#i don't think people go into every piece of media getting ready to hate it

[hsfavoriteworlds]

Hi! Please allow me to hijack ur post real quick because I'm one of the people who posted this and i wanted to elaborate on my pov

I am a gmmtv girlie and I almost religiously (HA!) tune in to all their shows. I wouldn't condemn them or drag them for shits and giggles. I'm just a bit apprehensive with this particular show bec of the subject matter. And it's not that I doubt backaof's ability to handle it (this man gave us two of my fav shows ever: bb and atots-- he did disappoint me with LT and unfortunately in a way that ruined my experience forever with it but i digress). However, all i fear is that gmmtv sometimes avoid going "too serious" in their shows and backtrack on their original message. They have this tendency to lean into comedy to break up heavy moments, and while that can work, it also sometimes causes a bit of tonal dissonance when it's overdone, especially (I'm assuming here) in a show like ticket to heaven. On top of that, they’ve struggled lately to really stick the landing on some shows. It doesn’t ruin the entire story for me, but it does affect my overall enjoyment, even if I still hold the show close to my heart afterward. But with a show like ticket to heaven, it can go really bad real quick.

That said, I'm not out here hating on ALL their shows or claiming they can't be trusted because they lean towards fluff or aren't always "serious" or angsty. 😭 I am a proud fluff lover (I would defend We Are with my life). It goes without saying that fluff doesn’t mean they can’t handle serious topics, and it's definitely not a reason to underestimate gmmtv and what they've done for the bl genre overall.

But again, it’s not all black and white. Loving gmmtv/backaof doesn’t mean I have to withhold all criticism just because they’ve made so many of my favorite shows. I’ll still wait, watch, and form my own judgement (albeit I'm not very hard to please to begin with lmao). And i am still so excited for ticket to heaven and a lot of their other upcoming shows

‘can we trust gmmtv with ticket to heaven’ idk can we stop acting like gmmtv has never made anything worth watching

[tealvenetianmask]

I want to talk about a kind of troubling reaction I've been seeing to both Apology Tour and Ghostfuckers among parts of the fandom. The person is usually a reaction youtuber but sometimes someone writing on tumblr or twitter. They say something along the lines of "oh, I'm glad Blitz is being forced to confront his crimes/traumas/pain. This is the only way he will finally heal."

That's not how healing works.

I know that reaction youtubers don't always have the most developed takes because they're . . . you know . . . reacting in the moment. But I think it's still worth talking about.

I'm going set aside the people who seem to believe that Blitz needs to be punished for his crimes, and address those who genuinely think that getting a tidal wave of his own trauma in his face is what he needs to heal.

There's an attitude in contemporary culture that traumas are something people need to confront. As in, put on a brave face and dive in like a big boy. I blame capitalism, rugged individualism, and all the pieces of media that tie up a character's arc neatly by having them confront their darkest fears and insecurities. It can put a nice bow on things, but it isn't really how healing from trauma works.

Apology Tour:

Blitz gets confronted by a shit ton of people who hate him, at least some of whom are his exes, who he feels he's personally damaged. The decor and party games are all about killing and torturing him. Verosika confronts him about how much he hurt her. Oh, and then he sees the love of his life, who he's just recently pushed away, making out with another guy- proof, in his eyes, that Stolas is happier without him. And this all reflects the underlying fears he already has about who he is as a person (shown to us by Truth Seekers).

So what was the takeaway? Blitz came to the conclusion that he doesn't always want to be like this (good, but like . . . worth this much pain?). He flops on his steering wheel (relatable). He stops trying to reach out to Stolas (uh oh . . . ). He spends A MONTH spiraling in his own misery and making a mess of all aspects of his life until he's dragged out of it by a caring friend.

The party doesn't empower Blitz to change. It knocks him down and fucking traumatizes him (seriously, images of Stolas from the party show up later in his trauma reel) too much for him to be able to do actually work toward said change. I suspect that if left to his own devices, he would have kept spiraling for quite a while longer. It's one thing to want to change, and another to try to do so alone in the aftermath of a pile-on.

Ghostfuckers

After Blitz drags himself out of his hole of cheesy ice cream and despair to "play sex ghosts" (escapism, again, still knocked down by Apology Tour), infester demon Rolando picks him out as an easy target and assaults him, yes, assaults, with horrific images of his worst traumas and fears.

Not to state the obvious, but Rolando isn't interested in helping Blitz heal. He's trying to kill the guy. He wants to engulf Blitz in his trauma to the extent where he's consumed by it and loses the will to fight back. And as some excellent posts by others have pointed out already, he very likely would have succumbed if not for Millie's support.

Millie helps Blitz get through the onslaught by telling him about what makes him great and how he's improved her life and showing him love and care. And by literally beating the fucking infester out of him. Because there's someone in him who's hurting him, who's re-traumatizing him against his will. She takes him away from the reel of horrible memories.

So . . . do I think that confronting traumas can play a role in healing? Sure. But only if it's consensually (which neither of these situations are) and when the person trying to heal is ready. And most likely in small doses. No one's going and successfully confronting every horrible thing that's ever happened to them in one go.

And in my humble opinion, it's not going to work (for anyone, but especially not for Blitz) alone and without a healthy dose of kindness and compassion (both external and internal).

Blitz has a long road ahead of him toward healing, and it's going to be hard work on his part but also require love and support from the people in his life.

In a wonderful moment near the end of Ghosfuckers, Blitz and Millie work together to get Blitz's wrecked van unstuck and push it back through the portal into Hell. I love it because it's so simple and it kind of tells us everything we need to know. This sweet and salty gremlin has a lot of work ahead of him, but he doesn't have to do it alone.

[purpledemonlilyposting]

Oh good the Lorch is sending herself asks about me again.

[Lily's Post]

Oh yeah Lily calling marginalized people a "pick me" for not having the same exact opinions as you doesn't make you look bigoted at all.

Unlike you I don't think children's cartoons are activism. And my pointing at that some people like to try to downplay the lesbian themes in Steven Universe, or at least the way lesbians interact with the themes of the show, actually has nothing to do with the show itself.

Hey Lily did you know I also really don't like the word queer being thrown around, refuse to call myself that because it means strange and also dislike "anti-assimilationist" types?

Speaking of which:

[Lily's Post]

Yeah I say that about the kids telling me queer has been "reclaimed" for me. I would think you'd agree, Lily.

Those are two completely different concepts you dumbass. We can have gay content in mainstream media without it being insulting dreck driven by rainbow capitalism.

Lily is the one who basically wants the Hayes Code back. She wants every show and movie to tell her who is good, who is bad, what to think and for the bad guy to get thrown off a cliff at the end.

Lily just because those are the only two pieces of media YOU know I like doesn't mean that's all I like or have ever seen. Have you seen But I'm a Cheerleader? How about Saving Face?

Hey Lily if you'd actually watch my responses to you:

No I sneer at shows with bad depictions of gay characters when they have bad depictions of gay characters. Especially when they break their own spines patting themselves on the back for it.

Are you trying to get ahead of my VOD you falsely struck going back up on Thursday? You know the one where you said an early 2000's flaming queen stereotype in some shitty Alicia Silverstone vehicle was super good "gay rep" because you had some retarded need to paint a narrative that Canadian cartoons "did it first"?

The whole "she's just mad other shows are outpacing things she likes" lol it isn't a competition, dawg. That's you, Lily. That's how you think.

This is how I know its a self ask.

Yeah that's why in my reaction to James Somerton's somehow EVEN WORSE takes on Utena than yours I kept saying things like "Utena isn't really that hard to understand it just tells it's story in a very abstract way".

Also if you think the Sword of Dios is "the sword of patriarchy" you really didn't get it but much like James here I doubt you ever even watched it, Lily. I look forward to your "In a Nutshell" video where you will read out TVTropes with zero context and get everything wrong.

Lily I hadn't watched the show fully in over 15 years when I made my very first video on you. I wasn't even expecting to talk about Utena you just went on a tirade about it in the middle of your 2023 Steven Universe video.

In fact, the reason I even cut that video in the first place is I was so impressed with my own recall of the show. And then it got 5k hits out of nowhere on my then completely unestablished channel because people just hate your takes that much.

And now making fun of you has paid for my new GPU and CPU. No Man's Sky is running great and I'm ready for Dragon Age Veilguard so cheers!

[fumifooms]

Ok maybe kinda of a weird question you don't have to answer if you don't want to but I've seen some people saying that Chilchuck is canonically misogynistic so, as the Chilchuck especialist, do you have an opinion about that?

Anon you are brave and I love you. Listen if you, person reading this, get peeved or upset when people say Chilchuck might have had not insignificant flaws as a father and husband then probably stop reading here, we will be looking at Chilchuck like a petri dish and defile his pristine allure. Tldr: yes but actually no but really both at the same time aka people & social dynamics are complex and please let your blorbos be flawed. With that said I will be pretty casual and playful if that wasn’t clear already, sorry.

"Aren’t you happy to be in a harem party" "No it’s soul-crushing save me". Toshiro has been drinking his fear women juice since he was young, surrounded by an assassin nanny and her fellow assassin girlies, meanwhile Chilchuck having flashbacks of getting wrung out by his 4 women household…

Waiting on people is something we see he hates doing a couple times throughout canon and extras, here and how he says "it’s not a date" -bless his summer child heart- he frames being slow to get ready as a gendered trait to have? But I can forgive him for this one because honestly the framing of the whole page leans into that, it’s kinda questionable if we’re being highly critical of anything misogynistic or regressive. But it itself is the classic subversive "Women are desirable wallflowers— Wrong! They are a monstrous ruthless force that wears on the mind, body and soul" trope. I don’t fault Kui though, I got giggles from it, it makes sense for everyone’s characters, and Kui has never shied from gendered dynamics in her worldbuilding & characters so it’s not like she’ll write as if sex changes nothing and no one has opinions about it.

Alright alright let’s step back from analyzing this page specifically and get back to the question, is Chilchuck canonically misogynistic? It’s a complex question not because we don’t have hints but because it’s a very black and white answer to give and because misogynistic can be very wide or pretty narrow depending on how the term is applied.

What I would say? Yes, he is, in a realistic way that doesn’t automatically make him a piece of shit, though that doesn’t mean it isn’t uncomfortable or harmful. On the spectrum of misogyny he classifies to me as "It’s in the normalized lighthearted way of being a horny uncle who’s a little too loose about it around the dinner table", he’s a solid "He wants to treat women as pieces of meat and jokes about it but in actuality he’s a gentleman and a family careerman who has a job so he don’t really care about that rn".

Going back to Toshiro’s party, Chilchuck being weird about it being full of women doesn’t even happen only once but TWICE. I made a compilation of every time he’s crass, happens less than you might expect but the overall picture it gives throughout reading the manga is pretty straightforward. Repeatedly he’s shown to be dirty-minded and shown to objectify & sexualize women both lightheartedly and unprompted. They’re a punchline and they’re eye candy and it’s "of COURSE my succubus would be young women, of COURSE women would desire a muscled statue’s [redacted], of COURSE women are sexual beings and of course I am attracted to them".

Dungeon Meshi doesn’t bring up sexuality much and gendered dynamics tend to be more subtle than you’d expect from media in general, so there’s that, but I honestly struggle to think of any character that acts less normal about women existing than him. Like yeah he’s joking but Hien, Benichidori, Inutade and Maizuru were just breathing and doing their jobs. Who else’s misogynistic uhh, that guy working for the shadow governor that licks Cithis’ ear when she’s bound in ropes? The sheer jump from ‘makes demeaning jokes about women’ to ‘assaulter’ between these two, god.

Honestly it does feel odd to me that he’d be kinda demeaning like that about women even in a workplace setting —Chilchuck the union man out of everyone?— but Kui has spoken man idk, think what you will don’t shoot the messenger. It’s not like he’s weird about Namari? I guess he respects her too much- Wait that sounded wrong. Maybe it’s literally just because she and the other women party members are his direct coworkers, in line with his rule and all? But yeah, even if he canonically had a thing for blondes and pretty young women he has managed to only tease Marcille ceaselessly for fun & entertainment and make her hair extra shiny as his shapeshifter, you get a good behavior star there Chilchuck. He complains on waiting for Marcille to get ready in the barometz chapter and the first anime ED but he also does with Laios when he’s late to meet up the party in extras. He constantly pulls on Marcille to get her to safety as if she can’t protect herself but she’s referred to as clumsy a lot so he has that justified reasoning. He constantly berates everyone so no point to make there. He undermines Marcille’s opinions often but it’s because he dislikes mages and elves and idealism. Clearly Chilchuck knows women can be capable and clearly he can have women coworkers (and friends! Again, Namari) without belittling or sexualizing them, clearly he can be normal about women and knows that some of his attitude can be inappropriate. It’s just harmless fun to him, that he keeps for occasional playful banter and taverns and the ‘right’ moods.

And as I mentioned earlier! Chilchuck is also pretty gentlemanly and protective. As always desires vs wants and instinct vs rationality show up as themes. Yes his succubus aka his ideal, the deepest allure he can imagine, is beautiful naked women, but a chapter just before that was the bicorn, all about how faithful and virtuous he is, how his heart’s in the right place. His brain is virtuous but his heart is monkey. My point is that when it counts, aka 90% of the time and when things are serious, we don’t see signs of sexist bias and he treats women well. Often takes on a protector role or at the least takes them seriously, even Benichidori. He doesn’t want to hurt women or thinks they’re insignificant or anything. He’ll give a handkerchief to a woman in need with a slimy face.

Okay okay this is really entering speculation territory but in my own tally, the way he dismissed his wife’s ‘bad mood’ as some meaningless tantrum that he shouldn’t think any more deeply about, him starting out not reaching out to her as a resentful silent treatment, and her getting dissatisfied in the first place enough to leave makes me think he took her for granted and was kinda dismissive of her in general. Marcille’s theorical scenario is hypothetical and factually untrue at least in parts, but if we do follow it, him forgetting he’s out with his wife for once (in the precious counted time he’s home spending time with her) and not paying attention to her all outing, resulting in her being left out of conversations and just an ornament beside him the way she might have felt for a long time as his housewife waiting home for him to come back………

Editing this paragraph in: Okay I don’t know how I missed mentioning this but, when he’s asked why his wife left him, Chilchuck literally point blank thinks that being thought to have cheated on his wife is LESS SHAMEFUL than not knowing the reason why (due to poor communication skills or whatnot). It’s so ridiculous that it can be hard to see beyond it as a gag or twist, but make of this what you will but this is not a great look for his priorities and his view of women especially in regards to toxic masculinity, good lord. When I talk about him having a sense of being entitled to his wife and dismissive of her emotions that’s sort of what I mean. He thinks it’s better for people to think he mistreated his wife and did something terrible than just failed at keeping her affection for reasons he doesn’t grasp. His pride, both in giving her the silent treatment and doing damage control when talking about it to others like Marcille and coworkers, takes priority over their relationship and love.

Half-foots seem to be patriarchal. The last section of this essay’s chapter (not by me!) + combing through its half-foot chapter should give you insight on that if you want. It’s in their patronymic, it’s in the way marriage seems very important especially for women, and it’s in the implied gender roles, being a housewife whose life revolves around raising her husband’s kids and taling care of the family home waiting for her husband who’s out working to come back. I think Chilchuck is a bit a result of his environment and upbringing in that way, that most of the misogyny is internalized and subconscious and passive, it’s taking his wife for granted because not only does she trust her, his most precious person he’s known since he was a kid, but because she’s his wife, his woman, conceptually something that’s unwaveringly devoted, something that is very valued and enforced in half-foot communities. Here’s a short post on half-foot family bonds culturally + here’s a post on marriage and half-foots for more. The community aspect of half-foots is very strong, which makes sense especially for how empoverished and discriminated against they are, which does come at the expense of not unlike dwarves (dwarves which half-foots idolize) having more pressure to fit in and have a good reputation to not be cast out and have no support lines. By being scared and needing stability people will often be more conservative, etc etc, though the reverse is also often true, like Chilchuck with his union. But yes Chilchuck seems to have many biases he clings onto, harsh on especially Marcille and Laios, Marcille for her idealism, race and magic meanwhile Laios for his lack of social skills and ‘reckless’ behavior.

He also does the classic "Don’t you dare date my daughter!!", though it’s a bit up in the air because he only gets agitated about coworkers being suitors, not nearly as hostile to the idea when it’s some nameless dwarf. But y’know when a guy assumes every men is as horny and sleazy as they are so they’re like "never trust men"… Chilchuck does embody a lot the tropes of just, the everyday flawed middle aged man. The absentee father and careerman husband who does care despite it all. Disillusioned grumpy old man. Old divorced drunkard joe with a thing for cute young blonde women, as a friend put it.

We know Kui subverses tropes a lot, I definitely think Kui leans into these if nothing else for the bit. He’s tropes of the strict family Father, man doing inappropriate jokes around a beer with his drinking buddies, working man exhausted and frustrated by his job, midlife crisis. Also because of how he acts with Marcille, I always say he’s the boy on the playground pulling on the pigtails of his girl friend bc he thinks it’s funny. Because he thinks she’s pretty.

So point blank, Chilchuck respects women as individuals but he can get a little lost in the sauce when thinking about women in general and jumps to sexualizing them in ways that can be objectifying and dismissive. Casual lowkey misogyny for the bit that may or may not slip into non-jokes as well sometimes when it comes to seeing women as something inherently to defend or take for granted, though he’s well-meaning. He engages in gender roles of "men should be strong and burly" and "daughters should listen to their fathers’ opinion before dating a guy". A guy engaging in patriarchy without thinking much of it y’know, more or less passive and unaware. He’s good in economic and human rights issues but would not win the political correctness medal (though he does care about optics and is very conscious of appearing as upstanding and innocent with the elves or Toshiro’s and Kabru’s parties to avoid getting thrown in jail. Overcompensating for half-foot criminal reputations etc etc. Post on that here).

Do I believe Chilchuck would march for women’s rights? Yes. Do I believe he would make ‘ye old ball and chain’ and ‘my wife’ and ‘ah women’ jokes? Yes. Do I believe he would punch anyone making one such jokes about his wife or daughters? Yes.

I was pretty flippant bc honestly Chilchuck the Sleazy Horny Old Man is hilarious to me but yes hopefully the post was decent. "How could I be sexist? I love bitches"

[oc-aita]

Welcome to oc-aita!

This blog functions exactly like @am-i-the-asshole-official, except it's for the blorbos from your head only. You pick a scenario that happened in your story, and write it in the point of view of your OC of choice (which doesn't specifically means how other OCs view the situation, or what really happened). Then, they will be judged whether or not they're the asshole here.

The questions will come with a poll, and it follows the same categories as these. For easy access (although they are explained a bit more on the link), they are:

YTA = You're the asshole NTA = Not the asshole JAH = Justified asshole NAH = No assholes here ESH = Everyone sucks here INFO = Not enough information to judge.

Please, provide at least a bit of context! Specially if there's magic or other things that aren't from the real world, but also just. The context needed to understand the situation (or what your OC considers important/relevant).

I also accept fan characters, but I don't know every piece of media, so please clarify (in another ask) if they're from a specific media.

NSFW (tagged as "NSFT") is allowed, but don't get too explicit, if possible. I am an adult, so don't worry for me.

This blog runs on a queue! For now, the waiting time can be up to a week I think, but that's more of a guesstimate rather than a hard truth. You can also find your AITA posted the next day you send it, it really depends.

I will be tagging potential triggers as "[thing] tw", and mentions of these as "[thing] ment". If possible and needed, please put trigger warnings on your own at the beginning on your ask! Sometimes I can miss stuff.

I don't accept Alternative Universes AITAs only involving canon characters from media. If your AITA is about a fan character and it involves a canon character from that media (example, if your FC is asking whether they're the asshole in a situation involving a canon character), that's fine, but this only focuses on characters you yourself created (unless you are the creator from that book/comic/series/etc, I'm not going to stop you in that case:p). Sorry about that!

With this, we're nearly done. A few things, though: Unless they're tagged as "my own", the OCs and situations are not mine. So, don't send anything about them directed towards me. I will not post hate or anything negative directed towards the owner themself, and avoid telling bad things to the owner on the notes for what their character did. And please, don't take this too seriously, this is just a silly little blog for silly fictional characters! I will add the corresponding trigger warnings if needed, but these characters don't exist, and real people matter more than fictional characters.

Done? Then get ready for your little guy to be judged!

[spectralstitions]

THERE'S A MAP FINALLY LOL (EXPLODES)

Hey, it's Cas! In my last post about mapmaking, I wrote that the next time I posted about it, I hoped it'd be because my map was finished. Well, guess what? I FINISHED IT! It only took me, like... uh... half a year to get around to it. Well, here it is! Two versions: one plain, one labeled.

It's such a relief to have this finished. Finally, after a thousand years of just thinking about it, I have something resembling a visual resource! Yay! That said, it's not perfect, and definitely more of an approximation than anything. There are touch-ups to be made, many touch-ups, but I might just save that for an end-of-year progress check. For now, it's good enough!

The lack of labels has nothing to do with minimalism and everything to do with the fact that I really hate naming things. V-shaped icons point to major settlements. Dot icons mark settlements that are smaller, but subject to show up often for whatever reason. Those ones in particular I'm sure will get edited or shifted around over time.

Now, to meticulously explore each and every region!

I'll work from top to bottom!

Surprise, I'm starting with the name! I find myself drawn to names that sound simple but have lots of interesting connotations. In this case, I'd been searching for a name that captured the feeling of a far off, enigmatic place, something vast and always just beyond reach. Then, while I was searching, and in a manner not unlike that one Overwatch meme, the word "Hinterlands" played in the Lord Huron song I was listening to and I had my HOLY SHIT moment. There's no way a name this whimsical hasn't already been snagged by some cartoon or something, but I can live with that.

As an aside, if I were to pick just one piece of media that encapsulated what I'm going for with this project, it'd be the album Strange Trails by Lord Huron. Of all my many inspirations, it's the one that's had the most profound impact. So the name also works as a homage!

Starting off spooky with our first region, the Old Waythrough. It's a place most people don't like to talk or even think about, but it's always there, looming just under the surface. It has remarkably little presence even in local folklore, and what little there is has been cut into pieces and scattered about through generations of oral storytelling. That said, there are a couple surviving records of Parthans attempting flyovers, eager to prove their courage. None of them get very far, but interestingly, even across the centuries, their recounts have all been similar, describing endless, desolate lands that are empty save for random objects and footprints in the snow.

One famous story, and the tale behind the region's common name, recounts the miraculous journey of the first partha who made contact with the mainland using the Waythrough as a guide. If true, this partha is the only known creature to have crossed the Waythrough in its entirety—and in doing so, gave the fasa who saw them quite a scare!

Our next region is Parthesa, or the parthan homelands! Yeah, get ready for some confusing naming conventions. I'll try to break it down:

The species itself, singular and plural, is known as "partha". Its descriptive form is "parthan".

Partha born on Parthesa, as well as any outsider accepted into their flocks, are known as "Parthans" with a capital P.

All partha born on Parthesa are also called skyborn, while their mainland cousins are called wildborn.

It's a bit much, but I promise, so are they. Parthesa itself is frequently described as a paradise, mostly for the fact that there seems to be a strange lack of spirit activity on the islands themselves. Is that the full story, though? Who knows — Parthans aren't exactly scrambling to brag about how UNbetter-than-everyone-else they and their homeland are. On that note, did Parthans name themselves after their homeland, or did they name their homelands after themselves? Mysteries upon mysteries...

Famously, the islands are beautiful — flower fields, waterfalls, seaside cliffs, mountains and valleys to dip and dive through, and that wonderful ocean breeze! Plus, as long as you've got parthan feather insulation and love storms, the weather's great! Infamously, getting to Parthesa is incredibly dangerous without a Parthan guide, something that's hard to come by. Without one, travelers don't have a great track record of being seen again.

On the opposite side of the Waythrough, we've got the fasan homelands! This dashing, idyllic little landscape is defined by mountains, rivers, lakes, colorful flower fields, and forests of towering boreal trees. Also, ignore that green mountain I forgot to recolor.

Fasa like to incorporate waterways into their architecture in interesting ways, building settlements that trace the length of rivers. Despite their homeland's cutesy appearance, their deep forests harbor all sorts of dangers. Uniquely, this danger doesn't just concern spirits, but entire swathes of dangerous, predatory animals. Still, as long as you take the proper safety precautions, it's a lovely place to live. Their main city can be found by following the paths of the rivers into the mountains. Their harbor town is much newer but has quickly become prosperous!

Okay, you see this gigantic piece of land with almost zero markers in it? This one's my sandbox. Why does nobody seem to want to live here? Well, they tried. They really tried, judging by all the bizarre artifacts poking out of the ground everywhere. The place is a mass graveyard, with evidence of ancient raswa, fasa, and who knows what else engaged in constant territory spats going back centuries. However, these battles seemed to have stopped very suddenly. It's assumed that the appearance of spirits was the last straw that pushed people back into their homelands, finally convincing them the place was just not worth it, something that countless deaths couldn't accomplish. But it's been thousands of years, and people are making tentative attempts to settle again, this time in unity—and hey, so far so good! The few settlements that exist here are characterized by the diversity of their people.

If you follow the trails, you're sure to come across fellow travelers, traders, and the like, but the vast majority of the land is void of people. You could walk for weeks or longer and not come across a single soul! There's a lot to discover, but it's a bit lonely...

Down south, you'll find the Underbelly! The Underbelly is the common name given to this region of wetland and swamp. It's one of the deadliest—and in many people's opinions, the grossest—places in the Hinterlands. Miraculously, there are a hardy people who've managed to make a living in the deep swamp, their treehouse cities literal lights in the darkness. They trade with and have close relations to raswa!

Nearly done! Now we've come to the raswan homelands. Not to be an edgelord, but this region is one defined by utter darkness. Well, okay, it's supposed to be a little edgy, but that part of it comes second. On the left half sleeps an incredibly dense roofed forest, such that light rarely grazes the forest floor. Mushrooms spawn like wildfire, and only those with the grace of raswa are going to have much luck navigating it. On the other side of the mountains lies the raswan desert, a place where sandblood raswans lead nomadic lifestyles. It's also a place many go to get in touch with their spirituality. Sandblood raswa wander the depths of the desert, traveling by night, when sand in the air lights up like stars. With their unique skin colors and plain dark clothes, raswa disguise themselves as part of the night sky to avoid deadly desert spirits. The spirits are a pain in the forests, too—raswa have devised safe pathways for travelers, but all they can really do is hand you a charm and beg you not to stray. Due to the regions' conditions, the settlements here remain mostly raswa, save for their newer harbor town.

We're onto the last area! This island is in a weird spot, and it's kind of just weird in general, so I saved it for last. It's even weird in the formatting of this blog post! What is wrong with you, fae homelands? This island was created very recently by one of the gods, although they are all credited for it. "Homelands" is a strange word for fae to use, though, because most fae do not come from this land at all. In fact, there are barely any trees here! In any case, This island is what connects all people, encouraging unity in times of despair. From edge to edge, the place is a gigantic market space, full to bursting with different kinds of people, vivid colors, and overwhelming sounds and smells.

And that's that! I'll be real, I had way more fun just writing all that than I did even making the map, so I hope that even 1 person skimmed it and got something out of it. But if not, this'll be a good resource for me, too, so, I guess it's win-win.

I'm not really sure what's next for me! I kinda want to work on more visual development for the fauna, spirits, and gods, but the other, realer, and more boring side of me thinks I should probably figure out the extremely basic information like fasan & raswan government styles first. Cause, you know, the fundamental structure of their society is kind of important...

I've made progress in other areas as well, so I may make a separate post for that! But for now I need a short break. Hope you enjoyed. Yay!

[meggahamicide]

Do it have tips on how you draw? Preferable your comic strips? Speaking of, are you a self taught artist?

I am indeed mostly self taught, been drawing since probably before I could talk. Save for the things I learned through a few videos online and some art classes in school, I haven't really had anyone to teach me how to draw. With that being said, sometimes, I wish I was taught by someone else simply because they'd be able to point out that I was doing things the hard way.

Maybe one day I'll do some online classes or something.

As for your other questions, I don't actually have that much experience in comics save for a few pages here and there. I know you're looking for something technical, but I can't give you that right now (maybe ask me in a year, lol).

However, I do have something else I think is important to learn that it to me a while to really understand (even longer to put to practice). So with that in mind and putting myself at risk of sounding a little preachy:

Try not to be a perfectionist!

I often find myself stuck in a loop of never finding a piece good enough, of rendering and rendering until it becomes overworked and loses the spark that made it interesting in the first place. It's why I tend to lose sight of why I create: to have fun and spread my joy and passion for art with others.

Having the skill to correct poses, expressions, page layout, and everything that goes between comes with time and practice. Being able to see mistakes is a good thing, but it's always beneficial to remember that your human. Flaws are part of being a person and often times makes your art more interesting simply because of its imperfection.

Next: Take your time and be patient with yourself!

So much of today's social media is surrounded by comparisons and I am no saint in this; I fall right into rabbit holes of comparing my art with that of someone I admire. All that really does is make me hate my own stuff and the skills I've worked years to improve. It makes me see all the skills they have but I don't. It makes me think that I should be at the same advanced level as they are, but I forget, and I think a lot of other people do too, that we are all on our own art journey. Maybe you started drawing later than someone. Maybe you just don't pick up certain skills as fast as someone else. Maybe you're simply younger than someone else. Maybe you've been on a hiatus and you haven't drawn in a while.

No matter where you are in your journey, it's important to remember that you are your own person, you work at your own pace. Remember to take a look back on where you were a few years ago, remember that improvement is not always instant, that there are things you can't learn overnight. There are goals you have that are bound to be difficult to reach. You're going to get frustrated and impatient and it might make you want to give up altogether, but for every struggle, there is always the satisfaction of success in the end as long as you don't give up and give yourself the compassion and patience you deserve.

Geez, this turned out a lot longer than you probably wanted to ready and I'm sure it's not exactly what you were looking for, but it's what I had to offer.

But as proof of my overly dramatic rant, I give you a drawing I did in March of 2021 to a current Wip that I've been working on, over three years of progress:

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep7 Musings - RIP Claudeleine

Here we effing go, y'all. 🤧

The coven tortured them b4 the were put on trial--W T F 😱

Yep, in the rat box--what practical PURPOSE or POINT was there to put Claudia in there to get gnawed on by feral rats, other than sick sadistic viciousness? We know Celeste & Estelle used the Mind Gift on Roget--you mean they could'n't've done that to Claudia like Santiago did on Madz? You HAD to stuff her in there? EVIL.

Daaaaang, they used a wombo-combo Mind Gift to tell her to STFU; her effing nose is bleeding!

"In all their chilling premeditation"--yep, this is why criminals should never leave diaries or use social media! 😅🤦‍♀️ And omfg they let the audience read her diaries, I can't. 🫣 And the Baby LouLou fangirls aren't in the front row this time; effing fair-weather fans! 😒

GOD the coven frikkin hamstrung them, too!? 😱 To the BONE!

"Evil of my evil," SAY IT. Claudia laughing like she finna dance in his innards. "It moved Claudia, right up on her [HAMSTRUNG] feet," I was AGHAST. If y'all don't step TF back and give my daughter room to tear his a-hole wide open!

I love how AMC changed Ghost!Claudia's legacy, cuz the diaries were all Lou had, which implied that Claudia died "hating his guts," as Daniel said in 1x7. But by regaining his memories of the Trial, AMC!Lou gets to see that Claudia actually went out DEFENDING him. The one she REALLY had beef with was Lestat. Ofc she resented Lou, but most of all she loved her Daddy Lou, and was traumatized seeing him broken like an EGG from an airplane that SHE tried her darndest to piece back together. And Lestat can't say EFF ALL, cuz he already admitted that he broke him to hurt him.

EXAAAAAAACTLYYYYYYYYY! 🗣️🗣️🗣️

(Girl we all know you ain't sorry, lol. But PREACH!)

SPITE! 😫 Lestat was being SPITEFUL. Yes, this IS his big revenge; he DGAF about Claudia, he came there for Louis, YES! Did he expect Claudia to die? No, he EXPECTED Armand to get TF up and save ALL of them. But he DID go in there ready and willing to throw Claudia under the bus to get Louis out of there.

Claudia called herself "just a roof shingle" that flew off Loustat's townhouse, as she shuffles her way back to her seat. Chile, this whole audience us dumb as a pile of bricks to not notice that she's LITERALLY hamstrung. The unbelievable pain she must be in, omg.

FACTS! 😫👏

"Took the air out of the place with that one" EMMYS WHEN 😫 "Got a lot less fun real quick" EMMYS WHENNNNNN 😫

("'RHIIISE!" Santiago's campy accents & pronunciations STAHP.) WHY ON EARTH would anyone wanna join this nasty AF coven after seeing the hypocritical effed up way y'all treat people!? Y'all shoulda just kept her hypnotized and made her say yes, which proves that y'all really didn't care if Madz joined or died anyway! She was just collateral; and I guarantee if she'd joined they'd've used her in their actual mock trial plays, making her relive her shame the same way they did with Baby LouLou.

I get that Claudia shook her head, only wanting Madz to join so she'd stay alive, but I'm with Madz--they'd've killed her for some bogus reason sooner or later. Might as well die with her companion.

😭 MY COVEN IS CLAUDIA, TOO! 😭 Claudia finally feeling like someone in the world picked her first. 😭

STFU Santiago. 😡

STFU Lestat. 😡 (I had to make a separate post for this, cuz it's both ironic AF but also wildly in-character that Lestat of all people would mock Madeleine for doing this.)

Flip them all off, yaaas! 🤬🤬🤬🤬

I was on the edge of my seat; I knew my BAMF daughter was gonna do or say SOMETHING crazy. 👀

My daughter said "Until you do right by me everything you THINK about gonna fail!" 😤 Armand said moment of defiance; PLEASE! ALL HER LIFE SHE HAD TO FIGHT!

Rest in power, Claudia! ❤️👸🏼👸🏽👸🏾❤️

My life every time a new IWTV episode airs.

That's the same flute dude AND SONG playing when Armand set that Children of Darkness/Satan vampire on fire. Execution dirge WTF 😭

The ultimate gaslight.

Not Claudia embracing Madz as she singing that effing song take me out back and end it. 💔

Look at Lestat's bish arse standing back there watching while HIS BLOOD DAUGHTER burns to ash--Mr. I Could Not Prevent It #2! The last thing she saw on earth was her deadbeat father not doing a effing thing to help her--

--but Louis leapt through FIRE and a whole burning building to save his daughter; a girl he didn't even KNOW, and already loved unconditionally! Blood ain't thicker than water, eff what ya heard! 😤

EXCUSE ME!? 😱 Santiago I hate you so much, wow.

"Tweedley deedly dead" written on the mirror in Claudia's (or Santiago's?) booth at the Theatre; you can see her yellow dress in the corner too; omg this coven is nasty. That BETTER NOT BE her ashes.

We been expected this my guy; the movie's like 30 years old and the book's 50+, be serious. But y'all did an AMAZING adaptation; adding in things I definitely didn't expect, like Claudia singing the song. 😭👌

Claudia's the GOAT. 🐐

[bearhyuck127]

Meet me in court

Lawyer!Mark lee x fem!reader

Warning- mention of murder.. nothing else reall

Disclaimer- not proofread

Chapter 1- confusion

It was a normal day for me and my members.

We sat in a circle reviewing the dance video for our upcoming comeback, all of our eyes were trained on the video as someone walks Into the room.

"Mrs. Y/n will you come with us please?" Says a man that I swear I've never seen before.

I stand up looking back at my members who's faces were filled with confusion as I shrug.

As I walk out of the room the man says nothing as he walks down the hall taking long strides as if he was in a hurry.

We make it to a big room that I've never been in before. The man opens the door to reveal what I would guess is more staff sitting there huddled together.

I enter the room and realize there were three cops leaning against the wall.

" Whats going on?" I ask in a worried tone looking back at the man that has already closed the door and taken his seat.

" Have a seat Mrs y/n" says one of the cops in a deep intimidating voice. My heart beats faster as I sit down the cops following soon after.

" So Mrs. Y/n are you aware of the current situation?" The intimidating cop asks.

" What... Is there something wrong?" I ask my heart dropping.

The staff exchange glances at each other as the cop pulls a piece of paper out of a folder that they had and sliding it over to me.

As I skim through the paper I gasp my heart dropping.

Written on the paper was a printed out post that was made earlier this morning. It was a post claiming that I was a murder along with multiple paragraphs of "evidence" " What is this?? Who wrote this?" I ask the color draining from my face."

We are trying to track down the information of the creator. I'm afraid the post has already gained a lot of attention." Says the female cop.

"Well can't you take it down? This isn't funny it could ruin my career." I exclaim

" We understand miss and we are trying but right now we need to take you in for questioning."

Questioning? I didn't do anything wrong. I think to myself. None of this I my fault.

I think back to all the times people warned me of things like this....

The look of worry and concern in my parents eyes.

"Honey don't you think that's a big stretch? You know how hard that industry could get." Says my sweet mother that warned me... Time and time again.

" We will always support you in your dreams kiddo." Says my father that tries to sound supporting but you can see the doubt in his eyes.

They warned me...And I didn't listen.

The uncomfortable stares of the staff burning holes in my body.. the whisper of the managers deciding my fate.

The hollow look on my face as I slouch in the chair ready to take the blow.

Ready... I thought I was ready..

But as I hear the words. " Mrs. Yn we have decided that it is best if you take a break the situation is... Getting out of hand." The world around me stops and I can hear ringing in my ear.

They lead me to the cop car that was parked at the front of the building sitting me in the back of the car and driving away.

As I see the comments and hate that flood the comment section of every social media platform I, had I knew...It's over....

My life as an idol is over.

When we get to the station they bring me to the back of the building and into a room leaving me alone.

The room was dark and stuffy. The only light that filled the room is the dim broken over head light that flickered every few seconds.

I stay silent in the rusty black folded chair as I wait for something to happen.

After what felt like hours of waiting a lady walks in. She had long brown hair that was tied up into a ponytail. She had a black and white suit on that contrasted with the dark eyebags that hung under her sunken eyes.

" Good morning Mrs y/n my name is Detective Lucy it's nice to meet you." she says reaching out a hand.

I shake her hand and she sits down on the chair with a soft groan.

" I understand you are probably overwhelmed right now but we just want to ask some questions." She says pulling out her phone and pressing record. " I hope you don't mind but we have to record this session for evidence" she explained leaning back in her chair. I nod swallowing before taking a deep breath.

" Did you know anything about the post that was made this morning before it was shown to you?"

" No I was with my members since 6 in the morning we never look at our phones while we are practicing."

" So you know anything about the murder that was talked about in the post?" She asks and when I don't say anything she stands up and walks around the room slowly.

" On Saturday January 6th the murder of Jacob Kim took place in the alley way next to your company building.. coincidence huh?" She asks almost mockingly.

" Mr. Kim was killed by multiple stab wounds and was dumped in the trash cans near the ally way. He was found two days later after getting a call from a lady that found him as she was throwing trash away."

My eyes were focused on her as she walks around the room suddenly stopping and turning towards me with her arms crossed." You haven't heard anything about it?" She asks raising an eyebrow.

"N-no I haven't heard anything.. I don't think my members have either " I say getting nervous.

She nods as she sits back in her chair. " This is a big thing Mrs. Y/n you are being accused of murder.. " she says leaning on the table her hands intertwined.

" If the parents take this to court it can get messy I suggests you find a lawyer just in case..." She says glancing up at the clock and reaching over to grab her phone.

" Over at 12:56" she says Into her phone before stopping the recording and standing up, the chair creaking from the weight being lifted off of it as if it was sighing in relief.

" You are free to go Mrs y/n" she say walking towards the door and opening it. " Good luck" she says before walking out of the room. And I could have sworn I heard her whisper...

You'll need it.

💭- I changed like... everything last second but I like the way it flowed much better. Chapter 2 will be posted soon. Enjoy!

[maranull]

Thought dump —I guess rant— prompted by the last rb. If it doesn't make sense it's because I don't give a shit about how easy this reads, actually.

Some folks, queer and not, see trans people as trans first and people second, if they even view us as people at all.

Every piece of media, of social voices, of queer history, of everything screams that a trans woman wants and has to fight. Has to be out and proud in a country that wouldn't think twice to attack or kill us. Has to be strong, has to be a rock for other queers, has to be the idea of the legends that were Sylvia Rivera and Martha P. Jonson and all the others. We also have to be pretty. We have to want to fuck every single person. We have to be loud and we have to be funny and we have to be this idea of a trans woman that internet people have.

I personally can't be that ideal of transness the internet has. I'm constantly scared as hell. I'm both on hrt and also stealthing like my life depends on it, which tbf, it does in one way or another. I now have to bind and I hate it, yet I do it and a binder is on its way to continue to do it better. I look like shit and that's not self-deprecating bullshit, rather a fact that I accept more than I accept your expectations of me. Would I prefer to be out? Yes. Can I do that without placing my livelihood and potentially life at risk? No.

And again and again, both media and other queer people try and tell me if my country, my culture, and my social circles are safe or not. As if they know better than me. "It's hard but it's manageable," says the rich trans woman on the TV. "It's fine, really," says the one with a supportive job and social circle. "You're overeating," says the asshole from a progressive culture.

None of them have seen the disgust and the hate in people's eyes. One has a car, the other is with company and the third is miles and miles away. They haven't seen a whole train wagon quiet down the moment a trans woman enters, they haven't seen how they looked at her. How her shoulders and head were fallen and how tight her jaw was. They haven't seen how ready to fight she was and more importantly, had to be, just taking the train for two stops.

Only one trans woman, a random one in a random article, said it how it is in Greece: Every step as a visible trans woman is a risk. Every walk through an empty road, every interaction at a store, every conversation with a stranger, every appearance in a public space and every time you let someone learn where you live is a potentially life threatening risk. It's a coin flip each time. Do I return home unharmed or not? Heads or tails? Will I be safe in my own house? Heads? Or tails?

And some are brave, some have support, some are rich and some pass perfectly and some do make it unharmed. Others get assaulted, forced into sex work, killed in their own homes, go "missing", get buried with their dead-names by families that hated them. I'm not able nor willing to take that on, until I reach the point were I'll have to. I'm not the internet's idea of a trans woman. I am a trans woman, like an actual fucking person, in a highly hostile environment with absolutely no one having my back.

And I come here, and the progressive internet in general, and I occasionally see cunts from progressive states and countries that act like that being conforming is the most vile thing you can do as a trans person. Passing? Wanting to live without turbulence? Wanting to not have molotovs thrown at your window? Fake tranny. Acting as if transness is a specific nonconforming ideal that all "real" trans people must achieve. And as if we all have to want to be queer ambassadors. As if we all have the freedom to be. (Since this is the zero reading comprehension website, I'll add that I'm not saying that being non-conforming is somehow bad or that everyone that has that as their gender or appearance goal is an inconsiderable asshole.)

I don't have a point to make, I don't think. But I do have a gigantic FUCK YOU to anyone that sees trans people as their idea of transness and not as individual people in varying cultures, situations and mindsets. Guess that's my point. We are people, not ideas. And stop enforcing your ideas on our individualities.

[bobwess]

Has your time in film affected how you consume media?

What has been your most surreal experience on set?

Has your time in film affected how you consume media?

Usually I'm good about managing not to think about it, but every once in a while I start focusing on the how-it-was-made instead of the whats-on-screen-storywise.

One difference is actors. There are a couple actors who I've worked with who were giant assholes, and I just can't watch anything with them in it.

(Doesn't happen as much, but there are a couple actors I've gotten to know very well over the years, and for them specifically I have a really hard time taking them seriously in villain roles specifically so a couple big movies have been completely ruined for me.)

I think the biggest change has been when something goes wrong, I can usually source what went wrong. But it sort of ruins my enjoyment of making fun of bad stuff? Sam's bad wig in the finale? Shit, I know what that's like and I know why it happened. So I miss out on being able to just sit back and laugh at people's fuck-ups. (Doesn't ALWAYS stop me, I'm not a saint, but--)

Another smaller one, films tend to just yank poor innocent crew members and force them onto the screen to fill out background, and there is a chunk of movies that I hate watching parts of because I don't really love seeing myself on camera, so a bit of it is just ruined for me.

What has been your most surreal experience on set?

That is difficult to pick there are so many!!

There was a film once that was filming all over, but unit base was in this giant sports arena, and all the trucks and some of our cars just parked in the middle of this sports arena. We go about our day from there, we're on a couple locations, I spend some down time exploring the tunnels under and rafters of the arena. It's a good day. (I was make-up on this particular set. That day there were only 2 of us.)

At the end of it, we have one scene left, with only one principal actor, so the other makeup artist is like "You go on home, you have a longer commute" because we don't need two of us for one scene.

So I pack up my case, and start rolling out onto the sports arena floor, heading for my car. Except I can't see my car. What I *CAN* see is this beautiful marble bathroom in the middle of the floor that HAD NOT been there when I parked and was now fully blocking my car in.

Sets department descended upon this place and had constructed a beautiful and complex bathroom facade set piece so they could film this last scene out of nowhere. (They thought my car was one of the grips' who would be one of the last people to leave set, so they didn't realize they were blocking anyone in.)

So I got to roll back in and tell her that in fact I couldn't leave because my car was in the bathroom.

I ended up staying. It was a scene where the actor dances around the bathroom getting ready and then takes a bubble bath, so I spent a large amount of my time up to my shoulders in a giant plastic bin, swishing around bubble bath to work up a huge foam so I could artfully coat him in it between shots.

It was actually a really good day. Loved that actor. We had a good time pranking the other makeup artist while she was away.

[zuzajs14]

Thanks for tagging me @birdstiel 💕

I guess we are doing it. Let's expose ourselves.

8 series to get to know me:

- Supernatural - obviously. my current hyperfixation as you can all tell. I am rather obsessive consumer of media but there are not that many shows close to my heart. and while I despise it deeply (I am a writer and bad storytelling kills me), I am also unable to not love it. this show had many great ideas and even bigger potential, many amazing characters who's story I woul love to explore. the unused or misused or badly used possibilities... damn it.

- Once Upon a Time - listen, i know it's low budget with shitty special effects (the poorly done fire every fucking time). but this is my comfort show. the idea is great, there are a lot of strong women (and one pirate who I am madly in love with). it's not very bright but I never needed it to be. it's just... fairytales, you know. comfort. and my beloved trait of gray morality - evil is made, not born ect, ect

- Doctor Who - this shit saved me. i am not sci fi person much (with exceptions, sure). but this silly man(I use it as a gender neutral term, like - damn, man) in a box, that fights the good fight... a pacifist that killed whole races (the bad ones, sure, but you know). and this otherworldly creature just struggles with so many emotions and is damned to feel forever lonely while having so many people live them... It's AAAAA. sure there are bad episodes. but who cares. i love it

- Our flag means death - you may not now this about me (but everyone in rl DOES as it's my personality) but I love pirates. like a lot. so obviously I care the silly gay pirates show. and I generally like Taika's projects. it's just adorable. makes me feel warm and fuzzy. and has a bit of angst. niceeee

- What we do in the shadows - again, silly and gay. i like gay media, what a suprise. and I love dumb characters. and they are all sooooo fucking stupid. love it. and ya know, vampires ( i have pirates and vampires, I need silly gay cowboys next)

- Game of Thrones - I am still so fucking mad. but I am also a sucker for dark fantasy. the costumes, the drama, the freaking politics and magic. also Jaime and Brienne. this dynamic is all to me. i've read the books to. and it's good storytelling. but unfinished... so sure the show fucked it up. tragic, really (still not emotionally ready to rewatch it dhdjdjd)

- Good Omens - Neil Gaiman is my favourite author. Really. Terry Pratchett is high on that list too. and as Neil supervised this adaptation... and it has David Tennant and Michael Sheen... couldn't go wrong. and is just hilarious and tender and full of love (and biblical motives which is something I value a lot - Gabriel shouting he's buying pornography lives rent free in my head)

- Broadchurch - you can't tell by this list but I like criminal shows too! (I was thinking os putting Sherlock on the list cause I care it a lot too and bonded with my mum over it buuuuut... somehow Broadchurch won, being fresher in my memory) again it has David Tennant, who's work I enjoy a great deal. and it's really good story that kept me on my toes. first season is my favourite

Huh. It was hard choosing only 8. Special mentions go to Sherlock, The Terror and One Piece (pirates!)

Okay, I will shut up now. This is way too long anyhow

No pressure tags (I still hate tagging people, I don't want to annoy anyone but I am curious about yours!)

@naughtystiel @fluffsnake @valeron99 @archervale @werepires (still intimated by you but if you want 👉👈)

And anyone who wants to! You can tag me and I will defo read it! I would gladly see all of my mutuals do it, but as I haven't talked to most of you, I am still shy about bothering you...

[oldmanontumbler]

Are you the "token" queer person in your family?

When did you realize you weren't cishet?

Something that gives you gender euphoria (whether you're cis or trans):

Favorite (or just one you love) piece of LGBT media?

Do you practice any religion, if so how does it play into your LGBT identity? Do you feel welcomed by your spiritual community?

What queer discourse frustrates you the most?

How do you feel about the term partner rather than husband/girlfriend/etc?

OH. YOU ARE THE BEST. ARE YOU. 💙🩵💙🩵

I wouldn't say "token" in the "family" - I'm bi and my baby bro is queer, but only out to the more "American" sides of our families. The Eastern European sides are very gung-ho supportive of us as people, but nooo idea about what they're like with LGBT stuff. As far as I'm aware, Victor and I are the only ones here who're some flavour of rainbow.

I was quite young and out shopping for clothes - late at night and against my will. My mom had just recently explained to me what "gay" was, and after a small homophobic stint (I got better), I was ready remade to be the best ally possible. But at this hour of night, "gay" and "straight" and whatever were the last things on my mind and I just wanted to go HOME when a female classmate of mine walked into the store, flashed me a smile, and turned away just in time to miss my face absolutely BURSTING into flames. I wasn't THAT dense, but tried and tried to reason with myself that it was just fatigue and I didn't REALLY find her hot (and called myself on the lie right away), and to make a long story short, that was that. Then I went back into repression for an age, and said beautiful ""girl"" has actually come out as a trans man since then. So my "gay awakening" was still on a guy. Very nice.

I'm a cis girl, but in order to maintain my Cis+ License, my brain sends me a fresh gender crisis once in a while. I don't have a binder or anything, but I love it when I look in the mirror and see the masculinity of my features. My nose, my jawline, my eyebrows - all it takes is contorting my face the right way, and I can see the Man In The Mirror. I wish that other people could.

Dated though it may be, the Rocky Horror Picture Show holds a vice grip on my heart! And although I have no intention of watching The Owl House, every picture I see of Luz and Amity, of Raine, of Willow's fathers, of any character and their canon flags - it just brightens my soul and strokes my heart to know that this is something kids will get to grow up with.

I do not practice religion, but most of the buildings around here are lovely, with rainbow flags they keep up year-round. There's one nasty church, I think, but the others manage to outdo it. :)

The piece of queer discourse that I hate the most IS "queer discourse." And nowadays, I see a lot of ahistorical posts going around about how "queer being a slur was invented by radfems and transphobes," which inadvertently leads to "if you don't like the word 'queer' or see it as a slur, you're a traitor to the community," which... no. That's not only absolutely asinine, but also crass and dismissive. Some people have trauma from the homophobia/transphobia they endured from that word; some people simply just don't like it. And that's fine. Since when has our community had strictly unifying experiences, anyways? I am still troubled by that word and don't like being called such; my little brother is queer, and absolutely proud of his queerness. Of course both can exist; both HAVE existed for ages.

I LOVE the term "partner!!" I mostly tend to use it in lieu of "boyfriend" - the feeling that comes from saying "my girlfriend" as a woman is just indescribable (* note: said boyfriends and girlfriends are all hypothetical as of the moment). "Partner" is also a nice safety shield if your loved one realizes that they are trans or nonbinary - you can continue talking about them without revealing anything they may not be comfortable with sharing.

Thank you a million times for these questions, Ly!!!! Expect some of your own arriving shortly in your inbox. ;) 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

[aphandgflover]

I've studied Nabokov's Lolita in college. I hated reading it. I hated studying it, or answering questions about it. I hated thinking about the characters' motivations. I also hated thinking about why someone would write something like that. But I had to, and you know what? I'm glad I did.

Because it made me realize that me hating the narrator and story was probably the point of the book. We usually study books meant to be beautiful, meaningful, with good messages. Through most of my school years, those were the books we were given to study, but when I got into college, I had to read books that were about as pleasant as listenning to the wilhelm scream on repeat for five hours. And they were intended to be, the same way that an artpiece can be a can of shit or an upside-down urinal.

My teachers would always say that everything in a book is intentional. This statement is probably not entirely true, because I believe even the most careful, perfectionist author will always have a moment of weakness and just use whatever word is most convenient at the moment. But things as big as the general vibe of a book is not something that can easily be missed by its own author, so if the book has a nasty vibe, that's just because the author wanted it to.

Some authors want to make you uncomfortable. They want you to read their book and cringe so hard your face feels sore. If you showed up in front of them and said "Your book is shit and I want to burn it", they would probably smile and say. "Yes! Why?"

Because that's one of the points of art. Asking "why"? Why do I hate this character? Why do I feel uncomfortable? Why was this written? For older books : why did this survive for so long? For popular books : why did people read this?

I'm an online tutor, and when it comes to literature, I always tell my students that the only way to understand a piece of work is to ask questions, and then look for clues, like a detective cracking a case. I find it tragic that so many teens and young adults are learning to do that for the first time. A lot of them just want to find the "right answer" and get the good grade, they don't even feel curious enough to look up the words they don't know. I blame the school system.

I see that on the internet too, people complaining about pieces of media daring to use the smallest amount of subtlety instead of spoon-feeding them every single message. The most recent one? Someone complaining that nobody in Helluva Boss addressed the fact that Loona, a hellhound, was shamed for using what is treated like a slur while a member of demon royalty used it repeatedly throughout the episode with no repercussions. As if the very fact that this detail stood out enough to be noticed wasn't a statement in and of itself!

This was long, but essentially, yeah, a piece of media making you uncomfortable is further reason to keep it around, because if you care enough to think about why it makes you uncomfortable, you may discover new things about yourself and grow more intelligent in the future.

Sure, some books need to be labeled, the same way food needs to be labeled with potential allergens or dangerous substances. You don't want kids reading Marquis de Sade books, at least not without knowing exactly what's in them, and what the risks are. But that's no reason to ban them, the same way we don't ban alcohol despite it being poisonous. And if you don't feel ready to step out of your comfort zone and read Sade or Nabokov, then good for you! You don't have to! Just like you don't have to drink alcohol, or go parachuting, or do anything you don't want to do!

Essentially, just educate people, teach them how to think for themselves, and then let them do that.

“Authors should not be ALLOWED to write about–” you are an anti-intellectual and functionally a conservative

“This book should be taken off of shelves for featuring–” you are an anti-intellectual and functionally a conservative

“Schools shouldn’t teach this book in class because–” you are an anti-intellectual and functionally a conservative

“Nobody actually likes or wants to read classics because they’re–” you are an anti-intellectual and an idiot

“I only read YA fantasy books because every classic novel or work of literary fiction is problematic and features–” you are an anti-intellectual and you are robbing yourself of the full richness of the human experience.

[lettersfromcarm]

February 19th, 2024.

Some people claim that their soul is magic. Others, that it is made of love. And there are some (annoying) poets who will indulge in beautiful words to describe their soul as an ethereal beauty, a unique and calming landscape that they love, but exalted with the perfect words to create a perfect illusion.

Arguably, I belong to the last group. But my soul isn't pretty. I wish it was. In reality, it isn't nothing special. It's just an intricate weaving of contradictions.

I call myself a writer, yet I refuse to give myself time to bleed out all those thoughts in my head that could become stories.

I long for deep connections, yet I'm afraid of opening up to others and show vulnerability because the intensity of my bottled up feelings scare others.

I want to achieve bigger things, way bigger than the satisfaction I currently feel, yet I'm scared of giving up the stability and peace that I found so hard to believe is mine.

I miss my friends all the time, yet I'm so afraid to call them because I think I'll bother them.

I act like I'm quite confident, yet I'm always second guessing myself and all my shaking beliefs could crumble instantly with the right combinations of events.

And despise my awareness about how short our mortal life is, I still firmly believe that there's always a tomorrow...

Tomorrow, I will start writing again.

Tomorrow, I will start doing those things I've thought about, but I can't find any motivation to do.

Tomorrow, I will drive there and treat myself

Tomorrow, I will text them.

Tomorrow, I will tell them that I love them.

Tomorrow...

But what if tomorrow never comes?

I always joke about how old I am. After all, I'll turn 30 in a couple of months. And even if I should know better, there are some realities that still feel foreign to me.

Seeing my peers getting married and having babies is not as scandalous anymore. But seeing them getting sick is still unusual. Our parents are starting to pass away. Some of us didn't make it to 30 either...

Yet that noise of finally establishing ourselves in a job we actually enjoy, of having a relationship, of meeting new people, of looking the prettiest we will ever look, makes us forget that death is always lurking. Almost completely forgotten by the numbness of our daily routine, it is always ready to stab us from behind.

Over the weekend, I got some news about a friend that left me shaken to my core. I can't disclose the situation because it isn't my place to do it, especially because they kept their situation private for as long as possible, yet the quick scaling made their partner reach out to their friends. And they have always been quiet about their life. Their social media is almost empty, just a few snapshots of some particular moments they shared with the world.

And whereas what they did is respectable, I can't help but to feel guilty about trying to fill those gaps they left, and as soon as I stop keeping my mind busy, I can't help myself but to spiral down into so many what if in our particular relationship.

It suddenly hit me. I'm the same way.

I barely share anything publicly. I just tweet what comes to my mind, and I think people don't really care about me because I allowed myself to be forgotten.

But for some reason, I don't want the people I love to feel the same way as I do right now. I'm pushing myself to write every single day, journal every day to leave a footprint for them to find.

Is it selfish? Definitely.

But I believe it's even more selfish to keep on accumulating my experiences for me and me only.

I think that tomorrow I'll also start an Instagram with captions in Spanish, because I want my mom to easily find a piece of me as well.

But for now, I've pushed myself so much out of my comfort zone. I hate that I can't just rant. I need to find a "cute" way to let everything go.

God bless for this empty blog I guess.

[caylusromanoff]

Can I request a Natasha x little male reader

Where reader is a new avenger and he’s getting lots of hate for being a little so one night reader is feeling really depressed because he’s been repressing his little side so one night when finds him just lying on his bed she decides she’s had enough and starts doing little this to cox him like cutting his food, cuddling with him it asking if he wants to have a bath and so one…

Thank you so much

I loved this. Hope it's okay 💖

You'd been staring at the same spot on the ceiling for the last hour and a half. The day had been going smoothly until around dinner time. Whilst you sat and ate your dinner with Steve and Bucky, Bucky on Steve's lap in his little space, youd been scrolling through your social media when as usual a flood of hate was thrown your way. Ever since you and Natasha had been spotted in public when you were in your little space youd gotten tonnes of hate for it and therefore you hadn't been little in almost a week and Natasha was slowly starting to lose her mind. But she'd never tell you that

You were so engrossed in your thoughts that you didn't hear Natasha come into your room or feel the bed dip beside you. "Baby?" She asks softly and you slowly drag your eyes away from the ceiling to look at her. "Dinners ready. Come and eat with us?" She asks and you nod sitting up and dragging yourself off the bed. Before you could make it to the door your turned around by Natasha's hand on your wrist but don't have time to react as your pulled into a soft, loving kiss. "I love you. So much" she whispers against your lips and you smile.

"I love you too detka" you whisper back and she sighs. She just wanted to spend time with her little baby boy but she couldn't because of how disgusting other people could be. She knows that you don't know she knows about the hate and she was trying to keep it that way for a while but she couldn't take it anymore. So she made it her goal to make you slip tonight. You needed it more than you let on. She could see the tension in your shoulders and every time you clenched your jaw she got angrier.

When you both reached the dining room the rest of the team were gathered around with their food Infront of them. Steve was feeding Bucky, Tony was feeding Peter and Maria was feeding Wanda. Natasha disappeared into the kitchen to get your food and your smile dropped when she placed the plate and plastic fork Infront of you. "uh nat? I don't think this one's mine" you say as she sits beside you but she just shushes you and kisses your cheek.

"eat for me baby boy please? Let yourself go for me" you go to protest but Natasha kisses you again before grabbing the fork and stabbing some food before bringing it up to your lips. You sigh in defeat and allow her to feed you the food. You had to admit it was really good and you could feel some of the stress leaving you already.

About half way through the meal you notice you don't have a drink and reach over to take Natasha's glass of coke. "Ah ah baby no. That's mamas drink. I'll go and get you one huh? What do you want little love?" She asks and too sigh and almost whine. She wasn't making this easy for you at all. The kept rubbing the back of your neck and playing with your earlobe and that was all it took for you to slip.

"m-milk p'ease" you whisper and she nods. Leaning down to kiss your forehead before wandering off into the kitchen. You don't pay any attention to the rest of the team as you take note that yours and Natasha's food is completely different. You reach over and grab a piece of the steak on her plate before shoving it into your mouth.

When Natasha comes back in she places the bottle of milk Infront of you and frowns when she sees you continuously chewing. "Baby? What's in your mouth" she asks as she tries to open your mouth to see but you shake her hands away and keep chewing. "Ah ah baby come on. Show mommy what's in your mouth. I don't want you to choke" finally giving in you open your mouth and nat gasps before taking the steak out.

"oh baby boy. You can't eat mamas food when your little unless I give it to you okay? Remember what happened last time bubba? We don't want you choking again do we?" She asks and you just look at her not really understanding anything that she just said because you were too small.

She gently pulls you into her lap and feeds you the last of her fries as they were softer than the meat. After you were finished your food she turns you so your leant against her chest and holds the bottle of milk to your lips, cooing and rocking you gently. Once youd had enough she thanks Tony for clearing the table and stands up with you in her arms.

"now baby. Do you want a bath now or in the morning?" She bounces you gently, waiting for the lift to reach your floor. When it finally does you point to the bed and she smiles "alright bubba. We can cuddle and watch a movie okay? But you need to have a bath in the morning okay. We don't want you all stinky do we?" She tickles your tummy and you giggle, allowing her to dress you in to some cute pyjamas with a matching Paci.

"h-has mama 'ilk?" You ask shyly and she smiles wider than she has all week. She'd misses her baby boy so much.

"you can nurse before sleep okay baby? You just had some milk and I don't want you to get an icky tummy alrighty?" You nod and hide your face in her neck, wanting nothing more than the feel of your mama holding you tight.

"lub 'ou mama"

"I love you too little love"