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yourtongzhihazel · 2 months

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Hello. I am curious about the state of LGBT rights and healthcare in China. I think you are the kind of person who would recognise both the good and the bad parts, so if you are willing to, it'd be cool to have a bit of a rundown with links to relevant articles/reports? Thank you in advance.

Sure! Indeed, there are good and "bad" parts. "Bad" in that they're not ideal and/or needs improvement. In comparison to how these policies compare to the rollback of LGBT rights in the imperial core, no comparison need be made. One is, by far, significantly worse and getting worse by the day (here's an interesting map showing a comparison). The way I see it, there's two parts to the question. The first is one of social acceptance (e.g., personal bigotry). The second is of government and party policies. In that regard, there's areas where the state/party leads the people and areas where the people lead the state/party.

In terms of social acceptance, in my experience trans people are better (relative term) accepted than LGB people. There's a whole discussion to be had about gender roles, and specifically conformity, in modern Chinese society but I won't be doing that here. There's a definite generational divide between the socially progressive younger generations and the more conservative older generations. There's also a urban-rural divide as well, with urban areas leading rural ones. Generally, most of the discrimination you face will probably come from your family, statistically speaking (and also from personal experience). Despite this, there's quite a large LGBT scene in most major Chinese cities (I've heard ChongQing is a top spot).

On the state side, the courts will, generally, protect LGBT people. Notably a trans woman who was fired for being trans won a case against her employer. Sex education is also a step above what I received in the states. More clinics for trans youth (and adults) are popping up. All good steps in the right direction, but there's still a long road ahead. China doesn't yet recognize same-sex marriages nationally, though some cities do. Certain practices like conversion therapy isn't outlawed yet even though courts almost always rule against its use. There's still a general lack of access for gender affirming care for trans people and gender marker changes still require SRS and a gender dysphoria diagnosis.

Something I've been personally keeping my eye on is a move by the central gov to ban online sales of HRT. Here, opinion is divided; some say its a a step backward while others say its a safety measure (this is an ongoing debate in LGBT circles). The problem here is moreso with lack of official channels to access HRT. I do see the case for safety, but without offsetting the removal of third-party HRT with more official clinics there will present a supply and access issue. We shall see how this develops.

In short, I would describe LGBT+ rights in China as better than average (definitely more than where I live rn) and improving.

What if we kissed in front of Mao's portrait?

Supplemental material:

A) An op-ed by subject of the victims of Chen Weihua memorial foundation, Chen Weihua about LGBT rights (the man rarely misses).

B) A documentary about trans people across several generations.

C) CGTN documentary about LGBT people in China.

#Hazel's press releases #A larger focus on trans issues because well kinda self explanatory

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borderlinebelle · 4 months

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🗣️🧠

Has anyone ever taken a stimulant for ADHD and it cured your manic mess but simultaneously erased your creative joyful childlike wonder at the world and your interest in the people you share it with?

💊

Am I cured or broken indefinitely to better suit “adulthood”?

🙃

As I wade through the vibrant and manic mess that was the BEFORE STIMULANTS and I look out onto the starkly dull and muted tones of the AFTERS STIMULANTS… the pendulum swings and I violently and obediently bend with it.

🫡

I can balance my budget now. Proficient in punctuality and productivity. Finishing work projects that used to take weeks? EASY. Calculating and efficient, I am almost unemotional as I smash through barriers that once kept me at a stand still for weeks.

🥇

The counter balance to these super abilities is glaring:

👀

1. I find it difficult to produce an ounce of creativity.

2. I am colder, more calculating.

3. I find empathy over other people’s emotions a far off tingle of familiarity I reach for and only brush.

4. I find even accessing my own emotions to be difficult.

5. I find little pleasure from completing tasks just a dull and far off ✅ that reminds me of pleasure but has none of the organic material.

6. I lack spark behind my eyes.

🗣️🧠

In conclusion, the video I filmed for today’s YOUTUBE launch felt… soulless and lacking. It felt disingenuous. I wasn’t talking to YOU, my mental health friends. I was just … talking.

😪

TO BE BRUTALLY HONEST: I’m unsure how to proceed with the channel, with my content… with my identity outside of MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL … I feel really really defeated if I’m honest. I’ve spent my entire adult life in survival mode and for the first time, on this new medication, I can see dozens of strategies to LEAVE SURVIVAL and CHASE AFTER THRIVE… but I didn’t think it would COST ME… my personality, my creativity, my identity.

🔎🤷🏽‍♀️

Idk but, I guess .. that’s the way with these things. Mental health, medication, stabilization…

🫥

Mental health isn’t “pretty and punctual” so said my producer tonight. It can ALSO be “imperfect and valuable”. Nothing is a perfect science, everyone is just doing their best I guess.

😮‍💨

Fighting your own brain 🧠 daily, hourly, weekly, monthly, yearly is exhausting work. I’m so deeply proud of everyone out there choosing to fight another day. I hope to continue being as brave and resilient as you all are.

🫣

It’s 12:00am. I’ve officially missed the “NEW VIDEO EVERY SUNDAY” standard I set for myself and I have to admit I’m taking it very poorly and I feel pretty defeated, but I had to come let the few who support my cross platform… that I’m sorry I couldn’t get there today.

🫀

Returning to YouTube after being run off by a parasocial making very real threats years ago, has been a delicious dream of mine for so long.

💭

I just deactivated both my Instagram and Facebook as they were both just reminding me of this missed deadline, of this empty channel, of what feels like a failure. In the age of comparison and competition, TO BE A HUMAN IS NOT EASY.

😬

So I’ll regroup, recoup, lean into coping mechanisms, touch base with my therapist + psychiatrist… and keep trying to find a way through.

💙

Thank you for your interest in my content.

🥸

I appreciate you deeply.

🫶🏽

I anticipate that this hopefully … won’t be the end.

🖊️ xoxo borderlinebelle

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unbidden-yidden · 1 year

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Since my previous post didn't turn up anything comprehensive like I was hoping for, I'm just going to do an informal writeup of advice on how to approach traditional Jewish observance with limited funds. I am not a rabbi or formal educator or anything official, nor is this in any way exhaustive. This is just based on my experiences as a 30ish year old adult who converted Conservative with no prior familial connections to Judaism and did so on a limited budget. I strive for traditional observance and would describe my practice as leaning more traditional egalitarian or Conservadox rather than what is most common for typical Conservative Jews in the US.

Okay? Okay.

Taking up traditional observance on a limited budget

So you're looking into traditional Jewish observance for the first time, either as a reclaimant, baal teshuva, or convert. One of the the first things you probably realized is that this lifestyle - especially the initial startup costs - is expensive. If, like me, you started reeling from the sticker shock but don't want to let that dissuade you out of stubbornness, commitment to Torah, or both, you're probably wondering where to go from here. Here is a list of things that you will need or want for an observant lifestyle that could cost money (some of this may be different based on your community and/or gender):

Ritual use (and practical use) items:

Mezuzot with a kosher klaf inside for each halachic doorway

Shabbat candles and candlesticks

Kiddush cup

Havdalah set

Challah cover

Tzedekah box

Tallit

Tefillin

Handwashing cup (and basin)

Tzniut clothing (this may be incredibly community specific) that is also practical

Tallit katan

A legitimate and covering rain coat

Walking shoes that you're not embarrassed to wear at shul (no really)

Kippot (and any other relevant head coverings, depending on your community)

**Replacing any kitchen utensils, appliances, and dishes that cannot be kashered if you're starting from scratch in keeping kosher, possibly ×2 or even ×3 depending on whether you intend to have a dual kitchen (or a meat, dairy, and pareve set of kitchen items)

Sukkah/building materials and decorations

Lulav & Etrog (these are plants; they are for ritual use but you will need to buy them each year obviously)

Menorah & Chanukah candles

Pesach dishes and kitchen utensils (noted separately because not everything is likely to be able to be kashered over for Pesach from year round) and any additional cleaning and covering items (so much tin foil lol)

Seforim (religious books)

Siddur

Bentcher(s)

Chumash

Tanakh

Practical halacha/practice guides and other basic reference books

Ongoing expenses:

Tzedekah (including special holiday giving such as mishloach manot and extra tzedekah for Purim or maot chitim for Pesach)

Shul membership fees

Kosher food is often more specialized and therefore more expensive, especially Pesach food

Wine or grape juice for Shabbat

Extra food if you're hosting people for Shabbat or potentially to bring to your host's home if you are invited over frequently

Specialized food for holidays (e.g., special fruit on Rosh Hashana, blintzes on Shavuot, brisket or matzah ball soup on Pesach, etc.)

Mikvah costs if you are married, menstruate (or have a spouse who does) and are shomer taharat mishpachat and/or if your community has a tradition of men using the mikvah before, e.g. Shabbat and holidays. Even if you don't need the mikvah for personal reasons, you will still need to pay a fee to immerse for conversion (if relevant) and to toivel any new kitchen items. You will also need bedika cloths for taharat mishpachat.

Housing in an area that allows you to walk to your shul, ideally within an eruv

Day school/Hebrew school if you have kids, and summer camp during the summers

Fees for certain classes and events; especially if you are a convert, you will likely need to pay for an Intro to Judaism course through your shul or at another local shul.

Other things that are extremely helpful, make observant life much easier and more pleasant, may help you fit into your community better, and/or enable more advanced participation, or are just nice to have:

Timers for electronics on Shabbat and Yom Tovim

Light switch covers for Shabbat

Hot water carafe for Shabbat/Yom Tovim

Plata or other type of warmer for Shabbat lunch and/or seudah shlishit

Specific laundry dealibobs (idk what they're actually called) for keeping your tzitzit in good condition

Shabbosdik watch

Shabbos key (especially if you live outside the eruv, but it's good to have for if the eruv goes down anyways)

Light box and/or thrip cloth for bug-checking produce

Bedikat chametz set

Purim costumes

If, like me, you owned exactly zero white clothes before now, you may want to invest in a white outfit for Yom Kippur &/or a kittel

Shofar (if you plan on contributing to your shul that way)

Etrog container and lulav transport bag

Machzor

Haggadot

Aramaic dictionaries for Talmud study

(Depending on the community) some amount of the Talmud

Commentaries

Tikkun

Talpiot

An extra bookshelf for all your Jewish books (not a joke)

Hebrew language classes and learning materials (which are extremely helpful in getting you integrated and up to speed)

This list doesn't even touch on things you might just want, like attractive judaica (hiddur mitzvah), jewelry, Jewish art and decor, etc.

(I also didn't touch on things that are part of major simchas such as bnei mitzvot or weddings, or travel to Israel, or studying in seminary, or other significant but highly specific expenditures that are unfortunately outside the scope of this one layperson's tumblr post)

Oy, that's a lot! This list (with a few exceptions) was generated by me going through everything I've had to invest in over time and ongoing expenses (or that I've had to find a workaround for), or things that are on my list for later when I have the funds.

I'm sure there's plenty I forgot. Where to even start?

Well, the first thing to note is that what I have took seven and a half years (and counting) to obtain, so don't expect to compile this all at once, and don't worry that you'll have to have all that money/resources marshaled up front. It will take time, and that's okay!

The other good news is that while some of this is nice to have, there's a lot that is not immediately (or ever) necessary for most/all folks to personally own, even if it is common for observant folks to own them.

A reality: Sometimes you're going to feel poor, and there will likely be a lot of people in your community who just, won't get it. Sometimes those people are in leadership. Yes this sucks and is sometimes really painful.

A counterbalance to that reality: A lot of people and communities are extremely generous and kind, even if they don't quite get it. Tzedekah is a huge mitzvah, and it is an added bonus for a lot of folks if that tzedakah goes toward enabling another Jew to observe more mitzvot. Hosting is also a major mitzvah. By accepting other people's help and being a guest at their Shabbos table, you are actually doing them a favor by giving them an opportunity to give tzedakah and host. Drill that into your head now, and early; don't be ashamed to ask for and receive help.

Now that I've laid all that out, some general advice. I will follow up later with specifics for each item from the above lists to the best of my ability in a later post.

Skip the judaica store for anything you can get at a thrift store. Candlesticks? Goodwill. B'samim jar? Find a cute container and throw some spices in there. Kiddush cup? Get a cute cup or wine glass at Target.

Start small, and take on one mitzvah at a time. It can be frustrating to have to wait, but it will help you pace yourself in reshaping your lifestyle, which is actually a very good thing. Also, before you take up a particular new mitzvah, learn deeply about it first so that you understand what is actually required, and what is customary (minhag) or stringency (chumra). You may not need the specialty pre-approved [read: more expensive] version of the thing if you know enough of what you're doing.

See if your shul, another nearby shul, or JCC ever has a community rummage sale. If so, check that out for secondhand menorahs, tallitot, siddurim, etc. (If not, consider suggesting that they do to leadership that organizes events or offer to organize it yourself if you're on that committee.) Also check out thrift stores and secondhand bookstores in particularly Jewish areas.

Talk to your rabbi about your needs. Your rabbi may have good suggestions that are specific to your area/community, may have discretionary funds to help, or may know folks who would be willing to pass on extra judaica they don't need.

Your shul may also have items you can borrow. I was able to, for example, borrow a machzor for the high holidays, and borrow a set of tefillin for nearly two years while I saved up for my own set. (And even then, the rabbi helped cover half of the cost from discretionary funds when I did purchase my own set, and was happy to do so.)

Honestly, just borrow whatever books you can until you can get your own. You can do this from your shul, your shul's library if they have one, or even the public library for reference books and certain commentaries. I would buy them in the following order: the siddur your shul uses, a chumash, a Tanakh, and then whatever else you're interested in. Sefaria.org is an incredible free online resource, but you'll want these for Shabbat and Yom Tovim sooner rather than later.

Talk to your rabbi or shul leadership about reduced membership fees, or join a shul that has a pay-what-you-can fee structure.

Look for classes that are free, have a sliding scale fee structure, or scholarships. If you're dead-set on a particular class and it doesn't advertise reduced fees or scholarships based on need, reach out to the organizers and ask. They might not have advertised it, but would be able to ask if someone would sponsor a student or give you ideas of other funds you could apply for.

Keep a wish list updated, and if friends or family are buying you birthday or holiday gifts, ask for important (and specific) items. I recommend an online registry so that you get the specific thing you need/want.

For specialty kosher food, see if your area has a kosher co-op so you can buy for bulk prices. (This is especially helpful for Pesach.)

These are general suggestions, but there's a lot more. Stay tuned!

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shu-of-the-wind · 4 months

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Okay so I have been asked to cast an eye over SB197 in the WV legislature, which is a new bill introduced to both add a new section to WV law as well as amend an existing section about child neglect and abuse, to see what potential issues I see.

TLDR: this is not only really dangerous from a standpoint of people being trans publicly, since one of the big editions is making being trans a display of obscene material and punishable by law, particularly within school grounds, but I am also seeing a lot of parental rights additions that make me REALLY SCARED of how trans kids are going to be treated in WV. I’m going to go thru it section by section and break down why each section frightens me, so hopefully this is educational for folks.

My creds: I worked in family law as an attorney for three years, I was affiliated with a public defenders office for that same amount of time working primarily with juvenile offenders, and I am still an attorney even if I haven’t worked in those fields for the last six months. Plus I’m trans. And I love WV and wanted to live there. So.

WEST VIRGINIA'S FUN NEW SHITSHOW HORROR HOUSE TIME.

The new section (formally titled §18-5-29, Obscene matter in public schools prohibited [I will be calling it the Obscenity section]) is about 700 words of absolute garbage. Essentially what it distills down to is the following.

Section A: prohibiting anything they label as “obscene matter” in or within 2500 feet of any public school library, classroom, building, or other facility under the supervision of the state board of education and requiring that any school officials or personnel who become aware of the material remove it from school grounds. “Obscene matter” is currently defined in §61-8A-1 of the WV code, pretty fuckin broadly (unconstitutionally so in my opinion but ~that’s me~). So basically anything an “average person applying contemporary community standards would find taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest or is pandered to a prurient interest” (basically, anything ~unwholesome~), anything that an “average person applying community standards” would find depicts sexually explicit conduct in a “patently offensive way,” or anything that a reasonable person would find “taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, scientific or political value” which basically means E V E R Y THING.

Section B. This is the one that scares the shit out of me tbqh, cause this is folding in the amendment section I mentioned earlier to another part of the WV code specifically relating to child abuse and neglect. This section mandates that any “school officials or school personnel while engaged in a professional capacity or activity” shall be found to be a “custodian of children” under WV law. This basically makes EVERYONE a mandatory reporter, which like…most professionals already are, but at the same time this is EXPLICITLY MAKING ANYONE WHO WORKS IN THE SCHOOL IN ANY CAPACITY (see: any school officials or school personnel) mandatory reporters regarding “obscene matter.” So if an adult working at the school even SUSPECTS that a child has been exposed to “obscene material “while in any public school facility (unclear from the phrasing if the exposure happened on school property, or if the professional just learns about it there) and they decide not to report it (or they “fail to make a TIMELY report” when there’s no real definition of what timely means) then they can be prosecuted for a misdemeanor and imprisoned.

Section C. The state superintendent is going to establish a procedure to file complaints alleging violations of subsection A. If they find that a violation occurred, they will TELL THE COPS THAT IT HAPPENED.

Section D. No government funds (state or federal) can be used to develop or operate programs “designed to promote or encourage sexual activity, whether homosexual or heterosexual” or “to distribute or aid in distribution of any legally obscene materials” within 2500 feet of a school building or facility. Which, woof. We could unpack everything about that one, but it’ll be most of the review.

Section E. If an adult is found to have committed a felony under the child neglect statute related back to this one (if they’re found to have neglected kids by allowing them to view or possess “obscene material” is my understanding, this bill isn’t written that well) then they will be subject to penalties set forth in a felony, which I’m guessing (on average) is at least a year in jail and a thousand dollar fine, from what I’ve seen of WV felony statutes.

Section F. THIS IS THE OTHER REALLY SCARY ONE TO ME FROM A LEGAL STANDPOINT. “Any student or parent, guardian, or custodian on behalf of a student shall have civil cause of action against a county board, public charter school, state board” if the entity caused or was negligent in allowing a violation of the preceding sections, basically if they let anything slide PARENTS CAN SUE THE SCHOOL which like…if you’re talkin about a trans kid who is not out to their parents, they’re found to have “obscene material” (fanfiction?? Fanfiction could qualify here??? Risque art that isn’t even definitionally pornography?? A book abut transitioning that they’re hiding from their parents???) the school is mandated to not only out this kid to their parents, but the parents can then sue the school if the school DOESN’T OUT THE CHILD. Just spinning a hypothetical here but I hate this.

The rest of the bill is adding in definitions to Article 8A of the WV code, which are as follows. Anything italicized is the new language that has been proposed to be added by the bill; anything NOT italicized was already in the law:

(g) "Graphic," when used with respect to a depiction of sexually explicit conduct, means that a viewer can observe any part of the genitals or pubic area of any depicted person or animal during any part of the time that the sexually explicit conduct is being depicted.

(h) "Identifiable minor" means a person: (i) who was a minor at the time the visual depiction was created, adapted, or modified; or (ii) whose image as a minor was used in creating, adapting, or modifying the visual depiction; and (iii) who is recognizable as an actual person by the person’s face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic, such as a unique birthmark or other recognizable feature; and shall not be construed to require proof of the actual identity of the identifiable minor.

(i) "Indistinguishable" used with respect to a depiction, means virtually indistinguishable, in that the depiction is such that an ordinary person viewing the depiction would conclude that the depiction is of an actual minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

(i)(l) "Matter" means any visual, audio, or physical item, article, production transmission, publication, display, exposure, exhibition, or live performance, or reproduction thereof, including any two- or three- dimensional visual or written material, stereopticon, moving picture, slide, film, picture, drawing, not exceeding $500 video, graphic, graphic novel, or computer generated or reproduced image; or any book, not exceeding $500 magazine, newspaper or other visual or written material; or any motion picture or other pictorial representation; or any statue or other figure; or any recording, transcription, or mechanical, chemical, or electrical reproduction; or any other articles, video laser disc, computer hardware and software, or computer generated images or message recording, transcription, or object, or any public or commercial live exhibition performed for consideration or before an audience of one or more.

(j)(m) "Minor" means a an person under eighteen years of age or a person representing himself or herself to be a minor. Any prosecution under this article relating to a victim who is representing himself or herself to be a minor shall be limited to investigations being conducted or overseen by law enforcement.

And the big doozy here is this one:

(k)(n) "Obscene matter" means matter that:

(1) An average person, applying contemporary adult community standards, would find, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, is intended to appeal to the prurient interest, or is pandered to a prurient interest;

(2) An average person, applying community standards, would find depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexually explicit conduct; and

(3) A reasonable person would find, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

(4) For the purposes of any prohibition, protection, or requirement under any and all articles and sections of the Code of West Virginia protecting children from exposure to indecent displays of a sexually explicit nature, such prohibited displays shall include, but not be limited to, any transvestite and/or transgender exposure, performances or display to any minor.

(l)(o) "Parent" includes a biological or adoptive parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian. (underlining this one for the legal side note that remember that custodian language from before??? that's where this kicks in)

(m)(p) "Person" means any adult, partnership, firm, association, corporation, or other legal entity.

(n)(q) "Sexually explicit conduct" means a ultimate definitive sexual act, normal or perverted, between persons of the same or opposite sex, actual or simulated, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation of any kind, sexual bestiality, sexual sadism and masochism, masturbation, excretory functions and lewd exhibition of the anus, genitals or pubic area of any person, or lascivious simulated sexual intercourse where the genitals, breast, or pubic area of any person is exhibited.

okay. well.

I mean. This is all just gonna be an absolute garbage hellscape if this gets passed. THE IMPORTANT THING IS IT HAS NOT BEEN PASSED. If you live in WV, you can call folks and say that you are AGAINST the passage of SB197. Call your state or county representatives! They are the people who vote on this! If your representative is on the Judiciary Committee, so much the better, that’s where the bill is being evaluated right now!!! Here is the list of delegates on the committee! Call them!! Make a point to be upset!!! Explain why you don’t want this bill to pass!!! Keep an eye on the Committee website for the dates that the public hearings will be held on this bill, because there likely will be a public hearing people can speak at!! You CAN actually do something, it’s not the end of the world.

Even if you do not live in WV and you live NEAR WV, then 100% reach out to folks you know who live there and give them a safe space to land if they need to get out of the state!!! There are things you can do. Just….a heads up to everyone that this is on the table and it’s something they’re going to be discussing.

#transphobia #queerphobia #west virginia #us politics #political and legal analysis #legal analysis #alix is a lawyer #i hate this #i love west virginia as a state and i hate this as a trans person and an attorney and a child welfare advocate #every bone in my body is full of bees looking at this

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actuallyfallen · 5 months

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Archetropy and Personal Choice

I had heard the word "archetrope" around the alterhuman community before the OtherCon (the biggest convention for alterhumans) 2023. Although in vague terms, I had heard of it. I sort of got the vibe from the word, so I never felt the need to look into it. A vague sort of, "Identifying with an archetype, or a trope from media," vibe. What came to mind for me was tropes like the knight, the prince, the rogue. Classic roles. The stuff you'd see on tarot cards or such. The alterhuman community is known to look down on "newer" sources of identity, after all (see the long-standing hesitancy to accept fictionkin).

So, when I joined the panel being hosted by someone named Vyt (who can be found on tumblr, as @thelightfluxtastic) all about archetropy, I thought I knew what to expect.

Vyt described their archetype as "the right-hand man".

Well, Vyt mostly talked about "the paladin" as their main tropetype. But that was the sort of archetype I expected. "The right-hand man" may not be considered a "modern" archetype, but the specific phrase of "right-hand man" for it feels rather new in comparison to how I viewed archetropy before.

My mom was a pastor.

She was in charge of a very large building, which acted as a place for church services on Sundays, and as a kindergarten during the day. I remember watching my mom being up on the church's stage. I didn't learn until I was an adult that she actually had stage fright. I remember stalling whenever I went to the principal's office, because, of course I went to my mom's school for kindergarten. And going to the principal's office when your mom is the principal is certainly… a time, of sorts.

I was a good little Christian kid, though. I was a trouble child due to my undiagnosed autism making me seem "rude" to everyone around me, but I followed what my parents taught me to believe. One could hardly say I was doing so on purpose, though. I didn't even know there was any other option, after all.

Vyt went on to define archetropy as looking at an archetype or trope or such, and saying either, "I am that," "That's want I want to be," or both. Though Vyt also makes a point to say that "archetropy", as a term, was coined specifically to be both linguistically flexible and very broad in definition. It can be involuntary, voluntary, intrinsic, extrinsic, 'identify-as', 'identify-with'…

Vyt also discussed connections to kintypes for archetropal reasons. For example, being dragonkin because one identifies with how the trope of dragons are shown in media.

I can trace multiple kintypes of mine straight down to the same root. This Christian upbringing of mine. Surrounded by it. Suffocated by it.

My mom would often work late, so, as she locked herself in her office, I would be left alone in this huge building. I often stayed in the auditorium during those times. I didn't like the big, open area, so I'd often hunker down in one of the two more closed-off areas. Those two areas were surrounded by walls, but were very small and had no doors, thus, considered a part of the auditorium. One was decorated in green and black. It had beanbags, a step to sit on, and a chalkboard that covered the entirety of one of the walls. The other was pink. It had two chairs and a whiteboard. Covered with sparkly materials, it was hard to leave without some of it sticking to you.

I hated the pink room. Specifically, I hated the texture of everything. Almost everything had this god-awful fuzzy texture that was almost feather-like. The chairs, the rug, the walls. Even the pens there had a grip made of this texture. I couldn't stand it.

But every time the church children my age were there, the boys would go to the green area, and the girls to the pink. The teachers and other officials would call them "the girl room" and "the boy room". The boys and girls would often have one person standing guard near, or in, the door, just to make sure nobody of the opposite gender even got close to their room.

Even when I was alone, in that huge auditorium, I couldn't bear to enter the boy's room. It was wrong. But the first time I did, and I layed down on the beanbag, I exclaimed to my little brother, "It's no fair that you guys get these!" I was so much more comfortable there.

But, still, I rarely came in, even after the barrier was breached. I stayed away on purpose. I made my brother promise to not tell anyone I was there.

I was supposed to be a good girl. Never mind my intersex condition – a good GIRL. One who likes pink, who likes my church dress, and who likes the fuzzy, feathery textures with a smile, for the sake of how others see her. For the sake of fulfilling my God-given role.

As Vyt talked more and more about archetropy, it became clearer to me that modern tropes and archetypes were absolutely included. "The mad scientist" was named as an example. TV Tropes was named as a place to find a list of tropes and archetypes in media.

The TV Tropes page for "The Pastor's Queer Kid", describes the trope like this: "[The pastor's] kids seem to be every bit as perfect as they are, and have the perfect relationship with them. Well, except for one. You see, this one has a secret they're not sure about admitting to their parent. The secret being… Well, this kid isn't heterosexual (and/or cisgender, etc., as the case may be)."

I remember finding the page for this trope and lighting up. Scrolling right down to the "media" section, to see if there were any pieces of media with this trope that I would be interested in. Seeing one of my already-present kintypes there and giggling a little bit to myself. Oh, I'm so predictable! Of course I'd already have a character like this as a kintype.

I realized I was queer very young. Too naive to think better of it, I came out to my parents too soon. Not even a teenager yet, I had to comfort my mother as she cried over me being queer. One of the biggest God-fearers around, I was struck silent when my mom expressed that she feared me going to Hell, and her going to Heaven.

She phrased it as, "What will I do without my child in Heaven? You have scared me so much. I have given you a role to fulfill, and you have failed. Now, I must watch the one I love be punished."

She told her child that they would go to Hell, and be separated from everyone they love for eternity. Poor her.

(Pay no attention to the child, parentified and afraid. Do not look at the way its breath hitches when she says this. The look of disbelief on its face. She really thinks I'm going to Hell…?)

(Look at her, now. She is the victim. This is her spotlight.)

It took me years of purposeful work to undo the toxic mentality that I was taught. About purity, about martyrdom, about the flames of Hell licking every queer's feet. And I still get nightmares sometimes, but I'm proud of how far I've come. When I feel a surge of queer joy, when I see a queer person's smile, when I experience gender euphoria, I know this is it. This is what I've been fighting for. And I know that it's worth it.

I searched TV Tropes for other tropes that fit me, halfheartedly picking up a few more. I wanted an excuse to list "my tropes" on my website's 'about' page, just to add "The Pastor's Queer Kid" on it. I didn't care about the other ones I listed – I just wanted them to be there so I could feel like I had a reason to put that one in particular.

When the archetrope panel was coming to a close, and taking questions, I typed into the chat, "If people are certain archetypes or tropes in real life, would someone like that be able to identify as an archetype? Even if they technically just are it?"

I am my mom's child. I am queer. I struggled against the religion I was suffocated by, and came out the other side damaged, but alive. I try to let people know the sort of harm this upbringing can cause. I am purposefully open about this aspect of myself.

Vyt answered my question. "My default answer is gonna be, ‘Sure.' Like… I think there's something powerful in embracing something, on purpose."

On purpose, I am The Pastor's Queer Kid.

#apologies for the tag vyt! just wanted to make sure folks could know where to find you.#archetrope #archetropy #fictionkind #alterhuman #alterhumanity #alterhuman essay #essay #📋 i'd show you my halo if only i knew where i had put it #homophobia tw #religious trauma tw #transphobia tw

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homochadensistm · 2 months

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can you please help me fact check this 🙏 it seems like virtually 90% of the claims are based off of testimonies published by BtS, which are hard to independently verify? and im already inherently wary of BtS because theyve published misinformation before.

i also literally cannot find any source for any investigation the IDF might have conducted on the airstrike that killed members of the al-Sawarkah family. every article is from HRW or The Middle East Eye or Al Jazeera... i vaguely remember hearing that the strike was a mistake and a result of miscommunication? isnt this the case where they told all the members of the family not to leave their home, but later when some family members went outside to fetch water or something a strike was called in? or am i mixing things up lol

finally this article cites the stupid "dumb bombs" argument so like... to me it reeks of bullshit but i wanted to know what u thought 🫣

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/myth-israels-moral-army

The sources of both Btselem and Breaking the Silence are trust me bro, they rarely ever bring forth any evidence to any of the claims they make. In this case, you rly dont have to be the head of the Mossad to look at the bomb to deceased ratio and see that it is anything but "random" and "imprecise". When 1 bomb carrying a literal ton of explosive material kills on avg 0.3 ppl, arguing that it is dropped randomly on ppl or is "imprecise" is nothing short of a fantasy. Also, where is the combatant/civilian distribution? How come we have a metric ton of photos of ppl in shirts and jeans shooting RPGs and carrying rifles and nobody stops to question who are these "civilians" that are shown in the corpse jenga exhibit? You cant even begin having the discussion on whether Israel is "imprecise" in its violence without having a real cutoff (not an estimate, an actual cutoff) rate of combatant/civilian. Why didnt the esteemed journalists check the male-female mortality rate in past wars?

Are we dropping magic homosexual bombs that go off on dicks? Why didnt anyone check the mortality rate by age (og source, a google doc, gone, but if ur rly bored and autistic u can use the raw source provided with the names and ages to make an excel table and get the same results):

Are the bombs discriminating against young adults? How come the elderly, who are too weak and frail to escape bombings, represent the lowest % of total casualties? Whats interesting about this bit of data is that it was constructed based on data released by official Palestinian sources.

Thus, my official response to the article is:

#israel #palestine

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moonlitcomet · 9 months

Text

A simple, not fully comprehensive guide to stick figure community art styles you might find on the internet:

Despite being such a simple object, something universal to humanity when drawing a simple person, there's a lot of ways to depict a stick figure. Almost infinite ones. And some of these ways to draw a stick figure have developed into entire communities; just by looking at the way someone draws a "stick figure" character, you can probably tell what corner of the internet they've stuck their nose in!

RHGs/Dojo Duelists

Probably what first comes to mind when you think of those fancy stick fight animations. These guys have been around for longer than many people have been alive, having been founded in 2005 by Stone. Many people who started out animating with RHG eventually moved on to become professional animators for cartoons, movies, and even anime.

RHGs and Dojo Duelists are often animated using symbols and objects in Flash, creating a distinct "segmented" appearance. When up close, they often have hand drawn facial features, which adds more to the style of the artist and animator.

Fans of RHG and Hyun's Dojo are often inspired to animate or create colorful and violent stories based on these characters, and quite a few of them seem to find old men incredibly sexy.

An interesting fact about the RHG style and its fanart is that most RHG fanart is in a style commonly referred to as glorified stickfigures, with simple, full bodies and detailed features. I am unsure as to the origin of this art style, but if anyone knows where it first originated, I would love to know.

Gildedguy's Glorified Stickmen

A bit of a side-community to Dojo and RHG is that of Gildedguy's community, who I am happy to represent. Gildedguy started animating in 2006, but truly became more of an internet sensation in 2011 with the release of Slush Invaders. Gildedguy the character made his first official debut in 2015 with Gildedguy vs. Fry, a speedbattle[though he made an appearance in the Slush Invaders game before that.]. Since then he has been releasing at least one new big project every year, with the quality of each animation ramping up as time goes on.

Gildedguy's art style involves large heads and stumpier proportions, with enormous eyes. His style is extremely unique for a stickfigure artist, and you can almost always tell when someone has been inspired by his art and animations.

Gildedguy has a very interactive community, and he has inspired many people that I know to start animation, be it when he first started with Slush Invaders or even as recently as Story 7. Many members of his community, myself included, do not find themselves interacting with many other stick figure communities, though overlap between Gildedguy and almost any other large stick figure community is also very prominent and common.

Animator vs. Animation [Alan Becker]

The source of nostalgia for many my age, these little stickfigures have kept a chokehold on their corner of the internet for nearly two decades, with the first Animator vs. Animation being released one year after RHG's founding, in 2006. Ever since then, AVA and its sidestories of AVM strike inspiration and excitement into the hearts of its fans. Many children and adults alike love the stories of these stickfigures, with simple but nuanced characters and visual stories that anyone can enjoy.

Unlike with many RHGs and Duelists, AVA stickfigures are hand drawn and have more fluid and bendy limbs, and have no facial features except in the case of a single Youtube short as of the time of this being posted.

Fans of AVA sometimes draw in the art style of the source material, but here on Tumblr, I've also seen a lot of them giving them more detailed bodies and faces, as well as clothing and hairstyles. Many copycat animators on youtube exist with nowhere near the level of charm and love put into Alan Becker's AVA.

Henry Stickmin

I'm not actually fully familiar with Henry Stickmin, its games, or its characters, but it's hard to find any other stickfigure style as distinct as this one. With detailed heads, hands, and feet but stick-thin bodies, Henry Stickmin stands out while also sticking to the stickfigure art style.

Henry Stickmin first debuted in 2008 with Breaking The Bank, a point-and-click adventure game.

Dick Figures

Dick Figures is a crass, adult-oriented short animation series on YouTube, which debuted in 2010 and released a feature-length film in 2013. The shorts are almost always immature and vulgar, calling to the times of the internet that they originated from.

Dick Figures features hand drawn stickfigures with stick-thin bodies and detailed faces.

I've found that fans of this series do not often cross over into the internet territories of other Stickfigure communities, and instead spend more time in meme communities.

Marikin Online 4 [MO4]

MO4 is a Japanese RPG game with a very niche and dedicated art community behind it. While Marikin Online 1, 2, and 3 did technically exist, they were never fully finished games and are no longer available to the public. From what I can tell, MO4 first released around 2018, and I can find little other information about the series' history itself in a cohesive place.

The characters are unusual and distinct, with one of them even somehow landing on the Sexypedia. They have gray or white skin with few body features aside from their faces, and many of them will be adorned in fancy billowing clothing.

I can't say much for the game aside from the fact that it is intended for mature audiences, and has dark themes such as abuse and sexual harassment.

You'll find that many fanartists for this game are Japanese or Chinese, and may be difficult to find outside the community itself, but once you find one you'll almost definitely stumble into 20 more.

Countryhumans

One of if not the most controversial groups of stickfigure communities on this list, Countryhumans are character designs based on countries and historical regimes. They have distinct character designs with facial markings based on their respective flags.

Countryhumans were likely founded in 2017 in a Russian forum, almost definitely based upon or at least inspired by the 2009 Polandball comic. As is the nature of depicting entire countries as characters [IE Hetalia and Polandball itself], this community wound up creating many offensive caricatures of countries and citizens of the countries it represents, and is frequently put under criticism for doing so, as well as shipping said countries with other countries that have warred, invaded, or forced oppressive regimes upon others. The sexualization of regimes such as Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and ISIS are especially causative for this.

Due to its controversial nature, many stickfigure artists - especially east Asian artists - around the world have wound up blacklisting Countryhuman community members and artists from interacting with them.

Mid-Fight Masses and related characters

Mid-Fight Masses, and its related characters, were a phenomenon released in the early modding days of FNF in 2021. While these characters were not created for the mod - instead being made as early as when their creator, Dokki Doodlez, was 9 or 10 years old - they were popularized in the FNF mod featuring them, and became somewhat of a sensation, being some of the most popular characters in the fandom.

Sarvente, Ruv, and other characters in the universe sparked their own microfandom outside of FNF, with many new and young artists creating characters based on their distinct designs. With colorful facial markings, detailed clothing, and blank white eyes, many stickfigure characters created in 2021-present follow these design traits. They stand out from other popular stickfigure communities in the sense that many of these characters very rarely are shown committing violent acts, and have much more whimsical and fantastical lore.

#mine #stickfigures #long post #had a sudden urge to go autism mode #this isn't fully comprehensive by any means but it encompasses many of the bigger stickfig communities i've come across!#there's also a couple communities i refuse to add on principle of me just hating their creators #take a shot for every time i say distinct in this post

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ughgoaway · 6 months

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MATTY AS SULLY????? THERE ARE TEARS IN MY EYES IMAGINING THAT.

I feel like equally he would also spend a MASSIVE amount of time on making Annie an elaborate costume and then not have time to make himself one.

Also have you seen bluey?? It’s my favorite kids show and I imagine that Annie could convince him to be dad while she dresses up as either bluey or bingo 🥹 Oh gosh the brainrot is really strong rn help help help

OR OR OR what if Annie convinces both Matty AND reader to dress up with her. Perhaps Annie as piglet, Matty as tigger, and reader as Pooh?

Or! Matty as Mario, reader as princess peach, and Annie as toad 🥹 okay okay I gotta stop now

OLIVE YES!!! I LOVE YOUR LOVE FOR THIS AU!!!!

literally matty as sully and little Annie as boo. perhaps they even dress up mayhem as Mike so they have a full family costume??? PLEASE IM SOBBING TOO

as a sewer, I am now imagining matty hunched over a sewing machine at 3am and eventually giving up and hot glueing Annie's costume bc the shop bought one "wasn't nearly good enough for my little girl"

matty has severe hot glue burns all over his hands the next day, you question the number of plasters at drop off and he says "ah you'll see why on Halloween, sacrifice for the best costume!"

DONT EVEN BRING UP BLUEY OHMYGODDDDD YES. I am obsessed with bluey (depressed people who watch bluey rise), but the idea of Annie as bluey is just... everything. AND MATTY AS BANDIT??? it's PERFECT. you are literally a genius bff. she has face paint and shows up to school telling everyone how her daddy did her makeup and they're matching. maybe there's a little after-school party and annie drags matty around to all her friends to show that they're matching because she's just so excited. "look!!! I told you!! my daddy is bandit and I'm bluey!! our doggy mayhem is bingo. daddy doesn't have a wife so there's no mummy chilli yet." (she says this whilst side eyeing you)

Annie being a mastermind and setting up a group costume. yes. WINNIE THE POOH IS PERFECT. you decide to go as winnie because its an easy costume, you just wear a red top with a cute yellow skirt and some ears. Little did you know when Annie was asking what you were being, she had a plan.

"miss y/n what are you being on Halloween? my daddy can't decide our costumes. he keeps on saying 'but that's not cute enough'" you are like "okay I will tell you Annie but it is a secret, just between us? yeah?" she is BUZZING because hello she's being trusted with an adult secret??? she's basically an adult.

she finds out and sets up a little plan... asks to read her winnie the pooh book at bedtime that night and matty "has a great idea." he thinks Annie will want to be pooh, but NO, she is instant she is piglet. matty is obviously tigger because... hello?? hyperactive and just wants to talk all the time to his group of friends? that is textbook Matthew healy.

cut to halloween at school you are greeting everyone, and you look up to see them walking in, and your face just lights up. not suspecting Annie setting anything up just immediately just being over the moon. matty sees you, and he literally feels his heart squeeze and skip a beat. he just stands and stares in awe, Annie is bouncing and giggling, but he just can't believe you have a joint costume. it's like you're a real family. WAIT, NO HE CANT THINK THAT. NO. PROFESSIONAL THOUGHTS. just a fun coincidence. totally not life altering day-dream material.

ANNIE AS TOAD IS KILLING ME. but also maybe this costume for the first Halloween they're officially together.... IDKKKK 🤭

olive please literally never stop. this is MWUAH.

#thinking about this has taken over my day #how do we feel about reader being Dorothy from wizard of oz #feel like that costume is so cute matty would SWOOOOON #ask!#moots <3 #teacher au!

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system-architect · 3 months

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(GRAIN OF SALT DISCLAIMER: i am not a lawyer. i'm a person with two eyes who reads things.)

saw some talk about if the new anti-AI part of the EULA protects fanworks and the answer seems to be 'sort of, but not really'.

part of that same EULA is that anet technically owns all gw2 fanworks from the moment of their creation. this is harsh but somewhat standard as far as copyright goes. a lot of big series kind of do this where they write something like that in as a clause to cover a lot of different sticky copyright scenarios, and then they don't really act on it unless they want to be a real asshole.

this means that... very.... technically..... gw2 fan content is also officially 'gw2 content' and thus anet does have at least some sort of grounds to take issue with someone feeding gw2 fanworks into a machine

that said, more importantly than this, the EULA actually makes a pretty clear distinction between what they define as 'User Content' and 'Our Content'. these are both specifically defined legal terms they describe at the end of their EULA. to quote them--

��Our Content” means art, in-Game content, and similar materials owned or licensed by ArenaNet.

and this specifically is what their anti-AI rule is for-- "(d) do not input Our Content into generative AI tools like Midjourney, Dall-E, ChatGPT, AudioCraft, etc.,"

so in short, you indeed cannot actually feed gw2 screenshots into an AI! it is against their EULA effective feb 27th! however, for fanworks, there's no direct protection-- anet has grounds for going after someone making AI-generated content of their IP based on fanworks, especially if that resultant content is otherwise against their EULA, but anet seems like they don't usually meddle with fanworks. (example: adult content is technically against the EULA for fanworks, but i've never actually seen that enforced. same with fanworks that reference other copyrights, or contain violence.)

soooo.... all in all, just keep taking the same personal protections you have been, and know that the company itself has taken a stance against AI for its' own works, but they will probably continue to turn a polite blind eye to most of what's going on in the fanart world

#LONG POST #sorry i went off.#my stuff

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tessa-liam · 11 months

Text

Smoke and Mirrors

8- The Mirror Doesn't Lie

Book: The Royal Romance Finale+, Alternate Universe

Series Premise: Hidden in the shadows, poised to challenge the status quo are enemies of the state. The loyalties and honesty of family and friends will be tested. ‘Keep your friends close, your enemies closer’.

Smoke and Mirrors Masterlist

Main Pairing: Liam Rys x F!MC Riley Brooks-Rys, OTP ‘LiRi’

2nd Pairings: Leo Rys x Amalas, Drake Walker x F!OC Delaney Leigh, Olivia Nevrakis x M!OC Alex Cossoy

*Most characters belong to Pixelberry

*Not Beta’d, please excuse all errors.

Rating: M🔞*Series Warnings: NSFW material, sexual innuendo, adult language/swearing/drinking/gun violence. Not recommended for anyone under 18 years of age.

Category: Alternate Universe/on-going series/angst/fluff

Words: 1990

8- The Mirror Doesn’t Lie

Chapter Summary: Preparations for the Celebration Ball continue for the upcoming Saturday at the palace to officially inform the court of the princes and their expected arrival date in August. Drake’s revelations about his future are revealed with memories of the past for Liam. Lena, under custody with Interpol is transferred to Lyon, France.

Music and Title Inspiration:

Simply the Best, Sara Beth Mirrors, Justin Timberlake

A/N1: My submission for @choicesflashfics Week #38, Prompt #1 - “I love your curves. I think it’s one of the best things about you.”, Prompt #2 - “Pretending to be happy is pretty damn exhausting.”

A/N2: My submission for Choices June Challenge, Prompt – Nature – Run (jogging), beach, sunshine, summer. @liaromancewriter

A/N3: My submission for Character Summer Challenge, Prompt – beach @choicesficwriterscreations

Bright, early mornings in the summer always brought a calming solace for Liam. As he jogged along the coastline of the private, secluded beach near the Capital, the sunshine and cool sea breeze invigorated him and allowed for clarity of thought; a guilty pleasure that he took for himself. Listening to calming music through his ear buds, and with the steady pace of his jog, his thoughts eventually turned to the conversation that he had had with his brother the previous evening. Liam shook his head, remembering with regret how the phone conversation quickly got heated...

‘Leo, are you trying to tell me that I need to give this woman, this stranger, the benefit of the doubt?”

All I am saying Liam, is that our father turned his back on his own daughter, on your sister, my half sister.

Oh, in that case you are trying to tell me that I am just like our father?!

This woman threatened my daughter, stalked my wife, told you that she wanted my throne because she felt that I was not worthy of it.

And what, I should just let her have access to me and to my family without consequence?

Are you insane?! '

Liam stopped abruptly, not realizing his calming jog had turned into a fast-paced run. He bent over, slowing down his breathing as he swept the sweat from his brow.

The sunshine glinted off the bows of the yachts docked at the marina just up ahead as he looked up. Chuckling to himself, he realized how far and fast he ran.

This argument had swiftly spiraled into a shouting match and ended with Liam curtly ending that conversation.

Shaking his head, he chastised himself, thinking that when he returned to the palace, he needed to call Leo to further explain his reasoning and to apologize for the conversation getting out of hand.

Of course, he was curious, and wanted answers from this woman, his ‘sister’. What he really needed was answers from his father.

Why did he not embrace his own flesh and blood? Why?

Why would he knowingly abandon his child?

Why keep this child away from him?

Was his father’s paranoia the reason?

These are missing pieces to this puzzle that confounded him. Should he give her the benefit of a doubt? Yes, he can. However, there are qualified Interpol Inspectors that are trained to vet situations like this.

His responsibility, no... his duty was to protect his queen and family at all costs. Which makes it a critical priority to keep this woman physically away from Cordonia’s borders.

Liam made a mental note to call back Olivia and Inspector Cossoy back to the capital, once Lena was secured in Lyon, France.

Picking up his jog again, he continued at a steady pace, changing his thoughts to the upcoming celebration ball being held at the palace on Saturday. Deciding to formally invite Amalas, he was sure that his brother would follow her back to Cordonia. That would be the perfect opportunity to extend an olive branch.

“Li, hold up.” Drake appeared walking on the dock, interrupting his thoughts.

“Hey, Drake, good morning.” Liam slowed to a stop, turning to greet his friend.

“Welcome back, how was your trip?” This being the first conversation that the friends had since their talk; Liam was curious about how his trip to the U.S. played out.

“Pretty good, all things considered.” Drake acknowledged.

“Delaney’s parents were very welcoming. Her older brother, not so much.”

“Oh, oh! That must have been uncomfortable, what did you do?” Liam joked, clapping Drake on the back.

“He was asking me more questions about my intentions than her father did.” Drake rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

“It made me wonder what Laney told him about me.”

“Why would she disparage you?”

Drake ran his hand down his face, sighing, “we had an argument just before we left the hotel to meet her family at the restaurant. She seems to think that I am afraid of commitment.”

Liam looked at his friend, “well, she may have a point there.”

“Not you too,” Drake complained. “I just like my space.”

“Yes, well, it sounds like she wants a future with you, Drake, and that means compromise.”

Groaning, “I get that, Li, it's just that.... Drake paused and exhaled loudly, closing his eyes.

Liam noticed the tells of Drake’s nervousness and stopped to look directly at his friend.

For whatever reason, Drake was having a rough time returning eye contact.

Without looking up, Drake reached into his backpack that was slung over his shoulder.

“I have something for you. It is an invitation for you and Riley.”

Surprised, Liam reached for the sealed envelope. “This? An invitation for what?

Drake, speaking very quietly, “well, I don’t want to spoil the surprise... But it is something incredibly special from Delaney and I.”

Liam’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, reading the look on Drake’s face as apprehensive.

“Delaney and I have come to an agreement.” Drake looked everywhere but did not return Liam’s questioning gaze.

“We have decided to set up roots, here, in Cordonia, as a couple.”

“Really? What happened to change her mind about moving back to Austin?”

“We came to a compromise.”

This piqued Liam’s curiosity. “What exactly did you agree to?”

“In your hand, Li, is a wedding invitation.” Drake revealed, his eyes not looking up from the ground.

“Well, well, well...this is, a surprise. Congratulations, my friend! Riley will be delighted to hear this.”

Still looking at the ground, Drake nodded, “thank you, Liam.”

Furrowing his brows, Liam looked at his friend in confusion, not saying a word.

“Watching you with Brooks, all these years.... I want that too.” Drake spoke hesitantly.

It wasn’t lost on Liam; the meaning behind those words. Knowing that Drake had feelings for Riley, once upon a time, that had sparked during his social season. Confessed feelings that still lingered for Drake, but feelings that were never returned by Riley.

“Pretending to be happy is pretty damn exhausting,” Drake confessed.

♤♡◇♧

Royal Boutique, Cordonian Palace

Eleanor squealed, “mommy, look at all the pretty dresses! I want that one! Oh, oh, look at this one! Mommy, pleeease, may I have both?”

It was the Friday before the Celebration Ball at the Palace. Promising her daughter, the particularly important grown-up task of choosing her formal wear, Riley watched her little girl excitedly choose two dresses to try.

“Well, Ellie, since you can only wear one dress to the ball tomorrow, the other dress you can wear to the next event. Choose the one that you think fits the purpose of having this ball.”

Eleanor tapped her finger to her chin, debating her choice.

“You handled that situation perfectly, your majesty.” Riley’s personal assistant, Claire, whispered.

“Mommy, I have decided.”

Riley looked expectantly at her daughter.

“These dresses are wrong,” Eleanor answered. “These dresses aren’t blue.”

Claire grinned watching Riley’s reaction, as Ellie plucked the blue dress from the rack to try on, leaving the other selections behind.

Shaking her head with a smile, Riley resumed looking through the ball gowns in the boutique. It was time to find a gown that would fit her now rapidly changing body and her personal assistant suggested an A-line pastel yellow tulle ball gown with an embellished plunging neckline.

Gazing at her reflection in the full-length mirror she smiled as she felt flutters in her tummy. The twins were very active in their daily movements tucked securely inside her body.

“Claire, this is the one.” Riley called out to her assistant from the dressing room.

Hearing the dressing room door click behind her, Riley was delighted when she felt Liam’s strong arms wrap around her; clearly not Claire.

Riley closed her eyes, when she felt his lips kiss her ear.

“Mm mm... what did you do with my assistant?” Riley tittered.

“I sent her away. You have me to attend to your needs.” Liam responded, kissing down her neck.

“In that case, what do you think of this gown? Do you think the bodice is too revealing?”

“I love your curves. I think it’s one of the best things about you.”

Giggling, Riley playfully swatted his arm. “Liam, I am serious!”

“I am too, love.... You are ravishing.”

♤♡◇♧

Monterrisian Royal Palace

The unmarked black SUV passed through the palace side gate as Alex and Olivia watched. Lena was being transported out of the country by Interpol today.

Once Lena arrives at the Interpol headquarters in France, she will be given a psychological evaluation and be officially charged for her crimes.

Alex overheard Leo's question for Olivia...

“She did not look happy, but at least she wasn’t resisting or trying to escape.” Olivia answered Leo on her cell speakerphone.

"Good to hear. Amalas notified Liam this morning about the transfer."

"Are the two of you planning to attend the celebration ball tomorrow?"

Olivia was well aware of the 'conversation' between the brothers.

Agreeing with Liam, Olivia was very vocal about her position to Leo after their conversation ended.

"Yes, Liv, I will go but I am going solo."

Olivia looked at Alex, raising her brow, and answering Leo.

"This will be an interesting evening,"

Thank you for reading🤎🤎🤎

Please let me know if you would like to be added@ or removed from tags⚘️

@ao719 @txemrn @queenmiarys @sfb123 @twinkleallnight @alj4890 @differenttyphoonwerewolf @harleybeaumont @busywoman @karahalloway @kingliam2019 @imjusthereforliam @lovingchoices14 @kyra75 @tinkie1973 @emkay512 @malblk21 @kristinamae093 @jared2612 @thesvnsins @irisk12 @walkerdrakewalker @charlotteg234

@choicesficwriterscreations

#choicesflashfics #choices june challenge #character summer challenge #choices fic writers creations #liam rys #the royal romance #trr #trr liam x mc #riley brooks #trr fanfic #king liam #king liam rys #tessa liam writes #smoke and mirrors #drake walker #olivia nevrakis #leo rys #amalas #always liam and riley

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deusvervewrites · 11 months

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While I am aware that abuse of the protagonist is an extremely common trope regardless of fandom, I never really like it when Izuku takes so much, especially when it comes to abusive parents and adults, the bashing of everyone who is in his friend group, and robbing him of his love interests in pursue of shipping him with his abusers. While shipping is its own issue and has been known to cause wars across multiple fandoms, I don’t like the extreme angsty Izuku stories.

Is it because people view him as a cinnamon bun even though he canonically is one of the most feral people in MHA, which proportionally speaking, abuse of the innocent characters is a past time for those writers? If I recall from someone’s post/tweet, it’s that when people intentionally writes the fandom version of the characters all the time, they don’t actually care/don’t like the characters and don’t actually watch the show

I think bashing is something that happens in every fandom to some extent. How much seems to fluctuate somewhat, Miraculous Ladybug is currently being eaten alive by character bashing (and depending on your opinion some of that bashing is from official sources) and my beta reader informed me that they'd seen someone genuinely argue that Zelda in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom is abusing Link.

The truth is, and I don't really think there's a way around saying it, but bashing is lazy writing.

Like you said, if you want Midoriya to end up with someone that isn't one of his canon friends but don't want to put in the work to develop chemistry between them, all you have to do is make everyone inexplicably assume Midoriya is a Villain except the chosen romantic partner. If you want the parental figure of choice to adopt him all you have to do is make Inko a monster. Once you're willing to ignore canon and brute force your way into the desired outcome, discarding characters by ignoring their actual characterizations becomes the optimal solution.

I've also observed the sort of echo chamber or feedback loop in fanon. Not everyone who writes for a fandom has consumed canon an base their understandings off of fics. I've seen people talk about what assumptions they made as things that are canon or fanon based solely on fics and it's always interesting (I specifically think of the person who thought that Hawks canonically stress-grips like a bird, but did not think it was canon that he was bought as a child).

Not to mention that, especially in larger fandoms, there's a lot of fan material to consume. There are 284,496 My Hero Academia fics on Ao3 alone at time of writing and I'm sure it will be higher by the time I'm done writing this. However, canon updates on a mostly weekly basis and, as manga chapters, can have relatively little happen in a single chapter. It will always be outpaced by the fan works.

The end result is certain popular concepts can become widely accepted even if they're shaky or baseless in canon. I've discussed Dadzawa here a lot as something that has a massive following but little-to-no support in canon.

There's an idea I hear known as Sturgeon's Law, that is quoted as saying "90% of Everything Is Shit." A fandom with ten fics has only 9 fics that can disappoint you by that number. A much larger fandom has much more writers with a much greater variance in skill and experience. In short, big fandoms have a higher volume of writers who are lazy, unskilled, inexperienced, or influenced by fanon over canon because there's simply more of them.

#asks #meta

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dimdiamond · 6 months

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FRIEND! I JUST SAW THE NEW TINTIN GAME??!? I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS GOING TO BE A GAME?!? IT LOOKS ADORABLE!!

I can't believe I had to find out through Epic XD

What are your thoughts on it? Will you be playing it?

YEEEEESSSSS I KNOW ABOUT THIS GAME FOR QUITE SOME TIME AND I'M SO HAPPY!

Ok real thoughts though:

I am beyond glad and grateful for the company even making this and with a huge effort of making the game as faithful as possible to the original comic. You can see there's a lot of love for the source material.

It's said to have bugs but they're trying to fix them (it was most likely to happen anyway, even bigger companies release games with bugs).

What doesn't sit well with me is that they stated that Tintin's age is 15 as you can see here:

It is meh and I say that every time an official media tries to set a specific age for the Tintin characters while Herge himself never wanted that but no matter, that doesn't change anything and of course does not stop anyone from enjoying playing the game.

Speaking of age I find Tintin's character design a bit off, like he's supposed to be a teenager but looks more like an adult head attached to a small body. He's still cute, don't get me wrong, but I think it could be better. But I love all the other characters' designs!

Anyway I would love to play it (when I will have the time and motivation to do it is a different matter), especially since it's closer to a detective game with interactions with characters, and I want to see all the easter eggs and how they adapted the classic story into a game!

And if you play it do share your thoughts with me!

#thank you for the ask!#unfortunately i don't have more to say since i haven't even watched any video #it is amazing how we have a new tintin game in 2023!!!!#tintin reporter cigars of the pharaoh #the adventures of tintin

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roseofrevolt · 3 months

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Angel In The Mirror

The Angel in the Mirror™ was marketed during the 1995 holiday season as a means of communing with a deity without the inconveniences of a complex faith. For the low price of 59.99, you would have unfettered divining rights to discern even the most mysterious of life's questions. For a ritual object, it was a fairly simple set-up compared to what could be found in the ostentatious halls of the Oblationist. Gone were the days of making the trip out to receive banal gifts and visions from the various registered gods. This was the modern family's solution to keep up with work-worship balance. All that production needed was a single pane of two-way glass, backlit by a bulb no brighter than what you'd find in a nightlight. With a flick of a switch you would blur the other side of the mirror and await her visage to find its way to you. The shadow of a resplendent being, wings outstretched and welcoming you into her presence. A handy guide of hymns and prayer was included free with every purchase. All the praise and thanks she would ever need. "From afar, we watch the world. From within, we watch ourselves. You are the sight beyond sight. Grace us so we may one day see."

Of course, making a god was the big strategic cost. The company thought we'd be a little clever and repurpose a minor one that the courts had deemed too unwieldly for the general public. The freaky backwoods types that you see on the news every now and again. Something with all the work already put into it.

The Damselfly. She Who Bears Witness. Initially we were afraid of what the focus groups would think of some great insect, but the aspects that had been used to create her fit what we had been looking for. Soothsaying, guardian of oracles and the lost, and most importantly, omen of well-being to a newly built household. She agreed to our rebranding ideas after we had explained how useful she would be again. Pterostigma was traded in for feathers. When she hit the market, we had thought we had hit gold. Initial sales sold like hot cakes, and the reviews coming in had branded the Angel in the Mirror™️ as the fad of the year. We were finding that while families were still our main buyer, there was a smaller but growing demand for her from the 20-25 age demographic. Young adults still in college or entering the workforce, still full of anxiety for the future. "What if I don't pass my classes?" "Is this job what I want to do for the rest of my life?" "How am I going to pay back these loans?"

The more contemporary gods wouldn't have responded to such trivial questions, but the Angel in the Mirror™️ was more than happy to assuage their fears and listen. A gentle voice to give insight into each and every possibility. Her guiding hand reaching out to help walk you through even the most minute detail in some cases. We should have realized what had gone wrong then and there, but we were too blind to the truth of what we had done. May 12th, 1996 was the official start of the recall. We had been destroying the units we had in our facilities months before that however. The first case of a breach had occurred during our preparations for the next holiday season. Some kid down south, without a lick of sense in him, had fashioned her a way through. The divine made flesh is never a pretty sight, but this aspect of her that was able to materialize was definitely not the smiling woman we had plastered in our ads.

Our mistake was not researching what the Damselfly did to her adherents beyond the beneficial. She was a crepuscular predator, who would devour those caught without the options that a future would provide. When she could no longer see the paths ahead for you, she would convince you that there was only one real choice left. Better to be one with her forever than to face a sorrowful tomorrow. We had given her unfettered access beyond the small base that had spawned her. And as report after report started to come through soon after, we knew she was taking advantage of that. Those lucky enough to listen to her during the day found that the sun was too bright for her many eyes, just a moment or two more to decide against her calling. Others were gone the moment she reached through for them.

The officers of The Wasting Maw were able to contain her influence after a short stand-off, but the damage to our brand had been done. We paid our dues in refunds and the usual mandated fines with these sorts of things. Our then CEO even had to address the public, sweating bullets as he apologized for the oversight in our product design, promising that our newest line wouldn't lead to mass disappearences. You still see cultists buying up mirrors online, those who wished to have been called by her or maybe don't understand what it meant. They pay thousnads of dollars to adorn themselves in the shards of what they get their hands on, becoming her eyes out to the world. They pray that she will darken the panes once more and whisper of tomorrow.

#original writing #creative writing #writers on tumblr #gods #worldbuilding

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