mobile nav • sideblog. main: ladytauria • 21+ • she/her • icon is from a picrew by alphasushicore! • writeblr, theoretically • mutuals can ask for my discord! • sometimes i post original fiction. mostly i reblog writing tips, humorous writing things, and things that remind me of my current WIP.
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about me
hello! you can call me livvy :) i'm a 20-something writer from the southern US. i write primarily fantasy w/ an emphasis on lgbtq+ characters. however, i also dabble in science fiction &, occasionally, contemporary works. (very rarely, on the latter.) outside of writing, i like playing video games, listening to podcasts, & reading (also primarily fantasy & sci-fi, though i've been getting into horror lately).
You will wear the crown, you have no choice, the spikes growing on your head have a metal sheen to them and coalesce into a mock halo. You will command, for your voice is a terrible thing, you are a terrible thing. You will be just, and you will be fair, for any grievances you cause to your people scar your body and leave lasting pain and false promises sizzle on your tongue like hot oil. Your god is watching and it won't forget what your ancestor did and it won't let you go
btw what is Annette's approximate age? What kind of furniture does she have at home? And, does she collect artwork or anything?
She’s in her mid to late twenties! Maybe early thirties 🤔
Hmmm furniture… This one is a hard one for me for some reason xD I picture an almost mid-century modern vibe for her? But also at the same time I am thinking that maybe I want the setting for her story to be maybe more cyberpunk (possibly with fantasy flavoring but we’ll see), so I can also see her having a more “futuristic” looking furniture aesthetic too xD
I could see her having a collection of prints and stuff she finds interesting! Her main collections I think are wigs, sunglasses, and sharp things tho xD Oh, and music! I could definitely see her having some album art framed / some records on display.
writing advice for characters with a missing eye: dear God does losing an eyes function fuck up your neck. Ever since mine crapped out I've been slowly and unconsciously shifting towards holding my head at an angle to put the good eye closer to the center. and human necks. are not meant to accommodate that sorta thing.
other things I'm bitching about but which could still be useful as writing advice for 1 eyed characters:
2. they're going to favor their sighted side, obviously, but it doesn't always manifest in the way you think. when I walk down a hall I walk much closer to the wall on my sighted side than on my blind side. which is the opposite of how it might seem logical to do that bc it means the world at large is on your bad side, but the reason is I can't fucking See the wall if it's right next to me in the blind side and I end up knocking into it.
3. door frames and poles are my enemy. If your character is smart this will not be a problem but for me it is. I am King of walking into shit I could absolutely see but couldn't tell how far away from me it was. on this note, their blind side hand is getting bashed into every jutting out thing in a 5 mile radius.
4. having 0 depth perception is less of a big deal than you'd think it is. Especially with driving. I've become a Much safer and more wary driver because I can't tell how far the other cars are from me. however I fucking suck at parking now. because I can't tell how far the lines are from me either.
5. you know how people who lose limbs get phantom pains? that happens with eyes too but like. phantom sights. for me it's like. a lot of bugs. like every so often my brain will just put something suddenly skittering beside me there. hate that.
6. it is completely possible to "get stuck" somewhere because your ability to tell how wide a space is is just Gone. shopping isles especially where bumping something or Someone is matter of embarrassment or potentially breaking something. it can be legitimately paralyzing and also irritate everyone around you because they can tell there is Plenty of space for you to get your cart through even if you can't.
7. if the eye is still in their skull it can still be the normal kind of painful. Glares off of shiny surfaces causing weird sharp pains you can't figure out the cause of are genuinely one of gods greatest tests of my patience.
I too am missing my eye and have advice. But first:
OP I've been missing my eye for 18 years and because of you I'm just now noticing that my neck does in fact list left. Now I will live with that knowledge forever.
1) depth perception issues are more severe if you lose the eye on the same side as your dominant hand. I lost my left eye and am right handed, and only have problems with close-up things. Like pouring water or threading a needle. Sometimes putting the pump in for gas. Walking down stairs is a huge problem I have (walking up is fine), but unlike OP I don't have issues with doorways. Depth perception is different for everyone
2) I've completely lost my eye and need to wear eye patches, no fake eye here. People like me do still rub their "eyes." We also usually say "eyes" and "contacts." Except for comedic effect
3) the people that are in your life with regularity just... forget you have only one eye. Even if, like me, you wear obvious eye patches. This means they get confused when people asked what happened. They'll walk on your blind side and get snippy when you run into them. When my sister learned how to cross her eyes she ask me if I could do it, and it took so much coaching for her understand why my answer was no, and that I would not be "just trying." So don't write everyone around them constantly noticing. Most people don't
Also in the blind/missing an eye club for the past 5 years.
I was cross dominant, as in right handed but my left eye was my main looking eye, and i lost that one.
Little experiences
1) In my daily life I've gotten so used to wearing an eyepatch (its part of my glasses) that when people ask what happened it trips me up because I forgor that it's a thing until it causes issues
2) Cashiers who try to hand me the items I bought/the receipt is the bane of my life, pleaaaaase just put them on a surface and not embarrass me because I can't tell where in 3d space your hand is and I miss grabbing stuff
3) If I'm walking with someone and they end up on my blind side, and don't get why I want them on the side I can see them on??
4) BUSHES AND TREES when I'm walking and at last second I realise I'm walking into a plant and flinch hard when I finally see there's a thing in my face
4.5) Also poles and doorframes suck
5) I've gotten really bad at judging the width of spaces, which because anxiety I go on the side of caution, and asking people to move so I can get past, when to them they can tell there's enough space, is really embarrassing.
6) I think my night vision is a lot worse? Having only one eye so you get half the light, so walking in the dark is really tricky. But maybe I had bad night vision before and didn't notice.
7) Trying to play any game where you need to catch something, I just get hit in the face. but I'm still very good at throwing somehow.
8) When I'm cycling and need to check stuff on my blind side/behind me on that side, it's really hard to turn my head that much whilst balancing the bike im riding, and have crashed at least twice because of this.
“No one wearing a crown came in the name of peace” for whoever you want pls! :D
so sorry that this took so long!! this kind of. got buried, lol.
but!! have this piece :) it ended up being a non-Metanoia piece, lol, but i’m really proud of it!! i kind of want to continue it 🤔
anyway. most of it is under a cut because it got kind of long, but i hope you enjoy!!
The Free Council sits on the dais, each of them in a chair of wood. You sit in the center, as Founder and Leader—even though you insist that you are no such thing, your vote still sits heavy in your mouth, as you know it will sway the others. That is why you usually speak last.
But not today.
For today it is none other than Catherine di Asternon—the Queen of Blood.
She is the reason that this council was formed—the reason that you built the Free City, the reason that a country has grown up around you, filled with the refugees of her tyranny and her wars. The wars her family started ages ago, and that she continues without thought.
She kneels before you now; her tattered and singed gown a pale likeness of the grandiose thing it once was. There is a golden circlet on her brow, though her hair is loose from a once immaculate bun. “Asternon is no more,” she says, her voice trembling and weary. “The Pale King has taken it—and now I throw myself and my people upon the mercy of the Free Council and the kingdom of Haven.” She swallows. Bows her head further, chin touching her chest. “Please.”
The rest of the council looks at you. They do not speak. They will not. You know this. They will wash their hands of this decision and leave it all in your hands.
You look down at her. You feel the weight of everything you have built on your shoulders. You know how easy it would be to falter… and watch it all crumble about you.
“You come here seeking asylum, after all that you have done?” you ask. Your voice is strong. It fills the hall, over the crackling of the fire behind you. “Do you know what it is we call you here, Catherine di Asternon?”
She takes a shuddering breath. “Queen of Blood,” she says. You know once that name would have come with a smirk; pride filling every inch of her. Now she says it as if she is ashamed… but you are not fooled.
“Yes. And you come to us, wearing your crown, dressed in your finest—and you ask us to help you?” You stand and approach the edge of the dais. “Haven centers itself around one truth. It is the truth we write on our seals, the motto we have chosen for our fledgling nation—the truth we have etched into the very walls of this building.” You gesture, above your head. On a lowered part of the ceiling, above the dais. “No one wearing a crown ever came in the name of peace.
“So tell me Catherine, why it is you’re really here.”
So! This is a perfect case study in situations where you should be wary of misinformation.
Take a moment and ask yourself, a project like this requires a lot of time, money and dedication of resources, why would scientists dedicate that time to something that could just be done by a tree?
The answer is they wouldn't. So that means this claim requires further investigation!
This project is called LIQUID 3, and it's not meant for cities with wide open spaces, it's meant for cities like Belgrade in Serbia. These cities are densely populated and heavily polluted, to the point where pollution actually chokes out current trees and makes creating green spaces difficult.
Liquid 3 was a PhD scientists answer to these problems. The microalgae tank is intended for spaces where you either:
Don't have enough space to plant full trees, or
Don't have enough time to plant trees and wait for them to grow up.
The tank is extremely efficient when you consider the amount of space needed compared to the amount of CO2 turned into oxygen. The tank can operate throughout the winter. And most importantly, it can be quickly set up in areas that desperately need relief from air pollution NOW not in 10 years when trees are done growing. Children currently suffocating on polluted air can't wait for trees to grow, they need to be taken care of now, and Liquid 3 is one of the ways to take care of them. Depending on the species of microalgea used, a number have shown a pretty amazing capacity to pull heavy metals out of the air which is something trees can get choked up by.
The tanks aren't just tanks either! Liquid 3 have solar panels placed on top, they have lighting and mobile phone charging, and they work as public benches. The designers of it want to encourage green spaces where there's room, but where there isn't room or time, Liquid 3 can step in. Realistically, this isn't a replacement for trees. It's replacing boring metal city benches with new, cooler benches that also clean the air (and have at least some heating during the winter).
Not only that, but the microalgea that grows is native to Serbia and all that microalgea has a ton of great uses! It makes for great fertilizer, compost, wastewater treatment, cleaner biofuels and even for helping create new tanks for further air purification. They only require a quick algae divide once a month, and the produced algae can be carted off to where ever it's needed. This makes them effective solutions for areas that can't sustain complex installations.
So yeah, there's actually quite a lot of places that would like these. Lots of people currently breathing in terrible quality air would much rather have their boring city benches replaced with really fucking cool algae tanks that clean the air and can be used to help create + sustain future green spaces in cities. I dunno about you, but I'd take that over a dumb metal bench any day. Put these at every bus stop and I'd be delighted.
Too many writers are using generative 'AI' to make their book covers, so I've written a guide on how to make your own cover for free or cheap without turning to a machine.
If you can't afford to pay an artist, you CAN make your own!
I hope this is a helpful overview that covers the basics and points to some free resources.
I understand the desire to signal to other marginalized people that you're not here to jumpscare them with regressive drivel. I also recognize the appeal to mercy, re: "Hello, random bully! Please don't harass me over this fic for X when I myself am Y."
However, I implore you to consider the precedent this sets for fanwork (and art overall). By normalizing these disclaimers, we are legitimizing a police presence at the gate of every fic. No one should ever feel the need to show an ID to an armed guard just to be "allowed" access to a certain kind of character or subject matter. There is no "you must be this disabled/queer/traumatized to ride" sign, and anyone who tries to card you for the art you create and consume should be treated like a fucking weirdo. Please do not let these trolls goad you into answering their riddles three or fulfilling their identity fetch quests. You don't owe them any personal information, least of all the bits that could be used against you in the future (like your triggers, your marginalized status, etc).
A couple nights back I read a fic where a disabled character did something that made me go, "A disabled person would never write that." The actions of the character were so nails-on-a-chalkboard incompatible with my own experience of disability and chronic pain that it seemed unfathomable to me that the author could share my background. But my experiences are not universal!
If I may beat a dead horse, what art and representation uplifts one marginalized person will surely offend another. If I use the #author is disabled tag on my Ao3 fic to signal safe harbor to other disabled people, I've set myself up for failure, because the kinky sex scene that reads like empowerment to me will read like fetishization to someone else; the heroic rescue that reads like validation will read like infantilization; the tragic ending that reads like catharsis will read like punishment. You being from X group does not guarantee the comfort of the fellow X who reads your work.
And fuck, even if you disagree with me and believe there IS an objectively "correct" way to portray X marginalized character or Y subject matter...where does this ticket system leave people in the closet?? Where does it leave survivors who don't feel comfortable broadcasting their trauma to complete strangers?? Even if you believe certain types of fiction should only be created and consumed by certain types of people, you have to admit that a lot of X people writing about themselves and their experiences will be caught in the ID crossfire.
Normalizing these kinds of disclaimers just empowers bullies to gatekeep more and more art. Plus, I can tell you from experience that once you're in a troll's crosshairs, the gateposts shift. Your clearance level is never high enough to justify your work.
"You're a gay author with gay characters? I bet you're not really a man. No gay man would write something this blatantly fetishistic."
"You're a survivor writing about abuse? That's actually worse because you should know better than to harm other survivors with such a romanticized depiction of abuse."
The conclusion is always the same regardless of your credentials: you're the wrong kind of X. You're a danger to other X people. If you want to be the right kind of X and help other X people, you need to delete Y.
Would you let a Moms for Liberty protestor card you on your way to the library? When she stomps your feet and tells you the stories you read make you a bad and dangerous person, would you assume she wants the best for you and your community? Would you nod and promise to wear an "I'm gay" pin and burn your books? Or would you tell her to go fuck a cactus??
Honestly I'm glad to see others sharing this opinion. It's one I've had for a while now.
"As an [x]" feels very... defensive. It's a pre-emptive defense from a perceived attack, and that has its place. But how we make imagined barbie dolls behave and act isn't one of those places?
The way I write trans characters is extremely empowering to me, but is probably extremely dysphoria inducing for others and definitely fetishistic. And that sucks for the folks it makes dysphoric, but I'm not going to stop writing what makes me feel good. And I understand why someone would want to basically check my trans card for it, but it's. Not their business.
Magical sex changes make ME feel empowered and I write for Me, for example.
For me, a setting where everyone is just inherently fine with queer stuff is. Idyllic and sweet, but usually unbelievable without worldbuilding behind it! I don't usually like those stories on their own! I prefer writing and reading stories where queer characters being queer means something and affects their place in society, unless I am specifically looking for the warm fuzzy sweetness of the former category. But if I'm looking for Empowerment? I want the struggle because I want to see them overcome something.
For a lot of people? Bayonetta is a feminist masterpiece and a power fantasy!
For me it makes me very uncomfortable! And that's okay! That doesn't mean that Bayonetta wasn't made to be a feminist work it just means that it didn't resonate with me in particular and that's okay.
-A stimulant that enhances every sensation. Every touch, no matter how gentle, feel like sandpaper on your skin. What would be mild pain becomes agony, pleasure becomes overwhelming to the point of pain
-Ever heard of locked in syndrome? Make it a drug. The body is paralyzed, unable to move. But every sensation remains, and the mind? The mind is fully aware. Whumpee hears, sees and feels everything. They're all too aware, and they will remember. Unwanted touches, excruciating pain, they're aware of it all, completely, totally helpless. They can't even scream.
-a drug that temporarily mutes all your senses. You're still very much aware, you're fully conscious, and it differs from locked-in drug in that you're not paralysed. You're just deafened, blinded, you can't smell or taste or feel anything. You won't even feel the pain until it wears off. It probably wears of gradually too - maybe you smell the blood before anything else. Maybe you see the horrific wounds before you feel them. Or hear cruel taunts as they tell you what they've done to you before you can see or feel it for yourself.
-Enthralling drug. With a mix of whumpers DNA, they render you an empty shell, existing only to serve them. You take orders only from Whumper, who has to order you to sleep, eat, do ANYTHING. You feel nothing. You're aware of nothing. You're barely even alive. It'll wear off... eventually. Better hope Whumper doesn't find a way to make it permanent.
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