Hiii, i love your stuff and kinda from a distance really look up at you for, in my perception, being able to express yourself without giving a fuck. Thats sick dude, Im so so afraid, of absolutely everything, its nice to think like i might grow into someone less apologetic of my existence. Nice to see people just being yknow

hey, thank you, this is really really nice. the secret that is probably not a secret is that i am also deeply afraid a lot of the time lmao -- but less than i used to be, and in ways that feel less stifling and self-suffocating, if that makes sense.

like, it used to be "i'm scared that if i express myself the way i want to, everyone will find me obnoxious, so let's just sand those edges down to be safe" -- now my fears are more like "now that i'm expressing myself in a way that feels natural and real, i'm afraid that it's all stupid/vapid/not worthwhile or meaningful" (<- specifically abt my art) or "i'm happy that i talk and act the way i want to now, but what if it makes me impossible to befriend," etc etc etc. which still feels bad and puts me in a funk a lot of the time but at least it's a fear that comes After/in reaction to doing stuff, rather than a fear that STOPS me from doing stuff, you know? like, it's evolved into a kind of fear that's less in my way.

anyway. i believe you'll experience something like this, because wanting to grow is the first step of growing. the fact that u hope or wish for something different means you're already on your way. to fewer fucks!! or at least distributing the fucks u give in a way that serves u better

3, 6, 13, 34, & 35!! ( gibs u both salty AND sweet :D )

( in which i was supposed to be salty @ roleplayers but instead i just yell at tumblr staff incoherently / accepting ! )

3. what’s your favorite thing about your mutuals ?

aah, there's so many things i could say !! first of all, they're all very inspiring. whenever i see you guys on my dash, killin' it with your writing and ideas, it inspires me to be more creative. and active. i don't check my dash that often because i try to minimize my distractions during the day; but i bet if i checked it more, the inspiration would make me more active JASJAJJ. another thing i love to see is how the mutuals i have are all very supportive of each other !! liking posts, commenting, and being very warm and welcoming to each other. ; u ; i'm picky about who i follow, so i only follow the best. ;)) wink wonk

6. what’s one thing the rpc has to realize ?

most of us are over-thinkers. that thing that you are assuming about that other rp'er ( e.g. they must not like me because they didn't respond to my ask; OR they don't want to write with me because if they had they would have reached out; OR they probably think they're 2 cool for me because i don't use fancy aesthetics . . . all the thoughts we have like THAT ) are most likely not true. most things have simple explanations, and are not that deep. our anxious brains just like to overcomplicate things. : D I know that for me, if I did not want to write with someone, or if I did not like them . . . I would just unfollow them or not follow them in the first place !! it's dat simple asjjaja. so if you're mutuals, try not to worry so much about little things and overanalyze them !! if you come here & focus on having fun and exercising your creativity, and focus on that, and your friends, instead of rejections ( real or perceived ) and worrying over what you can't do and can't control . . . you will have a WAY better time! : )

13. what’s underrated in the rpc ?

touching grass. jk jk but actually only half jk. but all of the partners i have rn are people with lives outside of rp and other hobbies and stuff to do, and yes, that means we tend to be slower with our replies & all, but . .. it's so much better, ngl. it sounds stupid but fr, having a life is IMPORTANT, okay; people are less likely to get over-sensitive abt rp stuff, less likely to become overly invested to the point that replying to your threads becomes an obligation / burden instead of good fun, and it also helps lessen the over-thinking mentioned above...

when it comes to what the rpc writes tho ? hMMmm... i think continuity and single-verse stuff is kind of underrated !! like, having verses ( or even entire characters/blogs ) where everything is under ONE single timeline. so if you have a thread with Bob and in that thread, Bob chops off your characters' arm, from then on, your character has ONE ARM. periODT !! unless they get a cybernetic arm or magically regrow it, etc. . . this comes with it's own set of challenges & is PRETTY FREAKING hard to do in rp, but I think it is REALLY fun & rewarding when it works !!! i love all the twists and turns and the spontaneity of it. and if too much happens, there's no reason you can't just... reset back to the beginning!

34. what’s the best part about being in the rpc on tumblr ?

ooh for me, the best thing has been meeting a community of like-minded, similar writers : D bc yes, I’ve met plenty of other writers irl and online places besides tumblr, but… they don’t GET ME like my tumblr mutuals do ajdjsj. I rly thought I was a crazed weirdo because of how passionate I was about my characters, and how I can think about them all day & relate every little thing back to them … until I joined tumblr :’) tumblr turns a solitary, isolate hobby into something community-based, where we all collaborate and expand each other's universes, and i just genuinely think that's a really cool writer-y thing. very niche, very hard to explain to people outside our community ... but i think it's rly fun n uNIQUE. and I think I would have gone crazy if I didn’t have tumblr to scream to about character things svfdd

35. what’s the biggest problem in the rpc ?

that's a good question ... there's a lot of flaws in the rpc, but there's a lot of good things, too. there are a lot of problems that could use improving, but i don't know how to rank one as the 'WORST'. i do think that what i talked about in #6 is a possible contender for the biggest problem, because if we're all avoiding each other and too scared to talk to each other, that kills rp. but it's hard to change that and i feel like the rpc has talked about it enough. 🤷 i don't really have anything else to add or any other solutions. meh. i don't care that much either. i don't think the rpc will ever really die, so it's whatever asjjaj. ( correction: it may die on TUMBLR, but there's plenty of other places to rp if it does. roleplayers are like cockroaches; WE NEVER DIE. ) so instead, i'm going to say: THIS SHITTY ASS BETA EDITOR. I HATE THIS THING. WHAT THE FUCK. the biggest problem in the tumblr rpc is definitely that tumblr staff tries to 'fix' things that were never broken. they hate us and want us all to suffer. we are in hell, being punished for the crime of being tumblristas. i'm not one of those people who hate anytime a website has a minor ui change or whatever-- i didn't care about twitter adding 50 buttons. i'm not opposed to change if it's for innovation or a new feature or look or whatever, even if i don't personally want that feature........ but tumblr doesn't even fix anything: they replace what was there with something of inferior quality every time. how the fuck do you run a website worse than elon musk. not even muskrat has ruined the basic functionality of a text editor, tumblr....... honestly mind-boggling. > : [

OK WOWWW

I've been meaning to write again, and I agree with you on your opinion of Tom. Personally, after researching on psychopaths a fair bit (for one of my own OCs), I feel that—at surface level—Tom can be classified as one. But nevermind that now, bc I absolutely LOVE the way you write him.

Which brings me to...

WHITE DOVE O.M.G.

KING YOU ARE A BLOODY GENIUS ISTG. Part 6 was so damn well written. Like hOw?? I can't even properly write while sober, never mind drunk. You are so so talented, and I can't wait for the next fic you post (and maybe(?) a sequel?? )

The imagery of Tom just pleading and breaking down was just... pure fucking perfection (and I mean that in the best way possible lol). Keep writing King! You're amazing at it that's for sure. :)

Two-part super long response discussing Tom Riddle and psychopathy beneath the line!!!!

But also omg thank u for your lovely compliments on white dove, I really really loved writing that series so it's super gratifying to get all the positive feedback!!!! Hell yeah I'm geared for a sequel and it's just absolutely full of my fave fanfic tropes I am ready to self-indulge once more.

Pt. 1. I don't see any issue with headcanoning Tom as having a sociopathy/psychopathy personality disorder, I just really dislike when people don't do what you have done and don't actually research what that actually means. I think general media has been 'fascinated' by 'psychopaths' for the last few decades and have created a really weird cultural conceptualisation of what someone with that disorder looks like/acts like.

People will have Tom committing genuinely horrific acts of violence for his own pleasure, fucking with people for fun, and engaging in lots of different taboo kinks and then explain it by simply being like 'he's a psychopath' and it's like oh... 😬

Idk I find that specific trope lazy in terms of story-telling, shallow in terms of character interpretation, and damaging in terms of real-life consequences for normal ass people with personality disorders.

Pt. 2. All that being said, I (personally) disagree with you in terms of Tom being able to be classified psychopathic!

I'm aware that some people distinguish between 'primary' psychopaths (those with genetic predisposition) and 'secondary' psychopaths (those who develop the disorder from environmental factors, sometimes called sociopaths) though it should be noted that this distinction isn't really agreed upon across the field and is under debate lol. But I feel the need to address both since I'll probs get anons "calling me out" me if I don't haha.

Premeditation before acts of violence, severely diminished emotional responses, and a lack of anxiety are traits characterised to primary psychopathy, and at first glance I can kind of see a case for Tom here. But... some of Tom's/Voldemort's biggest character beats revolve around him being impulsive, hyper-emotional, and extremely reactionary (like just killing an entire room of his own followers and goblins after finding out Harry knows abt the Horcruxes, or freaking out about the prophecy and murdering the Potters for that matter, or even duelling with Dumbledore in the Ministry etc. etc.).

Like I know he can be super calculating and set up long-arching plans and shit, but I've never really read Tom as being that 'premeditated' in what he does. He's ambitious, yeah, but to me I see him setting his eyes on a goal and doing everything he possibly can to reach that goal in a sort of perfectionist-driven, covetous desperation where if he just pushes long enough and hard enough and far enough, he'll prove that he can do fucking anything and everything in spite of everyone else and fuck everyone who said he couldn't - rather than this detached, cool, logical premeditative flow-chart of decisions.

On the other hand, the reasoning behind Tom having secondary psychopathy reads as more logical for the character for me - being an orphan in war-time England and having to essentially self-prioritise to the absolute extreme to survive could all be strong environmental stressors that would result in learned lack of empathy. Crimes committed by those with secondary psychopathy are also (apparently) more emotionally driven, more reactionary, and more impulsive. But.... Tom does still set up these long-arching plans, ya know? He's not acting solely on impulse, and he's also still very emotional outside of his acts of violence. Plus he's also never struck me as particularly anxious (which is a trait often used to distinguish secondary psychopathy). He's both impulsive and premeditated at times, just like how most ppl act both impulsively and premeditated at times.

The point I'm trying to make, lol, is that I think it's a misread of the character to consider him 'unemotional' or detached from others bc I've always thought of him as like the most extremely emotional character in the whole series. Canon demonstrates him to be highly emotional but just very very controlled/performative most of the time. He's shown to have bouts of hugely expressive rage, and he acts very vindictively which suggesting he takes things super personally, but he's mostly able to hide these emotions around people he doesn't trust. This might make him manipulative but it does not make him psychopathic/sociopathic.

In summary, I don't read Tom as having a personality disorder, I read him as being selfish, jealous, emotional, egotistical, covetous, self-aggrandising, suspicious, and manipulative. He's a dick, your honour.

I'm sorry if this is a little assholely but after seeing your vent post I went looking for where you said to not tag names and the only place I saw it was at the end of your very long tags,, so assuming i didnt miss another more obvious place...? Have you thought of just putting that in the post itself? Because anyone who's seeing it second hand (as in seeing it after someone else rebloged it) won't see that tag + not everyone reads tags, you know :( sorry that it makes you uncomfortable but if you put it somewhere more visible, like in the body of the post, then at least people def will see it. Sending love either way 💕

nahhh nothing to be sorry for issall totally cool and encouraged and you are very kind,, tbh i was lowkey waiting around for something like this and i'm kinda glad for it and also surprised it's not at least fifty times worse??? in all honesty i think i am in dire need and deserving of the hardest dose of criticism at this point for all the stupid messy personal posts i make on a sleep-deprived whim, as i am fully aware that this is not the place for it, and i am and should never be exempt from getting my necessary comeuppance should it arise. and like i said, this quandary was completely of my own fault. i have made my stance on personal comfort posts clear numerous times before and only put them in subtler places like the end of my annoying-ass rambly tags because i really don't wanna bother people with something that sounds so trivially inconsequential, and it makes me incredibly anxious to add them in the post itself (as i reckon it just outright ruins the whole content and that's such a selfish and gross thing for me to do personally,, like who tf am i to ask anything of anyone ech :-/). but this is still my sole responsibility to properly handle and conduct myself online, and i'm so sorry if i came across like i'm attempting to pass the blame for my own self-implicated neglect, as no one else should be subject to dealing with my mistakes. (like no joke i screamed aloud when i read that you looked through my posts or tags??? PLS LICHRALLY NEVER DO THAT EVER THAT'S A VV BAD IDEA ACTUAL ONLINE EQUIVALENT OF DUMPSTER DIVING VIBES EXCEPT THE DUMPSTER'S ON FIRE AND CAUSES MAJOR BRAINROTOFFISITIS!!!!! (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`))

i've had a well-needed rest hrk composed myself, deleted my prev post (i'm also thinking of removing the post that spurred it just to be sure, t'was super terrible anyway lmao), and muted my notifs for the time being, so please do feel free to tag anything however you wish at this point—i know i'm making an absolute fool out of myself for this full 180 departure (just in time for april 1st tho so swings and roundabouts-) but yeah that's completely fine idk, and if my walnut brain has anything otherwise to say abt it they will be catching These Hands according to the Fists Of Fury Code!!!!! ᕦ(ò皿óᕦ) but in all seriousness, emotional dysregulation is the absolute worst but i understand that maybe i can't really set boundaries for something fully well out of my control, so i just give up the ghost on this bc what else is there to do. c'est la vie if it sucks for me, tough shit @ self tough it out bebs u asked for this :^) though i hopefully can, however, keep everything else out of sight and out of mind so that i don't have to deal with the self-imposed repercussions by willingly setting my triggers off and lashing out incessantly. like mmm that's toxic shit girlie no one wants that here bls get u some therapy pare *whaps myself with an abaniko fan*. it's 100% on me if i choose to expand the tags on my notifs, and what happens in other ppl's blogs should be none of my fucking business and i'm just a super nosy lurker goblin sometimes ig exhibit a: this is what being a chronic cave hermit does to the human psyche. irreversible damage u.......*steven he voice* EMOTIONAL DAMAGE!!!!! my sincerest apologies again for all the trouble and i really hope this answer doesn't come off as too sardonic or acerbic or anything of the sort, i know i goof a lot but i really do mean all of it, even if trying to convey appropriate tone indication in text form is so whack 😩

also i'm really sorry for this mf ten-volume novel series of an answer (i really hope no one's insane enough to actually read this....whatever the hell this is .-.). thank you so much for your patience and understanding, and please keep the love and give it to another funky cool blog who's worthy of it and not deserving of getting squished like a pestilent vermin under your steel-toed bootheel!! /lh ~(இ௰இ~) anywayyy let's ignore (slash unfollow hardblock permanent dni etc. etc....very good ideas, those, bc if i could block myself i would without hesitation smh get this chernobyl elephant's foot outta my feed) this and my other inane bullshittery and let bygones be bygones and go back to our silly manband content, shall we??? this blog is for no-braincell shits and pure dumbassery first and foremost i promise......also i have more poorly-made sh!tposts and kendall's pretty grampa face stuff which i wanna plague the btr tag with if that's still allowed pls ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯

(^^^ i can't believe i actually got to use this gif for something sdjsfjksd)