#difficult difficult lemon difficult etc etc

[flownwrong]

over/ for (due south fic)

Fraser/Kowalski (I mean, not technically but in spirit), rated G; tags: episode: s04e05 The Ladies' Man; 139 words

A/N: For @ds-c6d-snippets-blog challenge 32 "grief" and the RCW139 challenge. My title brain was offline today. Big thanks to @hwaetnot for various and sundry things.

read on ao3

Retribution is not a pretty word. It chews you up, puts blinders on your eyes, dulls the senses. Benton has seen men who broke themselves over it and men who broke others, has almost broken over it too, an eager wave of helpless fury.

Clearly, maddeningly, the retribution Ray seeks across the threshold of Beth's home, shoulders curled around his guilt like he wants to protect it from fading, is for his own crimes. Benton knows he can find it, hopes against hope he leaves it be.

Wither and wane. As he watches Ray, all defeat and no glory, splayed over the bed dull and heavy and still dressed, watches the uneasy rise and fall of his chest, the deep shadows under his eyes, he reminds himself—it's all that's left for Ray's grief now. To wither and wane.

[lijoue]

ITALIA WORLD MOD PACK

Hello hello,

I've been working hard to create something really good to share with you. This is my most ambitious release yet, so I hope it was worth the wait!

ITALIA is a custom cc 'game pack' that transforms Tartosa into a beautiful Italian-inspired destination! Tartosa is my favourite world in the game, but I feel like it never gets any love because everyone hates My Wedding Stories. I want to help you fall in love with the beauty of Tartosa! If you don't have My Wedding Stories, there's plenty of base-game friendly items for you as well. There is A LOT of stuff in this pack (around 125 items).

Download Link & More Details on Patreon (early Access)

CORE FEATURES

Tartosa world override with new world lighting, buildings, trees, streetlights, functional objects, marketstalls, and decor.

New food & drinks (gelato, pasta, pizza, wine, and coffee!)

New custom-tuned functional objects to elevate your gameplay.

NEW FUNCTIONAL OBJECTS (custom tuning)

Picnic Blanket | Sit, eat, gaze at the sky, and even bathe in the moonlight. *DLC interactions require their respective packs (Lovestruck, Life & Death)

Beach Bathroom | Using this outdoor bathroom costs 1§ and restores hygiene & bladder without the uncomfy public bathroom buffs.

Beach Bag | Works like a dresser to change outfit on-the-go.

Cooler Bag | Stock with drinks & snacks. Functions like a picnic basket on blankets and picnic tables. Helps keep food fresh and fixes the picnic basket inventory to store up to 99 food and drink items.

Stovetop Moka Pot | Brew a quick pot of espresso from the countertop or stovetop.

Souvenir Stand | Purchase from a curated selection of art & objects. Includes items that are difficult to obtain in-game, as well as cc from two of my favourite creators bbygyal 123andPierisim. CC items will only show up in the shop if you already have the files in your Mods folder, so please check out their work if you haven't already! Sims can also purchase wearable souvenir t-shirts and baseball caps.

Gelato Stand | Purchase gelato, ice cream, and drinks.

Beach Stand | Purchase beach stuff, drinks, snacks, and souvenirs.

Coffee Stand | Purchase coffee and snacks

Park Fountain | Toss a coin in the fountain and have a seat. The XL version spawns butterflies.

Drinking Fountain | Wash hands or grab a drink of water with the infinitely refillable water bottle.

Nectar Bottle | Pour a glass of nectar. Includes 7 new nectar drinks and new custom buffs. Also includes in-game nectars from Horse Ranch, Dine Out, Bistro etc.

Classic Pool Float | Please download my mod Better Pool Floats for optimal experience.

Restaurant | Call a waiter to serve a curated menu of food & drinks. Sims in a rush can also order to-go (without a waiter).

NEW FOOD & DRINKS 

Nectar: Vigna Bianco, Sparkling Luminoso Bianco, Sparkling Luminoso Rosé, Rosa D'Amorosa, Amanti del Rosso, The Devil's Nectar, Bianco Spritz

Gelato: Pistachio, Pesca, Fragola, Bacio, Fior di Latte, Vanille, Caffè, Limoncello

Pasta: Carbonara, Spicy Carbonara, Spaghetti Alle Vongole, Cacio e Pepe, Spaghetti Marinara, Shrimp Spaghetti Marinara, Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Snacks: Margherita Pizza, White Funghi Pizza, Fruit & Cheese Charcuterie Board

Cooler Drinks: Bottled Water, Aranciata Soda, Lemon Soda, Mojito Soda, Barbet Light Wave, Barbet Wild Card, Barbet Love Bite

Espresso: Caffe Latte, Cappuccino, Italian Hot Chocolate, Mocha, Macchiato, Americano

Download Link & More Details on Patreon (early Access)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

an italian fish conspiracy theory

We’ve been calling Mrs. Leech “Georgina” (which I believe has Greek origins) but what if her name is actually… “Giorgina”, a more Italian spelling??? Might this be how her name will be localized in EN?

I thought this because Ultramarine City strikes me as very… mediterranean?? More specifically, Italian. For example, the geography and architecture resembles Italy’s coastlines, which are rocky. The buildings and surrounding have similar coloration as well. Seafood is highly popular both in Italian costal cities and in Ultramarine City. (These are also true of Eric’s castle + kingdom from the film.)

Furthermore! Malleus has a voice line in his Shore’s Celebration card in which he mentions having gelato, which is an Italian frozen dessert similar to ice-cream. Gelato has lower milk fat content (less cream, more actual milk) and a slower churning process, which incorporates less air into the final product. Riddle’s voice lines mention lemons as a local specialty, just like how some regions of Italy are known for citrus. Sicilian lemons in particular come to my mind. The NRC boys eat Italian foods in the event, such as pizza, saltimbucca, amaretti, and prosciutto. Jade even mentions that Sunshine Lands uses olive oil for its canned tuna—olive oil being the fat of choice for many Italian dishes. Jade even states in episode 4 of the event that Ultramarine City is best represented by olive oil or lemon syrup. Olive and lemon are also used in their soaps.

When the NRC group sits down to eat dinner at their hotel's restaurant, Italian terms are used. For example, antipasto (appetizers), primo piatto (first course), secondo piatto (second course), etc. The dishes served are also very Italian: carpaccio, seafood platters, risotto, orzotto, txangurro, acqua pazza, and crostata. Many of these dishes feature tomato, lemon, and olive oil, all ingredients that prominently feature in Italian cuisine.

Now, it’s true that these Italian details apply to the city and not necessarily to Mrs. Leech herself. BUT—she has an acquaintance that is getting married here, in this specific place. It’s possible that they’re connected more than we think. Maybe Mrs. Leech has more “Italian” (or whatever the Twst equivalent of it is) background than we think she does.

Jade, her own son, has a voice lines in his Shore’s Celebration card in which he mentions wanting to arrive via gondola if he were to have his own wedding on land. A gondola is—you guessed it, an Italian boat. Now why would Jade specify a GONDOLA and not a ship, rowboat, or any of the other kinds of boats…? Why would he pick a type of boat that has no appearance in The Little Mermaid (which was originally a Danish tale) and didn’t associate with a particular location like Ultramarine City?

When you think about it, this isn’t even the ONLY Octatrio member with Italian ties. The -grotto in Azul’s surname is an English word adopted in the 1600s, but originally derived from Greek, Latin, and Italian origins. We also can't forget how the trio is constantly presented as "mob" or "mafia"-like. Mafia, of course, being an organized crime group or family originally operating in Sicily, Italy.

The on-campus café Azul runs, the Mostro Lounge, is Italian for “monster” (and many fans of even mistook the name as “Monstro”, the name of the whale from Pinocchio, which is set in Italy). His mother’s restaurant, La Grotta, also sounds Italian. Grotta refers to a pothole (ie a hole or cave made in rock by the action of swirling water). Azul even specifically refers to his mother’s restaurant in a few voice lines as a trattoria, which is an Italian eatery. Jade references ristorante (formal eatery), gelateria (basically a gelato shop), and taverna (more casual eatery) in the Sunshine Lands too. Not only that, but food is a huge part of Italian culture. It’s important for families to come together to eat at the same table (something which is increasingly becoming difficult to so in the modern age), and feeding others is seen as a sign of love. AND WHAT DO MRS. LEECH AND MRS. ASHENGROTTO DO??? That’s right, they give Azul lots of food 😭 Not to say that food = love is exclusively related to Italian culture, just that Italian culture is one of the cultures with that strong association.

Because the twins and Azul live in the same general area of the Coral Sea (they are familiar with the ice floes of winter, they go to the same schools, their families seem to know each other), I find all these Italian details to be more than coincidence 🤨

That’s not to say that the Coral Sea and/or the Sunshine Lands ARE 1:1 twisted Italy. I’m sure the devs have additional inspirations as well, such as other mediterranean cultures and maybe even some non-mediterranean cultures. For example, the Octatrio mention their home, the Coral Sea, being frozen over in winter, which definitely does not occur in mediterranean areas but are moreso associated with Scandinavian (like Denmark, the area in which TLM originates) seas. just thought this was interesting to note!!

Goes back to tag all my Georgina posts with “Giorgina” too just in case…

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: On Food

A compilation of notes on how to describe food in writing.

How to Describe Food: Flavour & Texture

1. Write about the flavour.

Rich -> full, heavier foods. Often used to describe foods containing cream (e.g., potatoes & garlic, soup, and chocolate cake).

Bland -> has little or no flavour.

Bitter -> a tart, sharp, and sometimes harsh flavour (e.g., coffee).

Citrusy -> a bright flavour (e.g., lemons, limes, oranges, and other citrus fruits).

Fresh -> a light and crisp taste. Often used to describe produce or herbs. (e.g., apples, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, etc. Or bakery items like breads, muffins, etc.)

Fruity -> any taste reminiscent of sweet fruit flavours (e.g., grapes, blueberries, peaches, etc.).

Smoky -> a taste reminiscent of the smell of smoke (e.g., BBQ).

Sour -> a biting, tangy, tart flavour (e.g., lemons, Sour Patch Kids, and other sour candies).

Sweet -> a sugary flavour (e.g., candies, ice creams, desserts, etc.).

Zesty -> a fresh, vivid, or invigorating flavour (e.g., tacos, Italian pasta salad, etc.).

2. Write about the texture:

Mushy -> soft, but in an unpleasant way (e.g., if you cook vegetables too long, they’ll get mushy).

Tough and chewy -> are similar. Both describe foods which are difficult to eat because you have to chew them for a long time (e.g., meat can be tough or chewy, especially if it’s cooked too long and it gets dry).

Tender -> similar to ‘soft’, but it’s mostly used to describe meat which is cooked well, so it’s soft and juicy.

Crunchy -> food that makes a lot of noise when you’re eating them (e.g., dry food – like potato chips, or hard cookies – can be crunchy).

Words to Describe Different Flavours

For rich, spicy, or savoury flavours. The following words represent complex, spicy, or flavourful seasonings and dishes: buttery, caramelized, peppery, piquant, salty, sapid, saporous, savoury, smoky, spicy.

For sweet or fresh flavours. These descriptors characterize fresh or sugary dishes: ambrosial, bittersweet, bright, fruity, honeyed, minty, nectarous, saccharine, sharp-tasting, sweet, syrupy, treacly, zesty.

For subtle flavours. Some dishes are on the milder side. You can use one of these words to describe the taste: bland, mellow, tasteless.

For sour flavours. A sour or complex taste can be challenging to articulate. Here are some descriptive words to help: astringent, briny, citrusy, fermented, sour, tart, vinegary.

For hard or crunchy textures. Use these words to describe a crispy or chewy texture: broiled, caramelized, crusty, flaky, leathery, sizzling, thick, thin, toasted, toothsome.

For soft or fluid textures. These words can help you describe drinks, desserts, or other soft items: crumbly, doughy, fizzy, gooey, juicy, luscious, mashed, mushy, rubbery, runny, simmered, smothered, spongy, sticky, tender, velvety, waxy.

For the smell of food. Here are common food adjectives you can use to describe smells: acrid, astringent, bright, citrusy, fermented, heady, honeyed, minty, nutty, peppery, pungent, rancid, rotten, smoky, sour, vinegary.

Tips for Describing Food in Writing

Be specific. There are a lot of food words that are vague or general, like “delicious,” “yummy,” “succulent,” “delectable,” “mouth-watering,” or “finger-licking.” Avoid these overused phrases. Focus on the food's particular flavour, texture, or smell to make your writing more evocative and precise. Rather than describing a soup as “tasty” or “scrumptious,” try more specific words like “buttery,” “chunky,” or “minty.”

Consider your purpose. Decide if your goal is to explain a culinary experience or make the food sound appetizing. A clear understanding of your intention and target audience can help you shape your writing to be the most compelling.

Evoke all the senses. While you lean heavily on taste to describe food, remember to explore the texture, smell, sight, and sound of a dining experience as well. Including sensory language that incorporates the other senses creates a more robust experience for readers.

Sometimes less is more. Food writing is most effective when it’s focused, allowing readers to zero in on the essential details of the dish. If you include too many descriptors or attach multiple adjectives to each noun, you can overwhelm or confuse readers.

Sources: 1 2 3 ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ 100 Sensory Words

If these writing notes helped with your poem/story, please tag me. Or leave a link in the replies. I'd love to read them! Writing Resources PDFs

[sundaysconsort]

When submitting a request, it is essential to include ample detail about the specific scenario you have in mind. Providing clear and thorough information will help ensure that I can meet your needs accurately. If the details are lacking, I may interpret the situation differently than you intended.

This blog is primarily focused on "Honkai Star Rail"

Character index | Sunday, Aventurine, Dan Heng, Veritas Ratio, Boothill, Jing Yuan, Blade, Phainon, Mydei, and Moze.

Keep in mind when submitting requests, it's preferable you keep them true to the characters, worlds, and settings they belong to. Creative twists or alternative interpretations are always welcome, but they should remain consistent with the established lore and personalities. Respect for the original material helps maintain the integrity of the story and characters.

Available:

SFW (Safe for Work): Content that is appropriate for all audiences. This includes family-friendly stories that are safe to read in public spaces or professional environments.

Suggestive: Suggestive content that might hint at romance or more mature themes without crossing the line into explicit territory.

Light Smut: Scenes with sensual undertones that remain tasteful and non-explicit. These can be considered suggestive but do not delve into graphic details.

Romantic: Stories centered around romantic relationships, whether slow burn or established, etc. This can include traditional love stories, confessions, or moments of intimacy without becoming explicit.

Platonic: Content focusing on deep friendships, non-romantic bonds, and emotional connections between characters and readers.

Angst: Stories focused on intense emotional struggles, internal conflict, or heart-wrenching situations. This can include themes of loss, betrayal, unspoken feelings, or difficult decisions, often leaving a lingering sense of tension or sadness.

Yandere: Content where a character is obsessively and protectively in love with someone, willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure their love interest's attention and affection. While intense, this content will be handled carefully and without crossing boundaries into harmful or abusive behavior.

Light Gore: Mildly graphic depictions of violence or injury. This might include blood, bruising, or wounds in the context of a story, but the descriptions will not be overly detailed or explicit.

OCs: Feel free to request stories featuring my original characters (OCs). Whether you're interested in exploring specific dynamics, relationships, or scenarios with them.

Unavailable:

Smut/Lemon/Lime: No explicit or graphic sexual content. Any form of writing that delves into explicit sexual themes, is outside of my expertise as of now. (mentions of it or implied are fine).

Fetishes or Anything Extremely Disturbing: I will not write for any fetishistic content or anything that could be considered extremely disturbing, violent, or grotesque. This includes anything that may trigger discomfort or unease in a reader.

Heavy Gore: Overly detailed or graphic depictions of violence or injury will not be written. While light gore (such as cuts or bruises or brief mentions of them) is acceptable in some contexts, I will avoid writing scenes with excessive violence or graphic injury that may be upsetting.

Non-Consensual Content or Any Form of Abuse: I will not write scenes that depict non-consensual interactions or any form of abusive behavior in a romantic or sexual context. Mentions of abuse may be included if they are necessary to the plot, but I will not describe these events in detail or as focal points.

Underage or Illegal Relationships in Romantic Form: Any romantic content involving underage characters or illegal relationships will not be written, even if the characters are fictional. Platonic relationships between characters and readers of different ages, however, are fine and will be handled respectfully.

Credit to @aventurineswife for allowing me usage of her rules, please check out her blog as well if you enjoy mine. She's beautiful, as is her writing.

[wisdomseulogy]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Part 2: How puritan culture, misogyny, and homophobia are affecting fandom spaces and fanfiction.

During difficult times, people will desire harsh rules to make them feel safer or to make them feel morally jus and accepted. But what is ‘morally just’ when it comes to fanfiction? Why do people read controversial things? What is puritan culture and how does it relate to misogyny and homophobia? 

This is the second part of my series about fanfiction and fandom culture and how it relates to what is going on in society at the moment. This will be a lot more polarizing than the first part in this series, but I hope it will be a good read even if you don’t agree with everything I say. This is an opinion piece based on my personal lived experience which may not match up with everyone else’s lived experience. 

Originally, I was going to combine my discussion on puritan culture and commercialization, but with the growing amount of hate that authors are getting on AO3 these days, I feel it imperative to speak at length about puritan culture by itself. I will include commercialization in my next part of the series!

This is also the only part of the series that will include 18+ themes.

Lastly, thank you so much to everyone that read and interacted with part 1! It really makes my day to see that people are actually reading this!

----------------------------------------------

Fandom spaces have changed and evolved so much over a relatively short period of time. With the prevalence of social media today, fandom spaces have also become very toxic microcosm of society. That is not to say that toxicity has never existed in fandom spaces, but I would argue it is worse now more than ever.

There are a lot of different reasons for this. You have the fact that fear and anger drives engagement and thus money for people on apps like TikTok, (which I will be talking about in the next part of this series) and you also have the rise in misogyny and homophobia in America as the country turns more and more conservative with each passing day. 

(I am an American and a lot of my opinions come from being in America. Though, these issues can be present in many different countries and social circles, I am just specifying America since that is what I know personally)

But how did we get here as a community and what can we do to stop the rise of misogyny and homophobia in fandom spaces (specifically relating to fanfiction)? 

The first step is understanding the history and what has brought us here. I started attending cons and reading fanfiction in 2008, so I saw a lot of this firsthand. 

Before AO3 was made, people would post fanfictions on places like fanfiction.net, livejournal, Quizazz (Quotev), Wattpad, etc. But there started to be issues when people began posting sexual related fanfiction content (smut, lemons etc.). Fanfiction.net and livejournal infamously purged anything on their websites that they didn’t agree with that was of a sexual nature.

People's fics were being deleted left and right and there was nowhere for people to post their fics without fear that it might be taken down. And on top of that, the original creators of the works that fics were based off of weren’t happy with people writing fanfiction using their characters and plot.

Anne Rice, who wrote The Vampire Chronicles, infamously was so against people making fanfiction with her characters that she sought out legal action against the fanfiction creators. But, the saving grace of fanfiction is that it cannot be monetized and the authors are not making any money off of the fics they are posting.

(However, this is becoming a hot issue with people printing out and selling copies of fanfiction on places like Etsy. But again, that will be in the next part of the series.)

People who are discovering fanfiction after 2015 are more likely to not know this history, because AO3 was created so that fanfiction writers would not have to deal with any legal action or purging of their fics. It is quite literally a utopia for fanfictions authors and fan creators to be able to post their stuff without fear of any real sort of repercussions. 

However, with how America is moving more towards a conservative political stance as a whole, this liberty is being threatened. Especially with the KOSA bill which would allow complete internet censorship by the US government on anything they deem to possibly be bad. It is framed in a way to try and protect children, but it is, at its core, a complete government ability to censor the internet. This would include fanfiction. 

And you might have already seen that AO3 is preemptively taking precautions in case something like this happens. 

But why is fanfiction important and why do we need to fight to allow it to stay uncensored?

Fanfiction is one of the last non-monetizable forms of art. You cannot make money on it and the people who write and create fanfiction are doing it not for money but out of love and appreciation for the characters or the storyline. 

In a world where everything is commercialized, the last place that capitalism has yet to reach is fanfiction. It is a reprieve from a society and world that demands that things only have worth if they are monetarily valuable. Fanfiction is the last line of defense we have against late stage capitalism and censorship.

The beauty of AO3 is that nothing on there is censored. It is a kaleidoscope of the human condition. The good, the bad, and the ugly all combined into one place. The reality of what people have to deal with on a regular basis written through the lens of pre-established characters and plot. Or sometimes original work.

But with the rise of conservatism and puritan culture, fanfiction readers and writers are being attacked by virtue signalers in support of a ‘morality’ that is targeted against women and LGBTQ+ people. 

----------------------------------------------

From this point on, I will be discussing things that people may not be comfortable with. This is the only part of the series that will include 18+ language. Read at your own discretion.

I will not be giving any literary example of these: (i.e. writing out scenarios, quoting direct examples, or going into any graphic description), but these words will be mentioned in a general sense:

Kinks/fetishization

Breeding kink

BDSM

Sexual Assault

Rape/Non-Con

Omegaverse

Yaoi/Yuri

----------------------------------------------

In part 1, I talked lightly about how what we enjoy can be a reflection of ourselves and that we can use fanfiction to better understand ourselves and the world around us. But when we start talking about kinks, people are a lot less perceptive to understanding why someone might be interested in something.

The fact of the matter is that scientifically, we do not know why people enjoy certain kinks. There are most likely multiple factors going on at once which could include societal constructs/expectations, fearful/traumatic experiences (perceived or actualized), brain development, along with other environmental factors. But, there is no concrete answer as to why someone would develop one kink over another. Which means that saying anyone who has (insert kink here) is a terrible person, is not necessarily correct.

Though there are many theories on why someone may develop a kink, there is a general consensus that to an extent (depending on who you ask), any given person has little over their kinks.

But, I will explore the theory that, to some extent, kinks can come from fears or pain. There is a very thin line between what someone fears and what kinks that person may have. People who fear getting pregnant may have a breeding kink, people that fear being sexually assaulted may have a rape/non-con kink, someone who fears being helpless or hurt may have BDSM kink, etc. I could go on forever with how fear can relate to sexual desire, but I am sure you get the idea.

(Though this is just one aspect of how a kink could be formed, this is not true for everyone.)

In the same way nightmares can help our brain to prepare and react to future bad situations, kinks can help people to experience something fearful in a safe and consensual way. And that is important to understand when critiquing people who read fics with certain tags that may be considered bad. 

In an interesting way, the reader is consenting to reading the piece of writing in the same way the writer is consenting by writing it. Since you can always stop reading and you can always stop writing. The power is in your hands.

This is important for understanding why someone may read certain pieces of media. Without any context, someone may think that people who read something like rape/non-con are supporting that act and thus are terrible people. But if you think about the fact that fanfiction is mainly written by women and LGBTQ+ people, groups of people who historically have to deal with the very real threat of sexual assault on a daily basis, it stands to wonder how much of a kink, like this, comes from fear (whether actualized as they have experienced it, or internalized where they know they are at risk). 

Reading and writing is a very healthy way to work through complex thoughts and emotions. And fanfiction in particular is very helpful for this since it is easier to project your feelings on things you did not create. Something that is not the writer's creation, yet able to convey the writer's thoughts and feelings in a way that is harder to achieve in original work. In this way, even though a reader insert is meant to represent the reader, it creates a version of the reader that does not exist in reality and thus not held down by reality and only held down by the fictional world/work they are inserted into. Thus a figurative chimera of humanity and fiction. An existence outside of trauma and expectations.

AO3 has such an extensive tagging and filtering system, it is very easy to not have to read something that may be triggering. When attacking authors for their tag usage, the possible real outcome is that authors of things that can be triggering to many people will not attribute the proper tags to their fics and thus people who would have been able to easily avoid that content may be bombarded by it. 

It is important to know that just because a piece of media (like a fanfiction) has something horrific in it, that does not mean the author or the reader is glorifying this thing and thus wanting that thing to happen to them or others. In the same way that just because a character is the main character of a piece of media, does not mean that the character is instantly a good person and what they do is good. There is a lot of nuance to whether a character is good or bad and a character can be a combination of both. 

Of course, I could talk at length about how the rise of puritan culture is relative to the lack of media literacy taught or understood in school and how this all goes back to covid and politics. But since I am focusing directly on the effects of puritan culture in fanfiction/fandom, I will leave that for another time. However, it is important to understand that these concepts  (i.e. just because a horrible thing is written doesn’t mean the author is justifying that thing) should be taught in schools.

We exist inside of the context of all of our lived experiences. Much of which we have no control over. We have no control over where or how we are born, who our parents are, and where we live in early childhood and possibly beyond. We have no control over how our brain perceives the world or even how our brain develops. We use thoughts and decisions to feel like we have control, but those decisions were probably already made for us by either environmental factors/corporations/politics/brain and subconscious development. 

Many people do not realize that they have a lot of internalized misogyny and homophobia. That is because it is so ingrained into society, our brains interpret it as an absolute or a fact of life without questioning how we came to those conclusions or who is pushing those narratives. 

This does not only affect women and LGBTQ+ people. The fandom puritans will go after anyone who they disagree with and bully them into oblivion. But, I will be focusing on my own personal experience as a woman in fandom spaces. However, this is not to discredit what other people might be experiencing or have gone through. This is a much larger issue and is indicative of society itself. Once a person or people are deemed as a ‘witch’ (someone the fandom puritans don’t agree with), the puritans will be sharpening their metaphorical pitchforks and lighting their torches in hopes of seeing demise and hurt.

(This also correlates with the rise of apathy and lack of empathy.)

At the end of the day, each person has had different life experiences and will enjoy different things. And we will probably never know exactly why we enjoy certain things, as scientifically we are not certain, and so there needs to be a lot more grace and decorum when it comes to kink shaming or shaming in general.

Fandom spaces were safe havens for people to be themselves, but when things are uncertain, people will desire harsh codes and morals to feel safe. To feel that they are good or that they are right. And for someone to be good, someone else must be bad. And when justice is not always achievable, people will take it upon themselves to be the bringer of ‘justice’. But justice for who? That is the most important question when it comes to wondering what fandom puritans get from enacting their harsh moral codes on strangers.

----------------------------------------------

“There is simultaneously an epidemic of hypersexualization and puritan culture and both are targeted against women” (I saw this in the comment section of a TikTok video).

----------------------------------------------

In the rise of puritan culture, there is also a rise in policing what people can and can’t read based on their biological sex or sexual identity. I have seen lots of videos of people saying afab people cannot and should not read yaoi. I have seen people on tumblr asking creators if they are allowed to read their yaoi fics since they are afab. 

I have also seen people say that the omegaverse is blatant fetishization and anyone who reads it is an evil fetishizer. 

(For those that don’t know, a kink is anything unconventional that is used, performed, or desired in a sexual way. A fetish relies more heavily on a certain object, body part, or situation. Neither of these are inherently bad. But the word fetish has a lot more negative connotation to it than kink. The real issue is objectification and oppression.)

But policing what people can read is not the right route to go about things since it usually ends up hurting women and LGBTQ+ people more disproportionately. You are also making a lot of assumptions of these people's intentions which may be false or blatantly wrong and only work to further an agenda that restricts the sexual autonomy of women and LGBTQ+ people while acting as if you are trying to help them.

When a fandom puritan imagines a sort of proverbial reader for content they deem as bad, they are projecting everything they dislike onto a person that does not exist. These projections are an extension of societal expectations and societal expectations are not inherently correct. They are created and formed as a way to control as many people as possible. Under the guise that the more control we have over others, the less uncertainty there is. But that is not true. And these expectations are harsher to women and the LGBTQ+ community, people who have had a harder timer speaking up for themselves in society and history as a whole.

When we police what someone can and can't like sexually, we are removing or altering their bodily or sexual autonomy. (Their ability to use their body as they like). Cis male characters have always had sexual agency in media. They are allowed to be with who they like and do as they please. And they are even rewarded for doing so. Teaching that the more people a man is able to ‘conquer’ (take the sexual autonomy from), the more worth that man has as a person and in society as a whole. 

(But this also teaches men that without someone else they cannot have self worth. I will be talking about that in a different manifesto later where I break down the male loneliness epidemic and how society is sabotaging men for profit and political gain and that is leading to a rise in conservative values and misogyny.)

Women have internalized this: men are allowed to have sexual autonomy, women are not. Men are allowed to have sex as they please, while women are taught that every time they have sex with a different person, some part of themselves is fundamentally broken. 

Wanting to explore sexual desires and agency with characters that already have a precedent of sexual agency is very common. Though, you may not have heard it described in that way.

I argue that yaoi/omegaverse when it is written by women for women is where the reader and writer are exploring sexual desire and agency in a way where they are ‘allowed to’. Men are allowed to have sexual desire and to act in sexual ways, while women are not allowed those same privileges. A woman is only allowed to fit into one of two archetypes: the whore or the virgin. The over sexualized or the prude. 

But that is not indicative of the real lived experience.

(When it comes to LGBTQ+ people they are rarely given the option of the virgin archetype and instead are only hypersexualized (which is also a form of control and lack of sexual agency))

On one hand, yaoi/yuri is representative of an actual lived experience for a lot of people. And those stories provide voices and outlets for LGBTQ+ people to be seen and understood. To see themselves in the reflection of the characters eyes. To see themselves seeing themselves.

But I argue that yaoi/yuri or the omegaverse can also be feminist literature. (I use the term feminist broadly as encompassing both women and LGBTQ+ people and the struggle against the patriarchy and a society that is actively working against them. And feminist literature, in this sense, is literature that is by the oppressed for the oppressed against an oppressor (i.e. the patriarchy) I know not everyone will agree with this, but this is my personal definition here.)

(If you do not know what the omegaverse is, the most basic way of understanding it is that in the omegaverse, omegas can get pregnant no matter their primary gender (male, female, etc.) and alphas can impregnate no matter their primary gender. In this way, primary gender like male and female do not matter as much as your secondary gender does (alpha, beta, omega). However, betas are regular people so a male beta can only impregnate and a female beta can only get pregnant.)

Because the primary gender in the omegaverse is not important, there is a lot of commentary on what gender is and how society shapes people. 

While writing an omegaverse story, I got to asking myself what an omega is. Since an omega seems to be everything that society deems as feminine or womanly (submission, gentleness, etc.) but in the body of (usually) a man. And an alpha is the embodiment of everything society deems and manly or attributes to men (like aggression, domination, etc.). In this way, alphas and omegas are at the most extreme ends of masculine and feminine standards. Does this come from a desire to see a man go through the most extreme standards of what it means to be a woman in society and still be accepted? Because even if a woman is able to achieve the absolute pinnacle of what it means to be a woman, they will still be hated.

An omega is allowed to be both the virgin and the whore simultaneously. They are allowed to have intense sexual desire (i.e. heats) while also being allowed to not want intimacy. Being allowed to desire an alpha while also being scared of alphas. Oppressed yet holding power. 

One of the things I noticed a lot when reading yaoi/omegaverse is the proclivity of rape. At first I was very turned off by it. Why was sexual assault so normalized in yaoi? Is it a negative side-effect of hypersexualization or is it the literary embodiment of an internalized fear of rape and the desire to see a character come out fine? It is very rare for sexual assault to be treated seriously in yaoi/omegaverse if it is between the main couple. This is a reflection of the very real reality of how sexual assault is treated in the countries where these authors are from (including the US). 

Does it come from a desire to see something realistic in a male dominated world where the aggressor is given less than a slap on the wrist for sexual assault while the victim is blamed and can be herald as a murder if victim desired to abort a child born of rape? Is the writer trying to imagine a world where they are okay and actually benefiting from an experienced trauma? There are many possibilities, and I do not know the answers. I am just theorizing how I imagine some of these tropes come about. But this is important for understanding that just because someone reads or writes something, does not mean they are actively supporting that thing.

But instead of there being a distinctive right or wrong, everything boils down to how something is perceived. What context does the piece of media exist in? In the same way The Handmaid’s Tale is a piece of literature that actively explores the role of women in a patriarchal society and is not supporting the patriarchal society itself that is presented in the story.

When someone exists in a world with a lot of internalized misogyny and homophobia, they may read stuff like yaoi/yuri/omegaverse and not see that these texts are actively working against the narrative of the patriarchy and the societal oppressors. They may not realize that their hate of its mere existence is political. (I say mere existence since not everyone will enjoy reading it, obviously, but to hate it for purely existing is political. And it ties back to misogyny and homophobia as these are literary tropes that are mainly enjoyed by women and LGBTQ+ people)

Yaoi/yuri/omegaverse is feminist literature. It is observing the world through the lens of someone who challenges the very structure of society. Challenges the very politics that conservatism and puritanism is trying to push. It is creating a world where the ‘other’ can flourish. Where the outcast is seen and allowed agency. 

But the main pushers of conservatism and puritanism in fandom culture are not who you would expect, which makes it quite a difficult issue to combat. It is women and queer people working against the interests of other women and queer people. The oppressed policing the oppressed for the interests of the oppressor. 

(Though, I would like to point out a tidbit that people rarely acknowledge, which is that we do not gain the ability to think critically about our opinions and the world around us until late adolescence or early adulthood. Though it is different for each person. And thus until a certain age, we are just echoing the thoughts and opinions of others. This can be a reason as to why this is happening.)

In early fanfic culture, it was very common for an author to write “don't like? Don't read” which is something we should continue to live by today. Not everything is created for you. Not everything is meant to cater to you. Not everyone has had the same life experiences as you or the same desires, hopes, or dreams. 

But since fanfiction has entered the mainstream and people are finding it for the first time, they do not know the decorum that comes with reading fanfiction. Fanfiction is not censored or made for profit the same way a published book is. There is no editor or CEO with a prerogative that is reading over the fic and deciding whether it can be published and make money in the current political climate. 

Fanfiction is human made and reflects humanity in a way that anything monetized cannot. It shows the good, the bad, the fears, the desires, the hope, the fluff and the angst. A celebration of life while also being a eulogy to that life. 

The world watching itself be watched. 

When we focus on morality and what being morally good is, we lose sight of what it means to be human. No one is 100% morally just. It is something that no one can reach because it is not something that exists in society. But the easiest way to control a group of people, is to make them start fighting themselves. And it also comes from a desire to be loved. Equating that if you are morally just then others will like you and you will be loved and accepted for who you are.

And as the fandom puritan lights the witch on fire, they turn around and search for acceptance for their actions in the eyes of their peers. The burn of their desire to be loved heating their back as they address the crowd. That same desire to be loved killing the witch.

But humans were not meant to be perfect, and holding ourselves and others up to standards that inherently support patriarchy and societal and government control, will only end badly. Instead of using fanfiction as a way to be upset with the world, use it as a way to understand and love yourself.

Find what you enjoy reading and read it. Find yourself in the reflection of the characters eyes as they smile and cry. 

In a world that profits and is sustained on self-hatred, self-love is a political statement. 

Read what you want to read and move on. And when it comes time, protect fanfiction as one of the last non-monetizable artform.

----------------------------------------------

I honestly am not even sure if this makes sense. It took me so long to finish because I kept writing and rewriting it. Adding parts and taking other parts out. If you want me to expand on something or think I didn’t explain a concept well enough, please let me know! I am genuinely doing this for fun and enjoy it. :)

Also thank you so much to anyone who made it this far! This one is a lot more polarizing, but I did my best to explain it in a way that was as little polarizing as possible. 

In the next part of the series I will talk about commercialization and capitalism as it relates to the world and specifically to fandom spaces. I will expand on the idea that our opinions and ideals are given to us by corporations or politicians in order to further the narrative. And also that fear and hate drives engagement and people who make money on places like TikTok are more likely to fear-monger (whether intentionally or not) in order to get more money. 

If there is anything else you want me to touch on in this series please let me know! Otherwise, after commercialization it will be fanfiction throughout history and then a call to action and how we can use these concepts to create a better future. 

[lightblueminecraftorchid]

Misconceptions my family/friends about the food bank at my school:

- "Going to the food bank takes food from other people". The more people go, the more they can demonstrate a need in the student population and apply for more funding.

- "I can afford basic staple groceries, so I wouldn't benefit". The food bank has a variety of food items, including a lot of "treats" and foods you wouldn't expect to see. Even if you can buy what you need to get through the week, having some seasonings, produce, meat, shelf staples, etc. can still go a long way. Coffee, tea, and cocoa packets can make life a lot nicer. And the local grocery stores donate lots of just-past-sell-by baked goods, so if you like donuts with your coffee or lemon cake to brighten your afternoon, the food bank can help you out.

- "Don't they pick out the food for you? I don't want someone else deciding what I eat." The food bank here is like a much smaller grocery store; you're given bags and you fill them with what you need. Even someone like me, who has a lot of dietary restrictions, can benefit.

- "I can afford food, so I don't need anything. Im just struggling to buy other things, like school supplies" The food bank here has a separate care pantry. I've gotten hygiene items (pads, tampons, shampoo/conditioner/body wash, etc), kitchen items (plastic cups, ziplocs, trash bags, etc), toilet paper, and even sexual health items (sex health kits including lube, condoms, sometimes dental dams) from the care pantry. At the start of the semester, they had a back to school kit which included a notebook, a folder, a pen, and a highlighter. They have ESL books for international students. I've gotten gloves and socks from them. One time, I saw three pairs of shoes.

"So you can just take as much as you want?" No. Most food items are limited. All care items are limited, except for sex health kits and period products. The more popular items are, the more likely they are to be limited, bc they run out faster. It's a great day when the food bank gets a large donation of some type of produce like apples or grapefruit, bc that's the one time produce isn't super restricted. The food bank is really good for getting a little bit of a lot of things, not stocking up in bulk.

"So I can just walk in the door and get free stuff?" No. I was surprised how many hoops I had to jump through. I had to present my student ID three times to get to the food, as well as complete a detailed form. I had to give my full name, my employment status, how many people were in my household, my student status, my age, and sign up for a specific day to visit the food bank. That form also included two waivers, which absolve the school and donors of any responsibility for giving you spoiled food.

- "The food bank is accessible to everyone on campus". No. The food bank is frustratingly inaccessible. It's located all the way to the north end of campus, as far as possible from all of the dorms. There are two parking spaces; every other space within a quarter mile is metered. The food bank is open for two hours a day, but the hours are different for every day of the week, and they change every semester. The food bank entrance is down a flight of stairs, and there's no clear alternate entrance for people who can't use stairs safely. The first checkpoint to present your ID and proof of form completion is outside, and the building only lets in about ten students at a time; in the winter, this means standing outside in the bitter cold for up to an hour. Many of these students don't have closed toed shoes, gloves, or other cold weather gear. Student IDs can be physical cards, but the form and waivers can only be completed online; if your smartphone dies, you're fucked. The form itself is difficult to navigate to and only in English, despite a disproportionate amount of the students using the food bank speaking English as a second (or third or fourth) language. Worst of all, a lot of these issues aren't clear to students until they try to go.

- "Only the most desperate students use the foodbank; it's shameful/embarrassing to go there". 1 in 3 students use this food bank. Every time I've mentioned going to the food bank in conversation, nobody has reacted negatively. At most, they might ask me how to go there themselves. Even with all the hoops, the food bank massively improves my quality of life; I would keep going even if I were still employed. Do you know how much money I've saved on toilet paper and pads? On shampoo? On dish soap? I'm able to access free lube discreetly, which makes using tampons possible for me. I can get foods I don't strictly *need*, but make eating a joy again. I can get sparkling water, juice boxes, cocoa packets, and coffee. I got bags of apples and an orange this fall and made the best fucking cider in the world for no money at all. I get oil and butter and salt and pepper and eggs and bread. Yeah, they have the cheapest version of everything, and I hve to check the bread loaves for mold. It's still worth it. It's Free Food And Care Items.

[lightvsdark18]

"Everything is different and I'm having a crisis!" Headcanon

No free refills on drinks.

Culture shock in general.

* The middle finger means nothing, until Yuu made it mean something.

* The bathroom signs are different and is unsure which one is for the men and women.

Some diseases and illnesses don't exist, but there's plenty new ones to put the fear back in you.

Common words, holidays, activities, items don't exist. "What's soda?" Or "What's football?"

Yuu finds out their anatomy is different from a twst human and Styx wants to study them. (Ortho did basic health checks and not hospital-type checks, reason why he didn't notice right away)

Common foods/drinks taste slightly different or cause minor/major reactions. (Congrats, you're allergic to your favorite food)

Some common medicine doesn't work/does the opposite on Yuu and some things that would be poisonous/deadly to the average student does nothing to Yuu. (Makes it difficult to treat them)

Yuu's immune system had to rebuild itself to the new environment and people.

Sometimes Yuu understands what the boys are saying or writing in their native tongue. (*Screeching and growling* Yuu hands the fae soldier the salt. Sebek: "How did you know what he said?")

* @eviltomatoe

Because medicine/herbs sometimes does nothing/opposite on Yuu, it's possible deadly poisons can either kill them like intended, do nothing, or make them very sick but not be lethal.

Intolerances and allergies can possibly not be effected in the world of Twisted Wonderland. Gluten and dairy intolerant people could enjoy bread and milk without issues, and people allergic to beef, lemon, dogs/cats, etc wouldn't have to worry anymore. However, there's a 50/50 chance if your intolerance/allergic to certain foods still exist or not.

[saltpepperbeard]

Poison into Positivity: A List of What I Liked in OFMD S2

Hello hello everyone! Things have been a little rough around here. Even away from the more heated takes, I've still seen a few "down in the dumps" murmurs. To which, I'm giving y'all big hugs, but also offering up some little bits of warmth! I wanted to share quite a few bullets of the things I enjoyed about this season. Maybe it'll serve as a reminder, or maybe it'll just serve as a chaotic, silly little read as per usual PFFF.

But I invite you to read along, and even add some of your own points should you feel inclined! Also, this might not even be my full list; these are just the ones that came to me quickly/off the top of my head. Still, let's dive on down like a fantastical, dazzling goldfish, shall we?

All the callbacks/parallels. My goodness. When I tell you I'm a SLUT for metaphors/parallels/callbacks/etc etc. Seeing so many things and being able to just *Leonardo Dicaprio pointing meme.* I know people might not share that same opinion because some might view it to be excessive, but I personally LOVED being able to point at my screen and be like "oH EYYYYYYY!!!" Maybe because it makes for such immaculate gifset/meta material <3 SJKJDLHSK

The costuming and makeup. WHEN THEY TALKED AT ECCC ABOUT EVERYONE GETTING HOTTER, THEY WERE NOT KIDDING LMAO. EVERYONE LOOKED SO, SO GOOD. and listen, i am on my knees begging for them to give ed with his hair up back to us. i need Her back,,,ALSO, SOMETHING SOMETHING COMPLICATED EMOTIONS TOWARDS STEDE'S LATTER HALF LOOK, BUT ALSO...GOD DAMN, MR. DARBY,,,,,,

Speaking of Mr. Darby, the acting in this season. The ACTTTINNNGG. Everyone acted their ASSES off. Everyone put their entire piratussies into this season. Though, I'm PARTICULARLY impressed with Taika and Rhys, because again with their "oh we're comedians lol so idk drama can be Difficult Difficult Lemon Difficult." MMMM I THINK THE FUCK NOT, MY GUYS LMAO??? They both did SO well with all the drama and painful moments. The acting in episodes 2, 3, 6, and 7 in particular like...God. GOD!!!

I loved so many characters in this season, and I'll of course have to give two individual shoutouts to my two favorite new ladies, but man. LET'S GO FRENCHIE!!! ALWAYS A DELIGHT!!! FANG/KEVIN MY ABSOLUTE SWEETHEART. JIM SERVING ABSOLUTE FUCKING GENDER THIS SEASON. OLU OLU DARLING OLU. PETE NEVER MISSING WITH HIS ONELINERS. LUCIUS BEING SO THEATRICAL AHDJKSDK LIKE NATHAN PLEASE YOU KILL ME. ROACH MAKING ME LAUGH OUT LOUD NUMEROUS TIMES AS HE DOES. WEE JOHN AND HIS KNITTING AND DRAG!!! AND THEN OF COURSE MY DEARLY BELOVEDS, ED AND STEDE. I JUST LOVE THEMMMMM!!! But okay okay okay-

Zheng my beloved. I just love this badass pirate queen with her sweet little pigtails and her IMMACULATE LINE DELIVERIES SDHJKSKL. A lot of my favorite deliveries from the entire season came from her quite honestly. Please see: "Girl, how ARE you?" and "Hiiiiiii. I KNOWWW it's been a day" and "I've killed mediocre men. I've killed exceptional men. But you're the worst kind: a mediocre man who thinks he's exceptional."

AND ARCHIE MY BELOVED. She kills me because I remember seeing like, those ~*~audition tape whispers~*~ WAY back in the day, and subsequently thinking she was going to be quite a different character. Only for this silly goofy bubbly energetic darling to pop up and snag my heart. HER deliveries kill me also, like when she goes "Like...STEDE Stede?" and the whole "I was IN the fuckin' snake!" also hhngngngngnershkfhslkds tattooed ladies Hot :(

Speaking of which, the comedy. THE DELIVERIES. THE WAY I LAUGHED OUT LOUD NUMEROUS TIMES THROUGHOUT, EVEN WITH THE DEEP UNDERCURRENT OF DRAMA/ANGST. The whole bit where Stede is in hysterics over his cursed coat is just hsjkdhsklds; it will NEVER not make me wheeze. And then, like I said, almost EVERYTHING Pete says this season kills me; another thing that will never not make me laugh is "a doggie...?" weird little pirate show with weird little humor my beloved

The ROMANCE??? I genuinely was going into the season with the expectation of getting maybe like, one or two Gentlebeard kisses. Imagine my shock and utter delight when we ended up with FOUR, AS WELL AS AN INTIMATE SCENE, THE LETTER SCENES, AND THE LOVE PROFESSIONS. Like, one of them dropping a legitimate "I love you" felt like an unrealistic expectation--the HIGHEST dream tier really. And then wouldn't you know it. And that doesn't even account for all the rest of the couples either! The murder wives having their chaotic little moments of fucked up affection??? LUCIUS AND PETE GETTING ENGAGED AND THEN MARRIED??? HELLO??????

The sets! I know people have pointed out that the world felt a bit simplified this time around, due to budget restraints and what have you. But I still loved what they did with the world even with the various constraints. The market in episode 6 is a PARTICULAR favorite of mine; it's just so lush and colorful. I also love what they did with The Revenge during episode 6 too!

Also, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I really actually liked that they filmed on location. First of all, love that the Kiwis got to be right at home in Aotearoa. Love that they have an even more special connection to the show now. But second of all, I just like when scenery is...actually THERE? It feels way more TANGIBLE. Don't get me wrong; that hugeass wraparound screen that they use to film a lot of sets is a technological marvel. But I'm a sucker for practical.

The deeper and more complex dives into character motivations/trauma. Like, homie lol...When I tell you episodes 6 and 7 utterly set my brain alight in the best way possible. I was CHUGGING through thoughts. You know those gifs where someone is walking around and ranting/passionately talking,,, yeah. Yeah. Maybe because a lot of it "struck a chord" with me indeed, but I love love LOVE getting brain food like that.

Speaking of brain food, in PARTICULAR, the deeper dives into Ed's self-loathing and into Stede's troubles with confidence and masculinity. A lot of Stede's choices were fueled by those two things, and it was SO friggin fun to catch all of them, put them in a jar, and shake them around. I've seen a lot of people fearing his actions in the latter half were out of character, but to me, I don't see it that way. I just see a man who has been so spurned, so left behind, and SO deprived, a man who is stuck thinking he has to be someone else to mean something. And I think that plays a lot into even the EARLIEST developments we saw in season 1, so it was just so intriguing to watch everything messily play out.

THE INNKEEPER. THE INNKEEPER MY BELOVED. SO much about that episode absolutely has my heart. All the different developments, the stakes, the pacing, and the payoff at the end. Not to mention that I had a FEELING that mysterious figure in the trailers was Hornigold, so it was so SO validating to see him pop up PFFF. And also, all those dream/gravy basket sequences were so so good too. I don't know if it's the chemistry between Taika and Mark, or the deeper symbolism, or the lines that have become vocal stims for me SJKDLS (please see: ooOOoooO eddie eddie eddie...you're laying some heavy shit on me, bro), but man. MAN.

And this one gets its own bullet because of course it does: the fucking mermaid scene. Like, are we kidding. ARE WE KIDDING. THE ROMANCE OF IT ALL? THE FANTASTICAL-NESS INDEED?? THE WAY IT WAS ALL FUCKING PRACTICAL AND RHYS SWAM DOWN TO TAIKA AS A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GOLDFISH AND THEY HAD TO THROW HEART EYES AT EACH OTHER UNDERWATER??? WHAT THE FUCK!!! And don't even get me started on Kate Bush lol. This Woman's Work might easily be one of my favorite songs, if not my FAVORITE song from the season. And man. Man. The whole meaning behind Ed seeing Stede as this beautiful, sparkly being, and not some hypermasculine/extraordinary thing. He fell in love with Stede for who Stede really is. And so I ADORE that acknowledgement.

Speaking of songs, the MUSIC!!! Absolute bangers all throughout. And I loved how there seemed to be even more intermixed within the episodes. Like God... "These are the kids..." 🗣️ HELLO MY LOVE I HEARD A KISS FROM YOU 🦗🦟🦗🦟🦗🦟 . And all the beautiful classic piano pieces and NINA SIMONE AND JUST HSJKDHSFJKLHSKD????

Okay, I've always had and STILL have complicated thoughts and opinions on Izzy, but man, seeing him interact with the Revenge Crew was really something. Seeing Stede's influence come over the lot of them like a warm blanket, extending its welcoming and familial hands...It was just lovely. I love seeing our little sea family care for each other so much. They've probably all hurt so so much in different ways, so to see them all being a collective heart is just so nice.

Speaking of which, the queerness of it all, the queer celebration of it all. The way the whole crew is just...a representation of queer people finding each other, and subsequently finding love and family in each other. Like, when the whole world wants to cast you out, you pull each other in. When no one else wants you, you take refuge in each other. And just...the joy, beauty, and wonder that can be found in that.

And speaking of which x2, the overall care that was put into the entire thing, the effort that was put into the entire thing. I know Max fucked us over with the budget, which subsequently fucked things like the intricacy, the amount of characters, and especially the pacing. But, I don't know; I personally could still tell everyone involved was trying so so hard to deliver for us. Based on the little details, the little callbacks, and the little moments that felt so catered to us, it just seemed so...gifted to us. Not to mention of course, the way they so deliberately chose to end on a hopeful note in case we never get a third season. They care about us. They've always cherished our excitement and passion, so it just...idk; it feels so special to have a bit more of an intimate connection like that. I've never been involved with a piece of media that so avidly SEES its audience, and celebrates along with us. So, despite everything, despite any sort of troubles, despite any sort of lows, that's a big part of what has me clutching all of this so closely to my chest. And I really hope they can still see that love, because I want nothing more than for them to see this beautiful story through.

Also, getting to enjoy this with everyone. Getting to ride the wave from the beginning of filming, all the way through the finale. Getting to see all the excitement, all the theories, all the art, all the fanfiction, all the gif sets, all the meta, and everything in between. It has carried me through some nastiness in my personal life, and has subsequently served as a very welcomed distraction. It's been such a pleasure getting to delight in this new content with you all, and I hope we get to do so into the future. <3

[fandom-friday]

The goal of Fandom Friday: provide a place where people can shout-out their favorite creators from the week, whether it’s a piece of fan art that made you smile or a fanfic that moved you. Drop a link to your favorite creations this week into my ask box along with what you loved about it, and I will give them a shout! It doesn’t have to be Star Wars either! If it’s on another website (AO3, Twitter, etc.), please be sure to state that as well.

This happens each week, so don’t feel like you’ve got to get out everything in one week. Just keep track of them throughout the week or send me an ask whenever you find something, and I’ll drop them all on Fridays (or throughout the weekend if I get a lot). The cutoff for each week is THURSDAY 12 PM (I’m in the Pacific timezone). Anything received after that will roll to the next week. A summary of the weeks’ recs will be posted at the end of the weekly queue, so check back here for all of the awesome fics and art! And be sure to go give the creations on that list some love (and don’t just share the ask responses I put out).

2024 Fandom Friday Weekly Summary Master List

Rules and additional details under the cut! PLEASE make sure you read the rules before sending something in. If your submission violates any of the rules, I will delete it.

Rules:

Please send submissions to my ask box (sending them all to one place makes wrangling them easier each week). In your ask, please include the creator’s handle, a link to their work/post (if links aren’t working for the ask, please DM me them), and what you loved about it!

Please ensure the link is to the creator’s original post and not your own reblog or repost of their work (if they’re on another platform). The idea is to drive people to visit the creator’s page!

The creation does not have to have been posted this week! It can be something older. Also, don’t worry about whether or not a rec is a repeat from a prior week. Just looking to celebrate things that made an impression on you this week, whether you’ve seen it before or not!

NSFW is alright! Just make sure you note it in the ask so I can flag appropriately! Since I’m including 18+ material, minors may not participate. 18+ posts will be tagged with NSFT/lemon/lemony lemon (trying to cover all my bases).

NO incest, underage, cl*necest blogs, master/padawan (or similar power dynamics), dub-con/non-con/rape occurring IN the fic (to include stalker/obsessive behavior fics). Also, no H*rry Potter. There are a few others that I also won’t share due to my discomfort with them (i.e., R*xsoka), so if you’re not sure, ask. Also, many of you submit multiple works at once, and that’s fine, but if one of those works contains something that violates the rules, I will delete the entire ask, so something to be extra careful about when submitting!

Submissions that deal with 18+ material or difficult/triggering topics (pregnancy, abuse, drug use, etc.) MUST BE TAGGED APPROPRIATELY.

If your rec involves spoilers from a show that’s currently running, please include that info in the ask so I can tag it appropriately (I will normally tag a few different ways, but I always use #<show title> spoilers if you need to filter (for example: Andor spoilers will be tagged #Andor Spoilers). I will stop tagging spoilers two weeks after the show stops airing.

You can submit GIF sets or edits, but please ensure you are submitting from the blog that actually created them. Wanted to add that caution since there’s been a lot of people stealing/reposting GIFs and edits in particular recently. So just be cautious.

Try to avoid commentary in your ask that might make others feel bad (“the only person who knows how to write XXX correctly…”). It’s important to be able to appreciate creators without making others feel bad, so let’s try to keep the commentary complimentary without being off-putting for other creators.

Self recommendations are allowed and encouraged! Shout out your own hard work! You deserve the recognition!

*Rules subject to change so PLEASE make sure you read them before sending something in. If your submission violates any of the rules, I will delete it.

**If you have any questions about any of the rules, don’t hesitate to DM me!In addition to sending me asks, I highly encourage you to go either leave a comment on and/or reblog someone’s work (tag me or use the #Fandom Friday tag if you do!). Let’s get the interaction back up on this website and show the creators that work so hard on their stuff some love!

[ao3-ouija]

We know that some whale species have familial and regional dialects, but can they communicate with other cetaceans like porpoises, narwhales, dolphins, etc...

AND IF SO, can hippos, who are closely related to these marine mammals, also understand them, kinda like pig latin or spanglish??

whale song (a not so lonely accord) by susSVEN

Narwhals and Dolphins by minaring03

Translating to the local dialect by Spector_Author

You Could Say There's A Porpoise To It by AsagiStilinski

However... by schmuckofheart

Hippos and Sharks by DefendersofMCUniverse (KateaWolf13)

difficult difficult lemon difficult by nimdlez

To Understand by UlisaBarbic

But Still by Twice_before_Friday

Communication! by Tirnel

Spirits channelled by @hylian-prosecutor

[titanofthedepths]

Actually for Homestuck day I think its time I share the story of the Sopor Cheesecake

When I was in middle school I was REALLY into Homestuck, so was most of my friend group. I mean REALLY into it. We each had an assigned character and we’d call each other by those character names, we’d play games in-character, etc etc I mean we were REALLY REALLY in deep.

So one year one of my friends hosts a sleepover to watch a meteor shower in their backyard.

Naturally, we made the party Homestuck themed.

So we agreed that several people would bring dishes or sides, and I was to bring dessert! Easy enough, it’s pretty hard to fuck up dessert, right?

So I decide I’m going to make a “Sopor Pie” - key lime cheesecake food colored an eye burning shade of toxic green. I’m thinking making it will be easy enough, I’ve made a ton of no-bake cheesecakes before, a baked cheesecake shouldn’t be any more difficult.

That was the day I learned you do NOT follow your heart when it comes to baking

I burned that motherfucker. I burned it bad and had no idea because I had never made a baked cheesecake before. So I brought it to the party

Dinner rolls around and its all good, the food’s good and everyone’s having fun. We play a few games, sing some songs, chat about our beloved Homestuck, and then its time for dessert

I cut the first slice from this godforsaken pie and the entire room started to smell like burned lime. Which is really awful, for the uninformed. Like if draino was trying to be lemon lacroix. It smelled like how I imagine battery acid mixed with monster would taste. It was horrible.

I took a bite anyways, and what ensued was probably the hardest time I’ve ever had to fight for my life. I spent most of my time thereafter, prior to the meteor shower, desperately trying to scrub the taste of Burnt Lime from the very fibers of my being.

Nobody else ate any, thank god; because to this day I still can’t stomach the smell or taste of lime.

[hoboblaidd]

Anything personal hidden in Solas' study in the Lighthouse? We find the Anchor research notes, but anything else? Like unsent letters kind of thing? Hypothetically, for no reason.

Irving's head.

Kidding (probably). The problem is that finding any of his stuff is difficult. You can only call his study an "organized mess" if you're being charitable. It's a chaotic cataloguing system that only makes sense to him.

But with enough time, patience, knowledge of ancient Elvhen dialects, and uninterrupted access to his study, you're likely to find the following:

I've talked before about how he has dossiers on everyone, probably dating back to the early rebellion days. Some of these are written down, others just exist in his head. All of these are under specific artifacts, which function as super complex and highly volatile paper weights.

He has every letter Varric sent him tucked into a book about macroeconomics in the Free Marches. He has newspaper clippings about Magister Pavus and the Lucerni interspersed throughout the complete volumes of Tevinter High Fashion magazines. He has the back and forth hit piece articles on the College of Enchanters versus the New Circles of the South in an old Tevene children's book about how to do certain spells. He has records of Montilyet trading transactions in a shipbuilding book from the Storm Age.

He has an inventory of every single eluvian June made and a list of its corresponding key in a very, very ancient book about glassware in southern Elvhenan. He has extensive and exhaustive notes on 'Those Across the Sea' stuffed into several rolled up and equally ancient geological maps. He even has reports on Ghilan'nain and Andruil, but these are slipped behind the tiles of the ceiling (Ghilan'nain) or the floor (Andruil). Under the right conditions - Veilfire + a specific incantation + lemon juice - one fresco on the wall has a fine line connecting his entire network of eluvians and even finer dots indicating the location of every Fen'harel altar and safehouse across the continent. Somewhere in here he also has a list of his agents in both Elvhenan and the Dragon Age, but he buried them so well that he can only find them on a new moon.

Finally, he does have unsent letters. So many unsent letters. These are all within the pages of just about every book on his shelf (or his desk, or under the cot, or between artifacts, etc. etc.). Unsent letters from the Dragon Age, mostly to Dhavi, Nanna, and Varric. Unsent letters that are barely legible anymore to Mythal, Landalen, Ghilan'nain, and even Elgar'nan.

There's also all the models he made during the rebellion. Several of them are burnt to a crisp (looking at you, Suledin Keep), and most are secreted behind bookshelves, vases that are also stuffed with maps, stolen paintings, as well as behind artifacts, etc.

[kitchenwitchery72]

Herbalism 101: Lemon

EP. 7

Fun fact

Lemons are technically berries!

Properties : clarity, friendship, happiness, protection

Uses in the kitchen

Lemon is used for its tart flavor. It can be found in many desserts, pastries, and cocktails. They can also be used to clean or make a simmer pot, leaving your home smelling fresh.

Uses in healing

Lemon has been found to have anti microbial properties and is a great source of vitamin C. Some say that drinking lemon juice can get rid of hiccups as well!

Uses in witchcraft

If you work with the moon, leaving lemons or parts of lemons on your altar to honor the moon is a great use. I often use the dried peels, dehydrated in the oven, in spell jars and charm bags. Another common use for lemon is in protective work. Things like a cleansing bath, a protective jar etc. are great uses for lemon.

Tips for growing at home

Lemons are not particularly difficult to grow, however if you live in a place with a harsh winter, chances are it will not thrive. Don't forget, lemon trees will take around two years to bear fruit, so be patient! Finally, you can grow these trees in a pot indoors, but they will need full sun.

Recipe

This is technically a repeat of an old recipe I have posted before, but I am changing out lavender for lemon because I make these all the time and they are a crowd pleaser.

Lemon shortbread cookies

4 cups flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1lb salted butter

2 drops lemon extract

Lemon zest for the looks

Combine the ingredients with the butter still a bit chilled. You can make little balls or roll it out to cut out shapes, you may need a little extra flour for this. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

[dekkiidan]

Peppermint, lemon balm and matcha for the trio mayhaps? :3

🌻 Xan

Uweeee, thank you for your ask, Xan! I had a lot of fun contemplating these whilst on my little work break out in the sun, hehe! I don't know why, but thinking about what classes as a "treat" for my trio was really difficult, so I pondered for a long time, ehe!

Matcha: What is your OC’s preferred little treat?

Lemon Balm: Does your OC have any bedtime habits or rituals?

Peppermint: How does your OC handle the cold?

Answers under the cut as always! :3

Matcha - What is your OC’s preferred little treat?

Mohs

Mohs loves anything with good texture - whether that be a chew or a crunch! But it has to be something they can really sink their teeth into. I think they'd be a real sucker for the hearthian equivalent of mochi. Nice and chewy. And, flavour wise, it's got to be something similar to taro. A nice savoury base with a hint of sweetness, hehe!

although, I imagine with their jagged and pointy teeth, getting anything stuck between their chompers would be a real pain

Stein

My gut response was to say that Stein is a sucker for things like crisps, but I actually think they have a secret sweet tooth - especially since adopting Mig, who is a little bit of a marshmallow thief. They try, and fail, to keep a check on how much sugar they're ingesting on the daily - but the idea of them sneaking a sweet treat from under the bar now and then is a little too good for me to pass up.

Dusty

Perhaps not an edible treat as such, but I think a treat for Dusty would be something that requires time. Thanks to their busy schedule, they really appreciate having time to just stop. As such, I think maybe an activity other than their work is their little treat - even if that's half an hour to pick and arrange some flowers, or take a quick snooze in the sun with their hat over their eyes.

If we want to remain traditional though, I think they probably enjoy a really cold bottled root or ginger beer as a special treat after a hard day's work.

Lemon Balm - Does your OC have any bedtime habits or rituals?

Mohs

Mohs is a fan of routines in general, and bed-time is no different! In their own cabin, they tend to do a quick tidy up of the communal living space (luckily they and Tuff are both relatively tidy!) - mugs put to soak in the sink, fluffing pillows, refolding any throws or blankets to drape them over chairs etc. before they wash their face, brush their teeth and head up to their mezzanine to change into their jim-jams and hit the hay. They also use a nice smelling balm (lavendar, oats) on their face before bedtime to help them sleep, as they struggle to nod off.

If they're at the ranch, well, maybe that's for another time

Stein

Stein's is nice and easy. Clean down and lock up the bar and then -either:- Have a drink and a chat with Mylo and see where the evening takes them, or immediately head to bed and fall straight to sleep. Proceed to snore loudly.

When Mig comes into their life, bedtime stories and mandatory tucking in and a kiss on the forehead are a must. Stein absolutely dotes on Mig and adores these little snippets of parental joy they get to share with them.

Dusty

Depends entirely on where they are in their working year. If they're out with the herd, their routine is solely focussed on their animal's welfare. Ensure the area is safe, do a head-count, check for any injuries or signs of sickness, and then set up a small camp for the night - Timber Hearth style with marshmallows, a toasty campfire and a comfy (if well used) sleeping bag, of course.

When at the ranch, which is normally during the grubbing season, they'll do a welfare check on the cows and grubs, before locking up the barn, double checking the pens for the rest of the herd, and then heading inside to clean themself up (quick face and hand wash, or a nice cool shower if they have time) and hit the hay.

Peppermint - How does your OC handle the cold?

Mohs

Very badly! Mohs really feels the cold and has to wrap up in many layers to keep themself warm if they're out doing fieldwork in the winter months. They have a big puffy duffle-esque coat, fluffy hat, mittens, boots with insulated lining - the whole nine yards, and still end up shivering like a leaf if they're outside for too long!

Stein

Stein runs hot and has extra squish to keep them insulated, and as such, it's not uncommon to see them just in their tank top even on chilly days during their barrel runs. If things get too cold, they simply don their jacket.

Dusty

Dusty doesn't mind the cold, but they would prefer warmer weather, if only for the herd. They're sensible about their outerwear and know when to wrap up warmer if needs be, but their physical work often keeps their blood pumping hot when they're out and about.

Thank you so much for your questions, Xan! I had a lot of fun thinking them over, and now I want to draw more cold-weather outfits for Mohs too, hehe!

[starry-nights-garden]

✧ P1Harmony Masterlist ✧

main masterlist personal faves in bold

*✧･ﾟ:* Keeho *:･ﾟ✧*

Scenarios & Oneshots:

✧ Campfire | fluff, comfort - 1k Desc.: You’re in need for a break from your everyday life that’s getting increasingly stressful, so your boyfriend Keeho thought he’d take you on a weekend trip to go camping.

✧ Pay Off | fluff, slow burn - 5.4k Desc.: The number one rule when working with idols is not to fall in love with them. Unfortunately you woke up one day and had to realize that your feelings for Keeho are very much real, and so now you’re trying to figure out how to best deal with them.

Drabbles:

✧ Expectations | fluff - 0.7k

✧ Hug | fluff, one word drabble - 0.6k

✧ neck kisses | fluff, suggestive - 0.7k

*✧･ﾟ:* Theo *:･ﾟ✧*

Scenarios & Oneshots:

✧ Bubbles | fluff, comfort - 0.7k Desc.: Feeling the pain that comes with being rejected by the person you like, you find yourself crying all alone. That is until your childhood friend Taeyang finds you and tries to cheer you up.

Drabbles:

✧ Overdue | fluff - 0.7k

✧ Scent | fluff, one word drabble - 0.6k

✧ smiling while kissing | fluff, humor - 0.5k

*✧･ﾟ:* Jiung *:･ﾟ✧*

Scenarios & Oneshots:

✧ 100th Confession | fluff - 1.4k Desc.: Among its various meanings the poppy also stands for sleep and peace, a kind of peace you only know when you’re with one special person.

✧ Lemon Candy | fluff - 0.8k Desc.: Your boyfriend Jiung tries to convince you that the bag full of lemon drops that you won in a raffle isn’t such bad luck after all, even though you’re not a big fan of the sour candy.

✧ Touch of a Hand | comfort, angst, fluff - 1.2k Desc.: Even though lately you haven’t been able to see your childhood friend Jiung as frequently as you used to, he still keeps proving to you that you can always rely on him.

Drabbles:

✧ Home | fluff, comfort, one word drabble - 0.6k

✧ Hoodie | fluff, one word drabble - 0.5k

✧ “I like the way your hand fits in mine.” | domestic fluff - 0.7k

✧ slow kisses | fluff - 0.7k

*✧･ﾟ:* Intak *:･ﾟ✧*

Scenarios & Oneshots:

✧ Quiet | fluff - 0.9k Desc.: Your happiness over the silence at home after a long exhausting day doesn’t last long, and so you try to find a way to shut up your ever-rambling boyfriend.

✧ Starless | college AU, fluff, angst, slow burn, suggestive - 29k Desc.: When your coworker and younger friend Chaewon (OC) tells you about the pressure her parents put on her to find a boyfriend, you don’t hesitate to help her. Keeho, whom you’ve known since childhood, suggests for her to go on a date with his friend Intak, who’s the same age as her. However, as the latter begins to slowly reenter your life, feelings that you thought you had buried once and for all start to come back up and they lead you both to a difficult decision which doesn’t come without its consequences.

✧ Unicorn | domestic fluff, comfort - 1.5k Desc.: You’re trying to cheer yourself up with snacks after a long exhausting day, when your boyfriend makes you realize all you need to feel better is having him around.

Drabbles:

✧ Kiss | fluff, one word drabble - 0.8k

✧ “Nothing has ever felt so right.” + “I wouldn’t want it any other way.” | fluff, angst - 0.8k

✧ Storm | fluff, comfort, one word drabble - 0.7k

*✧･ﾟ:* Soul *:･ﾟ✧*

Drabbles:

✧ Pastry | fluff, one word drabble - 0.6k

*✧･ﾟ:* Jongseob *:･ﾟ✧*

Drabbles:

✧ nose kisses | fluff - 0.6k

✧ "Please don't go." | fluff, comfort - 0.4k

✧ Rain | fluff - 0.5k

*✧･ﾟ:* Reactions *:･ﾟ✧*

n/a

*✧･ﾟ:* Other *:･ﾟ✧*

n/a

✧ P1H Masterlist from my old blog for more reactions etc.! ✧