#today brought to you by:

[thesnackist]

keep stumbling over more and more obscure corners of the Doctor Who EU/fandom 🫣 it's lovely but also A Lot™️

[bookwyrminspiration]

I can behave normally around books

[ottosbigtop]

I think we as a society should bring back brotps. I think we should be weirder about characters being friends the same way people are weird about ships. Make those two characters who interacted once or twice besties. Make it difficult for them to get rid of each other even if they want to. Go nuts

[ladytabletop]

please practice being excited about stuff.

yeah, I said "practice". remember how much joy there was in getting a new toy/book/game as a kid, and practice feeling that excitement again. a lot of us had that instinct squashed out of us, and you may not even know that you've internalized the idea that being excited and joyful isn't "mature" or "cool".

fuck that! let yourself experience joy and excitement! part of being an adult is learning that not only should you be able to feel anger/sadness/hard emotions without suppressing them, you have to do that for joy/excitement/wonder too.

let yourself feel unhindered, unbridled excitement!

[bamsara]

I think that one thing people fail to understand is that unsolicited literary criticism coming from an online stranger who is reading with no knowledge of what the authors intended goal is, is not going to be received the same as say: the authors beta reader or friends who know what the authors intended goal and has the sufficient knowledge and input to help the author reach that desired outcome.

"But I'm only trying to be helpful" How do I know you have the knowledge and literary skill for you to be able to actaully do that when we don't know each other and you are essentially a stranger to me? Are you applying this criticism based out of personal biased experience and desire to see the story or characterization be driven in another direction or tweaked, or do you know the author's intentions for the character? If the story is incomplete, are you basing your criticism of a character on the incomplete narration with only partial information available of them or are you building up a report until the story's completion? Did the author provide you with the information needed to make a fully informed criticism?

Have you discussed with the author what their plans are or are you assuming them based off the narration, especially if the narration is proven or implied to be unreliable or missing key points of the plot? Are you unbiased enough to help them reach their desired outcome for the characters and story regardless of your personal feelings towards the characters/antagonists and setting? Can you handle being told your specific input isn't wanted because you're a reader and/or have no written anything relating to their genre or topic? Do you understand and respect that the author's personal experiences might influence their writing and make it different than how you would have done it personally? Do you understand if an author only wants input from a specific demographic relating to their story?

If it's for fanfiction or other hobby media, are you holding a free hobby to a professional standard? Are you trying to give criticism because you feel like the author has produced 'subpar job performance' of their fic? Are you viewing their work as a personal intimate outlet or something that must conform with mass media? Are you applying rules and guidelines when the fic is shared for simple sharing sake? Is your criticism worded appropriately and focused on the parts where the author has requested input on rather than a general dismissal and or disapproval?

Have you put yourself in a place where you assumed you have the input needed for the story to evolve better, or have you asked what the author needs and what they're having trouble with? Can you handle having your criticism rejected if the author decides their story doesn't need the change and not take it as a personal offense against your character? Are you crossing that boundary because you think you are doing the author a favor? Are you trying to be helpful, or do you just want to be?

I think sometimes when people hear authors go 'please don't give me unsolicited writing advice or criticism' they automatically chalk it up to 'this author doesn't want ANY constructive feedback on their stuff at all' and not "i already have trusted individuals who will help me with my writing goals and- hey i don't know you like that, please stop acting so overly familiar with me'

[nonbinary-octopus]

if you got an additional line of income that guaranteed your basic needs would be met, (notes below)

notes:

- the money can come from whatever source you'd like to imagine. UBI, sugar daddy, magically delivered in unmarked bills onto your dining table overnight by elves, blackmailing jeff bezos, wherever

- it will keep coming indefinitely

- basic needs: housing, food, medical care, clothes, a bit of disposable income, etc. You would not be rich, but you would have enough. It will rise with inflation and such, to have the same purchasing power as before, and will cover you and your dependents

- any money you earn at your job (or anywhere) is on top of the basic needs money. How much you get is not affected by how much you make elsewhere

- vacation doesn’t necessarily mean you go anywhere; you just don't need to go to work

[citrispace]

Ready, set, GO!

[blakbonnet]

as an indian person, my favourite thing is seeing what people who aren't from here have done with my food; i'll go to an indian restaurant in a random corner of the world and they're putting oregano in their palak paneer or a balsamic wash on their naan and it's like "yes good tell me how you folded your culture into mine and came out with something new and lovely, we're holding hands across oceans bestie"

[renthony]

In a world where assholes never hesitate to leave cruel comments, take a moment to let your favorite artist know you think they're doing a good job.

[themoonunderstoodmydadjokes]

*Me flirting* “I bruise like a peach 🤭”

[gomzdrawfr]

He's the type that would go around using "missus" for everything

[mlm version here]

[mirellapryce]

Imagine for a moment if right after Niko had pointed out the starfish to Edwin and said "They're in love." Charles had come in, completely oblivious and pointed to them saying, "Hey, they're just like me 'nd you, right Edwin?"

[breaking-news-the-aroace-has]

[samwisethewitch]

Potentially hot take, but I actually think it's really important for white witches and pagans to learn about black and brown spiritual practices (from practitioners of those traditions choosing to talk about what they're comfortable sharing with outsiders) not in a "I'm going to learn hoodoo!" kind of way but in a "these conversations are how we kill harmful stereotypes and learn how to be a good ally" kind of way.

[cream-and-tea]

must a book have ‘plot’ and ‘structure’ and ‘progression.’ is it not enough for characters to be in a place. and for that place to be really fucking weird.

[kriskukko]

i had a craving