Thinky Thoughts

hazel2468:

just-antishipper-things:

just-antishipper-things:

just-antishipper-things:

“You can’t ship that!”

lol what are you gonna do, climb inside my mind and shut off the imagination switch?

This kind of response always fascinates me, so while I’ve got you here, can I just ask: legal by what standards? Do you mean real world standards, where laws vary from country to country, and in the case of the US, state to state? Or do you mean the fictitious laws set in place in the fictional setting of the ship? What standard exactly should we use to tell people “you’re not allowed to enjoy this fictional thing?”

I know you didn’t mean any harm by your response, but I feel it’s important to reiterate that nothing gives anyone the right to police what people do in a fictional setting, full stop. Because at the end of the day, it’s fiction, it’s a fantasy, none of it is real, and so real world rules and standards do not apply. So, as long as you are not actively causing harm in a real world setting (i.e. harassing real people over fictional ships) then you do you.

a very important addition

Something that also drives me NUTS with this “uwu if it’s legal” shit is like…

Y'all only EVER. Say it about sexual stuff. “Oh wow well if it’s LEGAL-!” bitch my ass is out here playing DnD. I roleplay a devil-them who KILLS PEOPLE FOR A LIVING and yet I don’t see y'all rushing to tell me that those thoughts are illegal and bad and noooo you can’t do THAT, murder is ILLEGAL.

It’s because y'all are a bunch of puritan weirdos about sex and I reblogged a post that hits why right on the nose but dear FUCK y'all need to really unpack all of your weirdness about sex. Like. Right now. Because it’s all conservative bullshit.

(via rayshippouuchiha)

findingfeather:

into-the-weeds:

eerian-sadow:

It’s true. I started calling “the cloud” offsite storage, and the comprehension that dawns in my customers’ eyes is super gratifying. They understand external hard drives, but many couldn’t wrap their heads around this mystical floating in the air storage–because that’s not how it works at all. You’re just using space on someone else’s hard drive.

[Image is a t-shirt which reads:

There is no cloud
It’s just someone else’s computer]

I explain this to eeeevery patron who comes in to ask for tech help etc. I find ways to explain it, because it’s important.

“Oh ‘the cloud’ is just what they decided to call it. What it actually means is that you use the internet to connect to some dedicated computer somewhere where your file is stored, and then you can access that file, which is why it only works with an internet connection. You’re just renting space on a computer the company owns.”

Suddenly everything is less mysterious.

I had to explain this to a bunch of telecom middle management folks back around 2014 and it was so goddamn depressing becuase these were not dumb people but they really walked in thinking that the files were being stored in never never land.

biggest-gaudiest-patronuses:

biggest-gaudiest-patronuses:

fanfic writers will consume a whole ass franchise and be like “that was fun, now i will proceed to do it better”

#or worse. or weirder. or exactly the same but their blorbo is allowed to say Fuck

(via berry-muffin)

friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog:

Reblog if reading someone else’s fanfiction has helped you get through a hard day

(via petralemaitre)

dr-mcfell:

it’s been a week and i’m still reeling from the fact that aziraphale and crowley kissed onscreen, and it wasn’t just a quick blink-and-miss-it kiss, it was the focal point!!! what an incredible thing it is for this explicitly queer show to not only exist, but for it to be one of the most popular shows in the world right now. it’s wonderful.

doctorscienceknowsfandom:

sule-skerry:

lilnasxvevo:

stovetop00:

We’re winning.

I found his bio on societyofpresidentialdescendants.org and it was so delightful I had to copy paste the whole thing:

“Ulysses Grant Dietz grew up in Syracuse, New York, where his Leave it to Beaver life was enlivened by his fascination with vampires, from Bela Lugosi to Barnabas Collins. He studied French at Yale (BA, 1977), and was trained to be a museum curator in the University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in American Material Culture (MA, 1980). A decorative arts curator at the Newark Museum for thirty-seven years before he retired, Ulysses has never stopped writing for the sheer pleasure of it. Aside from books on Victorian furniture, art pottery, studio ceramics, jewelry, and the White House, Ulysses created the character of Desmond Beckwith in 1988 as his personal response to Anne Rice’s landmark novels. Alyson Books released his first novel, Desmond, in 1998. Vampire in Suburbia, the sequel, appeared in 2012. His most recent novel, Cliffhanger, was released by JMS Books in December 2020.

“Ulysses lives in suburban New Jersey with his husband of 45 years. They have two grown children, adopted in 1996.

“Ulysses is a great-great grandson of Ulysses S. Grant. His late mother, Julia, was the President’s last living great-grandchild; youngest daughter of Ulysses S. Grant III, and granddaughter of the president’s eldest son, Frederick. Every year on April 27 he gives a speech at Grant’s Tomb in New York City. He is also on the board of the U.S. Grant Presidential Library and Museum at Mississippi State University.”

And frankly, the novels sound like they slap:

Desmond was nominated for a Lambda Award.

“With his husband of 45 years.” You kids don’t know … they got together before AIDS, at the peak of the Gay Glam Life. They stayed together as their generation died around them, and made through it to the point where they could marry and have a legal family. He looks like a chipper preppie who never had a serious thought or care in the world, but it took *incredible* determination, commitment, and also luck to get here.

(via oft-goes-awry)

cookinguptales:

roachpatrol:

princess-neville:

The way that we learn about Helen Keller in school is an absolute outrage. We read “The Miracle Worker”- the miracle worker referring to her teacher; she’s not even the title character in her own story. The narrative about disabled people that we are comfortable with follows this format- “overcoming” disability. Disabled people as children.

Helen Keller as an adult, though? She was a radical socialist, a fierce disability advocate, and a suffragette. There’s no reason she should not be considered a feminist icon, btw, and the fact that she isn’t is pure ableism- while other white feminists of that time were blatent racists, she was speaking out against Woodrew Wilson because of his vehement racism. She supported woman’s suffrage and birth control. She was an anti-war speaker. She was an initial donor to the NAACP. She spoke out about the causes of blindness- often disease caused by poverty and poor working conditions. She was so brave and outspoken that the FBI had a file on her because of all the trouble she caused.

Yet when we talk about her, it’s either the boring, inspiration porn story of her as a child and her heroic teacher, or as the punchline of ableist, misogynistic jokes. It’s not just offensive, it’s downright disgusting.

the reason the story stops once hellen keller learns to talk is no one wanted to listen to what she had to say

how’s that for a fucking punchline

Another part of the story that is often conveniently omitted is that Anne Sullivan, the “miracle worker” in question, was also a visually impaired woman (and abolitionist) who faced her own struggles finding accessible education. That was why she was able to teach Helen Keller and connect her with resources that would allow her to flourish in academia. When Helen Keller was railing against poverty-induced diseases that caused blindness, she was talking about things like trachoma which was what had caused her friend’s vision loss.

The fact that Sullivan is often portrayed as able-bodied in retellings of their story is indicative of the narrative that is most comfortable for an ableist society: that accessibility and equality are gifts bestowed upon the disabled by able-bodied heroes. Disabled children are never taught that they have the power to lift each other up, and that’s a crying shame.

I was lucky - the version I read in grade school actually focused strongly and in detail on Sullivan’s vision loss. Not just the loss of vision but the pain and fear she expierenced as the disease progressed, AND how it was related to her family’s poverty.

I can’t recall the exact words, but I absolutely still remember those descriptions.

(via beatrice-otter)

amarguerite:

One thing I think is very interesting (but that I have no coherent thesis about) is how the age gap “I have known you all your life” romance between Emma and Mr. Knightley seems like a repeated trope in 19th century novels and is often framed as a really good thing (eg Mr. Brooke and Meg in Little Women)

It’s so weird to me and I have such inchoate thoughts about it because it’s a trope that’s aged like milk. My twenty-first century reaction to reading that Mr. Knightley’s known Emma since she was a literal child, or that Mr. Brooke got interested in Meg when she was only 17, is “NOPE NOPE NOPE”

But… on the other hand, marriage was SO DIFFERENT in the 19th century, and ideas of what it should do and what what you should consider going into it, and how it changes a woman’s status both legally and socially are also very alien now. If you are in a system where you are raised knowing that you must marry, that that’s the only right and respectable path in life BUT ALSO that your whole life from that point will be completely dependent ton your husband and his income and his decisions…

Well, “You’ve known this guy you’re whole life and he’s been consistently a good person to you,” is actually a really good argument in his favor? It makes for a really safe option in a time when you had to gamble on some dude willing to marry you. (But then I get to the point of, ‘well why the age gap then, what’s wrong with being the same age in the 19th century,’ and I’ve got some more thinking to do. Something something economic stability or maybe some weird social ideas about gendered maturity levels?)

A large part of that age gap was that while women in their late teens and early twenties were more or less ready to survive repeated pregnancies, men were - in general - not financially solid enough to support a family untill their late twenties to mid thirties. (If not later) And that economic viability was **every bit** as important as the assumed fertility of the prospective wife. A father who allowed a man of poor economic ability to marry his daughter was considered to be very bad at Doing The Important Father Thing.

To go back to the example of Little Women, the men who are not wealthy are getting married for the first time in their thirties, once they have established themselves in their chosen field (and remember it’s the entire point of Bhaer not considering himself worthy of marriage to Jo) while the rich heirs like Laurie and Fred Vaughn are considered marriagable in their early twenties – i.e. as soon as they reach their majority and inherit their wealth.

typhlonectes:

Read a fucking book.

crystalfic:

writing-prompt-s:

1000 years ago, a great king had his soul infused with the crown so he may rule eternity, taking possession of anyone who wears it. But with each new ‘successor,’ the king took his extra lives increasingly for granted, until one day…..

The crown hit the floor of the blacksmith’s forge, the heavy ringing sound of gold on packed earth echoing long after it should have faded away.

“Melt it down.”

The blacksmith choked, glad that she’d put down the horseshoe she’d been working on. “What?”

“Melt it down,” the Heir repeated patiently.

The blacksmith glanced at the Heir, then to the discarded Crown of Helgrath lying on her floor, then back at the Heir. “Why?” she asked plaintively.

“That thing ate my mother,” the Heir said grimly. “My mother died thirty-nine years ago, when she first put it on, and something else stepped into her place. It’s soaked in blood magic.”

“Magic is forbidden in this kingdom,” the blacksmith said automatically.

“Probably because any halfway competent mage would take one look at that thing and know what it was.” The Heir grinned. “Probably the one thing old Helgrath never thought about; that a royal scion would learn about magic outside the Kingdom.”

“When you stayed at other courts, on your search for a spouse,” the Blacksmith said, horrified. “That’s - that’s heresy.”

“Not for much longer, if I have anything to say about it,” the Heir said, mouth forming a thin line. “Look, it’s five pounds of gold, it’s stupidly, neck-breakingly heavy, and it could be much better used to fund a clean water supply than it would on my head. Especially since I have no intention of being possessed by some greedy bastard who likes to murder his descendants so that he can hold on to power.”

“And fire will destroy the evil magic?” the blacksmith asked.

“Should do, fire destroys most magic. If not, we’ll figure something else out.”

The blacksmith nodded. “You had me at ‘clean water supply’.” Wrapping her hands in her leather apron so that she wouldn’t come in contact with the cursed crown, she lifted it into a metal bucket and swung it onto a hook over her forge fire.

The screaming coming from the bucket was a little disturbing, but it did prove the Heir’s claims.

(via phoenixyfriend)

adrienmelon:

James T Kirk did not say “leave your bigotry in your quarters, there’s no room for it on the bridge.” in 1966 for any bigots to love Star Trek. Get out of the fandom you’re not welcome here.

LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK

(via oft-goes-awry)

other-peoples-coats:

struck by the idea where, For Reasons, plan saddest desert hermit doesn’t get off the ground and team proto-rebellion have to pivot and pivot fast.

chucking the conspiracy equivalent of a uey at 100mph on the highway, and everyone involved is sleep deprived, stressed as fuck, and experiencing y'know, several levels of Devastating Grief.

the person with the brain cell is bail organa, a man who in canon spends like 20 fucking years playing ding dong ditch with a genocidal psychic space wizard and his boss, an even more genocidal space wizard. This man is not lacking in gumption, one can say. he is possessed of life threatening amounts of chutzpah, one might also say, except that he spends twenty years winning the ding dong ditch match with, again, a genocidal fascist dictatorship which includes two genocidal psychic space wizards who literally know he was in tight with the genocided group of space wizards plus the [mumble] number of other murderous genocidal space wizards, plus the rest of the non-space wizard space fascist cohort.

So. What does a man with a spine of steel, a heart as big as a planet, and more gumption than anyone should possess do, when plan ‘split up the kids and hide the most famous man in the galaxy on the saddest hell planet’ is a no go?

lie. lie like a fucking rug.

What’s palpatine going to do? day one of the empire, his super awesome chosen one space wizard makeover project is still in progress and not yet wheezing his way into the galaxy’s nightmares, and bail fucking organa strolls into the imperial senate with:

• one (1) baby (female)
• one (1) baby (male)
• several (~20+) aides and various hangers on, including;
• one (1) brown haired blue eyed man who could, if you squinted a bit, probably get third place in a general kenobi lookalike competition, were those now not super duper illegal

Sidious, of course, could be like A JEDI KILL HIM TRAITOR ETC, but, crucially, his wheezing attack dog is still on the lab table getting seven inches added to his height and cup holders installed, or whatever the fuck skeevy sheev added in as extras. Palpatine is an old guy who is still trading on being A Beloved Grandfather who was Reluctant To Take The Throne, and is still easing the galaxy into the whole, y'know, we’re a fascist empire now, kneel or perish.

Palpatine, on day one of the empire, can’t point at bail fucking organa and be like HABOURING A TRAITOR unless he is really, really sure, like 110% sure, because it’s bail fucking organa and every goddamn senator will baulk like a horse at a plastic bag if he accuses, again, the senator of alderaan of high treason on day one of the empire.

A secret rebellion is fine, if not ideal; you can theoretically stamp it out, and, also, it’s small, percentage wise.

The entire fucking galaxy thinking that, hey, if the guy in charge is going to go after fucking alderaan, what’s to stop him going after us? bigger problem. huge problem. original trilogy kinda touched on that one. Day one of the empire, everyone is still basically on war footing, and fuck man, if alderaan is copping it….maybe this empire isn’t great after all. maybe we can make our OWN empire, with a different emperor.

Would palps win? eh maybe. would it destroy all credibility forever and ever amen? yeah. the difference between a 'legally installed emperor’ and 'a dictator we must overthrow’ is how willing the galaxy is to lick boot, and there’s not yet the fear of The Empire black bagging you to keep those tongues going.

so. palpatine can’t say shit. palpatine can imply shit, palpatine can get his lackies to say shit. but, crucially, palpatine himself can’t say fuck all about the goddamn kenobi lookalike that is now following after organa and wiping his kid’s little butts and playing gofer and whatever else.

and what’s more believable? bail fucking organa is hiding a traitor, or bail organa and his wife have a situationship with a guy who looks sort of a bit like a former general? the same kind of situationship that like, half the senate has had at one point or another with a guy (or guys) who looked sort of a bit like said ex-general. go to any high level business and/or political building, you’ll find half a dozen guys who look vaguely like said hot ex-general, and many of them will have a more or less (often less) accurate coruscanti-ish accent. or will develop one.

(hey, it’s a niche. gotta pay the bills somehow, and if you get the job because you dyed your hair and grew a beard, well, you’re still using your political science degree, right?)

of course, that only holds for so long, but by that point it’s been, y'know, a while. and that looks worse in a different way – what, kenobi was fucking walking around in front of the whole imperial senate, and none of them noticed? absolutely not, all credibility is gone forever.

which means. that palpatine and the organas are stuck in a full on staring match about this guy who is 100% for sure not kenobi, because – well. he can’t be kenobi. becuase that would look bad. but also. it’s kenobi. but also. it can’t be kenobi.

(vader takes one look at this guy who looks like his master kenobi and then rolls his eyes, because he has already met aproximately 90,000 people who look vaugely like his master and he got very good at picking out how the newest one was not kenobi his master by the time he was a senior padawan.)

(via oft-goes-awry)

so-you-read-the-usernames:

Female characters who are the sole voice of reason <<<<<<< Female characters who think of themselves as the sole voice of reason but who are actually just as insane as those around them

Hermione Granger, ladies and gentlemen

(via oft-goes-awry)

laurasimonsdaughter:

Came back wrong this, came back monstrous that

What if they came back loving? What if they came back in love. What if the necromancy worked and you cheated death and it’s everything you’ve ever wanted, but now they love you in a way they never did before and you cannot know if that is because they finally know the lengths you are willing to go for them, or because something in this deathless magic bound their soul to yours to guide them home and it left them no. choice.

This is basically the plot of Regarding Henry

(via phoenixyfriend)

elodieunderglass:

learnyourlessonswell:

cryptotheism:

duckdotcom:

imagine if doorways grew back like scabbed over with fresh drywall and you had to keep carving them back out with a jabsaw to keep the doorway clear etc

Imagine if the membranes recoiled in pain every time you did this. Imagine if over time, some doorways became accustomed sensation. Imagine that very rarely, some even seemed to enjoy it.

*sleepover host voice* imagine if you two went to sleep

Oh for gods sake kids it’s like piercing an ear - that’s why you put a doorframe in - you don’t hang a door in drywall, you gremlins. You frame the door. It’s like those gauges that people put in their ears - the hole stays. It won’t scab over with a doorframe in it. You’ve lived around doors you whole life, you little clowns. Lights out