SomeStoryThoughts

But like…I always read italics in a different tone like they’re thoughts. It seems quieter than using normal quotations which makes what they say look less significant on the page than other character’s dialogue.

I really don’t think my audience needs me to use completely different punctuation around a mute character. There’s no need to act like they’re speaking a different language since their muteness isn’t a focal point in the story.

You can add little things for emphasis though, like how fast or flippant a sign is given, also a lot of our “punctuation” is in facial expressions, so wild looks is kind of normal. Also messing up signs and just.. pushing them aside. Like, you mess up a fingerspell and just take both hands and shove the air in front of you to your side, people who sign eventually end up doing this for other things, like a “forget it” motion. It’s like a “wave it off” gesture.

Like... if Ocean Master and/or Black Manta ended up as the Aquaman. Maybe in a universe where Orm is raised as a Curry (and not abandoned by either parent) or David's piracy ends up giving him hero status because his job keeps his community alive.

Or if Dexstar ended up as a green lantern (or any lantern) and was the leagues official pet/mascot. (Kirk and Hernan begrudgingly adopt him and end up loving him the most, because dads be like that).

Or if one of the Rouges ended up becoming the flash? Or if they all become speedsters and become a full group on their own.

APPARENTLY they do have a little reddish tinge on their lower bellies thats hard to see from most angles.

There also IS a red headed woodpecker which could be confusing since there's at least 2 other woodpeckers with red on their heads, this one we've been discussing and the downy woodpecker, except like. This is the Red Hood Fashion of woodpeckers. Very red head. Makes complete sense.

Meanwhile Librarians when books get grabbed out of their displays:

Very excited to finally share some pictures of my Dread Pirate Frogerts build! I've been thinking about making this outfit for my Kermit for a while now, but the proper motivation to actually get this done was hearing that Cary Elwes was announced as a guest for my local comic convention! So with any luck Dread Pirate Frogerts will be getting to meet the real Westley very soon.

No transphobes allowed, only transborbs.

Check out my stuff!

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.

I can pick a hurt comfort or a slow burn or an angst with a happy ending.

I can remove the tags I don’t want to see, I can check word count,check if it’s finished and it’s so much easier than books

I know these characters and I see them in my mind so they can pull me on journey into a world I love, unless it’s au universes

Both can mean an individual person gifted with foresight. A person who is an oracle can prophesize and make a prophecy, but is an oracle a prophet? Why or why not?

Conventional definitions are pretty much the same: both are people gifted with foresight and looked to as the mediums through which divinity communicates with humanity. But would you call the Pythia a prophet? Would you call Moses an oracle?

[points to sign on door that says ‘NO PROPHESIZING’]

You’re not wrong? Oracles def have some degree of control that prophets do NOT. I think it’s a difference in compulsion/duty/domain? Like the difference between a new anchor and a mail carrier. Both bring “the news” but one is just commenting on what IS and the other is bring TO YOU what was sent.

A prophet is a messenger. Fate/Judgment is coming. Better watch out! Maybe you can change it, maybe this is only the kindness of letting you get your affairs in order. But they have come to deliver the Prophecy Mail™ and we all gotta live with that.

ORACLES? Commenting on the weather. Rome will fall. A mountain is gonna explode somewhere. Oh, neat, something called an “airplane” will someday exsist. We eat our bread, sip our tea, and try not to go insane. They get Spoilers. All the time, ALL THE TIME. But, hey! Some times it’s good news!

Stop ASKING them about shit you don’t actually want the answer too.

You keep asking “oh, oracle, how will I die?” And then getting all suprise pikachu face WHEN THEY TELL YOU! You’re NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO AVOID THAT! In fact, you’ll actively MAKE IT WORSE TRYING! They’d warn you if this was one of that “hey, maybe bring an umbrella” moments!

Being an Oracle is sucks. But at least you’re not a prophet!

Like yeah, SOME people get the "your destiny is yo kill your father and marry your mother" but like. Most people aren't asking about that. The dramatic ones are for stories. Most people are going to be like "my crops haven't been doing great for a few years how do I secure a good harvest this year?" Or "my son is going to war what can I do to make sure he comes back?" Or if you got an auger there's "how to win this battle?"

And the Oracle accepts your offerings and asks the question and says "make an offering for this god in this way." (My autocorrect automatically capitalized god and doesn't that say something.)

Oracles, like I believe many religions, operate on an exchange. You bring them a question and some thing fir the service and you get advice back.

I took the picture of the rocks and water in Puerto Rico in 2021, the mountains are stock photos that I adjusted for color, and the birds and extra moons are royalty-free pngs from Canva. Took me an hour to slap it all together & call it good. A graphic designer friend said she thought the color was a little mono but the composition was "not bad for an amateur", to which I said "well I ain't going for a gallery show, so this is what I'm using 😁"