Geek Loving

[wilted]

tom and jerry was kinda fucked up jerry didn’t need to be that rude tom would be mindi g his own business and jerry would just walk up and light him on fire or something like you didn’t have to go and do all that

[sixpenceee]

A big Owl momma hiding her chicks | source                          

[loudisfun]

That’s a BIG BIRD!

[toebeens]

SO CUTEEE

[stream]

Avengers: Endgame (2019) dir. The Russo Brothers

[veeaziel]

every day i am percieved™️

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

There is a reason for this though!

The original tweet summarizes it pretty well. Fanfic tends to be popular among certain types of neurodivergent people (aka people most likely to read excessively as a child, and have burnout as an adult) for the same reasons that we tend to hyperfixate–neurochemical signaling (I hope I’m using that phrase correctly). What I mean is, for people who are really dependent on changes in dopamine/serotonin/neurotransmitter levels, who have low levels or wonky neural reward systems (perhaps the most common types of neurodivergence)…people like us rely on dependable external sources of those neurochemicals. In order to function, we spend a lot of our free time trying to level out our brain chemistry using things that can reliably bring us a steady stream of joyful moments (rewards) without costing too much of the mental effort that is already in short supply. 

significantly: the investment of reading has to be balanced with a steady “return on investment”–and this return has to start fairly quickly. because again, we don’t have a lot of attention/energy to invest on tiring things. we have perpetual “low batteries” in that regard.

that doesn’t mean these stories are “simple,” or that they lack complexity or value–only that the reward has to come in short regular intervals, and it has to have a low “upfront cost.” which is why fanfic stories are so perfectly formulated for neurodivergent readers–they are often beautifully written, but skip a lot of the upfront costs (of introducing new characters, of world-building, of getting the audience emotionally connected to the story elements).

the nature of fanfiction is that the reader has a pre-existing relationship with this world and these characters. that–combined with the shorter average length of fics–means that fan fics very quickly start “rewarding” the reader in a way that traditional fiction struggles to. that’s not a bad thing! and maybe it’s something more traditionally published writers should be paying attention to.

Fanfic, as a genre, has been uniquely helpful and accessible to many neurodivergent readers who would otherwise struggle to immerse themselves in stories. I’m glad so many of you have found a way to love and enjoy reading again! The important thing is that you are spending time inside stories you love–the way those stories are published or presented to the world is just one detail.

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

*holds your hand* no, we’re ALL bitches

[onlyhappyendingshere]

I used to devour books as a kid, could read a 400 page book in one day. I read at school, during lunch break, while walking home, while eating, before sleep, just every moment I could. Then I hit twenties and I just can’t read like that anymore. I now have a short attention span, have to reread paragraphs, and oftentimes I get to the end of a page only to realize that I have no idea what I just read. So reading books became a chore. Reading fanfiction is much easier, though sometimes my attention drifts even when reading them.

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

I did the same thing as a kid, and interestingly enough I found that as my overall level of stress and daily discomfort improved, I spent a lot less time reading. Over time I’ve realized that the type of reading habits described above–spending every free moment of my day reading, at the cost of everything else–that was a maladaptive coping mechanism.

As a kid, I didn’t read just bc I chose to. I read bc I couldn’t choose anything else. I had no control over my environment, I was constantly overwhelmed, overstimulated, unhappy and isolated. I didn’t have much internet access, certainly not in class, so immersing myself in printed things was my only escape option. That’s what it was all about–escaping.

In hindsight, a big reason I was able to concentrate on longer fiction when I was younger was bc I didn’t have that many options. I didn’t have access to wifi during school hours, and running out of reading material was a huge risk (bc engaging & being aware of my environment was just that painful). Given that it took a large word count to distract myself consistently through the day, reading large books made more sense. When I was a kid, long fiction offered a better “payoff”, the way fanfiction does now.

That is to say: I chose books for many of the same reasons I later chose fanfiction.

The fact that my reading habits have changed has less to do with the fact my brain had changed, and more to do with the way my environment has changed. My brain has options now it didn’t have before. And it turns out, fanfic is a pretty useful option. I’m gradually transitioning to reading more long & traditionally published fiction, but I’ll never forget that fanfic writers were there when I needed different options. I’ll never forget how much that genre helped (and still helps!) when I was struggling.

[peculiarist]

Gotta admit, when I figured out how to interact in society and make friends, my reading dropped off dramatically…

[animusrox]

[city-broad]

me as fuck

[fredweasleys-broomstick]

HP characters play among us!

[bcry77911037fx6i62-deactivated2]

Someone should send me $200 just because

[i-want-chips]

nice eyelashes man

[uploadlng]

[whitepeopletwitter]

[visual-infinity]

[toastbutteregg]

[butterflikisses]

[astargatelover]

For those who have trouble reading that:

Imagine being a black, gay drag queen in the 1800s after being born into enslavement AND having the style and cachè to throw soirées that the girls had to come to! That’s why I don’t want to hear this “we’re not our ancestors stuff.” You’re right!

From The Very Black Project Page- William Dorsey Swann was a gay liberation activist. Born into slavery in 1858, he was the first person in the United States to lead a queer resistance group and the first known person to self-identify as a “queen of drag”. Imagine the queenery of this icon.

He was a slave in Hancock, Maryland and was freed by Union soldiers after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. During the 1880s and 1890s, he organized a series of balls in Washington, D.C. He called himself the “queen of drag”. Most of the attendees his gatherings were men who were former slaves, and were gathering to dance in their satin and silk dresses. William was arrested in police raids numerous times,including in the first documented case of arrests for female impersonation in the United States, on April 12, 1888. In 1896, he was falsely convicted and sentenced to 10 months in jail for “keeping a disorderly house” (running a brothel). After his sentencing, he requested a pardon from President Grover Cleveland. This request was denied, but but he was the first American on record who pursued legal and political action to defend the LGBTQ community’s right to gather.

He was known to have been close with Pierce Lafayette and Felix Hall, two men who had also both been slaves and who formed the first known male same-sex relationship between enslaved Americans.

When William stopped organizing and participating in drag events, his brother continued to make costumes for the drag community. Two of his brothers had also been active participants in his drag balls.

Imagine how intelligent and ambitious this man had to be to come up with drag balls in the 1800s! Imagine how many terrible concepts he had to unlearn by himself to be a confident gay black man who does drag in the 1800s! Imagine how courageous he had to be to fight for lgbt people as a former slave in America in the 1800s!

William Dorsey Swann is the original queen, the original drag mother, the original activist. Tell his story!

[sixpenceee]

OKC Zoo ultrasound of a baby elephant | source

[daddyrules024]

😍

[moonlightdeathwish]

[sixpenceee]

Book of phobias! 

Source