#but it's worth reading and sharing

[nikidanger]

Just going to leave this here...

[wizard-laundry]

the text originally read "EGADS! DO MY EYES DECEIVE ME?"

[yoshiyolotli]

To all the GO fanfic writers ...

Thank you!

This summer is the first summer I can remember ever just resting! I normally fret about what I need to get done for the fall (I am a teacher), or what needs to be done around the house & garden, etc. I have not just sat and read fiction in YEARS ... I might average 1 book/year. Everything else is professional learning.

So to ...

@phoen1xr0se, @pannotbread, @klikandtuna, @mrghostrat, @deichselschwein, @hinekosama, @moonyinpisces, @captain-sassy-sockssocks, @on1occasionfork, ... and more

Thank you for creating stories so worth reading and giving me a chance to just get lost in another world for a little while. I probably have spent far TOO much time reading, but it has allowed me to renew - not necessarily rest as I was up until well after 1:00 a.m. some mornings reading 🤓.

You are all very talented! I am no writer, but love to read!

Some of you have also become mutuals - THANK YOU - you are lovely people, and one of you is even allowing me to edit your fic and help with your English. I never thought I'd actually find a community online.

[hotwaterandmilk]

Series: Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern Artist: Kamo Kamen Publication: Animage Magazine (05/2024) Source: Scanned from personal my collection

[songofwizardry]

ok I'm not an expert but I'm not seeing much specific info going around here, and there's a lotta Palestine solidarity protests in the UK this weekend, so here is some (including UK-specific) protest info and resources (mostly pulled whole-cloth from Twitter)

policing is heavy at Palestine protests generally

Hamas is a proscribed org under UK law. that means "inviting support" for them or "wearing clothing or displaying articles" that implies you are a supporter is a criminal offence (if you're interested, here's the full list of criminal offences from gov.uk). Palestinian flags etc are ok*, but do not have something that could be mistaken for Hamas imagery. don't go out there looking for convictions pls.

*in spite of what Suella Braverman has implied, the London Muslim Community Forum has just confirmed that the Palestinian flag is not a proscribed flag and is not banned (apologies for quoting the "we advise the met police" group but I thought it was important to have that info explicitly)

don't talk to cops. that includes the police liasion officers in blue bibs.

particularly if you're concerned about your face ending up on social media etc, but also just good practice in general (both in terms of COVID and protest safety)—mask up. cover up tattoos etc.

have bustcards or contact details for protest legal support on you. Green and Black Cross can be contacted on 07946 541 511. write the number on your arm etc.

if you witness an arrest: check if there's a legal observer nearby and if so call them over; if not: if the arrestee doesn't have a bustcard, give them one, find out where they're being taken, and contact eg GBC or a protest support line

if you have the time and can help out, there will likely be arrestee support required after—GBC tend to post callouts on Twitter for this

other links

for particularly children and young people and their families being referred to PREVENT for pro-Palestine statements, contact PREVENTWatch and maybe also Palestine in School (newer initiative I think, I don't have an excessive amount of detail on them just FYI)

Liberty, Migrants Organise and Black Protest Legal Support have bustcards in different languages, including Arabic and Somali (also Liberty's website has lotsa useful info, including advice for disabled protesters, protesting and immigration status, and what to do if you're kettled)

GBC's thread on what to do if you see an arrest is useful, as are all their resources generally

if I've missed anything or made a mistake, lmk—as I said, I am very much not an expert. if you know people who are protesting, pass them the legal support line numbers; if you're attending, stay safe and be vigilant; and ofc carry water.

[makingqueerhistory]

Sacrament of Bodies         

Romeo Oriogun       

In this groundbreaking collection of poems, Sacrament of Bodies, Romeo Oriogun fearlessly interrogates how a queer man in Nigeria can heal in a society where everything is designed to prevent such restoration. With honesty, precision, tenderness of detail, and a light touch, Oriogun explores grief and how the body finds survival through migration.

[buck2eddie]

quote from “but i can see all along, love (it was you all the way down)” // written by @captain-hen

[iliosflower]

Isis and Demeter: Symbols of Divine Motherhood

Author: Vincent Arieh Tobin

Source: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 28 (1991), pp. 188-89, link

[thepoisonroom]

'I flirted with the idea that instead of being trans that I was just a cross-dresser (a quirk, I thought, that could be quietly folded into an otherwise average life) and that my dysphoria was sexual in nature, and sexual only. And if my feelings were only sexual, then, I wondered, perhaps I wasn’t actually trans.

I had read about a book called The Man Who Would Be Queen, by a Northwestern University professor who believed that transwomen who were attracted to women were really confused fetishists, they wanted to be women to satisfy an autogynephilia. And though I first read about this book in the context of its debunkment and disparagement, I thought about the electricity of slipping on those tights, zipping up those boots, and a stream of guilt followed. Maybe this professor was right, and maybe I was only a fetishist. Not trans, just a misguided boy.

About a year later, on the Internet, I come across a transwoman who added a unique message to the crowd refuting this professor. Oh, I wish I remember who this woman was, and I wish even more that I could do better than paraphrase her, but I remember her saying something like this: “Well, of course I feel sexy putting on women’s clothing and having a woman’s body. If you feel comfortable in your body for the first time, won’t that probably mean it’ll be the first time you feel comfortable, too, with delighting in your body as a sexual thing?”'

-Casey Plett, Consciousness

[tokibuns]

just gonna drop this on yall

[astraystayyh]

for a little positivity on the tl!!! share your favorite stayblr accounts or fics that you think deserve more recognition (it can even be your own!!)

I'll start!! this hyunjin fic (the world does not exist at night by @hyu7eii ) might be the best hyune fic I've ever read and it's so underrated, just pure poetry

nothing, everything by @inniejeonginnie, very human and realistic, love cannot make you feel better instantly but it is the light at the end of the tunnel and this portrayed it perfectly

X marks the spot where we fall apart by @nicolagreta soo angsty it made me so sad :( like i physically felt it in my bones

on the same angsty note there is marry me by @liknws AND IT WRECKED ME. so beautifully written but in an achy way. very delicious pain

burden by @ellestray and it's one of the most accurate representation of han I've ever read, the dialogue is so mature yet so beautiful. i loved it so muchhh

everything by @sugrlamb THE REASSURANCE IS EVERYTHING IN THIS ONE, i need this specific seungmin.

special by @amelee23 this is different than usual skz pieces on here but it's so heartfelt and raw and the love is very pure in it, i loved it, a very fitting title

the mini love letter series by @agi-ppangx , FIRST such a cute concept, second the emotional rollercoaster from fluffy to angsty has me in a chokehold. (op i promise I'll reblog with my full thoughts soon!!!)

and i need more ppl to read butterfly bandage by @subskz , labyrinth by @soobnny and forgive me for what I haven't done by @rachalixie . I'll never stop shouting my love for these fics they're so perfectly written, like pure art, like i can't believe I'm reading this for free type of writing

[treesofreverie]

We (@theritareads, @cats.tea.and.books, @ceallaighsbooks, and @treesofreverie) are so excited to officially launch the #QueerPalestineReadathon. The goal of this readathon is to uplift and celebrate books by and about queer Palestinians and raise funds for families trying to temporarily evacuate Gaza.

If you’d like to participate, you can choose a family to sponsor through organizations like @operationolivebranch, @fundsforgaza, or @coffeesforgaza or amplify a family who has reached out to you. Then, make videos/posts about books you plan to read for the readathon, your personal fundraiser to the family, & highlight the family or families you are fundraising for. Finally, post updates throughout the readathon & don’t forget to post a wrap up with the books you’ve read & donations pledged.

Not in a position to donate? No problem! You can also participate by • Reading books by and about queer Palestinians and amplify these stories • Amplifying others fundraising efforts • Spreading the word about the readathon • Amplifying other organizations supporting Palestinians • Staying up to date on what’s happening in Palestine and amplify the stories from folks on the ground Every post you engage with, repost, share, or boost matters!

For links to fun graphics you can use, book recommendations, a sign up survey, and other resources, see HERE!

We also have a link to a Storygraph challenge featuring Nadia Shammas and Natashah Alterici’s 6-page online comic No Olive Branch for Me. For those with extra busy schedules, this is a great way to participate!

[greenerteacups]

Hello GT, I absolutely love Lionheart!

I published my first fic and have been dealing with some criticism; it’s not anythjng super hateful, but it’s not anything meant to make me improve either. I’ve been feeling sort of down because of it. My question is: have you ever dealt with hate or criticism before? What is your attitude towards it?

I find your work and answers on here super insightful and inspiring! I hope you have a nice day ❤️

Fuck em. Like, seriously, just fuck em. There's a time and place for writers to take critique and be strict with themselves; it's necessary for any artist to grow. That place is with a chosen group of creatives whose work you admire and whose judgment you trust. A rando on the Internet, while they may in fact be the next Marcel Proust, probably isn't. And I was raised to believe that while it's appropriate and kind to pay compliments to strangers when they're performing — just as you'd smile at a busker on the sidewalk, and or compliment a chalk artist — it's not appropriate to criticize them when what they do isn't to your tastes. They're providing you with their art for free. No one forced you to read it; no one forced you to listen. If you don't like it, it costs $0 to shut the fuck up.

Also — that thing I said about artists taking critique? That assumes that you're doing this out of a desire to improve your writing, which, while noble, is not actually a thing you need to do if you're a hobby writer. I like trying to improve; it makes me feel good. But at the end of the day, I do this for fun. I do this because in my real job, I am ruthless and self-critical and try really fucking hard to do well, and you need parts of your life that Aren't Like that. You need parts of your life where you're not worrying about whether you're Doing It Right. And living without that anxiety of critique is, paradoxically, the only way you'll find the artistic courage to take risks and develop new skills. Everyone is a little bit rough around the edges to begin with. (Not saying you're a beginner — you merely said "publish," and I certainly wrote a lot of things before I started publishing! But every artist is always trying to develop new skills and techniques; in the grand scope of things, we're all beginners.) Giving someone blunt critique when they're in the beginning phases of their journey as an artist is about as helpful as screaming at your six-year-old kid because he can't swim the butterfly.

And the thing is, these people will bluster and say "well, I'm just being honest, I'm just trying to be helpful," but like: mmmmmmno, you're not! You're not. And it's disingenuous to say so. Because if you were actually trying to be helpful, you would introduce yourself, offer your skills as an editor/beta reader, and start building the relationship of trust that grounds any meaningful co-creative partnership. People do not just accept random critique that comes flying at them from the blue nowhere. And issuing it in that form is the best way to make them hostile, defensive, and unreceptive to it. Delivering harsh feedback without a context of care and support is almost sure to fail as a method of actually changing behavior, and either (1) you know that, and are doing it anyway — presumably because you want people to know how Terribly Clever and Better At Writing you are, or (2) you sincerely have never thought about the effect that context and word choice have on how other people receive your meaning.

Which tells me you are the last fucking person on the planet I want writing advice from.

[finelythreadedsky]

 On one level the book is about the life of a woman who is hardly more than a token in a great epic poem, on another it’s about how history and context shape how we are seen, and the brief moment there is to act between the inescapable past and the unknowable future. Perhaps to write Lavinia Le Guin had to live long enough to see her own early books read in a different context from the one where they were written, and to think about what that means.

-Jo Walton

[astronnova]

frosty the snowman :^) or something

summon!adam au by @unofficialadamtaurus

[gripes-withthesun]

why have you carved me out of flesh?

[ID: It Writes Back - Hritvika Lakhera

Lord above you have carved me/ out of flesh;/ will you return/ to stem the bleeding?/ You have left me rotting,/ repulsive,/ hard to breathe around./ Blood left on the sheets/ is harder to scrub out;/ blood left on the floor/ wafts of rot instead of iron;/ you are my butcher/ casting me into offal.

I am immortality./ I am the shifting darkness,/ the echoing cliff –/ why/ have you made me/ out of bleeding,/ rotting/ flesh?

/end ID]