Welcome

Hi, you can ask me anything. Indigenous They/Them pronouns

[akajustmerry]

that video of the little kid in Gaza with his cat in his lap, begging it not to eat him and his siblings when they die. videos of Palestinians giving part of whatever food they have to their animals and using precious resources to bandage their injuries. footage of Palestinians eating pet food. Footage of Palestinians being forced to eat their's and other's pets because the occupation is starving them. the occupation murdering cats and other pets they find in front of Palestinians. the clip of those children who were ecstatic because they were able to find their pets in the rubble, or take their pets with them as they flee. bisan crying because she misses her cats and has no idea if they lived. the two brothers who chose to stay in Gaza and risk their lives to continue running their cat sanctuary. Palestinian men pulling people from the rubble clutching their cats. I don't make this post to say I care for the pets more than the people, but just...as a person who loves my pet cat so much I don't understand how people can see these images, even perpetrate this horror, and do nothing. I pat my cat and I think of Palestine and Palestinians missing their pets, clutching their pets, and being forced to eat their pets. I can't imagine the pain of it. Call your reps, support BDS, go to protests, keep bearing witness. Free Palestine and end the occupation.

[sarahwatchesthings]

[girlnephew]

[tchaikovskaya]

im being extremely serious, something needs to be done about the brightness of car headlights, its an active public safety hazard. and as far as regulatory measures go, this seems like something with a (comparatively) very easy fix....? yeah conservatives will be all "come and take it" about it but they do that with literally fucking everything bc petulant commitment to making a culture war out of any regulation or mandated changes.

its insane that we've all just collectively accepted that its normal and fine that someone driving a standard sized 4 door sedan will be momentarily blinded by the EYE-LEVEL blue-white LED headlights on the latest model of the suburbitank Pedestrian Pulverizer 3000 or whatever the fuck

[0v9]

I am, like, a long running proponent of the "eat something and you'll feel better" crowd and am often one of the first people to suggest "maybe it's time for a snack before I get whipped into a frenzy" but I really do resent how instantaneous it is. like it'll feel like I'm having my worst day in months and then I'll start eating and literally before I even finish I'm like oh yeah the world is beautiful

[fictionadventurer]

I think the Hunger Games series sits in a similar literary position to The Lord of the Rings, as a piece of literature (by a Catholic author) that sparked a whole new subgenre and then gets blamed for flaws that exist in the copycat books and aren’t actually part of the original.

Like, despite what parodies might say, Katniss is nowhere near the stereotypical “unqualified teenager chosen to lead a rebellion for no good reason”.  The entire point is that she’s not leading the rebellion. She’s a traumatized teenager who has emotional reactions to the horrors in her society, and is constantly being reined in by more experienced adults who have to tell her, “No, this is not how you fight the government, you are going to get people killed.” She’s not the upstart teenager showing the brainless adults what to do–she’s a teenager being manipulated by smarter and more experienced adults. She has no power in the rebellion except as a useful piece of propaganda, and the entire trilogy is her straining against that role. It’s much more realistic and far more nuanced than anyone who dismisses it as “stereotypical YA dystopian” gives it credit for.

And the misconceptions don’t end there. The Hunger Games has no “stereotypical YA love triangle”–yes, there are two potential love interests, but the romance is so not the point. There’s a war going on! Katniss has more important things to worry about than boys! The romance was never about her choosing between two hot boys–it’s about choosing between two diametrically opposed worldviews. Will she choose anger and war, or compassion and peace? Of course a trilogy filled with the horrors of war ends with her marriage to the peace-loving Peeta. Unlike some of the YA dystopian copycats, the romance here is part of the message, not just something to pacify readers who expect “hot love triangles” in their YA. 

The worldbuilding in the Hunger Games trilogy is simplistic and not realistic, but unlike some of her imitators, Collins does this because she has something to say, not because she’s cobbling together a grim and gritty dystopia that’s “similar to the Hunger Games”. The worldbuilding has an allegorical function, kept simple so we can see beyond it to what Collins is really saying–and it’s nothing so comforting as “we need to fight the evil people who are ruining society”. The Capitol’s not just the powerful, greedy bad guys–the Capitol is us, First World America, living in luxury while we ignore the problems of the rest of the world, and thinking of other nations largely in terms of what resources we can get from them. This simplistic world is a sparsely set stage that lets us explore the larger themes about exploitation and war and the horrors people will commit for the sake of their bread and circuses, meant to make us think deeper about what separates a hero from a villain.

There’s a reason these books became a literary phenomenon. There’s a reason that dozens upon dozens of authors attempted to imitate them. But these imitators can’t capture that same genius, largely because they’re trying to imitate the trappings of another book, and failing to capture the larger and more meaningful message underneath. Make a copy of a copy of a copy, and you’ll wind up with something far removed from the original masterpiece. But we shouldn’t make the mistake of blaming those flaws on the original work.

[trollprincess]

“Nobody’s going to want to sit on high-speed rail for fifteen hours to get from New York City to LA.”

Me. I will sit on high-speed rail for fifteen hours. I’ll sit on it for days. I’ll write and read and nap and eat and then do it all over again. I’ll stare out the windows and see America from ground level and not have to drive. I’ll see the Rockies and the deserts and cornfields and the Mississippi River and your house and yours and yours too. I’ll make up stories in my head about the small towns I see as we go along. I’ll see the states I’ve yet to see because driving or flying there is a fucking slog and expensive to boot. I’ll enjoy the ride as much as the destination. And then I’ll do it all over again to come the fuck home.

[trollprincess]

Me getting slammed with notifications on this post in particular:

[dduane]

:)

[neil-gaiman]

I used to love going to San Diego for Comic Con by train. I’d start in Chicago, take a train that would take two or three days of bimbling through lower Illinois and Texas and New Mexico and I’d get to LA and then a commuter train to San Diego. I’d meet thousands of people in San Diego and then I’d get on the train in LA and go up the coast and then head East and spend another day or two decompressing until I got off in Minneapolis St Paul. It was the best time of the year. Sometimes I’d write and sometimes I’d stare out of the window.

[trollprincess]

“Nobody’s going to want to sit on high-speed rail for fifteen hours to get from New York City to LA.”

Me. I will sit on high-speed rail for fifteen hours. I’ll sit on it for days. I’ll write and read and nap and eat and then do it all over again. I’ll stare out the windows and see America from ground level and not have to drive. I’ll see the Rockies and the deserts and cornfields and the Mississippi River and your house and yours and yours too. I’ll make up stories in my head about the small towns I see as we go along. I’ll see the states I’ve yet to see because driving or flying there is a fucking slog and expensive to boot. I’ll enjoy the ride as much as the destination. And then I’ll do it all over again to come the fuck home.

[trollprincess]

Me getting slammed with notifications on this post in particular:

[dduane]

:)

[neil-gaiman]

I used to love going to San Diego for Comic Con by train. I’d start in Chicago, take a train that would take two or three days of bimbling through lower Illinois and Texas and New Mexico and I’d get to LA and then a commuter train to San Diego. I’d meet thousands of people in San Diego and then I’d get on the train in LA and go up the coast and then head East and spend another day or two decompressing until I got off in Minneapolis St Paul. It was the best time of the year. Sometimes I’d write and sometimes I’d stare out of the window.

[hauntedchronicler]

both of my cats have a little orange spot right on their foreheads which is perfect because it provides a bullseye for kissing

[hauntedchronicler]

targets sighted!!!!!

[cellobuster]

This is like those statues with one spot worn a different color by centuries of people rubbing them for luck

[micro-usb-deactivated20230625]

[spaghettioverdose-deactivated20]

As a trans woman I can confirm that they indeed found an ancient forest inside a 630ft deep sinkhole in China

[gayweeddaddy69]

cis people can reblog this but keep it on subject, please

[senshibignaturals]

Happy pride month everyone always remember that the sinkhole has an ecosystem large enough to house not only insects but likely several species of small birds or mammals

[wherethevoidends]

@inneskeeper

[bi-astolfo]

‘Tis the season

[bangaraangex]

Hi I’m the Fenris in the post!

Wow, I hope people see this reply!

I haven’t been on tumblr in ages but someone brought this post (and another) to my attention so here’s your story:

For starters, yes it’s real. The movie is called Merry Kissmas and you can see us in the opening credits. It’s a cheesy romcom christmas movie you can find on Netflix. I watched it, it’s so cheesy lol.

What happened was I was staying in this hotel in Downtown LA for Anime Expo and on my way back to the room, this film crew approached us and asked us to be extras in his movie because “it’ll be funny!” Sure why not! So it was totally intentional.

I still cosplay Fenris from time to time but I’m more active on my Facebook page if you want to find me/credit me!

[thatnoulguyorsomething]

[teaboot]

It is wild what kind of shit people will report to you in a security uniform. "Hey, that guy in the wheelchair? He doesn't need it, he was walking outside earlier" like ??? Okay?? First off you don't know his medical status, second what the fuck am I supposed to do with that information? Take it away from him?? It's still his fucking wheelchair, he brought it from home

[teaboot]

like I don't have any physical disabilities that I'm aware of so stop me if I'm not in my lane but I feel like even if a dude is fully able-bodied, if he owns a mobility aid and he wants to use it then unless he's swinging it around wracking toddlers with it then it's really none of my damn business

Also?? "Hey there's a junkie in the bathroom" ??? First off I saw them go in and I know for a fact that person has cerebral palsy, and also, are they actively using drugs?? Are they in medical distress?? No?? Then let them piss oh my God would you rather they shit on the street

[teaboot]

and actually, another thing, because fuck it, but did you know?? "Security" means "safety"?? If nobody is using drugs inside the building and nobody is hurt or being hurt or bothering anyone or fucking in the lobby ar yodeling into the intercom or fucking, I don't know, supergluing the toilet seats up and running off with the furniture, then what precisely are you expecting me to do about it? I'm not not the goddamn Social Norm Enforcer. If you're wearing clothes and leaving people alone and you aren't stroking out or freebasing coke with your non-service animal then I honestly do not give a fuck. "There's a man in a dress in the women's room" Okay and are they watching you poop? "I don't think that's a real service dog" is it humping someone? "That girl smells like weed can you get her out of here" Weed's been legal for like five years get with the goddamn program. She probably works here. Do what you came here for and go hoooooome

[prefrontal-bastard]

“I’m not going to do the thing because I don’t view it as important.” ← Conscious decision made of your own free will.

“I want to do the thing because I view it as important, but trying to get myself to do the thing creates the same reaction as trying to put my hand on a hot stove would.” ← Executive dysfunction, a physical health problem that doesn’t answer to your own free will.

“Trying to get myself to do the thing creates the same reaction as trying to put my hand on a hot stove would. This must mean I don’t actually want to do the thing and I’m just tricking myself into thinking I do.” ← No, that’s still executive dysfunction, but you’re having brainworms about it.

[writing-prompt-s]

Humans are 1000x more sensitive to the smell of petrichor (that smell you get with rain) than sharks are to blood, to no apparent evolutionary advantage. You’re privileged to be a part of the first welcoming committee to meet our new Non-Human arrivals in person. They smell like petrichor.

[dnickels]

Every single time there is a catastrophic flood (so, every six weeks or so) the news will post pictures of people out in their kayaks or canoes pretending its Venice without any commentary and it makes me completely insane. This is dangerous and people die doing it.

Do not go into the floodwater unless the risk of staying where you are is somehow greater than the risk of going in the floodwater. Do not get in the floodwater except as a last resort.

The water itself is bad news (raw sewage, fire ants, industrial runoff) but the danger here is in the movement of the water: water flowing down a street has currents. Sometimes you can see them and sometimes you can't. 12 inches of water can move a car. What do you think a few feet will do to you in your dinky little sit-on-top if you get tired? Who is coming to rescue you if the water starts taking you somewhere you don't want to be?

Visibility in floodwater is shit. You cannot see obstacles (submerged cars, mailboxes, trashcans, etc). Trees and fences will become strainers (imagine pouring pasta into a colander. Now imagine you are the pasta and the force of constantly moving water is holding you in place). If you come out of your vessel you could potentially encounter open manholes or storm drains that suck people in (a lot of water draining through them creates powerful suction!!). People walking in floodwaters regularly step off a curb and are suddenly immersed in moving water well over their head.

Somehow, despite all this, these people NEVER have LIFEJACKETS on!! You own a boat but not a lifejacket?? Not that a lifejacket would make this a good idea, but if you are forced to abandon your home/car/whatever and get in the water a lifejacket might very well SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Look at a picture of professional swiftwater rescuers operating in a flood situation. They have on lifejackets, drysuits, helmets, boots, and a shit ton of gear. You are in a two-piece bathing suit and a shitty walmart paddleboard. DON'T BE STUPID. IT'S NOT WORTH IT.

sorry for the all caps lecture but one drowning is too many.

[artbyblastweave]

One of my favorite gags from contemporary SCP was from this article about a pointlessly dangerous extradimensional convenience store with layer upon layer of fatal death traps installed at every stage in the shopping process, one of which is a pit full of poisonous snakes below the checkout line. And then there’s a footnote saying that rather than being a confusion of terms between “venomous” and “poisonous” the snakes themselves are actually fangless and completely docile but anyone who falls into the pit and sees the snakes comes under a compulsion to start stuffing the snakes in their mouth

[diana-fortyseven]

Quick PSA, if you get one of those "Work scanned, AI use detected" comments on AO3, just mark them as spam.

Some moron apparently built a bot to annoy or prank hundreds of authors.

There is no scanning process, your work doesn't actually resemble AI writing, it's all bullshit. Mark the comment as spam (on AO3, not the email notification you got about the comment!) and don't let it get to you.

[diana-fortyseven]

The spam comments have evolved.

They are now also linking to a site they claim is able to scan works and tell you whether they were AI written or not, and that you should do that before reading a fic.

It should go without saying that you should not, under no circumstances, visit a site advertised in a spam comment.

In this case, I'd say there's even a chance that the "scanning" site is actually used to scrape fics and use them for future AI writing. What it definitely doesn't do is tell you whether something was AI written or not. That's a bullshit claim.

Don't use that site. Don't believe these spam comments, whether you get them on your own works or see them on someone else's.

It's all bullshit.

[captainkingsley]

Just got another one, so here's what they look like to anyone curious. They're never real users, either, just keysmashes for the display name.

[everentropy]

Image Description: a screenshot of an AO3 comment by nlaoboh that says HoloAI pattern found in work. To all readers, before you read please scan the work with an AI detector like gowinston.ai and call out all AI using cheaters /end ID

[fixyourwritinghabits]

As someone who works in education, actual AI detectors don't even work well and are rendered obsolete within weeks if not days. Please spread this around to spare your fellow writers and reader!

[drgaellon]

This is a SCAM. Do not fall for it!

@copperbadge​ can you signal boost?

[copperbadge]

Normally I'd save for RFM but it does seem semi time-sensitive.

I should say I haven't fact-checked this or encountered that kind of comment, so I can't speak to the factual veracity. Regardless, what the people above are saying -- check the username, don't follow strange links in comments, be suspicious of "official" AO3 communication coming in via comment -- is still just good sense. Never let the weirdness of an official-sounding statement put you on the back foot. One of the most intense skills scammers have is the ability to override common sense with panic.

All that said, I'm now pondering whether it would even be considered against TOS to post AI-generated fiction to AO3. Detectable or otherwise, as long as it's fannish-adjacent and doesn't violate any content-TOS stuff (soliciting money, etc) it should be acceptable.

I suppose if you don't credit the bot there's a case to be made that posting it on your own account would be plagiarism, but that's getting into like, metaphysical discourse about what constitutes creativity and creative property....