#Sorry for the ramble

[balimaria]

one day, I will set this right

[jonnywaistcoat]

When writing, did you ever suffer from a fear or underdelivering or misrepresenting a topic? If you did, how did you overcome it? I enjoy writing but rarely bring it to the public out of fear that I am either not doing good enough or badly portraying the themes or aspects of what I write.

Absolutely, and on the one hand it's a very healthy fear - it prompts you to do your research and be thoughtful in how you write. On the other hand you've just got to accept that occasionally it will happen. Inculturation is a hell of a thing, and leaves us all with a thousand kneejerk preconceptions and perceptions of the world, some benign and some downright awful. And sometimes they crop up no matter how thoughtful you try to be. And you gotta understand that when it happens and people call you on it, you just have to take your lumps and learn what you can from it.

It doesn't help, of course, that the words you write are only ever half of what your audience reads: five people reading the same book are reading five different books, each filtering the text through a lifetime of psychology and experience. And they will find themes and problems in there you never even considered, and they will also find resonances and beauty in your work that you could never have foreseen.

At the end of the day, writing stuff thats meaningful to you (hell, writing anything at all) is a messy, bruising business, and anybody who tells you there are simple solutions or clear rules to follow is either lying to you or to themselves.

But you can't let it paralyse you. Its like if you're playing football and you're worried about falling over. It's a reasonable fear and you should do your best to avoid it, but occasionally it's gonna happen, and unless you want to spend the whole game just standing still in a field, you've kinda just got to get on with it. Just try not to be one of those writers who's always taking dives and... screaming for the ref to get a free kick? Hm. That analogy may have gotten away from me. I don't actually know much about football.

Point is, I'm aware that this isn't the most reassuring writing advice I've ever given, but yeah, its a messy, scary business. Just do your best. Be thoughtful. Be kind. And always do your research.

[pigeonkill-pile]

Squirrelflight Squirrelstar

[sparrowlucero]

just curious, why oviraptorids for your silurians?

oh I definitely tossed around a few different ideas before the oviraptors, they just ended up feeling the most right to me. here's something that could almost pass for a design process:

The first shot at a silurian I did was this tuatara redesign of the original fish guys; i didn't really like it as it doesn't feel very evocative of the original to me (the fact that they're going for "black lagoon fish man" does not jell with how subsequent designs are lizard people, and I just couldn't marry those two things well here) (also, wow, I hadn't even rewatched surface (2005) at this point, goes to show how much of a throttle that's had on my design sensibilities for the past 20 years)

I think the second was this (sort of) prosauropod, after a friend informed me that the species is canonically meant to be prosauropods (sure jan). This wasn't a super serious design, I drew it in like 5 minutes for my friends (I did consider prosauropods seriously later on, but never drew any concepts past this)

When I was looking through my folders I found this drawing next to the last, where its just the humanoid silurians but with feathers. pretty sure this was just meant to be exactly what you'd expect a feathered design would have been on the bbc in 2011. I don't remember drawing this, but here it is for posterity.

the next (actually somewhat serious) attempt made them weird raptors; at this point I was actively trying to give them a flat, owl-like face so they were evocative of the humanoid designs in the show. I really wanted them to feel like generic spec bio dinosaur people of the 2020s (a tongue in cheek update to them being generic spec bio dinosaur people for the 1970s) and this kind of has that vibe, but I didn't think it looks great; something about it feels very non expressive and kind of forced to me. (The kea-inspired colors stuck around though.)

later I revamped that sketch and added a cassowary-esque crest (you can see the one in the frilly clothes here is just that first design with a crest tacked on).

I also doodled an oviraptorid version in the corner while I had dinosaurs with crests in mind; I ended up really liking how much that looked almost human in profile, so I ended up fleshing that out more:

This looked way more expressive and bespoke to me, and felt the most evocative of the original humanoid designs (somehow), while still looking like a real dinosaur species instead of a totally made up one

so yeah the oviraptors ended up sticking around at that point - they just clicked way more than any of the other attempts!

[fangswbenefits]

Occasionally, I'll remember I've read masterpieces written by fanfic authors that I will forever carry with me and that have shaped me into the writer I am today.

Not enough love is given to fanfic writers.

We do it all for free, and we get to touch so many hearts and make someone's day better with words.

So when people complain when we ask for engagement and feedback, try to remember that the written word carries a power that is seldom matched.

Ask yourself why you're reading fanfiction in the first place.

To feel.

To love a character through the words of someone else who is able to bring them to life in a way that allows them to take root in your heart and feel an immense sense of gratification and passion.

They live through you because someone out there decided to sit down, click their pen and put into words how much that character means to them.

And they will mean so much more to you because of that.

And that is fucking powerful and priceless.

[pokegyns]

alright so an argument i’ve recently had with a particular person on here is what initially motivated me to make a post about this, but it’s something that’s overall been bothering me a lot in trans spaces, so i have decided to talk about it.

it’s a known fact that trans people are very sensitive to any talks of biological sex, and that they refuse to analyze or hear out any form of sex-based oppression, however sometimes this discomfort can truly delve into a more dangerous territory. if we cannot talk about sex-based oppression, we cannot have feminism. something that has seriously been circulating around trans spaces recently is a very serious form of sex-based oppression denial, one that crosses the borders of “i’m uncomfortable with talks of biological sex because i’m dysphoric”. the outright refusal to acknowledge that female people are legitimately oppressed in ways that male people never will be, the outright denial of deathly forms of misogyny such as medical & reproductive misogyny that systemically only harm those born female, bold & vocal statements such as “transmisogyny is worse than misogyny” [why are you borrowing & coining a word that originates in *misogyny* if you are going to blatantly & boldly undermine the existence of misogyny?]– those aren’t harmless statements, and are actually actively contributing to the medical negligence of female bodies. they are supporting the continuation of this mystification of female bodies, the underresearched nature of female bodies; by refusing to acknowledge the very factual reality of the male body being seen as default, creating fallacies, hypothetical situations & people, engaging in whataboutism & overall denial of reality, to support their weak arguments of female oppression not existing on its’ own & genuinely asking questions such as, “what makes an afab person more oppressed than an amab person?” [but then again continuing to use the word “transmisogyny”, when, by their logic, the word would be an oxymoron, since they do not recognize misogyny as an actual axis of oppression], they are essentially saying, “medicine is correct for neglecting the female body, following the male model as the default, and should continue doing so”.

“what makes an afab person more oppressed than an amab person?”, they ask. “there isn’t some inherent oppression faced by afabs!”, they shout. well, i’m about to answer their so kindly articulated questions, although i’m very aware they are going to dismiss my words as bigoted attack against transfeminine people, as bio-essentialist propaganda, and “terf shit”. although male people absolutely can & do face sexual assault & rape [and the rates of prostituted & sexually exploited & brutalized trans women are alarming; which is something that should most definitely be discussed in feminist circles, as it is an issue of transmisogyny, which is equally damaging & oppressive], the ability to be impregnated is an additional vulnerability. the ability to get someone pregnant puts you in the privileged position here, no matter how uncomfortable that makes you feel. next up, female puberty is a very traumatic experience, as is female socialization. the stigma surrounded around “girlhood”, being locked away from freedom while seeing all your male peers enjoying a childhood of leisure– how is this not an advantage? add on the societal stigma around growing breasts, getting your period, developing a more adult-ish female body type– all of those are female-specific issues [trans women can add their insights about their experiences with hormone reassignment therapy & share their struggles with gender childhood trauma & unique discomfort with socialization + forced/unwanted male puberty, and their insights are more than welcome & appreciated]. furthermore, female infanticide is still unfortunately a form of oppression that we have yet to end, and bringing up the homicide of trans women is not at all comparable to this. a parent does not know their male infant is going to be sex incongruous, and this very much protects the male baby from being aborted or literally femicided after birth for being female, which is, quite literally, tangible proof of female-specific oppression existing on its’ own, starting even before or from birth, without any other accompanying & contributing factors. to add on, female genital mutilation is likewise still a sexist practice that is yet to be stopped. as is the existence of child brides. as are abortion bans.

strawmanning & using whataboutism, such as “there are cis women who cannot menstruate! there are cis women who cannot get pregnant! there are cis women without uteruses! there are cis women without *insert female organ*!” is not going to negate the fact that *trans women inherently remain without uteruses*. it is not going to negate the fact that historical medical misogyny, such as the misogynistic claim of “female hysteria” was intrinsically linked to uteruses. it is not going to magically make trans women the primary victims of the abortion bans. it is not going to negate the reality of negligence of female bodies in the medical field. it is not going to negate the historical reality of female people being unable to open their own bank accounts up, and male people of all sorts being able to. in no way am i saying that medical & reproductive misogyny are the only sorts of misogyny, nor am i claiming that period stigma is *the central* aspect of misogyny & *the deciding factor* to who experiences the worst of misogyny; all i’m saying is, that even female people who personally cannot menstruate/don’t have specific female sex characteristics/are intersex– still are systemically affected by medical misogyny & period stigma. trans women can experience female-specific misogyny when assumed to be female, medical misogyny is not the only form of misogyny nor is it the most important one, trans women can & do experience social misogyny, economic misogyny, cultural misogyny– but they are not experiencing medical misogyny. that being said, medical transphobia can absolutely be deathly, and should not be ignored in feminist discussions.

it is not a violent threat to your humanity to acknowledge that oppressed people are oppressed in different ways, holy fuck. it should not be seen as a direct attack against a minority group to analyze intersectionality & different forms of bigotry. we all have experiences that are equally valuable & we can all equally contribute to the fight against oppression, with all of our differing struggles & diverse battles. neither oppression is worse. both are fucking bad, and both suck equally, having both overlaps & differences in their manifestation. you just have to realize that you sometimes are, in fact, the privileged one. cis women may be at advantage in other situations, but you are at advantage in other situations. we all need to be good allies to each other. medical neglect of female people is real, but so is the medical neglect of transfeminine people. they manifest in different ways, which isn’t dangerous to point out, and it should be pointed out. neither is inherently worse or more traumatic & important than the other. both are oppressive to the core, and both stand in the way of feminism & anti-patriarchal action. it’s not going to fucking kill you to just be mature for once. i promise you.

– mod zoroark

[ofsunshineandfoxes]

You ever think about how renee went to juvie just like andrew but because she’s so nice now, probably no one knows? Like I imagine she got hate when she joined the foxes for being a girl, but do you think anyone ever went beyond that? Stopped to dig up her past? We all know she wouldn’t be hiding it but did ‘the public’ ever stop to look?

Like canonically she’s done worse shit than andrew? But they’re treated so differently. Is it just because his is more recent? And he doesn’t smile prettily? Probably, but that’s still kinda wild.

[church-mousee]

made this collage for a zine my best friend and I are making together. it’s called Garden Fairies because we’re both not straight and I’ll def post more about it

all photos are from the Digital Transgender Archive except the hand that’s just me holding my very own bottle of testosterone 

[nuzipilled]

How did Tessa become a worker drone?

oh! in my AU specifically, it’s more of an offshoot/canon divergence of my fic.

After Uzi restores the DDs memories and J decides to mope around like the sad sack she is while talking to the Tessa AI she’s cobbled up in her software, they figure out that with a little finagling, Uzi would be able to use that tulpa type creation, combined with everyone else’s memories of Tessa to upload a copy of her consciousness into a retired drone body. Obviously she’s still not entirely there mostly just because they could never perfectly be able to restore her completely (considering none of them have her whole story or life experiences) but it’s enough to be as accurate as they can get it. I think J struggles a little bit in the beginning because of this, but eases up as time goes on and eventually is able to foster a relationship with her and finally get the happy ending she wants. basically a less sad version of the way requiem ends. Divergence would occur around chapter 6 and 7 I would think

[creativesplat]

A doodle of Link and Mipha defeating a Lynel from @only-by-the-stars wonderful fic Song of a Champion!

So this battle was beautifully fluid and the description of the two working perfectly in sync was just breathtaking. I decided to try and illustrate the scene, and I really enjoyed it, (it gave me an awesome excuse to read the scene very carefully and with an eye to the visual which I only really do if I'm going to draw it, and its always so fun to do)!

I couldn't get this image of Link parrying to open a space for Mipha to attack out of my brain because of the fluidity with which they both fought together just felt like that probably happened. I don't know about you, but I just saw them fighting as though they were in a dance, even though Mipha is so firm on her lack of ability and Link's superior skill, I bet he was entranced by her too!

Link's outfit is the stripped back version of the Soldier's Armour Set from BoTW, as though he took off the particularly intense or cumbersome pieces before coming to meet with Mipha, which I thought might be a good nod both his desire for familiarity with Mipha and to Mipha's concern for his safety and frustration with perceived arrogance. He's not even properly equipped and yet he says he can and will fight this Lynel alone.

on Mipha's end, I decided to go for a yellow glow, to not only pin her as the most key character in this scene - she is the central protagonist after all - but also to show that she is actually 100 years in the future, and this is her sinking back into the past, in her memory.

In the beautiful way only-by-the-stars creates a story, I fell into this memory description as well, and I love the conflict and emotion in this, so yeah, just a little note on the writing, but honest to goodness, give this a read!

Other composition ideas:

the original idea was to have something a little more like this:

with a more fluid attack from Mipha and I think overall this would have served the scene better now that I've finished 😅, but I also wanted the impression that it was Mipha's memory, you're seeing this through her eyes, so having her facing away from you connects you more I think, it feels more like she's witnessing it if its from her perspective.

so this, from Mipha's perspective, whilst a little less easy to understand visually, would have given the whole thing the fluidity I wanted the piece to have originally.

Anyway that's my two pence, and I hope you go and read Star's fic!

[frojdh-art]

”Then again, he was a pirate, and not only that, but a captain. And he was a lot older than her. This was probably all par for the course for him—a new port, and a new girl smitten out of her wits. It wasn't like he was oblivious to the effect he had on people.”

Inspired by @missmungoe’s story Heed the Siren's Call

[cynicalmusings]

i feel like heizou’s the kind of person whom, before you get to know him personally, you would hear a lot of negative gossip, comments, etc. about — he’s arrogant, cocky, weird, turns his nose up at the rules when he feels like it, bunks classes when they don’t suit him… you try not to judge him too much solely based on hearsay, but neither does he strike you as the kind of guy you’d be that interested in getting to know.

and then you run into this guy one day. you haven’t seen him before, but he’s kind, funny, and terribly clever, so you ask him his name. and he tells you, and you’re like… oh. this person is really lovely and nothing like what people say? but, you suppose, there could be more to him than meets the eye, and it’s possible these negative traits become apparent the more you get to know him.

you start to hang out more, finding more out about each other, and still none of those infamous traits jump out at you. sure, he’s a little chaotic sometimes, somewhat sly at others, not too concerned with social norms, and talks his ‘intuition’ up a lot, but there’s nothing inherently harmful about any of these things. he’s just a… really nice guy who’s not totally conventional, and for that reason he’s getting shit-talked behind his back.

as you grow closer (whether that be as friends or something else), the rumours start to get on your nerves. he doesn’t seem bothered whatsoever by the negative reputation he’s built up, yet you can’t help but feel this frustration that he’s the victim of these inaccurate judgements, even if he himself doesn’t care. he can tell it’s bothering you, and reassures you he really doesn’t mind it—as long as the people he truly cares about see him positively, he doesn’t mind about how good or bad he is to the rest—but it’s still hard to simply sit by and let these things be said, some by people you know/ are acquainted with.

(this isn’t exactly an x reader drabble as much as it is how i imagine heizou’s reputation in-game translating into a modern setting. i find this unfortunate rumour-spreading happens quite a lot in real life to people who… seem totally normal and decent? there are some people i know—not necessarily ones i’m close to, but friends of friends and that kind of thing—who have these kinds of things said about them, and it’s honestly quite tiring overhearing it sometimes and feeling like you’re one of the only ones who hasn’t jumped on the bandwagon and is aware that the object of the gossip isn’t as bad as they’re made out to be.

(the nature of gossip is quite interesting to me in that regard — how people can be so interested in talking bad about someone they barely know. but that same fact is also very irritating to me, and i feel like something similar to these feelings would arise if heizou received similar treatment, which, judging by what even some of the other playable characters say about him, i believe would be the case.)

[galebrainrott]

What do you think the first meeting with Gale's mom is like? The man has been AWOL for an entire year, gets abducted, tadpoled, saves the world, and is back home like "oh btw I'm also engaged :)"

THANK YOU FOR THE ASK ANON I LOVE ASKS

Anyway, because we have confirmation that

1. Gale was a handful as a child/teen and possibly toung adult(?)

2. Morena is an indomitable woman

3. Morena is, ultimately, always proud of Gale

My guess is that Gale would come home, engaged and maybe with a new dog, and Morena would just be like, "Goddamn it Gale, again?"

On a more solemn note, I actually have a section of the fanfic I'm writing where Gale comes home to Waterdeep. Morena, who's been worried sick ever since Gale and Tara left, is angry and things are a bit awkward.

He tells Morena about everything that happened, the orb, the brain, Tav.

Morena sits for a moment, a pause.

"I really wanted you to meet Tav beforehand, truly, but we were in dire circumstances and I just felt like I knew, that it was right."

"I'm not upset about Tav, they seem good for you and I have no doubt that they are. I'm upset about the orb, Gale."

"Oh."

"Why didn't you tell me? I would have tried... Just like Tara, we could have been there for you."

-

In terms of Tav, I think that Morena likes Tav and is hopeful for their relationship but is still a bit cautious.

I imagined Morena staying with them for a bit (before the wedding), just to make sure Gale isn't getting stuck in an abusive loop. So she stays with them for a bit, under the guise of her being worried about recent events, etc.

During the day, she hears Gale's roaring laughtwe. Both of their laughter mixed together. At night she sees Tav lovingly place a blanket over Gale, who's slumped over a desk.

She sits alone in the spare room, Tara enters.

(Because this is for my fic, it's Fem!Tav)

"They're good together, aren't they?"

"Yes, it seems so. I've never heard him genuinely laugh like that since... Gods..."

"We don't have to worry anymore Mrs.Dekarios."

"I guess you're right Tara. Also, I'd like you to call me Morena from now on."

"Oh?"

"I wouldn't want to be confused with the new Mrs.Dekarios."

[campbell-rose]

Hazbin Trailer + Rewrite Spitballing

The Hazbin Trailer omg

I finally watched it and like... it's so bad guys. Honestly, the only people I pity are the animators and the pilot voice actors, and the new actors too. Blake Roman especially, the man is super talented, but trying to fill the massive shoes of Michael is weighing his performance down so bad. Honestly, if Viv wasn't a petty brat, she could've kept Michael and gotten Blake as the singing voice.

Apparently there's a war on Heaven plot? I hope to god not, like that's NOT THE PREMISE. God Viv just cannot stick to her premises, can she? This happened with Zoophobia, initially it seemed like it was going to follow Cameron but slowly lost focus on her. Then Helluva Boss losing the hired assassin plot for the sake of shitty Stolitz drama. Seems redeeming sinners is going to be a side plot which is unfortunate because that was one of the biggest things i wanted from this show. I remember when i used to love Vivziepop and i got so excited for the pilot of Hazbin. Redeeming sinneers, that sounded so cool. It's what got me into demonology and was a big part of my life. Sad to see this happen.

I genuinely hate the stupid trope of heaven, the place that is literally paradise for good people, being bad. Like, i cannot feasibly imagine a universe in which Viv manages to write that in any compelling way. And why is it just ‘heaven bad’??? This could be an interesting story that discusses the nature of good and bad, talks about what makes someone a good person, should people be given redemption if they already blew their chance, is the definition of 'good' wrong? Like, in the hands of competent writers, Hazbin could be an interesting story, like a Walmart Good Place! But no, heaven bad, let's go kill angels that say fuck.

Like, as an example of my above point, let’s look at a familiar face from Helluva Boss, Mrs. Mayberry. 

She killed someone, tried to kill someone, then herself, and is now in hell. But a good question could be raised of if her being in hell is even justified. Yes, she killed a person (and attempted to kill another) which is not a good thing to do. But she killed her husband in a fit of rage after seeing him cheating on her – like actively, red handed, balls deep cheating on her. From what we see of her before her death, she seems like an attentive and caring teacher and wife, she even says herself she was ‘good my entire life’. Her students love her, and literally the reason she kills herself seems to be because she realizes that they saw her literally murder someone. She did choke and throw a child, but that was played for comedy so I'm not counting that against her. She kills herself because she’s so shocked about what she’s done. She’s bitter because she’s in hell.  

Her husband was a cheater and the woman she tried to kill was a murderer and a cannibal, so by that logic, doesn’t her killing a bad person negate the killing? Yes, murder is bad, she should’ve controlled herself, but this was one terrible moment in a lifetime of being good. Like, say someone kills a pedobear, is the person commiting the murder a bad person for killing someone who deserved it? Not that her husband deserved to die for cheating, a good beat down maybe. If a good person kills a bad person, does that make them a bad person too? Or does it come down to intention? Did the good only kill the bad for a selfish reason?

That’s an interesting conundrum (in my opinion). Does she deserve to redeem herself? How would she redeem herself? If I keep thinking on it, i'll ramble, but that's my thinking. Anyway, this made me think about a rewrite that follows this line of thinking.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Charlie being an angel and Vaggie being her Exterminator guard who goes with her to hell to redeem sinners is the best way to make this mess an interesting thing. Like, Charlie is an optimistic angel who thinks the extermination of sinners is inhumane and that the standards of Heaven need changed. Vaggie is literally trained to kill sinners and sees Charlie’s efforts as futile but is assigned to help her anyway. Makes sense why everyone would disrespect Charlie and treat her like an idiot for wanting to redeem sinners, instead of insulting the daughter of FUCKING LUCIFER HIMSELF, they’re laughing at an angel who came down out of nowhere and is acting high and mighty.

Also, Charlie can keep the name Charlie Magne instead of Morningstar because she's no longer Lucifer's daughter. Vaggie is just V. boom, problem solved, i'm a genius.

Have a doodle

[just-trying-to-fangirl-in-peace]

hi, it's @sansaorgana ! I just had a thought -- maybe that was being discussed already so I m sorry if it was -- but rewatching scenes from Season One, they explained the need to forge Three Rings for the Elves because "one will always corrupt, two will divide" and it made me wonder... because evil!Reader and Sauron want to have two rings that would rule over the rest. do you think there is a possibility of these two rings dividing them? perhaps not completely but to some extent? they are both very power hungry and I can imagine that being in charge of such huge amount of power could kinda turn them against each other. perhaps they would start competing. on the other hand... if the hunger for competition would not be too strong and treated as a foreplay??? the whole Middle-earth would be doomed even more as those two lovers in charge of them are competing in cruelty one against another just to end up hate-fucking in the end lmao

I imagine with the Two, at first it’s gonna be absolutely great. Like, their bond will grow even stronger and all the good emotions will be heightened and the sex is gonna get even better (if that’s even possible at this point). Those two will be fucking for days, high on the power of the Rings, and if anyone dares interrupt it’ll be the last thing they do.

But then when the bad stuff comes, that’s heightened too, and we know how bad the bad stuff is for everyone involved. And their mental proximity was already aggravating things when they fought before, but now it’s gonna be at a level where it drives them insane. Like, imagine being stuck in the tiniest closet with someone you are furious with and you keep screaming in each other’s ears and there’s nowhere to go. That’s what it’s like in their heads.

And maybe they find some remedy for that but overall yeah, the Two are just gonna make everything messier. It’s a possibility in my mind that actually somehow that leads to reader’s (temporary) death at the end of the series.

I was rewatching the Galadriel/Sauron duel in the last hobbit movie and I was thinking, what if Galadriel is actually trying to stop Sauron from resurrecting evil!reader in that scene (Sauron who returned in Charlie Vickers form somehow cause I can’t bear to part with him😩). And reader emerges from the shadows Hela in Thor Ragnarok style, ready to fuck shit up again. She had to wait for him for centuries, so he should get his turn to be without her for a while and desperate to get her back at some point I think🤭

[ups3tti]

Morro's original quest to find the tomb of the FSM is something I think about a lot. Because on the surface level all it is is a huge challenge on a quest, and Morro was just a teenager on a quest. I don't know what he did to get sent to the cursed realm, but I'm also dubious of the cursed realms vetting tactics for several reasons lol. He died on a quest as an angry desperate teenager and then got sent to hell for longer than he was even alive. Where was he supposed to put the anger when it was all around him like that. What else was there to do but let it condense. What else was there to do but fight, and then fight his way to the top, being likely the youngest there and coming from his background of course he wanted to prove himself again. He became cruel and malicious and it shows, but how he GOT to that point is such a time.

Imagine being Wu and watching your student full of misplaced drive and arrogance leave that day, and then decades later he comes back and all the hate and malice that turned into knocks you and your current students to the ground. The wild switch from trying to defy destiny to trying to annihilate all of Ninjago. Man