The Wordsmith's Forge

Here is a brilliant essay about sexism in culture and literature, using the extended metaphor of llamas.

From time to time, I mention that I am different from most people, that my mind doesn't work the same way.  And one of the more dramatic examples goes like this.

*movie with cannibalistic scaly llamas*

Me: "This is stupid.  Llamas are fluffy."

Normal person: "No they aren't."

Me: "There is a fluffy llama.  Look, llamas are fluffy."

Normal person: "WTF?  Everyone knows llamas aren't fluffy!"

Me: "Also they hum."

Normal person: "How would you EVEN KNOW THAT?"

Me: "By knowing some damn llamas!"

Normal person: "ZOMGWTFBBQ!  Shut up now!"

Me: *write fluffy llamas*

I'm social teflon.  Everyone saying something that is observably false does not convince me that they are right.  It convinces me that everyone else is crazy.  And of course, they think I'm the crazy one, because when there's a disagreement of claims, I go looking for evidence and I favor factual examples over people's beliefs.  This is really, really unpopular.  It drives many people bugfuck.  

On the other hoof, it's great for crowdfunding.  You want some fluffy llamas?  Bring 'em.  I'll write something.  I'm really good at filling cultural gaps that way.  I enjoy it.  I actively look for this stuff, because it leads to stories that haven't been told a million times.  Fresh stories are often better stories; they hook readers more and harder.  I like that a lot.  I like it as a reader, a writer, a reviewer, an editor, a prompter, a donor ... everything.  I just like it.

And yes, real llamas do hum.  I learned this at the county fair one year when somebody brought llamas.  Because I am a writer and everything is research it never really shuts off.  I am a fountain of random weird trivia like that, and that's where I get the cool concrete details that I drop into my writing.

This fest uses the system of romance described in Homestuck, applied to other fandoms.  I like alternative sexuality so I find the concept intriguing.

Here's an awesome article about sex and disability.  I'm impressed to see a bunch of average people taking most of their clothes off -- people who aren't spectacularly thin or beautiful, who look like real everyday people.  World always needs more of this.

The article also reminded me of Brenda in P.I.E. because, while I haven't written about her having sex yet, I have always written her as a sexy woman.  She knows how to dress hot when she wants to, and she has no trouble attracting male attention, even if 2/3 of them are dumbasses.  And she's picked the nice guy, so yay.

finch wrote a beautiful ace romance poem in "This Was Not What I Set Out to Write."  I think it does a lovely job of capturing the intimacy that lies outside of sex.

You can now read an entry about "The One in the Middle" which I wrote for Torn World.
The One in the Middle is a club for no-gender people in Affabreidalam.

If you like this item and want to see more like it, please consider sending me credits or karma through Torn World's crowdfunding options.  Not a Torn World member, but still want to support the work? I have a permanent PayPal button on my LJ profile page.

Female superheroes redrawn with costumes that cover their whole bodies.  SO MUCH WIN.  I love Wonder Woman.  

MOAR PLZ.  If you spot crowdfunded or otherwise independent art with fully clad heras, I'm interested in links.

 rix_scaedu has written "The Crazies Have Come Out To Play" based on my prompt.  Somebody mentioned a dearth of women of color in dystopic fiction.  So I asked for some.  I love crowdfunding.

This 9-year-old girl's brothers told her she couldn't make a role-playing game.  She's proving them wrong.  And this is how we deal with boys telling girls they can't do technology.  Notice that the project is already several times over goal.  So there.

chanter_greenie has posted the third orange!verse story, "Jij Bent Zo."  It means "you are like that" in Dutch, and it's a story of identity that introduces Kendra, an important character in the orange!verse.  None of the previously established characters from Schrodinger's Heroes  appear in this one, but they'll get woven in later as the storyline progresses.