Stuff! And Things!

[maplemood]

As per usual, I didn't mean to fall completely out of the habit of posting, but managed to anyway, thanks to the good ol' combo of stress, school, and bad planning. But now that all my final papers are finished and turned in (I still have a Creative Writing Portfolio to put together, but since it's mostly made up of assignments we've turned in throughout the semester and isn't due for another week, it's not nearly so stressful or time-consuming) I should--theoretically, anyway--have more time to post! And it turns out that I actually have a fair bit to post about, mostly because of fandom things and the latest Tumblr madness, so:

1.) Female-presenting nipples, huh? Also, I had another pornbot follow me just this morning, so I have zero faith that the new guidelines will do anything other than drive fandom away from the site; a couple of my friends are already starting to have problems with their posts (none of which, by the way, feature female-presenting nipples) being flagged--it just seems like the writing on the wall. I've only ever used Tumblr for reblogging pretty pictures and posting links to my fic, so leaving wouldn't be a huge loss, but still...I'm happy I already have an account here and don't have to start one from scratch, and I do have a pillowfort account, though the constant "we're SO much better than Tumblr, guys!!" vibe from that site is exhausting. I mean, it's definitely true for now, but every site has its problems, and as much as I hope pillowfort will stick around I'm not 100% convinced it will. 

2.) In much better news, fandom_stocking  is taking signups until the 15th! I've never participated before, but I have read quite a bit of good fic that came out of the 2017 round, and I'm excited to do something that's both Christmassy and pretty low-pressure. 

3.) Reading! I haven't read nearly as many unassigned books as I wanted to this year, but I at least managed to surpass my reading goal on Goodreads, which was nice. I'm hoping to post more actual book reviews here, and I'm also trying to figure out my game plan for Christmas break: reread old favorites? Get back to rereading The Stand (starting last year, I've usually had at least one super-long Stephen King book in progress, and as much as I love them it usually takes me at least a few months to finish them)? I also found a good audio book of The Haunting of Hill House on YouTube, which I'd like to finish even though I only have time to listen to it at night, which is either the best or worst time to be listening to it--I can't decide. 

4.) D&D! I've had one (very) bad experience with D&D in the past, and despite that I still know barely anything about the classes/levels/basically anything but the very, very basics. A friend of mine is starting up a campaign next semester, though, and she's both good at explaining things and very sweet and fun, so I'm hoping for a better experience this time around. The only thing I'm completely sure of right now is that I'd like my character to be a pirate. Otherwise, I'm still tossing options around.

Comments

[thisbluespirit]

Female-presenting nipples, huh?

With bows on?

I have seen more female nipples on my dash this morning than ever before. Er, good work, tumblr??

Meanwhile two more completely innocent posts of mine are apparently flagged for NSFW content.

[maplemood]

I know, right?! As soon as I saw that I rolled my eyes, because it's honestly just like Tumblr--saying something that's pretty unprogressive, but using language that desperately wants to sound progressive.

Meanwhile two more completely innocent posts of mine are apparently flagged for NSFW content. So many people I follow and/or know are having the same problem, and it's incredibly frustrating, because I'm all for getting rid of the pornbots but that's clearly not what's going to happen. I don't know that I expected Tumblr to do anything better, but it sucks that people who put so much work into their posts are having to deal with this ridiculousness.

[thisbluespirit]

*nods* As someone who is only an occasional tumblr user, do I even want to bother if I keep having to appeal for the most ridiculous things?

[maplemood]

I suspect that for a LOT of users it isn't going to be worth the effort.

[cmcmck]

The driving away has already started- loads of folks turning up on here sounding sad and puzzled.

What the hell is a 'female presenting nipple' and are they really willing to be THAT obviously sexist? I'm female and I have nipples, but doesn't everyone? :o/

[maplemood]

Hah, your icon is just perfect. :)

I could be wrong, but I don't see Tumblr continuing to be a huge hub for fandom much longer, at least not in the way it was up until recently. And I hope that the whole "female-presenting nipple" bit goes down in Internet infamy, because it's one of the stupidest things I've clapped my eyes on in a while.

[skye_writer]

Hey, good to see you again! :)

I don't know what to think about the Tumblr debacle. Well, actually, yes I do: it's stupid, and depending on bots to moderate content is even stupider. I'm probably gonna stick around until it dies, though. I dunno.

Yay for D&D! I hope you have a good time with that when it starts up. I found out about a game starting at my local library last month, and the first session we had was a lot of fun. I've been working on my character a little bit here and there, so I'm enjoying that.

[maplemood]

You too! I keep meaning to read and comment on everyone's posts and now that I have the time to again I'm hoping to get (and stay) a lot more active around here. :)

I'll probably stick around too, because I do have some really good friends on there, but it's disheartening to see so many people leave, and what's really frustrating me is that the actual problem (thousands upon thousands of pornbots) isn't getting fixed.

I'm really excited! Like I said, I'm not the most experienced D&D player, but I'll be doing it with a bunch of friends, some of whom also aren't that experienced, so we'll be learning together.

[rachelmanija]

There is never a wrong time to reread The Stand.

[maplemood]

True! For my money, it's the most ambitious Stephen King book, and I just love the scope of it and the slowly-building paranoia of the first couple chapters; it's the only apocalyptic book that I can think of (off the top of my head, anyway) that doesn't start post-apocalypse and instead takes its time showing exactly how society falls apart. Also, the characters are just wonderful. Nadine Cross is my personal favorite, but I love them all, even Randall Flagg. As villains go, he's one of the best.

[rachelmanija]

The pre-apocalypse chapters are surprisingly great. Usually that's boring and you can't wait for the apocalypse to start, but not in this case.

I love Nadine too. And Flagg is a great villain, both mythic and weirdly human. The whole ensemble is terrific, with even very minor characters given life and texture.

It was my first Stephen King book, too, so apart from being objectively excellent, it's got a special place in my heart.

[maplemood]

That's exactly it, even characters who die only a couple of chapters after they're introduced feel like living, breathing people; it really makes you feel the devastation of the whole thing and identify with the surviving characters.

[independence1776]

Yeah, Tumblr… I'm not surprised this happened. What I amsurprised about is that they gave us two weeks notice!

I'm mulling over whether to participate in Fandom_stocking or not this year. I have a few days yet to decide.

[maplemood]

I think lots of people saw it coming, though that unfortunately doesn't make it any less frustrating.

Oh, you should (only if you want to, of course)! I like that there isn't a minimum word count or anything, so you're free to create whatever you want/have time for.

[independence1776]

I've done Fandom_stocking for (I think) the past five years. I'm having trouble thinking of fannish things I want… and a little tired of making things for people who don't bother to say so much as a thank you.

[maplemood]

Ugh, that is pretty discouraging. You'd think that would just be written in stone as part of fannish etiquette by now, but apparently not.

[independence1776]

Yup. Most do, but I suspect people just… forget they signed up or forget to bookmark their stocking for reveals.

But I'm leaning toward signing up now.