critical-thinking-is-mandatory

instead of calling an ‘evil’ character a psychopath, sociopath, psychotic, narcissistic  or etc. use any of these words instead:

because there are so many ways to describe someone as ‘bad’ than by assigning them a misunderstood, demonised personality disorder and if i see anyone using personality disorders as substitutes for evil then you’re getting blocked plain and simple.

rjalker

Everyone always insist on arguing this point, so here’s another example.

Would you call a character autistic because you don’t like them? Would you call a character autistic to show how evil and terrible they are as a person?

No, of course you wouldn’t.

Then why do you think it’s okay to call them a sociopath or psychopath?

what if when icarus fell apollo caught him before he hit the sea, arms as warm as the sun, but safer.

what if when ariadne cast the rope across a broken branch aphrodite stepped in with a reminder that this, this is not the kind of love you die for.

what if when achilles was ready for war ares appeared with a smile and said “you win well when you win, but what are you unwilling to lose if you lose?” and achilles knew the answer.

if you could retell the tale wouldn’t you want to tell it kinder? wouldn’t you want to give them peace, even love, where you could?

l.s. | I AM TRIED OF RE-WRITING TRAGEDY WITHOUT CHANGE. LET THEM LIVE. LET THEM LEARN. LET THEM LOVE��© 2016

ladykate63

Great scene, and based on an actual historical incident in medieval Germany:

When King Conrad III defeated the Duke of Welf (in the year 1140) and placed Weinsberg under siege, the wives of the besieged castle negotiated a surrender which granted them the right to leave with whatever they could carry on their shoulders. The king allowed them that much. Leaving everything else aside, each woman took her own husband on her shoulders and carried him out. When the king’s people saw what was happening, many of them said that that was not what had been meant and wanted to put a stop to it. But the king laughed and accepted the women’s clever trick. “A king” he said, “should always stand by his word.”

Medieval women were BAMFs.

twopartsjoy

This was always one of my favourite movie scenes as a child (if that’s not telling about how I grew up, I don’t know what is) but the fact that it actually happened makes it 100x better.

doctorspockable

I would totally do that.

Love conquers all (or at least it’s better than the alternative) by John Broadley

harostar

His name is Eugene Goodman. In a now-viral video, he is seen confronting White Supremacists and using himself as bait to provide cover for the evacuation of lawmakers. He was alone in a hallway when the mob reached him, and Congress was being evacuated to the left. He lured the mob away from lawmakers, drawing them in the opposite direction and up the stairs. 

Officer Goodman deserves recognition for his amazing bravery and selflessness. Because of him, Congress was evacuated safely and no lawmakers were assassinated on that terrible day. He risked everything to save others, and he is a hero.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/01/eugene-goodman-capitol-police-officer-hero-video.html

it’s so good to see you too and we could never forget you 🥺 [cr. nabinunaya, trans cr. doyou_bangtan]

JUNGKOOK IS BLONDE!! I REPEAT JUNGKOOK IS BLONDE!!

veeaziel

every day i am percieved™️

biggest-gaudiest-patronuses

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.

carl-thecreator

JUST LETTING Y'ALL KNOW WHERE THIS BLOG STANDS.

flowersinmyphro

Reblog every time it hits my Dash

Maggie Nelson, Bluets

allstrangenature

I can barely contain myself right now

holy shit

HOLY SHIT

27dragons

holy CRAP.

Artists, creators, students, and researchers of all types, take note:

Digitized photos and text. 2D and 3D object renders. Music and other sound files. Videos. Research datasets. Collections metadata.

On a Creative Commons Zero license: Take what you want. Use it. No permission or attribution required. Yes, even for commercial use.

There is a lot wrong with the world at the moment, but the Smithsonian… the Smithsonian is right.

sartorialadventure

The archive includes fashion images!

miranda july / don delillo / holly warburton / richard siken / aaron diaz / ross gay / robert anton wilson

Susan Sontag, As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh

Jonice Webb, Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect

jimin x mikrokosmos

[text ID: a tweet by @rhododaktulos that reads, ““my child is completely fine” your child’s favourite trope is found family”]

Altoona Tribune, Pennsylvania, January 7, 1939

tae is a mood ;)