usetobeapinetree

[usetobeapinetree]

Funniest (fantasy) way to find out you're trans I think. Assigned male by ancient prophecy

[usetobeapinetree]

bingewatching will never come close to bingereading. there is nothing like blocking out the entire Earth for ten hours to read a book in one sitting no food no water no shower no bra and emerging at the end with no idea what time it is or where you are, a dried-up prune that's sensitive to light and loud noises because you've been in your room in the dark reading by the glow of a single LED. it's like coming back after a three-month vacation in another dimension and now you have to go downstairs and make dinner. absolutely transcendental

[usetobeapinetree]

Here’s an invaluable writing resource for you.

[usetobeapinetree]

do you know where "no beta we die like x" comes from and how it is used?

The term "beta" in this context is short for "beta reader" - a person who reads a fic while it's still in the editing stage and helps the writer get it ready to post. Some betas check grammar. Some check canon compliance. Some are sensitivity readers. There are lots of things that betas can do.

So functionally, saying "no beta" means that the writer didn't get this checked by a second person before they posted it. It's a warning that there might be errors or typos etc. It's mostly used when an author has written something quickly and is posting without doing a lot of (or any) edits first.

As for where it comes from? It all started with a bumper sticker.

This image was an internet meme at one point, and it got meme'd on in the form of "no ___ we ___ like men"

Here on tumblr, one of the versions that got really popular was from now-deleted user @grec1a who created this version:

From there, it migrated to AO3 as the "no beta we die like men" tag, and very often the word men is replaced by the name of a character who dies in canon.

[usetobeapinetree]

I love clothes...... I love you clothing I love cool patterns I love natural materials I love you evolution of fashion through time I love well constructed garments I love functional accessories I love ornate details I love handiwork I love visible mends I love the stories clothes hold I love great tailoring I love winter wear and summer play suits I love resoled shoes I love heirloom pieces I love you thermal layers and old cotton underwear I love heavy wool coats and I love paint covered overalls I love formal wear that fits impeccably and I love oversized shirts and knits that swallow you whole. I love the language of what we wear and the function we need it to serve and how absolutely universal and incredibly person clothing and style is. I love you clothes

[usetobeapinetree]

Sometimes I feel old and out of touch because I don't know anything about the hot new music but then I remember even when I was a teenager I did not know the hot new music because I was an uncool little nerd and my family didn't listen to the radio. So my out of touchness is consistent and not age related.

[usetobeapinetree]

I had a slice of medium cheddar that was too medium cheddar. And now I’m skeptical and of the sharp cheddar in the drawer from the same brand because I’m subconsciously convinced it’ll be too medium cheddar.

[usetobeapinetree]

Those "modern fairy tales where the princess saves herself" types of books not only misrepresent the gender roles in fairy tales (there are tons of stories where girls get to save the day), but they fundamentally misunderstand the entire genre.

Fairy tales aren't about saving yourself.

These aren't epic myths or heroic legends about the great warriors who slay every monster in their path because they're so awesome. Fairy tales are almost always about ordinary, even incompetent, people who get thrown into strange situations where they only succeed because of the help of others.

It's not a gendered thing. The boy who goes off to seek his fortune is usually the dim-witted third son whose older brothers are the strong, smart ones. The third son succeeds because he is kind to the magical helpers who then complete the tasks for him--and the exact same thing happens when a girl is the main character.

The characters in a fairy tale rarely succeed because they embrace their own strength and take their own path. Much more often, they are told step-by-step what to do, and they succeed because they obey--respecting the wisdom of others.

The core virtue of a fairy tale is not pride, but humility. It's not a story about the strong, but those who are weak, small, helpless. The people who can't do it all on their own, but can recognize the worth and wisdom of others.

Turning this story into a "girl power" (or even a "boy power") story warps it into something that is fundamentally the opposite of a fairy tale, and it has nothing to do with the gender of the main character.

[usetobeapinetree]

I think one of the most profound forms of love is "I'll try that, for you. I may not like it, but I'll try it."

It's a confused middle-aged man in a pottery class, whose daughter is helping him with his clay's plasticity. It's a kid scrunching up their brow while listening to their mom's favorite music, trying to figure out why she likes it. It's a girlfriend who says "Yes, I'll go with you" and her girlfriend cheering and buying a second ticket for a con. It's a friend half dragging another friend through an aquarium, the one being dragged laughing and calling out "Wait, wait, I know we're here for the exhibit, but I haven't been here! Slow down!"

It's being willing to spend some of your time trying something new because it makes someone you love happy.

[usetobeapinetree]

Tumblr really stumbled into a beautiful feature with the whole "tags are separated from the main post" (as they should be, they're metadata) + "tags can be as long as entire tweets" thing. They make a really nice form of textual subvocalization/whisper mode/aside/whatever (they're flexible!).

I keep finding myself wanting to make such asides on other sites and find myself subtly irritated that I can't. I wanna elaborate in a way that is diminished compared to the main post!

[usetobeapinetree]

[usetobeapinetree]

Every yarn person has some tedious ass part of the process they actually don't mind doing & I think this is evidence that we're meant to be more communal as a species. So that one freak who likes weaving the ends can do it for you

[usetobeapinetree]

scientists wont tell you this! (because it's not true)

experts don't want you to know this! (because it's made up)

doctors HATE this one trick! (because it's dangerous and unhealthy)

[usetobeapinetree]

Because Catholicism and by extension Christianity are so big and normal I don't think a lot of people consider how strange the Vatican is just conceptually. Like yeah in the capital of a long-dead empire there's an opulent temple district that acts as it's own sovereign nation, still speaking the dead language of that empire for their rituals, ruled by a prophet-king chosen by a secret conclave of the high priesthood. Yeah his followers eat a lot of fish in the spring.

[usetobeapinetree]

i do love that you can name pets pretty much anything. with children you have to be reasonable but with pets you can just do anything. you can name your tortoise panopticon

[usetobeapinetree]

Thoth moving into the Memphis Pyramid in The Red Pyramid implies he was the one that turned it into a Bass Pro Shop.

[usetobeapinetree]

Thinking abt how Sadie had to live in Britian so Rick could use all the Egyptian artefacts the British museum has 😭😭