#ALSO people add their own insights and comments sometimes

[andorerso]

can't help thinking about what a blow this is gonna be for gifsets and fanart and fanfics and all other fan-made stuff which are ALREADY getting less and less notes and reblogs

like awesome, now you'll post something and no one's even gonna see it? GREAT idea tumblr thank you

[discworld-heritage-posts]

What do you think you add? Do you think you make a poignant post better when after scrolling down through it we see someone saying it's "official"?

I'm choosing to interpret this ask as a genuine question (albeit one that's been worded a bit rudely) instead of a hate anon, because I wouldn't want to tarnish people's dashboards with hate anons.

Now, to answer your genuine question... The "Discworld Heritage Post" tagline I add to the end of posts has as much validity as I have authority to bestow it: none. Do I think my tagline makes posts better? Of course not! And I certainly don't think I make them official, (and neither my url or my pinned post claim that I do so).

I don't know what reasons other people had to start their own Heritage Posts blogs for other fandoms, but I will gladly tell you mine: I got into Discworld. I discovered the Discworld fandom in Tumblr. And, one day, while scrolling down some Discworld related tags, the idea just popped into my head. After checking that there wasn't a Discworld Heritage Posts blog already, I decided to make one.

I personally follow a few Heritage Posts blogs, and my reason to do so is probably the same as to why many people follow this blog: I wanted to see that kind of content. Tracking tags and being up to date on the most popular posts of a fandom is doable, but doing so for the dozens upon dozens of media I'm into is impossible, so I like to follow some Heritage Posts blogs to get some of those posts directly into my dashboard (it's also worth mentioning that sometimes, some iconic posts are made when people comment stuff on them, and those don't appear in the search tags, so following blogs that post about a certain fandom is the best way to come across some of those collaborative posts, because otherwise you'd rarely get to see them). So yes, I created a blog that, had it already existed, I would have liked to follow. Also, while other blogs with this gimmick usually limit themselves to reblogging, let's call them the "greatest hits", I've said since the beginning that I didn't care about how many notes something had. Be it cool art or a funny or insightful post, if I like it, I send it to my drafts.

However, none of those reasons are the main reason why I made this blog. The main reason is that I did it for myself. After exhausting all the content that showed up in the Popular Posts tab, I couldn't help but think of all the gold and treasure that wasn't there, buried and hidden due to the way Tumblr's search engine works. If you're familiar with the Discworld concept of "lies-to-children", that's what the "top posts of all time" is in Tumblr. A 20k post from 2016 will not be there, but a six month old post with 400 notes will show up. Surely there had been amazing Discworld posts and art posted in 2015 and 2013, but I wasn't going to find most of them unless I expressly went looking for them. And this blog was the perfect excuse to do so. As of replying to this ask, there's nearly 600 posts sitting in my drafts, and if I didn't have this blog I would have never discovered 90% of them. And those are the ones I've seen. I still have dozens of places I haven't searched.

I know that if I reblog a month old post with over 2k notes, a lot of people in the fandom will have already seen it. However, a 2k notes post from 2014, or a drawing with 40 notes from 2012 is something that is less likely to have hit people's dashes recently, or at all. When you come across the "Discworld Heritage Post" tagline in a post, please don't picture me as an uppity monarch performing the Tumblr equivalent of a knighting ceremony, or a stuffy museum curator deigning a piece worthy of being included in an exhibition. Picture me as a kid enthusiastically jumping and flailing my arms around while yelling "holy shit guys check out what I just found!!", because that's how I feel running this blog.

Ultimately, whether one of my posts does better or worse is indifferent to me, because they aren't my posts, or memes, or drawings. I'm just the intermediary. That being said, of course it's not indifferent to me, because more engagement means that was a post many people hadn't seen before, or had forgotten about, and one of my goals was to run a blog that would allow people to find those hidden or long forgotten gems.

When all is said and done, Heritage Post blogs are just another one of Tumblr's gimmicks. If we're not your cup of tea, you're free to ignore or block us. If you want to reblog something and don't want the tagline, you can reblog it directly from OP (or from another reblog if OP has deactivated their account).

[lovewash3d-doll]

🎀🗝️How to Write Realistic Dialogue 🎀🗝️

When I first started writing, I had such a difficult time writing dialogue and making it realistic. I’d cringe at my own sentences and those who read it would comment out its awkwardness. If you’re in the same boat, don’t worry! Over the years, I’ve developed some tips and tricks that have helped improve my dialogue! Here are many factors that you can consider to make your dialogue more authentic and more impactful to read!

1. Daydream Away!

This is my most effective tip that transformed my bad dialogue to something that sounds natural to conversation. As you write, imagine your scene as one in a movie. Envisioning someone actually speaking in a context can help you differentiate if your dialogue is something a person would actually say. A character won’t go on a long tangent or a grand speech, instead they may just say the jest of their point or even shorten it. As easy as is it, making a character verbally explain a buck-full of your worldbuilding is a bad idea and is an unauthentic way to introduce both a character and a world. Sometimes we tend to write awkward sentences or word phrases too grammatically-correct. When speaking, people tend to say “don’t” instead of “do not” and “you and me” instead of “you and I.” sometimes even envisioning a text conversation can help. An additional factor to consider is the language a person uses. The formalities and diction of your dialogue depends on the culture and time period that your story is in, as well as the socioeconomic status of your character. A character in the Victorian age won’t use modern day slang. A wealthier character will use more eloquent vocabulary and employ more philosophical, academic aphorisms. Make sure not to overdo it and keep the amount of information a person says to a minimal and within the context of the dialogue you can envision!

2. Consider Psychology

People don’t always say what they mean! This is a key tip my Creative Writing teacher told me. When writing dialogue, remember the humanity in what we choose to say and what we don’t and why. People lie, deceive, bottle up emotions, and have different dispositions. To make your writing more realistic, keep that in mind! An upset character may say they are fine when questioned. A person might make a comment out of peer pressure or a cruel remark out of anger. People tend to dumb down what they say and not fully explain themselves. It’s important to retain that mystery and self restraint when making dialogue! Consider what a character may reveal compared to what other characters and the reader discover from other sources or that character’s actions. Actions speak more than words as they say. Dialogue is only a sliver of insight into a character’s thoughts—like the faint light spilling through the small crack of a door.

3. Pauses & Character Expressions

Another technique and facet of dialogue can be found within its tag and short imagery. When speaking, people tend to make pauses or loose their train of thought and think of something else. Including these within a dialogue tag can add another layer of realism. Describing emotions and reactions, employing more detailed variations of the word “said”, and explaining character body language is very beneficial. Writing“argued” instead of “said” adds more depth and power behind a character’s dialogue. When people speak, they also do much more than that simply emit words: their emotion and body language play a large role on how what they say is conveyed and perceived. A character might be perceived as angrier if they flay their arms or tighten their fists. A character might be perceived as sadder if they are described muttering, with their head drooped low. Dialogue shouldn’t be flat and emotionless!

I hope this helps! Reblogs are appreciated!

XOXO,

lovewashed doll 🗝️🎀

[felassan]

Some more snippets of interest and insight from Mark Darrah, from an older Mark Darrah on Games YouTube video where he was livestreaming playing Dragon Age: Origins some months ago -

Chat asked "Have you been asked about The Last Flight and your thoughts on the Griffons?". Mark replied "My thoughts on griffons? I mean, I don't think that we're gonna see griffons as things you can ride. Flying is a gameplay feature that you better be really sure about before you add it into your game. But will we see some griffons? I think probably in some form, I mean the reason to put them in the novel is to reintroduce them to the setting".

Chat discussed titans, lyrium and theories and speculation about them. Mark added "Definitely not gonna comment on any of the titan and lyrium and so on, though, I mean things can and probably will have changed since I left. I don't want to accidentally say something that ends up not being reality". A chat user asked "I thought the franchise had a roadmap or something". Mark explained that there are roadmaps, but those are definitely open for manipulation and adjustment as required by the storytelling of the game, and that this is the main reason for the unreliable narrators. It gives that flexibility as required. "You can't really believe anything any one person says, they all have their own motivations, just because someone says it doesn't make it true".

Chat asked "Are the Devs planning on doing anything more with the Keep?" Mark replied "I don't know what the current plans with the Keep are. The reason the Keep exists in DA:I is to handle the generation switch, so that's still a relevant concern, but it was maintained by a separate group, and I'm not sure that that separate group completely exists anymore. It is not an insignificant amount of work to keep the Keep up to date. I like the idea as it removes the import requirement and so on but it's certainly not free. So maybe?" He also added "What was the change to the user agreement? I know that a whole bunch of stuff from around DA:I-time needed to be updated because of changes in European privacy laws, that's why The Last Court [came to an end]".

Chat asked "Think we will ever get answers on Magic or The Maker?". Mark replied that he thinks we will get some answers on magic, or at least additional context, but on the Maker, "No, I don't think that's ever going to be answered. I think the setting's much better off with the Maker being undefined and potentially existing and potentially not existing."

Chat asked "Will we ever find out wtf lyrium ghost Leliana really is?" and Mark said "On that front, my guess is no".

Chat asked "Are the people that worked on the character and the dialogues are still working at BioWare?" Mark replied "Which character are you asking about? Because the answer's probably yes".

[source]

He also talked more generally about DA:O and the franchise in general. These bits are collected under a cut due to length -

The Orlesian voice actors in DA:O are all French. The devs did talk about the peasants having a Quebecois accent "but decided that maybe that [inaudible]". "I wouldn't say all of their accents are Parisian, they're likely in English just the accent of whatever accent the VA actually had speaking English. Sometimes people from different regions pick up accents when they're learning a different language depending on who/where they learned it from. In DA they try to use accents from actual regions". "So Tali in Mass Effect has an accent which is kind've just the accent the VA did, and the problem is that when you need to replicate that with other people it's basically impossible. So we try to avoid that because as you can imagine, that's a problem." "Yeah, ideally make your accents something that can be replicated not just 'thing voice actor made up'"

Chat said "Tali always sounds Eastern European or Russian to me". Mark replied "It is, it has a lot of Eastern European, I think the VA is actually from Eastern Europe"

"You get people that have moved around a lot, sometimes they end up with really, these weird collections of accents that just sound, you know, vaguely exotic. Which is fine, it's a real thing that happens, but it also means that it can't really be replicated by anybody else"

Chat said "The draenei in Warcraft have a similar situation. No one knows what the hell their accent is supposed to be". Mark replied "I mean if it's consistent, if they've come up with an accent that they've consistently been able to put across to all of their actors then that's great, because it doesn't need to be connected to something in the real world, because it's not in the real world, so I don't necessarily have a problem with them coming up with an accent, as long as they're able to be consistent with it"

One of the accents that he always wanted to find a use for in DA was South African. "We never actually did find out but I really like that accent"

Chat said "I used to be lost in the Deep Roads, everywhere looks the same". Mark replied "Everywhere does look the same. Which is sort've vaguely realistic, but you've gotta be able to navigate"

"Anthem's flight is really cool but ultimately I don't feel like the mission structure ever really fully took into account the fact that people had jetpacks strapped to their butts"

Chat asked if the Deep Roads were inspired by the Mines of Moria. Mark replied, "I mean, maybe, dwarves have had a pretty long established canon and DA:O is definitely trying to present the standard races with their clichés but then sort've putting a twist on them, so dwarves are hyper politicized, the elves are a race that has fallen. So yes, it's hard to imagine that there wasn't Moria inspiration there, if you're gonna have dwarves and elves in a fantasy setting Tolkien is a touchpoint"

Chat discussed dwarves dreaming and not dreaming. Mark commented "I think originally dwarves were not supposed to dream, but I think you are correct, it has been inconsistent"

Leliana is Mike Laidlaw's favorite character. On her return in DA:I if she died in DA:O, Mark commented "That is, there's definitely no question that was a 'Mike wanted Leliana in DA:I, so she survives' [thing]. I mean, the Ashes were right there, so... I guess..."

Chat asked "Have graphics engines advanced to the point in game resolution/graphics could MATCH the CGI "Sacred Ashes" trailer for a DAO Remaster?'' Mark replied "Yeah, you could probably get pretty close to the Sacred Ashes trailer these days if you were willing to spend the time on the assets"

Chat commented that Ruck was suffering and that being infected by the Blight for so long can't be good for your health. Mark commented "One of the few places where we actually paid that off"

Chat asked "I asked on Twitter if you knew why BioWare didn't commit to either an A-RPG or C-RPG design in DAII and DA:I, but then I went on vacation. Did you talk about that in another stream?" Mark replied, "The short answer is the Dragon Age has always had the unfortunate problem of being pushed to broaden its audience all the time, so in DAII-time the word 'RPG' kind've became a dirty word in the industry, so that's why DAII is quite, it's DA:O with the action cranked up to 1000." "Even before Critical Role 'RPG' was starting to pivot back. Basically as every game became an RPG, the word first became almost completely poisonous and then sort've became a fine thing to say. And now that D&D is at the most popular level it's ever been, it definitely made a difference. Skyrim made a difference as well, it was definitely not afraid to say 'RPG' out loud. When GTA and even shooters started saying about putting RPG elements in, that helped too"

Dwarves are interesting "because typically people who play dwarves always play dwarves"

"BioWare would not use any fanfiction, BioWare doesn't read any fanfiction because it's a legal minefield, or at least a lawsuit minefield." "I can tell you that companies like EA are immensely afraid of lawsuits so they do lots of things to avoid that"

Chat said "'​I like the theory out there that originally if you kept the Architect alive he could have fought with you against Cory in DA:I. Was there truth to that?" Mark replied, "I don't know if that was.. it's possible because they're definitely related. It's possible that if you kept him alive there was an intention to do that. It definitely didn't survive contact with shipping the thing." When chat followed up by asking his opinion on the idea, Mark said "I mean I think it makes sense, it would have been an interesting payoff for the character if you did that, but it's a whole extra fight for what would have been a very small minority of players. It would've been a good way to take him off the table". On the small minority of players point, he elaborated "It would be people who played Awakening, which is only 35% of people who played DA:O, and finished Awakening, which would be say half that, and played DAII, so [...]. I think if we had done it it would have been more, an asset in the combat [like Zevran joining for the final battle in DAII] not 'he's gonna take him on by himself'"

"You can see why the Dragon Age team isn't super enthusiastic about Dragon Age being 'random moon in Mass Effect'" [said regarding this fan theory]

During the Broodmother fight, Mark said "this is the thing, is if you do a remaster you probably leave this bit all alone. But if you do a remake you gotta, this [would probably get/need to be] addressed"

[source]

(pls note that in places there is a bit of paraphrasing of the info, the best source is always the primary source with full quotes in their original context)

[darkfictionjude]

I adore this work. I like how it's about the people in a way and not just about The Threat. It's very obvious why this is scary. Show me a bear chomping at the air and snarling, I'll agree it looks ferocious, but not really scary.

Show me someone in a cabin, hand clutched over mouth, nails digging into the wood, trying to stay as quiet as possible as the crazed bear is twenty feet outside the door...

Now it's terrifying.

Here, though, even alone the monster is creepy and scary or whatever it is all by it's own. But I also like that on top of that, although we already know why, we have a what to be scared for. Send in superman? I don't care because he'll be fine. Send in mc? I want them to be okay.

This if is so turbulent with the setting and just knowing to be scared even if it isn't logical. Like some creepy lore drops like the comments about the school and the mc just moves on and I'm sitting there needing to take a minute. Then it's the cold horror of the monster, but then it's coupled with the fear for the cast. The fear for the cast and the fear of the monster put on top of just the absolute lack of complete safety because of the setting.

Great stuff. Throwing in some mundane stuff tops it off because then it let's the horrorific elements be their own, and throwing in even more non scary stuff like the movies or whatever makes it feel so real and that adds such detail that the monster can exist in a nuanced, sometimes calm world which makes all of it all the more worse, but better when it isn't bad.

Sorry for the ramble, but all of the above can be summarized, overwritten, and replaced by I enjoy this work. It's just fun. Simply that.

I do love finding out about a season two. In my head I was like oh boy, can't wait till all is well as can be, hopefully no more proble-

*Season 1*

I sat there in just dismay but in a good way, because season 1 implies season 2. Then I looked for more info and yup.

Cheers! And here's to Nia. And to the whole cast, may they thrive without worry about horrorific events.

-Nonnie who just bumped his knee

Hey rambles are accepted by moi because it’s insight to other interpretations as I can’t see this game as a reader would see it so it’s good

Also another Niamancer that’s nice that’s good cheers 🥂

[blahaj-blastin]

Hello this is a really dumb question about binding so please don’t answer if you’re not comfortable

Basically, I’m a trans guy and I cannot get a binder at the moment. I’ve heard DIY binders can be very dangerous, but I made this thing that works as one. I am able to breathe and it’s even comfortable, I don’t think it’s causing me any “bad pressure” or even pain? I’m just wondering about safety if you have any insight into how safe this is

That would definitely depend on how you’re binding. Even if there are no noticeable bad pressure or breathing problems, breathing and back issues can be a serious problem with improper binding. So please, please, please do lots of research and if you notice any signs of hurt or bruising or breathing hindrance, try a different route.

Now, I’m no expert as far as the health concerns, and I would definitely do some more research, but I can definitely share my pre-official-binder advice.

My number one thing is wearing baggy clothing, that was my go to. Even still is on days that I’m not binding.

Sports bras are also a really good alternative. Obviously, that is also subjective to chest size as well, but at the very least, sports bras compress your chest more and tend to help flatten. Sports bras labeled “no bounce” tend to be more sturdy, and some people will even layer sports bras to help flatten more (just not too many as to be uncomfortable or harmful). Do not buy a sports bra that is too small. I know chest dysphoria is a bitch, but it’s not worth hurting yourself for.

Sports bras and baggy clothing were my go-tos, but some others I’ve heard are camisoles and pantyhose. I can’t testify to either, I don’t like the texture of pantyhose and camisoles are really uncomfortable for me, but those are some you could look into. Some people can also get away with lighter compression tops, I know Target had some swim one last pride month, but that’s kind of a gray area and will depend on the situation. I’ve also never worn one, so I don’t know how well they work.

I know most people know this anyway, but avoid bandaging or duct-taping your chest. It may be tempting sometimes, and it may not seem like that bad of an option, but these things are not meant to be around your chest that tight. You’re putting your ribs and your lungs at a big risk (and your skin if you are using duct tape).

As with any binding technique, do not bind for over 8 hours or sleep in a binder/binder substitute. If you plan on heavy or even moderate activity or exercise, it’s best to stick with a sports bra (even if you have an official binder). Don’t try to go tighter or combine methods if you aren’t getting the results you want. I know that body dysphoria is really hard, but you can’t go putting your body in danger, possibly permanently.

Like I said, I’m no professional, this is just stuff I have learned over the years from my own experiences, friends, and various videos and posts. I heavily recommend additional research to stay safe. As always, bind safely, and don’t be afraid to ask me anything more.

To other people, I’m sure I missed things, don’t be afraid to add in comments and reblogs!

[nekoannie-chan]

Secrets chapter 4: The Beginning or the End of Everything? Part III

Pairing: Steve Rogers X OFC, Brock Rumlow X OFC.

Word count: 1052 words.

Summary: Sometimes keeping secrets can be dangerous or a heavy burden, which is what Kathleen has been doing for years. She will also be in charge of guiding Steve Rogers into this century; meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. will be looking for a way to kick-start the Avengers Initiative by integrating her as one of the superheroes, but that won't be the only danger they face.

Warnings: None

A/N: After long time working on this longfic, I finally post it. If you wanna be added to the taglist, let me know.

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other's people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

You can read it on Wattpad and Ao3 too. Secrets masterlist. Previous chapter. Next chapter.

𝟸 𝓂𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒽𝓈 𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓇

 It had already been two years since she joined S.H.I.E.L.D., and her missions so far have been successful. At the moment she was in her office reviewing the proposal for the Insight Project, the board of Directors had rejected it. She didn’t understand the reasons. Everything seemed in order. She sincerely preferred to do that over the other missions. He knew she helped people by stopping those criminals, but that didn't mean she liked being on some missions. She preferred to do office work or go on some missions with Brock.

Despite everything, she was still checking everything related to the project. According to the manuals and protocols, everything was in order; therefore, it didn't make sense that it had been rejected... Unless it was for monetary reasons.

Fury entered the office with a folder, and without saying a single word, she turned to see it. She knew that it could only be something too important, so much so that the rest of the missions would be postponed until further notice and the personnel would participate more. She took it and began to leaf through the content, but she didn’t understand well what it meant. In truth, she began to believe that it was a joke by Nick, although she was no longer a little girl to laugh at the jokes that Nick used to make.

"An hour ago, some Russian tankers sent us these photos; I need you to analyze them; you have less than two hours; it's urgent, as it can't fall into the wrong hands," Nick ordered her.

Kathleen nodded and got to work. She also called Cameron; she would need some help. Together they managed to get the results in less time than she required, but she could not believe it. He was most likely dead; no one would resist even those conditions and probably not even the magnitude of the impact; it was the ship, but she was not so sure if he would be in there. The best thing to do was to send someone to check and, if possible, get what was left and try to recover it because if any of the enemies did it before them, they could try again to replicate the serum or use it for some experiment, and that meant more problems.

Now more questions popped into her head. How would they break the news to the world? What would happen now? Would they examine the discovery? Should she worry?

Probably, there would be a memorial or some ceremony to thank him for his service or something, she didn't even know why she was worrying about the situation, she just had to do her job.

It was three in the morning when Nick Fury's phone rang, and he immediately answered to receive the news that Captain America had been found, or at least his frozen body. Under those conditions, they could not be sure if he was alive or not, so he gave precise instructions: they had to get him out of there and take him to the S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities in New York so that the doctors could take care of him and he would be submitted to some tests before telling anyone else since he didn’t want rumors to spread to the population.

He knew who was the perfect person for what was coming, plus it would be easier to know what was really going on, although he was sure she would not give any statements to the media, so they could prepare whatever was necessary.

A few minutes later, he spoke to Kathleen to assign her to the mission, which was simple: to be present while they took the Captain out of the ice to try to read his mind and thus be able to corroborate if he was alive, as well as to be by his side during the transfer and the doctor's examination, and in case he was alive, she would have to help him adapt to the present time.

Kath's mobile phone rang, she mumbled something unintelligible, and she wanted to continue sleeping, but if Nick was talking directly to her on his personal mobile phone instead of his work one, it was really something exaggeratedly important. She moved Brock so she could answer; she had lost count of the times they had been together.

Although they weren't in a romantic relationship as they had agreed, they had repeated that night of the mission several times, sometimes at her place, sometimes at his apartment. Although neither of their feelings had changed.

Even Brock was thinking of trying to have a relationship after a while, to convince her, although first, he had to find a way to keep her safe.

She got up and dressed as quickly as possible to arrive on time as soon as she heard the news. She left a note with a vague explanation for Brock to see when he woke up; she still had to go through some documents with Fury so they wouldn't have any problems since it was something secret and no one could find out that they had found it to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

She opened a portal to get to the place where they found him as quickly as possible. She gave the documents to the Lieutenant, they had already taken him out of the ship and were preparing everything to take him to the S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities, although Kath didn't know which ones, so she had to hurry, otherwise, she would have to give explanations to Fury.

Someone tried to stop her, but she practically threw the document Nick had given her and went up to the ship with them. She couldn't perceive much, not counting the noise of the others' minds; she had to concentrate. She couldn't have Cerebro with her; she didn't want anyone to know she had him, so she had to think of something different to see if she could catch any thoughts.

She reached over and put a hand in Steve's hair; it still had some ice in it; however, she had no idea how they had gotten it out of there, and since it wasn't completely thawed, she started to pick up some slow and vague thoughts that meant he was alive.

Ꭲꭺꮐꮮꮖꮪꭲ:

@saiyanprincessswanie  @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad

@navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke  @real-fbi @smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940  @tenaciousperfectionunknown  @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae  @harrysthiccthighss @marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes  @sapphire-rogers​ @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose​ @hallecarey1​  @nana1000night​ @talia-rumlow​ @mylifeispainandiloveit​  @writingshae​ @alexxavicry​ @azulatodoryuga​ @daemonslittlebitch​  @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​ @jtargaryen18​  @chaoticcollectivenightmare​ @endlesstwanted​

[a-slut-for-vegaspete]

Playboyy – Porn without Plot?

Initial Thoughts on/ Reaction to Playboyy Episode One

As someone who loves to study (quite literally; I’m currently pursuing a MA degree in cultural studies) and investigate depictions of sex and sexuality in media, Playboyy has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 and it’s easier for me to work through my issues with a piece of media when I put my thoughts on paper or in a word document; so this post is primarily for myself.

Sex is sometimes presented as a personal, individual matter but in reality, our thoughts on sex, our dislikes and likes are a product or, at the very least, are shaped by, and of course in term can also influence, existing, dominant discourses on sex(uality), gender, class, race etc. One example of this – one most BL viewers/ queer individuals will recognise  – would of course be sex between queer individuals; an issue that remains highly debated. Some people/governments to this day like to think that they have the right to dictate who is allowed to have sex with whom and what sexual practices people can engage in without facing societal/legal punishment. So sex is never just about sex but is always also political; it’s just that this is more obvious to people who are part of a (or multiple) marginalised group(s). Sex is an entangled, complex phenomenon that always needs to be understood in relation to other discourses on e.g. (normative) femininity/masculinity, national identity etc. So any sexual act (on screen/irl), whether intended or not, engages with these discourses, subverts them and/or reaffirms them.

Regardless of whether the creators of Playboyy – or any piece of media for that matter – have meant for this series to serve as a critique or subversion of certain ideas surrounding sex and sexuality, the series (un)intentionally presents us with certain performances of sex and in doing so adds to, intervenes in and shapes existing discourses on sexuality and influences how topics such as kink, queerness, sex work (to name a few) are understood and talked about. 

Since only one episode has been released so far, and since I don't know what goes on in the writers’ minds, I, of course, can’t say for certain whether Playboyy is intended to engage with the political and social aspects of sex. However, I do think that Denice’s Twitter accounts (he is one of the writers (@ VivienneActing)) can provide us with insights into the writers’ intentions behind creating this show. In addition, the opening scene of episode one makes it clear that this piece of media, in some capacity at least, serves as a social commentary on the construction of sexual practices and sexual identities (in Thailand). The viewer is seemingly directly addressed, questions regarding sex are posed and the statement that “sex has many forms and careers in many places with many preferences” is made, which leads me to think that the creators have thought about and want the audience to critically think about how sex is often presented and talked about within dominant discourses. The character goes on to say that “it would be great if we could stop faking it and be frank about it”, which implies that the way we currently talk about sex is dissatisfactory to the character in the show/the creators of the show and that this series intends to present their own – potentially non-normative – views on sex. Especially the comment that “it’s a shame that we can’t be that free in this country” functions as a critique of how sex and the sex industry are frequently conceptualised in Thailand. (And when I say ‘Thailand’ here I of course don’t mean the entire country; I’m specifically referring to people/institutions/political parties that uphold and propagate conservative beliefs on and attitudes regarding sex. And I think this is the part of Thailand the series is critical of here as well).

However, I also don’t want to place too much importance on the intentions of the creators (in part, bc as I have said before, unless we are told specifically we can only speculate about their motives). I for one am also very interested in how I myself (and other viewers) read and interpret the narratives the series presents us with.

Little disclaimer: I watched episode 1 last night, half asleep, I don’t have the best memory and since the story has literally just begun (and there are so many ways this could pan out), my stance on these issues will probably change with the release of future episodes. So my ramblings have their limitations. In addition, I’ve grown up in the West, which influences how I conceptualise sex(uality) and gender; which is definitely something to be wary of and to be critical of, as well. 

As of right now, I’m the most intrigued by Zouey and by how he navigates sex and how he expresses himself sexually. What I find so interesting about his character is his non-normative approach to sex. While he is introduced as someone who apparently hasn't slept with anyone yet, we also see that he has sexual needs and desires. I love that the show does not limit sexual expression to intimate relations between two or more people but also showcases the possibility of exploring it on your own. 

I’m fascinated by people’s initial reactions to Zouey and what people make of his character; in particular people’s thoughts on the scene where he is in a dark room masturbating to a painting. I do wonder how much the colour grading (quite dark and gloomy) and the music (somewhat ominous) might influence or shape viewers’ perceptions of this scene and their conceptualisation of Zouey, and more broadly speaking their reception of expressions of non-normative sexual acts (in media).

The way Zoey negotiates his boundaries regarding sex is so interesting to me, as he clearly feels sexual attraction but does not feel comfortable being touched sexually. (I do wonder if there is a reason for this. Not saying that there needs to be a particular reason; I’m genuinely just curious if we might find out more in future episodes). I personally love how that doesn’t stop him from blowing Teena (twice if I remember correctly). I think his performance disrupts the normative script of sex, (or one of the normative scripts. To say that there is only one normative way to have sex would be incorrect I guess). He definitely doesn't adhere to this script/these scripts, and this seems to have created discomfort/confusion for some viewers, while others seem to really appreciate it. 

Also a little side note: the way Zouey does or doesn’t have sex can also lead us to posing the question of what counts as sex. Only penetrative sex? That seems like a somewhat outdated and not exactly queer-friendly definition of sex, right? And what even is virginity? Is Zouey still a virgin or not by the end of the episode?

I think the first episode already touches on so many different issues and I love it. People have pointed out the different social statuses of First and Soong, so we already have a storyline that highlights how sex and class are interconnected issues. We have seen a fair amount of kinky sexual practices, and sex workers have also made an appearance. So to come back to my initial question, is Playboyy porn without plot? Personally, I wouldn’t classify it as such. In my opinion, while the first episode does heavily focus on sex, sex is used as a tool for storytelling and the creators have taken the unique approach of introducing the viewers to the characters via sex. Plus, there is the mysterious disappearance of Nun/Nant(?). But also to me, it doesn’t really matter whether this is porn without plot or not. Firstly, because I think that sometimes (emphasis on ‘sometimes’, okay?) when something is labelled as porn without plot this is done to discredit a particular piece of media and to paint it as something that is inherently ‘less’ (less serious, less valuable etc.) and I don’t agree with this particular conceptualisation of plot without porn because I think it fails to recognise the value of such stories, not just for people’s own enjoyment but also in regards to academic analysis. And secondly, because I am more interested in how the series is situated (and maybe even actively positions itself) in relation to broader discourses such as (non-normative) sexualities, kink, sex work (in Thailand) etc. and for this we don’t necessarily need a “good” plot structure. So I, for one, am I excited to watch (and analyse) the rest of the show. 

[rollercoasterwords]

i agree about gretta gerwigs work, i feel like there are some pieces of femininity and what its like to grow up as a girl that she nails every time, like at least for me personally her portrayals of grieving past versions of yourself and your life always resonate (but maybe thats because thats a pretty universal experience? im not sure), and her interfamilial relationships feel very tangible to me,

but yeah when it comes to her resolutions and her looking forward moments i feel like i dont really follow where her brain goes, it sometimes feels like she just ends up back where she started. and she doesnt play with gender and sexuality much, which is a shame because i feel like she could do it well?? idk maybe its fear, maybe shes cis and straight and those themes just dont resonate with her idk.

i also feel like shes almost choses stories where she wouldnt be forced to confront those topics? like little women has always had the same conclusion, she certainly did add her own artistry to the story but its not like she would have been expected to explore queer experiences there. and the same is true for barbie, barbie isnt exactly known for being a space that plays much with gender, and i highly doubt mattel would have approved a story that included too much queerness bc theyre trying to tell toys to conservative moms right? idk sorry this got long, your comments on gerwig just got me thinking

yeahhhhh exactly like. i am not a huge gerwig fan (not that i dislike her or anything; i'm just pretty neutral towards her as a director) + i only watched ladybird back when it first came out + barbie now. have never seen little women but based on what i know of the book yeah i imagine it's not like a movie where you'd expect lesbians lol nor was i expecting any particularly insightful exploration of queerness from barbie (although i do think it's nice that many people have been able to find meaningful aroace readings of the film)--and like i don't think it's gerwig's responsibility to explore such themes if they are not things she relates to or has an interest in exploring!

i feel like this is moreso just a problem with reception when any certain artist or work of art gets venerated as like....the pinnacle of representation for 'womanhood' or 'girlhood,' which is a category much of gerwig's critical reception seems to fall into. bc there is no single monolithic experience of 'womanhood,' the cultural consensus about what representations set the standard for such experiences always tend to privilege certain experiences (white, straight, cis, etc), oftentimes at the expense of erasing others. and this has been a particular aspect of some of the barbie praise that's grated on me; i've seen a lot of people talk about how it so perfectly encapsulates 'the female experience' and as a gnc lesbian i'm just like. alright then lol. think the treatment of queerness by the film as a whole was also just like....odd. generally speaking. honestly still parsing thru my thoughts on it but sometimes the framing of the movie made it a little difficult to tell whether i was being laughed at or laughed with tbh

[bluravenite]

So i hadn't seen the original post since I try not to be too active here but... Im going to list off references just as a reminder 🫶 !!

A tumblr user in the ghost fandom posted about their opinion that people shouldn't write or draw dewdrop and copia as trans or emotionally complex characters. Their reasoning being:

Here's the link to the og post as well as a great reply from media nocte, which i think VERY well sums up the general argument here. "Get fucked OP."

Also this wonderful response by leafy, my love...

As well as syringe's post which even lists Tobias Forge's opinions, which OP said the papas were 'his super secret fight club level identity' which if it were true, he wouldn't be accepting Ghost band awards as himself nor with his family, nor openly interviewing about it... If it was so secret...

Tobias has even been open about other characters of his (such as Mary Goore, as mentioned per an interview) used they/them pronouns even if not INHERENTLY trans or non-binary.

He's always been openly accepting of people regardless of their gender or sexuality (this isn't to idolize him, just stating my knowledge of his values.)

My last point to op?? Here's what those "trans" people think about mine and other works.

I know i have more personal conversations with people where we have discussed how validating it can be for trans and non-binary people to write, read, explore these characters.

A reminder. Tags exist. Read the fucking tags on a fic, chances are the author wrote trans!dewdrop or "usage of cunt" in the tags or notes, and if they didn't?? It takes 3 seconds to comment "could you please add a trans character content tag please?"

As an artist myself, who originally stuck to the "stage representations of the characters" i the slowly started exploring the way i perceive their stories, how i can make MY OWN ART out of these characters that relates TO ME and MY FEELINGS and likes and opinions and such because THAT is what creativity is about. Taking what the world gives you and making it your own.

I am not trans, i am barely even nonbinary... Labels are scary, half the time i don't know who i am okay? I don't always feel like a girl, i don't always hate my body, sometimes i feel like if i live in this body for just a second longer I'll have to scratch all the skin off and crawl out of it myself... Sometimes i wish i could bind, be flat, have a deeper voice, be more masculine, sometimes i want to wear skirts that are way too short and the pretty corset from renfaire that makes my chest look so puffy and pretty... Sometimes it's nobody's fucking business... And sometimes my characters reflect what i am, what i wanna be, what i am not, and what i may never be. And just like my gender and my body?? It's nobody's fucking business.

In all my niceness and honesty. (Which are starting to run lower every time people say stupid shit in this fandom...)

Get. Fucked. OP.

Now let me get a bit more personal for a moment op... I've the posts saying you "went to a Catholic school"

As someone who grew up going to an All-girls Catholic private school, as my whole family before me had done, here's a little bit of insight.

All the shit they told you?? Yeah it causes trauma, it causes resentment and repression. Feeling disgusted and surprised when this "male character" has "female" genitals? Please ask yourself how you feel about your body first. Your mind. Why do you want to read "gay/bi men doing those activities" but not a trans man enjoying himself just as much? Would it be different if if were a ghoulette? Would it be different if the ghoulettes were the ones doing it?

OP please evaluate yourself before you OPENLY SPEAK for a community that you are not a part of, and if you ever do decide to explore your own repression, sexuality, and gender? Know that you deserve a chance at fucking up and learning about yourself. I say this from personal experiences. Making catholic school your whole personality internalizes that "sinful" feeling. That's probably why you enjoy ghost too... Not to psychoanalyze a random person on the internet but...

Get help.

Thank you.

[tigerspite]

Truth & Dare:

🍓

🍄

🔪

🦷

🏜️

🍦

🧩

...🪲

Thank you!!

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

It was pretty much a compulsion to show something to the world and show people what I could do, honestly. I grew up reading fic and was so impressed by a lot of it, eventually leading me to claw my way up to improving my own writing and publishing. It's to get ideas out of my head and on to paper so I can do something with them.

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

Already answered!

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Pass. I have literally no idea. I've researched so much over the years.

🦷 ⇢ share some personal wisdom or a life hack you swear on

If something is too hard or you're hitting too many obstacles, you're doing the wrong thing. You need to turn around and try again. It might be that you're going about something the wrong way, or that specific something could be the thing that's wrong and isn't meant to be.

🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

I love when people have an insight or share their views on something a character has done. It leads to so many interesting avenues being opened up that I'd never considered before!

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

I forgot every character I ever hated, and also don't want to go into witness protection right now.

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

First person perspective UNLESS the prose is done well. Honestly prose construction is everything to me and I'm incredibly picky. If something doesn't read right to me then I can't get through it or I enjoy it a lot less. There's no hard or fast guidelines to this. Sometimes things just don't stick with me.

🪲 ⇢ add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here

This sounds weird out of context but an enlightened few will get what I'm finally using here (also it's 102 words)

“This piece is from the ‘Rain-and-Sauce’ era of humanity’s development,” Ursaviks stops in front of a painting of two humans leaning over the bank of a deep blue river, with a three headed dog lying beneath the scene. The person closest to the riverside holds another, smaller human by its ankle, dangling them in the water. “One of Solkis’s humans was a historian. They spoke of this painting showing the mother of Akileuks, and how she blessed him with strength.” Wesraaks cannot even pretend to understand the picture and its significance to humanity, nor how Akileuks and the small human could be connected.

[fluffybutt-7]

Hey fluff do you have advice on dating when having a um preferance like this? Im really bad at getting to know new people and im horrid at small talk unless it is something I am interested in. I tried grommr but had the experience of people wanting hook ups and or i would just get cold feet. Im almost 30 now and I realize how short life is and how much i want to at least try out being a feeder/mutal gainer with somebody, but its hard to get somewhere due to being in a bad location and not feeling really connected/ having friends in the gainer/encourgement space. It being kind of "taboo" to most people also kind of stresses me out. How did you get over your fear of being a gainer etc?

Hey there!

Sooo I’ve been trying to think of how to answer this. I think I’ll do it in two parts, one about dating and one in general.

When it comes to dating, I feel that it’s best to just be upfront about it IF it is something you feel safe doing. Wild things can happen, you never really know who you’re talking to when just meeting someone. So there’s a lot of nuance to the “just be upfront about it.” I often wait until I feel there could be a genuine chance with the person to bring it up (assuming they’re not part of the community), and even then I try to be careful with it. People can have all kinds of assumptions about this kink, so I always try to approach it while making the other person feel like they can ask questions about it and genuinely have a conversation about it. Sometimes I’ll kinda tease the idea before that point, it just depends on the vibe I’m getting from the person. But a well placed and ethical feedist comment can sometimes give insight into how the person would feel or possibly already feels about the kink. And honestly? More people are into it or at least open to it than I would expect. Be safe, and be clear in your communication when you feel that it is time to tell them. That’s how I approach it at least, I am certainly not the end-all-be-all and if anyone has something they would like to add, leave a comment so we can all learn how to navigate dating with this fetish/kink better. 🥰

Now - how did I get over my fear of being a gainer? That’s a pretty solid question. The answer I have may not be wholly relatable, but it’s the one that I think will convey my feelings best. I think it’s similar to when I came out as gay. I grew up in a verrry small, verrry conservative Midwest town, and I was the only out gay kid in my high school when I came out. It was fucking terrifying, but for once……. I was me. And holy FUCK I was happy. I felt untouchable, because at last there were no more secrets, no reason to hide. It didn’t matter if someone said shit, because I knew who the fuck I was and I knew I fought for my own happiness. I also knew that the people who really loved and cared for me would have my back, and they did. Well, most of them. But I guess those were the ones who didn’t really care, weren’t they? At the end of the day, we deserve to fight for our own happiness, whatever it is (as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else or yourself, etc. I don’t wanna miss the nuance to that statement), and the people in our life who are really our people, the ones who will love us and accept us and celebrate us, will support us (see above parentheses) and have our back.

I also very much understand the struggle of being in a bad location and not feeling connected - I think maybe that’s one of the reasons I made this blog, so that those of us who feel isolated in this community can start to feel like… a community. You can certainly count me as a friend. ☺️ I hope somehow this helped, and I apologize for rambling a bit lmao. Feel free to message anytime! I may not respond right away but I always try to respond to my messages here. Hope you have a good night. :)

[felassan]

Some snippets of interest and insight from Mark Darrah, from an older Mark Darrah on Games YouTube video where he was livestreaming playing Dragon Age II some months ago -

Chat asked "Are you devs (former devs as well) hyped and excited about entire lore and world of DA like we are?''. Mark replied that the devs do get into the lore but that they actually often lean into the community to make sure that they aren't violating their own lore (because there's so much of it). "You guys have done a much better job of curating it than we have to be honest".

A comment in chat said "I think it's important to know that as DA4 ramps up, the fandom is going to change". Mark replied "for sure, definitely, as the marketing picks up for a game you draw in more people. Also, BioWare is carrying some Anthem people that picked up that never left, that have definitely changed the tenor of the fandom to some degree".

For dialogue, the reason why the paraphrase is different to what Hawke actually says is that they found in ME1 that if they just made them the same, it felt like everything you as the PC said was being repeated because you had already read it in your head and then it got said out loud. This does sometimes lead to disconnect as sometimes what Hawke ends up saying isn't really what was implied by the paraphase. Mark said "that's why we've been experimenting with different tonal stuff in different games, to give you hints as to more clarity as to what will actually be said".

Chat asked ''what is you opinion on the rewrite/corrections of a lot of the lore from DA2 in subsequent media?'. Mark replied "My opinion is that you should try to be respectful of everything that came before as much as possible. I don't like that some of the comics and things have enforced sort've standard canon so strongly. I recognize that, especially coming out of DA:O, there's not much choice, but I feel like we could have done a bit of a better job there".

[source]

He also talked more generally about DAII and the previous games in general. These bits are collected under a cut due to length:

The messages that appear at the bottom of the DAII start screen must be hard-coded as opposed to live updates received from online, as some of them still refer to long-past things

On Varric's embellished prologue scene, where Bethany's chest size is exaggerated, he mentioned that Varric was more of a pig in DAII than he is in DA:I. "Men writing men writing women"

First impressions have an impact on players' opinions of the companions. Mark mentioned that he thinks that might be one of the reasons why players tend to stick with the first 3 companions that they get in the game, because those are the ones they're used to and are forced to get a bit more context on because they're there with you for the duration of the prologue/introduction

One of the problems with DAII is that because the followers are so locked down in terms of their abilities, gameplay and roleplay are in conflict more than they are in DA:O and DA:I

Combat in DAII is essentially the combat of DA:O (the same systems underneath) if someone took the 'knobs' and cranked them in the opposite direction really far. So the same systems underneath, but just with very different numbers in them

In DA:I, lighting (what time of day it is) was created such that the best looking lighting/time of day for each area was chosen

In DAII Kirkwall, because it was essentially such a central character in the game, actually got a lot more attention than cities usually do in DA games

The design of Kirkwall's city map actually kind of discourages you from going out into the wilderness, which Mark doesn't think was the intention

He mentioned that accents are tricky and that you want replicable accents. This was a problem Mass Effect had, e.g. with Tali. Tali's accent was one her VA could do, but no-one else could do it, so they ended up with an un-replicable accent for this character

"I forgot how many redheads there are in DAII"

Adding in some of the 'this is physically impossible irl' moves and skills to warriors and rogues in DAII helped to better balance those classes with mages, which were sort've overpowered relatively speaking in DA:O

DAII tried really hard to establish an art direction. So for example, there was a strong effort to make elves not look like 'humans with pointy ears', hence they're very angular. They then backed away from this a bit in DA:I

Chat asked ''Do you guys prefer the strongest loot to be crafted or found?'". Mark replied that crafting is a dangerous thing because some players don't engage in it, so if you require crafting for the best loot you run into the problem of players who don't engage in crafting not being able to play the game. Usually the best loot is crafted, but you need to be able to play the game without using it

In DAII they were trying to control the game economy a bit better than it was done in DA:O, as especially in the first act you're supposed to be someone who has just fled the Blight, so it wouldn't make sense to have a sack of money

On the repeating cave environment in DAII, it was a very specific hole in the cave ceiling with a shaft of sunlight hitting the ground that was so identifiable/distinctive that was what showed that the cave was being reused. "That specific spot is the main reason there was backlash about and people noticing the reused cave". Chat asked whether Mark thought that a simple texture swap-out would have helped mitigate the repeating dungeons complaint and he replied that some texture swaps could have helped, but the reason why they didn't do more clever tricks to conceal it was lack of time

Another major thing that caused the noticeable repeating environments problem is that they had the same area map, as they didn't have the ability in the engine to have specialized area maps, "so what happens is you actually get lots of times where parts of the level look accessible when in fact it isn't" (blocked off doors and not making it look like that on the minimap), and that just draws even further attention to how repetitive it is. DA:O comparatively did better at disguising or effectively reusing content

Also, chat asked ''Development wise, was crunch much worse for DA: Exodus versus DA:O or DA:I since it had a year or two development period??'". Mark replied that "Crunch-wise, yeah, DAII was arguably the worst but because the game was short in terms of dev time it was less total time I guess. But it was kind've for the entire development process so that was not great. We decided to do it in December in 2009 and shipped in March of 2011, so total time from the day we decided to do it until the day it was on shelves was about 15 months." This is why the game relies so much on the followers, because they are faster to write, usually require less revisions and you can go with the first drafts a little bit more. "If Jason Schreier says it was 2 years dev time for DAII in his book Blood, Sweat and Pixels, he's incorrect". More development time for DAII would have helped but it would have needed to have been added to the timeline in just the right way. If it had been added at the end and the release date had shifted really late in development, that would have been the biggest way to help, "because you could take the game as it was and patched over the biggest shaky bits". If it had just started with a 2 year dev cycle "I think you would have ended up with weaknesses because you would have just filled up the bucket with more content and I think the solution would've been to not do that, to keep it super tight, keep the focus on the characters and then patch over the worse of the glaring things". Also, "I have slept under my desk, yes".

(pls note that in places there is a bit of paraphrasing of the info, the best source is always the primary source with full quotes in their original context. and also that this vid is from 11 months ago)

[source]

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

species dysphoria, csa, bullying

name-lucas

i feel like this is weird to say but I get species dysphoria and it feels exactly the same as my gender dysphoria I don’t know if it’s valid since there s a lot of bullying that goes on and people always saying it’s fake or it’s taking away from people with fl gender dysphoria but to me how it feels is it’s the same thing just for something other than gender. ive gotten bullied sm for it even by my own friends and family calling me weird, freak, a furry and just laughing at and making fun of me like im a joke that im afraid of more harassment if i come out to others so im hiding my identity. but it has made me suicidal not only the bullying but also the dysphoria i feel with being nonhuman at least with my gender dysphoria i can make it better by actually changing my body and what i wear but you can’t do that with nonhuman identities obv… i feel like it might’ve been caused by the csa i experienced by adults and older kids bc after that i rmbr my whole personality changed,i behaved more withdrawn socially,scared of others,and identity disturbance, i had anxiety about being left alone with people I didn’t trust. ive always longed for being nonhuman physically like i am mentally. idk if this is even the right place to put this but yeah

Hi lucas,

I'm so sorry about everything you've been through. Honestly I'm rather uneducated about those who identify as nonhuman - I only know a tiny bit. But I do know why for example nonhuman alters exist in a system, and I think the same explanation can be used for why trauma may play a part in someone identifying as nonhuman (but I feel the need to stress that just because trauma may influence this identity doesn't mean that the identity is wrong or should be changed, only if it is doing harm).

Part of how trauma may influence someone to identify as nonhuman could be simply congruent with how they were treated - dehumanized, and some people internalize this to such a depth that it shapes their relationship to their own humanity. But another part is often a kind of dissociation so to speak, where you meta-cognitively observe how your trauma is tied to your humanity, and seek identification in nonhuman entities as a kind of escape from the reality and gravity of that trauma. Also sometimes people who are deeply traumatized by others may gravitate towards fostering relationships with animals over human beings, although of course identifying as nonhuman is a much broader spectrum than identifying as an animal. It's worth noting that there could be more reasons as well, and these reasons may actually have very little bearing in someone's overall nonhuman identity.

I think ultimately, if you could access or afford it, a mental health professional such as a therapist could give you further insights into your nonhuman identity / species dysphoria as well as process and heal from your traumatic experiences. If anyone has any comments or suggestions please feel free to add on. Otherwise, I hope I could help, and let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

[gregorygerwitz]

I want to preface this with I respect your decision as a writer to have mouse not drink caffeine as a recovering addict.

But I would also like to say that some addicts turn to other "benign" addictive substances while in the recovery phase and then wean off of them, in turn, to help with withdrawals and to soothe the ache of having been addicted and missing the substance, it's a way to cope. So that may have been deliberate on the part of the writers, but even if it wasn't, it still makes sense from an addiction standpoint, particularly if the recovery is undertaken mostly on your own. A substitute is sometimes even recommended by professionals. Things like sugar (jelly beans) and caffeine, (energy drinks, coffee) are common for people in recovery to turn to!

I'm used to people pushing back against that headcanon because "tea has caffeine too!!!" (I know that, because I have to watch what tea I buy, personally, so I don't get anything that doesn't have a crazy caffeine content because I'm cutting back so much myself) so I was braced for that. This is a very pleasant surprise, and something I didn't personally consider because I can research and babble and talk myself in circles any day of the week, but I freely admit that I have very little relevant experience in the realm of addiction.

I did recognize that habit with the jellybeans! Although, I think that's a little bit easier to pick up on considering what little we know about Mouse's past substance abuse - the only real concrete detail is Jay's "popping pills" comment in 4x02, and as a lover of jellybeans (and someone who is on prescription medication), I know the shape and the mouthfeel. I realized he's snacking on jelly beans in 4x04 of Chicago Fire and immediately made the connection of "oh, that's potentially an open opportunity for angst! that might be a way of self-medicating his own self-medication!"

Alternatively, I know that some of the times we see Jay snacking or eating or drinking something on screen, it's just Jesse needing a snack on a long set day. So this could very feasibly be Sam just munching or grabbing something he thinks looks good or he planted in the fridge during the take.

Personally, I am very hesitant to think the writers did something like that on purpose, simply because the writing around Mouse, specifically was... not good. I have quite a few complaints about how underused he was even as a side character, the way the team treated him, all of that. I just feel like they didn't put enough thought into Mouse as a character to make a little decision with big meaning like that? Especially when we see him high and a little off the legal rails in 1x15, his first appearance, there's a short conversation about it when he appears again in 2x16, and then absolutely nothing else about him or his backstory outside of Jay in any capacity until 4x02 when he got his past addiction and felony record thrown in his face.

That being said, I could be wrong! I wasn't in the writers' room, and I don't know what they or Sam were thinking when those scenes were being written and filmed. It could have also been a directorial decision made on the spot when they were filming the scene!

I was going to put a gif of Mouse with the energy drink here but apparently I don't have one that actually shows the can??? Weird. I'll have to add that to my list of things to make after the move when I get settled in.

But thank you for the insight! I probably won't change how I write him, just because 90% of the time I ignore canon and write in AUs anyway, but it definitely adds some interesting depth to those scenes when I rewatch them! 💜

[thisbrownteacher]

5 YouTube Channels Homeschool Families Simply MUST Check Out

This Week's Curated Content is All About Some Really Dope (read: Interesting, Informative, and Generally Accurate) YOUTUBE Channels that Homeschooling Families (or Classroom Teachers) Can Use to Support Their Homeschool Curriculum.

(Looking for Podcast Suggestions to Supplement Your Homeschooling or Classroom Curriculum? Say Less! Check Out This Post Filled With Educational Podcast Recommendations.)

MELANATED AND WELL-EDUCATED

New and Confused Homeschool Families Start Here! Talk about user-friendly. This channel is the perfect go-to site, especially for new homeschooling families.

The presenter, Erica, is well-informed and speaks with the benefit of first hand experience. She also podcasts, blogs, and vlogs (or something like that 😃) so you can consume her content in various ways.

ThisBrownTeacher's Hot Take: It's a GO for Me.

These videos are clean! The recording and formatting is so well done. And getting insight from someone who's actually DOING what you're doing ... well, well, well ... you gotta love it when a great plan comes together.

CRASH COURSE

Crash Course is a YouTube channel filled with science, social science, and historical content presented in fun, usually a mix of real people and animated clips.

Agreeing that the site is witty and fast-paced, CommonSense.org and other commenters are seemingly thrown off by the word 'course' in the channels moniker. CommonSense.org gives Crash Course a rating of 3 out 5 stars, deciding that anything labeled a "course" should be interactive and offer opportunities for students to "engage" with the content - something they claim Crash Course does not necessarily do.

ThisBrownTeacher's Hot Take: Check it out. 👍🏾

Sometimes a video is just that ... a video. And most homeschooling or traditional school teachers will add their own spin on information curated from the internet regardless. The content is better suited toward older learners and families should preview the content first to ensure that all topic matter is copacetic.

THE HANDMADE HOMESCHOOLER

With shoutouts to the "Homeschool Haters" (facts 😉) and videos titled THINGS I WON'T DO AS A HOMESCHOOL MOM and 6 THINGS I DON'T DO AS A HOMESCHOOL MOM, you know you are about to get the real-deal-truth-ruth when it comes to homeschooling. Mandy's channel -THE HANDMADE HOMESCHOOLER- is truly an internet fav. Plus, she runs a free Facebook Group and, even though I, personally, don't rock with a whole bunch of extraneous and miscellaneous purchases and fees related to homeschooling, if you need some early guidance, this channel has curriculum and other resources for preschool and upper grades at the ready.

ThisBrownTeacher's Hot Take: Yes, Please! 💯

Besides the cute, little YouTube Shorts she does, as a classroom teacher, I REALLY appreciate The Handmade Homeschooler's approach to HS prep and organization. She seems to backwards plan and Year-At-A-Glance prep like the most veteran of school teachers. Her content is interesting and informative. And definitely the place to go for real talk, organization, preparation, and subject based ideas and information.

ART FOR KIDS HUB

Art for Kids Hub is a great look for all homeschooling families because:

The channel is actually created and hosted by an actual family. With kids. Doing art.

Most of the projects are easy, uncomplicated, and do not require a bunch of supplies or skills. In most cases, pencils and perhaps crayons or markers will suffice.

My boy loves this channel for all of the cool HOW TO DRAW ... videos that provide easy to understand, step-by-step techniques for drawing everything from ants to a slice of lemon pie.

ThisBrownTeacher's Hot Take: For sure! For sure! 👌🏾

While some of the drawing tutorials or subject matter (Bugatti anyone?) may frustrated younger or easily frustrated children, pre-viewing and pre-selecting a drawing or two you know your homeschooler can handle is the perfect addition to your Art or Creativity curriculum. For sure!

Real Life Lore

What's cool about the Real Life Lore YouTube channel is, by far, the ... LORE! Featuring titles such as What's the Deepest Hole We Can Possible Dig? This channel is chock full of subject matter based topics that are arranged in way that makes what could be somewhat dry content (digging holes ... huh?) really engaging for elementary aged homeschoolers and up. Filled with science and history/social studies heavy themes, from comprehension questions, essays, drawings, map quests, experiments, and more, your learner can successfully interact with this content in so many ways and have fun doing it.

ThisBrownTeacher's Hot Take: For sure! Say less. ✅

Top Fuel Dragsters Visualized and Telling Time on Mars. Sheesh. Say less.

💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡💡

Looking for more hip homeschool content? CLICK HERE or visit HipHopHomeschool.org.

Read more about why drumming can help neurodivergent learners … HERE.

Read more to learn why it's so important to advocate for atypical thinkers  … HERE. 

Read on about the benefits of helping children build their self-regulation skills  … HERE.