Prairie Grass

Fandom old and filthy. This blog has fandom stuff, gaming jokes, Sailor Moon, feminism, politics and... whatever. I'm momo, a they/them. I live in Aotearoa New Zealand and I write a lot; play a lot of video games and don't see why hanging out with people is more valid than hanging out with my cat. Current fandoms include mxtx stories, various Thai BLs, and whatever makes the brain go brrrr. You are welcome to talk to me I am very awkward but like people on the internet. My Ao3 bookmarks are recs for all. ♥️

[red-berin]

Kyle Gordon's back

[ymutate]

Zulu Imbenge baskets are woven entirely of recycled telephone wire in the heart of KwaZulu-Natal, a province of South Africa. In the 1990s, Zulu women began repurposing discarded telephone wires, weaving them into intricate patterns to create colorful and durable baskets while preserving traditional weaving techniques.

[lord-margolotta]

One of those how-many-life-experiences-have-you-had things, except all the points are ridiculously hyperspecific, pointlessly general, or just plain weird.

How many can you get?

Accidentally fallen in a natural body of water

Visited the second-largest city on your country

Taken ibuprofen on an empty stomach

Gotten a tattoo in only purple ink

Tried to dye your hair only to find the dye wouldn't take

Drank a spider

Broken your left femur in exactly two places simultaneously

Nearly ran out of petrol on the highway but not quite

Had an allergic reaction during an exam, because of the exam materials

Been prescribed antihistamines

Blocked someone on tumblr

Submitted a CV with a typo in the first line

Drank coffee without sugar

Been in an airplane only for the flight to be cancelled before takeoff

Abandoned a hobby exactly three days after you picked it up

Gotten the wrong prescription glasses because you were too shy to tell the student optometrist they were blocking your view of the eye chart so you just made up some answers at random

Been told "jokes about [trauma you had] are never funny" right after you made a joke about said trauma

Gotten lost at a new school

Been to a birthday party

Told someone you don't speak a certain language, in that language (give yourself a bonus point if you were lying to avoid a having a conversation (give yourself another bonus point if it was your native language (give yourself another bonus point if you clearly doing something - eg reading a book or watching a movie - that indicated that you did in fact speak said language)))

Left kudos on AO3

Read a book longer than 300 pages

Accidentally declined a call you wanted to take

Found a coin on the footpath that was the largest denomination minted in the country you were in at the time

Watched a TV series in an order determined by a random number generator

Gone out of your way to spit on someone's grave

Rolled a 12 on a pair of D6s

Received a scholarship that did not pay nearly enough to cover the course fees

Visited Geraldine, Aotearoa

Been mistaken for a sibling of a different gender

Accidentally shoplifted

Coloured your nails with a highlighter

Thanked your aunt for the lovely handkerchiefs

Been adopted by a calico cat with six toes on each paw

Looked someone up in an actual old-fashioned phonebook

Been given a nickname you initially hated but grew to like

Cut your own hair without looking in a mirror

Lived somewhere everyone says is haunted but you've never noticed anything abnormal

Driven a car older than yourself

Stowed away on a ship that turned out to be heading in completely the opposite direction from where you wanted to go

[postarcadian]

bouncing off of @an-ruraiocht’s Iliad/Odyssey/Aeneid poll I’m curious about some other ancient Greek and Roman texts

Which of the following Greek or Roman texts would you say you are most familiar with?

The Iliad (Homer)

The Odyssey (Homer)

The Aeneid (Vergil)

Antigone (Sophocles)

Oedipus Rex (Sophocles)

Medea (Euripides)

The Bacchae (Euripides)

Another Greek tragedy (tell me in the tags!)

Metamorphoses (Ovid)

Pharsalia/Bellum Civile (Lucan)

Thebaid (Statius)

Another Greek or Roman epic poem (tell me in the tags!)

Remaining time: 1 day 41 minutes

[muzzlesbian]

just pinned a girl to the fourth wall

[elizabethtenderlyatomic]

I like Shane characterized with a bit of a mean streak, but some fics take it too far to the point where nobody would have this character wearing a letter. Shane's clearly the lead-by-example kind of captain rather than the vocal kind (although tbh Ilya doing a whole ass dressing room speech isn't exactly realistic, in real life it would probably be 'let's go boys! Game 6!'). But even if leadership comes more naturally to Ilya, the thing about Shane is that he tries really hard. A good player and even more so a good captain cares about his teammates, therefore Shane cares about his teammates, even if he has to work at it.

Like fics where Shane literally doesn't know his teammates names? There's a maximum of 22 at any given time during the regular season, a maximum of 50 contracts within the organization. He sees the 22 almost every day for 6+ months of the year, of course he knows their names.

On draft day or free agency day, he gets a contact number for the newly signed or drafted players, and makes a welcome call. And then hopes nobody else gets added in-season.

Only JJ can drag him out to party occasionally, and if there's a post-game outing at the bar, he dips around the third round of drinks. Team gatherings at the Pikes' house or video games in hotel rooms on the road are more his speed.

He's developed social scripts to avoid just talking hockey shop, even if that's what he'd prefer: ask about golfing. If that doesn't land, try fishing (he's competent at both for group activities, even though they aren't his hobbies). He is actually interested in video games, or their cottages, especially if they built them. He's listened to Hayden complaining about teething, sleepless nights, and educational toys that he can go "Mmhmm" and "that's rough, man" and "did you try a nightlight?" to those conversations too.

What he doesn't have patience for is stupid problems. Why call him drunk from a bar at 2AM when Uber exists, or the team's car service? Got arrested? Shut up, get a lawyer, shut up some more. Girl problems? Please ask literally anyone else.

But if you have an actual problem, especially if there's something practical he can do, I think Shane steps up, like he and Ilya do for the Pikes in TLG. And between him and his parents, he can recommend a personal trainer, meal prep service, accountant, caterer, architect, plumber, or cleaning service in either the Ottawa or Montreal areas.

He'd probably get along fine with say Ryan Price if they'd ever played together - Ryan has a role and he's doing his best at it even though he's not good by NHL standards - but woe betide you if you're a top-line player who isn't working hard and living up to your talent. Shane will say things that sound like innocuous advice - in fact the same words as he'd use for someone who's genuinely trying - but loaded with such judgment that you wake up at 3AM in a cold sweat remembering them. He and Svetlana would have a great time slating bad coaching/lineup decisions on other NHL teams if they ever met.

Here's an imaginary rookie on the Voyageurs, let's call him Jake. Jake is thrilled and overwhelmed to make the team. His parents tease him about making friends with THE Shane Hollander. Obviously Jake doesn't expect Hollander to be his friend, but he's kind! He gives Jake advice about what Theriault and the assistant coaches expect, and about working hard, and not letting the Montreal media get in his head, and he gave Jake some tips about opposing players in the division that the coaches didn't mention, and recommendations for a skills trainer and an accountant and says when Jake moves out of the Pikes' in-law suite he'll get him in touch with a good realtor as well. The Pike kids obviously love him and he'll spend like an hour playing their boring little kid games with them.

Sure, on the ice he's intense and he'll tell them to "lock the fuck in" or come back to the bench yelling "We have talked about that fucking drop pass, Hayden, that was not the fucking time!" or "Crisse de sacrament, JJ, c'était quoi ça de tabarnak?!"

But that's normal for hockey. Jake's playing a very safe eleven minutes of hockey a night because he doesn't want to get yelled at by anyone.

Then Brandon, another prospect, gets called up from Laval. Brandon thinks he's hot shit. Everyone in his twenty years of life has been telling him he's hot shit. He thinks he's entitled to make the show the way he's made every other team up till now. Jakes comes into the weight room when Brandon's been on the team a few days, and Hollander's talking to Brandon, some of the same stuff he told Jake, but his tone is completely different. His face looks like Brandon's something he found on the bottom of his shoe. Jake suddenly understands why people say Hollander's scary. He pretends he forgot his water bottle and resolves to get in some extra reps whenever Hollander's finished destroying Brandon's soul.

Brandon gets sent back to Laval shortly afterwards, hopefully a sadder and wiser prospect.

[meret118]

He's developed social scripts to avoid just talking hockey shop, even if that's what he'd prefer

Yes! I think he's a big believer in "How To" books and videos. I think he loves that Five P's quote - "Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance." He started studying leadership skills etc when they first made him captain in juiniors or whatever.

Actually, probably even before! IIRC Crosby's first interview was at age seven. I think Yuna was giving him media training long before he turned pro, and would have helped him with leadership and social scripts as soon as it became clear how talented he was, especially once it became clear he struggles picking up social cues.

It doesn't come naturally to him like it does Ilya, and he's not adept at reading body language the way IIlya has had to be his whole life, but Shane takes his role as captain very seriously, and puts in his usual high level of dedication to it.

[charlesoberonn]

Female Dwarves - With or without beards?

With beards

Without beard

Voting ended onJun 9

[charlesoberonn]

Child Dwarves - With or without beards?

With beards

Without beards

Voting ended onJun 9

[charlesoberonn]

Baby Dwarves - With or without beards?

With beards

Without beards

Voting ended onJun 9

[charlesoberonn]

They shed their baby beards to make room for their adult beards. Like with baby teeth.

[not100bees]

People on Tumblr love sharing information about themselves no matter how asinine it is. And I'm the same way. Everybody tell me what the last thing you drank was.

[creature-feature-perceiver]

was the yaoi really good enough for it to have been worth getting into sports?

[cozyindungeon]

the way aragorn runs is so chaotic

[jesterbells]

@tathrin's tags have been vetted and approved

#that is a man who A: has tripped over his sword before and been laughed at by EVERY ELF IN RIVENDELL and is NOT going to do it again#and B: knows that he has more leg than anyone else in the room and is GOING TO USE IT BY GODS#he is COVERING GROUND with every step#he got that moniker of strider through HARD HONEST WORK (and very very big steps)#aragorn#lotr movies#viggo mortensen

[floating-in-the-blue]

#So basically. He runs like an actual real person would over uneven ground 😂#The Hollywood Run is pretty to watch sure but also takes place on a paved surface usually#There is no way to look dignified whilst running across lumpy bumpy ground down across a hill. Unless one is an actual gazelle#thankyou Mr. Viggo for that Real Human rep (saving @jonairadreaming's excellent tags because everyone who has ever tried running down an incline over uneven, possibly shifting, ground knows you try to get down there as fast as possible with the least amount of time of foot actually touching the ground and constantly being prepared to shift your weight to keep your balance. By the time the stones actually shift from your weight you already want to be two steps away)

[elodieunderglass]

He’s so leg

[prairie-grass]

(Also he had a broken toe for a bunch of these shots. Yes That one.)

[disgustinggf]

[dogpuppy]

[nineteenyearoldmeblog]

im fucking crying

[bisexualhunterbiden]

Something that annoys me is the constant whining about "more queer spaces, more queer communities" but then they're immediately like "yeah! And we need ones that don't cost money or require a purchase!"

Girl that's exactly why they close down after a year. You NEED money to keep these places open. There's no magic Gay Money Pot with endless cash to keep these places open. It requires YOU to put your money where your values are!!

[bisexualhunterbiden]

Like there was a queer coffee shop in my city. Owned and operated by a bunch of LGBT people. Not a cishet on the schedule. Tons of young people raved about it.

And it made it about 2 years before shutting down completely. Because all those young people who begged for a place exactly like this would just show up, not buy a single thing, and leave. You cannot build a community without putting your money into it. This isn't about capitalism, this is just reality. You can't open a restaurant where no one buys your food. You can't have a gay bar that only serves 5% of the population and actively excludes everyone else. This is what I mean when I say people confuse "community" and "friend group." You're not obligated to spend money when hanging out with your friend group. But if you want a lasting community centered space, you need to open up that wallet.

[dovewithscales]

The reality is that events, objects, and spaces cost money. I've been a professional queer organizer for over a decade. I ran a trans rights organization, and now I run a queer pagan church.

A lot of people wanting and expecting spaces and events and services without wanting to contribute any time or money or labor to support them has been a constant problem. Throughout my entire career, I've done most of the work myself, and I've paid for most of what I need to do that work out of my own pocket.

Which is not to say that nobody helps. But out of 50+ people who might show up to a free event with provided food, five or six showed up to a yard sale to fund said event, stayed for a couple hours, and then left my husband and I alone for the rest of the weekend.

With my church, which I've run for three years now, most people have shown up at least once when I asked for volunteers to help with something, and a couple people show up consistently, but exactly one person has ever made a financial donation. Everything else I pay for myself. Part of the problem is queer people tend to have less money and can't afford to contribute financially, but that doesn't change the fact that operating anything costs the same amount of money no matter how much money the people who use it have. And I've noticed that white cis gay men who fall into the "two incomes no children" demographic and actually have more money than average, still often don't actually use that money to support things that benefit the rest of the queer community.

[prairie-grass]

Also like, this is a perfect opportunity to point out that the stuff which isn't just for the gayz? Also run on donations. Churches? The orchestra? Soup kitchens? Community Gardens? Community theatre? Sometimes they get occasional funding from councils but by and large it's all donations.

I know a lot of queer folk are poor and / or disabled so don't beat yourself up about it, but like, literally every church in your area only stays open because the majority of regular attendees have a tithe which they typically pay automatically, or give when the collection goes around during the service. So. Y'know, if you find yourself in possession of a little extra, maybe think about what you could support. ❤️

[unheardoracle]

Your dialogue is stiff because everyone is being too honest

Great dialogue can come from radical emotional honesty. But in most real conversations, people

dodge questions

answer indirectly

lie (badly)

change the subject

crack jokes to avoid serious answers

lie (convincingly)

say half of what they mean

tell the truth but get so anxious/angry/defensive others now think they're lying

If your dialogue feels unnatural, it might be because everyone is saying exactly what they think, or articulating their thoughts too well. Try letting characters hide things instead.

Subtext is where tension lives.

[prairie-grass]

^ this is one of my greatest challenges as a writer. 😭

Also like, even when we are trying to speak truthfully, we often just communicate poorly. We don't phrase our thoughts clearly or leave out context or whatever.

I worked for years at being a clear written communicator and I have to ditch every one of those instincts when writing dialogue.

[nudityandnerdery]

Just off the top of your head, don't need to try and look it up to check out anything:

Can you name a web search engine that you used before Google?

Yes

No

Don't know/just want to see the results

Remaining time: 1 day 1 hour

The book I'm reading suggests that Google became so market dominant that most people couldn't name a search engine that came before it, so I'm curious.

[alex51324]

HotBot.

[akinmytua2]

Askjeeves

[whatbigotspost]

I primarily used AltaVista and Yahoo before my 10th grade English teacher told me about Google in 2000. I have such a vivid memory of being like, "oh shit this IS a great tool..." which is hilarious to recall 26 years later.

[urfavhatesterfs]

this is so sweet 🥺🥺🥺

This is the cutest thing ever. Godzilla says trans rights.

[kitt-the-werefox]

GODZILLA OFFICIAL???

[sciencebees]

[dagny-hashtaggart-deactivated20]

That particular disappointment of the more literate-than-average child upon discovering that “gaol” is just pronounced “jail”

[digitaldiscipline]

what