#you know you don't HAVE to put a bunch of adjectives here right

[erinwantstowrite]

the past couple of days i was doing a lot of stuff but mostly deep cleaning our house and something i noticed while listening to my mom's true crime videos was that you can rarely find a channel that doesn't add stupid fucking music to the background like it's a horror movie- or even more inappropriate cheerful music.

and that REALLY bothers me because these are people's REAL lives we're talking about here... when i watch true crime anything i have to go out of my way to find channels that don't sensationalize it or disrespect the victims in any way. recently, one of the channels i watch has started showing signs of leaning towards this kind of content, when previously they hadn't done so. and it's disappointing. i'm a big believer in music elevating a story but it just feels gross to put it here. or to keep doing moments like "but this horrifying secret will come to light later", etc etc

[mariyekos]

🍥/🍚 for the ask game? (genuinely took me so long to realize one of the few dmc fics i’ve ever read was yours, you’ve got a real way with words)

Link to the ask meme here!

Aw, thank you so much!! I'm so honored 😊 I've been writing for ages but tend to feel like I'm just sort of...putting down words instead of making it an art, and this past year or so (so, since I've gotten into DMC!) I've been trying harder to get that sort of "artistic flare" I've been longing for!

As for the ask game-

🍥 What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Okay so here I go talking about DMC and how I've been working hard on my writing for that, but my answer for this one is actually a FFXIV fic. I've gotten so many comments about people crying or feeling emotionally devastated on this one. I also remember bringing myself to tears while writing it, and this IS one of the few fics I agonized over for ages trying to "perfect". It's told in a bunch of snippets of varying length, it's emotional, I did something creative with the writing (there is no use of 'you', except when one certain character speaks, there is no quoted dialogue from anyone until that character dies, etc.), and I love it so, so much. If someone asked me which of my fics I think is a true work of art, it would be this. (link)

🍚 What genre do you have the toughest time writing?

Either romance or horror. Romance I bring up because I feel like I miss it when I'm going for it and accidentally hit it when I'm not. I tend to write a lot of "romance" that doesn't include any kissing or overt declarations of love, but instead focuses on gestures or proximity. I also write things that are meant to be intimate in a platonic way that I realize after the fact could maybe be taken as romantic even though I don't mean it that way. I like intimacy in both a platonic and romantic respect and sometimes I worry I'm not conveying the right one. As for horror, that's the genre I've abandoned multiple fics from. Which is weird grammar but whatever. I had one for FFXIV that I think I only got a thousand words into before I decided it wasn't at all horrifying and barely scraped "creepy", and I'm pretty sure my note in my word count document for that year was something along the lines of "I am not capable of writing this." Actually wait, I still have the document, I can just look it up. Doing that, the thing I wrote was actually "Don't have skill to write this yet. It's frustrating." I also have a DMC WIP that's supposed to be a horror fic but just feels like...I don't know. A middle schooler's attempt at horror or something. I think I went too long into the setup and also didn't really make it creepy so much as full of detail that could be creepy if I were better able to describe it. I need to figure out a way to describe the scene that's actually creepy/horrifying. Maybe I need more figurative language. Maybe I need more/a greater variety/a different set of adjectives. Maybe I need to cut out some of the setup and get to the actual plot faster. I've taken a break from writing the past few days because I've gotten into a bit of a slump, but maybe a few days off will help me identify what's wrong with it so I can salvage the 7.5k words I've written so far. We'll see. I'm definitely my biggest critic!

Thank you for participating in the game, and for the kind words. It always makes me super happy to hear when people like my writing style! I may write a lot of words, but it's the quality I prize over quantity, so it really is nice to hear my words are good too :)

[idontpreferit]

The "are straight men not allowed in lesbian spaces" discourse:

What we are leaving out are: bi women and their boyfriends, pan people, non binary people, gay men, or other reasons a man may find himself allowed in a specifically lesbian space. We are not talking about the overall umbrella of queer space. We are talking abt the Lesbian™️ space. The lesbian still exists. And we aren't talking about the discourse therein.

Cracks knuckles

The straight woman in question lacks nuance and u know its not in good faith when she says "I get it BUT"

The "but" stands for butthurt

The whole problem is that what was decentered or simply erased from the conversation was THE MAN being disrespectful and entitled. The reason that anything happened at all was cuz : ObViOuSLy he made himself a problem.

Treat every gun like it's loaded.

That's how women, queer people, poc, every minority thinks about cis straight white men. Potentially dangerous. Safety check.

He probably wasn't dangerous! But people who acted like him have ended up dangerous. If you're showing the same symptoms I don't feel safe, right? Come the fuck on diva, death of a thousand cuts from these guys

Top comment on her tiktok was "I'm so tired"

What I do at *my* event is take a note from the euro model and have a door picker deadass turn people away if they don't pass a vibe check

And what is that vibe check? Rejection. Maybe it's a witch hunt model too where if they drown they're not a witch, oops. Better safe than sorry though

Interesting metaphor to draw tho cuz you know how like the witch trials actually happened

And the worst thing to happen to a man is he gets rejected

So look, rejection isn't easy for EITHER of us and especially not for my fawn response having ass

Rejection therapy is a real thing

But my event is a queer, trans, kinky space and if you can't handle rejection you have no business interacting in this space.

That's not just safe space that's fortified.

I want a system where the trash takes itself out. The people r butthurt cuz they couldn't get in?? Probably their first time experiencing rejection or lack of belonging. Enjoy the novelty, babes. The deliciousness of experiencing marginalization as a snack. Cissies love it, they go make a tiktok and go viral and make the news.

But a Black enby gets turned away at a "regular" (not queer centered) club, they don't make news huh

The problem with the queen who says "we as lgbt need to do better" here's how I'm gonna put words in your mouth as a favor. What you mean by that is:

We need to do better and install door pickers permanently. Do better at rejecting ignorant disrespectful entitled straight people, specifically. I'm not saying all straight people are all those spicy adjectives all the time. I'm saying those types of straight people, the ones who got mad, lack the understanding and respect necessary to be welcome in those spaces. You showed your ass, just like when we hear a "not all men" we know you're That Kind of Man to Watch Out For.

I hate to "kids these days" about it, but conflict and rejection and resolution and acceptance are not something that many people are equipped to handle right now. It doesn't seem like conflict resolution happened in person that night at the cubbyhole. Miss thing took to the internet and let a bunch of pfps pop off in the comments. Did learning happen? Or did defensiveness dig her heels in? Well either way she and her man aren't going to a lesbian bar ever again.

There's hope for her to learn maybe but her little man friend I think is gonna dig heels, stay defensive and butthurt, and throw the dyke slur around. Because the worst thing that can happen to a man is that he's rejected. And he isn't in the spotlight, he's all protected in his privacy huh, when its his fucking fault. Now the ladies are doing all the work communicating, as usual

But with therapy, maybe in a few generations... rejection won't feel like death anymore

Conflict won't feel like death anymore

When people ask a question it'll actually be in good faith because they wanna be humble and learn

And then! We'd welcome anybody with open arms

And gender will finally be dead

Or some shit

[godbirdart]

AHH I hope you don't mind the DM, but do you have any general tips for inspiration and composition? Your works so perfectly capture a lot of the aesthetics my mind is so hfdgshgfdusdfug ooga booga about, dreamlike regality, cold/muted colors are so good --- but I struggle really hard with making works I can enjoy and would love some advice from you!

sorry it took me a couple days to get back to this ask aAA

** let me start this off with all art is subjective. what works for some, won't for others - and that's okay! aesthetic is VERY much so up to the eye of the beholder. yes there are Popular choices when it comes to art, but it's not a guarantee that Everyone is going to follow the same art rules when consuming media **

now then. i'm kind of a stickler for the traditional Rule of Thirds with a bunch of my artwork. I keep things loosely aligned between the grid lines.

for example with the ice guardian here, there's more or less an even balance of light and dark on either side of the image. the dark on one side is mirrored by light on the other. i don’t follow the rule of thirds firmly, so there’s going to be some vague offset from the grid itself which is fine.

the key point i want to mention here is that the majority of the body is contained to the middle box. this is because if the guardian was perfectly centred, then the whole art would look unbalanced.

here's our guardian perfectly centred [with some loose editing to make up for nonexistent space on the right there]

you may notice that the art feels pushed to one side, even though the body of the canine is placed evenly in the canvas’ middle. their head seems too far left and they end up feeling like they're not centred at all. this CAN work for some art yes! but to balance this particular piece, the bulk of the canine's body Had to be in the middle.

I like to apply the most weight of an image to any of the grid’s intersections, the middle square, or centred along the sides of the canvas. if i do put weight in one of the corners, it’s often balanced by mirrored weight in the opposite; like with this piece:

keep in mind that there are numerous composition types. the grid isn't the allmighty end-all composition trick - and these aren't strict rules either; unless you're taking an art class for a grade. YES they can absolutely help give your art that extra edge, but not all art HAS to follow these tricks in order to be good. here are more composition types beyond the grid [below graphic is from here]

now, when it comes to inspiration, i also struggle with this sometimes. if there's a vague fleeting idea that i want to draw, i go to where i'll gain the most inspiration for that piece.

for the above art, i know i wanted to do something Large and Cold - so I went to a favourite choice that fits that description: photos of greenland. these photos are from http://www.unsplash.com.

these had the kind of colours i wanted to work with, and i was VERY fond of the colours in the second and third, so i utilized these as a colour palette and scenery inspo [free iceberg art study! fantastic!]

now, there was no particular "what if there was a little freak in there" moment for me. i chose a photo, dabbed my colour picker tool in there, and just went to town doodling. eventually the art wound up being a companion piece to Return To Shore, a drawing i did back in July, but hey that's okay. i guess my brain really wanted to draw another old Big Dog.

i cannot say i put a lot of planning into my art beyond a few adjectives. i feel it’s better to be vague with your art like this because if you’re hyper-specific about what you want to make you may get frustrated and/or discouraged if it doesn’t turn out like you hoped. this is very much so a personal choice. if you can churn out exactly what you plan in art then that’s totally fine if it works for you. i just prefer to doodle and see where that takes me.

i hope this helps your art journey!! my brain may have wandered off topic by mistake, or neglected to write something in, so if you want more clarification please feel free to ask/specify!

[diavorchid]

listen i know it's very absurd but. I'm not immune to 11.11 okay.

i feel like those socialites sending sponsorship in the hunger games but instead i'm sending a pack of Pocky via the wonderful time-travel method aka drawing lmao. also i didn't mean it but somehow the color turned out like ouran uniform.... [gasp] ouran au?? /j

they're in boarding school age with Art around 2 years younger?? i hope i managed to present their essence in their younger vers

short drabble under cut because ofc i can't help myself. warning for crack lol.

[ao3 link now i guess]

—

"Hey, John! What you've got there?"

He looked behind to the source of the cheerful voice and sighed internally. That young man again. John held himself back from attributing the adjectives such like "annoying" or "a prick" because he seemed sincere enough so far.

Then again Father had taught him better, that you could never know.

And maybe that kid — Arthur? — does deserve it, at least a little. After all, Arthur had deliberately caught him red-handed trying to break into some restricted school building, and he's still on edge and weary if Arthur would report him.

Albeit this isn't the time to think about it, because literally thirty seconds ago something just abruptly appeared in the sky and fell down right before his feet.

A peach-colored small box with big letters spelling "POCKY" on its front. John didn't know what it is, but it does sound stupid.

"I'm not sure," John said, "It just fell from the sky."

"Neat," Arthur said, intrigued.

John picked up the box and observed it from all its sides. There are some texts he couldn't read but overall, it seemed harmless.

"I think it's edible," he suggested, and began prying it open. Inside, he found a bunch of long biscuit sticks covered in a layer of cream for the most part. He remembered the image of strawberry on the box and concluded it's strawberry flavoured.

John took one out and stared at it for a second, not realising Arthur had bent down to take a closer look.

He shrugged, "Might as well try it," then put it in his mouth.

"Wait, you can't just shove anything you found on the ground into your mouth—" Arthur said frantically, and John just gave him a look. Arthur sighed, "At least, I won't let you do it alone!"

Arthur dove in and unintentionally pushed John to the ground, back against the wall. He put his hands by both of John's sides for support.

Then joined his mouth at the other end of the same stick John was biting.

Huh, pretty sweet, Arthur thought, and decided to take more bites and kept drawing closer to—

John yelped back and hit his head against the wall, biting off the biscuit stick in the process. "W-What are you doing?!"

Arthur looked at John, and only then realised how close he was. He could practically see the face in front of him turning the same colour as the mysterious box. "Just having a snack," he smirked.

John shoved the box in his hand against Arthur's chest, and tried to push Arthur's body in the process. "Help yourself, there's a bunch left!"

Arthur retreated and took a spot on the ground to sit, but John scrambled himself off the ground and started to stand up. He held onto John's wrist, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Away from here — let me go," John almost whined.

"This is yours, you found it."

"I don't care, I just gave it to you."

"You're getting me a present already?" Arthur gasped playfully, "As your friend, I'm touched. Thank you."

John really wanted to put that attribute now on the face in front of him. He thought he deserved it, as a treat.

"Whatever — just let me go."

"I will — after you and I finish eating this," Arthur shook the box in his hand, "My first decree as your friend: we're having a snack together at recess in school ground!"

The grip on his wrist was strong, but John was sure he could tackle himself out of it with some effort. Yet... yet — there's something in the gaze that Arthur was sending him right now, the curved up of the line at the edge of his mouth, full of confidence but John could swear it just twitched for a fraction of second — that made him yearned to let his guard down.

...So he did. Just this once, he assured himself, nothing could come out of this, right?

John sighed. "Fine," he said, lowering himself to the ground to sit at his previous spot, "Let's get this over with."

Arthur picked one out of the box, and put it in his mouth, "Here," he pointed at the stick in his mouth, "Do you want to share this again—"

"—Do it again, and I'm leaving," John cut him short, as he reached into the box and took one out for himself.

Now that he's actually tasting it without some kid trying to eat him, hey, it's pretty sweet.

Staying here together might not be the worst idea, after all.

[littlefandomfrog]

I'm struggling with identity at the moment. How did you figure out you were genderfluid? It sounds like a weird question and feel free not to answer, but I grew up in a household against pride and I've had to learn everything myself.

Hello anon! This isn't a weird question at all! I wish I'd had someone I felt comfortable asking this to, even anonymously, when I was questioning!

I would love to answer this, or any other questions people want to send in about my experiences with gender, sexuality, any of that stuff! I wasn't raised in a place that was against pride, but I was raised with little to no exposure to LGBT material so I know what you mean about having to learn on your own. It's a bit terrifying sometimes, isn't it? Kind of existential.

Okay, this ended up a lot longer than I first thought it would be, so I've put a cut here for anyone who just wants to read some fanfiction and not hear my life's story.

I am afab (assigned female at birth), and was happy to call myself female for most of my life. It was really only once lockdown hit my area and one of my close friends came out as lesbian that I really started looking into LGBTQIA+ identities and started questioning myself. Sexuality was my first look into that world, and I ended up coming to the conclusion that I am omniromantic and bisexual, questioning abrosexuality (think genderfluid, but for sexuality, where it changes sometimes).

It was after that that I started consuming more LGBT+ media and hearing about some trans folks' experiences with dysphoria and not fitting in with their assigned gender at birth. Something in that really struck a bell with me. I don't experience a ton of dysphoria most of the time, and I had just assumed that any discomfort I had with my body was from my social anxiety or depression bringing along some self-esteem and body image issues. One message that's really stuck with me was something along the lines of "being trans is not about how much dysphoria you feel being misgendered, it's about the euphoria that comes when something feels right." So I asked some friends to try using different pronouns for me. I started out with she/they, since I wanted to keep some of the familiarity of being female. I loved it whenever anyone used "they" to refer to me, and I soon expanded to any pronouns. Initially this just meant he/she/they/it, since I had never heard of neopronouns. My first experience with neopronouns was actually through fanfiction! I tried them out through the same method as before, and liked them, so I now use pretty much any pronouns most of the time.

I was content to remain unlabeled for a while, with just minor preferences to whatever pronouns people used for me. I don't know how I first heard about genderfluidity, but something about it clicked into place for me. Sometimes I was okay with feminine pronouns and adjectives, and sometimes I wanted to hurl myself as far away from the conversation when I heard them. Sometimes I loved being referred to as something masculine, while other times I was indifferent.

For a while I felt like I was just being undecided, and was questioning myself so much about whether I was trans or cis and faking it. I'm naturally an indecisive person, so I thought that this might be me just not being able to make a choice. It was only once I met another genderfluid person online and saw some things they were saying that lined up with what I was feeling that I really felt like, "Oh, this is okay. I can be genderfluid, and it's perfectly valid, and anyone who says I have to choose can just screw off." (Side note, the same thing can be said for sexuality! You're all valid, whether you're straight, bi, pan, gay, lesbian, ace, aro, omni, abro, or anywhere else on the sexuality spectrum!)

I guess the short answer to how I decided I was genderfluid is that I tried out a bunch of different pronouns, liked them, questioned myself, went online and found more people who were feeling the same thing, continued to question myself, and eventually went "screw it, I'm valid just as I am." I also found a bunch of different definitions for the various gender identities, specifically from people who identified as that identity, to try and line up what I was feeling with what others were feeling.

I hope this was helpful! Feel free to ask more questions if you have any more, or want to hear about something else! Remember, you are valid, and it's perfectly fine to be unsure about yourself. You might find one label that fits just fine now but find something better later. That's what I did! Or, you can even decide to say "no <3" (or something slightly less polite) to labels altogether and be who you are as you are!

I hope you have a great day, and are able to be who you are with no consequences. Welcome to the LGBT+ family, if you decide that fits. If not, you are still perfectly yourself, and that's enough. You are enough. Even when you question yourself, you are you, and someone (even if it's just me!) loves you for that <3

[marcholasmoth]

OSRR: 2776

today was a normal day. i worked with nico who was stressing over his upcoming physics midterm so we talked about legos to help him calm down a bit.

i was also supposed to work with another person for chemistry but they never showed, so i was able to change and get to manchester in time to work with the kiddos today.

we worked on finding averages, and we worked on a little bit of spelling, but my favorite thing was working on adjectives. the oldest was given an assignment to find twenty five adjectives that describe herself, so we wrote a bunch of things down. i refused to let her be negative about herself. not "nosy," curious. not "bossy," adamant. not "annoying," energetic. and certainly not dumb! "smart" was the second adjective on our list. (this kid has the highest grades in her class. no way she's dumb.) (and besides, i refuse to believe anyone is really dumb; they just have a different capacity and different strengths that can't be quantified by tests.) (it's taken me a long time to get to the point where i can say that. and i'm proud of myself that i can say it.)

so in our making of this list, she tried to put "gamer" down, but gamer is a noun, so it can't go on our list of adjectives.

however.

this girl, at word 19, goes, "oh! i'm sus." and scribbles "sus" down on the line. a moment passes, then she says quietly, "cops are sus."

MEANWHILE IM SQUEAKING AND CACKLING FROM LAUGHTER BECAUSE THIS TEN-YEAR-OLD CALLED HERSELF SUS AND THEN SAID ACAB IN THE SAME FUCKING SENTENCE AND IM LOSING MY GODDAMN MIND

specifically i was laughing because she called herself sus. the other part, though, makes me angry. because she's fucking right.

it is important to note that my students are black.

and i want to express my extreme disgust at the united states both in general and specifically about the police we have, because this ten-year-old knows about the fucking deplorable state of this country and its shitty cops who are poorly trained at best and racist as shit because that's how the country was built. it's not okay. it's not fucking okay. and i'm livid because this little girl knows the injustices that face her and people who look like her because this country is shitty towards anyone who isn't white or "normal."

i swear to any god that exists that if anything happens to these children i will fucking tear the world apart to make it better, to find justice for them. i don't care who i have to yell at, who i have to manipulate, or who i have to annoy the shit out of until they relent.

i will use my privilege to make sure they are treated well, treated fairly, treated kindly, like everyone deserves. and if i can extend my influence to more than just this one little girl, i will. right now, she believes in god. i may not, but i will do the right thing for her and for her family because it is the right thing to do.

changing the world starts small.

--

a lot of that was in reflection of the situation from earlier today. i also ended up letting the two girls know that "sus" was short for "suspicious" and it became popular because it's hard to type suspicious when all you have are two joycons or whatever.

anyway, i love all of those kids more than anything.

i also (!!) got to see joel today. (!!!) after working with the kiddos i went and picked him up from work and brought him home. i got to hang out with him for a bit before making my way back home myself, where i made pierogis for dinner and watched battle bots with my parents. i also finished off half a container of chocolate ice cream not too long ago, and it was good but i should've only eaten half. eh.

anyway, i think that's all for now. i'm tired and i have therapy tomorrow so i should probably go to sleep. here's hoping that i can sleep.

[the-lincyclopedia]

f, h & i for the fic ask game! :D

Thanks for the ask, Lau!

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Despite the fact that I write a lot of dialogue, I'm not, like, especially proud of most of it. Here's some dialogue from one of my very first Check Please fics, called "Boston in the Fall":

“Did you not grow up being taught Bible stories by a bunch of singing vegetables?” Shitty asked, turning back to the ball and dipping his paintbrush back into the white paint that sat on a bibliography next to him.

Jack came around to the direction in which Shitty was facing and made a face. “Um, no, I did not.”

Shitty waved the paintbrush. Luckily, paint only splattered onto his body and the papers beneath him—not that paint could really make the Haus floor or furniture any worse at this point, not when everything had come into contact with tub juice as often as it had—which seemed to indicate that the papers had probably been spread out by someone more sober than Shitty. Jack suspected Bitty.

“Sometime when I’m sober,” said Shitty, “I’ll explain the connection between singing vegetables and the kyriarchy, but right now all you need to know is that there’s a song about pirates who don’t do anything, and it fucking speaks to me, brah. So I’ve decided I need to do all the things those pirates haven’t done. Not the first couple verses, of course, ’cause the first one requires travel and the second one requires a pirate ship, but the last verse. I wanted to do the third verse, too, but Bitty refused to make mashed potatoes when he found out I wanted to throw them up against the wall, and Dex won’t tell me where to find a rooster, so I can only do the last verse. But I’m going to make it all the way through that one! Nursey’s at the Murder Shop-and-Shop right now buying yogurt so I can bathe in it. He’s the only one who understands the importance of following your instincts when you’re high.” Shitty gave a put-upon sigh.

I mostly chose this scene because Shitty would absolutely use the word "kyriarchy" while high, and I'm proud of myself for making that happen, but I also feel like I got across Jack's discomfort and confusion pretty well in not that many words.

H: How would you describe your style?

Ugh, when I was querying I'd sometimes have to answer this question on agents' forms and I never knew what to say. I don't think I'm a very voice-y writer (if you disagree and have good adjectives for my writing voice, I'd love to hear them! That goes for anyone reading this, not Lau specifically!). I usually say that my style is straightforward and thoughtful.

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

In writing? Making characters cry. I do it way too much. In reading? PB&J. Don't @ me; I know it's not for everybody, and it's my guilty pleasure for a reason, but there are some great fics.

If any of y'all want to ask me more questions, here's the list.

[hillnerd]

I'm confused what house I'm in between Gryffindor and Slytherin. I try many times on YouTube, on different video and the result is still the same, Gryffindor. But what makes me confused is, once i try on Pottermore, I got Slytherin. So I don't know what house I'm in.

Pottermore quizes are silly, imo- I think what it really comes down to is:

what are your main attributes as a person? Like, write down five adjectives to describe yourself. 

How do you problem solve? 

What are driving forces for you?

All the houses have overlap and commonalities-

Here’s a take I had on what defines the two houses you’re torn between:

SLYTHERINS: their motto: “Hmm… I bet I can use this…”

Slytherins are a group that can always see possibilities where others wouldn’t. Maybe you think it’s impossible, or perhaps you think you have a plan that’s infallible but if there’s a Slytherin involved, watch out. They always see the angle, always see the holes, and somehow will get things to turn their way using their cunning and keen intuition.

They can play devil’s advocate with the best of them, but when they are fixed in their beliefs, don’t try to convince them, because they will not give in unless your logic is foolproof, and even you probably will need the aid of something powerful to sway them.

For all of Draco’s faults, his ability to pull off some of the things he does baffles me. Considering his age, his plots to kill Dumbledore were very well orchestrated, as only a Snake’s could be. Slytherins have a sort of wonderful ‘ruthlessness’ that makes them in their own way very brave, only it’s tempered by their self-preservation. They will be what they want to be, and not particularly care if you like it or not.

They occasionally let their pride and competitiveness get in the way of smart decisions, but over all they are a group who can open any door and fulfill their lofty goals. They shoot for the moon, but not in an idealistic was. They can get there, and not mind stamping on a few toes on the way. If your toes were there, well it’s your fault you didn’t see it coming, now isn’t it?

They are probably the most resilient of all the houses as defeat always seems to spur them on the achieve more. If ever you want to accomplish something, have a Slytherin at your side. If they’re loyal to you, consider yourself blessed, because they usually avoid emotional tie-ups that could get in the way of what they want. To some they seem selfish, but is self-promotion really such a bad thing? It’s especially handy when their interests are aligned with you, because if they really want something they can be as smart as a Ravenclaw, as passionate as a Gryffindor and as hardworking as a Hufflepuff. And hey! If you don’t have delicate sensibilities, you’ll have a good time laughing with them, and not having to deal with much insincere flattery. They’ll occasionally use insincere compliments, but it’s not really their style. Sarcasm and bluntness are what they’d use every day if only the world weren’t so damn sensitive. :) They like to keep their cool, and usually succeed.

----

GRYFFINDOR: their motto: “Consequences be damned!”

Other houses may shoot for the moon, but Gryffindor is a house that will not just shoot, but rocket to the heavens. They’ll get there faster than anyone, mostly because they don’t dilly dally with things like plans, detail or fears that others get tangled in. Gryffs normally are a bunch that doesn’t wait for someone else to take action, as they aren’t ones who can idly stand by while wrongs are being committed, even if they’d rather run. If they are more on the timid side, they’ll still do their best to do as their conscience dictates, because it will niggle at them for ages if they don’t.

Giving in or giving up when they really believe in something can be quite the task. They are stubborn when they have found a cause and if you can make them go against what they feel is the correct course of action you must have powers beyond comprehension.

Sometimes they will put what’s ‘right’ before the feelings of others or their own safety. Hermione and Dumbledore are perfect examples of Gryffs who meddle in other’s affairs because they care, and feel they are doing the right thing. Harry and Sirius are examples of Gryffs who will leave logic and thoughts of personal safety behind when bravely rushing in to save the day. Peter Pettrigrew must have had to sit down and justify a lot to himself and really believe what he was doing was ‘right’- if not for others- then for himself- in order to do it.

They can be quite impulsive. While others sit on the sidelines trying to decide what to do, they charge head first onto the field and just do it. This is not to say that they are all live wires (though a good number are.) Many a lion is capable of intricate plans, quiet analyzation and being slow to take action, but in my opinion, when a lion acts this way it’s either insecurity, or a vast amount of self control keeping them from giving into their true rash impulses. They are most definitely the idealists of Hogwarts, and will hold onto those ideals no matter what. It can have its darker side, because if you go against their Gryffindor ideals they’ll not hold back in action or hatred (Sirius’ wrath towards Peter and Snape are just a few examples.)

If they love something they will give all of their devotion, and nothing can sway them from their loyalties until they want to be swayed. Make a Gryffindor a friend, and you’ll have to deal with their strong emotions (that they can’t dampen no matter how hard they try) but wouldn’t you put up with their blunt honesty and temper in order to be near that radiant idealism and be able to see first hand how a world can be changed? Few can celebrate, hate, love or fight as fiercely as a Gryff.

[canigetacupofugh]

Apparently I am Demi-Sexual!

or... "Self Understanding is Hard"

So anyway, the TLDR would be like most Demi's I didn't realize that I was not normal, but didn't feel exactly normal either?

When I was a wee gremlin, I had the rare crush here and there. I almost never liked a celebrity. I definitely didn't like anyone instantly. I hung out with other girls who wanted to write their names with boys last names, and little hearts, and would swoon when they saw the person with whom they were infatuated. They were too nervous to tell these guys how they felt and talked about weddings and babies...

Meanwhile, I was considered "One of the Guys" among my male peers and just didn't "get" the girls who I was told I should prefer the company of... and I faked it around the girls till I was a teenager and then I decided their girlie crush stuff was dumb. (it's not, you do you, Girlie Girls) I grew up in church (which is a whole other blog!) and the adults were very confused by me. They would whisper to my parents, "oh, your daughter is the one that doesn't like boys, right?" and people would pray for me... a lot.

My crushes were often boys who I told jokes with and was goofy with - so honestly I was NOT on their dating radar AT ALL. And the guys I ended up dating were usually boys I pittied that they'd like somebody so unlovable as me - because obviously I was broken! I didn't fit in with girls, hated feminine things, I couldn't possibly be attractive (because none of my crushes noticed me), so OBVIOUSLY it would just be a huge blow to their ego if I said no, so I said yes. To make them feel better. Oh look, none of those relationships worked out!

As I got older, I started to develop a certain taste in men, so it became easier to look at strangers or celebrities and say they're attractive to me and fake Girl Talk- but I still didn't WANT them like my female peers. I assumed I was broken OR they were exaggerating the same feeling I had. Jason Mamoa? Checks a lot of boxes for me! If you put me in a room with him and we were ONLY going to have sex? No thank you!!! That actually freaks me out. I don't know him at all! I thought maybe I was shy. (if anyone reading this has met me, this is a funny joke!)

So, imagine my surprise when I'm laying in bed with a friend at a convention, and I'd seen him flirt with a bunch of people, and I say to him, "I've never asked, what sexuality do you identify as?" I'm expecting him to say bi or pan, and he says, "Oh, I'm demi. All of that earlier was just me playing." "What's demi?" I ask... Mind blown - he tells me he has to form an attachment to a person before he's actually attracted to them- and I'm thinking, "isn't that how everyone - whoooooah..." I don't know if he knows he blew my little mind that night. I remember thinking something along the lines of 'there's a name for everything now,' and then setting it aside in my mind in favor for fursuiting and playing video games with my bestie... but it was rattling around inside my mind.

I was in my late 30s. It took about a year for me to finally say, "I think I'm demi," and it was only last year I said it with confidence. I was just thinking about this tonight and thought I'd ramble this off. Because maybe there's a fellow Tom Boy out there who will see this and be like, "I thought everyone was like- ooooooh!"

If Demi is a spectrum, and one end is Ace, then I'm on the other end. I get attracted. I get The Horny for people, but typically they're people who I'm already friends with, or feel like I know who they are- my rare celebrity crushes are people who at least make me FEEL like I know them. I also get crushes on women, even though I identify as het - I don't want to have sex with them, and have yet to find one that I do- but I want to be honest about it, I do find women attractive.

But anyway - Hello, my name is Shawn and one of my adjectives is Demi-Sexual!