#it's an interesting topic honestly

[cybertistiic]

What does kin / kintype mean?

I could Google it, but I'd like to hear your personal explanation as I've only heard of this term from you :)

Is it like... an idenitity character thing? Is that a thing? I'm intrigued.

im not good at articulating my words but i can give it a shot

so "kin" comes from the word "otherkin" which is a community of ppl who identify as something non human or not all the way human. if u've ever heard someone say "i kin them" or "im such a __ kinnie" that's where those terms come from, tho those are more modern terms and are usually used by ppl who "kin for fun" and not ppl who actually take it seriously like ppl in the otherkin community bc kin to us isn't a verb it's an identity. like someone said, u can't say i girl them bc it just wouldn't make sense. oh and being kin is also always involuntary.

kintypes are basically who or what u identify as. they can be anything from *animals real or mythical to people *real or fictional to even objects and concepts. for example, one of my kintypes is n. gin from crash bandicoot which is why i go by the name gin/ginny/whatever and usually have his face pasted everywhere.

from personal experience, ppl outside of the community and have no understanding of it WILL call u delusional or cringe for being otherkin. like hell i got called the r slur for it once. but, honestly how i see it is like if i'm already being dehumanized for being autistic/nd + a person of color then why not just go all the way and not be human?

anyways, that's all i can remember from my research, but if i made no sense here's the wiki article for otherkin. probably explains it better than i did lmao https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otherkin

*note: animal kintypes are called "therians" and i'm not sure if they're considered otherkin or if they're their own thing. i'm not a therian so i know nothing about it.

*another note: factkin, which is the term for being kin with a real person, is usually frowned upon and for good and probably obvious reason.

[tls12lessthan3]

thinking about orvs metatextual engagement with its genre and specifically how that interacts with its women again. kim dokja is a self insert for the reader - what he thinks is largely meant to represent what we think, especially in the beginning before sing shong really fleshes out his character. kim dokja sees the world through tropes, directly acknowledging the genre around him and the cliches we expect e.g. the overpowered mc, the scheming villain, the beautiful heroine.

but a major part of his arc is deconstructing this reductionist view of the world in a way that parallels the author's deconstruction of the genre, and that plays really well with the way orv writes women. yoo sangah is perhaps the best exanple - shes introduced as the heroine, a one-dimensional pretty girl who in any other novel would become kim dokja's love interest. but the authors allow her to be her own character, directly challenging the stereotype of the heroine and calling attention to the genre's typical lack of depth for such a character. i think this undercurrent plays in the background often but really comes to the forefront when yoo sangah reminds kim dokja of her putting pepper in their bosses' coffee, a memory kim dokja had supressed because it didn't fit with the pretty girl persona he made for her.

i interpret that moment as yoo sangah pushing her way out of the mold of heroine often found in these stories, demanding a depth be added to her character, asking kim dokja - and thus the reader - to see her in her entirety, to see the heroine archetype for what she could be. orv is at all times in conversation with its genre, and its simultaneous writing of female characters with agency and depth and acknowledgement of the tropes these women are expected to fulfill is undeniably a part of that. and its a part i enjoy. most of the time.

[jessmalia]

stiles and malia playlist: my boy only breaks his favorite toys by taylor swift

there was a litany of reasons why we could've playеd for keeps this time i know i'm just repeating myself put me back on my shelf but first, pull the string and i'll tell you that he runs because he loves me (he loves me) cause you should've seen him when he first saw me

[themyscirah]

Complaining abt Suicide Squad yet again but the fact that they have Waller exposing the alien community to space racist attacks and talking abt how she got to her position through deceit and being a terrible person and stuff is just. Ahsfiwueh JUST SAY YOU DONT KNOW WALLER.

Anyways literally the 3rd mission of the Squad ever (and the first framed as smth Waller picked and not orders from above) was the Squad discrediting and stopping a rogue vigilante who was only arresting POC and funneling white people into white supremacy groups (of which he was the most prominent member) in SUICIDE SQUAD #4. and it's explicitly framed as this mission being personal for Waller that she's hiding from the government bc its illegal like. Guys. Please why are we having her incite (space bc comics) racist attacks now

Also the whole "Amanda got her position through deceit and being a terrible person" NO. she KEPT her position through being shitty and playing complicated political games!!! She wasn't always that way like there is a difference and it is IMPORTANT ppl PLEASEEEE. In Secret Origins #14 we learn Amanda's backstory and she used to be a normal, caring person! Like even after she entered into working in government and politics she wasn't automatically morally bankrupt like please people. She was originally given control of the Squad by Reagan (*sigh* 80s comics...) to distract and get rid of her because she was so successful at pushing progressive social policy in Congress. Acting like she's this static pillar of evil is such a waste of her character and so fucking uninteresting and disrespectful to her arc it drives me MAD.

Like I am NOT saying Waller is all sunshine and rainbows, she fucking SUCKS (said w love <3) but like there's a human being there. It's a progression, she has a character arc like please, DC, please!!! They've fucked up Waller so bad and made her so opaque and uninteresting she can't even be the protagonist of her own story for fucks sake!

Like I don't know how many times I have to scream it until DC hears me or remembers but WALLER IS THE MAIN CHARACTER OF SUICIDE SQUAD. ITS HER BOOK. yet right now she's a cutout to be used as the villain wherever the writers please. Even in her book we get none of her perspective really displayed, no exploration of her thoughts with any kind of understanding of the role she traditionally has played and was made to play in the story.

[notbecauseofvictories]

it's a good thing that I've developed a pretty cast-iron sense of self-worth, because otherwise....man, my boss could do a number on me without even really trying.

[geodaio]

Ok I was rewatching X-Men: First Class (the cherik brainworms got me) and I am very curious...

You can define his flirting "working" however you would like, this is for science okay. Please elaborate in the tags about your answers if you feel so inclined

[essektheylyss]

my homework for the weekend is quite literally "video game" so the quarter is going great already

[natsmagi]

adding onto my last rant from a while ago a little bit, it is fascinating how many people in this fandom completely miss the point of tsumugis character and misconstrue what hes actually about which, ironically, is just what eichi did. and its done in such a similar fashion too, such as making assumptions about his motives, his family relationship, and missing the point in why he chooses to look the way he does. and, time and time again, eichi has been proven to be WRONG about tsumugi. he misunderstood him deeply, and now its eichi whos stuck mourning the past while tsumugi has long since moved on, not the other way around, as tsumugi is on the path of getting his happy ending. and i dont get why people keep trying to take this positivity from him

(s. element epilogue 2)

[uncanny-tranny]

Socialization theory with regards to trans people might have been an interesting conversation if people hadn't ever used it to mean, "you will always be [gender] no matter what, and my assumptions about how you were socialized mean more and are more true than whatever you say you went through as a child. Your account of your life is untrustworthy because it doesn't align with what I say is [male/female] socialization."

I'm not sure this theory wouldn't have been picked up by transphobes, but it's infuriating how you can't even discuss your thoughts about your own transness or growing up trans without being called a liar.

[darnellthefirestarter]

It's a little hard having friends who don't understand this kind of thing

[lord-squiggletits]

I was at a "making friends" kind of social event just this past week and ended up having two subsequent conversations with different people that gave me an interesting reflection on my own reasons for writing without me even intending to make the conversation about it.

First conversation: The person talked about the feeling of awe from being at a music concert and how incredible it is that so many complete strangers can be united by a singular love of music. I related to it with regards to my own writing and how many people have read my stuff. Ended up telling this guy about some of the AO3 comments I've gotten from people to the effect of helping motivate them to live/just reflect on life in general. Somehow went into a tangent about a suicidal friend of mine who died when we were in high school, and me saying that maybe the reason I write so much about the things I do is because of the influence his death had on me. And the other person ended up asking me, 'So do you think it's like every time you write, you're doing it in his memory in a way?'

Subsequent conversation was with someone who was a psychologist for a day job, and I ended up telling them that I was kind of thinking of getting a degree in psychology/therapy one day because writing about mental health issues had gotten me so interested in the world of helping people heal themselves. But then I was also like, "Well, I don't know, it could be that I don't need to become a psychologist to help people with mental health. Maybe helping people by being a writer and telling stories is enough."

It was just a surprising, but topical realization for me to have talking to a bunch of strangers. For someone like me who's often preoccupied with doing and having knowledge and expertise, I often fall into the idea that you need to be directly involved in helping people to really be making a difference. I've literally had thoughts in my mind along the lines of "I'm so smart, hardworking, and dedicated when it comes to writing, but wouldn't it have been so much more of a net gain to the world if I'd decided to be this passionate about something like being a doctor or activist that actually helps people?" It's not like I truly regret being a writer (or ever will, because there's nothing else that I love so much), but in my bad moments I truly do sometimes think "Why does it make a difference if I entertain people or make them feel nicer for a while if it doesn't actually change anything in the world?" To quote one of my favorite Transformers fics of all time, "There was nothing that would have been more worthwhile, but that didn't rule out the possibility that the whole damn universe was wasting its time."

I guess the answer is that making someone feel better, even in a small way, is changing the world, even if it's just a few people, and even if it's just as simple as making someone's day better.

[daydreamwhumpinc]

My Favorite Whump Things in Comics/Animation (Visual) Medium

Okay, since I already posted things that I didn't enjoy in Whump I felt like I really need to balance it out with a few things that I love seeing in drawn format (might do something like this for written whump later, who knows). Enjoy and tell me what you like in the notes below😃💛 There will also be some pictures as a visual aide, so not much spoilers since I tried to choose the most obscure or out of context ones LMAO. Still, you are warned, I guess?/affectionate

No pupils/Hazy pupils eyes- You know that instance right before registering that they are hurt or right before passing out, the whumpee has these kind of glossed over eyes that are not focused on anything. Usually the pupuls become hazy (Gosh, I really need some visual aide, but I am too lazy to draw any right now 🥲😅). You instantly know what is going to happen next and I love that feeling. I guess something like this.......

Blood splatter fake out- One of my favorite whump tropes is "taking the bullet", and, although, you can usually tell when it is going to be used I am still a sucker for everything that comes after it. I just love the horror on the other character's face as the blood of their friend/family member/lover gets splashed all around as they are hurt protecting them. Their blood is the symbol of how far they will go to protect others even if the cost is too great for them. Not sure what is going on with Gojo in this scene (I haven't been keeping up with JK for a while🥲), but it has the right mood I guess.......

Whumpee sees their lood splatter on the floor/walls/etc- Kind of like the earlier point, but instead of a fake out, the Whumpee registers the their blood and (maybe) that they are hurt, but really can't believe it. That frame of them staring at the blood seeping out, not registering what is happening around them before collapsing to the floor. Bonus points if they see the blood and get concerned about their friends thinking that its their blood then looking down at themselves and seeing a bloody shirt.......

Bloody Hair- Okay, let me explain. I get major whumperflies when I see the Whumpee unconscious, on the floor, with a head wound or something and tangled, bloody hair. If the hair is light, then their friends can see it tanned with blood and it automaticlly conveys the urgency of the situation. With dark hair, the blood might not be as visible, but the mattedclumps of hair are surely saturated through with blood and when they brush against something, they leave bloody streaks. So, something like this, but with more blood in the hair, an unconscious character and I'm pretty sure I'm already on some kind of watch list with the things I've been googling to find pictures for this post........

CARETAKER CARRYING UNCONCIOUSS WHUMPEE BRIDAL STYLE- I am not normal about this. I just can't. Enjoy my world salad for this entry, because I can't. PEAK CONTENT IF THEY ARE BOTH MALE AND THE WHUMPEE IS LIKE A SIDE CHARACTER OR SOMETHING. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MOMENT AND THE CARETAKER IS SUPER PROTECTIVE, SQUEAL!!!!!!!) Ahem, It's all about the trust and the feeling of safety. It's al about the caretaker running to the medical tent, or something, with a limp and bloody Whumpee in their arms as they are both coated in the Whumpee's blood. You know the drill by know, this example is brought to you by from my most favorite Manga/Anime- One Piece!

Delirious/Feverish Whumpee's POV and Outsider POV- Honestly, I think fever is one of the most versatile whump tropes, because it can happen with a sickness, wound, exhausten etc, so you can add it as a bonus whump like some kind of twisted honey boba with a sprinkle of angst salted cheese (That shit is delicious, okay). I also think that there is so much ptential, visually, in how an artist/animator can represent a warped state of mind when the Whumpee is delirious and in pain. The half lidded eyes, heavy breething, vertigo........ Same thing for the Outsider POV, just looking at the Whumpee suffering and the other characters' reactions to their plight........ This one is from Komi can't Communicate (I watched the anime and it was so cute and heartwarming, might read the manga later).

Whumpee Falling Unconcious Bheind the other Characters- This one is an oldy, but a goody! Just the frame of the Whumpee crumbling to the floor (it usually happens as a cliffhanger) and everyone is screaming and rushing to them. I think this one needs no explanation.

I'm pretty sure that I have more, but right now I can only come up with this much LOL. Enjoy!

[l-a-l-o-u]

do you support ai art?

that's a tough one to answer. sorry in advance for the wall of text.

when i first started seeing ai-generated images, they were very abstract things. we all remember the gandalf and saruman prancing on the beach pictures. they were almost like impressionism, and they had a very ethereal and innocent look about them. a lot of us loved those pictures and saw something that a lot of human minds couldn't create, something new and worth something. i love looking at art that looks like nothing i've seen before, it always makes me feel wonder in a new type of way. ai-generated art was a good thing.

then the ai-generated pictures got much more precise, and suddenly we realized they were being fed hundreds of artists' pieces without permission, recreating something similar and calling it their own. people became horrified, and i was too! we heard about people losing their job as background artists on animated productions to use ai-generated images instead. we saw testimonies of heartbroken artists who had their lovingly created art stolen and taken advantage of. we saw people being accused of making ai-generated art when theirs was completely genuine. ai-generated art became a bad thing.

i've worked in the animation industry. right now, i work at an animation school, specifically for 2D animation. i care a lot about the future of my friends in the industry (and mine, if i go back to it), and about all the students i help throughout the years. i want them to find jobs, and that was already hard for a lot of them before the ai-generated images poked their heads into our world.

i'm not very good at explaining nuanced point of view (this is also my second language) but i'll do my best. i think that ai-generated art is a lot of things at once. it's dangerous to artists' livelihoods, but it can be a useful tool. it's a fascinating technological breakthrough, but it's being used unethically by some people. i think the tools themselves are kind of a neutral thing, it really depends on what we do with it.

every time i see ai-generated art i eye it suspiciously, and i wonder "was this made ethically?" and "is this hurting someone?". but a lot of it also makes me think "wow, cool concept, that inspires me to create". that last thought has to count for something, right? i'm an artist myself, and i spend a lot more time looking at art than making art - it's what fuels me. i like to imagine a future where we can incorporate ai-generation tools into production pipelines in a useful way while keeping human employees involved. i see it as a powerful brainstorming tool. it can be a starting point, something that a human artist can take and bring to the next level. it can be something to put on the moodboard. something to lower the workload, which is a good thing, imo. i've worked in video games, i've made short films, and let me tell you, ai-generated art could've been useful to cut down a bit of pre-production time to focus on some other steps i wanted to put more time into. there just needs to be a structure to how it's used.

like i said before, i work in a school. the language teachers are all very worried about ChatGPT and company enabling cheating; people are constantly talking about it at my workplace. i won't get into text ais (one thing at a time today) but the situation is similar in many ways. we had a conference a few months ago about it, given by a special committee that's been monitoring ai technology for years now and looking for solutions on how to deal with it. they strongly suggest to work alongside AIs, not outlaw it - we need to adapt to it, and control how it's used. teach people how to use it responsibly, create resources and guidelines, stay up to date with this constantly evolving technology and advocate for regulation. and that lines up pretty well with my view of it at the moment.

here's my current point of view: ai-generated art by itself is not unethical, but it can easily be. i think images generated by ai, if shared publicly, NEED a disclaimer to point out that they were ai-generated. they should ONLY be fed images that are either public domain, or have obtained permission from their original author. there should also be a list of images that fed the ai that's available somewhere. cite your sources! we were able to establish that for literature, so we can do it for ai, i think.

oh and for the record, i think it's completely stupid to replace any creative position with an ai. that's just greedy bullshit. ai-generated content is great and all, but it'll never have soul! it can't replace a person with lived experiences, opinions and feelings. that's the entire fucking point of art!!

the situation is constantly evolving. i'm at the point where i'm cautious of it, but trying to let it into my life under certain conditions. i'm cautiously sharing ai pictures on my blog; sometimes i change my mind and delete them. i tell my coworkers to consider ways to incorporate them into schoolwork, but to think it over carefully. i'm not interested in generating images myself at the moment because i want to see what happens next, and i'd rather be further removed from it until i can be more solid in my opinion, but i'm sure i'll try it out eventually.

anyway, to anybody interested in the topic, i recommend two things: be open-minded, but be careful. and listen to a lot of different opinions! this is the kind of thing that's very complicated and nuanced (i still have a lot more to say about it, i didn't even get into the whole philosophy of art, but im already freaking out at how much i wrote on the Discourse Site) so i suggest looking at it from many different angles to form your own opinion. that's what i'm doing! my opinion isn't finished forming yet, we'll see what happens next.

[mumblingsage]

The other thing with talking about YA as if everyone's reading it because it's so much more comforting and readable than adult fiction is...that does a huge disservice to a lot of YA. Just as 100% easy comfort does disservice to the YA target audience.

One of my more popular original posts at the moment is one where I'm begging people to rethink calling Bridge to Terabithia "traumatizing" (because I've seen with my own two eyes + contact lenses people using that word not just as hyperbole for emotional upset but as a reason they think young people should be protected from feeling it).

And one of the last YA novels I read was Barry Lyga's Boy Toy, which is not perfect but is challenging and vital (the biggest flaws, I think, are where it pulls punches to make things simpler for younger readers - to the point that I think it does them a disservice).

Both those books were written at minimum one decade ago; a more recent book off my have-read list is Intisar Kanani's The Theft of Sunlight which tackles human trafficking, abuse, and ableism in a fantasy setting, lets its characters make mistakes and distrust each other, and trusts the reader to handle it.

They're all still more simplified and lack the honest rough edges of an adult-fiction take on the topics, to the point that I sometimes found myself impatient and had to remind myself that, yeah, it's not actually for me, it's for young people who are encountering some of these ideas for the first time. But they're all willing to get their target audience upset and even confused, because that's one of the things engaging with the human experience will do to you, and that's what storytelling is.

[thiccoritaaa]

After having played through the mass effect trilogy 3 times now i keep coming back to the same question.......

what is everyone's obsession with Garrus??? He's cool ig but 10+ years of seeing fanart of this dude gave me the expectations that he'd be much more interesting, especially his romance which is sweet but underwhelming and I def wouldn't say it's leagues above anyone elses. It's actually been very disappointing ngl 😔 why does the game and fandom seem to presume that hes ur canonical best friend, sorry gang Legion was my #1 homie

[arsenicflame]

you know youre a little too deep in the brainrot when "would it be fucked up to be straight in the society of Heven" is a genuine thought you have had and seriously debated with yourself