#this time without the destiel meme

[reasonsforhope]

Also, content-lock-free link. [Technically it's not a paywall but it is annoying]

Keep pressuring Western governments. This is proof that it can work.

--

"Canada will halt future arms sales to Israel following a non-binding vote in the house of commons. The foreign affairs minister, Mélanie Joly, told the Toronto Star her government would halt future arms shipments. “It is a real thing,” she said on Tuesday [March 19].

The decision follows a parliamentary motion, introduced by the New Democratic party (NDP), that called on the governing Liberals to halt future arms exports to Israel. The New Democrats, who are supporting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority government, have expressed frustration with what they see as his failure to do enough to protect civilians in Gaza.

The motion – which passed 204-117 with the support of Liberals, Bloc Québécois and the Green party – also called on Canada to work “towards the establishment of the state of Palestine.""

-via The Guardian, March 19, 2024

[threefuckencrowsinatrenchcoat]

All the gomens girls freaking out over the leak are so funny to me because. Listen I’m on season 3 of supernatural on my first watch. But also I’m on tumblr—LITERALLY spn central. Like if I were to log onto this bitchsite thinking I wasn’t going to get spoilers I would be in for a TERRIBLE surprise bc that’s what the internet is besties!!! It’s ok u won’t die!!! Anyway if u want to know what the leak is u can message me I found it on the bird app

[starsanddragonflies]

WHAT

[mariusaurus]

i think one of my favorite parts of this tour is logging onto tumblr each day and immediately seeing the 8ball song being announced via destiel

[bassproshopspyramid]

image ID: the destiel breaking news meme, but after cas says "i love you", dean replies:

cas, danaher corporation and it’s subsidiary company cepheid are still charging tuberculosis (TB) patients in low- and middle-income countries $10–$20 to access quick and accurate testing despite the fact that cepheid’s genexpert machine tests were developed with at least $252 million in taxpayer money and doctors without borders found out that the tests only cost $3–$4.50 to produce. TB is a major cause of death and disability, not to mention that the inaccessibility of these tests leads to the spread of drug resistant TB around the globe.

it’s #timefor5. find out how you can help at tbfighters.org

[auramgold]

On Acht and Romance

going into side order, from the september direct trailer where Acht was first revealed i remember the joke at the time clearly being "and now Marina's ex is here".

the way this line [image description in alt] was written was basically the only evidence for this kind of idea, when the theories were kind of "Marina's order tantrum is sucking people in from her past and the DLC will be about going through her memories", so ellipses in a line like this is basically all theory crafters on no info need to go for shipping.

i'm not one who's super into plot theory crafting, i know full well the tendency to theorize something that's cooler than what you actually get and being disappointed that the story didn't live up to your imagination. the things i was obsessed with in side order promotional material was the obvious bleached coral theme, the symbolism of coral ejecting it that which keeps it safe out of stress being mapped onto Marina, the idea of her pushing those she loves (and those that keep her colorful) away out of a spiral (and it does turn out that was basically exactly what the prologue was going for)

so the whole "Acht and Marina exes" thing was kinda just a joke to me, wasn't even on my radar as something they were actually going to lean into, frankly i was still scared nintendo was going to make them kill pearlina by sending Marina to superhell or smth and we'd end up with a splatoonified destiel meme

so when the DLC comes out and it is legitimately a "they knew each other since childhood" thing, and the running bit is Acht feeling awkward third-wheeling pearlina, and it's explicit in text that one of the reasons they're coming back after the DLC is over is to scope out Pearl as the girl who took down the NILS statue who is now dating Marina... it struck me as really interesting.

at first it was me keeping up the "Marina and Acht are exes" as a joke, but as i kept reading dialogue lines, it slowly became less of a joke, they were to some degree dating because opposite but complimentary autisms, and then drifting apart as Marina got pulled away on the big girl assignment with DJ Octavio, and then the despair of knowing Marina left without even saying goodbye to Acht... it fits well into that reading, it slowly became less of a joke to believe that

but the thing that really makes me think this is intentional subtext is the final Acht diary entry you get from clearing Eight's palette. through the rest of side order talking about Acht's backstory, it seemed like they were retconning the OE lore that Acht had gotten themself sanitized intentionally, losing themself so they could explore their music deeper. but in the final diary, where Acht directly says they drifted into the deepsea metro to fall into their music, because, and i quote

"Hey, Marina. You can guess the chaos your desertion caused. I ended up without much to do except make music. "

they fell into a depression spiral when their girlfriend deserted their society without so much as saying goodbye, falling into their music deep away from interacting with everyone else, to the point that, as the old lore implies, they chose to give up their identity to escape the depression, but sanitization so thoroughly did it that they forget even making the choice.

so when they get brought out of that haze back into being themself again, with the only the barest strung-together horrified memories of what happened in the half a decade interim gap in their life, only to find themself replaced by some inkling they don't know at all, of course they're gonna be awkward seeing the two flirting.

they put on a stoic face because that's clearly their coping mechanism within this damaged body they barely recognize, hiding their eyes behind their tinted glasses so they can't be seen beneath. but the only time they let themself be vulnerable, the only time their eyes can be seen, is when they charge out in the climax when the world is at stake, diving in to try to save Marina, leaving the elevator and its protection behind to help the only person they remember ever caring about.

it's why i don't really like the aroace reading that much, because i think this reading is even more tragic and fits into the themes. the world has changed, it can't go back to how it once was, you can't put the octolings back in the canyon bottle. Marina abandoned Acht to the point they got their identity destroyed willingly to escape the pain, and when Acht came back they were replaced by the inkling whose voice they remember even through the haze of sanitized memories.

the lingering effects of sanitization have changed how they relate to everything (i think there's a fair argument to be made for the idea that sanitization took their gender can't have shit in the deepsea metro), but Acht clearly still cares for Marina and still, the slightest bit, resents having to be reminded repeatedly every time pearlina flirts in front of them how they were replaced.

[chaoticfandomgirly]

There are two types of Supernatural fans.

1) the one who started the show without much prior knowledge.

2) the one whose Pinterest was full of supernatural memes because you also watched Doctor Who and Sherlock.

There are 2 types of Destiel shippers.

1) the OG shippers who saw Cas's and Dean's relationship grow throughout the show and decided they exuded gay energy and were deeply in love.

2) the shippers who saw a lot about Destiel on Pinterest and just accepted it before even starting the show (which subsequently led you to watch the actual show because it gave you a lot of fanfiction content!). You probably flew through first few seasons to just see Castiel finally make an appearance, started fanfictions not long after, must have read Twist and Shout along the way and by the time Dean and Castiel's relationship developed you were already delusional. Deep inside you know that you probably wouldn't have shipped them because a lot of it felt forced and not much to go on. But then, fanfic writers are magic, so while you ship them you aren't canon shippers...not exactly. In your mind, Cas and Dean's personality are wholly different than what is on the show and probably think that you or a fanfic writer would have done a better job as a writer on the show than the actual writers.

Anyways I am no. 2 in both the cases. Which type of fan are you?

[foolondahill17]

My top 10 fic picks from 2022

(all updated or completed in 2022, in no particular order)

This was the year of devouring content from new favorite authors. Special shoutout to @outdean and @urne-buriall . Right Where you Left Me and spirit of the west are on track to becoming new fandom classics, methinks. 

1. Right Where You Left Me by outdean (@outdean), 93,581 words, E, destiel, canonverse

 Cas comes back from the empty 10 years after his death, only to find Dean married (to a man! gasp!). Heartache ensues, but not without a heartwarming end. Warning for (spoilers!) infidelity and emotional abuse from a spouse. Last year's serial fic of Tumblr was Cheapest Room in the House, and this year's was no less beautiful and engaging. What I especially loved about this fic was the sense of community and excitement it spurred in the fandom. It was so fun logging into tumblr after every update for collective squee and memes. What's also particularly praiseworthy about this story is outdean's sense of character. Not only are Dean and Cas authentic and oh-so tangible, but so are the other cast of characters: Jack is especially endearing, but also convincingly adult and complicated. And Dean's husband, although delicious to hate, is also a little difficult to hate, too. At its heart, RWYLM is an unerringly human tale, zits and all. 

2. spirit of the west by teen_dean (@urne-buriall), 140,680 words, M, destiel, AU 

Beautifully atmospheric, at times brutal, at times gentle - this 1990's horsegirl!Dean fic is one for the ages. Dean is 18 and lonely on his father's horse farm - that is until his childhood friend, Cas, returns to town, and they quickly fall into the kind of intimacy that's titillating, tantalizing, and terrifying all at once. TW for strong themes of domestic abuse and PTSD, also homophobia and animal death. The prose is charming and lyrical. The characters are lively and full. It's the kind of writing that's so detailed and visual, you feel like a participant in the story, not just a spectator. Despite the darkness and fear in Dean's life, with Cas by his side (and a host of other lovable characters), he grows to accept love from others and for himself. This is more than a coming-of-age novel. It's also a story about hope: in the face of cruelty, there will also be unfailing kindness. 

3. so much smoke in the hall of mirrors by AreYouReady (@autisticandroids), 6,232 words, E, pre-destiel/one-sided destiel, canonverse

 Dark. Dark. Dark. But also disturbing and alluring in the best possible ways. It's season 6, and Cas is lured steadily further from the light by Crowley and the pressures of the Angelic civil war. To blow off some steam, he creates a Dean sex-doll out of living flesh. Warnings are well-listed in the tags, but include non-con voyeurism, dehumanization, and torture. Although the premise is bleak, this fic is a fascinating and believable dive into Cas's characterization pre-godhood powertrip. Well worth the read if you don't mind a little moral ambiguity with your morning wheaties. 

4. Dateverse by aeli_kindara (@gravelghosts​), 47,057 words, 3 works, E, destiel, canonverse

After the Mrs. Butters business, Dean asks Cas on a date. Warnings for typical Dean bad headspace, but there's plenty of fluff to soothe our (and Dean's) ills. aeli_kindara is an author whose careful writing perfectly suits Dean's caution as he pursues Cas and navigates a relationship within their emotional pitfalls and chaotic surroundings. What I especially admire about her writing is her use of motifs: photographs in the first story, memories in the second, and sunsets in the last. The third installment is waylaid by the events of the final few episodes of the series, but the fic seamlessly blends canon and fresh events into a believable and satisfying happy ending. Also, Dean goes to therapy! What's not to love? 

5. where black stars rise by teen_dean, (@urne-buriall), 27,770 words, T, destiel, canonverse

This case fic carves through the grand, sweeping mysteries of the universe like the Sidewinder Canyon through the desert. No specific warnings other than that very distinct, unnerving state of mind you enter while driving alone at night, darkness and pin-prick stars above you, and it feels like you're nothing but an infinitesimal speck of dust on the cusp of eternity.... Anyway, this fic follows Dean and Cas on the trail of several missing persons on a canyon trail in Arizona, unobtrusive until time and space, itself, unravels at the seams. Teen_dean plays with words and the cosmos like Play-Doh, molding an ethereal, enthralling story that rocketed up to one of my favorite fics of all time. 

6. iconography by foccacciabread (couldn’t find a tumblr), 3,578 words, G, Mary and Dean centric, canonverse

A simple enough premise: Mary finds old photographs of herself on Facebook. Cue family heartache, the punishment of lost time, and navigating old wounds. How to be a son when your mother isn't who you thought she was? How to be a mother when your child is dead but somehow still alive, but so, so changed? No warnings, but heavy angst. 

7. Dont Stop, Make It Pop by dumbassnatural (@dumbassnatural), 34,661 words, WIP, T, destiel, canonverse

Cas accidentally becomes a tik tok sensation, and Jack uses his technological and business savvy to make his dad a star. Both parts sweet and earnest, this story starts with a silly premise and takes it to surprisingly heartwarming places. No warnings other than the fact this is a WIP that hasn’t been updated since January, but it does leave off in a place that isn’t hard to extrapolate what might comes next. 

8. in present tenses by focacciabread, 31,463 words, E, destiel, canonverse

After getting Cas back from the Empty, Dean decides the smartest move to guarantee Cas doesn’t ever leave him again is to just start sleeping with him. It’s what Cas wants, right? And it won’t do any further psychic damage to Dean, right? Right? Surely it will not have any negative effects whatsoever on their relationship. Warnings for bad Dean headspace throughout. There are a couple fics with this premise floating about, but I was especially drawn to focacciabread’s evocative writing and convincing Dean internal monologue. We love a messy boy. 

9. AITA for disapproving of my brother's high sex drive? by birdsofthesoul (couldn’t find a tumblr) and PlaidIsTheBestPattern (@cacophony-of-notions), 3,907 words, T, implied destiel, canonverse

This one also made its rounds on Tumblr, so you’ve probably already read it, but it’s an absolutely delightful, only partially serious take in Dean and Sam’s Reddit Rivalry and that particular brand of moralizing found in online spaces. It does what all the best “crack taken seriously” fics do, which is gives us an amusing premise but never deviates from the voices of these characters we know so well. Very mild warning for homophobia. Also be sure to read the rest of the AITA series.

10. peace came upon me (and it leave me weak) by outdean (@outdean), 73,773 words, E, destiel, canonverse

After Cas gets taken to the empty, Dean gets sober. Cas comes back a year later. Problems ensue. This one deals seriously and carefully with addiction and alcoholism, especially heavy mistakes done under the influence. Dean has a lot of growing to do and a lot to atone for, and he isn’t let off the hook easy. Cas has his own journey as he learns to forgive Dean for passed mistakes and navigate a future life with the man he’s in love with. It’s not an easy path, and it’s not an easy story to read, but it’s well worth it. Outdean navigates serious issues with finesse and delicacy that’s wonderful to observe. 

Honorable mention: 

Pater by TaraxcumWine, (couldn’t find a tumblr),  184,366 words, E, destiel, AU

I recced this as a WIP last year, but it finished posting early in 2022. I didn’t want it to take up a spot again, but I can't help but mention it. It’s a thoughtful, intricate, and beautiful look in Dean and Cas’s relationship from their first meeting to present day. It deals with heavy themes of child abuse, past non-con, mental health issues, homophobia, etc. so tread carefully. This is especially recommended for those who liked spirit of the west or my own silver linings series, as it deals with similar themes. It’s very well worth the read despite the hefty length. 

[gattmammon]

I am literally SO TIRED of Westerners in all social media but also in the destiel meme here the comments are full of "why are they so ass backwards? Didn't they invent homosexuality lmfao" "lol what took them so long" shut up! You don't even know that orthodoxy exists. Also I saw the tag "I thought Mediterraneans approved of mlm affection" boy am I going to blow you your mind that men kissing each other on the cheek and saying I love you is normal here but gay sex is thought as an anomaly against nature. Anyway so many western progressives are so smug.

Djdjfjfjfjfjfur like. Literally. Im gonna make this about italy because ive seen this a l9t about italy as well but the fact that we sometimes get a breakthrough international artist cishet man who wears makeup does not mean thats the norm anymore than lil nas x's existence means glitter is the norm for American black men.

The fact that italian soccer fans full on jump on each other after a goal or cry openly when their team wins does not mean that they would not beat the SHIT of any kid in their vicinity who does not perform gender correctly. Like the whole "men cannot have feelings or touch each other" thing is a Puritan/Protestant neurosis that they project without realising. Gender performance looks different but that doesn't mean that it isn't strictly enforced. I know kids who stopped washing after doing sports because the other kids on their team called them gay for wanting to not smell. I remember this whole lithany by a Southern Italian author of things that get you called a slur in his culture which included "not putting super spicy pepper oil on your pizza" and "using an hair-dryer". And yet tons of people just accepted idk James Somerton talking about how Italy was full of gay men longing for nothing more than banging British kids on the grand tour... But it was just taken at face value until someone actually sat down and considered his pattern of making up shit on the whole.

And like. As usual Greece gets a whole lot of this as well only even worse because people usually have some notion of the Catholic Church and the Italian middle ages being a thing but the Orthodox Church straight up does not exist in their mind. Like Greece went from Ancient to Today in some sort of time capsule I guess. And that's not even touching the misconceptions about ancient Greece as yaoi paradise

[revengeismygender]

I can’t stop thinking about the extremely misleading post that was circulating last week about the train derailment in Ohio and the amount of people who believed it whole cloth and went into a panic (understandably — the post was terrifying if you hadn’t heard about the crash previously). I’m not trying to shit on OP who has dealt with enough and apologized/admitted that the post was misleading or the people who got scared, I’m just disturbed by the amount of people (some of whom lived in Ohio!!) unaware of something that had been in the news for a week+ at that point.

And I want to be clear, I’m not blaming anyone for not having the spoons to engage in the 24-hour disaster news cycle where you’re bombarded with bad news every second of every day. I can’t do that either. But people, you have to stop getting your news from Twitter and tumblr. You just do. SO,

here are some low spoons ways to know wtf is going on.

*disclaimer* none of these sources are perfect or without bias and I’m not claiming they are. Every news organization is influenced by who owns it, the government it exists under, etc. also, this is a very US focused list bc I am in the US. Other people please feel free to add helpful resources from your country.

NPR’s Up First podcast: this podcast is literally like 10 mins long and just runs through essential US and international headlines.

NY Times The Daily: this one is a little longer (25-ish mins) and hones in on a theme, though it does touch on other news.

Vox’s Today Explained: this podcast runs through the highlights of what happened that day in about 20 mins.

CNN/Daily Beast Cheat Sheet: read through top headlines of the day covering a variety of topics. There are links to articles if you want to know more but you get a blurb about each regardless.

NY Times Morning Newsletter: this comes to your email and is free unlike other Times content. Though there are links to articles that are behind a paywall, all you really need to get started is the headlines and blurbs in the newsletter itself and you can always start googling from there if you feel the need.

USA Today Short List: similar to the NY Times morning newsletter but this one comes in the evening. No paywall, easily digestible headlines and highlight blurbs.

I’m not saying you need to have google alerts turned on for every single news source. I’m not saying you need to camp out in front of cable news for 8 hours a day like your grandpa, or even watch it twice a day like your dad. I’m not saying you can’t learn some piece of world news from a Destiel meme every now and then.

But engaging for 10-15 mins a day with the basics of what’s going on in the world is very helpful in that at the very least it stops you from panicking about a “media blackout about the worst disaster since Chernobyl” since you will have seen it in 5 news sources already and know that it couldn’t possibly be true.

[dotthings]

Honestly I am so tired of seeing the Destiel meme used to share world events. Every time I see it used in that way it’s a reminder—how spn creatives got f*cked over. How Dean got f*cked over. How fans got f*cked over. How the story got f*cked over after 15.18. How Cas’s confession was spn’s compromise to get around corporate censorship, the only way they could get Destiel on the screen as far as they could, due to corporate censorship, so Dean had to be silent. How Jensen got f*cked over while “casuals” who don’t even watch spn and bitter anti-destiels from within spn standom erased Jensen’s actual richly layered, emotionally fraught performance where Dean couldn’t even speak—that ended, reminder, with Dean sobbing on the floor with grief for Cas, after Cas was gone but that part keeps being forgotten—gets erased. How much emotion was there on screen from Dean, but Dean is not only silenced, he’s being erased, his feelings erased. Because if he doesn’t do a whole speech several paragraphs long back to Cas, it’s perceived as uncaring, indifferent, or some more malicious parties outright tried to assign “disgust.”

ngl. Every time I see that meme, it’s a reminder of how shitty people were about that scene. And the erasure still being committed. Dean wasn’t just silenced by corporate censorship. His feelings have been further erased and denied by the online zeitgeist. That meme just steps on it over and over and over.

Now they’re trapped in amber as a meme. Over and over.

There’s no way out. It’s cursed.

Dean showed the love. Jensen showed Dean’s love for Cas and the anguish Dean was going through via his performance. Even without Dean sobbing on the floor afterwards in case someone missed the memo. It’s all right there in Jensen’s performance and Dean’s feelings are right there on the screen, in his eyes and what little voice he gets to have and his body language.

[fiovske]

can't believe y'all made me go hunt the goodomens ""leak"" all by myself. back in my day you couldn't go thru the dash without having it shoved in your faces ten times per post a la destiel meme and making a Tumblr holiday event out of this called happy Every june

[y2kbugs]

@coolfire333 replied to your post “@coolfire333 replied to your post “Posts that are...”:

Also I'm really sorry you keep stumbling across these posts, I have ocd too and I get nervous about even using ao3 sometimes because of the amount of vitriol that people throw at those who "support" the website (even though I know that using it doesn't mean I'm giving a big ol thumbs up to it and everything anyone posts on there, ocd makes it hard for me to be realistic about things)

​I'm gonna tell you and everyone here right now that using AO3 will not and never makes you a bad person. it is, at its foundation, a niche website catered towards nerdy types who want to write about their blorbos. Some of those nerds have fucked up ideas for stories. Literally who cares. Ignore them. Are they committing actual crimes for writing stories like that? No one is out there rounding up and arresting sad sweaty nerds who are a little too obsessed with naruto for writing weird naruto fanfiction. They don't have time for that shit, there's actual criminals to arrest.

The worst thing those nerds do is write some shit and post it to a dinky ass website that most people won't even register as significiant. Has the creator of Cupcakes actually gotten into real trouble for writing weird torture porn about colorful ponies? I hate that story, it's stupid and a gorefest but I loved it as an edgy teenager, but other than being a meme online there's nothing else it's really doing.

I swear, you text your coworker, your cousin whatever whoever is not a terminally online dweeb and ask them what they think of age gap destiel mpreg fanfic. They'll just say some variation of "lol you use too much internet" and move on, do their taxes, whatever. They don't give a shit. The cashier at walmart doesn't give a shit. Your grandma barely knows what the internet is.

And you cannot equate this situation of "niche nerd website opens donations" to "there's an actual genocide going on". You cannot say someone is a bad person for donating to ao3 on the principle that there's also a genocide happening. This makes zero sense, and is sheer black and white thinking because what if people donate to both?

Because those idiots' minds will explode if they figure out you can do both because they cannot grasp that very concept. They strictly believe the "evil cannot comprehend good" trope and this isn't a fucking disney cartoon.

You're fine, I promise. Whether you donate to a stupid site for silly stories is completely irrelevant to whatever the fuck else is going on.

Whoever is saying "if you donate to this insignificiant nerd website during this time you're a bad person" is without a doubt another terminally online nerd whose most pressing issue in life is finding a hobby that doesn't involve internet arguments over nothing. They have nothing to actually worry about so they make shit up for that sweet sweet moral cocaine.

[bassproshopspyramid]

‼️⚠️ 🎉 GOOD NEWS (nov. 15 / 2023)

[image ID: the destiel confession meme. cas says "I love you.

dean replies: "the endTB clinical trial found 3 new all-oral drug regiments with similar efficacy and safety to current conventional treatments while reducing the treatment time by up to two-thirds. they will allow for more individualized treatment centred on patients. and for the first time in the care of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, these treatments can be used in nearly all cases of MDR-TB, including in children, adolescents, adults, and pregnant people."

end ID.]

multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a form of tuberculosis that is particularly difficult to treat due to resistance to the 2 most powerful firstline antibiotics. many people are still treated with conventional treatments that are long (up to 24 months), ineffective, and often cause terrible side effects.

every year, there are about 500,000 new cases of MDR-TB worldwide - but only a tiny fraction are successfully treated. the endTB trial, led by MSF (médecins sans frontières/doctors without borders), PIH (partners in health) and IRD (interactive research and development), funded by Unitaid, and featuring 754 participants in 7 countries is a randomized, controlled trial designed to provide high-quality evidence on new, all-oral, shortened drug regimens.

one of the new regimens was found to be even more effective than current conventional treatments. the new trial also added an additional 4th regimen as an alternative for people who can’t tolerate some TB drugs.

there are now — for the first time ever! — 5 all-oral regimens that are effective against MDR-TB in 9 months or less and which are as good or better than a contemporary standard-of-care control. if recommended by WHO, they can be used in nearly all cases of MDR-TB, including children, adolescents, adults, and pregnant people, a first in MDR-TB care. two of the non-inferior regimens cost under $400, and a third costs under $600, for the full course of treatment.

EDIT: press release from endTB for a source

[fitscientist]

These are all totally genuine questions, I'm not trying to be rude or snarky at all, just trying to clarify and learn! This subject has always kind of confused me... But just curious about your tag about the last time net neutrality came around - wasn't it kind of always around unofficially/there were no rules really before being solidified in 2015 and then they repealed it a couple years later? Do you mean you lost 3k followers in 2015 or when it was repealed? And how does net neutrality make you lose followers - isn't it basically just about all sites being treated without discrimination by internet providers? Again, genuinely asking!

Hi anon - you haven't followed me long enough have you? hahaha :) I don't want to talk too much about it (especially since, well, I lost a lot of followers, the most I ever had in my life), but I will answer, since I think it's an important topic and that well, it brings up an important discussion about what content is "allowed" by the masses especially when you're a blog that isn't fandom or random.

TL;DR is that when Net Neutrality was threatened (idk, 2017? 2018? can't remember, it's late at night here so I can't be bothered to google when exactly, but you get the gist), I posted a lot about it, trying to bring awareness and showing that YES this is an important topic and people should be aware - I don't want to pay a premium internet service to get on Facebook, or have my connection drop because I want to go to tumblr and tumblr didn't make an agreement with my internet company to provide faster service. This was especially important for me, since I was long distance with my boyfriend at the time-now husband, and the only way to connect with him (for free, as you know long distance calls - phone calls - are insanely $$$$ and I was a poor grad student) was over the internet - we used Skype and Facebook and I couldn't imagine being in a position to have to pay extra to access the websites I used to connect with him. I did post a lot about it. Unfortunately, and obviously, that didn't go over well, because I'm a Fitblr™ who is only allowed to post Fitblr™ Things™. I'm not a person, only a curator of Aesthetic™. So, yeah, LOTS of people left and unfollowed me around that time. 3k worth. In fairness, I did post quite a bit (well, I was anxious about it! I'm sorry!), but it wasn't more than a few posts a day for a couple weeks? Idk. Didn't seem like a lot at the time, but perhaps it was. Since I wasn't a random blog, I had a Blog Theme™, and in hindsight that's definitely why people unfollowed - they didn't want to see or hear anything that wasn't my theme- fitblr. They wanted fitness and health and food content, they didn't want to see some political(?) BS. I don't blame them at all, yet on the other hand I guess people have to realize the people running these different themed blogs are... people? And at the time, it was absolutely an outlet for my anxiety and stress. I was being overworked and burned out in grad school, and the thought of losing access to my person - was unbearable. And the way to feel more in control? Post about it. I couldn't donate money, and I didn't want to protest or sign petitions (shit, I didn't have time tbh), but at the bare minimum I could post about it on my blog to gain awareness.

I was being snarky the other day when it was trending again, so obviously I needed to reblog the Destiel meme and add my snark tags because, that's how we tumblrians do it. Because, well, good riddance, people suddenly agree five years later it's an issue and are suddenly actually in support of net neutrality!!! I was mad so the snark came out, and honestly I shouldn't have posted that. But I was snarky. Good riddance. I was right all along. And, I'll even say that in the body, not the tags.

[waffles-for-brunch]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @lovevamp

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

4. One's an okay oneshot, then I did a fix-it after 15x20, then I lost my mind completely and spent three years on a season 12 rewrite and now I'm back again writing another fix-it. My twilight zone is self-inflicted.

2. what’s your total Ao3 word count?

540,492 (insert kevin james shrugging meme here)

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Just Supernatural. I started writing a fic for Baldur's Gate Bloodweave but then Destiel dragged me back to the dark side. Maybe I'll finish that one eventually.

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

they're not gonna be in order bc I'm just gonna go thru my bookmarks real quick but - "And this, your living kiss" by opal_bullets "On labor" by a_good_soldier (i reread this one twice this week) "The Nanny" by Kitmistry and those are the ones i feel like mentioning. :)

5. do you respond to comments?

Admittedly rarely. Mostly because I'll open my email when I'm getting up in the morning and read them and then work all day and forget to respond. I do appreciate all the comments I get tho. And a lot of the really kind ones I send to my groupchat and/or save in a folder on my email labelled "nice comments" also just sometimes I don't feel like I have anything to say. Like idk sometimes thank you just seems too small or something you know. It's strange. Then I'll just get in my head about it and say nothing and the cycle repeats lmao. But I do read them all.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Dog you know I'm not writing any angst without a happy ending. I can't take that shit lmao. It's happy endings only in this house. Happy and found family and loveliness. :)

7. what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I literally end everything the same way. Please I have the worst case of projection imaginable with these fics.

8. do you get hate on fics?

If I do I'm unaware. But I'd probably know it if I do, I stalk my own name and fics wherever I can because I'm insane and nosey. But nah the most I've gotten is just people being mad about a certain character's actions, but like that's not even hate it's just frustration with a character which is a given in certain circumstances. Now if someone was like "wow bad characterization" I'd be like girl, but no I think people are pretty respectful in my corners for the most part.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Bro let me tell you in "Our Old Heroes" I wrote like a singular sex scene and like maybe one or two other hot and heavy ones and good god did they take me so long to write. Like I'm not a very sex oriented person in general so writing this stuff out? Bro it's embarrassing how much poetry I put into that in retrospect (i jest, it's fine) but like I don't generally orient towards it just because it's very time consuming for me. It has to be very intimate and just right.

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you've written?

So short answer no, I haven't. Longer answer I love the concept and would be open to it. Particularly if it involves Dean being psychoanalyzed in some way because that's my favorite thing to write so it would probably be criminal minds. I think crossovers have so much fun and wonky potential tho.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope someone printed my fic to bring into prison and make a black market hot commodity. It would be the highest honor. I guess that's not theft, it's just the free market. But so I guess really no, if I have I'm unawares.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware of but I have had people comment in other languages or on twitter people will talk about it in a different language, which is pretty crazy. It's so wild we can be so connected to a story in that way despite not speaking the same language or growing up in the same environment.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

no! but as @lovevamp has said we've talked about a few that I'm certain one day we will follow through on. I've also talked with @icaruspendragon about maybe doing one at some point bc we seem to have the exact same mental illness that is the dean winchester brain disorder.

14. what’s your favorite all time ship?

I live breathe and bleed destiel, it's truly unfortunate for me.

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I just have a lot of ideas in my docs that will probably never become more than the ideas they are. Usually when I start a fic like for real I follow through with it. I would feel bad if I didn't lol.

16. what are your writing strengths?

I've been told my characterization is pretty good, which I appreciate. If it was bad I'd probably kms (jk). But fr idk that's the biggest comment I'll get is in regards to that which I really do like because I spend a lot of time trying to find a balance and make sure I'm expressing everyone the correct way they'd express themselves or not express themselves.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Sex scenes aside I do struggle with action mostly because I find it boring to write out. You just have to try and find so many different words. Ugh. I love dialogue. That's really where I start getting going. But writing action? I tend to do that last because I wanna get through all the good bits first then circle back and do the boring bits.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

listen I can barely remember english i'm sorry

19. first fandom you wrote for?

i'm an og baby i started here (destiel) and this is where i'll die (maybe not, we'll see)

20. favorite fic you’ve written?

Well, I don't really have many so it's probably the massive one. "Our Old Heroes" by adelaclancy (that's me). I was really in a bad place when I started it and I kind of just gave myself this crazy project for several reasons. One I was stopping drinking so I needed something else to do with my time. Second I was jobless and goalless and really didn't have a lot going for me and writing was really the only thing I have ever had consistently so I was like okay well I'll start this stupid project and it's gonna be like 26 chapters and 500,000 words long and it's gonna delve into all my issues through projection of these fictional characters and if I actually manage to finish it I can finally say I finished something. So I did. And I actually managed to work on myself a lot in the process. So over all that time I went from living in bad straights as an unemployed drunkard to a full time worker with a few years sobriety under their belt and a better sense of my own boundaries and thriving friendships and I dunno man, in a way that fic really was a bridge for me and I think in that too for a lot of the readers they get to see that now too. Like they can see my little notes at the beginning of chapters and how they change over time alongside the characters in the book and it's kind of an experience in that way I suppose. If not through Dean Winchester and Castiel then maybe through me, if someone out there finds a little bit of hope from that silly little mess of words then I suppose that's something to be proud of then, isn't it? Anywho...

tagging: @icaruspendragon

(Bro I know like two people sorry)