#AND SO THE POINT I WANTED TO DO WAS:

[throesofincreasingwonder]

"A story doesn't need a theme in order to be good" I'm only saying this once but a theme isn't some secret coded message an author weaves into a piece so that your English teacher can talk about Death or Family. A theme is a summary of an idea in the work. If the story is "Susan went grocery shopping and saw a weird bird" then it might have themes like 'birds don't belong in grocery stores' or 'nature is interesting and worth paying attention to' or 'small things can be worth hearing about.' Those could be the themes of the work. It doesn't matter if the author intended them or not, because reading is collaborative and the text gets its meaning from the reader (this is what "death of the author" means).

Every work has themes in it, and not just the ones your teachers made you read in high school. Stories that are bad or clearly not intended to have deep messages still have themes. It is inherent in being a story. All stories have themes, even if those themes are shallow, because stories are sentences connected together for the purpose of expressing ideas, and ideas are all that themes are.

#original post #text post #500 #1k #2k #btw i know my definition of death of the author is loosey goosey here #it wasn't the main point so i went informal with it! as ppl in the tags have pointed out it isn't exact #and i do recommend reading the wikipedia article or similar (possibly even the essay itself if you're narsty) if you want to learn more! #wasn't expecting this to take off so my apologies to my barthes-heads out there #love you mwah #5k #10k #15k #20k

[laughingcatwrites]

As a reminder that good exists out there, a coworker recently confessed to me that he found out his child is questioning their identity (kid's gender redacted for this post). The kid is keeping it from him, so he can't say anything to them or show that he knows, but he's doing his best to get mentally prepared and educated so that he'll be ready whenever his kid does feel comfortable enough come to him.

For context, this guy is a big, bulky middle aged dude who loves sports and typical outdoor "manly" activities. As his coworker and friend, I know he's a kind and sweet teddy bear of a person, but his kid probably views him as a stern, authoritarian figure, the way most teenagers view their parents. His family lives in a conservative area, so I'm sure between that, their dad's looks and interests, and the fact that their dad is a Figure of Authority, the kid is worried that they won't be accepted.

But you know what? When he found out about his kid, the first thing he did was reach out to his closest queer friend and ask for resources for parents of questioning children. His biggest fears are that his kid will be bullied or discriminated against and won't feel comfortable enough to be themself. His second action was to find himself a mentor in another parent who went the same situation (kid coming out in a conservative town). The other person is preparing him for some of the struggles his kid may face and the fights he may need to take on as a parent to make sure his kid is safe and treated well.

Something I want to emphasize for people focused on language as the primary method of allyship is that when we spoke, he used some outdated terms and thoughts about gender and sexuality. That does not make him bad. These were the terms and thinking used about questioning teenagers when he was growing up and he never needed to learn more current ones. But now that he does have that need, he's throwing himself in head first because that's his kid and he's darn well going to make sure that his kid feels welcomed and has a safe place to be themselves even if they never come out to him.

#I'm so proud and happy for my coworker and I've been trying to figure out how to let him know how amazing I think he is #what gets me the most is that he's keeping this super down low to avoid giving any hints to his kid #he has a lot of queer friends so he already is known as an ally but there's always a chance it will be different if it's family #and he took that chance and crumpled it up into a ball and slam dunked it into the garbage for three points #and decided that even if his kid wants to hide it from him for the rest of his life he will still do what he can to make their life better #pflag #parents doing their best #parenting win #good news #allyship

[oars]

#i feel like tge fact im apprehensive about posting this is kinda proving my point #the way everyone talks about both weight gain and weight loss is just horrendous #like idek if i could fit all i wanna say in here especially while im at work but #i so badly wish people could be normal about weight gain and talking about it #its like if youre not in some constant state of wanting to lose weight people want to kill you #god forbid you want to put on weight to feel more comfortable in your body outside of muscles and a butt #fatphobia is a given thats a whole other few paragraphs #im grateful i have mutuals and friends who are normal but ill have or hear these convos and go #ok i feel sick. why do i feel this way why do you feel that way. #anyways i think fatphobia is one of the worst things to ever happen

[reploidbuddy]

Man sometimes I wish ao3 had some DMs

Not all the time but today absolutely

((oh my god I rambled sm in the tags I reached the 30 limit oh my GOD JFBSJCBJD

#Found this new bookbinding tutorial #one that FINALLY explains the logistics of printing the text idk why I couldnt find one before #and while my old method was extremely simple and fun the minute you have smthn a lil bigger it's hard to open #like At Hope's End is MASSIVE for the simpler technique #and even though I knew how to play with my pages enough to make it all functional it #*it's hard to open and feels like it might break or you see the prong and idk #it's a great trophy but the functionality is meh #but yeah found an understandable tutorial on the sewing thing and I'd like to make one like this at least for At Hope's End #bc it would benefit most I think #AND SO THE POINT I WANTED TO DO WAS: #The tutorial gave the brilliant idea of putting art in some pages and stuff #and like listen I got 1 single fanart through the entire journey of Light on the Horizon #by dragonswirl on DA and insta (go look at their art btw it's pretty) #and BOY. #I LOVE IT #it was the reason I smiled all week #I showed it to anyone that had heard I write fanfic/like sonic #heck it's my phone's home screen #I go look at it sometimes randomly bc AGH IT LOOKS SOSOSO GOOD #I'll do just 1 copy of it as trophy but like a functional readable one #but I'd love to put that fanart in it #like at the beginning where in published books theres some random stuff #just put it there all like LOOK AT IT even if it'll end up being @ myself #idk I'd like to ask them if they're okay with it #and if so like actually have them know how much I love that one art and want to put it in there #IDC IF IT'S BEFORE EVEN CHAPTER ONE IT'S AMAZING AND IT MAKES ME HAPPY OK /positive /lighthearted #so yea they dont seem to have tumblr so there isn't really a mean to ask sadly #rambling #light on the horizon #at hope’s end

[chittychittyyangyang]

Listen, you should never film strangers in public without their consent, but I swear there need to be fines or something for people who do that shit in some spaces. For example: I had to go to the ER last night, and some jerk filmed a woman who just came in and was clearly having an asthma attack. She immediately got to go back, and he was unhappy about that. Believe me, I get that it sucks having to wait when you're in pain, but you don't get to pick who deserves care when. The medical system in the US is a nightmare, and the ER could be the worst moment of someone's life. No one deserves to be recorded because some jack ass believes someone doesn't look like they need care.

This is fine to reblog. People who film strangers should be shamed if nothing else.

#ccyy talks #sorry for posting this here but I'm pissed and this shit really needs to stop #For all I know he recorded me too cause I'm young and look healthy but got to go back next #Sorry about your cough buddy but the way things work I was a more immediate emergency #1k #5k #10k #30k #this post clearly has a life of its own now #and in case someone wants to know some clarifications for common points #people in a position of authority/actively hurting someone with the intent to protect/help the person is fine #so cops doctors nurses mental health workers and educators (to name a few) who actively are abusing their power and authority? free game #this post was filming random ass people for Content(tm) #random ass people more so those in distress aren't your content and you do not know the harm you can do to someone by posting that shit #50k

[inkskinned]

probably time for this story i guess but when i was a kid there was a summer that my brother was really into making smoothies and milkshakes. part of this was that we didn't have AC and couldn't afford to run fans all day so it was kind of important to get good at making Cool Down Concoctions.

we also had a patch of mint, and he had two impressionable little sisters who had the attitude of "fuck it, might as well."

at one point, for fun, this 16 year old boy with a dream in his eye and scientific fervor in heart just wanted to see how far one could push the idea of "vanilla mint smoothie". how much vanilla extract and how much mint can go into a blender before it truly is inedible.

the answer is 3 cups of vanilla extract, 1/2 cup milk alternative, and about 50 sprigs (not leaves, whole spring) of mint. add ice and the courage of a child. idk, it was summer and we were bored.

the word i would use to describe the feeling of drinking it would maybe be "violent" or perhaps, like. "triangular." my nose felt pristine. inhaling following the first sip was like trying to sculpt a new face. i was ensconced in a mesh of horror. it was something beyond taste. for years after, i assumed those commercials that said "this is how it feels to chew five gum" were referencing the exact experience of this singular viscous smoothie.

what's worse is that we knew our mother would hate that we wasted so much vanilla extract. so we had to make it worth it. we had to actually finish the drink. it wasn't "wasting" it if we actually drank it, right? we huddled around outside in the blistering sun, gagging and passing around a single green potion, shivering with disgust. each sip was transcendent, but in a sort of non-euclidean way. i think this is where i lost my binary gender. it eroded certain parts of me in an acidic gut ecology collapse.

here's the thing about love and trust: the next day my brother made a different shake, and i drank it without complaint. it's been like 15 years. he's now a genuinely skilled cook. sometimes one of the three of us will fuck up in the kitchen or find something horrible or make a terrible smoothie mistake and then we pass it to each other, single potion bottle, and we say try it it's delicious. it always smells disgusting. and then, cerimonious, we drink it together. because that's what family does.

#this is true #writeblr #warm up #relatedly for some reason one of our Favorite Jokes #amongst the Siblings #is like - ''this is so good u will love it'' #while we are reacting to something we OBVIOUSLY find viscerally disgusting #like we will be actively retching and be like ''nooooo it's so good'' #to the point that i sometimes get nervous if someone outside my family is like oh u should try it its good #(obvi we never force each other to eat anything. we are all just curious birds and #like. we're GONNA try the new thing.) #edit to answer why we had so much vanilla: #my mom is a very good cook and we LOVE to bake. so she just had a lot of staples in the house. #it's one of those things that's like. have u ever continuously thought ''ah i should get butter im probably out'' #even tho u are not out of butter. so u end up with like 5 years of butter. #my mom would do that in a costco but like with vanilla extract #to be fair we WERE always using WAY TOO MUCH bc we were kids #so like she was right to stock up #ps. yes we were VERY sick after this lol i just didn't want to include it in the post in case ppl had an ick about that #u can tell it's real bc we knew "oh no we fucked up that's too much vanilla to waste'' but our reaction was to just. keep drinking it #> sibling understanding that vanilla extract isn't free > knowledge mother doesnt mind if we use it for milkshakes #> sibling choice to maybe get in a loophole of ''not wasting it'' if we drink it bc that's the same as using it (not throwing it out) #listen bud i was like 13 and my sister was like 9 #when my mom discovered this we. got in. A LOT. of trouble. a lot of it. a LOT of it. #3rd edit bc i guess it isn't clear - i am 1 of my brother's 2 little sisters #i am the middle child #out of all the ways i have had to explain a post before being like ''did u forget a middle child can happen'' is my favorite

[scarlct-vvitch]

in honor of ace week id like to shoutout every asexual who first thought they were bi/pan because they looked at all the genders and felt no difference and zero is equal to zero so they said "huh. must be bisexual" and then shoved their sexuality back under the rug for 3-5 years

#shoutout to not knowing what asexuality was for the entirety of high school #or bonus points if u DID know but everyone around u wanted sex so u didnt want to admit it #anyone who says they knew they were ace from day one is a liar #well not really #but i do question u #asexuality #ace week #ace #aroace #aromanticism #aromantic #asexual #asexuality week #oh shush

[astralpenguin]

self care is writing a fic that you’re literally the sole target audience for

#nobody was asking for a spn pmmm crossover fic focusing on claire at 14 #who by this point has already been manipulated into agreeing to something without knowing all the terms and conditions first #and it was awful and the worst day of her life #so when kyubey approaches her she doesn't go for it #but the people around her do and so claire gets to watch people she loves die horribly AGAIN #like there is nothing in spn canon that contradicts any of this #but literally nobody is wanting a fic like this to exist #nobody except for me #so i guess i have to do everything myself around here #el talks

[jitterbugbear]

malanya the horse god - mixed media

#MY FAVEEEE #this gif got really cronched and you can't really make out the eyes #but honestly i just want to get this off my hands at this point #so uhhhhhh i spent weeks on this how are yall doing #i handpainted everything (except link and the particle effect) and then scanned and animated in after effects #you can't really tell it's painted because its so crunchy so lollllll #it was still good to try some new things #animation #gif #zelda #totk #botw #horse god #artists on tumblr #art #jitterbugbear art #mixed media

[beybuniki]

band-aid ^-^

#1st one basically has everything in it that I love to see in the world #my point is that deku eventually stops crying but bakugo never stops being stressed out he is an anxious chihuahua #2nd one was a small comic but i literally cant do comics and i didnt want to do the backgrounds so i just colored in this central sketch #sorryyyy just imagine the lore :(( #bnha #midoriya izuku #deku #bakugo katsuki

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

#selfie bee #good evening friends!! how are you doing! C: #I'm very very sleepy I got a new ikea office chair and I build it all myself #I think it went okay! I don't think I pulled the back screw tight enough and now the back is a bit loose #I can probably fix it but I can also ignore it for the next 18 years #thats how long the old chair held up!! in germany it could now drink vodka and drive a car!! #not at the same time that is illegal! not at the same time!! (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ* #but the day is not over yet my uncle asked me for a big art quest and I do not want to disappoint #he wants a muppet tattoo and asked me to draw it #my uncle has started to get tattoos a few months ago #as far as I know he has now gotten 3 note clefs 3 stars a flower and multiple birds #he also started getting piercings but so far I managed not to know exactly where #I think tattoos are super cool (´｡･v･｡｀) I wish I had a good idea for a tattoo but the last time I was very sure about getting a tattoo #it was heath ledgers face as the joker #at that point I was 12 and would not see the actual movie for two more years #a muppet tattoo is a way better idea!! he asked for the count van count! that is also one of my top 3 muppets ₍՞◌′ᵕ‵ू◌₎♡ #I always thought I knew a lot about muppet lore but since I started looking up muppet pictures I think there are still a lot of secrets #can the muppets from the Sesame Street actually leave the Sesame Street? #I think Kermit is both on the Muppet Show and on Sesame Street but he is also like the boss muppet #he might have special abilities #I hope you're having a good day friends!! C: #I think I'll post a Sherlock comic later this week #miss you!! ♥♥♥

[araneapeixes]

fuck it. sketch poast

#i have 3 comms to finish rhen i finish this then maybe another one for me THEN id like to open coms again:) #so idk when i finish this so i wanted to shareee #its the first time ive drawn all of them #i decided to do modern clothes just because but the added bonus of not having to draw armor is a life saver #anyways whoever wins gets to fuck shadowheart in the bathroom #its not the point of the arm wrestle or anything but it is an implied outcome #bg3 #sketch #karlach #lae’zel #shadowheart #astarion #gale dekarios #wyll ravengard #bg3 tav

[tenowls]

teacher getou au...... wauh

#jujutsu kaisen #geto suguru #gojo satoru #itadori yuuji #kugisaki nobara #fushiguro megumi #teacher getou au #satosugu #fanart #very funny how gojo leaves both yuuji and yuuta on their first mission hssdjshjdd #i know hes technically watching but. these kids do not know anything abt jujutsu at that point and theyre also KIDS. worst teacher HKSDKSD #anyway. been trying to look for fics but haven’t been able to find one i wanna read so i was like ok I’ll do it myself #however i am not a good writer so. DRAWINGS OF RANDOM LITTLE SCENES WILL HAVE TO DO #i want a plot focused fic w a side of shipping…. blease if anyone out there has any recs #as in like. the shipping written in a way that’s relevant to the plot #i want to see the rammies explored. yknowyknow #what happened differently in the aftermath of rikos death to make getou want to be a teacher instead #how is jjk0 different without him as the main antagonist and who does kenjaku take as a host #how does shibuya play out #how are both he and gojo different as characters #having grown up into adulthood together #getou as gojo’s moral compass etc #YKNOWYKNOW #i am aware that to explore all of that would be a monster of a fic which is probably why it does not exist (to my knowledge) but #IF THERES ANY FICS OUT THERE THAT EXPLORE EVEN SOME OF IT. PLEASE SEND THEM MY WAY #EVEN A FUN LITTLE CASEFIC WHERE THEY GO ON A QUICK MISSION OR SMTH #AS LONG AS THERES PLOT #another theoretical fic i would like to read is canonverse post-shibuya but like with a plot that makes sense #jjk my favourite mediocre shounen battle manga. could be so much better. has anyone attempted this #that one post thats like im not a hater im a dismayer. thats me

[egophiliac]

starting off with an amuse-bouche of some of my initial favorite bits! y'all, this update was WILD.

#art #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland spoilers #twisted wonderland episode 7 spoilers #twisted wonderland book 7 spoilers #we really got it all in this update huh #we got flashbacks! backstory! shocking twists! cgs?! #we got the silver breakdown to end all silver breakdowns #the boy does not emote for 6 episodes straight and now it's POURING out and i am shoving my face directly into it #not to mention my favorite: action scenes represented by intensely wiggling the sprites around #and OF COURSE meleanor my beloved. your highness. ma'am. holy shit. #i guess it's mel instead of mal? hey she can spell her name however she wants #meleanor can do whatever she wants about anything. who is going to stop her. #meleanor: hold on baby. mommy wants to make a point. (yeets malleus' egg across the room into liia's face) #man though i am so afraid that crowley really might turn out to have been revaan this whole time #because this means we live in a world where dire fucking crowley managed to pull BOTH meleanor and lilia and i cannot accept that #briar valley are you okay. is it something in the water. #mrs. zigvolt took all the good taste and left none for anyone else

[gautiersylvain]

BALDUR'S GATE 3 (2023) dev. Larian Studios

#bg3edit #baldur's gate #bg3 spoilers #astarion #gale dekarios #karlach cliffgate #mine* #these scenes were so fucking difficult to color but i needed someone ANYONE to see my vision #something something going from wanting to die to wanting to live something something the LOVE IS THE POINT DO YOU SE???E??? #anyway #dailygaming #gamingedit

[redysetdare]

All this aroace character shipcourse has proven to me that a majority of people that interact in fandom cannot actually interact with characters and media outside of shipping and genuinely I believe you need to learn how to interact with media outside of shipping.

#text #fandom #aro #ace #aroace #aromantic #asexual #this became extremely obvious with Encanto - where the main message of the movie was ignored #and people were so desperate for shipping they started shipping background characters or even the family members....eugh #like at some point you must understand your inability to interact with media outside of a narrow romantic scope is an actual problem #at some point you need to accept you don't ACTUALLY like the media you're interacting with #like genuinely can you say anything else that you like about a piece of media besides the fact you want two characters to kiss? #genuinely i do believe the way some of you interact with things needs to change because it's made fandom spaces literally unbearable #also it has severely limited some of your guy's critical thinking skills #if you want content based around shipping then look at the romance genre it's literally right there for this very reason #shipping just needs to stop dominating fandom discussions and interactions. shipping should not be the main focus of every genre ever ffs #that or y'all need to literally start tagging your shit so that people can actually block it out and find the posts that they want to see