#TODAY I HAVE LEARNED SOMETHING NEW AND MY WORLD IS RICHER FOR IT

[togglesbloggle]

In Defense of Bad Things

'Bad' here meaning mostly 'amateur'; stuff made enthusiastically by people at an unprofessional level. Art with visible gaps between what the artist imagined and what they achieved, products of flawed craftsmanship. I suppose everybody can appreciate them to some extent, it's a rare parent that doesn't put up their kid's drawings on the fridge in one way or another. But it turns out to be a fully general skill you can cultivate, and the more I do, the more I'm glad I did.

Partly, it's the teacher thing; finding delight in amateur work is one of the ways to find delight in the process of learning. Cultivating a love of striving-qua-striving can help make you a force for good in the world, as people start to feel safe trying to do things when you're around, even when their efforts are wobbly. You get to participate a little more in the process of atoms spinning themselves into ideas, even when there aren't any illusions about whether you're helping cultivate some revolutionary genius in the field.

And partly it's a fabulous way to build community. By necessity, our professional-level skills tend to be at the service of other people, performed for economic benefit; that's kind of how you get professionally good at something in the first place. When we're acting for our own sake, and among friends, most of what we do with one another is amateurish. I only cook middling-okay, I can't hold a tune that well, I'll never be a speed runner for anything. If you can only enjoy singing from the hundred best singers in the whole world, manufactured and polished by major studios, then you and your friends will sit shoulder-to-shoulder and passively listen to music. But it's so much richer an experience to sit face-to-face, actually singing together, even badly; you expose yourself to so many new ways to appreciate and respect one another, building relationships on what you've accomplished and not just by witty criticism or liking the same things.

And partly it's because some of the most powerful and innovative artistic experiences are in high-churn environments with low expectations and low barriers to entry, if only because those catch the passionate and driven young people that have been otherwise overlooked by our systems. The golden age of webcomics meant that a ton of the actual art involved was pretty lousy, but it also produced work that people still talk about today. D&D began as a profoundly unpolished collection of handmade rulebooks sold at cons in a plastic baggie. By the time these products of enthusiastic amateurs filter themselves through various levels of popularity and absorb mainstream cash influx, they're often risk-averse and missing a lot of the bold spark that inspired their fans in the first place; others will simply never drift towards the mainstream at all. I'm not saying you should be the person who goes out to dig through the slush piles of the internet looking for overlooked art, unless you want to be-- but sometimes a work of actual staggering genius also happens to be a Supernatural fanfic by a first-time author who's a little hazy on commas, and if that's a dealbreaker, you're going to miss out on some profoundly valuable experiences.

And hiding behind all of these things is, like...

Our appreciation of beauty has an odd structure, right? When things are done very skillfully, by brilliant artists with years of training, we can usually appreciate those accomplishments. And when we're looking at nature without human influence, and especially when we think very deeply about natural processes and understand them in context, we often rediscover that sense of beauty. There's just this bizarre hole in the middle where we declare things 'ugly'; as if a little skill is worse than none at all.

I really don't trust that gap. It feels like a trick my brain is playing on me, you know? It has me suspicious that a lot of what I consider 'ugly' or 'bad' is not a very direct experience of the world at all, or an informed judgment. That it is, rather, a declaration of (self-, social-) identity; a desire to be seen as a person of good taste, or as somebody who does things well, or just more primitively as one of the monkeys who is in the good-stuff-tribe and not one of the monkeys who is in the bad-stuff-tribe.

[sebstan2020]

Red Ties

Chapter 12

Mary, a sweet Christian girl living in the city of Brooklyn as a nurse had a simple life. She loved her work, her friends and attending church every Sunday and helping Reverend McCarthy. Her life was nothing out of the ordinary. However, it all changed one day when she bumps into the intriguing and intimidating James Barnes, Brooklyn’s notorious mafia boss and is introduced to a world of guns, lust and dominance.

Warnings: BDSM, Dom/Sub, Mafia, Violence, Gang, SMUT, Sex, Possessive Bucky, Overprotectiveness, Bondage, Sexual Themes, Dark Themes, Guns, Drugs, Gang Violence

“Mrs McKenzie, I’m here” Mary called as she entered her little apartment, softly shutting the door. The TV was blaring and she was relieved to see Mrs McKenzie in her armchair, watching her show with a delightedly smile on her face, her glasses just on the tip of her nose as if they were hanging on the edge.

“Oh hello dear, I didn’t realise the time, you know this episode is so gripping, that Cassandra is finally getting what’s coming to her” she said with passion and Mary smiled sweetly. It was nice that Mrs McKenzie had something to keep her busy, something that fulfilled her day. It was sad to see some of the residents reaching their end, with nothing and no one to give them purpose. Mrs McKenzie wasn’t like that though, she lived every day like it was her last, doing the things she enjoyed most. She was good for her age, a little slow but still a spring in her step and a fire behind her tongue. Like she said, she’d hate to wind up in a home, being treated like an animal in a cage. 

“Oh really, you’ll never tire of that show will you?” Mary grinned. 

“Of course not, it’s the only thing that keeps me going” she answered with sass in her voice and Mary giggled. 

“I thought I would check on you early today, I brought a new dressing for your leg as well”. She had been keeping an extra eye on Mrs McKenzie after her fall and wanted to make sure her leg was doing better. She managed to get a prescription from her doctor for some pain meds which seemed to help a lot. 

“Oh thank you”.

“I’ll make a tea first” Mary collected her empty cup from her little table and headed for the kitchen. As she waited for the kettle to boil, Mary felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and quickly snatched it out. She assumed it would be related to work, an email or a call for an emergency however she was surprised to see a text from James. 

Good morning, thank you for a wonderful evening, I hope you’re day isn’t too busy

Mary blushed instantly and bit her bottom lip in a grin, her stomach tingling just at reading his words. She had an amazing time as well and when she got home that night she couldn’t stop thinking about him yet again. However, something was playing on her mind. Mary was an innocent, simple girl, with not much money, a small apartment and a fridge of budget food. She doesn’t drink and drive fast cars and she hasn’t had sex. She couldn’t help but wonder what there was about her that James was so interested in. Surely he was used to richer women, wearing expensive clothing and covered in jewellery and heaps of make-up. He was handsome, smart and dominant, a man who seemed to know how to please a woman’s body and want to have them at the first sight of them and yet he was intrigued by the simple and plain Mary. She didn’t want to think too much into it but something didn’t add up in her head. Maybe she was overthinking and decided to push the thought to the back of her head for now. 

Good morning, I had a really nice time with you as well. My day isn’t too busy today

Mary waited anxiously, almost desperate for his reply. Not only did he make her nervous in person but over text as well 

Good, I’m not sure I can wait until Sunday to see you 

Mary sucked in a breath, trying not to get giddy. It was unlike her to reply like this but the answer was the perfect fit.

Well you’ll just have to learn how to

You’re lucky I’m not there with you

Why’s that?

Because I would take you over my knee until you couldn’t sit down for that comment

Mary’s eyes widened at the words and the tingle in her stomach went straight to her thighs. Did he mean what she thought he meant? That he would spank her, over his knee like they did in the old-fashioned days. Mary felt like she was having her heart attack, her heart racing at a hundred miles an hour, her toes tingling with warmth and not to mention her pussy twitching. Was he just joking or being serious, she didn’t know but the fact she read those words and reacted the way she did meant if he was serious, she wouldn’t mind. Mary shook her head quickly. God would be most angry to know she was fantasying about a man she only knew for a week, spanking her over his knee for telling him to learn how to wait. She was a good girl and good girls don’t indulge in those fantasies. 

She came out of the kitchen, carrying the hot cup of tea and staring at her phone one last time with a stupid grin on her face. 

“What are you smiling at?” Mrs McKenzie asked, furrowing her barely there brows and Mary realised she was still grinning. 

“Oh nothing’ she quickly waved off but Mrs McKenzie wasn’t having it. She wasn’t an idiot, she knew that look when she saw it. 

“Is it that man you’ve been seeing…oh what’s his name… James, you haven’t even updated me yet” Mary popped the tea beside her, getting to her knees to unpack her bag for the dressing. It was only fair she filled Mrs McKenzie in on everything except a few minor details, like the text she just read. 

“Well after I left you, I ran into him again and he asked out for dinner” she started.

“Oh dinner, a classic first date, go on” Mrs McKenzie was intrigued as she sat back with her hands clasped together as Mary focused on her leg, unwrapping it. 

“He picked me up and we went to his friend's restaurant, which apparently has a three-month reservation list and we just skipped the whole line”.

“You’re joking… what is he some sort of mafia man” Mrs McKenzie laughed and Mary giggled. 

“No, he’s an accountant and has his own business or something, something to do with the government and weapons I think but he’s definitely wealthy, he paid for the whole dinner and brought the most expensive champagne on there, not that I had any”.

“Girl you should have, if he’s paying make the most of it”.

“You know I don’t drink”.

“Well it’s a good time to start” Mrs McKenzie joked and Mary laughed shaking her head. 

“Anyway we saw each other last night, and he took me to his house… or should I say mansion, its exactly like you would imagine, gates, two stairs cases, like four cars in the garage”.

“Did you snog him” Mrs McKenzie wasn’t holding back. She wanted all the dirty details and Mary blushed which was the instant answer she needed. 

“Oh was he a good kisser, did he use his tongue, come on Girl I need details”.

“Um yeah he was a good kisser, I think”.

“You think… girl did he make your body tingle and feel like you were floating or was it dead” Mrs McKenzie asked, looking over the bridge of her nose, over her glasses as Mary sighed, shrugging into one of the chairs. Yes her body felt exactly that when he kissed her. 

“Yes,” she murmured.

“Oh this is wonderful, when we are seeing him next” Mrs McKenzie clapped her hands together in excitement. 

“Sunday,” Mary said rather sullenly. 

“Well, you don’t sound so excited?” 

“No I am, it’s just… well, we’re very different, I know I’ve only seen him twice now but he’s all suits and money and fast cars and I’m plain and simple. I don’t have as much money as him and my apartment compared to his is shocking” she shrugged. 

“Now don’t you ever feel bad for being plain and simple? He obviously must like you if he wants to see you again. You’re a sweet lovely girl, much better than any bimbo out there on the street which means more to someone than material goods. He sounds like a gentleman which is what you need, does he know you’re a Christian” she asked. 

“Yes… I told him last night I was waiting until marriage” she squeaked.

“And he still wants to see you even after that… don’t overthink it Mary” she assured her and Mary felt better. If she started overthinking everything then she could me sit up. She was excited to see him again, especially after that saucy comment. 

“So what’s the plans this weekend?”.

“I’m helping Peter unpack his new apartment, he only moved in a week ago and there’s still loads to unpack so I thought I’d help him”.

“Oh yes Peter… he’s a lovely boy isn’t he” Mary giggled, nodding her head. 

“Yeah, he’s my best friend” Mary smiled. 

……….

The bright light of the orange flame illuminated the darkness, lighting up James's face for a second whilst he lit the cigarette pinched between his lips. He didn’t smoke often, only when he was stressed and right now he was. It was ten o’clock, the time he and Zemo agreed on at the docks for the delivery and he wasn’t there. James was a man who liked to stick to timings and a schedule and when Zemo doesn’t show up on time, it rubs him the wrong way. The scowl on his face was set in deep, the lines between his eyebrows deepening as they waited. Steve was leaning against the bars along the edge, whistling softly to himself which was beginning to get on Sam’s nerves. 

“Stop it” he kicked him with a polished shoe and Steve furrowed his brows at him. 

“What!” He shrugged as the two argued on the petty action but James took no notice of it as he shuffled around in circles. He didn’t like people showing up late and he should have known Zemo was going to do this… he always does. 

The cold breeze blew against his hair, sending it further back behind him but it was refreshing. The smoke drifted off into the air leaving its sickly scent behind as he delicately blew it from his lips. 

“Where the fuck is he?” He grumbled finally, pacing back to the others. 

“He’ll be here soon, you know he does this all the time” Sam reassured although it didn’t take away James’s grump. 

“Why do we still use him?” Steve asked, waving his hand around lazily in expression to Zemo. 

“Because he’s easy and cheap, besides he owes me” James clarified. James had known Zemo since he was twenty years old. He was an easy dealer and often got the good shit no one else could get. How he got it was a mystery and James didn’t want to know many details, for legal purposes of course but he was happy to still do business with him. After the last times deal however he owed James big time which was partly the reason why he was taking on this deal tonight. 

As expected Zemo arrived late, twenty minutes late which to James was too long. The truck pulled up slowly, the reverse beeping overpowering the crash of the sea below them and with a hiss and a break, Zemo jumped out of the truck, striding over to James.

“James, good to see you” he smiled. 

“You late” was the first thing to come out his mouth and Zemo chuckled as he rounded to the back of the truck. 

“I had some difficulty getting through, I would have texted you but I know how you feel about evidence and I-“.

“Just get to it Zemo I don’t have all night” James interrupted, staring down at him. Zemo was just a few inches shorter, with short brown hair and brown eyes, and a Sokovian accent. He was a man of many talents, one being able to smuggle in illegal goods. 

“Of course” he smiled and opened up the back of the truck. Inside were crates, made of thick wood with writing across them. The crates were labelled with potatoes but of course, that wasn’t what was inside. Zemo popped open one of them with a crowbar, the wood snapping and the bar dropping with a clang to the floor. Zemo picked one of the guns out of the crate, handing it carefully to James. It was heavy, sleek black with a long cartridge and barrel. They were beautiful. James inspected it in his hand, turning it here and there, holding it as if he were about to take a shot. They seemed legit. 

“They’re nice,” he said simply. 

“I told you they were good, you’ll sell them easily, I already have some buyers if you're interested” he mentioned and James handed him back the gun. 

“We’ll see, get them unloaded” he ordered to Steve and Sam who began carrying the crates off the truck. James trusted Zemo but not that much. He had his own buyers and like Zemo said, he’d easily be able to sell them. James turned, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, instantly smiling. Mary. 

How has your day been, I hope not too busy.

She was the most adorable thing he’d ever met and he wasn’t surprised she didn’t respond to his spanking text. When he read the words she replied that he was surprised. He wasn’t used to people telling him what to do and he meant what he wrote. If he happened to be there he would have quickly taken her across his knee and spanked her till she was begging him to stop. 

I’m always a busy man, but otherwise fine, how about you?

My day was good thank you but think I’m ready for bed

James grinned. This girl was teasing him so much and she probably didn’t even realise it.

Looks like I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to talk to you then

I need my beauty sleep… at least you learning how to wait

James smirked, shaking his head lightly. 

Trust me you don’t know how badly I’m holding myself back

Goodnight James x

Goodnight Mary x

James tucked his phone in his pocket, his mood instantly changed and turned back to his men, flicking away the cigarette. 

Chapter 13

Hey I hope you like this chapter, let me know what you think in the comments

@pattiemac1

@sebastiansluts

@charmed-asylum

@blackwood-bodecker-housewife

@abaker32

@samjuarezzz

@sebastians-lover-blog

@buckysgirl85

@captainsarahscratches

@dhoruwolfie

@silvaren-ladybird

#sebastian stan #sebastian stan fanfiction #bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanficiton #bucky barnes smut #mafia bucky barnes #dom bucky barnes

[fretami]

i hate the term karen for countless reasons including the fact that the word exists for women and no similar one was invented for men naturally (only one was invented to shut up people pointing this fact out, and the name "kevin" was born FROM karen, meaning a man is acting like an entitled woman)

but im not going to talk about all the reasons i hate it right now, i just opened this note to write about how frustrating it is.....

that women have been socialized forever to be quiet, to not ask for much, to be polite, to assume everyone around her is good etc. and that for women to grow and learn to stand up for themselves earns them the title of "new world bitch"

when i go into male dominated spaces, i know i am on thin ice, with preconceived notions and hostilities towards me. for example today i went to the dump in order to get rid of some built up waste from moving. the men in "dirty" jobs tend to have distain for those with "clean" jobs, richer people, and especially women, who they see as being comfortable and pampered.

i know that when im there, i cant ask questions aside from "where should i go, what should i do, please tell me how to behave". i can't ask questions like "why are you letting him cut in front of me?" or "why are you charging me extra for something im not bringing?" because any sign of spine from a woman would automatically register in their head as "a karen" aka "a bitch". a woman who feels entitled to anything but bowing her head.

these men feel no camaraderie with me, and most likely a good portion probably watch those "karen cam" compilation videos on youtube.

ever since the term karen became popularized i have noticed my female friends, my sisters, etc, become quieter, smaller. be afraid to ask for things at restaurants, afraid to correct mistakes at stores, afraid to disagree in community settings, for fear of being "a karen"

and this isnt new. this is the exact same iteration of the idea of the "bitch" a woman who steps out of place. a woman who is not docile, subservient, and happy to receive anything.

do evil women exist? of course. but the word karen, much like the word bitch, creates an idea about women and among women that talking back will be received with a social back-handing.

[foibles-fables]

tag game (Horizon)

stolen from @hellcheercaine!!! Thanks for the excuse to put off starting work for another few minutes.

1.ride or die ship (your otp): Aloy/Talanah. my rotten soldiers my sweet cheeses my good-time gals

2. most annoying ship: nah you know I don't play that game <3

3. second favourite ship: Aloy/Yarra

4. favourite platonic relationship: Aloy and Erend, Talanah and Milu, Aloy and Sylens

5. underrated ship: gonna say Aloy/Yarra here too. Also Fashav/Kotallo, Beta/Milu, Alva/Seyka (thoughts of an angsty Loyalist!Federa fic won't leave my brain ALONE)

6. overrated ship: see question 2 bls

7. one thing i would change in canon: Oh man. There are...many things, lmao. The clear and obvious one is having Talanah join the base (as we now know was the original intention [rolling_in_the_deep.mp3]). But since that one is a given--completely toss the Zeniths out of HFW. Ground the narrative conflict in gathering the subfunctions, the collapsing biosphere, and Regalla's rebellion instead. Bring GAIA back only at the very end. Save the Zeniths for the major H3 antagonist instead, negating the need for Nemesis as the Bigger Fish. How absolutely baller would it have been if the Beta reveal came as a post-credits stinger instead? (Gerard's voice: "Are you ready to finally make yourself useful, Beta?" and then a camera pan over the face of a Sobeck clone, GOD)

8. something canon did right: The entirety of "Deep Secrets of the Earth" in HZD was a masterclass in storytelling. Every part of exploring PZD HQ was remarkable. The datapoints, the juxtaposition of "The Bad News" with "The Good News," the latter of which as the culminating reveal of the mystery that's been building throughout the entire narrative--it's pretty much perfection.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: may I present to y'all my AO3 trashpile

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): ALVA. My personal shining star amongst the HFW companions. I'm also contractually obligated to say Talanah here, even if I want to shake her by the shoulders sometimes (affectionate)

11. the character i relate to the most and why: This is a tough one. I see pieces of myself in a number of the characters, but I'm not sure if there's one that I'm like, yes, that is ME. I could prrooobably say Alva again? But it's not a definitely one-to-one.

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: All the homies hate Ted Faro, that's for sure. But that's low-hanging fruit. So I'll give Amadis as well, though not for the seemingly-obvious reason--I cannot stand the sole purpose for which he was written, from the comic all the way through his weird unsatisfying ending in HFW. He's a repeated character with a repeated conflict that was already handled much more compellingly through Nil and is rendered useless and storyless by the end of Need to Know. Bringing him back in H3 would be the sorest mistake the narrative could make aside from a sacrificial ending for Aloy. He's just unneeded character bloat in an already-admittedly-bloated cast.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: You will make some of your very best friends here. Everyone is creative and hilarious and so smart. We all connect to the Horizon universe in a different way, and sharing your enthusiasm with others is what just makes the world feel even richer than what you could have imagined.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: I typically don't browse AO3 directly!

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: you're gonna make me pick ONE?? oh man, okay. so this changes by the day, and today I'll say Oceanator's "I Would Find You" is THEE Hawk and Thrush anthem.

tagging: since I stole this untagged, I challenge YOU to do the same! Choose your fandom and talk about it!

#tag games #horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west

[angstics]

q's queliot ficlist ^_^

(mostly 2019, mostly s3/4)

my favorite bookmarks:

Imagine being loved by me. by destielpasta (E, 11K)

Eliot is saved and the monster is gone, but the body he's left with is far from healed. The aftermath of his possession leaves him feeling overwhelmed and unable to process the world around him in the same way. or Eliot is touch-starved but can't be touched, and just when he really wanted to be touched by Quentin. But where there's a will there's a way, and they have the will in spades.

In the Woods Somewhere by pineapplecrushface (E, 15K)

Quentin has a list of chores, listens to some Queen, and adjusts a bar graph. Or: Alice being unable to wipe younger Quentin's memory during the timeshare spell had a ripple effect.

You're a Story (I Can Follow) by Page161of180 (M, 19K)

The Monster's been defeated, Quentin is dead, and Eliot has a quest of his own--if he can trust himself to complete it. An Orpheus and Eurydice remix.

The Honor of Your Presence by Page161of180 (M, 18K)

Eliot and Quentin are getting married. A story in three acts, as told by three of the somewhat less dearly beloved, gathered here today. (Or: the best thing about true love? It doesn’t need to make sense to anyone except the ones in it.)

All the World in Time by Giddygeek (M, 35K)

Quentin and Eliot go home to meet their family.

don't ruin this on me. by milominderbinder (E, 133K, the only fic i subscribed to)

The beauty of all life can mean a lot of things. In this world, Quentin and Eliot accidentally stumble across the mosaic’s solution two years in, and are sent back to the present to find the rest of the keys with their friends. The only problem is, in those two years, Quentin and Eliot have started sleeping together, and also fallen madly in love — but neither will admit it. And when they come crashing back to real life, they have to try to keep hooking up, hide it from their friends, hide their real feelings from each other, and finish the Keys Quest to bring back magic, all at the same time.

Fragments by Rizandace (NR, 23K)

Quentin Coldwater is not losing his mind. Probably. Maybe. Or if he is, it's definitely magic's fault. Q is forced to watch his worst nightmare unfold right in front of him, and it's up to him, Eliot, and their friends to figure out why.

to be unbroken or be brave again. by milominderbinder (T, 14K)

A loosely 10 Things I Hate About You inspired AU.

To Learn to Be Again by portraitofemmy (E, 18K)

The Monster is gone, but that doesn't mean everything's okay. It's not. But maybe Quentin and Eliot can learn to be.

The Future Says Now by Page161of180 (NR, 72K)

Or: Alice saves Queliot, and saves the world. And just maybe figures out who she's always been.

something richer by wayfarer (NR, 16K)

Dear Q, the letter reads. This is going to sound insane, but I'm writing to you from the future.

Unwish by waveleafcloud (T, 72K)

Quentin’s back from the dead and recovering and everything’s fine. Of course, no one seems to know exactly how he made it back, and he can’t shake the feeling that he’s forgotten something important, and he’s really not sure what’s going on with him and Eliot lately…

All the Comforts of Home by Hth (E, 75K, recent favorite)

The last place he moved into with Eliot was Whitespire, and the place before that was the Physical Kids' cottage, and – third time's a charm, isn't it? Isn't that how the stories always go?

all the way home I’ll be warm by portraitofemmy (E, 15K)

Surviving the Holidays, featuring depression, love, magic, sex, dogs, and family both new and old.

smaller fics i enjoyed:

Softly Coursing by keepingthecloudsaway (rainydayrambling) (E, 8.9K)

They had been here -- living here, Quentin was finally starting to understand -- for one year, three weeks, and four days. # An exploration of how Quentin and Eliot's relationship might have grown and progressed over the years in Fillory, and how Quentin is dealing (and not dealing) with that now.

flowing all this time by mtothedestiel (E, 5.4K)

Three years into the mosaic Eliot takes everything he thought he knew about the normal course of things, packs it up into a metaphorical box, kicks the box off the edge of a cliff, and never looks back.

Scenes in the Life by MermaidMarie (T, 2.1K)

In which Quentin and Eliot live an entire life together. (collection of missing scenes from 3x05)

Tessellate by TenaciousMe (NR, 3.7K)

Everyone's run a bit ragged after this whole Monster business. Quentin catches a cold, and Eliot takes care of him. Some friends visit to raise Quentin's spirits.

The Long Way Around by adjovi (NR, 5.5K)

The monster tries to restore Quentin's memories, but mistakenly throws him into another timeline.

On The Way Down by hoteldestiel (T, 5.7K)

Dying was one thing. Dying to save your best friends and defeat the oppressive Librarian Overlords was another, much more noble thing. But dying to save your best friends, defeat the oppressive Librarian Overlords, and winding up stuck on a seemingly never-ending elevator ride down, down, down to the Underworld with both of your exes and Margo Hanson wasn't exactly the hero's death Quentin had been expecting.

#the magicians #q.txt

[beeanddoddi]

friday the 22nd of december

4:41pm

Dalat, Vietnam

yesterday we made friends with a local guide, today we took him up on his offer and began our journey around the city and countryside to explore!!!

the first stop was the cable cars over the mountains. I'm afraid of heights and not a massive fan of dangling from a wire in a metal car but the view today was definitely worth overcoming my fear for.

next stop was a beautiful temple. in the past these kind of place would make me feel uncomfortable, conflicted and slightly weary. but recently I've been trying to open myself up to the world and all its different beliefs and I found myself completely at peace within this place today. I felt as though I could suddenly walk softer on the world. I've reached a point where I can understand and stand in awe and wonder.

next stop was a flower farm. I'm a girl with an unending love of flowers and colours and here they seem to be a wonderful part of their culture!

next was a mushroom farm! mushrooms are an incredibly interesting (and delicious) organism! I am constantly in awe of mushrooms (sadly I didn't get any photos).

after a short stop for an incredibly delicious food (that's half the reason I travel) we headed on our way again!

next we found ourselves at one of the 2 waterfalls we would see today. I stood there at the bottom at these falls and thought surely this is God's greatest creation and we as humans were only meant to marvel in God's wonderful world, our only purpose to find wonder and joy in the nature of the world.

next we found ourselves at coffee and pepper farms and learnt some wonderful new things. tho I will admit it's weird to stop in the middle of the road to see these farms.

next stop, waterfall number 2!!! stunning honestly!

then next we stopped to climb the inside of this 52m tall Budda statue. again, something that would normally bring me discomfort brought me peace. 10 floors of artwork and enlightenment suddenly made me wonder what this belief was all about.

next we stopped at this beautiful cafe for late afternoon coffee and to learn about how rice wine is made here. I'm not a coffee drinker normally but I think I could drink the coffee from here everyday (and I have been so far). the coffee here is sweeter and richer and has a flavour other than bitter. the most common way to drink it is black with a little bit of condensed milk and it tastes absolutely divine! coffee is a perfect way to end a wonderful, awe inspiring day!

#travel #travel blog #traveling #travelling #daily blog #my thoughts #adventure #explore #waterfalls #religion #belief #awe #wonder #coffee #waterfall #flowers #tour #vietnam trip 2023-2024

[lifevent]

7/12/2022 Wednesday

today was rly something. this is my first post so something you all have to know is that i have a abusive best friend. you may ask why tf dont you leave her? like huh dont you think i would if i could. the reason why shes abusive is because she has been abused since she was a child. she has been locked in her room for days on end, not been able to eat for days, ect. shit may seem crazy but they are so rich. richer than youll ever know so the abuse is somewhat disgised by their fortune. she has been through sm and shes openly said that she doesnt know what shell do if i left her but yet she shows and sometimes tells me the complete oposite. i truely dont know what she thinks about me, if she likes me or just puts up with me because she knows if she leaves me i will not have any friends and she will feel to guilty not about me but doing that to someone. but yeah she practically black mails me every day so she can get her was and shes one of those type of people where she needs constant 24hour attention and when the attention is away from her she literally comes for your throat. yeah so during the last class we just met up and was talking. when i went back i asked her to walk back with me. and ofc she forces me to walk with her to her way so she doesnt look loney but yet i have to walk back by myself to my class. so im texting her during class and i mention how i rly tired and how my legs r rly soure. she continues to say and i quote "yeah imagine working a 7 hour shift without sitting once" i was rly taken back by this because once again she puts the attention onto her when all i wanted is for her to be like aww thats bad and then get a convosation started up because beside my legs being soure thats all i rly had to say to her. so let me explain whats problematic about her response. she has first of all quit that job because she was too tired, she gets 2 breaks during her 7 hour shift, ITS MC DONALLADS and she only worked there for like a month before she quit. so if you dont know when you work at mc donallds its a step program where you learn a new skill every week. the first week all she was doing are the fries. literally putting fries in a box. yeah thats boring for 7 hour but shes hyping it up later for it to be the worst job in the world yet she forced me to apply and get a interview there so we could work together. there r so many basic jobs that r so much harder than that and shes making it out to seem like shes on her hands and knees mopping the floor with her face. after her comment about her working 7 hours with no break which is not true i say why tf r u making it into a competion like any reasonable person out there. she responds to this saying because no one else will every experince what i did. like huh u literally made me apply and I GOT A INTERVIEW all for this bitch but idk is she being resonable. idk im ofc bias but let me know ur option on the situation and about our relationship.

bye

[dankusner]

OPINION Myths are charming lies; facts replace them This election season, we should remember those warnings from childhood In Chapter 2 of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov , Father Zosima wisely suggests to Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov not to lie to himself. Zosima explains that a lying man only listens to his own lies. He can’t tell the difference between his own truth and the truth that surrounds him. Father Zosima says simply that such a man ceases to love. Fyodor Karamazov was born in wealth, but was in need, all of his life, of the love he was not given as a child. He married poorly, and inherited a fortune. Karamazov was a buffoon of modest intelligence. The richer he got, the bolder he became, learning to avoid his inner loneliness and replace it with cynicism and sarcasm. While his vigor for life was powerful, he distrusted truth and found solace only in sensual pleasures and in his own treasured ego. Karamazov offered little to his three sons, except to give them the tools of arrogance and survival skills to repel what truly mattered. Fyodor Karamazov’s motto was Après moi le deluge , “After me the flood.” He ignored civic duty and grew into a paranoid, manipulating old man who ruled by fear. He publicly stated that the world may burn as far as he was concerned if the world did not bend to his truth, to his lies, to his ego, to his need for adulation, and to his desperate need to be loved. When I was a boy, my mother told me about a wonderful old myth created inside the rich Native American culture. She said that there were once seven girls playing on the prairie when a bear arrived. To save themselves the girls climbed on a rock, and because the gods took pity on the girls, the rock bulged up from the ground so the bear couldn’t reach the frightened children. The persistent bear tried to climb this steep rock, making long gashes with his claws on the side of the stone. Just when the bear was about to leap to the top of the stone and devour the girls, all seven jumped up into the sky and formed the cluster of stars that today we call Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters. When the mind doesn’t understand something, the mind has to come up with an explanation. My grandmother was convinced that each time an Apollo spacecraft launched through the atmosphere, the storm out her window was a consequence of the disturbance. A child who does not know what a llama is might call it a camel. When people came upon the famous Devil’s Tower in Wyoming for the first time, it was so overwhelming, and so large, that they had to come up with a way to explain its existence. So they made up the myth about the seven sisters. They filled their minds with an answer and moved on. Science kills myths. Because of geologists, we know that the Devil’s Tower is the remaining plug of a volcano. Science tells us that once the cone of the volcano eroded, the core of lava cooled and formed this column of solid rock, hence the Devil’s Tower. Ancient myths are charming lies about what people did not understand. Facts replace myths. If myths replace facts we become easily manipulated. Toward the end of The Brothers Karamazov, Father Zosima warns that a lazy man in spirit survives by sharing the devil’s words against God. T.S. Eliot’s famous poem The Hollow Men chants with power “We are the hollow men / We are the stuffed men / Leaning together / Headpieces filled with straw.” The straw man had no brain, the tin man had no heart, and the lion was a bully and a coward. Science and sages have been cautioning us for centuries to beware of hollow men, querulous leaders and big lies. In 2024, we should heed their warnings. Christopher de Vinck’s 17th book, “Things that Matter Most: Home, Friendship, and Love,” was published by Paraclete Press. He is a contributing columnist for The Dallas Morning News. Correction: A Friday op-ed about the Israel-Hamas conflict gave the incorrect date of the Egypt-Israel peace deal. That agreement was signed in 1979.

[izzysdiary003]

Drove really well to tesco today! Proud that i can drive after a 9 week break from it. Headache all the time (even iller now i’ve stopped doing stuff and am home?). L still thinks liking dan and phil is embarassing and posted about it. I think that is more embarassing for her. I feel bad for people who are too worried about what’s cringe to enjoy themselves. With exceptions (kkg) i am so reluctant to shit on stuff which used to make me so excited…. I love the past me that loved stuff like mcr so much. Passion is one of the greatest things a person can have.

However i am still desperate to be as cool/interesting/perceived as her. Obsession and jealousy lingers. She posts about her notes app, i look through my own to see what is post-worthy. I feel the need to read and do cool stuff solely when i see others do it. This is bad!

I cannot let the rot set in this holiday! I am gna read and sleep early tn, get up earlier tomorrow and do things. Start couch to 5k, eat nice food, start my greek and latin. I could even find a new spot to do it.

I should really get in touch with people too. People are all we’ve got.

I love that i’m rewatching the hunger games with my family. Catching fire last night. This resurgence is the best thing to happen this year in pop culture…

I love those corecore videos where someone smashes a plate and then there are these vague liminal videos that reaffirm life as interesting and emotional and fast paced. I think right now is a very limited way to live - at home in a small town, dark at 4pm, tired and ill. I need a richer internal world for sure or i’ll get devastatingly bored not running through fields or living under city lights.

I got a video talking about the bad side effects of anorexia today. Hair loss. Always cold. Loss of bowel control. How awful that all is. Yes i want to be a little skinnier but do i really? Its so not something i can let myself romanticise. I see girls w a little meat on their bones and i think they’re so gorgeous. That could be me.

I really need to learn to eat healthy ish and exercise but not be consumed with guilt. I definitely gain a feeling of control from calorie checking stuff. This is okay for now but could be bad. Let’s work on it! If i gained weight, would that really be so terrible? Would people value me less? I fucking hope not and i know they wouldn’t. I want to be strong.

I dont know why i care about L so much in the way that i measure up my life to hers to assume my successes and failures. Who fucking cares if she is skinnier than me. It’s not a competition! Imagine if she knew that i even thought about that…

My friends tell me that i am funny and interesting. It’s true. I need to get that into my head and work on my self confidence so severely. Low self esteem is legit at the core of every problem i have.

Not liking yourself is stressful (what did i say? Did i embarrass myself? I’ve made them hate me forever!). It’s lonely. It’s time-consuming (what do i eat next? And next? And next?). It makes you a narcissist!

I also need to stop watching porn. Bad habit which will only get worse! It’s when i admit these things that i realise this diary must be just for me. I feel like im writing with an audience in mind until i say unglamorous stuff like this. But u do what u gotta do for the God of Self-Improvement.

I’ll say this to myself. I love you! You have got this! You are worthy! You are trying!

[writingmochi]

….. 🎭

you got delivery

i will always be here 4 you. you worked so hard today. remember you are enough!

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM2V9L3f9/

oh my goodness! a decade does sound like a long time! how was your journey as a fan, what is one of the biggest things you have learned?

i have noticed your tag games, keep them coming, i noticed that you role play online! Tell me more, i have never done it before

- 📸

lissie: cams!! (i guess this is my nickname from me to you just because i like the sound of it better) thank you so much and i'll echo it to you too

ooh this might get sentimental but i really learned about loyalty and relationship. i'm not one to call myself a loyal fan of a group because my interests change but i've been loyal to kpop as an art form and a medium for years now and just being a kpop fan is a loyal fan for me.

the relationship aspect definitely comes with the connection of idol and fan i gain. i've experienced almost all of the spectrum (besides being a sasaeng because i have the consciousness to know that that just crosses too many boundaries). but i also understand that my relationship with kpop idols can be purely business, me as a consumer and they as the product that their labels are creating in a certain way; and how i give my disposable income to make those labels richer by indulging in whatever content the idols gave.

i also have more empathy towards the people behind the idols. being an artist is hard but being that and a public figure is harder. i can't empathize much because i'm not on the same level as them when it comes to fame and influence but even a taste of their world that i felt before just seize my body up lol

but i also now realize that idols might have a hidden agenda for being who they are and picking kpop idols as a career. not all kpop idols are artists and they are using their careers to reach new heights (actors, producers, comedians, entrepreneurs, etc). many of the 4th gen idols came from privileged backgrounds (rich family, good education, etc) that shadows people that are there for pure art and music (a reason why i've been following more indie artists now). i also think that many idols are narcissistic, naturally or being shaped in an industry as vile as the kpop industry.

i said all of that above ^^ because multiple truths can happen, which means the good and bad truths, and how both of them could co-exist at the same moment. nothing is purely black and white in the world imo

OOF THIS ONE *eyes* i'm glad that i rp with my middle school friends and the wider internet doesn't know about it unless the messenger we use has a data breach or something that spills the beans out. it's just what you expected to be and it's similar to the whole fanfic ecosystem made from: you pretend to be someone else or insert yourself in a world where you are friends or partner up with your favorite kpop idols. for me, i was in a relationship with bts' jimin lmao i put so much effort into that but i stopped because the line between fiction and reality can get too blurred reminded me of the enha jay situation about the au and the reverse live ffs but i'm still doing rp with dnd and cyberpunk: red ;)

#message to the moon #messenger: 📸

[straycatboogie]

2023/05/22 English

BGM: Blur - Girls & Boys

Today I worked late. This morning I applied the English conversation class which the city will held from this July. I have attended this class for a long time. In this season, who are the teachers? The teachers are the native speakers who work as English teachers of this city's schools. I can imagine/understand they must be busy because of their works, so I feel thankful for their efforts. I can remember that I have learned a lot through the classes, and also grown up step by step. Besides the knowledge and skill of English, I can have met various people and made many forms of connections. So "my world" has become richer exactly. If I were alone, I couldn't enjoy such a pleasant state of learning, and also couldn't enjoy the wideness of my network. I am never a great person, so I could be "a frog in the well". Yes, now I can see that there must be nice people in this city. I have met a lot of such nice people... And this time, who will attend this class?

I have been using English every day. For example, I post my English articles on Discord's and MeWe's communities or groups of English. Sometimes people ask me as "why do you learn English?". TBH I have no great or serious reason to learn. The basis of my motivation is just "to make friends all over the world". Not "getting bigger in my career" (if I tried to be bigger in my company, I would choose learning "business Japanese"). Yes, it is just for enjoying free time as a hobby. It's so easy. In other words, in that English class I can meet various people who try to learn English by their "serious" and "honest" reasons. It gives me a certain power/affection to learn. Learning together, growing up together... they are wonderful. Yes. I like learning.

Is it so called "midlife crisis"? The news Andy Rourke (The Smiths' bassist) had passed away has shocked me a lot. It still affects me and tell that I will die one day... I will be 48 this year, and this fact remains in me as an important one. What can I have achieved? Maybe it must be "nothing". Ah, what a life! But it is a clear fact that in me a certain English skill and knowledge are staying as actual "tools" to survive my life. Once, when I was a heavy drinker and hurt myself like doing wrist cutting because of "self hate", I couldn't love my activity. I couldn't love everything I had done so I burned my articles I had written. A lot of novels and essays... now I can show what I have written, what I have achieved like this (of course, people might judge them as "so what?"). I can show them... that means my growth, my proceeding toward the future.

When I was a teenager, The Smiths was already a legendary group (at least, for me). The beginning of 1990s (they broke up at 1987). Touching their blue and beautiful tunes, I got eased or cured a lot. For me, enjoying rock music like that means not just a way to kill boredom, but also the way to try to become an adult. Or trying to learn something from the musicians' wisdom. At that period, I always carried a magazine of rock music and tried to soak myself into rock music's rich "pond" (in Japanese, we use "pond" as a rich and vast cultural world). I am an idiot therefore I was possessed by "too large" ideas as "positive life can bring us a certain happiness?" like that. But that trials I made still works as a treasure for me. Yes, I will die one day. Everybody will... but the things we have build in our life can affect other people. Therefore our life is never be a waste. That's a meaning of life. At least, I believe so.

#diary #english #journal #tumblr diary #online diary

[bills-bible-basics]

Discrimination on the Social Networks -- a commentary by Bill Kochman Let's be honest here. Despite how much we enjoy using them, some social networks are really becoming unbearable. They continuously plaster us with ads we really don't want to see. They are constantly pushing us and pressuring us to spend money on advertising which we cannot afford on our meager incomes. And besides, if the truth be told -- I speak from personal experience -- most paid advertising does NOT garner us a lot of new, long-term friends or subscribers, or even a large number of new likes or comments for that matter. My own experience is that, at best, in many cases, paid advertising may provide us with a temporary increase in the number of views, but that is about it. There is no long-term commitment, so what is the point? At the same time, our advertising expenses makes the social network richer. Of course, as many of us already know, the way that they do this is by purposely exploiting our desire to be seen and heard by the world. This is particularly true in the case of evangelically-minded Christians who strongly believe in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can be such suckers. But to continue, some social networks are also filled with disgusting, ungodly things -- and people -- which are an affront to our Christian faith. Sadly, as many of us have already learned, there is very little that we can do about it. Even when the social networks do respond to our complaints -- which is rare -- it is usually just to inform us that a particular post falls within the parameters of their Terms of Service, and their sharing/posting guidelines, even if we are personally offended by said material. Now we come to the gist of the matter. Perhaps the thing which irks many Christians the most, is the fact that there seems to be an intentional campaign of discrimination against people who embrace conservative, Christian values. It has become such a huge issue, that it has even been discussed and examined in Washington, D.C. Such was the case with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. Speaking again from my personal observations, on a number of occasions now, I have seen my brothers and sisters in the Lord complain that some of their posts, images or comments have mysteriously disappeared, oft times without any explanation whatsoever. Was it due to the inexpertise of the user; or due to a technical glitch in the social network's system; or was it due to something else? Some Christians have arrived at the conclusion that these strange disappearances are due to "something else". They base this conclusion on the fact that when an explanation is offered by the social network, they are usually informed that their post, image or comment was removed because it was contrary to social network policies -- or "Community Standards" -- in some way. This explanation has been interpreted by some Christians to mean that someone -- sometimes a liberal-minded social network staff member -- apparently found the post offensive, hateful or discriminatory in some way. If this is indeed what is really going on, then clearly, a double standard is being practiced by some social networks. In other words, it doesn't matter that as Christians, we are offended by -- and sometimes report -- some objectionable things that we see on the social networks. Because some social networks are so liberal, our opinions are of little value to them. Who knows, perhaps they even view us as a nuisance. Thus, they will write off our complaints, and claim that the originator of the post -- which we find offensive -- is simply exercising their right to free speech. The hypocrisy lies in the fact that if we dare to strongly express our Christian views, values and beliefs -- which are often in opposition to the politically correct social attitudes which prevail on the social networks today -- we are given a slap on the wrist, and our content sometimes removed. In short, if we are offended by a particular post, it doesn't matter.

But if someone takes issue with one of our Christian-oriented posts, it requires the attention of the social network, often resulting in us suffering some type of negative consequence. Given what seems to be going on, it comes as no surprise to me, that more and more, I come across posts where my Christian brethren are becoming quite discouraged, and announcing that they are permanently leaving a particular social network. Why? Because they just can't handle the unfair bias and discrimination against them. Some of them feel isolated and alone, as if they have been purposely cut off from the rest of the social network, due to their Christian beliefs. While they are given the impression that no one cares about what they think, believe or say -- which is what some assume when no one comments on or shares their posts -- is it possible that this is by design, and precisely what certain liberal social networks want them to feel, so that they will become discouraged and leave? Good question. If you find yourself in this position, allow me to ask you something. Are you going to give up the fight so easily? Are you just going to throw in the towel and surrender? Are you going to let them win the battle? Hoping not to seem too cliché, WWJD? Of course, there is ANOTHER solution: You can join another social network where your Christian views are not only welcomed, they are encouraged and not suppressed. That network is the Christian Social Network, and you are welcome to join it today at the following URL. Forget the antichrist social networks. Come and fellowship with your like-minded Christian brethren on CSNet! https://www.csnet.live/index.php Or, if you are an iPhone® user, you can download the CSNet app for your phone from the App Store®. Simply launch the App Store app on your iPhone, and then search for "csnet". The app icon with the Bible and Cross with the blue background is it! You can likewise download our CSNet app for your Android phone as well by visiting Google's Play Store on your phone. iPhone® and App Store® are trademarks of Apple Inc. https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/discrimination-on-the-social-networks-a-commentary-by-bill-kochman/?feed_id=43406&_unique_id=642f704f44d9e&Discrimination%20on%20the%20Social%20Networks%20--%20a%20commentary%20by%20Bill%20Kochman

#Ads_CSNet #bill_kochman #christian #christian_social_network #communnity_standards #conservative #csn #csnet #discriminate #discrimination #facebook #opinions #social_network #views

[maramahan]

Didn’t think I’d be up until 1am reading about limestone but I guess life is full of surprises

#just me rambling #worldbuilding is fun #it turns out karst formations are FACINATING #and I’m learning the words to describe stuff I’ve always admired but never had the vocabulary to properly Research #TODAY I HAVE LEARNED SOMETHING NEW AND MY WORLD IS RICHER FOR IT #gosh #I really just #I wanna go hang out in a cave

[nerdygaymormon]

Figuring out our queer identity

Sometimes I post, or reblog from others, about how things used to be worse in this country and across the world for queer people. Us older folks will talk about how bad things were when we were coming up and the progress that has been made. 

We also look at the current generation and are so hopeful for them, they’re coming out at younger ages, they figure out their sh*t earlier than we did, they don’t have government actively oppressing them. They have online & in-person resources that didn’t used to exist.

I’m afraid that can come across as being dismissive of the struggles of queer people today. 

The essence of figuring out you might be queer is still just as hard and messy as it ever was. This is a journey largely taken alone and in silence. Most of us are still raised by parents who assume we’re cishet and speak to us of cishet dreams and goals. Our identity is as a cishet person and a big part of coming to terms with the idea that I’m trans or bi or ace or gay or queer is it doesn’t fit the identity I was raised with. 

Suddenly I don’t know who I am, it disrupts everything I’ve been taught, it can be frightening and definitely is very bewildering. I no longer fit into the nice and neat package that was presented to me. I don’t know what my life can look like. 

Will I become like the stereotypes of queer people I see in the media, and should I become like that? If I don’t tell others, can I remain on the cishet path, it’s the only path that was ever presented to me and I don’t know anything else. I was taught it is the one and only way to happiness and accepting I’m queer feels like choosing to step off that path for something else unknown. If I come out will my parents look at me differently, will they be disappointed? Will I lose my friends, my community? All I see is loss and isolation, it’s a scary thing to go through alone. 

Fortunately, most of us find a richer life once we can accept ourselves, we find wider possibilities, we learn to examine critically the things we used to accept. Our parents probably have to go on a journey of their own and we can’t predict where they’ll wind up, but hopefully their love for us will guide them. We may lose some of the community we were raised in, but we find there’s other communities of loving people waiting to accept and affirm us, communities we used to not know about or were told to be frightened of. We learn the wider world isn’t as scary as we had thought. 

Coming out is probably the biggest risk we’ll ever take in life, it requires so much courage, and after going through that, we often show boldness in trying new things and meeting new people. We learn to figure out what we want in life, what will make us happy is a question worth exploring.

These good things, they come after that existential crisis, a crisis we largely go through silently alone. Life after coming out might be better than it was in the past, but that doesn’t change how hard it is to get to that point. 

We older queers, sometimes we forget the big internal struggle, or more likely we don’t enjoy talking about that part of our journey because it was emotionally rough and not fun to revisit and relive. We understand, we’ve been there, we have lived that. We are rooting for you, we want you to enjoy the better world that exists, but like a baby chick figuring out it’s in a shell it no longer belongs in, you have the unenviable task of figuring out you no longer fit in the identity presented to you and have to fight your way to accepting yourself. Once you emerge, we’re here and part of a community ready to receive you.

#LGBTQIA+ #queer #coming out

[wangxianficrecs]

Hi Mojo! I'm starting to think you're a bit of an agony aunt for the fandom 😅 I'm not sure if you know, but Medium Blues has sadly been taken down again 😔. I completely understand, and wish the author well, hoping they can still enjoy the fandom outside of writing for it.

I do feel bad for fandom authors in general - it's nice to see the passion of the fans of The Untamed and how much they want to protect something they love, but it has kind of scared me from producing any works for it, especially since I am not Chinese/ do not know The Untamed as intimately as others, being new to the fandom.

I've spent months and months researching, and I'm terrified to get it wrong - I'm starting to think it may be inappropriate to write anything outside of my own culture altogether. I want to be sensitive, and I want to get it right. For example, I want to make sure specifically that the names and how characters are addressed are correct within a modern setting, as I understand this is different from the original historical setting.

You want to do right by the community, but from what I've seen some can get kinda... heated when you get something wrong or don't write something the way they like it, even becoming quite aggressive. It was supposed to be just for a bit of fun and relief from the real world and suddenly it becomes this huge drama... it puts you off.

I love constructive criticism, and actively welcome it, especially in terms of cultural inaccuracies. When it comes to plot, or characterisations however... I personally feel that the storyline content is the authors perogative (unless they've asked for that kind of feedback) especially in an AU setting. If there's a setting or plot line you disagree with, I'm well within the camp of, don't like, don't read.

There's definitely a line I feel, between being helpful, and shaming someone for something that they wrote incorrectly but without malicious intent.

Authors spend a lot of time making sure the tags are okay, even adding extra warnings on chapters and in some case preemptively apologising for mistakes.

Sorry for the essay! Take care 😊

Ha, yeah.  I feel like an agony aunt today  This turned into a doozy of a conversation!

I really do feel that cultural sensitivity in fandom is an extraordinarily complex issue, and not one I’m very qualified to speak about.  But I AM qualified to speak about writers of fanfiction, that’s a perspective I know well.  And here’s the thing about education:  if you hurt someone first (even if it’s unintentional), they’re not going to learn anything from you.

So really, you lose nothing by asking the author if they’d like feedback.  Because if they say no, their ears will be stoppered up to you, that’s just how people work.  So don’t waste your time there, and just move on.

As a writer, it does really bother me to see other writers dropping out of the fandom because of corrections that are perfectly valid, but which shook them too badly (for whatever reasons) for them to continue to contribute by writing.  You just don’t know.  You know nothing about that writer and where they are in life.  

Fanfiction is different from every other entertainment medium out there, because it’s done freely, only for yourself and others out there who might enjoy it.  It’s someone’s creative baby, or meandering thoughts, or pervy fantasies, whatever.  The author is a single person, not being paid or promoted... their efforts are NOT a public commodity.

Having said that, I think that what’s happening now is VERY IMPORTANT.  Fandom spaces are predominantly white and American.  One of the most amazing things about the internet is the ability to see into other lives, other cultures, other experiences.  In the long run, that makes all of us richer, better people.  Exposure is the best means of learning, and public spaces like tumblr and twitter are doing a FANTASTIC job of presenting non-white, non-American views.

People learn at different paces.  Some can do it publicly, some can only change when no one is looking.  I have seen great strides in education and awareness:  and it can happen without calling anyone out.

It is not a difficult thing to ask first if someone wants your input.  I wish that it were a more regular thing.  Because I’ve heard from many writers who are too scared of setting foot wrong to contribute to this particular fandom.

People make mistakes.  People don’t enter a society knowing all the rules.  They have to learn them by tripping over wires.  I think it’s important to give them the space to learn.  And remember that people learn best when they’re not being put in a public spotlight (like an unsolicited comment).

***Does anyone have a list of cultural sensitivity betas? We should start one, so authors like this one don't fear a misstep.***

#fandom #fandom etiquette #fandom and cultural sensitivity #callout comments #scaring people away from even trying #Anonymous