#why do i keep seeing posts w hundreds or sometimes even thousands of likes

[rollercoasterwords]

hey guys btw there is actually never a good reason to loudly and publicly talk about how much u dislike a fanfic!! Like. let's break this down for a sec:

i don't like it

ok, understandable. i've dnf'd lots of fics because i didn't like them. but the people writing fanfiction are doing it for free and for fun, and you don't know anything about their lives. they could be a young writer just starting out! they could be an older writer getting back into writing after years of being unable to! they could be someone going through a rough patch whose only source of joy right now is writing their silly little stories! talking about how much you dislike a fanfic literally does nothing except hurt the person writing it. that's it. it is not productive, it is not necessary. even strangers on the internet deserve basic human empathy.

ok but i really don't like it

babe, i feel u! i'm a hater too. rant about it privately. shit on it in private messages or group chats with friends. u can dislike something without dragging its creator into the town square to throw tomatoes at them, yknow?

ok but i really don't like it AND it's popular

ok? shouting about that on the internet doesn't make you cool or special or unique. it just makes you kind of mean and, honestly, bitter. like i said before, this is fanfiction. nobody is paying for it. nobody is profiting. there is no standard that these writers are obligated to meet. clearly, other people like the work. why not let them enjoy it in peace?

no u don't understand it doesn't deserve to be popular there are better fics that deserve it more!!!

talk about those fics then!! post about how much u love them!! uplift those writers!! ur tweet or tiktok or tumblr post is not going to suddenly make a popular fic lose all popularity, no matter how undeserving u perceive it to be. if this is actually coming from a place of frustration because you feel like there are other fics that deserve more attention, then just give those fics attention.

no but it's problematic

mmm ok. let's sit with this one for a second. i want you to ask yourself--is it really, really problematic? is it perpetuating harm against a marginalized group? remember, this is fanfic; it is outside the consumer economy, and the stories it tells will almost never make it to a mainstream audience. so is the story actually hurting people, or is the author just exploring something that you're uncomfortable with? because if you're just uncomfortable, then assuming the work is tagged properly, the best course of action is to just click away. as uncomfortable as it may be, people are allowed to write stories that you might find upsetting or gross or weird, and those stories existing is not inherently harmful in and of itself.

it is actively reinforcing harmful stereotypes/rhetoric/etc

okay! ok. if you are deeply concerned because you feel that this fic is genuinely harmful, then go to the writer. leave a comment. send them a message on tumblr or twitter or tiktok or wherever. explain your situation and see what they say! nine times out of ten, i'd bet that an ao3 writer means no harm and would be willing to listen and address your concerns. in fact, they might even be grateful to you for being kind enough to make them aware of a problem and educate them on it. every ao3 writer i've ever spoken to is an incredibly kind and thoughtful person; you don't need to immediately go on the attack

the writer is unreachable/nonresponsive/not willing to address or change the problematic thing

alright. if you truly feel that this fanfiction is actively harmful and can't reach any kind of conclusion with the writer, and you want to warn others who might read the fic, then do that. do that. make a post that says hey guys btw, x thing in this fic is not a good representation/perpetuates a harmful stereotype/whatever the problem is. and leave it at that! you don't need to go further and insult the writing or the person who wrote it. that is helpful to exactly no one, and if your goal is actually to make the world a better place, then you should learn how to draw attention to an issue in a way that encourages actual dialogue instead of dog-piling and personal attacks.

anyway the next time you feel the desire to post about how bad you think a fic is, feel free to use this as a guide before u do! xoxo

#like i genuinely don't understand u guys sometimes #why do i keep seeing posts w hundreds or sometimes even thousands of likes #that are literally saying nothing except #i think this fic is bad and i don't like it #if someone was making cookies and handing them out for free and u didn't like them #would u go stand next to that person and shout about how shitty their baking skills are?? #or would u just move tf on!! #bc they are doing something nice for free!! #and if u don't want to eat it u don't have to!! #like if u post abt disliking fics u are literally just mean #im sorry but u are just mean #and not even in a fun way #i love talking shit i love hating on things!! #i do it in PRIVATE #in PRIVATE!!! #where it's fun for me but i know it won't hurt anyone's feelings unnecessarily!! #some of u guys treat fanfiction like a product to consume and it's NOT #it's a gift! #it's a piece of art that someone is giving u! #so for the love of god stop thinking like a fucking little capitalist consumer for a moment and think like a human being w empathy!! #ranting and raving #txt

[timeoverload]

Today was the worst day at work that I've had in years. I was there almost 12 hours. I got a 10 minute break for breakfast and 20 minutes for lunch. There were 5 add-on eye cases on top of an already busy schedule. I busted my ass all day. The surgeries weren't even done when I left. They weren't scheduled to be done until at least 8pm. Luckily my co-worker offered to finish out the day for me because she had to stay late anyway so I'm grateful for that. The cut off time for add-ons is supposed to be 5pm but I guess that doesn't matter anymore.

The eye coordinator was in a really bad mood. I understand why because I was also in a bad mood but she didn't have to take out her frustration on me. She yelled at me because I left 2 clamps out of a pan. I try to check things thoroughly but I'm only human and I fuck up sometimes. I'm so embarrassed. I process hundreds of pans a month and I rarely make mistakes. I was already upset about it but she made me feel a million times worse. I feel terrible because the doctor needed them and there weren't any peel packed so she had to find something else to use. She gave me the nastiest look when she saw me leaving. We had been getting along better but I'm assuming she's going to start acting really petty towards me again because of that. It's so fucking stupid and no one else gets that mad at me about that stuff. I am going to apologize to her again tomorrow and tell her I will try harder to slow down to check my pans to make sure everything is there. I'm not trying to make anyone's day more difficult. I always try my best to help out the surgical techs to make their days easier but it's never good enough. I want to give up and I don't know why I bother trying anymore.

My back is killing me even though I wore my brace all day but that doesn't surprise me anymore. My ankles are so swollen and I have bruises from my socks. I'm so dizzy and my head hurts. I know I should probably take a shower and eat but I don't want to do either of those things. I'm not even hungry so at least I ate earlier. Maybe I will eat a snack later or something. I'm too tired and I don't care right now.

I don't want to go back tomorrow at all but I don't have a choice. I have to keep doing it even if it's killing me. I don't have eye cases in the morning so I will be in decontam for 2 hours so I'm not excited for that. I have some cases in the afternoon so I really hope I don't have to stay as late and I'm going to be pissed if I do.

I really don't want to go to that party this weekend now. I know I'm not going to feel good at all. Also, that creepy guy in my department is going and he was asking me if I was going to be there and I said that I didn't know. He was asking me what kind of alcohol I like because he was planning on bringing some. He was talking about how he wanted to make his "special" lemonade. That sounds sketchy to me. I wouldn't want to drink anything that he makes and I don't trust him as it is. I don't think I would have much fun anyway so I'm probably just going to stay home. I don't want to put myself in an uncomfortable situation. I'm not going to say anything to anyone about it right now so I don't disappoint anyone.

I also went out to the back hallway to get a drink and noticed my co-worker had some tarot card stickers on her water bottle. One of them is almost identical to that photo of that tattoo you posted on Sunday. I thought that was kind of eerie.

Also, the 3 of swords tarot card is relevant to my situation. I have been feeling very sad and disappointed about our relationship for a long time. I just want us all to be a family and I don't want to be separated anymore. It has been very traumatic and confusing for me because I don't understand what the problem is. It's truly breaking my heart and I am very depressed.

I have driven so many miles and have probably spent at least a couple thousand dollars to try to prove how much I care about you. I have been so loyal and I can't see myself wanting to be with anyone else but you. I never want to be with anyone else.

I have done my best to be open and honest with you about everything. You have encouraged me to be better. I have grown a lot as a person and I'm trying to be the best person that I can be. I have worked so hard and I will continue working on myself.

I love your art so much and I'm so proud that I get to carry it with me wherever I go for the rest of my life. You are so talented. It's not about the tattoos though... I just really enjoy spending time with you and you make me so happy. It sucks that we can't spend time together when I'm not getting tattooed. No one else has ever made me as happy as you make me. I always look forward to seeing you. You are my perfect match. I am literally obsessed with you. I think you are so handsome and you always look good to me. You will always be my favorite person. I am so grateful for our special connection and it is such a blessing.

I wish you could come see me somehow because I miss you every day. I'm constantly reminded of you everywhere I go. Although I don't mention it, I see you in my dreams often. I have had dreams about you for years, even before we met.

I'm not doing very well at all and I'm so tired and sick. I'm trying so hard to keep moving and stay strong but I'm scared I am going to die. I feel like I'm not going to make it. I'm afraid that one of these days my body is going to give out on me and I'm just not going to wake up in the morning. I don't want that to happen and I'm terrified. This is serious and I don't want to die alone without you. I need you to be here now. I want to hug you.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong and it's killing me. What do I need to do? How many times do I have to try to come see you before you believe me? How long do I have to wait for us to finally be together? What is getting in the way? I have so many questions and I just want to understand. I'm so discouraged but I'm trying not to let it get to me.

I'm so tired and it's very difficult for me to articulate my feelings right now. I just want you to know how important you are to me. You have made such a positive impact on my life. I'm so thankful that I know you.

Maxwell, I would do anything for you and I'm not giving up. I really hope that we can overcome whatever obstacle is in the way so that we can finally be together. I will love you forever no matter what.

💖💖💖💖💖💖

I can't think straight anymore so I need to get ready for bed soon. I stayed up way too late last night. I am so exhausted and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open right now. I'm not sure how much time I will be able to spend on the internet this week. I don't want anyone to think that I am ignoring them. I'm going through a lot right now but I will do my best to stay positive and continue to work hard. I'm glad that I get to vent on here because it makes me feel a lot better. Thank you again to everyone that checks on me and listens to me. I appreciate you all. I hope you all have a good night and enjoy the rest of your week.

#personal

[luna-the-moth]

The Brothers Reacting to a Tattooed MC (SFW)

Aw, you’re so sweet Anon! This is a lovely ask! I’m so sorry that you’re family weren’t receptive to your new tattoo. That’s terrible, and I hope this makes you feel a bit better!

So, I’m assuming you meant an MC with a large tattoo on their back? If not, feel free to tell me and I’ll make a new hc! This hc has a reader with a large back tattoo and/or multiple tattoos. Since this has all 7 brothers, each one will be shorter than my usual hcs.  (Also, I’m posting a rules page soon, so stay tuned!)

This is SFW, with a GN! Reader. Reblogs, likes, and comments are greatly appreciated!

The Brothers Reacting to a Tattooed MC (SFW)

Lucifer:

To be honest, it doesn’t really make a difference to him.

He didn’t fall in love with you for your physical looks, so it doesn’t really affect him much.

That doesn’t mean he won’t find it lovely though.

He admires the time you had invested in this, along with the fact you felt so strongly about a particular subject/object, that you had it permanently inked on your body.

If you feel self-conscious about it, he won’t stare, but his eyes stray to it from time to time, admiring the details of it.

But if not, congratulations! You have the avatar of pride enamored with your tattoo(s).

If you’re ever stressed, he’ll sit you in his lap and trace over your tattoo(s), attempting to calm your nerves.

All the while whispering words of affirmation.

Any time you’re feeling insecure of your tattoo(s), Lucifer’ll make sure to praise you, something rare from him.

“My love, your tattoo(s) is/are a part of you, and it’s/they’re a stunning piece of art. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise, it’s a testament of your conviction. Be proud of yourself, and never feel ashamed of your tattoo(s).”

Mammon:

Now, I hc that Mammon has tattoos other than his demon markings

So he probably wouldn’t be caught off guard, as he’s used to seeing humans and demons with full body tattoos, or tattoos that take up a large area on their body.

However, that doesn’t mean he won’t react

As soon as he sees it, he’s swooning

If you’re ok with it, he’ll be bragging to whoever would listen about how strong you were, and how awesome you looked.

Definitely the type to get a matching tattoo with you if you ever want to get another.

If your tattoo(s) are of a crow or feathered wings, he swears he falls deeper in love with you.

Well, if that’s even possible

Any crow/avian wing tattoos, would make him just melt, knowing you have his symbolic animal tattooed on yourself.

If you ever show any insecurity about your tattoo(s), you bet he’ll do his best to soothe them.

The moment he picks up on your insecurities, he ramps up the affection and love he shows for your ink.

“Ya ain’t serious, right? Yer stunning, better than any other piece a’ art! There ain’t no way I’m lettin’ anyone tell ya yer not tha most beautiful person in all three realms.”

Leviathan:

He’s awestruck when you show him your tattoo(s).

You’re like his favorite action anime protagonist!

Levi is just in disbelief at the fact he has such a badass partner.

He adores any type of tattoos, but one as large and powerful as this?

Oh he has heart eyes-

Especially if you had a scaly/reptilian one, it’d make him nearly faint in delight

We all know he loves reptiles -gestures to Henry-

A reptiles had always been seen as symbols of reality and power, and he admires you greatly for having one tattooed on you.

Whenever he cosplays, he’ll ask if you’d like to cosplay with him as a tattooed character.

He’ll fawn over how incredible you look, bragging on his Devilgram about how kickass his lover is.

Your cosplays together always end up with thousands of likes and comments, fans adoring how much of a power couple the both of you are.

You notice, that after you show him your tattoo, that he starts playing with tattooed characters.

Upon asked why, he responded with,

“W-well...you’re really cool, and tattooed characters remind me of you. Badass and someone who deserves respected. Even when you’re not physically with me, playing with a tattooed character makes it feel like you’re playing with me.”

Satan:

He’s intrigued and fascinated immediately

What’s the symbolism behind it?

What motivated you to get it done?

He’ll try and memorize every detail, wanting to remember how it looks against your skin.

But if you’re uncomfortable with the origins of the tattoo(s) or don’t want to talk about it, he won’t pry.

If you want, he’ll give you essays upon essays of knowledge on it’s spiritual meaning, and what past cultures had those marks for.

He’ll be sure to have some questions for you as well.

‘some’. By some, he means dozens, maybe hundreds of questions

He’d absolutely write poetry about how your tattoo(s) crawl across your skin, painting a masterpiece.

Any time insecurities pop up about it, he’ll be sure to dispel them immediately.

“My love, your tattoo(s) are a wonderful part of you. They’re/It’s a part of you, and I love you wholeheartedly. With or without the tattoo(s), I fell in love for you for your personality and intelligence. That will never change, so don’t think you’re less-than because of your tattoo(s).”

Asmodeus:

Oh you bet he’s going to fawn over it.

As soon as he finds out, expect to be showered in praise and words of adoration.

Complimenting how well it matches your color palate, outfit aesthetic, hair color, etc.

Immediately takes you out for clothes that show it off, and compliment the style of it.

How could he not want to show off such pretty mark(s) on his lover!

Absolutely supports you all the way, and would love to throw in his two cents if you ever decide to get another tattoo.

If you’re up for it, he’ll get you a page in Majolish, maybe even the front cover!

For sure, wears clothing to match your tattoo(s), and does his nails a similar style.

He’d even commission designers for special pieces, that mimic the design of your tattoo, and expose it, showing the world your beauty.

Definitely the type to take selfies with you and make aesthetic boards of you including your tattoo.

He adores you, and every part of you, no matter what.

“Darling you are more beautiful than anyone who criticizes you! All those haters of yours are just jealous, hon!”

Beelzebub:

In S3, he has one while in the human world, so he’d probably find it pretty cool that you have one(+).

I hc Beel to doesn’t care much about physical looks, so he probably wouldn’t pay it/them any special attention.

Why would he think of you differently because of it?

He’s fairly curious though.

Doesn’t it hurt? How long did it take for you to get it done?

Either way, he sees it/them as a nice mark on your skin, but not something he’d make a fuss about.

Another one of the boys who would get a matching tattoo with you, after all, he doesn’t mind tattoos, so if you wanted to get a matching one, he wouldn’t say no.

One of the types to absentmindedly stare at your tattoo, unaware that he’s staring.

If it’s of food, he may or may not drool at the sight of it, so you may not want to let it near his mouth, lest he accidentally bite you.

He’s more perceptive to people’s emotions than others give him credit for, and does his best to comfort you.

Any time you’re slighted for your tattoo(s), he’ll leap to your defense asap.

“A tattoo doesn’t define a person. Having your skin inked doesn’t make you less than anyone else. Whether you have one or not, it doesn’t give people the right to judge you based on that.”

Belphegor:

Honestly? He’s pretty neutral on this

He doesn’t really care if you do or don’t have a tattoo, and won’t pay it any special attention unless you ask.

He loves you because of your personality, your physical appearance had nothing to do with it.

Your determination, patience, and tenderness are traits that attracted him to you.

But if you have a tattoo of anything cow related...

He may feel a bit smug

His lover has his symbolic animal tattooed on themself, how could he not be?

It practically screams that they’re taken, and taken by him.

Now he doesn’t have to worry about other demons trying to take you from him.

Sometimes, if you’re cuddling, he’ll trace your tattoo(s), a way to soothe you, on the chance you’re stressed/anxious.

Tbh, it calms him down as well.

Knowing that you’re physically there, keeps his anxieties about you leaving at bay.

Probably the brother that is most angry when someone insults your appearance.

“Y/n, others have no right to judge you based on your physical appearance. It’s your body, and no one else should control how you make yourself look.”

#my writing #obey me #obey me x reader #obey me scenario #obey me headcanon #obey me lucifer #obey me satan #obey me mammon #mammon x reader #satan x reader #lucifer x reader #obey me asmodeus #asmodeus x reader #obey me leviathan #leviathan x reader #belphegor x reader #obey me belphegor #obey me beelzebub #beelzebub x reader

[alinaastarkov]

Motherhood - Arya, Daenerys, Brienne and Sansa

So this is in response to an ask I got and it ended up really long so I thought I would post separately. I’m not great at writing proper metas but this is my poor imitation of one at least, so here goes.

Motherhood and children are key parts of Arya, Brienne and Dany’s arcs. They all act as mothers to other characters in their stories and seem to have a natural maternal instinct that you normally don’t find in female characters who are gnc because men usually just can’t write strong women. Ususally female characters get the choice between children or having skills, but Brienne, Arya and Dany get both in their arcs. On the flip side, Sansa on the outside is a prime candidate for motherhood - she dreams of having children, is romantic, traditionally feminine, etc. But GRRM deconstructs these tropes by almost making her not very maternal at all.

Sansa outwardly conforms to patriarchal gender norms but she doesn’t take joy in or have the instincts of a mother. Her dreams were usually limited to marriage and not much beyond that. She’s growing out of her superficial desires, obviously, but she always thought about romance and being a lady, and having babies was a part of that because of the society she grows up in. She never wanted to actually care for children, she was just told that was an essential part of a “happy ending” and so she bought it. Her dreams about children were only ever about babies. She wants the fantasy, not the reality of raising kids. We can see with her behaviour with Sweetrobin - though it is improving - she really doesn’t have those motherly instincts and disdains the truths of having to care for someone younger.

It was more than Sansa could stand. "Robert, stop that." Instead he swung the doll again, and a foot of wall exploded. She grabbed for his hand but she caught the doll instead. There was a loud ripping sound as the thin cloth tore. Suddenly she had the doll's head, Robert had the legs and body, and the rag-and-sawdust stuffing was spilling in the snow. Lord Robert's mouth trembled. "You killlllllllled him," he wailed. Then he began to shake. It started with no more than a little shivering, but within a few short heartbeats he had collapsed across the castle, his limbs flailing about violently. White towers and snowy bridges shattered and fell on all sides. Sansa stood horrified, but Petyr Baelish seized her cousin's wrists and shouted for the maester. - Sansa VII, ASOS

Robert's lip quivered. "I was going to come sleep with you." I know you were. Sweetrobin had been accustomed to crawling in beside his mother, until she wed Lord Petyr. Since Lady Lysa's death he had taken to wandering the Eyrie in quest of other beds. The one he liked best was Sansa's . . . which was why she had asked Ser Lothor Brune to lock his door last night. She would not have minded if he only slept, but he was always trying to nuzzle at her breasts, and when he had his shaking spells he often wet the bed. - Sansa I, AFFC

Alayne understood all that well enough, but it meant that the burden of getting Sweetrobin safely down the mountain fell on her. "Give his lordship a cup of sweetmilk," she told the maester. "That will stop him from shaking on the journey down." "He had a cup not three days past," Colemon objected. "And wanted another last night, which you refused him." "It was too soon. My lady, you do not understand. As I've told the Lord Protector, a pinch of sweetsleep will prevent the shaking, but it does not leave the flesh, and in time . . ." "Time will not matter if his lordship has a shaking fit and falls off the mountain. If my father were here, I know he would tell you to keep Lord Robert calm at all costs." "I try, my lady, yet his fits grow ever more violent, and his blood is so thin I dare not leech him any more. Sweetsleep . . . you are certain he was not bleeding from the nose?" "He was sniffling," Alayne admitted, "but I saw no blood." "I must speak to the Lord Protector. This feast . . . is that wise, I wonder, after the strain of the descent?" [...] "Just give him a cup of the sweetmilk before we go, and another at the feast, and there should be no trouble." "Very well." They paused at the foot of the stairs. "But this must be the last. For half a year, or longer." "You had best take that up with the Lord Protector." She pushed through the door and crossed the yard. Colemon only wanted the best for his charge, Alayne knew, but what was best for Robert the boy and what was best for Lord Arryn were not always the same. Petyr had said as much, and it was true. Maester Colemon cares only for the boy, though. Father and I have larger concerns. - Alayne II, AFFC

In the last quote she says she has “larger concerns” than Robin’s health. All these characters are forced into motherly roles, even if they don’t like it at first, but Sansa is the only one of them who never actually feels that instinct to care for the child over other concerns. Not all people have motherly instincts so this is not a bad thing, it is simply a truth about her character. She does not have the connection to motherhood and children that others do.

Brienne, Arya and Dany on the other hand don’t conform to gender norms but they don’t disdain traditionally feminine women and all have super maternal instincts. Motherhood and children are an important part of all these characters’ arcs. With Dany, it’s blindingly obvious, and Brienne and Arya have this on a smaller scale, but they all care for and protect people like mothers. Sometimes this means being forceful to ensure they listen and are protected, but all mothers do the same.

The fire leapt from one house to another. Arya saw a tree consumed, the flames creeping across its branches until it stood against the night in robes of living orange. Everyone was awake now, manning the catwalks or struggling with the frightened animals below. She could hear Yoren shouting commands. Something bumped against her leg, and she glanced down to discover the crying girl clutching her. "Get away!" She wrenched her leg free. "What are you doing up here? Run and hide someplace, you stupid." She shoved the girl away. - Arya IV, ACOK

They found Gerren too, but he was hurt too bad to move. As they were running toward the barn, Arya spied the crying girl sitting in the middle of the chaos, surrounded by smoke and slaughter. She grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to her feet as the others raced ahead. The girl wouldn't walk, even when slapped. Arya dragged her with her right hand while she held Needle in the left. Ahead, the night was a sullen red. The barn's on fire, she thought. Flames were licking up its sides from where a torch had fallen on straw, and she could hear the screaming of the animals trapped within. Hot Pie stepped out of the barn. "Arry, come on! Lommy's gone, leave her if she won't come!" Stubbornly, Arya dragged all the harder, pulling the crying girl along. Hot Pie scuttled back inside, abandoning them . . . but Gendry came back, the fire shining so bright on his polished helm that the horns seemed to glow orange. He ran to them, and hoisted the crying girl up over his shoulder. "Run!" - Arya IV, ACOK

"Mostly just roofs," Arya admitted, "but some chimneys were smoking, and I heard a horse." The Weasel put her arms around her leg, clutching tight. Sometimes she did that now. [...] "If we see any leg potion, we'll bring it," Gendry said. "Arry, let's go, I want to get near before the sun is down. Hot Pie, you keep Weasel here, I don't want her following." [...] "You leave Weasel alone, she's just scared and hungry is all." Arya glanced back, but the girl was not following for once. Hot Pie must have grabbed her, like Gendry had told him. [...] Lommy and Hot Pie almost shit themselves when she stepped out of the trees behind them. "Quiet," she told them, putting an arm around Weasel when the little girl came running up. [...] "She ran off when she heard you coming," Lommy said. "You made a lot of noise." And Arya thought, Run, Weasel, run as far as you can, run and hide and never come back.  - Arya V, ACOK

She would make much better time on her own, Arya knew, but she could not leave them. They were her pack, her friends, the only living friends that remained to her, and if not for her they would still be safe at Harrenhal, Gendry sweating at his forge and Hot Pie in the kitchens. If the Mummers catch us, I'll tell them that I'm Ned Stark's daughter and sister to the King in the North. I'll command them to take me to my brother, and to do no harm to Hot Pie and Gendry. They might not believe her, though, and even if they did . . . Lord Bolton was her brother's bannerman, but he frightened her all the same. I won't let them take us, she vowed silently, reaching back over her shoulder to touch the hilt of the sword that Gendry had stolen for her. I won't. - Arya I, ASOS

Arya with Weasel is such a strong example of her motherly instincts. Even though Arya is only 9/10 herself, she takes it upon herself to care for others even when everyone else is telling her not too. Like every other mother, she forces Weasel to do what’s best for her, protecting her even if it makes Weasel upset for a while. At least she’s alive and safe. And she’s good at being motherly too. Eventually, Weasel is actively seeking out Arya as her protector, clinging to her leg, and Arya holds Weasel so casually and naturally, it’s pretty much automatic. And her attachment to her “pack” throughout is just an extension of this because she is always “at the head”, the leader, the protector, the mother.

"They will not hurt me," she told him. "They are my children, Jorah." She laughed, put her heels into her horse, and rode to them, the bells in her hair ringing sweet victory. She trotted, then cantered, then broke into a gallop, her braid streaming behind. The freed slaves parted before her. "Mother," they called from a hundred throats, a thousand, ten thousand. "Mother," they sang, their fingers brushing her legs as she flew by. "Mother, Mother, Mother!" - Daenerys IV, ASOS

Dany had left a trail of corpses behind her when she crossed the red waste. It was a sight she never meant to see again. "No," she said. "I will not march my people off to die." My children. "There must be some way into this city." - Daenerys V, ASOS

Safe. The word made Dany's eyes fill up with tears. "I want to keep you safe." Missandei was only a child. With her, she felt as if she could be a child too. "No one ever kept me safe when I was little. Well, Ser Willem did, but then he died, and Viserys … I want to protect you but … it is so hard. To be strong. I don't always know what I should do. I must know, though. I am all they have. I am the queen … the … the …" "… mother," whispered Missandei. "Mother to dragons." Dany shivered. "No. Mother to us all." Missandei hugged her tighter. "Your Grace should sleep. Dawn will be here soon, and court." "We'll both sleep, and dream of sweeter days. Close your eyes." When she did, Dany kissed her eyelids and made her giggle. - Daenerys II, ADWD

The motherhood part of Dany’s arc is pretty much undeniable. She is the mother to dragons, mother to all her people. She calls them her “children”, they call her “Mhysa” and their care is her primary concern. As seen in the last quote, she agonises over not protecting them well enough, she worries constantly that she is putting them in danger when all she wants to do is keep them safe. Missandei reminds her that she is their mother and she is protecting them as best she can, and like Arya and Brienne she acts motherly in a more personal sense here, making Missandei giggle. Without a doubt, Dany is the best protector her children could have asked for. Motherhood I’m sure will only become more prevalent in Dany’s story going forward.

So far he had been true to his word, and Brienne had been true to hers. Podrick had not complained. Every time he raised a new blister on his sword hand, he felt the need to show it to her proudly. He took good care of their horses too. He is still no squire, she reminded herself, but I am no knight, no matter how many times he calls me "ser." She would have sent him on his way, but he had nowhere to go. Besides, though Podrick said he did not know where Sansa Stark had gone, it might be that he knew more than he realized. Some chance remark, half-remembered, might hold the key to Brienne's quest. - Brienne III, AFFC

Brienne had been betrothed at seven, to a boy three years her senior, Lord Caron's younger son, a shy boy with a mole above his lip. They had only met the once, on the occasion of their betrothal. Two years later he was dead, carried off by the same chill that took Lord and Lady Caron and their daughters. Had he lived, they would have been wed within a year of her first flowering, and her whole life would have been different. She would not be here now, dressed in man's mail and carrying a sword, hunting for a dead woman's child. More like she'd be at Nightsong, swaddling a child of her own and nursing another. It was not a new thought for Brienne. It always made her feel a little sad, but a little relieved as well. - Brienne III, AFFC

One of the women was very old, one was heavy with child, and one was a girl as fresh and pretty as a flower in spring. When Meribald took them off to hear their sins, Ser Hyle chuckled, and said, "It would seem the gods walk with us . . . at least the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone." Podrick looked so astonished that Brienne had to tell him no, they were only three marsh women. - Brienne V, AFFC

"Podrick has never harmed you. My father will ransom him. Tarth is called the sapphire isle. Send Podrick with my bones to Evenfall, and you'll have sapphires, silver, whatever you want." [...] Brienne felt the hemp constricting, digging into her skin, jerking her chin upward. Ser Hyle was cursing them eloquently, but not the boy. Podrick never lifted his eyes, not even when his feet were jerked up off the ground. If this is another dream, it is time for me to awaken. If this is real, it is time for me to die. All she could see was Podrick, the noose around his thin neck, his legs twitching. Her mouth opened. Pod was kicking, choking, dying. Brienne sucked the air in desperately, even as the rope was strangling her. Nothing had ever hurt so much. She screamed a word.  - Brienne VIII, AFFC

Brienne is similar to Arya in terms of motherly instincts. She maybe begrudges her responsibility to Pod at first, but she recognises that responsibility straight away and takes it on nevertheless, protecting him, teaching him, encouraging him. Pod meanwhile seems to love Brienne, taking pride in being her squire, wanting to be at her side at all times. In the end, honour, quite possibly the most important thing for Brienne, is sacrificed to save Pod’s life.

It’s another deconstruction of classic fairy tale characters. Motherhood is associated with protection, and so the gnc women in the series taking on protector roles of the more traditional sense (ruling, wielding a sword, knighthood, etc.) are also mothers at the same time, and the classic princess is what she would realistically be like - superficial and largely without those instincts. It’s another reason to think Arya/ Brienne/ Daenerys will end the series with children of their own.

#asoiaf meta #my meta #this one kind of got away from me #but here you go anyway #daenerys targaryen #arya stark #brienne of tarth #sansa stark #motherhood #acok #asos #affc #adwd #it's not really a meta or that well written so I apologise

[kitasfox]

Yeah it's definitely frustrating. Even as a reader, someone who enjoys one shots/fics I get annoyed because I don't want tumblr to only keep showing me that stuff and tbh it's why I tend to still use ao3 a lot more. But then you don't get that fun blog personality so it's a balancing act lol. I will say when it comes to short one liners, drabbles or HC vs one shots/fics it has a lot to do with attention spans and overall energy to view said thing. Think of like tiktok vs youtube, or even when vine was a thing. It's generally a lot faster to grow on those platforms than long form videos especially if you hop on the trend because people spend idk how long watching the same thing over and over. Long form stuff tends to get more of those loyal followers that will be with you through it all but that % is usually lower compared to how many followers you have and it def sucks to be that and then see people dip because obviously we are just a single account . More followers doesn't always equal more consistent interaction because yeah I see big blogs make similar post even though they have hundreds sometimes thousands of notes (I guess "low" is just comparable to how many follower they have). My read later/watch later list is long but I do still try to like,rb,show love etc because it's important to show appreciation where possible. I never got big enough to care about notes when I was writing because when you have 30 followers and get 15 notes it's not as crazy as when you have 300 followers and get those same 15 notes.

you're right baby I did overreact A LOT yesterday bcs of a personal thing that had me fucked <3 but also bcs this had been bothering me for a while now.

I love you and the fact that you took ur time out of your day to read my crybaby tantrum and send me this, and that you try to interact w writers all together

#gives u sm kisses that u move to another country to escape me #.ask

[mordoriscalling]

Stay or Sail Away (1/6)

Here comes part one the modern AU fake dating Geraskier fic that I talked about in this post. I’d like to post each part daily. Tagging @geraskier-trashh as requested! :D

***

It’s not that Jaskier has any problem finding someone, thank you very much. It’s just that he’s busy. Busy with concerts and composing, meeting fans at various events, travelling, internet dramas involving Valdo (it’s always fucking Valdo). There’s no time for a relationship, only for occasional one night stands that sometimes that leave him heartbroken because he actually manages to fall in love with someone in the span of a few hours. It’s fine, though. Heartbreak inspires him like little else.

Jaskier's never complained about lack of bed partners, when he seeks them out. He’s charming, after all. Still, the moment he hears “commitment”, he flees. It’s just not his way. Or perhaps he’s never found anyone fascinating enough to commit to; it takes a lot to keep his attention.  He wasn’t even looking for someone like that. Not until recently.

His troubles began a week ago, during a phone call with his mum. She reminded him of his father’s 65th birthday party and asked if he would bring anyone with him. This was followed by a series of questions about his love life because, as his mum put it, “you’re 35, Julian darling, and you’re always working so hard! I worry you’ll end up alone”. In order to placate her, Jaskier might’ve lied a little tiny bit about some things. As a result, because of all the twists and turns of the conversation, he made his mother believe he had a fiancé.

A fucking fiancé.

Wanda Pankratz was ecstatic, wishing to know everything about her son’s relationship, but he dodged all the further questions by saying that she would meet his love soon enough. She left it at that but, of course, told half the family about it, if the texts and calls from his sisters and aunts were anything to go by.

Hence, The Post.

It’s a bit pathetic and desperate, Jaskier can freely admit, but he has no other choice. His personal guard Zoltan almost pissed himself laughing when Jaskier asked him to pretend to be his fiancé, and not one of his friends knows anyone who would want to do this. Not even his agent Triss could help him out.

It all drove Jaskier to log on his anonymous Facebook account (he is a pretty big name in the UK; better be safe than sorry) and post in one of the big London groups.

“I need urgent help from someone who’d be willing to act as my fiancé during a family party on February the 24th. The only thing I expect is the ability to sing praises of our love and to compliment my aunts. It’ll take around 4 hours and then we end our relationship. Age from 35 to 40. It’d be great if you knew something about the sea because I intend to introduce you as a sailor who’s never home and afterwards, you die. Can anybody help?”

Since yesterday, the post has got more than a thousand reactions (mostly the laughing one and likes) and hundreds of comments. Many people tagged their friends as a joke, which is not helpful, but Jaskier still scrolls down and down, trying not to let his hope die. Nobody seems to think his request is for real and he’s received no serious offers so far. Then, one of the newest comment threads catches his attention.

Lambert Rivia:    Geralt Rivia Destiny!

                              Geralt Rivia Fuck off

                              Yennefer Vengeberg Omg 😂 Cirilla Vengeberg-Rivia Eskel Rivia you must see this!

                              Cirilla Vengeberg-Rivia Yesssss!! This is perfect! ❤️

                              Eskel Rvia Do it Geralt

                              Geralt Rivia No.

Intrigued, Jaskier decides to check out these people’s profiles. Lambert Rivia is a handsome red-haired man who wears some kind of black military suit in his profile picture. Looking at his bio, Jaskier already knows why Lambert didn’t volunteer himself – he’s in a relationship. Eskel Rivia is blond, even more handsome than Lambert despite facial scars, and also has a photo in a black suit, together with a white cap on his head. There’s no information on Eskel’s relationship status and Jaskier is intrigued indeed. Yennefer Vengeberg is a terrifyingly beautiful woman who, judging how professional her profile picture appears, must work in some serious profession. Cirilla Vengerberg-Rivia is a lovely teenage girl with white-blond hair. Jaskier reckons she’s the daughter of Yennefer and one of the Rivia guys.

He left the poor Geralt’s profile as the last to look at, but now that Jaskier has seen the rest, he checks this one too.

His jaw fucking drops.

Geralt Rivia is a ridiculously handsome man. His face seems practically unreal because, surely, people as beautiful as Geralt don’t actually exist? The man’s long white hair (which makes no sense considering his apparent age), as well as his brown-almost-golden eyes, only add to his otherwordly, stunning appearance. Double stunning in that black military suit he’s wearing in his profile picture, just like Lambert and Eskel. The suit looks familiar and Jaskier has a nagging feeling he really should know what kind of army it is. Google helps him out and he quickly puts two to two – Geralt, Eskel and Lambert serve for the Royal Navy.

He bursts out laughing.

This is too good.

He wonders what he should to about this. Now that he knows about Geralt’s existence, he can’t really miss the chance of meeting him, however slim. His gut feeling tells him not to let the opportunity slip and well, who is Jaskier not to listen?

When he’s in the middle of debating what to write to the man, his phone pings. There’s a new messenger notification... with Geralt’s name. With a racing heart, Jaskier opens the message.

FEB THE 18TH AT 06:14 PM Hey. Everyone’s telling me to message you and won’t leave me alone. Is your request for real? Please say no

Jaskier chuckles and replies:

Hi! I’m sorry they’re bothering you and I’m also sorry to say that my request is very much for real. I’d be forever grateful if you helped me 😁

To this, Geralt responds with:

They really won’t stop until I agree They think it’s so fucking funny

Jaskier purses his lips, already suspecting this isn’t likely to work out. He'll have to face his loving mum and admit that he lied to her about fucking having a fiancé. She’s going to be so disappointed. At the very prospect, bad mood overtakes him, but he still types what he hopes to be a cheerful answer.

Damn, so sorry mate I won’t push you but, again, I’d totally owe you one if you agree  ☺️

What would I get?

Jaskier tries to reason with his hope to calm the fuck down and replies:

Money, or a favour of some sort, I have many connections Could be free tickets to my concerts  Even my company for the night 😏 Just whatever you want I really need help

Fuck

For a minute or two, the three dots next to Geralt’s photo disappear, and Jaskier’s hope plummets in a  dramatic fashion. Then, more messages from Geralt show up in the chat.

Free tickets seem fine My daughter loves going to concerts She’d like free tickets but I never heard of you

Jaskier starts begging any god out there that Cirilla is Geralt’s daughter. Teenagers make up a large part of his audience (which is great, actually; teenage kids are amazing these days). If she’s a fan, the free tickets are a major bargaining chip.

Well, Julian AP isn’t my stage name I don’t use it on fb

What is it? Your stage name

I’d rather not say here And you must promise me you won’t tell anyone about it too Well, anyone but your daughter

Ok

 Can you call me? It’s better to talk about this on the phone anyway

Fine.

Jaskier sends Geralt his number and waits for the call. In other circumstances, he’d congratulate himself on getting a man like that to call him so easily, but he’s too anxious. His hands itch for his guitar but he doesn’t get up from his bed. He begins smoothing his hair out with his palms, praying in his mind that Geralt hasn’t changed his mind.

After the agonizing wait of six minutes, there’s an incoming call. Jaskier takes a deep breath and picks up.

“Hello,” says a gravelly baritone voice so pleasant that it sends shivers down Jaskier’s spine.

“Uhm, h-hi, Geralt,” he replies a bit breathlessly, “so, my name’s Julian Alfred Pankratz but I’m known to many as Jaskier.”

There’s a beat of silence. “Jaskier?” Geralt repeats, “the one who sings Her Sweet Kiss?”

Jaskier beams, his chest swelling with pride. “The very same.”

“Fuck,” Geralt growls, “Ciri wants to blast this song whenever we drive somewhere.”

Jaskier laughs. “She would love free tickets to my concerts, wouldn’t she?”

“Yeah.”

Geralt says no more. Jaskier has to swallow down to sop his throat from constricting. “So?” he asks, “Can you do this for me?”

The silence on the other side is deafening and Jaskier doesn’t even breathe until Geralt finally speaks up. “Fine,” he grunts, his tone indicating it’s anything but fine.

Air leaves Jaskier’s lungs in a whoosh, replaced by a flood of such sheer relief that he may as well cry. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” he babbles, heady with joy, “Gosh, you’re my saviour!”

“Just don’t tell anyone about this,” Geralt grumbles.

“Not a soul, Geralt, not a soul.”

“Send me the details about when and where and let’s get this over w–”

“No, wait!” Jaskier cuts in, “My family’s very perceptive, they’ll know it’s a ruse. We should plan everything carefully.”

“You’re making me regret this,” Gerlt growls.

“I’m sorry!” Jaskier hastens to say. “Just... at least tell me a bit about yourself?”

Geralt lets out an irritated sigh. “I’m forty, serve for the Royal Navy with my brothers. Eskel’s the nice one and Lambert’s the prick. My ex-wife Yennefer works for the government.” Jaskier actually shudders at this one because he already can picture it. Yennefer seems exactly powerful like that. “We have a daughter,” Geralt goes on, his tone softening, “Ciri. She’s fourteen. We live in London but I’m away often.”

“Oh, lovely,” Jaskier says with a wide smile because, really, this man’s love for his daughter is so clear and endearing, “this is something we can start with.”

“Just make everything up about our relationship and send it to me. I’ll play along.”

“Thank you,” he breathes out, still amazed at his luck. Jaskier is almost high on the success of his ingenious scheme and his obligations are therefore non-existent, so nothing stops him from teasing Geralt. “Though, to be completely honest," he says cheekily, "you don’t strike me as the type to sing praises of our love and compliment my aunts.”

“Hmm,” Geralt replies. It doesn’t sound like a negation. “Yen says I’m not that bad if I try.”

The fondness with which he said Yennefer’s name is a cold bucket of water poured on his enthusiasm. “O-oh, ok,” he stutters out, thrown off-track, “So, uhm, would you be willing to try for me?”

For a moment, Geralt says nothing, then answers, “If you give Ciri an autograph.”

Jaskier laughs out loud. “Not a problem at all! Whatever she wants.” He pauses. “Whatever you want,” he adds more seriously.  

Geralt only hmms, in a way that Jaskier’s prone-to-romanticism mind would almost call warm. Silence falls between them but it doesn’t feel awkward somehow. “Have to go,” Geralt says.

“Okay,” Jaskier replies quietly, “Thank you again. I’ll text you, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

After Geralt hangs up, Jaskier huffs out a shaky breath. Deep down, he already knows.

This is going to mess him up.

TBC

Part 2

#myfic #geraskier #geralt x jaskier #the witcher #modern au #pretend relationship #fake dating #fanfic #let's call this... the Sailor and the Singer AU xD #the Sailor and the Singer AU

[sol1056]

wuxia/xianxia: a loose and somewhat second-hand introduction to the genre, pt1

Sorry for the unconventional q, but i keep seeing Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation everywhere and I kinda want to get into it but a) don't know where to start (web series? live action adaptation?? wait how many are there!) and b) i don't really "get" wuxia / xianxia, that sorta stuff, i find it really hard to cross that cultural barrier and chinese mentality seems very alien. (it's not that i have no experience w different mentalities but chinese in particular is v hard to grasp w/o sources).

So if you have the time and patience, I'd love to hear a summary of it (like, a coherent summary bc all i get on the wikis is a shower of names and concepts that don't make sense to me) and perhaps some "intro for dummies" abt the relevant parts of chinese history and mentality tied to it? not just the cultivation / buddhist part but also re: familial relationships, philosophy and all that. (v brief and low effort of course) Thank you and sorry for bothering you!

("brief and low effort" referring to what I'm asking from you, not to what I need for me - as in i asked for it so i'm more than ready for a complicated essay, but you can write with as much detail as you like, I don't want to ask for some sort of comprehensive tome)

Okay first, you do realize that if you want “brief and low” for anything, you’re asking the wrong person? I was a philosophy major. brief got drilled out of me a long time ago. 

Second... well, explaining what makes The Untamed / Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (mdzs for short, from the chinese title, Mo Dao Zu Shi) such a standout story does require understanding some of the wuxia conventions it subverts -- as well as some that it plays straight (so to speak) very, very well. 

I figure the best approach (again, sadly not brief) is to first get a handle on the genre of wuxia. Gonna break this post into two, so you’re not reading in a single three-hour stretch or something. I’ll do a follow-up about mdzs, to hopefully make it a bit more accessible for you. 

before I do that, let me first say: I didn’t grow up with this genre, so there’s going to be parts that I may miscast unintentionally. for an insider’s view, my go-to voices are @guzhuangheaven, @atthewaterside, @dramatic-gwynne, @the50-person and @drunkensword. if any of them are reading this and can point to more/other/better voices, please do.

I have three analogies -- like cultural doorways --  and like all analogies, they break down when you get into the finer details. In the broad strokes, though, they mostly work, and if nothing else, hopefully they’ll demonstrate that wuxia may be a chinese-specific version, but part of a storytelling tradition that’s nearly universal.

The three doorways are: the american wild west, the samurai era, and the british arthurian romances. And, in a tangential way, the regency period in the romance genre. 

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 

The term ‘wuxia’ can be translated several ways, but I prefer ‘martial chivalry’. Most wuxia takes place in the jianghu, a harder term to unpack. Generally, though, ‘the jianghu’ has connotations not all that different from what americans mean when they reference the wild west. 

More of a concept than a physical place, the jianghu (like the ‘wild’ west) exists beyond the reach of the law and/or civilization. It’s occupied by a diverse cast of farmers, merchants, beggars, and so on, but also by outlaws, gangs, hermits, pretty much all those who don’t like the suffocating nature of the civilized world, for whatever reason. It’s not a lawless place (except to outsiders); it does have laws, but those are only unto itself. 

So, jianghu is a world to itself, for the most part -- which also makes it kind of timeless. Tang dynasty, Song dynasty, Ming dynasty, it could be any of them and all of them and none of them. Just as the heyday of the cowboys and the cattle drives was barely a decade long, a culture’s romanticized history stretches into lifetimes that exist separate from any date you could pin down on a calendar. 

The average wuxia protagonist would fit in reasonably well as knight errants in an arthurian romance, with one important detail in difference: they’re rarely aristocrats. Wuxia protagonists are just as likely (if not more so) to be lower-born, whether the child of farmers, or servants, some common caste. 

This is where wuxia diverges from the british and japanese traditions, which have a bit more noblesse oblige going on (knights and samurai both being upper-class types). Even ‘aristocratic’ characters tend to be so only within the jianghu -- sort of like the way a territory’s elected leader in the wild west would’ve had no pull in Washington, given they weren’t from a fully-recognized state. 

Wuxia does often have politics, between competing sects (think schools of learning), but that political infighting is independent of the capital’s rules or wishes. A lot of stories -- in the rare cases the topic even comes up -- tends to speak of ‘the capital’ in disparaging terms. 

That’s not to say wuxia is all about the flat social systems (it’s definitely not), but most commonly a rank implies some level of competence/study. The title of sect leader isn’t granted, it's earned. Children inherit, but it’s also a common storyline to have an heir with no skills (who then goes through all the trials and tribulations to finally level up and earn that position in turn).

What makes wuxia hard to grasp is its vernacular: the conventions that form the backbone that make something recognizably ‘wuxia’ and not just ‘historical drama set on a frontier in a loosely-defined time period’. 

Frex: in a Wild West story, convention is two gunfighters at opposite ends of the street, and at least one of them is wearing a holster tied to his leg with string in a way that no real gunfighter wore, ever, but Hollywood came up with the idea and now it’s a permanent part of our imagination. In the arthurian romances,  convention is carrying the token of one’s lady love (a distant, untouchable figure who rarely appears on-page), or meeting the unnamed knight in black on the jousting field. Convention are the samurai who’ll die for their lord’s honor, always touchy and prickly at the first sign of disrespect. 

These are things granted the most remarkable gravity, that to an outsider might seem ridiculous. (Why is there always tumbleweed?) 

Now, wuxia is the latest evolution in a long-lived literary tradition (and by ‘long’ I mean like 2000+ years) -- but like any living tradition, each subsequent generation reinvents it for their time. Part of that reinvention comes from particularly influential writers, who put their own spin on things, and their interpretation becomes the next generation’s standard for the genre -- “of course wuxia must have X” or “a protagonist never does Y”. (Like how Tolkien almost single-handedly changed western concepts of elves, in fiction.)

And here’s where I explain what regency romance has to do with it. Another short-lived period, in real history, but along came Georgette Heyer, who took bits and pieces of actual research, blended them with her reactionary politics, exaggerating some things and ignoring other things completely. The result is a time-that-never-was, but she cast (and still casts) a shadow so vast that I’ve seen multiple romance writers complain that readers will see a footnoted-and-researched version as wrong, if it contradicts one of Heyer’s made-up conventions. 

Modern wuxia has its own Heyer-sized influencers -- like Jin Yong (the Condor trilogy, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils), Wen Rui'an (The Four), Gu Long (The Legend of Flying Daggers, The Proud Twins), to name a few of the biggest. If you have a chance or are inclined, the big names get remade on a pretty regular basis, and catching one will at least let you see some ur-tropes in action. 

But it also means that you can’t really extrapolate, in the sense of saying, “in wuxia, people do X, ergo, X is also a factor in Chinese culture.” It’s like... take any western made in the 50s, and the vernacular is simple. The bad guys wear black hats, the good guys wear white hats, the prostitutes wear bright-colored dresses with frills and the good women wear subdued colors buttoned up to their neck. It told an audience exactly what character filled what role, but that’d tell you zero about real people you might meet in Nebraska or Utah, let alone New York City. 

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 

Almost forgot: xianxia is basically wuxia but with ‘immortal heroes’ -- so there’s gods, divine influences, non-human beings as characters (main or NPC), etc. (Btw, by ‘immortal’ I mean exactly that, like this character is six hundred years old, that one’s a thousand years old, etc.) You can think of xianxia as wuxia, but amped way up on the mystical scale. 

Xianxia will sometimes take place on earth (jianghu) but sometimes in the celestial realm (heaven). Or a mix of both, like stories where a character falls (or is banished, or defects) from heaven and has to go through various trials and tribulations as a mortal human in order to regain a power, rise in rank, fall in love, or whatever their goal is. 

A number of wuxia stories are driven by some sort of mcguffin, but in xianxia, the mcguffin is more likely to be a powerful spiritual weapon. But I can also think of a number of wuxia in which the mcguffin would fit right in, in xianxia (some near-mystical thing with significant positive, or negative, power independent of the wielder, which often amplifies or boosts the wielder to an inhuman degree, etc). 

Thing is, the mcguffin being divine/infernal supernatural isn’t enough alone to make the story xianxia. I’m pretty sure you need non-human or super-human immortals and/or creatures to be considered in the xianxia genre. 

part two

#wuxia #come for the brief essay stay for the dissertation #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mdzs

[princesscas]

Hi! I have a question. I haven’t been heavily involved in tumblr/social media for a while. I had stopped watching supernatural for a couple of years and just got back into it. I ship destiel, but sometimes things about wincest come up. I keep seeing things about people not wanting to “ship shame” which you just mentioned as well, and I’m just confused. How is it okay that people ship two brothers? Like they are actual brothers on the show?? I don’t care that they’re not irl. I don’t know who the N girl you’re talking about is but apparently she cares about canon, so how can she like it? And why is it wrong for people to condemn people for shipping two brothers, when that is the thing inherently wrong? Like it’s disgusting... it’s not about them being guys, it’s incest... Again, I just don’t get it and I hope I don’t come off as rude! Thank you!

Nah, you’re not rude at all! Never ever like them. I’m still upset about what happened two days ago so what the hell, tea time!

To start off, I believe that everyone can ship whatever like like as long as they aren’t sending hate to others. Take a look at this (lengthy) post about ship wars. People can ship whatever they want, end of story. Doesn’t really matter anyway because people are gonna do what they wanna do. Do I like those types of ships like you described above? No, but it’s none of my business to tell others what they can and cannot ship. Sometimes I read darkfics. That isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay. Is the post/fanfic properly tagged with such elements? Then it’s fine. Start hyjacking posts/leaving nasty comments? That’s 1000% not fine and it never will be. 

Something that doesn’t get brought up enough: There is a vast difference between an ordinary w//cest shipper and a J-two-squared tinhatter who believes the said two actors are secretly gay, their wives are beards, they hate mish, everyone who doesn’t like w//cest are wrong, etc.

Now, it’s on the shipper if they start normalizing such things. (in//st, unhealthy, etc) And the rabid obsessed (N&Co) hate-everything-that-breathes crew is a prime example of this. 

This thing is already long so why not throw out some receipts, huh?  IMO, you cross that ‘ship whatever you want’ line when you do this: 

...I ship an angel and a human my dude. (and two 100 yr old super soldiers, I wonder what they think about stucky lol) also jesus christ the rest of that is a mess. 

/tw: biphobia here./ REAL bisexuals? “oh you aren’t bisexual if you like one angel and a hunter.” And they’re obsessed with calling everyone ‘teenager girls.’ This is not only wrong but also pretty damn transphobic and misogynistic. 1) Most people have aged over the years (wow that’s crazy right?) 2) trans, nonbinary, and gender fluid people exist. 

Overall, these people are a horrible bunch. They’re obsessed with preaching to people about ‘tagging properly’ when they could take it upon themselves and use a blacklisting extension. Or just block every single blog they don’t like. These people are a very small portion of the fandom but they’re loud, they want you to think they make up all of the fandom but they don’t. Not even close, when other in general posts gets thousands of notes/retweets and theirs get maybe a couple hundred. (and a lot are from reblogs for replies) 

Not gonna lie, I feel the need to defend w//cest shippers because I’ve known/have/had mutuals who do ship it and they’re nice as can be. 

The loud bunch are so loud, it silences the others who partaking in normal fandom things. Or really, if I were them, I wouldn’t want to associate myself with those people. 

Let’s pretend for a second. Imagine if you loved a ship (it could be any ship from any fandom) but the fandom is toxic as hell and the most ‘popular/well known’ blogs/artists/writers are these people. Fandom corners have history on the way they were built upon throughout the course of the fandom’s media. 

You browse the tags, the blogs, the fanfics, and find yourself staring at a hateful group of cult-like bigoted people. But wait. These people? They don’t like fanfiction or fanon. No, they hate anyone who writes anything outside of textbook canon. Any characters outside of SW/DW/JW won’t be present. (if you’re curious or are brave enough, go look at the AO3 tag, it’s sad) 

I try to be empathetic with people. I cannot, for the life of me, imagine what it’s like. To love a show so much with your favorite ship but one part dislikes it and another part are so inherently hateful.   

The OP deleted but this thread on Reddit is exactly what I’m talking about. And they mentioned something else I think not many people bring up: OT3′s. 

I’m gonna quote this but it’s 1000% true. 

“What I can't for the life of me understand though is why people would hate on Misha as an actor because of his role on the show. I've seen a lot of Misha hatred - and I mean A LOT of it. In fact, I recently went through the anti-misha tag on tumblr and blocked over 200 tumblr accounts that either were dedicated to bashing him or castiel, or posted constantly about it.”

“It's really nuts to me that people would choose to put so much time and effort into hating an actor who hasn't done anything to them personally or hasn't even affected their lives, when they could be putting good feelings into praising the actors who have affected their lives in a good way instead if you feel me.”

Constantly is the key word here. I don’t think these people ever stop, not even for one second, to sit down and say, “God this is exhausting, I think I need a break this week.” I really dislike these people but I also feel empathetic for them. What is their mental health like? It isn’t healthy. Go show a therapist this, they’d probably quit on the spot. (okay prob not but that’s my best example atm) 

This has gotten extremely long so I think I’ll stop here. There are some nice people out there who will ship things you don’t like but a toxic side can make it seem much worse than it actually is. Ironically, it’s usually the opposite. (ie: voltron’s’s toxic side scaring off other shippers of that fandom) 

Lemme end this with pre!serum smol Steve and his legendary quote: 

#i just try to be nice man #i need to go finish my fanfc instead of talking about this lol #fandom things #mandy answers anon #drama for ts #anti bibros #anti bronlies #Anonymous #tw wincest #tw incest

[turning-dreams-into-chaos]

Figures

Figures

*Not my Gif*

Request: Fred Weasley x reader imagine? Could you make it a soulmate au? If not could the reader and Fred go on a first data and it’s fluffy? ThAnk you :)

Requested by: @hahaboop

Request: Can I get some Fred x fem!ravenclaw!reader fluff? I'm not feeling super picky, but I didn't want to give a wonderful writer like you nothing to work with. ^-^

Requested by: @seppys-return-to-madness

Post Date: 9-17-19

Paring: Fred Weasley x Reader

Word Count: 2K

A/N: Not sure if it’s edited well but I just wanted to get it posted! More Harry Potter posts on their way!

~Master Lists~

People say soulmates are star-crossed lovers destined to be. And sure, maybe sometimes they are. And maybe sometimes they leave you with a weird figure sketched into your body with no explanation. Soulmate tattoos weren’t something people talked about out loud. It was a sacred thing only you knew. You found the whole thing dumb and felt like it gave you no true decision in who you loved. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to believe in soulmates, it was just in a world of wizards and muggles, it gets kind of hard to believe in something so universal. You always wondered what would happen when you realized who your soulmate was, was he someone you knew? Or hated? Or maybe someone who was already close to you.

Your tattoo was on the side of your hip in a big bolded area you hid. You didn’t even know what it had looked like, there were just too many lines running past each other and you couldn’t figure it out. Apparently, your someone was supposed to draw the figure and boom, soulmate. But who knows, at this point you’d be really surprised to see someone naturally draw this disaster of a figure.

“I need your help.” Someone whispered as they sat down on the bench next to you knocking your book out of your lap. They caught it before it hit the floor and opened it pretending like they were reading it with you. You were shocked to say the least looking at the red head taking the seat next to you before McGonagall came around the corner, holding a first year who had a head triple the size of normal. You instantly realized what had happened as she neared you both. He needed an excuse.

“You buy me whatever I want at Zonko’s and I’ll play along.” You bargained as the boy raised his brow and gave you a once over. “Time’s ticking.” You smirked as he nodded, letting you scoot a little closer and point to a word on the page. “Weasley! For the last hour, the answer’s right there! What’s the point of tutoring you if- oh Professor! What happened?” You never knew how good your acting skills were until you gawked at Professor McGonagall and she looked between you and the dork next to you.

“Ms. Y/L/N, pardon my interruption, you and Mr. Weasley had been working all this time?” She asked incredulously as Weasley put his hand on your knee, taking the attention onto himself.

“Of course, Professor! Need to study for the test you’re giving us, Y/L/N here is probably my only hope.” You tried to hide the shock in your face and put on a smile. “If you’re looking for my brother, he ran off that way.” He pointed towards the end of the corridor opposite from where they both entered as you nodded your head. McGonagall had glanced between you both before pursing her lips, dragging the poor first year along with her. You flicked the hand off your knee and turned to the boy.

“Reckon that was all you?” You asked rhetorically ignoring the stifled laughter trying to escape him. “Well, which twin are you?”

He stuck his hand out and you met it, letting your fingers accidentally linger a little longer than you needed. “Fred Weasley. At your service.”

“Pleasure. ‘M Y/N Y/L/N.” He tossed your book into your bag and threw it over his shoulder, grabbing your arm to pull you along.

“Well Y/L/N, I think this is the start of a great friendship.” He declared as you rolled your eyes, trying to drown the smile on your face. Fred wasn’t wrong, the next 2 years brought you two closer together and he became your best friend, George found you interesting as well, agreeing that they could use some of your Ravenclaw book smarts to help with their pranks. Sometimes you had to remind them you weren’t just smart, Fred seemed to understand that better than George. He was always the one you’d laugh around with and make up new pranks. Turns out you had quite the knack for it. Almost all of your free time was spent with your new best friends and you couldn’t have been happier.

You were about to enter your sixth year at Hogwarts before Fred invited you to the burrow for the first time, trying to answer Molly as to why he hadn’t brought you around sooner. They were going to the Quidditch World Cup and were bringing along Harry, Hermione and you. As soon as you reached the burrow, Fred was there to bring you into a hug.

“Aww, careful Weasley, I might think you actually missed me.” You joked as he faked scoffed, letting his brother hug you before throwing his arm over your shoulders.

“Mum said you and Hermione could bunk with Ginny for the next few days before we’re off.” He said and took the bag off you, making a soft smile across your face. You completely loved the burrow when you first entered, it was small, sure, but it was homely. Fred watched as you took in all the little items in the house. He couldn’t help but laugh anytime you stare at something in wonder. His hand started moving in a weird pattern as he sighed, looking towards his family. He knew you would be fine if he left for a few minutes. He moved up to his room with out anyone seeing and grabbed his paper and quill.

After your long look around the house you thanked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for having you, earning a ‘it’s nothing dear’ in return. You saw George right away, watching as he bickered with Ron before you turned to Ginny.

“Hey, Ginny did you see where Fred-“ you didn’t even need to finish your sentence before she was telling you his location. You trudged up to his room, trying not to sound tired by the thousands steps you had to climb. “Fred! Why’d you disappear on me like that?”

Fred looked surprised to see you when his door was thrown open, and he began scurrying around to rid the several hundred drawings around the room before you saw them. He ripped them from the walls, grabbing them off his bed and desk faster than you thought possible. His only problem was you had already seen them, but the drawing you’d seen 17 years before that, on your hip. You bent down to grab one of the papers he dropped as your head raced. Fred stuffed them all in his desk and sighed in relief, resting his hands on the desk before facing you. His eyes widened as he snatched the paper out of your hands, leaving you staring at nothing. He didn’t really know why he wouldn’t let you see them; they were just weird drawings he’d have no control over doing the past two years. It just felt like something he was supposed to keep to himself, or his brother since he had seen them thousands of times.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to see these.” He mumbled and stuck the picture into his pocket. You finally looked up at him trying to figure out what was happening. He drew the figure you’ve dreaded your entire life. You hadn’t said anything and Fred just looked at you with drawn brows when you took a step closer, reaching into his pocket and pulling it back out.

“What are these Fred?” Of course, you already knew, you only asked him to see what his excuse for this was. Fred just shrugged, letting you move past him and open the drawer crammed with paper. They almost flew out with how tight they were, making you jump back. A splash of color caught your attention, them more and more until you finally nabbed the piece with Red and Black lines.

17 years, you had been staring at the mark for 17 years and not once did you ever see the giant F and W colliding with the Y/F/I and Y/L/I. you almost felt stupid, running your fingers across the now obvious red lines marking the FW.

Fred Weasley. The FW meant Fred Weasley and the other initials were for you. He was your soulmate.

“Y/N!” Fred exclaimed when you began to pull your pants down just pass your hip. His worriedness was put to rest when he saw the black ink staining your skin. He reached out to run his fingers across the figure and a sense of warmth over came you. He locked eyes with you again before coming closer and closing the distance more. “Is that…? Are we-“

“Soulmates?” You both asked at the same time, falling into a bit of laughter together before Fred realized his hand was still on your hip and he smirked.

“I’m really glad you’re my soulmate, now everything’s starting to make sense a little.” He admitted and it was your turn to scrunch your brows. He let you cover your hip back up before pulling you to the bed. “It started that day we met. After you left, I couldn’t help but tell George about you. You were amazing, just jumping in and saving my arse. That was the first time my hand started going crazy. I thought nothing of it, thinking it was just my hand but then the next day when you smiled at me, it started doing it again. I went to Madam Pomfrey, but she just smiled and told me next time it happened to pick up a quill and ‘let it happen’. So, I did. Then I started to draw these, these things.”

“They’re our initials.” You informed him as his jaw dropped, looking at the colored pictures and chuckling.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see that. You know what else I didn’t see until I told you the story? Every time I thought of you, I’d draw the figures. How have we gone 2 years as Best Friends and not realize we were so close to our soulmate?” He asked as you nodded, realizing that for the first time ever you truly didn’t know what to say. It all made sense. Fred and you clicked without even needing to try. He rushed into your life and you had no complaints about it.

“I think part of me already knew.” He grabbed your hand and you both laid back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “So, what now? I mean, what are we?” You felt awkward asking but you really needed to know, everything you believed, everything you wanted to believe about soulmates flew out the window when the man you were supposed to spend your life with turned out to be the man you would’ve choose.

“Now, my dear Y/N, we become enemies. We spent the rest of our lives trying to find a way to prank the other until one of us gives up and-“

“Oh, just shut up and kiss me.” You moaned as he listened, kissing you before he could make another joke or before you could regret him. If the figures alone wasn’t enough to convince you that you and Fred were soulmates, the kiss definitely would’ve done the trick. It felt completely natural, like you were supposed to be doing this your whole life. And even though you really were supposed to be with him, you were glad you got together now. You couldn’t imagine having figured out he was him when you first met. Maybe you wouldn’t have became friends. Perhaps the whole idea would’ve scared you both off and you’d live the rest of your life regretting not helping the red head running through the corridor. But you were meant to help him, you were meant to be together. He was your soulmate.

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[ineffablefool]

Some meditations on being a fat human being, in the era of Good Omens series fandom.  Not n//sf/w, really (hi my name is Jack I’m ace and supremely uninterested in sexytimes), but really personal and also long, so I’ll stick it behind a readmore.  I suppose if another fat human being had thoughts they wanted to tack on, they could reblog to do so, but I don’t expect this to be a particularly rebloggable thing.  Just thinkin’ out loud (via clickety fingies).

I have been... okay, more or less, with how my body looks, for a while.  (Minus all the things about it that make me get “she” and “her” and “ma’am” everywhere I go, with exactly three glorious exceptions in the ~4 years since I realized that those weren’t right.  That is a whole ‘nother bucket of bears.)  I’ve been on Tumblr over on my main account since 2013, and the entire time I’ve been immersing myself in fat positivity and in fat activism by wonderful accounts like ok2befat and bigfatscience and thisisthinprivilege.  So I’ve been basically okay. 

It sucks how hard it is to find clothing that I like which doesn’t completely exclude my particular set of proportions.  It sucks that my saint of a boss had to literally fight our HR department to change the company policy on flights for business, because the previous policy would have forced me to fly 18 hours in an economy-class seat much smaller than I am when I visit India in a couple months.  It sucks that my body is still the “oh, is this disgusting thing a dealbreaker for you” question on dating websites, and that it’s still the butt of every third Trump joke.  It sucks.  But I’ve gotten better over the years at the skill of seeing my body as not the problem, but an innocent bystander in everyone else’s bullshit.  Clothing and plane seats and humor don’t spring from the earth to be harvested and consumed raw.  People decide how to make them.  People can decide differently.

Anyway.  I’ve been pretty much okay with Body.  Body’s fine.  It’s a good pal.  It gets me where I need to be, and it lets me run around in little circles pretending to be an airplane when I’m bored.  I spend some time with it in partial states of undress now and then (I’m too much of a germaphobe to ever be a naturist, let’s put it that way), just so I can keep myself familiar with what it really looks like.  Y’know how the horror movie monster is really scary up until they actually show it?  Same thing, except fewer blood squibs.

But here’s all this Good Omens stuff.

A lot of the fandom has embraced the slight pudginess of Michael Sheen’s Aziraphale, and a lot of artists are putting that into their work.  And a blessed wonderful few aren’t stopping there.  They’re drawing Aziraphales that are more than just a tiny bit pudgy, sometimes that are just plain fat, unquestionably, not just “a little larger than the very thin rendition of Crowley” or “wearing a lot of layers” or “the clothes are just cut that way”.  Really, really adorable renditions of fat angels who are clearly loveable and clearly loved because look, the artist drew them together, Crowley is right there and he doesn’t have that look on his face by accident.

(There are book renditions floating around too where people have headcanoned a fatter Aziraphale, but I’m still talking miniseries right now.  Also, there are plenty of sort of... cartoony/stylized/silly renditions out there with fatter Aziraphales, but I’m not really talking about those either.  There’s a sort of area of artwork where the style or the scene being depicted is such that my brain is surprised when any of the characters is fat, because this is a pretty drawing of two people kissing or whatever and therefore obviously they have to both be thin.  Obviously.  Internalized fatphobia nonsense.  But that’s the kind of artwork I’m thinking when I type all these zillions of words.)

And that’s a choice, to say “I’m an artist and I’m going to draw this character who is worth being the recipient of a 6000-year-long love, and that character is fat, and that’s just how it is”.  And to keep doing it in one piece of art after the other.

speremint was the first artist I noticed doing this, drawing an Aziraphale who is loved by Crowley (the sacred apple tree art still cracks me up, poor Crowley) and who is definitely fat and who is adorable, and if you’ve read the notes on any of my fics you know that she singlehandedly changed how I picture my headcanon’d Aziraphale.  Then I discovered that dotstronaut and lonicera-caprifolium and toastedbuckwheat are out there too, giving me lovely art to shove into my eyeballs and extend my lifespan potentially indefinitely.  I bet there’s more I haven’t noticed yet.  I want there to be like a hundred more I haven’t noticed yet.

And this all ticks over into the second half of what’s apparently a manifesto at this point, boy it’s a good thing I’m a fast typist, which is the fact that in addition to being a fat human, I am also romantically and aesthetically attracted to fat humans.  It’s something I’ve pretty much literally had no opportunity to ever express, because in my Real Life I don’t really admit to having feelings per se and also I am... not the type of human who is the recipient of romantic thoughts from others.  Or who would ever act on my own unless the other party said something first.  (Which nobody ever has since 2006, you guys.  Supremely not the recipient of romance over here.)

So there’s this fandom environment where a fat character is being celebrated and loved, and I started writing fanfiction for the first time this century, and all of a sudden there’s a place for me to express feelings that I’ve been sitting on since I finally realized in about 2001 what it was about that one guy in high school that made me want to hug him, even though I also couldn’t stand his attitude.

Going through my fics from oldest to most recent, it is clear that I am getting more and more comfortable with that expression.  It’s getting ridiculous.  At this rate, in three weeks’ time I’m just going to be writing “Aziraphale is fat and beautiful and I just want to cuddle his belly forever” over and over again for five thousand words at a stretch.

But that means Brain is thinking a lot about how Aziraphale is fat, and beautiful, and perfect exactly how he is.  And then Brain looks down at Body and is like “hmm.  Same hat.  ineffablefool is fat too.  Therefore, [insert math lady meme here]”.  And I will be, like, “okay, so if Crowley were to put his hand on Aziraphale’s belly, what would that feel or look like?  How would his internal narration describe it?  Well, there’s a belly right here, let’s do some science.”  And then the thoughts that I start associating with the experience of my own body are completely good thoughts, all of them, because they’re going to be going in Crowley’s head.  And my written Crowley is never going to be anything other than madly in asexual romantic love with my written Aziraphale, and is never going to see him as anything other than perfect, physically, no matter what he looks like.

And it’s just being a really good positive feedback mechanism, I guess is the tl;dr version.  External validation (via art, via others’ fics, via comments on my own fics, btw if you’ve left any of those then you are also helping extend my lifespan, especially the people who come back to comment on each new story, yes I recognize you and I do a little happy dance every time a familiar name pops up, please rejoin me on Monday I’m going to post my dickwheelie letters fic) is all well and good.  But the mental loop of “own body can be used for realistic descriptions of a fat body -> descriptions based on own body are all lovingly positive -> own body is therefore described by self as lovingly positive” is... it’s nice, is what I’m saying.  It’s very nice.  Last week I expressed, out loud in a group of coworkers, my desire that something be more size-inclusive.  Do you even know how many deaths I would once have suffered rather than say something like that in mixed company.  But why shouldn’t I say it!  There’s nothing wrong with my being fat!  In fact, it’s within the realm of possibility to see it as a positive thing, so let’s just all admit that we have eyes and then move on!  Geez!

So those are some of my thoughts on being a fat human being, in the era of Good Omens series fandom.

now if I can just score a hot fat ace Ineffable Significant Other out of this fandom, I’ll be set

#ineffablefool original post #if you want to give me any bullshit on any of this then Please Don't #i am well acquainted with ignoring trolls on my non-GO account #and am equally capable of applying that skill over here #but if you don't have any bullshit or but-what-about-health or but-my-tax-dollars then i'd love to conversate #ineffablefool is on about fat bodies being lovely again #i don't know why i keep forgetting that tag it's a very important tag #ineffablefool does some Deep Thoughts

[incorrect-trolls]

the trolls as tumblr blogs

Poppy - the girl’s got no real “theme” going, but she’s definitely got a “craft” tag where she’s posted at least three hundred scrapbooking tutorials already, and probably reblogged a few do-it-yourself knitting, crocheting, or sewing videos. sometimes posts cute selfies in colorful dresses with her hair very elaborately styled, or low-quality recordings of her own original music. gets flooded with asks every day, mainly about “how do I do X with my scrapbook, please teach me” or just people telling her how pretty and nice and approachable she is. she answers every single message. no anon left behind. lots of positivity posts, too, mainly just short snippets like “you can do it!!” with smiley-face and thumbs-up emojis. reblogs every meme she sees and always remembers to tag her friends in them. sends Branch asks here and there to make sure he’s still alive. blog is astoundingly well-organized, considering how scattered it is. 

Branch - survivalist. everything. very long, detailed posts with lots of bullet points and big words and italics. the information is actually useful, if you can be bothered to sift through it. tips on how to survive everything from a house fire to the zombie apocalypse. lots of conspiracy posts, too, won’t shut up about Roswell or Illumanati. doesn’t get asks as often as Poppy does, and when he does, it’s usually some anon with some variation of “why are you like this”. responds to said asks with one-word answers. responds to Poppy’s asks with at least some measure of exasperation. reblogs her positivity posts just to counter the encouragement with something typically pessimistic, and tends to go off with her on never-ending threads back and forth where they just disagree on absolutely everything from cats vs. dogs to the infinite possibilities of multiple universes. tells anyone who will listen how much he can’t fucking stand her. would burn before he posted a selfie where “the establishment” could see. everything is meticulously tagged and scrupulously organized. probably runs a sideblog where he posts sappy romantic poetry every few days. no one on his main knows about it. they Must Never Know.

Bridget - kinda lowkey treats her blog like a diary, lots of personal posts, lots of random, unnecessary updates on her life, lots of venting. vague-blogging. all her drama out on main. reblogs recipes if she thinks they look good. doesn’t get memes, but reblogs every single one Poppy tags her in anyway. the rare selfie that does make it onto her blog quickly gets deleted when her insecurities act up. discovered the rainbow emoji a few years ago and never looked back.

Gristle - memes. just. memes. “change my mind”. “you guys are just mean”. gru meme. responds to every ask he gets with a meme. some people think he’s a bot. also lots of vine compilations. some selfies here and there, usually with a caption about how handsome he feels today. once left a comment on one of Bridget’s selfies before she deleted it and just said “hot lunch!” 

Smidge - wall-to-wall workout stuff. mainly two to three-minute videos of her doing power squats or one-handed push-ups or something of the like. has a “goals!!!” tag that’s just pictures and gifs of other bodybuilders. sometimes makes posts about the pros and cons of different sports drinks or protein shakes, and the majority of her selfies are mainly just her flexing proudly. reblogs her friends’ selfies with aggressive, kinda off-the-wall compliments - “LOVE YOURSELF AS MUCH AS I LOVE YOU OR DIE” - but everyone appreciates the thought all the same. occasionally reblogs pics of pretty ladies when she’s tortured by thirst.

Guy Diamond - glitter aesthetics, mainly. gifsets and photos and stimboards of the stuff, but sometimes he’ll intersperse a pic of a big city all lit up at night or a Starbucks coffee cup or something similar.  usually posts at least one selfie per day, if not several, and captions them all w/ nothing but 3 sparkle emojis and a winky face. his text posts are typically something in the vein of “love yourself BITCH”. will talk on and on in the tags about how much he loves the post, but won’t actually tag the content of the post itself. calls every inconvenience he’s ever experienced in his life “homophobic”. if you get him in a sappy enough mood, he’ll wax poetic about the lovely life he’s going to lead with his future husband. 

Biggie - mostly just pictures of Mr. Dinkles, or text posts about him ((e.g. pic of Mr. Dinkles in sunglasses captioned “Mr. Dinkles is feeling chill!”)) or the odd photo of a meal he’s made, or a batch of cupcakes he’s really proud of. occasionally reblogs pictures of other animals as well, mainly cats and kittens. the fuzzier, the better. very sweet and welcoming to everyone, his followers just love sending him asks and hearing about his day, or getting to tell him about theirs. makes everyone feel right at home, and has upwards of ten thousand followers because of this.

Cooper - ??????????????? doesn’t really know what he’s doing at all. occasionally posts memes but none of them actually make any sense. reblogs all his friends’ posts but rarely makes any of his own. adds unnecessary comments to text posts whenever possible. doesnt tag anything.

DJ Suki - music!!!! lots of her own, of course, but reblogs plenty of her favorite bands and artists, too. takes a longggg time to respond to asks and her responses are usually v short, barely more than a few words at a time. aggressively reblogs Poppy’s music and Cooper’s meaningless memes. has sent Branch at least one (1) ask that just said, “chill”. 

Satin and Chenille - clothes tbh, esp fancy evening gowns with sparkles and ruffles and things like that, but the occasional cute blouse finds its way onto their blog, too. lots of pictures of the pieces they’re currently working on and plenty of progress updates. sometimes hold random giveaways for the outfits their followers express the most interest in. occasional step-by-step tutorials on sewing, hairstyles, makeup, or something of the sort. at least one text post a week venting nonstop about each other.

Creek - yoga and meditation techniques at least once a week, and a few tips here and there on practicing mindfulness as well. uses the words “inner peace” and “complete tranquility” several times in one post. almost never reblogs any of his friends’ posts, and ignores Poppy’s attempts to tag him in memes because it “doesn’t fit his theme”. will send Poppy lots of encouraging asks, though, especially after she’s just had a thread with Branch. follows Branch specifically to comment things like “thanks for sharing your unique perspective on things..........again” on his posts.

Cloud Guy - doesn’t tag. default theme. answers asks with the peace-sign emoji, when he gets asks at all. most people are too afraid to initiate contact. got a blog just to send Branch terrifyingly vague or profoundly irritating asks, and comments on Branch and Poppy’s threads with “she’s got a point, rotary joint” whenever he can. Branch has blocked him upwards of five times. he just keeps making blogs. 

#trolls #dreamworks trolls #i don't know why i wrote this but i'm unspeakably glad i did #not a quote

[scarletwitching]

You said Jonathan Hickmans Avengers made you real mad? Could you (or have you) elaborate on that?

When I first sat down to answer this, I decided I should re-read the run, so that I could better articulate what bothered me about it. Then I tried to re-read it, and I quickly went, “No. That’s not happening.” I didn’t get very far, which is why this won’t be the most well-argued post.

The thing that made me so mad that I quit reading most regular Avengers comics was the last issue where Steve and Tony punch each other while the world ends.

Avengers Vol. 5 #44

It’s a terrible scene, and it puts me in mind of this article about The Force Awakens.1

When you’ve actually invented a tragedy that’s hundreds of thousands of times bigger than the Holocaust (in a film that prominently references Nazis) only in order to threaten that they’re about to do it again, in a matter of seconds, YOU CANNOT ASK YOUR AUDIENCE TO CARE THAT SOME GUY AND HIS SON ARE WASTING THOSE ESSENTIAL SECONDS HAVING A MOMENT ON A BRIDGE.

No. You cannot. That is a fatal flaw. That is an inversion of stakes so monstrous that it makes the film actually despicable.

The world stops when two white men need to hash out their feelings.

I found the way Steve and Tony’s relationship was handled towards the end of that book to be uncomfortable and bad. “You lied to me!!!!11” Okay? Aren’t you guys supposed to be heroes? Shouldn’t you be focused on saving all the life in the universe? Who approved this characterization?2 Who thought this was a good idea? Why am I supposed to care about this when the world is ending? It seems like Hickman was just using their relationship (and the precedent set by Mark Millar) as an excuse to write them, particularly Steve, in the most unlikable way possible. ‘Oh, you know Steve and Tony. They’re just evil when they’re together.’

Over the past couple of decades, Marvel has decided that everyone is deeply invested in that dynamic, and I just… don’t care about it. That’s not to say that no one cares about it. We all have different tastes, and that’s fine. But that relationship is not for me, and it’s so overexposed that I don’t want to read comics about it anymore. Hickman’s Avengers was my breaking point. After that, I decided no more Steve and Tony, if they’re going to act like that around each other. Even if they aren’t, I still need a break. A years-long break.

…and then there was the part where the Avengers went to a sovereign nation, broke into the home of some civilian refugees fleeing a genocide, and beat them up. This is getting a little long, so I’ll put the rest under a cut.

Infinity #1

It’s exactly what I said. They went to Italy (Hawkeye now speaks perfect Italian for some reason). They broke into an apartment inhabited by refugees who had fled a genocide. They had been (illegally??) spying on the refugees, but hadn’t tried to piece together any information about them as individuals or their situation. There’s no evidence that the refugees hurt or even bothered anyone. But the Avengers broke down their door, and without putting any actual effort into a peaceful solution, beat them up and arrested them.

This was written in 2013. Not that there’s ever a good time to write this, but wow, this was written in 2013.

Oh, and Infinity’s final issue has this aside:

Infinity #6

There’s a counterargument here that the Skrulls are just aliens, and it’s not that serious. My counterargument to that counterargument is Secret Invasion. Secret Invasion is the most famous modern Skrull story, and it is the context a Skrull story from 2013 would be understood in. It’s also an Islamophobic metaphor where the Skrulls are religious extremists who want to take over Earth and who keep saying “jihad” for some reason, despite being aliens. I don’t think the Skrull scene from Infinity is as bad as Secret Invasion, but it’s also not good.

This scene speaks to deeper problems I have with Hickman’s Avengers run. He takes an authoritarian angle with the team. The Avengers aren’t just superheroes in his vision. They’re imperialist ICE agents. When I think about Hickman’s work, I always come back to that first issue of Ultimates he wrote, where no female characters speak and the most important on-page role a woman has is to give an Important Man™ his coffee.3 That issue ends like this:

Ultimate Comics: Ultimates #1

Once upon a time, the Avengers answered to bureaucrats. Now, everything is SHIELD, and presidents defer to superheroes. For some, this is a subtle change, a difference in details they don’t care about. To me, it fundamentally alters the nature of the team and the world they reside in. I can root for an Avengers team that has to steal a bus because their security clearance was taken away.4 I have a much harder time rooting for Hickman’s authoritarian god-men who hold the fate of all life in their hands, but choose to be petty and insular.

For Hickman, it’s an Avengers’ World, but an Avengers’ World is not one I’m interested in. It flattens the overall texture of the Marvel Universe, and it does a disservice to the Avengers themselves. They are much less relatable, likable, and human when it’s an Avengers’ World.

This is the point where I have to say, “Maybe we’re supposed to know that the Avengers are bad in this, and that’s the point.” I’m not sure how much I believe that though. Do I think Hickman thinks everything they’re doing is good and right? No, but he doesn’t do a good enough job of analyzing and critiquing their actions within the narrative to justify things like the Skrull scene. Depiction =/= endorsement, but you should be saying something greater than “these characters do bad stuff sometimes.” I’m not convinced Hickman’s Avengers has much self-awareness or commentary.

I don’t agree with the fandom line of thinking that Big Two characters are sacred and we should never do anything that might be negative with them. There are, for example, criticisms of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s Ultimates that begin and end with, “They made Captain America a xenophobe, and that’s bad because Captain America is supposed to be a good guy.” I don’t see it that way. There are problems with Ultimates, but it’s an alternate universe that ought to be allowed an alternate take. Writers should be allowed to say something, via a character called Captain America, besides “Steve is nice.” It matters how it’s handled though, and I’m not sure it’s even worth it to try. There is so much emotional investment in these characters that it’s difficult to make sharp political statements with them.

Going back to depiction vs. endorsement, we’re supposed to know Millar and Hitch’s Ultimates are bad people, but that doesn’t make the sexism (or the outdated Freddie Prinze Jr. references) any less real. That book is trying to say something, and it aims to be a satire. But it lacks the necessary tact and finesse to make that work.

To steal from someone else’s Hickman critique: “That’s the point.” “That doesn’t make it better.”

Worst of all, Hickman’s Avengers made me feel bad for Rick Remender. His run on Uncanny happened concurrently with Hickmanvengers, and Remender made a big deal of pushing back against the narrative that had come out of Avengers vs. X-Men about the Avengers being jack-booted thugs. To the point where he had Captain America say, “We’re not jack-booted thugs” in the first issue.

Uncanny Avengers Vol. 1 #1

And then along came Hickman screaming, “Never mind!! Yes, they are!!!” Imagine trying to make a point about the Avengers not being authoritarian assholes while someone else is writing this in a different title:

Avengers Vol. 5 #35

You can tell Remender wasn’t pleased because he got salty about being negatively compared to Hickman in the Uncanny Avengers annual. In true Remender fashion, it was inappropriately salty, but I understood where he was coming from.

Uncanny Avengers Annual 1

Let me be clear: No one is lesser because they like Hickman’s Avengers. It’s not a reason to insult someone. Remender is being facetious (and kind of a jerk) here. But there is some truth in poking fun at the “indecipherable mysteries.” I’ve already talked some about what’s wrong with Remender’s criticism, so I won’t dwell on this too much.

Overall, Hickman’s tastes and mine seem diametrically opposed. I prefer smaller casts and stakes. I like personal, character-driven stories about women. I want nuanced characterization and subtle, organic character development. And I don’t get any of that from Hickman’s work. Some people find his character arcs compelling, but I don’t. The Steve/Tony dynamic in his run is so over the top and inauthentic that it would be comical if it weren’t so annoying. I read a Hickman comic, and I just see nonsense words and no real emotions. It’s all Important Men™ and the women who bring them coffee.

Anyway, the best thing about Hickman’s Avengers is that Wanda isn’t in it. We dodged a bullet there. A true W for the home team.

1. I don’t care about Star Wars. Please do not yell at me about Star Wars.

2. It was Tom Brevoort. It’s always Tom Brevoort.

3. Someone’s gonna tell me to read East of West. No, I haven’t read East of West. I’ve heard he handles the female characters in that better, but I couldn’t say whether or not that’s true.

4. The bus scene still has them kicking everyone else off, but it gives those people a voice, however briefly. The Avengers are still people in that scene. They’re not an absolute authority with power over everyone else.

#the chaos magics #answered

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hey, Steph. So... Today was the first day of this year's brazilian presidential elections, and over 40 million people voted for a fascist who openly hates gays. Could you recommend me some fics where Sherlock and John fight against homophobia somehow, or just something really fluffy? My heart is in pieces right now, I really need a distraction.

Oh my gosh, Lovely, I am SO SO sorry *hugs*. I unfortunately can’t think of any immediately on the top of my head (I wanted to answer this right away otherwise I would have waited like I normally do while I sort), though I know for a fact that I have some in my bookmarks. For now, I can direct you to the following LGBT Fic lists on Alexx’s blog: 

Sherlock Comes Out as Gay

John Comes Out

John Comes Out- Part 2

John & Sherlock get Outed

John is Gay Fics

John Was “Straight” Before Sherlock

John in Denial After Sex with Sherlock

Sherlock is Flamboyant

Modern Homophobia

EDIT: Okay, so I did a quick search for basic tags on my Ao3 bookmarks and on my offline sorted lists, just because I really wanted to give you something

HOMOPHOBIA / SEXUALITY / PRIDE

Velvet by headlessjess (G, 1,155 w. || Pining, Angst, Jealous Sherlock, Loneliness, Sad Fic) – It’s the day, the wedding day - John and Mary, getting married. And then there’s Sherlock, in pain and in love, without knowing how to deal with it.

The Trial of Sherlock Holmes by jenna221b (G, 3,015 across 3 works || TAB!lock, Metafic / TJLC, Victorian AU / 1895, Christmas, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Oscar Wilde) – Scripts based on speculation that Sherlock will be put on trial in The Abominable Bride to parallel the Oscar Wilde Trials of 1895.

Out of Time by westernredcedar (T, 3,163 w. || Wedding, Angst, Pining John, Sad Ending) – Somerset is a lovely place for a wedding, but what John hadn’t accounted for was the getting everyone there.

A Bit of Indulgence by beltainefaerie (NR, 3,364 w. || Fake Relationship, Pride Parade, Declarations of Love, Fluff, Dev. Rel., Case Fic) – A case leads John and Sherlock to fake being boyfriends and John runs into an old acquaintance.

five times sherlock holmes lied to john watson (and one time he finally told the truth) by miss_frankenstein (G, 5,948 w. || TAB Compliant || Homophobia, Pining Sherlock, Oscar Wilde Trials, Happy Ending) – Set in “The Abominable Bride” universe, this piece adopts a familiar format to chronicle Sherlock’s quiet suffering in the wake of the 1895 Oscar Wilde trials and the particular way they affect his relationship with (and feelings for) John.

Disguises are always a self-portrait by yellowteapots (NR, 6,223 w. || Case Fic, First Kiss, POV John, Fake Rel.) – Sherlock and John head out of town on a case of murder / suicide at a Pride Fest.

Matters of National Security by mistyzeo (E, 8,465 w. || Jealous Sherlock, First Time, RST, Idiots in Love, Frottage) – John starts dating a male client of Sherlock’s, and Sherlock can’t figure out why he’s so incensed about it.

Confidential by sussexbound (M, 10,654 w. || Epistolary, John’s Journal, First Kiss / Time, Fluff, Self-Acceptance/Discovery, John’s Sexuality) – When John accidentally stumbles upon the Confidential file Sherlock’s been keeping on him he is both angry and curious. What he learns about himself, though–well, that changes everything.

Your Eyes in Darkness Glowing by tamed_untranslatable (E, 14,686 w. || Est. Rel., Case Fic, Hotel Sex, Bottomlock, Anal, BJ’s, Porn With Feelings, Homophobia) – Sherlock gets roped into a case in Moscow on his brother’s insistence, but finds that he can’t do it without John.

A Hundred Thousand Ways to Say the Name John by Jberry (E, 16,825 w. || Fake Relationship, Fake Marriage, POV John, Pining John, Cruise Ship, Angst & Fluff, Case Fic) –  John Watson and Sherlock Holmes must solve a case on a cruise ship. To get close to the crew and passengers, they must get married for the case on the Baetica. However, their relationship hits rocky seas both due to the case and internal conflicts. Part 1 of Baetica

Best of Three by SilentAuror (E, 17,473 w. || POV John, 3G Moment, Porn with Feels, Post HLV, Rimming, Denial, Anal) – “You want to have sex with me,” Sherlock announces one evening about a year after John’s divorce. John’s vigorous denial sparks a three-day wager wherein Sherlock is determined to prove his point, and John is determined to hold onto his heterosexuality. Set well after HLV. (Canon-compliant). PORN. With feels.

Uncharted Territory by J_Baillier (T, 19,603 w. || Dystopian Future / Black Mirror AU || Angst, Drama, Homophobia, Bisexuality, Technology, Humour, Romance, Near Future, Happy Ending) – The System puts people through a series of assigned relationships in order to determine who their Perfect Match is. John believes that it works; Sherlock really, really doesn’t. One of them is probably going to be wrong.

At the Heart of it All by SilentAuror (E, 19,823 w. || Virgin Sherlock, Post S3, POV John, Domestics, First Time, Kissing, Romance) – John has been back at Baker Street for four months now and thinks it’s about time they had the Talk to see whether or not they could be more than friends. Sherlock has a lot of uncertainty about this concept for multiple reasons. Unabashed romance.

Maintaining A Personal Life by Gingerhermit (E, 24,284 w. || Alternating POV’s, Bisexuality, BAMF!John, Jealous Sherlock, Romance / Drama, Sort-of Case Fic, Peril & Angst, Love Confessions, Toplock, Soft Idiots in Love, Post S3) – Sherlock and John discover some interesting revelations about each other’s sexuality, which lead them both to question the assumptions they’ve made about one another for years. In the midst of their mutual discoveries, a dangerous psychopath looms on the side-lines who threatens to destroy their new beginning.

Resistivity and Relative Charge by liriodendron (E, 41,750 w. || Synesthesia, Angst, Case Fic, Romance, Est. Rel., Homophobia, Religious Content, Victor Trevor, Mild Jealous John, Mild John Whump) – In which Sherlock Holmes meets an old acquaintance, John Watson doesn’t enjoy a trip to the country quite as much as he thought he would, and the past absolutely refuses to stay where it belongs. Part 3 of Conductivity

The Case of the Vanishing Pants by SwissMiss (E, 44,025 w. || Five and Ones, Friends to Lovers, Case Fic, Homophobia, UST, Post-TRF) – Five times John and Sherlock lost their pants in the course of a case.

The Pieces That Fall to Earth by Itsallfine (M, 49,513 w. || S4 Fix-It, Epistolary, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Parentlock, Past Abuse, Coming Out, Questioning Sexuality, Mental Health Issues / Therapy, Angst, Happy Ending) – John and Sherlock have hit rock bottom, but with all their armor stripped away, they can finally speak honestly, seek healing, and find the truths that matter most. An epistolary post-s4 fix-it fic. Now complete.(This fic is rated T except for one very clearly marked and easily skippable chapter, which is rated M.) Part 1 of The Pieces that Fall to Earth

A Love with No Name Series by aceofhearts61 (G to M, 49,955 w. across 20 stories || Asexual Sherlock / Straight John, Est. Rel, Queerplatonic Relationship, Romance, Cuddling, Fluff, Platonic Romance, Domestics) – In which Asexual!Sherlock and Straight!John are platonically in love life partners.

In the Dark Hours by hubblegleeflower (E, 51,639 w. || Friends to Lovers, Unreliable Narrator, Closeted Bi John, Angst, Miscommunications, Slow Burn, First Time, John’s Blog / Epistolary) – John, wounded and silent, drifts back to Baker Street for healing…and then goes home again. He visits, gets more upbeat, chattier, smiles, jokes… and still goes home again. Sherlock wants him to move back in - it just makes sense - but John shows no signs of doing so. This is the story of how John and Sherlock learn to say what needs to be said when they’re both so very, very rubbish at talking.

Guilty Secrets by Ellipsical (E, 55,055 w. || Drumsticks, First Time, Love Confession, Self-Sexual-Discovery) – John has a prostate exam and discovers something surprising about himself. Experimentation follows. Sherlock wants to help. They’re in love. You know the drill.

The Great Sex Olympics of 221B by XistentialAngst (E, 58,611 w. || First Time/Kiss, Experiments / Sexual Experimentations, Multi Pairings) – John Watson thinks Sherlock Holmes should admit that he, Watson, is more of an expert on sex than Sherlock is. But Sherlock refuses to concede the point. He comes up with an experiment plan that will resolve the issue. The results will determine who wins the prize. But sometimes even the best thought-out scientific study has unexpected consequences.

Scars by SilentAuror (E, 60,493 w. || Rape / Non-Con / Abuse, Gaslighting, Manipulation, Dub Con Elements, Homophobia, Angst With Happy Ending, Mary is Not Nice) – S3 rewrite, showing Mary’s manipulation of John as he realizes his love for Sherlock. Mary is not having it.

Definitions by siennna (T, 101,528 w. || Dev. Rel., Pining, Fluff and Romance, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Fluff, Cuddles) – Sherlock’s journey in defining his flat mate and stumbling through the muddled world of emotion.{{This feels complete; the chapter count is listed as ? but I feel like it is done}}

Gimme Shelter by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John (E, 159,368 w. || 70′s Surfer AU || Period Typical Homophobia, Hawaii, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Professional Surfers, Gay John / Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, John was a Sailor, Misunderstandings) – All John Watson wants is the feeling of a freshly waxed surfboard under his feet and the hot California sun baking down onto his back. To finally go pro in the newly formed world of professional surfing and leave the dark memories of his past behind him as he rips across the face of a towering blue barrel. To lounge beside the beach bonfire every evening with an ice cold beer tucked into the cool sand beside him and listen to Pink Floyd and the Doors while the saltwater dries in his sun bleached hair. That’s all he wants, that is, until the hot young phenom taking Oahu and the Hawaiian shores by storm steps up next to him in the sand in the second round of the 1976 International Surf Competition.

Unkissed Series by 221b_hound (T to E, 184,168 w. across 46 works || Established Relationship, Ace Sherlock) – Sherlock returned from the dead a year ago. John returned to Baker Street six months ago. They’ve been in a couple since then. or at least, not NOT a couple. For two smart men, they sure can be dumb. Luckily, an art thief tries to drown Sherlock, Sherlock has a fever dream and things are about to change.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #my fic recs #sexuality #pride fics #homophobia fics #two rec lists in one week #i like having days off #thelanding

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

Out-of-context Twitter accounts keep your favorite shows alive online

The joy of Parks and Recreation will never leave me, not even in the dark corners of Twitter. It’s a strange yet reaffirming thought for me and the other 166,000 people who follow the "out of context parks" account.

As its name suggests, the account takes scenes from the beloved NBC comedy and posts them without any context, leaving it up to the reader to interpret the meaning. 

pic.twitter.com/J9LiNdUEFj

— out of context parks (@nocontextpawnee) January 30, 2019

While not affiliated with the network or the show officially, it is still part of a burgeoning trend on the social media platform. Pop culture-based out-of-context accounts have been popping up all over the place in the last few years. 

From iconic TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer to critical faves like The Good Place, from Marvel movies to recent Oscar nominee The Favourite, there are out-of-context pages devoted to all kinds of entertainment.

SEE ALSO: Crush Twitter proves that sometimes subtweets can be good

The basic principle boils down to the same thing: posting close captioned screenshots without additional comment. The jokes really just needs to be taken at face value and are actually the perfect buffer from a sullen cycle of bad news and bad tweets. 

Why wouldn’t I want to be interrupted by Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt in the middle of my mindless Twitter scroll? As a lover of obscure board games and Adam Scott being nerdy, Cones of Dunshire will always warrant my attention.

pic.twitter.com/sH1CZswCsx

— out of context parks (@nocontextpawnee) January 15, 2019

Kaysi Long created the Parks account in the summer of 2017. She told Mashable she was inspired by a similar account dedicated to cult favorite Buffy. 

"I thought it'd be fun to do the same thing for a TV show I love," she shared via email. She noticed the engagement started picking up heavily within the first 6 months. 

Long binged the show and took several screen caps along the way. "I have a ton saved up now so I haven’t had to spend too much time watching it again and again. How I decide what to post is usually pretty random," she said. The exception is when there's really something timely to share. 

pic.twitter.com/2Tr7K4xzys

— out of context parks (@nocontextpawnee) January 22, 2019

The allure of out-of-contexts as they pertain to movies, TV, games, comic books or even people (who can say no to even more ways of taking in John Mulaney's humor) stems from the need to consume content repeatedly and quickly.

It's also the simplest form of a throwback. 

When I discovered the out-of-context account for The Office, another all-time favorite, I spent a joyous 15 minutes laughing as I recalled the specific details of every post. This post got me so much that I immediately felt the need to revisit the opening of Season 4's "Money" and listen to the opening music, which is indeed very cheerful. 

pic.twitter.com/1XQxBykdqn

— out of context the office (@officecontexts) January 10, 2019

The concept of sharing a singular moment of dialogue goes way back. First it was posting quotes or even lyrics without any context on AIM or Facebook, and now it's as Instagram captions. It's ~cool~ and fun. 

Twitter out-of-context humor is a whole other ballgame. It can be fleeting and varied, taking the most basic lines and proclaiming them to be entertaining.

For example, @NYTMinusContext tweeted nothing but random verbatim phrases from various New York Times articles. It amassed 205,000 followers in it's almost 5 years of existence. It's easy to see why. 

seriously, I will tear my hair out and eat it. HA-HA-HA

— NYT Minus Context (@NYTMinusContext) February 23, 2018

everything on planet Earth is falling apart

— NYT Minus Context (@NYTMinusContext) March 10, 2018

In its more recent wave, this format gets a visual and cultural makeover. The image elevates the comedy, and it speaks to our need of dissecting pop culture at a minute level.

Twitter provides the means to do this easily. 

A scene stripped down to its barest form will still come off as amusing. Emma Stone's maniacal "Fuck! fuck! fuck! fuck!" is a real mood, regardless of whether or not you've seen The Favourite. 

pic.twitter.com/gsr7aaBRdx

— the favourite out of context (@tongueinsideme) February 14, 2019

Out-of-context accounts indirectly share a purpose: to reel you in. I started following "out of context bojack horseman" early last year without having ever seen BoJack Horseman. After liking enough tweets, I knew I had to prioritize checking this comedy off of my Netflix queue. 

If just the screenshots were enough to crack me up, the entire show would definitely win me over, right? Reader, it did. 

pic.twitter.com/h0Dgid7Cp7

— out of context bojack horseman (@nobojackcontext) October 13, 2018

It proves out-of-context humor can please anyone and doubles as a great way to lure you into learning more about its original source. 

This formula even got an official Netflix stamp of approval. To promote its original witty teen drama Sex Education, the streaming platform created a verified no context account for this extremely quotable show. 

They wanted the scenes to resonate with fans and to make the people who hadn't seen the show feel the FOMO. It's a great way to keep the fandom growing, as the account's 98,000 followers show.

I WAS W A I T I N G FOR THIS QUOTE URGHH ICONIC

— Anna ❤️💍 Charlie (@zahartovana_) February 4, 2019

Famed comic book writer Gail Simone, known for her work with Deadpool and Birds of Prey, is a Twitter aficionado who has created several "ridiculous" conversation-starter pop culture hashtags, including #lackofcontexttheater in 2017. 

"I love that you say something absurd, and soon, hundreds, maybe thousands of people who get the joke jump in and add to it," she told Mashable.

In this case, she wanted to point out the weird writing of comic books that, devoid of contextual panels around it, sometimes hint at mysterious psychosexual horrors and kinks. "There’s an entire 1940’s story where Batman and the Joker spend the entire issue talking about boners, and you can’t help but laugh."

@GailSimone can't forget this legend #lackofcontexttheater pic.twitter.com/L71O9hC66e

— jodi❗️❗️ (@AbyssalOdin) January 8, 2017

@GailSimone #LackOfContextTheater I don't think this scene will make it into Homecoming. pic.twitter.com/VFiB5ktVII

— Tomb Svalborg (@tombness) January 8, 2017

@GailSimone Found another good one for #LackofContextTheater pic.twitter.com/610TR8Dcu1

— Juan Carmona (@JDCarmona91) January 10, 2017

Simone didn't think her hashtag would blow up the way it did but even after a couple of years, the underlying trend holds up. "I went back and read all of the tweets and they made me laugh all over again," she shared. 

"It’s simply a matter of seeing something familiar and wholesome and imagining there's more to it." 

It is funny to imagine an unseen world where Batman is really obsessed with Joker’s constant boners. That's why folks are so involved with the hashtag. And that's why they're so involved with the entire trend of pop culture out-of-context accounts.  

Everyone gets to be in on and enjoy the joke, even if they're not fully familiar with its genesis.

WATCH: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is giving Twitter classes to fellow Democrats

#_author:Saloni Gajjar #_uuid:312a8cdc-cb31-3916-845a-803588e6b76f #_category:yct:001000002 #_lmsid:a0Vd000000DTrEpEAL #_revsp:news.mashable

[bnha-hcs]

.:Soul Bond:. - Chapter 1

Alasjlka I meant to write this a long ass time ago but a few things popped up and I got busy rip,,, alskm Anyways this is the beginning to the series I was talking about doing!! It’s a crossover with an old rpg game that I really loved. I kept the name of the village elder bc I couldn’t think if anyone who could fit in her place for now. I might go back and change it once I’m not sleep deprived and up at 2:30 in the morning :’) Tell me what you guys think!

I also have an Ao3 now!! I’ll be posting stuff for other fandoms so if you wanna request a one shot or smth from another fandom shoot me an ask on here or on my ao3!! -----> Here!!

You wake up, eyes fluttering open and staring blankly at the ceiling. A groan escapes your lips as you roll over and take the pillow behind your head, shoving it over your head in an attempt to keep out the light of the morning sun. In the distance, you recall with a grimace, is the sound of the tower bell, signalling you to rise. But, gods, you really don’t have the energy to get up after yesterday’s training with your friend. She really was insistent when it came to training with you. Even though you had beat her countless amounts of times, she still insisted you were the weaker of the two of you. And so she drove you to train with her endlessly, and when you were summoned to do other village duties it was a blessing really. You loved her to death but, man, she just really took the energy outta you sometimes.

“Hey, are you still sleeping?” You heard a familiar voice blare, causing you to groan and curl up in a ball. “How many times do I have to wake you up myself??”

The door was already open and you lazily tried to fend off your friend with a few swipes of your hand. She clearly wasn’t amused as you swatted at her and opted to yank the bedsheets off of you completely. You slumped on the bed in defeat while she grabbed your ankles and started to drag you out of the bed. She whined at you for being so heavy to which you snorted at.

“Come ooon!” She drawled in aggravation, “The village elder already summoned us! What if we’re finally going to be made guards just like we’ve been hoping?”

Ah, that’s right, you thought. It was for the past few months that the two of you had finally made it to the age that most others are when they begin their village guardianship. She had been nagging you about it between meals and duties around the village. The elder had repeatedly refused the two of you whenever you pressed the matter however, only going to anger the latter. You were fine with waiting if that’s what was needed, but someone else wasn’t as sold on the idea. Though, you had to admit, it was getting a little tiring being kept like a beauty in a gilded cage in this secret hidden village. Visitors here were few and far between and if rumors were true, the outside world was in peril of falling apart and decaying into nothing.

Your friend had given up on you by now as you lethargically got up to get ready. As you tugged on a usual shirt you felt the ache in your muscles while your mind wandered to the past few days. Nothing had stood out to you besides the village elder acting a bit distant. The look in her old eyes grew distant, cold even as she bid you farewell after every meeting. You shrugged it off. Maybe she was just getting sentimental about the two of your growing up? Having practically raised the two of you, maybe it was time she thought about letting you two grow up a little. Either way, it wasn’t your place to press about it, and even when your friend complained about the unfairness of being denied guard status, you were ready to remind her that the village elder was only doing what she thought best.

“Ochako,” You spoke quietly. The quick tilt of your head gave heed to what you meant. Being more of a soft spoken, quiet sort of person, only a few words got the point across most of the time. You found your friend being so outspoken was good, mostly because you wouldn’t have to explain so much, especially when you got a little flustered trying to explain things.

“It’s a about time.” She huffed in mock annoyance. You followed her down the hall and out into the main area, a small cave dug out with pillars of light filtering in from the ceiling. They shown onto the crystaline water flowing from the small fountain in the center, the cave made out of an almost quartz like material. If you hadn’t lived here the past 16 years you would’ve thought this place were some sort of ethereal plane of existence. But now it was just the same old area you passed through time and time again.

As soon as you reached the chamber in which your village elder dwelled, you kneeled until she bid you to rise. Ochako was trying her best not to blurt out the same question she had been asking the past months. You eyed her wordlessly before glancing back at the village elder, her eyes betraying something you weren’t sure you wanted to know about. It gave you an odd feeling, but you had no idea how to express it, so you kept it to yourself as you waited.

“It’s occured to me that I’ve been a bit, stingy with the two of you.” She began, the words flowing out, slow like molasses, “I believe it’s time.”

“W-w-wait… R-really?” The girl beside you choked out, looking like a fish with such a gaping look. ‘’Do you really mean it, Lady Layna?”

The old lady only chuckled at this, an raspy but hearty sort of sound. She held out a staff, pointing it squarely at Ochako, before an assortment of weapons appeared on the ground in front of her. The younger girl went bug eyed at the choice of brilliant looking weapons, but she was quick to gravitate towards the weapon she had been talking about since she was little.

“The choice it yours,” Layna spoke, “But choose wisely, for the weapon you choose will reflect your hero’s soul.”

“Hmm- These!” Ochako suddenly spoke, grabbing the emerald looking pair of short sickles. They shown in the gleaming light, and it was almost a divine win had sprung from her touch.

“Those blades will make sure your strikes are as light and quick as the wind, while your heart stays just as true. A truly fitting pick for you.”

You gawked a bit at the weapons but before you could step over to see what you could pick, they vanished. With a start you darted your gaze back over to Layna, catching a glimpse of a grimace on her face. You internally panicked, but you didn’t let it show much. With another swirl of her staff, another weapon was held before you.

“And for you,” She paused, putting her staff down and holding onto it with a grip tight enough to see her knuckles whiten. “I have only this.”

You gulped, unsure if you should even touch this thing. It was a black, onyx sword, the blade looking downright malicious as a set of red gems gleamed like eyes peering into your soul. It was unsettling and you weren’t sure if you could even refuse at this point. You glanced over at Ochako, whom of which seemed to be mirroring your concern. You looked back at the blade and swallowed hard. With a pit in your stomach you reached out, hands brushing over the handle before you grasped the blade fully. And oh boy, you really wished you hadn’t.

In an instant a wave of darkness sprang from it and engulfed you fully. Your hair whipped back from your face from the sheer force and at this point you were holding on for dear life. The waves of darkness continued to pour from the blade endlessly. Red and black mingled together like paint on a canvas. Swirling and mixing together as it leaked out into the room.

“(Y/n)!” You heard Ochako exclaim.

As soon as you looked over to her your vision clouded and you saw only darkness. A tingling sensation shot through your body, and you suddenly felt like you were floating. When you found yourself trying to look around however, you noticed that you couldn’t look at your own body. Slowly, a figure came into view in the darkness, the shadows giving way to a red hue. You saw, floating in the ethereal darkness, a boy with spiky ash blond hair, wearing a loose black tunic and gray pants. His hands were shoved in his pockets and his eyes were staring right through. A wicked looking smirk was plastered across his face. It wasn't long before you heard a rough voice yell out into a devilish laugh.

“It’s about damn time you shitty hag!” You heard him exclaim, though it felt like it was coming from you. “It’s been hundreds of years since I’ve gotten to stretch my legs!”

“W-What’s going on??” You heard Ochako stammer through the darkness.

“And from the looks of it, you chose a pretty good one, too!” The voice boomed in your ears. “Cozy even, I could get used to this.”

Your face flushed at this and you weren’t sure how to respond to this. Was he inside you? How was he in the sword? What the actual fuck was going on?? You spaced out, thinking at a rate of about a thousand miles an hour. It wasn’t until you heard someone screaming at you to listen did you finally snap back into reality, if this even was reality at this point.

“Hey are you even listening to me?” You heard him again. “The names Katsuki, baddest of the bad, maddest of the mad, killer of kings and destroyer of worlds!”

You rolled your eyes, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. In fact, now that you got a good look at him in this small void place you were dwelling away from the others, it looked like her had these weird floating things draped around his shoulders. Just what the hell was he?

“I’m what you call a Master of Death.” He said, as if he were reading your mind, and you panicked for a good second. “Now give me dominion over your body.”

Wait. W h a t.

“Excuse me?” You asked, “What are you going to do with it if I do?”

“Why I’m going to blow up this whole fucking world of course!” He gloated, a laugh ripping through his chest, almost like a mighty howl.

“Then no.” You said simply. “Why would I even let you do that?”

“Hey hey hey, don’t be selfish! I’ve been kept in that stupid sword for so long!” He whined, “Can’t you help a guy out?”

“No.” You said flatly, crossing your arms mentally.

There was a long and loud groan before your vision was no longer clouded in darkness and you were on the ground, hands still held fast around the handle of the blade. You groggily got up, holding the blade in one hand now. Layna looked at you warily but you weren’t sure what to even say to her.

“You sure picked a stubborn one,” You heard the voice again, “She didn’t even fucking budge!”

“Then I was right to put my faith in (Y/n).” Layna sighed, relief setting into her features.

“Wait, what the hell just happened??”

------

Layne had explained everything to you, about how she had fought Katsuki over a millenia ago and sealed him into the blade, and how she had been looking for someone she thought could handle the power of keeping the Master of Death sealed within their body. That person happened to be you this time and you shuddered to think of what would’ve happened if your body had given out like the ones before you. Ochako was not impressed or remotely okay with this fact and refused to acknowledge Katsuki despite him now constantly insulting her from within you. Her first instinct was to call him a demon, and was convinced you were possessed. But Layna had assured her that you were in fact, still you.

Although you know had a duty to perform now. You were not to be a guard of the village, but you were to go out into the world and hopefully do something about what was called a ‘World Eater’ that was the cause of the earth tremors growing more and more violent in your village. What that meant for Ochako you had no idea. But it was hard to say no to Layna after what all had just happened. You couldn’t even remember half the details she had told you. Everything was foggy and your muscles still ached from the hordes of training the past few days.

So after a long ass day and ordeal you decided to take a bath, forgetting you were in the presence of a certain Master of Death. Just as you had begun to strip you heard a whistle of approval from somewhere. Whipping around you saw no one, before the realization sunk in and you groaned while sliding down the wall of the bathroom.

“I see everything you see you know.” He cackled, already amused by your response. “Don’t worry though, if you close your eyes I won't be able to see anything as long as you don’t open them.”

You simply kicked off your socks and slid into the tub fully clothed, earning a disappointed whine from the stupid Master of Death residing in your body. You began to scrub on whatever exposed skin you had, but you weren’t sure if you could ever feel clean with this asshole lurking inside you.

“You’re bathing in your clothes?” Katsuki whined, “You’re no fun.”

You didn’t respond, not really wanting to, but you figured you’d have to get used to eventually whether you liked it or not. It was going to be hell from here on out.

“Don’t worry, soon I’ll know all your dirty secrets.” He taunted as you sat in the tub sulking.

“Lady Layna, I kind of hate you.”

#bnha imagines #bnha #bakugou katsuki #bakugou x reader #mha #crossover #I'm changing things as I go but also I'm tired rip

[gnostic-heretic]

Hey I noticed a post you made a bit ago (post/"173940111882") and I wanted to point something out quick? People who repost w/permissions often certainly have proof of the permissions, if you ask! However, many Japanese artists may feel like it's a breach of privacy to publish those "proofs", as they're private conversations. So, it's best to ask an artist if you are unsure about if a person actually got permissions or not. However the person reposting them can often show you "proof" privately?

hi anon, thank you for your concerns, and i appreciate your message, but i still have my doubts about this.

first of all very, veeery few people if anyone at all bother to ask for proof of the permission, and even less of those people can speak japanese or korean or chinese (the 3 most frequent languages i see on reposted art), so for example… if i were to ask one of those reposters (because there are entire blogs dedicated to reposting pixiv art) technically they could show me any screenshot of a conversation in japanese and i wouldn’t know what it says, who is it addressing, whether the answer was yes or no, etc etc. anyone who cannot speak the language in question could be fooled by a screenshot that literally says anything else by anyone else and be unable to contact the artist themselves.secondly, even if the permission was given, it doesn’t make that much difference to me. when an artist posts to a certain website, they are trying to reach a certain audience. japanese artists who post on pixiv usually did not intend for their art to be posted to tumblr or they would (and many do!!) make a tumblr account themselves. wouldn’t it be easier that way? if people want to support artists that post to pixiv, instead of reblogging reposted art “with permission” on tumblr, they could make a pixiv account and leave feedback on there.

seriously, this is something so many people wouldn’t want to give up, and i get it because so many of the artworks that get reposted are really gorgeous!but if you like these artists’ work so much, why not get a pixiv account? or even a twitter account- so many people in the japanese and more in general, east asian fandom post on twitter as well as pixiv, afaik. i know several people that have made hetalia twitter accounts for the purpose of supporting those artists and if you don’t feel like pixiv is for you, it seems like a reasonable middle ground. 

continuing what i was saying about intended audience, even if someone asked me for permission, i would not want my art to be reposted to insragram for example, as it has happened to me before, because the instagram fandom does not appeal to me and i do not want my drawings to circulate there… if the people on instagram wanted to support my art, they could make a tumblr account and do it on here.plus like… what is so wrong in not wanting to reblog reposted art? when someone reblogs something reposted (even with permission) they are not helping the artist, only those who repost- again, let me state my point: 

there are entire blogs dedicated to reposting art that are ridiculously more popular than any artist i know that decides to post their art directly on tumblr 

(save for a few bnfs) because it’s a quick way to gain hundreds (sometimes thousands) of notes and followers without actually creating anything or doing any effort other than sending a message to someone else (when the permission is real at all) who did the entire process of creation for you. 

plus think about this: how many of the people in the notes leave feedback to the artist on pixiv vs how many just mindlessly reblog it reassured by the permission?how much is lost in terms of interaction- when i post a drawing, it’s always accompanied by a commentary, to encourage people to interact with me, and to share headcanons with everyone- how many people who repost with permission bother to copy and translate the original commentary? 

my answer to your ask is that unless the entire practice of reposting with “permission” does a 180 in etiquette, frequency, etc etc i will keep not reblogging reposted art, not even from those who actually have the permission, and strongly encourage people to support and interact with the artists on their platform of choice (whether it be tumblr, pixiv, instagram, or discord etc etc) instead.