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soundbodys · 8 months

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AMBROSE BASSFORD: autism?

hi!!!! welcome to part 1 of "i've got some thoughts on adamandi" >:) i have some other analysis that i do want to share about other things, not just randomly diagnosing fictional characters! but this post is about ambrose being on the autism spectrum <3

i'm not a medical professional by any means, but this is just coming from both my experience as an autistic person and the research i've been able to do about the disorder. and other people's experiences! please dont come for me if things are just a touch inaccurate. without further ado: lets fucking gooooooooo!

[ID: ambrose bassford with his hands on vincent lin's shoulders. he is looking into the distance with a determined look in his eye. vincent looks towards him with concern. end ID]

(please excuse my terrible quality screenshots. um. yeah.)

i'll also preface this by saying that yes, much of this is also informed by his status as a transgender student in the early-mid 1900s. i still think it's fun to analyze and compare my (and others') experiences to his!

THE MARMORIUS SOCIETY

[ID: preston monterey and adrian farthington (or miscellaneous marmorei) putting a letterman jacket on ambrose. ambrose is smiling. there is a caption at the bottom reading "rooftops that nobody frequents where secret societies meet" in all caps. end ID]

firstly, i will address the marmorius society. i'm fairly certain that the marmorei in "word to the wise" are meant more to represent the then-present-now-past members that welcomed ambrose freshman year rather than preston and adrian, but thats ok. what matters more is the subtext in word to the wise that we can glean from the choreography and interactions between ambrose and vincent. beginning the song, and similarly his freshman year, ambrose struggles to fit in like each of the other students entering ardess. he initially seems more comfortable interacting with vincent, but then gets taken in by the marmorei. this is exactly where his mannerism and attitude shift

here, we see ambrose fitting in (or, making an attempt to) with the other marmorei. from vincent's account, we know that ambrose's actions and behaviors almost completely changed after becoming part of the society. this is a really roundabout way of saying hey, ambrose found a place where he thinks he might belong! rather than learning and adapting to normal and regular social rules, he latches onto and mimics a very specific subset of people. to him, they know what they are doing and they have a way of being social that he can't understand so he mimics instead of just adjusting the way he already was. this mimicking makes a bit of sense in that he's not quite conforming to social cues (he still doesn't exactly fit in), but he's trying to. it feels to me a bit like how it is to feel alienated from your peers, even though you are trying your hardest to mask. of course, his "off"-ness is also contributed to by his transness so take that as you will.

2. WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?

[ID: ambrose is standing facing vincent. vincent is facing him with his hands to his back uncomfortably. the caption reads. "i've been looking to include more variations in body type." end ID]

this one is shorter than the marmorius society bulletpoint. actually, most of them are. that one is long winded. ANYWAY, ambrose is kind of... interesting when it comes to his interactions. specifically, he encourages vincent to join the marmorei by saying he's been "looking to include more variations in body type." to him, he's being completely honest and genuinely wants vincent to take interest in his phaethon project. unfortunately, to both vincent and much of the audience, this comes off as comically insensitive at best or offensive at worst. this comes from a lack of awareness of social cues, similar to the lack of knowledge of social norms from the previous bulletpoint. while he knows how to conform to the marmorei, there is still a lot of social cues he needs to work on. often, autistic people will speak bluntly and honestly in their communication. this is really not that far off, even if it was just a little gag!

3. OMG, SENSORY ISSUES!

[ID: caption reading, "he didn't eat the apple because he said he didn't like how its flesh felt on the skin of his thumbs." end ID]

kind of self explanatory. all metaphors aside, ambrose doesn't like the flesh of a peeled apple on his thumbs. i understand (<- i loooove peeled apples though)

4. BLACK AND WHITE THINKING: IF NOT ME, WHO?

[ID: lyrics reading, "if i was stronger i could fix this; / cut the bad and leave the good / be the marble and the sculptor / like my father says i should." end ID]

[ID: lyrics reading, "so my parents and my girlfriend / my closest friends and you / will know i deserve their love / once there's no more work to do / there are only three people who'll be perfect in their eyes / me, myself, and i" end ID]

two screenshots! often, autism causes what can be called "black and white" or polarized thinking. it's like, there's only one solution or there are only the extremes (although, this isn't to be confused with the black and white thinking associated with BPD. i don't have experience on that but ive heard quincy and vincent can fit the bill). for ambrose, there's only one solution to both his dysphoria and distorted self worth: becoming the perfect man by... becoming marble or whatever. as if there is only ONE way to do this, without alternative methods. i sometimes find myself in the same spiral, and have meltdowns either when it doesn't work out or if i'm offered an alternative solution that goes against what i thought might work. even in the second screenshot here, we see that he thinks the only way to earn love is through this specific task. he cannot be unconvinced, even if vincent tries to offer him an alternative solution.

5. WHY APOLLO, BOYS?

[ID: ambrose is hanging off a ladder, his hand out and mouth open singing. the caption reads, "apollo's look is yours: sound body, sound mind" in all caps. end ID]

this is where i dip more into the headcanon territory than i already have. i couldn't really include every screenshot where he talks about a) apollo, b) sculpture, or c) fitness. this is kind of part of his character in general but i like to think of it as his special interests. it's remarkable how many autistic people i know who have majored in something related to their spinterests (including myself! in a way)

6. DON'T FLATTER YOURSELF, LIN!

[ID: vincent awkwardly puts a hand on ambrose's arm, ambrose looks at him longingly. end ID]

ambrose... did not interpret the social cues correctly in the scene directly after "sound body, sound mind." it's really just written in the text, but just in case, i will remind you that vincent pretty much says "hey, i kind of strived to be like you because i had this incorrect assumption of who you were, sorry about that lol" and ambrose took it all wrong and thought this was a romantic advance. he just... didn't interpret it right. honest mistake, but a very common mistake among autistic people. and, unrelated to the autism thing, his comeback isn't smooth at all lmao

THERE YOU HAVE IT! i'm sure there could be more to be said, but my hands hurt (disability) and i can't think of any more off the top of my head. feel free to add on with anything you want to say!!!! thank you for reading!!!! here's the sillies for you, as a reward for getting this far :)

[ID: preston, ambrose, and adrian with their arms on each others' shoulders, stepping in sync. end ID]

#>SOUND MIND<#adamandi #ALSO LMK IF THIS IS LIKE. OUT OF PLACE OR IF IM JUST FUCKING WRONG ACTUALLY.#the autism strikes again (i write an essay for funsies on a tuesday night)#it's also past midnight. i hope this is coherent #vincent aurelius lin #ambrose bassford #preston monterey #adrian farthington #vincent lin #ambrose wellington bassford #meta

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neon--nightmare · 2 years

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How can a parasite devoid of all true emotions, only capable of emitting false personas taken from culture, consider themselves any gender identity?

Just because he has been called a he, and they have been called they, it doesn't define any gender. Sure, he can mean male, but they is used to define when you're unaware of someone's gender, so you use it to be respectful; it does not denote gender.

It is actually kind of disrespectful to people who are transgender, given that a "funky colourful skeleton" suddenly meaning transgender is rather offensive.

b. bro. I’M trans. i’m literally transgender, nonbinary transmasc, and have identified as such since i was ten or eleven? i’ve been diagnosed w gender dysphoria, i’ve been on T, and i plan to get top surgery in the future! I’m trans. (ofc those things aren’t necessary to be trans, but this is for my credibility on your end)

i say fresh is trans because he’s a very personal character to me, so i project that on him, and it makes me happy. i wasn’t born yesterday, man, i know the issue w the entire ‘nonhuman = nonbinary’ thing, bc, again, i’ve IDed as nb for almost ten years, and i would have when i was even younger if i knew the label existed! i wasn’t the one that created fresh or made the decision for him to be explicitly NB/agender, but it’s very personal to me as someone with the same label, so i’m reclaiming it. putting the rest under a readmore bc its long, and this ^ was the most important part imo

to me, it’s like someone who very closely identifies with mewtwo talking abt mewtwo being nonbinary. is mewtwo completely nonhuman and divorced from the human concept of gender? yes! but actual nonbinary people can see themselves in him, even with the negative connotations (that, again, has been a big issue in media for decades,) and reclaim it for themselves. it’s different than someone who isn’t trans or nb calling an alien or robot character nb, because we have the genuine lived experience, and if it makes us happy to do so, especially with such few nb characters in non-niche media that ARE actually human/aren’t some boy/girl fusion, i, personally, don’t see much of a problem with it.

i don’t joke about fresh being nonbinary because he’s a ‘funky colorful skeleton,’ i do it because 1. he’s a character that’s been explicitly identified as agender, 2. i’m agender and 3. he’s a character that’s very, very very personal to me, and it makes me happy to project my experience on him. obviously, he’s not trans, he’s a body-hopping parasite. but it’s something that brings me comfort and makes me happy, man, and that’s why i talk abt it, not bc hes the pinnacle of agender or aroace representation. (which, im also aroace! triple a, etc.)

it’s like how i personally project a lot of my autistic experiences on him, because even though he was never designed as autistic and it would be very harmful if he WAS, i see a lot of myself and my own experiences of completely missing social cues, not being able to truly understand or guess why others react the way they do to things so you come up w 1000 scenarios in your mind to ‘prepare’ before every conversation, and how once hes able to feel it leads to immense constant anxiety, the way letting urself actually feel is so so overwhelming and even tho it’s not healthy its easier to just bottle! was it intended to be that deep? no, but i still reclaim it, bc im just some guy on the internet who likes fresh way too much.

(I’m assuming you came here from my dumb fresh iceberg post, he is actually capable of more than anger and fear after loveball, he can feel joy, love, sadness, but he crushes all of it down because 1. allowing himself to feel those things will get him killed and replaced! by someone better. 2. he has extremely negative connotations with letting himself feel after a series of extremely traumatic events, (somethin else that’s also very very personal to me, and why loveball has been so important to me for years, but that’s another story i’m not goin to go into, esp not here!) especially since it would just lead to a future of horrible breakdowns and 3. his lifestyle and sense of purpose relies on not feeling. on convincing himself he’s still a hollow shell. in his mind, it’s his purpose, it’s the reason he was created. and if he ‘falls’ to the level of all the people he mocks and manipulates for feeling, than what is he?) fresh presents himself as an empty shell, even to himself, but after loveball, he isn’t. but he needs to be, so he lies to himself and tells himself that he’s fine. fresh doesn’t believe he deserves any kind of kindness or redemption. he can’t understand any of it directed at him. hes not just an empty shell or reflection of his surroundings, but he WANTS to be. bc its easier man! it’s less painful! but he cant go back to what he was!

ironically, to me, hes a very human character, while also being so fundamentally alien, he makes sense to me. ofc im not sadistic and i dont purposefully torture people for a living, but! hopefully this makes any sense. i didn’t pull any of this out of nowhere, and i can grab receipts off the top of my head if u need them bc i have so much pointless fresh lore memorized down to the wording (like how i remembered the wording for one of the asks was agendered instead of agender, it’s that bad. i have the Burden of knowledge)

#this was definitely an ask to wake up to!#the phrase ‘disrespectful to people who are transgender’ set me off and i got carried away #because i’m openly trans! i have he/they pronouns in my desc and ive talked abt bein agender before but im assuming anon had just found my #blog n assumed the worst. which is why im choosin to believe this had good intentions behind it #i got really carried away but hopefully i articulated myself ok ive been very tired lately #idk hopefully any of it makes sense but its smth very personal to me #this post was brought to u by . Fresh himself but as just a guy now #but w the same amount of issues (JOKE JOKE JOKE JOKE JOKE JOKE /J /J)#first ask ive replied to in idk how long dude Sighs #discourse #ig #asks #anonymous

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themollyjay · 3 years

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The Myths of Forced Diversity and Virtue Signaling.

In my novel Mail Order Bride, the three main characters are a lesbian and two agendered aliens. In my novel Scatter, the main character is a lesbian, the love interest is a pansexual alien, and the major side characters include a half Cuban, half black Dominican lesbian, a Chinese Dragon, a New York born Jewish Dragon, and a Transgender Welsh Dragon. In my novel The Master of Puppets, the Main Characters are a lesbian shapeshifting reptilian alien cyborg and a half black, half Japanese lesbian. The major side characters include three gender fluid shapeshifting reptilian alien cyborgs, and a pansexual human. In my novel Transistor, the main character is a Trans Lesbian, the love interest is a Half human/Half Angel non-observant Ethiopian Jew, and the major side characters include a Transgender Welsh Dragon (the same one from Scatter), a Transgender woman, a Latino Lesbian, an autistic man, three Middle Eastern Arch Angels, and a hive mind AI with literally hundreds of genders. In my novel The Inevitable singularity, one of the main characters is a lesbian, another has a less clearly defined sexuality but she is definitely in love with the lesbian, and the third is functionally asexual due to a vow of chastity she takes very seriously. The major side characters include a straight guy from a social class similar to the Dalit (commonly known as untouchables) in India, a bisexual woman, a man who is from a race of genetically modified human/frog hybrids, and a woman from a race of genetically modified humans who are bred and sold as indentured sex workers.

Why am I bringing all of this up? Well, first, because it’s kind of cool to look at the list of different characters I’ve created, but mostly because it connects to what I want to talk about today, which should be obvious from the title of the essay. The concepts of ‘forced diversity’ and ‘virtue signaling’.

For those who aren’t familiar with these terms, they’re very closely related concepts. ‘Forced Diversity’ is the idea that characters who aren’t neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white males are only ever included in a story because of outside pressure from some group (usually called Social Justice Warriors, or The Woke Brigade or something similar) to meet some nebulous political agenda. The caveat to this is, of course, that you can have a women/women present as long as they are hot, don’t make any major contributions to the resolution of the plot, and the hero/heroes get to fuck them before the end of the story. ‘Virtue Signaling’, according to Wikipedia, is a pejorative neologism for the expression of a disingenuous moral viewpoint with the intent of communicating good character.

The basic argument is that Forced Diversity is a form of virtue signaling. That no one would ever write characters who aren’t neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white males because they want to. They only do it to please the evil SJW’s who are somehow both so powerful that they force everybody to conform to their desires, yet so irrelevant that catering to them dooms any creative project to financial failure via the infamous ‘go woke, go broke’ rule.

What the people who push this idea of Forced Diversity tend to forget is that we exist at a point in time when creators actually have more creative freedom than are any other people in history. Comic writers can throw up a website and publish their work as a webcomic without having to go through Marvel, DC or one of the other big names, or get a place in the dying realm of the news paper comics page. Novelists can self-publish with fairly little upfront costs, musicians can use places like YouTube and Soundcloud to get their work out without having to worry about music publishers. Artists can hock their work on twitter and tumblr and a dozen other places. Podcasts are relatively cheap to make, which has opened up a resurgence in audio dramas. Even the barrier to entry for live action drama is ridiculously low.

So, in a world where creators have more freedom than ever before, why would they choose to people their stories with characters they don’t want there? The answer, of course, is that they wouldn’t. Authors, comic creators, indie film creators and so on aren’t putting diverse characters into their stories because they are being forced to. They’re putting diverse characters into their stories because they want to. Creators want to tell stories about someone other than the generically handsome hypermasculine cisgendered heterosexual white males that have been the protagonists of so many stories over the years that we’ve choking on it. A lot of times, creators want to tell stories about people like themselves. Black creators want to tell stories about the black experience. Queer creators want to tell stories about the queer experience.

I’m an autistic, mentally ill trans feminine abuse survivor. Every day, I get up and I struggle with PTSD, with an eating disorder, with severe body dysmorphia, with anxiety and depression and just the reality of being autistic and transgender. I deal with the fact that the religious community I grew up in views me as an abomination, and genuinely believes I’m going to spend eternity burning in hell. I deal with the fact that people I’ve known for decades, even members of my own family, regularly vote for politician who publicly state that they want to strip me of my civil rights because I’m queer. I’m part of a community that experiences a disproportionately high murder and suicide rate. I’ve spent multiple years of my life deep in suicidal depression, and to this day, I still don’t trust myself around guns.

As a creator, I want to talk about those issues. I want to deal with my life experiences. I want to create characters that embody and express aspects of my lived experience and my day-to-day reality. No one is forcing me to put diversity into my books. I try to include Jewish characters as often as I can because there have been a number of important Jewish people in my life. I include queer people because I’m queer and the vast majority of friends I interact with on a regular basis are queer. I include people with mental illnesses and trauma because I am mentally ill and have trauma, and I know a lot of people with mental illnesses and trauma. My work may be full of fantastical elements, aliens and dragons and angels and superheroes and magic and ultra-high technology and AI’s and talking cats and robot dogs and shape shifters and telepaths and all sorts of other things, but at the core of the stories is my own lived experience, and neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white males are vanishingly rare in that experience.

Now, I can hear the comments already. The ‘okay, maybe that’s true for individual creators, but what about corporate artwork?’. Maybe not in those exact words, but you get the idea.

The thought here is that corporations are bowing to social pressure to include characters who aren’t neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white males, and that is somehow bad. But here’s the thing. Corporations are going to chase the dollars. They aren’t bowing to social pressure. There’s no one holding a gun to some executive’s head saying, “You must have this many diversity tokens in every script.” What is happening is that corporations are starting to clue into the fact that people who aren’t neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white males have money. They are putting black characters in their shows and movies because black people watch shows and spend money on movies. They are putting queer people in shows and movies because queer people watch shows and spend money on movies. They are putting women in shows and movies because women watch shows and spend money on movies.

No one is forcing these companies to do this. They are choosing to do it, the same way individual creators are choosing to do it. In the companies’ cases the choices are made for different reasons. It’s not because they are necessarily passionate about telling stories about a particular experience, but because they want to create art to be consumed by the largest audience possible, which means that they have to expand their audience beyond the neurotypical cisgendered heterosexual white male by including characters from outside of that demographic.

And the reality is, the cries of ‘forced diversity’ and ‘virtue signaling’ almost always come from within that demographic. Note the almost. There are a scattering of individuals from outside that demographic which do subscribe to the ‘forced diversity’ and ‘virtue signaling’ myths, but that is a whole other essay. However, within that demographic, lot of the people who cry about ‘forced diversity’ see media and content as a Zero-Sum game. The more that’s created for other people, the less that is created for them.

In a way, they’re right. There are only so many slots for TV shows each week, there are only so many theaters, only so much space on comic bookshelves and so on. But at the end of the day, its literally impossible for them to consume all the content that’s being produced anyway. So, while there is, theoretically less content for them to consume, as a practical matter it’s a bit like someone who is a meat eater going to a buffet with two hundred items, and then throwing a tantrum because five of the items happen to be vegan.

The worst part is, if they could let go of how wound up they are about the ‘forced diversity’ and ‘virtue signaling’ they could probably enjoy the content that’s produced for people other than them. I mean, I’m a pasty ass white girl, and I loved Black Panther.

So, to wrap out, creators, make what you want to make, and ignore anyone who cries about forced diversity or virtue signaling. And to people who are complaining about forced diversity and virtue signaling, I want to go back to the buffet metaphor. You need to relax. Even if there are a few vegan options on the buffet, you can still get your medium rare steak, or your chicken teriyaki or whatever it is you want. Or, maybe, just maybe, you could give the falafel a try. That shit is delicious.

#writing #original fiction #media #representation #diversity #the war of souls #the hearts of heroes #The Master of Puppets #scatter #transistor #the inevitable singularity #mail order bride

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bijoumikhawal · 6 years

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Writing and Recasting for Five Years

Writers

Writers Auditions: CLOSED. Additions to the writing team will be announced on August 13th.

Recasting

Recasts: OPEN. Recasts are scheduled to close November 14th, and will be pushed back two weeks if more time is needed.

Additional Info on Recasts:

• Why are you recasting?

Some actors are either too busy, were mainly selected because they were the only ones to audition for certain parts, or do not truly reflect the racial, ethnic, or other backgrounds of various characters. At the time of casting I was inexperienced and young, and now want to be better in how I conduct my affairs when writing characters that aren't apart of my particular minority groups.

• What does that mean for me?

It means that I would greatly prefer it if white voice actors didn't audition for non white roles, and will not consider auditions of white VAs for non white roles, as well as cis actors for transgender or otherwise gender variant roles.

• You've had years to write this podcast, why isn't it up?

My computer broke last winter, meaning we couldn't really edit audio, and due to the school year, a lot of us became less involved in the podcast. Due to this I've spent a lot of time researching things for the podcast and reflecting on choices I made, quite a few of which were hasty and ill informed.

• how many auditions do you have?

I've had two eligible people contact me expressing interest in auditions, but have not as of yet received any in either my email, or the submissions on the official blog.

Characters being recast:

Bayzli Jancsi Lakatoš

Gender: cisgender male

Sexuality: biromantic and ace

A 21 year old Romani Jew that hails from Poland. Is working a 3 year contract under Captain Baker. He is neat and orderly, and while outgoing, is easily tired when dealing with people he doesn't like or know very well. He is known to notice things about others very quickly, and can remember minor comments people have made from years or months prior with near perfect clarity, is a tad self righteous, and does not back down from challenges or insults.

Voice: young, on the deeper side, has an almost calming quality to it, frequently described as fruity or honeyed, has a Polish accent

Sample voice lines:

"Oops... I really did not mean to do that, I swear. If you are mad about that, please do not kill me."

"Hey! What about that time you almost got our arms made into jerky?"

Keone Maata

Gender: mahulani (identifies closer with female than male, AMAB)

Sexuality: she doesn't know or care

A 17 year old Maori-Kanaka Maoli engineering prodigy from Washington DC. Working a contract, like Bayzli. She prefers to be alone, and spends almost as much time reading on new innovations as she does on making her own. She gets anxious in large crowds, and cannot stand the smell of chalk. She is highly enthusiastic and persistent when it comes to her personal projects, takes things too personally, and is easily embarrassed. She is mistrustful of others, spiteful, is noted for having a bizarre humor, and makes decisions based on how she feels more so than what others view as logical.

Voice: a bit raspy, husky, tenor range, has a classically dark voice- think old timey femme fatale actresses, but a bit deeper.

Sample voice lines:

"ZHENYA, THERE’S A PANCAKE DRINKING MY BLOOD, GET IT OFF!"

" Yeah, but considering what I haven’t fixed yet it could have been soooo much worse. Now c’mon, I want this pancake off me."

Hannah Marilou Arrisen

Gender: aylonit (classically, a type of intersex recognized in Judaism, but she identifies with it as a gender)

Sexuality: pansexual

A 18 year old passenger on the Lightning Struck from Harlem, NY. Very proudly black and Jewish. Pisses off everyone with her late night chemistry experiments involving fireworks and explosives. ADHD, bad at prioritizing and making decisions, frequently forgets what she's supposed to be doing, has an idealistic and upbeat worldview. Is notably dismissive of things she doesn't view as important, and is judgemental of those who get in her space. Can talk circles around most people, especially when aided by her brother.

Voice: high, clear, silvery. Commands attention.

Sample voice lines:

"Did- did those pancakes just move?"

"Oh, yeah, that’s a brilliant plan, not like that might not work and go horribly wrong or anything."

Jans Antinous Arrisen

Gender: transgender male

Sexuality: gay

A 18 year old pen artist, musician, and aspiring legal consultant from Harlem, NY. Hannah's twin brother. Jans is fearless, vain, compulsive, disorganized, and easy to agitate. He is notably flamboyant, a lover of decadence, logical, confident, and quite charming. His sister has described him as "the personification of an eyebrow waggle and wink". He is intelligent and specializes in convincing or confusing people who he views as potential adversaries. He is anemic from long term radium exposure.

Voice: soft spoken, airy, and frequently sing song. Has issues breathing.

Sample voice lines:

"Technically, it's not on fire."

"We could- hear me out here- we could eat them."

Captain Florence Aria Baker

Gender: cis female

Sexuality: AroAce

A young black Muslim woman and former military captain. Capitain Baker was discharged after an accident where she lost her arm and most of her unit died. She refuses to speak about the incident, citing trauma, but the truth is much darker than the military would have you believe. She is passionate, no nonsense, hyper viligant, and at times controlling. She has come to hate the military, and is aggressively anti war. She is also notably charming, considerate, and future oriented.

Voice: on the deep side, like Hannah it commands attention

Sample voice lines: “I said set a small fire! This is not small!”

“Okay. There’s a secret room on this ship. That’s… fine. Great.”

Nadia Klara Pasternak (newly up for recast)

Gender: cis female

Sexuality: bisexual

Nadia is an 18 year old, and former gladiator. She has a love of reading and an extensive knowledge of interesting but useless words, and a very good knowledge of weaponry and various fighting styles. She grew up in the Aphrodite province on Mars, under the rule of Baron Semen. She is of Ukrainian-Mongol descent, and is autistic. She tends to avoid people she doesn't know, and often is quiet even around those she does know. She is compassionate towards those she views as misunderstood, and is patient and honest. She takes action quickly and enjoys working with others (hence why she often gets roped into the twins schemes), but is also skeptical and at times introverted. Like Jans, she is vain.

Voice: bubbly, has a soft Ukrainian accent. Doesn't sound like a girl who likes fighting.

Sample voice lines: "How about you lose!"

"Technically it is outwardly digesting you. Like a pineapple!"

What to include in audition: name, age (if comfortable), pronouns, contact information, previous experience (if any), and who you're auditioning for. Send all auditions to @fiveyearsthepodcast via the submission box, or to our email [email protected]. If you can't audition, please do us the favor of spreading the word.

#podcasting #casting call #voice acting #voice actor call #5ytp #podcasting call #wntv #wolf 359 #w359 #the penumbra podcast

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everysea-everystar-blog · 7 years

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Otherkin Challenge

I got this challenge from the blog @justanotherkin and thought it would be a good thing to fill out on my new tumblr! I’ve made very minor changes to some questions.

1. What name do you go by? What is the significance of it to you?

The name I go by usually isn't something I’m very comfortable with sharing here, but that has a lot of importance to me because I’m transgender and choosing my name has made me a lot happier. Online, I tend to go by Bumble, which is just a silly nickname but cheers me up. I believe my selkie-self is called Sìoda but I don’t call myself that.

2. How old are you? What is the gender you identify as? (human)

I’m 18 and I’m a nonbinary trans guy.

3. What are your kintype(s)?

Selkiekin, alienkin, spiritkin, felinekin, and I’m questioning monsterkin.

4. How long have you known that you are otherkin? How old were you when you awakened?

I think I’ve pretty much always seen myself as nonhuman and had connections to certain species and such, from a very young age. However, I didn’t know about the existence of otherkin or therians until much later, and was actually against the communities for many years. I think I was just in denial and wanted to join in with everyone else making fun of otherkin. I only started getting involved with the community about a week ago.

5. How did you find the otherkin community?

At first through tumblr, and then just searching around for forums and group chats.

6. How does being otherkin affect your life?

It doesn’t really affect me much daily, though I definitely feel a disconnect from humanity almost all the time. I do experience “species dysphoria” but I wouldn’t compare it to the level of discomfort that gender dysphoria brings me. I also have some paranoia about friends/family finding out about my identity. I’m homesick most of the time, too.

7. Are you “out of the metaphysical closet”? If so, to whom?

The only people I’m really “out” to are those on otherkin group chats or forums, and that’s very anonymous to be honest. I spoke briefly about my worries with my best friend a little while before joining the community, but didn’t want to press the issue further because she clearly doesn’t get it. She wasn’t mean about it though.

8. How did/would your family react to you being otherkin?

They would either laugh at me, ignore me, or think I’m crazy. Probably all three. (Sidenote: I am actually mentally ill, so I think my parents would believe that me being otherkin is a symptom of this. I know that isn’t the case, but there you go.)

9. What does being otherkin mean to you?

It simply means that I am aware of my nonhuman identity and my nonhuman selves, in whatever form that might take. It’s just a part of my daily life that I’ve recently come to terms with and makes me understand myself better.

10. How do you believe you came to be otherkin? Is it a psychological connection? Were you reincarnated? Explain.

This depends on which kintype we’re talking about, so I’ll give it a go:

Selkie: I’m living a parallel life with my selkie self

Alien: I was “reincarnated” into my human body from an alien life, and my soul is still alien

Spirit: As a being, I’ve always been a guardian spirit

Feline: I have a feline soul alongside mine

11. What do you hope the otherkin community will be like in ten years? Are you for public awareness or against it? Why or why not?

I hope that the community is even bigger in ten years time, and hopefully viewed with less contempt from the outside world. However, I’m not really for public awareness, because I think it will only bring us more hatred. Also, I don’t view us kin as an oppressed group, and would therefore like to focus more on the support of genuinely oppressed groups such as POC and LGBTQ+.

12. Do you have phantom/astral limbs? What are they and how do you feel them?

While not so much a phantom/astral limb, I often feel the texture of my seal’s tail as a selkie on my legs, as well as other sensory experiences like seaweed and cold ocean water around me. I also have nose and mouth twitches that I believe are related to my cat’s whiskers.

13. Do you mental shift? Have you ever harmed yourself or someone else during one?

I do mental shift sometimes, but it’s never been dangerous. The only possible danger is that I might try to do things that my human body can’t really do (e.g. swim in very dangerous waters, go on very long forest walks - I have a disability so this is impossible).

14. Have you ever mental shifted at a time when it could be considered inappropriate?

I think some of the times that I go nonverbal (I’m autistic) are triggered by mental shifts, and that’s always “inappropriate” or at least inconvenient.

15. Do you astral project or practise any occult crafts?

I’m a witch currently trying to get back into his practise.

16. Do you feel you are any sort of danger to society?

Not at all! I might have some “weird” beliefs and be nonhuman but I’m generally very peaceful. I wouldn’t hurt anyone unless they hurt me or someone I loved.

17. Does your nonhuman identity complicate everyday life for you? If so, how?

As aforementioned, the only real impact being nonhuman has on my daily life is feeling disconnected from humanity. This does cause a decent amount of social and emotional issues, as well as “species dysphoria” interfering with my moods.

18. Why do you believe are here as a human?

I’m not really sure about this one to be honest, but it could be linked to me being spiritkin: maybe I’ve been sent to specifically protect the nature on earth for the time being. Still unsure, though.

19. Are you active among the otherkin community?

Recently, yes! I’d love to be more active on the tumblr kin community too, but I’m scared about all the anti//kin things that I might end up seeing.

20. Are you religious? What faith do you follow? Does it contradict your otherkin identity or do you feel that the two are synonymous somehow?

I don’t follow any sort of organised religion; I like to think of myself as a semi-theistic Pagan. I believe in Mother Earth and have thoughts of a great Universal Spirit, but I don’t “worship” them as such. This does’t contradict with me being otherkin at all - in fact I think it might explain my spiritkin identity.

21. Have you ever been emotionally, verbally, or physically harrassed simply for being otherkin?

I haven’t experienced this directly, but the fear of it happening is why I’m very private and secretive about being otherkin. I’ve witnessed a lot of online bullying and mockery of us, and for a long time I was one of those people being mean to otherkin/therians because I just wanted to fit with what I saw people saying.

22. Do you efel you are oppressed because you are otherkin?

No, not really. Oppression is based in societal systems and ingrained belief, and to be honest it makes complete sense that humans wouldn’t understand people claiming to be nonhuman to any extent. I do think that the bullying and mockery is unnecessary and cruel, but I wouldn’t call it oppression.

23. What is your take on fictionkin/mediakin/factkin? What about machinekin and appliancekin?

I’m not sure I really understand fictionkin, but I’m not really against it. However, anyone who gets angry at a writer or other person involved with fiction because they aren’t adhering to their kin canon is just rude, and threatening to harm yourself over this is incredibly disturbing. I would consider myself fictionhearted with multiple characters, and have no problem interacting with fictionkin as long as they aren’t rude like I said before. I definitely have a problem with factkin, as I just see that as identity theft. I really can’t get my head around machinekin and anything else that isn’t living or spiritual, because I don’t believe that a non-living thing can exist in a human body, but I don’t think those people are inherently bad.

24. Did the awakening process seem relatively easy or difficult to you? Why?

If I refer to the process of accepting my nonhuman identity as my “awakening” then it was definitely difficult. Like I said, I spent years making fun of otherkin - not actively or online, but with friends, and I would sometimes look at the tags on tumblr - which I know realise was me trying to cope with being nonhuman. Making the transition to acceptance was scary.

25. What do you think of the information provided online about otherkin - is it relevant or not?

Most of the things I’ve found have been relevant, but a lot of articles written by non-kin just don’t have a very good understanding.

26. How has your otherkin/therian identity defined you as a person? Do you feel as if it has given you morals that you didn’t have before?

I think that coming to terms with my nonhuman identity has helped me be more accepting of other people’s identities as long as they don’t harm themselves or others. I think my general confusion surrounding vegetarians/vegans comes from me being selkiekin and felinekin, but I have nothing against those people.

27. Have you learned any life-long lessons due to your otherkin identity?

Nothing is what it seems.

28. What do you want to do with your life?

I’d like to go into animal care as a career (e.g. pet rehoming shelters, conservation, ethical farming, animal sanctuaries, etc.) as well as being a writer and musician on the side. I’m willing to do any job in the meantime that doesn’t involve too much social interaction.

29. Do you have any tips or advice for young and/or newly awakened otherkin?

Get the “tumblr savior” browser extension (or any alternative you prefer, I think xkit is quite popular, do your research) and blacklist any anti//kin tags you can think of. This will bring you a lot of mental peace, trust me. Surround yourself with positivity but remember to keep a critical eye. Find ways to live in balance with your kintype(s) as opposed to having a jarring double existence. You may have to accept the fact that “coming out” as kin in your public life will likely cause more harm than good. Make online friends.

30. Anything else you’d like to share with us?

I’m so glad I’ve finally joined this community - I’d been scared for years.

#personal #survey

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bijoumikhawal · 6 years

Text

Writers Room and Recasting Call for Five Years the Podcast

What is the podcast about?

Five Years is a teslapunk podcast chronicling the dramatic and sometimes ridiculous adventures of the misfit crew and passengers on the Lightning Struck following the Captain, Florence Baker, having an unfortunate run in with a witch, resulting in her, and her crew and passengers being cursed.

Writers

Writers Call ended August 7th.

Recasts

Info on Recasts:

• Why are you recasting?

Some actors are either too busy, were mainly selected because they were the only ones to audition for certain parts, do not truly reflect the racial, ethnic, or other backgrounds of various characters, or some combination of the above. At the time of casting I was inexperienced and young, and now want to be better in how I conduct my affairs when writing characters that aren't apart of my particular minority groups.

• What does that mean for me?

• You've had years to write this podcast, why isn't it up?

• why do the characters have linked Pinterest boards/playlists?

Just in case the audioneer wants to know a little more about the character and their personality/aesthetic

• will I get paid?

As of now, no. This may change in the future (we do have a Patreon that needs to be updated), but currently there is no pay.

• I don't match these characters exactly, what do I do?

Our main priorities are not casting white actors for nonwhite roles, and not casting cis people for trans roles. Were we a podcast with money on hand, we would be more specific with casting, but unfortunately, we aren't.

Characters being recast:

Bayzli Jancsi Lakatoš

Gender: cisgender male

Sexuality: biromantic and ace

A 17 year old Romani Jew that hails from Poland. Is working a 3 year contract under Captain Baker. He is neat and orderly, and while outgoing, is easily tired when dealing with people he doesn't like or know very well. He is known to notice things about others very quickly, and can remember minor comments people have made from years or months prior with near perfect clarity, is a tad self righteous, and does not back down from challenges or insults.

Voice: young, on the deeper side, has an almost calming quality to it, frequently described as fruity or honeyed, has a Polish accent

Pinterest board: https://pin.it/2l2wae56d4qtoz

Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/user/scipiocipher/playlist/6XvOISz4hTcwXS1hAZnw80?si=moBQdoDRQOi_Vaz5CMlQLg

Sample voice lines:

"Oops... I really did not mean to do that, I swear. If you are mad about that, please do not kill me."

"Hey! What about that time you almost got our arms made into jerky?"

Keone Maata

Gender: mahulani (identifies closer with female than male, AMAB)

Sexuality: she doesn't know or care

A 16 year old Maori-Kanaka Maoli engineering prodigy from Washington DC. Working a contract, like Bayzli. She prefers to be alone, and spends almost as much time reading on new innovations as she does on making her own. She gets anxious in large crowds, and cannot stand the smell of chalk. She is highly enthusiastic and persistent when it comes to her personal projects, takes things too personally, and is easily embarrassed. She is mistrustful of others, spiteful, is noted for having a bizarre humor, and makes decisions based on how she feels more so than what others view as logical.

Voice: a bit raspy, husky, tenor range, has a classically dark voice- think old timey femme fatale actresses, but a bit deeper.

Pinterest board: https://pin.it/zz26psxwlvrkfz

Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/user/scipiocipher/playlist/5UjD4QL9XqRFiG0r4SnzgL?si=jpoaEtXgRNmlAzdnRU_Wwg

Sample voice lines:

"ZHENYA, THERE’S A PANCAKE DRINKING MY BLOOD, GET IT OFF!"

"Yeah, but considering what I haven’t fixed yet it could have been soooo much worse. Now c’mon, I want this pancake off me."

Hannah Marilou Arrisen

Gender: aylonit (classically, a type of intersex recognized in Judaism, but she identifies with it as a gender)

Sexuality: pansexual

A 15 year old passenger on the Lightning Struck from Harlem. Very proudly black and Jewish. Pisses off everyone with her late night chemistry experiments involving fireworks and explosives. ADHD, bad at prioritizing and making decisions, frequently forgets what she's supposed to be doing, has an idealistic and upbeat worldview. Is notably dismissive of things she doesn't view as important, and is judgemental of those who get in her space. Can talk circles around most people, especially when aided by her brother.

Voice: high, clear, silvery. Commands attention.

Pinterest board: https://pin.it/dsrn2mwh3ut2ng

Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/user/scipiocipher/playlist/6ihA2gacxY4VFdsrSwJtZz?si=B8hjsG17QwuCeX583NzOnQ

Sample voice lines:

"Did- did those pancakes just move?"

"Oh, yeah, that’s a brilliant plan, not like that might not work and go horribly wrong or anything."

Jans Antinous Arrisen

Gender: transgender male

Sexuality: gay

A 15 year old pen artist and, singer, and aspiring legal consultant from Harlem. Hannah's twin brother. Black and Jewish. Jans is fearless, vain, compulsive, disorganized, and easy to agitate. He is notably flamboyant, a lover of decadence, logical, confident, and quite charming. His sister has described him as "the personification of an eyebrow waggle and wink". He is intelligent and specializes in convincing or confusing people who he views as potential adversaries. He is anemic from long term radium exposure.

Voice: soft spoken, airy, and frequently sing song. Has issues breathing.

Pinterest board: https://pin.it/5bxal7wgytvztj

Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/user/scipiocipher/playlist/06K25hyHTiSbn27B1al0Lr?si=SLIPjKEgRM2U4vYsHLMQrw

Sample voice lines:

"Technically, it's not on fire."

"We could- hear me out here- we could eat them."

Captain Florence Aria Baker

Gender: cisgender female

Sexuality: AroAce

Voice: on the deep side, like Hannah it commands attention

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/scipiocipher/playlist/4tNguG2sdQrUhjo5m1be7U?si=t8qI4HWjSZ-LQ31nQqiYYA

Pinterest board: https://pin.it/3aefeepdql7hsu

Sample voice lines: "I said set a small fire! This is not small!"

"Okay. There’s a secret room on this ship. That’s... fine. Great."

Nadia Klara Pasternak (newly up for recast)

Gender: cis female

Sexuality: bisexual

Voice: bubbly, has a soft Ukrainian accent. Doesn't sound like a girl who likes fighting.

Sample voice lines: "How about you lose!"

"Technically it is outwardly digesting you. Like a pineapple!"

What to include in your audition:

Name

Age (if comfortable with that)

Pronouns

Email address

Additional contact information ( Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc)

Which character(s) you’re auditioning for, and their audio

Previous experience, if applicable.

Submit your audition to either the Five Years Tumblr (fiveyearsthepodcast.tumblr.com) or email it to us at [email protected]

Recasting Call will end November 14th.

#wolf 359 #welcome to nightvale #the bright sessions #ars paradoxica #eos 10 #5ytp #5yearsthepodcast #writers call #acting call

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