Just a Flash in the Pan(sexual)

Lil (they/them). Writer, pseudo Angeleno, queer, enby. Sometimes I gif things.

[dimension20official]

If you start watching the finale of The Unsleeping City season 1, “Times Squaremageddon Part 2” (https://www.dropout.tv/dimension-20/season:3/videos/times-squaremageddon-pt-2), at exactly 10:35:39 PM, you can ring in the New Year at the same time as the Dream Team (and the puking guy from New Jersey)

[ambiguousdisorderken]

support graphic content creators, do you know how long it takes for photoshop to even open ?

[mattelektras]

that’s the way of the roma. it’s our lot.

[shesnake]

Point Break (1991) dir. Kathryn Bigelow

[swarmkeepers]

thinking about the tonal shifts each of the characters control in acoc and what their secondaries specifically brought/would have brought to the tone? some things change and some things stay the same (cumulous and lapin both maintained a strong hatred for the church; jet and saccharina both maintained a strong focus on the royal family) and while all the secondaries would have made the series darker, the ways in which they do so are so messy and narratively interesting!

if liam dies, the party turns towards connection. liam, for all he’s a part of the rocks family, is the outcast, the ward-but-really-a-hostage. he’s on the outside of his own family surrounded by his brothers, he’s on the outside of the royal family in castle candy, he’s on the outside of courtly discussions, he’s literally wandering far out into the woods alone. after he becomes a gloomstalker liam’s always racing ahead alone, scout and assassin and death coming in the night. liam looks outside himself and outside the party for answers, finding lapin in an otherworldly space. on the other hand, a world in which liam runs or dies and amanda maillard enters the party is one that instantly has to reckon with itself. amanda immediately loops caramelinda into the party in a more humanized way; amanda also complicates the dealings with calroy as a knight of house cruller. amanda is closed off to everyone outside and opens up to one person, inside. theo has to reckon with a rivalry with a very capable knight; the royals have to deal with the fact that cara and her lover aren’t so easy to villainize when they’re in the party. a party with amanda feels like one that might fast-track a lot of interparty tension but also in the end be a stronger one (there’s a lot of love in a story with amanda, i think). 

if theo dies, the party turns towards freedom. theo is all about control and arguably repression—he’s a fighter who acts like he’s bound by paladin oaths even though he literally isn’t! theo keeps his word, keeps his place at the side of the royal family, keeps his armor on and his guard up. theo uses titles like a shield and courtly courtesy like full plate. theo doesn’t let himself feel, sometimes doesn’t let himself think, doesn’t let himself shirk his oaths. he needs to remember an older set of orders from lazuli before he lets himself reconsider the orders he’s under here and now. but the bubblegum abomination is all about monstrousness and freedom. it is what it is and doesn’t give a damn if you disagree; it picks bits off its surroundings and becomes what it wants to be. a party grieving theo are going to be scared out of their minds—what can kill theobald gumbar? and who would want to? the bubblegum abomination tells them, you don’t need to fear anyone if you become the monster. so they do.

if amethar dies, the party turns toward escape. amethar, for all he wants to, can never escape. he’s trapped under the weight of a crown he didn’t want and didn’t ever expect to have. he’s trapped in castle candy when he’d rather be on the battlefield. he’s trapped by a friendship with a dying emperor and the demands of a comida that needs an emperor. he’s trapped in life itself, because the unfallen can’t seem to die. murdo briar could be the opposite of all that. he literally doesn’t have a solid shape, he’s an outlaw vigilante living by his own rules, he’s a necromancer who defies the laws of nature and death themselves. murdo is a wizard who looks at the weave of the world and the otherworldly and knows i can change that, if i try. a party without amethar is shaken, scared, angry, grieving, scarred. they look at the world that killed their king and wonder whether to fight or to flee. murdo will always say to run. 

if ruby dies, the party turns towards duty. ruby hates duty, or maybe it’s more that she barely gives it a thought. she’s the princess who doesn’t want to and doesn’t have to ever be queen. she’s the trickster, the child, the twin feeding into jet’s chaos and bouncing off the limits of royalty and magic and safety. but rococoa/bitternibs is all about duty, the crown princess turned general turned queen turned revenant. bitternibs above all has a mission she will carry through. if ruby dies at any point in the first nine episodes of acoc (episode 2 probably being the most likely), i don’t see a way the party doesn’t either turn on calroy instantly or split itself agonizingly over whether they have a stronger duty to the man who’s been at their side for years or to the throne and candia itself. it’s all duty and grimness and irrefutable truth of betrayal in the form of his oldest sister, half-alive, staring amethar in the face. there are no easy choices. there are no easy duties.

[andysambrg]

I am going to eat your soul and shit it out

JENNIFER’S BODY (2009) dir. Karyn Kusama

[stefansalvatored]

Gif Pack: Ki Hong Lee

By clicking the gif page in the source link below, you will find 177 textless gifs of Ki Honh Lee as Dan in Looks That Kill (2020). These gifs were not made by me, but by a friend who does not wish to host their gif packs on Tumblr. I am posting these on their behalf with their full permission because they wanted them to be available for roleplay use. The size of the gifs are all 245px in width and 168px in height (245x168), and below 3.0 MB. Please like or reblog if you found these gifs helpful! 

Trigger/Content Warnings: fighting, hand injury/bandages

Please: Do not repost or redistribute, claim as your own, or repost in a gif hunt. Thanks and enjoy!

[sixmonthsandgone]

”Everyone is an influencer. I think sometimes you forget that – for yourself, for your family and for the world. You can make a difference.” -Billy Jean King

[writingwithcolor]

Would a jewish or muslim person pray if they were in a dire, hopeless situation and thinking they were going to die? If so, what would they say?

Jewish and Muslim characters - what would they pray in a dire situation?

Jewish answer

“Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One / Blessed is God’s Glorious Name For Ever and Ever” (Shma Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad / Baruch Shem, K’vod Malchuto, L’Olam Va’ed) – this is the shema, there are plenty of times to say it and this is just one of them. My flippant way of describing it in my head is that if we’re mobile phones this is the way we ping the tower.

–Shira

Definitely agree it would be the Shema. 

The only exception I can think of is if it’s the time of day for ritualistic prayer (either shacharit, mincha or ma'ariv), they might prioritise that over reacting to the situation as an affirmation of their faith in face of death. There is no obligation to risk your/others’ lives in order to pray at the correct time, in fact this would be against Torah, but if the situations seems hopeless anyway then I can think of some stories of people saying ‘it’s time for *insert daily prayer*’ and proceeding to go through the relevant service with no obvious signs of fear. 

Similarly, you might want to research how to make sure your character’s attitude towards the situation is in line with their unique Jewish identity.

If they’re very religious, for example, they may have an easier time accepting this fate than the average person. Jewish theology involves a belief that everything ultimately comes from G-d and is therefore good. We do have a strong emphasis on protecting life as one of our main obligations in this world, but there is also an acceptance towards death as something that G-d created and so is ultimately for the good - the first thing we say on hearing that someone has passed away is 'Baruch Dayurn Ha'Emet’, 'Blessed is the True Judge.’

 Unlike Christianity, we don’t have a concept of the Devil as a being independent of G-d who is capable of introducing fundamentally bad things into the universe. This may or may not play out in your character’s thought process and decisions in the situation you’re describing, it depends on their relationship to Judaism and Jewish theology, so that’s something I recommend including in your research.

–Shoshi

As you can see, Shoshi and I have varying levels of knowledge about how much prayer belongs when, and that’s something to keep in mind – if your character is Reform they might sound more like my answer and if they’re Orthodox go with Shoshi’s – but that difference is only relevant at specific times of the day.

–Shira

Muslim answer - open to followers

The Muslim portion of this character is open to followers.

Muslim mods are not active at this time. We’ll be recruiting for more mods soon; Muslim writers, feel free to apply anytime! 

https://forms.gle/qywJmrwcZj3E28nh8

[evening-rose-309]

Southeast Asian Muslim here

Like all the replies before me have stated, the most likely thing to happen is your character recite the syahadat (“there is no other God than Allah, I testify that Muhammad SAW is his messenger” [rough translation from what my language translates it as]) over and over. We’re gonna need specifics for what sort of dire situation you’re in because, well, we have doas/prayers for just about everything under the sun.

Now, if you were about to die? Lots of teaching will tell you what to recite, but the one thing most people will urge their family members on their death beds is to recite the line: “laa ilaha illallah” which is the first half of the syahadat. If your body has gone stiff and you can do literally nothing else, this line is not only the most ‘practical’ (according to my teacher, I went to a school for this stuff) because it requires no other movement than the tongue and air for all the 'h’s, but it’s memorable and easily repeatable.

Again, the above is death bed level 'you are about to meet the angel of death oh look they’re right there’ stuff. If you’re on a sinking ship? About to crash into an asteroid? The other replies have mentioned repeating the syahadat; 'sujud’ which is bowing with your forehead, hands, and knees and tips of your toes flat on the ground 'kising’ it; ayat kursi, which is also good against malevolent spirits/entities and general protection against anything that might crawl into your dreams as you sleep; and dzikir, which are, like, three verses that all mention God in some way that most muslims recite after every one of our daily prayers/sholat. Those would be go-tos for most people, the Al-Fatihah verse as well because it’s one of the most used surahs in the Quran and is the first verse anyone teaches their children and is used in, well, basically everything.

Sorry if this isn’t as coherent (kinda hard to explain a few things because I’ve been taught them in my language and for some reason English tends to make harmless words in Indonesian sound evil or some shit, I don’t know, I hate it) or detailed as the others. I live in a fairly moderate household despite going to a Muslim boarding school, so my day to day has kinda diluted the more detailed things I’ve been taught(?) and so I’m kinda lax on a few things. Kinda sad that I tend to forget important bits when I’m at home, but I hope this helps.

[mrsq8geek]

This!  Adding that the general dua for any misfortune is “ina lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un” – which roughly translates as “we belong to God and to him we return”, here it is in the Quran if it helps.  Note that this dua is applicable for everything, from, say, you failed a test or didn’t get the job you want, to your parent just died or your country was invaded.

From the context, it sounds like there might be an offending party about to kill them?  If that’s the case, there are also many duas for tyranny and injustice.

[evening-rose-309]

I’m not familiar with the tyranny and injustice ones (either that or they slipped past me in school) but yeah innalilahi wa innailaihi raji'un is a pretty common one to use in harrowing situations or if you hear a person has recently passed. Another is 'anuzubillah min dzalik’ which is used mostly like a 'dear God no’ or 'please let that not happen to me’ sort of thing.

[writingwithcolor]

More Muslim Commentary

@cinnnamonrollstan said: A Muslim would probably recite the shahada/ testimony of faith. Which basically translates to: I testify that there is no God but God and Muhammad is his messenger.

@polarissdiary said: A Muslim would say the shahada (testimony of faith) and if they can, they would pray what we call two rak'at. Since we are closer to Allah with our foreheads on the floor, they would say any dua'a (supplication) in that position, from asking for forgivenes to asking for mercy. This in case there is no escape for them. If there is a chance to break free or save themselves, as Muslims they have the obligation to put they’re trust in Allah and at least try. Hope it helps 🖤

@bloomiii said: Hello! I am a practicing Muslim.

A Muslim character might definitely pray in a dire situation. It doesn’t have to be any specific prayer. This could be in any language and even just in your own thoughts.

If you want a character to recite something specific, they might recite a certain part of the Qur’an (one thing I often recite to myself when I am anxious is aayat al-kursi, which is a very holy part of the Qur’an, that you recite for protection) or a specific dua (thats the arabic word for prayer). There are duas for specific things, such as one dua to recite when traveling that Muslims might recite when driving.

Jewish Commentary

@beautifullights1  said: Some Jews, esp those who are less familiar with the traditional liturgy, less fluent in Hebrew, and/or from a progressive denomination, might pray in a more freeform way. For example, they might have a conversation with Gd or plead for Gd’s help in their own language.

@addiehour​ said: just wanted 2 say i’m orthodox & agree w shira!

Thanks for all the great answers, everyone!

[mattelektras]

marvel really said we are going to whitewash pietro maximoff twice in the same cinematic universe. and then they DID

[bettaesthetic]

I like

[mimzy-writing-online]

Writing a Blind or Visually Impaired Character

A Multi-Step Guide Written by a Visually Impaired Writer and Blogger

I’m hoping this blog will over time develop its own following, and when it does people will inevitably see my bio and notice what I included: I’m visually impaired.

Yes, a visually impaired writer, and I’ve written with two blind characters before so I have some practice in the field.

So, inevitably, someone is going to ask how to write a blind character.

Or, at least, I hope you’ll ask someone who’s actually blind or visually impaired about writing a blind character before you get too involved with your new WIP.

All parts will be tagged #blindcharacter in my blog, and I will add links to every post as I finish each part. Follow my blog for more writing advice.

Note, this post updates fairly often and old versions are still floating around out there. The most current version of this post is pinned to my blog with any new guides or links you might of missed.

As of 24 January 2021, this is the most extensive and screen reader friendly version of this post.

Part One: Crafting the Blind Character

In which I tell you how to begin making a blind character who is more than a cardboard cutout

Part Two: Narrative Choice, Visual Description, Verbal Description, Social Interaction

In which I give you a basic rundown on how to write from the perspective of a character who can’t see and still make the narration descriptive

Part Three: Tropes and Clichés to Avoid

Your blind readers will thank you for not being the 5000th person to do this and manage to actually finish your story. (Do you have any idea how many stories I’ve noped out of within two chapters because of these clichés? A Lot.)

-New- Part Four: Canes, Guide Dogs, and O&M

Everything I can tell you about 1) how to learn how to use a cane 2) how a cane works 3) how to describe what your character experiences with their cane 4) everything I know on guide dogs

Part Five: Small Aspects of being Blind You Never Thought Of

5 January 2021 Edit: This link has been fixed to correspond with the correct post

Or, really, very normal everyday things for blind people, the inclusion of which will make your characters more real and authentic. It’s the tiny details.

Part Six: Should You Cure Your Character’s Blindness? (Short Answer: No)

There’s no way to write a cure for your blind character that doesn’t make blind readers hate you. Sorry. We came here to finally experience a relatable character who experiences the world like us, but none of us are getting cured so seeing this character we learned to love become something alien from us in the end feels like a slap in the face

Why I’m Blind and What I See -NEW-

I thought I’d finally make a post explaining the complicated situation about my vision. Includes an explanation of visual snow and exotropia, two of the three causes for my vision issues.

Writing Blind Characters Falling in Love, an Advice Post:

Someone asked what being blind and falling in love have to do with each other. Honestly, blindness changes your perspective on everything and it makes an impact on every relationship you have. This includes some things that you definitely do not want your character’s love interest to be/do.

Writing Blind Jokes (Should You Do It?)

You know those flow charts of “should you do x?” going around? It’s like that, but screen reader friendly. Should you write blind jokes. It’s pretty complicated and there are a lot of possible scenarios and details to consider.

Advice for Writing Toph Beifong -NEW-

In this I discuss what I would like to see done in fanfiction with Toph’s character after ten years of reading Avatar the Last Airbender fanfiction

A small essay addressing the frequently asked question on giving your blind character a superpower to help them “see.”

It’s became a popular question, so to make the answer easier/faster for everyone to access, I wrote what will usually be my initial answer. Below there are a few links to some notable past questions on this subject.

Mourning My Vision, it’s More than Depression. 

A small personal essay addressing the nuances of the mourning period you experience with a new disability. The mourning period is mentioned in other guides, but this is more detailed.

Dealing with Heightened Senses, a video by Molly Burke with additional commentary by me

While Molly talks about the myths and truths about heightened senses, I talk about the correlation with blindness and neuro-divergency and how co-morbid disorders/disabilities might affect sensory processing.

Satirical Commentary on the phrase “that blank look in their eyes” used too often in fiction to identify a blind character

a:tla, I’m looking at you (and my eyes aren’t blank)

I Found a Lost Piece of Blindness History

My grandmother told me about her blind aunt and how she sent letters. It led me to speculate about all the O&M things people develop on their own but never get a chance to pass onto other blind people. Technology and techniques are lost in history and reinvented, including the white cane ad guide dogs.

Includes a little history on the introduction of guide dogs into the 20th century

The Following are Answered Anon Questions

Making Your Blog More Accessible

Making Links Accessible to Screen Readers

Reblogging to Add an Image Description to Someone Else’s Image

Why I Write Image Descriptions

Writing Blind Characters

Advice for a Character Who was Born Blind

Over-Protective Parents of a Blind Character, Why They’re Over-Protective and How to Avoid Crossing a Line

A Blind Character in Victorian Era Historical Fiction

Is It Bad Not to Have Guide Dogs in a Fantasy/Historical Setting Without Guide Dogs (short answer: it’s not bad)

Someone Asked About My Thoughts on a Medusa-like Character Blinding Herself to Avoid Hurting Anyone

-New- Characters Who Have Recently Gone Blind and Avoiding Inspiration Porn

Talking about Popular Blind Characters In Media

Does Daredevil’s Echolocation Negate His Blindness

Someone Else was Asked How to Write Daredevil Fanfiction

Blind Characters with Superpowers/Fighting Styles

World Setting where the General Population has a Superpower

Superpowers that don’t involve sight, Five questions to ask yourself if this superpower is a bad idea or a good one

-New- Your character would not use a cane as a weapon, it’s a bad idea

D&D/Roleplaying Blind Characters

-New- Animal Familiars Acting as Service Animals and Advice for Communicating with Your DM

-New- Portraying Older Blind Characters + Causes for Vision Loss with Old Age

[unashamedly-enthusiastic]

Oh gawd every time you think it's over it gers BETTER

🙌🏻 🙌🏻 🙌🏻 🙌🏻

[aguefortayda]

Zendaya Gif Pack

In the source link you will find 89 textless gifs of Zendaya in Euphoria Special Episodes. Zendaya is mixed race (Black and white) and was 24 at the time of filming. All of these gifs were made by me for roleplay use. The sizes of the gifs are all 245px in width and 165px in height (245x165), and below 3.0 MB. Please like or reblog if you found these gifs helpful!

Content Warning: bare shoulders, kissing, shaky camera  

Please: Do not repost or redistribute, claim as your own, or repost in a gif hunt. Thanks and enjoy!

[dimension20official]

In case you want to include Thirsting Blade Dark Excalibur Mega-Genesis in your own campaigns

[gretagerwisg]

CÉLINE SCIAMMA AND BONG JOON HO © photographed by Chad Hartigan at the Oscars After Party February 9, 2020

[guyramsayfieri]

I just wanna hear Brennan lee mulligan say a soft hell yeah as I do something cool