#i'm a rambling

[horsechestnut]

Thinking about a time early on well Cass is still struggling to learn how to speak, where maybe she understands most of what people say to her, but she still can't make her voice form the words the way it should, and someone snaps at her about it. Maybe Barbara is frustrated with how long it's taking, or she can see the disappointment in Bruce's expression, or Tim makes a misguided joke. And she doesn't say anything, both because she can't and because she doesn't know what to say even if she could, she just retreats to her room.

Dick is the one to find her. He knocks before he enters, but he doesn't wait for an answer. He asks if it's alright for him to come in, but only after the door is already opened so she can simply nod. He sits on the bed with her, and for a long moment he doesn't say anything. When he does it's softer than Cass has ever heard from him. Maybe from anyone. "You know, Bruce and Babs, they want what's best for you, and to them that obviously means you need to learn how to speak so you can interact with people. But speaking isn't the only way to talk."

Cass frowns, but that just makes Dick smile a little. "I had a friend once who couldn't speak. His vocal cords had been cut when he was a kid, so he used sign langue to communicate."

And when Cass doesn't protest Dick goes on. He tells her about Joe, about the boy who was raised by assassins but had the heart of an artist. Who seemed to know what everyone around him was feeling and exactly how to help without having to be told. How even though the entire team learned sign langue so he could talk to them, most of the time Joe preferred to just sit and listen anyway, how he'd only interject when he had something important to say. It wasn't because he was mute, it was just the way Joe was, and that was okay. They enjoyed just having him there with them, a friendly presence and a kind smile. He stops just short of telling her how Joey died.

Dick signs every word he says as he talks, and Cass watches. Not just the signs, but Dick as well, the way he talks about his friend. The small smile despite the sadness in his eyes. Even the signs themselves seem to be caring, they're precise, but not automatic. Dick is thinking about every single one, remembering Joey with each movement.

When he's done Cass smiles in return and nods, accepting the unspoken offer.

Sign langue is still hard, it's still learning a new langue and her brain isn't prepared for that, but at least her hands don't fight her the way her mouth does. She can mimic the signs perfectly, it's just about remembering them and what they mean. Luckily Dick is always more than happy to show her.

#I am team #'Cass can speak but prefers not to' #cassandra cain #dick grayson #batfam #batfamily #fan fic #fan fiction #i'm a rambling #joseph wilson #joe wilson #jericho #nightwing #orphan #black bat #batgirl #batgirl ii #the new teen titans #the new titans #i don't know i might make this a full fic one day #but for now enjoy this

[some-pers0n]

I hate how people will look at popular indie artists who had one or two songs go viral on TikTok and start making fun of anybody who listens to them. "Oh you listen to Lemon Demon, Will Wood, Jack Stauber, Glass Animals, and Mother Mother? Tsk, don't you know that is stupid TikTok neurodivergent white transmasc preteen music? It's so mid and bad you should listen to real music–" you are a pit of misery

#I'm going to be real with you I think anybody who hates on Will Wood has only heard like thirty seconds of it #will wood #lemon demon #mother mother #jack stauber #sp-rambles #glass animals

[lazylittledragon]

can't believe we're all adults being forced into the club penguin level of censorship in 2024

#ramble #if you say unalive in front of me i will personally kill you with my hands #you just can't muffle and censor and hold someone's hand through some things #some things are horrible. and they should be spoken aloud and they should upset you. because they are horrible #the second we started kidzbopifying the world was the end of taking anything seriously i think #i'm not even joking i've spoken to people older than me who won't even say the world sex #this isn't the playground you're not going to get in trouble just let us say the word!!!!!! #how am i supposed to listen to you when you won't even say the thing you're supposed to be talking about #yes this is the fault of the platforms with their censorship rules but the fact that we all just go along with it like it's not dystopian #you do know it doesn't stop with cursing right. people are already having to censor queer terms because they get flagged as inappropriate

[midnight-coffee94]

No single line has ever wrecked me as hard as this one from the Good Place and I think about it constantly

#the good place #i'm binge watching it again and it just takes me out so hard #i get lost in the sauce thinking about this quote #the idea that those who hurt you are capable of being better people and then seeing them change and grow just hits me right between the rib #who am i kidding it stabs me like the senators stabbed Caesar #anyway #icy does a tag ramble

[scorndotexe]

i can't lie to you i loveee bad endings sometimes. what if nothing worked out. what if the characters gave into their worst instincts. what if they became worse. what if there's truly no hope left. what will they do out of desperation? who will they become as their worst selves?

#sorry. i'm compelled by terrible endings. #persimmon's rambles

[suburbanlegnd]

women's thighs. you agree. reblog.

#I'm having THOUGHTS #😋😋😋 #but ugghhhh #i just love women ok? #and women's thighs... well... i worship them #rambles #2k #4k #6k #8k

[st-just]

Tumblr really is full to bursting of the fascinating category of people who will shout ACAB at the top of their lungs and despise the American prison system with dramatic displays of vitriol but when confronted with someone who did something they actually think is a serious moral transgression cannot conceive of 'justice' meaning anything except the offender suffering, preferably in dramatic and humiliating ways.

You see how the median opinion on prison rape remains shrugging and considering it part of the sentence, really.

#it's 2am and I'm rambling

[humming-fly]

Every now and then I'm reminded Real People with Actual Jobs use tumblr and I've always been legitimately curious what all you weird adults are up to when you're not on this site and with tumblr's New Poll Feature I can finally get an answer! (or the closest approximation of an answer possible with only 10 available options h a)

#tumblr /really/ shortened the character limit on these posts huh #could've sworn it was longer when i made the wizard one #anyways no shit i have always been curious #tragically 10 options limits things a lot but I tried to be broad XD #i'll start i'm an academic researcher studying civil engineering :V #humming-rambles #poll

[devilcatdarling]

There is truly no greater love than taking your most adored fictional character and throwing them into the emotionally-devastating angst fueled trash compactor and pressing every single button on the machine just to see what will happen

#hollow knight #hollow my beloved #hmm yes I'm drawing pain and agony tonight #night rambles #night causes pain #night causes suffering #Feel free to apply to ur own blorbos #all blorbos must suffer :D

[bloggingboutburgers]

Quick reminder since apparently it bears reminding in both directions: if bigoted people, closed-minded people overall, or your own internalized insecurities misinterpret a queer person’s message in a way that hurts/endangers you, yeah, it sucks, but it’s not the fault of the queer person in question, nor should it be a reason for them to silence themselves. They’re probably as hurt/pissed as you are that someone misinterpreted and misused their message to do harm.

Of course sadly there’ll still be queer people that actually DO mean harm and dismissal to other queer people – I ain’t speaking for those and it’s not the best way to ensure their and others’ wellbeing imo. I’m just saying – not all people will be like that. That’s what I want to believe. So hopefully let’s not put everyone in the same bag, keep supporting each other, WHILE allowing each other to advocate for our own visibility, without having to self-erase or self-censor to accomodate to what haters might say.

It’ll be tougher this way, maybe, because humans seem to like to draw extreme conclusions very quick, but I don’t believe there’s any better way for us all to be alright and stay alright on the long run.

#no one can know i don't like sex #queer solidarity #asexual #kink at pride #tw queerphobia #bleh i'm rambling but i hope this'll come across OK #this has been on my mind a lot lately #my art #nonburger

[combinecremator]

i swear to god i regret reblogging that estrolabs post because absolutely no one is focusing on the actual issue, which is that it's a phishing site very clearly run by malicious people and giving them any information on yourself could fuck you over big time

their ashwaganda "estrogen replacement" would be useless at best and extremely dangerous at worst, if it actually existed. however the products on that site almost certainly do not fucking exist and never have, and they have zero intention of actually producing them. the listings for the "supplements" aren't on the site anymore.

when scams like this pop up suddenly, they're not legitimate to even the slightest degree. there was never a real product, they were trying to get your money or your card and contact information either to doxx you, harass you, or literally steal from you. it's a PHISHING scheme, not a "making a shitty product to Literally Kill People" scheme. one of these things is far cheaper and far easier for a layperson to do.

while the information on the function of ashwaganda was definitely useful generally, it was/is not the most present danger of this estrolabs/queerquirk situation and people need to be aware of the actual threat these kinds of sites and situations pose.

as i was writing this estrolabs has been taken down, but queerquirk is still up and still advertising it's fake products and has a contact us page. do not give them your contact information, even to send hate. it is not worth getting phished to epicly own the dumbass behind this scheme. report the site and move on.

#leo rambles #this whole thing is giving '4chan is going to invade tumblr and fill every tag with gore!!!!!!' vibes #please i'm begging you be discerning about how you choose to spread information

[horsechestnut]

Baffled by the lack of Dark Knights of Steel fan fic about the Robins. Like, the story is sitting there for the taking!

Dick and Jason's stories can be adapted without really having to change anything. Duke and Steph are a little harder, but a few nudges here and there and you've got your story. Cass isn't in Tales of the Three Kingdoms so we can assume she comes later, but again you just need a few touches to adjust.

But Tim and Damian? How in the world did they get wrapped up with the Robins? Is Damian still Bruce's son in this universe? Does he have latent Kryptonian powers? Is he illegitimate or did Talia and Bruce get married? Was he raised by his grandfather to believe he is the rightful heir to the kingdom, only to run away when it got to be to much?

And how does Tim fit in? Are his parents nobles in this universe, and if so are they dead or did he run away? Does he sneak out at night to help the Robins but slip back into a mansion before morning?

And there are so many little details too! Jason has his white streak, where did it come from? How long have Tim and Cass been stationed in the other kingdoms? Where is Damian at the start of Dark Knights of Steel? What about Barbara, how does she fit into all of this? Are the other Robins a little annoyed that Bruce showed up with Cass and said 'she's one of you now' despite them all being a tight nit group, or did they accept her? What are Kal and Zala's relationships with the Robins like?

#well guess it's time to work on another fic #i swear this was supposed to be a short post #but as usual i can't shut up #dark knights of steel #dkos #dc comics #robins #batfam #batfamily #robin #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #duke thomas #damian wayne #i'm a rambling

[unforth]

Gentle reminder that very little fandom labor is automated, because I think people forget that a lot.

That blog with a tagging system you love? A person curates those tags by hand.

That rec blog with a great organization scheme and pretty graphics? Someone designed and implemented that organization scheme and made those graphics.

That network that posts a cool variety of stuff? People track down all that variety and queue it by hand, and other people made all the individual pieces.

That post with umpteen links to helpful resources, and information about them? Someone gathered those links, researched the sources, wrote up the information about them.

That graphic about fandom statistics? Someone compiled those statistics, analyzed them, organized them, figured out a useful way to convey the information to others, and made the post.

That event that you think looks neat? Someone wrote the rules, created the blogs and Discords, designed the graphics, did their best to promo the event so it'd succeed.

None of this was done automatically. None of it just appears whole out of the internet ether.

I think everyone realizes that fic writing and fanart creation are work, and at least some folks have got it through their heads that gif creation and graphics and moodboards take effort, and meta is usually respected for the effort that goes into it, at least as far as I've seen, but I feel like a lot of people don't really get how much labor goes into curation, too.

If people are creating resources, curating content, organizing the creations of others, gathering information, and doing other fandom activities that aren't necessarily the direct action of creation, they're doing a lot of fandom labor, and it's often largely unrecognized.

Celebrate fan work!

To folks doing this kind of labor: I see you, and I thank you. You are the backbones of our fandoms and I love you.

#unforth rambles #this wasn't really prompted by anything #I'm just sick and tired and distractable #or i should say it wasn't prompted by anything recent or that happened now #like no one has disrespected me #but as i hit the point that it's regularly taking me an hour plus every single day to queue things for the danmei art blogs #i just think of all the times people go WAIT YOU RUN ALL OF THOSE??? BY YOURSELF??? #like i just don't think a lot of people realize how much work it is to really do background fandom labor long term #and i appreciate places like rec blogs and networks and events and just everyone #y'all are awesome #thank you so much

[lazylittledragon]

made a sticker for anyone to slap onto their work if they need to

#ramble #i've only interacted with tiktok via osmosis #but something is eating their brain matter and it makes me sad #it's fine if you only want to read light things (all power to you) but don't whine at me because i write about bad people sometimes #i'm so tired

[ilovedthestars]

there really are few emotions i find more compelling in a story than "you should be afraid of me. please don't be afraid of me"

#this is why i will never forget that moment in Exit Strategy when Mensah grabs MB by the collar and tells it *No* #murderbot #this was also the core premise of a character in #my novel wip that shall remain unnamed #probably more characters i'm forgetting about #fun tropes #tropes #stars rambles

[o0kawaii0o]

Spring's Harvest!

#a more elaborate piece and this time it's stardew! #would you still call this animation if it only consists of 2 keyposes? hm #I thought about it and didn't want to make inbetweens in the end so here you go #found motivation to finally realise this idea I had for months since the release date of the 1.6 update got announced! #can you maybe spot the O/ne Piece details? hehe #I'm rambling again #stardew valley #stardew fanart #stardew farmer #sdv #sdv fanart #junimo #fanimation #o0kawaii0o