homesweetgoodneighbor

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

this blog hates donald trump

Look how many people hate him. I’m pretty damn happy about that 😁😁😁😁😁😁

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

(Read on our blog)

Beginning in 1933, the Nazis burned books to erase the ideas they feared—works of literature, politics, philosophy, criticism; works by Jewish and leftist authors, and research from the Institute for Sexual Science, which documented and affirmed queer and trans identities.

(Nazis collect "anti-German" books to be destroyed at a Berlin book-burning on May 10, 1933 (Source)

Stories tell truths.

These weren’t just books; they were lifelines.

Writing by, for, and about marginalized people isn’t just about representation, but survival. Writing has always been an incredibly powerful tool—perhaps the most resilient form of resistance, as fascism seeks to disconnect people from knowledge, empathy, history, and finally each other. Empathy is one of the most valuable resources we have, and in the darkest times writers armed with nothing but words have exposed injustice, changed culture, and kept their communities connected.

(A Nazi student and a member of the SA raid the Institute for Sexual Science's library in Berlin, May 6, 1933. Source)

Less than two weeks after the US presidential inauguration, the nightmare of Project 2025 is starting to unfold. What these proposals will mean for creative freedom and freedom of expression is uncertain, but the intent is clear. A chilling effect on subjects that writers engage with every day—queer narratives, racial justice, and critiques of power—is already manifest. The places where these works are published and shared may soon face increased pressure, censorship, and legal jeopardy.

And with speed-run fascism comes a rising tide of misinformation and hostility. The tech giants that facilitate writing, sharing, publishing, and communication—Google, Microsoft, Amazon, the-hellscape-formerly-known-as-Twitter, Facebook, TikTok—have folded like paper in a light breeze. OpenAI, embroiled in lawsuits for training its models on stolen works, is now positioned as the AI of choice for the administration, bolstered by a $500 billion investment. And privacy-focused companies are showing a newfound willingness to align with a polarizing administration, chilling news for writers who rely on digital privacy to protect their work and sources; even their personal safety.

Where does that leave writers?

Writing communities have always been a creative refuge, but they’re more than that now—they are a means of continuity. The information landscape is shifting rapidly, so staying informed on legal and political developments will be essential for protecting creative freedom and pushing back against censorship wherever possible. Direct your energy to the communities that need it, stay connected, check in on each other—and keep backup spaces in case platforms become unsafe.

We can’t stress this enough—support tools and platforms that prioritize creative freedom. The systems we rely on are being rewritten in real time, and the future of writing spaces depends on what we build now. We at Ellipsus will continue working to provide space for our community—one that protects and facilitates creative expression, not undermines it.

Above all—keep writing.

Keep imagining, keep documenting, keep sharing—keep connecting. Suppression thrives on silence, but words have survived every attempt at erasure.

- The Ellipsus team

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

I love how these are from an Unreality subreddit but to my eye they just read like regular Tumblr shitposts. Did we cross-pollinate or something

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

My house is under assault by the cut corners, shitty materials, and overall bad decisions from the previous owner/contractor who remodeled it in such a way our inspectors caught NOTHING that would lead to this. And, I mean, we had a super hardass inspector, too. We did all the right things to increase our chabces to get a home that would not cost us in massive repairs for years to come.

I wish to hunt that previous owner for sport.

The insurance has paid $6k and the work to mitigate the damage has already cost $9500 so we're having to ask them to send supplemental funds to pay for the rest.

On top of that, the actual repairs of the damage (which will also be considered supplemental funds) by reputable contractors started out at $10k, which we took out a loan for so they could attempt to put our kitchen back together, which we have to HOPE the insurance will reimburse us.

It gets better.

The contractor has done some more checking and the damage may have spread further than thought, which means conaiderable more repairs, materials, and labor. We are now looking at $51,000 to get our house back to pre-loss conditoon.

Now, the owner of the contracting company is, personally, going after the insurance to make them cover this. He is highly motivated since he, too, recently got screwed by a different insurance company he had to sue.

We are thankful that the professionals who have been helping us have been amazing with their work and their advice.

I foresee me making a lot of gumbo very soon.

But, we are scared, y'all. We cannot even afford the loan we took out. We only did it in the hopes insurance will reimburse us so we can pay it off and we can have a functional kitchen again. We do not take out loans lightly.

Hilariously, had we more debt, they would've given us a bigger loan. Figure that one out.

What's worse about all of this is the very real chance our insurance company will drop us after this or double our payments.

Insurance is a fucking scam, y'all. Whether it is health or home or car, and we are legally required to carry it for home and car.

I hate this fucking country.

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

I haven't purchased a HP item in close to a decade - I use the books I already had as doorstops or to prop a laptop up for meetings nowadays.

There is NO "death of the author" with JK Rowling - she controls and continues to profit from her IP, and uses that money to fund hate groups.

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

crochet is the ultimate autism hobby. stim. excuse to not make eye contact. pattern recognition. repetitive movement. ultimate gratification at the end. "you wouldn't download a clothing" fuck you yes i will. and i have. i made fabric in fun shape and its ONE STRING and i made it from nothing. i would also download a fun little stuffed guy. and many other things. yes i have carpal/ulnar tunnel now but that is irrelevant

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

i don't really want to see this retconning of neil gaiman's writing where people are re-analyzing stories like "look...you can see the message under the surface...showing how he was actually abusive IRL...it's all there..."

idk maybe we should just listen to people when they speak up and say they were abused and try to foster a culture of respecting victims and actually enforcing justice against perpetrators instead of doing this weird fucking da vinci code-esque picking apart of his stories. stories which everyone was fine with for decades!! because we understand that the content that people write and produce does not have a 1 to 1 correlation with their real world actions!!!

i fully support people who cannot engage with his work anymore and i do think that because he's a still-living person it's imperative to not give this guy another cent, but we cannot pretend that everyone was just "too dumb" to see the secret clues and turn this into another case of "what you write is what you endorse." plenty of dogshit people write good stories. plenty of good people write dark stories. that's all.

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

i’ve been thinking about the harsh reactions we’ve seen now that the neil gaiman allegations have resurfaced. some of the posts and asks people have been getting, have been horrible.

i think people who feel helpless and powerless in the face of terrible news about a creator sometimes turn to easier targets they (think they) can control: other fans. and i do feel for them. the pressure to react morally perfect is huge.

but trying to stop people from blogging/writing/thinking about fictional characters is not activism in any way that is helpful. (note: these are not things with financial benefits to the creator, these are fandom activities)

instead of acting like the fandom police i think a more constructive way of channeling the hurt and frustration is by donating, whether that be your money or your time at an organisation that helps survivors. or perhaps it’s starting or signing a petition to have a creator removed from a franchise as much as possible. or perhaps it’s as ‘small’ as being there for a friend who is triggered by the situation.

please understand many fans feel just as powerless, and are often survivors as well. please practise kindness and understanding for people who might process feelings differently or at a different pace than you. people will make other choices than you. if that enrages you, stop and examine why you feel this strongly. but fundamentally you can only control what you do, not what others do. so curate your own online experience and block when necessary. and talk to a friend

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

Saw this maymay on twitter and wanted to draw it :3

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

Thank you, /r/ProgrammerHumor, I love you endlessly.

Redditors competing to make the worst volume sliders possible...

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

Periodic rent-lowering-gunshots:

Fiction is not reality.

You can enjoy things in fiction that would be awful in the real world. Like playing a murderhobo in a game! In the real world, being or supporting a murderer-thief would be pretty damn awful, while in the game it's just good fun. Same with anything else you choose to do with the pixels on the screen, like kinks that don't affect anyone real, so they're okay in fiction, but would be pretty damn bad in real life.

No one else is responsible for your online experience. They are required not to harass you, but they are not and never will be obligated to not post about ships, kinks, or tropes you dislike just to avoid you seeing them. It's up to you to blacklist words or phrases, block tags, or even block users as needed to avoid seeing content that upsets you.

No one can force you to read anything against your consent. Any content you don't like seeing can be instantly avoided by closing out of the offending post/fic.

You are not owed an online experience free of discomfort.

Nothing that happens in your imagination can ever make you a bad person. Words you write or read about fictional characters will never make you a bad person.

The claim that media consumption influences real-life behavior is intellectually dishonest and serves only to excuse the behavior of real offenders.

Fiction is a safe way to explore horrifying or confusing concepts. Therapists agree that fiction, even (or especially) about taboo topics is a good coping mechanism, especially, but not exclusively, for trauma survivors. Fiction is to adults what play therapy is to children. This doesn't stop being true if the work in question is of a sexual nature.

Sex isn't an inherently worse or better motivation than anything else. A work written to create feelings of arousal isn't dirty, shameful, or in any way less pure than works written to entertain, provoke moral questions, or for other reasons. And worth noting is that multiple purposes can exist in the same story, especially fanfiction.

You aren't entitled to an explanation for why someone reads, writes, or otherwise enjoys certain works, kinks, tropes, ships, etc.

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

while i was trying to wade through the large amounts of people trying to leave the central subway station, everyone abruptly came to a halt in front of the subway turnstiles. two french girls had misunderstood the tap-out process, and one of them was now stuck behind the gate. as i was wracking my brain on how to explain the tap-in tap-out process of the milan metro to both of them with my rudimentary french while they both got increasingly upset at the closed gate between them, a young teenager suddenly pushed me to the side.

i was just about to give him my most scathing disgruntled glare when he took out his ticket and, after realizing they had no common language, started gesticulating wildly in front of the french girl left behind. he pointed at the ticket, then at her, and very seriously said: “on three, we go.” she nodded, and after he counted to three, holding up his fingers so there could be no confusion, they sprinted through the gate together, giggling profusely afterwards as if they had just pulled off the heist of the century,

it was just a small moment during the morning commute. but i realized then and there that the time i had spent trying to intellectualize the problem and wondering if my lack of language skills would be awkward the situation could have already been resolved. and that while i had been mad about being pushed aside, the teenager got it exactly right: no questions, no fear or shyness, just direct action to help where you can and rushing there to do so. i think about him every time now when i run to lift someone’s pram or ask a lost looking person if they need my help despite the fear of being rude. on three, we go.

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

A.I. is why I very rarely post any of my fiber arts work. I want to show it off but I don't want it training A.I. to fuck over other artists or frustrate new fiber artists.

Hey, if you do crafts (especially things like crochet, knitting, embroidery, etc), make sure to look up how to identify when a listing is AI generated. You do NOT want to waste money on an incredible looking kit or pattern that is physically impossible to make, especially if you're on sites like etsy hoping to support an actual artist.

[homesweetgoodneighbor]

thriftbooks better world books half-price books wonder book pangobooks libgen archive.org ubuweb kanopy (library card required; free) tubi pluto tv

storygraph

abebooks, book depository, and goodreads are all owned my amazon.