#long post-

[tenfluenza]

uh, sub to technoblade?

[song link]

[nonbinarymlm]

Male privilege exists. It's not the only kind of privilege out there in society, we have to remember intersectionality, but it exists. Privilege for being attracted to men does not exist.

There is no "attraction to men" privilege. Shaming people for being attracted to men does nothing to pop male privilege or take on patriarchy, it only props up misogyny and homophobia.

Women's sexuality is objectified by our society. Women are often shamed no matter what they do and women's sexuality is treated like it should be a tool for men, without autonomy or internal feelings from women. Cis straight women have straight privilege, but their sexuality is not catered to like cis straight men's. Bi/pan/queer/etc women who are attracted to men face misogyny, slut-shaming, homophobia, and biphobia. They deserve more support from the LGBTQ+ community.

Men who love men constantly face homophobia and shaming for their love for men. It's endemic to our society and it's not okay to perpetuate no matter who you are. Queer love between men deserves celebration and acceptance.

Nonbinary people have all kinds of love and attraction and might face all kinds of BS from society for it. Nonbinary love, attraction, and identity should be respected and celebrated. Nonbinary people who love men are never less nonbinary or less queer for it.

Everyone who's attracted to men faces oppression because it's only cis straight men who's sexuality is celebrated. Lesbian, wlw, and nlw sexuality also deserves celebration, but that doesn't require putting down other people. Shaming attraction to men only ever perpetuates oppression.

Because of oppression and toxic masculinity many people attracted to men feel conflicted about it, but it's never the attraction itself that's the problem. The love and attraction someone feels for men deserves support, celebration, healing, or whatever they need. Acting like attraction to men is bad because it makes people vulnerable in our messed up society is skirting victim blaming. Whether or not someone is pursuing or dating men or ever intends to, they should feel free and whole in expressing whatever attraction they have for men.

[badnewsmouse]

it’s nice to see Megumi sing with Yuu just as Yuu.

[inc0gnit0-m0de]

finally made a short-ish story with Rowan :/

Well, here I am at work once again, but… Something feels strange, the manager had asked me to wear one of the animatronics suits because both of the dumbasses who were supposed to be working them weren't showing up, no phone call or anything to why they weren't here. They just weren't. So I had to wear one of the god awful suits that somebody else had been sweating in, and boy was that a treat. Having to work the hand crank just to get the suits springlocks back made me feel like my entire arm was just going to fall off once I had finished, but yet I still persevered in getting it wound up and open. I swear, when this work day is over, I'm never agreeing to wear those musty suits for two over people who didn't come in to work without a reasoning. I carefully put the head of the thing on once I'd slid into the suit. It smelled so bad… Like death, if that's even a proper way to describing how bad it was, the thing had blood caked on the inside of it and tiny pieces of flesh were stuck on the springlocks. Something about that instantly clicked in my mind that these weren't normal, and I shouldn't have put this thing on, but I shrugged that feeling off and walked out to go and perform with those ugly ass animatronics out there. This thing was so heavy I felt like I was going to topple over after taking the first step, but I was able to properly walk out there. 'So this is what it feels like wearing those weird mascot suits at places…' I'd think to myself occasionally, that's really what it felt like and it had me a little surprised, wearing something this heavy for several hours a day? No thanks, I'm not doing this again. A couple of hours or so might've passed and I was finally let a break, thank god… I tried to make my way to the saferoom until- The springlocks had gone off and were digging underneath my skin. I'd fallen to the floor from the pain and couldn't do anything but scream out in agony, the things were piercing through my lungs too. It hurt like hell, nothing would ever be able to top this, it hurt THAT BAD. I could feel the blood rushing out of my body and I began to become light headed. I had been left to die, haven't I? Nobody could hear my screams for help when I was in the middle of a hallway for fucks sake! I only then stopped screaming when a darkness had covered my eyes and I couldn't feel anything. I lost touch with reality and was floating in a void. None of it felt real, I was literally dying and now I'm stuck in a void of darkness. Some yellow bear in a purple hat and bowtie had come up to me after a while and asked me if I'd want a second chance at life. Not thinking, I agreed and made a deal with him that I'd help out this Jack Kennedy guy save some souls of children by giving them their "happiest day". I guess this is what I'd gotten myself into and I can't go back… Great. I'd then snapped back into reality and was out of the suit somehow… Did I climb out of it or something while I was in that void? Or did somebody help me out..? Either way, it didn't matter, I'd quickly got off of the ground and sprinted to the bathroom. My clothes had rips in them and were drenched in blood stains, myself however had turned into some light shade of blue… Blue..? Out of any other color I could've been or whatever it had to be blue??? Jesus fucking christ, I'm going to look like a weirdass like Dave… He's going to love that isn't he? One other reason to call me "Blue" without it being because I liked the color blue… Just fantastic….

[malewifezevran]

OKAY, i got quite a few hcs to comment on (bless y’all), so let’s see what you have to say 👀

GOOD ONES!! over all, linking to the dacing hc, i would say that zevran is very theatrical, over all. whether be it dancing or acting, put that man on a stage and under the spotlight to make him the happiest 😞

if we take into consideration that antiva is based on italy, it’s safe to say that people indeed speak multiple languages-- or rather, dialects. the differences are SO stark that someone that lives in the north can have troubles understanding someone that lives in the south! so i can totally believe that zevran & the crows are versed in more languages/dialects as i can see it being part of their job! <:

OH, absolutely. i personally like to hc that he can be very picky with his food and ferelden was incredibly underwhelming for him on that regard 💀

there is nothing i can add here because these two hcs are immaculate. perfect. i agree WHOLEHEARTEDLY 🥺😭 

[disworl]

Alive, indefinitely.

I.

So, since I’ve been dutifully informed that since this is my blog and I can post hwhatever I want, I thought I’d talk a little about my ‘fic ‘Alive, indefinitely’.

The ‘fic was birthed by me realizing the implications of Hussie’s revision that all burgundy bloods have the ability to commune with the dead. For the most part, I dislike his changes where the trolls from Homestuck proper become near stock representatives of their entire bloodcaste, but at least, this one has compelling subtext instead of just seeming lazy. And it is that the bloodcaste that has the ability to commune with the dead is also the bloodcaste that lives the shortest and is the most likely to have friends and acquaintences who die often.

And who better explore that topic than Aradia? So I wrote the ‘fic, and it did branch out to be about her, partially as her role as a rustblood on Alternia. And so it grew bigger than just exploring the subtext. I knew I wanted it in little numbered parts that made vignettes, as I’d been working on writing longer stories and was worried I was losing my edge in vignettes and short fiction. Though the resulting ‘fic ended up 1,677 words (I intended to keep it under 1,000, though I’m not disappointed!), I’m still very satisfied with it and think the vignettes work. With the numbering of the vignettes, I also wanted to do an sort of Epileptic Bicycle and start skipping around numbers, to show that there was different amounts of time passing, and that things were happening in between. And because I just thought it was neat. The idea of a story with missing numbered chapters is very compelling. And anyway, I did have a skip, with the penultimate vignette being 5, and the ultimate being 10 (which upon thought really does make the ‘a lifetime later’ after the 10 work out mathematically*), but it played nowhere near as a big role as I would want to. Maybe some other time.

*Which since all the numbers are roman numerals, 10 ends up being ‘x’, which as a symbol is associated with death. I planned none of that (or at least I don’t remember it consciously) but I will take credit, regardless.

II.

For a second I thought Tumblr was more competent than it is, so I tried to insert a line break, but Tumblr is not competent, so have a fancy second section with big roman numerals instead.

Anyway, I’m just going to note and comment on some specific parts of the passage, because I can.

The internet is wide and wonderful, and it is through there that she learns about archaeology, the wonders lying just beneath the ground and thinks, to be an archaeologist would be an awfully grand adventure.

What Aradia thinks is a fairly straightforward play on the phrase, ‘to die would be an awfully grand adventure’. It's a neat way to both tie back the theme, and it also spared me from figuring out exactly how to phrase it.

She finds especially good company with one boy, his troll tag resting at the top of her chumproll. He’s a rustblood like her, a bit reserved but passionate about the mystery book he’s writing. Occasionally he sends her snippets from it, and while it’s a bit clumsy, he is always eager to hear about her archaeological expeditions, so she never mentions it.

When I wrote this part, I suddenly realized I needed an unnamed rustblood to die. I also realized it would be a good idea to also characterize him a little bit before killing him off, so you get at least the idea of what his and Aradia’s relationship was like, so I decided to use one of my long-derelict fantrolls.

So she starts to rebel. She grows her hair out, longer than the modest shoulder-length cut she had before. She lets it become wild, a sign of her own spirit and power. She starts painting her lips and lining her eyes in burgundy, a mockery of the high bloods who wear their blue hues as a fashion statement.

This is a combination of two of my headcanons about Alternian society: that long, wild hair is seen as a sign of power and sexuality (as expressed by the Condesce and other highbloods), and that wearing hemo lipstick and eyeliner is a high blood fashion trend.

When she is five sweeps old, she makes another close friend. He’s a bit shy, but unapologetic about what he likes – his fiduspawn collection, pupa pan, FLARPing – and that, as much as she loves Sollux, is a breath of fresh air.

Tavros is often done dirty by fanfic and fan-interpretations of Homestuck, and it often intertwines with apologism for Vriska and her abuse of him. He’s treated as a perpetually and naturally weak and insignificant, when having a person who is abusive like Vriska will make anyone unsure and rattled like that. It takes some digging, as the majority of Homestuck takes after Vriska’s batted around Tavros for quite a while, but underneath her abuse (and the effects from that abuse at the hands of Alternian culture) it’s clear that he’s still that unapologetically dorky kid, and even cocky at times. In his trollhandle adiosToreador, he’s not the Toreador - he’s the bull. And hopefully I could express that well in the space that I could.

She befriends Karkat through Sollux, and Terezi through Karkat, and it’s through Terezi that she learns about Vriska.

This is one of several sentences in this ‘fic that employ a certain sense of repetition and rhythm. Part of that is because it gives a motif of time, which is tied to death and destruction in Homestuck, and the other half is because I just... really like writing ‘em.

She still talks with Tavros, however, but now he’s uncertain, hesitant and ashamed, and a fair number of times when she trolls him he doesn’t reply, and when he does more than anything he talks about the things he’s experienced in his dreams, and she knows exactly who has been trolling him even if he doesn’t say it and –

– and Aradia watches her friend become a living ghost, bit by bit.

This is place where I forwent canon the most, earning the ‘fic its ‘mild timeline fudgery’ tag. Throughout writing this ‘fic I constantly had a tab open to either a page in Homestuck or the wiki, or both, in order to make sure I stayed as accurate to Alternian culture that I could (at least, in Homestuck proper). While there were a lot of gaps that I got fill in for myself, it’s just plain canon that Aradia sends the ghosts after Vriska immediately after she knows that Tavros is likely going to be paraplegic for the rest of his life. But I had written the sentence already (one of my favourite lines, really), and it just makes for a better story, at least in this ‘fic. So I kept it like that. There’s also a sort of cut-and-paste fudge in that sentence, too. I remembered that Tavros spent most of his time dreaming on Prospit just so he didn’t have to deal with Vriska’s abuse, but as it turns out, it happens after she god-tiers. So I just turned it into regular dreaming and thereby folded into the above canon discrepancy. But it’s definitely based on that later detail.

iv.

The shock of seeing Sollux actually at her hive is quickly overtaken by the shock that courses through her veins right after she realizes what is about to happen, and far too late to do anything about it.

I knew pretty early that I wanted the vignette of her death to be one sentence long, though I certainly ended up stretching that one sentence fairly far. Either way, it’s very isolated from the rest of the ‘fic, which is fairly on-par for the ‘fic style where a particularly hard-hitting or important sentence gets its own paragraph. Anyway, everyone knows how the story ends, and it’s sudden for Aradia, so I think putting it in one sentence both works structurally and artistically.

She’s tired of temporal inevitability.

She’s free of the endless orders and voices of the dead.

She, for the first time in her life, feels truly alive.

Instead of the pale shadows that clung to her hive, the hollow ghosts that people left behind, the dream bubbles are filled with countless iterations of her friends, and numerous others.

But even then, dying and waking up in foreign surroundings is a shock.

And really, there’s no-one else who would be a better guide to greet the dead.

At this point, I feel again, that going into detail would be dragging things out. I also wanted it to feel significantly different from the rest. So, where the other parts of the story are told through a sort of rolling tone of voice, through ‘the lens of age old history’ the rather straightforward sentences here are meant to sound very present.

[jutsei]

A Frosty Homecoming

A Short story I wrote for @raccrew​ (And maybe @kappaqualityassurance​ too to show my stuff

It’s about Adalynn returning from a quest to her homelands of the Winter Court, and eagerly awaiting the reunion with her master, Princess Grimoire!

I’m not sure how posting stories on here goes, but, here it is if you wanna read!

(You can also read this on Google Docs, if you want!)

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch. The sound of snow going under foot went in a rhythmic pattern as a young girl wandered through a winter wasteland. White as far as the eye could see, trees covered from head to toe, and clouds of a strange deep purple covered the sky, blanketing the land below in a strange light, despite the lack of moonlight, or sunlight, it was easy enough to see without getting lost.

While most people would be terrified, afraid, or just a bit lost, the girl was rather smiling! The pace picked up, and while she stumbled, she picked herself back up, before coming to a stop, and climbing herself onto a rock, scurrying aboard, and taking a seat, before happily kicking her feet to and fro.

The girl, who couldn’t be more than ten years old, didn’t appear like any normal child, while most of her body was covered in a rather elaborate (Yet not very fancy) dress with a swirly pattern near the hem of the skirt, with a pair of ribbons trailing behind, a pair of boots with a fur trim, and at the top, a very finely made cloak, going down to her back also covered in fine, warm fur, with a pair of adorable puff balls in the front for decoration. Such a dress wasn’t what one would expect to see in such bitter cold, especially on a child.

But the most striking thing about the girl…. Was her face. Where one might expect a natural skintone, they would only see a light green tone on the girl’s face, unnatural, as if she was dipped in a green dye at birth, with similarly striking green eyes, and a blonde head of hair, not quite well kept, but enough to not be considered “dirty”, with just enough locks combed enough to look appealing, and a singular one going upwards, but strangely enough, if one looked past the hair, they would also see a set of triangular ears pointing outwards… and finally, a butterfly pin rested atop her head, completing the rather “Cute’ look of the strange girl

Humming a small tune to herself, the girl looked up towards the sky, smiling and letting the falling snow hit her face. It may have stung for a brief moment, but her body was already adapting to the cold and making herself feel at home again.

It had been far too long since she had returned here, to the place she could return to and unwind in times of stress, or when she had free time.

Free time wasn’t exactly an alien concept to Changelings, those servants of the fair folk of the hills, but when they had it, it was always highly valued, Adalynn was no different.

Whenever she was finished with a long journey, she relished the chance to return to the Winter Court and see her master once again.

It might take a bit longer, but any trip home was worth it to see her master once again.

There’d be time enough for that soon enough, stretching out and making a noise, the changeling girl leapt from her rocky rest and fell back onto the snow with a resounding crunch. 

It wouldn’t take too much longer to return to her home, but it’d be best to get moving before it got too late out. While Adalynn wasn’t exactly helpless, she certainly didn’t feel like wasting any of her magic transforming a wild fae bear into something much cuter.

Looking up at the sky, she resumed her journey back home.

Once more  humming to herself, the girl took note of her surroundings, it was oddly early for it to be snowing again in Winter Court lands, surmising that a fae must’ve been bored, she picked up the pace, just in case someone would notice her, and want to make some bullshite offer to join them, only for her to point to the changeling mark on her neck to let them know who she belonged to. It was always such a bother, but every time she showed it, she felt relief knowing that no one else could have her, unless her master wanted to get rid of her… which would thankfully never come to pass.

It truly was always a roll of the dice when a mortal would be spirited away to the Fair Lands and be made to be a Changeling, aservant, slave, soldier, or plaything of the fae. The mortal’s master could be cruel, unjust, and unforgiving, or they could be strange, mercurial, and as strange as fae can be… but just as often, they could simply be a fae that wanted a friend, or someone to help them with chores and company.

Adalynn’s master, the esteemed Princess Grimoire, was thankfully, one of the latter.

Thinking about her dear master… who was more like an older sister, really, made Adalynn’s heart race and warm, making it so the snow that surrounded her felt more like course mud, than anything, and her face began to glow a bit blue from the thought of hugging her friend once more.

She couldn’t help but smile and picked up the pace!  And unsurprisingly, something snagged her foot, her momentum coming to a complete halt as she faceplanted into the snow.

A moment passed, and the girl popped out of the snow like a gopher coming to greet the sun, shaking off the loose snow, she lightly shook her fist at whatever made her trip, and pulled herself back up to get a steady foothold. Grumbling, she looked around at her surroundings.

A wide open field, blanketed in white, covered in snow… with a few rocky outcroppings here and there, like the one she had taken a seat on not too long ago. Folding her arms together, she tilted her head. “I guess this is one of the more mountain-y areas… it’s got more snow than usual…” Adalynn said, placing her hand on the snow and pressing down, narrowing her eyes.

Looking up, she would see a mountainous peak looming overhead, it looked more close to the ground than usual, and she sighed. It would seem that her hunch about a fae making it snow was on the money. She was just a little turned around, and looked around.Trees were off in the distance, too her left. She was getting closer!

To avoid tripping again, Adalynn changed her course and began navigating more northwest, still hitting a few rocks here and there, but managing to make far more progress, though she hope that there would be more rests in case she fell over again! The last thing she needed now was a rock or something in her boots.

She continued her journey, simply making sure to be aware of her surroundings, the last thing she wanted, or needed right now, was a bored fae doing the whole “Riddle” game, or something worse. Fortunately, every house, dwelling, and outcropping with lights around it was more acutely visible in the darkness  of the white, so she would be sure to stay at least 12 feet away, and move faster when she came by a house.

Time passed, and past a veritable parade of footprints in the snow, Adalynn had managed to enter the snow covered forest. If she were anyone else, she would say “Now’s where it gets tricky”, but “anyone else” wasn’t Adalynn, or a member of the Winter Court, she knew this forest like the back of her hand from years of playing with other members of the court.

The fact there were a number of complimentary lanterns only helped matters. Reaching towards one hung on the wall, she lit the flame inside, and began walking into the woods. It was magically enchanted to never run out, and return to it’s resting place once done, so it would more or less be smooth sailing from here on out.

While the darkness of the trees above, the dead silence, and the only sound being the crunching of snow would unnerve most people, it gave Adalynn peace, who continued to hum to herself as she walked forwards, taking a left there, a right there, that was seemingly random, but was essential to arriving at her destination.

The peace and quiet (aside from the buzzing of a few fairies above) allowed Adalynn to peacefully recall her first days here… and her first days as a changeling!

It was so easy to get lost, so easy to do something wrong, and fear reprisal and punishment from the fae for doing something wrong, especially since they were so… different, so alien. Something that might be considered “wrong” by humans doesn’t mean anything to a fae, the concept of time was completely lost on them, as well as how different they view “safety”...

But, it didn’t take long for Adalynn to roughly understand how things went around here, and shift her way of thinking to better survive and live in this new place… while it was only around 3 years since she got here, she was happier here than she’d ever been in the “Mortal world”, as the fae called it. Always being stuck inside, never being to do anything special…

But here, thanks to her dear Grimoire, she always had something to do, something interesting was always happening… and best of all, when all was said and done, she could return to her dear friends side and tell her all about the journeys she had gone on! And she was always, always listening and so caring. She was more family than Adalynn had ever known. And she was thankful for it.

Just as the girl was beginning to smile and blush again, she looked up, her eyes beginning to sparkle as a wide smile came across her face.

A beautifully carved castle of gray, with some parts made of translucent white (No doubt ice) sticking out in stark contrast stood above a frozen lake, with a single bridge connecting it to the forest. Vines of the purest white creeped up parts of the walls, with a single large tree jutting out of the center, and numerous sculptures dotted the lands area around.

Adalynn’s heart fluttered. 

She was home. Gently placing the lantern down to the side. It sparkled for a few minutes before vanishing.

Well, no reason not to, right?

The girl broke into a full on sprint, leaping from the trees onto the bridge, running towards a pair of double wide doors, before coming to an abrupt stop. Of course. With a sigh, she knocked on the door. A slit on the door slid to the side to reveal a pair of dark blue eyes looking back at her

The girl stood straight, and placed her right hand across her chest, bowing slightly.

“I have returned from my quest to the Dusk Court, Ser Page” She said in a very formal tone of voice.

“Oh, Adalynn, we didn’t expect you back so soon. What did they say?”

“In their words, not mine, they said “We have no intentions of having the Twilight Prince attend meetings yet.” “ An audible sigh came from behind the door.

“That’s alright. And did you…”

Reaching into her cloak, Adalynn pulled out a small leather bag.

“Whiskers of an Axolotl, just like you asked.”

“Splended! Alright, come in…”

With the sound of a click, a pair of large, heavy doors began to open, embossed with the sign of a tome inside a snowflake, revealing the beautiful interior of the castle, and the eyes behind the door were revealed to be an unbelievably tall figure with even longer ears, he reached out his lanky hand

Grumbling, Adalynn tossed him the bag. “I won’t even ask… is…?” “Her Highness is in her room. Try not to scare her this time”

With a wide smile, Adalynn took off like a Lizard running across water

“What did I tell you about running in the… eh, forget it.” Page held up the bag. “You are gonna fuel so many good curses” He said to himself… and the bag.

Up the stairs Through a hallway. Through the pure ice ballroom

Adalynn ran like a child possessed up and down the castle, before coming to another abrupt halt, a light emanated from the end of the hall, and the sound of a music box filled the air.

There was no mistaking it, that was Grimoire. Well, after last time, Adalynn decided she would take less of a “Dog missing its master” approach this time, and quietly walked down the hall, until she saw the light. A beautiful room with all that one would expect in the room of a princess. Ice sculptures, the finest furniture one could imagine, a mirror, a bunch of objects for one’s hobby… and a music box.

Taking quiet steps, Adalynn crept into the room, and gently knocked on the door, which was already open.

The music box stopped.

A girl with slightly iridescent skin, like the sun catching the morning snow looked at the changeling. Her hair was perfectly cut, square in some places, with some bangs, but it was unspeakably beautiful. Light blue eyes, with pupils in the shape of a snowflake, with thick, white eyelashes  looked back at Adalynn.

Her soft, dainty hands pressed down on the music box, and shut it closed, and she reached a warm, gloved hand towards Adalynn as she stood up… revealing she was rather short and petite, taller than the Changeling girl, yes, but undoubtedly short when compared to Ser Page

“Adalynn… my little snowflake, you’ve returned!”

She couldn’t hold it in anymore, the changeling girl rushed to Princess Grimoire’s side and embraced her in a hug, pressing her head against her master lightly and nuzzling it affectionately

“I couldn’t stay much longer away from you, Grimmy!”

“I missed you a lot too, Ser Page already told me things didn’t go well with the Dusk Court, but that’s ok! Did anything interesting happen?”

“Heehee, I could tell you, but it’d take all night long!” “You know I wouldn’t mind that at all…” Grimoire said, gently pushing Adalynn away and taking a seat on her bed, the changeling soon joining her, kicking her feet happily

A smile came across the princess’ face as  she chuckled slightly. It was always such a pleasure for her changeling to return, full of energy. Especially since she was always in such high spirits, this being no exception.

“Well, why don’t you start by telling me about that “Twilight Prince”, dear?” She asked.

Adalynn, leaning on the princess’ side began telling a tale.

“Well, he’s really purple…” “Purple? Do go on…”

“Yeah, and his freckles are like stars-’” “How amazing!”

The two stayed in the room for a long time, telling each other tales of what they were doing while they were away from each other. With the door wide open, light flowed into the hallway.

Footsteps approached, and a familiar tall figure leaned into the room.

“Your Majesty, you’re being requ-...”

Ser Page saw the Princess sitting on her bed, with her eyes closed, haven fallen asleep… and in her lap was a very tired, but happy looking green skinned girl. Both were snoozing and clearly resting.

Quietly, he reached towards the handle, and closed the door as soundlessly as he could.

“I’m sure they can wait a bit longer…”

Without another word, he left the princess and the changeling to their happy rest.