#ask: curator

[fiadorable]

Director’s cut for an ending unforeseen, please. Or breakfast and a show. Or both. 🙏❤️

Both. The answer is always both @curator-on-ao3

Ok, so I'd been looking for an excuse to write an ending unforseen pretty much since the pilot for strange new worlds aired. I couldn't believe the similarities between Pike and Kiley 279 and Janeway and the Caretaker. As strange new worlds progressed, I became more firm in my convictions. Two explorers, separated by over a hundred years and tens of thousands of light years, each with an incredibly tuned sense of justice and tragic proclivity for self flagellation (and clinical depression imo)... what more could I want??

Answer: time travel. The thing these two boneheaded captains love the most. I really needed Janeway to have that moment with Pike when he tells her she's doing a great job because she had so little opportunity for that external validation, and then for Janeway to also give Pike some of her relentless hope as he's preparing to go back to what he feels is his final hour. And the ending. Ugh. I made myself emotional with it. I feel like it's a hair too saccharine, but I dragged that poor man out of a catastrophic accident, dumped him on Voyager, and then had to have them send him back so like he deserves to know his sacrifice was not in vain?? That people respect him and honor his commitment to returning knowing what he's going back to, to have some of his compassion reflected back at him. God, the feelings.

I was a little nervous writing this fic for two reasons. 1) It had been eight years since I'd written Janeway and I was feeling a bit creaky in the characterization department and 2) I was dumping a lot of backstory into the summary so I could get on with the actual important part of the story which was not how or why the time travel worked. Neither of which were actually an issue, of course, everyone was quite lovely about everything. Even the way Janeway pulls Pike aside at the end for a private question just like she does to Chakotay in Shattered which I didn't realize I'd done until after I published OH WELL y'all are nice to not mock me relentlessly for that.

And then breakfast and a show was SO FUN to write, I genuinely enjoyed every second of it, which is, uh, rare lol. Since the show did a musical episode, it felt right to do a Pikeuna piece with Una and Pike. It was fun to use Pike's POV to describe the patter song and think she's perfect and gorgeous and The Best even if she's not much of a dancer. And I wanted them to feel a little "lived in" so I threw in the classic "quiet spouse scares the shit out of the focused spouse" gag.

Una is singing a Sondheim patter song (a fairy dies every time a Trek character mentions Gilbert and Sullivan and entire multiverses collapse when a Trek person sings Gilbert and Sullivan). They get into a mini food fight after Chris starts "helping" her finish up, but it ends with Una clearing the kitchen island with a single sweep of her arm and lifting Chris onto it to finish him off instead.

I find drabbles quite liberating in their constraints. The challenge to create a perfect soap bubble scene where the reader knows there's story that comes before and story that continues after, but this here is the most important, distilled part is just... chef's kiss.

send me an ask for more behind the scenes info on my fics

[hellsite-hall-of-fame]

Fuck Verizon

(the winking face was not intentional why the fuck is that the default if you don’t put a question tumblr?!??)

[transmisogyny-explained]

I want to submit a perspective on "afab transfemininity" from. an afab multi gender person. I know my experience isn't representative of everyone who calls themselves this, but I wanted to at least share

I don't call myself a trans woman, I hesitate to call myself transfem. nonetheless, I feel connected to femininity in a distinctly transgender way. when I first came out, I hated being a girl. I was a transmedicalist and validated myself by invalidating others. I had to face a lot of internalized misogyny and transphobia in order to really learn what it meant to be a man. after I started testosterone about 3 yrs ago, I realized I was a lesbian, and started feeling more comfortable being, at least in part, a woman. it was different this time because it was something I liked, something new and my own, not something ascribed to me. it's not cisgender in any way, it is transfemininity

this being said, I know my experience toward transfemininity is extremely different from the norm. I am not what most people are referring to when they refer to transfems, and there are many definitions of transfem that do not include me. despite that, I do have some experiences that overlap, things I can relate to. my femininity is at its core transgender in nature. my gender now is more complex... I feel like both a man and a woman, neither and both. but that doesn't mean my feelings about my gender are predatory or invalid. I don't want to talk over transfems, I am very aware of my place in these conversations. but I still have a place, and it frustrates me to see you share posts that minimize my experience into a stereotype

Why do you view transfemininity as being, at its core, the experience of being “both a man and a woman” lmao

Get back to me when you start viewing trans women as actual women and transfemininity as actual femininity, and not an aesthetic or a vibe or “some other third thing” apart from femininity.

You “feel femininity in a distinctly transgender way?” Congrats! You’re nonbinary! But that is NOT what being a trans woman is — Their womanhood and femininity is not essentially different from cis women’s.

What you are describing is a very generic experience of being a feminine nonbinary person, and I don't say that to insult you; but to compare that experience to those of trans women’s betrays the fact that you don't view them as the same gender as cis women. Which is transmisogyny. It’s textbook third-gendering.

Call yourself a nonbinary woman- Call yourself whatever you want, in fact. But trans women and TMA people are never going to feel safe around you so long as you continue insisting that transfemininity is essentially the same as the nonbinary femininity you experience, and essentially different from “real” cis women’s femininity.

Also, can I just say that it’s a little condescending that you would end your ask by saying “I’m aware of my place in these conversations, but…”

Like, if you were really “aware of your place” and were actually listening to transfems when we talk about transfeminism, you would be able to recognize the enormous amount of transmisogyny baked into your message. On top of the third-gendering, you also managed to:

Imply that TMA people don’t understand the complexities of gender and nonbinarity like you, a TME person, do

Imply that TMA people creating the language and spaces to discuss our experiences in a way that excludes you, a TME person, is invalidating and somehow tantamount to labeling you as “predatory” (what does that even mean?)

Sent an unprompted ask to a transfem’s blog venting your frustrations with the language of transfeminism, despite the fact that I’m not even the one who made those posts?

Showed a pretty absurd amount of entitlement by insinuating that it’s somehow my problem that you feel frustration over misunderstanding the basics of transfeminist theory

Subtly demanded that I do the emotional labor of managing your frustration, which, frankly, is just classic misogyny

Displayed a complete lack of understanding towards what transmisogyny even is, nor why we, as the direct targets of transmisogyny, need the the language and spaces to discuss it

I really don’t care what transfem “experiences” you think you relate to, the fact that you perpetuate and can benefit from transmisogyny will always separate you from us, and if you actually gave a shit about us and our struggles, you would recognize that and try to be a better ally to us rather than co-opting and redefining our language in a shallow attempt to define us out of existence.

As has been said countless times now:

“Transfeminine” does not mean “trans + feminine,” it is a term coined by TMA people to describe our specific experiences with being denied our femininity. That is something which you, as a person for whom (as you said) womanhood/femininity was ascribed by the system of patriarchy, cannot understand in the way we do.

[regular-gnome]

previous

[rasoyas]

first project of the new year? committing to willow creek with the help of @inspiredsimmerx's fantastic builds and a familiar broke build

[epitome-of-an-openbook]

what if i block every person that i see campaigning for or speculating that Buck and Eddie will kiss at the bachelor party bc that enforces the truly horrible bi stereotype that bisexual people, like myself, are more likely to cheat? what if I did that 🤨?

[buckdiazlafd]

do you have any fanfic or fic author recommendations? you’re like the only person i’ve seen who Gets buddie

anon- i feel as tho i am one post away from u being like, you know what nvm i take it back 😭

but this is extremely sweet, a compliment i don’t know if I deserve actually, i think it’s more for my mutuals but ✨💗

i will share fics for sure! these are from my bookmarks and i think they capture the dynamic perfectly. anything from any of these authors is 🫶

be sweet to me baby by @sibylsleaves (sibylfic so. automatic fave)

close ain't close enough (til we cross the line) by @cranberrymoons (one of my fave infideleddie fics. buddiestander extraordinaire)

Still by @gayhoediaz (nde. ish. Yay 💗💗)

invisible string (tying you to me) by @bookinit02 (um. I cannot say enough things about this fic. it means everything 2 me)

where our eyes are never closing by @rewritetheending (this was the first buddie fic I ever read, and I think I was spoiled)

boys, when my baby found me by @eddiegotout (UM. this fic made me create a buddieblr acct. the specific derangement this fic caused me made me sign up and register a 911onABC url and make a second blog so. godspeed [highest form of compliment])

something deep inside by @eddiegettingshot (oh you want perfect buck and eddie voices? look no further. any fic by them, always)

Best case scenario by @lesbianrobin (looooove this fic! also ultimate buckstander <3)

[destinationtoast]

So, Tumblr is doing another new thing, and you may want to make your Likes private.

On my dash, I've started seeing posts with a header that says "Liked by [username of someone I follow]."

So far via this new feature, I have learned that various people I follow are fans of spicy queer photography, rpf, and some controversial opinions. Which is hardly surprising on tumblr dot com, but I haven't seen some of those people reblog such content in the past, so I didn't know that about them previously. (All these folks have their Likes publicly available, so I could in theory have browsed the posts they liked before. But to me, there's a difference between having Likes visible when people go looking for them vs. having them publicized on followers' dashes.)

If you don't like the idea of your liked posts showing up on followers' dashboards with your name at the top, you can change your settings so your Likes are private.

On mobile, open up your settings and click "Pages:"

Then make sure that sharing is turned off for Likes:

You can also send feedback to Tumblr.

[hellsite-detective]

Could you please tell the story of how you and Madame Curator got together? I love those kinds of stories!

ah! a wonderful story that i love telling!

see, me and Madame Curator met on tumblr! no surprise there. i was just going about my day when suddenly i started getting all of my queerplatonic yearning posts on my main blog spam liked. i looked to see who was doing it and noticed she was also reblogging a lot of them. i went to the blog she was reblogging them to and noticed her pinned post was all about wanting a qpr, and she specifically wanted the exact same things i wanted!

so, because i’m socially awkward and don’t know how to just message people, i opened my ask box on my main blog. and by some miracle she sent an ask in! specifically saying that she hopes im able to find a queerplatonic relationship one day. after that, i messaged her and was like “heeyyyy so you seem super cool!! we should talk moooore” and then we did talk more! and like… two weeks of constant messaging later, i messaged her and was like “hey so i kinda maybe possibly want to be in a qpr with you!” but in a super vague way. she said she wasn’t interested and we went about our conversations like normal

the next day! she messaged me being like “okay actually remember when you asked me out? well i think we should revisit that because i maayyybe realized i like you too.” then a couple days later we had a detailed discussion about what we would both want out of a queerplatonic relationship and setting boundaries and then we just ended up together!!

i’ve never believed in “soulmates” (i’m too aroace for that) but after everything that’s happened with her… i’ve started believing it. she’s just amazing and i’m so glad that i met her!

[beescake]

Sorry for the spam (^o^;) I just really like your blog

no need to apologize ayy!

in this corner we welcome all forms of enjoyment, regardless of whether you're a

happy to have yall here w me,

headin into homestuck 2024 :^)

[historical-fashion-polls]

communities?

hey y'all! I didn't want to make this like an "official" desk of the curator post but I did want to pop in and ask about the whole communities thing

I saw that it went live and I have been tentatively investigating them and I wanted to get a sense of if anyone would be interested in a specific historical fashion polls community to like chat about the polls and stuff and have it be a little more interactive with other folks?

would that be fun or is it not something that people are really using?

to be honest with you, I'm not fully sure how it works myself, but I would be more than happy to set one up if it's something y'all were interested in!

let me know your thoughts! 🥰

[fiadorable]

1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 for the ask game, please. Or any one of those if you don’t want to answer all five. 🥳

1) favorite part of the place where you grew up (weather, a particular restaurant / hangout spot, vibes, person, sight, etc)?

There was a family-owned Chinese restaurant we would go to for lunch on weekdays. Beautiful sit down space with a fountain in the middle of the dining area and mirrors on the ceiling to reflect the soft pink and purple lighting. We went so often over the years that the family knew us and our orders by heart, and we watched the son go from server to co-owner. I have yet to find a restaurant that puts that much love into their food.

2) least favorite part of the place where you grew up?

I lived in the back of a network of neighborhoods with several large hills, about a mile back from the main road. If you wanted to walk or bike to the library/park/school, you had to be willing to tackle the insane inclines and be sweaty af when you got to your destination.

3) what's something you once wanted that you now have?

A drum kit. I always wanted to try playing when I was a kid, but it was too loud/expensive/large for our family growing up. So that was my impulsive covid lockdown purchase: an electronic drum kit. And I don't play it often because my form sucks and I keep giving myself tennis elbow, but it sparks joy.

4) if you had to hop in a car right now and drive / be driven somewhere, where would you go?

The beach. I need a barefoot sunset beach walk in the surf.

5) what features would your Perfect Treehouse have (realistically or not)?

Splinter-free wood.

ask me a few of my favorite things

[hellsite-hall-of-fame]

Don't you just hate the feeling of

yes

[jediavengers]

Anakin breeding kink… he’s obsessed with the idea of you being full with his seed so he just fucks you until he physically cant anymore

YES. And once he finishes fucking you, he’d put a pillow underneath your hips and make you stick your legs up while he pushes his cum back into you with his fingers. imagine him looking down at you and just smirking that cocky little smirk he does.

“look at you, filled to the brim.” anakin would tut, breathless and droopy eyed. “tight little pussy can’t even hold all of my cum, can it?”

[regular-gnome]

pick'a boo, making funny faces to the little kid

[marionette-j2x]

"A Breach"

Curator: "Tsk! Virus detected breaching the 5th firewall encryption. It is heading towards the Parable's coding as we speak."

Narrator: "Not on my watch-"

Stanley: "[W-wait, wait! Can I come too?]"

Narrator: "Absolutely NOT. You stay right here and do whatever else you do whenever there's a breach in the system."

Stanley: "[That's the thing! There's nothing to do here! With the stories on hold, I can't just sit around and do nothing! I wanna help too! I'm just as a part of this Parable as everyone else here. And as much as I loathed this place sometimes, it's also my home.]"

Narrator: *grumbling* "Oh Bollocks! FINE. If you're so incessant. BUT I am NOT going to save your sorry arse if things go south."

Stanley: unfazed "[Sure, sure. Can we go now?]"

Mariella: "Any time now, you two! Virus is already outside the parable!"

Narrator & Stanley: Immediately teleports out of the Parable

BONUS:

Narrator: "Nasty little buggers aren't they? Are you sure you still wanted to help, Stanley? Hmm~? I could snap my fingers and bring you back inside the parable with the others where it's nice and safe because your strong and wonderful Narrator had valiantly fought the treacherous beasts of the-"

Stanley: *gulps nervously* "[No! M-My decision is final!]"

Narrator: *shrugs* "Suit yourself. It looks like this is going to be quite the handful. Fear not though, dear protagonist! Remember as the saying goes, 'If you can't beat them, beat them with a bat twice as hard'."

Stanley: "[That's not-]"

Narrator: "BATTER UP-!"