in the ruins

🌈🍋📝/ Mestiza / Slash Fanficcer / writing fanfic since '95 / 🌧️💀☕🐈‍

[yorgen-sh]

[ruija]

My personal headcanon is that among the 2003 turtles, Leo ends up being the shortest after his brothers hit their growth spurts.

It makes it easy for the other turtles to just yeet him around, so they come up with a game around it. They have to sneak up on Leo(hardest part of the challenge), toss him into the water(second part, points based on the aim and landing spot), and then run away from him as long as possible after he chases after them (third, and scariest part). Everyone gets individual points based on their performance, but they’re allowed to cooperate, since the first two steps are pretty hard to manage alone.

Leo absolutely hates the game and beats them into oblivion everytime they do it.

[worgengel]

who will deliver me from this body of death?

[unspeakablearchives]

(Source: Sen the donkey)

[rednightmaregirl]

You did not just compare the oppression of women to you rightfully being called a pedophile for writing CSAM

[unspeakablearchives]

Correct: I did NOT do that 🤨

[kasmikassim]

A comment worth noting below:

"Likely also why being in this rural area I work in is so exhausting because the guys are so pent-up and perverted and nasty because EVERYTHING outside of their Hanbali norm is "extreme perversion" and this makes them think it's okay to harrass people. They'll mistreat me because I don't veil my face (I'm still wearing a surgical mask most of the time to avoid disease?!) or have... embroidered sleeves. People in my home region used to complain about young guys from Riyadh/the central region in general visiting because they act like deranged horndogs, they'll trash the place, commit vandalism, sexual harrassment, etc., because they're not used to how things are in places that are more educated, have more foreigners, have people ascribing to different schools of Islamic thought in them, etc."

-----

I've lived and worked in societies that are deemed "sooo polite" by westerners. It's got "chastity" laws. Apparently "super safe" (unless you're a woman, but apparently that doesn't count when we're talking crime statistics). Under its strict etiquette and 'saving face' behavior heavily restricting open emotion and "western depravity", the underbelly of these places were rampant with extreme sexual perversion. Because everything was deemed depraved, they truly lost touch with what's actually depraved and what isn't.

In societies where girls and boys grow up together, in households where brothers have sisters, where teenagers grow up dating and learning safe sex, men are likelier to see women as people and are likelier to have a healthier approach to sex as adults. In societies where they keep "chaste" and "appropriate" and "pure" by segregating children by gender and are taught to only abstain, men more often view women as aliens and objects and sex is often loaded with trauma. In a society where fantasies are shamed and kinks are hidden away, people are likelier to have unhealthy relationships with these things, and lose sight of the difference between harmless kinks and real-life harm. In societies where drugs are all demonized, people don't know how to tell the difference between getting high on weed and dying from cocaine overdose. And the lack of healthy education and discussion around these things always results in more real-life victims that don't get help.

Just like how pearl-clutchers clog up FBI phone lines reporting "CSAM" that's literally a cartoon and the FBI have to beg them to stop wasting their time so they can focus on actual CSAM.

As always, puritans be on this post like "kinky porn = sex with children" because the first thing they think about in a kink is children in sexual situations. I swear, the people that are always screaming about protecting children think way more about sexualizing children than normal people do.

This causes real harm. And if you can't tell the difference between fictional fantasy enjoyed by consenting adults and real-life child abuse, you need help because this shit harms real people. Start by getting off the internet and getting an education.

[maudit]

[profeminist]

RIP Marjane Satrapi, author of the amazing graphic novels Persepolis about living during the fundamentalist revolution in Iran in the 70’s and 80’s. She also created the animated movie based on the graphic novels, which is where these gifs come from.

Gifset source

[angrybell]

[prolifeproliberty]

Never forget Tiananmen Square.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the massacre, today is the anniversary of when the photos and videos spread around the world (aka the anniversary of when people saw the Tank Man photo)

We will never know the true number of people killed by the Chinese Communist Party that day.

Communism kills.

[beardedmrbean]

[theblogginggoth]

By Czeck writer Karel Čapek, inventor of the term ‘robot’ as well!

[nadiacreek]

This is one of my husband’s favorite short stories. He quotes it from memory. I’m pretty sure he can recite the entire thing from memory.

[elodieunderglass]

This is a tremendously impactful short story and every time I see it, it serves as an excellent reboot button for my state of mind.

[lobelee]

[breezingby]

The end of this is the Best part.

[halcyonsynthesis]

🥹

[cargopantsman]

look upon the mighty machines we have built

and the deftness of a caring person behind that machine

[deinvatiwrites]

@elephantaday

[elephantaday]

Day 723 of reblogging videos of adorable elephants.

[sophiamcdougall]

It ... it thanked it!

[dvandom]

Elephant saved by vaguely elephant-shaped mecha. "Thank you, Iron Elephant!"

[homunculus-argument]

The Odyssey but retold as a low-stakes modern adventure of one guy out with his girlfriend leaving the bar with his buddies to do just one (1) simple thing real quick, it'll take like 15 minutes tops, he'll be right back, but then some bullshit happens and the trip keeps getting more complicated as more bullshit keeps happening while he just tries to get back to the bar because he promised his girlfriend that he'd get back and he knows that she's still there because she told him she'd wait there.

And by the time he finally gets back it's almost 3 am and the bar is about to close while she's sitting there stone cold sober, surrounded by 5 drunk guys unsuccessfully trying to convince her to give up on waiting for him and go home with one of them instead. And the guy shows up to proceed to beat the shit out of them before explaining himself to her like hey sorry bullshit kept happening, my phone fell into a storm drain and my wallet got stolen when I was trying to find someone who'd borrow me a phone so I could call and

[thekijs]

His girlfriend had been fending off the 5 drunk guys for most of the evening by explaining that even if she was going to ditch her boyfriend, she can't possibly leave without finishing her beer, which she is keeping perpetually full via careful sleight of hand where she's just pouring it back and forth into and out of the pitcher.

However the drunk guys are also drinking, and eventually she can't afford to buy another pitcher for the table so she can't keep up the ever-full beer glass trick. At this point she has to resort to setting up the pool trick shot that she's never seen anyone but her boyfriend pull off, and says she'll leave with whoever manages the shot first.

That buys her another hour or so and then, finally, her boyfriend makes it back. He looks like shit, hair down and just a mess, he's wearing an entirely different jacket that he got from an alley, and barely recognizable—especially to 5 guys who've been drunk for hours now. He lurks for a minute, finds out what's going on, and proceeds to pull off the trick shot first try. Throws the jacket off, fixes his hair with a hair tie his girlfriend lends him, finally looks like himself again, and THEN beats the shit out of them with the pool cue.

[weaselle]

yuh i was there, that's how it happened

[kc-anathema]

And as they are walking out, he bends down and picks up their dog who's been at his girlfriend's feet this whole time.

[ruinedchildhood]

[goth-queen]

The bell at the end was

THE VERY FIRST STAR TREK SLASH FIC PUBLISHED

“A Fragment out of Time”, published in 1974. Kirk / Spock. page 1 page 2

I had to share it with you because I can’t stop laughing, and every time I reread it it just gets funnier and fUNNIER

[catbountry]

This fan fiction is older than the push-through tabs on soda cans.

[cylonqueen]

Your grandma wrote this on her Commodore 64.

[strike-team-delta]

I miss my Commodore 64

[stoplookingup]

Oh my dear, sweet children. The Commodore 64 came out in 1982. This was produced on a typewriter and probably mimeographed. And while it may seem funny now, it took more courage to write and distribute this than you will ever  know.

[athelind]

Reblogged for that last comment.

[gokuma]

respect your elders

[ohfreckle]

Children, in the olden days fanfiction was written on a typewriter, copied and sent by snail mail. Getting one one of those letters from across the world was every bit as exciting as getting a notification that your favorite writer posted a new fic.

[berlynn-wohl]

It’s been said before, but the fact that this fic begins with the dialogue assertion “We’re by no means setting a precedent” is endlessly amusing to me.

Diane Marchant changed all our lives. May she rest in peace.

[prokopetz]

The precedent line is especially amusing when you bear in mind that “A Fragment Out of Time” is not only the first Star Trek slashfic to be published in a widely distributed magazine: it’s believed by some to be the first slashfic of any kind to be widely published.

[ralfmaximus]

In 1974 it was illegal to send pornography through the USPS. So distributing fic like this via mailed newsletter was literally dangerous. And they knew it.

[impossibleperfectiongalaxy]

🟣 Unpopular Opinions on Donatello from TMNT 🟣

Hey everyone 💜

As a longtime Donnie fan who especially admires his calm, gentle, protective, and emotionally caring qualities, I wanted to politely share one of my honest (and perhaps unpopular) opinions.

This post is going to be quite long! I have a lot of thoughts I wanted to share about Donatello, so feel free to read it in parts whenever you have time or skip it if you’re not up for a longer read. Thank you so much for your understanding!

1. The fandom focuses too much on Donnie’s “genius” and not enough on his heart.

Yes, he’s incredibly smart. But what makes him special to me is how much he cares, for his brothers, for innocent people, for doing the right thing. Intelligence without kindness is cold. Donnie has both.

2. Donatello being “the gentle one” is not a boring trait, it’s his greatest strength.

A lot of people in the fandom see “soft” Donnie as boring or less capable, especially when compared to Raph’s anger or Leo’s strict leadership. But I believe staying kind and compassionate even when the world is violent and scary takes real inner strength. In 2003 and Archie, Donnie shows that you can be intelligent and powerful without losing your heart. That balance is rare and beautiful, and it’s the main reason why those versions feel so special to me.

3. I want more focus on Donnie using his intelligence with compassion.

Instead of just “Donnie builds cool weapon and it explodes lol,” I wish we saw him creating things that genuinely help people, solve emotional problems, or bring peace. Show his brain being used for kindness and healing, not only for fighting.

4. Donatello being a pacifist or reluctant fighter (like in Archie Comics) makes him more interesting, not less.

Some fans say it makes him boring or weak. I completely disagree. A genius turtle who hates violence but still fights to protect the people he loves shows real depth and inner conflict. That’s much more compelling than just “he hits people with a bo staff really well.”

5. Making Donnie super violent or “edgy” in fanfiction is weird.

I’ve seen some dark fanfics where Donnie suddenly becomes aggressive or cruel when angry. That feels completely against his core character. Even when he’s pushed to his limit, the best Donnies still try to solve things with intelligence and care first.

6. The fandom sometimes treats Donnie like a walking toolbox.

They only care about what he can invent or fix. But he has feelings, dreams, and a heart too. He deserves to be loved as a full person, not just “the smart brother who builds stuff.”

7. 1990s movie Donatello is secretly one of the best.

His personality is so warm and he has great chemistry with the others. I feel like people forget how good he was just because the live-action effects were silly.

8. The 2003 series understood Donnie’s personality the best.

it treated him as more than just “the smart one.” Instead of exaggerating a single trait, the series balanced every side of him naturally. He was intelligent without being arrogant, gentle without seeming weak, serious when the situation called for it, and still capable of humor and warmth.

What made that version stand out was how emotionally grounded he felt. Donnie wasn’t just the tech expert of the team, he was also patient, compassionate, dependable, and often the calmest presence among his brothers. The show understood that his intelligence and empathy were equally important parts of who he was, which made him feel like a fully developed person rather than a stereotype.

9. Donnie’s best chemistry is with characters who appreciate his quiet side.

Whether it’s April, his brothers, or even side characters, I love when people let him talk about his interests without mocking him, or when he gets to show protectiveness and emotional support. The loud “tsundere” or super-angsty dynamics don’t appeal to me as much.

10. I don’t connect as much with super sarcastic or super dramatic Donnies.

Versions where he’s very high-strung, overly anxious for comedy, or super Snarky are fun for other people, but for me they feel less like the Donatello I love most, the calm, reliable, emotionally intelligent turtle who keeps the team grounded. (No hate though! Every version has something special.)

11. April and Donnie work better as close friends than as a couple in most versions.

I don’t mind the romance in some continuities, but I actually prefer when they have a deep, trusting friendship. Donnie deserves someone who sees and appreciates his gentle heart.

12. The bo staff is the most elegant weapon and fits Donnie perfectly.

It requires balance, intelligence, and control. It’s not about raw power. That’s why it’s my favorite weapon in the whole franchise.

13. Donnie being emotionally intelligent is more important than being book smart.

A genius who doesn’t understand feelings is cold. The Donnie who notices when his brothers are hurting and tries to help them is the one I admire most.

14. The Archie Comics version of Donnie deserves way more recognition.

He is probably the purest and most morally consistent Donatello. His pacifist nature, his deep compassion, and his willingness to question violence even in a ninja world make him incredibly special. I made a whole fun facts post about him because I love that side of Donnie.

15. The relationship between Donatello and Master Splinter is deeply underrated.

Splinter seems to understand Donnie’s sensitive and thoughtful nature better than most give him credit for. Their quiet conversations, the way Splinter gently guides Donnie’s overthinking, and the mutual respect between them is one of the most touching father-son bonds in TMNT. It’s subtle, but very meaningful.

16. 2003 Donatello has the best relationships with his brothers and other characters in the whole franchise.

He genuinely connects with them. He’s patient with Mikey, calmly helps Raph when he’s angry, shares quiet understanding with Leo, and acts as the emotional anchor of the team. His bonds feel deep, caring, and layered. Even with April and others, his interactions are respectful, warm, and full of real trust.

For me, this is what makes 2003 Donnie my favorite, he doesn’t just solve problems with tech, he makes everyone feel safe and understood. That quiet emotional intelligence is unmatched. I know many prefer the chaotic banter in other versions, and that’s fine! But 2003’s relationships hit different for me.

17. I’d really like future versions of Donatello in TMNT to highlight not only his intelligence, but also his softer qualities

his kindness, empathy, and emotional awareness. A Donnie who is calm, thoughtful, and emotionally grounded, someone who listens and understands as much as he creates and invents, would bring a lot of warmth and depth to his character and make him feel even more well-rounded.

18. Donatello should have more quiet, domestic, or healing moments in stories.

He’s always fixing things, inventing solutions, or worrying about his brothers. I wish we saw more of him just… resting, reading, or having soft conversations. The IDW 2011's finale moment with Tang Shen’s spirit is so beautiful because it’s exactly that kind of gentle scene Donnie deserves more of.

19. Donatello is already a complete and wonderful character without needing to be “fixed” or made edgier.

He doesn’t need more trauma, more attitude, or more chaos to be interesting. His balance of intelligence, kindness, and quiet strength is enough, and honestly, it’s perfect to me.

20. Future adaptations would benefit from returning to a more introspective and gentle interpretation of Donatello.

The versions that portray him as thoughtful, calm, and protective create the strongest emotional resonance. Loud, meme-oriented, or overly theatrical portrayals, while popular, do not capture the essence of the Donatello I have come to respect and admire most deeply.

21. Loving Donatello has gently changed how I view intelligence.

Before, I sometimes associated being smart with being cold or superior. But Donnie showed me that true intelligence can be humble, caring, and used to make the world softer for the people around you. He’s changed the way I think about what makes someone truly “smart.”

🟣 Ending 🟣

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my thoughts I know that every version of Donatello has its own strengths and that fans connect with different aspects of him, and that diversity is one of the beautiful things about the TMNT fandom. These are just my personal feelings after many years of loving the character. I’d really love to hear what you think as well, whether you agree, disagree, or have your own opinions. As long as we stay kind and respectful to each other, I’m always happy to read different perspectives. What do you think? 💜🐢

[kc-anathema]

I am in total agreement, although I had to be convinced of it. I will always recommend the essays about the tmnt, and your own commentary is solid: compassionate, in love and in awe with the world, and gentlest of the four.

[rudjedet]

Controversial Truths About Ancient Egypt Masterpost

The pyramids were built by contemporary workers who received wages and were fed and taken care of during construction

The Dendera “lightbulb” is a representation of the creation myth and has nothing to do with electricity

We didn’t find “““copper wiring””” in the great pyramid either

Hatshepsut wasn’t transgender

The gods didn’t actually have animal heads

Hieroglyphs aren’t mysteriously magical; they’re just a language (seriously we have shopping lists and work rosters and even ancient erotica)

The ancient Egyptian ethnicity wasn’t homogeneous

Noses (and ears, and arms) broke off statues and reliefs for a variety of reasons, none of which are “there is a widespread archaeological conspiracy to hide the Egyptian ethnicity”

[thatlittleegyptologist]

The carvings at Abydos aren’t modern machines but recarvings over old carvings. Sure they look like them but if you can read hieroglyphs and know that Ramesses II will even usurp the carvings of his own father just to be a little shit

[rudjedet]

‘No soot on the ceilings and walls of the Dendera temple!’ is actually because of extensive restoration works and not because Egyptians were in on shit like Baghdad “batteries”

While the Egyptians were fine-ass astronomers they didn’t align any of their enormous and/or important buildings to modern star constellations, because constellations look very different now than they did ~5000 years ago 

The pyramid is the simplest, sturdiest shape with which to build and many different cultures discovered this in their own time. There were never any weird fish humans/aliens involved

[rudjedet]

The sphinx of Gizah is only an approximate 5000 years old; the 10,000 year/rain erosion nonsense is proven hokum

Speaking of that particular sphinx, the Napoleonic expedition is not responsible for its missing nose

Akhenaten was not a “heretic” by contemporary standards

Ramses II appropriated a lot of his predecessors’ buildings/reliefs and isn’t really deserving of the epithet “the Great”

The Battle of Kadesh ended in a stalemate (twice)

[rudjedet]

While they had feline deities throughout their history, Egyptians didn’t actually worship cats themselves. This was a later Greek/Ptolemaeic addition

It was not, in fact, practice to shave off eyebrows after cats died; Herodotus lied about that

Herodotus lied about a lot of things and many misconceptions about ancient Egypt can be traced back to his Greek ass

[rudjedet]

I can’t believe I forgot my favourite Hill to Die On

Seth was not the god of “evil”, and despite his chaos providing a foil to order, he wasn’t completely villified until very late in Egyptian history, when he became associated with despised foreign enemies

[rudjedet]

Hats off to the few of you who’re reblogging this with tags saying you’re going to check my claims later. You make me not entirely despair of this hellhole.

Here are some vetted Egyptological books/sources (that are by and large appropriate for a lay-audience) you can find most, if not all of the above:

Lehner, M., The Complete Pyramids

Wilkinson, R. H., The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt

Hornung, E., The One and the Many: Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt

Dunand, F. & Zivie-Coche, C., Gods and Men in Egypt

Kemp, B., Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization

Bard, K., An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt

Stevenson Smith, W., The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt

Kitchen, K. A., The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt

Sweeney, D., Sex and Gender (in Ancient Egypt)

McDowell, A. G., Village Life in Ancient Egypt:  Laundry Lists and Love Songs

Te Velde, H., Seth, God of Confusion 

[rudjedet]

Guys do me a solid and reblog this version instead of continuously asking for sources on the other versions thanks

[chronic-backpain]

Excuse me please post ancient erotica link

[rudjedet]

hey it’s not my fault people keep reblogging the version without it!

[chirasul]

we got a full redbox and now we're playing go fish with the redbox movies

[chirasul]

I would never pay money for a redbox. if you ask politely and are very very persistent (i.e. annoying) they will let you take it away

here's my dad and i taking it away

a redbox makes a wonderful addition to your patio

[fishmech]

for those wondering why they're free to take now, it's because the company that made those "chicken soup for the soul" books bought them a few years ago and then completely collapsed so bad they couldn't afford to dispose of or even take the blu rays and dvds out of their kiosks all over.

so any of them is free game because they're all located on other business' property and they usually don't want to have to pay to get rid of them either. so asking the store manager usually gets you the ok to pull it out and keep it.

[chirasul]

there was a period of time right after their bankruptcy where you could put in any debit or credit card and it would spit out movies without charging you. you could even put in like an expired or deactivated card, or a visa gift card with a $0 balance, didnt matter, they'd just start spitting discs out. a lotta people raided redboxes for movies for a couple months, with some people doing what me and my brother and my dad did here, taking the whole box and signs and marquees as well. because managers sure as hell don't want a big abandoned piece of trash on their sidewalk disappointing customers. BUT they're also often too cheap to pay someone to remove it. so they just sit there.

luckily there are no shortage of freaks like us who will just take them away on our own volition. we did it all "by the book", too: we set up cones and caution tape, disconnected electricity properly, used an angle grinder to grind down the bolts in the concrete so nobody would trip on them, then cleaned everything up afterward and sealed off the electrical panel so the store would know everything is safe and tidy. though they were hesitant when we were first contacting them, they were honestly very relieved and grateful when we finally took it away, especially once they saw that we "knew what we were doing" (we don't) and look like we've "done this before" (we haven't).

the fun part: the reason why this redbox, in particular, was completely full and unraided is because the computer hardware inside had failed some months before the bankruptcy, and a failing company sure as hell wasn't gonna send a tech out to our podunk dipshit city to fix it, so it was impossible to rent movies or take any discs out. plus, for who knows how long, people were returning old redbox discs to this machine and not taking any out, leading to a much higher variety of movies than your average redbox.

there is a thriving community of redbox hackers and modders out there, as well, creating open-source software for repurposing the machines and not letting their very interesting and robust disc-management hardware go to waste. this one belongs to my brother (who was very annoying persistent and did all the legwork of contacting managers and securing permission) who is a programmer by trade and will be hacking it into a family-access movie library, with whatever discs we want. i mean the machine is completely weatherproof and has a built-in AC unit, it would be such a waste to not try to turn it into something cool.

if we get another one, i'm gonna try to mod it into some sort of art or zine vending machine. the disc boxes are just the right size for small print art or stickers. would make a great "little free library" too.

remember: the rules are made up. act like you belong there and you can get away with anything. this applies to your own life

[ozempicofficial]

[fanfiction-psas]

Fanfiction PSA: