#I'm going to recommend the book to my friend

[deepestdelulu]

Autumn bucket list

Go apple picking. I've been obsessed with Apples lately.

Thrift some cute and cosy sweaters. Those cute 'grandpa sweaters' you know? :)

Make a Pumpkin or Apple pie. Yummy.

Have a hot chocolate date with friends. S'morse seem fun too, but I've never tried them!

Watch scary movies. I kinda hate scary movies ngl, haha.

Carve cute pumpkins. Don't hurt yourself tho.

Buy an Autumn scented candle. I love the Yankee ones

Change Phone/IPad theme. It's so much work but ill be worth it.

Get dark red nails. Autumn classic, am I right?

Go for a walk at night. spookyyy...

Jump in a pile of leaves. Unless you live in a rainy area like me, lol.

Eat Pumpkin soup. My fav for cold weather.

Bake cinnamon rolls from scratch. Tried and failed, will try again tho!

Visit a farmers market. You can take some cute pics there too!

Host a family game night. Unless your family sucks. You can also do this with friends <3

Learn how to knit/crochet. I crochet my dog a sweater, and she hates it :(

Buy some new books. I just bought 'The Secret History'!

Make your room cosy. Fairy lights, blankets, candles...

Buy some cute loungewear. Any brand recommendations??

Visit a corn maze. Try not to get lost.

Make an autumn playlist. Feel free to share the link in the comments! <3

Harry Potter marathon. Another classic.

Buy a new and warm hat. I want a fluffy one.

Change social media layout.

Read and annotate a book. Or more than one depending on how cool you are, lol.

Visit a pumpkin patch. aaaanother classic haha.

Lots of cosy coffee dates. I've never had a pumpkin spice latte.

Visit the countryside. I'm revisiting Norways soon (Oslo and the countryside), and I'm so excited!!

Please feel free to add more suggestions in the comments! <3

✩‧₊*:・love ya ･:*₊‧✩

[spectres-fulcrum]

I binged Young Royals and read all of Red, White, and Royal Blue in my past two days off. I guess I've been in a mood(I've also had both in the back of my mind for a while and I saw the YR fandom talking about RWRB a lot and I decided to go back on my "Movie first cause if it's not a good adaption then you won't get mad" decision)

I have to reconsume them at a slower pace but they were both SO GOOD. Young Royals especially I just couldn't stop watching. I would go to war for Willie. I would go to war for him. He and Simon were... special. Really special. Idk how to put it other than than. They love each other so much but they went through something so traumatizing without good support systems and I can understand why Willie broke as soon as the wolves attacked-hid because his identity could be hidden.

Because his life was already in pieces and what little he had put together was stolen. And it's not right, throwing Simon to the wolves alone, but he did what a lot of teenagers would do walking on nothing but broken glass.

But I'm also so proud of Simon for not letting himself be a secret. Like Season 2 kinda sucked but in the way both characters needed it to grow and come back to each other and both, in the end, was ready to compromise to keep this special and sacred love. I loved getting a vision of King!Wilhelm at the end when Willie came out and looked back at Simon(Simon is also an insanely good singer???? normally they don't cast actually good singers for those roles but oh my god I love his voice so much)

August... He's a love to hate character. Like he's utterly horrible and horrific but he also has depth. I liked that he seemed to genuinely seem to love Sara in his own way and lowkey August>>> Vincent as a leader. Also the fact that Erik was so close with August says a LOT about who Erik was outside of Willie's brother worship(And I do not like that man in the slightest).

I was rooting for Sara and Felice to be a thing ngl. I really liked Felice, I was kinda shocked, I wanted them to do more with her. From that dorm room scene in ep 1 I got the feel she was forcing herself to feel a certain way for Willie cause it was *expected* and they were friends in S2 it felt way more natural, the poke bowl bit was genuinely one of the best bits for Willie. But idk.

I've already discovered a popular Walter and Henry fic and I'm really excited to explore all the side characters/rewatch going oh that's so and so.

[benevolenterrancy]

okay finished the first book of the fish isekai series and it is RIDICULOUSLY fun -- it's like eating candy, sweet and stupid and very hard to stop. prince jing is perfect, i adore him

[sluttyten]

personal rant

[wanderingcas]

.

[tempestclerics]

[ID: A tier list of mostly sci-fi and fantasy book covers including the following:

S+ (I think everyone should read this) tier: The Archive Undying, Beowulf: A New Translation, Shield Maiden, Piranesi

S+ (I don't necessarily think everyone should read this, but reading it did genuinely change the course of my year for the better) tier: The Way of Kings, The Electricity of Every Living Thing, Stay True

S tier: System Collapse, Rhythm of War, Oathbringer, This Is How You Lose The Time War, The Alloy of Law, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, Tress of the Emerald Sea, Dawnshard, The Emperor's Soul

A tier: The Citadel of Weeping Pearls, Words of Radiance, The Raven Tower, Squire, How Far the Light Reaches, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, The Water Outlaws, The Tea Master and the Detective

B tier: The Anthropocene Reviewed, The Sunlit Man, Arcanum Unbounded, Edgedancer, The Navigating Fox, The Lost Metal

C tier: The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages, The Bands of Mourning, Shadows of Self, Fireheart Tiger

I didn't DNF it: The Vanisher's Palace, Elantris, Mistborn: Secret History, One Woman Show, Warbreaker, White Sand. End ID]

I read a lot this year: 45 books, 67 if you count rereads. This included the entirety of the Cosmere (Brandon Sanderson) and rereads of the entirety of Emelan, Protector of the Small, and Murderbot (all of which would be are S+ tier). This is in no small part due to 1) reading books along with/recommended by friends and 2) using Storygraph and spreadsheets to track things! Including doing @strangetorpedos's dnd reading challenge! I'm doing the cleric one this next year!

Some big themes: Way more novellas and short stories than I usually read! Beowulf and retellings! Knighthood and armor and feminine kingship! Sentient constructs and mindships! Memoirs! Asian-inspired speculative fiction! Architecture and consciousness!

I just. Missed doing this regularly, and am very glad to be back reading a lot again. Also I'm building my TBR for next year so if anyone has recs based on what they read or wants to do something similar please I'd love to see!

[beeceit]

I really do go around like "my mental health is pretty good right now, I'm very stable and close enough to satisfied with my life" and then learn 1(one) bad thing about the world and immediately fall into a suicidal doom spiral for a week

[fictionadventurer]

imaginary book: “The Ruined Idylls of Calomar”, low fantasy (quite obscure, authorship disputed; philologists suspect the first draft was written in a Celtic or Semitic language in the late 19th or early 20th century.)

The Ruined Idylls of Calomar by A.E. Mann

This haunting work of fantasy claims to be the journals of an unnamed scholar living in exile after the fall of the hidden lands of Calomar. Once a thriving, peaceful, highly civilized culture, its glory was brought low by the pride, greed, and wrath of kings, scholars, explorers and warriors who fought for glory, power, and honor, until its final destruction by a dark, nameless weapon left only a scant handful of survivors to escape and tell the tale. In haunting language, the narrator writes of Calomar's glory and intrigue, its final fall, and his irresistible yet doomed attempts to return to his lost homeland and learn what, if anything, has survived.

[the-way-astray]

hey so there's this play that i think you should read, it's called rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead

I WILL NEVER READ RAGAD YOU FUCKING LOSER-ASS FREAKAZOID

[queenlucythevaliant]

Hello! 🧡 I'm curious how you balance viewing scripture as infallible while also not taking parts of it (Genesis in particular, to reference your recent post) literally. I've heard some people say that Genesis is meant to be a poetic version of creation and therefore not entirely truthful: sort of like a kids' story, how some details could be fudged without losing The Point. I get why God wouldn't give us all the details, and it's not like this is necessarily a core doctrine issue, but I guess what I'm asking is if scripture is infallible, why would it give an incorrect account?

Hey Anna! I'd love to talk about this! It's one of my favorite issues in the world, actually, so please be prepared for a whole lot of passion from me 😆

So the bottom line, like I said in my previous post, is that I believe that all Scripture is true and infallible, but that it ought not be read literalistically. This is not the same as saying that some Scripture is less true by virtue of using poetic language, nor that I believe that details have been fudged. For me (and others who interpret Scripture as I do), it comes down to analysis of Biblical language, style, and genre.

So okay, let me start by defining my terms:

History = A text detailing true events that actually happened. These accounts may use symbolic, metaphorical, or otherwise figurative language in the service of conveying these events. A history is also not necessarily complete in its detail or exact in its chronology unless the text itself makes those claims (ie it's possible for histories to backtrack and tell events again from another point of view; this is pretty common actually.)

Biblical figurative language can take a variety of forms depending on the genre of the text we're discussing, however in general it is used to express truths that cannot be expressed in other ways. I'm gonna quote Lewis again here, as I think his discussion of Biblical symbolism in Mere Christianity is really great and relevant. This is from book three, chapter 10 (Hope):

There is no need to be worried by facetious people who try to make the Christian hope of "Heaven" ridiculous by saying they do not want "to spend eternity playing harps." The answer to such people is that if they cannot understand books written for grown-ups, they should not talk about them. All the scriptural imagery (harps, crowns, gold, etc.) is, of course, a merely symbolical attempt to express the inexpressible. Musical instruments are mentioned because for many people (not all) music is the thing known in the present life which most strongly suggests ecstasy and infinity.

Crowns are mentioned to suggest the fact that those who are united with God in eternity share His splendour and power and joy. Gold is mentioned to suggest the timelessness of Heaven (gold does not rust) and the preciousness of it. People who take these symbols literally might as well think that when Christ told us to be like doves, He meant that we were to lay eggs.

Figurative language is used throughout the entire Bible. It's in discussions of heaven, like Jack illustrates here, but it's also frequently used in the Epistles ("I have been crucified with Christ") and, in the Gospels ("You must be born again.") It's heavily employed in the prophetic books, Psalms, and the wisdom literature (not even gonna pick an example, it's everywhere). It's used frequently throughout the Pentateuch (God "bore [the Israelites] up on eagle's wings"). It is used in Biblical histories ("[Samson's] soul was vexed to death"), though not to the extent that I believe it's used in Genesis 1-11. Sometimes the text telegraphs that figurative language is about to be used, but certainly not always.

None of these things are any less true than the things described in what we might call "plain" language. Rather, imagery is a tool that helps us understand the deeper truth of a thing; it "expresses the inexpressible" without causing us to doubt that the images are about something real. Sometimes, the language even tells us something that occured spiritually/from God's perspective, but which did not literally happen in the physical world (again, "I have been crucified with Christ.") I think it's clearly a mistake to conclude that the presence of figurative language means that the story is merely figurative or that it's incorrect.

So I read the Genesis 1-2 creation account as a largely figurative account of historical events, and I think it's written that way in order to convey God's perspective of creation. Certainly a human perspective on creation would be (a) theologically un-useful and (b) impossible for an ancient person to understand.

To expound on point (b) a little bit: even a modern person, with all the geological, paleontological, chemical, and genetic evidence that we have, simply cannot comprehend the expanse of what we call "deep time." Modern scientists must communicate these things in metaphors: they use 24-hour clocks in which each minute is thirty thousand years and football fields with geological epochs marked off at the various yard lines in order to try to express that which the human mind is fundamentally not equipped to grasp. The Bible should and must tell the story of creation from God's perspective, and to do that it must use figurative language.

Thus, "Days" are figurative days, but as such they convey greater truths about the way that creation appeared to God: it was gradual and periodic and God was patient, yet it did not seem to take eons to him. It was like a week of diligent work that produced good results.

Likewise, when the text says that God speaks light and land and life into existence, we can read that as a statement of God's incredible, beautiful power over creation. The moon likely formed in the "Big Splat," when another planet collided with proto-Earth and flung debris into space (I'm not even gonna touch the formation of the sun-- waaaaaay outside my wheelhouse). To God, these things were as simple as saying, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night" and then making them. The complex natural processes involved were simple before the Almighty God.

Likewise, the billions of years that are took for life to evolve, from self-replicating auto-catalytic molecules to microbes to multicellular life that arose from endosymbiosis and horizontal gene transfer, and then all the way down the epochs of history: the beautiful Cambrian Explosion, trilobites and the first chordates, then Tiktaalik propping itself up in shallow water and its tetrapod descendants stepping onto land for the first time; those strange, fascinating club-moss forests of the Carboniferous, dinosaurs and archaeopteryx taking to the skies, the K-T extinction event and then mammals picking up the torch and growing larger, whales returning to the seas and their vestigial legs disappearing, life, life life... All of that, to God, was two days of creation in which he spoke and natural processes produced the glorious array of life that existed when Adam and Eve came to be. He had authority over all of it. He said "Let the earth bring forth living creatures," and it did! God made them as surely as if he had sculpted them from clay with his hands, as miraculously as if He had spoken a word and they had existed in a split-second.

It's all true! All truth is God's truth! Every word of Genesis is God's truth, not despite the fact that it's written using figurative language, but because it is. We can understand truths that science alone can't account for - that in all the vastness of protein sequence space, God formed rubisco and ATP synthase: not by random chance, but through loving providence using randomness as a tool. We can see deep time as God sees it, not as a yawning abyss that we can't begin to properly conceptualize, but as a week in the mind of our great God who transcends time.

(My concluding paragraph is going to be somewhat harsh toward YE Creationists, but it cuts to the core of why I feel so strongly about how we read Genesis. I'm going to put it under the cut so that no one has to read it unless they want to; I'm not trying to attack anyone. I hope you know that I say all these things out of a place of deep, deep love.)

Returning to what Jack said: "If [people] cannot understand books written for grown-ups, they should not talk about them." YE Creationists would have us read Genesis without allowing for any figurative language; they would disregard the scientific method in order to do so. To my thinking, if a creation in seven 24-hour days were the intended meaning of the text- if we were, like children, meant to take everything in it entirely literally- then God would be a liar, because then he would have created a world in which the speed of light and geologic strata and the fossil record and even the evidence of our own DNA and physiology are all lying to us about how we were created. I could not love such a God.

But because I, like Jack, like millions of other Christians, can read the text of Scripture and interpret the figurative language it uses, I can instead marvel at the wonder and glory of our Creator-God, to whom epochs are like days, who can speak natural processes into existence. Scripture is history and it's poetry and it's all true. All truth is God's truth.

[searidings]

how do you decide what books to read?

oh! i have many devious methods. i get recs from friends/family/mutuals, i plough through the entire works of authors who have written one book i've liked, i check rec lists e.g. on library websites or goodreads, and awards lists e.g. the man booker prize, but my fave way is to go and browse in a bookstore for 7 hours, scope out the books i'd like to read, write them down, then go home and borrow them from my local library (for free!!! support your local libraries kids!!!!) and THEN only if they're great will i keep a lookout for them in second hand stores and eventually get myself a copy

[merry-kuroo]

So the guy I like read my copy of The Silent Patient so we talked about it yesterday. He loved the book and he said he'd trust me on book recommendations from now on 🥺

So on Tuesday I'm giving him my copy of The Secret History, which is my favorite book of all time. Before I give it to him, I'm going to underline some of my favorite lines and put little flags at my favorite scenes 🥰 It'll be cute, like when Rory got her book back from Jess and when she opened it he had written his thoughts throughout the margins.

For the record, I was planning on marking up my copy of The Secret History anyway but now I'm more motivated to do so 😅

I already know he's going to have mixed feelings about the book so I'm looking forward to his reactions. He's supposed to be getting me a copy of his favorite fantasy series at some point too.

[sogoodtoletgo]

Artist friends, please don't use StickerMule

Full tweet

I've been on the "Fuck Stickermule" train for a few years now after they posted COVID conspiracy bullshit, and it was found out their CEO was a Trump / Anti-LGBTQ+ donor.

Take your business elsewhere. Just because they have good deals occasionally shouldn't mean they should be able to use your money to support shitty recipients.

Some businesses I'd recommend checking out:

StickerGuy -Been using Sticker Guy for like 15 years for my bands stickers over the years. They have some of the best vinyl stickers I've ever used and those things are practically indestructible. Ridiculously good prices too.

RockinMonkey - I've only ever used them for one run of holographic stickers but the quality is so good and I'd definitely go to them again if I were to get more printed.

StickerNinja - Never personally used but I've seen so many people recommend them and their quality shows on their socials. And I'm fairly certain they're BIPOC owned, super pro-LGBTQ+ and are very vocally Pro-Palestine which is a plus in my book!

StickerApp - has been getting a lot of positive feedback in the reblogs! Vograce - I've read some good things about them in the reblogs, and I've also seen some people on Tiktok showing off acrylic keychains they've made with their services!

EDIT [7/18/2024]:

Found this cool document full of information on other sticker / merch printers with a ton of comparisons and examples compiled by Theresa Chiechi! They also have a series of Tiktok videos linked on that page showing the different businesses they've tried. Be sure to check it out if you want a comprehensive look into your best options.

Please feel free to leave any other suggestions!

[achillesapple]

for so many years my go-to cozy cold weather thing to watch was h*rry p*tter and every year as autumn approaches i always miss it but i know i just won't enjoy watching it anymore. i'm desperate for something new to watch that has the same vibes as hp without all the Stuff. i need a babel adaptation right now.

[gentleladyproject]

the chapter ACCOMPLISHMENTS from THE LADIES' BOOK OF ETIQUETTE, AND MANUAL OF POLITENESS Florence Hartley lists several skills and interests becoming for a young lady who is already well-educated. these accomplishments serve to impress others and delight oneself. she suggests to strive for the following ✧ conversing well, which is aided by a deep knowledge of literature ✧ music, played on an instrument and accompanied by singing (she explicitly recommends easier pieces for the less experienced in the company of others) ✧ drawing, sculpture and similar arts ✧ riding elegantly ✧ speaking french, german, and italian, as well as spanish ✧ dancing all fashionable dances ✧ reading out loud and reciting well ✧ arranging tableaux vivants ✧ crochet, knitting, tapestry work, embroidery, bead work, and many more

[mx-pastelwriting]

Saving My Fanfiction Work

Due to the recent events in the United States. To clarify the recent events being Trump becoming president of the United States, Project 2025 more than likely going to be integrated. If you are not familiar with Project 2025 I urge you to look it up.

Along with the KOSA bill that has many problems and it has passed the senate now needing the finally vote in the house, which both are majority red. Go here to learn more on why it needs to be stopped and how you can. This is another component that will harm our communities. Go to: stopkosa.com

With all of its harmful plans some of the plans are to take down/restrict internet sites that have LGBTQ+ communities that means communities like the fan-fiction communities/sites in the United States.

I am only giving resources to those inside and out of the US in case they banned sites that hold fan-fiction. Better safe than sorry.

Being that I live in the US the possibly of mine and many others Fanfiction has the possibly of being in danger. Therefore I'm giving you recourses. (I'm not leaving or stopping my writing, I'm here for the fight!)

For those wanting to save my fanfiction, I give you permission to download them off of AO3 and to be used for your personal collection. Meaning, your eyes only. To clarify I’m saying this as others have asked if they could download my fanfic so for those who would like to you can.

If you do not know how to download them many others on online have tutorials on how to download them and add them to our phone libraries.

Here are some links to tutorials:

Downloading Fanfic

Adding to Iphone & Android Library

Adding to Kindle Library - Video on How (On TikTok)

Adding Book Covers (At the bottom) - Good EPUB Cover Changer (I use this)

Types of Files and What they mean

Please stay safe out there! Remember to follow the rules below.

DO NOT share the downloaded file anywhere online.

DO NOT repost the downloaded file under your name.

Fanfiction is protected under copyright law when plagiarism is involved. If you plagiarize my work, either a piece or whole in any language, I will take legal action. Inspiration or the same idea does NOT apply to this, only word-for-word plagiarism in any language.

♥ mx-pastelwriting does not consent to their fanfiction being copied, copied & credited, translated, used in videos and/or audios, screenshotted, used in AI, or reposted on any other platform without permission.

♥ mx-pastelwriting does give consent to "reblog," sharing links to direct work, and being in recommend lists.

Please stay safe out there friends! I love you so much! Know that there will always people that love you and in for the fight to make sure you are loved!