Tales of the Titans #1 - "Starfire: Alien Princess" (2023)

a collection of motivational insights regarding content creation and creative hobbies

and of course the classic

We as a fandom need to do better with Tom Paris. He does not get the respect he deserves.

Fandom has been very good to Worf in it’s readings of his motivations. We are told explicitly by the shows that he is Like That because he’s Klingon but fandom has rightly pointed out that this is not the case. He’s Like That because he’s Russian (and an adoptee from another culture and possibly autistic). Tumblr has displayed some great reading comprehension when it comes to Worf. What we are told is in conflict with what we have been shown and instead of trusting that unreliable/biased narration we’ve gone with our eyes.

We need to apply that to Tom. We are told that Tom is undependable, a gossip, flighty, disloyal to his girlfriend, desperate to weasel his way out of any obligation, and just generally kind of a fuck up. But what we see in the show is someone who is so dependable he’s kind of Janeway’s secret weapon. He will drop anything if she has a dangerous important job for him and he does these jobs diligently and with respect for their seriousness.

He is insightful when it comes to people yet never uses sensitive or embarrassing information to hurt people, instead he uses what he knows to help the people in question. He has a deep compassion for everyone even those who don’t like him too much (Chakotay, Tuvok) or are actively hostile towards him (the Doctor). (Even when the Doctor was being an asshole to everyone in Author, Author Tom’s holo-payback was kind. He didn’t embarrass him publicly and he didn’t damage his files; both of which were more than the Doctor deserved considering he was running a one-man smear campaign against the whole crew)

When a job needs doing on Voyager you see Tom picking up the slack. He is, if anything, a pleaser. He makes no secret of his dislike for medical work yet he’s an enthusiastic medic who is downright itchy to run to assist people in need. And he’s got a far better bedside manner than the Doctor. He hates that job but it’s important and he understand that so he does the job well.

After he and B’Elanna get together you never see him flirt or act inappropriately with anyone. He doesn’t look at anyone else like that.

Tom is a classic kid with ADHD. He has spent his life being told he’s a fuck up so he’s come to believe it. He plays up being the butt of jokes because it makes people laugh. Okay, so he gets super involved in his hobbies and tries to weasel his way out of extra work; so what. He also shows interest in his friends’ interests and tries to engage people in group activities and volunteers for extra assignments. He takes on too much and gets overwhelmed. He needs alone time to decompress. None of that is a character flaw.

On one hand Tom is what happens when you get the mom friend (Robbie) to play a fuck up, on the other he’s what happens when a good person who’s trying their best starts internalizing being told they’re no good.

He’s a scamp, he’s a silly little guy, he’s not perfect but he’s not the scoundrel we’re told that he is. Let’s try to treat him accordingly.

Felt the urge to draw something on paper instead of digital and this Supergirl fell out of my pen

[Tweet by Gillian Branstetter reads “If enforcing gender norms requires a constant state of surveillance and censorship then they probably aren’t as biological or innate as you think they are]

me after one activia 

Idk what this is from so I’m just assuming it’s Jamie Lee Curtis living her life

dont play defense

Terfs want my gender-affirming lasers so bad that they stole my art

sometimes I get so angry thinking about ‘The Imitation Game’ that I have to go in a little ‘upset big tantrum room’ in my head for a calm down

like, Benisnatch Cumberque played the same character he’s always plays as an asshole genius and we were all supposed to be okay with it, but it’s basically character slander

at different parts of the movie Turing is described as ‘arrogant, “inhuman,” “narcissistic,” and even “a monster,” in the film he goes against those around him and is shown to periodically ignore and belittle his colleagues

And. I. Am. So. Angry.

Alan Turing was described by his friends and people that knew him as “intensely shy and kindly”, he was said to “inspire loyalty and affection among those who appreciated his unusual gifts” and was “unfailingly generous with his time and expertise, especially toward younger recruits”

He was kind, he was kind, HE WAS KIND, he was kind

he was kind and geeky and awkward and gay, I don’t care if the whole of society doesn’t find that compelling, I don’t care if we don’t value kindness as an attribute in men, he deserved to be loved and respected as he was, not as we wish he was

I am so sorry Alan Turing, I am so sorry your story was not told with care and thoughtfulness, I am so sorry you didn’t get to be shown to be deeply in love with the men you loved, I am sorry your great and terrible tragedy was never unfolded as a kind and brilliant man abused by a horrible homophobic system

You are a hero that turned the tides of history like no other and I am so sorry

hey op if you’re looking for a kinder movie about alan turing, you should check out breaking the code (1996). breaking the code was originally a stage play, and this is a filmed adaptation. it’s more faithful to his personality, stars derek jacobi (who was also a gay man and plays the part with so much sympathy), and it doesn’t bungle historical details for the sake of adding more drama. here’s a link to a youtube playlist where you can watch it in full

He felt bad for the children who were stuck at bletchley park without their toys so he used spare paper from his office to make them a monopoly board by hand

He was also reported as having a goofy sense of humor where he used to make a show of saying goodbye to everyone at the party and then walk into the closet instead of out the front door

Plus, he was quoted as saying quips like “Beyond the way they speak, there is only one (no two!) features of American life which I find really tiresome. The impossibility of getting a bath in the ordinary sense and their ideas on room temperature.” — Alan Turing (1936)

He was a huge athlete and biked everywhere and sometimes ran the five miles to work every morning, and did things like calculate when his bike chain would break so he could keep riding the thing despite it being ancient

He was still “odd” according to his coworkers as he sometimes wore a gasmask to work to avoid spring allergies and used to chain his coffee mug up to avoid theft at the office, but the same colleagues described him as very friendly, open, and thoughtful as well if not shy.

and finally, of course, there was Porgy

He used to practice his Cambridge lectures in front of this stuffed bear he got in college named Porgy and was delighted when his mom sewed it a little outfit. He kept the bear with him throughout life.

i keep seeing this version without any mention of turing being autistic, and how this portrayal of him as a cold cruel genius is a classic autiphobic trope we’re subjected to constantly.

he was kind, he was gay, he was brilliant, he was autistic.

WHERE IS THE RAVEN X BEAST BOY FANFICTION….WHERE

@lilytimbers on ao3 and ffn.net

@cleoarrow on ffn.net

@shadowjack12345 on ffn.net and ao3

@azarathian on ao3 and ffn.net

Ava Chanel @fireflyxrebel-writes on ao3 and ffn.net

Oh so many. So, so many.

If you want to look on ffn.net, look up teen titans under cartoons and/or comics, and I'd filter genre to romance, and characters A and B to Raven and Beast Boy.

On ao3, just look for the tag beast boy/raven, or Garfield logan/raven Roth.

If you want anymore suggestions, I have tons.

It’s rare I get a mention these days. Thank you very much!

12,000 people harmonizing Hey Jude at Pentatonix concert in Des moines

Incredible! Gives me hope that there could be peace on earth

Serious goosebumps

I saw a poll about how many works you've published on Ao3 and so then I got curious. So let's try this.

How many WORDS have you published on Ao3???

i'm talking total word count that you can see if you look in your statistics.

this is so so important to me and mine, and I'm asking you to Do Something so I'll respect your time and keep it brief

in the UK, if 100k sign a a government petition it will be brought to Parliament and debated. y'all know this country is suffering from some 80s-style bigotry right now, and this is one symptom: almost 200k fuckholes have come together to force the government to discuss whether it is 'appropriate' to tell children that queer people exist. this is a big symbolic victory for them. and i am burning with fury.

please, if you're from the UK, sign this counter-petition so they can at least see how much of a minority they are. simply put, the attempt to put these bastards in their place isn't gathering enough steam. there are barely 2000 more signatures now than there were this morning, and that isn't enough. i refuse to let these people feel even a moment of victory or satisfaction. please help.

@elytrians @thebibliosphere you both may have better reach for this

Oh, fuck entirely all of that. UK tumblr, let’s go.

alright let's talk about marina sirtis.

we know deanna troi was not written in the way the character deserved, but something we don't talk about enough is that every time we see sirtis play someone other than just troi, she absolutely shines.

like she shines anyway, but when troi has to pretend to be a romulan? the way she took control of every situation, and really pushed beyond the person she really is? holy shirt!

additionally when her body was taken over by the criminal who needed to release his soul, sirtis fucking killed it with the menace and determination. you can tell she also had a ton of fun doing that.

one more example was probably be Wild West Troi. not only was sirtis killing it and enjoying it, so was deanna.

despite being forced to do terrible plots in which she gets taken over or violated, when she's on screen playing someone other than just troi, it's magnificent. and i just need everyone to know it.

➸ “This is a sentence.”

➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.

➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”

➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”

➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”

➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”

➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.

“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.

“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”

➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”

➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”

However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!

➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.

If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)

➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“

“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.

➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.

➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”

➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.

“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”

➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.

“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”