#sorry this post is way less structured then my other ones
Note
Hi. I just found your The Far Roofs post and I'm smitten by the beauty of the prose and the images it evokes. I'm reading through the kickstarter page and I'm going to look up what I can about the author, but it doesn't do harm to ask you directly too:
I'm not necessarily into playing this or the other games by the author, but I absolutely need to get my hands on more texts like the one you shared about Unicorn. Are the rulebooks the only place to read them? And if so, is there a grander story (that would necessitate reading the books in a particular order) or are these just flavour texts accompanying each new chapter or game mechanic?
Sorry if this is A Lot, I just hadn't read anything like that and it moved me in ways I wasn't expecting for such a brief excerpt.
(With reference to this post here.)
There's a grander story in the sense that, like many of Dr. Jenna Moran's games, The Far Roofs has a default campaign structure with some fairly specific plot beats. Technically the rats and the Mysteries are part of a broader setting set forth in greater detail in Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine (an earlier game by the same author), though it's not necessary to have played or read CMWGE to understand what's going on in The Far Roofs.
If it's the prose in particular that grabs you, however, you might check out Dr. Moran's published novels. The Night-Bird's Feather is probably the most accessible starting point of the lot, being a collection of literary fables loosely structured around the life story of a minor NPC from the CMWGE canon. My personal favourite is An Unclean Legacy, though I wouldn't suggest starting there; it's a less refined and more eclectic work, and getting your hands on an electronic version may be problematic if you're participating in the Amazon boycott, as I don't think the e-book is presently available elsewhere.
(Also, strictly speaking An Unclean Legacy is fanfic with the serial numbers filed off, and if you're going in unspoiled, you will be so mad when you figure out what it's fanfic of.)
362 notes
·
View notes
Text
how each driver would respond to “would you love me if i was a worm” 🪱
(and you actually get turned into a worm)
charles leclerc: gets the whole ferrari team to take turns looking after the worm. there’s a care roster and a motivational talk and everything. you become not charles’s worm but the ferrari worm. he posts a really cool social media story about “my journey looking after the worm.” you are loved, if a bit haphazardly.
max verstappen: “do i have time to keep a worm? probably not. but i will get someone to get you a decent box i guess. sorry if my cats eat you.”
oscar piastri: “no. you’re a worm.”
lando norris: professes his love and says “of course i would, babe”. only to be away so much on holiday or busy on track that you eventually perish in your enclosure
lewis hamilton: yes and will get you the most beautiful box with all sorts of fronds and ferns. he will build you the cutest little jungle gym of mind-enriching worm activities. you will see him about once a year but he will make sure you’re always fed and happy. he will help raise awareness of worms in their ecosystems all over the planet
carlos sainz: actually is very good at keeping the worm/you alive but is thrown for a loop because charles and lewis are all doing exceptionally with their worms. he flushes you down the toilet in a moment of emotional distress
alex albon: doesn’t tell anybody about the worm but will eventually have the longest living worm although everyone will forget this fact.
george russell: holds a drivers meeting about whether it is ethical to keep worms and should they in fact be considered emotional support animals. the vote is split and the outcome is undecided
fernando alonso: makes a tiktok with you “day in a life with my worm”. then leaves you on the side of the road and you roast to death under the sun
lance stroll: begrudgingly looks after you for about a week after which he pawns you off to his sister who is now stuck with his random worm
kevin magnussen: gives the worm to his daughter who uses it for a school project. it’s very cute
nico hulkenburg: people forgot about him so he didn’t even get a worm. he’s not that sad about it.
zhou guanyu: would seem totally neutral about it but end up incorporating a worm design into his track fits and his helmets. his worm helmet goes super viral on weibo.
valtteri bottas: will use you for fishing bait and might be a bit sorry about it.
pierre gasly and esteban ocon: constantly fighting over the same worm. nobody knows that the other has the exact same one. it ends with the alpine TP stepping in and confiscating the worm. the worm somehow gets acquired by mclaren.
yuki tsunoda: he keeps you in a box that is structurally very questionable but yuki somehow finds time on the road to get you the highest quality worm feed and vegetables. you thrive under his gourmand care although he shakes the box way too hard sometimes
daniel ricciardo: changes you immediately for a caterpillar and hopes nobody notices. the caterpillar takes ages to turn into a butterfly and then people are asking bro i thought you got a worm. he gets a caterpillar tattoo.
sergio perez: couldn’t care less. thought you were roadkill stuck on his windshield and squishes you with the windscreen wiper by accident
logan sargeant: WHAT DA FUK IS A WORMMMMM? your worm life ends prematurely when logan accidentally drops your box on the floor. james vowles gets him a new worm and it remains to be seen whether the second worm is better (hopefully it is).
#f1blr#f1#f1 headcanons#formula 1 memes#formula one#the grid#this is so deranged im sorry#but i had fun headcanoning what would happen if they had to look after worms#tales of the chronically online#ngl i made myself laugh while writing this#no worms were harmed in the making of this post#wisteria talks#wisteriaHCs
262 notes
·
View notes
Note
I was wondering if you had any readings on the biological aspects of transitioning, especially with the info you use to deconstruct the transphobia argument that being transgender is ‘against biology’. Im a biological sciences major, but haven’t gotten to discuss (much less find resources on) this topic.
Thanks in advance.
Long and rambling response incoming! Sorry for leaving this in my inbox for a few weeks.
This is a very interesting topic to me, and doesn't really have a clean answer. Because its not really about the biology itself, its mostly about the philosophy of science, and how it interfaces with ethics, etymology, and societal understanding. The primary thing to understand is that science is *descriptive*. Morality or classifications are societal determinations that we use to "wrap" scientific observations- gender is therefore the societal "wrapper" to sex, which, over centuries, has snowballed and taken a social definition well past any biological system.
That being said, most of my arguments hinge on the totality of changes that are possible with HRT, and how they affect the molecular mechanisms of sex determination. To me, this sheer totality means that a trans man with significant time on HRT can actually be considered a "biological man", and vice versa for a trans woman. To me, the sheer extent to which cell expression patterns change, and structural elements of the body change, means that the way that transphobes use terminology like "biological sex" is bullshit.
And as I've said before, this is NOT a transmedicalist argument, and if I ever sound transmed, I am sorry. Part of the totality of this biological definition includes the interface of genetics, pyschology, and sociology that comprehensively includes all trans people, even those not on HRT. Rather, I use the changes of HRT as a way to demonstrate the plasticity of sex in humans and other animals, and how thin the barrier between sexes actually is. This punches holes in a lot of the propaganda that transphobes tend to roll out, and helps demonstrate how flimsy their talking points are.
All of this is to say, something can't be "against biology" because biology is morally neutral. It's not morality. It's not static definitions. It's a set of observations. But, our thinking about definitions and classifications can reflect and be advised by these observations. For me, it helped to think about HRT changes, because my personal mentality is one of a constructed identity. I define myself by what I am in the moment, and if I can document my current state, that helps define who I am- which is a woman. The biology of transition told me how deeply that is true, and continually becomes more true, on a molecular level.
So. Here's some individual papers and points that help guide my thinking on the topic, and how each helped me find peace with transitioning:
Medical descriptions of changes on HRT:
I'm sure everyone is familiar with this and the WPATH, but from the perspective of medical expectations. Instead, take a look at the changes documented here, and start thinking about how deep and profound they are- these cell types and body structure are sitting there just waiting to happen, and they are literally the same as their cis counterparts. This was huge for me in accepting that my post-HRT body wouldn't be "fake", and actually is literally the
Review paper of sex determination pathways in the animal kingdom:
Transphobes use chromosomes as a prescriptive definition of sex and gender. However, if you take a broader look and see how sex determination works in animals with similar genetic mechanisms as us, it becomes pretty clear that chromosomal sex determination is a late addition to the party. Essentially, most animals use a fairly random mechanism to ensure an advantageous sex ratio in their population. This is often environmental or based on some random gene on chromosome that looks nothing like XY sex determination, but if a large chromosomal deletion comes along, its a convenient way to keep the big version of the chromosome always paired with the small chromosome- for example, the X chromosome always being paired with another X, or its half-deleted pair, the Y chromosome. But there's nothing intrinsic about the chromosomes itself that define sex, its just an evolutionary ride-along mechanism.
So what does actually determine sex? Well, as with any broad scale developmental effect, one signalling molecule or gene can cause extensive downstream genetic effects, and that active, lived set of gene expression then defines what secondary sex characteristics develop.
(even though the main point is about spermatogenesis, it does provide a lot of nice summary figures about testosterone signalling)
While these papers don't talk about trans people, the introduction of cross-sex hormones will activate these pathways, and cause the wide variety of downstream transcriptional changes in gene activation. Essentially, the active genes in your body will follow the dominant upstream sex hormones in your body. If you're transfemme, on HRT, the active genes in your body are female ones. If you're transmasc, on HRT, the active genes in your body are male ones.
While I never explicitly studied trans people in my biology education, studying principles of gene regulation, chromosome biology, and just a tad of reproductive physiology means that I started to think about how all of those interface with the way we define ourselves in a lot of ways. And usually, that is dynamic- you can have developmental changes kicked off by signalling molecules later in life, and it would be deranged to ignore those changes out of spite and insist that the biological system is still the thing it was before. Sex determination is not exempt from that.
Again, I use HRT changes as an example, but you can find many similar papers on the psychology of transness even pre-HRT.
But, I would caution against trying to find a "root biological reason" for being trans pre-HRT- its likely too polymodal to accurately characterize. It's why I stray away from neurological papers and arguments here. That is an ENTIRELY different argument and this post is already long. But hey, every ask I get like this helps formalize my thoughts on the matter. Hope this helped!
134 notes
·
View notes
Text
loser monologue.
manjiro sano x fem!reader (1.8k)
warnings: some explicit nsfw, angst + implied tr spoilers not proof read
a/n: this is soso bad im sorry im gonna post this and ghost this site forever </33 anyways this fic follows the lyrics of loser monologue by sign crushes motorist
i stare at your pictures for hours on end
dreaming, fantasizing about holding you
feeling my hands on your bare skin
just being with you
the numbing atmosphere wrapped around manjiro's body as he sat on the edge of his bed, moonlight illuminating his pale features while he reaches for a familiar portrait. the edges of the photo have weakened, growing flimsy as the structure had deteriorated over time. despite this, manjiro saw the picture the same every time, just like how he did when it was first printed out of shinichiro's old canon camera - one he had inherited after his brother's death.
as manjiro brought the picture closer into view, your familiar face welcomed his sight. the only light flinting onto your picture was from tokyo's street lights, captivating your features etched permanently onto the photograph. his impassive black eyes skimmed the back of the paper as he flipped it, reading the date while he vividly recalled the day.
june 18th, 2006
the former blonde had always thought you were stunning. in his eyes, no one compared to your beauty. he admired everything about you - the way you looked in the mirror to style your hair or the way the sunlight touched your skin and illuminated every feature. the imperfections you saw were only human to him, the blemishes and freckles that littered your skin, and the slight crease between your eyebrows that grew from the occasional scoldings he faced when he fought.
that particular day, you had been walking along the docks manjiro always visited. he carried with him a piece of taiyaki, stuffed with red bean paste that he generously munched on while you made your commute. as you sat on the concrete structures, you looked ahead and admired the gaze of the sun. the wind grazed your hair, blowing it back to reveal more of your face as you turned to manjiro with a slight smile - one he always adored to be blessed with.
the two of you spent hours along the water, admiring the beauty of your surroundings. for you, the surroundings were the way the sun paved light against the grass, the wind blowing against the stray flowers, and the occasional wildlife that passed by. for manjiro, his admiration was solely for you. it was discreet and you were far too enamored with nature to notice how he looked in your direction. hours of talking about school, what you wanted to do when you grew up, and how you planned to stay along each other's side the whole way. you didn't know it would never happen, but it wasn't your fault. sharing earbuds and listening to each other's favorite music while you passed jokes until sunset. he remembers taking the picture. the way the light flashed and your soft laughter could be heard ringing in his ears - only now it was a faint echo, something he wouldn't allow himself to experience again. he had shared some of his taiyaki with you, something he was adamant about keeping for himself despite your pleas. but there was one thing manjiro was entirely weak for - love. so, for you he allowed you to finish his beloved snack. he had taken the picture in the middle of you eating the treat, being graced with a slight scold of how it's 'impolite' to take a picture while you're eating. he couldn't care less, though. manjiro found himself smiling at the faint crumbs around your mouth and the close-mouthed smile that stretched your lips.
when the cold nipped at your bare skin, manjiro made sure to encase his hand in yours as he led you to his bike. he'd drive you home, peaking over his shoulder occasionally to see how you took in the night of tokyo. the way your eyes gleamed, the way he could feel your grip around his waist tighten as you buried your head into his back with a giggle.
god, you were so beautiful.
manjiro was too busy reliving the memory to notice the way his finger brushed against the photograph, caressing your cheek while he continued to get lost in his thoughts.
but i know it'll never happen
but i can't stop myself from fantasizing
the long black locks cascaded over manjiro's face as a sigh escaped his mouth. often times late at night, his mind would drift and he would think about what could've been if he never left. but he would never know because he could never go back. he can't help but wonder if you would love him how he is now. would you still hold him tightly like you would on your late motorcycle rides? would you still comb his hair back and style it when draken didn't have the time to? would you still look at him with those eyes - the ones he can't help but feel staring back at him even through the old memories.
"'jiro, sit still!" your muffled reprimands entered his mind once more.
"god, how does draken even deal with you sometimes?" you giggled under your breath, trying to hold the hair tie between your teeth while you split manjiro's blonde hair. he could feel your nail card through his strands, leaning into your touch as he retold the events of his dream from the previous night.
"it was the best! i could feel the wind against my skin when I was racing," he chuckled as he rocked back and forth. "someday, i'll be racing on the track professionally," he added, turning his head once he felt you tug his hair into a half-up. he could see the ghost of a smile flint on your lips as you spoke.
"does that mean i get to cheer you on from the sidelines?" you asked, tilting you head with a smile.
"only if you're still buying my weekly dorayaki," he teased, his dark eyes admiring your features while you brushed any loose strands away from his face.
you rolled your eyes, taking his hand in yours while you guided him to stand up. "come on, you'll be late for school," you reminded him, the warmth from your hands providing a blank expression of surprise across the blonde's face as you let out a soft giggle.
you're so beautiful and funny
and anytime i see your picture or even hear your name,
my stomach flips and i get butterflies
every word you say sends goosebumps over my body
loving him must've been easier in your head. as he sits in his room - thumbing at your photograph the way he had done so many times before - he recalls his last memory of you.
it was different this time. it was so real, even when he was just reliving the past. he would do anything to touch you and drag his hands across the expanse of your body, caressing your waist and holding your hand as he slowly fucked himself into you.
"doing so good f'me," he praised as he hovered above you, stroking the stray wisps of hair that stuck to your forehead from perspiration. he let out soft groans, feeling you clench around him as his thrusts grew strategically deeper.
"always so pretty," he grunted, his onyx eyes peering into your own as tears welded on your lash line. your hands wandered manjiro's, hugging him closer to your chest as he continued fucking your cunt. goosebumps spread across his skin at your touch, one so gentle that he could only receive from you.
"m-manjiro," you whimpered, burying your head into the crevice of his neck as tears streamed down your flushed cheeks. it was desperate - the cries you wailed for him and the occasional whimper he'd let slip. you had waited so long for this moment; getting this close to him. "i'm gonna cum," the plea escaped your mouth, prompting manjiro's eyes to flicker on your glossy, abused lips.
he grunted, shifting his eyesight away from your face as he buried himself deeper, "cum for me," he whispered, "wanna feel you come undone on my cock,"
his voice was entirely demanding but remained to carry an undertone of affection alongside it. this moment was perfect - the moonlight glistening upon your sweat-glazed bodies as occasional thuds of your bedframe roamed through the room.
you whined as your cunt constricted, clenching him tight to your walls as you felt your orgasm wash over you. desperate cries of his name fell from your lips, the feeling of him filling you up overtaking your senses.
manjiro slowly pulled out, his hands making haste to support your limp body as he guided you to lay on his chest. the heat spread satisfyingly throughout your body as you lay there alongside him, glossy eyes fluttering closed while feeling manjiro's thumb wipe away your leftover tears.
"i'll love you more than you'll ever know,"
it was the last night he ever shared with you. he knew his battle against the second generation of toman was tomorrow and he wanted nothing but you to keep you by his side. but it was wrong. it was selfish. he couldn't ridden you with his compulsive tendencies. every time he blacked out and saw more blood seeping through the wrinkles of his hands; he knew he was losing control, and he would lose you soon too.
he couldn't risk it. living with all he's lost and knowing you would just be another causality dealt with his own hands. the life you would live alongside him wasn't the one you dreamt of as children. it was violent, murderous, and dangerous. you deserved better, didn't you?
he wants to go back. he misses you so badly - you were his comfort, his person. but it's gone now. the years of friendship - no, the years of something more that grew gradually between the two of you were wasted and thrown out. tossed to the back of the blonde's mind like nothing more than a bad dream. he'd atone for it soon, he just wasn't sure when. surely, this was the life he deserved, was it not? if he had, he couldn't guarantee the safety of you or anyone remotely close to him. so he sits in his million dollar penthouse alone. the darkness crowding the house as he sits there and stares at your photo, the one he had held so many times before but could never quite feel the warmth nor the comfort he sought. this weekly routine he followed, he was still holding onto everything he had.
i've tried for so long not to look at you
to not look at pictures of you
to cut off all contact with you
but i can't stop it
i can't stop how i feel
i don't know if i'll ever stop feeling this way
at least not for a long time
#im sorry#anyways#mikey sano#mikey x reader#mikey sano x reader#mikey fluff#mikey x reader fluff#tokyo revengers#tokyo revengers x reader#tokyo revengers fluff#tokyo revengers smut#manjiro sano smut#manjiro sano fluff#manjiro sano x reader#manjiro fluff#mikey sano headcanons#manjiro sano angst#mikey x reader smut
378 notes
·
View notes
Text
My personal interpretation of the Ghost Language/Ghost Speak headcanon-trope, an incomprehensible comprehensive summary.
As seems to be a common theme with my headcanons, this is one of those I came up with shortly after watching the show thinking it was somewhat unique, only to discover an idea like this has existed in the fandom for a while when I made a tumblr blog. It’s also one of the headcanons I have that, despite already existing within the fandom, do not fully align with accepted fanon. So, uh, here’s a post I guess.
My idea of ‘Ghost Language’ is less of an established language and more of a… magical form of communication??
Ghost Language - or Ghost Speak, as I will call it from now on - is a very abstract form of sharing information as it’s less about speaking words and more about beaming your emotions and memories directly into someone’s head. It comes from the ghost’s core (which in my interpretation is pretty much the soul and every ghost has one, not just those that developed elemental powers.), has no traditional language structure and is a natural ability of every ghost. It’s impossible to be replicated by humans and other non-ghostly entities and the way it sounds varies from spirit to spirit, however it is almost always unpleasant to human ears. If you are a ghost with a more developed core (meaning you either have an elemental core or powers unique to you) your Ghost Speak will be overlayed with sensations (or sounds) associated with whatever the hell is going on with your core.
Ghost Speak is a form of revealing information directly from your core and as such is incredibly personal. (Literally speaking from your soul lol) Basically if you're trying to share any kind of information in ghost speak, like for example you want to tell a friend you're going home, you'd be showing them parts of the memories and emotions associated with home (and the idea of returning there) stored in your core. Which means that, instead of the simple announcement that you're returning home, you reveal the general idea of what/where your home is, who shares it with you, how you feel about the place and the people you live with and partially what the journey home means to you.
You cannot lie and you have basically no way of obscuring information, since you are momentarily opening your core to another person.
Which is incredibly fucking dangerous if you're speaking to someone who you really don't want knowing anything about your home life. It's just an open stream of very personal information and (fully formed) ghosts only use it to communicate very rarely and that is only in the circumstances of complete unconditional trust.
I specify fully formed because newly formed weak spirits that are confined to following a specific set of mannerisms and are incapable of verbal communication rely on ghost speak to call (beg) for help, usually with a recounting of their death, hence the moaning and wailing and a plethora of other ‘creepy’ noises. Since Ghost Speak comes as a natural ability, many weaker spirits won’t even realize they are using it in their attempts to communicate.
ANYWAY, I’m too tired and my head is swimming from all this text so I’ll cut it short here, but feel free to ask if you got any questions? I realize I haven’t really explained it that well, I’m not a writer and also written word is just generally painful for me to look at so I’ve likely made a few errors XD Sorry ‘bout that! Hope someone has a little interest in this regardless! Thank you for reading :3
499 notes
·
View notes
Note
(Violetbirdie here)
I think it's complicated due to a variety of issues. 40k as a franchise is huge, but it isn't the sort of thing that tends to have overlap with tumblr type fanspaces. It also doesn't help that 40k is a fractured fandom featuring tons of different factions, so it's not like a standard fandom where there are main characters and a main story that people will always flock to. The primarchs are the closest thing we have to that, which is why there is naturally more content for them.
In addition, fandom itself is in a bit of a flux state and has been ever since the 2018 nsfw ban which caused a lot of people to leave for twitter, which is now undergoing its own huge changes right now (and I just hate twitter on principle).
I suppose the one thing I think would help, would be somehow getting the 40k tumblresque fandom space more consolidated as a whole. Like, somehow have a blog that is popular for all factions that posts headcanons about everything, thus getting people interested in parts they don't normally think about. Because 40k is a huge time investment to learn about. I've been listening to audiobooks for what feels like nonstop for over a month, and even then I could only ever feel confident telling people about Emperor's Children. So it naturally is harder for new people to get into the fandom and focus on some of the smaller things because there is just so much.
It's almost how I view your blog. I check it daily for fun art/headcanons/just general character stuff, and you made me more interested in some of the captains and such. But even then, you have your focuses. So a space even more general where someone would reblog art from everything 40k would likely be nice? Maybe I just miss the livejournal days of fandom.
As far as more engagement, I think having silly things like character weeks which encourages people to draw or write or talk about specific aspects is a huge benefit. It sets a schedule and makes people feel like they are shouting less into the void.
But as someone new here, maybe its my weird perspective, but I don't feel like things are getting less popular. If anything, from just checking AO3, it seems like things are only getting more popular for less of the reddit type and more for the Tumblr wanting to see hot dudes and their complicated feelings type. Also more people are getting into 40k in this side of the space through rogue trader. Like people I never talked to about 40k are starting to look into the series because they played Baldurs Gate 3, and needed a new RPG to play, and conveniently Rogue Trader is filling that for them.
So, I'm optimistic if anything.
Sorry about the long ramble! Just kinda dumping my thoughts out.
I love Tumblr because, unlike Twitter or Bluesky, it allows for way longer, way more elaborately structured posts. I love it when artists don't just slap their pics into a post and be done with it, but instead add stuff like maybe "I read this book, here's a quote, and it gave me this mighty need to draw this". Or "please listen to this music here while looking at my pic! It goes perfectly with it!". Or just a multi-paragraph-essay (preferably very unhinged) about the character in the upper left corner.
This in advance, so you can see I'm totally with you on the "miss Lifejournal"-thing, because blogs are so much better than just 500 characters, four pics and nothing else. And why I think Tumblr is a very good replacement for Lifejournal.
The multitude of Tumblr-blogs with their many different angles are such a treat and provide such a rich ecosystem! I follow artists posting exclusively admech-stuff, others solely Drukhari, some writers focussing on just one Astartes Legion ... it's phantastic and the depth of their niche-knowledge is mindblowing.
I agree with you that this will be overwhelming for new fans coming from rather monolithic stuff like Rogue Trader. And the key to keeping those new people involved and making them feel welcome is showing them all this variety without scaring them away.
Maybe this new feature Tumblr is working on, can be helpful here. I haven't read much about it yet, but it seems the "Community"-feature has the potential to bundle stuff in a way that's more approachable for new and old fans alike. Maybe there's room for your idea of having "character weeks" (I like that! Sounds very MacDonald's. I'll have Fabius with extra pickles, please! 😁).
I'm sharing your optimism that both the new games and maybe the new series/movies will bring a lot of new fans over and some of them may even stick around. I am a bit wary that there's the possibility of a MCU-situation starting to build up, but since Warhammer-lore is in a constant state of flux anyways this might just add some spice to the mix.
So, yeah, hope for the darkest of futures!
43 notes
·
View notes
Text
fanfiction being bad is actually a good thing
sorry that one post has just put me into a musing mood abt like. the way people respond to "bad writing" in fanfiction. so i have written a little essay xx
anyway. first off, any measure of "bad writing" is going to be inherently subjective, whether or not people want to acknowledge that. no matter what critera you use to try and claim that ur measure is more "objective," you will still be able to find published fiction that does not meet those criteria, which is part of the reason that i think it is ridiculous in the first place to act as though "book" and "fanfiction" are two diametrically opposed categories of literature in which "book" = good writing and "fanfiction" = bad writing such that the only way to express a book is bad is to claim it's "more like fanfiction than a book" and the only way to elevate fanfiction is to claim that it's "more like a book than fanfiction." and of course there are all the underlying issues with classism racism ableism etc when buying into the myth of the meritocracy of publishing.
but even acknowledging that any measure of "bad writing" is going to be subjective, i don't think it's unfair to cultivate your own standards for what makes writing good versus bad. everyone is going to do that anyway, so what's more important to me is that a person understands what factors are influencing their measurement and acknowledges the subjectivity inherent to this sort of critique. and i do think, generally speaking, that media which exists within a profit economy is fair game for critique as to whether it is "good" or "bad," as i have talked about before on my blog. and i think depending on what criteria you are using to define bad, there will be instances where it makes more or less sense to make normative judgments about the popularity of such media. for example--if someone says "marvel movies shouldn't [normative judgment] be so popular because the writing is cringey," i find that a less compelling argument than "marvel movies shouldn't be so popular because they are military propaganda."
but i don't think that sort of critique about whether writing is "good" or "bad" has a place in fanfiction spaces. aside from the fact that fanfiction exists primarily outside of any profit economy, the reason that you will likely encounter more "bad" writing in fanfiction is that it's a space where many people are actively learning how to write--and that's a good thing. the only way for someone to become a good writer is to do a lot of bad writing first, so i actually think it's great that there's a bunch of shitty fanfiction out there on the internet--every bad fic u come across is a developing writer who's honing their craft, and they've found a perfect space to do so.
and yet i see "bad writing" get brought up a lot regarding fanfiction in two specific ways.
1. the idea outlined above, where people devalue fanfiction as a whole and act as though "fanfiction" is synonymous with "bad writing" or somehow an inferior medium.
i see this happening both with people who scoff at fanfiction and with people who try to redeem or elevate fanfiction by placing it in closer proximity to published books (i.e., THIS fic isn't like those other, shitty fics! this one is as good as [insert classic novel/published author/etc here]!!").
quite frankly i think this is evidence that these people have bought wholeheartedly into the publishing industry's myth of meritocracy, something that we should seriously question. but if anything, i also find it sad because i think it is a very limiting way to view fanfiction, which is its own unique art form in my opinion. fanfiction has its own conventions and strengths independent of published fiction, and there are many stylistic and structural elements unique to fanfiction that just don't really work in published books. for example--those 15k oneshots you'll come across every so often with lowercase song titles and prose that kicks your teeth in. that is a style of writing that is pretty unique to fanfic. or those sprawling, 400k+ works where tons of time is spent meandering through characters' lives and relationships--those, too, are somewhat unique to fanfiction, as in published books stories tend to get pared down more. i think those who want to convince people that fanfiction is good should spend less time trying to place it in proximity to published fiction and more time considering how fanfiction functions as a unique art form that is worthy of merit thanks to its uniquity
2. people who throw a fit when they see a fanfic with "bad writing" get attention and praise. usually i see this happen if a fic gets some measure of popularity--suddenly, people will begin to pop up talking about how the fic has "bad writing," and therefore shouldn't be popular.
i think that what gets me with these folks, aside from how obviously their own subjectivity regarding what makes writing good or bad has gone unexamined, is how....vindictive they seem. as if the idea that something they deem "bad" writing could ever be widely enjoyed is personally offensive to them. and i just think this sort of behavior is so stupid for two reasons--first, of course, there is the obvious issue of subjectivity. even if you think something is badly written, your opinion isn't somehow more important to the world than everyone else's. if other people are enjoying a fic, clearly they do not agree with your subjective opinion, and that's fine! you don't have to read a fic if you don't like it, and you can let other people enjoy the story. they are reading the exact same writing as you, and they can draw their own independent conclusions about how good or bad they think it is.
but second--you are not doing anyone any good by screaming about how bad a fic's writing is. like. i think there is perhaps this idea of like "oh this writer is bad but their writing is popular and everyone is telling them it's good, which means they are going to think their bad writing is good and keep writing badly forever." which, again, disregarding the obvious subjectivity, i just....don't think is true. like--if someone is writing badly, and people are going "hey i like this story keep it up!" what will most likely happen is that that person will keep writing, developing their skill the more they write and becoming a better writer. like, it's pretty difficult for writing to just remain stagnant; your writing will change the more you write, inevitably. especially when it comes to fanfiction, where many people are, again, developing their writing skill. but if someone is writing badly, and people are going "boo this sucks!" that writer is much less likely to do the actual thing that would make their writing better (keep writing) and instead more likely to just. stop altogether. in which case it's just like--congratulations on removing some more art from the world! cunt.
anyway. the conclusion i am trying to get at here is that i think people need to stop being so preoccupied with "bad writing" in fanfiction spaces. it's impossible to objectively measure the "goodness" or "badness" of writing in the first place, and trying to do so for any purpose other than making personal decisions about whether you want to read something or like, discussing in private groupchats with friends, usually just results in driving developing writers away from writing entirely and promoting the myth of meritocracy in publishing such that we reify the book/fanfiction dichotomy in which fanfiction will always be assumed to be inferior.
276 notes
·
View notes
Text
It's Mareach time! 🩷❤️✨
Okay, so I'm finally ready to post this! 😁
I'm really sorry for taking too long to translate and post this, but I really hope you guys enjoy it! 💖 As you'll see, it's a very short moment that I first mentioned here, but I think it's pretty cute, so I really felt like sharing it 🤭
This is part of a very long fanfic I'm working on, based on the Super Mario Bros. movie, so there's a lot that has happened previously and there will be a lot to happen afterwards!
Some brief context: Mario and Luigi went to visit the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time after they defeated Bowser with the superstar, and spent the day with Peach. Now they're trying to figure out how to say goodbye to a princess, for they're about to go back to Brooklyn in order to go to work the next day. They still haven't moved to the Mushroom Kingdom, but they're both in love with all the places they've seen so far!
And Mario has something more that he likes in that kingdom... or rather someone 🤭
The whole fanfic is told from Luigi's POV, which means he will witness the birth of the love between his brother and the princess 🤭 Also, you'll find the beginning of Luigi and Peach's friendship, since they'll become besties in my version, and I really hope you like that as well!
In case you find any mistake or something that sounds weird to you, please let me know! English is not my mother tongue, so I can obviously make mistakes 😅 Hope you'll excuse me for that 🙏
And without further ado: Mareach! 🩷❤️✨
Peach offers her hand with a smile, and Luigi wonders if, perhaps, he should kiss it, or bow, or greet her in some other refined way, since he is in the presence of a princess. However, as soon as he grabs the young girl's fingers between his own, Peach begins to wave her hand with a giggle, which causes Luigi to laugh in return as he reciprocates her gesture.
Aware that Mario will be even more eager than he is, given his obvious attraction to the young woman, Luigi steps aside and stands with his back to them so that they can have some privacy. He slowly climbs from one mushroom to the next until he reaches the brick structure from which the pipe emerges and waits beside it. He watches it, curious, but avoids standing right in front of it, for he has already learned his lesson.
Luigi hears Mario’s nervous chuckle and realizes that he too is unsure of the proper procedure for saying goodbye to a princess. He can’t help but take a discreet glance over his shoulder, just in time to see how Peach, in an attempt to make the moment less serious and help his brother relax, also shakes Mario’s hand, whose laughter grows louder.
But when the princess stops moving her arm, neither she nor Mario seem very willing to let go: instead, they remain staring at each other, her slender fingers on his palm, smiles on both of their lips, his eyes enraptured, hers tender.
They remain like that until Mario, daring to take a step that Luigi would definitely call bold, gradually bows his head while raising her arm towards his mouth.
And, without taking his eyes off Peach’s, he lays a soft kiss on her gloved hand.
“See you tomorrow, Princess,” he whispers.
“See you tomorrow, Mario,” replies Peach in the same tone.
And at last, their hands separate.
#super mario#mareach#mario#peach#princess peach#mario x peach#nintendo#mario nintendo#peach nintendo#fanfic#fanfiction#mario fanfic#super mario bros#mario bros#super mario fanfic#my fics#my fanfics#silenzahra
51 notes
·
View notes
Text
Little but Fierce II
Sorry, sorry, I changed my mind - first up I'll explain Milly's absence, and why that's important. (Thus no pictures, sorry. Also this is extremely long.)
Stampede definitely skews toward an older demographic than the ‘98 anime; shounen this is not, not even a little. I remember the director (I think?) saying Cowboy Bebop was an influence, and I do see it. Structurally they're both very musically-driven - each episode explores a variation on the theme until the climax. But there's some thematic similarities too, sort of, mostly around the way the Bebop crew related to each other. It's a found family, yes. But found inevitably first means having lost. And there's a few ways to lose a family, but the one in this post might be the most common.
Stampede talks about fighting to grow up - moving from the security of childhood to the freedom of adulthood, and what inevitably gets left behind.
Under good circumstances, childhood is certain and safe. You're provided everything you need and your caregivers will protect you. You're not held responsible for anything, since you're still learning the shape of the world, and not expected to perform, achieve, or provide. It's the job of your caregivers to do those for you while you acquire practical and social skills, support your body's healthy development, and form a stable sense of self and an identity of your own. Under ideal circumstances, you'll get the opportunity to make plenty of mistakes but face no permanent consequences, just an explanation of how you went wrong you can learn from - since mistakes are how you learn. This is how you build your confidence and in general become better at the whole "human being" business, which believe me does actually take practice and is not inherent. Not everyone figures it out, either.
On the other hand, you also don't really have choices or power, and your reality is confined, any edges rounded. Without consequences there also isn't change. Your identity isn't your own. You are a child of your parents or the ward of your caregivers - you belong to them, in a sense are part of them, because you're their responsibility. Many experiences are gated from you until you mature. In general the world is a simple place and your feelings feel very big, but lack complexity. You're sad, happy, or angry from head to toe, but only one at a time and not over much. It feels important, but that's because kids can't have perspective. It's always the most important thing to them because they haven't experienced anything more important yet.
Adulthood is less safe but more free - you have to fulfil your own desires and defend yourself. Social connections are yours to try to form. You will likely have to work to provide for yourself, and perhaps others - it's no longer anyone's job to do that for you. You are accountable, you are responsible, your actions have consequences that rebound not only on you but upon others, good or bad. Outcomes are also more uncertain, and mistakes can be proportionately harder to recover from.
But you have autonomy - selfhood, identity are yours to claim. Choices are your own to make. There are downsides but also advantages, opportunities for greater happiness but also inevitable pain, and in general more subtle, complex emotions and situations. It can be very hard. But it can also be very beautiful.
Inevitably, humans being mammals and having such utterly helpless infants, there'll be at one point in your life you play the role of child to a caregiver. Odds are fairly good you'll also be caregiver to a child at least once (or something like one). Think how many of us have pets. Or even an older sibling to a younger. Teacher to a student. Such relationships always shape us, whichever role you occupy. There's a common archetype in folklore of the "mother of death", because whoever you were before becoming a parent has to die, at least a little, to make room for the vast responsibility of parenthood - think of giving up a career to raise a family, for example. And creating a life means inevitably you have invoked a death. All that lives, in time, will die.
Got all that?
So Stampede and arguably Trigun as a whole is about what happens when you fuck with it.
Good circumstances, yeah, you aren't going to find those. Let's see how hard people try anyway. Let's see what happens when care of a child is suddenly assumed by someone unprepared - or when a child is forced to assume a caregiving role. Or when a child never receives a childhood before being unmade, destroyed, but still surviving to claim the freedom of adulthood. What do they become?
(Am I talking about Wolfwood? Legato? You tell me.)
Are the Plants here to take care of us or ours to take care of? Can we only take from them or is there some way to give back? Can it be mutual? Or must we pick a side?
We don't have Milly yet because Milly resolves the argument. She's someone who sees no reason to pick a side. She's a very caring, protective person who also has no problem with being taken care of - she's happy to defer to Meryl, whom she has great respect for. And Meryl has respect for her too. It's a very good working relationship! Which, uh, unfortunately doesn't leave a lot of room for exploration of the main conflict, and might have been why they faded out a bit in the later volumes.
The purpose of switching Milly with Roberto was to create that conflict. There are a lot of mothers in Stampede but not many places for dads. And one thing I very much have come to appreciate is that both were afforded equal flaws, redemption and sympathy. There's no bumbling useless fathers, or blandly nice mothers (even Rem, who comes the closest, had terrible regrets, and I get the feeling we haven't seen the last of her. Really, around this point in the story in the older tellings a lot of people still thought she was Vash's dead girlfriend, so let's not hasten to judge). Rosa is a hard woman and she turns on Vash, but she has her reasons and Knives punishes her far too cruelly. Brad's kind of an asshole, but it's because he cares so deeply and doesn't know how to talk about it.
Roberto is jaded, but he takes his responsibility seriously and he's a good teacher to Meryl. He isn't just a vehicle for exposition.
Nor does he treat her badly in any way. Meryl feels perfectly safe snatching away his booze and talking back to him. They become fond of and comfortable around each other so quickly because they both decent and clever people, fundamentally similar. It's built on mutual respect, trust and communication.
Compare to how Knives interacts with Vash, how long the pauses are in their reunion in the diner. Knives is trying to be gentle, but Vash is so terrified he can't finish a sentence, can hardly speak at all, his voice is shaking so badly. Knives sneers when Vash doesn't instantly react with affection. Which is… insane considering this is exactly how it was the last time they met: Knives gruesomely murders someone, smearing the walls and floor with blood, and then expects Vash to be grateful or impressed. Their relationship is one in the process of slowly but violently shattering.
Meryl is very young in Stampede. She's got some significant character flaws. But it's hard for her not to do better than that.
Part I
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
Part VII
Part VIII
Part IX
#trigun stampede#trigun meta#tristampparty#roberto de niro#milly thompson#meryl stryfe#i swear i will talk directly about HER in the next post#i really am too gay for meryl to function help#or possibly happy to talk more shit about knives#terrible terrible plant man#meta: little but fierce
30 notes
·
View notes
Text
tldr: i’m cancelling my follower event and moving blogs to @junovie. i’m officially back from my ‘break’ but i can’t promise i’ll be frequently active (at least not as much as i used to be), much less that i’ll be writing/posting new works regularly.
i look forward to catching up with you all !! thank you for your support and understanding <3
full original post under the cut
hello!
you may or may not have noticed that i’ve been quite inactive for the last few months or so.
i’m sorry to everyone who has reached out to me in that time — i’m not ignoring you, i’ve just been logged out of this account and staying away from tumblr in general. i plan on getting back to you all privately and individually, but if you could read this post, just so you have an idea of what’s going on, i would really appreciate it! :)
anyway, i have two announcements to make regarding my blog — not bad, but definitely important changes! i’ve been meaning to make them for a while, but only just found the time and courage to go through with them.
there’s also a more in-depth (albeit rambly) explanation to why and where i’ve been gone after the announcements. it’s a little long, so there’s no pressure to read it all if you don’t want to.
my first announcement is that i’m cancelling my 100+ follower event.
...but you probably all saw that one coming lol
i absolutely intended to complete all the requests regardless of how long it took, but it’s been over 7 months now and i no longer see myself ever getting around to them at this point. i feel awful about it, especially because i was so excited about the event and milestone itself, but i just don’t have the motivation to write the rest anymore.
to be transparent, the main thing that affected and eventually halted my work flow entirely is this weird subconscious self-disciplinary rule i had where i was ‘not allowed’ to write anything until i’d finished my old projects. this isn’t an actual rule obviously, but it prevented me from writing new ideas or enjoying writing on this blog/for tumblr as a whole for months. every time i got inspired to write something, i’d remember that i have these obligatory requests to complete first, that it would be selfish and unfair to ‘ignore’ or not prioritise them, that people will be mad at me for not doing so etc, etc.
i’ve luckily stopped thinking this way now, but that’s why i’ve made this decision. i should write for myself and my enjoyment, first and foremost. it shouldn’t be an obligation. it’s not a commission or contractual assignment, it’s a silly online milestone event that i made and can just as easily discontinue should i want to — so that’s what i’ve chosen to do.
thank you to everyone who participated and/or supported the event, it means a lot to me still, and i’m sorry to those whose requests i didn’t manage to write. even with how much time has passed, i still feel shame and embarrassment about how this all turned out, so your acceptance and understanding would be really appreciated.
my next announcement is that i’m moving blogs.
i’m moving to a new account where i have an interaction/personal main blog (@junovie) and my current nsfw writing sideblog. i might make a new sfw one for my other writing shenanigans, but i haven’t made up my mind about that one yet.
it’s nothing serious, i mostly just want a fresh start. this blog has gotten disorganised and messy, and while some people don’t mind or even like it that way, personally i need structure and organisation in order to stay sane, so my plan is to move to a new blog. as for this blog — i might delete it permanently in the future, but for now, i just intend to archive it.
with the announcements out of the way, i just have a few more things i want to talk about.
i’m currently writing this part of the post in march of 2024, but i’ve been considering these changes since around december of 2023, and started drafting this post in january.
in that time, i’ve been mostly logged out of this account (aside from when i would come to add to this post) and keeping tumblr at arm’s length in general for... no reason in particular really? i know many people have had at least one bad experience or two during their time on tumblr, which may have led to them needing a break, but i’ve honestly been lucky enough to never have encountered anything severe personally.
for the most part, i’ve just been focused on my education. i’m at a stage in my life where i have important decisions to be making, paths and passions i want to be pursuing, responsibilities i need to be taking care of... and in comparison, my time for writing on tumblr has dwindled.
on the other hand, this ‘break’ of sorts, away from tumblr, has helped me realise just how much of my time i had been spending on what is really just another silly little social media app on my silly little phone. that’s not to say the people i’ve met and the feelings i’ve experienced aren’t good, valuable or a part of my life, or that the support i’ve received and joy i’ve shared don’t have worth in the bigger picture, because they are, they do, and i’m grateful for them all!! but in retrospect, there were, and are, more important things in my life that require my time, energy and attention [over writing] and that i should have been prioritising sooner. that’s on me for getting essentially addicted and becoming neglectful, and that’s why i needed to step back like i have.
in some ways, i feel a little guilty, because i feel like, i don’t know... like my sudden ‘hiatus’ should have been as a result of some big, crazy life event, or depression or something. and it kind of was [the latter], at the start, but the truth is it’s the opposite now? like, i’ve just been happier these days... but i don’t think it has anything to do with my break from tumblr, at least not in the sense that it makes me unhappy, or the absence of it improves my mental health or whatever. just in the sense that the time i would have spent scrolling or writing, i’ve now been spending doing other hobbies that make me happy, making connections with real life people, reflecting on and learning to love life and myself. i’m far from being where i want to be and i’m definitely still figuring things out, but i feel like i’m better at dividing my time now, and more capable of being on tumblr without it consuming my life force and every waking thought.
so, i’m going to come back, but i’m making no promises that i’ll be frequently active (at least not as much as i used to be), much less that i’ll be writing/posting new works regularly, especially not requests. i’m here just to have fun, be silly, bond with people over stories and fictional characters — and whatever else i may want in the future — but i never want it to feel like a chore or burden again.
even though i feel bad for basically ghosting everyone in my inbox and being inexplicably MIA for like, 3 months, i don’t regret taking this break. i just hope everyone will understand and respect my decisions and the changes to come.
friends/mutuals are welcome to message me if you’re curious about details or concerned or whatever else, but i’ve probably said enough here to answer any questions lol. i look forward to coming back and catching up with you all.
see you guys soon <3
#hoo boy#finally posting this(〒﹏〒)ゞ#i've put it off for toooo long lol#anyway#love and miss you all🫶#psa
30 notes
·
View notes
Text
trial run - moira o'deorain x intern!reader
˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ hi ! it's my wife's birthday today, so naturally i thought i'd finally get around to those hcs i was planning on writing! these posts will probably never be formatted with those pretty little headers i see around and i'm pretty unapologetic about it, i can't lie i kiiiinda care a lot less about the presentation and more about the actual writing and i'm a pretty busy person, soooo... sorry i guess? anyway sorry for yapping and i hope you all enjoy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOCTOR O'DEORAIN!!!
˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ TAGS: sfw, reader was meant to be fem but tbh no gendered terms are really used so reader can be seen as gender-neutral, age difference (reader is implied to be a doctoral student in early 20s), canon-divergent/au because i'm projecting my own internship problems here i cannot help it, moira being moira but it's way tamer than usual, actually kinda really fluffy i needed some comfort oops, mayyy make a part 2 with the date if you guys reeeeally want it :p
✧˚ · . suffice to say she wasn't a fan on your first day- to be honest she wasn't a fan even before then. the doctor preferred to work in solitude and silence, and hearing that she would have to practically babysit a doctoral student for a whole summer? forget it.
✧˚ · . she very begrudgingly opened up to the idea of having a shadow, however, after she found out her lab would be receiving more funding as a result of the research you were being hired to do. unfortunately that still didn't mean she liked you, though.
✧˚ · . you were young, fresh-faced and naïve, and when you shuffled in through the doors to her lab you were met with a cold presence that you didn't necessarily care for at all. it was what you were expecting when you were told who you would be working with, though, so it didn't come as a surprise. after all, no matter how much better you thought you would fare working alongside your sweet professor dr. ziegler, there was only one in the facility that could find even some use in a bioinformatics student.
✧˚ · . you barely had a moment to introduce yourself before the lanky irishwoman waved off your extended hand.
"wasting time will get you nowhere. unless you wish to bring me my coffee and just sit there every day, make yourself actually useful."
you were silent after that, doing exactly as she said and leaving her alone. no words were exchanged for the rest of the day.
✧˚ · . your first week was pretty unremarkable, but you were easing into the schedule you had made, making a small dent in the large workload you had to do for your thesis. moira was always just moira, working silently in her own corner of the lab and occasionally taking a break to examine your own work but saying nothing at all. by week two, however, the silence was beginning to drive you insane.
✧˚ · . your first real conversation was initiated, surprisingly, by moira. the older woman was hovering over your shoulder as usual, examining your catalogs of the dna structures and compositions of the various modified rabbits she kept in the lab, and she decided to snarkily point out you had missed a section. expecting that to be the only thing she had to say, you sighed and corrected it before moving on but she kept speaking, pointing out areas that you missed in a tone that you could only describe as pointed and patronizing.
✧˚ · . in certain... other situations, you'd find being talked to in this manner by a quite attractive older woman to be much more pleasant, but this was your hard work she was critiquing.
✧˚ · . don't worry, though, it's her love language. she might not say it but she wants you to succeed.
✧˚ · . expect more conversations about your work and hers. you begin to speak more in the mornings when you first walked in, and at nights when you left.
✧˚ · . as the days went by and your final deadline for your thesis was approaching quicker and quicker, you ended up spending nearly all 24 hours of each day in the lab, and of course, moira had noticed.
✧˚ · . she leaves small things out for you that she'd usually leave for just herself: two mugs of coffee now, two plates with some small meals, two shot glasses in case things got rather dire... but don't ask her about them, she'll shut down that it was her doing quite quickly.
✧˚ · . one very early morning she returns from the bathroom to find you slumped over your desk, fast asleep. your face was smushed against your keyboard, keying in a constant and ever-growing string of the letter h into your catalog. if you ever found out and asked, she would have simply said she didn't want the data to be messed up. however, that was most certainly not the case as she gingerly lifted your head up carefully to delete the keyboard smash, saving your work and turning off your computer before leaving you back to your rest.
✧˚ · . she was back at her work for a good five minutes before she decides to take her lab coat off, draping it over your still-sleeping form like a makeshift blanket. you woke up that morning confused but grateful, with a slightly flushed doctor o'deorain saying she simply didn't want you to get sick, as it was cold in the lab anyway.
✧˚ · . your thesis was due the day before your last day of work, and moira was quieter than usual. you've been stressed and working dilligently all day, but when you finally submit it right before the clock struck midnight, moira got up from her side of the lab, and retrieved two glasses and a bottle of champagne.
✧˚ · . you never thought she'd be the type to celebrate this sort of thing, especially when it took her away from her work, but when she motioned you to come over, you couldn't help but listen.
✧˚ · . clinking your glasses together, moira congratulated you on your work, and over the alcohol, conversation brewed quickly. you spoke of your plans for the future, your research, her research, discussion flowing for hours, as if it were meant to be. a well-received moment of relaxation for the doctor, you assumed, surprised she'd spend it with you rather than alone.
✧˚ · . she never got the chance to ask if perhaps the two of you could see each other... outside of the lab, maybe for dinner or a coffee. a trial run if anything, she said.
✧˚ · . or- well, she didn't really say it. angela came up to you after a class and told you on her behalf. nerd with a crush doing nerd with a crush things, i guess.
#overwatch#overwatch x reader#moira o'deorain#moira overwatch#moira x reader#i heart my bitch wife that wants to kill me#moira o'deorain x reader
19 notes
·
View notes
Text
Radio Free Monday
Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!
Just a periodic reminder: I know not everyone has the energy or money to volunteer or give, but I wanted to remind folks that even reblogging helps -- reblogging RFM, yes, but also (or, really, instead) taking a moment to go to a tumblr post and reblog the post helps too. You are also always welcome to crosspost to your social media of choice or post a link from there to here.
Ways to Give:
alirhi linked to a fundraiser to get herself, her mother, and her sister stable housing; they are currently staying in their cars in a a dangerous parking lot. They have a friend who will let them park a camper in her yard, but the camper there currently is unlivable, and they haven't been able to find an affordable replacement. With two of the family on disability it is difficult for them to keep up with bills and also save for housing. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here.
Anon linked to a fundraiser for West Maui Animal Clinic, a Lahaina-based clinic where one of their vet school classmates works; the clinic burned to the ground in the fires, and many of the staff lost everything. They are raising funds to try and keep paying clinic staff while they figure out how to recover. You can read more and support the fundraiser here. (sorry to credit you as anon, but your username wasn't a tumblr handle and I wasn't confident the username without stops was the right one.)
Beck is raising funds to help cover the vet bill for their tortie cat, Lady Clytemnestra, who had to be treated for an abscess; you can read more and reblog here or support the gofundme here (as a warning, there is a photo of the injury at the fundraiser if you scroll).
Anon linked to a fundraiser for lumierew, to cover the vet bills for her cat's spinal surgery. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.
squidgiepdx and squidge.org are running a fall fundraiser; they are a small fansite that provides image and podfic hosting, site hosting, and a story archive for the fannish community, which runs them about $2K per year. They are now incorporated as a 501c3 (a nonprofit) in the US, and so your donations are tax-deductible. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.
News to Know:
blackestglass is running the fourth annual Chromatic Characters Podfic Anthology, which collects podfics of stories of less than 1500 words and center characters of color. This year's optional theme is "solidarity" and the due date for submissions is September 12th; they are encouraging authors who'd like to write a story for the anthology to team up with a podficcer by commenting at the info post. They are also looking for technical betas who can commit to 2 hours of beta listening the week of Sept. 13, to check for volume issues and other errors in the files and metadata. If you are a person of color who would be willing to lend their services as a contextual content beta (formerly known as cultural sensitivity listeners), they'd love to have you onboard as well. You can read more and comment here to volunteer or ask a question, DM the mods on twitter at ccpamods, or email ccpamods at gmail.com.
Buy Stuff, Help Out:
grumpycakes's coworker made a Tarot deck that they're kickstarting, but they haven't yet reached goal; the deck is "A unique tarot deck that references not only symbols and keywords, but also; flowers, crystals and more with affirmations. [...] The Symbolic Tarot not only draws from the traditional tarot structure but also includes corresponding aspects including simple answers to questions, making each card a collectible piece of resourcefulness." You can read more and reblog here or join in the kickstarter here.
And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can post items for my attention at the Radio Free Monday submissions form. If you're new to fundraising, you may want to check out my guide to fundraising here.
66 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi - asking in good faith here, but I am also relatively new to active anti-racism (im white, grew up in all white areas, and didn't encounter anti racist perspectives until college). In the last few years I've done a LOT of reading about anti-black racism, black feminist theory, womanism, etc, and I'm beginning to understand why the bastardization and appropriation of aave is so harmful. I don't want to put my friends of color on the spot about this or make them feel pressured to answer a certain way, though, and I DO want an answer that's grounded in theory and thoughtfulness about these things (two traits my circle of 18-20 year olds sometimes lacks, understandably). I know that that might put a lot of pressure on you as well but please know that while I do respect your opinion, I know you're just one Black person with one opinion - and of course if an irl Black friend ever came to me and told me to stop I would.
My question is, if I am making sure to attribute it correctly as AAVE, being careful to make sure I'm using it appropriately, and of course listening in case I hear I've misused it - is it still harmful for me as a white person to use aave? Is it possible to use aave non-harmfully as a white person, among Black friends? Or would it be better for me to do my best to remove those words and phrases and grammatical structures from the way I speak entirely?
A lot of these things, I pick up FROM my friends, and they haven't, idk, made faces or suggested I should stop or anything like that. But of course it's hard to sort out what I pick up from my friends, what I pick up from Black literature (im a terrible parrot from my books unfortunately 😬), and what comes from the intern*t lol. So there's obviously the potential to misuse or disrespect aave, especially if I ever stop being thoughtful about what I say and where I first hear it. And while I have tried to read up on the appropriation of AAVE and develop my own opinion, this really does seem like one of those things where as a white person my opinion is always going to be a little out of touch - and I REALLY don't want to hurt and alienate my friends and accidentally advance racism in my community because I felt qualified to comment on this.
I don't know. I grew up in a very white enclave in a very white area of a very white state, and I AM trying to catch up and think critically about what I do say and think, but honestly, I am very new to these things. So if this is a dumb question or I am inadvertently ignorant/inappropriate, I'm really sorry about that and please know that I AM trying to do better. (And I will never say no to specific resource recommendations. I've read everything you usually read in an intro to Africana studies course lol but there is so much out there!!)
Thanks, either way. I appreciate you taking the time to read this extremely long winded ask lol. And I appreciate the way you blog about these things and how you make it clear where and from what you develop your opinions - that's super helpful!!!
-bee
Well as you said I am one person and I do not know you or talk to you really so I can't really say yes or no on your specific case. But also I would challenge you to ask yourself why you felt you needed the permission of a black stranger rather than actually sit down and talk to your friends about it.
I have said in other posts that it is less about needing to be black to speak AAVE and more about respect. I am all for cultural sharing and appreciation and I do not think that culture requires specifically only blood ties. I'm a mixed race person, after all, and one who has a quite large mixed race extended and found family. I think that blood is not the only thing that defines us.
But I also think that one must go into these sorts of conversations with respect. My white (passing) mother can understand my black family speaking AAVE, despite the fact that there was a single black kid in her neighborhood and school system when she grew up. This is because she treated my dad and his family with respect, and so they are comfortable speaking this way in front of her, and she is comfortable asking for clarification if she needs it, which is quite rare nowadays considering she's been married to my dad for 35 years and in a relationship with him for 42 and has thus had a lot of practice.
But she also doesn't use AAVE herself. To her, it would be disrespectful. She did not grow up in it. It is not her culture. It is shared with her due to proximity to said culture with her husband and father of her children. But for her, she chooses to continue to use the Pennsylvania Dutch-influenced dialect she grew up in, which is a very white Appalachian specific-to-Pennsylvania dialect and culture. I myself switch back and forth between the two, depending on who I'm talking to. Sometimes in the same conversation, if I'm talking to my mom vs my dad in the same room.
I don't think any of my black family would be offended if she did use AAVE, though again with her personality and the way she has approached this over the last several decades I think they'd be surprised if she suddenly did it like tomorrow or something. But she herself does not think it would be respectful of the culture, the dialect, or of her husband and inlaws for it to come out of her mouth. And I am sort of inclined to agree. Outside of a few slang words that have become so distant from their roots that it is difficult to say they are *purely* AAVE anymore, similar with many historically-Yiddish slang words, I do not personally think she could hold a conversation in AAVE and do it respectfully enough to not be offensive. It's just not really hers to do that with.
On the other hand, when I worked in a mostly-black store in an area that was significantly more black-populated, where I rarely had to code switch and mostly used AAVE all the timewith clients and customers, there were nonblack people who also used and understood AAVE. I had no problem with this, even with the white people doing it, because that was just how everyone in that area spoke. And, mot for nothing, but I found those white people to be as a general rule significantly less racist in their treatment of me and of other people of color, and racial mixing was significantly more common. Again, it's about respect. Even if it's not really a concious thing.
35 notes
·
View notes
Note
hey, anon from the anti-authoritarian wuxia ask a while back, took a looksee through Stephen Teo's The Wuxia Tradition and the essays about danmei you mentioned in your response, which was really great and insightful! i think what's so interesting to me about the modern wuxia tradition as we understand it now is that its purpose from the very beginning was to be nationalistic propaganda, which obviously carries into contemporary wuxia adaptations and new works today. (1/7)
(long ask, long response! conversation begun here; everything else under the cut)
but what makes the genre compelling to me is that wuxia offers so many glimpses into these potentially transformative visions of a radical future- wuxia presents a vision of a society in which communities have the autonomy to express themselves, support each other, and create their world through creative and collective activity. and all of this is facilitated by the the nebulous jianghu setting, which is this alternative space more or less free from the grip of the imperial state, (2/7)
which it unintentionally ends up being just by virtue of existing far from the imperial core. and obviously class hierarchies imposed by wealth and power still exist within the jianghu, but like, that autonomous nature of the jianghu is something I'd be curious to see be developed and pushed further. what would it look like within a wuxia narrative to explore the idea of an intentionally and explicitly anti-imperial, stateless, classless jianghu, and what would it take to get there? (3/7)
that vision of an alternate autonomous society is built upon these very rigid worldviews that don't challenge the audience (i.e. nationalism, pale-skinned conventional beauty standards, xenophobia, the idea of disability as something to be overcome, etc) that were baked into the inception of the genre, and which undermine said radical potential. and i guess that's my gripe with danmei too. (4/7)
i feel similarly about people who treat the consumption of danmei as an inherently progressive political act as I do to the way I feel about neoliberalism: it presents a facade of progressivism without actually meaningfully existing in opposition to oppressive structures. and, like you mentioned, both danmei and wuxia have yet to hit that moment of reckoning. i'm aware the direction these things go are massively shaped by geo-sociopolitical forces outside of the creators' control, etc. (5/7)
but so many people benefit from access to the imperial core in ways they aren't or don't care to be aware of. and to me, that is what makes art so important - it has the potential to not only expose the monstrous ways in which a society derives its power, it also has the hopeful ability to imagine transformative, non-oppressive futures. (6/7)
you're right that the cultural shift that would spark a post-colonial reckoning in Chinese literature and art needs to be spearheaded by Chinese creatives themselves. as an invested bystander, I'm curious to see where this goes. sorry this was so long, but thank you for your time! (7/7)
hello again anon!! glad you enjoyed looking through Teo and found his writing insightful! I think in many ways the conversations we’re trying to have about danmei, wuxia, internet literature, and some nebulous postcolonial reckoning are somewhat ahead of the curve, which is why we’re here being like “I want to read something like this!” only to find that said work hasn’t necessarily been created yet (again, if anyone’s got any leads, I’m all ears)
I do also think it’s worthwhile to note that a significant factor in why danmei and/or internet literature may not be as daring and subversive as we wish it were is the simple, starkly pragmatic fact that these works need to sell. they need to be attractive and fun, gripping and engrossing, to even make it in the cutthroat environment of the various literature cities. the competition is vicious and the readership unforgiving; last year saw at least one WeChat article about the intense pressure of being a webnovelist, and how the soul-crushing pressure of trying to break into the rankings has pushed authors towards suicide. with the popularization of the genre comes increased competition, and with increased competition comes a streamlining of new works towards established precedents of success (the proliferation of wuxia/xianxia/xuanhuan, particular distinctive CP dynamics, etc). 内卷 is here in the danmei genre as well, which makes it difficult to innovate or experiment, particularly if you’re not already an established author
it’s the Hollywood argument for keeping people of color out of leading roles; writing a text that tackles certain social issues (particularly ones that challenge current mores of Chinese society) is a risk, and quite frankly, most authors don’t have the time or the luxury to gamble. this is not to say that current authors aren’t leveraging their established readership and fanbase to write away from popular taste (priest’s 《桥头楼上》 comes to mind, which is a formal departure from her previous works and a trenchant examination of certain social issues), but that the current environment in which creative works are produced aren’t quite favorable to that kind of exploration and subversion — yet
another thing to keep in mind is the role that danmei (and other web literature) plays in the lives of its readers; yes, art has such powerful potential to call upon society to reflect on the injustices and cruelties built into it, but also art — and danmei in particular — is a powerful purveyor of escapism. many Chinese readers and consumers of danmei and related products/adaptations find a haven in these texts, and people seeking comfort are not necessarily prepared for critically examining social injustices in their escapism. again, I’m not trying to say that there is no place for subversion and exploration in danmei literature, but rather highlight the way reader preferences and demands might discourage writers from going too far afield
meanwhile, if I may be presumptuous enough to throw more reading in the air, here are some texts that this conversation is bringing to mind:
The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang (forthcoming): a genderspun reception of Shi Nai’an’s 《水浒传》, often considered to be the forerunner of the wuxia genre. Guaranteed to get in the weeds and messy about gender, power, imperial centers of power, marginalized marshlands of subversiveness just by the literal concept of its writing
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan: the closest work I know of to a fiercely diasporic genderqueered cdrama, in which Han centrism is examined and found wanting
《无污染，无公害》 by priest: priest is not necessarily the author I would suggest when it comes to, ah, postcolonial thought, but I just finished reading 《无污染，无公害》 last month and was struck by its profoundly cynical deconstruction of the wuxia genre. priest brings wuxia into the modern day and examines the many ways in which the 快意恩仇 fantasy of jianghu morality and subversiveness clashes with contemporary ethics and laws. beyond that, I think reading an author’s non-danmei works is profoundly enlightening critical and theoretical exercise that definitely re-contextualizes assumptions made about the danmei genre and its writers
“Zhang Yimou’s Hero: Reclaiming the Martial Arts Film for ‘All Under Heaven’” by Feng Lan: this was the first paper I ran into that really got into the weeds of the controversial “天下” at the end of the film, and also introduced me to the recent history and discussions of “tianxiaism,” which is particularly interesting when it comes to discussions about nationalism, imperialism, and postcolonialism in contemporary China in general and the wuxia genre in particular
“Homosexualizing Boys Love in China: Reflexivity, Genre Transformation, and Cultural Interaction” by Xi Tian: I know I’ve gushed about this paper elsewhere, but this is only paper I’ve found so far that examines how the danmei genre has shifted and changed over the past few decades in response to reader feedback, shifting societal opinions, and self-reflection, and it’s fascinating
whew, okay, this is long enough! one last thing, from one invested bystander to another: don’t let anything stop you from creating the content you wish to see in the world <3
147 notes
·
View notes
Note
Well from your recent posts I've gathered that you are not a Big (with a capital B yes) fan of A Boss and a Babe so it's probly safe to say this . The reason i haven't watched this series is bcz I find the leads eerily similar looking?? Like if not siblings but atleast like distant cousins ??? Idk why but i can't unsee it now. Help .
Oh I don't think they look alike at all. Sorry, I don't know how to help you.
Maybe focus on specific features? Think of it like you were sketching them as a portrait artist? Like they have different mouth shape, eye shape/placement, cheekbones, and hair lines. Force (left) has a thinner straighter mouth more sculpted, slightly higher more prominent cheekbones, much heavier lidded eyes (he looks sultry and sleepy most of the time), slightly broader nose, longer face over all, and a prominent Adam's apple.
Book (right) has more delicate and finer features, his face is more heart-shaped and proportions are different (where his features fall on his face), smaller slightly pouty mouth, thinner nose, slightly rounder cheeks, close but less deep-set eyes. He's also lighter skinned. For all these reasons he's cast as the uke in their shows, as they are pretty much the same height, age (Book is actually a little older), and deferential politeness IRL, it could have gone either way.
(I don't make the rules, the yaoi gods do.)
Your Moment of Academia
If you're still struggling, there could be more/other reasons for this.
There is something called the Cross-race effect which may be impacting you. (The way to train your brain out of this one is to just keep watching tons of dramas, fashion, MVs made by cultures not your own. More info and discussion on this in this episode of All in the Mind podcast: The human drive to connect – and divide)
There's also Prosopagnosia to consider, although that's a lot rarer than modern peeps make it out to be.
I've also always felt like Dunbar's number may come into play with this kind of thing too. Like perhaps the human brain just has a limited max capacity for facial recognition storage.
So you might do better if you focus on their mannerisms and way of speaking which are completely different. (Siblings usually share vocality and mannerisms especially if they were raised together.) Body language and their way of holding themselves, smiles, eye crinkles, use of eyebrows, etc... Very few actors can move on from these tells.
Book has a more mobile face (which is why he suits comedy so well) but Force's is more emotive and expressive in nuance. He's uses more micro-movements, like little eye crinkles and a little crooked smile.
Their voices are very similar, but Force's is more burred, and a little more monotone (rare in Thai). He has a mellow soft way of speaking especially around the ubiquitous krap. Book has a rounder, wetter way of speaking, his kraps are more sharp and clipped.
All that said, IMHO you don't have to bother to watch either of ForceBook's series. So far this pair has been ill served by GMMTV. So if it wigs you out, there is plenty other, better BL.
Also if you want to actually watch a BL where the characters are some iteration of siblings, I'm sure Japan is there for you. If not, there's always the stepbrothers trope...
I have to say, I tend to way MORE annoyed when characters in a show who are meant to be siblings look absolutely nothing alike. Like bone-structure level "qua?" I know blood siblings don't always look alike, but they rarely look so completely different as we often get in TV or film the world over.
Way back, I did a series of actors in BL who I thought SHOULD play brothers and these are my favorites:
Mark Siwat Jumlongkul and War Wanarat Ratsameerat.
Now those two boys look related. To me, anyway.
(source)
#asked and answered#probably with more information than you wanted#ABL gets academic#BL and anthropology#BL and sociology#Thai BL#ForceBook#a boss and a babe#Enchante#Mark Siwat#War Wanarat
67 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ok I'm rather busy and had planned to write a longer post elaborating on this topic but I can't do it now, I'll probably still write one later but I wanted to make a short post as the topic has become relevant: the thing that you have to know about my writing style is that (speaking particularly about my serious posts here and not my shitposts) it is very literal modulo certain stylistic quirks. I don't really have time to elaborate all of these (ironically this post was written in a rush, and thus might not itself be the best example of my usual style), but one important fact is that when I say "almost", "in generally", "more-or-less", "in some sense" and so on, I really mean these. Like, these aren't filler words, I think a lot of people just gloss over them but tbh I often agonize over where exactly to put these when writing a post. I sometimes leave posts in my drafts for ages just because I haven't decided whether to propose some phrase with "generally" or not. I'm very, like, careful about trying to make it unambiguous that I don't mean whatever I don't mean, right? So these words are not meant to be glossed over; they're written carefully and they're meant to be read carefully.
It's also important to note that I omit them for stylistic reasons quite often, in particular because if I included words like this everywhere that I think they should logically be, my writing would become like, unreadable. So I try to structure things whereby I set the reader up with reasonable assumptions about what generalizations are absolute, which ones are statistical but high confidence, which ones are very loose and so on. So for instance I'll often set up the appropriate way of understanding a generalization in the first paragraph in which it is introduced, and then make it clear from context that the reader should carry this through when I talk about it going forward. Maybe I don't always do a good job.
But like, consider this recent post. I first say that "I’m comfortable taking it almost as an axiom that no one should ever get kicked out of where they are living". And when I say almost, you know, I mean almost! Idk if other people's writing has this quality. Almost is not there for metrical shape, it's there for content! Anyway, later say something like "an ideal housing policy should respect this axiom", and this is meant to mean... well, I'm not sure really how to say it other than how I said it, it's meant to mean "an ideal housing policy should respect this axiom". A very important part of the semantics of this sentence is that I am invoking a sort of fundamental property of ideals, which is that you usually can't achieve them in actual practice but you should try to get close, modulo whatever constraints you are under. Maybe it's not clear that these constraints are the same constraints imposing exceptions to the axiom; that seems like a genuine ambiguity. Well that's on me.
Anyway, this post sounds kinda snarky like I'm getting on people's case for not reading my post correctly, but no that's not what I mean at all! No like, I'm not irritated at other for not reading a post how I intended it. But I've been wanting to write about my own writing style for a while, in particular because as I said I write in a very particular way whose meaning may not always be like... obvious to readers. And this was a good opportunity to like, point out one of the biggest ways in which my writing style is particular, and which sometimes leads to misunderstanding. Well anyway. Sorry this was written in a rush cause I have actual things I have to do today, there's probably typos and so on so please forgive that.
46 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
edmetalqueer
𝔼𝕕
graberbydapussi
Girls Are Life
broadway-and-ak47
Don't be a pretentious fuckface.
superparanoidpaladin
Super Paranoid Paladin
xtdtanmoy
Tanmoy Das (Digital Marketar)