#soph rants

[sophiainspace]

So the formal job offer never arrived last week despite the promise that it would be with me on Thurs or Fri. So my first thought was for my current employers, who’ve been (very generously) waiting to do the paperwork that moves me from one or three months’ notice, in the hope that I can start my new job sooner. So now I’ve told them I’ll give three months notice. Which is no bad thing really, as it takes me to practically the end of my current contract, and starting a new job in Jan is no bad thing in my industry.

But now I’m going to spend the entire weekend - possibly longer if this keeps dragging on - WONDERING IF I REALLY HAVE A JOB AT THE END OF MY CONTRACT OR NOT.

[queercomesthesun]

I will never get over how good the storytelling in Aristotle and Dante is. A love story told from the perspective of someone in denial. An unreliable narrator who is only unreliable about their own feelings because they won't allow themselves to feel them.

A love story in context. coming of age, the intersection of manhood and sexuality and race, the beauty of the language, the way Ari's thoughts read like poetry.

It's pretentious, but that's what makes it feel real. because what 15 year old falling in love isn't pretentious?

Their parents are amazing. The way Ari's parents slowly transition from one-dimensional to complex people with complex emotions and motivations and how we as a reader learn to understand them as Ari does.

I also love how we see Ari's mom tease Ari in the second book.

“Dante’s on the phone.”

“What’s that smile?” I said.

“What smile?”

“Mom, just knock it off.”

It's such a sweet moment, when Ari and Dante's relationship is so fraught with danger and complexity, Liliana teasing him just makes you forget that for a moment. just then, he was just a boy, who's Mom was teasing him about his boyfriend.

The way, particularly in book 2, the book deals with external historical events, namely the AIDS crisis, is so brilliant. Told from the perspective of a teenager, who is scared that his love might, in some way or another, get him killed. Really does a good job illustrating what it was like back then.

The way Ari's storytelling focuses on emotions. Actions and events are short sentences, precise. A did this. B did that. Ari's thoughts though? Ridled with metaphors and descriptors and explanations. Except when he is in a mood where he is keeping things close to his chest.

I've heard some discourse about the book being transphobic, yes Ari isn't very PC in the first book but he's a teenager in El Paso in the 1980s. The second book shows his understanding shift and he changes a little and becomes more accepting of both himself and other people. This is actually handled really well.

The movie came out but is struggling with distribution, so I haven't seen it yet.

[queercomesthesun]

If you want to read my rant about capitalism and misogyny (its 3am this may have mistakes and is very waffley)

I think this comes from people misunderstanding the word 'capitalism'.

Capitalism is not the only exploitative system, its just the latest one.

Patriarchy and misogyny came about around the time agriculture did, because for the first time humans were settling in one place rather than travelling as nomads, so they started accumulating food and resources. They wanted this to be inherited so they enforced monogamy on women so men would know who their kids are. Men worked the fields, and women became baby-making factories (previously to this, number of children you could have was limited by the amount you could carry with you when travelling).

Women were doing work, within the household, rearing children and the like, enabling the men to focus on accumulating resources (wealth) without being properly compensated themselves).

This was before capitalism. The (oppressive) idea of the nuclear family predates capitalism.

The idea of the nuclear family is a system that oppresses women (yes, even now we're allowed to work and have credit cards). While most women in the western world have jobs, they also take on the majority of the family duties. And this is structured into our society, look at the difference in parental leave allowances. They set up, from day 1, that the woman is the primary carer. Because they have figured out that in order to have workers creating surplus value so the capitalists can accumulate wealth, they need the workers to be born and looked after. (people don't like it when you point out family is a bad thing cause people generally like having families, but community, love and relationships can exist outside of an institution that serves the purpose of exploiting women's labour.

Accumulating wealth at the expense of others, is not exclusive to capitalism. But class society existed in different forms previous to capitalism. Hence it is not just capitalism, but class society as a whole we need to abolish.

Capitalism is special though, because of its competitive nature, and the amount of workers. Most people living under capitalism are workers, and workers hold a power over the ruling class because of their ability to withdraw their labour and take away the surplus value they are creating for the capitalists.

(Whereas for example under feudalism, the peasantry made up the majority, and peasants don't have the same potential power as workers, because, while they can revolt, and play crucial part in revolutions, they are not exploited by the ruling class in a way that gives them a potential power.)

One of the problems is that in order to explain this, you have to go back to the neolithic revolution, (when agriculture came about) which is 12000 years ago. And when you bring that up as an example of how biological differences do not necessitate misogyny they dismiss it because of recency bias. But actually, the way that capitalism works today, the power that we have as workers, means that we have the tools and organisation to create a system free of oppression and exploitation. Because while capitalism was not the origin of women's oppression, it can't survive without it.

The strict enforcing of the nuclear family is also why lgbt people are a threat to the system btw. We don't fit into it. And when we have fought for respect, we have been hesitantly allowed entry into polite society. Because if we're going to exist, (they're starting to realise they can't stop that) then we should do it the right way, having a long term partner and kids, and assimilating as close as we can to the blueprint set up for straight couples. "Who wears the pants" they want us to fit the pattern, because the pattern works to uphold the system.

Homophobia/transphobia are both an extension of misogyny and a way of scapegoating to avoid taking blame for issues caused by the ruling class's pursuit for wealth.

It's also why there's so much stigma around women choosing not to have kids. Because that's our role within society, to produce the next generation of workers.

Anyway fuck that, we should bring capitalism to its fcking knees (and with it, win liberation for women, queer people, and all the oppressed people of the world) Revolutions are festivals of the oppressed and I'm in the mood for a fucking party.

sometimes people think I’m really pedantic about word choice but it’s really important to be precise when talking about big structures and precise wording is the difference between “capitalism reinforces patriarchy,” a statement which is true, and “capitalism created patriarchy,” a statement which implies that misogyny didn’t exist until the 1600s

[sophsicle]

i do sometimes wonder, if the people who get on your case about not updating, understand the level of work that goes into creating things. like obviously, of course, i understand that i have gone a significant amount of time without updating and i GET it. i do. i just am busy, i don't know what else to say. but like, it is work right? like getting out a chapter a week is essentially like having another part-time job. which is why i've needed to take a break. cause i just don't have the time / energy for another part-time job right now. and i don't mind people asking about when fics will update, i really don't. what i do mind is people being like "REALLY you need this much time??" Like DAMN excuse me. i am doing my best. it takes energy and time to create. and i do that for free in the spaces between all the things that i have to do otherwise. idk. idk what the point of this is. other than being like, you must have never made anything, if you don't understand why sometimes it takes time.

[sophfandoms53]

anyways i am very much still thinking about this,,, i have not moved and i will never move on

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

Sophie Shepard & Dominik Shepard (ME2)

Ft. Cmdr. Kaidan Alenko & Zaeed Massani MIRA'S MORE CANON ME2 "We both did the best we could do underneath the same moon- in different galaxies..." AKA: The aftermath of Lair of the Shadow Broker. Recruiting the Not-Dossier: Apollo. Mass Effect 2: Legendary Edition (2021) + Bonus :)

[its-all-papaya]

excuse me for coming into your askbox and yelling but FIRST!! how GOODDAMN GOOD was the prompt fill for my ask for 13 (desperately)!??!?!?!? i wasn't expecting that AT ALL like the way you have with words!?!??! i LOVED the words in different languages that you so smoothly fit in there, how you wrote them and the way it came together was just so beautiful 🥹 i was legit crying happy tears at the end!! but SECOND now WHAT THE FUCK was that prompt fill for 48?? you BROKE ME, i don't even really understand what exactly happend in that one (pls explain in short if you'd like) but the desperation seeped through my screen and my EMOTIONS are ALL OVER THE PLACE now and i am truly moved by the piece. THANK YOU but also WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

okay there are layers here so first:

YAY SO GLAD YOU LIKED 13!! I'm so proud of desperately, I was so scared to write lestappen bc (again) I was simply not around F1 for the majority of their development, so it feels much scarier with less to pull from in my brain. But!! I loved the way it came together, and I'm glad you enjoyed <3

okay... 48... because the world is ending. I am... SO GLAD you asked bc I've actually been dying to talk about this since I wrote it. It feels like I'm unveiling some of the mystery I purposely put into it but also I am shaking crying begging to discuss this piece so uh... under the break xoxo

The thing about that prompt is I started writing it FULLY intending for it to be about the actual end of the world. My vision was like... Charles hears the world is ending and realizes that the one thing he wants to do is confess to Max blah blah etc etc. But I started typing and I wrote that first paragraph like half out of the shower bc I was afraid I was going to forget it while I finished, then I started the second paragraph and it was truly just going to be like... scene setting ahead of Charles learning the news. I got to the part about the television always being on bc I wanted him to background overhear and passively learn the news on accident. But "There’s a trophy case next to it, dusty with neglect. The top shelf is empty. It always has been." appeared out of actual literal thin air?? and from THERE I was like. No. I have something better. SO.

48 is still about the actual end of the world if you want to read it that way. BUT. 48 is also about Charles retiring from Formula 1 without ever winning a WDC. If you would like to read it that way. If you take road number one, the news comes that the world is ending and they've got days until it does, and Max calls Charles and invites him to his place and Charles goes.

IF YOU TAKE ROAD NUMBER TWO. Loosely, Charles has a contract in hand and is making his decision but taking too long so Ferrari gives him an ultimatum or whatever. In this case, the phone call could be from team principal or whoever you please. And Charles decides on his own to go see Max about it. In both options, my working concept is Max retired out of nowhere a-la Nico Rosberg after winning his eighth WDC or whatever. And he disappeared and Charles hasn't seen him since the final race of that season ("his face looks the same as it had that day in December, glowing in the reflection of another trophy"). Also they used to fuck ("He knows Max’s voice...through the thick of a pillow, around his own wrist, shoved between his teeth"). So Charles goes to Max because he needs to decide what to do except he's kind of already decided and just like. Needs Max there while he admits it to himself. And then they have their weird little standoff and makeout and have emotional sex bc Charles is letting go of the dream he's always had and he's doing it alongside (via?) his lifelong rival, who achieved everything Charles wanted. And then left Charles alone with his desperation.

I actually don't know how lestappen reaches this itchy part of my brain, but 48 is one of my favorite things I've ever written and it came together in literally an hour and a half. "'What did it feel like?' 'Which one?'" made me cry literal physical tears writing it because Charles is just desperately grieving the dream he's had his whole life and begging Max to give him anything to know whether it's worth it to keep fighting, and Max is not flippant but so... literal? about it? Which is so Max to me. I love the way it came out SO MUCH. so much.

ANYWAY that was not short, that was long, but I'm so so glad you asked, thank you genuinely for the compliment and for giving me this opening to rant about this little bby piece that I adore so deeply.

Feel free to visit my ask box again any time, anon 🫶

[sunfiy]

where do i Even start .....

we had another baby and their names are apollo and artemis !!! and then we moved and were so rich bcs we sold all our furniture and unfortunately and accidentally our plants and cowplant and literally everything (my kids birth certificate too .. sorry amari)

and then my game crashed and i had to rebirth apollo but that wasn't that painful !! anyway we were decorating our houses and were so joyful and right as i finished all bedrooms and bathrooms and got to the living room .. MY GAME CRASHED AGAIN im still so upset but its okay its okay wtv. whatever. soph had to upload her version of her house and i placed it in so its okay............... i guesss.......

apollo and artemis aged up to infants + apollo FINALLY got ophelia's genes but it was not hte same luck for soph ... so sorry !!! and then we had a birthday party for amari and amira to age them up too and errrrmmmmmm lets js say don has INCREDIBKLY strong genes like a freak

and finally ophelia, willow, eric, and don aged up !!

[sevasey51]

ahhhh it’s taken me sooo long but i finally thought of something for you!! but you know how scott and chris had that phase where they scared each other a bunch? well i need your thoughts on what it would be like if teen!daughter!reader was in on that!! also so excited for this whole event!!

Hey love, so I’m gonna do it as a little description type thing anyways…

At first with of course it was scary for her because she frightens easy, but once she kinda got used to it she did join in more so when Scott would do it to Chris instead of the other way round. Because with some tropes of my teen! daughter they’d be all for it like if toddler reader was the embodiment of the crazy teen reader it would be hilarious, but if it was on the other end of the “spectrum” of my characters, like Luna it would take a little bit longer for her to get used to the silly brother antics that go on behind closed doors.

Because all of the so called characters I wrote or make, are an embodiment of me at some point of my life because I never will share my story but sharing it in little snippets though my characters do help me heal to an extent so that’s why sometimes it does take me a little longer to process some requests because it take me longer to embodiment the characters with the request and then just so I don’t make them all the same as the last ask I posted because I don’t want generic stuff :(

Anyways thank you for the ask Soph! Sorry for the waffling but I’m sending so much love, and i appreciate you so much, always love seeing you pop in my notifications! 🫶🏻

[silverscreenlipstick]

guys so what if 🤭🤭 during work i came up with an idea of writing a wolfstar/jegulus fic where reg & sirius are abandoned by their parents at a young age and sirius basically raises regulus and it’s all lovely and angsty (and i would lie to myself if there would be no jegulus of wolfstar smut involved) ???

what’s our opinion on this ?

[elitehoe]

Yeah you're not pulling my attention from my book for a Sammy Jericho segment I'll check back in when I'm finished with my chapter brb

[queercomesthesun]

Does anyone else who goes by a nickname (specifically a shortened version of their legal name) get people just repeating back to you the full name when you introduce yourself.

"Im Soph."

"Nice to meet you Sophie."

Not what I said, but okay.

I thought they might be mishearing me, but now at my job i wear a name badge that says Soph, and customers still read it and call me Sophie.

Is it just because it's uncommon to exclusively go by that, or do Chris, Nick, and Alex all have the same problems?

Any advice on how I can get it to stop? Sophie doesnt feel like my name I hate it.

[fnf-beyond]

Sophie and Carol, in their inhuman forms point at each other Spider-Man meme style

Blue, Pico, Whitty, and Hex all playing Uno in the background, genuinely not giving a rats ass about the fact two of the only women in their lives are not human.

[sophsicle]

OKAY question

i wanna reread choices and edit it but i can never make myself do it cause im like "ugh wow so long i simply cannot"

but also, every time i do reread parts of it i have like *thoughts* like SO many thoughts about it and about what i was thinking at the time and how that has or hasn't changed and what i was trying to do and what i love and what i hate and blah blah blah

SO the question: if i did like a lil read-a-long with soph thing, would anyone be interested? like maybe in the form of small podcast episodes where i discuss the chapters as i edit them and you guys can like tell me the different stuff you want me to talk about etc etc and then i will have the motivation to actually do this and also somewhere to dump all of my *thoughts*

or is that like, a stupid idea that no one asked for? i cannot decide whether this is leaning more on the fun cute side or the annoying keep this to yourself side, Y'KNOW????? so i ask

[kirishwima]

also just voicing a random thought i had since yesterday after a phone call w a coworker but. I wish people treated working in medicine less like a lifestyle and more as a...job?

Like, yes, studying medicine and then working in the field takes up a LOT of your time, life, effort etc. But...it's still a job. I still clock in and clock out, I'm allowed sick days like anyone else, and at the end of the day when I go home, I do other things with my life and enjoy other hobbies. Being a doctor shouldn't immediately mean you live and breathe for your work and love it more than anything. It's a job!!! And the stigma around medical professionals expressing just that is kind of baffling to me. A doctor doesn't have to be on 'doctor mode' 24/7, just as an idk, a teacher, doesn't have to be on 'teacher mode' outside of work. Just. food for thought

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

Sophie Shepard & Kaidan Alenko (ME2) 1/?

MIRA'S MORE CANON ME2 "The wrong place at the right time..." AKA: The aftermath of Stealing Memory. Mass Effect 2: Legendary Edition (2021)