Hi! I’m Cake!

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also that apparently “when you get a chance” usually means “when you take a break from the thing you’re immediately doing” and not “on a list among various other things you are doing today or tomorrow”

People wanna pretend it was all in good fun and only got racist afterwards (if they'll even acknowledge it ever was racist) meanwhile some of the earliest TikTok making clanker jokes were skits that were just "racist dad hates his daughter's black boyfriend" only the boyfriend is a robot instead, and before that, these exact same kinds of jokes were circulating the Star Wars fandom for over a decade

As a former music teacher, I can also say that "learn the fundamentals first" is the death knell for a vast percentage of beginners, especially adult learners.

I've run into this with drawing several times, where some well-meaning artist has lectured me on needing to study anatomy properly or not use shortcuts like CSP brushes. And oh, believe me, I know. I know exactly how to learn an artistic discipline in a structured way. I just...don't want to!

The thing is, I'm not aiming to be a professional artist. I want to draw my gay little anime guys. I would undoubtedly improve at art much faster if I approached every gay little anime guy drawing as a study exercise. But I would also have quit drawing a decade ago if I couldn't just let myself enjoy drawing imperfect fucked-up little guys with whatever shortcuts I needed to body myself across the finish line.

With my adult piano students, my approach was always "What's your goal?" If their goal was to learn exactly one Elton John songbook to play at parties, then...that's what we did. We'd put tape on the keys to label the notes, and just fuckin go for it. Learning exactly one Elton John songbook is a good and noble musical goal, full stop.

Some of my students needed and enjoyed a more structured approach to learning; if they wanted to be able to play classical music, then yes, scales were going to have to enter the equation at some point. And yet others would learn the Elton John songbook, catch their white whale, and realize they wanted to explore more of the ocean. The scales were still there for them to learn!

Often the choice isn't between "learn art well" and "learn art imperfectly" - the choice is between "learn art imperfectly" and "don't do art at all." To which I say, learn imperfectly! Or, what the hell, don't 'learn' art. Just do, and enjoy the doing of it.

If an adult is stalking your profile and saying nasty things to try and get you to respond, don't engage with them. Block and report them. Responding and trying to "win" the argument only gives them what they want.

Imagine. A grown adult starting beef with a kid to feel more powerful. See how pathetic that is?

No matter what any adult stranger says about you online, you're loved. Nobody is out to get you, nobody is going to hurt you. If someone threatens you with a dox, you block the person and you report them to tumblr. Do not give them any information because a lot of adults are very good at manipulating minors into giving them more information to use against them.

You have people who care about you. You have people who love you. You are not a bad person, you're growing. It's okay to grow, it's okay to make mistakes. What's not okay, is cyberstalking a kid to feel better about yourself.

If any adults reading this feel called out by this post, you're the problem babe.

You don't owe anybody your tears. Be the bigger person, be happier just for the hell of it. That is the best way to kick a petty bitch in the teeth.

You're loved.

I'm revoking my minors DNI status for this one post. Reblog the shit out of this. Tell someone they're loved today.

I am not uptight about privacy because I'm hiding something. I'm uptight about it because the people who dismiss my right to privacy are dangerous to you and me and our families, personally, all the time.