#and usually

[tipytap]

another classic case of "is it really that bad, or am i just wearing the Evil Socks again"

[stabyou]

missing my dad really bad today

[celestialseawitch-ff]

And this is how everyone should read fanfic. Like if it's well written, I am ON BOARD. Tell me your had canons. Tell me your worldbuilding. Open my eyes to an entirely different perspective of this character -- world -- concept.

Give. It. To. Me.

When a fic doesn’t fit my head canons but it’s well-written

[fruitypieq]

Quick what are you doing RIGHT now (besides scrolling Tumblr)

[femmedesyeuxnoirs]

Conservatives having a normal one

[tealursa]

All this 100% yes, BUT that being said, a couple things for storytellers:

1) "Why?" isn't a bad question to hear from your audience, and it's not often asked in genuine bad faith. An audience asking why and wanting to know more is a good thing, it shows they're invested. And often, the answer they actually WANT isn't a literal one.

Q: "Why is the alien language atemporal?"

The literal answer could maybe be something you as the creator know, but it probably isn't, because it's probably just a plot device. A lot of creators stop here with "I don't know, because it is" or "because it needs to be for the plot."

The answer your audience actually wants is to know what themes and ideas went into the plot device. "I wanted to showcase a species, a culture that goes so far beyond humanity it's almost inconceivable. Time is human-made, but also not, and is so enmeshed in our world that this other mysterious and endless world had to exist outside of it in order to get the point across. The aliens are the universe, their language is unchanging, because change is another so-called inevitability we take for granted."

Q: "Why is it rude to eat before the ambassador eats?"

A: "Almost every culture in the world has historically – if not presently – had etiquette rules surrounding dining. In this scene, I found an opportunity to showcase the value this society places on their ambassadors and incorporate that into the world."

2) I do believe storytellers have an obligation to analyze WHY they make the choices they do. No, you don't need to reinvent DNA to give your alien green skin, you don't need to explain anything at all in your content or to your audience, but think about it yourself.

I think this is especially important in sci-fi and fantasy, which usually includes creating entire cultures with different – often conflicting – norms and expectations. The amount of times I've seen, in worldbuilding, people come up with their "Original Idea" of the "Good Country with grasslands and a monarchy" with a "desert-like Evil Country of nomadic people ruled by a dictator – oh and this country is to the East" ... I have a lot of eurocentric, islamophobic nickels.

And of course we all know about the problems that arise with creators projecting their internal bigotry onto their worldbuilding without analyzing their intentions, most notably with fantasy orcs and goblins. My favorite article on this is 'Orcs, Britons, And The Martial Race Myth' by James Mendez Hodes. An example I always look to for this are companies like Wizards of the Coast (D&D) and Paizo (Pathfinder), who will add all sorts of progressive content like polyamorous deities, diverse art and characters and cultures, to their universes, which only serves to highlight the shortcomings that are still there.

Q: "Why are orcs and goblins either inherently evil, or 'one of the good ones' who must resist their evil impulses?"

I really want to believe most people who throw a bunch of goblins in a cave for their heroes to fight aren't actually racist, but they just don't think about it. And when people of the minority group made into villains in these stories speak up, they're always met by resistance from people who use the arguments above.

"Quit asking questions."

"It's not that deep."

"That's just how the society works."

So no, you don't need to reinvent DNA to explain why the alien's skin is green, but you need to know why YOU'VE chosen to make the alien's skin green, and what your AUDIENCE might glean from that information. Because you might catch yourself sending the wrong message.

I think an important instinct you have to build up when you read/watch sci-fi is discerning which things are givens. If Arrival tells you that the alien language is atemporal, it is, that's not a puzzle for you to pick apart, it's a prerequisite to getting the rest of the story. When I talk sci-fi with people who don't consume a lot of it this seems to be a thing they get hung up on.

[aetherjay]

the real reason he did it

[beholdthemem]

My fellow bitches under 5'5. Whatever the money, do not take a job working at a middle school. A fellow adult tried to put me in detention last month and would NOT give up until I showed her my badge proving Yes, The School Hired Me To Work Here. It's not meant for people our height.

[chainymail]

wine drunkkk. lords and ladies I don’t think it counts against my vow of chastity if I fuck my squire like it’s not even a big deal

[feralcringeman]

PROOF IN CASE YOU NEED IT

UPDATE:

I put this in my reblogs but I’m going to attack this to the main post.

TRUMP HIMSELF DIDN’T CHEAT BUT SOMEONE DEFINITELY TAMPERED WITH THE ELECTION RESULTS.

^

Made by the amazing @the-gay-prometheus (genuinely thank you for saying this)

[theres-rue-for-you]

my brother works on a boat so when he rants about his job I can’t take it seriously because he keeps angrily referring to his boss as “captain”. like sorry ur having 19th century sailor problems my guy

[aroaceleovaldez]

i had a thought of "do people not know what AUs are anymore?" and then i remembered nobody explains fandom stuff to new people anymore so it is entirely plausible people genuinely don't know what AUs are and nobody has explained it to them, so for today's lucky 10,000:

"AU" stands for "Alternate Universe" or "Alternative Universe" (same difference) and is basically any thought scenario for a fandom that isn't canon and can't fit within the canon universe. If it takes place in the canon universe but something is notably different, that is typically what's known as a "Canon divergent AU," because it diverges from canon.

an AU can be absolutely anything. There's a couple of widespread pan-fandom au scenarios that often get thrown around, like coffee shop aus, genderbend aus, hanahaki aus (hanahaki is a whole thing in itself i'd recommend researching on your own), etc. One you might hear sometimes is "crossover AU" which is when you have characters from one fandom interacting with characters from another.

You can have as many aus as you want. They can be whatever you want and you can do whatever you want in them. It's a sandbox for you to play around in and explore how things would be different or how the characters would act in those circumstances or environments. Maybe they have different relationships with each other. Maybe they behave slightly differently. Or you can just say "Okay, [x] is true. How did they get here? How would things have to be different for this to occur?" which can also be fun.

If you are ever confused about why people ship something that seems completely out of the blue or doesn't make sense to you in the canon setting, there's a good chance they like it in an AU setting! Not everything everybody is interacting with is necessarily the canon! Not everybody wants things to exist in canon and just want to explore playing dolls in a different sandbox and that's okay. And their sandbox might look a lot different than yours, and that's also okay. You have the freedom to make your sandbox whatever you please. Do whatever you want forever. Get funky with it. AUs are fun.

Okay that's my schpeal. everybody go have fun and play nice now.

[cafeyote]

me and gang at the haunted house

[kiwi]

as a former escape room host i highly recommend doing an escape room as a first date. its a great way to learn how ppl react under pressure and how well they collaborate with you right off the bat. also more than once ive seen people enter an escape room as a couple and exit broken up LOL its a fantastic litmus test

[carsonjonesfiance]

“This thing is legally dubious and therefore technically unenforceable.” Is not a “useless liberal gotcha” it’s how legalism works in this country. Tying up stupidly worded EOs in court is the quickest way to keep them from being implemented. It is the definition of “doing something.” But it doesn’t usually involve much tweeting so of course a certain type of leftist feels obligated to mock it.