I really don't want to discuss this issue in greater detail, and plan to avoid doing so in the future, but I will say this:
You can be anti censorship without silencing the voices of victim's whose experiences do not conveniently back your viewpoint. We are not tools for your arguments, we are living people with lived experiences we should be allowed to express.
Also, just like you wouldn't assume someone talking about how the teachings of the Bible hurt them means they want the Bible to be censored, you shouldn't assume someone talking about how certain media hurt them or was used to groom them automatically means they want it to be censored. I was groomed by certain media, but I am anti censorship. I want to see more human potrayels of victims in media. I am still anti censorship. These things can co exist. I am not going to suddenly stop talking about it because some brain dead idiots on the internet can not fathom nuance. I promise you it is worthwhile sitting down with yourself and examining why you assume victims are always out to get you if they don't repackage their experiences in a way that kisses the ass of your world view. We are people, we are not here for your comfort or convenience. If you are not ready to hear about certain experiences, be mature and block instead of treating us as evil.
If you are using being "anti purity culture" as a weapon to silence victims, you are just as bad as the people who use purity culture to silence victims. Being "for victims" means respecting the experiences of victims viewed as "sexual weirdos" and victims viewed as "too prudish" equally. Pressuring victims to not bring their experience to the table because you constantly assume we want to censor you is a shit thing to do.
Oooo this was beautiful!
Here is the first lesson we can learn from the wandering druids: every grove is a sacred grove.
It does not matter if it is an ancient copse nestled in the heart of the forest, or a handful of shrubs sprouting anaemic from the oil-clogged veins of a city.
A garden that springs up on the rooftop of a building by mistake is still needful and worthy of our veneration. It will also need a little more help, since its connection to wider nature is much more tenuous.
An ecosystem cannot exist in isolation after all, so it is the work of those mortals who fractured it to kintsugi the fragments together. It is the work of the leafwalker to *show* the grove how to be sacred.
We see this in the roadside orchards planted by the druid Richmond Crabapple. Turning the highways into snaking green creatures, her trees offer shade to travellers and fruit to the needy. It is easy to remember a thing is sacred, after all, when it so obviously gives you life.
Here is the second lesson: everyone and everything is nature.
We are animals. Our towns and cities are animal habitats. The separation of the urban and the rural is as much a mental one as a physical. It is a mind game we play to give us the illusion of mastery, and to excuse the damage we do.
A good earthspeaker will tell you to listen to those who have stayed in conversation with the world. Those people who know the give and take of blood and bough and mulch. Those peoples who, so often, we have called savage. Those who we looked down on from our towers made of bones.
Listen. Listen and follow, if they will have you and if they will teach you.
We see this in the truce the druid Cambridge Ironweed made with the Skullcluster. This spirit takes the form of a pack of skeletal cats, and was thought to be a genus of demon predator. When Ironweed planted his feet in the dirt offered them his throat, he made himself a conversation between two worlds that should always have been one.
Now everyone in its domain lives with a skeletal cat. They know that, one day, they will die and it will eat the flesh from their bones. This is how their flesh and spirit will return to the earth.
Remember Ironwood's dying words: “Oh, you think we are special because we have souls? Here, let me show you how widely the river of the anima flows…”
Here is the third lesson: we tend that which we would see flourish.
If you would see people fed, grow food. If you would see forests thrive, tend trees. If you would see the a community safe from predators, grow thorns.
But never forget that anything that cures can also kill. Crops can choke a landscape and a sick landscape kills its creatures. A forest grown thick is fuel for wildfires. A town that is safe can forget it is part of a wider world and turn thorns into spears.
We see this in the work of the druid and rootweaver Devonport Blackwood.
The many buildings created by Blackwood are things of beauty not because of their aesthetic, but due to their function. In the towns and cities Blackwood traveled, they planted webs of needroot beneath the foundations. Needroot is weed-like in its dormant form, a wispy white root happy to live in pavement cracks and kiss the boots of commuters.
But if you need shelter? If you are desperate and vulnerable and cry your needs out like burnt offerings to the heavens? Well, if the heavens don't need you, the needroot will.
The structures it builds are strange things, bulbous and pale. They use whatever materials are to hand. They claim whatever space is unused (though not necessarily unowned). They look like nests built out of discarded tarmac, copper and mycelial strands - a mix of turnip-pale rubbery organic matter and urban detritus. As if someone had reconstructed the mythic roc from mushrooms and given it a building permit.
Everyone who needs a home in these places has one. This is the need Blackwood sought to tend.
But, because local landlords were rarely happy about this, they also left a twist in the tale.
So the needroot also provides every settlement with a communal poison garden. They are lush, lovely and deadly.
After all, many natural things need teeth to flourish.
---
This particular story was inspired by this post about druids, which y'all should read.
Enjoy my stories and want to support my work? I'm currently fundraising for my live show. Check it out here: https://igg.me/at/poorlifechoices/x/8175219
This is the winner option of the community poll! Sorry but due to mental health issues, I could only do a lazy PMV instead of an Animatic. I promise the second part will have animated bits! TW: The song contains themes of Violence and SA. CW: Epilepsy Notice and Non-explicit Imagery.
I did not know which blog to invite so I invited both, I hope that is okay. I am unsure how that invite thing works, so if for any reason it does not work, let me know, cause I think I can just send you a link too.
Hi peeps! As I work on Every Hero Needs a Villain, do y'all want me to make the community for it so you can see some funny behind the scenes stuff and potentially certain bios as I make them? You can also make suggestions for stuff there if you want. Trying to encourage myself to complete them.
Tag list: @aweirdshipp, @floofyboi57, @aralithmenathere
"A woman takes on the hefty task of setting legends straight by interviewing those used for their inspiration."
Genre - Gaslamp Fantasy Epolistary Fiction
Setting - All across Guinevere, a country in the world of Gen'Fa'Sett.
Goals - Novel Around w/ 40,000< Words
Summary — Those who leave their mark on history are never forgotten. But what about the people who got them there? An overachieving grad student is the only one who seems to care.
She strives to be known under the pen name Ms. Quill by piecing together the origins of Champions, deities who once walked among mortals. While studying her country's history concerning demi-gods, she finds evidence that a local politician once strived to become one himself. The only problem is that his past self is supposed to be dead.
Quill believes the truth can be found beyond the rumors, using faded memories from adventurers' past. Recorded conversations, salvaged diaries, and torn logs all sew themselves into her new tapestry, one that begs questions that can't be all answered.
Tags: Victorian Era Inspired, Heavy Worldbuilding Focus, Black Woman Protagonist, LGBT Characters, Magi-Tech, Flashbacks to Sword and Scorery Tropes, A Chosen One Falling to Hubris
The Interviewer:
Ms. Quill - Human History Major - She/Her Under the encouragement of her favorite professor, Quill becomes dedicated to researching the origins of those who make up the Minor Arcana, the mythology that the Champions belong to. In her search, a thread ties itself to Guinevere's most powerful politician in its capital. Determined, a bit out of her depth, and ready to sacrifice any social standings for her project, Ms. Quill works hard for her story.
The Interviewees:
Roman Scurrier - Quarterling Activist - She/Her Roman left behind a life of petty crimes to begin anew. Used to being looked down upon, she never made an effort to care about good standings among others. Now, she is fighting against a resolution that will heavily affect the Quarterling population in Guinevere, worsening lives already undervalued by most. Although her self-worth has improved, her base values haven't changed. Even during her days as a roguish criminal, Roman believed in supporting those in need through any means possible.
Corrin Enniaun - Human Retired Paladin - He/Him Currently residing in the offshore Northern Isles of Guinevere, he long left behind adventuring to watch over the new generations of his house name, which is devoted to the creator god Fa'. His sect, in particular, is known for its conservative religious roots. Corrin has done much work to destroy what he considers "compulsions," dreading what would happen if his progress becomes undone. He will not respond to any mention of who he once was, believing his past self to be a disgrace to the god he follows.
Mokosh, Clan Niketas - Orcan Trade Magnate - She/Her Sterling of all seas, the Niketas Trading Company is on the lips of all who require the finest exports from various continents. It wouldn't be there without Mokosh's input. She wants to be proud of who she became. Her clan depends on it. Yet she can't bring herself to. A life that was once hers passes by too fast, strained through stuffy galas and endless meetings. It used to be real, blood-bleeding-from-knuckles real. But tradition has a stronger call than adventures.
Sera of Gen's Glade - Elven Archivist - They/Them After dedicating decades to the craft of magic, Sera begins losing what they were once taught. Among those memories, they cannot recall their life before immigrating to Guinevere. This form of memory loss is expected in elves but is premature for one their age. It frustrates them to no end. They turn to collect the knowledge of others, an interest that guides Sera to come to terms with what they lost. Their archive is open to all curious and willing to connect to the past.
Basilica Arthur Daubney - Human Linchpin - He/Him Arthur originally made headlines as one of Guinevere's youngest to rise to power. As the State/Federal Forum's main head, he has legislative power in spades. His past is shrouded in a heavy fog, and what pieces he does give feel rehearsed. This has created many stories around his reputation, with citizens of every creed forming their own truths about him. He pays no mind to this. Only his best interests are taken to heart, keeping the upper class happy and everyone else suffering under his thumb.
Other Voices:
Professor Blackwell - Ms.Quill's Mentor - He/Him Scholarly voice of reason and editor of Quill's future publication. His footnotes are featured throughout her account.
The Advisor - Arthur's Human Second in Command - She/Her A charming socialite with a fascinating intellect. As if that's what she wants you to believe, so your guard is down.
As someone who tries to present explicit showcases of abuse, this attitude also seriously frustrates me. There's this attitude that, if you don't tip toe around it, then you are immoral. Like, I know for certain some people are going to read Infernal Serenade and come away with the brain dead take away that I condone SA and incest, completely overlooking the fact this all happens within a literal cult. Like yes, it is supposed to be deeply uncomfortable and make you hate the cult. The cult is commentary on the sexual abuse within the fanatical side of Catholicism.
As someone who also loves The Great Gatsby, I also hate that people completely overlook the entire point of that book, which was to show just how corrupt rich people are. Like yes, Gatsby is supposed to suck, Tom is supposed to suck, Daisy is supposed to suck, etc. Hell, even Nick sucks because he just goes along with everything, and this is the point. Framing is everything, and I am tired of the framing of stories constantly being ignored.
The iron hand of Götz von Berlichingen (1480-1562), a knight and mercenary who lost his right arm in a siege [640×360]
Omg I love this song!
And one day we will die And our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea But for now we are young Let us lay in the sun And count every beautiful thing we can see Love to be In the arms of all I'm keepin' here with me
writers are creatures that feed on comments by the way. if you want more of your blorbo from them, give them lovely comments. they love that and will most likely give you more fics about your blorbo
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