#how to create an appendix using

[crownstar]

It felt good today to tell someone, "This isn't going to be routed today. I am leaving for the day. It will be routed in the morning." And then I went and did a paint/glaze pottery event thing, that was for work so I was paid to just paint pottery for 2 hours.

These documents are A) needed to be released by THURSDAY this week. B) Were due to me last Friday to route at the latest. C) Not given to me until 3:30PM yesterday (Monday) (I stayed late 2 hours to deal with that - which is a whole other issue) and finally D) she has known that these were due last Friday for over 3 weeks prior to that date. In fact, she is the one who needs these documents and kept asking people about the status of documents they were responsible for but she didn't submit her own on time.

I informed her of updates needed at 9AM this morning. And I didn't get the updated documents until 1:40PM when I needed to leave at 2PM. (She knew I was leaving early I had mentioned it during our Monday meeting and during our morning meeting today). Also in the course of updating the documents she reverted all the fixes I had made to the numbering so I had to go back in an re-number a bunch of stuff. Which when I was done checking and fixing that in all the docs... it was time for me to leave.

Also talked to the guy who was working with her to review and create/update these documents needed and he was like, these were all done last week. Did she not send them to you? No. She didn't. She sent them to me on Monday afternoon when she was the one who kept bugging people to get their documents submitted by Friday.

She needs these released for an Audit on Thursday.... Girl, I'm Hourly and I have been staying late EVERY DAY for THREE WEEKS STRAIGHT dealing with everyone else's documents that needed to be done for your audit, and then you just don't submit your own documents for your own audit.

Like no. Actually I COULD take my laptop home and get this done for you afterwards but I don't want to. I don't care anymore I am going to go paint.

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

OK, the absence of female Rohirrim political leaders and warriors from the Middle Earth historical record…let’s get into it.

There’s a reason this remains a significant point of debate in the fandom, and it’s because the source material is confusing. Clearly, there is/was a role for women in public life in Rohan that is unlike anything we see in the other realms of Men (or hobbits or dwarves!). The concept of shieldmaidens has obviously been in their culture for a long time. Éowyn is one. Someone thought it worth their time to train her to fight, and the people (speaking through the voice of Háma) know her to be “fearless” and trust her to be their leader. The men of Elfhelm’s éored have no problem with her presence among them in Gondor, and though people are shocked to find her injured on the field, no one is scandalized by the very idea that she was there. So there are Rohirrim all over this story who are behaving in ways that suggest female leadership and female martial ability are not inherently surprising or objectionable to them.

And yet…there is not a single named female Rohirrim either before or after Éowyn in any part of the text of LOTR that we know to have wielded any actual political authority or who fought in battle. If those women existed, why/how are they not in the historical record?

The most satisfying answer TO ME is tied up in which historical records we’re looking at. By the framing device of LOTR, the text that we’re reading is ostensibly the story as documented in the Red Book of Westmarch. The appendices, where we find histories and legends of Rohan, were meant to have been written by the hobbits with some contributions by Aragorn, Gimli and others — but NONE OF THE AUTHORS WERE ROHIRRIM. Yes, they surely spoke to Éomer and Éowyn as the sections on the House of Eorl were written, but the sibs didn’t write the text themselves. Outsiders did. So the text does not represent a direct Rohirrim version of Rohan history. THAT version doesn’t exist in writing anywhere, because that’s not how the Rohirrim operate. They preserve their histories and legends through song, poetry and storytelling. Which brings me to this line from Appendix A:

”Many lords and warriors, and many fair and valiant women, are named in the songs of Rohan that still remember the north.” [emphasis added]

That’s confirmation right there that Rohan history as the Rohirrim practice it DOES include “many” women. And if they have songs that remember many women of the north (i.e., their direct ancestors among the Northmen) then surely their more recent songs, poems and stories would also cover the women of more recent times. So the problem is not that the Rohirrim don’t remember women in their (oral) historical record. The book tells us that they do. Maybe the problem is that the men of outside cultures who wrote the book — those who notably came from societies where women had no comparable roles — didn’t choose to include those parts when they created this written historical record. They noted that the Rohirrim name many women in their histories, and then they proceeded to only tell us about some of the men. That’s a skill issue for the authors, not for Rohan.

So in my mind, an average Rohirrim could talk to you about great warrior heroines of the Northmen or the exploits of some of Rohan’s powerful queens and princesses.* That’s not to say that Rohan was drowning in such figures, but they existed and people knew about them. It means there was enough of them and enough awareness of them to create space in their culture to have those views that we see in the main story (i.e., a willingness to accept both a woman as a leader of the people and a woman as a rider in the army when those things were presented to them). It reconciles the strange contradiction between the apparent culture in Rohan and their history as it was given to us as readers. Make of that what you will, but I like it for me!

*And yes, this could presumably explain the omission of Héra from WOTR in the telling of Helm Hammerhand’s story, though that gets complicated by the fact that WOTR contradicts the published Helm story in a few significant ways. (Which, for the record, I am fine with, but it means I view WOTR as more of an AU than a literal extension of the source text!)

[valyrfia]

The Sainz Effect on Media: What the Hell is Going On?

Last weekend, Carlos Sainz Jr. won the 2024 Australian GP, and subsequently, almost every single F1 media outlet has seemingly lost their minds. From the aramco power rankings giving him a perfect score (despite Max not getting one for a grand slam last weekend), to motorsport.com acting like a fan account, everyone is tripping over themselves to sing his praises.

F1 is a complex sport, it requires several different aspects to even get a car moving, even more to make it competitive, and even more to enable a championship fight. From driver line-up, to aero, from international politics, to tyre deg. There's no other sport like it. To truly be an expert in Formula 1, you have to have knowledge of how a track works, an understanding of combustion engines and aerodynamics, a grasp of interpersonal and sports psychologies, and a sense of international relations. This is why, even more so than any other sport, good journalism is vital to the sport's ecosystem. No one person can be expected to be an expert in all these areas, you need a team of people who are willing to pool their knowledge and resources before coming up with conclusions to disseminate to their audience.

But media also likes narrative, and media likes an underdog, that is undeniable. And you can create an excellent underdog narrative with Carlos. From losing his seat despite his teammate keeping his, to him having to get his appendix out in Jeddah, the circumstances are there to set up an underdog narrative. But the crux of the issue is this: anyone with any sort of F1 wheel knowledge understands why Charles was kept over Carlos (a better driver even in a car built away from his driving style, who is revered almost as a messiah figure amongst the traditional fans of the team), why Sir Lewis Hamilton is a much more desirable asset to a top team than Carlos (7x world champion, who brings in a massive draw for talent that will far outlast his stint with Ferrari). So what do you do with these characters who don't match the narrative that you want to push?

Simple. You discredit them.

Make no mistake, this is what we're seeing across every major F1 news outlet in the past week. A plain journalistic choice to choose narrative over integrity. There's all sorts of rumours whizzing around as to why that could be: from possible covert payouts from Sainz Sr, to possible misogyny towards Leclerc fans to pundits simply not being bothered to do their research. But the why of it, although important, doesn't matter nearly as much as the fact that however you look at it, these journalists are failing the sport they claim to love. What's even worse, is that it takes a simple glance at numbers to tell us that these media outlets are digging themselves a hole, and are going to have to backtrack or try and excuse their belief in this narrative in the coming months.

Let's take a common line that Sky Sports like to use as an example, "Carlos Sainz is driving for himself. How incredible would it be if Carlos could compete for the championship this year." Max Verstappen will likely win the championship this year, there are no ifs and buts about it. Red Bull are still developmentally leaps ahead of their rivals, and even if Ferrari were to catch them, Max is still at the wheel. And if Ferrari were to catch them, why would Ferrari prioritise Carlos over Charles? The only driver who has been proven to be able to beat Max in his current form at Red Bull on pure pace is Charles Leclerc, which he achieved in Las Vegas last year, and would've gone on to take the win at that same race if not for the safety car. The most likely championship fight this year is Max Verstappen vs. Charles Leclerc, and that's hinging on Ferrari matching Red Bull development. This outcome is blindingly obvious to anyone who knows how this sport works, and yet the current media angle seems to not be to explain how the sport works to the general public, but rather to double down on narratives that are certainly going to be proven incorrect in a manner of months, if not weeks.

Let's look at another common angle the media seem to like to take, "You have to ask, did Ferrari make a mistake swapping out Carlos Sainz for Lewis Hamilton?". Now, if you've been even near a TV showing F1 in the past ten years, it's pretty obvious this answer is of course not. Lewis Hamilton is likely the greatest driver of all time, his name in a lot of cases outshines the sport itself. No other driver on this grid even comes close to his level of acclaim. This reason alone is enough for Ferrari to sign him. Ferrari has not won a championship in close to two decades, the best and brightest engineers want to be working where they know the results are going to come from, and right now, as a stellar engineer, Red Bull or Mercedes or even McLaren would be a choice over Ferrari, which has the added hurdle of moving to Maranello (considering nearly all the other teams are located in the Midlands in the United Kingdom). Acclaim aside, Lewis Hamilton is still a very impressive driver. P3 in the championship last year to a Red Bull 1-2 is not something to be taken lightly, considering his teammate finished in P8 in the same car with only one more retirement. It does make pure racing sense to sign him over Carlos, who finished in P7, especially since Ferrari have an up and coming talent in Ollie Bearman, and what they need is someone with experience to fill that gap until Ollie can make it to Ferrari, and will likely happily step aside when that time comes at some point in the next five years.

However, has there been a single major F1 news outlet calmly and rationally explaining this thought process for those who may enjoy the sport but are not experts? No. Instead, what we get is Sainz sensationalism, and bias so explicit it tips right over into unprofessional. From The Race saying that a Sainz/Leclerc civil war is Leclerc fan hysteria, despite their own outlet running an article just months ago about tensions in Ferrari, to motorsport.com creating a CV for Carlos, and then proceeding to harass fans who ask why they are so keen to ignore facts. Every single F1 outlet seems to have lost their minds.

The sad thing is this will only backfire massively on Carlos himself. Charles will outperform Carlos, every metric from the past year indicates so. Ferrari may be in the running for the WCC by the midpoint of the season, but Carlos's win will fade into distant memory long before we reach Spa, and the average enjoyer will look back on all this crazy media hype and go "hm, well he didn't live up to expectations did he? He was massively overrated." And this too, will be the fault of F1 media.

In conclusion, F1 media sensationalism has failed Charles, Lewis, and Max, it will fail Carlos in the coming months, but most of all, it has failed the fans of the sport, by choosing to focus on far-fetched narratives, rather than deliver proper journalism and build equally compelling narratives out of the data on the table. It highlights a lack of skill and awareness, which threatens the entire ecosystem of the sport that we all know and love.

[sits-bound]

Bound: A bunch of fics by @cricketnationrise

These two binds were created for the @fandomtrumpshate auction that @cricketnationrise won. (Technically, the first was for the auction, the second was just a bonus.)

Collected Cricklets (aka "Cricket's Ficlets")

This bind is a collection of over 100 ficlets in four collections representing four different fandoms. It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to typeset this, it was a fun challenge. Here's what I did:

Each fandom got a different font

The page header (?sider?) had the collection name and fandom name and page number.

The time or date (all fics had a place and a time and/or date) were in a digital clock font.

Each collection opens with a title page foiled in gold (should have been silver, alas.)

I wanted to include the summaries and tags and other metadata for each ficlet, but I didn't want to clutter the pages too much, so I put them in the back as an appendix.

The cover design includes symbols from all of the fandoms (Check Please!, Red, White & Royal Blue, Tortall, and Parasol Protectorate.)

Defining Expectations

I learned how to make a hardcover pamphlet bound book recently, and I decided as a bonus I was going to bind this wonderful fic as one. It's a little long for a single signature bind (27 sheets!), but it worked in the end. I used this tutorial from DAS.

This one was fun for a few reasons. First, there were texts and support tickets and emails and definitions, and I had to figure out how to typeset them all to make them stand out in the text. Then, I decided it should look like a dictionary, so I used faux leather (from Dollar Tree, it's great for binding) and took inspiration from a few dictionaries for the cover and title page.

And, okay, I may have had too much fun with the photo shoot for this one.

Thanks again Cricket for bidding on my auctions! I very much enjoyed putting these together.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Some Editorial Vocabulary

definitions of terms during the writing, editing and publishing process

Acknowledgements: Text in which the author thanks those who’ve supported them.

Action beat: Short description that comes before, between or just after dialogue.

Adjective: A word that describes a noun.

Adverb: A word that describes a verb.

Adverbial phrase: A group of words that describe a verb.

Afterword: A concluding section, often reflecting on the book’s creation or providing additional context.

Anaphora: The deliberate repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive clauses for artistic effect.

Antagonist: An adversary. The character who creates obstacles and challenges for the protagonist, or behaves in a hostile fashion towards the protagonist.

Anti-protagonist: A protagonist whose own actions create opposition and conflict, often within themselves or against their own goals.

Apostrophe: A punctuation mark used to indicate possession, omission and, occasionally, a plural.

Appendix: Space in a book for material that doesn’t fit comfortably in the main text.

Asyndeton: Literary device through which a sentence’s structure follows the following pattern: A, B, C.

B-C

Back matter: Also end matter. Elements reserved for the back of a book, including appendix, glossary, endnotes, bibliography and index.

Beta reader: Test-reader who provides feedback on book.

Bibliography: List of all works cited in book, and any other work of interest to the reader.

Chapter drop: The space above and below the chapter title.

Character arc: Narrative that shows how a character changes and develops.

Characterization: The process of revealing a character's personality, traits and motives through actions and dialogue.

Colon: Punctuation mark that introduces additional/qualifying information about the clause it follows.

Comma splice: Two independent clauses joined by a comma rather than a conjunction or an alternative punctuation mark.

Conjunction: A word that connects clauses or sentences (e.g. ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘if’, ‘then’)

Copyediting: A review of grammar, punctuation, and spelling, ensuring consistency and accuracy in the manuscript's language.

Critique: Also manuscript evaluation. Report analysing a book’s strengths and weaknesses.

D

Denouement: The final part of the book in which all the plot strands are brought together and resolved.

Deuteragonist: A sidekick or confidante character who has the most influence on the protagonist, often helping them solve problems and overcome obstacles. Can be critical to driving the plot.

Developmental editing: Also structural editing. The improvement of a manuscript's structure, content, and overall narrative, focusing on big-picture elements. Attends to plot, characterisation, narration and pacing.

Dialogue tag: Also speech tag. Words that indicate which character is speaking (e.g. John said).

Dialogue: The lines characters speak in a book.

Diversity reader: Also sensitivity reader. Test-reader who checks for misrepresentation in books.

Double-page spread: Also DPS. The view of a printed book or PDF when opened so that the left- and right-hand pages are both visible.

Drama: The conflicts, emotional intensity, and impactful events that drive the plot and engage readers emotionally. The focus is on character relationships, motivations, and the consequences of their actions.

Dropped capital: Decorative first letter of the first word on the first line in a chapter. Larger than the rest of the text and drops down two lines or more.

E-F

Ellipsis: Punctuation mark that indicates a trailing-off or a pause.

End matter: Also back matter. Elements reserved for the back of a book, including appendix, glossary, endnotes, bibliography and index.

Endnote: Additional useful information at the end of a chapter or book.

Filter word: Verb that tells rather than shows (e.g. ‘noticed’, ‘seemed’, ‘spotted’, ‘saw’).

Folio: Somewhat old-fashioned term for page number. Also used to refer to a page.

Footnote: Additional useful information at the bottom of a page.

Foreword: A recommendation of the work written by someone other than the author.

Fourth wall: In books, the conceptual space between the characters and the readers.

Free indirect speech: Also free indirect style and free indirect discourse. Third-person narrative that holds the essence of first person thought or dialogue.

Front matter: Also prelims. Includes part title and title pages, foreword, preface and acknowledgements.

Full point: Period or full stop.

Full stop: Period or full point.

G-L

Glossary: Alphabetical list of important terms with explanations or definitions.

Habitual past tense: Uses ‘would’ or ‘used to’ with a verb to indicate events that happened routinely in a time past.

Half-title page: The first page of a book with any text on it; in a printed book, always a right-hand page. Contains only the main title of the book.

Head-hopping: Jumping from one character’s thoughts and internal experiences to another’s. Indicates viewpoint has been dropped.

Imprint: Publisher’s name.

Independent clause: A group of words that contains a subject and a predicate.

Index: Alphabetical list of all topics, themes, key terms and cited author names covered in the book, and the corresponding page numbers.

Information dump: Also word dump. Information that’s necessary to the story but isn’t artfully delivered, or weaved creatively into the narrative and dialogue.

Line editing: Also stylistic editing. The refining of a manuscript's language, focusing on consistency, clarity, flow and style at sentence level.

M-O

Maid-and-butler dialogue: Dialogue in which one character tells another something they already know so the reader can access backstory.

Manuscript evaluation: Also critique. Report analysing a book’s strengths and weaknesses.

Narrative arc: Also story arc. The structure and shape of a story.

Narrative authenticity: The believability and truthfulness of a story so that the characters and events feel real within the framework of the novel’s world.

Narrative distance: Also psychic distance. How close the reader feels to a character’s thoughts, emotions and experiences within a story.

Narrative: Story. The part of the book that’s narrated, excluding the dialogue.

Narrative style: The author's unique manner of storytelling, encompassing language, tone, viewpoint and other structural choices.

Narrative voice: The style, tone, and personality through which a narrator or character tells a story to readers.

Numerals, Arabic: 1, 2, 3 etc.

Numerals, Roman: i, ii, iii etc.

Omniscient: All-knowing. Refers to a viewpoint style in fiction writing.

Overwriting: Using too many words on the page. Often characterized by repetition and redundancy.

P

Page proofs: A file that’s reached a stage in the publishing process where the text and images of a manuscript have been laid out in their final format.

Pantser: A writer who doesn’t outline or plan story structure, but flies by the seat of their pants.

Period: Full stop or full point.

Perspective character: Also viewpoint character. The character through whose eyes the story is primarily told. The narrative lens through which readers experience events, thoughts, and emotions within the story.

Plot: The sequence of events in a novel.

Point of view: Also viewpoint and POV. Describes whose head we’re in when we read a book, or whose perspective we experience the story from.

Polysyndeton: Literary device through which a sentence’s structure follows the following pattern: A and B and C.

Predicate: The part of a sentence that contains a verb and that tells us something about what the subject’s doing or what they are.

Preface: An explanation of the purpose, scope and content of a book, and written by the author.

Prelims: Also front matter. Includes part title and title pages, foreword, preface and acknowledgements.

Pronoun: A word that replaces a noun (e.g. I, you, he, she, we, me, it, this, that, them those, myself, who, whom). Pronouns can act and be acted upon like any noun.

Proofreading: The final pre-publication quality-control stage of editing where any final literal errors and layout problems are flagged up. Comes after developmental editing, stylistic line editing and copyediting.

Proper noun: A named person, place or organization. Always takes an initial capital letter.

Protagonist: The leading character in a novel, often facing central conflicts and driving action.

Psychic distance: Also narrative distance. How close the reader feels to a character’s thoughts, emotions and experiences within a story.

Purple prose: Overblown, poorly structured writing with strings of extraneous and often multisyllabic adjectives and adverbs.

Q-R

Quotation mark: Also speech mark. Punctuation that indicates the spoken word. Singles or doubles are acceptable.

Recto: The right-hand page of a book.

References: List of all the works cited in your book.

Roman typeface: Not italic.

Running head: Text that runs across the top of a page (e.g. title of the book, chapter title, author’s name).

S

Scene: a distinct segment or building block where specific actions and events unfold in a setting.

Scene technique: The use of dialogue, action, setting, and tension to craft compelling moments in the story.

Semi-colon: A punctuation mark that indicates a stronger pause than a comma between two main clauses.

Sensitivity reader: Also diversity reader. Test-reader who checks for misrepresentation in books.

Speech mark: Also quotation mark. Punctuation that indicates the spoken word. Singles or doubles are acceptable.

Speech tag: Also dialogue tag. Words that indicate which character is speaking (e.g. John said).

Story arc: Also narrative arc. The structure and shape of a story.

Structural editing: Also developmental editing. The improvement of a manuscript's structure, content, and overall narrative, focusing on big-picture elements. Attends to plot, characterisation, narration and pacing.

Style sheet: In which an author or editor records stylistic and language preferences, and tracks who’s who, what’s where, and when X, Y and Z happens.

Stylistic editing: Also line editing. The refining of a manuscript's language, focusing on consistency, clarity, flow and style at sentence level.

Subject: The thing in a sentence that’s doing or being something.

Subplot: A secondary storyline that supports and enhances the main plot of a narrative.

Suspense: The tension, uncertainty and anticipation created by withholding information, raising stakes or placing characters in imminent danger. Readers are kept guessing or forced to ask questions.

Syndeton: Literary device through which a sentence’s structure follows the following pattern: A, B and C (or A, B, and C).

T

Talking-heads syndrome: Dialogue that isn’t grounded in the environment or the characters’ responses to that environment.

Tense: The form a verb takes to indicate when an action happened in relation to the telling of it.

Tension: The emotional strain or suspense created by unresolved conflicts, stakes or uncertainties that keep readers engaged.

Tertiary character: A functional character who gives the story realism and depth, but doesn’t significantly impact on or influence the plot or the development of the other characters.

Theme: The novel’s central idea or message about life, society, or human nature.

Title page: Includes full title (and subtitle if there is one), author’s name, publisher’s name, logo, volume number, and edition.

Transgressor: A character who commits morally, socially, or legally questionable acts.

Tritagonist: Third most important character, who often provide regular emotional or physical support, but don’t determine how the story develops.

U-W

Unreliable dialogue: Dialogue that doesn’t match a character’s true voice, mood or intent.

Unreliable narrator: A character whose telling of the story cannot be taken at face value. They may be naïve, confused, or deliberately manipulative.

Verb, intransitive: A verb that doesn’t have a direct object (e.g. ‘I giggled’).

Verb, transitive: A verb that has a direct object (e.g. ‘wrote’ in ‘I wrote a book’).

Verb: A word that describes doing. Can refer to a physical action (e.g. to dig), a mental action (e.g. to wonder) or a state of being (e.g. to be).

Verso: The left-hand page of a book.

Viewpoint: Also point of view or POV. Describes whose head we’re in when we read a book.

Viewpoint character: Also perspective character. The character through whose eyes the story is primarily told, and the narrative lens through which readers experience events, thoughts, and emotions within the story.

Vocative: The form of address for a character directly referred to in dialogue.

Word dump: Also information dump. Information that’s necessary to the story but isn’t artfully delivered, or weaved creatively into the narrative and dialogue.

Source More: On Editing ⚜ Word Lists

[queersatanic]

Anton LaVey plagiarized* "Might Is Right" for "The Satanic Bible" — here's the proof

Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, directly lifted passages from the 19th century proto-fascist book "Might Is Right" by “Ragnar Redbeard” (Arthur Desmond) and did so extensively and without credit to produce a substantial part of LaVey’s most famous and popular work "The Satanic Bible".

This has been known for a very long while, although most Satanists tend not to be aware of just how shamelessly and thoroughly this work was done.

In fact, the Church of Satan sometimes tweets out passages from Might Is Right while supposedly praising LaVey.

To have quoted LaVey there, the Church of Satan would have had to tweet just "on the other".

And this is not a stray, incidental unattributed line that LaVey could have argued his readers ought to have immediately been familiar with as a sort of homage.

This was part of a wholesale, uncredited and unacknowledged ransacking of another person’s writing in order to create another, ostensibly-original book and sell it for profit. For example, here is how much from one particular section of Might Is Right ended up making it into LaVey’s book:

This is what LaVey and his partner Diane Hegarty, who also served as his typist an editor, used to introduce people to The Satanic Bible in its opening section the "Book of Satan". This isn't in some appendix or footnote; this is the first thing people reading the book were shown.

The "Book of Satan" portion of The Satanic Bible is essentially identical to parallel lines in Might Is Right: www.diffchecker.com/ppXjtPGV/

If you strip out differences in punctuation(!) and Capitalization and compare them, it's even more shameful: www.diffchecker.com/td0vLevN/

Depending on how you want to count, about 85 percent of this opening can be identified as directly copied, which still includes Americanization of spellings, leaving words out from the original, and a handful of words substituted within much larger phrases and ideas that were retained fully intact.

Only two of the 53 statements of the “Book of Satan” appear to be original creations of LaVey and Hegarty: Book III No. 5 and Book V No. 13. Feel free to check out the full comparison for yourself here:

[phrogarmyinvasion]

Discord Info:

To those of you who are viewing my tumblr profile in order to get more info on the discord I’ve been advertising, I have a few key things to share with you:

First and foremost, the discord is intended to be a safe space, and I will tolerate absolutely no racism, anti-immigration rhetoric, transphobia and queerphobia in general, no ableism (a la RFK), no anti-feminist BS, etc. Basically, no bigotry.

Secondly, while the discord was and is intended to provide those seeking to leave America with the resources to do so, it has grown to be much more. It has become a space for everyone in need of systemic change, and it has become a space for all of us to help one another out. Even if you are not American or Canadian, you are welcome to join the server. This server was created as an emergency measure for people in need of an escape, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that the whole world is ready for a collective change. If you are not Canadian, and if you are not American, but you are from the Ukraine, from Palestine, from the Congo, from Sudan, or literally anywhere else in the world fighting for change and survival, you are welcome in this server.

Some folks in the discord consider leaving to be a last resort and are only in the server to better prepare themselves for it, if and when they deem leaving to be necessary. Others are there to provide helpful information and resources, either as a Canadian or as an American who has information and advice for fellow Americans in need.

There is a full 97 page guide on how to seek asylum in Canada, and given that many folks in the server are looking to immigrate rather than become a refugee, there is also an extensive immigration guide underway. The asylum guide is intended to be accessible, with clear and readable fonts, no legalese, a clear index complete with in-document links, proper chapters and subsections for quick and easy access, and two appendixes, one for definitions and explanations on government phrases and acronyms, and another for all official links and resources behind the guide. The immigration guide, while incomplete, will be written according to the same accessible format as the asylum guide.

For anyone who just needs help surviving, we’ve got a great community underway whose focus is on uplifting each other. We’ve got folks growing their own gardens and doing what they can to be sustainable, and they’re giving great advice on how to grow things, what to grow, and where to grow them based on your situation. We’ve also got lots of people giving out resources on reading, libraries, and media that can help you stay engaged despite what’s going on. There’s also folks with medical knowledge who have given advice on what to do in an emergency if you can’t get medical help. Everyone in the server is here to help one another out, and whatever you’re dealing with, there’s someone in the server willing to help out.

On the topic of guides, like the asylum and immigration guides, there is also space for other guides to be made, such as general survival guides, medical guides, safety guides, etc.

The key to survival is community. It always has been, and it always will be. If you think that having a community capable of backing you up is something you need, then this discord is it. Even if you’re not really looking to leave the States, this discord is growing fast, and it’s got something in there for you.

Lastly, for those of you trying to join via the link I’ve put up on my blog, just be aware that the invite has expired. If you’d like to join, message me and I will send you the invite.

If you have any questions, feel free to DM me on Tumblr, I may not respond immediately but I will respond as soon as I am able.

Have a day y’all, I hope it’s a good one. Love ya!

[thispersonistired]

Fic Idea #2 (Landoscar)

Deaf!Oscar AU

Oscar Piastri is Formula 1’s first ever deaf driver, and he’s spent his entire career proving that he belongs on the grid. He wins F3 and F2 back to back to silence any of his doubters. But F1 is a whole different ball game. He finally gets a seat in 2023 and so his adventure begins.

The biggest issue he has, most people imagine, is team radio but thats actually not a problem. he’s trained his whole life to interpret vibrations, from the rhythmic hum of the car beneath him to the custom haptic signals in his ear and on his steering wheel that his engineers designed just for him. It’s a system so intuitive that other teams start whispering about an "unfair advantage." McLaren responds with an entire appendix detailing every single vibration code, down to what "box, box" feels like on his steering wheel.

Lando Norris, his teammate, doesn’t think it’s cheating. He thinks it’s magic. He thinks Oscar is actually the coolest person ever. Which is refreshing to Oscar when he finds out since he only has a whole lot of bad experiences with other racers from some of his junior series.

Oscar feels racing in a way no one else does, and maybe that’s why he’s so damn fast. Lando, meanwhile, is utterly, hopelessly smitten. from the way Oscar’s eyes light up when he nails a perfect lap to the soft, lilting cadence of his voice when he speaks. And oh as if the aussie's voice isn't the root of all his struggles.

The problem it creates? He cannot act normal around him to save his life.

So, naturally, he decides the only solution is to learn sign language.

What starts as a clumsy, endearing effort at half-memorized phrases, accidental insults, the occasional disastrous attempt at flirting ultimately turns into something more when Oscar realizes what Lando is actually trying to express(that he likes him :3).

Lando reckons that Oscar knows how to feel things better than anyone because hes had his entire lifetime of just feeling. And if Lando isn’t careful, Oscar is going to feel every ridiculous, starry-eyed emotion he’s been trying (and failing) to hide.

Featuring the media and fans losing their minds over Lando’s increasing use of sign language mid-interviews. And perhaps Lando gets advice from Oscar on how to use Oscar’s vibration training system to help himself focus or calm down under presaure.

Basically, it’s soft, chaotic, and deeply unfair how attractive Oscar and especially his voice is. And Lando? He’s just trying (and failing) to cope.

(Kinda. Not really but i was reading this when i saw this idea like an epiphany) Inspired by "Sign", the bl manhwa by the wonderful angel of an artist "Ker". <3

Also also also maybe like Yohan from Sign, Osc also realllyyyyyy likes it when Lan uses sign sometimes ;]

[automatuck9]

Gideon the Ninth

@thoughtfulfangirling Sorry this is late and rambling if you have any specific questions feel free to ask

3/5 stars

Summary:

Overall a very fun read with an interesting world and magic system, dragged down somewhat by a lack of focus and the strange writing of the relationship between the main characters. I would be open to continuing since the 1st book in a series is often the roughest anyway.

Positives:

The magic system- I loved all the variety to the necromancy, and it explained just enough without getting too bogged down in details and the reveal of how people become Lyctors was so, so good, still thinking about it. I love possession stuff and the weird unending half life is perfectly nightmarish.

Harrow- She's such a horrible self hating weirdo who creates most of her own problems, love her and love how the ending can only add to her insane levels of self hatred going forward in a way that didn't seem possible

Vibes/Mystery- It's not a mystery proper and isn't trying to be, but the middle chunk had a lot of the good vibes of a closed circle mystery and that's my jam, so I was all over that. And the reveal made sense and was set up, I'm kicking myself for not catching the past tense of Dulcinea's "I didn't want to die" though I did guess that Protesilaus was the one of the ones in the furnace.

Camilla and Palamedes- I really enjoyed their dynamic and the moment where Gideon lies and says his last words were telling Cam he loved her and she just immediately goes "what no he didn't" made me laugh so much. Absolutely perfect

Good sword fights

Negatives:

I wish there had been a bit more worldbuilding for the Houses. I get the idea of the Ninth, but the whole thing is they're dying anyway, but I just can't quite envision how normal people are living elsewhere in this world, I felt it lessened some of the bite of the politicking between characters when I don't really get their general hierarchies or what the Empire generally wants or what anyone does with their time when they aren't in mystery trials or on a dead cult planet. I don't need a full on Tolkien appendix, but maybe just a couple exposition bits from Abigail, confirmed history nerd, before she gets murdered.

Gideon's relationship with Harrow and the Ninth House and her final sacrifice didn't come together for me in terms of her character (I enjoy how much it will presumably continue to fuck with Harrow though). She starts out quite openly hating Harrow, then with absolutely no extra interaction, she's constantly worried about her and giving her little teasing nicknames. I think the information she gives Palamedes late on how she and Harrow had a weird love/hate toxic thing going back to childhood should have been earlier, because that is just not the feeling I got from the opening chapters. But even with that reveal there doesn't seem to be any proper hate on Canaan House, irritation at best and she immediately no questions is all on board “horribly torture me to pass this test”. And beyond that I wish she had just died at the end to spite the villain or because there was no other way out (which there wasn’t) or something because the way it's framed as her letting go of her hate of the Ninth House? Why? What reason? I like the idea of someone fighting for something bigger despite being mistreated by it like African Americans in the army or something, but what is the greater thing the Ninth stands for? Even the book doesn't know, her last thoughts are dismissing all the things she hates about it but after that it just says "she was Drearbruh" Okay? What exactly is so great about Drearbruh, why are you dying for it? Gideon as a character never came together for me

Miscellaneous:

I mostly got used to the dialogue but some bits still took me out (bingo, they have bingo after 10,000 years?). It seems needlessly distracting, but I did mostly stop noticing and some parts did make me laugh, so I'll call it a net neutral

Okay I know I'm reading a story so seeing the name Gideon on a note is probably important, but I don't get why in universe Gideon immediately clings to it and goes all "why is my name here". Is her name that unique? There's so much writing in this 10,000 year old facility is it that crazy that you'd find your name written somewhere?

I know my negative bullet went on longer, but I did mostly enjoy it.

[the-lark-ascending69]

I'm sorry but I have a very real problem with Vickie as a character. A fan-favorite character is revealed to be queer in the previous season and gets a love interest shaped appendix with no plot relevance or personality, created only to be Robin's trophy girlfriend, in a way that is so painfully and obviously different from how they did it when they tried to make a new character entirely to give her a love story with an already existing main character.

I'm talking about Robin herself, and how, despite not having the deepest character arc in S3, she still had some meat on her bones. She still had some stuff to work with. She was actually important and involved with the plot and had real chemistry with her would-be love interest, Steve. Making her a lesbian at last second pretty much saved both her and Steve's characters and made the Scoops subplot, the only redeemable subplot of S3, actually salvageable. By recontextualizing Stobin with that revelation, you go from a forced, heteronormative/amatonormative "love story" with mysoginistic undertones (because what are frmale characters if not trophy wives for male characters!) and 1) you give Robin actual stuff in her life that has nothing to do with Steve, turning her into a real character on her own, yet also shows why their friendship is so valuable to her, giving her a mini-arc in the process about overcoming isolation, alienation and loneliness, and 2) you wrap up Steve's arc the way his character clearly needs to be wrapped up - by moving on from his immature pursuits of women as romantic/sexual fulfillment and his highschool persona constructed on that, and embracing maturity by working on himself with the help of the people who challenge him the most, his platonic bonds (Dustin and Robin). Like I'm being 100% serious when I say making Robin a lesbian somewhat saved season 3.

But you can tell the brilliance of that move did NOT come from the Duffers' mastermind because they couldn't even attempt to replicate their unexpected success with Robin and Vickie. Because even before Robin was made into a lesbian, she still had SOMETHING. Vickie has nothing. She's a non-character. And it's interesting to note the difference in treatment when it comes to straight male characters vs. queer female characters. You can make the case that Max's introduction in S2 followed a similar pattern to beta!Stobin - new character paired up with pre-existing character. But you wouldn't say Max was added just to give Lucas a girlfriend, because even if her plot relevance in S2 was rather lackluster, she still had... so much more than even Robin in S3, and she's simply uncomparable to Vickie. She feels like her own person right from the start. We know the Duffers like to add wayy to many characters, making the show feel crowded and inevitably leaving a few characters behind, but when they add new characters in a given season, they're actually pretty good at making us fall in love with them quickly. Max, Robin, Eddie, hell even Billy if you're into that - like I said before, there's always some work that goes into them that makes you care about them.

Sure, there are less important characters that don't get half the effort put into them - Heather, Benny, idk, Barb's parents? And many others I can't remember right now. Not every character needs to be a fan-favorite.

But none of these guys were a main character's love interest. Not even for like, a second-row main character like Robin. Lucas gets a girl and she gets proper character development. Steve was originally intended to get a girl and she gets plot relevance, screentime and charisma (and a bit of character development pre-coming out too). Robin gets a girl and... it seems like Robin and her girl don't matter that much.

Which makes me question, why give Robin a love interest at all if they weren't going to do anything about it. My guess is that, well, she's a lesbian, so of course she gets to kiss girls. Character arc? What is that? Just watch her gush over a girl without last name and not care about anything else for most of the season. The writers just didn't know what to do with her now that she's no longer gonna be Steve's trophy girlfriend. Just throw in a poorly put together gay subplot, because everyone knows gay people only get to kiss other gay people and there's nothing else about the lesbian experience worth talking about (like, idk, the loneliness? The alienation?). I'm of the belief that, if you're gonna half-ass it, don't write a romantic subplot at all, regardless of the characters' genders and sexuality. But what bothers me isn't a shitty romantic subplot. It's the difference in treatment that the queer characters get vs. their straight counterparts.

And it bothers me because it could have been fixed SO easily! You get three options:

Give Robin a character arc that's not a romantic subplot. That doesn't mean she doesn't get to have a crush, but it should be in the background. My idea would be to make it about her, Nancy and Barb, and their old friendship + Robin's sense of alienation. Robin learning the truth about Barb's death, and her and Nancy helping each other heal. Robin and Nancy becoming friends through long conversations about their feelings, through which Nancy gets a sort of "second chance" at having a friend again and Robin gets to connect with someone who initially hated her in her own special way. The point is to not make r0vickie obviously endgame, EVEN if it turns out to be that way next season, because if it's obviously endgame it suddenly begs for a deeper development and the lack of it becomes a problem. An easy solution would be to give Robin multiple crushes, to signal at how unserious they all are at the moment.

Give Robin a love story with a newly introduced main character. And the obvious option is *rolls drums" genderbent Eddie! Or Vickie in Eddie's place. Best and easiest solution imo. It may sound weird but if you think about it, it all makes sense - plot relevance, character development... only problem would be killing your gays if you squint, though Robin would be alive and ready for a new character arc next season, as a changed person. Sad, angry, possibly seeking revenge and seeking to assert herself as a threat after hiding and running her entire life. Robin's feelings are suddenly plot relevant now. I'm picking Eddie here (or rather, his role) because he's the most important one out if all the new S4 characters, and the one that spends time with the group the most. It's clean, minimalistic and practical.

Give Robin a love story with a pre-existing main character, i.e Nancy. As a ronance shipper, I maintain that pairing up Nancy and Robin would have been original and unexpected in the best way. I feel like I don't even need to explain why this would have been a good idea - tons of people already have. Mostly, I want to lament the impossibility of this option, which links directly to the point I'm trying to make.

Robin was never going to be paired with a main-main character, old or new, because queer relationships on-screen need to be pushed to the sides as to not interfere with or threaten the straight main characters. Nancy, as the main girl, was never going to get a romance with a girl. Vickie was never going to get the centrality that Eddie got. Straight relationships get to be taken seriously, even if they're writen stupidly, like whatever the fuck happened with stancy and jancy in S4. Queer relationships don't get to be more than silly forgettable subplots. Queer characters like Robin need to be inobtrusive. She could never fall in love with Nancy, even if one-sided-ly, because that would create a conflict straight audiences don't want to see.

And if a queer character DOES fall in love with a main straight character, like Will, it's all meant for pointless suffering. Not the kind of suffering that's vital for a character arc, or the kind that gives depth to a character. It's not a kind of suffering that leads them to change, to take any given decisions that they wouldn't otherwise have taken. It's not a suffering that could possibly interfere with the straight main couple's happiness. It's not a pain that causes conflict. Queer love and pain doesn't get to be part of the conflict in straight-dominated stories. So Robin can never fall in love with someone from the front-row sphere and Will suffers pointlessly, even though that pain has no real effect on him.

[blckberrie]

A little backstory for why I write in the first place. Just a disclaimer: I'll talk about PTSD, addictions, physical abuse, sexual assault, sewer slide attempts, self-harm, etc. Please don't feel pressured to read my rant if you're uncomfortable with anything I listed.

To give you some info, I'm fourteen and addicted to self-harming. I will say, I don't cut, but I'd rather not say what I do because learning about it made me start doing it. Just remember you are special and even if you don't see it or believe it, people love you.

My writing started after my dad went to jail for, I think, the third time for domestic violence and I started writing my experience with what he put me through. He gave me PTSD and caused me to fear things like yelling, doors slamming/loud noises, and things being thrown near me or at me.

No, he didn't hit me, but he would hit/hurt my loved ones, and I never once heard him apologize and change. After one of the worst days of my life, I started having symptoms of PTSD and to this day, it's the hardest thing I deal with.

I thought the only way I could express my feelings or understand them in some way was to hurt myself, but I would hide it so I didn't cause anything. I still struggle with self-harm, and every day feels harder to get through, but I try my best to do it anyway.

Since the beginning of 7th grade to now, I have tried to OD three times. They weren't bad enough to be hospitalized but rather to make me vomit all day after and feel unreal. Also, I've had my appendix burst maybe 2/3 weeks after my 2nd attempt and I still feel I caused it by trying to OD.

Again, if you ever feel unwanted, I promise you suicide is not the way out. Please dial 988 to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline if you ever think about doing it.

Something I've also never ever really talked about was the abuse and sexual assault I went through from an old friend I used to have. She would tell me that everything she did, like kissing me or touching me, was okay, and she did it with all her friends.

She'd act like she was dating me and she'd treat me like her girlfriend in secret but avoid me around others and would hide me.

She would threaten to hurt me if I told anyone that we were even friends so I wouldn't say anything for the longest time. She would tell me to go to the bathroom during school and would proceed to kiss and touch me, and if I complained, she'd slap me, punch me, and just say things to hurt me.

I would say that she caused a lot of my fears, and the last time we talked was the last month of 7th grade, she forced herself into my pants and continued to get so angry that I didn't want it and beat the shit out of me.

That time, I fought back and cried to her but she didn't care. The last thing she told me was to kill myself and that she'd never speak to me again. I hate admitting that I had tried the same night making that my first real try.

The next school year, she completely disappeared and I'm assuming she moved. She also blocked me on literally everything and yet I was still too scared to tell anyone.

The reason she kept trying to kiss and touch me was because, most times, I was too tired to stop her, so I'd let her do it. To this day, I haven't tried dating anyone in fear I'd find someone like her again.

I cry at night thinking about my scars, that girl, and my father. I fear myself for what I think when I let everything get to my head. I've tried coping with my problems by drinking and self-harm, and any time I could get my hands on drugs I felt safe doing.

I began writing down my feelings, what I went through, and really anything about myself. I had friends who wanted to read what I wrote and they'd tell me how beautiful it was. (I might share some one day)

I created this blog to write about stuff other than everything I went through and rather about what has helped me cope more safely. For me, this is about Hayden but I also love reading what others write and making friends.

I hope that my blog can help you too, even if it's by reading practical filth or heart-shattering angst. Whatever helps you, helps you and I hate shaming healthy coping methods.

I try to make people laugh and feel better about themselves because I know how it feels to forget what that's like.

I love you and I'm always here if you need to talk to someone.

[tominisnakes]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Nagini as Tom Riddle's wife💍

The idea of Nagini as Tom Riddle's wife is a bold and charming concept that could create an epic story. Here's how it can be realized while maintaining the charisma of both characters and making their union compelling:

❓Why would Tom choose her to be his wife?

🐍Magical uniqueness:

Nagini is a living Horcrux (in canon), but in an alternate version, she could have willingly accepted part of his soul much earlier, becoming not just a vessel but a perfect conduit for his power. Their souls merge into one Horcrux - they are now literally one.

Nagini's snake nature makes her the perfect match for the Dark Lord (snakes are the symbol of Slytherin, and we remember how symbolic and important it is to Tom).

📈 Profitable Calculation:

Marriage as a union with a magical creature (if Nagini is cursed, similar to werewolves) could help Tom gain support from marginalized groups.

Or Nagini is a descendant of an ancient family related to basilisk or snake cults.

🖤Emotional Manipulation :

Nagini interests him as a phenomenon: she understands him like no one else, because she too is losing her humanity. Tom Riddle sees her as a reflection of his shadow - and that replaces love for him.

❓What would a Nagini wife be like?

👑 Queen of Darkness:

Not just an “appendix” to Tom, but an equal ruler: her gift of snake magic terrifies even Death Eaters. She controls legions of snakes/nagas - and that complements the Dark Lord's power.

👠 Femme Fatale:

In human form, she is seductive and dangerous - her beauty punctuated with cold grace. Nagini's speech is full of snake-like hissing (even in human form), which adds to the mystique.

💔Tragic Devotion:

Nagini knows that the curse will turn her into a snake forever, and Tom takes her in and doesn't leave her until the very end. Just as Nagini rescues him in the Albanian forests, letting his disembodied lover take possession of her body.

💞Tropes for this pairings and plot twists:

“Dark Power Couple” - they're not just lovers, but a dark duo sowing terror.

“Love as a Curse” - their bond enhances magic but ruins their souls.

“Ritual instead of a wedding” - instead of rings, they mix blood in a dark ritual.

“Nagini is his last thread to humanity” - while she's in human form, Tom isn't quite a monster yet.

Nagini tries to “save” Tom using the ancient rituals of her homeland - but this only hastens his downfall.

Nagini is pregnant with Tom (the magical child of a maledictus witch and the Dark Lord);

Nagini as Tom's wife is dark, poetic, and beautiful in its own way. This is the kind of headcanon one should create from!

[ryuichirou]

RE: Ortho (+Shroudcest) post replies

Phew, alright, I think I didn’t skip anyone. If I did, I’m sorry, I’ll reply to you next time then!

Thank you so much for your wonderful messages of support and for your takes. I really appreciate it! I say it all the time but it saying it again feels appropriate: we had no idea we would ever see so many people who share our point of view despite not shipping Ortho with Idia or any other character. The fact that we can have this conversation really makes me happy.

You are welcome to share more of your thoughts if you want, but unfortunately I might not be able to reply to everyone. I will do my best though.

All of the asks in this blog are related to this post.

Anonymous asked:

Different anon, I think Ortho is in this nebulous situation like superboy in young justice who is physically 16 years old but chronologically 16 weeks old. I genuinely hate the uwu babying of characters. The dwarfs are all second years(so theoretically 17 at the youngest) but no one makes anything with them. Heck the characters I see get lewded the most are the octo trio who are the same age.

Heck, even Grim gets the baby mascot treatment by fans when he's also lumpedwiththefirst years. Like yes, he's a whiny brat but he's also grown up all alone as far as he can remember. I can't help but compare him to Puppycat who acts similarly and is a grown ass man.

Yeah, this probably plays a role too! Ironically, we were just having this conversation about Stitch the other day lol Being new to the world you exist in (and to existing in general) and being a baby aren’t necessarily the same thing.

And even in that case Ortho doesn’t fully fit into the trope because he was created quite a while ago and is already pretty well adjusted. But since he is still learning and doesn’t always understand people + doesn’t always get things like sarcasm, people consider it to be a proof that he is a toddler lol Who am I kidding, their reasoning doesn’t even go that far. They say “he died when he was a baby therefore he is a baby forever” and call it a day.

I feel bad for people who love Grim, I haven’t even thought about it… The Puppycat comparison is so spot-on lol

Grim is inexperienced and doesn’t know much about the world, but yes, he is one of the freshmen + just as he at times acts like a whiny brat, there are also times when he tells Ace that he should be more considerate of Deuce’s feelings, like wtf was that? That was Grim. Because Grim also isn’t a baby, he is a furry gremlin…

Anonymous asked:

As one of the most avid Ortho stans, it really is a pet peeve that people act like he's a little kid

You're so right that it's people that want to write him like Idia's little convenient plot device

I do want to note that it's also sometimes just the infantilization of an autistic coded character

God forbid he be somewhat optimistic, this must mean he's just an innocent baby /s

One small thing that gets me: Ortho can and has made his own gears!! Idia doesn't need to and maybe this is inspired by a post I saw that used the fact that Idia has made his stuff to take away Ortho's agency in what is supposed to be him having a tattoo analog. Not having a character be the architect of their own body mod equivalent is wild and I just.

He's a silly little guy, but he's not a fucking baby!

Indeed, Anon. I feel like people either completely ignore Ortho or see him as Idia’s appendix. I absolutely love them together, and of course I am biased towards scenarios that focus on their deep codependence, but I also really love how they get to have their own adventures, their own relationship, their own experiences separate from each other. Because they are wow, different characters, and Ortho has his own agency. He had it even before ch6, but after that he fully and officially became his own person. Being with Idia is his choice, not his only option. And just like you mentioned, he makes his own gears pretty much all the time now… even though I don’t agree that Idia making his gears has anything to do with Ortho’s agency.

I don’t even think Ortho is that optimistic. He is a little sunshine, but not even close to people like Kalim for example. Ortho even has his own cynical moments and douchy moments that people also tend to ignore. But even if he was 100% optimistic and naïve, it still would not be a valid reason to infantilise him. And you are absolutely right, people do that a lot. With Kalim too, actually, now that I think about it.

Anonymous asked:

Aaaaah, Ryuichi, after reading your post (rant) about Ortho, made me very happy! I'm glad there's someone else who shares the same opinion. The number of fans who infantilizes Ortho is beyond me. I absolutely hate the argument Ortho's mentally "8 years old" it's like they completely forget his storyline.

I'm guessing that the people who genuinely believe the theory that he's "8 years old" are younger fans with no media literacy so no hate towards them but it's frustrating when fans pretend it's Canon when it's not.

Not only that but it’s so sad to see how he's also so mischaracterized by the fandom. He's always seen just as Idia's little brother but never himself despite the fact that Ortho's life doesn't revolve around Idia. He has his own interest and hobbies different from Idia AND he is NOT innocent! Fans tend to forget this is a game about a school full of villains and that includes Ortho too! If I remember correctly Ortho has multiple times tried to blow up the school with his laser! He's violent! He's not a kid.

Unfortunately, I've seen this kind of stuff happening across all fandoms this isn't exclusive to Twisted wonderland. Heck a few months ago I've seen fans in the black butler genuinely believe that Ciel's in fact 9 years old instead of 13 year old!? And then they call us weird? The SebaCiel shippers? Like why do YOU want him to be younger?? I'm getting too old for this.

Thank you so much, Anon! I am happy you also agree.

I don’t hate younger fans, and I know that some people might be genuinely confused; but I also believe that there are a lot of people that simply do not care about Ortho’s actual story and any arguments one could make about this case. The actual issue isn’t Ortho being a certain age, it’s a pretext, an excuse, an invitation to harass. If Ortho didn’t exist, they would still do it with other characters, and even if all the characters were adults, they would still find a reason to do so, like, for example, their appearance. There is no winning in this game, this is why factual arguments won’t work even if Ortho Shroud himself looks in the camera and says “hi, I don’t care if people ship me with my niisan, I am also in fact not 8 years old”.

I am also very glad you mentioned Ortho being his own person! I mentioned it in a previous reply, so I won’t talk about it, but yes, you are absolutely right. Ortho is a menace, and all of his disappointed “come ooon, niisan, don’t do that” moments come from his desire for Idia to have more friends, not because he genuinely cares for other people. He clearly doesn’t – hence his multiple attempts to blow up the school lol

I love it when characters just keep getting younger with every single wave of this shitstorm. Didn’t you know he is 13? How dare you post something like that about a 9 years old! He is a toddler who is only 3 months old! That’s one powerful fountain of youth right there. Antis in Kuroshitsuji fandom do that a lot, just as antis in TWST fandom.

Anonymous asked:

I really feel bad for people who have Ortho as their oshi. It's not like fans of other characters don't get shit on too, apparently pretty much everyone is an immoral heathen these days, but I feel like Ortho gets often excluded in fan content, especially when it features any mature theme.

Also, if you a problem with people liking Ortho in the same way as they do with the rest of the guys, you should take your issues to the creators, since that was definitely their intention when they put him in the pretty boy gacha. Or maybe just play another game.

Anyway Ryu and Katsu, keep doing your thing, cause you guys are awesome!

What I love about it is that Ortho himself would be so pissed if he learned that all the other guys get to do fun mature stuff and he doesn’t lol That’s so not fair, he’s charging his lasers as we speak!

Also yes, it was absolutely the creators’ intention. He is supposed to look like that, just like Lilia is supposed to look like that – both caused confusion in the game story with how young they look, and yet both are a big part of the cast (+ As we know, even Idia was supposed to be younger looking…). Ortho has one of the biggest amounts of cards, he is clearly a popular character, not just a lovely addition or a mascot. 

Thank you so much for your support, Anon <3 It means a lot. This shit might be upsetting, but it will never stop us from creating.

Anonymous asked:

While I am not an Ortho/Idia shipper, I do like your art pieces because your art style is straight-up gorgeous. So when I do see your Shroudcest art Im like: not my cup of tea but I respect the time and effort made into this. (And here is my rant siding with you bc they are fictional characters)

The babyfication of Ortho is something I do not understand. As much as Idia made RoBro in trauma, rn I doubt he wants RoBro to remain stagnant in mind and hardware. With Ortho's ability to learn, he is practically a teenager like the rest. He displays more emotional maturity than most ppl despite his killer laser beam. Kindness, hope, and optimism are traits not limited to children. Shortness is also not limited to children. If we treat other characters by traits often shared by children, then Neige's fellow dwarf classmates are also children. What they don't count bc they are not human? Ortho is not human either. Similarly, Kalim and Silver display positive internal traits of kindness, hope, and optimism. Shortness? Well, we got Grandpa Lilia and the Napoleon complex twins Riddle and Epel. They are all teenagers (minus Lilia) and no one is babying them.

...And are we ignoring all the shit he has seen on the internet. The amount of porn (from adult sites and even the soft-core types you can even find by watching some twitch/yt streamers) that can be seen. Videos of violence, crimes, and ppl doing their best to win the Darwainism Award. Ortho could access and go through like 5 terebytes by the time I reach page two of Google.

As for the Shroudcest, they are fictional characters! You can go straight to phub and have incest type (the sheer amount of the step family porn troupe) porn being acted out by actual breathing people. Do you want to metaphorically die on this hill of ppl shipping fictional 2D characters? Are we just going to ignore you targeting this harmless ship? At least go for a larger target like Game of Thrones or House of Dragons. So much incest in those media that it has it's own fan wiki page, but you don't see ppl go for George R. R. Martin's throat for writing about characters willing or unknowingly committing incest.

It is like people reading/watching media of horror movie killers. It's something you can enjoy or have a preference for because you, as a sane person, will not become a serial killer. AND, as a productive member of society, you condemn actual, real-life serial killers. You read horror stories or watch scary movies for entertainment value not for a guide to be one. Similar logic to furries. Furries consider anthropomorphic creatures as hot, but those same furries are against beastilaity.

TL;DR: While I am not personally a fan of incest or shota type of media, I do not mind they exist (or go after creators who use FICTIONALLY characters to enhance their form of FICTIONAL media), bc they are FICTIONAL CHARACTERS from a FICTIONAL MEDIA. Stop with the performative activism. Use that effort and go after people who do it for real in real life. If you prevent/stop an actual crime from happening, I will applaud and thank you! AND I DOUBT I WILL BE THE ONLY ONE.

Thank you so much, Anon! I am happy that you like my stuff despite not shipping some of our ships. I am very grateful for the respect, and also for your message! I really like your points and I’ll go through them briefly.

The entire part about all those traits not being exclusive to children + about other characters having those traits but still not being babied – YES, thank you so much for that. Like I already mentioned, the game clearly plays with those tropes, and even though the characters are young-looking, they are still of high school age (other than Lilia). Ortho is weird, Ortho is different from some of the other boys, but all of them are weird in their own way, Ortho is just a robot. If we can make “not a human” excuse for the dwarves, why can’t we look at Ortho that way? And yes, Ortho absolutely knows stuff a kid wouldn’t be able to digest lol All of his difficulties come from him being an AI – he doesn’t always get sarcasm, he doesn’t fully understand why people do certain things and doesn’t understand some limitations of human’s body and mind; none of it is tied to him being childish or too innocent.

Incest in media is very popular indeed, and it’s SUPER popular in porn! You are right. If any kind of media ends up “normalising” this kind of relationship, it definitely won’t be shippers of incest. But also that won’t happen because wow, it doesn’t work that way. People love to say that fiction affects reality, and while in a way it does, it’s never a “everyone is going to start shooting people because the videogames brainwashed them” type of deal, and this is exactly what they’re doing with their arguments. It’s fear-mongering, moralism and ignoring the fact that people do in fact know how to separate fiction from reality. And the key to making sure no one is going to jump out the window because their favourite character did so isn’t in censorship, but in people learning this difference and always keeping in it mind. Ironically, that would mean that people who harass others over cartoons can’t make this separation very well because of their lack of critical consumption of media; but then again, they can’t even see (and don’t care, which makes it worse and my point stronger) how their own reckless actions seriously affect real people in real life, and I think this is a more important issue to resolve lol

Unfortunately, people who prefer performative activism very rarely end up becoming real activists, but I do hope that they will at least find some other hobby, something that doesn’t cause so much harm to both innocent people and the cause they claim to be fighting for.

I got a bit carried away there, but yeah, I totally agree with your point, and once again grateful for your understanding. There will always be media that makes you uncomfortable – and that’s the beauty of it. Creativity is a boundless ocean and no amount of bricks can contain it.

Anonymous asked:

I was just scrolling through and saw your explanation of ortho and shroudcest the other day. As tiring as I’m sure it is, it always gives me hope to see people who remember what shipping is really about. I mean problematic content has existed all through human mythos and history, and society still survives! According to the studies the “art morality” argument is roughly the same as “but da violent games!!” Argument, or metal music, or clothes, or any other form of media deemed ‘new’ or ‘too different’.

Anyway, I don’t ship cest stuff myself but your art is lovely and it’s become one of the things I can view without feeling uncomfy despite how my head usually responds to such content (woohoo free therapy??? /j)

I ship ortho with an OC who’s also 16. Said oc’s mother said she would never treat her child differently for who they choose to love, and while she definitely wasn’t expecting a robot, she’s not going back on her word.

Thank you so much, Anon!! YES, this is exactly what shipping is all about! It feels like “umm but they’re not even canon” type of people are suddenly the majority in fandom spaces ahhh lol

As long as art exists, there will always be people who are against it, especially if it’s something niche, and despite how popular fandoms are, all of the fandom activity is a niche, ESPECIALLY shipping, ESPECIALLY this kind of shipping. So unfortunately it’s unavoidable, but it’s so useless and annoying!

I am very happy that you like our stuff. Thank you for enjoying it. Your OC’s mother is amazing and very supportive lol I am sure she and Ortho will get along swimmingly.

[egypt-museum]

"The Temple of Dendera, known for the famous “Zodiac of Dendera” now housed in the Louvre Museum. Within the portico leading into the Hathor temple at Dendera is a little-known outstanding achievement of humanity: an extensive colored bas-relief—larger than the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—meticulously encoded with the sophisticated astronomical knowledge of ancient Egypt. Drawing on more than 5,000 high-resolution photographs he has taken at the Temple of Dendera, photographer and computer scientist José María Barrera presents a complete full-color photographic reconstruction of the ceiling of the pronaos at Dendera and reveals in detail how each panel represents celestial cycles of time from the precession of the equinoxes to the annual cycles of life found along the Nile. He explains the meaning of the layout of the ceiling as it relates to the present, the past, eternity, the hours of the day, the phases of the moon, the constellations used in ancient Egyptian astronomy, the solar year, and the Great Year.

The author provides detailed analysis of each panel, including close-up photos, and explains each panel’s astronomical and spiritual significance from the ancient Egyptian perspective as well as examining the myths, gods, and goddesses depicted. He also includes an appendix exploring the meaning and symbology of ancient Egyptian iconography. Allowing you to experience the vivid details of this ancient work of art and science, this photographic exploration also re-creates the sense of spiritual awe and power the Temple of Dendera radiates to its visitors, whether today or millennia ago."

— Dendera, Temple of Time: The Celestial Wisdom of Ancient Egypt, by by José María Barrera

[anneangel]

Why do people compare Rings of Power to The Silmarillion?

I could be wrong, but why do people compare Rings of Power to The Silmarillion? As far as I know, the production DOES NOT OWN the rights to this book, only specific excerpts and some of the letters.

I know there are those who denounce the Rings of Power show as an unacceptable divergence from canon material, but as far as I know, considering that the material they have for general use is Appendix B of Lord of the Rings, it is surprising that they would propose to to make a series with such minimal information about the Second Era.

That's why I don't judge the show as much as some do. Seriously, read Appendix B. Explains why they are mixing events from the Second and Third Ages, as well as condensing distant events into a single period for this show. Why? Because it's insane to try to put together a show with several seasons just based on the timeline in Appendix B, they would obviously have to give in and make a FanFiction.

With this in mind, it doesn't surprise me that they are creating a lot of material without a canonical basis (which some are pejoratively calling this FanFiction, but I won't do it, because after all it is hypocritical for those fans here who love read and write FanFictions to have the audacity to use the term pejoratively). Considering that the show does not have all rights to The Silmarillion, nor other posthumous books or letters from Tolkien, and has been granted permission for only vague excerpts, I have come to tolerate the show much more and appreciate it in the same way as I do with the FanFictions that I love to read.

I watched the first season with a pretty open mind and it was fun, and I'll do that for the second season as well. In the same way that I enjoy and am entertained by the FanFictions that I frequently read, I hope to have just as much fun.

Before criticizing, read appendix B about the Second Age and see how silly it is to try to put together a complex plot exclusively with what is there!!! And if they dont have permission to adapt Silmarillion, then what's the point in criticizing the show for not adapting a book they DON'T have the right to adapt??? It's like asking them to do the impossible.

At least if people only criticized it by comparing it with what is in Appendix B and in the book Lord of the Rings about the second era only. But criticizing based on a book that they dont have right to adapt??? What's the point???

[rin-and-jade]

Pulling Strings in your Veins: A Post on Switch-Induced Effects

'So, you're telling me switches can have unexpected effects beyond their intended purpose? Why would there be effects to the physical body when it is just some mechanism??'

Well, yeah i am! And it seems to happen to a portion of us despite not knowing why. It does sound confusing, like how we often view the appendix as a seemingly useless organ, but.. did you know that the appendix actually serves as a safe place for good gut bacteria during infections? Then, maybe we can start to think that these effects are not meaningless/random and have another mechanism/reason behind it?

What the Jerk?!

For those who don't know, jerk/twitches can be defined in this quote:

"A muscle twitch is a short contraction that sometimes occurs repeatedly − think eye twitching. Such movement can be uncomfortable and inconvenient, but it isn't usually painful." From USA Today

In general means, twitches can happen from nutrient deficiencies/dehydration (some minerals helps muscle contract and loosen), not getting enough rest, stress, too much coffee, or due to neurological conditions. It also can vary from being subtle like a nudge, to strong as in it can be visually observed too!

When these contractions became painful, they're called spasm/cramps and are caused by the same reasons above, added with overexertion or after having a strenuous activity. Overall, it is still wise to make sure you ate adequate meals, stay hydrated, and rest enough to minimize the effects whenever it comes by, alright?

OKAY.. but, this doesn't explain the whole ordeal we have as systems, so did we hit a dead end? Not really, i have some actual answers going on here after some many reading and sense-making;

What could that possibly be..

If you have heard about the Central Nervous System, you must meet it's younger brother: Peripheral Nervous System, CNS and PNS for short.

So, if CNS consists of the brain's and the spinal cord's nerves, the PNS would be every nerves and sensors outside of it--your finger tips, neck, face, legs, all of the limbs you can think of.

Now you're thinking, why mention this? Because the only bridge where neuro/psychological meets physical, is from the central to the peripheral! When CNS is where all commands and actions comes from, somewhere must be equipped to running those tasks accordingly, which is PNS's job.

Now if a switch is happening, many things are happening inside the brain as well, in chemistry and electrical-impulses wise. Apart from adjusting to the part that will be out next, it has this kind of recalibration from the CNS to be attuned to this part which could create peak brain activity, sending overexcited impulses in the initial stages,, pain also counts as the byproduct sometimes. Now this is where the the impulses are not intentional by the CNS, but caught by the PNS, which is why many physical effects happen right before, or in middle, or after the switch has been complete though it differs for everybody. (it can be as minor as shivering or eye-defocusing too)

Here's a similar condition (yet not widely used in the medical world) that you guys can learn too, dropping it here!

Okay, but why?

We now know what has been causing it, but probably that isn't satisfying enough for you as an answer? No worries, i gotcha covered!

We have been equipped with many involuntary responses when something happens, take some for an example:

Knee jolt reflex when a medical hammer is struck

Sudden retraction from painful, hot water

The coughs that comes along from an accidental choke

These things seems to happen without us needing to think of doing it manually, still with the examples as references, i will apply different reasons to why twitches happen in a switch;

When muscles are too stiff or loose, twitches can happen to reset the tone to its original state

It can be used to regulate muscle coordination to ensure movements are 'calibrated' (like how i explained before)

Could be due to adjusting to the CNS's output of energy/activity, especially if it suddenly changes

A response after being surprised by external stimuli (which could make sense because the body 'wakes up' again after the next fronter comes in)

Yes, but...

But not all experiences twitches, and instead felt weak or unbalanced or unable to coordinate movements or all that,,, how did the opposite happen?

Nobody's brain work the same way, that's the first thing you must remind yourself. This itself has a whole different involuntary response that comes with switching, which i also have the answer for;

Some switches have excitatory effects, while some have inhibitory effects depending on the person, some might even experience both kinds or just one.

If the PNS responds to any orders the CNS give, the CNS, instead of creating crowding arrays of nerve impulses, tells it to tone down everything on purpose to reduce any clashes from brain synapses or anything related to prepare for the next stage, make sense? Which then brings us to less controlled limb movements or balancing, or even sometimes affecting wakefulness.

Here are some inhibitory-related conditions, one way or another!

Takeaway

Just a simple reminder that any existing stress or conditions (mental or physical) can affect the quality of the switch, which is why it's important to take care of one's health to reduce the intensity of the physical symptoms that comes along with as well as safety measures to reduce any discomfort or harm that can happen in the process.

Sadly, i do not have a say in how to specifically help systems with any excitatory or inhibitory responses, coming from a system that has smooth transitions with little to no effects, so i want to hear how you guys experience and handle those moments! This can also be a moment where you guys share tips or tricks that can benefit others too, so i appreciate any contribution related to this topic!!

So, what do you guys think about this? let me know your thoughts alright?

- j