#Support Living Writers

[hyacinthsdiamonds]

Production houses: but if the writers stay on strike we can't guarantee the future safety of your favorite shows 🥺🥺😭😭

Viewers who 1, have already lost their favorite shows because they were cancelled in spite of good ratings and good reviews or 2, have stopped watching new content entirely until the entire series has aired and concluded as a result of so many good shows getting cancelled on cliffhangers and thus leaving said viewers unable to gain closure with those characters and with a hollow viewing experience, so they've begun a, watching older shows they know came to a planned conclusion or b, revisiting their old favorites and enjoying the nostalgia or c, reading new books or fanfic instead: YOU ALREADY CAN'T GUARANTEE THE FUTURE OF OUR SHOWS SO GET FUCKING WRECKED AND PAY WRITERS WHAT THEY DESERVE!

[apolline-lucy]

POV: you’re on a date in a coffee shop in seoul with your favourite fictional queer character. she’s a liar, but one thing that’s true is that she’s obsessed with you.

THE ANATOMY OF DYING

[lemonhemlock]

I did not get into Game of thrones when it first started airing. In fact, I waited until it was long past it's heyday (around s6 or 7) to check it out because the marketing and the conversation surrounding it misled me into thinking it was nothing more than "grimdark" bullshit. As one famous YouTuber sarcastically called it "hot fantasy that fucks." So, I avoided Martin's work for literal years due to the impression that I got from online reactors and show-only casuals who did as you and a few others have described as his work being fundamentally misinterpreted.

Fortunately, I overcame my hang-ups, purchased the books (even the supplementary material) and fell down an entire rabbit hole of ASOIAF which led me to recognizing that this world he spent decades creating is far more complex than what had been portrayed onscreen. Regardless of the possibility of the books remaining unfinished (which I am fine with, personally), what George has created is a genuine work of art that I imagine took a tremendous amount of time and energy. So, for so many people online to behave like children and throw tantrums because they feel entitled to him (ew) instead of ushering forth more reasonable conversations and legitimate debates about the nature of his situation frankly makes me look at this fandom with a heavy dose of skepticism.

It is truly baffling to hear even professional critics and see articles describing George as being "ungrateful" or "unprofessional" when it has been well-documented just how often authors get locked out of the adaptation process and left to the wayside as consultants. Look at what happened to Rick Riordan and Christopher Paolini! George R.R. Martin is not the only author to have qualms with how a multimillion dollar studio has mishandled his creative work, and to act like he should remain silent just because he's amassed a certain degree of wealth is quite frankly, ridiculous. He shouldn't have to settle down, be grateful, and stay quiet because the greedy corporate executives and their media drones will get offended by actual criticism that could alter the perception of the adaption being revealed as mediocre for having departed from the source material.

TLDR: authors should be allowed to speak up about their art being sacrificed for commercialization.

Thank you so much for this message, anon! This needs to be talked about more, because I don't think a lot of commentators truly understand the vulgar, late-capitalistic sheen that seems to set in and slowly poison any ASOIAF adaptation. It honestly baffles me how quick some members of this fandom are to rush to the defense of, what is essentially (let's not be kidding ourselves here), a cashgrab by a giant corporation to the detriment of the actual artist and the actual creative foundation behind it.

Why else would "MAX" (if that is even their name) make another (or several other) ASOIAF adaptations? Not to stay true to any philosophical aesthetic vision, as it has become more than apparent with Season 2, but to increase shareholder profits by appealing to the lowest common denominator. Even the basic premise has been shifted in order to address popular trends and satisfy the mindless consumer that doesn't want to engage with anything deeper than their favourite tropes, prettily packaged:

from a story about a doomed ouroborous family superimposed on the pitfalls of feudalism, with villainy and heroism to be found on both sides, it has been simplified and reduced to a narrative that exalts white feminism and disqualifies anyone who opposes its girlboss protagonist. This is Sheryl Sandberg's version of Fire and Blood.

Truly, I think Sara Hess did (unintentionally) outline it the best: "civilians don't matter in Game of Thrones". They don't matter in Game of Thrones, but they matter in A Song of Ice and Fire. The entire heart of the series is contained in Septon Maribald's speech. The writers "kind of", must have forgotten, though.

[bonefall]

.. opinions on wind runner? i feel like im one of the only ones that genuinely hates her sometimes

If you feel like the only one who genuinely hates her, I think you need to look around more. Wind Runner is a very widely disliked character, because she's often used within the story as a small antagonist who "threatens" the authority of Tall Shadow. Gray Wing dislikes her. Thunder is openly cat-racist to her. She spends several books trying to break through the moor cats' xenophobia to join a group that came to HER LAND.

Then, when Moth Flight is old enough to be a relevant character in Forest Divided, Wind Runner is turned into Yet Another mean mom the very moment Moth displays ADHD. She's contrasted to her mate Gorse Fur, who is a Soft And Good Dad, and ultimately MASSIVELY punished with the harrowing events of Moth Flight's Vision (even though, for most of that book, she's completely right.)

Ask yourself why they're especially harsh on WIND RUNNER for being mean to her child, in the arc with Tom the Fucking Wifebeater and his redemption death, plus Thunder being forced to stop being mad at his abuser Clear Sky, please.

To me, Wind Runner is an intense, ambitious woman who's demonized for it in a way that men just aren't. She's subject to several misogynistic trends within WC, plus a huge helping of xenophobia that goes absolutely unexamined. If DOTC cared at all about women, it would have treated her with the nuance she deserves.

Wind Runner is treated with nearly endless suspicion by Gray Wing through books 1 - 3, while he's bending over backwards to suck Clear Sky's toes.

Her wanting to join the group that came TO HER HOME and being a bit pushy about it earns a stronger reaction from Gray Wing than Clear Sky murdering people.

She's pressured into changing her name "to fit in," and it's still not enough. She wanted to join the group so bad she changed her name, at the request of the Mountain Cats, for a chance of being better accepted

This came after she'd already saved Jagged Peak's life when a burrow collapsed on him. She's plenty trustworthy.

She keeps doing shit to try and prove herself to this group of assholes. Remember Bumble being dragged back to her domestic abuser? Gray Wing interprets this as a power struggle, when WIND RUNNER WAS NOT EVEN PART OF THE GROUP AT THE TIME.

From Wind Runner's POV, she did something that the Moor cats wanted done. It was fucking evil. It was committing violence against another member of the out-group the cats see her as.

But who actually has the power here? Tall Shadow does.

Gray Wing said it himself that she could have come up with some excuse for Bumble to stay, and she didn't. In fact, any cat could have spoken up. No one did.

and still. STILL. Wind Runner gets nothing. Her reward is Gray Wing surmising that actually, her doing their sick dirtywork was a political move.

It's more consistent as a motivation with how Wind Runner wants to join their group. The thing she's been doing.

She only actually gets to join the group after Thunder starts publicly hurling slurs at her for suggesting they need to be ready for Clear Sky to attack them. "What do you know about peace? Last time I was here you were NOTHING BUT A ROGUE WITH A ROGUE'S NAME"

Gray Wing even starts purring when she gives birth, because her ambition goes away briefly and she "stops bossing everyone around." this is treated like a sweet thing. god forbid women retain their personalities when they have kids

She loses her first premature child to a seizure and Gray Wing starts proselytizing his religion to her. "Maybe it's a good thing your weakest child died because Jesus has them now" I want to beat him with a hammer

When her second child gets sick, Clear Sky has a bright idea that involves killing it. I refer to this as his "reverse leper colony" suggestion. He only develops a sense of humanity towards the sick when his brother's pregnant wife is in danger. Wind Runner and her kitten barely seem to clock as people to him.

It's only after her SECOND baby succumbs to a horrible, painful death that she decides the moor cats are assholes, and she goes to start her own group. It's LONG overdue. I was extremely excited to see it.

Now. Listen.

I've been treated just like Moth Flight before. I've practically heard the scolding in Book 6 Chapter 3 verbatim. I'm not downplaying anything about Wind Runner being harsh to her; being yelled at like that never fixed the problem.

What I'm saying is that this is the SAME arc that summons the hollowed-out ghost of Storm to coo that Clear Sky "never drove anyone away" with his abusive behavior and gives Tom the Wifebeater a heroic redemption death.

So why is the scolding from Wind Runner treated as unambiguously harsh? What's the difference between her and them?

Why is it that outside of this little bubble of the community, you can get buried in a flood of people crying about how "Clear Sky made Summisteaks Butt he thought it was the right thing :((( He feels bad about shoving Thunder's face in a weeping, pus-filled wound and trying to kill him :((((" but Wind Runner is mean about Moth Flight not catching a rabbit and she should be skinned alive

Why is WIND RUNNER held responsible for the death of Clear Sky's child in Moth Flight's Vision, WHEN IT WAS COMPLETELY HIS OWN FAULT??

So, why should I hate her? Because she's mean to the idiot protagonists? Because she's Yet Another Bad Mom whose actions ARE treated as Bad in the story, in the arc famous for openly weeping whenever someone's mad at their abusive dad?? When she has this whole horrific, unexamined story about how incredibly bigoted The Settlers are towards her and the extremes she goes to in order to please them?

I'm glad she's mean, actually. She should have been even meaner. I think she should have a gun

[zepskies]

My Patreon is Live!

Hey, friends! If you saw this post from yesterday, you'll know why I decided to start a Patreon! 💖

For $3 a month (or whatever your conversion currency, depending on where you live), you'll be able to get early access to my stories, some fun bonus fics in the future, and hopefully help me decide on the next idea to tackle!

So today at 12 p.m. EST, paid members will get access to Part 7 of Lost on You a whole week early, after Part 6 drops! And they'll continue to get chapters a week early until the end of the series -- hopefully with some other cool bonus content along the way. 😉

To everyone who's supported me and my writing so far, thank you so much! And to those who would like to support me on this next step, I love and appreciate you too! 💕💕

[cinnamonest]

Look, you didn't hear it from me, but if you read AO3 fics, magatsuslut has some of the best Adachi characterization that I've seen. There are at least dozens of us Adachi fuckers! Their fic 'Sweet Dreams' is just great, Adachi straddles the line between terrifying and pathetic.

Sweet Dreams - Chapter 1 - magatsuslut (saccharine_saint) - Persona 4 [Archive of Our Own]

(link)

BLESS YOU anon I am always so happy to find fellow Adachifuckers in this world out there. Good to know this awful man has captivated others as well <3

[firlexgremlin]

Everyone, whether they're supportive of the strike or not (you should be btw) who is making jokes about how bad tv sucked in 2008 is actually incorrect. It's like they don't even know that the 2007 writer's strike led to season 3 of Supernatural needing to reduce its episode count, thus cutting a whole plotline where Sam rescues Dean from hell, thus the need to introduce a new character, Castiel the angel, to save him in season 4 🙄

[raedear]

I'm 152 pages back in the tog ao3 tag and more confident than ever that the only thing I ship booker with is the consequences of his own actions

[tomwambscunts]

I love these

[anthrotulip]

As we in the US begin to reach what is traditionally the start of TV seasons and the strike continues. I am imploring people to remember who they actually should be angry with and it’s not the writers or actors. The production entrainment corporations and studios are pretty much flat out refusing to negotiate. They are trying to wait this out so they give can as little as and public opinion is factor in that. They want you to think the writers and actors are being petty and greedy. They aren’t; they trying to ensure that we still have a professional entrainment industry in 10 years where making a living is feasible.

I get that we all want to know that cliffhanger gets resolved, if that character is actually dead, new content cannon content, etc. but without an equitable agreement mitigating on current issues there is a lot to lose. If the corporations and studios win writers’and actors’ control and influence on will erode more and the industry will continue to make decisions that often come down when it comes to renewals, representation, and story based on primarily on profit over quality.

The demands overall have been more than reasonable. However, the executives and owners have not only refused to negotiate in good faith they have mostly refused to negotiate at all. The narrative that there will be no new show or work until the writers/actors decide to call off the strike is a false one. Studios and owners can stop this anytime they want by agreeing to pay members appropriately and treat them basic respect instead of excoriating their labor for every profit they can. Stay angry but know/remember who you should actually be angry with.

[gryficowa]

Remember to boycott

By the way, don't give money to ao3, because like tumblr, it's run by Zionists (And Deviantart was bought by an Israeli company, so…)

Now that I have your attention:

[llyfrenfys]

Followers- Dw i angen eich help / I need your help

This is a post I've been sitting on for a while and it's time I finally write it to let you all know how I am, where I'm at and the progress of Prosiect Llyfr Enfys.

So, as I alluded to in previous posts, I had a health scare at the end of May which landed me in the hospital. I've spent June recovering from that and dealing with a few life changes as well (which I will talk about later).

Unfortunately, me and my partner had to deal with an unexpected bill of £200 this month which had to come directly out of my savings and is a huge chunk of it.

I've been doing research in preparation for hopefully doing a Masters at Aberystwyth in September on the topic of LGBTQ+ Welsh terminology before the 20th Century. My undergraduate dissertation was on the topic of 20th-21st Century LGBTQ+ Welsh terminology (which is currently unmarked due to the marking boycott). Hopefully after graduation I can share it with you. But my research into older terminology means needing to travel to different archives and libraries in Wales, which at the minute, I just can't afford. The closest place would be Bangor, but I have no money to spare at the minute and Prosiect Llyfr Enfys is not funded by any scheme or grant- it's currently all funded by myself.

For the first time in my life, I've been considering using a food bank. We're not quite at that stage yet, but it's precarious. It's another unexpected bill away from a critical situation.

Currently, my monthly expenses for anything related to the dictionary totals around £40 (subscriptions to archives, libraries, genealogy research tools) which have been instrumental in my work. For example, I couldn't have written my articles for Hanes LHDT+ Cymru without access to ancestry sites or online newspaper archives. This does not include other expenses such as bus tickets to get to the National Library of Wales when I need to, or costs of purchasing dictionaries in order to source them in my work.

All of this is to say that i need your help:

I have a patreon which I will be posting in next in July- if you enjoy Prosiect Llyfr Enfys and want to help keep it going, please consider subscribing today by clicking the link above or in my bio. The lowest tier is affordable and if you have the cash to spare, will enable me to keep on working on the project. If you want to make a one-time donation, I'm considering enabling tips on tumblr for those who would prefer that.

If enough people are able to subscribe to keep the project going, I can start to make some concrete plans for a trip to Bangor and share my journey with you all and involve you in the trip. If I'm unable to raise enough funds, I will have to make the decision to pause the project until after my Master's. I do not currently have a publisher, which is also a big factor in that decision, if I need to make it.

All your support is greatly appreciated- if you cannot donate, please share this post.

As ever, huge huge diolch yn fawr to everyone who has supported the project so far- with your help, we can get this dictionary published to help benefit the whole Welsh LGBTQ+ community and beyond.

[merlinemrys]

honestly cannot trust some of y’all’s merthur fic recs bc i opened one and the first few paragraphs were that gwen DIED and i audibly said “no” and just exited the screen

[joannamarieart]

Welcoming AI-produced creative works is a death knell for any event or gathering space that is community based. Proponents and users of generative AI aren't looking for community - they are looking for customers. There is no inherent value to AI "art" or "stories" outside of monetization potential.

[shannonpurdyjones]

What do we want??

To write a new chapter of our story!!

When do we want it??

Now!!

What are we gonna do??

Re-write the same old chapter for the eleventh time!!!

*quiet uncontrolled sobbing*

[auraboo]

13: In the chestnut grove

Destiny, writ in flames. Love, forged with blood.

Genre: high fantasy, romance, LGBT/queer Keywords: enemies to lovers, slowburn, m/m, drama, adventure Rating: for mature audiences (+18) Release schedule: every other Wednesday

”Well, I’m sure you tried your best. How they look doesn’t affect the taste, at least,” she said, turning the roughly cut fillets to join the fruit cubes on the pan. Ren’i turned his reddened face elsewhere and tried not to see Onniar, who was shaking with silent laughter.

”Sorry,” Ren’i mumbled.

Silverbrook flashed him a wide grin. ”Don’t mind her. The important thing is that you’re helping.”

”That ill-tempered captain will be none too happy when he learns that you’ve turned his prince into a kitchenhand,” Onniar pointed out, shaking his peeling knife in their direction.

Silverbrook looked around, then shrugged. ”How odd. I don’t see anyone here but two sweaty hunters who gossip more than work. Where on earth have you seen a prince?”

Ren’i couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

Direct link in the comments!