#*imaginary commentary

[masterofthecygnetsignet]

We often see knights as their armor. By that, I mean them as a cultural symbol. They are festooned with every honor, even if we cannot discern their true moral fibre with great alacrity. A mistake even we ourselves make regarding our own.

We don't typically think of them as possessing an identity outside of the standard they bear, or literally, even the helm they doth wear.

They could feasibly look like any base wight underneath the visor and mail, and so, they are potentially a prime example of man become his mask. They are held aloft as exemplars with high rank in life yet earn such positions by near-encounters with Death, having lost the privilege of individuality and forsooth, individuation as they are often led astray by Fate.

They meld with the mask to the point of self-erasure for an ideal, to be remembered for their deeds, holy or not, never their selves or true natures but for the plating they don, symbolic of heart and mettle.

And still, they continue unflagging, almost as if they are as they’re viewed: steel shells—once dead, emptied of wills they never had to begin with, mindless automatons ringing hollow, percussive instruments of another's will enacted when bludgeoned, skewered like wretched ornament or spit-roasts when lanced through—as man, nay, beings, whose only raison d'être is to complete unending deeds of chivalry and valor, ever carrying out the bidding of their ladyloves or vassals.

This is the case I submit to you, my liege. The simple agony of being one of the world. However profane it is to confess in these such modern times, I have a soul and cannot be so carelessly replaced as our chargers o’ war have been by behemoth machines which neither grey at the withers nor chuff, forever locked onto their courses blind for they need not be blinkered. I refuse to be obsolete. I refuse to be feal duty enfleshed.

[fatehbaz]

Because tuatara are very long lived - between 100 and 200 years by most estimates […] - the founding of Aotearoa/New Zealand as a modern nation and the unfolding of settler-wrought changes to its environment have transpired over the course of the lives of perhaps just two tuatara [...].

---

[T]he tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) [...] [is] the sole surviving representative of an order of reptiles that pre-dates the dinosaurs. [...] [T]he tuatara is of immense global and local significance and its story is pre-eminently one of deep timescales, of life-in-place [...]. Epithets abound for the unique and ancient biodiversity found in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Prized as “Ghosts of Gondwana” (Gibbs 2008), or as denizens of “Moa’s Ark” (Bellamy et al. 1990) or “The Southern Ark” (Andrews 1986), the country’s faunal species invoke fascination and inspire strong language [...]. In rounded terms, it [has been] [...] just 250 years since James Cook made landfall; just 200 years since the founding of the handful of [...] settlements that instigated agricultural transformation of the land [...]. European newcomers [...] were disconcerted by the biota [...]: the country was seen to “lack” terrestrial mammals; many of its birds were flightless and/or songless; its bats crawled through leaf-litter; its penguins inhabited forests; its parrots were mountain-dwellers; its frogs laid eggs that hatched miniature frogs rather than tadpoles [...].

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Despite having met a reassuringly temperate climate [mild, oceanic, comparable to western Europe], too, the newcomers nevertheless sought to make adjustments to that climate, and it was clear to them that profits beckoned. Surveying the towering lowland forests from the deck of HMS Endeavour in 1769, and perceiving scope for expansion of the fenland drainage schemes being undertaken at that time in England and across swathes of Europe, Joseph Banks [botanist on Cook's voyage] reported on “swamps which might doubtless Easily be drained” [...]. Almost a century later, in New Zealand or Zealandia, the Britain of the South, [...] Hursthouse offered a fuller explication of this ethos: The cultivation of a new country materially improves its climate. Damp and dripping forests, exhaling pestilent vapours from rank and rotten vegetation, fall before the axe [...]. Fen and march and swamp, the bittern’s dank domain, fertile only in miasma, are drained; and the plough converts them into wholesome plains of fruit, and grain, and grass. [...]

[The British administrators] duly set about felling the ancient forests of Aotearoa/New Zealand, draining the country’s swamps [...]. They also began importing and acclimatising a vast array of exotic (predominantly northern-world) species [sheep, cattle, rodents, weasels, cats, crops, English pasture grasses, etc.] [...]. [T]hey constructed the seemingly ordinary agronomic patchwork of Aotearoa/New Zealand's productive, workaday landscapes [...]. This is effected through and/or accompanied by drastic deforestation, alteration of the water table and the flow of waterways, displacement and decline of endemic species, re-organisation of predation chains and pollination sequences and so on [...]. Aotearoa/New Zealand was founded in and through climate crisis [...]. Climate crisis is not a disastrous event waiting to happen in the future in this part of the world; rather, it has been with us for two centuries already [...].

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[T]he crest formed by the twinned themes of absence and exceptionalism [...] has shaped this creature's niche in the western imagination. As one of the very oldest species on earth, tuatara have come to be recognised [in Euro-American scientific schemas] [...] as an evolutionary and biodiversity treasure [...]. In 1867, [...] Gunther [...] pronounced that it was not a lizard at all [...] [and] placed the tuatara [...] in a new order, Rhynchocephalia, [...] igniting a frenzy of scientific interest worldwide. Specifically, the tuatara was seen to afford opportunities for "astonished witnessing" [...], for "the excitement of having the chance to see, to study, to observe a true saurian of Mesozoic times in the flesh, still living, but only on this tiny speck of the earth [...], while all its ancestors [...] died about one hundred and thirty-five million years ago" [...]. Tuatara have, however, long held special status as a taonga or treasured species in Māori epistemologies, featuring in a range of [...] stories where [...] [they] are described by different climates and archaeologies of knowledge [...] (see Waitangi Tribunal 2011, p. 134). [...]

While unconfirmed sightings in the Wellington district were reported in the nineteenth century, tuatara currently survive only in actively managed - that is, monitored and pest-controlled - areas on scattered offshore islands, as well as in mainland zoo and sanctuary populations. As this confinement suggests, tuatara are functionally “extinct” in almost all of their former wild ranges. [...] [Italicized text in the heading of this post originally situated here in Boswell's article.] [...] In the remaining areas of Aotearoa/New Zealand where this species does now live [...], tuatara may in some cases be the oldest living inhabitants. Yet [...] if the tuatara is a creature of long memory, this memory is at risk of elimination or erasure. [...] [T]uatara expose and complicate the [...] machineries of public memory [...] and attendant environmental ideologies and management paradigms [...].

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All text above by: Anna Boswell. "Climates of Change: A Tuatara's-Eye View". Humanities, 2020, Volume 9, Issue 2, 38. Published 1 May 2020. This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Humanities Approaches to Climate Change. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Text within brackets added by me for clarity. The first paragraph/heading in this post, with text in italics, are also the words of Boswell from this same article. Presented here for commentary, teaching, criticism purposes.]

[sportspuckball]

I have decided to write my way through this SCF - imagining my versions of Matthew and Leon and how they'll react to everything that happens.

Wanna read along as I attempt this insanity?

It's on Ao3.

Vibes:

“Liebling, I am so fucking proud of you and your boys, and I wish it was a different team for you and me, but I’m glad it’s the Panthers for me and my boys because you’re challenging to play against and you make us earn every inch of ice,” Leon said.

“Same,” Matthew whispered. “My best moments last year were when I let myself have fun. Please do that.”

They made out for a little while, and then Matthew’s alarm went off. With a last lingering kiss, and a cuddle with Bowie, he climbed into the waiting Uber and disappeared into the night.

The next time Leon saw his fiancé would be after one of them hoisted the Cup, but god, he was going to have to put up with Matthew Tkachuk a lot between now and then.

He sighed and whistled to Bowie. “Okay Bobo, bed. I need all my energy to outwit Chucky.”

[gardenof-eda]

Knightly. Maple grove. Barouche Landau.

Emma Volume III thoughts…

[hxroic-wxlls-fxrever]

“ We have staff? “

YOU’RE A TEACHER! HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT??

[abyssmalice]

"None of these words are in that weird Penacony book I saw some bird guy carrying around."

[bethoftheblvd]

Isn’t IF basically Foster’s Home?

[foraltruism]

"This dude talking to himself (me) in his innate domain. Bro chill out."

[soraeia]

@feraecor

The absolute healthiest with no issues at all. Pictures of stellar mental health!

@soulsxng

What concerns are there to be between these two completely healthy, not-sick, not-traumatized individuals whose goals and motives absolutely align in perfect not-worrisome harmony?

[21st-century-minutiae]

Alice in Wonderland is a 19th century fantasy novel by Lewis Carroll that has been adapted multiple times in the twentieth and the early twenty-first century. The Cheshire Cat is a character from the novel, an enigmatic being associated with its uncanny grinning and the ability to vanish parts of its body. One of its most famous lines of dialogue is the phrase "We're all mad here," in reference to the insanity of Wonderland.

The above post misconstrues the phrase as meaning "angry" instead of "insane." It is common for anxious people to assume other people think about them a lot, and assume negative interactions. This is humor based on "relatability." An individual in the early twenty-first century would be aware of the Cheshire Cat and would be aware that the particular phrase is discussing insanity. The target audience for the self-deprecating joke would commiserate with the self-persecution of the anxious mind leading to easily avoided misunderstandings.

[ofsofterworlds]

Tag post.

[01zfan]

I just read supermarché and i have to say I really enjoyed it 🤞 the little backstory on the ghost and the dynamic with sohee and them not being completely is so diffrent from your other works so it was a fun read. I also caught up with the bad friend series and it was scrumptious I’m glad sungchan could get his lick back 😭😭

,🍵

thank you for reading! yesss i loved the difference between them and sohees emotions seemingly being tethered to anton’s and his whole debate on if he was actually a living thing compared to the ghost. and also them only being acknowledged by the living when they’re at their lowest (afraid or lonely)…agh so good thank you for enjoying it heh. also YEPPPPPPP sungchan got his lick back

[yoongleboonglepie]

This is an important post to read if you're a fanfic writer, and while I usually dont reblog stuff on this account I want to put something out there for my readers.

So as a note to my readers: I know there's a couple scenes where I used the term red that I already have in my writing schedule to edit as I go through and fix some of my earlier writing, so I'm 100% aware of that one and will be shifting it as I'm still slowly going back through some of the earlier chapters!

BUT if you're ever reading something in my story about physical features (save for certain aspects like technically the reader is written as plus sized in my mind but even then I barely mention it and I used to tag it as such), please dont hesitate to DM me (if you want to, you absolutely do not have to) or send me an ask and be like "hey, this pulled me out of it because xyz." And I'll see what I can do to rewrite it/expound on it. Again, do not feel obligated in anyway - but just know if you want to, I will absolutely not be mad or get sassy with you or anything. When I read through I try to catch them myself.

Usually I already try to use terms applicable to a variety of features, to the point where I actually have photo references for all of the ways I can picture reader and the family members. None of the family past the first/second generation has a set look in my mind, and I have rotating reference photos that I hold up next to eachother to make sure descriptions can be interpreted in multiple ways.

While I do write readers with some character specifics because those are personally my favorite x reader stories to read (has a life, a specific place they live, friends/family/aspirations that are story relevant etc) I also am aware thats not everyones cup of tea!

But I want to elaborate on some of the small things I do as an author to try my best to make it more inclusive for if you're a writer reading this like "well wtf do I write then??" Because it shouldnt only fall on the people affected to hold our hands through it. As someone who is also left out of a lot of x readers for other reasons I get tired if explaining it, and I imagine thats how they feel as well).

- for blushed, I like using " ____ cheeks glowed" So this one comes from my painting/drawing background actually. My best friend in the entire world is black, and often times when I write I think of her as one of my muses (She knows this and is perfectly fine with it lol). If what I'm writing can't apply to her, I back up and try again. When she's flustered or embarrassed, her cheeks/ears at the tips can develope a pinkish hue, but usually they almost look like they're glowing if that makes sense! Whether its you can see the physical reaction of embarrassment really radiating from her face in her smile and her eyes, or if her skin does darken or have a shift in color; to me she "glows" with embarrasment in her complexion and her features.

Sometimes I do still use blush, because I never associated blush with only the color pink and red. I associated it as someones face displaying a flustered state through heat and color shift. If its on a huge make up blush set, I always included it. However it's important to note how a reader can interpret it, and this was a great reminder for me to keep that in mind. That's why looking at feedback like this is important, because it reminds us that somethings may not be interpreted in the way we interpret them, and it's good to be mindful of that.

-Use action to depict how your reader is feeling! Make your reader stutter, make their skin feel warm, make them fidget with something (that isnt their hair pls). Make their eyes widen, or their heart race! Get creative with it! Imagine the sensations you feel in those moments, not so much how it looks, and this goes for all situations. And if you cant pull from your own experiences, watch films, look at art, and read creations of people who are different from you.

-This one is so important and I can not stress it enough: Look. Up. References!! This is a bit contradictory, but you're reader can't just be an empty shell - if anything that makes it worse in my opinion. Because usually the empty shell people think of is just white, thin, with character traits rooted in patriarchal ideals. Look up photos for how you'd envision the reader as different people with ranging skintones, ethnicities, and sizes, and get comfortable with all of them. Because it is just simply not an option for none of them to be a possibility. If one of those people can't relate to a physical interaction, try and avoid it if you can. I view writing as I do painting, you have to observe or live what it is you're writing about in order to have the best shot at express your ideas.

-be open to exploring changes and bettering your writing. I'm not at all saying I'm perfect, and have definitely slipped up here and there. But If you aren't even trying in the slightest to improve, then label it a self insert because its really about you as the reader.

-if you really feel weird making it so physically loose, give the reader a stronger character profile. Personality traits dont have a set look. Aspirations and likes dont have a look. I personally hate bland x reader stories where they have no set or distinguishable character and its all "your favorite x. Your dream job" etc. It makes the story boring imo. (But again, thats my preference, I like a lot of world building). I can easily slip myself into different jobs, or living situations, personalities or lifestyles without any issue because its literally like playing pretend and it doesnt change the fundamental look of who I am. And I like doing that. If you want to be more creative with your environment and traits, do that instead of focusing on physical. There are plenty of readers that like creative world building!

-make sure there is a way for someone not white to exist in your story, i.e don't completely lock them out. For example, though my story features a last name (since it's story relevant), I NEVER mention distinguishing features of family unless they are front first/second generation. I try leave plenty of room open for interpretation for the physical look of a family member of the last 3/4 generations, and I work on collecting photos into my private family Pinterest board of a large variety. (If anyone would want to see them or see the different ways I picture certain characters, I'd be happy to unlock it, I just didn't know if anyone would care).

I even almost left a lot of them nameless, but story wise that just wouldnt have worked. So I googled the area my story takes place in, aka, 1880s-present north eastern US, and sifted through common names for different populations and tried to find matches. (For example off of the top of my head: Patti, Margaret, Duane, Leon, Mariah, etc were common names across the entire US for each of their respective times, not just white people).

-and last but not least, don't keep yourself from trying because its hard and youre scared to fuck up - because you probably will (I know I definitely have). But your fear isn't an excuse to perpetuate exclusion. If you're really still lost, read fanfic/actual books written by authors that are different from you. Get comfortable putting yourself in other people's shoes like they have to all of the time.

Like I said, I'm far from perfect, and I'll fuck up sometimes for sure and have. But I'd rather try than not try at all. And honestly? Its more fun as a writer to come up with solutions, or find new ways to express things. It makes me a better writer.

I love all my readers and I hope you are all having a lovely day. As per usual, sorry I rambled out my thoughts to the void LMAO.

~Delyn

Oh my fucking god, how hard is it to use flushed cheeks instead of blushed cheeks in fanfiction. No, they didn't develop a dusting of light pink. No, I didn't turn red. I'M FUCKING BLACK.

I don't mean to be rude, but I don't know how many times dark readers of color have to make posts like this, dude. Physical descriptions, dynamics with hair...come on.

I've seen it in way too many times now, and I'm going to start calling it out every time I see it in fanfiction. There are no more excuses. It can't be x reader if it only applies to those of lighter complexions.

And for writers of smaus or text fiction, or even those making headers: If you have pictures in them, why do they only ever have white or extremely pale women in those with pictures, unless they are especially made for black people or another specific group?

Use general headers with photos that don't include people for your content. Try to use *image insert* if the reader is sending something made to include a picture of them.

Make it general!! It's for a general audience!!

I get it, nine times out of ten, you're imagining yourself in these scenarios and then writing them. So if you're someone who is lighter, it's easy to have slip ups. BUT, it's not difficult whatsoever to make general content.

Because, let me tell you, it sucks as a POC to look at content and think, "Oh well, this wasn't made with people who look like me in mind, and it's obvious."

We're not asking for anything big. So stop making us beg for it.

[paragonrobits]

some important calvin and hobbes facts in case you haven't read the original comic strip in a long time or only absorbed stuff on it from memes and out of context bits on here:

Calvin's last name has never been given, and neither has any of his parent's names. This was actually why his uncle Max only showed up for a brief storyline; the creator of the comic, Bill Watterson, ultimately felt that while it was fine to have him as someone for his parents to talk to, it felt far too awkward to never have Max refer to them by name and he never made a return appearance.

The general tone of the comic is fairly light-hearted, with a big emphasis on goofy slapstick comedy contrasted by clever wordplay and often surprising adult-centered jokes that'll hit you like a slap. A big part of the comedy is, as Watterson put it (paraphrased) "It's really funny to me when people express deeply stupid ideas with really fancy terminology." One notable example you might have seen is that one bit where Calvin asks his mom for money to buy a Satan-worshiping rock album and his mom replies that there's nothing genuine about them and they're just putting on the attitude for shock value, and comisserates with Calvin as he deplores that mainstream nihilism can't be trusted. He concludes that childhood is disillusioning.

There is a LOT of criticism of the extreme materialism and selfish mentality of the late 80s, when the comic was initially written. This may go a long way to explain how its aged so well; much of what it criticizes resonates well with people today.

Bill Watterson views comic strips a legitimate form of artwork, and repeatedly fought to have more space to draw more beautiful and artistic backgrounds, which was a very hard fight and unpopular even with other comic strip artists. He eventually did win some compromises and a lot of Calvin And Hobbes' artwork shows it, with the use of space to indicate time as well as a sharp contrast between the often plain environments of mundane life contrasted by the wildly beautiful imagery of Calvin's imagination (which often sports realistic depictions in an art shift of sorts).

Hobbes is explicitly not an imaginary friend, by word of Watterson himself. We don't know WHAT he is exactly, and Hobbes is apparently unaware of the strange nature of his reality; people look at him and only see an ordinary stuffed tiger plushie, but he has a tangible effect on the world that would be physically impossible for Calvin to do on his own. He's apparently been around for a while, and was apparently around when Calvin was a young baby.

On that note; Hobbes has implicitly killed (notably treated as both a gag and also with the vibe of 'he's a tiger, duh') and while he doesn't do it again on-screen, he doesn't have any moral issues about it. Calvin claims that he's never had trouble bringing Hobbes to school because the last time he did, Hobbes killed and ate a bully named Tommy Chestnut and simply comments that it was gross and he needed a bath. Calvin's tried to repeat this again, but Hobbes was grossed out at the thought having to eat a kid raw and not being allowed to use an oven first, or complaining that children are too fattening.

Hobbes became gradually less human-like in body language and more like an actual cat in both body language and behavior; this was due to Watterson drawing more inspiration from his cat, who also inspired a lot of Hobbes' running gags, such as pouncing on Calvin when he got home. Several years into the syndication of the strip, Watterson's cat passed away, and he did a tribute to her with a comic strip of the two of them agreeing to try to dream together so they can keep playing when they have to sleep; Watterson's commentary (if I recall right), remarks on his cat: "We can see each other again in dreams."

[abyssmalice]

"I don't know shit about Aeons, but I know what gods are like, and I don't think even they would want this."