Academics and Fandom

Tumblr nuked my fanblog so I guess this covers politics, academia, d&d, and fandom stuff now. They/she, Queer, 31 Find my fanworks on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicsnort

[profnicsnort]

Intro

I suppose it is about time I made one of these.

I'm Nicsnort. They/she pronouns. Queer.

As the prof bit of the username suggests, I am a college professor. My field is sociology, specifically the sociology of religion and political sociology. I study the religiously unaffiliated but most of my time is spent teaching.

This blog was originally just going to be politics and sociology stuff but after Tumblr nuked my fandom blog I just decided this will cover both. Politically, you're gonna get a lot of Leftist stuff but I do enjoy nuance (I know a mortal sin on the internet) and I will discuss things from a sociological perspective when I have time.

I write a lot of fanfic that I used to post to fanfic.net (ah memories) but I now post to Ao3 (link here). It is mostly X-men fanfic up there right now (Nightcrawler and Quicksilver with OCs) but I also have some BG3 (Astarion x OC), Batman (Scarecrow and Riddler with OCs), and Marvel (Loki x OC). [username nicsnort on fanfic.net and Ao3]

On my Ao3 account you'll also find my original Monsterfucker/Teratophilia series - the Department of Monster Affairs. However, you'll get more content if you just follow the series here on Tumblr.

If you bring any bigotry to this blog I'm gonna block ya'. I support all minoritized groups and I'm not gonna get into debates about basic human rights and showing people decency.

~~~~~~~~~ Sharing my Education/Class see links below ~~~~~~~~~~

Sociology of Terrorism

[soul-stiice]

Fluffy Nightcrawler ily sm

[existennialmemes]

There's way more red tape surrounding how and when you're allowed to modify your own body than there is around how and when the president can drop bombs on other countries.

This country has been having a ten year debate about who is allowed to wear a skirt in public, but Congress didn't even have to approve a whole fucking war with Iran for it to happen.

You are not free. Your freedoms are just dangled above your head like collateral, so you don't dare interfere with all the war your taxes paid for.

[chaaistheanswer]

Jousting at the festival to impress your lady love!!!

[victusinveritas]

Fun fact directly from the founding fathers of the United States…

[jonathan-cranes-mistress-of-fear]

AHH I FORGOT TO SEND THIS OUT

*sprays pride gas instead of fear gas*

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!!!!

Happy Pride, have a cooperate sanctioned pride logo for Arkham Asylum!

[profnicsnort]

Willa reveals what her parents did to her as a teen that made her cut them off.

Chapters: 28/? Fandom: X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men Evolution (Cartoon) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Pietro Maximoff/Original Female Character(s), Azazel/Original Female Character(s), Erik Lennsherr/Original Female Character(s) Characters: Pietro Maximoff, Quicksilver (X-Men), Azazel (X-Men), Magneto (X-Men), Erik Lehnsherr, Original Mutant Characters (X-Men) Additional Tags: Multiple Pairings, two different OCs, Romance, Slow Burn, Brotherhood of Mutants (X-Men), Politics, American Politics, religious trauma, Islamophobia, Muslim Character, Catholic Guilt, Female Friendship, Childhood Trauma, Mutant Rights, Mutants are a metaphor for minorities, Eventual Sex, Canon-Typical Violence, First Love, Radicalization, Terrorism, Systemic Oppression, Explosions, Praise Kink, Oral Sex, Masturbation, Vaginal Sex Summary:

Willa Novak and Laila Nejem were a peculiar pair: an ex-Catholic and a conflicted Muslim, a sexy punk and a modest hijabi, a horrible disappointment and the perfect daughter; they were both mutants and the best of friends. Together, they owned The Purple Moon, an Arab-Southern-Fusion jazz club that could only be found in New York City. Yet, the two had a secret - underneath their club was an illegal mutant fighting ring. As Gravity and Badra, they were shrewd businesswomen ready to do whatever it takes to protect themselves and their club. That readiness is put to the test when Quicksilver and Azazel of the Brotherhood of Mutants show up to investigate their fight club. But even when the Brotherhood determines that their club isn't exploiting mutants, the pair continues to show up at the Purple Moon. What could they want of these business owners? And why do the women start to look forward to each visit?

Willa and Laila's lives have been steady and calm for years, but with the Brotherhood involved in their club and anti-mutant hate growing, the tides are about to change.

Pairings: Pietro/OC (Willa), Azazel/OC (Laila)/Magneto

[rhysspiecez]

Hello everyone,

Recently, I was accused of using artificial intelligence to write my work — more specifically, that my writing was created with the assistance of AI.

Writing has always been something I take great pride in. Throughout high school, I received academic recognition for my writing abilities and dedication to the craft.

Fanfiction and creative writing have also always been an important part of my life, as I know they are for many others in this community.

I understand that technology has advanced significantly, and some creators choose to use AI as part of their writing process. Personally, I am not one of them, nor will I ever be. I will always remain an anti-AI creator and strongly value authenticity within creative spaces.

False accusations like these can be incredibly damaging — not only to a creator’s platform, but also to their credibility, reputation, and confidence as a writer. I stand by my work completely and will continue creating content that is entirely my own.

AI generated content has become so normalized online that it’s starting to replace the value of real human creativity.

Art, writing, music, and fan works come from lived experiences, emotions, practice, and passion — things a machine cannot genuinely feel or understand.

Many AI programs are trained on the work of actual artists and writers without consent, often copying styles and ideas from people who spent years developing their craft.

Supporting ‘ human-made’ content matters because creativity is more than just producing something quickly; it’s about connection, individuality, and the effort behind it.

Creative spaces should continue encouraging real people to learn, improve, and express themselves instead of rewarding shortcuts that remove the human element from art.

- Rhys💕

[sugar-petals]

this just in. our whole ass pope has politely announced the crusade against slop

[happyroadkillart]

I’ve been getting into drag a lil bit….

[politijohn]

Source

[is-this-fascism]

i don't care if it's nazis, mormons, or a bunch of misguided autistic people. if anyone ever tries to tell you your soul is from another planet and you're actually part of the class of impressive people that secretly did everything cool in the world but is now extinct and lives on through your broken genome, you RUN. YOU WILL RUN AWAY. YOU WILL SPRINT FULL SPEED AWAY FROM THAT.

[is-this-fascism]

grabs you by the shoulders listen. listen to my words. i understand the urge to make fanfiction about yourself and to find a reality in which you're super awesome and great and everyone who hates you is wrong and dumb. i get it. you're better than that. you can love yourself without putting other people down, dehumanizing and generalizing, and retaliating against your oppressors.

there's no NPCs. there's no aliens coming to save us. we're not the next step in human evolution. our hyperconnected nervous systems give us terrible sensory overwhelm more often than they make us geniuses. neurotypical people are sentient, conscious, aware people who are capable of understanding you. we're more the same than we are different. we're more the same than we are different. we're more the same than we are different.

[victusinveritas]

All of this is correct. Veggie Tales is Evangelical propaganda, the Catholic faithful can just watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Gargoyles.

Christofascist propaganda for kids.

[profnicsnort]

I think it just depends on the parents. I was raised Catholic and had a fair number of Veggietales VHS. However, I do think those original ones had less evangelical messaging than later ones. I think the Super Larry movie was the last one my parents got me and my sister.

But I have to say compared to most Christian kids shows I've found out about (and watched in morbid curiosity) since Veggietales is one of the best out there. It does actually have good jokes, songs, and acting.

Especially compared to Bibleman...

and Psalty the Psalm Book...

[victusinveritas]

Wait, Bibleman? Psalty the what? I'd ask if you're joking, but I know you are not after a quick Wikipedia dive.

Fellow Catholic friends had some of the older Veggietales videos, but even from those I always got a distinctly Protestant (if not always Evangelical) vibe when we'd have them on while I was babysitting their kids.

[profnicsnort]

Yeah, I mean they very generically Christian I would say. Which is going to be more Protestant for sure. I feel like they were going for mass appeal to all Christians.

I definitely remember some "just have faith/believe" type language. But my dad is a super staunch Catholic (like goes to adoration every Thursday at 4 am, has his watch set to beep at 3pm for the hour of sacrifice, does the sign of the cross when passing a Catholic church, always listens to Catholic Radio in the car, etc.), so if Veggietales were too against/unaligned with Catholic teachings he definitely wouldn't have let me watch them.

[victusinveritas]

All of this is correct. Veggie Tales is Evangelical propaganda, the Catholic faithful can just watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Gargoyles.

Christofascist propaganda for kids.

[profnicsnort]

I think it just depends on the parents. I was raised Catholic and had a fair number of Veggietales VHS. However, I do think those original ones had less evangelical messaging than later ones. I think the Super Larry movie was the last one my parents got me and my sister.

But I have to say compared to most Christian kids shows I've found out about (and watched in morbid curiosity) since Veggietales is one of the best out there. It does actually have good jokes, songs, and acting.

Especially compared to Bibleman...

and Psalty the Psalm Book...

[victusinveritas]

This is a stunning figure with a telling loss rate.

[profnicsnort]

While Laila is out taking her "walk" Willa finishes up her performance with a special song for Pietro. The warm fuzzy feelings are ruined by the reminder of politics and Pietro finally finding out just who Willa's father is.

Chapters: 27/? Fandom: X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men Evolution (Cartoon) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Pietro Maximoff/Original Female Character(s), Azazel/Original Female Character(s), Erik Lennsherr/Original Female Character(s) Characters: Pietro Maximoff, Quicksilver (X-Men), Azazel (X-Men), Magneto (X-Men), Erik Lehnsherr, Original Mutant Characters (X-Men) Additional Tags: Multiple Pairings, two different OCs, Romance, Slow Burn, Brotherhood of Mutants (X-Men), Politics, American Politics, religious trauma, Islamophobia, Muslim Character, Catholic Guilt, Female Friendship, Childhood Trauma, Mutant Rights, Mutants are a metaphor for minorities, Eventual Sex, Canon-Typical Violence, First Love, Radicalization, Terrorism, Systemic Oppression, Explosions, Praise Kink, Oral Sex, Masturbation Summary:

Willa Novak and Laila Nejem were a peculiar pair: an ex-Catholic and a conflicted Muslim, a sexy punk and a modest hijabi, a horrible disappointment and the perfect daughter; they were both mutants and the best of friends. Together, they owned The Purple Moon, an Arab-Southern-Fusion jazz club that could only be found in New York City. Yet, the two had a secret - underneath their club was an illegal mutant fighting ring. As Gravity and Badra, they were shrewd businesswomen ready to do whatever it takes to protect themselves and their club. That readiness is put to the test when Quicksilver and Azazel of the Brotherhood of Mutants show up to investigate their fight club. But even when the Brotherhood determines that their club isn't exploiting mutants, the pair continues to show up at the Purple Moon. What could they want of these business owners? And why do the women start to look forward to each visit?

Willa and Laila's lives have been steady and calm for years, but with the Brotherhood involved in their club and anti-mutant hate growing, the tides are about to change.

Pairings: Pietro/OC (Willa), Azazel/OC (Laila)/Magneto

[cocklessboy]

The other day I told a friend of mine that I never forget to take my ADHD meds because I fucking love my ADHD meds. I'm in my late 30s, I didn't finally get a diagnosis and meds until less than two years ago, and they have changed my entire life.

And he raised his eyebrow at me. We'd been discussing addictive medications a few minutes before, like the Tramadol I finally got from the pain specialist to take once a week or so to give me a break from my chronic pain, so I reassured him that methylpenidate (Ritalin/Concerta) is not addictive (at least not in people with ADHD).

His response? To raise his eyebrow even harder and say "Well it sure SOUNDS like it's addictive!"

And I had to explain to this man - who works in a healthcare related job by the way - that just because medication makes you feel good and helps you, just because you look forward to taking it, that doesn't make it addictive or dangerous. And he wasn't convinced.

The simple fact that I was excited to take a daily pill that has literally changed my life, after decades of fighting to get that medication, made him think I shouldn't be taking it so often. That it must inherently be dangerous.

I'm not even in America, but I'm pretty sure this attitude began there and then spread over here to Europe. This Puritan idea of "if something feels good, you must beware of it. Pleasure is dangerous, it is sinful, it is addiction, it is evil."

I know too many people who subconsciously believe that pleasure = addictive = dangerous = bad. Joy is a slippery slope to hell.

So here is your reminder for today that you don't need to be afraid of feeling good. If something improves your life, use it. Even if it is addictive - learn what that addiction means, whether the addiction is inherently dangerous or not, and whether the benefits outweigh the drawbacks and risks.

My ADHD meds are, in fact, not addictive. But I will take them every day because they make my life orders of magnitude easier. I will enjoy them every time I take them.

My tramadol is addictive. I will still take it. I will keep it on a schedule to avoid becoming addicted, primarily because addiction in this case would mean reduced effectiveness. But I am not afraid of my painkillers. They are life changing.

Take your meds, everyone. Don't let anyone scare you away from doing something that improves your life.