#it is also quite possibly my most queer looking haircut ever

[riiviir]

My important reminder to all trans people this Pride Month: if you haven't yet, I promise you WILL find the hairstyle that gives you the most gender euphoria someday and it will be AMAZING

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with JET

The first story by JET (Jesemie's Evil Twin) was posted at Gossamer in 1999. You probably remember if you've read any of her stories because she has a unique voice among the many authors of X-Files fanfic. Many of her stories are at Gossamer, but some that aren't there include "Small Lives Awake" and two little fics in its universe, "Imagination" and an Untitled fic. Big thanks to JET for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

Honestly, yes. I mean, it's nice, but a little bit surreal. What I feel highly conscious of is that the show premiered 27 years ago; some days that feels like 27 centuries ago. But maybe only because this year has lasted 27 centuries? idk

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

I got so lucky finding the group of kind, smart, crazy talented writers I found, and it was sheer dumb luck because I was so incredibly dippy and both underwhelmed by the interwebs of the time (frames! Netscape! whatever was up with Geocities and all those freakin' starscape backgrounds!) and overwhelmed by things like newsgroups (I still have literally no idea how those worked, but there seemed to be 900 kazillion XF fans there). It was great to find a bunch of people who liked the show at the same level I did (cough, A Normal Amount, cough), though in some ways that seems like the bonus to simply having found such a wonderful group of people with whom I am still in contact. The real government conspiracies with hostile extraterrestrials were the friends I made along the way...or something like that.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

A few writers had their own websites (I guess that's what those were?) that I'd lurk around, but mostly I was loyal to a couple of email mailing lists and LiveJournal. Unsurprisingly to anyone who's met me, I was bad at keeping up with them; I did try to, though. (Am I remembering correctly that folks started leaving LJ when Russia got involved somehow? The post-show 2000s are a big blur to me now.)

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

Quite specifically, that poor dude who coughs up a baby fluke in the shower during "The Host". That such a thing -- in retrospect, a nifty and deeply gross practical effect -- had made it onto network TV blew my mind. I did also love Scully and Mulder very quickly. They seemed like such engaging grown ups in all the right ways: intelligent, hard working, clever, loyal to each other, and, if you recall early season two, wearing some of the saddest bureaucrat suits and sporting the least flattering haircuts I'd ever seen on screen. <3

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

I have a vague recollection that I had been reading fanfic for something like a year and finally had a story I wanted to try writing. Shout out to Jill Selby for being the nicest, most supportive first reader anyone could have asked for.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

I think of it very fondly! I've otherwise stepped away almost entirely.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

I have been in much, much, much more peripheral ways. Partly that's because Life; I don't in general have the kind of free time I had as a college student and part-time employee (and free time circa 1999 was time I should've been using to study or go full-time at my then-job or whatever). I think perhaps because I had such a special, legit lovely experience with XF fandom -- and because I'm still friends with so many people from that time -- I've never much wanted to throw myself into another fandom at the same level.

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

In small doses, yes. I wasn't a casual viewer back in the day and I'm still not, so I watch a few eps here and there when I know I'll have time to really enjoy them but not so much time that I'll become a complete addict again. In an age of ~peak TV~ there seem to be 782 new shows annually, and I maybe watch 1 of them,  and they never seem to remind me much of XF -- which either means I've missed the shows that have been influenced by XF or the show has retained a kind of singularity. Honestly, I suspect (or maybe just hope) it's the latter.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

I reread Kipler and Penumbra's XF stories every so often and grind my teeth with continued jealousy. But most of my fic consumption these days is in Black Sails (QUEER PIRATES TRYING TO OVERTHROW ENGLAND. PLEASE WATCH BLACK SAILS), Superbat (Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne), and The Witcher. (Have I seen The Witcher? No. Have I read the books? The first one and maybe 1/6 of the second one. Have I played the video games or read the comics? No. Has that stopped me from reading fic? No.)

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

Oh man, I have never been able to pick favorites. That said, "Unwritten" was possibly the sparest story I wrote and I still really like the imagery in it.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

Never say never. No plans to write anything else in XF at present. (This does make me wonder, though, if there're any drafts on an old somehow-still-active email account somewhere...)

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

Ha haha ahaha, no. (Well, my mom knows I was in a ~writing group~. Thankfully, she has never asked for further details.) Like. It amazes and charms me that, say, someone who is in high school right now may feel exactly 0 hesitation in sharing their fannishness with everyone, everywhere. Fandom is much more understood and accepted as a hobby/way of life/style goals, I think, than it was 25 years ago. But the whole reason I went online in 1997 to look for XF fans was because all the sweet people in my offline life who watched the show were, hmm-- What's a nice way of saying that talking to them about the show was like chewing tinfoil? Compartmentalization has served me well for decades now. :D

(Posted by Lilydale on July 28, 2020)

[rai-jin-andro-jin]

Non-Binary Week 2020

Day 2 + 3 because I missed yesterday:

Day 2 (July 13): Coming to terms

This day is for coming out stories and how you realised you were nonbinary.

Like a lot of people, I grew up with the belief that sex and gender were the same thing; there were two genders, and because I was born with female parts, I was completely and undeniably female. And what it meant to be female was just as rigid: gender roles up to the ears determined what I wore, whether I cut my hair, what I said, what I didn’t say, who I hung out with, who my enemies were, who I could trust, what careers I could have, who I could be attracted to, and what I could think about.

When I entered college, I was away from a lot of these forces that policed my life. For the first time, I was asked on a daily basis to think for myself: and I couldn’t just point to another adult, or the Bible, or to anyone else to explain why I lived the way I did. I had to be able to support myself and my stance and my beliefs. When I was asked to do so, I realized I didn’t even agree with half of the beliefs I held; the other half I discovered were rooted in lies and misinformation about other people, specifically minority groups.

So, over my three-year college career, I grew and changed. I came into contact with different ideologies and was allowed to choose for myself what I wanted to believe and why. I shed traditional femininity both slowly & quickly -- I got an undercut in my hair, stopped shaving my body hair, and wore more comfortable/practical clothes (which ended up leaning toward “masculine” in my case). I still identified as female though -- it was my way of defying traditional gender stereotypes and screaming “I’m breaking the rules and I’m still a female -- respect me or step out of my way!”

During my final year of college, I shaved off all of my hair. Also during this time, I started to discover that I was not straight, but in fact attracted to more than one gender. I first identified as bisexual, but over the next couple years came to embrace the label “pansexual” as well, as I found it less limiting and more inclusive from a linguistic perspective (though I myself consider bisexuality and pansexuality to be basically synonymous in my case). Past college, I started to recognize how the world saw me. Not only did I sometimes tread in the butch lesbian sphere, but I also was misgendered as male quite often, especially after my haircut -- an occurance that didn’t bother me, and instead entertained and intrigued me. I wasn’t trying to pass as male, nor was I interested in transition. I didn’t identify with male pronouns, but they didn’t bother me either. I thought these instances were fun and proved that gender was more fluid than most people realized. It gave me a window with which to play with my own gender.

In the next year or two after college, I found more comfort in dressing androgynously. I didn’t try to present as purely masculine or feminine, nor did I try to lean either way. Instead, I strove to view myself as neither. I identified for a while as androgynous, as it felt detached from both sexes and genders. I enjoyed finding clothing that made my gender appear questionable, and I loved to blur the lines of my presentation. I did it because I could, because it felt the most authentic. I felt like I was showing the world who I truly wanted to be, and how I wanted to be treated. I wanted to be free of the confines of what society deemed was male or female, masculine or feminine. I believed and still believe that no one should ever be gendered at all unless they ask to be. I believe that everyone should be able to define who they are to others, and should be fully respected for it. So often, so many of us are given only a few options, if any at all, and told to make do. We are told that if we stray from these norms, we are unattractive, unwanted, and just doing it for attention. But in reality, we just want to be seen and loved for who we are, for who we choose to be.

Non-binaryness seemed foreign to me for a while. Informed by my upbringing and lack of information, I saw the non-binary identity as something I didn’t fit into. I didn’t meet all the requirements in my head -- non-binary people were other people I knew, other people who’s lives and experiences were different and thus more legitimate than mine. Because of that, I hesitated to identify as non-binary for a long time. But then, as I did more research, read more personal accounts and stories, and connected with friends in real life who were queer and non-binary, I felt like I belonged. I realized I was allowed into that unattainable “non-binary club” that I had built up in my head because it actually wasn’t unattainable at all. It was a community full of people with a wide array of experiences. And mine was not an unfamiliar or unwelcome one. I looked upon the word non-binary, and I realized, with utter joy and happiness:

“That’s me!”

Shortly thereafter, I came out to my friends on social media, and then to some of my family. I went from she/her to they/them, and I wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed, for the first time ever. I felt supported and validated by my friends, more than I ever thought was possible. It was the greatest feeling to finally find a piece of myself.

Even now as I explore the plethora of non-binary identities, I’m still discovering myself. Non-binary describes me just fine! But if we’re getting specific, I don’t have any ties with gender at all, and I’m actively trying to unlearn my gender conditioning to be the best person I can be. That is why I also identify as agender.

It’s a crazy thing to wrap my head around, even as I’m still overjoyed to have a label that explains me and my existence. But the overwhelming feelings that course through my body are ones of happiness. I have a place in this world, whether I know my name/labels or not. I always have had a place, and I always will. And now more than ever, I fight for my place and protection, as well as others’ whose identities are shunned, their protections & rights denied. I want everyone to experience the joy of belonging, not because they fit a mold, but because they’re happy with their own choices and identity. I hope everyone can experience that fully, in all the ways it can possibly occur, for all identities imagineable.

Day 3 (July 14/International Nonbinary People's Day): Nonbinary Joy

Share all things positive about being nonbinary!

I think these can really apply to any gender, sex, orientation, etc., but these are just catered to my personal experience! I think if I had to name this phenomenon, I would call it “Gender Liberation.” So here’s what it feels like to be liberated from gender and gender expectations:

You can wear whatever the hell you want and watch people get real confused.

You get to use they/them pronouns, or whatever pronouns you want; language no longer ties you down!

You get to call yourself whatever you want! You get to choose your name.

All those horrible expectations that make you uncomfortable? Gone.

You get to connect with other non-binary people and hear about their beautiful experiences.

You get to interact with the queer community, which is a beautiful, accepting, and loving collection of people who defy cultural norms and exist exactly as who they are, unapologetically. They are a wonderful group of people to look up to. Anyone who lives and loves to the fullest without shame is one to look up to.

You get to wear your hair however you want and nobody can tell you otherwise.

You get to think about the world without the shades of a binary lens! Turns out the world is so much more colorful!

You get to have awesome flag colors.

You get to have awesome discussions about gender.

You get to be unapologetically complicated, because everyone is way more complicated than their gender, but now, you actually know that and are allowed to exist that way.

I mean, look at the word “non-binary” and tell me that isn’t just the most freeing thing you’ve ever read. Look at the word “agender” and tell me you didn’t just breathe a sigh of relief. No more fucking stupid-ass rules!

Did I mention that you’re allowed to be fully authentic without judgment? Did I also mention that you can finally unlearn all that self-judgment and internalized gender roles?

Gender is fully opt-in.

Now that you’re liberated from all those awful rules and head-spaces, you can think about more important things, like for example: cute people, your favorite books/shows/movies, yummy food, plants, cats, simple joys, arts and crafts, making friends, falling in love, nature, doggos, the whole earth.

Also, now that you’re liberated, you can help to liberate other people by fighting for their rights, because you know that people like you (and people not like you) are being denied basic human rights every day around the world; now you know about it and you know they deserve better, so you can use your voice to help educate and inspire solidarity and community.

Wow, there’s like so many things you can do and be, and no one can tell you not to anymore. Looks like you’re truly confident and happy with yourself! :) That sounds like autonomy at its best!

What *isn’t* awesome about being non-binary?? Absolutely nothing.

[recentnews18-blog]

New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/just-a-ranking-of-every-stupid-role-ruby-rose-has-ever-played/

Just A Ranking Of Every Stupid Role Ruby Rose Has Ever Played

Before she was Batwoman, she was a sexy she-wolf named Byanka.

Australia’s own Ruby Rose has just been announced to star as Batwoman in DC’s TV universe. If you’re not familiar with her work, should you be excited?

Ruby Rose has been carving out a curious niche in the acting world for a few years now, with her role in Orange is the New Black’s third season launching her to overseas success. She will play Kate Kane in a big DC TV crossover later this year, and potentially go on to star as the Jewish lesbian crime fighter in her own Batwoman show.

Given that Ruby Rose has been steadily gaining bigger and bigger roles in blockbusters – including giant-shark film The Meg, which is just around the corner — playing Batwoman could really cement her stardom. Although if you go by The Meg’s IMDb page, she already is a star: according to IMDb’s STARMeter, Rose gets top billing over Jason Statham.

As a star, Rose is defined by a weird, inexplicable aura that permeates all her roles. She’s defined by Ruby Rose Energy.

Now, you’re probably familiar with the concept of Big Dick Energy, but you may not have heard of Ruby Rose Energy. Ruby Rose Energy is Big Dick Energy’s non-binary cousin. Ruby Rose Energy is effortlessly cool, but also quietly daggy.

It’s becoming a movie and TV star while always being slightly unable to escape your past as an MTV Australia VJ, or someone who got into a brief Twitter feud with Josh Thomas over unpaid Veuve at a Melbourne club. It’s having real life charisma disproportionate to what necessarily translates on screen — just like the good old days!

Ruby Rose Energy is being the first person to quit The 7pm Project. It’s not being recognisable to virtually anyone over 40, and dating a Veronica in the year 2018. As one commenter said on yesterday’s casting news, “she’s like, everything”.

Make no mistake – this is a loving tribute to Ruby Rose and the utterly specific, weird space she has carved out in Australian pop culture since the early 2000s. There’s a lot you can learn about Ruby Rose Energy from the names of characters she plays, so here’s a ranking of all the character names she is credited with playing on IMDb – ranked by least-to-most Ruby Rose Energy.

Queer women: Please cast out queer actors in queer roles!!! CW: *casts Ruby Rose* Queer women: This is an attack

— Brittani Nichols (@BisHilarious) August 7, 2018

Presumably as a result of some mix-up on the first day on set that no one was brave enough to correct, the name of Ruby Rose’s character in this cliché-ridden Australian spin on Dangerous Minds is Hannah, while Christina Ricci’s is, no joke, Dino Chalmers.

It is with great regret that I must place Hannah at the bottom of this list, and that I cannot officially say that Dino motherfuckin’ Chalmers is a perfect exemplar of Ruby Rose Energy.

Though her performance was terrific as a woman who more or less does nothing until she gets hilariously sucked into a giant fan, the character’s name — Abigail — has very low Ruby Rose Energy and, as such, sits near the bottom of the list.

Abigail is the name of a pretty girl you pretend to like in primary school so people don’t think you’re gay, not the name of a character played by devastatingly handsome genderfluid star Ruby Rose.

Though I will never watch this weird Crocodile Dundee tourism ad, I do appreciate the rich complexity of giving a Ruby Rose character a title and a position of authority. That said, in its most Ruby Rose form, ‘Chief’ would be the character’s given name, and as such it falls on the lower end of the scale.

Ruby Rose plays a mute assassin in the John Wick franchise, and her character is named for the Greek god of war – which means we’re getting to the good shit.

But beyond the strong concept, it feels a bit pianissimo in execution; may I suggest it lengthens in John Wick: Chapter 3 to ‘Ares McIliad’ or perhaps ‘Ares Bazooka’?

Ruby Rose Energy is about throwing subtlety to the wind.

I know what you’re thinking: what name could possibly be more Ruby Rose than ‘Ruby Rose’?

Well, since her full birth name is Ruby Rose Langenheim, ‘Ruby Rose’ is technically only 44% of that, meaning it’s slightly below average Ruby Rose Energy.

My interest in Pitch Perfect 3: Aca-merican Imperialism is precisely zero, but Calamity is exactly the kind of Ruby Rose character name I come to IMDb to see.

Less impressive is the movie thinking that Ruby Rose-as-Calamity would be the front-woman of a generic guitar band called Evermoist instead of the lead singer of a desperately edgy Christian lady-rock group called SHEviticus, or GALatians, or The GeneSisters, and so on.

Calamity has the toughness of Ruby Rose Energy, but lacks that certain je ne sais quoi.

Where were you when all of America discovered Stella Carlin, and thus Ruby Rose, at once?

Was it the same place you were when Ruby tweeted about Katy Perry’s Witness, calling it “purposeful poop” and “bomb a petit”? Or when she threw a “singular fry” at a restaurant owner?

No name on this list better exemplifies the Ruby Rose Energy tendency to get into beefs with low-grade celebs that no one but tabloids would ever care about. Stella Carlin is what happens when Ruby Rose Energy gets captured in essence but lost in translation.

It’s trying just a little bit too hard.

The beauty of the current Golden Age of Ruby Rose Character Names is how often the names just sound like full sentences in and of themselves.

Adele Wolff.

I already feel like I’ve known this character my whole life. Like I’ve already followed her journey from digital marketing graduate to Instafamous, gluten intolerant Byron Bay-based wellness blogger, which I am convinced is where Ruby Rose would be at without her tattoos.

Jaxx Herd is, frankly, incredible.

The Meg pic.twitter.com/QnTjRWjxx8

— Ruby Rose (@RubyRose) July 31, 2018

What’s even more incredible is that this Ruby Rose character looks more like the human reboot of Charlize Theron’s haircut in Aeon Flux than any of the others (and they all do, a little) and honestly, I’m here for it.

Wikipedia says Bianca, but IMDb says Byanka, which is so Ruby Rose I can’t stand it.

And truly, is the root of the human condition not the internal war we wage over whether we are a Bianca or a Byanka?

Anyway, this movie looks bananas, Ruby Rose’s character is an overly sexualised she-wolf, and the script was co-written by someone who goes by the name ‘1kg Sugar’.

If the idea of Ruby Rose playing a character named Wendy the Android (lol) on a Canadian sci-fi show makes you think, “Huh, I wonder if they made her a horny killer fuckbot?”

The answer, unequivocally, is yes.

That they named her Wendy like she’s one of the nice mums working at a primary school tuckshop is just *Italian chef kiss* molto bene. It’s the perfect combination of ‘maybe this is the next step in human evolution’ and ‘Lorna Jane loyalty card owner’.

TheDailyMail.com Seriously Popular™ People’s Choice Award-loser Ruby Rose as… Woman.

That’s it, kids.

That’s Ruby Rose Energy.

—

Laurence Barber is a freelance writer, editor and award-winning film and television critic based in Sydney. He is on Twitter @bortlb.

Source: http://junkee.com/ruby-rose-characters/170757

[notyetjaded1]

1-64 please

lol so witty xp but thank you for these! :p 

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?

I mean, yeah. Sometimes I doubt my own existence, tbh. How are we real, what defines reality, etc. etc. etc. 

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?

A...2? Maybe? I love the dark, but there are legitimate things to be afraid of in the dark. You can’t see potential attacks as well in the cloak of darkness, everything we’ve been conditioned to think be afraid of (..rape, etc.). Plus, obviously, horror movies and whatnot have instilled an anxiety about “monsters” lurking there. But also, the night is beautiful and calming and cool - there’s the moon and stars lights shine that much brighter...

3. The person you would never want to meet?

Government officials? Barney? Big Bird? Freddy??

4. What is your favorite word?

Fuck. Astral. Loquacious. Stellar. Absurd.

I just really love a lot of words, tbh. 

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?

Deku tree!

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought?

Eeeeeewwwww. 

7. What shirt are you wearing?

Black button down! Super simple! 

8. What do you label yourself as?

Very, very queer. 

9. Bright room or dark room?

Bright room, dark furniture. (I did the black room thing, it made it quite hard to see, tbh.)

10. What were you doing at midnight last night?

Sleeping! 

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far?

...21? Maybe? Sure? 

12. Who told you they loved you last?

My mom!

13. Your worst enemy?

Myself.

14. What is your current desktop picture?

Self-promo time, but it’s literally just my YouTube logo??

15. Do you like someone?

Many people!

16. The last song you listened to?

“Fake Happy” - Paramore

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

Do I really have to pick just one person?? lol 

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

Oooooh boy.........

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?

;) anyone who’s consenting ;p 

lol

no, i don’t know? I like doings for myself, to be honest. And if someone is helping me with something I’m asking of them, I want them to want to or to actually have the capacity to freely say yes or no. So the idea of a slave even for a day isn’t too appealing. 

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)

...forearms? Maybe? 

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?

BRO I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS A LOT because when I think about myself in my head, I kind of imagine myself as a dude that looks a lot like Ville Valo/Gerard Way/...Cyr kind of mix? Id hardcore spend a lot of the day just jacking off, let’s be real. But also just existing because yesssss at last. 

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it?

Nope, 100% talentless! 

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of?

Don’t know about unique? But animals. And people in full body costumes like fur suits? 

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal.

No thanks. 

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?

Yay! I don’t! It goes into the bank! soicansaveupforthestuffthatiactuallyneed/wantthatcostsmorethan100dollars

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go?

England. Tbh, Brighton looks fucking lovely. 

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be?

The sweetest wine, ever, but also horribly cheap because so am I: Bartenura Moscato 

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?

Be kind to yourself and each other. 

29. What is your favorite expletive?

FUCK.

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?

Oh, computer/hard drives, definitely. 

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

...part of me doesn’t want to erase anything because it’s all contributed to where I am currently in life....? I do better with bad experiences than the possibility of the unknown. 

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world!

FUCK YES, UK, I AM COMING FOR YOU. 

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?

Uhhhh. Someone who didn’t want to die - who died before their time and requests to be brought back...I don’t want to bring life to someone who doesn’t want it. 

34. What was your last dream about?

Oh. I had some dream last night and I can’t remember what it was but I think it involved Arin Hanson? And I wish I remembered it because he’s a fucking A+ gem. 

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]?

Human? Naaaah. 

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital?

Not...that I recall? I think I went to the ER when I was about 6 with a head injury from a hockey puck. 

37. Have you ever built a snowman?

No!! I want to visit snow so bad!

38. What is the color of your socks?

Shockingly? Black. 

39. What type of music do you like?

Alt rock/pop rock. :) 

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?

Sunsets...

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor?

I...literally don’t even remember? 

42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer)

LOL. AFC Wimbledon?? Sure? 

43. Do you have any scars?

Yuuup. 

44. What do you want to be when you graduate?

Clinical psychologist. 

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

TOO MANY THINGS, DO NOT GET ME STARTED

46. Are you reliable?

I definitely am be once I make a commitment to someone or to do something.

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be?

Can you tell me where you are, what you’re doing, are you okay?

48. Do you hold grudges?

...yes and no? I hold negative feelings for a lot of things, but I’m also really quick to let certain things go. So it depends on what situation caused the negative feelings. 

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create?

Puppy sized elephant. 

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had?

will anything top cheesy pants? I don’t knooow. 

51. Are you a good liar?

Nope. 

52. How long could you go without talking?

Longer than would be good for my mental health. 

53. What has been you worst haircut/style?

............

54. Have you ever baked your own cake?

I think so? Had to made a Cell Cake. Which is basically a cake of an animal/plant cell. 

55. Can you do any accents other than your own?

Awful, awful, awful British accent. So no. 

56. What do you like on your toast?

Toast. Though, haven’t had that in years either. 

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of?

I think it may have been myself, tbh? Narcissistic, yo. 

58. What would be you dream car?

Something cheap, reliable, organized, and small. 

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain.

I do sing in the shower! I make up stories in my head in the shower? But I don’t think that’s too weird? 

60. Do you believe in aliens?

Traditional aliens? eh? But do I think we’re the only things in this giant universe? I don’t think that’s too likely. 

61. Do you often read your horoscope?

Never?

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet?

S

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons?

DRAGONS.

64. What do you think about babies?

...smelly, dirty, loud, but ocassionally cute? But also verrrry much not for me. 

[mightbedamian]

#TMIishTuesday #44 - Weird Sayings in English, German, and Dutch

Hey there, first off: I tagged some of my posts. You can find an overview of the tags I used on this page. So, if you are interested in certain topics like my life in the Netherlands, my coming out story, or posts about YouTube, you can now just click those tags and see only those posts. The page also includes a description of what #TMIishTuesday is. How handy, right? Oh and I also did some tagging for pics. There are like 10 pics of 3 people that I know and all of them are YouTubers, so… still check it out, if you want to? :D Let's start with the actual thing now, shall we? Hey there mighty people of the internet! And welcome to issue #44 of #TMIishTuesday - my weekly Tumblr post about what goes through my weird mind and what you guys want to know more about. It can be something very personal, it can be something political, it can be completely pointless - but in 99.9 % of the cases, it involves opinions. And mine as well. // Last week I went quite cliché - again and reflected on my personal year 2016. Veeeeeeery long post but totally worth reading, if you want to know more about me! // In other news, I held the first poll of 2017 and the first poll in like… 4 weeks or so (?) for you to decide today's topic on Twitter. And you guys were interested in what I have to say about those "Weird Sayings". And... you guys, I just love languages! Languages are everything: Strange, very straightforward, not logical, ridiculous, inventive, confusing, never the same, I could go on forever. This is probably gonna be a long post again. #ifyoucouldnttellalready I'll take some bits and bobs from my experiences of speaking three languages - within a minute at times - and bring up some examples from that. If you don't know German or Dutch, don't you worry. I got you! I'll translate to English. As best as possible. #notyetaprofessionalinterpreter Let's start with the initial reason why I came up with the idea to write about this topic: The word "fangirling". If you are not a fangirl yourself, you probably don't have a clue what I'm talking about. Let's take a look into the urban dictionary for help (that's a very handy website for checking what slang means btw, it has saved my life numerous times! Else I wouldn't have been able to understand a lot of videos). Urban dictionary defines "fangirl" as: "A rabid breed of human female who is obesessed with either a fictional character or an actor. Similar to the breed of fanboy. Fangirls congregate at anime conventions and livejournal. Have been known to glomp, grope, and tackle when encountering said obsessions." ...and "fangirling" as: "v. 1. the reaction a fangirl has to any mention or sighting of the object of her "affection". These reactions include shortness of breath, fainting, highpitched noises, shaking, fierce head shaking as if in the midst of a seizure, wet panties, endless blog posts, etc. 2. a gathering of two or more fangirls in which they proceed to waste endless amounts of time ogling, discussing/arguing, stalking, etc. the object of their "affection" " I first learned about "fangirls" on YouTube watching some international YouTuber. Might have been Tyler Oakley, who himself has probably more fangirls any YouTuber will ever have. Looking to the word "fangirl", it makes me notice two things: 1. It's an absolutely brilliant neologism! Perfectly descriptive of its meaning. A "girl" who is a big "fan" of someone: "fangirl". "Fangirling" then is just the act of being such "fangirl". 2. Why is the term "fangirl" so common, while I haven't even heard of a "fanboy"? Why do I have to be "fangirling" when I like to go crazy about a celebrity? Shouldn't I be "fanboying" instead? And thinking inclusively: What about non-binary people who I identify as neither "boy" nor "girl" but somewhere along the spectrum instead? It's that slightly discriminative thing that exists in lots of languages when they just use one word that has an attribute of one gender attached to it to mean both genders. As far as I have noticed, it's not that prevalent in the English language as it is in German and Dutch. Well done, you creators of English! When you talk about a hair dresser that is neutral. It can be either gender. In German ("Friseur" for male; "Friseurin" for female) and Dutch ("kapper" and "kapster" respectively) you don’t have a unisex form: "I went to the hair dresser's to get a haircut yesterday. She did an awesome job!" would be "Ich bin gestern beim Friseur gewesen. Sie hat es richtig gut gemacht!" in German and "Ik ben gisteren naar de kapper geweest. Ze heeft het heel goed geknipt!" (That’s probably not translated too well, but you get my point, right? :D) Notice how both languages use the male form instead of the (correct) female form. Just because you refer to the hair dresser's place instead of the hair dresser herself. Obviously the English language discriminates as well. Think about police men or post men. Have you ever heard someone say "police women"? No, you probably haven't. Granted, I've never lived in a country where English was the native language. But I think it's ridiculous that we have that separation in so many terms, especially with professions. If you want to use the politically correct form, it sounds incredibly unsophisticated. When I read German flyers that are published by governmental organisations, I'm close to puking. "Die Schüler_innen" - yes, there are not only male students in that class (and this form of writing also includes non-binary people - as opposed to “SchülerInnen”). But why make such a mess of it. I think we should introduce a neutral form to use in such occasions. We have neutral pronouns, even to describe people (think of they/them or ze/zir). Why don't we use them for these occasions as well? But alright, I can tell you are getting bored of my political correctness talks again. Let's get on with this post. How about false friends? You may have some in real life (though I hope you don't), but I'm talking about words that sound similar in different languages, but have a completely different meaning. First one that sprang to my mind: The German "Handy". I mean… I have to give you that: A mobile phone is indeed handy. But I've seen lots of people using the word in English to refer to a mobile phone, when native speakers would probably have no idea what they are talking about. Or take "actual" which is actually a great example! actual ≠ aktuell. The English word "actual" is translated to German as eigentlich, tatsächlich; the German "aktuell" means current or up-to-date in English. And there are obviously some with Dutch as well. Take the German word "allemal" and the Dutch word "allemaal". "Allemaal" is often added to a plural pronoun: "wij" (we), "jullie" (you), or "zij" (they), to underline that everyone is involved. And without a doubt it is one of the most frequently used words in Dutch. The German "allemal" is slightly old-fashioned and not used much anymore. It means “certainly” or “for sure”. Another example: The German "fahren" (to ride or to drive) is obviously used very often, while "varen" in Dutch isn't. It sounds very similar, but only refers to "travelling by boat" instead of including pretty much any means of travel, like the German “fahren”. Dutch and English are more fitting. In a way... For “actual” it’s the same story as with German (called "actueel" in Dutch). For the rest: "map" exists in both English and Dutch. But the Dutch word means “folder”, while the English word translates to Dutch as "landkaart". And finally: "room". If you ask a receptionist of a hotel for a "free room" (or a "vrije room") in Dutch, you'll probably get very puzzled and confused looks. Why would you look for free whipped cream? I mean... I'm sure you could get some at a hotel, but… The word you were looking for is "kamer". (And while we’re on it: The Dutch “room” is pronounced with a long “o” sound) When I write a post about languages, I certainly have to address the "Schmetterling" issue. The moment you leave Germany and start talking in a different language, everyone will make remarks about how harsh and really NOT smooth German sounds. And on the one hand you're right! German certainly won’t win the "Best sounding language" award. But on the other hand: Which language should win that award? Dutch also sounds very rough at times. Just think about the "harde G" (hard G) in Friesland and how it sounds to strangers. Let me tell you first hand: It sounds freaking scary! I mean… you'll get used to it, but at first it's very frightening! And English… I mean you basically get to choose between the incredibly posh British English and the American version that - sorry to you Americans out there - quite honestly sounds very wishy-washy to me. And at times the pronunciation is a little too drawn-out for me. Talking about drawn-out things: In an attempt to not draw out this post any more, I'll leave you with this. Tell me something cool in your language! What about "I really enjoyed this post"? :P Okay, kidding. But if you did enjoy it, please let me know anyway. You know the means to get to me: place a comment, tweet me, dm me, or do what else you can think of. And while you’re in it, share it around! Before I go, I'd like to introduce something new to these posts: The “TMIish Queer Shoutout” or so? (That's a working title - tell me, if you can think of something better, please :D). Long story short: In these posts I'd like to tell you about a cool queer thing that I discovered over the last week. This week: Jongens. A Dutch coming-of-age film about Sieger, a fifteen year-old who's forms 1/4th of an athletics team. The four will run at the Dutch championships shortly and over the course of the now intensified trainings, Sieger gets close to his best friend Stef. It's a great plot which shows the struggles of a gay relationship when one partner doesn't fully live up to it. Okay, enough of the spoilers! I suggest you find yourself a site that shows English subtitles with it and watch it! :D And if you know Dutch and don’t need subtitles, you can just head over to npo.nl. As far as I know, it's available world-wide. It surely is in Germany. So have fun! As always: Next #TMIishTuesday next Tuesday. If you have any questions in the meantime, just ask away. Whatever you’re curious about - I don’t bite. :) Until then: Stay mighty! Links for the stuff used/refered to in this post: - Urban Dictionary: Fangirling: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fangirling - Urban Dictionary: Fangirl: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fangirl - “Jongens” on npo.nl: http://www.npo.nl/jongens/03-08-2014/VPWON_1229280

Oh, and here’s some self-promo: - Last #TMIishTuesday: http://mightbedamian.tumblr.com/post/155355662606/tmiishtuesday-43-16-things-i-learned-in-2016 - More #TMIishTuesdays: mightbedamian.tumblr.com/tagged/tmi - Poll to decide next week's topic and more very cool stuff: www.twitter.com/mightbedamian - Even more very cool stuff: mightbedamian.tumblr.com