been stewing on an analytical approach to fiction which I call "is this book afraid of me?" and in order to answer this question you determine how hard the book is trying to make sure you don't come after the writer on twitter

the fucked-up part is that I specifically notice this in like, BIPOC or queer romances because their authors a) are more likely to be harassed online b) tend to care about writing inclusive and intersectional books more, both of which are totally valid reasons, but unfortunately a book that is scared to be misunderstood is also scared to challenge the reader or allow for too much nuance or grey areas or character flaws and I am sorry to say that it often makes for less compelling stories because it means shying away from ambiguities and complexities in an effort to reassure me, the reader, that everyone here is a Good Person engaging in Healthy Behaviours and Relationships

my little brother & i are having a scholarly debate about mornings

he’s like if an enlightened sage was a 22 year old metalhead who likes to rollerblade in the house

Hey. Why isn’t the moon landing a national holiday in the US. Isn’t that fucked up? Does anyone else think that’s absurd?

It was a huge milestone of scientific and technological advancement. (Plus, at the time, politically significant). Humanity went to space! We set foot on a celestial body that was not earth for the first time in human history! That’s a big deal! I’ve never thought about it before but now that I have, it’s ridiculous to me that that’s not part of our everyday lives and the public consciousness anymore. Why don’t we have a public holiday and a family barbecue about it. Why have I never seen the original broadcast of the moon landing? It should be all over the news every year!

It’s July 20th. That’s the day of the moon landing. Next year is going to be the 54th anniversary. I’m ordering astronaut shaped cookie cutters on Etsy and I’m going to have a goddamn potluck. You’re all invited.

Hey. Hey. Tumblr. Ides of March ppl. We can do this

Hell yeah moon holiday

Ooh coming up we should celebrate

It’s the Moon Holiday! Happy Moon Day everyone!

Imagine an alien sharing a cool human fact they just learned like ”hey guys did you know that the silvery markings on humans actually aren’t true stripes? They’re called stretch marks, they happen when the human is growing fast enough to actually outgrow their skin, which is apparently something that just fucking happens to almost all of them at some point of their life.”

and another one is like ”wait so you’re saying humans don’t have stripes.”

”actually they do, but the stripes are invisible. There’s genetic code that’d give them stripes but they’re just the same colour as the rest of the skin. So the visible stripes are not real stripes and the real stripes are invisible.”

”I swear if you tell me one more weird human thing today I’m beating your ass.”

The human in the room looks up and goes "Wait I have stripes?"

"what do you mean cats can see them, but I can't?"

what do you fucking mean cats can see them

I WENT THROUGH THE SAME THOUGHT PROCESS

MY CAT THINKS I HAVE STRIPES?!?!?!?

NO NO ITS NOT "IT THINKS I HAVE THEM"

BECAUSE WE DO APPARENTLY

SO ITS ACTUALLY A VERY DISTRESSED "MY CAT THINKS I KNOW I HAVE STRIPES?!?!?!"

AND I THINK THATS A BIT WORSE TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST

MY CAT KNEW I HAD STRIPES BEFORE I DID?!?!?!?!?!?

I DIDNT THINK OF THAT

WELL I DID AND NOW I CANT UNTHINK IT

@beenovel @messiambrandybuck these are the variants

WHAT

apparently there's a disease where they become visable, and these are the most common kind??

Ngl it looks cool but???? I'm still in shock tbh

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT PATTERN OF STRIPES I HAVE AND THE CATS WON'T TELL ME

I COULD HAVE A CHECKERBOARD ON MY BACK AND NO ONE WOULD KNOW???

They’re called Blaschko's lines!!!

The reverse can also be true ... kinda.

I remember reading somehwre the human eye can see more shades of green than any other colour. I just googled it and the human eye can see 10 Million different shades of green.

So human could see stripes and patterns on, say, a reptillian race who maybe can’t see as many colours as we do, and think they’re just one boring shade of green.

Human: We have stripes?! I wish I could see them. I hope they look like yours.

Reptile Alien: Wait, I HAVE STRIPES!

*mutual excitement all around*

So what y'all are saying is that we can sometimes only see our most special traits through the eyes of another?

Me to my cat: Did you know about this?

My cat:

They recorded tinnitus? It's a physical thing?????

Source

Transcript:

HOLY SHIT THAT'S WHAT I HEAR ALL DAY

He guys this should worry everyone in America. Even if you’re a legal citizen this is a fucking problem

NPR article that gives some additional details:

NPR article date: June 29, 2025

Guardian article date: July 1, 2025

they’re so cute?? 😭 oh to be an edgy little flapper with a femme boyfriend sittin on the ground together

The Kiss of Life - A utility worker giving mouth-to-mouth to co-worker after he contacted a low voltage wire, 1967

Taken in 1967 by Rocco Morabito, this photo called “The Kiss of Life” shows a utility worker named J.D. Thompson giving mouth-to-mouth to co-worker Randall G. Champion after he went unconscious following contact with a low voltage line. Thompson over 400 feet away recognized the critical situation and ran to the pole and scaled it to reach Champion. Realizing champion wasn’t breathing he delivered CPR and chest compression while supporting his friend; super impressive /difficult given the angle (if you get it wrong air goes into the stomach and inflates that instead).

This all happened oddly in Champions work anniversary. And weirder Rocco Morabito, a newspaper photographer who had been covering a strike down the road with eastern freight (this happened in Florida btw) happened to be nearby with his camera in a time that no one carried cameras daily. This photo won him the Pulitzer Prize for journalism photography.

Babe are you okay? I saw you reblogged The Kiss of Life, 1967 again.

Champion lived and he and Thompson stayed friends for the rest of their lives.

By doug sneyd, who also made this:

And this:

I wish we talked more about how alienating it is as you get older to have no dating experience. Everyone around you talks about exes and awkward dates and all the people that have asked them out. Everyone has funny and awkward stories of romance. And you kind of just sit there with nothing to contribute.

Eventually it feels like you're the only one who didn't at least try dating several people in your teens and early 20s. It feels like this formative experience that you're just....missing.

To clarify: I see this as independent of whether the reason for not dating is voluntary or not, whether you're looking for a romantic relationship or not.

I mean that it becomes a topic of conversation where it is assumed that everyone has these experiences, and for the most part people do. I'm talking about the underlying idea that even finding out that you don't want a relationship comes from the experience of dating and realizing it's not for you.

I really am trying to get at the idea of a certain amount of romantic experience is being presumed to be the baseline by a certain age.

has anyone noticed recently that it's expensive

times like these really make you appreciate pouring river water in your socks

9-1-1 | Bobby Nash

There’s this guy that sits in front of me who you would think is a conservative redneck bc his entire aesthetic is southern lumberjack w boots and denim and hats but he’s actually one of the most inclusive and anti trump guy I’ve ever met and today he wore this hat that sums up his entire personality and I’m screaming.

Don’t judge a book by its cover; make cornbread, not war.

Hey, this is the  motto of the Southern Foodways Alliance, and among other things, they have an AMAZING podcast called Gravy, which ‘shares stories of the changing American South through the foods we eat’. You  like this hat. Listen to that podcast. You’ll be happy.

Y'all need to stop being surprised by the radicalism in The South. The idea that Southerners are inherently more backwards is steeped in classism and ableism and erases all the awesome work marginalized folks are doing out there

i need pepple to understand that in the first place leather has always been made from the byproducts of butchering animals for meat, otherwise the skin is just tossed and unused. there were some companies farming for leather for a while, particuarly alligator leather, but those were not the norm. peta did so much harm in their campaigns against leather as a concept (its not unethical. yoi get the skin when an animal dies. thats why most leather clothes in the usa are cow leather, bc thats the biggest meat animal here) that its almost impossible to buy anything "leather" that isnt made of plastic that it so fragile and shitty that the very Thread Holding It Together rips the fibers apart. it will last for maybe a year two if youre lucky, and wont biodegrade and was made out of something that isnt naturally occurring in the first place and is one of the biggest causes of pollution globally

i do not care if you personally think nobody should slaughter or eat animals, it is Going to happen anyway. you cannot be so obtuse thst you think making more plastic that causes pollution endless damage to the animals you claim to care about so much is better than omnivorous human beings eating other animals and using their bodies completely.

i beat myself up for not knowing enough about my special interests a lot but then i remember the average person off the street has no idea what the carboniferous is and i feel better

are you really bad at it or are you in "good at it" spaces

"are you really bad at it or are you in 'good at it' spaces" has derailed so much self-hate since I read it

this is a load bearing sentence in my psyche and I can't believe it's only 2 months old

affirmations for writers: i know how to write. i have seen sentences before, and i know how to make one. i can identify up to several words and their meanings. i am not afraid of semicolons.