#so I think the Tumblr link function is okay?

[snorfbin]

.

[anistarrose]

So, it's not a moral failing to be bad at what I'm about to describe. But collectively, most of Tumblr is bad at identifying polls that function as bait for bigotry and harassment. Polls that, either intentionally or unintentionally, encourage people to spew hatred about a marginalized queer sub-community — because that sub-community is considered, at least by some, an acceptable enough target.

Most of us have probably seen that polyamory poll go around (as of September 2024). Fewer people have probably taken a look at the notes on that poll — and in many ways, that's for the best, because a lot of the notes are fucking vile. I won't link the poll itself, but content warning for threats of domestic violence and suicide in just this sampling. I don't know enough about the poll creator to make assumptions towards their intent, but that poll was functionally bait, acting as encouragement for people to spew vitriol and bigotry.

And none of this is specific to that individual poll! In December 2023, a single person made a series of polls about friends with benefits, and the "question" of whether aromantic heterosexual cisgender men were queer — and those polls led to huge waves of arophobia and sex negativity (inseparable from, let's be honest, some mask-off radfem shit). On top of that, multiple polls about people's feelings towards sex, or experiences with such, have turned into a festival for bashing both asexuals and virgins — insofar as the people doing the bashing use those words as anything but interchangeable insults.

Polyamorous people. Aromantic people, especially aromantic allosexuals. Asexual people, especially those who are virgins or sex-repulsed. That's a clear and obvious trend — they're all people who do relationships differently. People whose relationships and identities are considered "cringe." Who are considered acceptable targets to mock within the queer community. Making fun of "polycule drama," making fun of "queerplatonic," making fun of a-spec microlabels.

So many people who call themselves sex-positive refuse to extend that positivity to polyamorous people and aromantic people. To casual sex, to sex without monogamous romance. They insist that the polyamorous, the aromantic, are in fact the predators, the abusers, the degenerate queers that the conservative pearl-clutching queerphobes were right about. They tack on asexuals to the "abuser" category, too, because allegedly no one could ever be happy in a relationship with an asexual; because allegedly it's manipulative to your partner to refuse sex! Meanwhile, asexuality and sex repulsion are conflated with the completely different concept of sex negativity, twisting the language of sexual liberation to demonize asexuals further...

And yes, polls play a role in all of this! Of course, not every poll about sexual experiences, for one example, is a poll intended to bait or to harm people! But if they blow up, there is a high risk of people feeling emboldened to comment things like: "so many people are okay with casual sex, or multiple sexual partners! this is what's wrong with the world, it's all just toxic hookup culture!" Or if not that, then things like: "look how few people on this virgin loser website have had sex! this is what's responsible for cultural sex negativity! they'd all be better, more progressive queers if they just got laid more!"

And that's not even getting into the obvious, and obviously intentional bait. The "cishet aromantic men" poll, most egregiously. Clout-chasers hide behind the veil of "I'm just curious about people's opinions!" and then, put out a poll catered to the most rancid, exclusionist, verging-on-radfem opinions. At the very least, catered to platforming them seriously, when people inevitably feel emboldened to say that shit they've been thinking.

And "emboldened" really is the key word here. These polls increase the social acceptability of saying cruel shit about polyamorous people, a-spec people, and whoever else becomes the queer community's acceptable target of the year. The groups discussed in this post are by no means the only popular targets for harassment and exclusionism, but they are some of the most egregious examples I've seen personally, and they are tied together by their non-normative approaches to relationships or lack thereof. Moreover, the groups overlap — I am personally aromantic and asexual, not polyamorous — but even then, my struggles with amatonormativity overlap with those of polyamorous people.

And I bring this up because for years, I've witnessed popular Tumblr bloggers attack a-specs and polyamorous people within the same posts. With the same tactics, using cringe culture in addition to demonizing alternative types of relationships. Now, polls are another weapon for harassing us. And, it is... absolutely exhausting.

Of course, there's obviously a sliding scale of how prone polls can be to harassment. I don't think polls just asking about people's sexual experiences need to be totally anathemized and blotted off the face of the earth, for example — but you know, maybe consider searching OP's blog for "asexual" and some other keywords before you reblog one?

Furthermore, maybe just don't reblog polls about "does X count as LGBTQ," even if you're in support, because you're still legitimizing the poll to begin with. Maybe proceed with caution with posts that mention polyamory, even if not in an inflammatory way, unless maybe you know that OP is polyam themselves. Maybe block, obviously don't harass, but just silently and unceremoniously block people that make a lot of clout-chasing polls about controversial queer issues.

I don't know. I don't have all the answers. I'm not an expert on catching these red flags myself — the first time I saw the polyamory poll, I ignored it just because it was irrelevant to me as a non-partnering person, not because I clocked it as something that would generate hate and threats. So really, if I do have a plea to end on — it's just to listen to people, polyam and a-spec and otherwise, when they say that some post is generating hate and threats towards them. And then, maybe, try to learn some red and orange flags from the experience.

None of us are part of every queer sub-community that Tumblr loves to harass. We all have blind spots, and that's inevitable, not a failure of you as a person. But after seeing so many of these bait polls go around, after seeing multiple rallying effects in the communities followed by people letting their guards down, and circulating a slightly different bait poll... well? I just hope that eventually, people will be willing to learn.

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

The adventures of Eddie Munson, jerk

Written for the @steddiemicrofic challenge January 2024 edition

Prompt: hole, 404 words

Rated: T

Tags: modern AU; meet cute; HOH Steve Harrington; Eddie "foot in mouth" Munson; Eddie being a horny shit

Notes: based on this idea I posted a while ago. I'd link it, but alas, the tumblr search function sucks. I'll add it when I find it I guess. (Edit: found it!)

Ping.

Eddie's about to commit homicide in an airport terminal. Walk over to that asshole with the laptop and throttle him with the cord. Bury him in a shallow hole, chuck his beeping hell machine right-

Okay, breathe. 

He's overreacting. The guy's an inconsiderate jerk, but he doesn’t deserve to be murdered. Eddie's just a bit on edge ‘cause he got up at ass o'clock and now his flight is delayed and his neck is hurting from the plastic chairs and his phone is dying and- 

Ping.

Okay, that's it. 

Eddie stomps over, propelled by rage and too many energy drinks.

“Hey, asshole!”

Laptop jerk just continues typing. So he thinks he can ignore him, huh? Eddie reaches him just as the laptop dings again, grabs him by the shoulder. 

“Hey, dickhead, I'm talking to you.” 

Laptop jerk flinches so hard he nearly sends his device flying, head whipping up and- 

-shit, he's cute. Big, hazel eyes full of shocked confusion under a swoop of chestnut hair. Perfect, pouty lips parted in surprise. Eddie has a sudden impulse to wrap a hand around the curve of that throat, drop his voice, tell him to say sorry like a good boy. 

Which would be … wildly inappropriate. 

“Listen,” he says instead. “Your beeping is annoying the living hell outta me, so-” 

Something is pressed into his hand. Something rectangular and plasticy, like a business card.

“What the fuck?” Eddie mutters, lifts it so that he can read what it says. 

Hi, I'm Steve. I'm hard of hearing. 

Wait, what?

Eddie's eyes flit back to laptop jerk's face. He's smiling, but there's a distinct undercurrent of confusion and concern. Like he doesn’t know why Eddie's so angry, which is true of course, because he can't fucking hear, has no idea what he did wrong and fuuuuck, who's the jerk now? 

That shallow hole still sounds tempting, just for entirely different reasons. 

“Erm, it's just …” he starts, more slowly now, those pretty eyes following the movement of his lips. “I've been wondering if maybe …” 

Steve tilts his head. 

"... you'd wanna have coffee? My flight's delayed and-” 

If the curl of Steve's mouth is anything to go by, he knows exactly that this isn't what he wanted to say. 

He nods anyway. 

By the time Eddie’s flight lifts off, his phone is dead, but there's a sticky note with a number tucked into his pocket.

[turtle--soup]

Okay.

I have not seen ROTTMNT yet, but I've picked up some stuff from just floating around the fandom. Something I've learned, which is discussed in this post here, is that Rise Leo is generally considered - and considers himself the 'Face Man' of the team. (GIFs below are swiped from the linked post by @risestarkiss - I couldn't find them in tumblr's gif search function...)

Anyway. This is interesting to me because I am, for my sins, also a fan of The A-Team.

(I promise this is going somewhere! If you want to find out where I'm going with this, I'll put the rest of the post under a cut because it got a little long...)

For those of you unfamiliar with The A-Team, it's a (very silly) 80s TV series about a group of Vietnam War veterans who are on the run from the government after being convicted of a crime they didn't commit. The four of them spend their lives in hiding, making a living by using their combat skills to help people in need.

Here they are:

Left: Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith, leader of the team, brains of the outfit and most likely to have become an evil mastermind in an alternate timeline.

Right: Sergeant B.A. Baracus. Nicknamed 'Bad Attitude' due to his lack of patience for bullshit, B.A. is the resident tough guy but also an absolute teddy bear of a man, and is always ready to help people, especially children and the elderly.

Left: Captain H.M. 'Howling Mad' Murdock is the team's pilot and can fly just about anything. As his nickname suggests, he's considered a bit eccentric and is a silly kind of guy. (He's also a permanent resident of a psychiatric hospital but let's not get into that right now.)

Right: Lieutenant Templeton Peck. His role in the team is to provide them with whatever they need, whether that be vehicles, weapons, tools or access to places. He usually achieves this using his charm and wit, gaining him the nickname 'Face Man.'

Okay, so bearing these descriptions in mind, look at Leo's dialogue in this GIF:

I'm assuming that Donnie is the brainy guy, Raph is the smashy guy, and Mikey is the 'eats peanut butter with his fingers guy'. And Leo is the Face Man. That's his role.

But these descriptions fit the members of The A-Team too. Hannibal is the brainy guy, B.A. is the smashy guy, Murdock is the guy who absolutely eats peanut butter with his fingers (while maintaining unbroken eye contact throughout). And then there's Face.

How is this in any way relevant?

Well.

It just so happens that someone else is a fan of The A-Team...

Of course the Mirage turtles watched The A-Team! It was a popular show in the mid-80s, and you have to admit - they do have a lot in common, being four guys fighting injustice from the shadows and all... The A-Team even have a friend on the outside who helps them out - Amy Allen.

She's a reporter. Like someone else we know...

But which of the Mirage turtles in the image above is suggesting they should watch The A-Team?

According to this bio card from 1990 that coincides with the 1987 series...

... it might be Leo!

Was this intentional on the part of the Rise writers? I don't know!

Is it relevant? Probably not!

Does this tentative link between these two silly 80s series make me ridiculously happy? Yes!

Was this entire post just leading up to this? Yeah... sorry...

I like to think that the link is intentional. I've heard that Rise makes reference to other iterations of TMNT, as they all do. I would just personally love it if someone on the team wanted to draw parallels between these two series on purpose!

Anyway.

I just noticed that and really needed to get it off my chest! Thank you to everyone who stuck with this longer-than-intended post right to the end! 💙💜❤🧡

[onesingularbraincell]

hellaur and welcome <33

i havent found myself yet. i dont know who i am, or who i want to be. im still looking. (look with me?)

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

asks and messages are always open!! i volunteer as That Random Person to rant to about anything at all, happy or sad, complicated or simple. just come find me and i'll be here for ya

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

hi guys uh.. my name is lemon and this is my little corner of the internet!! grab a cushion and a drink to settle down, or pass through and get to wherever youre headed (if there is a destination in mind at all).

more under cut!!

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

✧ sixteen

✧ ace

✧ aro-spec/cupioromantic (im figuring things out)

✧ enfp-t if you believe in these things

✧ love language: physical touch

✧ languages: english and mandarin chinese if i try really really hard

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

currently infatuated with:

✦ tgcf

✦ mdzs

✦ woh

✦ marauders

✦ skz

✦ f1

✦ marvel (but bucky barnes in particular)

✦ musicals (hamilton, six, epic!)

✦ c-dramas (ding yuxi ily)

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

hobbies include:

✧ looking at pictures of sharks

✧ finding pretty words in a pretty order

✧ blasting music in headphones and staring into space

✧ daydreaming about love

✧ watching sunsets

✧ looking at the stars and thinking

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

what you'll find here:

✦ posts and reblogs surrounding my infatuations

✦ random thoughts that i would like to shout into an abyss (not available) so i write them down instead

✦ a friend (me)

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

the vibes i (aspire to) bring to the function:

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

➸ desperately trying to replicate the aesthetic tumblr pins saved to my pinterest boards but the fanarts and fan snippets are calling my name

➸ i swing wildly between being silly and drowning in emotions

➸ often on here when im supposed to be asleep but life is full of disappointments (im life)

➸ if given the chance i will make picrew and random uquiz results my entire personality

➸ always secretly panicking about not having my life planned out

➸ tea >>> coffee

➸ partially made of song lyrics i think

➸ scared of the unknown (but really, who isn't?)

➸ cant tag properly oops

➸ known for: filling my head with so many thoughts they overflow (as words or tears dependent on mood, time and the weather)

➸ scribbled down as an afterthought at 1:27am

➸ i can be funny i promise

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

♫ now playing: corduary dreams by Rex Orange Country

♫ [ spotify link: here ]

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

rules:

✧ please be nice

✧ no yelling angrily at each other (or at me)

✧ okay thats it have fun

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

current projects:

✦ GCSEs (help)

✦ journaling/scrapbooking

✦ reading more (book recs? fic recs? send them my way!!)

✦ greek/roman mythology

✦ learning morse code (.. .-../---/...-/. -.--/---/..-)

✦ constellations

✦ redecoration of my online spaces (starting with this here!!)

✦ learning (acoustic) guitar

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

moots wall hehe: (pls message if u dont wanna be included!! moots will be added automatically (eventually anyway))

@isthataraccoon @the-moon-and-stars-4ever @pockyyasii @ghostkingsupreme @urlocalmultigroupfan @l1kepeps1cvla @aroace-not-arokay @lila-77 @adorkablemily @tripleatechie @notrlyaflower @skuirll @woefulstar @may0325lee @silverliningspidey @sweettestdoll @rainystarssx @toastissuperior @ttroubledwaters @chenfordswopez @amorpho-titan @hopeless-umii @noodleswashere @nightmarebyanothername @thatoneartist-inthecorner @zmioniks @frooglet @mephishto616 @moniridia @unstableunicornsofasgard @whiteforest962 @sage-way @napkineater @gh0stwithaheart @essceesee @14-opossums-in-a-trenchcoat @midnight-blues07 @ph4smo-ur1ne @fictionalsimp09 @narniasclosetvoltron @wheezecheese @pinkvanillastillposts @autism-pro-max @sadiesinkobsessedsstuff @lc-27 @possessedbyfiction @stargazing-on-mars @whoa-axel-chill @futurecatladypt2 @reddammancy @kitkat-moon @zone444girls @tawnybug @ijustwanttobeskinny33 @inknpaper13 @aled-lasts-skyscraper-radio @cjsfreakhouse @max-on-fire @saturn-projector @caspar-lynm

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

stay as long as you like, im not going anywhere <3

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

Did you know that you can reblog fics with tags in order to bookmark them?

Okay the replies on this post are kind of sending me to space, so I figured I needed to make a new post.

I know a lot of people are new to tumblr and might not know how to use tumblr properly, and it does just make me go ??? whenever I look on someone's account and they have 0 reblogs and just have a giant wall of fanfiction in their likes. Because I cannot imagine scrolling through endless fanfiction posts in my likes looking for one fic when organizing things with tags is so much better.

First of all, for new people - reposting and reblogging are two very different things. If a writer has "do not repost" as a disclaimer, they are not talking about reblogging.

Reposting is when you copy and paste someone's entire work, make a brand new post, and then post their work under the implication that it is your own.

Reblogging is a function that is built into the website (and app) that comes up in a creator's notifications, showing that you appreciate their work because you interacted with it. Reblogs always have links back to the original poster so people can find them and follow them.

So - when you hit the reblog button (the one next to the like button that is shaped like a recycling symbol) - you are giving the author credit and encouraging them.

Also, you can use tags on your reblog to organize fanfiction for your own use later!

You can tag by genre -> #smut #angst #hurt and comfort

You can tag by a character's name -> #Spencer Reid #Emily Prentiss #Jennifer Jareau

You can tag by a pairing -> #Spencer Reid x Reader #Emily Prentiss x Reader

If you read fanfic from a lot of different fandoms, you can even structure your tags to include multiple elements -> #Spencer Reid x Reader Smut

A lot of people even reblog fanfics and tag them as #TBR or #to be read - in order to bookmark a fic that they are interested in and want to come back to later.

And you can edit the tags on posts you have reblogged at any time, so if you want to edit something that you have already read and update the tags, you can do that.

I think it's a shame that people aren't taking advantage of this websites very useful features (while supporting fanfic writers at the same time). You don't need to keep links to Tumblr fanfiction somewhere else in order to organize them - if you use Tumblr right, you can keep everything organized within Tumblr and it works perfectly.

[hearts4ayame]

Sometimes we want to give proshippers the benefit of the doubt, because no doubt a lot of them can and are victims of grooming who learned this behaviour, but was never taught how wrong it is, how fiction and the brain functions, etc. (example; brain get exposed to g0re repeatedly = desensitization and not that hard to grasp.. but for some reason for a lot of people it is...)

but then we remember the time a proshipper told us, a minor, to "pretend kids don't have rights" when saying sexualizing children even in fiction is fucking wrong and also illegal in many places.

Like we're sorry, they reasonably cannot convince me that this coping mechanism is healthy in the slightest, especially for minors when the community does shit like that, when the very people in the community say that it is 'kink centred' but allow and interact with minors in their community.

People like that can't be mad at us for using our brain and not wanting people our age or younger to be sexualized. WE DON'T WANT THAT AND JUST- Why can't they get that we don't want people hurt by them more? Why can't they get that we don't want them getting hurt either?(this doesnt apply to adult proshippers, mainly ones who already fully developed that prefrontal cortex)

also ALSOOOOOOOO- We've literally talked to and know some people who have and are STUDYING PSYCHOLOGY AND SAY THAT THIS SHIT ISN'T OKAYYYY??- LIKE THERE WAS ALSO A PSYCHOLOGIST OR THERAPIST(idk what video or their user, so i cant link it or find it) PERSON WHO DID A VIDEO ON THIS SAYING THIS SHIT ISNT OKAY- EVEN THOSE ON TUMBLR WHO ARE PROFESSIONALS SAY THIS SHIT AINT OKAY.

LIKE???? BRO???? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME???

(p.s just using we/us to ground us more while typing this out, might return later,)

TOBY 🪓🌲🔥(HE/THEY)

LITERALLYYYYY OMG I THINK I JUST FOUND MY MATCH 💍

[literaryxbones]

Dressing Up Goth Rant

This is a rant post; I have no intention of starting drama. This is not a callout post, nor am I talking about any other goth content creators on here. The topic I'm going to be discussing isn't just related to tumblr's alt community, though the object isn't just confined to one platform. It's a recent trend I've noticed on the internet as a whole.

TW: Eating Disorders (ED), Body Dysmorphia, Talk of Beauty Standards

Within the past few years, I've seen a surge in goth content being created. This is a wonderful thing! We have so many talented, helpful, and audacious people in our community.

For many of us, fashion is ingrained in our identity and self-expression. By upcycling, purchasing ethically produced garments, and dressing against the grain (trendsetting eurocentric beauty standards) we communicate our values and who we are to the world.

Not to mention, goth clothes and style is pretty frickin' cool! There's many different ways a person can wear gothic fashion.

So, where's the issue?...

In a lot of the goth media I've seen recently, creators are fully dressed up. They don white foundation, false eyelashes, maybe contacts, black or red lipstick, teased/product-styled hair, necklaces, multiple layers, and some striking shoes.

To be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with dressing in this manner. I also appreciate the skills required to pull off beautiful looks like this.

The important distinction to make is the reason why people dress that way. It could be self-expression, displaying one's values, dressing up for an event/club, or for fun! On the other hand, a couple people I follow (I'm keeping their names anonymous, they're not doing anything wrong and I don't think this should be controversial.) have admitted that they dress up and do makeup just to film a video or post a picture online.

I speak from experience when I say that I have felt pressured to dress up for the irl alt content I used to make. It's not that I didn't embody or resonate with these icons. I very much did, but there were times I only wanted to dress like this for pictures. When I wasn't going out, I dressed up in my room, posted, and then took my outfit and makeup off, for I wasn't going anywhere.

Let me tell you, you don't have to commit to the full-body, trad goth aesthetic if you don't truly feel like it. Exploring fashion, especially in alternative spaces, should be fun and something you genuinely strive for. Counterculture styles are not intended to be for looking good, fitting in, or proving your belonging in a subculture, for that's not what defines association.

It's okay to not look perfect or entirely goth. In fact, you don't have to appear gothic to find acceptance in this community. A lot of us don't dress in such advanced outfits everyday. We have to eat, sleep, and work too. When there's nothing going on, people often resort to a simple band tee or comfortable clothes. Gothiness does not have to be outwardly expressed at all. This doesn't make us any less or more goth.

It's also not uncommon here for people to struggle with depression, executive functioning, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders, which impacts a person's motivation to go all out. With or without these conditions, showing one's face, body, or fashion may cause discomfort.

Showing understanding, compassion, and acceptance towards your fellow community members remains paramount. Know, acknowledge, and recognize perfectionism's influence. Take a break from the internet and reach out to local goth scenes (if applicable). Realize that not everybody can fit conventional expectations. Support each other, please.

-Original Content Written by SORDID

-Inspired by a post from Zoe @hauntedveil

{Link: my opinion (that no one asked for) on this newer style of relatively extreme trad goth makeup popularized over the last 2... – @hauntedveil on Tumblr}

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

ASKBOX IS OPEN REQUESTS ARE OPEN HERE ARE THE RULES

okay so requests/askbox is open and this means we gotta go over some ground rules, requests must be:

1) Funny- the request needs to be humorous, memes usually the most popular but dnd in jokes and other shitpostery is welcome. i abide by the MBMBAM NO BUMMERS rule - there are plenty of sad/deep/beautiful calligraphers out there who’d be happy to work with yall, but this isn’t that sort of channel

2) Length - aim for no more than 75 characters a request, my cue cards are only so big so I can only fit so much on each one and still not look like garbage. we can push it a little over but it begins to look shoddier and shoddier with every squeezed letter in

3) Amount of Requests - I am trying to be fair but i am one person running this ENTIRE thing, logistics, tech, etc, everything. In order to be fair, please restrict yourselves to 3 requests per person to let everyone have a shot, if you send in more i will ctrl-f your username and pick my favourites

4) Content - I will not do anything I consider under the umbrella of general assholery - this includes racial slurs, edgelord bullshit, exclusionist jackassery etc. Please be kind to each other. Please let me know if I’ve taken a request that is some incredibly obscure piece of assholery, someone once tried to slip a really obscure antisemetic piece of slang by me once

5) Repeats - I keyword id EVERY SINGLE piece i’ve ever done on this blog, if you think I might have written smth already but aren’t sure, the /search/[keyword] is your friend, check if i’ve done your request before. tumblr changed their search functions to not include tags in the search feature, so we might end up doing duplicates anyway bc of the unsearchability of old posts, its just how it is.

the askbox is theshitpostcalligrapher.tumblr.com/ask , not a dm or submission to the blog. I’ll close submissions too so people don’t get the boxes confused. DM me for any actual clarifications, kind words, etc so they don’t get swallowed up by the behemoth of my askbox for months, and if you want to give me live encouragement the twitch link is right there.

I’ll be streaming the entire time the askbox is open on twitch @ theshitpostcalligrapher, trying to get as many of these done today as possible live. Once 10PM EST hits, the askbox will close but if you get your request into the askbox by then, it will be done eventually as I always have 4 cards up per day.

Here’s the link to my twitch, we’ll start a little after 2 o’clock EST

[librarycards]

this might be a long one apologies !! um okay the current state of everything going on is kinda making me !!!! and im not the best at vocalizing how i feel about these sorts of things but im a good writer i feel n i wanna write this in some capacity to vocalize my criticisms in regards to us empire the two party system liberalism fascism and the american complacency and ignorance ( at times sort of aid to the empire ) to the reality of america's function within the world and mistreatment of those in the global south but my core issue is ive got such a small / limited insight to politics ( everything i know kinda comes from tumblr which is both a pos and a neg plus my own bg sometimes blinds me to have a more objective nuanced understanding of things ie identity politics im black nonbinary !! ) so i just wanna know where to start with my research? what essays books ( fiction + nonfiction ) can i read and just in general to be more knowledgeable about these things???

first of all, i want to remind you that it's always okay to write through your feelings and you never have to publish them. so, if you feel the need to write right now, get a journal - maybe at some point you'll write something informed and researched and publishable, but it is also 1000000% valid and important to write for catharsis, if that's something that works for you.

here's a great list to get you started w/r/t books about empire, colonialism, and worldviews beyond white usamerican ones.

Some podcasts I recommend include Death Panel, Citations Needed, and Africa is a Country (links to a website where they also have a podcast).

I'd also recommend taking a look at syllabi floating around online! Here is an introductory postcolonial theory syllabus that has some of the key texts on it. Here is a pdf (actually put together by my former PhD program haha) that has a huge, comprehensive list of theoretical texts and journals. if it looks overwhelming, i recommend starting with page 8 where things are organized thematically.

good luck! i think you'll be surprised with how much you know based on astute reading on here/what you've absorbed experientially - i know when i entered college, i was pleasantly surprised that i could catch onto theoretical arguments pretty quickly. there's a learning curve, but i believe in you!

[neurodivergent-mermaid]

Survey with non verbal people who are nonverbal from birth results!

Thank you to everyone who responded to this and also everyone who helped spread this survey!

Participants were found by posting on tumblr, and also I posted the link on three discord servers, one for mute people, two for AAC users. Remember this is not a big statistical thing just the experiences and opinions of some people who do not have functional speech 24/7 and haven't since birth! This does not represent the whole nonverbal community!!!!

How did you end up nonverbal?

9 said they are nonverbal from birth, and 43 said they became nonverbal after birth, this is about the 9 people who said they were nonverbal from birth!

Are you nonverbal due to a mental or physical impairment?

1 said mental impairment

1 said physical impairment

5 said both

1 said no

2 said they don't know

Do you expect to ever not be nonverbal?

All 9 said no

Do you want to stop being nonverbal?

1 said yes 100%

2 said yes but some parts are complicated

4 said it's too complicated to say yes or no

2 said no but some parts are complicated

What is your opinion on people saying they "go nonverbal"?

2 said they don't care about it

5 said they don't think it's okay

2 said they don't know how they feel about it

Do you do speech therapy?

4 said yes

5 said no and they are not in the process of getting it

How long of being unable to speak do you think someone should call themselves nonverbal?

Also I am very sorry I tried to find a way to make this easier to read but I didn't want to cut out any parts and it just didn't work.

when it's likely that it won't go away for the time being

half year of be not speak with mouth words not be choice or be have physical problem speak vocal cord damage thing like that

my position has always been that solidarity needs to go beyond what word you call yourself. i think the discussiom so much more nuanced amd real and messy than many make it out to be.

1 or 2 months

i don't really care, people can start using that term when it feels right to them.

~ a year

i think at least a month

Click the boxes of which conditions you have! If you have none of them do not click any of the boxes

9 have autism

6 have intellectual disability

2 have global developmental delay

5 have anxiety

4 have depression

What support needs do you have?

1 said moderate support needs

3 said moderate to high support needs

3 said high support needs

2 said they don't know

What support needs did you have the majority of time that you were 0-10?

1 said low to moderate support needs

7 said high support needs

1 said they don't know

What support needs did you have the majority of time that you were 11-20?

3 said moderate to high support needs

5 said high support needs

1 said they don't know

If you are autistic how much do you mask your autism?

2 said never

1 said Rarley

2 said sometimes

1 said often

1 said all the time

2 said they don't know

Is there anything else you would like to say? 😊

one person said hi, hello!! :D

Two people also said they have cerebral palsy!

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting: Holghras Results

Now for what everyone -- or at least a certain percentage -- has been waiting for: the results for the Holghras! Anyone who found that sentence confusing can catch up by checking this page: https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting .

This time around, they should all fit into one post, as the response was a little smaller. I see how it is: everyone wants to draw Spooky Corpse-Eater With Magic, but nobody wants to draw Horny Bird With Problems.

I kid, of course. The Wutugald had some pretty clear visual elements that people could hook onto, but the Holghras entry is mostly about its behavior and doesn't give much information on what it looks like beyond "it's a bird". So it's pretty clear why people might have a harder time drawing artistic inspiration from that one. (And I really and truly appreciate those of you who took a crack at it anyway.) The level of physical description is going to vary a lot entry to entry, I'm afraid -- to some extent I think it's about whether it's an animal the reader is expected to be familiar with, but there are definitely a few detailed visual descriptions of animals most medieval Europeans would have seen because the author wants to do some symbolism. So it's a toss-up. Anyway, here's the link to the description people are working from:

And the results, again roughly in order of appearance. If yours isn't here, let me know -- I saw one post that said something about Tumblr eating their original attempt, presumably out of Bird Homophobia. I'm happy to reblog any that I missed due to Tumblr's functionality.

@bruncikara (link to post here) gives us our first interpretation. I really enjoy the medieval bestiary style, including the use of the Generic Medieval Plant that always reminds me of mutant asparagus. I think the border is designed to evoke the thorns in which the Holghras nests, which I also appreciate. The bird's pose, flat on its back with its neck curved up, is great, and it's shown performing its signature Hide With Dirt move. I think at least some of the inspiration comes from quails here, judging by the head... feather... thing... [Wikipedia break] ... okay, apparently it's just called a "plume", which I should have guessed. This is the first example of the common (and correct!) assumption that the Holghras is a member of the order Galliformes.

@jamiethekeener (link to post here) gives us this one, also posing with its signature dirt clods. I'm reminded of a cardinal, personally. The artist provides a brief comment on their design, noting that they are not a bird expert. I think this is a pretty cute juvenile bird, and the way it holds the dirt comes off as kind of playful.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has produced another very naturalistic drawing, which (in my non-expert opinion) manages to look very much like a real bird without specifically looking like any bird in particular. They apparently do know birds, because they specifically name-drop Galliformes in their description of their design decisions. I like the decision to also include one of the bird's Signature Behaviors, i.e., the mother carrying her chicks.

@pomrania (link to post here) has given their Holghras a selection of striking features, which they explain in their post. There's a lot in that post, actually, and I really enjoyed reading the whole journey of this particular drawing. You should go read it too -- the post linked above also provides a draft version, a link to a series of progress sketches, and a link to an explanation of their design choices that includes rumination on how to make a bird look "slutty". Go check it out, we'll be here when you get back.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) describes her design choices briefly, indicating that her goal was to pick Bird Attributes that could look unsettling in combination and suggest that the bird depicted has a "terrible sex life". Mission accomplished, I think -- that bird does not look trustworthy. Also now we know that thing on its head is just called a plume, so good for us. I really like the effect the -- watercolor? I think? I don't know art -- provides, and that seagull-esque spot on its beak really is a great touch.

@rautavaara (link to post here) has done another beautifully stylized drawing with a very pleasant color scheme. They provide a brief explanation of their design decisions in the linked post. I'm particularly struck by the fact that this version of the Holghras apparently carries its young in the same way that the folkloric version of the stork carries babies: in some kind of cloth wrapping held in the beak. I also like that the chick's feet are sticking out.

@mobileleprechaun (link to post here) apparently had some trouble posting this, but I'm glad they got it through, because it's delightful. I like the little bird on the right with its feet sticking straight up, and the other one under its mother's wing/arm. When I first saw this, I was briefly puzzled why the drawing contrasted male and female birds, because they looked quite similar -- then I noticed the tailfeathers -- then I looked more closely at the male's tailfeathers and cracked up a little bit. The linked post provides a brief explanation of the design decisions, including why the wings look so much like arms. It also has a couple tags that I find funny.

@karthara (link to post here) provides this excellent image as well as a brief explanation of their design choices. I love the over-the-top tailfeathers on the extremely-sexy purple male Holghrases, and the babies dangling from under the female's wing, and the fact that the clod of dirt being held up by the juvenile is at least as big as the bird holding it. Also, those ridiculous tailfeathers are apparently inspired by the Onagadori rooster, which means we're back with the Galliformes.

@embervoices (link to post here) did this adorable drawing of the juvenile Holghras. I particularly like that she's taken a different route than having it just hold up the dirt: this one apparently has a little hidey-hole like a trapdoor spider. This is just very cute all around, I like it.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) provides this excellent and action-packed depiction, along with a wonderfully detailed explanation of their design decisions. (I love reading those.) From their post, it's clear that they also know more about birds than I do, and also name-check the Galliformes as the most likely category. Apparently the bird-people of Tumblr have this critter's number. Also, that is a masterful depiction of a bird running off with an egg, I have to say.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has done another medieval-styled rendition, which I really enjoy. This is also, I believe, the first appearance of a human in any of these drawings. (Well. Live human, at least.) I enjoy the depiction of the female bird doing her fake limp to lead the human away from her nest while the males engage in their weird drama up in the right. They provide an explanation of their design choices and inspiration in the linked post.

@scarlettbookworm (link to post here) has given us a drawing that showcases several of the odd behaviors described in the entry. The linked post also provides a description of their design process and an explanation of their decisions. I think this is another very cute picture of a bird holding up dirt, and I enjoy the one at the top shouting "HOLGHRAS!" The egg-stealer over in the bottom right is very good also.

@moustawott (link to post here) has drawn this very vulture-like Holghras in what I have to say is a very well-done bushy area. I had to look twice to realize the background was actually cleverly-arranged splashes and blobs of color that strongly suggest that we're in a bush. Very good art, love the style, and that fuzzy baby Holghras is cute as hell. The linked post provides an explanation of the design decisions.

@strixcattus (link to post here) gives us this rendition of the Holghras, which they describe as being inspired by a prairie chicken and a potoo. Prairie chickens are, of course... Galliformes. Another tally mark in that column. I'm particularly delighted by the giant mouth on the chick in the bottom right. As they did last time, the artist has provided a detailed modern-naturalist interpretation of the animal, which is of course in the linked post. I recommend checking that out; maybe it's just because I'm the kind of huge nerd that I am, but I think these are great.

@treesurface (link to post here) gives us a Holghras that they describe as a cross between a bird of prey and a bird of paradise, which I think is a pretty good idea that fits both the aggressive behavior and the mating behavior described in the entry. I enjoy the fact that multiple artists have decided this bird Likes Big Tailfeathers (and it does lie, but about different things).

@ashfly (link to post here) gives us this picture of a juvenile Holghras holding up its clump of dirt. They also indicate that they have an idea of what it is, which I really hope they'll share now that it's posted and the bird's out of the bag, because I was 100% certain nobody would guess this one. The fuzzy bird is cute, of course, and the rainbow legs are really striking. (Pride legs, perhaps?) I also like that it's clearly looking over at the "camera" to see if we're buying it.

And finally, the official medieval depiction:

... hm. Yeah, some absolute bastard apparently cut out a bunch of the miniatures in this manuscript at one point. Luckily, we have the Ashmole Bestiary over at the Bodleian Library, which is extremely similar, so we can get an idea of the image that was here:

And also, this entry in the Aberdeen Bestiary comes with two images. Here's the other one:

I'm going to assume the choice of coloration was up to the individual artist and the missing Aberdeen illustration was also brown, because the Ashmole version of the egg-stealer also has the more colorful pattern:

Anyway, in case you haven't recognized it from these helpful and very accurate images, this is the partridge. Now you know what's going on in those pear trees.

I don't actually have anything else to add about that. I was frankly a little surprised there was even an entry for "partridge".

[mdhwrites]

The Grimwalker as a concept was so weird. Mainly that Hunter was all 'ohhhh no we cant tell them im a spooky Grimwalker!' But... why would anyone care? The only reason given is that hes a reincarnation of a guy nobody even knows or cares about. Theres not even like, a spooky myth about Grimwalkers because its got such a vague ruleset and premise. He's barely different from a demon.

That COULD have linked to the demon discrimination plotline youve talked about, but there is none so it cant be that. Which i understand was partially because Dana wanted the gays to just exist, so she scrapped discrimination in general. But, a big part of forming cultures and identity is 'Otherness'. People compare themselves to others and define themselves by how theyre different. So scrapping discrimination ends up making the witchs and demons feel like nothing. They have nothing to compare their identity and culture against because theres just no conflict to spark comparison.

This lack of substance also means the fans don't care about Grimwalkers. See the moring comic where the Grimwalker was turned into ANOTHER way to say 'haha Boscha so cringe amirite? point and laugh because she has nobody who loves her.' even though the grimwalker is to reincarnate the dead.

OH MY GOD I'M SO HAPPY SOMEONE ELSE NOTICED THAT! *SCREAMS BLOODY MURDER* Like I know Mark just writes Boscha how the entire fandom sees her (which hasn't helped me enjoy A Hint of Blue, not that I think it's good regardless) but seriously what the fuck!? Why do that to her except just to be mean!?

*sighs* What were we talking about? OH RIGHT! Grimmwalkers.

So for why Hunter has anxiety, it actually is because TOH is doing a very basic clone/artificial human storyline with Hunter and those arcs are actually a lot more internally motivated than externally motivated. Clone lives a life believing they're their own person, then one day finds out they're not, perceives themselves as less because of this distinction but then in the end decides that regardless of their origin, they are their own person and so throw off their shackles, embrace who they are and become better for it. It has nothing to do with race and while it is baby's first clone story, I also still like it conceptually because, well, there's a reason why it's the default clone story. It especially is good for kid's media because while the clone can struggle with the anxiety of it, their friends never have to actually be bad or discriminatory against them because the point is loving yourself for who you are and not who you were made to be.

But I've talked before about how this basic framework actually has a Catch 22 built into it when it comes to Hunter... Which apparently Tumblr wants to tell me I've never done before. Thanks search function. The short version is that this template requires not only a rejection of what they were made for but for them to become distinctly different, usually opposite, to their purpose/original. For Hunter, he only knows Belos so this takes shape in trying to be the opposite of him. The problem is that the opposite of Belos... Is Caleb. Who Hunter mimics in every action he takes after getting away from Belos. There's literally no way to follow this template without adding complexities like him accepting his true origin and being okay/happy with that, something that was probably unlikely in general but especially wasn't going to happen with the shortening, which I will actually give people for. Because the Grimmwalker twist happens so late, they either had to cut it or had no time to actually do anything with it which like... Why not cut it? You did nothing with it and it actually made sure you didn't have the time to actually have Hunter reject Belos' morality so that his redemption doesn't come across as self serving and for survival more than an actual, you know, change to his beliefs.

As for how interesting Grimmwalkers are... They're just clones. Boilerplate, boring clones. Make a body based on another person, put memories in, BAM! Got yourself a clone. Doesn't get more classic than that. It's hardly even magical honestly besides the components, especially with how it actually doesn't give them magic despite those components, or have weird quirks since they're not actually made of flesh and blood, elements that the fans have had a lot of fun with that the show never does, though admittedly part of that is due to how late it happens. Then again, all magic in TOH is boring so it's not likely they would have anyways. Also, you know, a lot of shows will do a single clone episode and have more fun and magic to it than TOH does with one of their core cast members being one so *shrug*

Now, for the final part, I do want to also touch on the 'other' aspect because while discrimination is one way to do it, you can get this across in other ways. One such way is the core defining trait of the Grimmwalker from a tangible standpoint: He doesn't have magic. In a society that mostly has magic, him not having it is a big deal. It's literally what gives him and Willow their first connection as a couple, as insulting as that scene actually should be to Hunter.

And then Hunter is 'fixed' when he gains his magic. His 'other' status removed because he's a real boy now. *SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH*

I have so much more I could say about TOH and 'The Other' (made a blog about a lot of it between writing this draft and publish) but I'll leave it at that so it actually stays on topic instead of the half a dozen tangents I've deleted. None of this makes it good by the way and with how TOH tackles most subjects like this, it's incredibly unlikely that more time would have made it better. After all, being a Grimmwalker is only one of like a half dozen TANTALIZING character/arc concepts for Hunter that are never addressed. The fact that he is trained to kill witches and likely has. His relationship with the Isles because he doesn't have inherent magic. The fact that he is filled with such care for the nation and its government that it blocks out all else in his world. How a sheltered child reacts when they suddenly have freedom and are thrust into the wider world. Etc. etc. that are just footnotes to the writers more than anything to actually build a complete arc around or else they wouldn't have just keep adding to the angst bucket without actually resolving any of it.

So of course Grimmwalkers are bland while being a fine to good concept that's then made terrible by narrative implication or neglect. That's EVERYTHING to do with Hunter.

======+++++=====

Sidenote for this one: It is funny that Dana wanted there to be no bigotry in the Isles when her villains entire scheme is through religious persecution. You know, bigotry. Whole other blog I could go into.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[matoitech]

Do you have any robot/mecha ocs?

i do! currently only have set designs for three robot ocs but i do have stories w mechs on the backburner in my head so ill probably have mech designs eventually. idk if theyll function as 'ocs' though. anyway onto the robots. im less confident w designing and drawing them then ur typical furry so i dont draw them as much as my other ocs, but i do love them! i have some art wips of them rn actually

Level is prob the best robot design ive done, i love her sm shes awesome. i rly like how i did her plating! she was originally a public service bot but quit her job to transition and live her own life. she changes her own paint job somewhat frequently so her colors can be modified if i feel like it. she doesn't have as much backstory as Zag below yet altho she was made first (i went into Zag knowing his backstory and general personality and i didnt for her) but i love her

Zag is Level's boytoy mechanic thing, id post his ref w the text but its Huge and barely legible on tumblr so its just in his th link lol. he was a professional botfighter (think the equivalent of like a famous wrestler or boxer, but more violent) but he's retired now, and he works as a robot mechanic. botfighters are created and designed to look cool and interesting and be 'characters' the audience can root for if they're the equivalent of a face, or hate if they're the equivalent of a heel, so while he looks different now (his contract wasnt renewed with the company that made and used him since he was made for a womens [robot] league and when he came out as male they were like um okay. we dont have anything to do with you goodbye) he still looks cool. even cooler now! he doesn't service his own body as much as he does other bots. also usually he wears clothes just .. again the whole big ref has so much small text..

Kaski only has this concept ref so far that i did recently (small text, sorry, easier to read on th where u can zoom) but its a street racer dragon robot! lives in the same universe as Level and Zag. hopefully ill get better art of it fullbody out eventually. its speech is a little hard to understand if ur not a robot bcuz the inflections tend to be placed wrong since its speaking cut up from completely different songs (and voices) it has access to anything downloadable

i also have another robot oc ive been tossing around inmy head lately but he doesnt have a design yet, ill be excited to reveal him when i got something! :-) and i do have some art id like to finish of these three eventually. maybe i can get to that when im less busy lol

[ckret2]

Power to you with regards to wanting to finish with Gravity Falls first. I passed over so many pieces of media just so I'd be READY for when Hazbin dropped the season. When I hyperfixate, it's almost never a choice, I just get thrown around with no will of my own. And it happens fast. Sounds like you're kinda the same way, so ride that wave while you're on it, and hopefully we'll see you on the other side!

I'm exactly the same. I got into Hazbin because I was working to finish the draft of a 500k word Invader Zim fic during nanowrimo, went "oh I need a break, maybe I'll watch that one episode pilot my mutuals keep mentioning just to unwind," and next thing i know I'm writing a 30k romantic tragedy between a serial killer and a goofy snake, reading multiple scholarly books on the history of radio broadcasting, and filling my bookmarks with links to sites on medieval demonology and the history of New Orleans.

It's always like that! I got hooked on Godzilla from one movie I saw on a whim because a mutual was asking a bunch of pals to see it, and now I have strong opinions on the characterization of a three-headed space dragon. My current Gravity Falls hyperfixation came because whenever The Sims 4 updates and all the current mods break, I go back to a mod-free backup file where I'm building the Mystery Shack and rewatch a bunch of episodes to get references of the shack—and somehow, after 4-5 times of doing that and losing interest again within a week, in March my brain suddenly went "you know what, this time I think we're gonna make Gravity Falls our entire personality for, oh... at least the next year."

I'm taking no chances now! Outside Gravity Falls almost all of my current media consumption is nonfiction because I never hyperfixate on nonfiction. I'm putting off watching Hazbin and listening to The Magnus Protocol. When I am reading/watching fiction, it's as research on topics/genres relevant to the fic. What this means is I've read Flatland and watched almost all of the 80's Care Bears series. (Care Bears was very nearly a bad decision. I started developing emphatic headcanons about No Heart and Mr Beastly's backstories. We had a close call. It's okay, I'm past it, luckily tumblr has a nigh-on nonexistent Care Bears fandom.)

Adulthood is figuring out how your ADHD functions by trial and error and corralling it into doing what you want by setting up clever traps and blockades to steer it.

[xx-j4nu5-c4t5-xx]

Hey! I love your Ripp Minecraft skin but Tumblr made it really tiny. Do you have a link to a full-sized picture please?

i don't have a link to it anywhere (I don't think) but it being tiny might be intended. The texture of the skin is only 64 x 64 pixels, where a normal image for me is closer to 700 x 700. In my files it displays them as tiny and blurry but I'm pretty Minecraft will still be able to read them okay.

I'd try downloading the original, tiny file anyway. Minecraft should take it, but if it doesn't and something got goofed in translation between the skin editor and my drawing app and tumblr's compression, I'll try and find a way around it.

I tried enlarging them to see if it would help (made it 640 x 640 instead) and Minecraft had a breakdown and wouldn't recognize it as a skin. When I plugged the small ones in, though, they seemed to still work fine.

Anyway, tldr, I think the tiny image size is normal behavior. It seems like it's just a weird quirk of how Minecraft's textures function, and because they're so few pixels it makes most screens handle them funky. They should still be fine when you put them into the game, it's just that they're so itty bitty that most devices assume that they're trying to display the lowest quality image on the earth and make them look crusty and weird.

I'll put the larger versions (that aren't blurry) at the bottom, if anyone wants them for a reference, but I don't think Minecraft will accept them unless they're 64 x 64 pixels like they were originally.

Thank you for reaching out though, and I'm happy to help if they're still acting funny!

High quality versions (will not be recognized as skins)