#i think i have accepted this

[allbeendonebefore]

as i chip away at aasa again I've been thinking about my approach to ocs generally and the differences between how I do things and how other people do things and what I like and don't like or wish was different and whatever, like, things I wish I was better at?

One of those things is a scale of how "human" to "inhuman" personifications are and I am very fascinated by this idea when other people do it, but I often struggle with how to approach it myself (and of course, that's always been wrapped up with my own issues with my own gender/sexuality so it's hard to untangle sometimes)

I think the inhuman parts are very fascinating - whether you want to treat them as kind of mythical semi-divine figures or as things that are more monstrous, but I myself often really struggle to write them. And it's occurred to me (especially during the mikupocalypse haha) that my niche is more creating the "Just Some Guy" characters, like, they're weird and have kind of weird perspectives and attitudes if you dig, or they seem to be based somewhat on surface level stereotypes, but I still like to think of them as people you'd see at the gas station or people you'd see at the park or in a waiting room. (this has a terrible side effect though and you have to be careful or one of your IRL OCs will come up and ask you a question at work or sit next to you on the plane or the bus, very unique kind of mortification)

all this to say, i think i've become accustomed to the Just Some Guy narrative being something like a trademark of mine. It's not something that is so obvious in AaSA because I try to take care in recent chapters to be like 'this is not our society and these are not normal people', but something recently occurred to me about how I can put more Some Guy-ness into a future chapter that I am currently putting it in the mental crockpot to simmer because it could be very interesting.

[inkskinned]

she's singing in another room and my dog is asleep at my feet. my grandma asked me why i haven't found a man yet and i laughed. oh, you know. i like my house clean.

my girlfriend is also my man is also "my partner" if i'm in a professional setting. yesterday we went to a ren faire and a man mimed at me - you're together? and at my delighted nod, his baffled, you're gay? made me laugh. a woman with rainbow hair said i love the two of you together. you're both so beautiful it's absurd.

my dad introduced my partner as my "..... friend. or whatever" the other day. he knows we're dating. in the same way, i was never able to get my sister's husband to stop saying that's gay like it's 2008. he still uses the word fa***t, and my sister's defense of him has always been well, he's just kidding.

my lover and i dance to old music in a tiny kitchen. we judge new music together and take food critique very seriously. we watch love is blind before we fall asleep and agree that if they had a queer season, it would be bloody but also make for excellent tv. of fucking course queer people would know someone for only 2 weeks and agree to get married. what are you saying.

at a bar with friends, a man puts his hand on my wrist. got a boyfriend? and yes, i do have a boyfriend, she's amazing. i am texting her while i wander around a gas station named after geese. i am visiting a swing state for a wedding. in the candy aisle i overhear: she's actually like a lesbian it's disgusting. two teenage girls with packaged sandwiches in their hands, giggling. no literally, like. i'm not, like. okay with her being there while we're all, like, naked and changing.

my girlfriend and i tailgate, drink gin and cider out of cups. from the frat group beside us, a man corrects himself with one of his friends: bro, i mean, nonbinary entity, and it makes everyone around him laugh, myself included. he razzes his friend the same way i would have killed for at 19 years old - like nothing happened, he continues: you apply sunscreen like an alien. he does a little sassy (and fairly accurate) dance interpretation of the motion. his friend is laughing so hard they're crying.

i am lucky, i live in a safe neighborhood in a safe state. my masc passenger princess comes up from DC. i drive her for an hour to where all the leaves are a violent arrangement of color. we walk along the trails, letting autumn into our blood. in this part of the state, there's a lot of pickup trucks and trump signs. when we chastely kiss before getting into the car, i accidentally make eye contact with a woman holding her child's wrist. she looks disgusted. she looks fucking pissed.

two hours later my girl and i are eating dinner on a patio, soaking in the last warmth of new england sun before the chill of winter sets in. we are giggling and trying to talk through plastic vampire teeth. at another table, i see a young woman sit up straighter. i watch her watch us. she blushes and takes her partner's hand from across the table. shy, like the taste of evening has just become something deeper.

it's worth it for this moment, i think. my lover is still humming the same song she's been singing for four days straight and i don't want to kill her for it. her guitar is beside my bed. her toothbrush is in my bathroom. in a few moments i will make us lunch. we are lucky enough to have found each other. it is lucky enough to be in love.

[salamander-crimes]

what is it about the least canon-compliant aromantic headcanons that makes them the best. like when a character shows no romantic attraction okay that is pretty awesome. but when romance is a big part of a character/plot? oh now we're fucking cooking

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

"You and me, Ethan. Together we go save Rose, and then we can grind Miranda into paste!"

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Why self-diagnosed autistics are valid

medical diagnosis can be expensive

humans are the experts on their own minds

family may prevent assessment

diagnosis criteria is a poor checklist of stereotypes

diagnosis criteria ignores gender, race, sexuality, culture & more

medical diagnosis confirms autism, but doesn't create it

discrimination within the medical profession may prevent diagnosis.

Assessment waiting lists often long

medical trauma may make assessment unfeasible

Neurodiverse Journeys

[harbingerofsoup]

there’s death of the author and then there’s whatever the fuck is up with danny phantom

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Trapped in a vicious cycle of pining? Try gay sex! (More things to learn over at Tiger Tiger!)

[barb-l]

I know we all love to make fun of Charlie for blushing and twirling her hair over some lady she found half dead by the dumpsters but like...

... can you blame her?

[theribbajack]

"Now, the vow will be honoured, and my Lord brother's soul will return."

Radahn stans keep winning, but I personally am in Miyazaki's walls rn

[triona-tribblescore]

okay so they may have a minor chokehold on me at the minute-

[chloesimaginationthings]

Michael doesn’t like his father in any FNAF universe..

[hinamie]

close again and closer still

[athina-blaine]

introduced my friend to labru an hour ago and they're already funnier about them than i am

[smileyobrien]

To the best crew any captain ever had. ✧.*

[lylahammar]

Banner illustration for NAAFA by Bats Langley

Hey everyone!! Did you know that this August is the third annual Fat Liberation Month? The month is organized by NAAFA (National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance), and it's something I didn't know about until I randomly wondered earlier this year if we have a month for our movement, and looked it up. I've never seen anyone talk about it, so I want to change that!!

Through the month of August, I'm going to be drawing lots of fat art, and I would encourage any artists who see this post to do the same. Draw body types you've never tried drawing before! Draw bodies that are bigger than society's "acceptable" level of fatness! Use references (fatphotoref, Morpho Fat and Skin Folds, my own Pinterest reference board)! Perhaps even draw yourself with complete honesty, without trimming out the parts of yourself that make you self conscious, to help better understand and accept your body!

If you participate in this event, please tag your fat art with #Fat Liberation Month, so that I can see and share your work. Have fun and help spread the visibility for this really cool and underrepresented event! 🎉✨