nytreecx

[nytreecx]

[nytreecx]

i do write for attention, actually, because that's a normal reason to create art

[nytreecx]

ladrien is cool in its fuckedupness because it's so comfortably distant. they're both in their fake personas, they know the other is in their fake persona, and they're entirely willing to and enthusiastic about keeping up the charade. every interaction feels scripted and they both love this about it. there's never any danger in it because they're never required to be vulnerable whatsoever. they never have to be honest, they never have to be genuine, and they never expect the other to be genuine, and there's probably some twisted sort of comfort in knowing that the other person is never expecting you to take off their mask. that you can just lie and keep lying and it's fine

marichat is cool in its fuckedupness because it's so uncomfortably close. they both know each other so well but are unable to admit why, so they're just overly-friendly and don't have boundaries where they arguably should. there is no pretense to be civil or respectable so marichat comes with the grossest jokes and awkwardest silences and flippant displays of bad behavior. chat has no idea what proper boundaries should look like when someone isn't Using A Mask, and marinette is in no position to draw her foot in the sand* because being authoritative is for ladybug!!! so they're violating each others boundaries and making each other uncomfortable CONSTANTLY!!!

and like the others idk.

[nytreecx]

Commission for Michael for his wife for Christmas, to match with a commission from earlier this year.

[nytreecx]

Hey so that was a great date, yeah, but I don't think it's going to work out. Nono you didn't do anything wrong, and I have indeed had a crush on you since we started high school, it's just... well, I didn't want to bring it up at the time but we kinda got sucked into a portal fantasy midway through. We saved the kingdom over and over, relying on our knowledge of and trust in each other every time, throwing ourselves into the firing line to protect each other and using each others' conviction as a rock. We got married and lived a happy life together until the portal sucked us back mid-battle and you gave up all your memories of our journey in order to save my life right when we ended up back in the coffee shop. Yeah that was when I got a bit weird and went to the bathroom.

Anyway I thought we could push on and make the date work but I have all of these memories of secrets that this you never chose to share, decisions that this you never made, and intimacies that this you never experienced. And it's kind of screwing with the vibe yeah. Also on the date it was really, blatantly clear that you're sixteen whereas I have memories of ruling a fantasy kingdom for thirty years so like... that's a problem all on its own. Anyway this you just feels more like a daughter to me. A daughter with the woman I gave my heart and soul to over and over and received like in return, only to lose her forever on the journey home. On the plus side I can definitely help you with your math homework now.

[nytreecx]

a lot of behaviors that get attributed to "female socialization" can be so much more easily and accurately understood as a person recognizing the power differential surrounding them and behaving sensibly in response to that.

like. does a woman politely listen to a man monologue at her because of some experience she had when she was twelve that magically cursed her to behave that way forever, or does she do it because the man has the power to hurt her and she knows it?

does a woman do all the dishes in her household because she is less capable of breaking out of a long-ago conditioned response than, like, your average trained dog, or is she doing that because she knows that all the men in the house will blame her if she doesnt and will make life worse for her if she speaks up?

maybe a lot of sexist patterns of behavior that are widely observed in society arent caused by women like, lacking willpower or backbone? maybe it is super fucking weird for supposedly feminist movements to imply this is the case when they talk about female socialization as the end all, be all of predicting human behavior?

isnt it both more useful and more respectful toward women to consider that they are perceiving their present circumstances accurately, and recognize when power is already being wielded against them, and take logical measures to deescalate and protect themselves because it works? is it not fucking clear to everybody that trans women in particular have to do this all the fucking time?

[nytreecx]

The biggest compliment ever is when someone sees your creative work and says that they’re now inspired to go out and create something, too

[nytreecx]

the humble winged feline

[nytreecx]

heartbreaking:

girl has sooooooo many ambitions and ideas for projects but can only get 1.5 basic tasks done per day

[nytreecx]

mushroom chat just dropped

[nytreecx]

art by @BottlngSunshine

[nytreecx]

I recently started reading (and ended up dropping partway through) an m/m retelling of an old legend, and it made me think of this reoccurring thing I've come across a handful of times now in m/m fiction and how they approach women, equality, and world-building.

Let's call it the omegaverse problem, because that's where it seems the most blatant (I've only come across it twice outside of fandom spaces that I can remember). Basically, it's when the writer looks at the unequal and sometimes oppressive roles women serve in society (today and historically), and goes 'this is a good basis for dark romance but there are too many women here' and then just. plops men into the roles traditionally served by women and recreates heteronormative tropes but They're All Men Now, none of those icky women.

Now, completely removing any and all gender based inequality isn't a bad basis for a queer-inclusive fantasy! But thing is, this type of narrative isn't interested in women, so they often read as if women have mysteriously disappeared from society (except for the occassional mom or sister). They don’t bother to include women in traditionally male areas (the book I dropped had plenty of male courtesans, with diplomats and bodyguards and advisors also being male) nor to create new roles for them.

They also generally don’t bother to look critically at the systemic and societal inequalities they're mimicking. The concept 'typically sexist society but they're all men (or all women)' could be used to alienate and deconstruct our ideas of what’s 'normal' and what’s oppressive, a way to compare the intersections of class and gender. Instead, this kind of story is only interested in using inequality as inter-character conflict and set-up for romance. And it sucks.

[nytreecx]

kids scare me but not for the normal reasons. it's bc i know what it was like being a kid around adults. i know i can say one sentence that changes this kid's entire life and it could be something mundane i think nothing of. this child could end up remembering things i said to them after i'm dead. there's so much future in a kid and my very presence is having an effect on that. terrifying

[nytreecx]

tumblr discourse after 13 years on this fucking website

[nytreecx]

Goncharov wouldn’t be half as entertaining if Tumblr weren’t completely and utterly willing to “yes and” all the initial flaws. Katya’s name should be Goncharova? Her calling herself Goncharov reflects her complicated relationship with both her gender and her queerness. Andrey’s name should be Andrei? No, because he’s actually a Ukrainian being mistaken for a Russian by the Italians, which is central to his character and the themes about identity and nationality in the wake of the collapsed USSR. The USSR wouldn’t even fall until 20 years after the film was made? Matteo JWHJ0715 was ahead of his time.

It’s a great example about how good faith approach to writing can really enhance the reading, when you treat flaws as opportunities rather than just nitpicking them or erasing them. The mistakes being folded into Goncharov makes for a deeper, stronger, and more interesting story than if those mistakes had never happened at all.

[nytreecx]

approaching the wip carefully from the side like a skittish animal. speaking in a low, gentle voice so it doesn’t run away