tHiNGs

Hi! Call me Gavin. This blog is for whatever fandom I’m currently obsessing over (it switches day to day buckle up)

[gavfleetout]

Intro page!

Cuz apparently that’s something people have, who knew?

Who Am I…..

A decrepit gremlin, you can call me Gav or Gavin (he/him)

Fandoms

I’m not active in all of these particularly but I’d love to talk about any of them.

STAR WARS (specifically clone wars)

Dark Matter (2015, syfy)

Renegades

The lunar chronicles

Kotlc

Six of crows

Percy Jackson

AtLA

Star Trek (ds9, next gen, voyager)

Jessica Jones

Renegade Nell

Sk8 the infinity

The Aurora webcomic (by @comicaurora )

Epic: the musical

Supergirl

Arcane

Lockwood & co.

Fantasy High + D20

The Owl house

She-ra

Septimus Heap

The Tapestry series

The last two don’t really have fandoms but if anyone wants to talk about them lemme know :)

Overall pls be nice, don’t be weird. (Keep it SFW)

[corvidcall]

to anyone in the areas impacted by the wildfire smoke, my #1 biggest piece of advice as someone whos been dealing with wildfire smoke in the NW united states for years, is build yourself a Corsi-Rosenthal Cube

they perform as well as expensive HEPA air cleaners, and are comparatively VERY inexpensive. all you need is a box fan, 4 air filters, a piece of cardboard, and some duct tape!!!!

i think it took us maybe a half hour to put ours together, if that, and we replace the filters every 3 months. it's really made a HUGE difference, both when the air quality is bad, but also with our allergies

[o0fyuu0o]

Saw these easy to read instructions on Twitter. Stay safe 💚

[sun-cheyne]

Also just a handy, DIY air filter in general, if a bit bulky. For a less bulky and cheaper (but also less effective) solution, you can simply tape one filter to the fan, cut a shroud if you'd like.

[snowriddenwolf]

just FYI, this is quite literally what the climate scientists at my work who specialized in wildfire smoke impacts recommend. it works great, it's cheap to make, and it will make a noticeable impact on your air quality.

[mechanicalriddle]

i have asthma & keep one of these running in my room perpetually. after I set it up the difference in my sleep quality was pretty much night and day. Dont waste your time on proprietary air filters; SIMPLY bust out the duct tape

[nyancrimew]

blue raspberry is fucked up cause it doesn't make sense but then u taste it and it Does taste like if a raspberry was blue

[15lehna]

AIMEE??

This is gold

[twinklestarss]

✨Ashley Johnson & Aimee Carrero in Blindspot✨

Ashley portrays: William Patterson

Aimee portrays: Ana Montes

(S1E6)

[sunn-kist]

new fandom rule. no one is allowed to headcanon a character as being fluent in ASL unless you are familiar with and can explain the significance of a) the Milan Conference of 1880 b) the DPN movement.

[sunn-kist]

Actually, no, I wanna come back and talk about this more constructively because this is important to me. Hi, I’m Sunny, I’m a major in ASL and Deaf Studies (nearing graduation! yay!) and I want to talk about ASL and the Deaf community.

Long story short, American Sign Language (ASL) is not just a cool thing to learn, and it’s not just an accessibility tool. It’s a full, legitimate language belonging to the Deaf community that has a history and culture, same as any spoken language. A history, mind you, of being systemically oppressed. 

The Deaf community is very unique as a minority. They have some similarities with disabled communities such as the blind community (fighting for equal access, struggling to be acknowledged as capable members of society), but also with linguistic minorities (having their language overlooked and even actively erased and banned). And even more similarities with other minorities like the queer community (identity as a Deaf person often disconnects them from family, as they grow older many Deaf find who they are by connecting with other Deaf people). 

For this post, I’m going to be focusing on the linguistic aspect of the Deaf community, because that’s the thing that’s been bugging me. Often in online fandom spaces (and in real life but I’m focusing on fandom right now), ASL is depicted with zero connection to the Deaf community. The most common instance of this I see is people headcanoning a character as nonverbal, non-speaking, or selectively mute and saying that they use ASL to communicate. This character signs completely fluently, and everyone else around them understands them perfectly. 

Now this itself is not a bad thing! I myself am autistic and selectively mute, and I started learning ASL as a way to communicate with my family; purely as an accessibility tool. And for the record, I used to headcanon A LOT of characters like this because it was very comforting to imagine my favourite characters as being like me. And if you are one of these people who’s imagined this about your favourite character, that’s okay! There’s no shame in not knowing what you don’t know. There is a tactful and respectful way to have characters who know ASL, like I said this isn’t inherently a bad thing! There’s just some more information that’s important to this topic. 

The problem with this kind of headcanon is that there is no acknowledgement or connection to Deaf people at all. And that’s a little weird. First of all, it’s literally impossible to be fluent in a language without speaking to or learning from a native speaker (which, for ASL, means Deaf people). Secondly, it’s a bit appropriative. Obviously the disability and access part of this makes it a bit more complex, but to simplify the cultural-linguistic aspect of this problem, let me frame it like this: 

Imagine if it became a fandom trend to depict characters as speaking fluent Tagalog. But these characters were not Filipino, had no Filipino family members, knew nothing about Filipino culture, and overall had no connection to the Philippines or the Tagalog people. People just headcanoned them as speaking Tagalog because it was a cool skill or made the character seem quirky and interesting. Doesn’t that feel a bit weird and appropriative? The Philippines and the Tagalog people have a rich culture and a long history of being colonized by foreign imperial powers. To co-opt their language without acknowledging any part of their culture or people, for the sake of a fictional character, is weird and nasty! 

Now the problem with ASL and the Deaf community, and the reason it’s not acknowledged as often as other linguistic minorities like speakers of Tagalog, is because people straight up don’t know there is a Deaf community. Most people don’t know that Deaf people have a culture, with specific dos and don’ts, customs and traditions, and art and folklore. This means most people who know about ASL know it only as a) a cool quirky skill or b) an accessibility tool. But it’s so much more! If you are among these people, that’s okay. Like I said most people don’t know this. Sadly this is on purpose, as it’s a product of deliberate cultural erasure of Deaf people throughout history (and still today). If you’d like to know more, I’m going to put some resources down at the bottom of this post. Many of them are easy-to-watch videos that are free, online, and easy to access. 

As far as headcanons for fictional characters go, there’s a very easy solution to the problem above! It’s still totally okay to write or imagine your favourite characters as being fluent in ASL. You just have to ask yourself one question: If you have a character using sign, where are the Deaf people in your story? Does your character have a Deaf teacher or mentor? Maybe they have a family member who’s Deaf and learned sign from them. What is the Deaf community like in your world? If it’s a fictional or fantasy setting, how do Deaf people fit in that universe? My boyfriend and I have a whole elaborate series of headcanons about the Deaf community of Gotham in the Batman universe. With some research and respect, you too can have fun headcanons about Deaf people in fiction! 

Thank you for reading this far. Resources to learn more about the Deaf community are beneath the cut :]

YouTube Videos

All of these can be found in one big playlist here. 

Through Deaf Eyes - My biggest recommendation by far. This is a 2-hour documentary with captions. It was made as a collaboration between Gallaudet University (the most prominent Deaf university in the world) and PBS. It explains major important events in Deaf history (including the ones I mentioned in the original post above) as well as aspects of Deaf culture and the everyday lived experience of Deaf people. It was made in 2007, so it’s a little old, but the information still holds up and it’s still an invaluable resource. This is a great crash course for all things Deaf Community. 

Who the Hell is Nigel? - If you’re looking for something shorter but still very informational, this one is a goodie. This is a 26-minute video with captions and full ASL interpretation. This is a special about Nigel Howard, a Deaf man who is a local hero in British Columbia, Canada for the vital work he did as a Deaf Interpreter, interpreting the public health broadcasts during the height of the pandemic. It focuses on Nigel’s life, but also touches on many issues related to the Deaf community such as ASL access, the education of Deaf children, and the use of Cochlear Implants. This one is more recent, made in 2021, and gives a good a idea of what things are like for the Deaf community today. 

American Culture: The Deaf Perspective - A bigger deep dive into Deaf culture. This is a four-part video series, each part is just under half an hour long. No proper captions, but it has ASL and voice interpretation. It was made in 1984 by the San Francisco Public Library and is an amazing collection of information about Deaf culture, including art, history, literature, and folklore. A little old but still very valuable and relevant to Deaf culture today. 

The hidden history of “Hand Talk” - 10 minutes long with captions. This video is about the history of North American Indigenous sign languages, which existed long before ASL or any other language taught in deaf schools. This video focuses on Plains Indian Sign Language in particular. Very valuable information here. It’s important to remember that most of the Deaf history above is still white settler history, and there are more perspectives that need to be taken into account. 

Book Recommendations

Check your local library or look online for PDFs! These books are my favourites that I’ve found the most helpful, but honestly, I’d suggest finding and reading any book written by Deaf authors. All summaries below are from Goodreads.

True Biz by Sara Novic Fiction, 2022. An engaging novel with great characters and a very real sense of community. This is my absolute favourite. 

TRUE BIZ (adj./exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talk True biz? The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This revelatory novel plunges readers into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they'll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who's never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school's golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the headmistress, who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to do both. As a series of crises both personal and political threaten to unravel each of them, Charlie, Austin, and February find their lives inextricable from one another's—and changed forever. This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy. Absorbing and assured, idiosyncratic and relatable, this is an unforgettable journey into the Deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection.

2. Deaf Utopia: A Memoir—And a Love Letter to a Way of Life by Nyle DiMarco with Robert Siebert Non Fiction, 2022. Fun, emotional, and informative autobiography

A heartfelt and inspiring memoir and Deaf culture anthem by Nyle DiMarco, actor, producer, two-time reality show winner, and cultural icon of the international Deaf community. Before becoming the actor, producer, advocate, and model that people know today, Nyle DiMarco was half of a pair of Deaf twins born to a multi-generational Deaf family in Queens, New York. At the hospital one day after he was born, Nyle “failed” his first test—a hearing test—to the joy and excitement of his parents. In this moving and engrossing memoir, Nyle shares stories, both heartbreaking and humorous, of what it means to navigate a world built for hearing people. From growing up in a rough-and-tumble childhood in Queens with his big and loving Italian-American family to where he is now, Nyle has always been driven to explore beyond the boundaries given him. A college math major and athlete at Gallaudet—the famed university for the Deaf in Washington, DC—Nyle was drawn as a young man to acting, and dove headfirst into the reality show competitions America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars—ultimately winning both competitions. Deaf Utopia is more than a memoir, it is a cultural anthem—a proud and defiant song of Deaf culture and a love letter to American Sign Language, Nyle’s primary language. Through his stories and those of his Deaf brothers, parents, and grandparents, Nyle opens many windows into the Deaf experience. Deaf Utopia is intimate, suspenseful, hilarious, eye-opening, and smart—both a memoir and a celebration of what makes Deaf culture unique and beautiful.

3. A Journey Into the Deaf-World by Harlan Lane, Robert Hoffmeister, and Ben Bahan Non Fiction, 1996. More heavy and academic. 

In this comprehensive and engrossing study, three distinguished scholars of Deaf culture—one hearing, one deaf, and one coda (child of deaf adults)—offer clear, penetrating insights into the existence and makeup of the deaf world, the community whose natural language—American Sign Language in the United States—is manual and visual. Bringing the latest social and cultural findings and theories into sharp focus, the authors take us on a fascinating journey to discover what deaf culture is; the benefits of signed language and deaf culture for deaf children and hearing people; how deaf children are now educated and how they could be; how deaf people integrate into the larger society; the nature of American Sign Language; how technology helps (and hurts) deaf people; what can be learned from deaf societies in other lands; the future of the deaf world. Combining thought-provoking intellectual perspectives with enlightening first-hand accounts of life in the deaf world, this landmark volume is vital for professionals working in fields involving deaf people and for those with an interest in deaf studies.

4. Mask of Benevolence: Disabling the Deaf Community by Harlan Lane Non Fiction, 1999. Very heavy and academic. Important but depressing, because it’s all about oppression. 

A look at the gulf that separates the deaf minority from the hearing world, this book sheds light on the mistreatment of the deaf community by a hearing establishment that resists understanding and awareness. Critically acclaimed as a breakthrough when it was first published in 1992, this new edition includes information on the science and ethics of childhood cochlear implants. An indictment of the ways in which experts in the scientific, medical, and educational establishment purport to serve the deaf, this book describes how they, in fact, do them great harm.

@shining-dawn <- tagging because they asked for resources :3

[sunn-kist]

@fraberry-stroobcake here's the version with the resources!

[writeranon69]

Don't Fall for this scam.

Transgender community, please please please do NOT use this product! It will kill you if used, please do not use it whatsoever.

Please reblog and spread the word

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

[yasyart]

Jedi Duke Thomas

[thackerybiinx]

[sodomymcscurvylegs]

Y'all wanna be pulling receipts about something another blogger said in 2006 because it’s not that you give a single fuck about progress and changing minds and attitudes, but because you want internet brownie points for “dragging” someone else and looking mightier than though. BYE!

[imyourbadjew]

Original tweet is from 2015

People have been talking about this for a decade and nobody was listening - including myself I must admit.

[superkometa]

Superhero team as a metaphor for online friendship

[superkometa]

I've known you for years, but don't know your name. I trust you with my biggest fears, but you'll never even know how I look. I wish I could take you to my favourite coffee shop or park, but I'll never be able. If something were to happen to you I would never know. You are one of most important people in my life, I wish I could introduce you to others

[degenezijde]

So You're Talking To A Deaf Person Through An Interpreter

Don't ask questions directly to the interpreter

Don't go "it's so impressive, it's such a rare job, you're so kind" - I promise whatever the Deaf person is dealing with to navigate a hearing world is more impressive

The interpreter will tell you if you're going too fast, promise

If you are really curious about something about the interpreter, wait until after, or ask the Deaf person if you can ask the interpreter something

Don't go "can you ask if..." And "can you tell them that...", just talk directly to the other person

Don't say rude words just to see what the interpreter does

[timorpanico]

Little sketch of Ahsoka Tano. (I'm awful at drawing these days, but I like the palette. Y_Y)

[teaboot]

I hate you Ozempic craze I hate you 'heroin chic' I hate you weight loss ads on public radio I hate Burn Fat Fast ads every thirty seconds I hate you I hate you I hate you

[teaboot]

I grew up before the term 'thigh gap' was invented I grew up before 'hip dip' was invented I was born before 'muffin top' was a thing before 'clean girl look' was a thing before 'glass skin' was a thing before razoring off peach fuzz was a thing and I'm so so so fucking tired of us inventing new concepts purely for the purpose of convincing people to hate their own bodies enough to buy products

[teaboot]

Last time Tuberculosis ran through the USA a small number of people got it on purpose to look skinny and waifish and delicate and used makeup to look flushed and bony and when the Victorians figured out tapeworms people would infect themselves on purpose to starve themselves smaller and women and now in the year of our lord 2026 there is a noticeable fraction of the USAmerican population genuinely thrilled about a treatment-resistant microbial parasite that makes you shit and vomit your brains out for a month because side effects include weight loss and STILL we talk about being skinny like it's the natural default setting for all healthy people as if it's a self-sustaining standard and not an imaginary goal that we are constantly constantly constantly beating ourselves with a whip to acheive

[eerna]

I get why he chose her. I just wish she had chosen me.

can they stop being iconic for like one second

[xdarkfaeteethx-deactivated20260]

If you see me like your vent post that is me giving u a lil hug, I do not enjoy your suffering

[spin-the-wheel-polls]

You are an adventurer in a generic fantasy world and you use this weapon!

Do you like it?

YES!!!!!

yes

Eh it's okay

No

NO!!!!!!!

Remaining time: 1 day 7 hours