writing-killed-my-last-braincell

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here's the story. i know expressvpn has been recommended in some 🏴‍☠️ how-to posts but it is not trustworthy. the parent company, kape technologies, not only used to distribute malate but has ties to multiple state surveillance agencies. and be careful where you look for info about good vpns, because kape technologies owns a bunch of "vpn review" sites too

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guys, my friend has started this wonderful kickstarter project and it is one of the most adorable things ever!! it is ending soon and i simply wanted to share to see if any of you wanted to participate and perhaps get a pin or two! it would mean the world to me and my friend!!

Wu Weiv and the 3 Gems of Dao - Hard Enamel Pins, via @Kickstarter

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/miyukikomocha/wu-weiv-and-the-3-gems-of-dao-hard-enamel-pins?ref=android_project_share

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"There are times when I am convinced I am unfit for any human relationship."

-Franz Kafka

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need to start carrying a megaphone around so I can say "j k Rowling, *megaphone screeches* THE FIGUREHEAD OF A HATE MOVEMENT,"

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HURT/COMFORT DIALOGUE PROMPTS:

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here."

"I'm not leaving you, [name]."

"You're not alone, I promise."

"You didn't do anything wrong. There's nothing to apologize for."

"C'mere, let me hold you-"

"Sure, we can snuggle if it will make you feel better."

"Here, hold my hand."

"This is gonna hurt like a bitch, but I have to stitch up that wound."

"Show me where it hurts."

"I know you're hurt, [name]."

"Let me take care of it, alright? You need to rest."

"I'm here to take care of you, [name]."

"There's no shame in crying. I promise."

"Let me take care of things for once, alright?"

"Don't worry, it'll get better soon."

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Me, reading my own wip: God I can't wait for op to update

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“Obviously ‘bihet’ offends a lot of bisexuals, so we need to come up with a better term for bisexuals in m/f relationships.”

How about… and hear me out… this may sound crazy…. but you… continue to call us bisexual… because (and I realize this gets confusing for you people so read this next part slowly) it turns out we continue to be bisexual regardless of who we’re dating.

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“And when you told me what your favorite book was, I bought it and read it over and over… trying to find pieces of you in it.”

— Unknown

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“I am homesick for a place I am not sure even exists. One where my heart is full. My body loved. And my soul understood.”

— Melissa Cox

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Nas has been spitting nothing but facts this week

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You've heard of mansplain, now get ready for: caucasplain.

When a white person talks condescendingly down to a person of color about a subject that they already know about, such as, but not limited to: racism in fandom. Guilt tripping, gatekeeping, gaslighting, and borderline racism may also be present when witnessing caucasplaining.

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as a general rule. if what we’re calling ‘cultural appropriation’ sounds like nazi ideology (i.e. ‘white people should only do white people things and black people should only do black people things’) with progressive language, we are performing a very very poor application of what ‘cultural appropriation’ means. this is troublingly popular in the blogosphere right now and i think we all need to be more critical of what it is we may be saying or implying, even unintentionally.

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Disney's writer wage-theft is far worse than reported

Back in November, we learned that Disney had pulled a breathtakingly criminal wage-theft manuever on one of science-fiction’s most beloved authors, Allan Dean Foster, an elderly cancer-patient caring for his sick wife.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/19/disneymustpay/#disneymustpay

Foster is the bestselling author of some of the most successful movie novelizations ever, from the first STAR WARS novel to ALIENS novels and more. Thanks to Disney’s monopolistic buying spree of companies like Lucas and Fox, they now owned the movies and Foster’s contract.

Here’s where things get criminally weird. Disney argued that when they bought out Lucas, Fox, etc, they acquired their assets, but not their liabilities. In other words, they’d acquired the right to sell Foster’s work, but not the obligation to pay him when they did.

This is not how copyright contracts work, period. If it were, then any publisher with a runaway bestseller novel could incorporate a new company, sell its assets - but not its liabilities - to that company, and stiff the writer.

Both Foster’s agent and the Science Fiction Writers of America tried to negotiate with Disney quietly on this, but they were stonewalled and insulted (Disney insisted that they wouldn’t even *discuss* a deal without first getting nondisclosure agreements from Foster, another unheard-of tactic).

After failing to make progress with private negotiations, they went loudly public, launching the #DisneyMustPay campaign. The good news is, the campaign was successful, and Foster has been paid.

The bad news is that the campaign flushed out *many* writers who are also having their wages stolen by Disney. The company is stalling them, too - refusing to search its records or volunteer info unless the authors can name the specific instances in which they’ve been robbed.

In response, SFWA has joined forces with the Romance Writers of America, the Horror Writers of America, the National Writers Union, Sisters in Crime and the Authors Guild to form a coalition called Writers Must Be Paid.

https://www.writersmustbepaid.org/

They have a form where writers who suspect that Disney has stolen their wages can report it, anonymously:

https://airtable.com/shrE1hJbqMHsjP9Ll

There’s a reason for the anonymity: Disney’s anticompetitive mergers (culminating with the destructive Fox merger) has created a monopoly with vast market-power to destroy creators’ livelihoods by excluding them for speaking out.

The coalition has five modest demands for Disney:

I. Honor contracts now held by Disney and its subsidiaries

II. Provide royalty payments and statements to all affected authors

III. Update their licensing page with an FAQ for writers about how to handle missing royalties

IV. Create a clear, easy-to-find contact person or point for affected authors.

V. Cooperate with author organizations who are providing support to authors and agents.

More broadly, I hope this brings more creative workers into the discussion about competition.

Specifically, “monopsony,” the excessive buying power that happens when a companies dominate access to a market, which allows them to squeeze their suppliers, especially workers.

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Writing Prompt No.30

She held a bottle in her hand and looked out into the distance. "That's the funny thing about humans, they always think they're right."

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“I don’t know a perfect person. I only know flawed people who are still worth loving.”

— John Green

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Writing Prompt No.29

She'd had nothing left to lose.

That's why they feared her. Every last one of them

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“And in the end, we were all just humans… Drunk on the idea that love, only love, could heal our brokenness.”

— F. Scott Fitzgerald