#...................certainly something XD XD

[true-blue-sonic]

Because it's a rule that Silver befriends yellow eyed serious purple people with strong senses of justice that means that Silver would somehow be friends Thrash The Tasmanian Devil

I do not know what it says about me that I have no recollection of ever seeing that character before nor know what franchise he is from😅

*one internet search later* okay but what the actual FUCK was Archie smoking

Silver could try and befriend him? I guess?? I feel like Silver would sympathise with his whole situation?? And he can probably relate to the black-and-white "all these people bad, no exceptions' mindset that Trash seems to have. But in the same vein, he also would not let Trash hurt his friends, of that I am certain. I dunno if they could hit it off so well, though, haha! Trash might be too hot-tempered at any given moment compared to Espio's and Blaze's usual calmer and more collected demeanour.

[cuddlytogas]

there was some Twitter madness recently where someone left a comment on someone's art to the effect of, "Ed shouldn't wear a dress, he's a man!" which I do disagree with on principle, but unfortunately, it brought out one of my least favourite trends in the fandom

so, naturally, I had to write a twitter essay about it. and I already largely argued this in a post here, but the thread is clearer and better structured, so I thought I'd cross-post for those not on the Hellsite (derogatory). edited for formatting/structure's sake, since I no longer have to keep to tweet lengths, and incorporating a couple of points other people brought up in the replies

so

I want to point out that the wedding cake toppers in OFMD s2 aren't evidence that Ed wants to wear dresses. Gender is fake, men can wear skirts, play with these dolls how you like, but it's not canon, and that scene especially Doesn't Mean That.

People cite it often: 'He put himself in a dress by painting the bride as himself! It's what he wants!' But that fundamentally misunderstands the scene, and the series' framing of weddings as a whole. I'd argue that Ed paints the figure not from desire, but from self-hatred; it's not what he wants, but what he thinks he should, and has failed to, be.

(Yes, I am slightly biased by my rampant anti-marriage opinions, but bear with me here, because it is relevant to the interpretation of the scene, and season two as a whole.)

The show is not subtle. It keeps telling us that the institution of marriage is a prison that suffocates everyone involved. Ed's parents' cycle of abuse is passed to their son in both the violence he witnesses then enacts on his father, and the self-repression his mother teaches, despite her good intentions ("It's not up to us, is it? It's up to God. ... We're just not those kind of people. We never will be."). Stede and Mary are both oppressed by their arranged marriage, with 1x04 blunty titled Discomfort in a Married State. The Barbados widows revel in their freedom ("We're alive. They're dead. Now is your time").

But even without this context, the particular wedding crashed in 2x01 is COMICALLY evil. The scene is introduced with this speech from the priest:

"The natural condition of humanity is base and vile. It is the obligation of people of standing ... to elevate the common human rabble through the sacred transaction of matrimony."

It's upper class, all-white, and religiously sanctioned. "Vile natural conditions" include queerness, sexual freedom, and family structures outside the cisheteropatriarchal capitalist unit. "The obligation of people of standing" invokes ideas like the white man's burden, innate class hierarchy, religious missions, and conversion therapy. Matrimony is presented as both "sacred" (endorsed by the ruling religious body), and a "transaction" (business performed to transfer property and people-as-property, regardless of their desires), a tool of the oppressive society that pirates escape and destroy. That is where the figurines come from.

When Ed, in a drunk, depressive spiral, paints himself onto the bride, he's not yearning for a pretty dress. He's sort of yearning for a wedding, but that's not framed as positive. What he's doing is projecting himself into an 'ideal' image of marriage because he believes that: a) that's what Stede (and everyone) wants; b) he can never live up to that ideal because he's unlovable and broken (brown, queer, lower-class, violent, abused, etc); c) that's why Stede left. He tries to make himself fit into the social ideal by painting himself onto the closest match - long-haired, partner to Stede/groom, but a demure, white woman, a frozen, porcelain miniature - because, if he could just shrink himself down and squeeze into that box, maybe Stede would love him and he'd live happily ever after. But he can't. So he won't.

The fantasy fails: Ed is morose, turns away from the figurines, then tips them into the sea, a lost cause. He knows he won't ever fulfil that bride's role, but he sees that as a failure in himself, not the role. It's not just that "Stede left, so Ed will never have a dream wedding and might as well die." Stede left when Ed was honest and vulnerable, "proving" what his trauma and depression tell him: there's one image of love (of personhood), and he'll never live up to it because he's fundamentally deficient. So he might as well die.

This hit me from my very first viewing. The scene is devastating, because Ed is wrong, and we know it! He doesn't need to change or reduce himself to fit an image and be accepted (as, eg, Izzy demanded). Stede knows and loves him exactly as he is; it's the main thread and theme of season two!

(@/everyonegetcake suggested that Ed's yearning in these scenes includes his broader desire for the vulnerability and safety Stede offered, literalised through unattainable "fine" things like the status of gentleman in s1, or the figurine's blue dress. I'd argue, though, that these scenes don't incorporate this beyond a general knowledge of Ed's character. Ed is always pining for both literal and emotional softness, but the significance of the figurines specifically, to both Ed and the audience, is poisoned by their origin and context: there is no positive fantasy in the bride figure, only Ed's perceived deficiency.

Further, assuming that a desire for vulnerability necessarily corresponds with an explicit desire for femininity, dresses, etc, kind of contradicts the major themes of the show. OFMD asserts that there is nothing wrong with men assuming femininity (through drag, self-care, nurturing, emotional vulnerability, etc), but also that many of these traits are, in fact, genderless, and should be available to men without affecting their perceived or actual masculinity. It thematically invokes the potential for cross-gender expression in Ed's desires, especially through the transgender echoes in his relieved disposal, then comfortable reincorporation, of the Blackbeard leathers/identity. It's a rich, valuable area of analysis and exploration. But it remains a suggestion, not a canon or on-screen trait.)

Importantly, the groom figure doesn't fit Stede, either. Not just in dress: it's stiff and formal, and marriage nearly killed him. He's shabbier now, yes, but also shedding his privilege and property, embracing his queerness, and trying to take responsibility for his community. In a s1 flashback, Stede hesitantly says, "I thought that, when I did marry, it could be for love," but he would never find love in marriage. Not just because he's gay, but because marriage in OFMD is an oppressive, transactional institution that precludes love altogether. All formal marriages in OFMD are loveless.

So, he becomes a pirate, where they reject society altogether and have matelotages instead. Lucius and Pete's "mateys" ceremony is shot and framed not like a wedding, but as an honest, personal bond, willingly conducted in community (in a circle; no presiding authority, procession, or transaction).

That is how Stede and Ed can find love, companionship, and happiness: by rejecting those figurines and their oppressive exchange of property, overseen by a church that enables colonialism and abuse. Ed is loved, and deserves happiness, as he is, no paint or projection required.

ALL OF THIS IS TO SAY: draw Ed in dresses! Write him getting gender euphoria in skirts! Write trans/nb Ed, draw men being feminine! Gender is fake, the show invites exploration, that's what 'transformative works' means! But please, stop citing the cake toppers as evidence it's canon. Stop citing a scene where a depressed Māori man gets drunk and projects himself onto a rich, white, silent bride because he thinks he's innately unlovable and only people like her can find happiness, shortly before deciding to kill himself, as canon evidence it's what he wants.

(Also, please don't come in here with "lmao we're just having fun," I know, I get it. Unfortunately, I'm an academiapilled researchmaxxer, and some of youse need to remember that the word "canon" has meaning. NOW GO HAVE FUN PUTTING THAT MAN IN A PRETTY DRESS!! 💖💖)

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

Oooooh for fluff month, do you think Liam and Fenris would be borrowing clothes? :D

oh yeah absolutely! Although Fenris is the one who does most of the stealing borrowing lmao

[fennthetalkingdog]

You know, when I was first researching neurodivergence (and autism and ADHD in particular) and wondering if I was, in fact, neurodivergent, I brought my conclusions to my mom and she said:

"I mean, you're gifted, right? So you already are neurodivergent???"

So here's to her (kinda) and her words. Giftedness is a neurodivergence, in my opinion. From what I've seen, a lot of the traits overlap with common autistic and/or ADHD traits too, especially regarding overexcitabilities, and a lot of researchers talking about the topic describe giftedness with the same kind of "your brain is just made differently" and "you're just wired differently" language as they use for other neurodivergent conditions. But I also say this because I've seen some gifted people who, while struggling with some "autistic/ADHD traits," don't have all the traits necessary for an autism or ADHD diagnosis. Giftedness is a label for them that encompasses the struggles they have without saying that they don't struggle enough or forcing them to try to fit into a mold that isn't them. And I get that; when I was first questioning, I didn't think I had enough autistic traits to count for a diagnosis either, so I took comfort in a "gifted" label. (Not to say that all gifted people are just autistic people and/or people with ADHD that don't realize, or that all gifted people are just people who don't have enough traits for a diagnosis! That was just the case for me and the folks I've been around, but I've also heard the case of it not being that.)

But if I am gifted, then I also have autism. A lot of my struggles are, honestly, just better described by autism than just by a byproduct of giftedness. My struggles with people and with "being too much," my sensory differences (and yes, sometimes issues), my stimming, and some of my executive dysfunction all sound like autistic traits to me more than a mix of psychomotor and sensual overexcitabilities and a whole bunch of coincidental byproducts of my being gifted and hanging out with nongifted peers. Don't get me wrong; based on my family history, background, and traits, I honestly probably am gifted lol. But it's not just that.

So this is me saying that if the people around you are saying that you're just gifted, you're free to look for other, perhaps better explanations for your feelings and experiences. But if you are just gifted, you're still free to call yourself neurodivergent! My gifted traits lead to me feeling just as ostracized sometimes as my autistic ones, so who am I to police that label?

[general-illyrin]

"Stay Dead" for the WIP game?

Hello, @hirazuki; thank you for the ask!

"Stay Dead" is a crack fic based off the idea I saw in a post that elves can be reincarnated faster if they have already died, and the more times they have died, the faster they can come back. Since Finrod is one of the elves we canonically know was reincarnated, in what could be read as a rather quick manner, it follows that he must have died quite a few times before fighting the wolves, right? This fic explores the idea of how and why this could have happened in a hopefully humorous way. (At least with the ending; the rest of it is going to be treated mostly seriously.)

Here's a snippet of Námo being jealous:

Námo sighed. He didn't mind. Of course he didn't mind that Vairë was entranced by the only fëa in their Halls. He didn't mind that she spent days talking non-stop with the other weaver. He didn't mind the weeks she spent showing her every single tapestry, every color of thread, and every size of loom. He didn't mind how Vairë's eyes lit up when she talked with the spirit and the enthusiasm in her voice as they discussed thread weights and colors. Of course he didn't. How could he begrudge his wife her joy, especially since he had foreseen the close bond the two would have?

[toast-tales]

ITWOM AU idea:

What if, instead of Christopher being the first to eat Danny, Nathan accidentally ate her while in a panic to quickly hide her from his parents.

Thanks for the ask, anon! It's honestly an interesting idea I haven't thought of much before.

This would certainly provide something of an interesting twist to the events of ITWOM.

Nathan would be extremely apologetic and ashamed afterwards, but actually, if Danny learned about giants being able to do that with Nathan, with someone she trusted, she would probably suggest the "exposure therapy" exercises for both of their sakes, but mostly for Nathan, actually. She would acknowledge the need to hide from his parents, and if she knew it was safe, and practical, she wouldn't have so much of a problem with it.

I can imagine Nathan having a hard time trying to get Danny back out at first, similar to how Christopher was in "Christopher's First Time." It's unlikely he'd go to Christopher for help, he'd probably try looking it up online first, but it's a possibility.

The other side effect of this would be that Nathan would be way more protective/attached to Danny, just by nature of the way giants work. If he began to eat a human more regularly, it would also probably sharpen his senses somewhat. Depending on how often, it would be likely he'd notice Max trying to steal Danny away.

Either way, if he had to confront Christopher for stealing Danny later, he'd be much less friendly about it. The possessiveness that can spring up in giants from eating humans can really get to their heads if they're not careful.

Nathan would take a long time to warm up to the idea of eating Danny, but he'd probably eventually see it in a slightly better light, even if he's still not super into it himself. It would likely free up Danny to go more places if he could eat her to smuggle her out of the house more often.

I can imagine Nathan getting much more upset at Christopher, too. After all, he's eating humans now, but he's still able to view them as people capable of giving consent and having feelings and being equals. Both things can coexist. Christopher's behavior isn't a result of eating humans, it's because he's a sad and lonely man who craves control. Nathan would likely see that more clearly. However, I think there would be good potential for growth in both of them with this setup, it would just happen very differently.

[le-velo-pour-dru]

Okay you know what. I'll admit it. I probably don't have autism of any kind XD But I do feel a kinship with those who do in some ways <3

[ilovedthestars]

trick or treat... something spooooky :3

if only i'd ever written a single word of that Frankenstein AU idea...alas! i spent so long mulling this over, i don't really write horror and even like, suspense is rare for me and i think i've shared all the best examples of it.

so here is a more recent wip that i hope is written suspensefully!! to set the scene: a ghost ship has just been detected on the edge of Preservation space. It's drifting under no engine power and not responding to comm contacts. Murderbot goes with the station responder to check it out, and when they get close they pick up a short range "assistance needed" signal. Here's two snips, since they're short:

---

“So they were desperate.” “Yes.” “Why couldn’t we pick up the signal until we got this close? It’s not very good as a distress beacon.” I had also wondered about that, and I had an answer from my analysis of the signal. “It isn’t coming from a bot pilot. It matches the signal strength of a planetary rescue marker. We had similar ones on surveys. It’s meant for a hopper flying over an area to be able to locate a single lost human, not a ship in the middle of space.” “So the bot pilot is probably down, or it would be broadcasting a stronger signal.” “Probably. Or it’s playing dead.” “What’s your assessment?” “We can’t rule out that it’s a corporate decoy.” Indah made an I know, you’ve said that already face, but I wasn’t done. “We shouldn’t stop treating it as a potential threat, but I don’t think that’s the most likely scenario. I think a system failed, some panicked human managed to set off an emergency beacon, and then the ship lost power completely.” “So you think when we board it—“ “We’re going to find a lot of dead humans.”

[they board the ship, and find a lot of dead humans. they go exploring a little bit....]

The size and layout of the room was familiar. Just big enough for Indah and I to both squeeze in without her getting too close to me, but not much bigger. A cabinet in the corner that was tall enough to hold a set of armor. A locked crate to hold weapons and other security equipment. And in the corner— Indah took a step towards the chest-height white cube, looking puzzled. I said, “That’s a cubicle.” She froze. “For?” “For SecUnits.” Indah cursed under her breath. “Is there one inside?” “It’s shielded to scans.” I moved towards the cubicle, and she got out of my way. I had an unpleasant guess about what was still drawing power even before I put my hand on the casing. There was a faint buzz. It was running. I grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. There was a SecUnit inside. My threat assessment spiked, even though I had anticipated a high probability that the cubicle was occupied. The SecUnit had its eyes closed, and it didn’t move when I opened the door. I watched it for a few seconds, and then said, “It’s in stasis.” Indah had one hand on her baton, like that was going to do anything against a SecUnit. “What does that mean?” “It’s like sleeping. Or…cryo pods, like on the generation ships…?” I wondered if those actually worked the way they did in the dramatization of Preservation’s founding that I’d watched with my humans once. “It’s partly offline. It will only wake up if a system tells it to.” It still hadn’t reacted to me opening the door. The cubicle didn’t seem to be kicking it into a restart. “It probably disabled the automatic restart and sealed itself in here. It was trying to escape the contamination.” “Clever,” Indah muttered.

[theauthorlives]

Always criticising me for my funny accent.

[flaskoflethe]

Well Smile's out, listening to it now (in mostly reverse order xD). World's was genuinely one of the most impactful albums for me, Shelter and Everything Goes On (literally the best thing Riot's been involved in musically imo) are incredible singles, Nurture may not be my usual thing but still love it, and his early electrohouse fuckboy era stuff was the wrong place to get into Complextro from (because fuck, he and Skrillex literally defined the genre!). This album?

I really, really wish I liked it. His musicality's there, the soundscapes are soaring and powerful... But the tracks sound like they're from the pop response to like, panic at the disco or the killers :/ not BAD, just definitely not my thing. Which is good, it's awesome to see musicians making stuff they enjoy and want to make! Maybe it's the contrast to how impactful his previous work has been?

His early work, which I'm defining as pre-Worlds (with Easy as a sort of transitional boundary piece), has an impact even today in EDM. Complextro, and large chunks of modern electrohouse, are in many ways descended from his sound (and Skrillex, but like they were in association with each other! Porter literally toured with Skrillex as an opening act!). It's not all my sound, but it's so utterly HIM. Same with Worlds, and Virtual Self, and Nurture! They're all pushing against something, musically. It's incredibly engaging, even where you can see the influences or style's he's drawing inspiration from they're being integrated into something he wants it to be.

Smile, is fine? Like I'm willing to bet this album will have people who adore it, and there's pieces of it that are so good. Year of the Cup has a background layer that sounds like he's playing a riff based on Trying to Feel Alive, and it works SO well! And there's bits like that everywhere, it really works. But it feels like it wanted to be a screamo/emo pop-punk album lyrically and tonally, and doesn't satisfy the same ways other works of his have for me.

[fennthetalkingdog]

Okay, so I saw a thing mentioning how you could wag your butt as if you have a tail to kinda mimic the feeling and that's so smart!! For me, unless I'm super super super happy, wagging my butt is usually just a shaking-water-off-my-fur motion T-T Like, I've been feeling a tail behind me pretty consistently for years now, and when I'm really happy it wags and the feeling gets stronger, but wagging for me is an exclusively tail motion. There's no physical signs because just it's moving (and that's part of why wearing a tail feels weird for me, cause mine will be wagging but since I don't move my butt the tail doesn't move with me T-T ). But I might try that sometime to let my friends know my tail is wagging :3

[hetaliakinfessions]

OMG active hetalia blog hiiii ^_^ - Alfred Jones fictive number 173

haaaaai ^_^

[goleb]

If you know me irl you are not immune to Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared. If you know me irl you actually have a ~35% chance to idly gain awareness of Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared anytime you stand near me while I’m engaging in conversation with someone else, like the world’s most useless passive ability. 

[omaano]

Thanks @dancinghannigram for the tag!❤

Oh gosh, I watch just enough series that picking faves is lowkey painful 😬 I don't know what my 6 favourite shows say about me, especially since I had the gall to include TCW here even though I'm only at s4 yet (and what I've watched of the later seasons over the shoulder of my partner ^^;) but Constantine and Dominion hold special places in my heart (they both got cancelled too soon, go figure 😅) and I rewatch the first 2 season of Narcos every 3 months so...

Tagging if you want to: @traumschwinge @firstofficerwiggles @phloxy-fox @do-androids-dream-ao3acc @ribbonkandy

[godzexperiment]

speaking of canon medias- it's still amusing that 1 variation of lucifer who is like 'i only care about & tolerate few people one of which is my niece who i look out for'

and then just his casual 'let me use my brothers death explosion to create an new universe peace out'

[married-to-google-translater]

First years seeing female mc in a bathing suit?

Ace really wouldn't have the necessary filters for what he said. He would probably say something thoughtless that would cause Deuce and Jack to slap him. Otherwise, Ace would be surprisingly chill with this.

Deuce would definitely hit Ace really hard. Otherwise, Deuce would have trouble looking you in the eye. He certainly wouldn't have had experience with these things. Lots of blushing and vague mumbling.

Sebek would scream really loud. This would be inappropriate to say the least. Sebek would surely demand that you cover yourself with something. Might throw in the towel on you if Malleus was around. Ooooh and Sebek would surely blush really hard too.

Epel would deny that this had any effect on him. NO HE'S NOT BLUSHING YOU'RE JUST SEEING WRONG. Epel would like to be strong and not be affected by such things. However, in private, Epel would be red. Another one who wouldn't want others to look at you too much XD

Jack would be protective of you. This might attract the attention of all kinds of people and he would want to make sure you are safe. Otherwise, this wouldn't have as much impact. Jack would have a good poker face. Maybe this would cause a little blushing.

Dorm leaders here

Vice dorm leaders are here

Others are here