Beneath The Sun

A writer's blog. As in the personal blog of a writer. As likely to have writing advice as pictures I found attractive, or things I found thought provoking.

[writterings]

it's really funny teaching rhetoric to college freshmen because i explained ad hominem to them via example by arguing with a student over something silly (i kept insisting 25 minutes was a quarter of an hour, not 15) and then "insulted" her instead of addressing her argument (i said she doesn't have a college degree whereas i have two, so of course she'd be wrong - which the whole point is that it's a stupid insult but not something that's actually mean) but she got soooooo mad so even when i stopped the exercise and explained that she was indeed correct (15 minutes is a quarter of an hour). like she was still fuming. so i validated her feelings on that, complimented her, and even reminded the class that a college degree doesn't mean that a person is smart/right. and then i went on to explain that, yeah, dirty arguing techniques like that are meant to make you so unreasonably angry that you can't respond or that you lose your cool, so your opponent looks like they win by default. the student i was arguing with then just said that it seemed like professional ragebaiting and i was like. well yeah that's correct.

and then this kid, this one kid who is always very eager to answer questions and is always kind to his classmates, raised his hand looking a little bothered. now for context, i emphasize thinking for yourself in my classroom, even if that means disagreeing with something i say and he has echoed some stuff that his parents clearly have told him before. he's not a bad kid or an asshole, he's just an 18 year old with conservative parents who otherwise knows nothing about politics. but he just looks so bothered after i explain this about dirty arguing techniques. big frown on his face. looking unsure. when i nod at him to speak, he says, in a very quiet voice, "didn't -- didn't charlie kirk used to do that?"

and i was like. well yes. yes he was famous for stuff like this.

and then the kid looked down and was just like, "oh. i thought he was just really good at debating. i never watched his videos though, only clips. why would he do that?"

and that coincidentally lined up perfectly with the rest of the lesson, which was on propaganda

[dancinbutterfly]

this? is why conservatives hate liberal arts education

[cikero]

I’m so mad that a t4 bacteriophage actually looks like that and that it’s appearance isn’t made up

[cikero]

this is how they look in all the models

this is how they actually look

like they really fucking look like that. in real life

[somniiloquy]

viruses are literally such bullshit they have the nerve to look like this and they aren’t even ALIVE

[nuggettiana]

I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THE SHITTY AND ARBITRARY DEFINITION OF LIFE THAT MAKES VIRUSES NOT ALIVE. FUCK YOU THEY ARE ALIVE

[petzah394-deactivated20250503]

Things are heating up in the virus fandom

[archaicfirehydrants]

thats called a fever

[yesterdayiwrote]

The irony of this new breed of self-righteous AI hunters on AO3 is that they're all just copy and pasting peoples fics into AI detectors, which are all operated by AI and therefore THEY are feeding people's work into the algorithm without their consent and in some cases no doubt circumventing the locks people put on to avoid getting scraped...

Don't copy and paste anyone's AO3 work into third party websites, you're not the good guys in this situation?

[zaziki1412]

Reblog cause FACTS

[flootzavut]

DO NOT FEED ANYONE ELSE'S CREATIVE WORK INTO AI FOR ANY REASON. FOR. ANY. REASON.

[snowywarmthkuya]

[libraford]

Like i dunno about yall, but i will respect a candidate that says 'i dont have enough information to speak on that at this time' over one that gives a strong but misinformed answer.

[armengoldira]

[rainydaydecaf]

Every day on this site I discover new forms of art that I never knew existed

[funny-tik-toks]

[lastoneout]

"I am not a vessel for your good intent" goes hard as a line from a disabled perspective. Abled people care so much more about being their idea of a good ally than they do actually being a good ally. They shove their good intent right down your throat and then act surprised when you tell them they're suffocating you.

[lastoneout]

[faggotvampires]

[ID: An image of a sign with a blue background and with a graphic of a stick figure in a wheelchair at the beginning, resembling disabled parking space signs. The text below the stick figure reads "I am not a vessel for your good intent." /ID]

[noping-out-deactivated20241117]

This whole obsession with wheelchair users struggling on foot down the aisle at their wedding or across the stage for graduation is 100% powered by ableism.

[noping-out-deactivated20241117]

“The heartwarming story of how one woman worked for 8 months straight so she could escape the horror that is being in wheelchair for a few short minutes to struggle slowly and painfully down the aisle on her special day.”

[feraladoration]

“the horror that is being in a wheelchair” bitch it’s hella better than struggling slowly & painfully down the aisle ffs

[noping-out-deactivated20241117]

“Despite being permanently paralyzed, her one goal since her accident has been to walk across the stage for graduation. The whole crowd gave her a standing ovation and broke into tears when she dragged her paralyzed legs across the stage with the help of leg braces and a walker to collect her diploma, after which she immediately sat back down in her wheelchair, which she will use to move around for the rest of her life.”

How the hell is this an inspirational story? This person needs better goals. And a therapist.

[smoldragonborn]

They’re toxic in an even greater way because as a disabled person, I didn’t realise till I was reading this how much I had internalised that. I genuinely have had feelings of fear and shame about using a chair or a walker if I get married. And why? Because I’m constantly seeing “heartwarming” stories about disabled people who shed their mobility aids for that moment. Why the hell am I afraid of using them to get married? Anyone who marries me or attends the wedding will know I need them and love me regardless.

Bless this post for making me realise I’d internalised that shit.

These types of stories teach people, both abled and disabled, that using mobility aids, especially wheelchairs, is inferior.

[margomoment]

here are some beautiful brides in chairs with dresses they ROCK. I know a lot of disabled ppl with internalized ableism think they “won’t look good” if they use their chair, but here’s some literally gorgeous gals for ur consideration

(that last ones cute as fuck and i teared up at it)

[noping-out-deactivated20241117]

Who needs a bouquet when you can be a bouquet?

[smoldragonborn]

I made my addition to this post in June 2019. Its now January 2020 and I no longer feel guilty about the idea of going down the aisle one day with mobility aids.

God bless the disabled community, y'all saved me from some internalised bullshit

[thegayemu]

This post floated by a few months ago, and I remember something to effect of there’s a difference between recovery and refusal. That is, like, I have a friend that suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury. He can walk again now, and I don’t think I’ve seen him use his chair in a few years. When he walked at his graduation, it was to show off his recovery. That he wasn’t quite ready to go through a full day upright, but he could walk across a stage, unassisted, and soon he would be able to do that every day. There’s also a difference in someone like me choosing to not use a mobility aid. My mobility is intensely fluid, especially seasonally. So, I would plan a summer wedding. And while I love my cane it can also be the biggest pain in my ass, so I’d want to just go unassisted. But that’s normal for me, at least right now. I can walk without an aid during about half of the year. It’s reasonable to assume I can make it through one day without it. All of that is different than someone that is fully and permanently paralyzed, that will never walk again, dragging themselves along because they feel that’s somehow better. Overall though, my biggest takeaway is fuck the media. Because disabled people should be able to make whatever decision they want without the media turning it into this grand inspirational story.

[noping-out-deactivated20241117]

Disabled people should be able to make whatever decision they want without the media turning it into this grand inspirational story.

THIS.

[bifinmediasres]

Couldn’t pass up the opportunity to add my disabled joy to this post. Look at this love!

[aprillikesthings]

Taking the opportunity to add these photos of Jessica Kellgren-Fozard and her wife Claudia, from this twitter post. Jessica also has a youtube channel that’s primarily about disability and chronic illness and LGBT stuff (it’s amazing!) 

[haveyouhadenough]

I would also like to personally share, Annika Victoria who ALSO has a youtube channel. This photo was taken from her instagram - she made her wedding dress dress herself, BY HAND. Her youtube channel is mostly DIY fashion and sewing tutorials. I love her so much, she’s so unapologetically herself and informative

[theinfiniteofthought]

I also wanna add these pictures of Ade Adepitan fucking rocking this badass suit at his wedding! Give my fellow disabled mascs some love too

look how much fun they’re both having! yes!

and also this couple, who are both wheelchair users

this is from their beautifully coordinated wedding!

[this-is-solidarity]

@this-is-ableism it starts off talking about ableism and turns into a wonderful celebration of disabled people that I thought you may enjoy.

[this-is-ableism]

this is discussion of ableism and solidarity.

[k1ntsug1-r0b0t-g1rl]

a surprising number of people see the term "social construct" and think that it means something is not real when it actually means something is so very real because it was created by us and is constantly enforced, often violently

[k1ntsug1-r0b0t-g1rl]

[can-i-make-image-descriptions]

[Image ID: Tumblr tags reading: #its real in the same way fiat currency has value #yeah this is technically nothing backing it but force. but theres a lot of force backing it so everyone accepts 20 bucks is 20 bucks /End ID]

[thelien-art]

Happy birthday to @southaway !!!

Here´s a Carmëlor for you as a present, enjoying the summer - I tried to make him as close to your design as possible, but I don´t have all the amazing patterns you have, nonetheless, I hope you like him!

[southaway]

I love him, he's perfect! Thank you so much, Thelien, you're amazing!!! What an incredible way to start my birthday! I'm so lucky to have been able to see him drawn by you twice now!

I'm going to have to draw him in that outfit now! It's such a good fit for him. I wish I was better at words so I could go on properly about how much I love him, I keep on scrolling back up to look at him. I'm so lucky to have you as a mutual!

[redstonedust]

normalize being dogshit amateur at your special interests and hyperfocuses. no more autistic savants. yes i am very into that topic no i am not good at it. we exist <3

[penandinkprincess]

sometimes you see Takes™ that make you go "mmmhmmm okay yeah i see we both interpreted that differently based on what the show gave us, but i see how you arrived at your ideas even if they're different from mine," and then sometimes you see Takes™ that make you go "brother what show did you even fucking watch"

[nonbinarystarlord-deactivated20]

whenever i see a post about someone wondering how an  asexual and a sexual can be in a healthy relationship there’s always someone being applauded for saying well asexuals can have sex too or just because someone’s asexual doesn’t mean they won’t have sex but i have never, not once, EVER seen someone say well hey, some sexuals don’t have sex. you can have a full relationship without sex. just throwing it out there

[applesandbannas747]

Everyone in the notes saying polyamory and open relationships are great fixes for this too are missing the point. Ace people can have sex—and, yes, some enjoy sex. Yes, open relationships can be loving and healthy for ace people too. But ultimately you’re saying asexuality needs to be fixed by access to sex somehow. To quote op ‘you can have a full relationship without sex’. Your suggestion to find sex outside of the relationship with an ace partner completely misses that point.

[answrs]

sorry but you’re not hiding this in the tags:

#it may be surprising to learn this. but allos can choose to be celibate. famously there are entire religious orders where this is a thing #and a catholic nun who stays celibate her whole life can in fact still have a very full and meaningful life with important relationships #it’s not the end of the fucking world #there are people who don’t drive too. there are people who have never seen a mountain. there are people who don’t play video games. #human experience is too wide to be like ohh if you never do This One Thing then you are sufferinggg like chill maybe

[liegedoomveil]

Drag him, Sandra.

I mean, uh, oh no, that's very unfortunate for Liege Doomveil, this week, I'm an impartial narrator.

[wizardarchetypes]

i am so serious when i say dark and quiet are both human rights.

i don't mean like absolute silence. obviously in an ideal community, there would still be sound and noise from people and music and work etc. but it haunts me that when i camp in the forest i can hear the howl of semi trucks on the interstate miles away. and the people who live beside it never know quiet. it haunts me that many people will live their whole lives never seeing the stars in the sky that were fully visible with NO electric light pollution as recently as my great-grandparents' childhoods.

so much of our lives is bright bright unnecessary noise. neon mcdonalds signs 200 feet in the air so we can see it from the road. led lights over billboards. parking lots lit up like sports stadiums at closed office buildings. advertisements playing at gasoline pumps. streets lined with led porch lights and decorative garden lights that genuinely threaten entire species of wildlife. music blaring outside pharmacies to deter homeless people. everything always shining and wailing for no purpose but profit and cruelty.

obviously not everything can be turned off or made quiet and i wouldn't want it to be anyway and there is a lot of nuance and room for "but what about" here, but MANY things HAVE to change because none of us are supposed to live like this and we shouldn't have to!!!

[luna-azzurra]

The single most useful edit you can do before you send anything to anyone: Read it out loud. The whole thing. Every sentence. You will hear every place the rhythm breaks, every word that doesn't belong, every line of dialogue that no human being would actually say. Your eye skips over problems because it already knows what you meant to write. Your ear doesn't lie. It catches everything. It is embarrassing how much a single read-aloud will fix. Do it alone. Do it in a weird voice if it helps. just do it.