Random Ink

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." --Oscar Wilde “Nothing happened to me...I happened.” —Hannibal "The only beautiful things are those madness prompts and reason writes."--Andre Gide

[wandathepanda]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by opera.voices.art (@opera.voices.art)

[wandathepanda]

What Will Mongoose found in his pocket…

[got7]

HANNIBAL  S02E12 ‘Tome-wan’

[wandathepanda]

@byk23

Leslie Jordan on Instagram: "I dressed up like a penguin hoping to see them during my visit to the @tennesseeaquarium. Guess what? I did.

Leslie Jordan shared a post on Instagram: "I dressed up like a penguin hoping to see them during my visit to the @tennesseeaquarium. Guess

[veeaziel]

every day i am percieved™️

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

There is a reason for this though!

The original tweet summarizes it pretty well. Fanfic tends to be popular among certain types of neurodivergent people (aka people most likely to read excessively as a child, and have burnout as an adult) for the same reasons that we tend to hyperfixate–neurochemical signaling (I hope I’m using that phrase correctly). What I mean is, for people who are really dependent on changes in dopamine/serotonin/neurotransmitter levels, who have low levels or wonky neural reward systems (perhaps the most common types of neurodivergence)…people like us rely on dependable external sources of those neurochemicals. In order to function, we spend a lot of our free time trying to level out our brain chemistry using things that can reliably bring us a steady stream of joyful moments (rewards) without costing too much of the mental effort that is already in short supply. 

significantly: the investment of reading has to be balanced with a steady “return on investment”–and this return has to start fairly quickly. because again, we don’t have a lot of attention/energy to invest on tiring things. we have perpetual “low batteries” in that regard.

that doesn’t mean these stories are “simple,” or that they lack complexity or value–only that the reward has to come in short regular intervals, and it has to have a low “upfront cost.” these stories are only “easy” to read in the sense that the effort we put into them is rewarded in a timely manner. which is why fanfic stories are so perfectly formulated for neurodivergent readers–they are often beautifully written, but skip a lot of the upfront costs (of introducing new characters, of world-building, of getting the audience emotionally connected to the story elements).

the nature of fanfiction is that the reader has a pre-existing relationship with this world and these characters. that–combined with the shorter average length of fics–means that fan fics very quickly start rewarding the reader in a way that traditional fiction struggles to. that’s not a bad thing! and maybe it’s something more traditionally published writers should be paying attention to.

Fanfic, as a genre, has been uniquely helpful and accessible to many neurodivergent readers who would otherwise struggle to immerse themselves in stories. I’m glad so many of you have found a way to love and enjoy reading again! The important thing is that you are spending time inside stories you love–the way those stories are published or presented to the world is just one detail. The fact that you find joy in the process of reading (or listening!) to stories–that is what matters.

[attackofjak]

I feel understood 🥰

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

a bunch of people have reblogged this with the default “i feel called out” reaction….and i know when we say that we mean it tongue-in-cheek….but this comment sorta blew my mind & shifted my perspective up and to the left a little thank you♥

[zadabug98]

The Serotonin is stored in the Ao3

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

The Serotonin is stored in the Ao3

[wandathepanda]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CbgJD66AeQD/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Marcella Lentz-Pope on Instagram: "I’m NOT a singer. But when someone commented this I had to see it through… Lyrics by @pistolpita and me

Marcella Lentz-Pope shared a post on Instagram: "I’m NOT a singer. But when someone commented this I had to see it through… Lyrics by @pist

[andreii-tarkovsky]

To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)

Dir. Beeban Kidron

[brehaaorgana]

This was such a formative movie

[musicalhell]

This shit was revolutionary for the mid-90s. Among other things it helped me understand that transgender and cross-dressing were completely separate things.

[aqueerkettleofish]

To this day, I am in awe of the fact that Patrick Swayze not only campaigned hard to get the audition, not only auditioned in dress and makeup, but spent most of the day leading up to the audition walking around LA in dress and makeup.

This was a man who could sing, dance, act, ride a horse, fight, and walk in heels, he had nothing to prove to anyone, and he is MISSED.

[aqueerkettleofish]

Okay, I’m not done feeling about this.

If you’re younger, you may not know Patrick Swayze; he was Taken From Us in 2009. But Patrick Swayze was an icon of masculinity. Men were willing to watch romantic movies because Patrick Swayze was in them.

Patrick Swayze was fucking beefcake.

And this man didn’t just agree to do a movie where the only time he’s not actually in drag is the first three minutes, which involve stepping out of the shower, doing make up, and getting Dressed. He has ONE LINE that is delivered in a man’s voice, and it’s not during those three minutes.

And if you watch those three minutes, you see a stark difference between his portrayal of Miss Vida Bohéme and Wesley Snipes as Noxeema Jackson. (I am not criticizing Snipes’ performance. They were different roles.) Noxeema was a comedy character. Chi-Chi was a comedy character. But Miss Vida Bohéme was a dramatic role, played by a dramatic powerhouse.

When Vida sits down in front of the mirror, she sees a man. And she doesn’t like it.

Then she puts her hair up, and her face lights up.

“Ready or not,” she says. “Here comes Mama.”

And while Noxeema is having fun with her transformation (at one point breaking into a giggling fit after putting on pantyhose), Vida is simply taking pleasure in bringing out her true self. And when she’s done, she sees this:

And you can FEEL her pride.

All of this from an actor who, up to this point, walked on to the screen and dripped testosterone.

[jenroses]

It matters that this happened in 1995. It wouldn’t fly today, wouldn’t be the right choice, we’ve moved past it, but it mattered and was important that it happened the way it happened today. It’s one of the stepping stones.

[wandathepanda]

[wandathepanda]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Et-SMhSLkCk

[cyberdelph]

Visit by 花Q

[wandathepanda]

Eons ago I came across this… it’s too beautiful not to reblog.

[fuks]

crying rn 🥹

[supermanstoddlerleash]

YESSSS!! i saw the original post, so glad op went for it!!

[areuserious-deactivated20250620]

when u reposted this i thought it was gonna be a superbat au and i wasnt fazed

[supermanstoddlerleash]

👀

[wandathepanda]

Wow… when your life is an AO3 fic…

[zero1infinity]

[tsukiyamas]

why does this have 32k notes? it’s just a picture of a knife in a ranch bottle, is there some unspoken joke that 32 thousand people share? what is going on here, i dont get it. it’s just a fucking picture of a knife in a ranch bottle. is there some spiritual connection people have to this picture? is there some ominous and mystical reasoning that this has 32 thousand notes? do people reblog this because it makes them look like some indie blogger? or is there just something funny to this? someone please explain

[diggly]

no one tell him

[politijohn]

The world stands with Ukraine

Tbilisi, Georgia

St. Petersburg, Russia

London, England

Paris, France

Thessaloniki, Greece

Rome, Italy

Berlin, Germany

Tokyo, Japan

Montenegro

Mumbai, India

[politijohn]

Warsaw, Poland

Lebanon

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Istanbul, Turkey

New York City, United States

[politijohn]

Toronto, Canada

Vienna, Austria

Binnish, Syria

Dublin, Ireland

Barcelona, Spain

Melbourne, Australia

Riga, Latvia

Tel Aviv, Israel

Copenhagen, Denmark

Bern, Switzerland

[politijohn]

Sarajevo, Bosnia

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Tallinn, Estonia

Stockholm, Sweden

Helsinki, Finland

Reykjavík, Iceland

[fthgurdy]

Even symbolic support is not meaningless; with every such gesture you are preventing the claim that no one cares, no one opposes, no one disagrees, no one minds.

[chekhovsrazor]

Thank you, readers

Someone recced Unhitched to be added to AO3′s International Fanworks Day 2022 Classics Collection. 🥲

Whoever you are, thank you so so much. ❤️ You will never know what this means to me after feeling so much guilt over leaving Unhitched as a WIP. I’m not even a BNF, so I really do appreciate the support I’ve received over the years. 

[weconqueratdawn]

i feel really awkward doing this but my book was published today

i’ve been dying to get come back on here to chill but i’ve been working flat out on this for the past few months and the extra screentime has been banned (by me) to save my eyesight and my sanity (hopefully soon though???)

hope everyone is doing excellent. and if anyone reading is interested in finding out more here’s my linktree

[weconqueratdawn]

wow, thanks everyone! this got way more attention that i thought it would - a very nice surprise indeed :)

hope everyone who buys it enjoys it!! :)

[avegetariancannibal]

Proship pedo I hope you choke on your own fat

Dear cowardly anon who doesn’t know the definitions of words,

Are you aware that 40 - 50 year olds aren’t children? I mean… I’d expect to be accused of elder abuse before anything! “Oh my god you’re making them fuck all the time!! Their joints!!!!”

Look at these lovely wrinkles:

Also are you aware that these are fictional characters?

Please go look up what words mean. It’d be a better use of your time.

Thanks!

[wandathepanda]

Came across this. Reminded me of what Hannibal might have sent Will.

The Bait

BY JOHN DONNE

Come live with me, and be my love,

And we will some new pleasures prove

Of golden sands, and crystal brooks,

With silken lines, and silver hooks.

There will the river whispering run

Warm'd by thy eyes, more than the sun;

And there the 'enamour'd fish will stay,

Begging themselves they may betray.

When thou wilt swim in that live bath,

Each fish, which every channel hath,

Will amorously to thee swim,

Gladder to catch thee, than thou him.

If thou, to be so seen, be'st loth,

By sun or moon, thou dark'nest both,

And if myself have leave to see,

I need not their light having thee.

Let others freeze with angling reeds,

And cut their legs with shells and weeds,

Or treacherously poor fish beset,

With strangling snare, or windowy net.

Let coarse bold hands from slimy nest

The bedded fish in banks out-wrest;

Or curious traitors, sleeve-silk flies,

Bewitch poor fishes' wand'ring eyes.

For thee, thou need'st no such deceit,

For thou thyself art thine own bait:

That fish, that is not catch'd thereby,

Alas, is wiser far than I.