#mona's college experience

[artinandwritin]

After entering my second year of art school a few weeks ago, I have been assigned to translate a written book into different types of media. The book I have read for this is Films Die Nergens Draaien, a Dutch children's novel about time travel and, for me, about grief and having sympathy for the things people went through in the past.

For me, this was a very deep and highly personal movie, as the main character, Cato, struggles with having little to no relationship with her father, a man ridden with grief and depression over having lost his wife at his daughter's birth. Even tho this last part luckily isn't something I have experienced in my family, I do have no relationship with my father aside of resentment for treating me, my mother and brother the way he does.

Because of this, Cato was a very intriguing character to design, but as I've learned, there needs to be a balance between personal things and technical things when adapting a story that intrigues you. There needs to be something personal, of course, otherwise there wouldn't be any heart to it, but it wouldn't be the story it was meant to be in the first place.

See here some of my experiments when designing Cato; I made her, after struggle to find a way to incorporate the time travel part of her story into her design, resemble those old grandfather clocks in small parts of her character. Her face has the characteristics of the clock self and the silhouette has the shape of the stand of the clock, which was really cool to work with.

Here is her current final version! As of now I'm working on storyboards for both a small comic and a booktrailer, whose final versions, if everything goes well, should both be finished around the end of october (sobs very loudly we got so little time for these assignments)

As for the tags! @otwdfanfic as you asked to see some of my work for this project (and update as to it being translated into different languages, I'm pretty sure they're doing that rn? Saw some stuff about it online!) and @rosiethedragongeek for the art!

#mona's college experience #artinandwritin's art #school #art school

[3027960]

laswell is a mean, stone top, butch lesbian who loves high femme, pillow princess lesbians

laswell thinks the idea of 'gold star' lesbians is stupid, especially after years of lived experience as a lesbian

laswell who had relationships with men in high school before realizing she was a lesbian in college

laswell who actually has a good relationship with her family and her parents love her wife

laswell who looks up to other masc butch lesbians like leslie fienberg and judith butler

laswell who loves iconic lesbian music like tracy chapman, melissa etheridge, ma rainey, and brandi carlisle (her younger wife likes modern lesbian/queer singers like janelle monae and boy genius which she tries to get laswell into but never works)

laswell who doesn't believe in exclusively dating other cis lesbians, she's married ofc but she's dated bi women, trans girls, etc.

#kate laswell #laswell #cod #call of duty

[pumpkinpie59]

sons of bishop au

intro post!! + first batch of supporting characters concept art

synopsis:

Years ago, Agent John Bishop discovered the secret formula to the Utroms’ mutagen, and with this new power, he decided to create mutant soldiers for the EPF. Infant mutant creatures were secretly raised within the walls of the EPF labs. Four mutants in particular showed great promise in their intelligence and skills, so Bishop decided to take them under his own wing, dubbing them the Renaissance Project. Appropriately named Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello, these mutant turtles grow up calling Agent Bishop “father” and follow his every command.

Now they are 15, and doing field missions for the first time. But as they make friends outside the walls of the EPF bases they’ve grown up in, they discover more and more that maybe the EPF does more harm than good, and that they very well may be the villains in their story.

April O’Neil - Ever since she lost her job at Channel 6, April has been privately investigating the EPF to make a story to get her job back. When she accidentally bumps into the turtles while they’re on their first mission, she finds an opportunity to become their nanny to get closer to the EPF. But then she gets really attached to these boys. She’s intuitive, outspoken, and never afraid to take a risk.

more characters under cut!

Mona Lisa - Mona was a teenage college student who was accidentally mutated while on a trip. Now she spends most of her time on her roller derby hobby, as well as secretly working as a nighttime vigilante with her friend, Mondo Gecko. At first, people find her to be a jokester, immature and constantly making a scene, but she’s smarter than she lets on.

Casey Jones - A homeschooled teenage boy who escapes his troubled home life to fight crime. He never takes off his mask and his violent tendencies get him in a lot of trouble, but his heart is in the right place. Casey doesn’t have any friends, but that changes when he meets the turtles.

Mondo Gecko - Like the turtles, Mondo was also an experiment at the EPF headquarters, but he grew jealous of how the turtles were treated vs the other experiments, so he ran away. He’s moody and resentful, but Mona Lisa has brought out a fun-loving side to him. He enjoys skateboarding and occasionally joining Mona on her vigilante escapades.

Oroku Karai - Karai is the only child (sorta but that’s not important rn-) of the Shredder. She’s been training all her life to someday take over the Foot Clan after her father either retires or dies. Due to her yokai heritage, Karai was born part snake, with an ability to transform into a snake creature at will. When the Foot Clan forms an agreement with the EPF, Karai meets the turtles and constantly belittles them to make herself look better for her father. But her overconfident attitude hides an insecure heart.

Slash - Slash was an experiment of the EPF, but escaped when he was very young. His frightening appearance kept him alone for a long time, until he met Renet. The two became very close and Renet chose to help him become a time master student beside her. Now, they are time traveling partners and best friends. Slash seems gruff and quiet on the outside, but once someone gets to know him, they find he’s very laidback and quite affectionate.

Renet - Renet is a chipper teenage girl from a far off planet where time travel has been discovered. She is a student of the head Time Master, Simultaneous. Not long ago, she befriended Slash, and the two of them explore time together as best friends. But something in the time stream has trapped them in present day New York City, but Renet can’t seem to figure out what. So now she spends most of her time as a video game streamer.

Lotus Blossom - Lotus is a mysterious ninja bounty hunter who has no clan or family to her name. All who have met her find her somewhat unnerving, hearing distant voices when they speak to her. But despite her age, she is ridiculously good at what she does. Lotus Blossom can’t help but be surprised when Leonardo is the first person to show interest in her beyond her job, despite her strange, ghostly aura … Maybe even a little infatuated with him.

#pumpkin stuff #tmnt #my art #tmnt fanart #tmnt au #tmnt sons of bishop #tmnt april #april o'neil #tmnt mona lisa #casey jones #tmnt casey jones #mondo gecko #oroku karai #tmnt karai #tmnt slash #tmnt renet #tmnt lotus blossom

[lovesickbrat]

Bunny by Mona Awad (Spoilers!!!)

okay so bunny by mona awad succeeded in areas I think my year of rest and relaxation by otessa moshfegh failed in which she created a satire that actually had something to say. the way awad deals with the concepts of loneliness (both incidental and self inflicted), female friendships, class and the pretentiousness of New England college culture actually feels purposeful. and the reason I compare it to moshfegh is because both books are satires with unlikeable protags but while moshfegh is too busy kissing her own ass and hiding behind “oh all art is apolitical” bc shes to scared to admit that she actually cares about the topics shes talking about, awad cares very deeply about what she’s writing which made it unsurprising to see she based it on her own experiences at brown university.

Samantha is not the most likable character and you’re either gonna cone away from the book hating her and her pity parties or deeply understanding why she throws them (especially if you read her as a woman of color like I did). there’s a constant theme of her being obsessed with her own otherness and its true especially when you consider (Spoiler) She created her best friend Ava from a swan in the pond . Ava is Samanthas ideal friend but also the ideal form of herself: cool, self assured and beautiful. If Ava is the good part of herself, then Max is the bad. Her dark thoughts, negative impulses and hatefulness. But he is also how she sees herself as well, or at least what she thinks Ava would find attractive, he’s smooth, attractive in a dangerous way, poetic without being pretentious (he’s a literal vessel for her to say what she feels about Ava all of which is written in her diary) and what I think is very very important he can fuck Ava. Something the bunny-boys couldn't do.

there's also the sense of how we lose ourselves in our friends, as female friendships tend to be all consuming to the point we really do melt into a hive mind and I think even the friendship with Ava is tinged with co-dependency. Samantha dehumanizes the Bunnies calling them by nicknames she gave them, robbing them of agency because of their perceived perfectness but once she is invited to the Smut Salon she begins to call them by their real names until finally in honestly the most disorienting section of the book they all become Bunny, to the point its hard to tell who is talking and I loved that I wish we got more of Sam as a Bunny.

the atmosphere and aesthetics of the novel were so fun a candy colored dark academia where we even see that the bunnies also put on airs around each other like how Kira’s voice deepens when she thinks shes alone, no longer concerned with sounding like. bunny. I like how each of the women have a genre assigned to their writing and personal style showing how even though they are indistinguishable from each other, they were their own people beforehand but they allowed themselves to get sucked into a vacuous pretentious bubble.

the commentary on class was great, especially with how sam is said to be too obsessed with being poor to have been poor her whole life and I think thats a very accurate representation of someone who's financial status has been precarious for much of her formative years and why despite herself shes so intrigued by the bunnies and feels out of place in her writers cohort. rich people love to blow smoke up each others asses, which allows the bunnies to write horrible work because at the end of the day they’re rich it doesn’t matter they're never gonna have to improve themselves. its also why sam feels reluctant to speak her true feelings on their work because she doesn't have anyone to rely on lest she gets ousted

the usage of the all female writing cohort with the singular teacher was a great nod to the secret history honestly the whole book was

I loved how it was a creation horror story as well as coming of age the horrific parts were truly gross and the way the cannibalize themselves (metaphorically) towards the end was satisfying as fuck

and a lot of ppl hate the ending but sam choosing Jonah was honestly cathartic, she isn't healed things aren't sweet and nice but she makes a connection with someone who has been reaching out to her instead of being obsessed with her own otherness

#coquette #coquette aesthetic #bunny mona awad

[corruptedcaps]

A Wicked Famiy

With a tinge of nostalgia in the crisp autumn air, Mona and her twin daughters, Lizzie and Mabel, excitedly sat at the home computer and scrolled through their options. It was their last Halloween together before Lizzie and Mabel ventured off to college. They had grand plans to dress up as a the Fairy Godmother, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, a tribute to all the enchanting Halloweens they'd shared over the years and their love of fairytales.

"Mom, this costume is going to be amazing!" Lizzie had exclaimed, clicking on the purchase link.

“Yeah I can’t wait to wear the glass slippers, maybe I’ll find my Prince Charming.” Mabel added excitedly.

Mona smiled, her heart a mix of pride and melancholy. "I can't believe this will be our last Halloween together. Time flies, doesn't it?"

A week later, the doorbell rang, and Mona rushed to get it, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. However, when she opened the package, her joy turned to bewilderment. Inside were three costumes, but instead of the fairy godmother, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty attire they'd ordered, she found only garments designed for the evil stepmother and the wicked step sisters to Cinderella.

Mona's initial reaction to the wicked costumes was one of horror. She held it up, the one intended for her and was taken aback by the black, tight, and latex design. It was utterly different from the modest and magical fairy godmother outfit she had expected. She was about to grab her phone and call the seller to request a return, thinking it must be a mix-up.

But as she held the costume in her hands, something strange happened. The glossy black material felt sleek and smooth against her fingertips, and the form-fitting nature of the outfit exuded a sultry attraction. Her fingers traced the intricate details, and a seductive curiosity began to stir within her. She couldn't help but envision herself in this costume, taking on the persona of a wicked stepmother. Her pussy was beginning to get wet.

Mona's initial repulsion slowly transformed into a growing desire to put it on. It was as if the costume had a captivating spell of its own. She couldn't explain it, but the temptation to slip into the tight and beguiling latex outfit became irresistible. Mona found herself hesitating, torn between the sensible plan of returning it and the inexplicable urge to wear the seductive attire.

Mona couldn't stand it any longer. The evil costume, so tight and sexy, practically called out to her. It was as if she were under a spell, and the urge to wear it had become overwhelming. With a burst of determination, she practically ripped off her demure and boring mom clothes. With trembling hands, she began to pour herself into the wicked costume. Her chubby frame initially resisted, but with each tug and adjustment, the latex outfit inched its way onto her body until it sat where it needed.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Mona suddenly felt a twinge of self-consciousness. Her aged body didn't seem to fit the outfit well, and she suddenly felt silly in this tight attire. But just as doubt began to creep in, something extraordinary happened.

As Mona gazed into the mirror, she watched in amazement as her body underwent a mesmerizing transformation. Her nails, once short and practical, elongated and glistened with a deep, glossy black finish, the tips sharp and dangerous. Her lips, once modest and unassuming, plumped and took on a luscious inviting look.

Her skin, which had borne the marks of age and experience, now radiated with a youthful glow. Wrinkles seemed to vanish, replaced by smooth and flawless porcelain. The latex caressed her like a second skin, enhancing her newfound attraction.

Mona couldn't believe her eyes as her tits swelled, becoming fuller and more round, defying gravity in a way that she thought was only possible in dreams. Her hair, once a simple shade of brown, darkened to an enchanting ebony, falling in cascading waves that framed her transformed face. The changes were both captivating and bewildering, and yet, she couldn't help but feel a newfound confidence coursing through her.

Mona continued to examine her transformation in the mirror, her reflection captivating her at every turn. With each passing moment, the familiar features of her old, boring self faded away from her memory, replaced by the seductive image of the wicked stepmother she now resembled.

She ran her fingers through her luscious, dark hair, now falling in a sultry cascade around her shoulders. Turning to the side, she noticed the enchanting curve of her plump lips and the shapely, captivating swell of her breasts. "This can't be real," she whispered, her voice carrying a newfound sultriness.

Mona was unable to tear her eyes away from her reflection. A sense of vanity began to creep over her, her own reflection becoming an obsession. She couldn't help but mutter to herself, "I've never looked so ravishing, so mesmerizing. I could conquer the world looking this… wicked."

Her reflection, devoid of doubt or modesty, spoke back to her. "Why settle for anything less? I am stunning, powerful, and simply irresistible."

A wicked grin spread across her lips. Mona was no longer herself; she had become the embodiment of vanity, ready to embrace the newfound confidence and narcissism that the costume had bestowed upon her.

As Lizzie and her twin sister Mabel arrived home, the door creaked open to reveal Mona, transformed into the wicked stepmother with an air of cruel confidence. Her eyes, once filled with warmth, now gleamed with a biting arrogance as she surveyed the twins, who stood there.

"Well, well, look at you two," Mona sneered, a condescending smirk playing on her lips. "Still clinging to that plain, ordinary look. You both should try something more... captivating. It might actually make a difference."

Mona cackled as her daughters looked on with shock. The two girls looked at their mother, her discarded clothes on the ground and the open box and put two and two together even if it didn’t make logical sense.

“Mom how about you take off that outfit and we can talk?” Mabel said

Mona, however, laughed dismissively. "Oh, Mona, the only one changing clothes is you two. You’ll become my wicked daughters and then we’ll have our fun. Wouldn’t you like to be hawt and evil like me, it’s intoxicating."

Mabel stood defiantly, her eyes meeting Mona's. "We'll never join you, right, Lizzie?" But when she turned to her twin for support, she found Lizzie lost in a trance, her gaze fixed on the wicked stepsister outfit, now held lovingly in her hands.

"Lizzie, snap out of it! We can't let this costume change us," Mabel urged, panic creeping into her voice. She grabbed Lizzie's arm, attempting to break the spell, but Lizzie seemed oblivious to her twin's plea.

Mona, reveling in the chaos, continued her taunts. "Oh, that’s it’s Elizabeth, don't resist the draw of this transformation. Embrace the power, the beauty, and the wickedness. Join me and this this town will tremble at the names of Symonne and Elizabeth!"

Lizzie, entranced, began to undress, her movements almost mechanical. Mabel's pleas fell on deaf ears as her twin, under the strange influence of the costume, prepared to don the wicked stepsister attire.

As Lizzie succumbed to the enchantment of the wicked stepsister outfit, a visible transformation unfolded before Mabel's eyes. Lizzie's once messy brown hair transformed into a sleek blonde high ponytail, cascading down with a shine. Her lips plumped as her once modest bustline expanded, becoming voluptuous and impossible to ignore.

Lizzie's nails, now black and meticulously painted, contrasted starkly against her transformed sun-kissed skin. The costume seemed to sculpt her body, emphasizing curves and contours that hadn't been there moments before. She moved over to her mothers side with an enticing confidence, a glint of mischief dancing in her eyes.

As Lizzie completed her transformation into Elizabeth the wicked stepsister, a sinister gleam appeared in her eyes. The once warm and familiar gaze now held a cold, calculating edge. Her wicked grin curled at the corners of her newly plumped lips, a cruel confidence radiating from her transformed expression. The mischief danced in her eyes, now framed by the sleek blonde high ponytail.

Elizabeth’s gaze met Mabel's, and there was a cold detachment in it, a stark departure from the sisterly connection they once shared. The wicked look on Elizabeth’s face hinted at a newfound sense of power and cunning, as if the costume had not only altered her appearance but also awakened something dark within.

Mabel felt a chill down her spine, realizing that the innocence of their Halloween celebration had given way to an unexpected and unsettling transformation. Elizabeth, now embodying the wicked stepsister, seemed poised to revel in the mischief and chaos that awaited, leaving Mabel to grapple with the disconcerting reality of the enchanting costume's impact on her once-close twin.

"See, Mabel, your sister enjoys what she's become, now it's your turn." Symonne’s voice, tinged with a sinister satisfaction, echoed through the room. Mabel, tears welling in her eyes, felt a sense of resignation as she walked over to the box containing the wicked stepsister costume.

Before Mabel could retrieve her attire, Elizabeth’s, now the fully transformed bitch, reveling in her newfound wickedness, snatched it from the box. "Darling, what are you doing?" Symonne questioned her daughter, a hint of curiosity in her tone.

With a wicked glint in her eyes, Elizabeth replied, "She said it herself that she wanted to be Cinderella; now she can be with us as her wicked stepmother and sister." Mabel watched in shock as Elizabeth, fully committed to her dark role, tossed the remaining wicked costume into the open fireplace.

The flames greedily consumed the fabric, devouring the evil magic but so to Mabel’s chance to join her family. The room filled with the crackling of the fire, casting eerie shadows on the walls. Mabel's heart sank as the realization hit her—her sister had forsaken her to become the villain.

Symonne, delighted by the chaos unfolding, looked at Elizabeth with a twisted satisfaction. "Oh, my dear, how delightfully evil of you. You are truly my daughter." Her voice dripped with sinister approval as she witnessed Elizabeth fully embracing the wicked stepsister persona.

Elizabeth, wearing a satisfied smirk, basked in her mother's acknowledgment of her transformation. The once warm and caring family dynamic had given way to a chilling sense of unity in their newfound wickedness.

"Now, girl, clean up this mess while your stepsister and I hit the town. The world needs to see how gorgeous and evil we now are." Symonne’s disdainful tone cut through the air as she directed Mabel to rectify the aftermath of their wicked transformation.

Mabel, now feeling the weight of her mother's contempt, nodded silently. Tears welled in her eyes as she began the daunting task of cleaning up the house. The room, once filled with warmth and anticipation, had transformed into a cold and unsettling space.

Before they left, Elizabeth leaned in, a wicked glint in her eyes, and whispered to Mabel, "I can't wait until Monday when I take over the school. I'll be the queen bee, and you'll be a lowly ant. I can’t wait to squash you under my heel." Her words, dripping with malice, sent a chill down Mabel's spine as the full extent of their twisted plans became clear.

Mabel, now burdened with the cleanup, watched her transformed sister and mother exit the room. The anticipation of the wickedness they planned to unleash on the unsuspecting school filled the air with an unsettling tension. The Halloween night, once meant for joy and celebration, had morphed into a nightmare of malevolence.

#f2f #corruption #bitchification #magic #evil bitch #corrupted clothing #corrupted costume

[rhinocio]

ROTTMNT Fanfic Recommendations

Light

You Coveted This Prison by CaveDwellers (April / Donatello - Comedy / Character Study - WIP) THE April O'Neil character study. One part excruciating (for reader and supporting cast) slow burn romance, one part introspection on being true to oneself. Rated M but only for one chapter, which can be skipped. Riddled with laugh-out-loud comedy shenanigans and heartachingly tender intimacy. Hot takes all over the place because the author wrote this with very little fandom involvement, and intentionaly chose to be contrarian in as many ways as possible. April takes down her arch-rival! Raph locks her in a freezer! Casey Junior's keeping secrets! Donatello's wall of horrible fake sciencey souveniers keeps growing and it may or may not be a sign of affection -- he's going to crunch the numbers on that. An absolute blast of a fic, cannot recommend enough.

★

Tried To Grow Up Good by Sroloc_Elbisivni (No romantic focus - Character Study - Complete)

THE Casey Jones post-movie character study. Love is stored in the found family. Casey is an accidental felon. He and Cassandra are siblings now. Anatawa hitorijaNAI let's get the entire two timeline fam in here for a reunion so I can sob myself silly. Perfection. This author's constantly pumping out new fics, and often updating multiple at a time; I've read through and greatly enjoyed Tomato Maze (there is so much serotonin in the knowledge that these idiot turtle boys will do anything for watermelon), Sorrow Is An Autumn Heart (Leo/Usagi but make it a slowburn thriller-drama set in historical Japan), and The Passionate Pools of Salamandria (a post-movie Raph/Mona bodice-ripper with an amnesiac protagonist and a B-plot where the rest of the family fight space to find their missing brother). Honestly this author has the WILDEST takes and everything they write is fascinating.

★

Give Me Something That’ll Haunt Me When You’re Not Around by Taizi (Leonardo / Yuichi - Drama / Romance - Complete)

If you've decided you're finally gonna take a dive into the leosagi crossover ship and see what all the fuss is about, do it with this fic. The author has a strong grasp on how to make a character study about characters first and relationships second, and in doing so has crafted one of THE most tender romance stories I've ever read. Starts as a character study on Yuichi Usagi and the yokai perspective on the Kraang invasion, branches into an exploration of PTSD and what it means to recover, and ends with a friends-to-lovers quickburn that says, "because of you I'm learning to love myself." Leo gets a therapy dinosaur. Yuichi gets out of his head. The character nuance and showing-not-telling is godtier. Healing starts with telling the alien invaders to go fuck themselves. Do not pass this fic up, I promise you it's worth the read. It legitimately made me cry.

★

The Old College Try by Theashemarie (No romantic focus - Action / Drama - WIP)

Donatello cloaks himself human to go to college, and drags his twin brother along. This fic masquerades as a fun, comedy-heavy action adventure story, but under the surface is a really fascinating introspection on what it means to hide your true self in order to fit in. The queer subtext is off the charts! Leo babysits Baxter Stockboy. Mikey gets eaten by a bird. One of the grad certificates is definitely going to be made out to to the wrong Hamato entirely. This fic features an autistic writer writing an autistic character, and their personal experience shines through in the excellent way Donnie's awkwardness and affection are balanced. This author knows nuance; I also highly recommend The Hibernator (apocalyptic timeline and Raph's dead........ wink) and Very Thoughtful (a Donnie-centric low empathy study).

★

Aftermath by Bronte (No romantic focus - Drama - Complete)

The boys deal with the aftermath of the movie events in whatever ways they can. Donnie gets into pina coladas. Leo harasses his brother. Look at these disaster twins bonding! There's a flippancy to all the angst that keeps these lighthearted and love-focused without skipping the rough details. I'm literally never going to recover from the belly bongos scene and will probably end up making art about it. Fantastic read, made me viscerally emotional.

★

At The Bottom Of A Duck-Shaped Crater by CaveDwellers (April / Donatello - Drama / Comedy - Complete) One part worldbuilding for the apocalyptic timeline and one part heartfelt comedy from the perspective of Miyamoto Usagi. Leonardo adopts a babysitter. Casey Junior saves the war effort from collapsing under a dick-measuring competition. April may or may not be about to kill a man. CaveDwellers is among my favourite writers for several reasons, but this fic really highlights her strength in blending several different kinds of relationships in one story and building a plot that delivers achey-breaky sentiments without having to structure everything around romance. (We're also developing projects together; keep an eye out for the "next in series" button at the bottom of the AO3 page for soft apocalyptic stories of a similar nature!)

★

Superfight by Swordfright (No romantic focus - Drama / Comedy - Complete)

An easy-reading one shot! Leo comes to terms with being a teenager, Donnie calls his disability out for what it is, and everybody plays Superfight the card game. The author writes in a very Douglas Adams-y style, resulting in a wheezing-on-the-floor-funny reading experience. If you're burnt out on fandom angst and need a pick-me-up, this is 900% the fic for you. It got me cry-laughing with just the quick refresher glance I gave it to put this recommendation together.

★

Now That's What I Call A Vacation! by WayWardWatson (No romantic focus (?) - Adventure / Crossover - WIP)

This fic's a multi-feature! It's one part infodump about Japan's culture and tourist hotspots, one part study on what it means to cloak your identity to fit into the world, and one part surprise crossover with Usagi Yojimbo. I am OBSESSED with this author's takes on Splinter as a character; several chapters are dedicated to exploring his fixation on being "human again" and trying to juggle the life he once had as a star with the life he now has as a parent of mutants. Primarily this is a feel good adventure story about the Hamato brothers getting in touch with their heritage, but it comes in swinging with several different action/adventure plot points and drama beats to keep a reader invested. Legitimately have no idea where the author's taking things, which makes me all the more excited for the ride!

★

One Step Forward, Fall Forever Back by GriffinStone (No romantic focus - Action / Mystery - Complete)

This fic is one of those slight universe alteration stories that takes a one-off thought and runs with it: what if Casey Junior died on his way through the time rift, spawned into the past as a ghost, and Leo was the only person who could see him? Promise the execution is way less daunting than it sounds -- events move along at a breezy pace and characters never spend very long lamenting the whole dead boy situation. The final battle alone is so chocked full of found family ride-or-die energy between the two protagonists that it's worth the rest of the adventure playing out pretty similarly to the movie. Definitely a treat for those of you who are big on Leo-Casey interactions.

★

A Mixed Bag by MusingWordsmith (No romantic focus - Action / Comedy - WIP)

What if I told you there was a fic where the turtles of every major tv show TMNT iteration shonen anime-style battled their way through challenges in mixed teams of four in order to defeat a team of evil overlords who may or may not know what they're doing re: evillness? Trust me when I say this story is fun -- it blends comedy and drama flawlessly, and the author totally committed to the bit in keeping each version of the turtles loyal to the genre of their individual canons. The 1987 turtles are breaking the fourth wall. The Rise kids are absolute supersoliders. 2003 Michelangelo somehow ended up as the babysitter of his particular faction and is kind of having a crisis about it. I am so beyond impressed at how well this author distinguishes each character and keeps who's who from getting too confusing, which is a common issue in TMNT crossovers. Reading this fic feels like watching literally any version of the show as a kid on a Saturday morning. It is a blast.

Medium

Young Root, Old Rock by SiryyGrey (No romantic focus - Action / Thriller - WIP)  

Shortly after the Kraang invasion a mysterious file of an unreadable format shows up on Donnie's computer, and he's driven by an intense curiosity to decipher exactly what it is and means. This author goes HARD on creating tense, muscle-tensing atmosphere, which is balanced out by extremely tender character interaction. Casey knows something he's not letting on. Donnie makes himself a robo-brain. Leo blows up his brother. You ever wanted an adventure with the blorbos that was also an ARG? Cryptic messages are sprinkled throughout the chapters for readers to decipher. Mind the tags but absolutely do not pass this fic up!

★

No Rest For The Weary by Nekotsuki (No romantic focus - Action / Adventure - WIP)

Ever thought "hey what if the movie just kept going and we found out what happened to those other kraang"? Hello and let me introduce you to THE post-movie out of frying pan and into the fire fic. I have it on good authority that this author was a big name in the 2003 TMNT fic scene, and I suspect for good reason -- this story perfectly blends heart-pounding action with A+ belly laughs and solid found family energy. Donnie hacks cute animal emails and narcs on the enemy. April fights zombies back to back with Barold Draxum of downstairs neighbour fame. Raph gets tranquilizer-darted by his brother for being too emotional. 100/10 wild ride, cannot recommend highly enough.

★

I May Be Invisible, But I Still Look Good by Dandy (No romantic focus - Adventure / Thriller - WIP)

Several TMNT AU competitions have made this fic a household name, and for good reason -- the author's come onto the scene with a bold, fun plot premise: after a battle gone wrong, Leo finds himself alive but unable to be perceived via sight, sound, or touch. Naturally, his family assumes he's dead. While it starts on the angstier side, this story's got a lot of heart and shoves tenderness into every possible crevice; the longer it goes on, the more tears are swapped out for laughter, and anguished dialogue-heavy interaction trades place with high-octane action. Worth sticking with!

★

Creation, Haunted And Holy by Greenglowsgold (No romantic focus - Drama / Thriller - Complete)

I lied about the romance it's Donnie x Technodrome with a twist. This fic reads like fascinating poetry, and does right by its source material by taking one of the fandom's favourite angst catalysts and turning it into a demonstration of the strength of love. Looking for something wildly different? GGG's got you. Would also highly recommend their outside-POV slice of life fic Midtown Mutants!

Dark

The Lemonade Leak by TurtleSoupSwimmer (No romantic focus - Horror / Thriller - WIP)

How do you explain to your family that your twin brother's possessed when you have no evidence, aren't sure if said brother is still alive somewhere inside the zombie, and revealing you know something's wrong could get everybody killed? There is no describing how completely feral I've gone for this fic - the author's technique of starting chapters with small, raw, seemingly unrelated scenes that segue into the current plot and enhance the tone or underlying message of the story is just incredible. They've given the turtles a fascinating mutation feature that adds layers of intrigue to the plot. The character interaction is heckin' tender, we got a nice scoop of self-worth issues from Leo to deal with, and the scary scenes are grip-your-phone-and-stop-blinking scary. The author promises a happy ending but that doesn't make Lemonade Leak any less of an incredibly tense ride. This is a fic I jump on the second I get the AO3 email notification.

★

The Smoking Gun: A ROTTMNT Tactical AU by AlienMadame22 (Donatello / April - Action / Adventure - Complete)

Agent Bishop of the EPF stole four turtle mutants away from their father as children and raised them as militia; dad's gotten back in contact and intends to break them free. This author absolutely took off running with the tactical AU prompt that various visual artists started up, grabbed a handful of canon concepts to mess around with, and mcguyvered together a wild ride of a story that continues to catch me off guard. Strap in for a fic riddled with emotional complexity and character nuance, and come prepared to cry. Fear not the ship tag, as the fic is primarily non-romance-focused and the ship elements are handled in an interesting, convoluted way that works to further the plot and add comedic value. Smoking Gun is a refreshing new concept in a very busy fandom tag and I have been eating it up like candy.

★

The Dawning of the Hour (Series) by Faiakishi (No romantic focus - Horror / Drama - WIP)

Donnie is captured and brainwashed by a pre-Vegeta-arc'd Baron Draxum, who subsequently starts parenting the kid out of guilt while using his talents to fuel the canonical Mutate All Humans takeover plot. It's been often called the Donatello version of Like Father Like Son, but that does its storytelling a disservice - this series goes much deeper in the psychological and physical horror direction, has an underlying political intrigue plot, and spends a generous amount of time with the secondary cast (plus a few excellent OCs) in order to really ramp up the intensity of the premise's whole situation. The first story is very whump-heavy, but does a lot of setup for fic two: The Drax-Daddening, which gives Donnie a friend in Cassandra Jones and finds more space for affection and comedy. The author's ramped up the sources of conflict several times over in the first few chapters of the series' second fic, making rescue by the Hamato feel ever more impossible. Despite being a very complex and interesting read (grey-morality my beloved) I cannot stress enough how VERY not for kids this fic is, so proceed with extreme caution!

#fanfiction recommendations #ROTTMNT #TMNT #ROTTMNT fanfic recs #the post was getting absurdly long so hang in there for a part two #save ROTTMNT #unpause ROTTMNT #holy shit the formatting nightmare this was tUNGLR WHY

[kittynumyum]

So I don't really make a lot of posts for my tmnt iteration where it's just only text, since I mostly prefer to show my iteration through my drawings. But, I figured I might as well do this so you guys get to know a bit about the main characters that are going to be part of my story, so here we go!

Character Summary List:

The Boiz:

Leonardo: Leader in Blue. Centered arc is the first arc.

Raphael: Big and red and always ready for a fight. Centered arc is Yokai Uprising Arc

Michaelangelo: Orange and one of a kind. Centered arc is City at War Arc

Donatello: Purple and rocks machines. Centered arc is Galactic Frontier Arc

Other Main Characters:

Splinter: The turtles' rat sensei/father. Is Hamato Yoshi and has a tragic family backstory.

April O'Neil: The turtles' first best friend since they were kids. Currently a college student. Is besties with Donnie.

Casey Jones: The turtles' second best friend (Raph meets them first when they were younger, then the others during the present). Hockey player and vigilante. Has a dorky crush on April. Is besties with Raph.

Keno: The turtles' third best friend. High school student who works part time at his family owned pizza place and is badass at martial arts. Is besties with Mikey.

Metalhead: A turtle robot created by Donnie to assist the turtles through medical needs. Eventually, with Donnie's programming, they gain some sentient and becomes more willing to help out the team in any way they can.

The Mighty Mutanimals:

Old Hob: A mutant cat from TCRI, who originally started the gang. Once had a thing against humans due to being experimented on by them, but now wants to help protect the city and his friends.

Slash: A giant mutant spiked sea turtle from TCRI, who was overmutated from an ooze explosion. He started as a frenzied monster, but is soon healed by Dr. Rockwell. He leads the Mighty Mutanimals.

Leatherhead: A mutant alligator from TCRI

Mondo Gecko: A mutant gecko from TCRI

Dr. Rockwell: A mutant monkey. Was originally a human scientist who worked alongside Stockman at TCRI, but experiments went wrong in where he got turned into a monkey, (but he seems unphased with that situation ig lmao)

(And in short, they are all very close friends with Mikey)

Foot Clan:

Shredder: Leader of the Foot. Is responsible for the death of Yoshi's family. Main antagonist of the first arc.

Karai: Shredder's adoptive daughter. One of the members of the Foot Elite (Is viewed as the weakest Foot Elite, even Shredder views this). Is frenemies with Leo.

Tatsu (AKA: Tiger Claw): A mutant tiger who was originally human. Leader of the Foot Elite and is second-in-command of the Foot

Chris Bradford (AKA: Rahzar): A mutant wolf who was originally human. Member of the Foot Elite and is in charge of taking care of the new and upcoming recruits. He also becomes a better father figure for Karai.

Bebop: A mutant warthog who was originally human. Besties with Rocksteady.

Rocksteady: A mutant rhino who was originally human. Besties with Bebop.

Jennika: A mutant turtle who was originally human. She was the youngest member of the Foot Elite (is actually better than Karai).

Outer Space:

Fugitoid: A robot who was once a scientist but got his mind transfered to a robot. Is the one who originally formed the rebellion against the Triceraton Empire.

Mona Lisa: An alien salamander who is a gladiator fighter in the Triceraton Arena. She helps Donnie with his survival and skills in fighting in the arena.

Tokka: An alien turtle who decides to tag along the turtles' adventure.

Traximus: A triceraton guard who is secretly working with Fugitoid in the fight against the Triceraton Empire. He helps Donnie in finding a way to escape, as well as a way to take down the Triceratons' planet buster weapon that they have abused its power with.

Emperor Zanramon: Leader of the Triceraton Empire. Main antagonist of Galactic Frontier Arc.

Captain Mozar: Second-in-command of the Triceraton Empire.

Hidden City:

Baron Draxum: A goat yokai who is the leader of the Hidden City. Main antagonist of the Yokai Uprising Arc.

Huginn and Muninn: Baron Draxum's loyal pets.

Koya: A falcon yokai who is the general of the yokai army.

Miyamoto Usagi: A rabbit yokai who was formerly a warrior for Baron Draxum. He then helps the turtles in taking down Baron Draxum.

Alopex: A fox yokai who is the leader of the yokai rebellion.

Venus: A mutant turtle. Was created by Baron Draxum as a weapon against the turtles.

The Pantheon:

Kitsune: A fox yokai who is the eldest of the Pantheon. She is known for her variety of mystic powers and tricks. She is first seen in the Shredder Arc, where she is Shredder's right hand other than Tatsu. She is then seen again in the Yokai Uprising Arc, where she is Draxum's right hand.

Tengu: An eagle yokai who is the second eldest of the Pantheon. He is known for his mystic powers in weather-like abilities (thunder, earthquakes, etc.). He takes his duties more seriously.

Bakeneko: A cat yokai who is the youngest of the Pantheon. They are known for shapeshifting and playing with fire. They are very mischievous.

Nure-onna: A snake yokai who is the second youngest of the Pantheon. She is known for her deadly poison and cataclysmic powers yes this is based off of Cat Noir, shut up. She is very scary.

Sarugami: A monkey yokai who is the middle sibling of the Pantheon. He is known for his immense strength. He does not speak at all.

Ryujin: An all powerful and evil dragon who was banished to the Twilight Realm. He wishes to destroy the entire world and recreate it in his own image. Main antagonist of Dawn of the Pantheon Arc

Other Villains:

Krang: A powerful alien race who was banished to Dimension X. They wish to conquer the entire universe and remake it in their image. Main antagonist of Zero Hour Arc.

Baxter Stockman: A mad scientist who works at the TCRI.

Bishop: A special agent of the US government and head of the EPF. Main antagonist of City at War Arc.

Hun: A crime boss who is the leader of the Purple Dragons.

Rat King: A mad man who can not only control the rats, BUT ALSO MUTANTS! Main antagonist of Mutant Madness Arc.

#kitty says #kitty's tmnt-verse #tmnt #tmnt au #tmnt iteration

[nanowrimo]

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 18

We're heading to another world! Day 18 is represented by Science Fiction novel Mona and a Bee by Nina Fortmeyer! This cover was designed by the amazing returning designer, David Hisaya Asari!

Mona and a Bee

In a future where bees are extinct, a single mom who lives with a 12 year old son discovers her cat door is a portal. On the other side is a verdant ancient world that people can't enter because they can't fit through the door. After her cat , Mona, comes home with a bee, Linn and a neighbor collaborate to make contact with the world on the other side. They eventually do, only to find a warrior about to be wrongly executed. They help him by providing antibiotics, proving he isn't a sorcerer, he gets them a beehive, and it ends with Linn and the neighbor in an implied happily ever after

About the Author

Nina Fortmeyer is both a visual artist and a writer. An avid gardener and pastry chef, like her protagonist, she enjoys living close to nature with her husband, a passel of scenic chickens, and two silly dogs.

About the Designer

David Hisaya Asari is an Oakland-based graphic designer and design educator. He is a faculty in Graphic Design, Critical Ethnic Studies, and Special Programs at California College of the Arts. His studio course focuses on research and information visualization. His Japan study abroad course frames the student experiences through the lenses of wabi-sabi and emptiness. President Emeritus and current board member of the SF chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design. He’s served on AIGA’s national Design Educators Community steering group. “Tsudonku” is his word of the day.

#nanowrimo #30c30d #30 covers 30 days #science fiction #design #david hisaya asari #nina fortmeyer

[fabuloustrash05]

87 Mona Lisa Headcanon

Every since Mona Lisa was a little girl she was known for being very smart for her young age. She skipped two grades and graduated high school early. At age 16, she started attending college with many scholarships because of her being a science prodigy. Mona truly thought her life was going great, until her first spring break during her freshman year…

A couple of her fellow college friends invited out for a fishing trip. The group was having a fun time on the water until Captain Filch attacked.

Unknown to Mona, her college friends on that boat have always been jealous of her. Deep down they hates that some young kid just suddenly appeared on their campus, succeeding in their biology, psychics and chemistry programs at their school, unintentionally making the rest of her peers look like idiots. She needed to go.

Seeing this as their opportunity to finally get rid of the competition, Mona’s “friends” abandoned her on that boat, leaving her to be captured by Captain Flich and later mutated into a lizard mutant.

That experience left Mona to believe that she is alone and no one cares about her, that is until she meets Raphael. The first person (or mutant) to show her genuine kindness and love in a long time. Meeting Raph, April, and the others showed Mona Lisa that her true friends and loved ones are out there, you just gotta be patient and you’ll find them soon enough. With her new found friends, and someone special like Raphael in her life, Mona Lisa is no longer alone, and has never been happier.

#*sees a character i like* lets gives them trauma! #so this is my explanation to her age and why her friends ditch her #she’s the same age as the turtles she just got into college early cause she’s so smart #just like Donnie in another episode prior #fabtrash headcanons #tmnt headcanons #tmnt 1987 #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt mona lisa #tmnt raphael

[miaclemeverett]

Mourning Technoblade: Fans Grieve a Minecraft Star They Never Met

The expert gamer built a following of millions of mostly young players on YouTube, without revealing his name or face.

Late last month, more than 10.4 million subscribers to a YouTube channel received a notification that usually brought good news: Technoblade, an expert Minecraft player, had posted a new video.

For fans, each new video held the promise of Technoblade’s warm humor, whether he was winning a tournament or going on an inexplicable quest to produce more potatoes than anyone else in a Minecraft minigame.

But when fans clicked play on this latest video, called “so long nerds,” it was immediately obvious something was wrong. Instead of showing Minecraft gameplay, a man identifying himself as Technoblade’s father appeared. He announced that his son, whose first name was Alex, had died after being diagnosed with cancer.

The video has been viewed more than 72.9 million times since it was published on June 30 as the fans who used to look forward to Technoblade’s notifications try to process the death of someone they have known only through a screen.

Social media is flooded with fan art, tributes and links to grief resources. Memorials have been erected within Minecraft, including a digital book that had been signed by more than 377,000 people.

The grief has ricocheted offline, including into the home of Noelle, 13, and her sister Ilana, 11, who had recently told their aunt to name her baby Technoblade.

In a video call from their home near Toronto, Noelle said she learned that Alex had died on her last day of school.

“I was just a mess,” she said. “I was just sitting in my room crying. I didn’t know what to do.”

Ilana, who dressed up as Technoblade’s avatar, a pig in a crown, for Halloween, said, “I don’t like to bring up the topic when I am just sitting with others.”

They both started watching Alex’s videos in late 2020. They liked his lighthearted banter with other Minecraft players and how he would monologue about the absurdity of routine parts of life, like using, and losing, a box to carry soap to a communal shower in college.

Coping With Grief and Loss

Living through the loss of a loved one is a universal experience. But the ways in which we experience and deal with the pain can largely differ.

What Experts Say: Psychotherapists say that grief is not a problem to be solved, but a process to be lived through, in whatever form it may take.

How to Help: Experiencing a sudden loss can be particularly traumatic. Here are some ways to offer your support to someone grieving.

A New Diagnosis: Prolonged grief disorder, a new entry in the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual, applies to those who continue to struggle long after a loss.

The Biology of Grief: Grief isn’t only a psychological experience. It can affect the body too, but much about the effects remains a mystery.

Alex spoke over screen recordings of himself playing Minecraft, the immensely popular video game developed by Mojang Studios in which players can create their own world piece by piece and compete against others online. The game developer was later bought by Microsoft.

The guided gameplay had garnered such a following that the company made a tribute to Technoblade on its launch page after he died. Mojang Studios said Technoblade “became synonymous with a source of good” in an emailed statement.

Among Technoblade’s most beloved game adventures was his whimsical quest to make more potatoes than anyone else in Minecraft, a feat first documented in The Great Potato War video, which had 35.8 million views.

In the video, Alex makes several references to Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” as he tries to topple the top potato producer at the time, a player who uses the moniker im_a_squid_kid. After Technoblade sees that his competition has created a rendering of the Mona Lisa in his Minecraft lair, he declares that im_a_squid_kid is not just “a potato madman, but a potato supervillain.”

Shielding an offline identity

In Alex’s videos, he talked about going to college (and dropping out to play Minecraft full time) and made occasional references to his family, but there was a clear boundary between Alex, the son and brother, and Technoblade. His family has sought to maintain that privacy since his death and declined to be interviewed.

Alex announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer in an August 2021 video threaded with jokes in which he also mentioned that he was 22 at the time. He did not specify what type of cancer he had, but his followers assumed that he had sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that is found in bone and soft tissues, because he created a fund-raiser for the Sarcoma Foundation of America on his YouTube page. He had raised more than $500,000 for the organization before the “so long nerds” video was published.

The foundation, which created a special donation page for Technoblade, said that an estimated 17,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with sarcoma in 2022, and more than 7,200 people will die from the disease.

After Alex died, his fans encouraged eligible people to donate blood to help cancer patients.

Riley, a 21-year-old in Connecticut, routinely donates blood in honor of a friend who died of sarcoma, and she made her most recent donation in Technoblade’s honor. She said his death was all the more difficult because of her earlier loss. “I was bawling like a baby for a couple hours,” she said. (Riley spoke on the condition that her last name not be used because she has faced online harassment.)

She has played Minecraft for about 10 years, but she did not discover Technoblade until the early days of the pandemic when she was working grueling shifts at a grocery store. “There was not a lot of joy in my life being an essential worker,” she said.

She liked Technoblade’s humor and introduced his videos to some of her co-workers, who were reminded of his famous potato war at work. “We were stocking potatoes one night and we just started laughing,” she said.

Technoblade inspired Riley to start broadcasting videos of herself playing video games, or streaming, under the name Notable_Crayon. It has been a great way to unwind, she said, but it has also shown her why someone as popular as Technoblade would protect his offline identity.

Occasionally people will figure out Riley’s full name and send her “creepy” messages, she said. She also has a friend who was the victim of swatting, false reports of crimes in progress intended to draw armed police to the victim’s home. Her friend was not hurt, but others have been harmed, with one man killed by the police and another dying of a heart attack.

In the “so long nerds” video, Alex’s father read a letter that he said his son wrote about eight hours before he died. In the letter, Alex acknowledged the consequences of sharing personal information online and revealed that he and a sibling had successfully convinced online fans that his first name was Dave by using the name in a 2016 video, which was later deleted.

Alex said the prank resulted in “thousands of creepy online dudes trying to get overly personal, going, ‘Oh hey, Dave, how’s it going?’”

Navigating the loss of an online friend

For some fans, the mystery of Alex’s identity has added a confusing layer to the muddle of grief.

Richard England, a vicar at Crofton Parish on the south coast of Britain, said that his teenagers were both devastated by Alex’s death and that they had a few conversations about how not knowing Technoblade’s offline identity affected their grieving.

“Through this new online, offline world we have, many of them will feel like they will know Technoblade and other members of those online communities better than they know kids in their own school,” Mr. England, 47, said. “They will have spent just as much time with them.”

In Canada, Noelle and Ilana’s mother, Janice, admitted she was skeptical at first about the idea that you could have fun watching videos of someone else playing video games. But she said the girls had educated her about the Minecraft world and its personalities, which she now appreciates.

Janice, 52, was well suited to handle her children’s grief about Technoblade because she said she previously worked with children in grief as a child life specialist, a role that helps children and families cope with stress they experience because of health problems, hospitalization and bereavement.

She said that adults tend to want to protect children from uncomfortable feelings, but that it was important to give them space to express, or not express, how they were feeling about Technoblade.

“If we help our children through grief when they experience it,” she said, “then they will be better able to cope with it when they are older and have other situations in their lives that would cause them to be grieving.”

In the video call with her daughters, Janice said her sister in Maryland had called after Technoblade died, because her son was also a big fan. The boy had decided to raise money for the sarcoma foundation, Janice said, prompting Ilana to turn toward her mother and ask: “Is there a way I can help him with that?”

#technoblade #posting this because i thought this was so well done and i know the paywall might stop people from being able to read it <3 #Youtube

[artinandwritin]

Here it is! The finished version of my trailer based on the Dutch children's book, Films Die Nergens Draaien! I have to admit, I finished this two weeks ago, but I didn't have the time yet to post it yet haha

The backgrounds are a physical set (35x42x60 cm) in which I filmed and photographed to make all the different scenes. As @otwdfanfic once mentioned to me when I shared some character designs, the project perfectly lend itself to some sort of stop-motion. However, this project had to be extremely rushed due to school only giving us about 2 weeks to finish it, so I instead opted to just to 2D-character animation for Cato

It was a good choice tho! I had a lot of fun making the scenes fluid and moving, and while timing is always a bit hard, I certainly enjoyed capturing the feeling of Cato and combining that with the set

As for the set, I worked on that for about two weeks. Due to me knowing the planning school gave me wasn't going to work for me, I started working on this way earlier than i was supposed to, haha. This did make me able to finish it days before the deadline as well!

Anyways, I had fun with this project and I'm really excited to share this with ya'll. It's a cultivation of my every thought during the project and I learned so much during it

@rosiethedragongeek for the tags!

(oh and what is also exciting, the author of the book actually reached out to me after I posted the trailer on insta to ask if he could download the trailer, so hey, ya girl is networking her way towards the industry)

#anyways #currently working on another project based on the soil grounds around the city my school is located in #me and a friend are gonna make a 1 minute animation with this idea in mind and we're currently in the research phase #excited to share some things on that too!! #art #art school #mona's college experience #artinandwritin's art

[hellomynameisbisexual]

After waking up naked and hungover in the beds of countless men in college, I began to wonder if maybe I…wasn’t straight. (Reasonable!) I knew I loved women—dating them, having sex with them, connecting with them emotionally—so being gay didn’t seem right. So 12 years ago, while sitting in my sophomore dorm, I turned to the holder of all knowledge: Google. I searched for “bisexual man,” which didn’t reveal much beyond studies about gay/bisexual men and HIV, and an off-hand listicle arguing that male bisexuality was, in fact, real. (No kidding.) There wasn’t much else.

If you Google “bisexual man” today, you’ll find hundreds of articles pertaining to bisexuality. In fact, if you expand your search to just “bisexuality,” you’ll find thousands more. These articles aren’t just attempting to justify our existence; they discuss the nuances of bi identity—how to date as a bi person, how to come out as bi, how to know if you’re bi, and where to find a bi community.

There are also countless celebrities now proudly claiming bi or pansexual labels—Stephanie Beatriz, Willow Smith, Janelle Monae, and Aubrey Plaza, to name a few. For the love of God, Susan Sarandon just came out as bi. (Would I like to see more male celebrities coming out as bi? Yes, so I’m going to have to get famous myself.)

Media representation has also gotten stronger and more serious. We’re no longer depicted as morally dubious weirdos or the punch-lines of jokes. Instead, we're given complex bi characters in shows like Big Mouth, the new Gossip Girl, The Sandman, Sense8, Harley Quinn, and so many more. There was even a show called The Bisexual on Hulu in 2018.

In some arenas, we are in the heyday of bisexual visibility, and I, for one, am living. For the first time ever, women aren’t refusing to date me because I’m bisexual—they want to date me because I’m bisexual! But to be honest, I'm still not satisfied (even though I now get laid significantly more often—bless).

“Sadly, many people still believe that bisexuality doesn’t exist or that bisexuality is a character flaw—a wishy-washy failure to commit to one gender—rather than a commitment to embrace our whole selves," says Robyn Ochs, activist for bisexual visibility and editor of Bi Women Quarterly. “While we have made great strides, we are not yet visible enough. We still have very basic educational work to do.”

Of course, Ochs is right. We haven’t solved biphobia, and bi people still have the worst mental health outcomes of any sexuality by nearly every single metric, including higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts than both gay and straight folks, according to Current Sexual Health Reports. This is largely due to the double discrimination bi people face by not feeling welcomed or like part of either straight or gay communities, causing us to feel alone and isolated.

That aside, it's important to recognize that we are in (forgive me) unprecedented territory—where we can promote bi visibility while simultaneously moving beyond it, and where we can work to more directly address some of the issues plaguing our community. Visibility isn’t a cure-all. It’s just the first step in any movement, and yes, bi people are having a goddamn movement!

Visibility essentially says: Look, we’re real! You need to treat us with some damn respect. It also helps people realize they’re not alone, that they have a community. Given the aforementioned higher rates of mental health issues for bi people, community is essential. But seeing yourself on screen or reading about someone else’s experience doesn’t automatically transport you to a room full of bi people trying to make friends and find romantic partners. There is a large gap between bisexual visibility and bisexual community. Since I don’t think scientists are on the brink of discovering the key to human teleportation, we’re going to have to create and attend bi spaces ourselves in order to feel less alone. We, the bi people of the world, are going to have build bi communities.

“After visibility comes bi life,” Ian Lawrence-Tourinho, executive director of the American Institute of Bisexuality, says. “We’re not so easy to erase anymore, as much as some will try, there are just too many of us out in the open.”

Right now, bi communities are predominantly online. We have bisexual Reddit, bi Twitter, and my favorite, bisexual TikTok (or BiTok). Using hashtags, we can find and connect with other bi folks around the world, which is wonderful and how I’ve met many of my own bi friends. But it’s time for bi people to move away from the internet (and digital spaces) and actually exist in the real world. We need physical bi spaces.

We need bisexual bars! I want a queer place where I can bring my queer girlfriend and feel comfortable making out with her without gay men judging me for erroneously believing we’re a straight couple co-opting their space. (For what it’s worth, I get why gay men are protective of their spaces, but like, shit, where am I supposed to go? A straight bar? I’d rather die.)

We need bisexual sex clubs! At every queer sex party I’ve been to, I’ve only ever seen women hooking up with women, and men…also hooking up with women. Which, fine! But men should feel empowered to hook up with all genders—in raunchy positions, no less! I want a safe place where my boyfriend, girlfriend, theyfriend, and I can all go to town on each other. As it is now, it feels like sex clubs either cater to gay men exclusively or to a very straight clientele (e.g., men aren’t allowed down in the play section unless accompanied by a woman)—they are fundamentally not inclusive of bisexual folks.

Of course, we also need sober, non-sexual places for bi people. Hello, bisexual rock climbing meet-ups! Bisexual people are obsessed with rock climbing. Why? Unclear. Personally, I’m a grown-ass man who has better things to do than climb rocks, but I’m in the minority of bi folks. I’ve accepted that. So let’s give the bi people what they want!

Maybe you’re not a rock climbing bisexual, but instead, you’re a Dungeons and Dragons bisexual. (Don’t you dare make a “Why not both?” joke!) Why not D&D meet-ups where bi folks can bring everyone in their polycule and nerd the fuck out?

"LGBTQIA+ spaces are often dominated by gay people, in particular gay men,” Vaneet Mehta, author of the forthcoming book Bisexual Men Exist, says. “And while you’d hope that they would be more accepting of bisexuality, they often do not understand or support others in the [bi] community.”

So let's make our own damn spaces. Any bi person can work to create a safe bi space, even those who work traditional nine-to-five jobs. I know this, as I actually threw a massive sex party (over 170 attendees) in Brooklyn, New York called BISLUT. Since I hadn’t been to a sex club that felt genuinely bisexual for all genders, I threw a party for bi men and their admirers. At the risk of tooting my own horn, everyone has been and continues to be absolutely obsessed with it—not just because of the sex, though the sex was awesome, but because bi people were in a safe space surrounded by other bi folks where they could express their sexuality fully and be their most authentic selves.

“Like people of any sexuality, most bis want to have fun, meet each other, and have friends who ‘get’ them,” says Lawrence-Tourinho. “And let’s be honest, we want to have exciting, fulfilling sex and love lives.”

A loving, supportive, and fun bisexual community is what comes after bi visibility. Not only can this type of community improve mental health outcomes, but it can also encourage more bi folks to come out and embrace who they are. Countless studies have indicated how much better life can get once you embrace your sexuality, but there’s a caveat: Queer folks need to have friends, community, and support in coming out. If you lose your friends, your family and your home as a result, your mental health only deteriorates. Safe, physical spaces to foster community can be game-changers in helping bi people come out safely.

These spaces may even help decrease rates of homelessness in the bisexual community. For bi youth who get displaced or kicked out after coming out, safe spaces are essential for finding support.

Am I dreaming big here? Maybe. But why the hell not? By giving people the opportunity to be themselves, we might unknowingly raise the next President of the United States, or the next Lady Gaga, or the next bisexual icon.

Sign me up. My fellow bis: Let’s get to work.

#bisexuality #bisexual community #lgbtq community #lgbtq #bi #support bisexuality #lgbtq pride #pride #bi tumblr #bisexuality is valid #bisexual #bi pride #bisexual nation #bisexual pride #bisexual education #bisexual youth #support bisexual people #bisexual men #respect bisexual people #bisexual rights #bisexual women #bisexual people #bi visibility #bisexual visibility

[mothprincess]

do you have any tips for someone who wants to get into writing? i feel like i'm too stupid no thoughts head empty kind of person but i still want to attempt it because i want to create something i can be proud of (& i need a creative outlet bc my life is falling apart). i guess this is too broad of a question but maybe you can recommend some books on writing or just books you loved in general? <3

stupid people don't ask such good questions and seek out advice ♡ write without shame or embarrassment write without thinking about what a poem (or prose, but i will focus on what i have the most experience with) should look like write about what the wind sounds like (does it sing? does it warn you of something? is it cold and blistery?) or how you feel about someone in your life (is your heart warm? like it's about to burst? is it cold? cold like what? vanilla soft serve that runs down your knuckles?) write with honesty and introspection (conversely, make shit up whenever you want if it makes the story more interesting) allow your mind to be spontaneous. you don’t have to write about roses or depression. you can write about how it feels in bio lab, how your heart is like a test tube i like to tell people to make their brains as fluid as they can. if you’re at a lack for words, try reading something well-regarded that may expand your vocabulary and scope of knowledge my writing takes inspiration from the following authors and works: PROSE • sputnik sweetheart by haruki murakami • norwegian wood by haruki murakami • the wind-up bird chronicle by haruki murakami • deathless by catherynn m. valente • comfort me with apples by catherynn m. valente • the virgin suicides by jeffrey eugenides  • the bell jar by sylvia plath • cat’s eye by margaret atwood • bunny by mona awad POETRY & OTHER • ariel by sylvia plath • the unabridged journals of sylvia plath • les fleurs du mal by charles baudelaire • the anatomy of being by shinji moon • dream work by mary oliver • the wild iris by louise glück • love, death, and the changing of the seasons by marilyn hacker • the letters of vincent van gogh • the letters of vita sackville west to virginia woolf ^ these are heavily magical realism and/or with psychological and introspective themes. if you want to feel inspired but aren’t sure where to begin, you may start with shakespeare, emily dickinson, or sappho. classics tend to be safe choices that are full of rich vocabulary 

does anything excite you? use that as a compass. if nothing excites you, perhaps explore why. excitement need not be high energy. even an unexpected bouquet of flowers can bring about excitement and romanticism, at least for myself i did not learn to write poetry through formal education or classes. it is strangely intuitive and one may always write free verse poetry. anne sexton started writing poetry at the suggestion of her psychiatrist, for example. if you are interested in learning how to write, i really like skillshare for learning new things (this is my referral code, if you or anyone is interested: https://skl.sh/3Proh0p) otherwise, i own mary oliver’s a poetry handbook but am yet to have read it, myself. i haven’t read much on how to write but it would be wise to look at the syllabi of college poetry and writing courses, like this one and this, where you can find several suggestions anyway, best of luck to you, anon. please feel free to share what you have written with me when you do write something ♡

#asks #anon #on writing #prev bacchicmaiden

[sapphoandthecity]

Season One: The Prologue

My experience with women first began with growing up around my mom, my grandmother, my mother’s 3 sisters and my closest cousin. Then I was enrolled into an all girl’s catholic school for grade school, and then to another all girl’s catholic school for highschool. Consistently being surrounded by women and also unsupervised during the age of the internet, there’s no surprise I turned out how i am — a queer girl’s girl who obsesses over her female relationships, be it platonic, filial or in the rare occasion, romantic.

Perhaps you wonder about the title of this soon-to-be buzzing blog: Sappho and the City. One sleepless night, I had been binge watching the hit TV show of a similar name, Sex and the City and it got me inspired to talk about relationships too. If Carrie knew men, I knew women. It also dawned on me just how entertaining my own encounters with women were. As rare as my love life had been, each chapter of it was as exciting as a new episode of Carrie’s life. Not to mention, I have three girlfriends of my own, constantly there and consistently getting updated with the whirl and organized mess of my young adult life. The only thing missing were rounds and rounds of cosmopolitans.

Yes, there is a big difference between Carrie and I. She’s 35 (at least by season 4); I’m approaching 21. She’s a columnist. I'm a fashion student in college. She’s in the city that never sleeps, New York; I’m in New York, Cubao. She’s got a shopping addiction, I also have a shopping addiction. Only, I can’t afford Blahniks. But I find myself resonating more with her than any of the other girls in the cast. Drawn to share morsels of my own womanly intuition and wisdom, I decided to try my hand at her work with my own little twist.

So why Sappho? She’s a famous Greek poet known for her lyrical hymns about loving women and to put it simply, I am a queer woman talking about my relationships with women. To be specific, a femme lesbian sharing her discoveries as she traverses the bumpy roads of girlhood, loving women and cultivating lasting relationships with them. From the first blush of romance, to sapphic heartbreaks all the way to co dependent homoerotic female friendships a la Bunny by Mona Awad, I’ll write about it all.

I may have no Mr. Big in his Armani suits, or Aiden with his masculine, American charm to talk about. But I do have a laptop and stories to share about the highs and lows of being a young 20-something year old girl who loves women.

#girlhood #girlexperience #sapphicexperience #sapphic #sappho #wlw #lesbian #lgbt #girlblog #sapphoandthecity #creativewriting #creativenonfiction #girlblogging #sapphism #lgbtqia #queer community #queergirl #queer writers #filipina #queerfilipina

[partisan-by-default]

Beginning in January 2024, every pregnant person in Flint is poised to receive a one-time payment of $1,500 followed by $500 payments per month for the first year of their child’s life. Made through a new program called Rx Kids, these funds could mean the difference between being able to make rent or pay for utilities, Hurt explained.

“First-time moms need cribs – you name it, we need it,” said Hurt, who has five children, including a 6-month-old baby. “There are so many things this could help with; it could help with transportation, with groceries. I’m really excited; I think it’s really going to help.”

In a city where the childhood poverty rate is approximately 50% – and where 35.5% of the entire metropolis lives in poverty – the United States’ first-ever citywide prenatal and infant cash allowance program aims to improve residents’ health and empower children and families whose experiences with the initiative could in turn dramatically transform public policy in the country, leaders of Rx Kids said during a Monday press conference held outside the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in Flint.  

Extensive research has found that poverty and low-income status are associated with a long list of health issues, including shorter life expectancy and higher rates of infant mortality, asthma, depression and substance abuse.

At Monday’s event, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, state Sen. John Cherry (D-Flint), Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha – a Flint pediatrician whose research helped to expose the water crisis that, beginning in 2014, left the city to drink lead-contaminated water – and H. Luke Shaefer, the director of University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions initiative who is partnering with Hanna-Attisha to launch Rx Kids, announced that the state’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget includes $16.5 million for the program.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday signed the $57.4 billion general government budget, which includes the Rx Kids money that’s coming from federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant funds.

[fabuloustrash05]

Can we have a bit of info on 2003 Mona Lisa and or headcannons about her if you have thought of any? It's okay if you haven't yet-

I'm still trying to put together her story consider I have not watch 2003 yet, so I wanna build her story around the canon knowledge and rules of 03's world, but so far for her story I came up with 2 ideas:

She was visiting TCRI on a school field trip and went off to snoop around. She ended up in a part of the building she should not have been in which led to her being in an accident that resulted in her being mutated.

She was an intern for Baxter Stockman (before he hired April), until one day she discovered his evil plans, he experimented on her which resulted in her mutation.

I'm thinking about going for the first option, but I also like the idea of her having a vendetta against Stockman too. Again, it's a work in progress.

Now for HCs about her:

She's a human turned mutant lizard and is a year older than the Turtles.

She's a science prodigy, very smart and has a passion for chemistry. Because of her intelligence she was being accepted into college early and was planning to go but then her mutation happened.

Mona is a plan ahead kind of person. As a human, she had her whole life planned out to a T. She knew what she wanted and her goals were set in stone. When things were finally going her way, exactly as planned, everything was taken from her in a matter of seconds. As a mutant her whole world is now different, with her having no clue what she should do now. She can't contact her family or friends ("what would they think of me?!"), she feels as if her identity has been altered/ripped away from her, and her future is now changed and she is scared of where her life will go now. In the beginning she's very bitter about being a mutant, but over time and with some help from friends she'll met along the way, she'll learn to love herself again and realizes that not knowing what will come next is the greatest part of living your life.

Of course her and Raph have a little thing. They like each other, but desperately try to hide it by arguing with one another and acting like they hate each other. *cue True Love by P!nk* Everyone can see the romantic tension between them and wonder "WHEN THE HELL ARE THEY GONNA KISS??!!"

I like to think that April becomes like a big sister figure for her. And if I go with the Stockman route for her backstory, this would give the girls something to bond over and talk shit about their ex boss.

Mona is good friends with Donnie too, and sometimes she hangs out with him in his lab and they do experiments together and brainstorm invention ideas. This often results in Raph hanging out in the lab "for no reason at all" and watches Donnie and Mona work. He's totally not jealous or anything.

Now for some other fun facts about her!

Her favorite color is pink (but she also likes red)

She was a part of her high school's gymnastics team

She's into kickboxing and wrestling

She dresses very feminine but she's a tomboy at heart

Her favorite food is pancakes with bananas and extra syrup

With her new lizard body, she can walk on walls and the ceiling

She loves horror movies and psychological thrillers

She doesn't think aliens are real and still refuses to believe it even after Donnie introduces her to Jhanna and she comes across the Utrom.

#my-name-is-bunnyfoxy #asks #answered #FabTrash oc #TMNT oc #tmnt 2003 #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt mona lisa #tmnt raphael #tmnt donatello #april o'neil #TMNT ramona #raph x mona #oc: 2003 Mona Lisa