#or a systemic issue that needs addressing

[leviathan-supersystem]

I'm not sold on this line of reasoning whatsoever.

A: lets assume for the sake of argument that your groomer "did it by accident" (i'm skeptical but okay) this doesn't actually demonstrate that the "spectre of the pedophile" doesn't exist, and indeed a person who grooms children without trying fits very neatly within the concept of the pedophile as understood in popular culture.

B: while there are ways in which the construction of the family facilitates abuse, this generally is more applicable to abuse that occurs in the family itself. this covers a significant portion of child abuse, sure, but not all of it.

C: The existence of systemic issues does not preclude the existence of individuals who exploit these systemic issues to abuse children. whether they "intend" to is irrelevant. any attempt to address these systemic issues is going to need to acknowledge this reality.

i feel so fucking scammed by the way pedophilia and pedophiles were conceptualized and explained to me when i was young. my groomer did it by fucking accident

[k1llerfr0sst]

It really did! Thanks for the response ❤️ I do still have some questions tho lol😅 Mainly regarding Gotham itself. Do u think the city can be fixed? Like at all. If the inhabitants of the city civilians, hero’s, and villains alike are all feeding into the chaos of Gotham how can it be fixed and should it be fixed? I’ve heard that in some comics Gotham is cursed or corrupted by manic and/or supernatural. If that is true how can the city be fixed and should it ever be? If it should be fixed then who should be one to do so? Should one of the Bat fam do so or should a someone else do it? And if the city isn’t cursed in any sense then I feel like that means that the people of the city are the cause not the effect. Also curious what u think of other Bat fam members. Is NightWing, Red Robin, Spoiler, etc better than Batman and RedHood in their morals or are they all the same? Are they all causing more damage than they fix and how much does Gotham really need them? I’m really passionate about the Bat fam and I love to word vomit on them especially Bruce.😅

Thank you for all the comments I love them so let me yap

Can Gotham be fixed?

- Right now, Gotham is a city where everyone is shaped by violence. The villains exploit it, the heroes try to contain it, and the civilians are caught surviving inside it. But none of those groups are innocent and none of them are beyond saving either. The problem is that everyone’s playing a role in a system that’s designed to never change (considering constant violence/action is a main thing for superhero stories)

- Batman fights crime without addressing its causes. Villains lash out as symptoms of a broken society. Even the average person in Gotham has been written as numb or resigned to the chaos. That’s not a city it’s a cycle, one needed to continue a story/comic. Gotham can be fixed, but only if it’s stops being a stage for vigilantes and rather like a real city with real people who deserve more than constant violence

- fixing Gotham wouldn’t be about stopping Joker or Scarecrow. It would be about systemic, long-term change and restorative justice. Not exciting comic book stuff—but the real kind of justice that prevents crime before it starts.

- So yes, in theory it could be fixed, but in practice considering Gotham is fictional and a background, it probably will never be fixed for the sake of Batman’s story

What if Gotham is cursed?

- Some stories (Gates of Gotham, Batman: The Cult, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, and more recently Detective Comics) suggest that Gotham is literally or metaphorically cursed. Some runs even suggest Gotham itself is alive or has a malevolent will of its own, shaped by centuries of exploitation/colonialism/suffering.

- If that’s the case—if Gotham is cursed in a magic sense—then fixing it becomes about more than just infrastructure or policy. It would require a kind of spiritual healing (a more comic-book magical plot rather than real world issues I focused on in my other analyses.)

- It’s a powerful metaphor though, Gotham being cursed, especially when you consider how real cities carry legacies of genocide, torture, violence, and destruction.

- So should Gotham be fixed, even if it’s cursed? Yes. Maybe the idea of a curse is really about what happens when pain is never acknowledged and rather only passed on. If a city like Gotham is “haunted” then healing it means naming the ghosts, honoring the hurt, and choosing not to repeat it. Even then Gothams curse is just another magical metaphor for real systemic rot or history

Should it be fixed—and by who?

- Speaking from if I was in the dc world, yes, it should be fixed, bc Gotham is full of people who deserve more than survival. Speaking from a comic reader perspective, if Gotham was fixed, there would no longer be a need for Batman, and despite the comic being imperfect, Batman is a hero that teaches many valuable lessons and betters irl society, so I wouldn’t want it to end.

- But if it would be changed, who gets to lead that change? The solution can’t be one person it has to be collective. The Batfam could help if they actually shifted from punishment to rebuilding. Change would require a full shift and a full dedication from most of gotham, the poor, the rich, and everyone in between (which is unlikely).

- So maybe the question is, who could light a spark to make people stand up. And honestly, I don’t know. But it would be good for superheroes to try—not because they can fix everything, but because of what they represent. Batman has always been a symbol of fear to criminals, but what if someone in the Batfam became a symbol of hope to the people instead

- Superheroes are icons, cultural forces. They inspire, and we’ve seen glimpses of that. Like the “We Are Robin” movement, it was powerful not because it was led by a hero, but because it was picked up by regular kids. Duke Thomas the baddie didn’t tell them to idolize Batman—he gave them a symbol they could use to stand up for themselves. That’s what superheroes could be doing: not just saving people but empowering them.

- So while the real change has to come from the collective—from workers, activists, educators, and survivors—the Batfam has the reach and visibility to amplify that change. They can step back from being guardians of the status quo and instead become allies in transformation.

And if Gotham isn’t cursed, and just this way…?

- Then yeah the people in part are responsible. But only because they've been shaped by decades of systemic failure. If there’s no curse or no supernatural explanation, then we’re looking at a city that became cruel because it was built to be that way. It’s realistic and sad. But that means people can reshape it, because if the system made it this way a different system can unmake it.

Opinions on other Batfam..?

- The Batfam definitely share similar forms of justice with Batman and Red Hood—especially in the comic book sense (where justice often means chasing criminals and punching bad guys without addressing the deeper systemic problems) they’re mostly locked into the same cycle: reacting to violence rather than preventing it. So they all operate under the same flawed framework.

- But morally they do vary. Nightwing has a much more empathetic people-first approach and tends to prioritize protecting people over punishing anyone.

- Red Robin is more tactical and cerebral—very much influenced by Bruce. He can veer into surveillance-state thinking especially in his solo comics. He means well but sometimes leans a little too hard on the “ends justify the means” logic like jason (less murder tho)

- Spoiler has a strong moral compass. She questions authority, challenges Batman’s methods (Batman: War Games (2004), she consistently voices discomfort with the escalating gang violence that Batman’s war causes)

- Signal is my fav, he believes in community-driven justice and empowerment, He prioritizes visibility (working in the daytime) and focuses on uplifting people rather than just punishing criminals. His morality is rooted in rebuilding rather than retaliation. He is who I think of when I think of a person sparking hope for Gotham

- Robin (damian) starts off deeply indoctrinated by the League of Assassins’ ideology, but over time he slowly carves out his own moral code. his morality is defined by the tension between nurture and nature

- Black Bat has one of the purest forms of morality in the Batfam—nonverbal, deeply empathetic. She understands violence intimately and thus rejects it with quiet conviction. Her morality is rooted in redemption and restraint,

- So while they’re all still shaped by Gotham’s endless trauma loop (and still mostly fighting symptoms instead of causes) they each approach justice with different priorities and values. But unlike Bruce and Jason, who represent two extremes (detached idealism vs. rage-driven retribution), the others tend to exist in more nuanced middle ground.

- In the end they’re all good people trying their best. They just haven't escaped the limitations of the world they’re written in

[uptownthots]

hi im new here and i mean this question w utmost sincerity: why is transandrophobia not real?

this is fun because someone dropped a whole thing on transandrophobia in my inbox, so let's use it to discuss this question. I'll be using this as kind of a master post to refer back to since I've gotten the same question a lot, so it's long as fuck lmfao:

my answer to this is it's not real first and foremost because it entertains the idea that Men as a class [this means all men, marginalized or not] are oppressed specifically on the basis of being Men, with no other qualifiers. This is fundamentally untrue and I do not entertain any ideology based on the idea that it is. This is something I will never yield on. "What about marginalized men!" they are oppressed because of their marginalization, not because they are men. oftentimes a man's marginalization influences gendered stereotypes about him (e.g. common stereotypes about Black men and Asian men, for example, are not the same. But stereotypes about Black women and Asian women also aren’t drastically different from their counterparts in the first place.) These still come from [in this example] racism, not "anti-masculism" "androphobia" "misandry" or what have you. Here's the first part of what our transandrophobia defender has to say:

addressing the latter half first: "most people are not arguing that society wide, prevalent male oppression is a thing, but it can happen." I cannot wrap my head around what this means lmao. What is oppression that isn't society-wide and prevalent? How are you being oppressed if there isn't a societally backed system to enforce it? What other oppressed group on planet earth can we talk about like this? Misogyny is societal and prevalent, racism is societal and prevalent, ableism, etc. if it is not prevalent and societal, it likely isn't Oppression. Note that this is not the same as me saying trans men do not face oppression for being trans—they do.

"the particular kind of violence against transmascs where they're interpreted as Men (all bad, evil aggressors, violetors) to devalue their points." I actually did not notice this at first because I was going to comment on "Men as bad, evil aggressors and violators" but the condition of "to devalue their points" kind of reinforces the argument I was going to make anyway: transandrophobia falls into the same exact trap 2016-era "menninists" and MRA's did: their proof Men As A Class being oppressed comes from, depending on who you're talking to, either rando women on the internet who don't like men (this is as much of an issue as trans people who don't like cis people, POC who don't like white people etc, which is to say its a non-issue), or slop faux feminists (TERFs, radfems, etc.) whose ideologies have long since been recognized as right wing and transphobic (which begs the question of why do we need -androphobia as a separate category.) Transmisogyny, for example, is is not defined as "when transphobic Men argue against trans women on the internet". The qualifier of "to dismiss their points" kind of cements the assertion that transandrophobia is a reactionary, internet-based antifeminist movement and not a term for the wider day-to-day experiences of trans men. anon continues:

"trans men being told to shut up and make themselves smaller to hold up women" I have no idea what this means or what context its happening in! Are women centered in the workplace? In the home? In educational institutions? In financial disputes? If we're talking about cis people given privilege and space over trans people, yes! But that applies to both cis men and women, and that's not what anon says or suggests through the context of their message. "Women with a fear of men that only comes up when it's non-white, disabled or poor men" So, bigots that we already have words for? Is the karen at your local grocery store "transandrophobic" or is she racist, ableist and classist? A trans identity isn't even mentioned in this sentence. Is it just "androphobia"? We already have words to describe all of these things. Do you think our Grocery-Karen genuinely loves, supports, and cares for non-white, disabled, poor or trans women? I'd bet my life savings she doesn't! So why are we entertaining the idea of "-androphobia" when women of the same marginalization face the same bigotries? (There's a lot to be said about transandrobros utilizing the term specifically to separate themselves from transfems on the basis of misogyny/transmisogyny reasons, but I'd recommend speaking to trans women about their experiences with this.) Is the white man who fears the women of the White Race™ being raped by barbaric, sexually violent men of color also "androphobic?" According to anon's definition, no! Anon asserts, even if unintentionally, that there is a fundamental and ideological difference between the female bioessentalist white supremacist and the male bioessentalist white supremacist, and that the female white supremacist bioessentalist is the One To Worry About. Men as perpetrators of this ideology are not mentioned at all—neither by anon or by anyone I saw when exploring the “transandrophobia” “transandromisia” “transmisandry” or “anti-masculinism” tags. This is a crazy idea lmfao.

The perpetrators of transandrophobia, as described by users of the term, are always, as a rule, women. When we all recognize that transphobia is societal and systematic, prevalent, and perpetuated across the board, what is the motivation behind the gendered segregation of these ideologues and the deliberate singling out of women, specifically? Are these things more acceptable if a man says it? I don't think anon consciously believes so, but the desire to segregate and single out women as perpetrators of these beliefs but not men suggests this must be a case. I made this (link embedded) post a little over a year ago:

Like I said in my post from last year: I have a hard time believing a lot of people genuinely disagree with bioessentialism as a concept when the determining factor in whether they speak out against it or even acknowledge it as bigotry it is the gender of the person they’re speaking against. Is it "transandrophobia" when a man says he Couldn't Help but rape a woman because men are biologically predetermined to be sexual predators? According to anon's definition, no. What is the difference between a misogynistic, patriarchal man who thinks men are violent aggressive agitators and a woman who thinks the same thing? Why does "woman who thinks this way" get its own separate category?

anon doesn't seem to know, because despite defending transandrophoba in my inbox, they conclude with "this isn't a good general term and I suggest something that means something fundamentally different" which ??? I don't even know what to say to that. When a community Makes Up A Word it's hard to argue that it's misused, because what it does and doesn't mean is entirely determined by the community, not a prior, concrete definition that was adopted in. Transandrophobia is not a good, established term that has been misused, it's a bad term.

Anyway. "most of them are not fuck the feminazi mras, they're just talking about their experiences" this is a rhetorical trap designed to narrowly redefine misogyny and antifeminism in order to remove trans men with "acceptable" [trans]/misogynistic perceptions from the discussion lmao. MRA's who complained about the feminazis being Attacking Western Masculinity are talking just as much about "their experience" as the radfem who says all men are rapists as much as Elon Musk is "talking about his experience" when he says that his daughter was ""corrupted by the Woke Mindvirus.""

"All women are my oppressors [as a Man] specifically on the basis that Society shows preferential treatment towards [gender conforming] women and femininity" is an untrue statement (DOUBLY untrue when speaking abt trans women!!) regardless of what experiences lead you to that conclusion, and when this is the exact same sentiment parroted by right wingers right now (e.g "the Woke Left is letting Feminists take over and Emasculate men! Men need to Fight Back against the Woke Left who want to Destroy Men and Manhood!) I know I am not wrong in rejecting it in its entirety. It doesn't matter if "not all transandrobros are loud and proud antifeminist misogynists" if they're all sitting at the same table anyway.

I find the assertion that I'm "letting myself" skew my ideas surrounding this topic insanely condescending lol. My ideas are based on the things you and your ilk say. Like, both out loud in public and in my inbox and replies. Transandrophobia Anon, my friend, I'm holding your hand so gently. I can see the transadrophobia tag too. You're all willing to engage with the antifeminist misogynists all the same. Terfs don't get to sit at the table with me because we agree on the basic concept of "women should not be oppressed", because their ideology is fundamentally violent and dangerous regardless. They're blocked on sight for me unless I take time to tell them to kill themselves first. They don't get to engage with me or my posts in any way shape or form. Never seen a transandrobro so much as criticize another transandrobro for being misogynistic; even when they're faced with the ""fuck feminazis" breed. You're all still engaging with each others "women are the oppressor" posts because “fuck feminazis” isn’t a deal breaker for you to begin with. Either we agree that misogyny is also violent and dangerous, which begs the question, why are "a few" violent and dangerous people allowed at your table? Or we don't agree that misogyny is violent and dangerous, which, lol. Terms like “racism” “transphobia” “transmisogyny” are useful because they describe systematic avenues of oppression that marginalized groups experience without qualifiers regarding who the perpetrator is—because that’s useless and renders the term weak and incomplete. “When a white man mistreats a person of color” is a weak, incomplete and therefore incorrect definition of “racism”, for example. You don’t have to be white or a man to be racist towards other people of color, including those within your own racial groups. This definition ignores HUGE swaths of peoples experiences with racism, and is therefore useless as a term. “When a woman mistreats a trans man” subsequently ignores HUGE swaths of trans mens experiences. For example, anon’s definition of transandrophobia doesn't really include the experiences of another anon in my inbox a few months ago: claiming that their father hated them and wished they weren’t a [trans] man. Utilizing the definition given to us by transandrophobia anon, this is not transandrophobia specifically because the perpetrator is not a woman who sees men as an Evil Aggressor. Much like I doubt our grocery store Karen loves and uplifts woc, trans women and disabled women, I doubt that anon’s father hates them specifically on the basis that he thinks men are intrinsically evil and sexually violent aggressors. When this is not the only perception transphobic people (this includes men and women, sorry!) have of trans men, why is this hyperspecific and segregated term more useful than “transphobia” ? It isn’t.

TLDR; transandrophobia isn’t real, NOT because trans men do not face transphobia or transphobic violence (they do) but because the term itself fails as a useful descriptor of an axis of oppression due to the fact that its goal, first and foremost, is to be a catchall term for “actions specifically and exclusively by women and/or feminists I don’t like."

[knight-hiccup]

hello! I hope I'm not bothering, but I was really interested in your writing process and wanted to ask how you do everything(at least organizing wise)? I've been trying to optimize my own process and yours seems so extensive and well-managed so I was really curious! thank you for all the work that you do, I'm hoping for brighter days for you always ♡

Hey there ty🥺💗💗💗 You guys never bother me ;; I love it when you write. Just haven't had enough time for anything lately and I can't answer all of you as fast as I'd like to—and the only people who really bother me on here are the ones too demanding . . . in which I delete their asks so. But thank you for reaching out with your questions about writing and organization something I really love to do. I truly appreciate your enthusiasm and am happy to share my insights, as I believe in supporting aspiring authors like myself without gatekeeping valuable information we all search for (the information I'm about to give is probably going to have some gatekeepers frothing in anger lol). I understand the challenges of finding time to write, and I’m grateful for your patience, as my schedule has been quite demanding lately.

Organization is key to a successful writing process, and I strongly advocate for writing down ideas as they come. While some authors, like Stephen King, suggest that truly great ideas don’t need to be recorded, I respectfully disagree. In my experience, capturing every idea—whether it’s a fleeting thought or a vivid dream—is essential. I recommend immedieately jotting down scenes or concepts in detail to preserve them for future use, as inspiration can be rare or hard to come by for some .

Given my modest background (I’m a broke girl lmao), I’ve relied on accessible tools for writing. A simple journal is an effective and affordable way to record ideas, dreams, and notes. While devices like iPads can be helpful, they’re not necessary for getting started if you don’t have/can’t afford one (and I bring this up because most pull it up for aesthetic purposes in their videos or other. Don't feel ashamed or unmotivated by what you don't have).

For drafting and organizing, I initially used Google Docs due to its accessibility and lack of cost. However, I later invested in Scrivener, a one-time purchase of $60 for macOS, Windows, and iOS. Scrivener has become my all-in-one tool for organizing projects, streamlining outlining, and keeping everything in one place. It’s far superior to Google Docs for managing complex writing projects, making the outlining process signifiicantly easier.

Additionally, I highly recommend the free Hemingway Editor. This tool helps refine your writing by addressing wordy sentences, grammar issues, and other stylistic concerns. It’s an excellent resource for writers, whether or not they have access to a professional editor.

For staying organized in Scrivener, I draw inspiration from structured approaches, such as those used by Shakespeare (ofc . . . Thanks Highschool, it actually wasn't for nothing if you pay attention). I’ll use a new test project of Maelstrom for example. I organize my work systematically to maintain clarity and focus. (Please note I haven’t taken a masterclass on scrivener . . . ever. I am also not a professional writer (yet, I'm working on it) so you may find much more effective methods through further research from others LOL)

Create a dedicated "Important" file in Scrivener to store concise notes, character and story tags, minor details to incorporate, potential chapter titles, and other key elements. This file serves as a centralized hub for quick-reference ideas and ensures essential project details remain organized and accessible.

To streamline the writing process, I create a structured system in Scrivener for organizing my book project. Below I tried to be as clear on the explanation of my approach:

CHAPTER MAP File: I start by creating a file named "Chapter Maps" that serves as the comprehensive outline for the entire book. Within this file, I include sub-files labeled for each book in the series (e.g., B1, B2, etc.), allowing for easy expansion as needed.

BOOK-SPECIFIC Files: For each book, such as Book 1, I create a dedicated file to store revised chapter drafts, organized by acts (e.g., Act 1, Act 2, Act 3). This ensures that final, polished versions of each chapter are clearly separated and easily accessible.

DRAFTS File: My writing process begins in a "Drafts" file, where I work through multiple iterations of a single chapter. This is where the initial, unpolished ideas take shape. Once a chapter is finalized, I move the revised version to the corresponding act in the Book 1 file.

SCENES File: Separate from the chapter structure, I maintain a "Scenes" file to outline individual scenes. For example, in Maelstrom, I might plan a scene where the main character begins in the Great Hall baking, then transitions to meeting Hiccup at their shared cliffside spot, followed by a scene where she hands him breakfast, and their conversation unfolds. This scene-by-scene breakdown acts as a detailed blueprint for the chapter outline, similar to how animators storyboard scenes, ensuring clarity and flow before drafting chapters.

This structured approach keeps the project organized, supports iterative drafting, and provides a clear roadmap for both scenes and chapters, making the writing process more efficient and cohesive.

To avoid confusion and ensure clarity, I strongly recommend labeling all drafts, even rough ones, as early as possible. For example, in my Maelstrom project, I once posted an incorrect chapter due to poorly labeled drafts. Clear labeling—such as including the chapter number, act, or a brief description (e.g., "1 - rough draft cp1" or "Chapter 1 Rough Draft v1")—prevents such mistakes and saves significant time and frustration, even if you feel confident in your organization. Once a final draft is complete, I move all earlier versions to a dedicated "Old Drafts" folder in Scrivener. This keeps them archived and out of the way but accessible if needed for reference. This practice maintains a clean workspace and ensures only the finalized chapters are used moving forward.

I maintain a dedicated file in Scrivener, named "Ideas," specifically for capturing and organizing the concepts mentioned previously. This file serves as a repository for all potential story elements, such as plot points, character details, or thematic ideas, that I may want to incorporate into my narrative. For clarity and consistency, I name this file and its subfolders after the actual files I use in my projects :--), providing a clear visual representation of my organizational structure. This approach ensures that all creative ideas are centralized, easily accessible, and ready to be integrated into the story when needed.

For character development, I create a dedicated outline in Scrivener to ensure a deep understanding of each character. Using Maelstrom again as an example, I maintain individual files for key characters like Hiccup and the main character (MC), each clearly labeled with the character's name and relevant details tied to the file's purpose. Understanding your characters as intimately as you know yourself is crucial, and I approach this process with great care. Each character file includes comprehensive details such as their traits, motivations, strengths, weaknesses, and other defining elements. While there are many guides available on crafting character outlines, my approach focuses on tailoring the outline to the character’s role in the story and this is a glimpse. This includes identifying what complements them, what highlights their positive and negative traits, and even incorporating tools like the Enneagram to deepen their personality framework. A detailed discussion of my full process would require a separate post, but the key is to build a robust foundation for each character to ensure they feel authentic and dynamic in the narrative 100%.

A thorough understanding of your story’s world and lore is as critical as knowing your characters. Without a clear grasp of the setting and its details, your narrative can quickly lose coherence. To address this, I create dedicated files in Scrivener for world-building, ensuring every aspect of the environment and lore is meticulously organized. For example, locations like The Forge—where the main character (MC) and Hiccup frequently interact—are central to the story. To avoid cluttered or vague descriptions, I maintain a separate file for each key location. These files contain detailed notes about the setting’s appearance, atmosphere, cultural significance, and any relevant history or lore (from the films/shows etc). By keeping all details for a place like The Forge or other in one centralized file, I can access everything with a single click, streamlining the writing process and ensuring consistency. This approach applies to all aspects of the world, both internal (e.g., cultural systems) and external (e.g., physical landscapes), allowing for a rich, immersive narrative 👍🏻

To keep all research materials organized, I create a dedicated "Research" file in Scrivener. This file serves as a central hub for storing notes, references, and resources, including links to websites, articles, or other materials essential to the project. By keeping everything in one place, I ensure that critical information is easily accessible and never lost. Additionally, this file can be used to curate project-specific resources, such as a playlist for inspiration, further enhancing the creative process. This streamlined approach saves time and maintains focus while writing.

And of course, to capture spontaneous ideas and miscellaneous thoughts, I maintain a dedicated "Brainstorming" folder in Scrivener. This folder serves as a flexible space for jotting down unrefined concepts, potential plot points, or any creative sparks that arise during the writing process. If preferred, this folder can be nested within the "Important" file for streamlined organization. Additionally, I include a separate section or file for extra notes to store miscellaneous details that don’t yet fit into other categories but may prove useful later. This setup ensures all ideas are preserved and easily accessible, enhancing the overall organization of the project.

Other little things I've seen on Scrivener are offers of several valuable tools to further streamline your writing process. The built-in timeline feature allows you to track your progress or map out your plotline, providing a visual overview of your project’s development. Also, Scrivener’s customizable layout options 🤧💗 . . . enable you to tailor the workspace to your preferences, including the use of custom character templates and other design elements. These features enhance organization by keeping character details, plot points, and project milestones structured and easily accessible, ensuring a more efficient and personalized writing experience and something I use almost always.

All apps/sites I use:

Thesaurus and Word Tools | WordHippo

Scrivener - #1 Novel & Book Writing Software For Writers

Hemingway Editor

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping Writers Become Authors - Write your best story. Change your life. Astound the world.

My favorite Tumblr - shewriter.

And last but not least:

Reading

Immersing yourself in the genres you plan to write. Reading widely within your chosen genre(s) helps you understand their conventions, styles, and tropes, while sparking inspiration for your own work. This practice provides a foundation for crafting authentic and engaging stories, fueling your creative process from the outset.

This took me 2 days to put together since you sent it, so it's probably sloppy and rushed but I hope these tips help you in your writing journey. Please feel free to reach out with any further questions—I’m always happy to connect with fellow writers hehe 🥺💗

[jellogram]

God I am so mentally exhausted by my coworkers this week. We had an entire meeting to talk about our feelings and a bunch of people want to have an anonymous way to report issues as if that's not going to immediately turn catty. And I was like "I feel like the need to say things anonymously is part of a deeper issue because that means there is a level of distrust or fear that shouldn't be there" and they're like but I am BRITISH and I have SOCIAL ANXIETY that makes it hard for me to speak up!!! and I'm like. trying not to rip out my hair

[dalniente]

"but if we abolish prisons, what will we do with violent criminals? should we not lock them up so they can't hurt more people?"

questions for questions. one: are there are people who, given every support and every attempt to rehabilitate, every mitigation strategy, given resources and therapy and money and time, will still choose violence? i don't know. YOU don't know. but anything is possible, and i will freely admit i don't have the answer to that yet.

but also, two: yeah, what about them? because what i DO know, and what i need you to try to understand, is that prison already does not prevent violence. the threat of it doesn't deter violence to begin with-- look around you-- and it doesn't stop violence after the people deemed "too dangerous" are locked up. they simply commit violence against other prisoners instead.

so, the thing you're concerned about losing? the ability to prevent someone from committing violence? that's already not a thing. it is not happening. the thing you're worried about losing HAS NEVER EXISTED. "but how will we stop violent criminals from hurting people" is the first thing out of anyone's mouth in response to the idea of prison abolition, but we already don't have a solution to that! that is NOT SOLVED! you can't see the violence anymore, but it is still happening! at the hands of the guards, if not these "violent criminals" you're so worried about, so the problem of violence IS NOT SOLVED by locking people up, do you understand? no one is locked up to keep them from hurting people, they are locked up to ensure they can only hurt people whose pain has been deemed acceptable.

instead of saying, "we can't abolish prisons because violent criminals will hurt people," please ask yourself: is the current violence against disenfranchised, systemically vulnerable people so much more acceptable to you than violence against the public that you will advocate against helping people, instead of hurting them?

[psychology-department]

Hey can we like leave Fictionkin, Fictives or Irls of problematic media alone

It is not an excuse to harass fictives or irls or fictionkin from anything the creator is making or has made, they cannot control their source or media. Just because our media has problematic creator make doesn't make us a bad person. An author's actions towards others doesn't define who we are. Leave us the fuck alone. Stop sending us death threats. Stop forcing names onto us. Fuck the creator. We are our own people with our own lives and we are not defined by how they wrote our kintypes to be.

[abyss55199794]

people on the internet need to accept that sometimes people will say weird or mean things that you disagree with and you will be happier not interacting with it

[wiseabsol]

(Gets to the end of the most recent Worlds Beyond Number episode. Yells out loud.) FUCK!

[zignifier]

I hate when people more knowledgeable about history than me are somehow less politically informed

[fakeoutbf]

.

[monstermoviedean]

at the end of my fucking rope with "conversations" about k12 chronic absenteeism.

[ozcarr]

It's been like a week since I watched it and I'm still digesting Transformers One

[fizzarollispisscorner]

People say they want to see characters with PTSD and trauma, but then complain that characters are "OOC" or "whiny uwu soft babs" when they realistically depict being traumatized.

[a-book-of-creatures]

Tumblr being tumblr, this post is overly reductive for the sake of being funny, so a bit of context. It’s kind of depressing too.

Ken Rex McElroy was, according to Wikipedia, accused of “assault, child molestation, statutory rape, arson, animal cruelty, hog and cattle rustling, and burglary”, but never convicted. When he was shot by persons unknown, “there were 46 potential witnesses to the shooting, including Trena McElroy, who was in the truck with her husband when he was shot. Nobody called for an ambulance. Only Trena claimed to identify a gunman; every other witness was either unable to name an assailant or claimed not to have seen who fired the fatal shots. The DA declined to press charges, and an extensive federal investigation did not lead to any charges either. Missouri-based journalist Steve Booher described the attitude of some townspeople as "he needed killing."”

According to this article by Jakob Prater, “[t]he killing was covered by the news for weeks, and the reputation it developed killed the town. There used to be gas stations, a grocery store, even a high school but now all that remains is Good Time Charley’s, a great grill and bar that I recommend.”

The 2000 murder of Wendy Gillenwater isn’t unsolved. She was beaten to death by Greg Dragoo, her boyfriend. The body could only be identified by her ring.

The 2004 murder of Bobbie Joe Stinnett isn’t unsolved. She was strangled by Lisa Montgomery. Stinnett was eight months pregnant at the time and Montgomery cut the baby out of her. The baby survived.

Branson Perry (Bobbie Jo Stinnett’s cousin) disappeared in 2001. In 2003 “Jack Wayne Rogers, a 59-year-old Presbyterian minister and Boy Scout leader… was arrested on charges of first-degree assault and practicing medicine without a license after removing a trans woman's genitals in a makeshift gender reassignment surgery at a hotel in Columbia.” He was suspected of involvement in the case but this suspicion has since been dropped. Perry’s whereabouts remain unknown.

Prater’s article ends on a hopeful note.

In the case of Montgomery’s crime, they learned their lesson. The people of Skidmore did all the things they didn’t do before. They talked about what happened. They called the police, and the police got an amber alert. They did what they didn’t do for Gillenwater or Perry. They took the event seriously, and the baby was found.

Now, it seems they will let the proper authorities know, and they won’t just use it for gossip and rumors. They will no longer hold mysterious town meetings or whisper about when someone is in trouble or doing something they shouldn't.

Annual pumpkin-related festivals happen in lots of other places too. Happy October.

Does any horror story about small towns capture the vibe more horrifyingly than this paragraph on Wikipedia

This small farming community is known for its mob killing, its unsolved murders, its unsolved disappearances, and the annual pumpkin festival

[oreo-party]

I was explaining something to a doctor once about one of my conditions, and he ended up asking me if I worked in medicine because of how “articulate and well spoken” I was.

“No, I just read a lot.”

Sometimes I’ll read back a post where I’m casually explaining a really complex medical issue that most doctors struggle to grasp unless they’ve spent decades specializing in it, and then remember.

I have a liberal arts degree.