and move to call Pigsy, but Wukong latches onto your wrist and falls flat on his face.

“I haven't even finished!”

“I'm scared what you even bothered to get me.”

Wukong whines, “It's a cool gift, I promise!”

“Wukong, I am not taking Nezha's fucking brick!”

“I wasn't gonna give you that! Nezha took it back anyway!”

Now you understand why everyone wants to wring his neck every time he appears. Even you, who still admires the Monkey King, contemplated wringing his neck like a chicken.

Wukong holds you still and digs through his pockets for something. You cross your arms, waiting, and when he finally grabs the object he's been searching for, he holds it in the air like it's the greatest treasure he's ever found.

He places it in your hands, and you blink.

“A rock.”

Wukong coughs behind his palm. He seems embarrassed by the obvious remark, and you notice a light flush on his expression, a deep red. He looks away before standing, finally, and turns the rock in your hand.

It's about the same size of your palm and oddly shaped as most rocks are, but this rock is different. This rock is painted white, and on the side is a clearly illustrated drawing of a certain Monkey King, hugging a certain figure that bears a strong resemblance to you. The side you had been staring at has a carving, written in Mandarin, ‘My peach and me.’

You flip the rock back and forth, eyes wide. It looks a little silly to be considered a proper gift, but you've already come to realize that Wukong, for all of his confidence, just sucks at expressing himself properly. He has an ego but you know truthfully, he just has no idea on how to act around others and hence why he's always…a little weird.

The rock looks like a silly gift, but you can't help your smile. He could've given you something extravagant as his title, but instead.

He gives you a rock.

“Um. If you don't like it it's fine,” Wukong tries to say, a sheepish smile on his expression. “I mean uh. I'm the Monkey King y'know? I'll get you another gift―”

You cut him off by blurting out, “I love it!”

“Eh?”

You smile at Wukong, squeezing the rock between your hands. He looks back equally amazed, and equally confused.

“I love it,” you repeat, and kiss Wukong's cheek. “Trust me. You're an amazing artist, Monkey King. I hope you don't mind if I keep this in my room, right?”

Wukong blinks like you'd just told him Pigsy loves him (as if.) A smile adorns his expression and he nods, looking quite pleased with himself.

“Ha! Well!” The Monkey King laughs boisterously. “If that's whatcha wanna do, go for it! It's your gift y'know?” He scratches his cheek and looks away. “I just. Figured you'd want something…from the heart. Ehem.”

You smile, “I do. Thank you.”

You're too busy smiling at Wukong to have noticed Macaque had sneaked up on both of you, making Wukong visibly jump in surprise when he speaks. You look at the dark furred simian who barely spares the Monkey King a glance, and instead looks to you with a rare, barely visible smile.

“Since we're giving gifts so soon,” Macaque muses and pulls out something from behind his back.

Unlike Wukong's gift, which is quite frankly the opposite of extravagant, Macaque's is wrapped in a light purple colored paper, and tied with a neat, darker purple bow on top. It's a bit strange to think the Macaque would actually give you a gift, but nonetheless the gesture is sweet, especially when he seems very proud of himself to even wrap your gift unlike the Monkey King.

You accept it with a smile and allow your rock to sit peacefully in your pocket. You try to take care in tearing the paper, but give up when it tears unevenly.

“Oh? A doll?” You blink and look up at Macaque, who is smiling, but a little more nervously this time.

Even Wukong looks impressed, eying the container with a whistle. “Didn't know you got better at making those. It looks realistic.”

Macaque looks surprised at the compliment. You knew they always had bad blood ever since an incident in Wukong's journey, and yet to think Wukong still seemed to remember his old friend's hobby makes even you surprised.

Macaque coughs in his hand, nodding. “Yeah, I practiced a bit,” he admits and looks at you with a sheepish smile. “I hope you like it. Sorry it's not the best.”

A daruma doll sits in your palm, round as a squash with your brows and a smile to imitate your excitement. It wobbles with any movement, and it's really, really cute.

“It's beautiful,” you say, a smile on your expression as it wobbles. “I love it!”

You pause, and look at Wukong. “Not anymore than I love yours, Wukong. It's not a competition.”

Wukong grins, “But if it was, I'd win, right?”

Macaque rolls his eyes and remarks, snidely, “You painted a rock. Not sure how you'd win with that, dumbass.”

“It's better than yours at least. Suck my dick.”

“You should suck mines cause mine is bigger.”

“Shut up you gay ass!”

“Says the walking fruit―”

They bicker, as they usually do, but you don't stop them. Not when you're admiring your gifts, both made with you in mind, with care and consideration.

A smile adorns your lips later that night, the daruma doll and painted rock sitting on your bedside table.

“Mine's better.”

“Dude shut the FUCK up!”

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potatohater · 1 year

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Jake Peralta tickle headcanons‼️🫶

THIS MAN

He is very smiley and funny istg he is just programmed to be at least a bit ticklish😭

He chuckles almost at every joke he makes so this sound is not unusual out there. But his ✨laugh✨ is so PURE (1 season 5 ep, you can hear it)

Everyone know that he is ticklish, not like he is hiding it; its just a fact that you don’t even need to check it, it’s obvious

Everybody poked him at least once))

Gina and Jake are childhood friends so tickle fights were in common back there (she usually had the upper hand but she was no better than him). While growing up together tickle fights was a part of it but not so much when they became adults. I mean it was a natural thing. But sometimes once in a while Gina just sits there and like: “uuhhh– is Jake still ticklish?” And here we go again (he always would be ticklish)

Amy on the other hand didn’t have that much fights with him, and like she never even thought about it till the day when Jake jumped when she touched him on the side or something like that. Amy: 🤨. She adores his laugh and that he is all smiley and cute, her favourite thing is a few light touches under his neck, making him raise his shoulders a bit and crack a smile

Lets just agree that when Jake annoys Terry, he just puts him into the air (hands under arms) and a few light touches– voilà, Jake is chuckling his head of

P.s

(btw in my opinion there were like tickle fights and stuff between the squad but istg it doesn’t mean that it happens every day or that Jake is the victim of a group; they are grown ass people, like they r not children and their whole personality doesn’t base on being ticklish or something)

#b99 tickle #tickle headcanons #brooklyn 99 tickle #brooklyn nine nine tickle #ticklish!jake peralta #ticklish!jake #i just hope that at least a few people gonna see this #the only thing which is popular rn is tlou😭😭#jake is ticklish bc i said so

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natreads · 6 months

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I got a job as a bookseller!!!

#nat talks #listen. it's not the dream bc I've already worked in a bookstore and it's actually terrible at times #but I only really worked during holidays and people were just so rude #BUT I do have higher hopes for this location #also I tentatively know two people who work there so it will be fun!#it's a sub role and a little unclear if I'll only work during christmas and the book sale in feb or more #it depends on if the people who are on sick leave will return and when #but I can keep freelancing and apply for corporate jobs I want in the meantime #at the very least I can work during december either way and if I end up finding something else maybe I can work weekends during the booksal #so to not let them down too much #I honestly am just looking forward to getting out of the house and meeting people and working with my body more #because my mind is very fried #I have a short shift tomorrow to train #then I'll see when I'll officially start but it will probably be soon!#I've had a very busy few days so I wish I had said I could do my training shift next week #bc they gave the option of this wednesday or next #but I didn't want to turn it into a “thing” by letting too much time pass bc I might get anxious about it #but now I wish I had lmao I'm tired #also forgot I was gonna be home alone with the dog tomorrow #had been looking forward to it tbh #oh wellll #work stuff

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clownsnake · 10 days

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k so I’m getting the sense that Kim Dokja’s mom is a bad person (literally had frames of her standing over a dead body) but what I’m reading rn is pretty ambiguous in a v interesting way wrt if she cares abt her son or not

m: you don’t seem pleased to see me when it’s been so long

kd: do you really want something like that?

m: a little.

>lie detection skill has confirmed that was a lie.

like…. Maybe I’m too hopeful but also itd be tragically sweet if she lied bc she cares A LOT but doesn’t want to admit it. as opposed to what dokja’s thinking which is that she doesn’t even care a little.

idk I think I’m gonna believe dokja’s view & look out for hints until I learn more concrete information

#ALSO I KNEW SHE WAS HIS MOM I KNEWW IIIITTTTTTT #I mean it was kind of obvious at least on webtoon but. I want to brag #Going post #orv #’i knew she was lying but I just had to check’ hmmm I wonder why dokja? Because a small part of you hopes tht ur mom cares abt you?#…if his backstory ends up crushing me I’m gonna look back on this post so sadly #Also with how he talked in that last episode I posted abt about like people who have given him trauma. I can’t remember his exact phrasing #But he was highly implying that he had two main people who traumatized him in his life Before #And given that his mom has consistently been one of the few people from his life Before tht we even know about I figured she was also #someone he was referring to.#so. looking forward to seeing how she traumatized him! Aside from whatever that dead body panel was showing

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codgod · 2 months

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i still feel like the money from the egg figures is gonna go to the eggmins, including lumi and shade and anyone else that has left/been fired [maybe with the exception of like, flippa and tilín’s original admins since they were only there for less than a month but who knows]

like i agree that the way quackity is going about things sucks, with his mindset being that because he doesn’t want to make promises he can’t keep he won’t say anything at all, but i don’t think it means the eggmins won’t be paid. i’d assume, based on what he’s said, that he’s waiting to see how much money the merch makes before he promises anyone any amount of money. which again. is dumb, because if that is the case he could still just Say That. but i don’t think it’s a baseless assumption at the very least

#.txt #discourse #qadmin situation #sorry if this is worded weird i’m like half asleep rn #i’m still keeping optimistic #i know quackity has fucked up a lot and will probably still continue to do so for a bit #and it is very frustrating #but i can also see that he’s trying #i think he needs to shift his mindset a bit and work more on actually talking to people #even if it’s just telling them to hold tight while he works through things #honestly if things don’t improve within the next few weeks i’ll probably get a bit harsher #because like. c’mon man. i know this is gonna take months to sort out #that much is obvious #but if he can’t at least improve communication soon it’s like #there’s only so much benefit of the doubt i can give #but for now i’ll hold on to hope that he can fix things #idk i have a lot of thoughts on this situation that i don’t think i can get across correctly #i’m not letting quackity off the hook but i’m also willing to give him more time before i start saying he’s like #an awful person or whatever #i mean i don’t think he is regardless based on what i know of him but ykwim

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arionawrites · 3 months

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1. it’s my 24th birthday today, so my goal of being published by the time i’m 25 is now a one year looming monster, but i never specified what kind of published and am currently looking in various literary magazines that are recommended for writers who have yet to be published, so i’m surprisingly confident that i can make it work? and tbh even if whatever i write isn’t officially published before my 25th birthday, if i have someone in the process of being published then i’ll be happy!! no matter what though, i’m gonna try to be proud of myself for at least giving it my best shot!!

2. i honestly love that my birthday is on the ides of march because the ides of march meme shitposting is only a thing on tumblr but it also being my birthday makes it easier to like. be excited about the ides of march outside of tumblr. like even in person i can be like “it’s my birthday! i’m an ides of march babe (:” and if someone is like oh what’s that? or if they say something along the lines of oh like julius caesar? i can be like yep!! and even if it’s a small thing outside of tumblr it brings me immense enjoyment and amusement being able to bring it up off of tumblr

3. transportation situation has been very rough since june 2023 when i totalled my car, my gap insurance are being assholes and i ended up putting my foot down on the phone with them yesterday which i’m pretty proud of because i am NOT a confrontational person (something i’ve been working on this past year, so seeing some improvement with my ability to hold my ground and not be a pushover yesterday was very cool!!) i was told i’d get a response from them by friday next week no matter what, and if i don’t then friday of next week i will continue to wreak havoc upon them. but my moms car which i’ve been using since my accident broke down yesterday, hopefully it’s fixable but my parents were saying it might be done for, so trying to think of how i’m gonna get to work next week is kind of stressing me out lmao, but for now i’m just gonna focus on enjoying my birthday the best i can because i don’t want to start off being 24 with an overwhelming anxiety for something that won’t be a potential issue until monday. plus i already messaged my boss today to let her know that i’m going to do everything i can to make it work out but just so she’s in the loop and knows of the potential of me not being able to make my morning shifts (one of my coworkers said she’s more than happy to give me a ride for our afternoon shifts which does help relieve some of the stress!) and i told her i’d let her know for sure sunday so that if necessary she can have time to figure out someone to fill in for me in the mornings!

overall: life is weird and i ended being 23 yesterday with a shitty situation but a positive outlook and i am going to enjoy my first day of being 24 no matter what because honestly i fucking earned it. happy friday everyone, i hope it’s a good day for you and me both!

#aritalks #i did cry a little bit when i first woke up because i dont really know what to do about work and also i hate not having a car i can use #not only because of the work aspect but also getting my license when i was 18 gave me a freedom i didn’t have before #and i don’t like having to rely on other people just to like go to the fucking store or something yk #but then my best friend/roommate messaged me happy birthday and i was like fuck it! today is going to be a good day!#the stressful uncertainties can wait until tomorrow #also one of my best friends who hasn’t said happy birthday to me the past two years #(not intentionally im p sure they were just busy on my birthdays the past two years #and then had that moment of ‘oh shit i didnt send a message fuck i think its too late now’ which i totally get bc anxiety things yk)#was one of the first people to message me happy birthday!!#i’m also hoping to still be able to go see my mom and then stay the night at my dads tonight #so i can see both my parents and also my baby siblings for my birthday #my dads working today but after he texted happy birthday i sent him a text asking if he thinks we could still make it work #my mom is asleep still i think (she called me at midnight and left a voicemail singing happy birthday!! but her sleep schedule has been all #over the place recently so i’m waiting until 11:30 to call her which is in like 30 mins)#but she said something yesterday about driving out to me to give me a hug and also bring me my diabetes stuff that got delivered #(her house is my mailing address because i know it’s not going to change bc it’s my great grandparents house that she’s partially inhereting #when my great grandpa dies but since i have moved out of my dads my address has changed twice and i didnt have a mailbox at my last place so #just for the sake of consistency and not having to worry about important shit getting sent to the wrong address i’ve had her house as my #mailing address since i moved out of my dads at 19)#so i think i’m gonna ask her if she can just pick me up instead so i can go to her house w her and hang out with her #and hopefully my dad will be able to at least stop by with my siblings so i can see them too #i’d like to stay the night with them but if we can’t make it happen then i can also stay the night w my mom and hopefully tomorrow figure #out the car situation. might have to rent a car for a week if i can afford it? best case scenario is my moms car can be fixed but i still #dont know whats wrong with it ik there are two potential problems and one is fixable the other is not #the fixable one would cost like $150-$400 to fix depending on if we get a used part or a new one #if its $150-$200 ish i can probably afford to pay for the whole thing or at least most of it #but if its more than that hopefully my dad or one of my family members can help #and i can just pay them back in like $50 increments with my next few paychecks #just realized i said i wouldnt worry abt the car thing today and also i think im at tag limit to i’ll stop now lmao xoxo gossip girl ❤️

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torgawl · 8 months

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gojo's death has been way too controversial for something that has been premeditated for such a long time

#like... this was so coming #also the fact gege took every chance he got to say how gojo was still alive/not dead yet 😂#anyways i hope shoko survives to see some change in jjk society #i was reading a few of my old posts and tags yesterday and i had written about how from the trio she was the most likely to survive #and how i hoped though her they got to see change in the new generation unlike they were able to experience in their youth #and i still hope that's true #maybe jjk won't have a happy ending but i hope it's just just pointless you know?#also i don't think megumi is dead i refuse to believe yuuji's big moment isn't coming and that his whole thing isn't saving megumi #i still have wishful thinking he'll be able to honour the 'then start by saving me itadori'#he's also the person that makes most sense to win against sukuna #people undervalue yuuji as a protagonist a lot although he isn't your typical shonen main character he still is one and for a reason #so i want to have hope he will be able to do soemthing to save megumi somehow #i don't care if i'm delulu but there's just no way kenjaku and sukuna's big final moments won't be with the main characters right?#there's no way yuuta isn't gonna try to kill kenny like he said and no way yuuji doesn't face sukuna methinks #at least that's what i'm kind of hoping for endgame i think it would wrap things up well maybe not but it makes sense to me 😂#just wonder how gege wil wrap up some other characters #i think i'm preparing myself to be disappointed with shoko's fate i really wish she would be used in a relevant part of the story #i just think she had so much potential but that doesn't seem likely right? not at this point #but anyways just ranting #not just*#jjk spoilers #okay adding something: even if gojo didn't die or is able to be saved still he had to face death/be disabilitated for the story to go on #in my humble opinion. i just think this story was always about him passing the torch and not about him having any real impact in society #gojo's generation (and i'm including yaga here) has made the choice to help the youth which in itself is already breaking generational #curses but every single one of them has been doing the equivalent of putting bandaids on a fatal wound #obviously the story is much more complicated than this simple analogy but it was not up to gojo's generation to do anything #i just think the parallelism between them has always been pretty obvious about it #that gojo's generation was about intent and aid rather than being successful themselves?!#idk where i'm going with this but i really think this is a story about the youth consinuously trying to do better even if they fail #and they will fail because life isn't fair

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chemicalbrew · 6 months

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achievement get (for the billionth time): take one look at an assignment and get severely overwhelmed AND discouraged for the rest of the day and do nothing

#it's so much and it's dishonest work!! literally dishonest because all i can think of is how bullshit a lot of it sounds. instead of #you know?#actually learning anything?#but this thorough lack of motivation is just gonna get me in trouble isnt it. how do i swallow my emotions and figure things out #its getting harder every year and the feeling that the few people i have close by do not ever truly understand - like at all - is horrifyin #yes sorry this is all i could think of for the past six hours. im having a great day (no im not. i also hate myself for feeling this way)#zero.txt #im sure it hurts the few people who care and who thought i'd actually go on to do things to see me constantly wallowing for reasons #that they refuse to comprehend or have compassion for.#just stop being sad! just get to work piece by piece! have some resilience #meanwhile all ive done is cry. maybe a part of me just likes feeling like this i DONT KNOW #and ofc so often im like. the only reason im still around is im quiet and they havent invented thought police #yet.#how can i have hope when the moment i decide to pluck a silver of it out of my core i read something that in a better world would not even-#-be a nightmare #like. you say things like that with your mouth and expect us to mindlessly repeat if we want anything in life...#fuck my stupid baka life <3 #ugh im just going in yet another circle now when i know trying to put my feelings in words is not helpful. what IS helpful #negative #again sorry. at least you dont have to open this wall of tags #delete later #maybe

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euphoricfilter · 10 months

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genderfluid! jungkook fic has begun

#im gonna try posting on here #but if i see a singular hate comment then it's becoming an ao3 exclusive #because i don't want no crusty gross people within this blog's community #i'm not dealing with that #and neither should any one else #i don't expect it to do all that well on here either #just because i kinda know what most readers are like #but i hope at least a few people enjoy it...

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orcelito · 10 months

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Painted my nails. Shit camera is shit so u can't see the sparkles well, but it's my magnetic green nail polish. Something a bit on the subtle side for a funeral :p I wanted to go black but. Not pure black.

It's a "celebration of life", as they're calling it. We're not going there to be depressed. We're going there to remember the man we all lost. And he would've Loved for me to have a little fun with it.

#speculation nation #nails shit #im not exactly enthusiastic about tomorrow. not the least of it being the fact that i cant run from my grief if im surrounded by it #but theres... a lot family drama around. some i hadnt even heard about b4 today haha #so we are just hoping that there wont be any Incidents.#never am i more grateful for my reputation of being a wallflower than i am now #me simply being there is a testament to my care. and they see that.#if necessary i may or may not just... fade into the background. i dont know. i can never predict this shit.#with my grandma's funeral i was downright peppy. in a way that threw a few people off.#especially since i was one of the handful of ppl speaking that day #dont know what possessed me to volunteer for public speaking. i was always pretty close with her tho #wanted to do it for her. not exactly jumping at the chance to be Emotionally Vulnerable in front of a crowd again #but i dont regret it.#ive been oscillating wildly between manic and depressive for Weeks now. so i have no idea what im gonna land on tomorrow.#either im happy being around family and end up peppy and social. or im depressed by the situation and end up quiet.#maybe both. who knows. i sure fuckin dont.#im gonna wear a dress for the first time in years and im Not fucking shaving my legs. i think im gonna wear tights or smth. might as well.#sigh. i dont like being so familiar with funerals.#i dont like being so familiar with death.#i hope i get at least a few years between this and the next death i experience. pleeaaaase haha #5 deaths in 5 years. i dont like it one bit.#negative/#i guess.

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dreamsb0u · 1 year

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rambling in tags

#me when i get even the slightest bit of recognition #like #TYSM!!!!#i fucking love it when people interact with my work!#or me!!!#its great to talk to cool people!#and im a bit awkward but thats ok!!!#because my therapist said im getting better!!!!!!#which i classify as a win!#ive got a few new problems but im gonna make it!#i still dont have much hope for the future but i know that i can do something!#and i love you guys #/gen /p #youre all so amazing and nice to me #and i wanna say thank you for that because i know i can be pretty weird sometimes and just generally unstable #so its really nice to see theres opeople who are at least semi-cool with that #im trying my best to enjoy the little things in life and let myself have the childish things i couldnt when i was younger #and its definetly helping for me #anyways idk why you read this but thank you i love you #remember to try and drink water and go outside!

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youremyonlyhope · 1 year

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#the urge to buy a last minute ticket to starkid's jingle ball that is literally sunday aka tomorrow since it's past midnight #is very strong right now since some posts of people's experiences at the first show are coming in #and it's making me nostalgic #i wasn't planning to go because i don't yet feel comfortable going to concerts #i barely feel comfortable seeing theatre but at least everyone's just sitting there #rather than standing up and singing along and maybe jumping and dancing too #feels too risky #but also. starkid. my loves.#but also. money. and covid. and the flu. and rsv. and general colds.#i'll decide by tomorrow. there's still tickets available. i almost hope it sells out so the universe decides for me.#right now it's like 75% i will not go because covid and lots of people and money. but 25% i wanna see my starkids.#it's funny because last week i was thinking back to my mindset when i saw starkid concerts as a teenager #(because space tour at the same venue was 11 years ago last week and my facebook memories were INTENSE)#(i really just posted like 10 times a day for at least 3 days after the concert STILL freaking out about it. oh 15 year old Hope)#and i was like 'yeah i've calmed down since then. i'm not the girl who will lose her voice at a starkid concert.'#but seeing the few pictures i was like 'aww... starkid concerts... nostalgia...' but like... i've seen them live 4+ times #and yet. i have a feeling Darren's gonna show up. because i noticed that it is coincidentally one of the dates he's not doing his solo show #so that's another reason towards going. but also. do i want to be around people? not really.#hmmmmmm #it's funny that Britney Coleman going on for Bobbie in Company was what made me go back to seeing live theatre again #and now starkid may be what gets me to see concerts again. if you want me to do something it has to be starkid related apparently.

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phantomrose96 · 3 months

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If anyone wants to know why every tech company in the world right now is clamoring for AI like drowned rats scrabbling to board a ship, I decided to make a post to explain what's happening.

(Disclaimer to start: I'm a software engineer who's been employed full time since 2018. I am not a historian nor an overconfident Youtube essayist, so this post is my working knowledge of what I see around me and the logical bridges between pieces.)

Okay anyway. The explanation starts further back than what's going on now. I'm gonna start with the year 2000. The Dot Com Bubble just spectacularly burst. The model of "we get the users first, we learn how to profit off them later" went out in a no-money-having bang (remember this, it will be relevant later). A lot of money was lost. A lot of people ended up out of a job. A lot of startup companies went under. Investors left with a sour taste in their mouth and, in general, investment in the internet stayed pretty cooled for that decade. This was, in my opinion, very good for the internet as it was an era not suffocating under the grip of mega-corporation oligarchs and was, instead, filled with Club Penguin and I Can Haz Cheezburger websites.

Then around the 2010-2012 years, a few things happened. Interest rates got low, and then lower. Facebook got huge. The iPhone took off. And suddenly there was a huge new potential market of internet users and phone-havers, and the cheap money was available to start backing new tech startup companies trying to hop on this opportunity. Companies like Uber, Netflix, and Amazon either started in this time, or hit their ramp-up in these years by shifting focus to the internet and apps.

Now, every start-up tech company dreaming of being the next big thing has one thing in common: they need to start off by getting themselves massively in debt. Because before you can turn a profit you need to first spend money on employees and spend money on equipment and spend money on data centers and spend money on advertising and spend money on scale and and and

But also, everyone wants to be on the ship for The Next Big Thing that takes off to the moon.

So there is a mutual interest between new tech companies, and venture capitalists who are willing to invest $$$ into said new tech companies. Because if the venture capitalists can identify a prize pig and get in early, that money could come back to them 100-fold or 1,000-fold. In fact it hardly matters if they invest in 10 or 20 total bust projects along the way to find that unicorn.

But also, becoming profitable takes time. And that might mean being in debt for a long long time before that rocket ship takes off to make everyone onboard a gazzilionaire.

But luckily, for tech startup bros and venture capitalists, being in debt in the 2010's was cheap, and it only got cheaper between 2010 and 2020. If people could secure loans for ~3% or 4% annual interest, well then a $100,000 loan only really costs $3,000 of interest a year to keep afloat. And if inflation is higher than that or at least similar, you're still beating the system.

So from 2010 through early 2022, times were good for tech companies. Startups could take off with massive growth, showing massive potential for something, and venture capitalists would throw infinite money at them in the hopes of pegging just one winner who will take off. And supporting the struggling investments or the long-haulers remained pretty cheap to keep funding.

You hear constantly about "Such and such app has 10-bazillion users gained over the last 10 years and has never once been profitable", yet the thing keeps chugging along because the investors backing it aren't stressed about the immediate future, and are still banking on that "eventually" when it learns how to really monetize its users and turn that profit.

The pandemic in 2020 took a magnifying-glass-in-the-sun effect to this, as EVERYTHING was forcibly turned online which pumped a ton of money and workers into tech investment. Simultaneously, money got really REALLY cheap, bottoming out with historic lows for interest rates.

Then the tide changed with the massive inflation that struck late 2021. Because this all-gas no-brakes state of things was also contributing to off-the-rails inflation (along with your standard-fare greedflation and price gouging, given the extremely convenient excuses of pandemic hardships and supply chain issues). The federal reserve whipped out interest rate hikes to try to curb this huge inflation, which is like a fire extinguisher dousing and suffocating your really-cool, actively-on-fire party where everyone else is burning but you're in the pool. And then they did this more, and then more. And the financial climate followed suit. And suddenly money was not cheap anymore, and new loans became expensive, because loans that used to compound at 2% a year are now compounding at 7 or 8% which, in the language of compounding, is a HUGE difference. A $100,000 loan at a 2% interest rate, if not repaid a single cent in 10 years, accrues to $121,899. A $100,000 loan at an 8% interest rate, if not repaid a single cent in 10 years, more than doubles to $215,892.

Now it is scary and risky to throw money at "could eventually be profitable" tech companies. Now investors are watching companies burn through their current funding and, when the companies come back asking for more, investors are tightening their coin purses instead. The bill is coming due. The free money is drying up and companies are under compounding pressure to produce a profit for their waiting investors who are now done waiting.

You get enshittification. You get quality going down and price going up. You get "now that you're a captive audience here, we're forcing ads or we're forcing subscriptions on you." Don't get me wrong, the plan was ALWAYS to monetize the users. It's just that it's come earlier than expected, with way more feet-to-the-fire than these companies were expecting. ESPECIALLY with Wall Street as the other factor in funding (public) companies, where Wall Street exhibits roughly the same temperament as a baby screaming crying upset that it's soiled its own diaper (maybe that's too mean a comparison to babies), and now companies are being put through the wringer for anything LESS than infinite growth that Wall Street demands of them.

Internal to the tech industry, you get MASSIVE wide-spread layoffs. You get an industry that used to be easy to land multiple job offers shriveling up and leaving recent graduates in a desperately awful situation where no company is hiring and the market is flooded with laid-off workers trying to get back on their feet.

Because those coin-purse-clutching investors DO love virtue-signaling efforts from companies that say "See! We're not being frivolous with your money! We only spend on the essentials." And this is true even for MASSIVE, PROFITABLE companies, because those companies' value is based on the Rich Person Feeling Graph (their stock) rather than the literal profit money. A company making a genuine gazillion dollars a year still tears through layoffs and freezes hiring and removes the free batteries from the printer room (totally not speaking from experience, surely) because the investors LOVE when you cut costs and take away employee perks. The "beer on tap, ping pong table in the common area" era of tech is drying up. And we're still unionless.

Never mind that last part.

And then in early 2023, AI (more specifically, Chat-GPT which is OpenAI's Large Language Model creation) tears its way into the tech scene with a meteor's amount of momentum. Here's Microsoft's prize pig, which it invested heavily in and is galivanting around the pig-show with, to the desperate jealousy and rapture of every other tech company and investor wishing it had that pig. And for the first time since the interest rate hikes, investors have dollar signs in their eyes, both venture capital and Wall Street alike. They're willing to restart the hose of money (even with the new risk) because this feels big enough for them to take the risk.

Now all these companies, who were in varying stages of sweating as their bill came due, or wringing their hands as their stock prices tanked, see a single glorious gold-plated rocket up out of here, the likes of which haven't been seen since the free money days. It's their ticket to buy time, and buy investors, and say "see THIS is what will wring money forth, finally, we promise, just let us show you."

To be clear, AI is NOT profitable yet. It's a money-sink. Perhaps a money-black-hole. But everyone in the space is so wowed by it that there is a wide-spread and powerful conviction that it will become profitable and earn its keep. (Let's be real, half of that profit "potential" is the promise of automating away jobs of pesky employees who peskily cost money.) It's a tech-space industrial revolution that will automate away skilled jobs, and getting in on the ground floor is the absolute best thing you can do to get your pie slice's worth.

It's the thing that will win investors back. It's the thing that will get the investment money coming in again (or, get it second-hand if the company can be the PROVIDER of something needed for AI, which other companies with venture-back will pay handsomely for). It's the thing companies are terrified of missing out on, lest it leave them utterly irrelevant in a future where not having AI-integration is like not having a mobile phone app for your company or not having a website.

So I guess to reiterate on my earlier point:

Drowned rats. Swimming to the one ship in sight.

#chrissy speaks #long post #-gestures broadly-

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