sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

This is huge: You can now buy ebooks from Bookshop.org, a website that helps boost sales to local independent bookshops!

To read an ebook purchased from Bookshop.org, you must use their own app (for a mobile device) or read it in a web browser. So, unfortunately, you can't (yet) send it to your ereader, but still, you're able to buy ebooks and also share a little bit of that profit with your local bookstore, if they're an affiliate!

Who that man

the fairy on my windshield as i go down i95 at 210km/h

you forgor!!!!!! HIS PENITS!!!

Oh my god I forgot his peanut

started watching this japanese show where they take in requests and they try to help out with whatever the request is. and in this one the guy says that when he was in middle school, he always heard the girl across the street playing her piano, and although he only met her in person a few times, listening to her play her usual song was a great comfort to him growing up, especially getting to hear her slowly get better at playing.

the guy now was an adult and taking a break from college, and began to feel really lost in life, and he kept thinking back to when he was in middle school and hearing her play the piano every day. so his request was to hear her play it again. and he and the show's crew literally go back to his old place, and miraculously the girl still lives in that same house across the street, and even more miraculously the people who currently live where he used to allow him to go back to his old room where he used to listen to her play. and they all agree to recreate his middle school memory for him.

the girl comes home from her part-time job and she plays the piano, although she tells them it's been 4 years since she's ever played and is worried she won't sound good, and the guy sits by the window, and he just listens. and like. just imagining reliving that moment when you were younger, listening to a near-stranger play a song across the street every day, feeling a little less lost because of it, and returning to that as an adult when you need it most and everyone being kind enough to let you savor it again even just for a moment... i wanted to start bawling i wont lie. this is the song she played. im going to go lie down about the humanity of it all

oohh i didnt expect this to even break 2 notes but hello! the show was called 探偵！ナイトスクープ (Detective! Knight Scoop) and if you have a vpn you can watch it on netflix. the guy did get to meet the pianist herself in person and thank her for playing such a beautiful song all those times, which is why his request was to hear her play it again.

she joked she wouldve played it for him if he had just rang her doorbell haha

Imagine a fluffy unicorn that’s bred for its wool like a sheep- once or twice a year it has to get shorn and the shearer just has to awkwardly flop and position the unicorn around without getting stabbed. Perhaps they cover the horn with a protective pool noodle

Do you see my vision???

more people need to give themselves permission to write and draw pornography

it is virtuous and necessary that you write, draw, and distribute pornography

can we start with not conflating "erotic/sexual art or writing" with pornography

no lmao

@thoughtscout "Erotica" was first coined by people wanting to get around censorship laws that would ban pornography under the legal classification of Obscenity, but would not ban romance novels, or Literature, as that was "of artistic worth" and therefore protected speech. Here is the USA Legal definition, pulled from Wikipedia, of "Obscenity":

It's important to understand that key idea, that "obscene" is a legal classification that marks something as not protected by Freedom of Speech, The Press, and Free Expression, which is the First Amendment.

There are several ethical problems with having a way to exempt something from protection, and therefore censor it. It encourages people who want to censor things to try and get them legally classed as exceptions to any Freedom of Speech laws on the books. Now, with art, there are exemptions that should exist--art that harms people in the making of it, for example, which is what Child Sexual Abuse Material is, and why we call it that. We also classify filmed evidence of murder done for the film's sake as an exception. But the way people define the word "obscenity" is extremely different depending on who you ask, and because definitions in this country are set by precedent, i.e. judges ruling on court cases, the definition of things like "obscenity" keeps changing.

In 1873, for example, the Comstock Act said that birth-control information and condoms were "obscene" and banned sending them through the mail, which meant a lot of people were cut off from being able to learn about birth control (because nobody was learning about it in school--most people at the time didn't go to school after learning basic reading skills, if that; children worked, just like their adult relatives, to support their families). Do you think a book like this one that educates about puberty and sex, including birth-control, is obscene and pornography? Well it was, at one time, and BANNED. And I don't tell you this so you can go, "Well people were backwards then, we're Enlightened now, we'd only ban the RIGHT things" People have always been people, just as wise AND just as foolish as we are now, and progress has never been a straight line.

Our point is that pornography is an important thing to make, and to fight for, and to CALL "pornography". It's important to hold the line and not let people begin to call WRITTEN and DRAWN things the same as PHOTOGRAPHED and FILMED things. For MANY DECADES, people have been trying to ban and censor pornography that has involved no one but the author or artist in the making, and is therefore HARMING no actual human beings. A photograph involves real, live, breathing human beings; a drawing involves a piece of paper and a pen and the artist.

Whatever you think is "just erotica" or even "not erotica at all" is going to be called porn and obscene by a malicious and controlling person like say Warriors For Innocence, who successfully scared LiveJournal into banning a whole lot of writing and drawing and also queer and survivor support communities and users in 2006. These same folks are behind the Purity/Anti culture on Tumblr, and members successfully lobbied to pass FOSTA-SESTA and the subsequent "Titty Ban" on any website that relies on an app. FOSTA-SESTA, btw, has made human trafficking and harm to sex workers WORSE, not better.

So you need to start fighting WITH pornographers who are fighting censorship, because the people you think are on your side about only banning and censoring "the REAL bad stuff" are going to turn around and call YOUR stuff just as bad. They're already calling queer people obscene just for existing. They are calling us child abusers again, just for breathing. I don't think you want to be on the side of that rhetoric, because it will come for you and call YOU obscene and worthy of arrest, in the end.

oh my god I thought this said Chinese. I was like "dog they have existed for thousands of years they have many forms of divination what a dog shit ask"

I think it says a lot that I didn't even question that there might be thousands of forms of cheese divination. I just figured, they prolly know what they're talking about

Lakoff / Johnson is great for realizing just how deep and systematic metaphorical use of language, but the one thing that I was disappointed in was that they work entirely in English. I really wanted to see examples cited from other languages. This leaves one wondering about whether the metaphorical systems they discuss are universals or not. My own experience of other languages is that a lot of the metaphors are the same - for example, UP IS GOOD - but some are different - for example, direction of time. They mention in passing a language where the past is in front and the future behind (without examples); additionally some languages orient time vertically. Some languages have metaphorical systems with no equivalent in English. But the topic really needs more comparative treatment.

The past-forward-future-backward language they were referring to was probably Quechua.

THE PAST IS IN FRONT and THE FUTURE IS BEHIND is more common than that. I’ve seen it in Chinese, and it even exists historically in English (before and after).

I’m only suggesting Metaphors We Live By as an intro. There’s some comparative work building on it that will help with understanding different languages. We’ve covered some of that on the show before.

The high's starting to wear off. Someone shoot another billionaire CEO

It’s crazy and fucked up that being yourself is actually the solution.

It’s like. When I was told to “just be yourself” as a kid I thought it was a passive thing. Like oh easy I just have to sit here and be myself. but the reason so many people think that “being yourself” is bullshit advice is because you actually have to make active choices to do this and it WILL make your life way more fun. You have to wear t-shirts of bands that were popular ten years ago because you like them. You have to do your hair in a way that you find cute or comfortable even if it’s “so nineties”. If your friend says a food you enjoy is gross to them, you can’t be afraid to admit you casually disagree. You have to do hobbies that you’re interested in even if you’re bad at them and you cant feel like you have to get good at something before you tell people it’s an activity you do. You have to read manga and comic books in public and get piercings your relatives think are unattractive. You don’t have to tell people you dislike that you dislike them, but you don’t have to give them your time and attention either. You have to rewatch that kids show you’re nostalgic for even if you’re in your 30s. You have to change your name if you hate it, even if only a few close friends can know. You have to get fun girly drinks at the bar. You have to order hot chocolate when you don’t like coffee and black coffee when you don’t like sweet things. I am still bad at practicing this but it is the only way to make it all tolerable.

First you have to realize that "yourself" is a construct built by the decisions you make. Then it becomes clear that being yourself is a deliberate and intentional practice, not a passive state of existence.

Writing an Identity Not Your Own: A Guide for Creative Writers

Alex Temblador

A practical guide to help authors authentically write and edit a character whose identity is different than their own. Do you have the tools to authentically write and edit a character whose identity is different than your own?

It's not a subject that's generally taught in creative writing programs, and there are so few craft books and online resources on the subject. Even if you can take a seminar, class, or workshop, there's nothing like having an easy-to-understand book on hand to provide guidance and insight every time you craft characters with historically marginalized identities. In Writing an Identity Not Your Own, award-winning author Alex Temblador discusses one of the most contentious topics in creative writing: crafting a character whose identity is historically marginalized.

What is "identity," and how do unconscious biases and bias blocks impact and influence what we write? What is intersectionality? You'll learn about identity terms, stereotypes, and tropes, and receive genre-specific advice related to various identities to consider when writing different races and ethnicities, sexual and romantic orientations, gender identities, disabilities, nationalities, and more. Through writing strategies, exercises, and literary excerpts, writers will gain a clearer understanding on how misrepresentations and harmful portrayals can appear in storylines, dialogue, and characterization. Alex will guide writers from the brainstorming phase through the editing process so they can gain a full understanding of the complexities of writing other identities and why it's important to get them right.

(Affiliate link above)

Writing with Colors

A list of resources to help you describe different colors in your writing.

The Color Thesaurus A collection of infographics that show various shades of different colors, each shade/color labeled by name.

Color Reference Chart Another collection of infographics that show various shades of different colors, each shade/color labeled by name.

Hair Color Reference Chart A collection of infographics that show various shades of different hair colors, each shade/color labeled by name.

Eye Color Reference Chart A collection of infographics that show various shades of blue, brown, and green eye colors, each shade/color labeled by name.

Different Ways to Describe Hazel Eyes A list of ideas and suggestions for describing hazel eyes. Can be used as prompts or for brainstorming.

Different Ways to Describe Green Eyes A list of ideas and suggestions for describing green eyes. Can be used as prompts or for brainstorming.

Different Ways to Describe Blue Eyes A list of ideas and suggestions for describing blue eyes. Can be used as prompts or for brainstorming.

Different Ways to Describe Brown Eyes A list of ideas and suggestions for describing brown eyes. Can be used as prompts or for brainstorming.

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I’m a writer, poet, and editor. I share writing resources that I’ve collected over the years and found helpful for my own writing. If you like my blog, follow me for more resources! ♡

Bro absolutely COOKED with this.

If you ever hear the phrase "fascism is aesthetics as politics," that's what this post is talking about.

It's not about being tough on crime, because the absolute toughest most brutal measure you could take against "crime" as a social problem is to alleviate poverty, and increase access to education, healthcare and social mobility.

It's about performing "tough on crime" as an aesthetic by enacting violence against a prop, i.e. minorities and the impoverished, who are fetishized and objectified to represent "crime." They are brutalized as punishment for crime, but never with the purpose of alleviating the problem of crime.

This is why a lot of conservatives and other right wingers can get straight up angry when you suggest things like reform or social measures to reduce crime. They don't want crime to be reduced, they want an eternal war against "crime" because it provides an arena for the righteous to demonstrate virtue by brutalizing their enemies.

y’all really recommend books like: title, there are gay characters, enemies to lovers, young adult, written by poc

not once do i ever see a summary

What more info do you need?

A SUMMARY

WHAT DO U MENA SUMMARY WHAT ELSE MATTERS ITS GAY POC AND ENEMIES TO LOVERS HOW OFTEN DO U CONE ACROSS THAT

i want to know what its about mainly. is it a romance? is there plot besides the romance? is it realistic fiction? sci fi? fantasy? historical? future? alternate history? whats the tone? what are the themes? what are the main characters’ NAMES?

I- it’s gay the gay

i value queer characters too. but i also want to know WHAT THE BOOK I’M READING IS ABOUT.

“GAY AND/OR RACIALLY DIVERSE” IS NOT A GENRE. nor is it an indicator of quality

do you know how many times I’ve been recommended a book solely because “it’s queer fantasy!”

do you know how many times those books have been so poorly written that I couldn’t finish them

Mostly, I want to know the tone. A 19th century war story isn’t gonna do it for me when I’m in the mood for a lighthearted austenesque romance - and those are both historical. A star warsy space romp isn’t gonna do it if I want to read about interplanetary political negotiations - and those are both sci fi. A fun gratuitious don’t-think-about-it-too-hard action story is not the same as a dark and complicated mob drama. A suspenseful thriller will bore me if I’m looking for a fast paced spy novel.

not providing a summary literally just shows how you treat marginalized people and their representation as this token woke thing that you can show off like a shiny trophy. no, people aren’t going to read something just because it has representation! that’s not how it works!

Artist bio by Anna Daliza

🙋‍♀️Mr. President, I have a question:

[Edited for greater precision and accuracy, on 23 March, 2025]

Are the roughly 65% - 80% of Jewish Israelis who are, according to opinion polls in Israel, opposed Netanyahu's breaking the Gaza ceasefire (many of whom are protesting in the streets, and calling for his resignation), being antisemitic?

Sources:

4-minute listen; full transcript not yet posted at the time I write this (21 March, 2025)

The majority of this editorial is behind a subscription wall, but you can read the lead. According to Wikipedia, Haartez is "the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel." It's also left-leaning in its coverage, so I suppose Trump & Netanyahu don't think it counts as a real newspaper.

My Point Is: Calling all protest of Israeli Government policies and actions "antisemitic" is, itself, antisemitic, because it ignores the complexity of Jewish thought and culture around the world, and even within Israel itself.

Reblogging to spread this post with more accurate phrasing.

(I originally said that 50% of Israeli citizens were "protesting," but I pulled up that number from memory, before I read the full online transcript. And I also made the mistake conflating protesting with disagreeing, and those are two different things)

Yes - actual antisemitism is on the rise. And there are people who are using the crimes of the Israeli Government as an excuse to spread antisemitic propaganda against all Jewish people around the world. This is evil.

But suppressing free speech, and calling all protest against the actions of a small group of people with a large supply of weapons "Antisemitic" just legitimizes the idea that "Jewish People are All Alike."

Especially when the politicians in this country are contradicting the opinions and wishes of actual Jewish Israeli citizens (for their own political ends).