#mel stuff

[fazedlight]

Even if what you're writing isn't based historical precedent...

Language is not a physical law of the universe!

Language is a social construct; it can and does change. Linguists and dictionaries only describe what they observe - they don't create laws to be followed. People start using new words first, then they sometimes get popular enough to enter the dictionary. That doesn't mean people were "wrong" to use the words beforehand!

Merriam-Webster:

By relying on citational evidence, we hope to keep our publications grounded in the details of current usage so they can calmly and dispassionately offer information about modern English. That way, our references can speak with authority without being authoritarian.

Oxford:

Dictionaries are descriptive, not prescriptive. In other words, when we're defining a word we combine our understanding of how it is used in the language with an analysis of resources such as the Oxford English Corpus. This should result in a definition of how a word is actually used, rather than how we think it should be used.

Of course, there are such things as style and connotation and simply being understood. Social constructs aren't totally arbitrary, and it can be a challenge to convey the idea you want in the way that you want to convey it. There's never a guarantee that what you write will land, or that you will be perfectly understood.

But experimentation is part of creativity. Not every experiment will work the way you want, but exploration is the only way you find something new. So try "honey-bright", see how it feels, see how your audience responds. Communication is about connection, and the only thing constant is change.

one of my worst writing sins is abusing my power to create compound words. i cannot write the sentence "The sun shone as bright as honey that afternoon." no. that's boring. "The sun was honey-bright that afternoon" however? yes. that sentence is dope as fuck. i do not care if "honey-bright" is a word in the english dictionary. i do not care if the sentence is grammatically correct. i will not change. i will not correct my erred ways. the laws of the english language are mine.

[fazedlight]

If I had a nickel for every time a bisexual high-powered executive in love with her best friend was played by Katie McGrath...

[starwolfie]

So…. Tell me if I’m the weird one, please…

My mom just told me her neighbor no longer wanted their cat. Because said cat had given birth, they want to keep the kittens and give away the cat to a shelter.

I started to cry because this broke my little heart. It’s an animal that loves you, you heartless monster, not a sock that you throw away when you get a new one! 🥺🥺

Sorry if I made anyone cry, but am I weird because this makes me very very sad? 😢

[crysys-kidd]

PRIDE MONTH - based on my Sims game where I had a pride mod installed and Mel wished every other week to come out to her dad like it was a surprise every time.

Bonus:

[fazedlight]

Here's mine!

Friends! Lovers! Writers of fan fiction, foe fiction and original fiction alike! Are you drowning in WIPs? Do you find yourself procrastinating instead of writing? Do you abandon all of your current projects every time you think of a shiny new idea? Fear not! I’m here to make your problems even WORSE by bringing you a

The following picker wheels will randomly assign you a genre, a premise, a trope, and a subject (an item, concept or character that has to come up in your fic in some way).

The challenge is to write a fic up to 1000 words long.

For extra credit, make it exactly 100, 250, 500, 750 or 1000 words long.

Please reblog with the prompts you were given, and if you’re up to the challenge, link to your work in the comments!

If you like, you can add your work to the collection on ao3. It’s categorized as multi_fandom_flash_fiction.

I’ll also be regularly updating the masterlist here.

Have fun & thanks for playing!

[fazedlight]

[starwolfie]

Today I visited Nemo and his friends.

Found a fellow animal nerd in a guide and enjoyed getting infodumping for an hour about fishies. I enjoyed this so much! /gen

[fazedlight]

Sapphics are always telling their girlfriends to jump

[fazedlight]

If my blog ever convinced you to watch Xena, you're welcome.

If my blog ever convinced you to watch Supergirl... I'm sorry.

if my blog ever convinced you to watch a tv series

you’re welcome

sorry

[starwolfie]

So…. I‘ve hurt my shoulder. While driving in my car.

No, I didn’t have an accident, I just had to swerve out of the way of a car on my lane.

🙈

[fazedlight]

It's so funny how I got into anthropology in college, frequently talking about the importance of storytelling in culture and how it shapes who we are... and yet it took until my mid-30s to realize that I was allowed to tell stories.

We live in a culture that devalues and commodifies folk culture. So please: tell stories badly, sing off-key, paint something awful.

We need to bring creativity back to being focused on people, connection, community.

Not just something to consume and demand.

[starwolfie]

I present to you the scariest Halloween decorations of all times!

And the very scary Halloween plushies that I got today

Have a spooky Halloween everyone! 👻👻👻👻

[fazedlight]

I think they're more alike than Lena would like to admit.

recognising your parent's mannerisms in yourself and physically feeling psychic damage occur

[fazedlight]

I started again with Station 19, which led to some Thoughts, which led to me commissioning this fun supercorp piece from @heeeygracie (twitter/ko-fi).

Thank you so much for your amazing talent, Gracie! 🏥🚒❤️‍🔥 (Tweet version.)

[starwolfie]

How are my lovely mutuals doing today? 🥰

[fazedlight]

There's an aspect of Xena that I love, but have trouble putting into words. But I'll try: Xena didn't have a traditional sense of mentorship (especially male mentorship) or accountability to some authority.

It's difficult to break away from in female-led media. Buffy had Giles to guide her as a slayer. The Charmed Ones had Leo, who ultimately reported to the Elders. Mulder mentored Scully to an absurd degree in that her skepticism was never allowed to be right. Kara didn't break away from the DEO until she was basically forced to.

But Xena? She never had a group to report to. Her only male mentor was someone who was leading her down the wrong path. She found mentorship in Lao Ma, in a brief interlude that launched her into self-discovery. She found mentorship in Gabrielle, someone who in no sense "outranked" her but who simply brought her a different perspective at a time when she needed it. She feels like an independent person, which is something that seems to get afforded to female characters less often.

I'm really glad I grew up with Xena on my TV.