Dr. Evil, PhD🌹🌙🌹

Well, one of my friends did say they would read Edward Said with me once they're done with some IRL stuff so that should help my brain

Also, I think I'm realizing I might be (more) cynical and cranky lately because I'm not engaging with enough stuff that challenges me or makes me feel dumb (positive). Should get on that

I love when deeply unserious chuds use thought terminating cliches and act morally superior. Really gives me faith in humanity

Hear me out but Wen Qing amd Wei Wuxian hooking up a few times (like less than 4) bc WWX in his “str8” phase wanted to try pegging and WQ needed to break in her first strap. They aren’t necessarily attracted to each other, but they don’t need to be to have fun!

a shot of ohtori tower surrounded by incomplete half crescent balconies jutting out from various buildings, the framing and steelwork nakedly visible

utena ascending a staircase precariously and impossibly hanging over a mix of abstract shapes that constitute buildings

ohtori academy glows as anthy turns out the lights

juri and the fencing club stand in front of a deconstructed wall cut through with white and red paint, its windows stained glass with abstract shapes - some filled, some not.

It is simply never a bad time to think about the architectural design in Adolescence of Utena

"the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children"

Oh hey... I accidentally stumble on an article that's circling the same ideas that I have messily tried to articulate about fiction moments after articulating them. Anyway, this is an interesting read.

durandal.blog/blog/hammaja...

And instead of trying to resolve the tension neatly, my favorite works force you to sit with that tension. And IDK, I just find that a much more interesting approach to dark subject matter than something that lets the reader off the hook

Actually, this might be why I really enjoy a lot of Yi City fic. It goes 'yes, Xue Yang is an unrepentant mass murderer who inexcusably and permanently hurt Song Lan and Xingchen' AND 'but what does it mean if the three fall in love regardless?'

Though, I feel add that I find the 'fantasy' approach more honest about what it's doing than the 'safe' approach

But, what leaves me unsatisfied with these approaches (and this isn't shade at people who enjoy them) is that, when there is something more to explore with the subject matter (and there isn't always. Sometimes these approaches serve the subject matter best), then so much is left on the table

It's similar to the way a BDSM scene approaches things. You'd find this treatment in a lot of "bodice rippers," but also take any BL with questionable consent and it also usually falls in this space.

The other approach I've seen is the "fantasy" approach. It allows the characters to act in ways that would be completely inexcusable in the real world, but writes it in a way that makes it feel 'sexy.' You're not meant to engage with the actual ethics, but to participate in the fantasy.

But, the story makes sure that whatever lines the love interest crosses, they're not ones that make him violent in a way that readers could not forgive. It has the effect of making the physical violence he enacts feel less consequential because he *could* be doing worse, but doesn't.

And example of this would actually be Captive Prince. The threat of the love interest committing sexual violence against the protagonist. It's very much meant to be something in the forefront of the readers head.

The first is what I think of as the "safe" approach. There is the threat of something very dark happening, but the threat is darker than anything that actually does happen. And the author ensures the audience is aware that the worst things that happen have good reason.

Thinking about two ways I've seen broadly speaking, "dark romance" handle its tropes and why both kind leave dissatisfied.

Content Warning for discussing how the genre handles things such as sexual violence

Not in a moral judgement way, just in a 'I find it compelling to take what is normally heightened in a way that allows psychological distance from what is happening and explore it through a lens that removes that distance.'

Removing safety rails, if you will.

I don't event know what to do with it if I finish because it's very much doing Dark Romance Tropes (TM), but in a very not-sexy way

The most fun has been writing about the two leads doing things like discussing the military logistics of large armies in mountainous terrain.

Also IDK how I wrote 6k of it in a couple of days, but if I end up with another 10k this week, whoops

Was reading something that took some very dark material and then sanitized and simplified it in a way I didn't vibe with, so I decided to take similar dark material and try my hand at it.

And I've been having fun writing something that falls in the 'all the content warnings' category but...

TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON This cartoon has four panels, each showing a different scene. In addition, there’s a small “kicker” panel under the fourth panel. PANEL 1 The panel shows a counter at a fast food restaurant. We can see a couple of customers, and a couple of workers. The workers are wearing hats that very vaguely resemble hamburger buns. A sign on the wall shows a smiling hamburger with eyes, below the caption “Soilent Green YUM.” A smaller sign says “SAFETY” in larger letters followed by tiny print, which says “is a word we use a lot so you can’t sue us.” The worker at the cash register is turning to speak directly to the reader. WORKER: To get an official photo I.D., I have to go to the nearest government office, which is 90 miles away, and I don’t have a car, and even if I did my boss won’t give me a weekday off. PANEL 2 We’re in what looks like someone’s back yard. In the foreground is a garden, with some sort of plant being grown in tidy rows. An elderly woman is kneeling on the ground in front of the garden, wearing a floppy straw hat, an apron with a floral patter, and holding a trowel. She speaks directly to the reader. WOMAN: I can’t get I.D. without a birth certificate. But when I was born home births didn’t get birth certificates. PANEL 3 A mover wearing jeans and a black tank top is carrying a sofa as he’s talking to the reader. MOVER: The state charges $60 for a driver’s license…. but first I’d need a copy of my birth certificate, which is $30. I can’t afford 90 dollars to vote! PANEL 4 This panel shows the interior of a coffee shop. A man and a woman sit together at a table. They're both looking at their devices, him annoyed, her dismissive. MAN: Why wouldn’t anyone be able to get an I.D.? Idiots! WOMAN: People like that don’t deserve to vote. SMALL KICKER PANEL UNDER THE BOTTOM OF THE CARTOON The man from panel 4 yelling at Barry MAN: If it’s easy for me it must be easy for everybody! That’s just science!

How Hard Could Getting Voter ID Be?

Read more cartoons! ---> #PoliCartoon
Help us make more! ----> patreon.com/barry

The way this book/series critiques power is really interesting. IDK exactly where it's going with all this, but the execution so far has been so good.

This is probably the most baller line I've read in a Danmei (honestly in a very baller chapter). Definitely recommend Ballad of Sword and Wine.

QTP with a fictional female character you love!

Still brrrrrrr

We've been hanging around the -17 C range in the mornings here and I would barricade myself in doors if I didn't have to go to work. That is just impressive on your end!

a figure wearing undergarments and a whistle. behind the figure pale letters read SOCKS, UNDERWEAR, UNDERSHIRT, WHISTLE

a jacket with a pocket containing a whistle. the text reads: a whistle in every coat pocket, just in case

a figure in a long coat with a whistle leaning against a wall. the text reads: low lung capacity, i need to stop and catch my breath

three figures against a wall blowing whistles with their phones out. the text reads: we’re everywhere, we’re loud, we’re recording

abolish ICE

#iceoutmpls #iceoutcomics

I keep accidentally writing stories where food is the primary love language. I think I need to ban myself from doing that because it's getting a bit silly.

(To be fair, this story involves Ingrid, and therefor food has to be there, but you know.)

This is probably the most accurate description.

Someone in their mid-50s today told me that this is the first time he had thought about or been affected by politics. And that guy is actively guarding buildings and his coworkers from ICE.