shimmeringrivers

[shimmeringrivers]

I was walking through the toy aisle at Target when I found this thing and had a VIOLENT AND IMMEDIATE FLASHBACK to when JP first came out and they had a bunch of REALLY COOL T Rex toys that I would have sold one of my scrawny small-child limbs for but my mother wouldn’t get me one because they were “too violent and also ate people” :(

[shimmeringrivers]

&. 𝐡𝐢𝐭 ‘𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

(  more  angst  to  devastate  your  writing  partners.  metaphorically.  )

❛ you’re a weapon, and weapons don’t weep. ❜

❛ you can’t save everyone. ❜

❛ it should have been you. ❜

❛ did i do good? ❜

❛ i’m sorry that i can’t save you. ❜

❛ wait for me, will you? ❜

❛ i can’t lose you again! ❜

❛ you were dead, i saw you die. ❜

❛ we won’t forget each other, right? ❜

❛ i’m real. i’m here. ❜

❛ you already know how this will end. ❜

❛ it’s always my fault, isn’t it? ❜

❛ i don’t want to go. ❜

❛ can you remember how you died? ❜

❛ i love you, but you’re not mine. ❜

❛ have you ever lost someone? ❜

❛ i didn’t ask to get made. ❜

❛ you’re as beautiful as the day i lost you. ❜

❛ i never meant to hurt you. ❜

❛ is it really you? ❜

❛ their blood is on your hands. ❜

❛ it would have been better to die. ❜

❛ i’m not ready to lose you yet. ❜

❛ i wish i met you sooner. ❜

❛ let’s just stay here. grow old. ❜

❛ you’re the first friend i ever had. ❜

❛ i told you not to fall in love with me. ❜

❛ you always push people away. i just thought you’d never do it to me. ❜

❛ everyone i’ve cared about has either died of left me. except for you. ❜

❛ i know i have a heart because i can feel it breaking. ❜

❛ they’re not coming back. ❜

❛ i’m sorry, have we met? ❜

❛ in my dreams, we’re still together. ❜

❛ you’re the one good thing left in this world. ❜

❛ i hate the way that i don’t hate you. ❜

❛ it’s okay. you can let go. ❜

❛ you mean nothing to me. ❜

❛ we’re on our own now. ❜

❛ you can’t kill me, i’m not alive. ❜

❛ it wasn’t supposed to end like this. ❜

❛ do you remember when we first met? ❜

❛ we’ll see each other again. ❜

❛ there’s nothing you could have done. ❜

❛ we did it. we won. ❜

❛ let’s not go back. not ever. ❜

❛ thanks for playing with me. ❜

❛ why does it feel like this is goodbye? ❜

[shimmeringrivers]

and this, ladies, gentlemen and other friends, is why I fucking love Salamanders.

literally the most “I give no fucks” creature in existence XD

So I just discovered that there's a kind of salamander that takes entire genomes from males of different species and mixes them up however it pleases. I can't even say it's a "species" because a single individual can have the entire genomes from four different species knocking around in it, so scientists just refer to the "unisexual" members of the genus (because they're all female).

We don't even know what salamander they're originally descended from, because at some point they threw that genome out. Only the mitochondrial DNA are the same in this fucking ship of Theseus of an amphibian. Please keep in mind that it's commonly accepted that the whole purpose of an organism is to propagate its DNA. This salamander said NOPE.

This doesn't make sense. This isn't how species is supposed to work for any organism, let alone an animal. What even is this salamander????

[shimmeringrivers]

which one of u was going to tell me that tea tastes different if u put it in hot water?

[shimmeringrivers]

Deep down, we all got a little Spike in our hearts

truly did forget how much spike spiegel is just some guy

[shimmeringrivers]

Speaking from experience: depression sucks and the idea that it can completely fuck with your ability to do basic, normal things that anyone should be able to do is not a fucking hyperbole. If you meet anyone who says otherwise, slap that motherfucker right in the face, because they are wrong and they are perpetuating the idea that it’s not okay to get help. And adding to this, one of my older sisters has had a chronic illness since she was still a kid and her life is really tough. Some days she just has to sleep and I have to wake her to eat, or drink, or take her medications, because she just doesn’t have the energy to function. But to look at a picture of her, you wouldn’t know she has a problem. My other older sister has a health problem as well, which you also can’t see just by looking at her. Both are doing much better now than they would be if they hadn’t gotten help, and both of their lives would have been at risk without it. I cannot stress enough how important it is to speak up if you think something might be wrong. Whatever is just slowing you down a little bit now, may well get worse or even kill you in a few years’ time if left untreated, be it mental or physical illness. Don’t fall into the trap of “suck it up, you’ll be fine”. Nobody knows how you’re feeling better than you, and if you think something’s wrong, you’re probably right.

[shimmeringrivers]

my current project is going strong so far

follow it on twt

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[shimmeringrivers]

The human body has a lot of weird little things like this that, as a biology student, I am absolutely fascinated by; because nature arbitrarily decided that doing some random, completely unrelated thing would make you feel better, and that’s hilarious, nobody ever say nature doesn’t have a sense of humour

So you don’t have to watch the video every time you need one of these hacks immediately:

1. If you feel nauseated, smell rubbing alcohol.

2. If you feel like throwing up, start humming.

3. If you have a runny nose, put your tongue to the roof of your mouth and press your thumb to your forehead for about 20 seconds.

4. If you have a headache, pinch the webbing between your fingers and rub it back and forth for about 1 minute.

5. If you’re lightheaded from standing up too quickly, clench your butt cheeks.

6. If your arm’s dead/has the pins and needles feeling, rock your head back and forth.

7. If you need to pee badly, think of sex to trick your brain and relieve the pressure.

8. If you have a migraine, stick your hands in ice water.

9. If you wanna calm your racing heart, blow on your thumb.

[shimmeringrivers]

Zuko finding out about the gaang’s shenanigans after joining them and vice versa is still the funniest thing to me and I think about it all the time

Zuko: where did you even find toph?

Sokka: oh we ran into her while she was a pro wrestling champion

Zuko: .. that twelve yr old blind girl was a what now??

~

Zuko: you said you tried firebending before? Who taught you?

Aang: this strange guy called jeong jeong who lived in a forest

Zuko, who grew up in the firenation and probably heard all about this man: THE DESERTER??

Aang: ya how’d you know??

~

Aang: you know what’s strange? Zhao seemed to just disappear after the north pole... I wonder what happened?

Zuko: oh he’s dead

Aang: w-what?

Zuko: yea. Watched him drown too. A big grabby hand got him and dragged him into the ocean

Aang: .... *crying*

~

Zuko: so what did you guys do while hiding in the fire nation?

Aang: oh not much tbh, I went to school for like two days, Katara and I blew up a factory, we cleaned a river, Toph scammed a whole town, Katara learned bloodbending and I went to therapy

Zuko:

Aang: did I forget anything? Oh right Sokka got a sword

[shimmeringrivers]

dude seeing these Mega high quality images of the surface of mars that we now have has me fucked up. Like. Mars is a place. mars is a real actual place where one could hypothetically stand. It is a physical place in the universe. ITS JUST OUT THERE LOOKING LIKE UH IDK A REGULAR OLD DESERT WITH LOTS OF ROCKS BUT ITS A WHOLE OTHER PLANET? 

[shimmeringrivers]

@lesbian-birdhouse

[shimmeringrivers]

@lesbian-birdhouse�� Are you as confused as I am? Because I’m extremely confused and also intrigued

looking through my notes app bcos sometimes i write creative ideas in there and

what does this mean

[shimmeringrivers]

@lesbian-birdhouse

[shimmeringrivers]

Writing x Characters When You Aren’t x, A Masterlist

x: a variable used to represent something unknown.

We’ve seen an influx of questions about how to write stories based around characters of color, disability, non-binary, etc. when the author does not fall into these categories. Rather than have these posts take over the site, we’ve decided to compile a list of resources to help our fellow writers become more educated about writing what they do not immediately know. However, this list is not the end-all-be-all of knowledge; one should always try to learn from someone with first hand experience in any topic. The world is constantly growing and changing, and because of that, there will always be more to learn. The admins at Plotline Hotline want to help writers form respectful, informed, and realistic characters that broaden the narrow range we see in literature today. 

*Be wary that some of the topics listed below contain sensitive material. Reader discretion is advised.* 

As always, the links I found to be especially apt will be in bold. Topics are listed alphabetically, excepting the “other” section.

Culture

Appropriate Cultural Appropriation

What is Cultural Appropriation? [1,2,3]

Cultural Appropriation Is, In Fact, Indefensible

Voice Appropriation & Writing About Other Cultures

Diversity, Appropriation, and Writing the Other [List]

Disability

Writing Disibilities [1,2,3,4,5]

Guides to Writing Deaf or Hard of Hearding People

National Association of the Deaf - Resources [List]

World Federation of the Deaf

Using a Prosthetic Device

Prostehtic Limbs (Character Guide)

How NOT to Write Disabled Characters

A Guide to Disibility Rights Law (United States)

Timeline of Disibility Rights in the United States

Social Security Disability: List of Impairments, Medical Conditions, and Problems [List] (United States)

How to Write Disabled Characters: An Opinion Piece

Artificial Eye Resources [List][Various]

Adapting to the Loss of an Eye

Misconceptions and Myths About Blindness

Blind Characters: A Process of Awareness

Writing Blind Characters [List]

Types of Learning Disabilities [List]

Diversity

A Guide to Spotting and Growing Past Stereotypes

How to Prepare to Write a Diverse Book

The Diversity of Writing

Why Diversity Matters for Everyone

Writing a Driverse Book [1,2,3,4,5]

Diversity, Political Correctness and The Power of Language

Diversity Book List [List][Books]

Basic Tips To Write Subcultures & Minority Religions Better 

Basic Tips to Avoid Tokenism

Gender

GLAAD Media Reference Guide - Transgender

Creating Well-Written Trans Characters

A Few Things Writers Need To Know About Sexuality & Gender Expression

Trans (Character Guide & Bio Building)

A Non-Binary Person’s Guide to Invented Pronouns

Gender Neutral Writing [List]

Keeping a Trans* Person a Person  

Suggestions for Reducing Gendered Terms in Language [Photo]

How to Review a Trans Book as a Cis Person

Writing Characters of Different Genders [List]

Understanding Gender

Gender Spectrum Resources [List]

Gender History

Illness 

Writing Chronic Illness [1,2]

The Spoon Theory - Also pertains to disibility

About HIV/AIDS

Sexually Transmitted Diseases [List]

Sexually Transmitted Infections

Sex and Gender Differences in Health [Study]

All Chronic Illness Topics [List]

Coping with Chronic Illness

All Cancer Types

A Day in the Life of a Home Health Aide/Health Coach

Fiction Books With Chronically Ill Main Characters- Not Cancer [List][Books]

Neurotype (Including Mental Health)

Writing an Autistic Character When You Don’t Have Autism

Depression Resources [List]

What to Consider When Writing Mental Illness

Stanford Psychiatric Patient Care

Inpatient Psychiatric Questions and Tips

Don’t Call Me Crazy [Documentary]

(Avoid) Romanticizing Mental Illness [1,2]

A Day in the Life of a Mental Hospital Patient

State-run vs. Private Mental Hospitals

Mental Disorders

Mental Hospital Non-Fiction [List][Books]

National Institute of Mental Health - Mental Health Information [List]

Writing Autistic

What Causes PTSD?

Remember, Remember: The Basics of Writing Amnesia

ADHD Basic Information

What is a Learning Disability?

What is Neurotypical?

Race

Writing Race: A Checklist for Authors

Transracial Writing for the Sincere

Is my character “black enough”

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Challenge, Counter, Controvert: Subverting Expectations

Writing With Color: Blogs - Recs - Resources [List]

Writing People of Color (If you happen to be a person of another color)

7 Offensive Mistakes Well-Intentioned Writers Make

Description Guide - Words for Skin Tone

Religion

Religion in Novels: Terrific or Taboo?

How to Write a Fantasy Novel that Sells: The Religion

Writing About Faith And Religion

From Aladdin to Homeland: How Hollywood Can Reinforce Racial and Religious Stereotypes 

Sexuality

Understanding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity [List]

Writing Gay Characters [1,2,3]

American Civil Liberties Union - LGBT+ Rights

LGBT+ Rights by Country or Territory

History of Gay Rights

Gay Rights Movement

LGBT+ Culture

Gay Myths and Stereotypes

LGBT+ Studies Web Sites [List]

LGBTQ Youth Issues

LGBTData.com

Overview of Gay and Lesbian Parenting, Adoption and Foster Care (United States)

Other

How Doctors’ Offices—and Queer Culture—Are Failing Autistic LGBTQ People

Five Traps and Tips for Character Development

Developing Realistic Characters

I hope that this list will provide topics a writer may not initially think to research when writing. If there are any resources that you think would be fitting for this list, please let us know! We want to have as many helpful sources as possible to maximize learning opportunities. 

Stay educated,

xx Sarah

[shimmeringrivers]

Timelapse of SpaceX falcon 9 takeoff above Los Angeles

[shimmeringrivers]

I also feel deeply attacked by this

I’m being called out