softarchieves

[softarchieves]

👀

[softarchieves]

you can click on this button once daily to help palestine and support other causes in the middle east for free. it takes literally 5 seconds and could help save lives so please take the time to click and share this link.

[softarchieves]

Reading Babel, I’m pretty sure I’ll end up crying… The book just gives me the vibes of an unhappy ending, or at the very least, a bittersweet one

Anyways, I’m on page 104:

- The first description of London… Holy fuck

- “Two weeks. Two weeks ago, Robin’s mother was still alive.” Yup, there goes my heart, okay

- Listen, this book has footnotes. I’m in love (How obvious is it that I’m a humanists student (history) and therefore relies on footnotes the way normal people rely on air??)

- The description of the giddiness of the first days of university, of getting ready, of familiarising yourself with the city… Apparently, some things doesn’t change even if the time and the place does.

- I knew this book was about racism, colonialism and capitalism… I’m not used to it being right there, on the page, unapologetically, not just between the lines. It’s painful and uncomfortable and that’s how it should be. A lot of things in this book (so far) seem to be about the things that are unsaid, left between the lines, but these themes? These themes are not, and I think it’s amazing.

- “… But academics by nature are a solitary, sedentary lot. Travel sounds fun until you realize what you really want is to stay at home with a cup of tea and a stack of books by a warm fire.” I have never felt so seen. I also had to google the word “Sedentary”

- Just again the theme of things left unsaid, pretending that it somehow makes it less real, and the way their magic works because of the meaning that is lost in translation… I’m foaming at the mouth

- I wanna hit an old, white man. Violently.

- Robin and Ramy. That’s all

- Ramy. I adore you. You’re everything. Your passion, your rant about “Arabian Nights”, I wanna be your friend so badly

- “Birdie”

- Go off, Griffin!!!!

As I told my dad: “This book feels like every thought I’ve ever had about being an academic, put into a story. Like something I’ve been waiting to read my entire life.”

My friend told me she’s sad I’m reading it while I’m on vacation, because then she can’t see me fall apart while reading it. So here <3

[softarchieves]

the barbie movie is quickly becoming my enemy. it is a very good movie in terms of quality, talent, and entertainment. it's garbage in terms of like, political statements. WHICH IS FINE. it's a movie about a doll, it does not have to be good at making political statements. but people keep talking about it like it is. be so fr right now. it is an advertisement for a toy company that openly admits, within the movie itself, that it doesn't give a shit about women. ken becomes radicalized because Barbie isn't giving him enough attention, steals her home, robs her friends of free will and somehow barbie ends up apologizing 2 him?????? and promises that every night doesn't have 2 b girls night? likeeee im so sorry i don't understand the message there. and it isn't equality of the sexes before u start with that. Barbie doesn't enslave the kens. she just doesn't want to fuck them. equating the way the barbies treat the kens to the way the kens treat the barbies is insane. DO i think it feels a little fucking absurd that this award season the critics, or whomever the fuck decides these things, have chosen to give ken and all things ken related nominations and awards? yeah. it feels like an SNL skit. do i think barbie was robbed??? no. it's like. a fine movie. it's very entertaining. i don't think it inherently deserves awards for that. this fact is compounded by the women of colour who are being nominated in these categories and the tone deafness this then adds to this outrage. BASICALLY. any political stance grounded in the barbie movie whether it be conservative or liberal is so frustrating 2 me. and i need people 2 stop. pls.

[softarchieves]

I had a dream where Ron Weasley was half Hispanic (on Arthur’s side) and now I need a fic about that, DESPERATELY

[softarchieves]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew & Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & James Potter, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Characters: James Potter, Lily Evans Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Tom Riddle | Voldemort Additional Tags: Give Lily Evans her own character tag, Lily Evans - Freeform, honestly, James would take her last name too, James Evans Potter, I'll die on this hill, Canon Compliant, Lily Evans deserves all the love, Her love saved the world, LITERALLY, I love James but what did he do to save the world?, I'm kidding, But I'm not wrong, i swear i love him Summary:

"Take Harry and run!!!!"

Lily Evans and that last night, everything she had lost and everything she died for.

[softarchieves]

I have a lot of feelings about James Fleamont Potter after The Prank.

Like yeah, Sirius feels horrible, like he's torn inside out, he gave into his worst, selfish instincts, he became everything he feared and even worse, in doing so, he almost made Remus into everything REMUS feared he was. Everyone has both light and dark inside of them, and for all the times Sirius tried to act good, he sometimes couldn't tell the two apart, and this time, he made the wrong choice and became everything he always deep down knew he couldn't escape. Remus is terrified. Terrified of himself, of the world, of everything that claws at him, tries to eat him from within, this monster that never leaves him alone, and he couldn't control it. He thought he could, but one sniff was all it took, and suddenly he couldn't control the hunger any longer and even now, while disgusted with himself, he can still feel that hunger. Peter's terrified too. It's suddenly not so clear cut who can keep him safe... But James... James is heartbroken. James can't look and any of his boys. He failed them, after all. It's his fault. He should have seen this coming, he should have prepared better. He should have been a better friend. He should have kept them together. Sirius's guilt is his guilt, and for every moment that passes where James hates Sirius for this, he hates himself too for allowing this to happen. At some point, James will forgive Sirius for this, because there's no world where James wouldn't forgive Sirius, but James won't ever forgive himself for this. At some point, Remus will trust him again and Peter will stop cowering, but James won't ever trust himself again. He'll trust Sirius again, without even blinking, but James failed to keep them safe, something broke in him that night, and James Potter's unshaking faith in himself was never the same.

[softarchieves]

I'm a history student, and we have to be able to make connections between things that happened 300 years apart from each other and keep track of 10 different elements to create the context for a single event. As a graduated historian, you only have to do all of that within your specialized field, which is still very impressive, but as a student?? You need to be able to do all of that with ALL of human history to stand a chance (But let's be real, "All of human history" is mostly just Europe because the efforts to educate us on non-European history is still... Not great) All that to say: ADHD makes studying hard AF, but I won't lie, I'm 100% convinced that the reason I've always had a very easy time navigating domino effects in history and connecting one thing to another and understanding historical context, is because of my ADHD. Is Uni still a struggle? Yup. Do I sometimes make jumps that doesn't make sense to my professors and classmates? All the time. But I'll take my small wins when I get them.

something that people really dont understand about ADHD is that we dont “jump from one idea to the next”

we have very fast, very associative minds that connect ideas. we have a train of thought, it just goes WAY faster than yours!

example: im thinking about dogs. that makes me think of pitbulls, which makes me think of an animal planet show i enjoy. the show connects to tv in general, which makes me think of my favorite cartoon. i associate my favorite cartoon with art and animation, and i wind up thinking about shading techniques.

TL;DR: having ADHD is kinda like playing a lifelong game of 7 Degrees of Kevin Bacon

[softarchieves]

In the span of like... An hour... I've written the first draft of a Lily Evans oneshot... Is it good?? Debatable. But it exists. (Now to edit it so it may see the light of day)

[softarchieves]

(A little peak of my OCs, Anthony (he/him) & Jericho (they/them))

Anthony doesn’t know how Jericho does it, but they always know when he’s had a nightmare. He’ll wake up, drenched in sweat, gasping for air, his head spinning and his throat raw. He doesn’t scratch at it as much anymore, but on nights like these, he can feel the scars left behind from when he did. He can feel them burn, searing into his skin all over. As if he could claw himself open again, as if the fire would then die out.

On nights like these, where his mind controls him and not the other way around, where the shadows on his walls are eyes and enemies and everything he destroyed, everything he ruined, his heart is still beating rapidly when Jericho opens the door. They’re usually in their wheelchair, too tired to focus on putting one leg in front of the other, but they come. They never say much, just moving across the room until they’re next to Anthony’s bed, and then they’re in it, hands gripping onto Anthony. A cold touch at the back of his neck, a sure hold on Anthony’s own hand as it’s guided to Jericho’s chest, feeling the steady beat of Jericho’s heart, and slowly Anthony’s heart falls to the same rhythm. Sometimes, it doesn’t work. On those nights, Jericho pushes Anthony down into the sheets again, laying down on top of him, kissing him wherever they can reach, and sometimes Anthony is selfish and desperate. They never made an explicit deal to never do this again. Neither of them sat down and talked and said “We’re just friends”, but it had been unsaid. That they had to stop, because feelings were changing, feelings were straining so much that it hurt, but neither could say no to the other. Jericho’s eyes still lingered a little too long, their grin a little too suggestive, and Anthony followed the suggestion with a hunger only paralleled by Jericho’s own. On the horrible nights where the world is crumbling, on fire, where he feels more like a beast than a person, he searches for Jericho’s lips first and doesn’t stop until he has felt them everywhere, until he can only breathe if the air has the faint weight of Jericho on his tongue. It doesn’t make him feel less like a beast, but it makes him feel like a peaceful one. The kind that doesn’t destroy. Maybe it can’t protect, but it won’t destroy.

In the end, it always ends the same way. With them curled around each other, with Anthony’s face hidden in the crook of Jericho’s throat, and Jericho’s voice whispering, a silent roar in the quiet, “I’d burn the world for you.” 

Anthony can’t burn the world if Jericho already has.

[softarchieves]

Tbf, one of the things I'm most looking forward to with writing this fic, is to get all the pent up rage and frustration middleschool Me aquired out of my system. I just want to write an 11-year old girl getting rightfully angry about how the 11-year old boys are treating her, and how her anger is respected and taken seriously by authority figures. ... Yes, I'm putting a Parent-Teacher meeting into my Lily Evans fic about James' behaviour, I'd like to see anyone stop me

[softarchieves]

What if I just... Wrote a Lily Evans centered fic, just smt short and nice, covering her 1st year at Hogwarts?? ... What if I've already written 5 pages of it??

[softarchieves]

One thing about me is I'm a sweet handsome boy

[softarchieves]

[softarchieves]

AO3 Etiquette -UPDATED

Based on both decent and not so decent replies, I have made some changes to my original post below.

It would seem a whole new kind of AO3 reader/writer is emerging and it is becoming clear not everyone quite understands how the website community works. Here is some basic guidance on how most people expect you to go about using AO3 to keep this a fun community archive that funtions correctly:

As well as likes, kudos is for when the story was interesting enough to make you finish reading. If it sucked or was badly written, you probably left. If you finished it, you liked it - so kudos.

If you really liked it, you should try to comment. It can be long and detailed or a literal keysmash. Writers don't care, we just love comments.

No critisism unless the author has specifically asked or agreed to hear it (so use your notes to say if you want some constructive feedback). Even constructive critisism is a no-no unless an author note tells you it's okay. No, posting it online is not an open invitation for that. Many people write as a fun hobby or a way to cope with, among other things, insecurity and just want to share. Don't ruin that for them. I've seen so many authors just stop writing coz they can't handle the negative emotions the critism brings, and it's only meant to be a fun thing shared for free (pointing out tagging errors is not included in this).

Do not comment to ask the author to write/update something else. It's tacky and off-putting and will probably have the opposite effect than the one you want.

There is no algorithm, it's an archive. Use the search and filter function to add/remove the pairings/characters/tropes etc. you want to read about and it will find you the fics that fit the bill.

For this to work, writers must tag and rate stories. This avoids readers finding the wrong things and missing the stuff they want. I don't care how cringy that trope is in your eyes - it gets tagged.

The tag exception is if you don't want to tag a million things or spoil your story, you can rate it as "chose not to use warnings," and maybe tag as "dead dove - do not eat" but be aware many people will avoid this in case it has something awful or triggering in it.

Character A/Character B means a ROMANTIC or SEXUAL relationship of some kind. Character A&Character B is PLATONIC, like friendship or family.

Nothing is banned. This is an rule because banning one thing is a slipperly slope to banning another and another, until nothing is allowed anymore. Do not expect anyone to censor for you. Because of the tags system, you are responsible for your own reading experience.

People can create new chapters and sequels/fic series any time after they "complete" a story. So it's considered perfectly normal to subscribe, even to a finished story. You can even subscribe to the author instead just to cover your bases.

Do not repost stories or change the publishing date without an extremely good reason (like a complete top to bottom rewrite). It's an archive, not social media. No one cares what's the most recent, only what fits their tag needs.

Instead of deleting a story you wrote if you hate it - consider making it anonymous or orphaning it so others can still enjoy it, without it being connected to your name anymore.

It's come to my attention that metaworks ARE allowed on AO3, which is something I wasn't aware of. So if you do post an essay or theory, please tag it as such so others can choose to search for it or exclude it. Art is also allowed.

The only reason this archive works is because NON ONE PROFITS. Do not link to your ko-fi or patreon or mention monetary gain in any way or you violate the terms and risk having your account removed. If anyone does link, it leaves the archive open to people claiming it's for profit and having the whole thing removed.

I KNOW there's plenty more I missed but I'm trying to cover most of the basics that people seem to be struggling with.

I invite anyone to add to this, but please explain, don't berate.

[softarchieves]

WEIRDLY SPECIFIC BUT HELPFUL CHARACTER BUILDING QUESTIONS

What’s the lie your character says most often?

How loosely or strictly do they use the word ‘friend’?

How often do they show their genuine emotions to others versus just the audience knowing?

What’s a hobby they used to have that they miss?

Can they cry on command? If so, what do they think about to make it happen?

What’s their favorite [insert anything] that they’ve never recommended to anyone before?

What would you (mun) yell in the middle of a crowd to find them? What would their best friend and/or romantic partner yell?

How loose is their use of the phrase ‘I love you’?

Do they give tough love or gentle love most often? Which do they prefer to receive?

What fact do they excitedly tell everyone about at every opportunity?

If someone was impersonating them, what would friends / family ask or do to tell the difference?

What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

When do they fake a smile? How often?

How do they put out a candle?

What’s the most obvious difference between their behavior at home, at work, at school, with friends, and when they’re alone?

What kinds of people do they have arguments with in their head?

What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them?

Who do they love truly, 100% unconditionally (if anyone)?

What would they do if stuck in a room with the person they’ve been avoiding?

Who do they like as a person but hate their work? Vice versa, whose work do they like but don’t like the person?

What common etiquette do they disagree with? Do they still follow it?

What simple activity that most people do / can do scares your character?

What do they feel guilty for that the other person(s) doesn’t / don’t even remember?

Did they take a cookie from the cookie jar? What kind of cookie was it?

What subject / topic do they know a lot about that’s completely useless to the direct plot?

How would they respond to being fired by a good boss?

What’s the worst gift they ever received? How did they respond?

What do they tell people they want? What do they actually want?

How do they respond when someone doesn’t believe them?

When they make a mistake and feel bad, does the guilt differ when it’s personal versus when it’s professional?

When do they feel the most guilt? How do they respond to it?

If they committed one petty crime / misdemeanor, what would it be? Why?

How do they greet someone they dislike / hate?

How do they greet someone they like / love?

What is the smallest, morally questionable choice they’ve made?

Who do they keep in their life for professional gain? Is it for malicious intent?

What’s a secret they haven’t told serious romantic partners and don’t plan to tell?

What hobby are they good at in private, but bad at in front of others? Why?

Would they rather be invited to an event to feel included or be excluded from an event if they were not genuinely wanted there?

How do they respond to a loose handshake? What goes through their head?

What phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else?

If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be?

What do they commonly misinterpret because of their own upbringing / environment / biases? How do they respond when realizing the misunderstanding?

What language would be easiest for them to learn? Why?

What’s something unimportant / frivolous that they hate passionately?

Are they a listener or a talker? If they’re a listener, what makes them talk? If they’re a talker, what makes them listen?

Who have they forgotten about that remembers them very well?

Who would they say ‘yes’ to if invited to do something they abhorred / strongly didn’t want to do?

Would they eat something they find gross to be polite?

What belief / moral / personality trait do they stand by that you (mun) personally don’t agree with?

What’s a phrase they say a lot?

Do they act on their immediate emotions, or do they wait for the facts before acting?

Who would / do they believe without question?

What’s their instinct in a fight / flight / freeze / fawn situation?

What’s something they’re expected to enjoy based on their hobbies / profession that they actually dislike / hate?

If they’re scared, who do they want comfort from? Does this answer change depending on the type of fear?

What’s a simple daily activity / motion that they mess up often?

How many hobbies have they attempted to have over their lifetime? Is there a common theme?

[softarchieves]

"From one end of the sky to the next,

We send waves through the waste,

Hoping for interference." > x < The opening paragraph to my story about different kinds of isolation and the ability to connect across endless distances.