Supernatural fiction

Oneshots, chapter stories, podcasts, reblogging cool metas, pictures and GIFs. I'm Rainy, this is my refuge. No hate on cast, characters, ships, religion, sexuality, or anything else here. Critical thinking and constructive criticism, however, are always welcome.

[annesmiless]

Some eaiser variations of push ups to help you build the strength to do a traditional one!

[moniquill]

I don’t generally reblog ‘fitness’ stuff but gaddamn could I use some more arm strength.

[the-goddamazon-deactivingsoon-d]

Push-ups are my worst nightmare. I can only do 44 before I pass out on the floor.

[maxxiegalaxy-deactivated2022032]

“I can only do 44” hahaha omg I can’t even do one.

[o-lascaux-o]

yes good

I was always frustrated how my P.E. teachers wanted all of us to go “all-or-none” and basically hurt ourselves without letting us build up from square-one like in the first gif.  Then they’d fuckin yell at us for not doing it right >:|

Knee-pushups is not square-one.

[arkilliandragon]

When I got my first personal trainer, she had me doing push ups almost standing upright in the weight lifting bars so that I could do 15 reps and 3 sets of them. It’s more about the technique of the push up, and if you’re pushing too much weight, you can’t exersize the correct muscles within their tolerances. This post is pretty important tto know cause of that.

[jhameia]

I was introduced to the knee push-up last year and it was such a fucking game changer. I had NO idea it was possible to work those same muscles just with a slight variation in position. 

[personal-scientist]

I wanna just verify that these are excellent for building strength, both as someone who took weights class in high school with a good teacher, and as someone who’s had a lifetime of physical therapy (not for my arms specifically, but I’ve spent a lot of time in sports medicine centers). And again, if the vertical one in the first gif is difficult, you don’t even have to lean into it like that. Start standing, and only lean as much as it takes you to lower towards the wall.

And remember, many exercises can be modified in this way! I did an image search for “modified pull up” and got exactly what I was looking for right away, which is this:

Doing pull ups on a lower bar, or from the straps with handles that gyms sometimes have (called the TRX - they can also be used to support yourself during squats and some balance exercises) is a lot easier than jumping straight into vertical pullups, and lets you build up that muscle with exercises that are still comfortable and safe for you, so you can do more sets of more reps.

As a general rule, always start with lower-strain exercises and practice good form before you work your way up. You don’t want to have to unlearn bad habits that could lead to injury later as the difficulty increases.

[jecook]

@imfemalewarrior I’m assuming you’ve seen this post but in case you haven’t—it seems like your kind of thing

[imfemalewarrior]

Here are push up and pull up progressions! 

-FemaleWarrior, She/They 

[peppervl]

Because I have serious issues with core strength and cannot do a sit up or a crunch without using muscles I shouldn’t and hurting myself, I looked up core exercises for beginners (because modified sit ups just have me ways to make it harder), and here’s what I found.

All from here, which also includes sit ups with the idea that you start up and don’t go all the way down.

[rosslynpaladin]

This stuff on the bottom is some of the stuff I do for physical therapy, can vouch for it

[crewdlydrawn-deactivated2022072]

Having done a few stints with PT myself, over the years, I can definitely vouch for that last set as ones I’ve incorporated into 2020 as “couch potato workout” to help get my core to recover from being out of work and less active. 👌

[rainygalaxynerd]

Reblogging so I can find this if I ever find the energy and motivation to do a light exercise routine every day.

[comingoutofthecauldron]

stop telling your teenage daughters who say they don't want kids that they'll change their mind

[weirdqueeraltkid-deactivated202]

reblog the shit outta this

[morriganwarrior]

I haven't been a teenager in over a decade. Mind has yet to change on the subject.

At 14, I told my guidance counselor that I didn't want kids. He chuckled, patted me on the back, and informed me that when I got a little older, and I was with a guy, I would change my mind.

At 16, my grandmother nearly had a heart attack because of her three granddaughters, myself and the youngest agreed we didn't want to uave babies. Ever.

At 17, my father asked about my life plan. I told him: graduate high school, get my college degree, do some traveling and writing, go for this particular job I wanted, retired around X age, take month-long vacations to places I wanted to spend time in, etc. He asked, "What about a husband? Children? Normal things a girl is supposed to think about?" My response- a husband if a man came along that could share an adventure with me, kids were a No Go. He assured me I would 'grow up' qnd change my mind.

At 19, I shocked my former babysitter who had known me since I was a toddler, when I confirmed the rumour she'd heard that I didn't want kids. She patted my mom's arm and reassured her in a sweet voice that, "Don't worry, girls say a lot of silly things before they meet the right fella, and wise up. She'll give you grand babies"

At 22, I was talking to a college professor who chuckled at my making a comment about how, "thank goodness I'm never going to have to worry about juggling child rearing eith marriage, work, and life", then she realized I was serious. She asked if I was alright, thinking I could-not (not didn't-want) kids. I told her the truth, could have but didn't want to. She was aghast, then told me that I'd change my mind when my husband wanted some kids.

Well, I'm over 30, still have absolutely no desire to give birth, adopt, raise, or have much of anything to do with children. I don't hate children, I don't think people who have them are crazy (more power to you, to create and/or care for another person), and I don't think it's impossible to have a life AND have children. I recognized at an early age that I don't have that biological imperative to procreate, I don't have the patience to deal with children (something that has shown very little improvement as I've gotten older, in fact it might be getting worse), and I don't feel my life is incomplete without creating another life- I am good with living my own and doing my best to enrich the lives of those I care about (I try my best to be a good friend, to be a good sister, good daughter, good pet-owner, and a good person in general).

So please, please stop telling girls (or really kids at all, but especially girls) that they will change their minds. Please don't tell them that meeting 'the right guy' will make them suddenly feel broody, that their potential future husband's desire to have children will make her reconsider and see things his way. For one, a couple should have had that conversation and decided if it was a deal breaker, LONG before they got hitched. For another, it's her body that gets to grow and birth another human being- her husband's desire to be a father doesn't supercede her autonomy.

Please, let girls make their own choices? Girls are forced to mature too fast as it is and are bombarded from all sides with SHOULD (you SHOULD be a size 2, you SHOULD wear this dress, you SHOULD have a boyfriend to be a normal teen, you SHOULD always smile), they don't need another judgement from someone who hasn't walked a mile in their particular shoes. Respect teenage girls and their ability to look at the world, themselves, their situation, and their future, and make an important choice.

*gets off soap box, slides it back under the sofa, lets out a sigh*

Thanks for attending my TED talk. G'night.

[rainygalaxynerd]

So much all of this.

I have a wonderful daughter, currently 9 years old, with autism and ADHD. Even if I WAS the kind of person that would say 'you'll change your mind' I obviously would be telling her 'you shouldn't have kids, you'll be having enough trouble as it is'.

Well, I don't tell her that either. When talking about her future, dreaming/planning her life, my daughter doesn't want to be pregnant and give birth but she DOES want to give love and care to children and plans to adopt.

In our country she will not be allowed to adopt kids considering her diagnosis. Also, she will most likely need at least a service dog to be able to live on her own.

I don't tell her she can't adopt. Maybe she'll change her mind, maybe the rules will change, maybe friends of hers will have kids and be happy to let her babysit often. Maybe that'll require me to be around to take care of unforseen troubles and if so I will absolutely be there.

It's not my place to crush her plans for the future based on current facts.

Also, she doesn't want a boyfriend/girlfriend; maybe just someone to smooch with on occasion.😂 <3

Whatever happens in the future I'll support it and as long as she's happy with her life, so am I.

[what-even-is-thiss]

So I do wonder how many children growing up during this pandemic are going to end up with like six thousand allergies.

[what-even-is-thiss]

My mom was a severe germophobe and it got worse as she got older and she got my dad into the habit of sanitizing everything. So when I was a baby I was allowed to hang out in dust and eat dirt and lick the cats back or whatever like a normal baby but my brother, who was born six years of germaphobia later, was constantly cleaned and living in a sanitized house.

I developed a slight allergy to bananas in my early 20s. That’s it. My brother as soon as he started eating was allergic to wheat, milk, every kind of nuts, bananas, avocados, peas, peanuts, and most kinds of beans.

After my mom died my dad kept up the sanitizing and my brother’s allergies seemed to keep getting worse. He ended up going to an allergist about it and she basically told him “Stop sanitizing everything and let him play in dirt.”

So we stopped sanitizing everything and my brother was let loose on the backyard were of course he did toddler stuff like eat dirt and chase butterflies.

Nowadays, he’s only allergic to nuts, peanuts, and bananas. And that’s not just a result of him growing up. His allergies started dropping off one by one months after he was allowed to get dirty and we stopped sanitizing everything.

[what-even-is-thiss]

When children grow up in a sanitized environment their immune systems find other things to fight. We’ve already got people saying that they’re gonna keep sanitizing their homes and their hands constantly even after the pandemic is over.

I’m not a doctor. I’m just repeating things that my brother’s doctors have told us.

Don’t sanitize everything forever. Let your kids play in the dirt and hang out with your dog. It’s good for them. Don’t turn your home into a bacteria-free hellscape. It’s bad for you.

[rainygalaxynerd]

My youngest is the only one of my kids that has allergies and our home has been in the lower end of pretty normal standards of cleaning always. 

He’s also the only one of my kids that I managed to breastfeed an entire year as WHO recommends.

Still, he’s the one with the asthma and allergies.

So I know there’s statistics and stuff that basically confirms this original post. That means, it probably has some truth to it.

But just, if your kid has allergies, don’t feel guilty. Don’t think you caused it. Because really, most of the time, allergies just happen, in my totally anecdotal experience.

[thepriexperience]

Only available on AO3. Do not repost to other sites. 

| Under the Hood; Into the Heart | a love story of motor oil and telepathy

Dean loves the Impala. And she- She loves him. When Baby unexpectedly turns human, that love will change into something neither ever planned for.

| The Hunters’ Rose | a love story of second chances and changes

Becky Rosen learned her lesson after almost selling her soul to a demon and has spent the last three years helping hunters do their job, even if she’s stuck to the sidelines. When Sam Winchester shows up on her front porch with his sick brother, they’ll both realize how much they’ve changed.

| Beyond the Steel | a love story of innocence and desire

Dean is losing himself to the Mark, and he needs Pala more than ever. A run-in with a genie and an unspoken wish leads to the unexpected.

| Into the Shallows | a love story of loose ends and fears to be faced

Becky lost a good friend and nearly lost her life because a man died on her watch. It’s time to tie up loose ends. Will Becky face her fears, or will she drown?

| Suffer the Brand | a love story of influence and devotion

Dean searches for his wife, Pala, as she cuts a path of destruction across the country.

[thepriexperience]

Under the Hood turns 6 today! Happy Birthday to our baby, @anne-jo-madeline. Thank you, @hot-topical-castiel, @rizlowwritessortof and @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid for sticking with me to the bitter end. ❤

[rainygalaxynerd]

Under the hood was one of the most captivating SPN fics I’ve ever read.

I’m going to go read it again now, and it’s younger siblings!

[rainygalaxynerd]

Re-activating this account. Maybe.

Or whatever you want to call it.

I’ve been away forever. For years.

I’ve already told you guys that my husband had a stroke. 

Then my youngest got diagnosed with ASD.

This is him, 7 years old gamer nerd. 

Then my middle kid started an anxiety trip, and couldn’t handle going to school. Took us 2½ years to get her to the right doctors. She was diagnosed with ASD and ADHD.

We’re still struggling to find a school that she can handle going to. She is currently on sick leave, because she gets actual fucking blackouts when trying to learn something from traditional school work.

Let her sit at her computer and watch gacha life videos and play Minecraft, though... She reads English words up to 7 letters easily even if she can barely spell her own name or write ‘hello’ in her native tongue. (It’s a three letter word).

This is her during the Summer holiday when school wasn’t a thing.

Anyway, hubby has not been recovering from his stroke very well. He still needs lots of sleep every day, and he has a lot of tics. So many, in fact, that he dubbed his tic “Giles” after Giles Tourettes. So on the positive side, he’s always good for a laugh. 

On the flip side, he might yell ‘DIIIIIIIIICK’ completely unmotivated in front of the kids. They’re used to it by now, so at age 7 and 9, they pretty much ignore it. I’m worried they’ll be missing out on all the fun when their peers reach the ‘diiiiiiick’ stage of puberty.

We’ve been wondering about husband’s lack of recovery and he has recently been diagnosed with ADD. Meds are actually working and he is getting better. I kind of miss Giles, though. We might get more stuff done in a day but we laugh less :)

This is hubby wearing a lazy dragon T-shirt and our two bearded dragons.

I was diagnosed with ADHD about 4 years ago, so by now we ALL have either ADD/ADHD or ASD. Husband probably has ASD as well, we’ll know in a few months. I’m seeing a psychiatrist (online, yay pandemic) to find out if I have ASD too. After all, I feel right at home in my home and all the strategies that we use to help the kids are helping me too.

Anyway, as you can imagine, all of this has changed my special interest (if I’m allowed to use that term without being diagnosed with ASD yet) from SPN to developmental disorders and to spread awareness and knowledge of ADD/ADHD and ASD in society. 

I’m trying to change the world to be more welcoming and friendly to neurodiversity so my children won’t feel weird in a bad way when they grow up.

I wish I could still write SPN fanfiction because I remember being in the zone and really loved doing it. But I’m not sure I can get back to that state of mind.

Anyway, I’ll try to spend a little time in here every day for a few weeks and see if I can rekindle the passion.

I’ve missed you guys a bunch and I can’t wait to see what you’re working on right now :)

Love

/rainy

[rainygalaxynerd]

I know it seems like I’ve left y’all high and dry. I’m so sorry, guys.

I don’t know when I’ll return.

My husband had a minor stroke and things are crazy. He’ll be okay again someday, but for now, I’m working double to keep things together.

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones <3

[littlegreenplasticsoldier]

4K Celebration Masterlist

Drabbles and ficlets ahoy for the lead up to 4K followers for me!  Thank you to everyone who happened to see the flag go up - I didn’t tag anyone coz I was scared of having too many to turn down.  I said 10-tops at the start and ended up doing 16 19!! 

The prompts were awesome!! I loved it!!  I loved them!!

Thank you everyone for following and enjoying my stuff.  It’s so appreciated!

It was too much fun so, if all you want is a drabble, send me an ask and I’ll let you know if it’s a goer, but otherwise no proper oneshots due to the Next Big Thing - a series using the plot of The Princess Bride with spn characters and verse, centered around Sam.  Chapter 1 is here.

Keep reading

[littlegreenplasticsoldier]

OKAAAY So I missed a few and have updated the list.  This time I’m actually tagging my folks, seeing as I didn’t hound you all with every ask I got.  Please ignore if you’re someone who’s ever so kindly indulged me with your reading time - you really have made it all worthwhile.  I’m so glad I did it!

Keep reading

[rainygalaxynerd]

This signifies a temporary return to the tumblr pit for me. <3

[rainygalaxynerd]

Do you have a tag list for Kiss and Tell? If so, I'd love to be on it! It's a great story and I can't wait for more!

I promise I’ll tag you. If all goes well, the final parts should come out sometime at the end of this week. It’s been sitting untouched in my WIP folder for a year, so I’m really happy that you wrote this week. 

My family is out of town and I’ve made a very specific to-do list to get some old stories done, while there’s peace and quiet.

Seriously, if anyone out there is like me, having trouble getting things done (not just writing, everything) and love lists and crossing things off their lists, the app ‘Remember the Milk’ which can be found in Google’s app-store (not a Google product) is worth getting addicted to.

This week I have to clean the house and do a lot of sorting as well as plan and get all necessary ingredients and equipment for this weekends children’s birthday and treasure hunt AND I desperately wanted to finish some forever-WIPs. I can use a paper to-do-list for one day only and then it somehow disappears during the night. When writing a day-list I tend to overlook things that are important in the big picture.

That app, though... Yeah. If you’re like me, you should try it. It’s for free. I mean, there’s a pro edition with some extra features, but it works great even when you’re Scrooge McDuck. (Or too concerned about eating to buy software).

Okay, rant over. Thank you so much for your message, I’m thrilled that you want more, and even more thrilled that I’ll be giving you more, and soon. <3

[rainygalaxynerd]

Peggy Sue grew up and the fat girl...

You expect me to say the fat girl got skinny, right? Well, okay, spoiler alert, she did, at some point. But something else happened first, something much more interesting.

The fat girl amped up her skepticism of society’s expectations of her and told the world to go fuck itself. She read the books she loved, she wrote the words she meant, and she cared for the people that cared right back. 

She made up vast numbers of characters and put them through heaven and hell to help them develop and reach their goals. She lived lifetimes inside her head in the space of a decade or two, that way.

She didn’t use make-up. What for? Whom for? She didn’t shave her legs and armpits. Hell, she didn’t use moisturizer because her skin didn’t itch or peel either way, so why bother?

Eventually, one thing didn’t hold true anymore. Dry, itchy skin forced her to buy a lotion. To rub it on her bulging thighs and her stomach’s wobbly fat-sack. It felt strange. Part of her wanted to pull and scratch, tear off these excess parts of her, she’d been told to abhor since childhood. Part of her marveled in the sensations. This is me, this is my hands and this is my body, meeting at last.

Through weeks of daily lotion-spreading, the fat girl thought nice things to herself. About herself. She looked in the mirror and smiled at herself. I’m okay. I really, really am okay. Not just because I have to be, despite society’s conventional beauty standards. Simply because I AM okay. Fucking fine.

She reveled in the relief, the pure energy that came from being content, happy in her own skin. Her smiles at her mirror-self widened. I am enough. I am good. I deserve to feel this way. I deserve to be the best me I can be; not in six months and three sizes smaller but right fucking now.

The fat girl bought new clothes. Not a fun and relaxing experience, but a struggle to stay positive through shop after shop of ‘nothing-in-your-size’ and ‘lots-of-big-circus-tent-colored-tents-to-hide-yourself-behind’. She persevered, finding a pair of nice jeans here and a dress accentuating her best curves there.

For months, she only wore her new clothes in the privacy of her home, enjoying the way she’d be surprised by them when looking in the mirror. Holy shit, that’s me. How can I look so good?

She started contemplating wearing them for work, for grocery shopping, for café visits with friends. She could almost hear the comments inside her head. “Did you lose weight?” “Those colors are so vivid. They really make you stand out.” All implying that she should lose more weight (she hadn’t actually weighed herself the past year) and that she should wear dark, discrete colors instead of drawing attention to herself. 

The day came when she said “Fuck it,” and just went out there, being her fabulous self in one of her fabulous outfits. And the remarks did come, and she didn’t listen. “I wouldn’t know, but I don’t think I have.” “I love it, I had to buy it. It just screams ‘happy’, don’t you think?”

The fuzz died down quickly as people got used to her new style. But the fat girl still smiled every day at herself in the mirror. She winked at herself and gave double thumbs up. “Still looking awesome.” She grinned to the mirror and kept her head up high when leaving home.

Hey... Are you still reading and waiting for her to get skinny? Don’t hold your breath. It’s not part of this story. Just pay her a compliment when you see her, okay? It’s not fair she has to make them all herself, all the time, even if she’s strong and stubborn enough to do it.

[aurevoir-mes-amis-deactivated20]

petition to rename the usa ‘south canada’

[mellowminty]

what about alaska

are we then normal canada

[saahs]

canada a bit to the left

[officialvatican]

[conflagreat]

What about South America? Is that just America? Or South South Canada?

[starshipenterprisee-blog]

[danyinfj]

[te-odora]

i cried my ass of laughing

[plonts]

[prinxessleia-deactivated2016032]

WARM CANADA

i caN’T BREATHE OH MY GOD

[hypnomega]

I’m not even from Canada but I approve this change of names

[pebbles5ever]

[sigmatique-deactivated20170313]

M ILKY E H

[bnhoe]

IT HAS RETURNED

[gigglygamer]

FOUND IT

[transmadamegiry-remade-deactiva]

IT IS AN HONOUR TO HAVE THIS GRACE MY DASH

[transmadamegiry-remade-deactiva]

reblogging from myself bc i found this when scrolling through my blog

[not-used-to-being-normal]

Reblogging again because this is too god for not reblog

[tyrannosarcophagous]

this is one of the few posts you have to reblog or else you’ll never see it in a million years besides screenshots

[rainygalaxynerd]

How many notes must this post get to effectively enable Canada to take over the world? I feel like Canada is the only country in the entire world (perhaps barring Bhutan) whose government isn’t a corrupt bunch of secret billionaires lining their pockets. Can’t we at least be allowed to apply for honorary Canadian Citizenship if we agree with Canadian values?

[curling-up-like-smoke]

As a fat person who is rarely ever complimented for my physical looks (aside from acceptable compliments for fat people), it drives me absolutely fucking bonkers when conventionally attractive people fish for compliments from me. They’ve got a whole society that worships their body type and tells them that they’re inherently amazing, just for being born with a good metabolism and no hormonal (or other specific health) issues. But they’re gonna come to me and tell me how they don’t look good, or they feel ugly, or no one loves them, and I’m supposed to make them feel better. I just want to tell them to open a fucking magazine, or turn on the tv. You’ll get to see virtually every person there looking similar to you. I didn’t see a positive role model (ie. not the butt of fat jokes) that was beautiful and funny and successful and that never had their body questioned and who looked like me till I saw Melissa McCarthy in The Heat (came out in 2013, fyi). I’ve never seen clothing models built like me till last week when I found the GRRRL clothing line (plus size models for most fashion companies are acceptable fat, ie. big boobs and ass, barely a stomach, thick but not too thick legs). As a kid, I never dreamed of being a princess because the only people who looked like me in Disney films were evil, or side characters who took care of the princess. If conventionally attractive people are looking for a partner, they don’t have to worry about being fetishized, they can be loved for themselves, and their partner won’t be questioned as to HOW or WHY they can love them. Their relationship will not have to be justified or explained, they will not face questions of “so… Like, [the fat partner] is never on top, right?” or “doesn’t it kinda ruin the sex when you can’t just move [the fat partner] around?”. They won’t be the running joke among their friends. If both partners are fat, they get even more wonderful bullshit to deal with. When dating, conventionally attractive people won’t be accused of lying or misrepresenting themselves if they don’t post a full body picture and show up to a date fatter than what the date anticipated. Their bodies do not need to come with disclaimers. I can count the number of times my former partners told me I’m beautiful without a “but” following it (3. With a “but” following it; 5). I remember almost every compliment given to me by friends that was explicitly about my physical appearence and that didn’t skirt around me being fat (there’s acceptable ways to compliment a fat person. Ie. You have a nice face/personality, that clothing is slimming on you, you look healthy, etc. I’m tempted to include cute, but I’m on the fence about that one) I’m tired of being the bastion of self love, confidence, and body positivity for people whose only barrier in the way of their own self love and confidence is themselves. I didn’t have anyone to push me to this point where I can love myself and others completely, regardless of size. The only reason I am the way I am is because I’ve made myself this way, facing a society that’s continuously told me it’s wrong to be happy and love myself as I am.

[thisisthinprivilege]

Thin privilege is a huge source of social capital for many people. Some people come to depend on it, so much that they’ll go begging to people with no thin privilege for it. 

A lot of effort can go into building your whole identity around looking thin enough to be 1) employable 2) dateable 3) medically treatable 4) some hipster’s muse. If tomorrow people stopped responding to social capital begging in the name of thin privilege then the value of that capital would drop and suddenly all that effort would be for nothing. 

People whose thinness is a major reason they were employed or had their pick of romantic/fucking partners or were able to get the surgery they needed know, at some level, the value of thinness in their lives. That’s why you’re not going to find the vast majority of thin people doing any true work to devalue thin privilege. If anything, they’ll do a bunch of things that strengthen or maintain the value of thin privilege, whether they are engaging in those behaviors knowingly or not. Including horribly rude things like begging for thin privilege social capital from people who don’t have access to that social capital.

-ATL 

[wincestshippingtrash]

I can so relate to this. Until I got into my 50′s and thus became invisible, I would get the “you’d be pretty if you’d just lose some weight” or “you have a pretty face, but..” compliments-which-aren’t-really compliments. 

I also want to throttle every thin person who has ever done the “ugh I’m so faaaaaaaat” bit in the presence of me, an actual fat person. When I was younger, this upset me. Now it just irritates me. How fucking clueless can you be? What the fuck do you want me to say to you?

I’ve also come to the point where I just plain don’t like or trust physical appearance based compliments. If you like what I’m wearing, fine. If you include the word “slimming” in your assessment of my attire, I may well tie you into a pretzel shape and feed you to sharks. Fuck “slimming” and fuck “flattering” as well.

If someone (usually a guy who thinks I’m desperate and will give him the time of day and also sex) tells me I’m “beautiful,” my reply these days is usually “yeah tell me something I don’t know.” In truth, I don’t think I’m beautiful. On good days I think I’m about average. On bad days I think I’m a hideous monster. However, “beautiful” doesn’t mean jack shit to me. Compliment me on my work ethic, my creativity, my determination–anything but my looks. I don’t trust or appreciate appearance based compliments. It’s who we are, not what we look like that matters.

[rainygalaxynerd]

I hear you, ladies. Also, this, about daring to live in the here and now when fat:

https://www.facebook.com/sofiehagen.komiker/posts/1335976266510723

Favorite quotes: 

“ You are not allowed to live in the present when you are fat. You have to be constantly preparing for the future, in which you are hopefully thin.”  “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. Not even being alive.” 

[fozmeadows]

on fanfic & emotional continuity

Writing and reading fanfic is a masterclass in characterisation. 

Consider: in order to successfully write two different “versions” of the same character - let alone ten, or fifty, or a hundred - you have to make an informed judgement about their core personality traits, distinguishing between the results of nature and nurture, and decide how best to replicate those conditions in a new narrative context. The character you produce has to be recognisably congruent with the canonical version, yet distinct enough to fit within a different - perhaps wildly so - story. And you physically can’t accomplish this if the character in question is poorly understood, or viewed as a stereotype, or one-dimensional. Yes, you can still produce the fic, but chances are, if your interest in or knowledge of the character(s) is that shallow, you’re not going to bother in the first place. 

Because ficwriters care about nuance, and they especially care about continuity - not just literal continuity, in the sense of corroborating established facts, but the far more important (and yet more frequently neglected) emotional continuity. Too often in film and TV canons in particular, emotional continuity is mistakenly viewed as a synonym for static characterisation, and therefore held anathema: if the character(s) don’t change, then where’s the story? But emotional continuity isn’t anti-change; it’s pro-context. It means showing how the character gets from Point A to Point B as an actual journey, not just dumping them in a new location and yelling Because Reasons! while moving on to the next development. Emotional continuity requires a close reading, not just of the letter of the canon, but its spirit - the beats between the dialogue; the implications never overtly stated, but which must logically occur off-screen. As such, emotional continuity is often the first casualty of canonical forward momentum: when each new TV season demands the creation of a new challenge for the protagonists, regardless of where and how we left them last, then dealing with the consequences of what’s already happened is automatically put on the backburner.

Fanfic does not do this. 

Fanfic embraces the gaps in the narrative, the gracenotes in characterisation that the original story glosses, forgets or simply doesn’t find time for. That’s not all it does, of course, but in the context of learning how to write characters, it’s vital, because it teaches ficwriters - and fic readers - the difference between rich and cardboard characters. A rich character is one whose original incarnation is detailed enough that, in order to put them in fanfic, the writer has to consider which elements of their personality are integral to their existence, which clash irreparably with the new setting, and which can be modified to fit, to say nothing of how this adapted version works with other similarly adapted characters. A cardboard character, by contrast, boasts so few original or distinct attributes that the ficwriter has to invent them almost out of whole cloth. Note, please, that attributes are not necessarily synonymous with details in this context: we might know a character’s favourite song and their number of siblings, but if this information gives us no actual insight into them as a person, then it’s only window-dressing. By the same token, we might know very few concrete facts about a character, but still have an incredibly well-developed sense of their personhood on the basis of their actions. 

The fact that ficwriters en masse - or even the same ficwriter in different AUs - can produce multiple contradictory yet still fundamentally believable incarnations of the same person is a testament to their understanding of characterisation, emotional continuity and narrative. 

[earlgreytea68]

So I was reading this rumination on fanfic and I was thinking about something @involuntaryorange once talked to me about, about fanfic being its own genre, and something about this way of thinking really rocked my world? Because for a long time I have thought like a lawyer, and I have defined fanfiction as “fiction using characters that originated elsewhere,” or something like that. And now I feel like…fanfiction has nothing to do with using other people’s characters, it’s just a character-driven *genre* that is so character-driven that it can be more effective to use other people’s characters because then we can really get the impact of the storyteller’s message but I feel like it could also be not using other people’s characters, just a more character-driven story. Like, I feel like my original stuff–the novellas I have up on AO3, the draft I just finished–are probably really fanfiction, even though they’re original, because they’re hitting fanfic beats. And my frustration with getting original stuff published has been, all along, that I’m calling it a genre it really isn’t. 

And this is why many people who discover fic stop reading other stuff. Once you find the genre you prefer, you tend to read a lot in that genre. Some people love mysteries, some people love high-fantasy. Saying you love “fic” really means you love this character-driven genre. 

So when I hear people be dismissive of fic I used to think, Are they just not reading the good fic? Maybe I need to put the good fic in front of them? But I think it turns out that fanfiction is a genre that is so entirely character-focused that it actually feels weird and different, because most of our fiction is not that character-focused. 

It turns out, when I think about it, I am simply a character-based consumer of pop culture. I will read and watch almost anything but the stuff that’s going to stick with me is because I fall for a particular character. This is why once a show falters and disagrees with my view of the character, I can’t just, like, push past it, because the show *was* the character for me. 

Right now my big thing is the Juno Steel stories, and I know that they’re doing all this genre stuff and they have mysteries and there’s sci-fi and meanwhile I’m just like, “Okay, whatever, I don’t care about that, JUNO STEEL IS THE BEST AND I WANT TO JUST ROLL AROUND IN HIS SARCASTIC, HILARIOUS, EMOTIONALLY PINING HEAD.” That is the fanfiction-genre fan in me coming out. Someone looking for sci-fi might not care about that, but I’m the type of consumer (and I think most fic-people are) who will spend a week focusing on what one throwaway line might reveal about a character’s state of mind. That’s why so many fics *focus* on those one throwaway lines. That’s what we’re thinking about. 

And this is what makes coffee shop AUs so amazing. Like, you take some characters and you stick them in a coffee shop. That’s it. And yet I love every single one of them. Because the focus is entirely on the characters. There is no plot. The plot is they get coffee every day and fall in love. That’s the entire plot. And that’s the perfect fanfic plot. Fanfic plots are almost always like that. Almost always references to other things that clue you in to where the story is going. Think of “friends to lovers” or “enemies to lovers” or “fake relationship,” and you’re like, “Yes. I love those. Give me those,” and you know it’s going to be the same plot, but that’s okay, you’re not reading for the plot. It’s like that Tumblr post that goes around that’s like, “Me starting a fake relationship fic: Ooooh, do you think they’ll fall in love for real????” But you’re not reading for the suspense. Fic frees you up from having to spend effort thinking about the plot. Fic gives your brain space to focus entirely on the characters. And, especially in an age of plot-twist-heavy pop culture, that almost feels like a luxury. “Come in. Spend a little time in this character’s head. SPEND HOURS OF YOUR LIFE READING SO MANY STORIES ABOUT THIS CHARACTER’S HEAD. Until you know them like a friend. Until you know them so well that you miss them when you’re not hanging out with them.” 

When that is your story, when the characters become like your friends, it makes sense that you’re freed from plot. It’s like how many people don’t really have a “plot” to hanging out with their friends. There’s this huge obsession with plot, but lives don’t have plots. Lives just happen. We try to shape them into plots later, but that’s just this organizational fiction we’re imposing. Plot doesn’t have to be the raison d’etre of all story-telling, and fic reminds us of that. 

Idk, this was a lot of random rambling but I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. 

[jayankles]

Spread the Love - Your Favourites

Thank you to everyone who sent in their favourites, I know how difficult it is to choose just one story. (I ended up picking just over 60 fics myself, excluding the fics that I love that have been chosen below)

Some people may have submitted more than one of your stories so keep an eye out for those.

Some that have submitted have left a little comment, which I think is lovely. It would also be appreciated if one of you could tag those who I couldn’t so they get the recognition they deserve.

There have been some amazing stories that have been brought my way, so without further ado, below are only a few of the amazing fics that are out there.

Keep reading

[littlegreenplasticsoldier]

Wow this is an amazing list and I don’t know how anyone can pick a favourite (she says, having just picked one, sorta). 

My endless thanks to @feelmyroarrrr for being so wonderfully lovely, and so thoughtful in picking the Choose Your Own Supernatural Adventure series too.  They’re the best choice because I’m sure everyone who’s been involved in these is as proud of them as I am. They’re by these amazingly generous writers, who’ve made these collaborations far better than I ever hoped.

So, because I was slack in contributing, and to pay it forward, I’m going to nominate @rainygalaxynerd’s Brave New World series.  It’s an amazing OFC story, with a hella background and holy cow, just tight, elegant writing.

Thank you @jayankles for your time and generosity in running this list!

[rainygalaxynerd]

Sending Ali heart eyes  - it would be bad form to simply nominate you back, right? Because I totally would! Though I wouldn’t know how to choose between midwife Sam, voyeur Dean, familiar Dean/witch reader, and that fifteen-year marriage that never happened and turned into a slash fic about Sam and an OC firefighter <3

For the rest of you, look at this list. Look at it! SO MUCH GOOD STUFF! Did you look at it? Okay. Go look at @littlegreenplasticsoldier ‘s masterlist, then. No need to get bored :)

I’m in love with @the-pri-experience ‘s Under The Hood series but when I went looking for the masterlist, I found a post from her, explaining that she had taken it down to rework it to an original story. GO PRI! I’ll miss it for as long as it’s gone and I’ll keep a lookout for the new edition. I know you’ll rock it!

[rainygalaxynerd]

Update

I’ve left you all alone for way too long. Here’s a short update:

Life outside the screen is good. Writing is hard. Finding time to write is hard. I’m working on the 300 follower celebration stories but it’s very slow going. 

I’m also working on my first original story intended for publishing if I ever finish it and it doesn’t suck. Writing is hard. Finding time to write is hard. It’s slow going.

I miss you all but I do so enjoy having the energy to spend time with real people this Summer.

We just had a friend and her two kids over for four days. Her two-year-old soon started calling my husband “Dad.” That’s what happens if you have two moms :D

[rainygalaxynerd]

thank you so much !! i cant wait to read it :-)

<3

[rainygalaxynerd]

i want to read brave new world but im only on s7 of spn, would there be any spoilers ?

That depends on ow far in s7 you are :) If you haven’t watched until 7.10 do NOT read BNW or you’ll get a major spoiler. BNW starts after 7.12 Time After Time and the next five episodes are incorporated more or less loosely into the story (not everything happens the same way as in the show and one episode doesn’t happen at all because of the way things happen in BNW.) At some later point, a new character is introduced into the show and BNW both, but not much else happens the same way from there.So, I’d say to be sure to avoid spoilers, you should watch as far as 7.20 or alternatively 7.17. On the other hand, I think it would be kind of cool to read the story first, not knowing what is canon and what is my personal brand of crazy ;) Feel free to ask me if there’s anything else you’d like to know about the story. Remember that its theme is somewhat disturbing (yet sadly relevant) and if you’re likely to be triggered, use the warnings and please do take care of yourself; it’s okay to skip a chapter with heavy warnings and ask for a quick summary.  

[littlegreenplasticsoldier]

I'm pretty new to all of this so forgive me if this has already been asked but are there any angsty Dean/Reader fics laying around that just *get* to you? Goes without saying but your writing is beautiful and inspiring and just bloody lovely!

Oh man Nonny, I’ve been thinking about this so hard.  I’m realising I don’t read much angst.  And by angst I mean Everyone Dies Sad angst.  Angst on the way to bliss doesn’t seem to count with me.

I have three that come to mind and I’m sorry I don’t have more. 

So.  @ilostmyshoe-79 did an endverse series - And the devil makes three.  (Masterlist in this ask reblog.) I believe I called it a “glorious Destiel / DeanXreader endverse heart-hollowing requiem”. This stuck with me because it was based on a playlist I dropped at her feet like a needy cat (and that was demon’s blood dark - Nick Cave, QotSA, and Waits, ugh, so mean), and she made it beautiful and cold.  I still have that flavour in my mouth when I see it all in the list.  The main plot is that Dean lets himself take but he doesn’t let himself have.  Yay.  Everyone’s broken.

The I Keep on Fallin’ series was written by @deandoesthingstome and @mrsjohnsmith.  I will always be envious of their commitment and skill at sharing this series.  They’re perfectly matched to write together and it’s a gorgeous, wrenching Dean x reader story - it even pretends to have hope.  You know how the villains tell you how they’re going to kill you?  That, but you don’t escape this time.

Also @rainygalaxynerd‘s  Brave New World. This series finished a while ago and I still haven’t gathered the scrote to sit down and bash out an articulate description of what this fic did to me.  I’m rubbish at reading a series, but I craved this.  I read it at stupid hours, I pushed through the trigger warnings.  I loved what she did with the characters within the canon, and how she parried with the plot challenges she created.  She writes efficiently, tightly, so creatively and with a cracking - ugh god I’m clenching my jaw - her Dean, her fucking Dean is everything you want.  Caitlin, her OFC, is amazing and although the journey does end well, it is relentless and rough (like, for everyone.  No one goes back to square one. It’s perfect.)  Heed the warnings.  Sit back impressed.

Thank you for your lovely words Nonny!  I hope you anti-enjoy these exquisitely painful stories like I didn’t-did. lolsob!

[rainygalaxynerd]

Ali... Shit, Ali... 

I’ve just managed to put into words what praise like this does to me. Apart from the warmth, the blushing, the happiness, I get this other weird feeling. Like a deer in head lights. Paralyzed. Oh shit, someone’s seen my writing. Oh shit, oh shit, they actually liked it. Should I play dead or run in a zigzag pattern???

Still, thank you so much. I don’t think I could have finished the story without your faithful encouragement and your help.