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[ayanaacorn]

That’s so true, but in my experience, I also had to explain it so much to older folks too. They were used to this kind of lifestyle and they just don’t understand that younger people (30s…) that live this “middle class “ lifestyle today are what most people call rich now. There’s nothing “middle “ about it anymore. So when they see young people living the way most people live - rental apartments, older cars, less vacations, they think they are doing something wrong with their lives, or don’t know how to manage their finances. And I have to explain, time after time, that buying less lattes won’t make you magically able to buy a house.

Ive noticed recently that my generation has... no concept of what the various economic classes actually are anymore. I talk to my friends and they genuinely say things like "at least i can afford a middle class lifestyle with this job because i dont need a roommate for my one bedroom apartment" and its like... oughh

You guys, middle class doesnt mean "a stable enough rented roof over your head," it means "a house you bought, a nice car or two, the ability to support a family, and take days off and vacations every year with income to spare for retirement savings and rainy days." If all you have is a rented apartment without a roommate and a used car, you're lower class. That's lower class.

And i cant help but wonder if this is why you get kids on tumblr lumping in doctors and actors into their "eat the rich" rhetoric: economic amnesia has blinded you to what the class divides actually are. The real middle class lifestyle has become so unattainable within a system that relies upon its existence that theyve convinced you that those who can still reach it are the elites while your extreme couponing to afford your groceries is the new normal.

[ayanaacorn]

calling out antisemitism isn’t fucking tone policing dear lord... y’all seem to believe dog whistles exist right up until it’s a Jewish person talking abt them huh. pretty convenient isn’t it

[ayanaacorn]

i need to look like a man so i can dress like a woman

[ayanaacorn]

So, okay, fun fact. When I was a freshman in high school… let me preface by saying my dad sent me to a private school and, like a bad organ transplant, it didn’t take. I was miserable, the student body hated me, I hated them, it was awful.

Okay, so, freshman year, I’m deep in my “everything sucks and I’m stuck with these assholes” mentality. My English teacher was a notorious hard-ass, let’s call him Mr. Hargrove. He was the guy every student prayed they didn’t get. And, on top of ALL OF THE SHIT I WAS ALREADY DEALING WITH, I had him for English.

One of the laborious assignments he gave us was to keep a daily journal. Daily! Not monthly or weekly. Fucking daily. Handwritten. And we had to turn it in every quarter and he fucking graded us. He graded us on a fucking journal.

All of my classmates wrote shit like what they did that day or whatever. But, I did not. No, sir. I decided to give the ol’ middle finger to the assignment and do my own shit.

So, for my daily journal entries, over the course of an entire year, I wrote a serialized story about a horde of man-eating slugs that invaded a small mining town. It was graphic, it was ridiculous, it was an epic feat of rebellion.

And Mr. Hargrove loved it.

It wasn’t just the journal. Every assignment he gave us, I tried to shit all over it. Every reading assignment, everyone gushed about how good it was, but I always had a negative take. Every writing assignment, people wrote boring prose, but I wrote cheesy limericks or pulp horror stories.

Then, one day, he read one of my essays to the class as an example of good writing. When a fellow student asked who wrote it, he said, “Some pipsqueak.”

And that’s when I had a revelation. He wanted to fight. And since all the other students were trying to kiss his ass, I was his only challenger.

Mr. Hargrove and I went head-to-head on every assignment, every conversation, every fucking thing. And he ate it up. And so did I.

One day, he read us a column from the Washington Post and asked the class what was wrong with it. Everyone chimed in with their dumbass takes, but I was the one who landed on Mr. Hargrove’s complaint: The reporter had BRAZENLY added the suffix “ize” to a verb.

That night I wrote a jokey letter to the reporter calling him out on the offense in which I added “ize” to every single verb. I gave it to Mr. Hargrove, who by then had become a friendly adversary, for a chuckle and he SENT IT TO THE REPORTER.

And, people… The reporter wrote back. And he said I was an exceptional student. Mr. Hargrove and I had a giggle about that because we both knew I was just being an asshole, but he and the reporter acknowledged I had a point.

And that was it. That was the moment. Not THAT EXACT moment, but that year with Mr. Hargrove taught me I had a knack for writing. And that knack was based in saying “fuck you” to authority. (The irony that someone in a position of authority helped me realize that is not lost on me.)

So, I can say without qualification that Mr. Hargrove is the reason I am now a professional writer. Yes, I do it for a living. And most of my stuff takes authorities of one kind or another to task.

Mr. Hargrove showed me my dissent was valid, my rebellion was righteous, and that killer slugs could bring a city to its knees. Someone just needs to write it.

[ayanaacorn]

Copper Coins Novel Extra: Meeting Acquaintances

Hello everyone~

Today, we have a very very special release.

In the printed simplified Chinese publication of Copper Coins Novel, a complete new extra chapter of ~8K words has been written by Mu Su Li.

This information was pointed out in our server by our server member Debby and another server member, Oddestwan very kindly shared the raws for this extra. We wish to sincerely thank both of them for kindly sharing this information in this server and allowing us to translate it and bring it forward for everyone to enjoy. Thank you very much!   🙏 🙏 🙏

And so, here is it, the translated version of this heart-warming extra chapter,  Copper Coins Novel Extra - Meeting Acquaintances

>> Link (viewable and downloadable) << 

[ayanaacorn]

Lost followers after reblogging that whole thing about JKR being radicalized over the years, and that disturbs me.

Like if you think saying that people can be radicalized and manipulated into hate is somehow justifying it, yikes. And if you think that people are somehow just good or evil and that you are not at risk of buying into propaganda, have I got some very red flag news about that!

Idk if its because I am an older Millennial maybe (most who unfollowed were younger) but I watched a ton of that generation slide from one of the most progressive to the far right before my every eyes. Hell, my dad fought alongside his black friends in the Detroit race riots and now he watches Fox News 24/7 and talks about the border wall. Yet still claims he could never be racist because of how he used to be. He doesn’t even realize what he has become.

JKR isn’t a deluded old woman or innately evil, but in fact THE prime example of how well-meaning ignorance and privilege can be weaponized and encouraged down a pipeline, until it turns into a force of hate, and should be a cautionary tale about why educating and being open about these issues are necessary. Because there are those out there who will use those divisions and ignorance to their own ends. And just digging in our heels and saying “that could never be me!” is the very thing that puts you more at risk. I’ve lost so many loved ones down that pipeline and it is more slippery than most realize.

Stay alert, stay compassionate, stay humble, and make sure you move through life guided by reason rather than reaction. I love y’all and don’t want to see your passion twisted to get used against the world.

[ayanaacorn]

The Onion pulling zero fucking punches.

[ayanaacorn]

(x)

[ayanaacorn]

Really good Twitter thread originally about Elon Musk and Twitter, but also applies to Netflix and a lot of other corporations.

Full thread. Text transcription under cut.

Keep reading

[ayanaacorn]

(Image source) [ID: four black and white photo’s of a person demonstrating how to wear a simple wrap top made out of a rectangle with a neckhole and straps at the sides.]

Easy vintage wrap top

This vintage wrap top design is an easy beginners project: you don’t need a pattern, you can customise it to your own size, and despite lacking stretch it doesn’t require any zippers or buttons.

The top is made out of woven fabric and consists of a rectangle in which a hole for the head is cut. Straps are added to the short sides of the rectangle to tie the top around your body.

There’s a lot of variations on this top: to see examples, check out these written tutorials by Sew What Gilly, Freshly Given, Gina Michele, Sadie the Sewing Machine, The Thread, and Mood Fabrics.

AssunDIY on Youtube also has tutorials for two variations on this top: a rectangle shirt version and a butterfly shirt version.

Given the simplicity of this top, it’s a neat way to use up old bed sheets and such.

Some examples:

(Image source 1) [ID: a person standing in a kitchen while wearing a gray wrap top with t-shirt-like sleeves and a round neckline.]

(Image source 2) [ID: a gray wrap top lying on a wooden floor. The top consists of a rectangle with a hole cut in the middle for the head. Two sets of straps, one thin and one thick, have been sewn to the sides of the rectangle.]

(Image source 1) [ID: a person modelling a royal blue wrap top with large sleeves and a slot neckline.]

(Image source 2) [ID: a royal blue wrap top lying on a tiled floor. The top consists of a rectangle with a hole and a slit for the head, and thin straps at one end of the rectangle and thick straps at the other end.]

(Image source) [ID: two photo’s. Photo one shows a person wearing a wrap top made from a dark blue fabric with white flowers. The top has very wide sleeves. Text: “Free pattern + video”. Photo two shows the same top lying on a white background. It has a drop-shaped neckhole, two sets of straps (one thin and one thick), and round bulging sleeves.]

[ayanaacorn]

So Netflix is releasing this animated movie but here’s the thing - all backgrounds are done in AI. No actual BG artists were hired or credited for this work.

And here’s the kicker - I gave them too much credit. I realized that not even the AI users are credited apparently. Check this out:

“+Human”. No names, no nothing. 

I know it’s tempting, but please don’t hate-watch this thing. Numbers equal profit even if the people watching are just doing it to mock. Don’t give Netflix and other studios even more incentive to fire more animators and replace them with machines trained on their work and skill. 

Hilarously, the excuse used is ‘there aren’t enough artists’. That’s not true - there are more than enough artists, but the real issue is that no one wants to pay a living wage. Here’s a short video about the reality of animation in Japan.

The biggest winners in this equation at the end of the day are the AI infrastructure owners - owners of Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, etc. Do not feed this machine, it creates more monopolization of entire industries, raises a powerful few and dehumanizes the rest.

[ayanaacorn]

《小蘑菇》: a crash course

by 一十四洲

inside cover blurb, or something like that:

A hundred years ago, the world began to end.

Keep reading

[ayanaacorn]

I think the worst part of a lot of the meta that comes from MDZS, is the idea that love can overcome the vile acts that others are capable of towards the ones you love.

This is soundly ripped apart by the story itself with the likes of its antagonists. Jiang Cheng loved Wei Wuxian, but it was never enough to see him as an equal and was jealous of Wei Wuxian's talents as HE was the sect heir overlooked because of his servants deeds constantly. His love was not enough to overcome his jealousy to hurt and blame Wei Wuxian for the wrongs he saw in himself despite Wei Wuxian encouraging him to look at his own talents and be proud.

Xue Yang may have loved Xiao Xingchen, but not enough for it to stop him from torturing the man and make him blindly kill innocent people for his own amusement. It didn't stop him from wanting to cause Xiao Xingchen harm enough that he killed himself out of guilt.

Jin Guangyao may have loved his mother, but not enough to deride the same class of women she came from and force them to murder and rape a man themselves and to burn them out of his own biases. He may have loved Qin Su, but not enough to protect her when she found out they committed incest, to threaten her and drive her to suicide and use that death to blame it on Wei Wuxian scheming revenge. He may have loved Lan Xichen, but not enough because he took advantage of that kindness to use his clan's knowledge and be taught an instrument all to kill Nie Mingjue as he used melodies he promised Lan Xichen he just wanted to be friends with him again and would help in any way he could.

These are not the actions of moral grayness, because when you harm innocent people you are said to love, that have never done harm to you, it is a heinous act.

[ayanaacorn]

Happy Lunar New Year 💫

[ayanaacorn]

hey if you're a UK resident can you sign this petition and if not please rb to spread the word

this is an official UK government petition that they have to respond to if it reaches 10,000 signatures

[ayanaacorn]

Fandom PSAs

Dont’ Like, Don’t Read

or DL; DR

You are responsible for curating your own online experience.

If something upsets you, makes you angry or queasy or triggers you, stop reading/looking at it. Avoid things that might make you feel that way.

Learn to use the Sort and Filter function on AO3, especially the Exclude tools.

On social media, block and mute accounts / tags / words when necessary.

If you hated something, you don’t need to tell that to the creator or start pointing fingers at them publicly.

The Back button is free. Use it.

Addendum:

Yes, for this to work, creators need to tag their works accordingly, so that people know what sort of content they are about to engage with and can nope out if necessary.

I will probably make another PSA about the importance of proper tagging later.

Ship And Let Ship

or SALS

You are allowed to ship whatever you want.

Everyone else is also allowed to ship whatever they want.

You are entitled to dislike or even hate a ship. If you want to do this online, in public, don’t use the ship tags for hate posts.

If you see someone posting about a ship they like and you don’t, there is no need for you to start arguing with them in their replies / comments / QRTs / reblogs. Don’t throw your hate in their face.

Do not harass fan creators or fans for shipping something you disapprove.

All of this also applies to liking / disliking an individual character.

Addendum:

”I agree with this, except when…”

No, then you are NOT agreeing with this.

Let me make this VERY clear. There are NO exceptions. None.

You don’t EVER harass real people over pixels.

If you disagree with this, kindly block and move on.

Your Kink Is Not My Kink

or YKINMK / YKINMKATO

The longer version is ”Your Kink Is Not My Kink And That’s Okay”.

People have different tastes. Not everything is for everybody.

Even if you don’t like a specific kink, other people are still allowed to use it in their creations.

You are entitled to dislike kinky content and think that it’s ”weird”.

Don’t kink shame or judge people based on their kinks.

This goes both ways: your kink is not someone else’s kink, so don’t push it onto those who are not into it.

Be Kind

or Don’t Be An Asshole

Focus on the things you like instead of the things you hate.

Create and unite instead of destroying and dividing.

Don’t harass real people over fictional things.

Stop stirring up petty drama just to get some attention on social media.

Stop trying to ”win”. Fandom is not a competition.

Remember that your own experiences aren’t universally shared. Your perception of things can differ from someone else’s, but that doesn’t mean either of you is necessarily wrong.

[ayanaacorn]

Also, people always blame wangxian for being very extra with PDA . But as far as I remember, the only time they are explicitly affectionate with each other in front of other people is when LWJ hugs WWX’s waist in front of LSZ in the extras. The other times are when they are unaware there are people around, or something like WWX putting his legs in LWJ’s lap in the inn, that’s not supposed to be seen by other people.

That’s so much tamer than kissing passionately in front of your colleagues, in hualian’s case. But somehow in the fandom wangxian are the more embarrassing couple.

This is just a very petty observation:

People make a big deal with the genuine non-consent kisses and escapades shared between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian that are meant to be viewed as guilty indulgences until they finally communicate it is all reciprocal and would have been from earlier as it was when they have penetrative sex. Those earlier stolen moments that are sexually charged are viewed by both of them that had initiated as taking advantage, there is no denying that, as much as fandom argues it has never been addressed. It was and fully closed once they are on the same reciprocated consensus that they are romantically interested, have been for years, and both consent to sexual action without NEEDING to confirm further.

Yet, I don't see this same issue brought up when it comes to Tian Guan Ci Fu, where the entire work they are both in dubious situations, Hua Cheng initiated a first kiss, and Xie Lian continues to accept those kisses as well multiple times under the guise of "transfer of power", despite he himself admitting textually there is no reason to accept it that way when he has transferred energy in a far more platonic way, and believes he is taking away something from an unnamed significant other of Hua Cheng's. Yet they both continue to initiate these kisses, and for longer prolonged periods each time, in front of others. And then make note that they do feel the same without much further communication of that point of guilt on Xie Lian's side.

So, why is one praised so often as more romantic and "healthy" when there is more dubious actions involved from the start and almost shoddily resolved?