I hate the modern girl power push for women warriors & girls who fight so fucking much I can't stand it.

you wanna know why there historically weren't many female warriors? because being a warrior is fucking stupid! fighting and murdering people is a stupid caveman ass way to solve problems! you know what's infinitely more important and worthwhile than being good at killing other humans? knowing how to grow and prepare food, knowing how to make clothing, knowing how to build and create and invent, knowing how to make medicine and treat injuries and heal. knowing how to write! one of the first novels was written by a woman! murasaki shikibu, 1000 years ago!

there have been female farmers and seamstresses and inventors and healers for ages but for some reason that doesn't mean anything, y'all want them to have been killers to REALLY have done something worthwhile.

"women can be violent & merciless & bloodthirsty too 🥰" yeah we can but why the fuck would we WANT to be? why should anyone want to be?

I know Sterling is the grumpy cat of your OC's and whenever he finds himself sliding into simp mode around his darling he fights tooth and nail against it, but what is he like when he actually gives into his feelings? Let's say after months of being academic rivals and whatever pattern of flirting and fighting they fell into, his darling actually wants to give being in a real relationship with him a try, what kind of boyfriend is he? Does he still try to pretend like his darling isn't the center of his world and try to act aloof, does his attitude depend on if they're in public (ie anti PDA but super affectionate in private), is he clingy, is he still mean or does it become more teasing, is he protective of his darling, etc? I just want to learn more about what dating Sterling (aka everyone's favorite prodigy) looks like!

🪶 sterling x darling relationship headcanons

· let's be absolutely clear — sterling has never been in any form of relationship before you. he's never been kissed, never had sex, he's never even held anyone's hand before. he doesn't think about romance or any of that icky stuff.

· now that you're finally together, he's stuck trying to put together the pieces. he has to teach himself how to be a boyfriend, and you'd get to see him struggle and fail at it since he'd rather die than actually asking anyone he knew for help with it.

· you can tell he's making an effort, but he's so bad at this whole relationship thing that it's almost painful. his idea of a date is a study session for an important exam that he ends up getting too wrapped up in. he mostly gifts you things related to school since he's too scared to ask you about his interests. on top of that he's very, very bad about receiving affection and will push you away from him if you lay it on too thick. but he gets better at not antagonizing you and never picks fights with you anymore.

· despite all that, you do notice the changes in his behavior after its established that you're a couple. he can't deal with real affection like hugs and kissing, but he'll wrap his arm around your waist while you walk together or pull you into his lap while you study — especially if others are watching. expect to be groped occasionally if he feels like someone's coming onto you, too. possessiveness comes much more easily to him than romance does.

· he improves after you consistently spend time with him. he takes note your interests so he knows what to get you, he takes you out on real dates, and he teaches himself to be more capable of giving and receiving affection. he can mimic a semi decent boyfriend once the initial embarrassment fades.

· sterling might always be the rude, stuck up individual that you met when you aced your first exam. but he's yours now, and you're his. even if it's difficult for him to adjust to his relationship with you, he doesn't mind struggling for you — no matter how much he hates admitting it.

love at first sight / choi yeonjun

As you stepped into the building of Big Hit Entertainment, you couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and nerves. You were here for a work-related meeting, and the fact that you were about to meet and work with one of their stars, Yeonjun from TXT, was making your heart race. You had heard a lot about him, both as an artist and a person. He was known for his talent, charisma, and personality. Your assignment was to interview him for a feature article, and you were determined to get a unique perspective on this young superstar.

You walked through the hallways of the agency, greeted by the hum of creativity that filled the air. As you approached the designated room, you took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice called out from within. You pushed the door open and stepped inside, your eyes meeting the one and only Yeonjun and his manager. Yeonjun, He was sitting on a couch, engrossed in his phone, scrolling through something.

Yeonjun looked up from his phone, his deep brown eyes studying you for a moment before a polite smile crept onto his face. "You must be Y/N, here for the interview," he said, rising to his feet. He extended his hand, and you shook it, feeling a jolt of warmth at the contact.

"Yes, I'm Y/N," you replied with a friendly smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Yeonjun."

He nodded, gesturing for you to take a seat. "Likewise. Please, have a seat."

As you settled into a chair across from him, you couldn't help but admire the aura he exuded. Yeonjun was remarkably good-looking with his perfectly styled hair, sharp jawline, and that captivating twinkle in his eyes that hinted at a world of stories.

The interview started, and you were amazed at how open and eloquent he was. Yeonjun spoke passionately about his journey in the music industry, sharing insights into his experiences as an idol and his growth as an artist. You were eager to understand the artist behind the fame, and Yeonjun's initial responses had already set the tone for an engaging and insightful conversation.

You noticed the dedication in his eyes as he talked about his musical journey, so you probed further to learn more about the sources of his inspiration. "Yeonjun, could you share some of the artists or musicians who have inspired you the most on your journey? How have they influenced your own music and style?"

Yeonjun's face lit up when discussing his experiences as an idol, so you decided to delve deeper into the challenges he had faced and how he had grown through them.

But as the conversation delved into his personal life, you noticed a shift in his demeanor. He became guarded and distant, especially when the topic of romance came up.

"Yeonjun, can you tell us if you've ever experienced love or a romantic relationship?" you asked, trying to tread carefully.

He let out a short laugh, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Love? Relationships? I've always been too busy for those things. It's not something I ever think about."

You couldn't help but wonder what had caused him to be so anti-romantic. However, you decided not to pry further and switched to a different topic. The interview continued, and as you spoke with him, you noticed how his guard gradually lowered, and he started to share more about himself.

It was during a break in the conversation that you saw a glimpse of a different side of Yeonjun. He was momentarily lost in thought, a wistful expression on his face. It was a fleeting moment, but it intrigued you. You couldn't help but wonder if there was more to the anti-romantic Yeonjun than met the eye.

The interview concluded, and as you were gathering your notes, Yeonjun leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "Y/N, can I ask you something personal?"

Surprised by his sudden interest, you nodded. "Of course, go ahead."

He hesitated for a moment, his eyes fixed on yours, and then he spoke softly. "Have you ever met someone and felt an instant connection? Like, you couldn't explain it, but you just knew that you wanted to get to know them better?"

You blinked, taken aback by his unexpected question. "Yes, I suppose. It's happened to me before."

Yeonjun nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I had that feeling when you walked into this room, Y/N. It's strange, I know, especially for someone like me who's not into all that romantic stuff, but I can't help it. I felt a connection, a curiosity about you from the moment you walked in."

As the interview wrapped up, Yeonjun walked you to the door, and you exchanged contact information. The encounter left a lasting impression on both of you, and as you said your goodbyes, there was an unspoken understanding that this wouldn't be the last time you'd see each other.

Over the following weeks, you found yourself drawn to Yeonjun in ways you hadn't expected. As your conversations continued and your friendship deepened, you couldn't help but wonder if the charismatic young idol might be on the cusp of experiencing something he had sworn off - love, thanks to a chance meeting with you.

Can you tell me about vertex in synastry?

Vertex is a bit more complex to explain and personally, I believe it matters more in a Synastry chart than it does natally.

Vertex represents the unexpected, turn of events, lifechanging events or situations, something that can be like a "wow" moment. It can feel karmic in a way, because it can teach you a lot of lessons and feel like a plot twist in your life.

In synastry, the Vertex person is the one who "feels" the effects of the other person's planet or asteroid. I believe that conjunctions are the only ones that are truly felt and matter. Oppositions (meaning they conjunct your Anti-Vertex) are something I might explain in another post.

First, Vertex and the Houses in Synastry:

Vertex in the 1st House/Vx conjunct Ascendant. Vx person may feel more connected to themselves when meeting the house person, they may feel more self-aware, the relationship may feel like they were meant to meet and have the house person's presence in their life. Vertex in the 2nd house may show that through the relationship the Vx person will be provided with financial abundance, comfort, a physical relationship, confidence. Vertex in the 3rd House - communication, verbal connection they may have never expected to have with anyone, Vertex in the 4th house - the Vx person will be provided with an unepected home, family-like relationship, emotional security, Vertex in the 5th house is possibly one that shows a likely romantic connection as the Vx person will be provided with love, creativity through the relationship, a whirlwind romance, but also unexpected drama, they may question their ego and confidence due to the relationship, Vertex in the 6th house - the relationship may feel like an unexpected responsibility, it might be slightly draining, like the Vertex person has to care for the other person, Vertex in the 7th house/Vx conjunct Descendant can show that the relationship may bring an unexpected partnership between the two, but they can also be opponents, enemies, someone who will attack you surprisingly, Vertex in the 8th House can also be quite negative as it may show that the Vertex person may experience unexpected fears, worries, jealousy due to the relationship. It can also signify an unexpected sexual relationship or issues related with money experienced between the two people. Vertex in the 9th house - Vx person will be pushed into uncovering their true self, experiencing new events in their life with the help of the house person, you just grow in the ways you never thought you would in this relationship. Vertex in the 10th house can show an unexpected professional connection, you may help each other in your careers, Vx person may be provided with professional opportunities due to the house person, Vertex in the 11th house can show an unexpected friendship, a lot of support from someone you never thought would give it to you. The house person is the one that provides the Vx person with a lot of hope. Vertex in 12th house can also be quite negative. It can show an unexpected spiritual awakening for the Vx person due to the relationship, but it can also show self-doubt, fear, anxiety, you may feel pushed in the background due to this relationship.

Vertex and the planets in Synastry:

Vertex-Sun. Vx person will be provided with light, confidence, attention due to the relationship. They may feel like they are exchanging parts of themselves with the Sun person as in personality, likes/dislikes, charisma. The Sun person will have a lot of influence on the Vx person.

Vertex-Moon. Unexpected emotional connection and closeness. Vx person will be provided with emotional awareness, comfort, emotional security, nurture due to this relationship. But this may also bring some ups and downs due to the nature of the Moon.

Vertex-Mercury and Vertex-Jupiter. Both aspects may provide the Vx person with a lot of knowledge and information. Mercury person may provide the Vx person with a new mindset, new way of thinking, help them analyze their own self better. Jupiter person may provide the Vx person with confidence, wisdom, experience. The relationship will truly be something they will learn a lot from. Jupiter person will also provide them with the happiness they may not find anywhere else.

Vertex-Venus. This is one of the aspects that may signify a romantic connection. Venus person will provide Vx person with unexpected love, romantic attention, they will be the one who will love them, bring love into their life, it can be very sweet.

Vertex-Mars. Also a sign of a potential sexual relationship. It can be a connection that makes the Vx person find the strenght within themselves, helps them gain courage, take action. On the negative, Mars person may bring out unexpected chaos, tension, the relationship can be competitive and draining.

Vertex-Uranus. One of the biggest signs of a relationship filled with ups and downs, unexpected events, unusual circumstances. Vx person may feel like their life has changed when meeting the person, but it can be both positive and negative. It can be a relationship where there is no peace, there is always something happening, it can be unreliable, unstable.

Vertex-Neptune. Biggest indicator of a spiritual connection, spiritual awakening experienced by Vx person due to the relationship. But it can also feel unreliable, like you're living the relationship in a dream. Vertex-Pluto. Vx person may be influenced psychologically by the Pluto person. The relationship may help Vx person gain control of their life, but it can also be damaging, toxic, obsessive.

These aspects can be connected to unexpected romance, romance that was meant to be, etc. : Vertex-Juno conjunction, Vertex-Amor conjunction, Vertex-Valentine conjunction and as mentioned above, Vertex-Venus or Vertex-5th House/Vertex-7th House.

the perfection of every Midnights track (in order)

Track 1: Lavender Haze

the fact that it opens with "meet me at midnight", the tagline for this era. the pounding beats with drowned out melodies that makes it feel like you're hearing the song through the bathroom wall at a party winding down at midnight. the line "you don't really read into my melancholia." the narrative of pushing through the chaos of popular gossip and sexist social commentary, to be wrapped up in the soft 'lavender gaze' of a love and to surrender to falling down the love spiral.

Track 2: Maroon

the entire song reads like a narrative of a romance story, seeing vignettes of her falling in love with one connecting factor: various hues of red (the most romantic and bold color) bleeding into maroon. silly mistakes like him spilling wine on her shirt, passionate love marks left on her collarbones, rust that grew from telephones in between long distance calls, the blush on her cheeks. by the time the song ends and so does the relationship, the colors of these memories have faded from rubies and scarlet (remarkably more bright and happy colors) to maroon.

Track 3: Anti-Hero

brutally honest and self-reflective track, taylor's most sharp cutting lyrics yet. the insufferable passing of time, feeling at unease at every turn. how ease you feel doing self-destructive things (like staring at the sun) but then not being unable to face up to yourself and stare at the mirror. feeling like you're the problem at every turn, doubting your kindness as selfishness, acting out in unkind ways as a 'self fulfilling prophecy' because you already view yourself as the anti-hero.

Track 4: Snow on The Beach (ft. Lana Del Rey)

the soft strummings of instrumentals, taylor's delicate lyrics and pacing of her words mimic snowflakes slowly falling down, beautiful atmosphere on this track. the harmonies of Lana and Taylor's voices are absolutely heavenly, they complement each other's tones so well. the paradoxical image of there being snow on the beach to reflect falling in love in the most nonsensical, unbelievable and magical ways. feeling surrounded by a noiseless dream, not knowing if this is real - "it's weird but fucking beautiful, stars by the pocketful."

Track 5: You're On Your Own, Kid

after waiting eternities (watching fires wither into ashes, endless drip-drip of sprinklers and sitting through video phone calls with an unsympathetic lover smoking on the other end) - she realizes he's never cared and she's truly on her own. she yearns to escape this town and in an attempt to earn love, she's thrown meaningless parties and starved her body. it's all in hopes that she'll be saved by a magic kiss (as many princesses are saved in fairytales, notably). she endures it all, the jokes and fake friends and cruelty of the industry. but as she stands in a blood soaked gown, she sees it all for what it is: you may be on your own, as you always have been, but you can face it. such an incredibly relatable message and a harrowing yet comforting realization. you're on your own, but that also means you can save yourself.

Track 6: Midnight Rain

the distorted vocals and light synth rhythms work with the song so well, the reflections of why the relationship didn't work out are haunting her and replaying in her head. he's sunlight - nice, comfortable, comes from a picture perfect family with holiday peppermint candy. she's midnight rain - covert, hard to read, seeking out darkness and pain. it could've never worked out and she never thinks of him, except for on midnights like this (perhaps it was also raining when she wrote this song).

Track 7: Question... ?

Taylor's tortured by endless questions. she knows he's painted her nights with a color she's been searching for ever since. but with life, circumstances and miscommunications getting in the way she's ultimately been left with more questions than answers. the organization of the verses as different questions meant to unravel the failings of her relationship with this 'sad boy' is brilliant, showing us little glimpses into their history. her playful "it's just a question" after each biting remark, poking at the most sensitive and tense parts of their relationship, is exceptionally delightful.

Track 8: Vigilante Shit

the callback to reputation era is strong with this one! but whilst reputation revenge tracks were loud, unapologetic and messy, this track screams organized crime, meticulous planning and cunning games. the brilliant lyric ‘i don't start shit, but I can tell you how it ends'. the revenge storyline intertwined with the track of a coke addicted, high power businessman facing his downfall with his ex-wife and Taylor being on their 'vigilante shit' is just... some Bond level shit.

Track 9: Bejewled

the ultimate self-love, re-claiming your worth anthem. she's been letting him take advantage of her - walking over her peace of mind with shoes she bought for him - and she's tired of being too kind. "familiarity breeds contempt", being close to him has only drained her. so she's going to go out and polish up real nice because she's a jewel and a "diamond's gotta shine". i absolutely adore the twinkling sounds in the background, alongside with the peppy "nice" shouts in between verses and the upbeat beats underlying the whole track = it all beautifully constructs this image of Taylor shining bright like a jewel and it fits the happy emotive aspect of the track.

Track 10: Labyrinth

taylor's vocals are notably more muted, quiet and apprehensive on this track compared to the rest of the album. which makes sense, because she's lost in a labyrinth of her mind, facing her worst fears. like an elevator she knows will fall as quickly as it rises, she's frozen and lost in an endless maze as she realizes she's falling in love with someone who has the power to redirect the plane she previously thought was falling down. i also really love the cyclical imagery Taylor uses in this song to show her uneasiness at the situation, an attempt at repetitive patterns in order to calm herself: "breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out" and "break up, break free, break through, break down."

Track 11: Karma

For her enemies, karma is something to be afraid of (a bounty hunter, thunder, an agitating thought) but not for Taylor. instead, karma is a sweet cat, her boyfriend, the wind blowing through her hair on the weekends - it's a friendly force always on her side of the street. the concept of turning karma (this intacticle, inhuman concept) into a powerful force that she's friends with.... genius. Taylor's signaling her security and happiness, that ultimately karma will always be on her side and she's not worried. her sweet voice and glossy synths paired with these cutting lyrics are a pairing made in heaven.

Track 12: Sweet Nothing

the CUTEST love song ever, i adore how simple this track is. it starts out with a reference to a childish game - "i spy with my little eye" - and a pebble that she forgot she pocketed from Wicklow. the relationship is comfortable and sweet. Taylor sings about how so many people want her for fame and money, how there's immense pressure on her and endless demands and criticisms from all directions. but not her lover. he's content with just being with her, even when the world is banging down on the walls, he's humming in the kitchen and ultimately he doesn't want anything from her except sweet nothings. whisperings of love that are superficial in nature, sure, but contain and express so much affection and trust.

Track 13: Mastermind

the closing track to slay all closing tracks. the references to fate (stars aligning, lighting of a fuse) and meticulous planning (chess, dominoes falling in clockwork, being the wind in their free-flowing sails and liquor in their cocktails) add so much rich imagery to this song. this track touches a lot on the concept of control and self determination (a theme throughout the album be it lack of control, self destructive control or restrictive control) but the ending of this song makes it a little different. turns out, all along, he knew what she was up to. she didn't need to concoct all this Machevillian, mastermind level planning that she's been doing with all her relationships since she was a little kid because people didn't want to play with her. she's found her match.

A wave of proposed legislation pushed by Republicans across the US at the state level is aimed at outlawing aspects of sexuality that could have a huge impact on Americans’ private lives and businesses.

Opponents to the laws before legislatures in various states say the planned new legislation could spawn prosecution of breast-pump companies in Texas for nipples on advertising, or a bookstore might be banned from selling romance novels in West Virginia, or South Carolina could imprison standup comics if a risque joke is heard by a young person.

The bills are part of a post-Roe nationwide strategy by the religious wing of the Republican party, now that federal abortion rights have fallen. They range from banning all businesses that sell sex-related goods to anti-drag queen bills. Tyler Dees, an Arkansas state senator who wrote an anti-porn bill said: “I would love to outlaw it all,” referring to porn.

The most prevalent bills relate to age verification of sex-related websites. Seventeen states drafted porn age-verification bills, many inspired by Louisiana’s law that went into effect in January. Louisiana’s law requires websites featuring 33.33% or more pornographic content to check government-issued ID to verify users are 18 and older. Websites that don’t comply face civil penalties. Parents can sue the site if kids access it.

In Texas, a new bill requiring age verification on websites with pornographic content defines images of the female breast “below the top of the areola” as porn, potentially hitting at business advertisements. In West Virginia, a bill outlawing all sexually oriented businesses is on the docket, with a definition that includes art studios with nude models and wrestling arenas. In South Carolina a bill would criminalize using “profane language” related to “sexual or excretory organs or activities” in front of minors during performances. The punishment? Up to a decade in prison.

Some bills define porn so broadly that anatomy textbooks or sex education websites would meet them.

“I don’t think such laws for the internet are constitutional,” said Eugene Volokh, a professor of Law at UCLA.

Laurie Schlegel, a Republican state senator who drafted the Louisiana law, is a sex-addiction therapist educated at Baptist seminary, who opposed transgender students from being on sports teams that align with their gender. Schlegel’s anti-LGBTQ+ views fit with the broader goal of the laws, according to Carolyn Bronstein, a professor of media studies at DePaul University.

“These laws are really not about controlling minors’ access to violent pornography … In the conservative world view, pornography is information about LGBTQ identity, abortion, gay marriage,” said Bronstein.

Eight states have justified their actions by saying that porn is “creating a public health crisis”. Louisiana’s bill claims that pornography “may lead to low self-esteem, body image disorders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at younger ages … impact brain development … shape deviant sexual arousal, and lead to difficulty in forming or maintaining positive, intimate relationships, as well as promoting problematic or harmful sexual behaviors and addiction.”

Historian Whitney Strub, an associate professor of history at Rutgers University, doesn’t think these ideas are well-founded. “Framing pornography as a public health crisis is not driven by serious engagement with the social scientific literature,” he said. “They’ve even got fake peer-reviewed journals that give the imprimatur of scholarship … It’s been a very smart rebranding of evangelical Christian conservatism.”

Why are all these bills being proposed now? Strub thinks it’s partly because of the overturning of Roe v Wade. “Abortion gave a certain coherence to conservative politics in the United States. And it certainly still does … but they’re in the position of Ahab if he slayed the white whale … I mean, there’s no more Moby-Dick.”

There is hypocrisy on display also.

In many of the states where the anti-porn bills are being put forth, minors can legally have sex and get married. “In Louisiana, you can have sex when you’re 17 with a person in their 30s, but you can’t watch porn,” said Jason Kelley, associate director of digital strategy for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

In Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, the age of consent is 16. With parental permission, Mississippi allows 15-year-olds to marry, Louisiana 16-year-olds, Arkansas 17-year-olds, and West Virginia kids of any age.

Dees, who wrote Arkansas’s age verification bill, a copycat of Louisiana’s, said porn causes depression and anxiety, divorce and “permissive sexual attitudes” and infidelity. “When I think about the children … I want to protect their innocence,” Dees said.

Strub said this is an old trope: “The political figure of the innocent and imperiled child just has a never-ending purchase on American politics … [it] essentially shuts down debate because it immediately creates a binary in which anybody who disagrees with you is [a] perverted groomer.”

Dees is also the co-author of anti-drag queen legislation in Arkansas, that classifies drag performances as the same category as pornography. “It’s not really a meaningful distinction to [conservatives]. They’re both sexual degeneracy in its different guises,” Strub said.

Dees claimed that his porn verification law “doesn’t have anything to do with any political messaging. It has to do with exposure to material that is harmful, period … There’s a clear enemy in the smut-peddling garbage that’s online.”

But measures already exist to prevent children accessing porn. “There’s a really easy way to keep kids from accessing adult content. And that’s a device-level filter” on mobile phones that block adult websites that are registered as Restricted to Adults, said Mike Stabile of the Free Speech Coalition, which advocates for the rights of sex workers.

These laws, according to Stabile, aren’t going to stop kids from looking at porn. “Even if they were to block all sites, you’re still going to have adult content on Twitter and Reddit … kids will get VPNs,” he said.

Stabile thinks we’ll see up to two dozen age-verification bills introduced by the end of the year.

Dees hopes he is right and has eyes beyond the state level eventually. “My prayer is that enough states continue to push for this measure, and that we send a loud enough message where federal law can be put into place,” he said.

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/732112938662494209/its-always-been-kind-of-weird-to-me-that-incest

100% agree. I think the appeal of incest as a taboo in fiction is pretty obvious: people are attracted to the boundary-pushing, taboo nature of it, but they don't ACTUALLY want to fuck their relatives, they're still grossed out by that. but it's fun to watch someone else, someone fictional who is not their relative, transgress that particular taboo with someone else who is also not the reader's/viewer's relative (but is the character's relative). and by definition, there is an existing and likely complicated relationship between these characters that they can build on to create an interesting sexual/romantic relationship. the family relationship means the other person often knows and understands them intimately. there's often some degree of power imbalance. it just trips a lot of wires of things that people find exciting in romantic and smutty fiction.

it's also a particularly ridiculous thing to fixate on in terms of the supposed "real world" effects of reading idealized fiction about it. like, let's put aside the fact that we all know here that antis are wrong about what you get off to in fiction being what you're into irl, and the way they distort "representation matters" to mean that fiction always has a perfect 1:1 effect on how it influences people who consume it. for starters, incest is literally not something that an unrelated stranger can "groom you into," lol. because if they're not related to you it's not incest. and if they don't know anyone in your irl family... how would they be able to groom you that way? second, even if there were some potential that reading that would make you more interested in incestuous relationships more generally, that's only going to be a danger if there's someone else in your family who is already interested in and looking for opportunities to abuse that way.

(which, as a previous ask pointed out, is the only real "danger" of problematic fiction. yes, an abusive adult who wants to convince a teen that it's totally normal for them to have sex with that teen can probably use some fictional adult/teen romance they both like to make that seem more okay, but if they didn't have that they'd use something else. if they didn't have an adult/teen relationship, they'd use an age gap between adults - i've seen people use "well my parents were 10 years apart when they got married [as adults]" to excuse those kinds of relationships between adults and teenagers even though they're obviously different - and if they didn't have that, they'd find some other relationship that involved the characters having something in common with them. "age-gap relationships" are not inherently dangerous. abusers are dangerous, and abusers are opportunistic. shipping a certain dynamic does not make you an abuser. and honestly, probably the best people to put a stop to that are other people in that shipping community who can explain why enjoying this dynamic in fiction doesn't make it ok irl and how their feelings about the fictional vs. irl versions differ. but i digress)

honestly, i suspect that a lot of antis don't really understand what is the real "problem" with incest. they get overly fixated on blood quantum stuff, act like it's purely about the potential for birth defects and then project that same stuff on to couples where that isn't an issue (like same-sex couples, or distant cousins where the potential is significantly reduced). but the real issue is the potential for abuse. and most fictional incest either is an idealized version where that potential for abuse is not there OR if it's fucked-up, that is the POINT. no one was into shipping cersei/jaime in game of thrones because they were under the impression that the twins were NOT dangerously codependent. that was the appeal! it's the taboo of it all! it's that sometimes it's fun to watch people do things that they know are bad for them! it scratches the itch that makes you want to make bad choices yourself!

--

That previous anon post was about gwen was spot on and it has me thinking things

I really hate how people think Miles and Gwen have to get together in btsv. Like they just need to be together romantically, like that's the only satisfying way to tie the story together and its not. Like yeah we know they'll reconcile and everything but even then, I feel like them rebuilding their friendship just being friends and working towards building trust would be more powerful and realistic, maybe that's the aromantic (and anti this ship lol) in me talking but it's not necessary to just throw them together cause they're the main boy main girl, or "the build up" (which wasnt that much I feel?) or like Miles is some prize for Gwen to win after she 'saves him and makes it up somehow. Plus, Miles doesn't need to be so dependent/obsessive on her because he has new spider friends! Hobie Margo Pavitr who are spider people his age and who he can bond with as well! It doesn't have to just be about Gwen anymore (I'm seriously begging the writers to build his relationships with the other spiderteens and give focus to them and not just center Gwen, because centering and pushing the white girl over the black/poc characters will always rub me wrong)

Sorry for dumping this on you, I just had some thoughts xD

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

For one, I also think that it's kinda odd how many people feel that romance would be the only satisfying way to end their arc. Friendships being explored in a story have always held more weight to me than romance, especially if the romance in question feels unearned or contrived (which, let's be real, is the case for most het canon ships 🥴)

I think spiderverse is going to have to deal with the fact that Gwen is no longer the only person that Miles can possibly relate to or form bonds with. I would have an extremely difficult time believing that Miles' crush on her would be more valuable at this point in the story than his relationship with the characters who were actually there for him when it mattered. Them suddenly jumping back into a romance would feel odd.

It's no hate to Gwiles shippers though (at least the ones that are normal about it). I just don't feel inclined to be emotionally invested in their romantic potential 😭 I think rebuilding their friendship would be a much more realistic goal to work towards story-wise bc spiderverse already has so much going on

ɢᴇᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴜɴ

ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴜꜱᴇ(ꜱ) ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ?

Some of them it's hard to really pinpoint an exact reason why I pick up some muses, mainly I just get an itch to write a specific archetype or character, but usually it's because something about that character resonated with me! An example being that I really relate to Noriaki Kakyoin or with Alastor/Alucard, I just really wanted to write a sort of villain or character with some fucked up morals. It's fun and it challenges my writing a lot! I guess mainly, I like characters I feel I understand well or characters that push me out of my comfort zone.

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ?

Anything to do with SA, it's an absolute NO from me but I would think that's obvious that writing SA is kinda gross for roleplay? There's other stuff too, I really don't like ABO AU's, I just think the whole "alpha" and "beta" thing is just really weird and not my thing. Finally is just weird fetished, man. I'm not gonna RP a character getting blown up like a balloon or anything like that, no offence but it makes me EXTREMELY uncomfortable.

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ?

I love writing angst, romance, fluff, slice of life or even action!!! Those are all really fun genres to RP for me, especially angst because I'm a sadistic son of a bitch, so I get super hyped to RP messing with my muses!

ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ?

I'm usually inspired by music or fan art. Sometimes it's just me making a general observation and running with it or basing a headcanon off of life experiences!

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ɪɴ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ?

Music, absolutely. When I'm having trouble writing a muse, I listen to a song from a private muse playlist I made on Spotify that I associate with that muse and it REALLY helps me get more into character.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴘʟɪᴇꜱ ᴏʀ ᴡɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇᴍ?

Heavily depends on the RP! If it's a plotted RP, I do plan my replies for the most part but if it's one where I don't 100% know where it's going, I just wing it and hope for the best lol

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ?

YYEEESSSSS

ᴡʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀʟɪᴀꜱ/ɴᴀᴍᴇ?

Lu!

ᴀɢᴇ?

26

ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ?

November 17th

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ(ꜱ)?

Black, purple and pink!

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴏɴɢ(ꜱ)?

UGH THAT'S HARD. In Iolite by GHOST-P Ft Prinz, World Behind my wall by Tokio Hotel, Beautiful Times by Owl City, Patches by CircusP Ft KAITO and DEX and The Prayer Song For Rain by HitoshizukuPxYama Ft Rin/Len Kagamine

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

Dune 2. I got roped into seeing it and I didn't see the first one. It's good, I mean the costuming and design is incredible, but eehhhh I'm not a huge sci-fi person. I do like the anti-chosen one message though!

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

The Tudors, I'm almost done with season one!!!

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱᴏɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ?

Rabbit Hole by Deco*27 Ft Miku Hatsune

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴏᴏᴅ?

That's so hard when I'm honestly such a foodie lol It's a solid tie between papusas and alfredo pasta, gosh they're so damn good!

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ?

Fall! I love weather that's nice, cold and breezey so I can take walks and open windows!

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ?

Absolutely! @solartomes and @solacanis are some of my best friends on this site! I adore the both of them with my whole heart and they've been there for me through some pretty rough times in my life. My other best friends don't RP on Tumblr anymore, but we've all been one big group that I love to death!

Tagged by: @origami-assassin , another friend!!!! Tagging: @sncwlight , @featherchan , @waywardsculs , @hcttrick , @sacredpit , @swordsxandxsakuras and @gctchell !

Trigun Stampede is the funniest fandom to be in. It got everything problematic that antis hate and just refuse to acknowledge.

Spoilers for the new anime.

Wolfwood/Vash Shippers? Age Gap. Wolfwood is a 12 year shota in a man body due to unethical, genetic experiments that aged him and gave him regenerative powers. Vash is like pushing 150.

Meryl/Vash - Age gap. Meryl is deemed problematic because some consider her a loli cuz she is not only short but very young looking despite being an adult.

Any human relationship with Vash is problematic due to the fact he is not only immortal but one of the reason the humans are on the planet in the first place.

Vash/Nai - Plantcest. They are siblings. On top of that Nai is an abusive sibling who is obsessed with his twin Vash. He is a yandere to a T. All the atrocities he commits to to keep his dear brother safe from the horrible humans who he desires to genocide.

Vash/Nai/All the plants he got pregnant- All plants are genetically cloned. They are cloned from a single organism, thus all plants are related. Vash and Nai are Independent plants born from one of the original clones. Thus any plant Vash or Nai impregnated or romance is incest no matter what.

No ship is safe here. No ship has the high ground here. It’s the funniest to see people in this fandom complain only to be easily rebutted when their ship is found out.

I love it. I don’t even ship incest. But if I am in the circus might as well go full clown.

hell yeah

Mod: Different chemistry

This is a mod that changes compatibility between sims. It's based on @bstu's No Aspiration Chemistry Penalty and @dreadpirate's Zodiac Mod. It's the same kind of mod as those, so you can only have one. (There may be others out there that I don't know about.) Thank you to both of them for their work.

The astrological component of my mod is identical to dreadpirate's, which is less arbitrary than the original Maxis chemistry. See that post for all the details on that.

What is different in my mod is the way the aspirations respond to each other. There were some aspects of Maxis' aspirational chemistry that didn't make sense to me. This mod makes the matchups more “logical” in MY opinion and I figured I might as well share it if anyone else wants to try it out. bstu's mod gets rid of aspirational incompatibility (so no aspirations repel each other) and preserves the original attractions. dreadpirate’s mod changes astrological chemistry and preserves Maxis’ aspirational chemistry. Here is how mine works in terms of aspirations:

Just like Maxis, all the aspirations are attracted to "themselves"--Romance/Romance, Family/Family, Fortune/Fortune, Popularity/Popularity, Knowledge/Knowledge, and Pleasure/Pleasure all have positive chemistry. I also kept the extra mega chemistry for Grilled Cheese/Grilled Cheese.

The following pairs are also mutually attracted: - Romance/Pleasure - their goals are mutually beneficial. They often both want the same things and rarely want opposing things. - Family/Grilled Cheese & Popularity/Grilled Cheese - Grilled Cheese sims want to feed people. Works out for the big crowds that will theoretically build around Family and Popularity sims.

The following are one-way attractions (neutral on the other side): - Family is attracted to Fortune. Family sims benefit from a Fortune partner who will provide materially while the Family sim focuses on their family. Fortune sims are neutral to Family. - Popularity is attracted to Family. Popularity sims like having lots of people around to befriend, so a big family is fun for them. Family sims are neutral to Popularity. - Popularity is attracted to Pleasure. Pleasure sims are attractive to Popularity because they are fun at parties. Pleasure sims' goals are only incidentally and not necessarily social or party-related, so they are neutral to Popularity.

There is one one-way repulsion: - Family is repelled by Knowledge. This was a major complaint of mine. I really don't understand why originally these two have positive chemistry. Knowledge sims frighten and disturb Family sims by seeking out risky and unsettling experiences that can wreak aspirational devastation on the Family sim. I considered making Knowledge sims also repelled by Family, like they are condescending to the Family sim's provincial lack of intellectual curiosity. But on the other hand, Knowledge sims do enjoy teaching, and generally want to foster their children's growth. So I've made them neutral to Family, since Family sims don't really do anything that "hurts" Knowledge sims.

The following are push/pull: - Fortune/Pleasure - Pleasure sims are attracted to Fortune sims, whose material success can fund a luxurious and pleasure-seeking lifestyle. But Fortune sims are repelled by the irresponsible, anti-work Pleasure sims. - Romance/Family - Romance sims are repelled by the conventionally domestic Family sim. But Family sims (being attuned to the body's reproductive capacity) are susceptible to the Romance sim's aura of sexual potential. This gives this pairing a little bit of justification, if you play with the premades (where this coupling is arguably somewhat overrepresented). Besides...whomst can resist ~*~*~*the drama*~*~*~?

All other pairings that I did not specify are neutral, so there aren’t any mutually repulsive couplings. A lot of the aspirations are simply “indifferent” to each other’s goals, rather than actually destructive. This doesn’t mean chemistry is overall easier...in some cases, it could give more weight to other types of incompatibility (like turn offs). It’s not more or less dynamic than Maxis chemistry, it’s just different.

So, installing this mod WILL alter the chemistry among your preexisting sims. bstu's mod includes a readme that will allow you to edit it to your own liking, if you want to shake things up but can't find a mod that precisely works for you. So big thanks and credit to bstu and dreadpirate.

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Chapter 13. Biophilia, Creative Involution, and the Ecological Future of Queer Desire by Dianne Chisholm

Our essence as a species binds us to explore and affiliate with all life. We are lovers who can add up glucose, amino acids, water, fragrant oils, pigments, and other issue and call it both a flower and a mystical gesture. We can also decimate pollinators with an unloving tonnage of pesticides, precipitating the extinction of entire populations of those mystical gestures, once and forever. Lives without access to sensations are lives that edge out the earth’s raw, pervasive sweetness, that deeply biophilic connection to all life. –Ellen Meloy

Biophilia can be a mindful reverence for the infinity of organic sexual-social order; a love for the diversity of non-human life that stirs the mind to infinity for the beneficial enlightenment of humanity Biophilia can be an earthy curiosity for the erotic vitality with which life affects fidelity to extreme geography; an erotic-ethical affiliation between humans and nonhuman life in experimental symbioses whose ecological benefits are sensed and desired, if not fully cognizable (360)

Biophilia, Episemophilia, Cognitive Adventuring

What do nature writers want?; nature writers desire to know what nature desires (361)

“What does a prickly pear cactus desire that couples it so tenaciously to bare basalt sandstone with a sexual rhythm that erratically keeps pace with drought and flash flood? What conjunction of organic and inorganic elements add up to such a thriving, if exotic, symbiotic assemblage?

 the ‘intercourse’  that can develop is not zoophilic bestiality nor anthropomorphic romancing; rather it is a transmutation of human being into something other, prompted by the closeness of the human body to the vibrating heat and rhythms of the animal pack (361)

‘Becoming-other-than-human’; by being so close to animals (in this case big horn sheep) Ellen Meloy becomes caught up in the pack's migrations and affections in an other dimension of belonging to place. She senses an otherworld with de-familiarized, or deterritorialized human sensibility—a sensibility pushed to the limit of being human on the threshold of becoming other and she wishes to “bring back their startling news” to the human side, where human knowledge of the nonhuman can be put to mutually beneficial work.  

The human mind evolve(s/d) in contact with animal life (Meloy). Children playacting the animal; children are drawn to animals, animating the senses, connecting and communicating with others, to explore and affiliate with nonhuman lifeforms.

“Touched by indigenous life to the desert heartland, Meloy allies herself with native nature/culture and she foregrounds and reconnects pre- and post-colonial territorial practices” (372)

“To Touch an Otherworld”:Biophilic Ethics

Species interdependence is the name of the worlding game on earth, and that game must be one of response and respect…Queer messmates in mortal play, indeed.—Donna J. Haraway

For humans to aid bighorn survival, it is crucial to understand the zoogenic factor (or the autopoiesis of animal life) in co-evolutionary ecology.

Synthesis weds symbiosis in a post-anthropocentric recovery of the wild—a becoming-animal of wildlife management that “runs contrary to the historical imperative to press everything alive, dead, or otherwise into human service” (307) (374)

Deleuze emphasizes the anti-utilitarian, communal ethics of becoming-animal. “it is no longer a matter of utilizations or captures, but of sociabilites and communities” (1988, 126) (375)

Human alliances with wild animals that do not only protect animal territoriality but also promote animal-earth symbiosis. How can human interference proceed while respecting and/or preserving the other’s own relations and world? (375)

The Ecological Future of Queer Desire

“Opponents to native fish recovery programs…measure worth as most of us do, by human ego. What good are these fish? You can’t eat them, they appear to have no medical, economic, sport, or industrial value…even their file drawer in the wildlife management bureaucracy ---“nongame”---assigns them not their own innate something but that which they are not: not sport, not food. These fish, many people believe, are dead-end. Tertiary detritus with strange humps, and weird lips. They are just too queer….what does a humpback chub want?” ---Ellen Meloy

Rejects the ‘survival of the fittest’ in favor of cyborg syntheses and unnatural symbiosis (survival of the queerest?)—sexual selection that refines and perfects the family tree

‘sexuality is badly explained by the binary organization of the sexes, and just as badly by a bisexual organization within each sex. Sexuality brings into play too great a diversity of conjugated becomings; they are like n sexes, an entire war machine through which love passes” (Deleuze and Guttari 1987, 278) (375-6)

“Only queers can battle an imperative that unites Left and Right, thereby neutralizing domestic politics” (Lee Edelman, 2004)

“A better science and monitoring is required if variants are to be identified as sympatric (species that cohabit the same region, which do not usually interbreed but which do hybridize naturally, if rarely) or extrinsic (hybridization due to human civilization). More than improved technology , it takes devotion to distinguish variations that signal either adaptive evolution or “the last-ditch, high-pitched shriek of preextinction”. For life’s sake—or more precisely, for life for life’s sake—our biophilia is put to the ultimate test. (379)

Finished re-reading Eclipse (yeah, I’m going backward, sue me) and it truly is. Romance book logic at its finest. Some notes:

Antis whining and bitching about Edward’s overprotective behavior for 1/3rds of the book when 1) Bella does call him out on it and 2) Edward ends up apologizing and promising not to be so high-handed would be hilarious if people didn’t take that seriously. Granted, both Bella and Edward cannot stay angry with one another for one goshdarn minute (R&J: *glares, files a lawsuit*) without forgiving each other and making up. The most hilarious instance is Bella making her grizzly bears threat and then snuggling up to Edward when he returns (“I should infuriate you more often” he literally jokes). As for Edward, there is his agreement to miss out on the fight even when he clearly wants to go, but also at the end he was entirely willing to just give Bella the D!!! Without conditions!!! Too bad Bella finally realized it was best to make a proper farewell to her human life, she could have had a real happy time at their meadow.

Also re: “Edward isolates her, classic abusive behavior!!!” anti clown take…high-handed as Edward can be, he does not isolate Bella from her friends or cleave her from human life in general. On the contrary, he practically all but begs her to prolong her human life for a year or two or indefinitely, apply to and go to college, and spend more time with her human friends. He only has a problem with Jacob for obvious reasons re: treaty, romantic jealousy, etc. Hell, he doesn’t even want to her be a vampire. Edward’s chosen path is simply to be with Bella all throughout her human life. That is not the behavior of real-life abusers, btw. For better or worse, Bella’s becoming a vampire is driven chiefly by Bella herself. She decides whether it’s best to spend more time with friends or simply let those friendships go. She decides she wants to retain Jacob as a friend.

Jacob. My opinion is still the same: Fun character, still the worst as a love interest. I had more fun with him now than I did in my salad years (@my extremely salty teen self writing “DIE JACOB” for two whole pages, I know, bby, I get it), but thematically it does make sense. Eclipse is all about Bella realizing what she would give up re: her humanity, making her decision to become a vampire a truly informed one. That includes acknowledging Jacob as a potential love interest, Rosalie’s perspective, Jasper’s knowledge and history on newborn vampires and how truly violent the vampiric world is, seeing an example of a newborn vampire (Bree), and at least 1) human experience Bella does not want to miss out.

Speaking of which, Horny Bella!!! God I love this bitch!!! More seriously, I like the subversion of the virgin girl/bad boy trope by having Bella be the one to push for sex. And of course Bella agrees to marry Edward just so that she could have that sweet, sweet vampire D. I thoroughly approve.

The Edward and Jacob rivalry. 10/10, the best. I was eating mental popcorn throughout. Their stand-off at the school and Mike et al.’s subsequent bet, the male posturing, the tent scene…Edward’s jealousy especially was so entertaining. Edward’s reaction when Bella punched Jacob was sheer (romance novel) perfection. Charlie’s being blithely Team Jacob was the cherry on top of this social comedy sundae. And of course that tent scene was so iconic freakin’ Hunger Games copied it (and really badly. Why the hell did Collins even bother?).

On a related note: Those Wuthering Heights allusions were anvil-sized, but apropos, of course. I liked that Edward was the Heathcliff and saw himself in him, making Jacob the Linton. Fits into my personal theory of the Twilight Saga just being R&J, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights put into a blender.

Bella being the one to piece together the mystery once more. She really gets all the brains for the first 3 books. This time, though, I call bullshit on them not realizing Victoria’s obvious involvement once they realized the intruder and the newborns in Seattle were connected. It was very much obvious. The only real twist was the Volturi coming in.

Rosalie’s backstory was so realistic and is a great commentary on misogyny than it is given credit for. Bella’s reaction was underbaked, though. She does get (1) nightmare over it, but otherwise it’s Tanya’s interest in Edward that really sticks. (Honestly, I’m here for it. Jealous!Bella is second only to Horny!Bella. Again, romance book logic at its finest.) Bella had much more of a empathetic reaction to Leah’s dilemma than Rosalie, interestingly enough, considering Sam/Emily is drawn as an explicit parallel to her and Edward. Perhaps Leah being the Jacob of that particularly triangle did touch her…

Antis clutching their pearls over Jasper was a Confederate soldier…when Jasper mentions it once, expresses zero nostalgia for that period in his life, and doesn’t even explain why he enlisted in the first place. He wasn’t even fighting when he was turned, just evacuating the city. Either way, he wasn’t a soldier for long before he was conscripted into another vampiric war.

Cinderbella strikes again re: Charlie and Renée, both weak ass parental figures. Again, it gives rationale for Bella’s attraction to Edward (more mature, stable, educated) and to Jacob (happy-go-lucky, younger, more reckless, laissez-faire). Both devoted powerful protectors belonging to fantastical worlds. Yeah, that tracks

“I refuse to be affected by territorial disputes between mythical creatures.” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 This line is so underrated.

In Breaking Dawn, I wondered a bit how Edward could accept Vampire Bella so quickly re: his soul reservations, but Eclipse does provide an answer. Bella is worried Edward would prefer her as a human than a vampire, and Edward literally 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Nice to know this was no retcon and yeah, it tracks

Edward being so damn generous with Bella realizing she is in love with Jacob is really the core essence of Team Edward for me. Jacob would not have been so generous had Bella met Edward after she had Jacob. Edward does love her best. Honestly, I even think she and Edward are more alike than Bella and Jacob. Bella and Jacob clash more often than they agree. Jacob does read her and understand her a lot better, I’ll grant you that.

Book Bella: “But I want you to know something—when it comes to all this enemies nonsense, I’m out. I am neutral country. I am Switzerland.” Movie Bella: “i’MSWITZERLAND!!!1!” God, the movies did Bella so dirty.

After you’ve had time to process, I absolutely want to hear your thoughts on Taylor’s new album and how it relates to Dair

ah yes, my favourite activity from the national holiday that is taylor swift release day: dairifying the songs

maroon: i claimed this one RIGHT AWAY, do i even need to explain? i chose you, the one i was dancing with in new york with no shoes (taylor mentions new york in a song and i go *leo dicaprio pointing meme* THEM) the rust that grew between telephones the lips i used to call home. very end of s5-s6

anti-hero: i talked about here

snow on the beach: feels so 5x17-5x19 to me… like blair stepping into the loft and dan’s wonder at her wanting him as much as he wants her (you wanting me / tonight feels impossible). and like blair’s face in the met steps scene just screams weird but fucking beautiful !!

midnight rain: the life i gave away / he was sunshine i was midnight rain / he wanted it comfortable i wanted that pain….. WELL.

question…?: i mean. 5x15 kiss but no one clapped for them so. (but: did you wish you’d put up more of a fight / when she said it was too much? OOF)

labyrinth: i clocked that mention of elevators on first listen like HELLO because i’m normal. this song is lovely for dair, especially s4: oh no i’m falling in love again /i thought the plane was going down / how'd you turn it right around?

oh and the line you know how much i hate that everybody just expects me to bounce back just like that is so blair to me! especially wrt like—when she’s been hurt by ch*ck

sweet nothing: god i love this song so much and it’s just so THEM. thinking of all the chaos in their lives and how the loft is this safe haven for them: outside they're push and shoving / you're in the kitchen humming (anyone mentions kitchens in a song/poem and i go *leo dicaprio pointing meme* THEM) all you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing THAT’S REALLY IT! what i talked about in these tags here like there’s just no expectation from dan for blair to drop everything for him, no expectation to be saved or fixed by her (that was just an unexpected result of her love and friendship for him) it’s the first time where there’s NO expectation for her! sweet nothing! just love! oh and of course to you i can admit i’m just to soft for all of it THAT’S IT THATS THEM

paris: DAIRIS ANTHEM THATS RIGHT this song is so… you know what i talked about here about them being isolated but with each other? that’s this song! escaping gossip girl and the chaos of everyone around them. no i didn’t see the news cause we were somewhere else. romance isnt dead if you keep it just yours! in an alleyway drinking cheap champagne!!!!!! this is their song fr

high infidelity: DAIRFAIR ANTHEM blair to ch*ck like: you know there’s many different ways that you can kill the one you love / the slowest way is never loving them enough…do i really have to tell you how he brought me back to life? (and again: VERY relevant, perfect timing, 👀👀👀)

glitch: i mean, obviously. we were supposed to be just friends / you don't live in my part of town, but maybe i'll see you out some weekend. literally and then we started making plans to meet and even worse ENJOYING it. literally i never thought the person i’d want would be blair waldorf. i think there’s been a glitch!

@cuppatealove asked:

I've been sort of wanting to ask you something similar, but I can't quite frame it. I've been devouring a lot of writing advice, because I'd like to grow as a writer, but get torn between the urge to streamline my writing, have good pacing, trim the fat and make the story really pull the reader along, and the fandom urge to shun the rules and shamelessly dwell on all the moments that conventional storytelling doesn't have time for! (1/2)

(2/2) I guess if I were to try and turn that into a question, it would be: do you find you can let yourself indulge with fic a little in taking a bit more time over things, or do you think the trained writer in you is always going to pace stories the way you (forgive me) "should"?

Oh, no, you can absolutely indulge!

I’m not going to say it’s always true that readers will like what you’ll like, or that nothing should ever be cut. But actually, the one thing that I think has made me a better writer than anything else is a thing fanfic has taught me, which is to lean wholeheartedly into whatever it is that I’m writing. If there’s an emotion, go for all the emotion; if there’s a setup that could lead to [fun thing happening], then write the fun thing.

Romance (what I mostly write outside of fanfic) is particularly good for this because readers absolutely *love* long scenes of characters interacting with each other. You can have them spend all the time in the world going for walks and shopping and making out. Non-romance readers might be bored, but who cares? They’re not who the book is for.

Now, analytically speaking, every scene should do *something*. But where I think a lot of classic writing advice is wrong is that it doesn’t have to be strictly related to the plot, or doing 10 different things at once to be valid. “Being fun” is a perfectly good reason for a scene to exist all on its own. So is “showing the character’s personal life” and “delivering more interaction between two characters who are fun to write together” or “revealing that this character is afraid of snakes.”

Now, if you want to go for a stripped-down, lean, “every word counts” writing style, that is perfectly fine and valid, and in some genres (e.g. thriller) or for writing some kinds of scenes (e.g. an action scene in a fanfic) it’s practically obligatory. And at some point in the writing or editing process you’ll ideally end up looking at your fiction analytically and deciding if you really need three scenes of the character shopping, or twelve different aunts, and deciding to eliminate or combine some.

But you know what? Sometimes you DO need all those shopping scenes, and all those aunts because the chaos of the protagonist’s home life is part of the fun. You can always eliminate something because it doesn’t work for the story you’re trying to tell, but you should never eliminate something you want to write because it goes against some axiomatic piece of writing advice.

My fanfic is indulgent to the max, and I have consciously tried to teach myself to bring some of that indulgent attitude to my original writing as well, because I feel that it makes it better. I do certainly look at other advice as well - I read tons of writing books and articles, it’s not like I’m just “welp, I already know everything there is to know about writing!” I learn new things and practice them all the time. But I assess each new piece of advice based on whether it works for me, keep what’s useful, and discard a lot of it because it doesn’t work for the kind of books I like to write.

Frankly, since I write romance and a lot of professional writing advice is actively antithetical to writing the sort of slow, lush, detail-rich books that romance readers like, I throw out a LOT of writing advice because it’s actively anti-useful for me.

So basically I would say, if you find that following a piece of writing advice feels like it’s making your writing better and tighter and stronger, then keep doing it; if it feels like it’s pushing you away from the stories you want to write, then ignore it. Absolutely no advice works for everybody all of the time, and absolutely no writing advice applies to every instance of writing even if it sound like it.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and you know what’s great about throwing in all the extra stuff? Sometimes four books later, or six chapters down the line in a chaptered WIP, you’ll realize that there’s an absolutely GREAT way that you can make use of an otherwise irrelevant scene that you put in earlier, and make yourself look smart and prepared. 😂 If you went and wrote that scene making a character afraid of snakes, and now you can put a snake in, then everyone will go “Ooooh, she’s so brilliant, look at that foreshadowing!” when actually it’s just that you saw an opportunity and already had the earlier scene written to allow you to jump on it.

A wave of proposed legislation pushed by Republicans across the US at the state level is aimed at outlawing aspects of sexuality that could have a huge impact on Americans’ private lives and businesses.

Opponents to the laws before legislatures in various states say the planned new legislation could spawn prosecution of breast-pump companies in Texas for nipples on advertising, or a bookstore might be banned from selling romance novels in West Virginia, or South Carolina could imprison standup comics if a risque joke is heard by a young person.

The bills are part of a post-Roe nationwide strategy by the religious wing of the Republican party, now that federal abortion rights have fallen. They range from banning all businesses that sell sex-related goods to anti-drag queen bills. Tyler Dees, an Arkansas state senator who wrote an anti-porn bill said: “I would love to outlaw it all,” referring to porn.

The most prevalent bills relate to age verification of sex-related websites. Seventeen states drafted porn age-verification bills, many inspired by Louisiana’s law that went into effect in January. Louisiana’s law requires websites featuring 33.33% or more pornographic content to check government-issued ID to verify users are 18 and older. Websites that don’t comply face civil penalties. Parents can sue the site if kids access it.

In Texas, a new bill requiring age verification on websites with pornographic content defines images of the female breast “below the top of the areola” as porn, potentially hitting at business advertisements. In West Virginia, a bill outlawing all sexually oriented businesses is on the docket, with a definition that includes art studios with nude models and wrestling arenas. In South Carolina a bill would criminalize using “profane language” related to “sexual or excretory organs or activities” in front of minors during performances. The punishment? Up to a decade in prison.

Some bills define porn so broadly that anatomy textbooks or sex education websites would meet them.