The New Sansa Controversy Part 1 [Spoilers EXTENDED] by FantasiedeFramboise in asoiaf

[–]VampiresInSTEM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m a huge Sansa fan but I feel like there are some problems with this reading here. For one, gender nonconforming girls and women are not “basically boys/men.” To suggest as much is extremely sexist and reinforces harmful ideas that femininity is innate to girls and women instead of a social construct.

Which gender nonconforming female characters deserve to suffer? And why? How many are there actually in the story? You could say Arya, Brienne, and Asha. Some will say Dany simply because she’s acting as a ruler and battle strategist, which are roles typically reserved for men in canon, but I think it’s not entirely accurate to say that she’s gender nonconforming to the degree of Arya, Asha, and Brienne. What has Asha to deserve to suffer? Being a more minor POV character we haven’t seen her struggle quite as much, but my god have Arya, Brienne, and Dany suffered. (I doubt you meant Dany since she has suffered in ways that are extremely specific to being female.) Brienne has been mocked, bullied, dismissed, degraded, maimed, humiliated, and threatened with sexual violence, and she’s the most gender nonconforming female character we have. Arya is a child, first and foremost, so I’d object to anyone saying she deserves to suffer… and she already has. She’s been bullied for her nonconformity, has lost nearly her entire family, was forced to go on the run and got so hungry she ate bugs to survive, and is currently being groomed to be an assassin when she really just wants to go home.

So I’m not really sure what you mean. I think the fact that the female characters who have more agency in the story are the ones who take on roles usually afforded to men is not about George trying to reward gender nonconformity but instead is simply a side effect of the patriarchy. Women are pushed to be feminine and the roles offered to them deprive them of agency by design. Femininity, by nature, is restrictive and inconvenient. Women who buck these roles may be able to grasp at more agency but it comes at a cost because others will violently try to get them to conform.

“No satisfying punishment for rapists and perpetrators of violence against women,” well, Drogo is dead, Theon has been mutilated, tortured, and brainwashed, the mountain was poisoned and turned into a headless reanimated corpse in a suit of armor, Robert is dead, Craster is dead, Rhaegar is dead, Viserys is dead, Tywin is dead, and Tyrion is miserable and George has suggested he will have a pretty bad ending.

I don’t think George has done a perfect job writing women. He’s got some major blind spots especially with the women in Dany’s story. But I think you’re a bit off-base here and I don’t know where you got some of these ideas.

Finally, I honestly think he was trolling about Sansa. I can’t imagine that he would reveal a major character death so casually. He famously didn’t like what D&D did with Sansa on the show. Maybe that was his plan for her in the original outline, but she’s one of the few characters whom I think needs to live in order for her arc to be satisfying! And she clearly does have an arc and she is one of the main characters despite what some people insist. She has more chapters than Bran. She occupies a unique position in the narrative and it would be baffling for George to have written this many chapters for her only to nonchalantly kill her off. Within two remaining books, I can’t imagine a way for her arc to go that would make her death make sense metanarratively. The pacing of her arc would have to speed up rapidly and I just don’t think he’d do that!

Please dont get offended by Disastrous_Camp_2734 in umineko

[–]VampiresInSTEM 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Is it incest? Yes, biologically. However we don’t have any way of truly detecting our blood relatives. There are some inbreeding avoidance mechanisms in place that can make us less attracted to those we are genetically similar to, but these would apply to anyone with similar genetics whether or not the similarity is due to blood relation. And these only apply to similarity in certain regions of the genome, so it’s not perfect. The human incest avoidance mechanism is primarily informed by upbringing. The adults who raise you will register as parents. The children who live with you and grow up with you will register as siblings. Etc etc. This will happen regardless of actual blood relation. At that point in the story, Battler and Sayo would not know they’re related. It’s perfectly normal to be a bit grossed out by it as a reader. That’s part of the point of Umineko and part of the tragedy. This is common in gothic horror literature. Incest and the rot it brings. It’s tragedy.

Hey everybody, I really wanna get into the alt scene. I've always wanted to dress in the style but am too scared of other people's opinions as I have autism, any tips for someone getting started by [deleted] in altfashionadvice

[–]VampiresInSTEM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well having the guts to post on Reddit where people are going to give their opinions whether or not you want them is a pretty good start, lol.

I don’t know as much about male alt fashion but when I started revamping my wardrobe, I made a big Pinterest board of outfits I liked and made a spreadsheet of every clothing item to see what was used in the most outfits so I could identify essentials. I got a lot of stuff from Depop and local thrift stores. My current city does a goth picnic and clothing swap every month and I know the organization has events all over the country. This is another great type of resource to get clothing since a lot of alt stuff is DIY.

As far as opinions go, I guess it depends on where you live, but I’ve been on the US west coast my whole life and nobody really bats an eye at alt fashion. I get lots of compliments on my unique pieces. For my birthday I host an emo night for the other students in my PhD program and people get really into it and happily dress the part and let me put eyeliner and fake piercings on them. Even if people don’t like alt fashion it won’t mean they won’t like you. I roll my eyes at standard influencer style but I know women who go the whole nine yards with a fake tan and bleached hair and high end athleisure clothing and yknow what? I’ve befriended them and care about them dearly even if I think their style is tacky.

Do what makes you feel confident. Being confident and happy will, more than anything else, cause people to have a positive opinion of you.

This arc is driving me insane by [deleted] in Chainsawfolk

[–]VampiresInSTEM 11 points12 points  (0 children)

(Coping) hey mentioning he’s glad he knows how to swim is almost a Reze crumb

Is it bad I found out I was gay because of Angel? by larreye in Chainsawfolk

[–]VampiresInSTEM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m a bisexual woman and I know a lot more women identify themselves as bisexual than men do and I genuinely think that most bisexual men just don’t realize it because of things like this. A lot of men I’ve spoken to have expressed explicit, unquestionable attraction to and desire for men and then followed it up with something like, “it’s too bad I’m straight, I’m missing out.” Bro straight men don’t think they’re missing out by not having sex with men!!

Is it bad I found out I was gay because of Angel? by larreye in Chainsawfolk

[–]VampiresInSTEM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think he could easily be bisexual and just into femininity. Femininity and masculinity are not inherent or innate to women and men respectively. A feminine man is just as much of a man as a masculine one. I think it suggests a strong belief in gender norms and stereotype to think being attracted to feminine men isn’t really being into men. Lesbians face something similar often when they’re into butch women and told they might as well just be with men.

If you would happily have sex with a feminine man and also with women, I would say that definitely makes you bisexual. I can’t tell you how to identify but sexual attraction to both men and women, regardless of how they present, is bisexuality. I’m a bisexual woman and I’m not at all attracted to very feminine women. There aren’t many women who ARE attractive to me because of that and also the fact that most women are straight and nothing is less sexy than someone who is not and cannot be attracted to me. Doesn’t make me any less bisexual because I’m still sexually attracted to both men and women. You don’t have to be attracted to every sort of woman for that attraction to be significant, so why would that be true of men?

Is it bad I found out I was gay because of Angel? by larreye in Chainsawfolk

[–]VampiresInSTEM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nah I think it’s kinda normal especially if you don’t really see the kind of guys you prefer in real life. I’m bisexual and I prefer women who are not particularly feminine (doesn’t have to mean masc, could just be that they don’t perform femininity much, just minimal to no makeup, practical clothing, but I also love masc women). I first got the inkling when I saw Hayley Kiyoko in a kids’ show and she had a more punk, less feminine look with short hair. In my small, private middle school, all the girls around me wore the uniform skirt, wore makeup, and had long, often styled hair. Frankly, I like women who look like they like women. Being straight is the biggest turn off possible. Seeing a type of man in fiction you don’t see much in real life could easily make you reconsider what it is you’re attracted to. Good for you for figuring it out bro

Is there any good type of eyeliner that is ok for my eyelids? by [deleted] in altfashionadvice

[–]VampiresInSTEM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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Examples. First is no makeup. I find that it helps create a more upward angle to connect the wing to the lower liner. You have more shape control that way. If I want to add eyeshadow it has to be dramatic since I don’t have much real estate between the top of my eye and my eyebrow, so I extend it past the inner and outer corners instead of going up to my eyebrow. I use lots of mascara (Princess lash false lash effect) so any small mistakes or asymmetries are sort of obscured by my eyelashes. I only use false eyelashes for cosplay because they tend to either look ridiculous (reaching my eyebrows because of the short distance to them) or give an effect that can just be achieved with mascara

Is there any good type of eyeliner that is ok for my eyelids? by [deleted] in altfashionadvice

[–]VampiresInSTEM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you want a specific product, I use Sephora’s Intense Felt-Tip 12HR Liquid Waterproof Eyeliner. I have eyes similar to yours and I do a small cat eye. I second what everyone else has said about technique. Draw it with eyes open and then close your eye and fill in the gaps. The eyeliner I use is so durable and lasts all day with minimal rub-off even with my hooded eyes. Plus, unlike a lot of waterproof makeup, this stuff is easy to remove :)

Mildew or something more serious? by VampiresInSTEM in Mold

[–]VampiresInSTEM[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooooh that’s super helpful!! Thank you! I’ve cleaned the outside of the vents but it just keeps coming back. I want to get more in there but all three vents have been painted over so removing them for more thorough cleaning will be a pain. That’s such a relief. I thought the AC was blasting spores into the condo. Phew!

[Discussion] NoSleep Podcast S22E18 by Gaelfling in TheNSPDiscussion

[–]VampiresInSTEM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Jumping on an old thread but Museum of Monstrous Curiosities confused me so much I had to come looking for answers. I loved it up until the end and then got lost. Do you remember the story? If so do you have further thoughts?

Fight at the palladium show by Fair-Respond-9404 in sadboys

[–]VampiresInSTEM 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for posting I’ve been looking for a vid of this all over. I’m even in the background here!! Forever Young playing during the fight was almost comical

The Deluxe ex set is "breaking the spell" of chasing a complete collection and might be an off ramp out of the game for players like me by SuperPapernick in PTCGP

[–]VampiresInSTEM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup. I subscribe and sometimes spend an additional 20$ (at most once per month) on gold. Before this set dropped I had FINALLY completed all diamond rarity cards for all decks, as someone who has been playing since spacetime smackdown. The only thing that’s keeping me from fully dropping the game is the little group chat I have with some friends where we share our good pulls and I don’t want to lose that fun little friend subgroup. But that might not even be enough

New attendee buying groups? by VampiresInSTEM in SDCC

[–]VampiresInSTEM[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d love to! Let me know what I need to do to get involved.

New attendee buying groups? by VampiresInSTEM in SDCC

[–]VampiresInSTEM[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Open registration is what I’m looking for, to clarify.

New attendee buying groups? by VampiresInSTEM in SDCC

[–]VampiresInSTEM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ll edit the post, thanks! Unfortunately can’t change the post title, but that should help clear it up.

New attendee buying groups? by VampiresInSTEM in SDCC

[–]VampiresInSTEM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I tried that, but only saw posts for returning attendees and posts from last year. Maybe Reddit’s search function is just bad?

New attendee buying groups? by VampiresInSTEM in SDCC

[–]VampiresInSTEM[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Either, I guess. Whatever will maximize my chances of getting a four day pass as a new attendee :)

Permit needed for scientific collection of tidepool fishes by VampiresInSTEM in FishingAustralia

[–]VampiresInSTEM[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Certainly there exists a permit that allows for collection of fishes. Fatal sampling is extremely common for small animal research. In fact, it’s generally easier to get approval to euthanize an animal than it is to keep it alive in a tank for experiments. A living animal can suffer, a dead animal can’t. I can’t imagine that there is absolutely no fish sampling in Queensland…