wendynerdwrites

[wendynerdwrites]

Sylath at the Halamshiral ball by @nev-jpgg vs Sylath coming home from the ball by @rexodusart.

Thank you SO MUCH to @rexodusart for this beautiful portrait of Sylath and Irashel Lavellan from Dalish Ambition!!! You can also find Rexodus art at her Bluesky Profile and YouTube Channel!!!

[wendynerdwrites]

Thank you SO MUCH to @rexodusart for this beautiful portrait of Sylath and Irashel Lavellan from Dalish Ambition!!! You can also find Rexodus art at her Bluesky Profile and YouTube Channel!!!

[wendynerdwrites]

[wendynerdwrites]

[wendynerdwrites]

I wish someone had told this to the protagonist of I Saw the TV Glow

Did you know that sometimes, if you try really hard, a miserable little boy desperately trying to escape from reality gets to grow up to be a lesbian living on her own with her girlfriend, watching the same anime that she did when she was a boy, but with someone who loves her this time? That the miserable little boy doesn't need to be any of those things anymore? Did you know that? Did you know that she's allowed to be happy? Or at least be a lot closer than he was?

[wendynerdwrites]

Stone faced and barely moving in the club.

[wendynerdwrites]

do you have any ideas about why so many students are struggling with literacy now? I know that illiteracy and reading comprehension have been issues for years and most americans read at like a 5th grade reading level but I’m curious why it seems to be worse now (pandemic? no child left behind?)

It is everything. There’s not one answer. I could talk about this forever so instead I set a five minute timer on my phone and wrote a list of as many of the many things that are causing this on a systemic level that I could think of:

It’s parents not reading with their kids (a privilege, but some parents have that privilege to be able to do this and don’t.)

It’s youtube from birth and never being bored.

It’s phasing out phonics for sight words (memorizing without understanding sounds or meaning) in elementary schools in the early aughts.

It’s defunding public libraries that do all the community and youth outreach.

It’s NCLB and mandating standardized tests which center reading short passages as opposed to longform texts so students don’t build up the endurance or comprehension skills.

It’s NCLB preventing schools from holding students back if they lack the literacy skills to move onto the next grade because they can’t be left behind so they’re passed on.

It’s the chronic underfunding of ESL and Special Ed programs for students who need extra literacy support.

It’s the cultural devaluing of the humanities in favor of stem and business because those make more money which leads to a lot of students to completely disregard reading and writing.

It’s the learning loss from covid.

It’s covid trauma manifesting in a lot of students as learned helplessness, or an inability to “figure things out” or push through adversity to complete challenging tasks independently, especially reading difficult texts.

It’s covid normalizing cheating and copying.

It’s increasing phone use.

It’s damage to attention span exacerbated by increased phone use that leaves you without an ability to sit and be bored ever without 2-3 forms of constant stimulation.

It’s shortform video becoming the predominant form of social media content as opposed to anything text-based.

It’s starting to also be generative AI.

It’s the book bans.

what did I miss.

[wendynerdwrites]

If you live in the USA and you're pleading for donations to pay your rent, bills, or get food then dial 211! Please dial 211 before the last minute!

It's a toll free service with people who will help you find programs in your community to pay those bills, find food, and find housing! They will give you numbers to call so you can get help.

It is not 100% foolproof. Their job is to direct you to a program they believe will help your current issue, but it's still a step up from praying random strangers online will give you enough cash before a deadline! The added benefit of these community programs, which get funded by the local government most of the time, is if there are more people using them then they can get more money to help more people.

You're not taking resources from other people if you use your community services. Your taxes pay for them. Use them.

Dial 211 first to see if they can help, and if for some reason they can't, then make your donation posts!

https://www.211.org/

[wendynerdwrites]

Conflict! Solas and Sylath have their First Big Argument as a couple!

[wendynerdwrites]

The collection is complete!!! This series of portraits took so long 😭 but I am happy with how they turned out 🥲💕

These will all be available as prints when my shop launches on Friday! And, if you’re interested in a giveaway for the whole set, check out my instagram (same username!) where we’re celebrating 15k 🥰

[wendynerdwrites]

just saw a fanfic on ao3 have a dedication for chatgpt... that section is meant for your horny perverted mutual who proofread your work, you violated sacred law and you will be torn apart and laid bare btw

[wendynerdwrites]

[wendynerdwrites]

[wendynerdwrites]

The things I've seen about this whole fucking DOGE thing, from reputable sources, so far have been

there's a very good chance that this will basically be cut off before it even happens because it would require some form of approval from the House and Senate

presidents cannot make departments so it would actually be an office

their plans involve massively cutting down on regulations relating to safety and the environment and potentially getting rid of the FBI??? Inexplicable.

their promise of saving the country $2 trillion is literally impossible, like every single politician and financial advisor agrees that there is absolutely nothing that could be done to save that amount of money and very few expenses that can actually feasibly be cut (and would only save a few billion at most)

[wendynerdwrites]

"Well, if I can be of any help to the Times--"

"We won't be bribed, either," said William. He knew he was galloping in among the sharpened stakes here, but he'd be damned before he'd be patronized.

"Bribed?" said Vetinari. "My dear sir, seeing what you're capable of for nothing, I'd hesitate to press even a penny into your hand."

Terry Pratchett, The Truth

[wendynerdwrites]

I saw someone compare Jayce to Victor Frankenstein in his bringing Viktor back, and I agree. BUT... UNLIKE Frankenstein, if Jayce created a wretched homunculus, he would LOVE him SO MUCH. He would NEVER abandon him in the basement or denounce him because of his being frightening or different. He would CHERISH him, NURTURE him, ADORE him. He would wrap him in a blanket, pet his hair, coo at him how beautiful he was. Teach him to walk, to read, they'd do EVERYTHING together. Everyone would be like, Jayce oh my god, what is that, and he'd say only my BEST FRIEND that I made he's so AWESOME he's so ADORABLE he's the most BEAUTIFUL little homunculus in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD and I LOVE HIM I'm teaching him to ride a bike 🥺

[wendynerdwrites]

I met a girl when I was fresh out of high school in undergrad who frankly, annoyed me quite a bit, but I also had an inkling to continue to be compassionate to her given a few things about her life/background/family

I ran into her two years ago. Last week, her daughter turned 1. This girl, let’s called her “P”, is a really good example of why I never feel comfortable mocking trad wives

Her perfect trad husband, who was a shining young figure in the local religious community, volunteered in all sorts of groups, well loved in his workplace and everything else, beat her up at 1 month post-partum. I reached out to her after seeing her desperately asking for a stroller on a page, confused and slightly concerned knowing both of them came from wealthy backgrounds.

The reality for lots of tradwives living “perfect lives” is this: P was immediately ostracised. All the wealth of her husband and her family meant absolutely nothing if she wasn’t in favour and doing what she was told. Her child and her well-being didn’t matter. P, at 25 years old, was basically deemed an oopsie, and left on her own to figure out how to pay for herself, a baby, find housing, and every other task you can think of.

Having known many of these women (and supported many of these women), another factor most people don’t consider is this: they are intentionally raised to be helpless. When I immediately offered my support to P, she really needed it. This young woman needed to be guided through how to apply for government assistance, how to weigh up rentals and apply for them, how to apply for jobs, how to sign up for childcare. How to sign up for your own power and internet, and how to connect them.

It wasn’t that she was “stupid”, or incapable, or spoiled. While it looks like they’re being sheltered, in reality, these women are practically being held hostage. Sure, they might be allowed to learn things that are expected of them (see: basic cooking, baking, cleaning, child rearing, women’s bible studies, hosting, and so forth) but they are heavily controlled from family life into marriage life, and they are never given the opportunity or the reality of what many of us would consider basic adult tasks.

She’s doing okay now. Her daughter turned 1, is happy and healthy. They live frugally, but they have a roof over their heads and the essentials. I often babysit for her so she can attend counselling, or go to a woman’s support group. She is painfully aware that she has so much to learn about how to live as an adult.

I don’t envy tradwives, but I don’t find any joy in mocking them either. Even when they live the most picturesque lives, they’re also practically living a real life Jenga game. If (and often, when) it comes tumbling down, they’re screwed too, and they often have 0 skills to help themselves or find community (that again, isn’t carefully curated).