ed should be in bed

insomnia. rnd thoughts. gah.

[prokopetz]

Show of hands if you, too, heard the phrase “female presenting nipples” in the voice of Marvin the Martian.

[sci-fantasy]

“Where’s the kaboom? There was supposed to be a site-shattering ka–”

boom

[edshouldbeinbed]

Yeah, the boom's coming.

[therobotmonster]

Hot 3d printed action.

Way to F@#King go, Tumlbr. 

[edshouldbeinbed]

exurb1a rocks.

[renegadecut]

What made you change your mind about Rick and Morty?

Growth.

[edshouldbeinbed]

Me too. I grew a bit, they never seem to...

[mst3kgifs]

It STINKS.

[edshouldbeinbed]

They know the canon. It is Foster family history.

[ariaste]

The opposite of grimdark is hopepunk. Pass it on.

[ariaste]

#this is a good post #also I need an example of hopepunk #bc the name #resonates with me #and I need it #please #if you don’t mind (via @lavender-starling)

So the essence of grimdark is that everyone’s inherently sort of a bad person and does bad things, and that’s awful and disheartening and cynical. It’s looking at human nature and going, “The glass is half empty.” Hopepunk says, “No, I don’t accept that. Go fuck yourself: The glass is half-full.”  YEAH, we’re all a messy mix of good and bad, flaws and virtues. We’ve all been mean and petty and cruel, but (and here’s the important part) we’ve also been soft and forgiving and KIND. Hopepunk says that kindness and softness doesn’t equal weakness, and that in this world of brutal cynicism and nihilism, being kind is a political act. An act of rebellion. 

Hopepunk says that genuinely and sincerely caring about something, anything, requires bravery and strength. Hopepunk isn’t ever about submission or acceptance: It’s about standing up and fighting for what you believe in. It’s about standing up for other people. It’s about DEMANDING a better, kinder world, and truly believing that we can get there if we care about each other as hard as we possibly can, with every drop of power in our little hearts. 

Going to political protests is hopepunk. Calling your senators is hopepunk. But crying is also hopepunk, because crying means you still have feelings, and feelings are how you know you’re alive. The 1% doesn’t want you to have feelings, they just want you to feel resigned. Feeling resigned is not hopepunk.

Examples! THE HANDMAID’S TALE is arguably hopepunk. It’s scary and dark, and at first glance it looks like grimdark because it’s a dystopia… but goddammit she keeps fighting. That’s the key, right there. She fights every single day, because she won’t let them take away meaning from her life. She survives stubbornly in the hope that one day she can live again. “Don’t let the bastards grind you down,” is one of the core tenets of hopepunk, along with, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”  Jesus and Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Robin Hood and John Lennon were hopepunk. (Remember: Hopepunk isn’t about moral perfection. It’s not about being as pure and innocent as the new-fallen snow. You get grubby when you fight. You make mistakes. You’re sometimes a little bit of an asshole. Maybe you’re as much as 50% an asshole. But the glass is half full, not half empty. You get up, and you keep fighting, and caring, and trying to make the world a little better for the people around you. You get to make mistakes. It’s a process. You get to ask for and earn forgiveness. And you love, and love, and love.) 

And THIS, this is hopepunk: 

[ariaste]

Here I am with more addendums to this post: Seems like a lot of people are saying the word “noblebright” at me, and I just want to be really clear about this: Noblebright is not hopepunk. Noblebright does not espouse the same ideals that hopepunk does. They are two distinct, separate, coexisting things.

Noblebright is Arthurian legends. The world is a good place, people are essentially good. The codes of chivalry are in full effect. People in positions of authority are there because they are wise, prudent, caring leaders. They rule because they deserve to rule. They protect the weak, they uphold their ideals, there’s people practicing chaste courtly love in every bower and garden. Things are fine, and people have adventures in which they triumph because (see: all of the above). Hopepunk is (as many wonderful people in the comments have pointed out) Discworld: The world is the world. It’s really good sometimes and it’s really bad sometimes, and it’s sort of humdrum a lot of the time. People are petty and mean and, y’know, PEOPLE. There are things that need to be fixed, and battles to be fought, and people to be protected, and we’ve gotta do all those things ourselves because we can’t sit around waiting for some knight in shining armor to ride past and deal with it for us. We’re just ordinary people trying to do our best because we give a shit about the world. Why? Because we’re some of the assholes that live there. 

[bairnsidhe]

Examples of hopepunk media include:

Guardians of the Galaxy: “Why do I want to save the galaxy? Because I’m one of the idiots who lives there?”

Thor Ragnarok: “Asgard is not a place… It is a people.”

Leverage: “Right now, you’re suffering under an enormous weight.  We provide… leverage.”

The Librarians: (“I have seen you all die so many times when it didn’t matter, I can’t let it happen now that it does.” “What do you need us to do?”)

Scorpion.: (”If you try to tell me about the greater good one more time, I will hit you.”)

Star Wars: (”There is good in him still.”)

Star Trek (the original universe): (honestly, there’s no one single quote, but like, the entire damn thing is solid hopepunk.)

Wonder Woman: (”It is not about deserve, it is about what you believe.” also “Who will sing for us, Charlie?”)

[cactusspatz]

Also, Mad Max: Fury Road. Angharad is a hopepunk queen, and Furiosa and Max get pushed and pulled on to that path by the end of the movie through their connection to each other and the people they fight with.

[moonybyte]

More HopePunk quotes, cause I think we all need them:

It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams, and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned my ideals; they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.— The Diary of Anne Frank

If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it’s found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don’t care, but they’re massively outnumbered by the people who do. And because of that, I had billions of people on my side. Pretty cool, eh?— Andy Weir, The Martian

No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.— Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”— Fred Rogers

I believe in my fellow citizens. Our headlines are splashed with crime yet for every criminal there are ten thousand honest, decent, kindly men. If it were not so, no child would live to grow up. Business could not go on from day to day. Decency is not news. It is buried in the obituaries, but it is a force stronger than crime. I believe in the patient gallantry of nurses and the tedious sacrifices of teachers. I believe in the unseen and unending fight against desperate odds that goes on quietly in almost every home in the land.— Robert A. Heinlein

Sure, humans kill each other. We kill for passion, madness, rage, love, war, and lord knows other things. And yet, we’ve got six billion people running around the planet. Almost as if people who kill other people are the exception rather than the rule.— Linkara, Atop the Fourth Wall Marville #4 review

[elodieunderglass]

“But we were born of risen apes, not fallen angels, and the apes were armed killers besides. And so what shall we wonder at? Our murders and massacres and missiles, and our irreconcilable regiments? Or our treaties whatever they may be worth; our symphonies however seldom they may be played; our peaceful acres, however frequently they may be converted into battlefields; our dreams however rarely they may be accomplished. The miracle of man is not how far he has sunk but how magnificently he has risen. We are known among the stars by our poems, not our corpses.”  - Robert Ardrey

[wcwit]

“Angel: Well, I guess I kinda worked it out. If there’s no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters… , then all that matters is what we do. ‘Cause that’s all there is. What we do. Now. Today. I fought for so long, for redemption, for a reward, and finally just to beat the other guy, but I never got it.

Kate Lockley: And now you do?

Angel: Not all of it. All I wanna do is help. I wanna help because, I don’t think people should suffer as they do. Because, if there’s no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world.

Kate Lockley: Yikes. It sounds like you’ve had an epiphany.

Angel: I keep saying that, but nobody’s listening.”

- Angel, Season 2 Ep 16, “Epiphany”

[lupin420]

[prokopetz]

Those “dank space weed” memes are fun and all, but realistically, nobody should be smoking weed in space. Atmosphere recyclers have a hard enough time with all the crud that basic human metabolism dumps into the air without having to deal with combustion byproducts on top of it. Responsible space stoners stick to edibles.

[edshouldbeinbed]

'Your orbital co habitants thank you for sticking to legal comsumables, citizens. We'll be checking to see if there's a short or something nearby that made your pod makes suspect you.

[absynthe--minded]

every time I see the words “Tolkien ripoff” in reference to fantasy I laugh, because while there’s a lot of Tolkien ripoff in worldbuilding it almost never crops up in plot or theme or characterization

like

where are my stories about the decay of the world from the glory of days gone by?

where’s the motif of limb loss?

where’s the longing for the return of something worth following?

where are the bloodthirsty oaths that tear sanity to shreds?

where are the evil spirits who try and destroy the gods with steampunk V-1 buzz bombs (looking at you, The Lost Road)?

where’s my continent-wide dialectical shift ending in massive arguments over the proper pronunciation of a name? where’s my family drama centered around sparkly rocks? where are my dragons the size of mountain ranges?

[alia-andreth-deactivated2018121]

Tolkienesque Fantasy™: there’s a quest, the elves are bitchy, the dwarves drink a lot, farm boy hero.

Tolkien’s Actual Writing: absolute power corrupts absolutely, a little bit of power corrupts a little, to what extent are people responsible for their actions? does God/the gods really answer our prayers? and pacifistic undertones.

[huntercombe-deactivated20241118]

@reeve-of-caerwyn @oldshrewsburyian

[lloerwyn-deactivated20201104]

Also actual Tolkien: The world is full of hope even in dark times. Kindness and friendship are what heroes are made of. Absolutely do not fuck with nature or you will regret it.

[garrettauthor]

Also actual Tolkien: actual heroes are little people who band together because it is right, and because they must.

[mazarinedrake]

Actual Tolkien: write your spouse into the story as an Actual Demigoddess whose song can charm even the Big Bad and the Keeper of the Dead themselves. Write your best friend into the story as a longwinded shaggy tree who takes hours to get to the fucking point. 

[tanoraqui]

Actual Tolkien: a true leader values peace rather than war, and is identified by their ability to heal rather than fight. We are all essentially shaped and guided by the past, what was done and what stories we know of it. We are part of that great ongoing story. Despair is the enemy; hope is never foolish. 

[edshouldbeinbed]

Actual Tolkien:

Under all the research all the conlang, all the world build, all the archetypes, all the grand history:

Get a bit of yourself in there. It may show some of you ugly or careless side along with your light... but damn it, it more likely to mean something.

[drearyhours]

tumblr is great its like a journal but with pvp

[prokopetz]

I get the impression that a lot of people are nervous about first drafts because they think that they’re committed to whatever they end up writing.

That ain’t how it works – like, at all. A first draft isn’t something you edit into a finished product. A first draft is something you set aside and use as inspirational source material for the second draft, which is where the real process of working toward a finished product begins.

You’re not actually beholden to anything you came up with on your first go-around. Basically, the first draft is the low budget 1980s toy commercial that the second draft’s 2010s Netflix reboot is based on. Substantial changes aren’t merely permissible, they’re practically mandatory: if your second draft ends up sharing nothing with its predecessor but a broad premise and the names of some of the major characters, that’s not a sign of creative weakness – it’s a sign that the process is working!

[fozmeadows]

Watching my toddler figure out how to language is fascinating. Yesterday we were stumped when he kept insisting there was a “Lego winner” behind his bookshelf - it turned out to be a little Lego trophy cup. Not knowing the word for “trophy”, he’d extrapolated a word for “thing you can win”. And then, just now, he held up his empty milk container and said, “Mummy? It’s not rubbish. It’s allowed to be a bottle.” - meaning, effectively, “I want this. Don’t throw it away.” But to an adult ear, there’s something quite lovely about “it’s allowed to be a bottle,” as if we’re acknowledging that the object is entitled to keep its title even in the absence of the original function.

[legit-writing-tips]

Another good post to read for those writing small human characters. 

[jennytrout]

My son was about three when he came to me in the middle of the day and said, “Mommy, there’s a knight behind the bush.” I thought he meant a toy knight or something. So I follow him outside and he goes, “Listen. Do you hear it? It’s night behind the bush.” It was a cricket. A cricket was standing in the little patch of shade under the bush, chirping. So, my son saw this dark area with accompanying nighttime sounds and decided, okay, well, that is a night right there. Their brains are incredible.

[deleted20211121]

My little bean knows she’s two, constantly saying proudly ‘I’m two!’ And the other day she saw this very frail old lady who looked one foot in the grave, pulled a face and said ‘oh shiiiit. She’s three.’ I almost screamed.

[cantnotknope]

I live in Korea and have a lot of international friends, and the same is true with language barriers in adults. 

*Looking at a bowl of pears* “Can you please pass me the… apple’s friend?” 

[edshouldbeinbed]

Think on that a second. I deal with a lot of ESL people in my night job. The boss has had me help members of other shifts learn how to deal with them.

Rule one is slow the fuck down. Rule two is don't treat adults like children. One person noted, 'but they sound so—' and our assistant manager who is learning Korean says, 'I do to in Korean, do you know how much I like it when fluent people treat me like my three year old because of it?'

How other characters treat those learning to language of any age says a lot too.

[noseforahtwo]

As a chick married to an ex-cop, I say this all the time to people close to me, but it bears repeating here: No cop is your friend after you’ve been detained.

Get rear ended by a drunk at a red light? That cop will direct traffic around your vehicle, document the accident, sure. Call animal control on your piece of shit neighbor? You’ve got a pretty good chance the officer who shows up helps out in a meaningful way.

But after you’ve been arrested, when a police officer says, “Just be honest with me and I’ll do the same.” or the old “Help me and I’ll help you.” Politely ask for a lawyer. Shake your head. Ignore them. Pretend you’re Hollywood royalty being asked for a selfie. “ …mmmm… Sorry, but no.”

Keep your mouth shut. Don’t do their work for them. Wait for a lawyer.

[kedreeva]

I worked as a police dispatcher for a year and a half, and I’d agree with this. My cops were generally nice people (and I say this having been on the wrong end of their sirens twice, once before and once after being hired), and they often helped in good ways… on the street. Not so much in the station. Generally speaking (and I know this is oversimplification and is worse in a lot of places but), it went like this:

On the street, you were considered as a person/citizen they have sworn to protect who may have made a mistake or done something wrong.

Once you were in the station, you were considered as a criminal. In the station you are the only one on your side.

Stay safe.

[thebaconsandwichofregret]

TV and film has you thinking that only guilty people ask for a lawyer. This is not true. The law is complex and difficult and confusing and if you’re being questioned by the police you’re not going to be in your best state of mind. A lawyer is your basic civil right and you should exercise that right. Keep silent, ask for a lawyer, take your legal advice.

Guilty people don’t ask for a lawyer, smart people do.

[noseforahtwo]

“Guilty people don’t ask for a lawyer, smart people do.”

[thebestpersonherelovesbucky]

My uncle was a cop. My uncle is the most down to earth, wouldn’t hurt a fly person in the world. I don’t think he even arrested a single person ever, that wasn’t his job on the force. His advice? Get a fucking lawyer. Never say a damn word. A cop knows how to twist your words around and make you even doubt yourself. They know damn well how to make you feel guilty by getting a lawyer. YOU need to know that it’s SMART to get a lawyer. Get a lawyer.

[dynamicsymmetry]

People can be convinced that they committed a non-existant crime in three hours.

Don’t say shit. Get a lawyer.

[feminismandmedia]

If you want to watch a show that shows people admitting to things they may not have done and the tactics involved, check out The Confession Tapes. It’s on Netflix.

[jenroses]

My husband is a defense attorney, and yeah, get a lawyer. There is no lawyer more expensive than not getting a lawyer in this kind of situation.

[temixartsfw]

[siderealsandman]

prince zuko got you all out here thinking every dark haired antagonist boy is gonna do right in the end when zuzu was the exception not the rule

[tsengru-deactivated20210227]

I really wish it weren’t though? I think it’s really telling that a lot of people like redemption arcs because we want to see people be good despite their pasts. The fact that there are so little redemption arcs in media is very upsetting because it just sends the message that people can’t change which we know is not true. I absolutely don’t mean this for characters like Kylo Ren though lol

[siderealsandman]

Redemption arcs are hard and Zuko’s was successful for a couple of reasons: 

1) Zuko wasn’t the worst character in the Fire Nation. From really early on it was shown that, compared to Zhao, Azula, and other Fire Nation leaders, Zuko was consistently more noble. He tried to be a good person and do the right thing, even when doing so led to him suffering for his actions. 

2) Zuko suffered for his mistakes. He suffered when he turned away from Iroh, he suffered when he betrayed Iroh, and he suffered even after his face turn. There were consequences for his mistakes; he didn’t get off scot free because his childhood was hard. He was still held accountable by the narrative and made to take responsibility for the wrongs he did. 

3) Zuko made tangible amends to the people he hurt. He rescued Hakoda, helped Katara get closure, and became Aang’s firebending master. He put in work to make up for the things he did and rebuild bridges with his new allies. 

Most redemption narratives fail because the guilty party is guilty of much greater crimes than failing to capture the hero, never works to make amends, and never suffers for their mistakes. You wanted to see Zuko redeem himself because he had the capacity, wanted to do the work, and paid dearly for his mistakes.

[blackdionysus]

you’re right and you should say it

[evildorina-deactivated20190311]

This woman is kind of awesome.

[ankle-beez]

And now she’s show running She-Ra

God bless her

[skelevenn]

I’ve been holding on to this for a while. In… September? I was having a Really Bad Time. So I ended up making this comic to sort of… sort through some stuff. It really helped.

I hope maybe it can resonate with other people, too.

Reblogs would be very appreciated, so more people can see it <3

[edshouldbeinbed]

This is recovery. I'm crying the good tears. Thank you.