transman-badass

[transman-badass]

🌻🌼🌷🌸🏵️🌹🌺💐🍀

Some flowers for anyone not feeling their best today

[transman-badass]

Morning everyone. I hope you get what you need today, or at least what you want. Stay safe!

[transman-badass]

“Body Horror,” as an official designation, is a term that comes from horror cinema but its literary origins can be traced back as far as Frankenstein. It is a trope that springs from primal fears—from the knowledge of oneself as a physical object and the consciousness of pain—and its roots wind through the Gothic, to the fin de siècle and the birth of science fiction. As a sub-genre, it broadly encompasses the concept of bodily violation, whether that be via mutilation, zombification, possession, or disease, but arguably one of its most pervasive themes is that of transformation. From Ovid to Cronenberg, transformation occupies an anxious corner in so much of film and literature that it more or less forms a tradition all its own. Folklore and myth are littered with metamorphosis���Daphne twisting into a bay tree, Alice in Wonderland with her Eat Me’s and Drink Me’s—and its impact is frequently an unsettling one. It is a fairy-tale punishment, a warning to naughty children, a reminder of the body’s unreliability.

[…] I think that writing about women goes hand in hand with horror writing. The female body is a nexus of pain almost by design, but it is also potentially monstrous—an object traditionally subjugated, both for its presumed weakness and its perceived threat. The mutations and transformations of horror writing are uniquely qualified to evoke this: the difficulty and unreliability of the female body, its duality as an object both to be feared for and to fear.

When Daphne transforms into a bay tree, the moment is one of both horror and deliverance. She is no longer what she once was, but the metamorphosis frees her from the unwanted attention of Apollo. This duality of horror and emancipation sits, I think, at the core of female transformation. Within the horror genre (and arguably everywhere else), bodies read as female are always subject to pain, and to the threat of violation. Becoming something else—a tree, a freak, a monster—preempts this pain and reduces the risk of harm. It may even, if the transformation is the right one, allow you to cause harm in return.

— Julia Armfield, “On Body Horror and the Female Body”

[transman-badass]

20/04/20 • title is the subject line of an email about middle egyptian classes. italics are ‘quotes from my middle egyptian prof that i happened to write down’ 

[transman-badass]

physically go to your local library at least once. seriously.

look around. find a random book with a cover that catches your attention. read the description. read the first page. if you like the sounds of it, borrow it and take it home to read. borrow a handful of books even.

if a book loses your interest, drop it. if a book grips onto you, ride that wave.

i've struggled to read recreationally for years despite having read so much as a kid. a lot of us are frozen by the seemingly infinite choices. even when we buy books to take home, we don't read them because which book is worth reading first? we don't have to decide, we have it right here in our bookshelves, we have an eternity of never deciding.

in this past month, i have read five books, most of them i've never heard of when i spotted their cover at the library. most of them, i've ended up loving. the due date of library books maintains the ability to read a book so i can return them to the library and leave the library with more books. an even better incentive than borrowing ebooks, because i actually have to leave the house and not be a hermit.

so if you used to enjoy reading but struggle with it now, ignore the book recs you hear. go to the library, come across a book that piques your interest, and read one page after another until you either lose interest or finish the book.

then it's onto the next one.

[transman-badass]

Good morning to everyone experiencing a morning and good day/night to everyone else. I hope today is kind to you and you succeed at whatever you want to succeed at. Good luck out there, and don't die please.

[transman-badass]

Right. New strategy on my end. From now on, the weekend is for writing and working on fanfiction only. It's my designated break from working on my original fiction the other five days a week.

I think I'm burned out on transmasc led fiction. Or maybe reality is just making it hard to write my queer stuff. I might go back to working on cishet fiction for a while. I need a different escape.

[transman-badass]

I have thought about reblogging this post several times. But then I remember that my advisor was once accused of being a monarchist for writing a book about a monarchy that doesn't say "it was awful, terrible, and oppressive."

I'm not sure I trust people to understand what is and isn't royalism.

[transman-badass]

I am not a "content creator" I am a writer and artist. I do not make the works that an audience demands, or that I think will be popular. I make the works that I'm passionate about, when I'm passionate about them.

[transman-badass]

hey guys, i’m here to relieve you of your fear-mongering For You Page, here’s what we know:

1. this is not “world war 3”. that would be insane, unrealistic, unnecessary, and would never happen immediately off of one (albeit, awful) event like this. absolutely no country wants to go to war right now lol. anyone who makes any joke or post about “getting drafted” or “we’re all gonna die” has not done a lick of research, do not engage with it. plus, we’ve been at war with the middle east for ages, so for them, the timing of this attack is a bigger shock than the attack itself.

2. people in the US are not going to get hurt. more than likely, the worst this can get is some type of gulf war with the middle east limiting access to our resources, which still isn’t ideal. the best course of action for iran right now is to control what they can, which probably means cutting off the strait of hormuz, a strait that runs to the US (and other places) and provides it with resources like oil. (at least, that’s what i predict will happen based on the research i have done, but the resources part still stands). the US military is too advanced and too strong for an attack on US soil to be a strategic move for iran (a country with a population less than a third of the US’s) because they know that whatever they do, the US military will hit back even harder (that is apparent from one of trump’s latest social media posts… that heinous bitch 😒)

3. president trump wants you to be living in fear. that’s what his entire platform has been run on, along with lies and hypocrisy that more and more people are starting to see through. whatever happens in the future, this will be a huge turning point for a lot of individuals who may or may not care about who they voted for. but for those who did not ask for this, here’s what we can do:

stop making everything about the fear in the US and do what you can to lift up the people of iran, the people who were actually attacked, especially if this situation progresses any further. if military attacks do break out, it will most likely be on iranian soil, not the US’s, so do your best to try to be selfless, even through the fear.

please for the love of god do your own research, and keep it as unbiased as possible. news articles, reports, even historical articles, anything is better than scrolling through tiktok or tumblr and making your anxiety even worse. don’t even take what i say as fact! yes i’ve done research, but things can (and will) change, so it’s best to stay updated in whatever way you can.

spread positivity, build community, and gather information. as civilians, that is our current best course of action, and our collective greatest strengths. living in fear is feeding into what our government wants you to feel like so you’re easier to control. do not let them.

this is my own pet peeve, but stop saying “we bombed iran” or “we started a war”. WE did not do anything. donald trump did. that is not the america i associate with, nor should it be the one you associate with, either.

lastly, and i’ll say this until i die, everything is going to be okay. there will be issues, of course, but it won’t last forever, i promise. take a break from doomscrolling and get a good night’s rest. stay safe 🫶

[transman-badass]

The hardest thing for me is to know when to rest. Today, I'm choosing to intentionally step away from my fiction and just let myself be. I've lost the spark in my stories, the excitement. Maybe this will help me get that back.

Today, I read, I sleep, I drink coffee, I play, I think, and I don't work on my fiction no matter how much I want to, damn it.

That's gonna be really hard. But I deserve an intentional break.

[transman-badass]

For all of the northerners that stood up for Texas during our freeze and said, "Don't make fun of them, they've never dealt with this before. Their infrastructure isn't made for snow and freezing."

This one is for you.

Where I live 108°F with 80% humidity with no wind is normal.

Pacific North West is dealing historic best waves 35-40°C or 95-105°F.

First of all. Don't make fun of them for bitching about the heat. Just like Texas isn't built for a freeze and our pipes burst, Pacific North West isn't built for heat and a lot of their homes don't have AC.

If you live somewhere with a high humidity like 80+ HUMIDITY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. The "humidity makes it feel cooler" is a lie once it gets beyond a point.

If you live somewhere with a lower humidity, misters are nice to cool off outside.

Once you get over 90°F (32°C) a fan will not help you. It's just pushing around hot air. (I mean if you can't afford a small AC unit because they're expensive as hell, by all means a fan is better than nothing).

If you have pets, those portable AC units aren't safe. If your pets destroy the outtake thing, it'll leak CO2. Window units are safer.

Window AC units will let mosquitoes or other small bugs in. Sucks, but that's life.

Now is not the time to me modest. If you have to cover for religious reasons, by all means. If you don't, I've seen people wear short shorts and a swim top. It's not trashy if it keeps you from getting heat stroke.

If you do have to cover up for religious reasons, look for elephant pants or something similar. They're made with a breathable material.

Shade is better than no shade, but that shit it just diet sun after some point. Don't think shade will save you from heat stroke.

I know the "drink your water" is a fun meme now, but if you're sweating excessively you need electrolytes. Drink Gatorade, Powerade, or Pedialite PLEASE. I don't care if you're fucking sitting in one spot all day. That shit WILL save you from heat stroke.

Most importantly. RESEARCH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEAT STROKE AND HEAT EXHAUSTION PLEASE!

If you're diabetic and can't drink Gatorade, mix water, fruit juice, and either lite salt or pink salt

If you can afford it, cover windows with thick curtains to insulate the house

If you have tile floors, lay on them with skin to tile contact. If you don't, laying your head on cool counters works too.

If the temperature where you're at is hotter than your body temperature, don't wear heat wicking clothing. Moisture wicking is safe though.

Check your medication labels. Many make you more susceptible to sun and heat

-Room temperature water will get into your body faster. This is something I learned doing marching band in high summer in Georgia, and it saved all of our asses. Sip it, don't gulp it, especially if you're getting into the red; same goes for whatever fluid you're drinking. And just in general drink during the day.

-If you are moving from an air conditioned space to an un-air conditioned space, if at all possible try to make the shift gradual. When my dad and I were working outside and in un-ac houses a few years ago, he'd turn the air down to low in the truck about ten-fifteen minutes before we got where we were going. This way your body doesn't go from low low temps to high temps. S'bad for you.

-If you can, keep your lights off during the day. Light bulbs may not generate a lot of heat, but the difference is noticeable when it gets hot enough. I literally only turn my bedroom light on in the evening when it gets too dark.

Don't be afraid to just like... pour water on yourself if you need to. The evaporation will cool you off.

Put your hand to the cement for 15 seconds. If you can't handle the heat, it'll burn your dog's paws. Don't let them walk on it.

Dogs with flat faces are more prone to heat stroke. Don't leave them out unsupervised.

Frozen fruit is delicious in water.

Wet/Cold hat/handkerchief on your head/neck will help you stay cool.

Pickle juice is great for electrolytes! You can even make pickle juice Popsicles!

Heat exhaustion is more, "drink water and get you cooled off." Heat stroke is more "Oh my god call 911."

Image Description provided by @loveize

[Image description: an infographic showing the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke. The graphic is labeled "Heat Dangers: First Warning." Signs of heat exhaustion: faint or dizzy, excessive sweating, cool, pale, clammy skin, rapid, weak pulse, muscle cramps. If you think you or someone else may be experiencing heat exhaustion, get to a cool, air-conditioned place, drink water if conscious, and take a cool shower or use cold compress. Signs of heat stroke: throbbing headache, no sweating, red, hot, dry skin, rapid, strong pulse, may lose consciousness. If you think you or someone else may be experiencing heat stroke, call 911. End description]

Be safe.

-fae

[transman-badass]

i am not immune to the "character's eyes glow when they use their powers" trope

[transman-badass]

Your story is still worth writing even if it veers off from what you planned originally.

It’s still worth writing even if you aren’t feeling it right now.

It’s still worth writing even if it’s fanfiction.

It’s still worth writing even if you don’t think anyone else would ever want to read it.

It’s still worth writing even if it doesn’t get published.

It’s still worth writing even if it doesn’t get adapted into a huge blockbuster movie.

It’s still worth writing even if you can’t have fancy illustrations at the beginning of chapters or a map of the world at the beginning.

It’s still worth writing even if someone you trusted told you to stop.

It’s still worth writing if you just rolled your eyes at me.

It’s still worth writing, SO WRITE IT.

[transman-badass]

Things I Didn’t Think Would Be Hard To Write But ARE

Walking into a room

Transitioning between scenes without it feeling awkward

Two characters saying “I love you” without it being cringe

Describing a character’s face without using the word “eyes” 500 times

A battle scene that doesn’t feel like a turn-based RPG

[transman-badass]

Quick what are you doing RIGHT now (besides scrolling Tumblr)

[transman-badass]

…bestiality???