the lorekeeper. @mortesse - Tumblr Blog

This would make for some great worldbuilding as propaganda in an Omegaverse story

a lot of my disillusionment with the trans "community" comes down to the fact that too many of you take "gender is different from sex" and go "ah ok, so instead of saying women are fragile and men are strong, I should say afabs are fragile and amabs are strong. to be Inclusive"

then you just treat gender like a surface level aesthetic draped over what someone "actually" is. really is indistinguishable from terf rhetoric

mousidy

you all need to unpack your bioessentialism, but we also need a better theory of gender than "it's just dressup." I will pick my words carefully here, but the word "gender" itself refers to so many different phenomena that have been lumped together, and we need to un-lump them

mousidy

in a feminist context, "gender" has historically referred to externally imposed categorization and the internalization and performance of said categories. in a paper I wrote on this subject, I called this sense of the word "extrinsic gender"

"intrinsic gender," on the other hand, is what I used to refer to the sense of the word "gender" that a lot of trans people are talking about when they discuss social gender dysphoria and euphoria. it's the internal sense of category that's resistant to external impositions

but then we also use the word "gender" to refer to subconscious sex, which is the term Julia Serano coins in Whipping Girl to name the phenomenon we're talking about when we talk about bodily dysphoria. it is the "gender" being "affirmed" by gender affirming healthcare like HRT and bottom surgery

so, "gender" is: a social classing system, a performance, and at least two internal phenomena as well. and I really don't know if it's doing us a service to conflate all of these things!

mousidy

a lot of people lately seem to be going heavy on the "performance" use of the word, ignoring (intentionally or otherwise) social classing, intrinsic gender, and subconscious sex. this seems to have led to a lot of "progressive" people treating trans women like men "amabs" who wear womanhood as a costume, and nobody understands why that's wrong because they also think gender is just a performance

mousidy

see also "why can't you just be a femboy/feminine man/etc"

xakasch

WIP

heavereia

He stared around to Graves, his eyes wide in shock. She was sat upright now too, staring right back, though before long the snort she was clearly holding back burst its' way out, alongside a barrage of laughter.

- Party Foul, written by Bimbling.

The 3rd fan-story me and my partner (he has a Tumblr now!) made together. Do read his book, Party Foul, as these illustrations were made for it. Every time I make these together with him, it's always a blast. May we make more together, when we want to. 💛

nongunktional

okay sure that was an interesting drama detour but don't let this distract you from the fact that in 1998, the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell and plummeted 16 feet through the announcer's table

kymsys

they're just cuddling, istg <3 -> FULL VERSION

sugurustatic

Those eyes of yours could swallow stars, Galaxies and universes. What hope did I ever have?

moonrat95

protagonist, author

tiramisooooh

he fell asleep in maki's lap 😴

getdiagnosed

gratefulturbot

i DON'T need them to kiss i need them to come to the sobering realisation that their souls are merged and no part of them is extricable from the other anymore

lovemadethemdoit

and THEN i need them to kiss

ao3commentoftheday

Hello.

On the subject of AI, I have a confession to make: I use it. Not to write for me, but to help me check for inconsistencies, to brainstorm ideas, to write outlines, to give me a couple of lines when I've been stuck for hours, to be my beta reader, if you will. Generative AI is bad? Yes, but it also a useful tool if one isn't lazy. I don't ask: write me a story. I go with my story and ask: help me with continuity. Look, this paragraph is clunky, how do I make it better? The demonization of generative AI is fair, but to be honest, I also understand people who use it. Maybe they're afraid of writing themselves, maybe they're insecure and don't trust their prose. Maybe they have brilliannt ideas but they need help to make them become fics.

To me, this is very much connected to my last ask where I was talking about how we don't have enough mentors in fandom to support the influx of people entering it.

All of the things that you're asking AI to do used to be done by a beta reader (or more than one!). A fandom friend (or even a random stranger who volunteered) would read through your work and help you with those issues.

Betas are amazing. They can help with grammar and spelling. They can regionalize language. They can provide sensitivity reading if they're from a marginalized community that you're writing about and aren't a member of. They can track canon, help with research, even just be a sounding board to discuss ideas with.

And sometimes, they're just a cheer reader - someone reading your story and telling you how awesome it is because they love it just as much as you do.

I understand turning to AI if you 1) don't know beta readers exist or 2) don't know how to obtain one. The need for that kind of support doesn't go away just because you can't access it.

But for anyone out there who needs this kind of help and wants to avoid Gen AI, you can write a post on your blog, add it to an author's note, check out resources like @needabeta or - if the time of year is right and you have the funds - place a bid on beta reading services during @fandomtrumpshate

Beta readers are often involved in fandom events like big bangs and exchanges, and if anyone is looking to host such an event, it's a great way to get people involved who aren't writers or artists but would love to help out.

I get it, anon. We use the tools that are available to us. But here's another potential tool if you're interested in branching out?

notwritinganyflufftoday

Sometimes it's scary to post a message asking for beta readers, you are putting yourself out there, you have no idea who might respond to your message (if anyone at all) and nowadays a lot of bots are muddying the waters.

I definitely recommend searching a beta reader within the fandom you're writing for rather than someone who knows nothing about it.

And when you don't immediately get a response, ask again. This comes from a person (me) who is now two and a half years into dating the girl who replied to my 'I need a beta reader' post that I was debating to reblog that day.

Sometimes I wonder where our lives would be if I hadn't reblogged it or if she had skipped past the post.

Fandom is a community of people with shared interests. It's supposed to make it easier for us to become friends, hang out and talk for hours.

Not a single AI tool in the world is capable of giving (fandom) writers/artists/creators what they actually need.

Connection.

mprosperossprite

YES YES YES YES YES.

AND: betas who like beta-ing (and are good at it) are flattered when you ask us!

The best way to find good betas is to look at your favorite fics. If they have a beta, and the beta has their own AO3 profile or tumblr, consider reaching out to them!

A good beta request message do two things:

1. Recognize the past work the beta has done (eg “[fic title] has some of the best characterization and the author mentioned that you played a big role helping them with that”)

2. Ask for what kind of help you’re looking for: spag only, cheerleading, help with continuity or characterization or pacing or whatever! (eg “I’m looking for a beta who can help me make sure the emotional beats are landing.”)

Boom! At the very least you'll have made someone's day. Even better, maybe you've just gotten yourself a beta. Maybe even possibly, you've just made a friend of life.

8nin

i agree with british people when they say fooking ell

siderealcity

Okay, you know, re-reading the Haurchefaunt story "Thoughts Unspoken" just drives home how wildly different Haurchefaunt's view of his family was from Artoirel's. Because when Artoirel apologizes to WoL after their mission in Falcon's Nest, he says that their father "has never been able to say no to my dear half-brother." But Haurchefaunt in his letter suggests he barely ever spoke to his father, and certainly not to ask him for things--this request to take in the Scions was a struggle for him. From Francel's story "Vows Unbroken," Haurchefaunt ran off and avoided being at the manor as much as possible to get away from the Countess.

I... wonder if Artoirel was just continually told that Haurchefaunt was their father's favorite by his mother. Rather than actually seeing any evidence for it himself.