Latest Posts by aikokima - Page 4

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at this point the most charitable interpretation of tumblr's moderation is that

terfs on this site (users, not employees) have figured out that they can weaponize the automated banning system with mass reports on trans women

at best, nobody on staff has noticed this pattern of behavior for several years despite it being explicitly pointed out to them multiple times; at worst, there is at least one terf on staff making it so that mass reports of trans women get acted on instantly and are rarely if ever reviewed

Photo Matt has an ego the size of Cleveland and will ban anyone who incidentally bruises it while lying through his veneers about the reasons why when they are blatantly obvious to anyone with eyes

i'm genuinely not sure whether Matt is garden-variety transphobic, or if he hates everyone who shit-talks him and it just so happens (for no reason at all) that the trans women on this site dislike him and his moderation team more than most other groups so he just hates the fact that they keep making him look transphobic when he systematically bans them for hating him

tumblr's legal and PR teams are waking up right now, checking Slack on their phones before getting out of bed, and are probably screaming into their respective pillows

I can't even!!!!

glad that im not popular enough to have an evil shadow version of my blog that exists just to make contradictions on my posts

My queers, we really need to put the "no men" thing away. Men are not inherently bad. There are queer men. There are questioning men. There's men that are just plain cool. Denying these men a space at our table is not helping - except the TERFs. I just came off the back of reading a transphobe gleeful rant about the need to have pride without men - They of course mean me. This kind of stuff is damaging to me and I really need us all to take a step back and maybe kill this "men dni, men not allowed" stuff. What you mean is "no men who are going to do mean stuff to me." And frankly those men won't give a shit about that kind of boundary.

But I promise you there's a fleet of good honest men who will see that and be sad they're not allowed in your version of queer spaces.

PATRIARCHY is what you hate. Dni Patriarchs.

This, but with uraichi...

I adore this, I don't know why but I do 🤩

And if I had the money I would, instead I'll share it.

At the gate for my flight home from visiting friends and there's a woman here with a service Shiba Inu. No pics because he has a Do Not Disturb vest and taking pics of strangers is illegal but I need to stress how ON DUTY this animal is. Ears up. Eyes doing Lazer scans of everything. Examining everyone who passes within 10ft like a security guard. Ass planted on her feet. I have never seen a dog with such intense chivalric guardian energy before. He has tiny eyebrows and they are FURROWED with concentration.

Because What!?

NBC News

Alabama station in disbelief after 200-foot radio tower stolen

Radio station WJLX can no longer broadcast its AM programming since the incident.

“What do you mean the tower is gone? Are you sure you’re in the right place? I actually used more colorful words than that,” Brett Elmore recounted to NBC News. “He said there’s wires all over the ground and the tower is gone.”

Because this shows you that history can be hilarious!! 😂🤣

i’ll never get over the fact that there’s a movie called “snakes on a plane” and in that movie there’s a line that is, verbatim, “ive had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane”.

that is absolutely bonkers. that’s ridiculous. that’s like making a movie called “gators in the sewer” and having someone in the movie say “im getting really sick and tired of these fucking gators in the sewer”

Especially if you live in the US!

Yeah, but it's also a learning experience, like you now know to buy less or something else. And when you get done it's clean.

This really is my thought process!

I would love something like that!!!!

society's infantilization of decorated objects is honestly one of the greatest recent crimes against humans' innate desire for beauty

I would love reading this!!!!

DP x DC Writing Prompt

For whatever reason, Tim hires Danny as a bodyguard/assistant (unaware of the ghost powers until later). Tim only did it for appearances but hey, Danny is actually really good at his job and understands completely that sometimes, Tim just needs to disappear for a bit and that it just happens to coincide with there being a problem in Gotham. Danny even lets Tim drink all the heavily caffeinated coffee he wants and doesn’t try to limit it like Tam tries to do (considering Danny drinks just about the same amount… (Tam tried to have an intervention, it did not work)). It’s going great…

… then Tim realizes that Danny has been bodyguarding him and secretly assisting him while Tim is out as Red Robin (how does Danny know Tim is Red Robin? Who knows). Eventually, Tim learns to accept it and you know what? Danny is a great partner to have… on the field… behind the scenes, that is definitely what Tim meant…

Then one day, while Tim is drinking the coffee Danny prepared for the both of them, he realizes where they both are and has just one question:

“When did Danny become his roommate?”

🤣🤣🤣😂

OP made the post unrebloggable but said it's fine to screenshot and I'm in love with this

Reading this, really reminded me that history may be of the victors, but the ones who write it down are those who are left.

constantly devastated by the world we lost due to aids

😆😂🤣😂🤣

There’s a problem with Brighton’s Christmas lights

!!!!

no but really, like 

i know that some folks love telling creative people that “you should be doing it for fun because you love it not for the compliments” but creative people thrive on feedback whether it’s critical or just complimentary

so when i write fanfiction and don’t get any actual feedback i feel like i spent all that time and energy doing it for nothing because i’m not getting feedback from the people i wrote it for 

doing something you’re proud of and then presenting it to the sound of utter silence is like the worst feeling on earth 

I can't not share this!

pme.uchicago.edu

“Inverse vaccine” shows potential to treat multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases

Pritzker Molecular Engineering researchers led by Prof. Jeffrey Hubbell showed that their compound can eliminate the autoimmune reaction ass

☝️☝️☝️ THIS!!!

I remember growing up and being so excited to get to see this, and now I realize it was only a year older than me...

Small of foot, big of heart 🦕💖

And for those who don't see it as legitimate, well 😕🫥☹️

this was a great read. “Laziness Does Not Exist” by Devon Price

Felt that it’s important to share videos like this too.

I'd like to add that a lot of people seem to go 'first person' in the face of any thing critical even if it's not directly related...

I want to talk about something. I want to talk about ableism in fandom. And sexism in fandom. Oh, and racism in fandom.

Mostly though, I wanna talk about how the discussion about these things often gets derailed because people don't understand what trends and typical behaviors actually are.

Whenever a Person of Color, a woman, someone disabled, someone queer (or an intersection of any of these groups) points out that certain fandom trends are bigoted in some shape or form, half the replies seem to be "but they are my comfort character! Maybe people just like them better because they are more interesting!" or even "people are allowed to have headcanons!" - the very daft even go for a "don't bring politics into fandom" which is a personal favorite because nothing exists in a vacuum and nothing is truly apolitical. But alas~

What most of these replies seemingly fail to understand is something very, very simple: it's not about you.

You, as an individual, are just one datapoint in a fandom. You are not the trend. You do not necessarily depict the typical behavior.

When someone points out that there is racism in fandom, that doesn't mean every fan is racist or perpetuating racist ideas*. By constantly mentioning your own lack of racism, quite often, you are actively derailing the conversation away from the problems at hand.

When someone names and describes a trend, they don't mean your headcanon specifically - they mean the accumulated number of headcanons perpetuating a harmful or outdated idea.

I am not saying this to forbid anyone from writing fics about their favorite characters or to keep anyone from having fun headcanons and sharing their theories and thoughts - quite the opposite actually. A critique of a general trend is not a critique of you as an individual - and you're going to have a much better, and more productive, time online if you can internalize that. If you stop growing defensive and instead allow yourself to actually digest the message of what was pointed out.

I am saying this to encourage some critical thinking.

Allow me to offer up some examples:

Case 1: A DC blogger made the daring statement that maybe Tim and Jason were such a popular fanfic focus because they are the only two undeniably white batboys. Immediately someone replied saying "no, it's all the fun traumatic situations we can put them in!". Which is an insane statement to make, considering the same can be said for literally ANY OTHER DC Batman and Batfam character.

The original post wasn't anything groundbreaking, they didn't accuse anyone, didn't name any names... but immediately there was a justification, immediately there was a reason why people might like these characters more. No one stopped to take a second and reflect on the current trends in fanfiction, no one considered that maybe this wasn't a declaration against people who like these characters but a thesis depicting the OVERALL trend of fandom once again focusing on undeniably white (and male) characters.

(don't get me started on the racebending of white characters in media that has a big Cast of Color and the implications of that)

Case 2: A meta posted on Ao3 about ableism in the Criminal Minds fandom caught my attention. A wonderful piece, very thoughtful, analyzing certain characterization choices within the fandom through the lens of an actually autistic person. The conclusion they reached: the writing of Spencer Reid as an autistic character, while often charming and comforting, tended to be incredibly infantilizing and at worst downright ableist. They came to that conclusion while CLEARLY stating that the individual fanfic wasn't the problem, but the general fandom trend in depicting this character.

Once again, looking at the replies seemed to be a mistake: while many comments furthered the discussion, there were quite a few which completely missed the point. Some were downright hostile. Because how dare this author imply that THEY are ableist when they write their favorite character using that specific characterization.

It didn't matter that the author allowed room for personal interpretation. It didn't matter that they noted something concerning about the entire fandom - people still thought they were attacking singular people.

Case 3: I wrote a fic about abortion in the FMA(b) fandom (actually I've written a weird amount of fics about abortion in a lot of fandoms, but alas) and I got hate comments for it. Because of that I addressed the bias in fandom against pro-choice depictions of pregnancies. I pointed out that the utter lack of abortion in many omegaverse stories or even mpreg or het romances, painted the picture of an unconscious bias that hurt people for whom abortion was the only option, the best possible ending. The response on the post itself was mostly positive, but I got anon hate.

(which I can unfortunately not show you since I deleted it in the months since)

And I'm not overly broken up about it, but it also underlines my point: by pointing at a general problem, a typical behavior, a larger trend... people feel personally attacked.

This inability to discuss sexism, ableism, racism, transphobia, etc in fandom without people turning defensive and hurt... well, it damages our ability to have these conversations at all.

Earlier I said YOU are not the problem - well, i think part of this discussion is acknowledging that: sometimes YOU are in fact part of the problem. And that's not the end of the world. But you can only recognize yourself as a cog in the machine, if you can examine your own actions, your own biases, your own preferences critically and without becoming defensive.

And, again, this is not to keep you from finding comfort in your favorite characters and headcanons. This is also not to say that I am free of biases and internalized bigotries - I am also very much a part of the system. A part of the problem.

This is so you can comfortably ask yourself "but why is there no abortion in this universe?" or "why are my favorite black characters always the top in my slash ships?" or "why do I write this disabled character as childish and in need of help?" - and sometimes the answer is "because I am disabled and I want comfort", and that's fine too.

There is no one shoe fits all in fiction. There is not a single trope that captures all members of a group. There is no single stereotype that isn't also someone's comfort. No group is a monolith, no experienced all-encompasing (or entirely unique).

There is never a simple answer.

But that doesn't mean you should stop questioning your own biases, your own ideals.

Especially, if you grow defensive if someone points out that a certain trend you engage in might be racist. Or sexist. Or queerphobic. Or fucking ableist.

*this does not mean negate the general anti-blackness perpetuated by most cultures as a result of colonialism and slavery

YES, ALL THE YES!!!

Say it with me, kids, "I do not deserve this pain. I am in chronic pain due to forces outside of my control. I should not have to earn pain relief. I am good. I do not deserve to be shamed for my pain. It is not my fault."

"The trannies should be able to piss in whatever toilet they want and change their bodies however they want. Why is it my business if some chick has a dick or a guy has a pie? I'm not a trannie or a fag so I don't care, just give 'em the medicine they need."

"This is an LGBT safe space. Of COURSE I fully support individuals who identify as transgender and their right to self-determination! I just think that transitioning is a very serious choice and should be heavily regulated. And there could be a lot of harm in exposing cis children to such topics, so we should be really careful about when it is appropriate to mention trans issues or have too much trans visibility."

One of the above statements is Problematic and the other is slightly annoying. If we disagree on which is which then working together for a better future is going to get really fucking difficult.

This makes me giggle so much!

I definitely make spaghetti sauce extremely wrong but I'm not going to stop

THIS!!! All of this aligned with my own headcanon thoughts!

Nobody asked but here's some random world building headcanons I have about FF7

Gaia is a dwarf planet that's stupidly rich in iron, which gives it earth like gravity and makes constructions like Midgar, Junon and Gold Saucer cheap.

Shinra scientists haven't discovered DNA yet and most of their medical science is successful via dumb luck of Jenova being highly adaptive and also the existence of literal magic. They probably haven't figured out atomic theory either.

Cetra did some measure of terraforming on Gaia and Meteor is how they did it. They made the Black Materia for a reason and doubt it was because they wanted to destroy the Planet. I think it was to nudge the Planet's orbit to more desirable place. There's bunch of craters all over Gaia, including the bottom of the ocean, and I don't think they were all caused by the Calamity.

The Summons (in their original non-playable cutscene form in FF7) aren't actually creatures from other worlds, they're memories. Each summon sequence is a event that happened on Gaia sometime in its past, that was then immortalised into Materia so strongly that it can affect physical world.

Which means that there was once upon a time an actual living breathing orbital laser dragon capable of spaceflight and the fact that Cid is a dragoon suddenly makes so much sense.

Um, I feel called out...

who’s gonna tell tumblr that executive dysfunction is more than Not Doing Things?

Having hearing aids myself, this is Amazing!!

I was chatting with a friend who has hearing aids about heard aid jewlery and they said "Omg that be so cool!" Would be?? Oh my friend,,, the rabbit holes I've gone down for the sake of writing!! I gotta find a proper diy guide but here- For those of you who might not have seen this wicked designs!!

Have them look like earings with dangling charms that fit your outfit!

Althought I personally like the ones that highlight the aid! Letting them be accessories and making ppl look at them and acknowledge them is very Startrek to me (which I love)

And who doesn't love elf ears???!!

Hope this inspires you. I am hunting down a diy tutorial on how to make it but given how expensive aids are I wouldn't feel comfy advocating for it quite yet until further research. Until then tho, start brainstorming and sketching ideas at least!

This is AMAZING!!!

It just kills me when writers create franchises where like 95% of the speaking roles are male, then get morally offended that all of the popular ships are gay. It’s like, what did they expect?

This!!! I am so excited because I am so bad at posting comments, even on ones that I reread.

In the spirit of encouraging people to comment on fanfics while also making it easier to do so, I feel obliged to share a browser extension for ao3 that has quite literally revolutionized the comment game for me.

I present to you: the floating ao3 comment box!

From what I've seen, a big problem for many people is that once you reach the comments at the bottom of a fic, your memory of it miraculously disappears. Anything you wanted to say is stuck ten paragraphs ago, and you barely remember what you thought while reading. This fixes that!

I'll give a little explanation on the features and how it works, but if you want to skip all that, here's the link.

The extension is visible as a small blue box in the upper left corner.

(Side note: The green colouring is not from the extension, that's me.)

If you click on it, you open a comment box window at the bottom of your screen but not at the bottom of the fic. I opened my own fic for demonstrative purposes.

The website also gives explanations on how exactly it functions, but I'll summarize regardless.

insert selection -> if you highlight a sentence in the fic it will be added in italics to the comment box

add to comment box -> once you're done writing your comment, you click this button and the entire thing will automatically copied to the ao3 comment box

delete -> self explanatory

on mulitchapter fics, you will be given the option to either add the comment to just the current chapter or the entire fic

The best part? You can simply close the window the same way you opened it and your progress will automatically be saved. So you can open it, comment on a paragraph, and then close it and keep reading without having the box in your face.

Comments are what keep writers going, and as both a writer and a reader, I think it's such an easy way of showing support and enthusiasm.