neither manly nor a man

ey/em/eir or he/him/his nonbinary. writer. (mannleemann on ao3) I'm not a bot I swear I just suck at producing content

[classicalcanvas]

The Magic Circle (1886) by John William Waterhouse

[binghespeerlesscucumber]

WQW: I’m telling you he’s not possessed!

QQQ: What are you talking about?! We can literally see a whole group of ghosts clinging to him with the bare eye!

WQW: I tested him with every sword, he’s not—

LQG: Well if he’s not possessed then what is this?

YQY: Don’t worry Xiao-Jiu, I’m sure we’ll figure out how to fix this….

SQQ: Do NOT call me—

MQF: Hey hey hey let’s all stay calm… please…

SQQ: I am calm.

MQF: Shen shixiong—

YQY: Xiao-Jiu—

QQQ: And what’s up with you, ah? You can barely keep your babbling mouth shut most of the time and all of a sudden you’re quiet as a mouse.

All eyes turned to Shang Qinghua. All of them carried expectant gazes like he could magically fix this bizarre situation. A very strange group of ghosts had made their way onto Cang Qiong Mountain. They were neither malicious nor resentful; actually they didn’t really do anything but stick to Shen Qingqiu. It was truly a strange sight to behold. They were almost entirely white in color, faces distorted or gone entirely, bodies far too small and dressed in the simplest of garments.

They looked like children who had died before they even understood the concepts of life and death and their identities. Well, they looked like that because that’s exactly what they were.

SQQ: You do know something don’t you? Spit it out already, you rat!

SQH: Ah— that— so I— Shen Shixiong, they’re harmless I promise!

YQY: Shang shidi, if you know how to resolve this…

SQH: Oh no. No no no. Let’s just— let’s just wait and see? They really are harmless so—

SQQ: What the hell is that supposed to mean? Just wait and see?

MQF: Shang shidi, please.

SQH: how about we don’t…

LQG, QQQ & SQQ: Shang Qinghua!

SQH: Okay, look. You won’t like what I know about them and it doesn’t really help to get rid of them anyway so how about we—

SQQ: Spit. It. Out.

SQH: Okay okay okay but you gotta promise to not kill me!

SQQ: …

SQH: Promise!

SQQ: Urgh I promise. Now talk.

SQH: Well, okay, so… I can’t— I don’t really remember what they’re called right now but… I have actually, unfortunately encountered them before. They really are harmless. These ghosts they… stem from children who died very young. Like really young. Usually in slow, brutal ways… torture, assault, those things…. All they really do is cling to each other for comfort and flow from place to place.

The room stayed quiet for a moment.

SQQ: And? Why are they sticking to me?

SQH: That— I— You really don’t want me to say it, Shixiong…

If a gaze could kill.

SQH: Allright, fine. Don’t blame me. Sometimes… they’ll consider living people one of their own and kling to them. Only difference being, the living person survived the kinds of things that killed them…

[voidandradiance]

the most disorienting thing thats ever happened to me was when a linguistics major stopped in the middle of our conversation, looked me in the eye, and said, "you have a very interesting vernacular. were you on tumblr in 2014?" and i had to just stand there and process that one for a good ten seconds

[booksandchainmail]

#i was in a car with a linguist i had never met before the car trip and like half an hour in he looked at me#after i finished describing a geology thing that was happening out the window and asked if i'd ever spent much time on tumblr#the fuckor of it all#and then we spent six more hours driving#it sure does leave linguistic markers! i'm not sure i'm good with it (tags via @thoughtsformtheuniverse)

[issela-santina]

it is one thing to be a linguist and another to be a linguist who knows enough of 2010s Tumblr to spot one of its enjoyers

[lierdumoa]

Oh! @meret118 see above comment! The use of the word "enjoyers" instead of "users" or "bloggers" -> You left a comment a while back asking, "Does this just mean vocabulary words? Other than blorbo and sweet cinnamon roll etc, I can't think of what a Tumblr accent would be." I almost never see anyone use the word "enjoyer" anywhere outside of tumblr, but I see it on tumblr fairly frequently.

Another one is the verb "perceive" i.e. "don't perceive me" "I am perceiving" "I am being percieved." That's something that feels very specific to tumblr parlance.

There's the thing where people on tumblr have an emotional reaction to something and instead of, or in addition to telling you how they feel about it using emotion words, they will narrate a fictional action in the present progressive tense. "I am gnawing at the bars of my enclosure "I am kissing you on the mouth" "you are going into the soup" "you are getting all of the awards"

I once saw someone use that response format in ... I think it was a restaurant review, or a doordash review, or something like that. It was very unexpected seeing it outside of a tumblr post.

There are a lot of other tumblr linguistic quirks I can't currently remember off the top of my head, but I'll instantly recognize them if I see/hear them outside of tumblr. It's always a bit startling to see them out of context.

[pacificnorthwhore]

[i-wear-the-cheese]

when I was in university one of my modules was about internet slang and for our grades project we had to compile and analyse a small database of 100 words used by a specific community of our choice. I chose tumblr and that's how I stumbled across Gretchen McCulloch's research and discovered that yes not only did tumblr have its own vernacular and syntax (as @lierdumoa demonstrates), it was at the time a crucible of slang and memes probably unrivalled by any other part of the internet. and it's stayed that way! even the very title is McCulloch's book because internet is an example of this specific phraseology.

sadly my project is lost due to the website being wiped from the university database after graduation and my then laptop having a major hardware failure. backup your backups people! but the crux of the entire module was that the internet is full of communities using language not only as jargon for specific purpose but also to signal membership in said community. I even wrote a bit about non capitalisation and punctuation useage as a visual cue on tumblr and how including information in the reblog body or the tags indicated different levels of importance or intimacy of thought

I am holding the side of your face and looking deep in your eyes and telling you that love is stored in the syntax, and that we are rotating words together all at once as we all nod at their new and baffling meanings. if the devils sacrament be tumblr then the devils gospel is our collective voice. thanks for coming to my tedtalk

[weirdchristmas]

I am being perceived.

[dcxdpdabbles]

Danny, de-age to a seven-year-old: Hello. Would you care for a shoe shine?

Bruce: ....Yes, of course. How much?

Danny: Oh, whatever you can spare. *setting down a portable shining bench* Please put your feet here.

Bruce: Of course. Have you been doing this long?

Danny: a couple of weeks. I'm getting really good at it.

Bruce: You are. These look brand new. *hands him a $ 100 bill*

Danny: Wow! Thank you!

Bruce: Of course. Do you have a safe place to sleep?

Danny: Nope.

Bruce: .....would you like one?

Danny: Sure!

Bruce: Really?

Danny: Yeah, if you're offering!

Bruce: Its never been this easy before....somethings off. Aren't you the less bit wary of me?

Danny: Nah, I can sense people's intentions. You're not a creep trying to get a kid to a second location. You just want to give me a safe place off the streets.

Bruce: .....Are you a Meta?

Danny: I don't belive in organized religion.

Bruce: That's not....you know what, nevermind. Have you had something to eat?

Danny: I found a half finished donut in the trash earlier.

Bruce: Oh. No. Let's get you some dinner.

Danny: I'm buying! *waving money Bruce gave him* I had a good day of work!

[almondcroissantsandink]

Ryland Grace, seconds before losing consciousness: did--did you just reference Parks and Rec

[chernozemm]

Couple of Project Hail Mary doodles!!

The first one was my idea of what he would go for as a jingly celebrations outfit ahah the eridians collect and make him all sorts of beads; even if they're sad that their most resonant materials are toxic to Grace. They settle on some of the lightest metals they have plus porous rocks (trying to avoid extra weight as much as possible because of, well, extra gravity).

Grace has a fun week sorting them by colour which is incomprehensible to them (to the point someone alerts rocky that the human has been pushing the same beads around arbitrarily and is he ok??)

It is not the best sounding outfit anyone has heard but they're happy Grace is well enough to celebrate with them!

The second one was inspired by the oracle of Delphi. Got me thinking of eridians settling upon such fissures and getting permeated by a soothing cocktail of underground gasses. Either for medicinal purposes like joint pain or just as a way to relax. A bit like thermal springs for humans.

[marble-arch]

They closed the portal. Amity Park stopped getting ghost attacks. Vlad and Danny's parents did not take it well, but they handled that too.

Until they realised it was keeping Danny from fulfilling his Obsession to Protect.

It affected his concentration first, his health second.

But he still refused to re-open the portal. Inflicting harm on the people he's sworn to guard for his own needs is anathema to the fulfillment of his Obsession.

Jazz suggests he divert his attention to another core part of himself.

His love for the cosmos.

Danny starts going on space expeditions in Phantom form.

He goes to Mars and brings back samples. Pokes around Saturn's rings. Takes a nap on Pluto.

It helps tremendously.

Until he starts leaving the solar system altogether. He meets new alien forms, makes groundbreaking discoveries he cannot share in a scientific journal.

It's wonderful. That's the problem.

Space as an Obsession is all-consuming.

When Danny thinks of getting back home to check on his friends and turn back into a human, decades have passed.

Danny does not grow while he is in ghost form. He still looks like a teenager. His friends are middle-aged.

His parents are dead.

And his human form is different. As his ghost form has accommodated his Obsession by developing space-related powers, his human body has adopted the traits of the alien forms he has encountered. They are subtle, but in a dimension where he is the only hero of Earth, they unmistakably mark him as other.

He makes a portal to the Ghost Zone and begs Clockwork to send him back so he can return to his friends and family.

Clockwork congratulates him on taking the first steps to becoming the Ancient of Space.

"I cannot give you back the decades you lost, because even sent back to the past you will be stuck in the same dilemma. You cannot stay grounded on Earth without acting as a guardian spirit, and space makes you forget your anchors to mortal life. What you need is to fulfill both."

"How?"

"In a dimension close to this one is a world of heroes you would thrive in. In that world, an organisation called the Justice League was founded to protect their Earth and galaxy from all who would seek to threaten them. Lend them a hand, and you will fulfill both of your Obsessions as well as grow in your role of Ancient. For every year you do so, I will give you three days, six hours and five minutes to spend with your loved ones in the past."

"What do you get in return?"

Clockwork tilted his head.

"I do not think you realise how dangerous the malleability of a halfa's Obsession is. If you start forcusing on the time you have lost too much, you risk developing powers that will let you unravel the timeline, to devastating consequences. I will do all I can to steer you in a better decision, both for your sake and this world's."

[sanguine-humor]

phm is decently popular in japan and i mostly see this when i check twitter and see accounts posting pictures of handmade rocky plushies that are so fucking round looking it brings a tear to my eye

[sanguine-humor]

he keeps me sane

[thecraftyninjacat]

just spent twenty minutes scrolling the tag and giggling

@justcakethanks

[gaucheguy]

dean smith from 4x17 “it’s a terrible life” and receptionist castiel from the supernatural ghostbusters parody are happily married

[gaucheguy]

husbands

[gendercensus]

The 2026 Gender Census is now open!

[ survey.gendercensus.com ]

The 13th annual international gender census, collecting information about the language we use to refer to ourselves and each other, is now open until 13th August 2026.

It’s short and easy, for most participants it takes 5 minutes or less.

After the survey is closed I’ll process the results and publish a spreadsheet of the data and a report summarising the main findings. Then anyone can use them for academic or business purposes, self-advocacy, tracking the popularity of language over time, and just feeling like we’re part of a huge and diverse community.

If you think you might have friends and followers who’d be interested, please do reblog this blog post, and share the survey URL by email or at AFK social groups or on other social networks. Every share is extremely helpful!

Survey URL: https://survey.gendercensus.com

The survey is open to anyone anywhere who speaks English and feels that the gender binary doesn’t fully describe their experience of themselves and their gender(s) or lack thereof.

Thank you so much!

[ Link to survey ]

PS: You can see some regularly-updated statistics about incoming data here, with lots of demography and graphs to peruse!

PPS: Image credits, bark and grass.

[dr-otter]

[dramatic-dolphin]

and if i said nolan's odyssey starring no greek actors and with no recognizable aspects of greek culture or involvement by greeks, is the direct legacy of white supremacist colonialism that treated ancient greece as not just the pinnacle of ancient culture, but of an artificially created "european" culture, which white western europeans and their settler descendants, as the new pinnacle of culture, were the sole spiritual inheritors of.

[hiveswap]

^^^ PEOPLE ARE STILL THERE. There's a metro station across the street from the colosseum where i found a hair in my pizza slice. We drove by ruins of an amphitheater next to a motorway in greece once. It's literally just real places where real people live and have lived. It's not mythical perfect lands that once existed. I went to Itacha in 2023 and there was not enough parking space.

[lazer-exe]

I'm gonna say it, I do think that even the laziest person imaginable should have a roof over their head, food in their stomach, and access to healthcare

[xiuyawn]

POV: you’re trying to fix the plot but your only helper is the person who wrote said plot

[red-garden]

Binghes belongs in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant with a baby on their hip and another on their back, but Big Airplane is lying to you, telling Binghes they need to go bang 1 William babes and become emperor. When CLEARLY Binghes are genetically predisposed to be bent over and bred.

[marvelilovebucky]

Bucky Barnes is my favorite Disney Princess👑