#spacings. roundup

[thesoftboiledegg]

I went to the mall today, hoping Spencer's would have a season eight display, but...nope. Not yet. You'd think Adult Swim would have merchandise ready to drop since they've had extra time to get ready, but we don't even have a trailer.

Rue 21 did have a new shirt featuring Rick's two favorite things: crystals and looking annoyed.

That was it for the mall. Fortunately, the local head shops aren't limited to silly things like "seasons" and "licensing." All bootleg, all the time, baby!

The lights behind the glass made it hard to get a decent picture of these, but...you get the idea.

Colorful grinders!

AI-generated merchandise isn't new at this point, but what baffles me is that they went with...THAT. If you're going to sell AI merchandise, at least run the prompt through the generator a few more times.

For a palate cleanser: it looks like this store caught Morty in a good mood.

We've all seen the image on this poster a million times, but the yelling Beth and Summer are new. I guess they finally had enough.

Finally, one head shop had a new game: Card Scramble! I've never heard of it before, but I love the art for Space Beth.

The season eight preview showed Space Beth in at least three episodes, so I'm looking forward to that. Honestly, we've overdue for a Beth-heavy season in general. More space clone yuri! 👯‍♀️

[hughesybear]

Canucks roundup November 18th 2024 - December 1st 2024:

A “J.T. MILLER!” chant broke out unprompted during a WWE event at Rogers Arena

Boeser, Pettersson, and Garland on Quinn becoming the franchise leader for career assists by a defenceman:

“What he can do out there in the offensive zone, it's impressive,” said Boeser. “And anytime he has a puck and he's twirling around; I just try and get open. He creates space for other guys because the defensive team is always so focused on him. He's helped me offensively and he will continue to do that.”

When asked about what Hughes does for Pettersson, he laughed and said that he sure makes it a lot easier for him.

“He makes plays all over the ice. And every year he's been taking steps and becoming a better player. The Norris explains itself, but just the player he is today from where he started is a massive improvement,” said Pettersson.

“I think his work ethic, his striving to become great, plus, I mean, he’s got two other brothers who are pretty good at hockey, and he competes with [them] every day, so that helps. And I know his parents well, and they want the best for him, so he's got a good setup for that, but he himself is the biggest factor.”

Conor Garland trained with Hughes in the offseason and saw how committed he is to the game, focusing on every detail from stretching to eating and his work on the ice.

“Quinn's done more than anybody for smaller defencemen coming up,” said Garland. “Just how he possesses the game, defends well as a smaller guy. He's someone who will leave a mark on a game.”

DeBrusk forgot the score of the game against the Red Wings going into the third period, then reacted to one of his hat trick goals being the one Quinn broke the franchise defenceman assists record with:

“Is he stealing my hat trick puck, is that what I’m hearing? [laughs] You know what, honestly, that one could be his.”

Myers as part of the ice crew? what the hell, sure

Höglander and Juulsen do whatever this is before games

Vinny snowing Demko and apologizing by doing this

The Quinton Garland saga - Garland named his son after the Jaws character and not Quinn, but Quinn Hughes is Quint Garland’s godfather:

“Yeah, all the guys are giving him a hard time,” Quinn said after the Canucks practised for Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Senators. “But he named him after the movie, not me.”

“Quinn will be his godfather,” Conor told us. “He'll be great to him. He'll be a big part of his life. (And Quint) will be a big part of his. He's one of my best friends. Quinn was great to me at times when I needed somebody, and that's why I picked him to be his godfather. You need somebody like that in your life.”

[sixamese-simblr]

Why are my baby Bellas not rolling wants to move out when becoming adults come on I need your uncle to have another baby before he's too old and your household has more than enough money to afford a mediocre flophouse for you to move into

[autonomous-zed]

New Video! We got back to our roots with Space Station 13 and the follies of working security! #spacestation13 #SS13

And if you like what you see, consider donating so I can pay bills, rent, and buy food!

[bloodmaarked]

➫ monthly book round-up: february 2024

books read: 6 [1 DNF] [-14%] average rating: 3.6 [-4%] average speed: 7.8 days [-20%] total pages: 2,083 [-27%] yearly goal progress: 11/50 best of the month: the space between here & now, sarah suk worst of the month: knife skills for beginners, orlando murrin

4* reads:

the space between here & now, sarah suk

a song of wraiths and ruin, roseanne a. brown

3.5* reads:

flux, jinwoo chong

when we were birds, ayanna lloyd banwo

3* reads:

gleanings, neal shusterman

DNFs

knife skills for beginners, orlando murrin

currently reading:

saving time, jenny odell

the murder at the vicarage, agatha christie

[today-i-am-thinking-about]

weedkiller

[betterbooksandthings]

"The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton

Hamilton’s sapphic space romance debut reveals what happens when following your dreams with your chosen family means confronting the disturbing realities of deep space. Cleo and her friends are queer twentysomething PhDs at the height of their respective fields finally pursuing their scheme to uncover what happened to the hundreds of people who disappeared 20 years ago at the Providence spaceship’s launch. But, when they sneak onboard, the dark matter engine starts on its own. Now they are stuck in space with an AI holographic replica of the ship’s old captain, Billie, who can’t remember what happened to her or her crew. If any of them want to survive the flight as things on board become progressively stranger, they will have to uncover what really happened all those years ago. Plus, Cleo has to try not to fall in love with the adorable hologram while they are at it.

—R. Nassor"

[headspace-hotel]

dont @ me about dandelions not being native to north america either cause like man, you are NOT going to like how i feel about kudzu these days

but yea after studying it a lot and observing plants in their environments, ive become less and less enthusiastic about "invasive plants hate die kill auughauhghgua" messages, because with most invasive plants the problem is like 10% the plant itself and 90% landscape level problems with how we manage land

treating natural spaces as "leftover" scraps surrounding built things and abandoning/not interacting with them except for occasional violent episodes of "management" with chainsaws and roundup

[reasonsforhope]

Masterpost: Reasons I firmly believe we will beat climate change

Posts are in reverse chronological order (by post date, not article date), mostly taken from my "climate change" tag, which I went through all the way back to the literal beginning of my blog. Will update periodically.

Especially big deal articles/posts are in bold.

Big picture:

Mature trees offer hope in world of rising emissions (x)

Spying from space: How satellites can help identify and rein in a potent climate pollutant (x)

Good news: Tiny urban green spaces can cool cities and save lives (x)

Conservation and economic development go hand in hand, more often than expected (x)

The exponential growth of solar power will change the world (x)

Sun Machines: Solar, an energy that gets cheaper and cheaper, is going to be huge (x)

Wealthy nations finally deliver promised climate aid, as calls for more equitable funding for poor countries grow (x)

For Earth Day 2024, experts are spreading optimism – not doom. Here's why. (x)

Opinion: I’m a Climate Scientist. I’m Not Screaming Into the Void Anymore. (x)

The World’s Forests Are Doing Much Better Than We Think (x)

‘Staggering’ green growth gives hope for 1.5C, says global energy chief (x)

Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View (x)

Young Forests Capture Carbon Quicker than Previously Thought (x)

Yes, climate change can be beaten by 2050. Here's how. (x)

Soil improvements could keep planet within 1.5C heating target, research shows (x)

The global treaty to save the ozone layer has also slowed Arctic ice melt (x)

The doomers are wrong about humanity’s future — and its past (x)

Scientists Find Methane is Actually Offsetting 30% of its Own Heating Effect on Planet (x)

Are debt-for-climate swaps finally taking off? (x)

High seas treaty: historic deal to protect international waters finally reached at UN (x)

How Could Positive ‘Tipping Points’ Accelerate Climate Action? (x)

Specific examples:

Environmental Campaigners Celebrate As Labour Ends Tory Ban On New Onshore Wind Projects (x)

Private firms are driving a revolution in solar power in Africa (x)

How the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu drastically cut plastic pollution (x)

Rewilding sites have seen 400% increase in jobs since 2008, research finds [Scotland] (x)

The American Climate Corps take flight, with most jobs based in the West (x)

Waste Heat Generated from Electronics to Warm Finnish City in Winter Thanks to Groundbreaking Thermal Energy Project (x)

Climate protection is now a human right — and lawsuits will follow [European Union] (x)

A new EU ecocide law ‘marks the end of impunity for environmental criminals’ (x)

Solar hits a renewable energy milestone not seen since WWII [United States] (x)

These are the climate grannies. They’ll do whatever it takes to protect their grandchildren. [United States and Native American Nations] (x)

Century of Tree Planting Stalls the Warming Effects in the Eastern United States, Says Study (x)

Chart: Wind and solar are closing in on fossil fuels in the EU (x)

UK use of gas and coal for electricity at lowest since 1957, figures show (x)

Countries That Generate 100% Renewable Energy Electricity (x)

Indigenous advocacy leads to largest dam removal project in US history [United States and Native American Nations] (x)

India’s clean energy transition is rapidly underway, benefiting the entire world (x)

China is set to shatter its wind and solar target five years early, new report finds (x)

‘Game changing’: spate of US lawsuits calls big oil to account for climate crisis (x)

Largest-ever data set collection shows how coral reefs can survive climate change (x)

The Biggest Climate Bill of Your Life - But What Does It DO? [United States] (x)

Good Climate News: Headline Roundup April 1st through April 15th, 2023 (x)

How agroforestry can restore degraded lands and provide income in the Amazon (x) [Brazil]

Loss of Climate-Crucial Mangrove Forests Has Slowed to Near-Negligable Amount Worldwide, Report Hails (x)

Agroecology schools help communities restore degraded land in Guatemala (x)

Climate adaptation:

Solar-powered generators pull clean drinking water 'from thin air,' aiding communities in need: 'It transforms lives' (x)

‘Sponge’ Cities Combat Urban Flooding by Letting Nature Do the Work [China] (x)

Indian Engineers Tackle Water Shortages with Star Wars Tech in Kerala (x)

A green roof or rooftop solar? You can combine them in a biosolar roof — boosting both biodiversity and power output (x)

Global death tolls from natural disasters have actually plummeted over the last century (x)

Los Angeles Just Proved How Spongy a City Can Be (x)

This city turns sewage into drinking water in 24 hours. The concept is catching on [Namibia] (x)

Plants teach their offspring how to adapt to climate change, scientists find (x)

Resurrecting Climate-Resilient Rice in India (x)

Edit 1/12/25: Yes, I know a bunch of the links disappeared. I'll try to fix that when I get the chance. In the meantime, read all the other stuff!!

Other Masterposts:

Going carbon negative and how we're going to fix global heating (x)

[ellipsus-writes]

Ellipsus Digest: April 2

Each week (or so), we'll highlight the relevant (and sometimes rage-inducing) news adjacent to writing and freedom of expression. This week:

Meta trained on pirated books—and writers are not having it

ICYMI: Meta has forever earned a spot as the archetype for Shadowy Corporate Baddie in speculative fiction by training its LLMs on pirated books from LibGen. You're pissed, we're pissed—here's what you can do:

The Author’s Guild of America—longtime champions of authors’ rights and probably very tired of cleaning up this kind of mess (see its high-profile ongoing lawsuits, and January’s campaign to credit human authors over “AI-authored” work)—has released a new summary of what’s going on. They’ve also provided a plug-and-play template for contacting AI companies directly, because right now, “sincerely, a furious novelist” just doesn’t feel like enough.

No strangers to spilling the tea, the UK’s Society of Authors is also stepping up with its roundup of actions to raise awareness and fight back against the unlicensed scraping of creative work. (If you’re across the pond, we also recommend checking out the Creative Rights in AI Coalition campaign—it’s doing solid work to stop the extraction economy from feeding on artists’ work.)

Museums and libraries: fodder for the new culture war

Not to be outdone by Florida school boards and That Aunt's Facebook feed, MAGA’s nascent cultural revolution has turned its attention to museums and libraries. A new executive order (in that big boi font) is targeting funding for any program daring to tell a “divisive narrative” or acknowledge “improper ideology” (translation: anything involving actual history).

The first target is D.C.’s own Smithsonian. The newly restructured federal board has set its sights on “cleansing” the Institution’s 21 museums of “divisive, race-centered ideology.” (couch-enthusiast J.D. Vance snagged himself a board seat.) (Oh, and they’ve appointed a Trump-aligned lawyer to vet museum content.) The second seems to be the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a 70-person department (now placed on administrative leave) in charge of institutional funding. As we wrote last week, this isn’t isolated—far-right influence overmuseums and libraries means this kind of ideological takeover will seep into every corner of the country’s cultural life.

Meanwhile, the GOP is (once again) trying to defund PBS for its “Communist agenda.” It’s part of a larger crusade that’s banned picture books with LGBTQ+ characters, erased anti-racist history, and treated educators like enemies—all in the name of “protecting the children,” of course.

NaNoWriMo is no more; long live NaNo

When we initially signed on as sponsors in 2024, we really, really hoped NaNoWriMo could pull it together—but its support for generative AI and dismissiveness toward its own audience prompted us to withdraw our sponsorship, and many Wrimos to leave an institution that helped cultivate creativity and community for a near-quarter century. Now it seems NaNo has shuttered permanently, leaving the community confused, if not betrayed. But when an organization treats its community poorly and fumbles its ethics, people notice. (You can watch the official explainer here.)

Still, writers are resilient, and the rise of many independent writing groups and community-led challenges proves that creatives will always find spaces to connect and write—and the desire to write 50k words in the month of November isn’t going anywhere. Just maybe... somewhere better.

The continued attack on campus speech

The Trump administration continues its campaign against universities for perceived anti-conservative bias, gutting federal research budgets, and pressuring schools to abandon any trace of DEI (or, as we wrote on the blog, extremely common and important words). In short: If a school won’t conform to MAGA ideology, it doesn’t deserve federal money—or academic freedom.

Higher education is being pressured to excise entire frameworks and language in an effort to avoid becoming the next target of partisan outrage. Across the U.S., universities are bracing for politically motivated budget cuts, especially in departments tied to research, diversity, or anything remotely inclusive. Conservative watchdogs have made it their mission to root out “woke depravity”—one school confirmed it received emails offering payment in exchange for students to act as informants, or ghostwrite articles to “expose the liberal bias that occurs on college campuses across the nation.”

In a country where op-eds in student newspapers are grounds for deportation, what part of “free speech” is actually free?

We now live in knockoff Miyazaki hellscape

If you’ve been online lately (sorry), you’ve probably seen a flood of vaguely whimsical, oddly sterile, faux-hand-drawn illustrations popping up everywhere. That’s because OpenAI just launched a new image generator—and CEO Sam Altman couldn’t wait to brag that it was so popular their servers started “melting.” (Apparently, melting the climate is fine too, despite Miyazaki’s lifelong environmental themes.) (Nausicaa is our favorite at Ellipsus.)

This might be OpenAI’s attempt to “honor” Hayao Miyazaki, who once declared that AI-generated animation was “an insult to life itself.” Meanwhile, the meme lifecycle went into warp speed, since AI doesn't require actual human creativity—speed-running from personal exploration, to corporate slop, to 9/11 memes, to a supremely cruel take from The White House.

“People are going to create some really amazing stuff and some stuff that may offend people,” Altman said in a post on X. “What we'd like to aim for is that the tool doesn't create offensive stuff unless you want it to, in which case within reason it does.”

Still, the people must meme. And while cottagecore fox girls are fine, we suggest skipping straight to the truly cursed (and far more creative) J.D. Vance memes instead.

Let us know if you find something other writers should know about, (or join our Discord and share it there!)

- The Ellipsus Team xo

[thesoftboiledegg]

I went to the smaller mall a couple of weeks ago. The head shop didn't have new Rick and Morty merchandise, but the employee gave me a free snack: crunchy biscuits in chocolate and cream!

Nothing in Rue 21, Hot Topic or the nerdy store, either. I was starting to lose hope until I spotted a new holographic sign in Spencer's. Seasons 1-3 still dominate merchandise, but we're slowly catching up to season six.

Marshall's also had a pair of psychedelic boxers.

That same day, I planned to visit another head shop in the area. Unfortunately, I didn't know that a car cruise was happening on the same street, so I ended up getting stuck in nightmare traffic until I turned around and went home.

The new Tesla location was also open and showing off their vehicles. Cybertrucks are uglier in person.

A week later, I decided to give the head shop another shot. This time, the road was clear. They had a couple of items:

Initially, I passed over the coloring book, thinking it was the same book that I photographed a while back. But I opened the book and found new illustrations from seasons 4-6, including some of my favorite scenes and episodes!

Yes, I like the stupid slut dragon episode.

Anyway, this weekend brought a shock: RUE 21 IS CLOSING! 😭 OK, I wasn't that shocked because this mall is notorious for driving stores out of business, but now the closest Rue 21 is an hour away. And that's not very close!

It's probably just a matter of time before the entire mall shuts down. But in the meantime, Hot Topic had a new shirt, which surprised me because they don't get new Rick and Morty merchandise very often:

I'm glad we're getting more season five apparel, but come on, where's the Crow Witch Rick shirt? Bruce Chutback gets a shirt, but not him? Mr. Nimbus spooking Phoenix Person is pretty funny, though.

And another sign in Spencer's!

One of the nerdy stores had a stack of comics. I love this Summer (variant?) cover.

And, finally, a visit to the bigger mall today resulted in this sign.

So far, it's been a slow year for Rick and Morty apparel. Merchandising usually explodes around Christmas, but before then, we might be limited to the occasional mug, shirt or metal sign.

Or maybe they're getting ready to unleash a barrage of Crow Witch Rick T-shirts and hoodies...right?

[mrs-elsie-barnes]

Off to a good start this year, managed to read lots of fics in January and I hope you enjoy them too!

I've also tried to complete the @feedthefandomfest fluff and smut bingos this month, with varied success. A line complete for smut but fluff was all over the place, let's not look into that too much! Cards are at the bottom of the post alongside by non-fic reading roundup for January

Fics in pink are for the fluff bingo, fics in red are for the smut bingo

Azriel

Made for Him by velarisdusk (AO3) 🔥 (Free space - Dollification)

Bucky Barnes

Aftercare by @thyme-in-a-bubble 🔥(Short and sweet)

Against the Rules by @ellemj 🔥 (Shameless smut)

Bed Chem by @tom-whore-dleston 🔥

Birds of a Feather by @jobean12-blog (Love confessions)

Butterflies by @wolvietxt

Corruption by @fanfictiongirlie 🔥 (Oral sex)

didn’t know if you’d care if i came back by @nickfowlerrr (cuddling)

Dirty Mind by @sergeantbarnessdoll 🔥 (Fingering)

Don’t Mess with My Girl by @ofstarsandvibranium

Eyes on Me by Sellitonceremony (AO3) (Fluff and smut)

Fangs and Spells by @vunblr 🔥 (Public/Semi-public sex)

Golden by @aquaticmercy (Couch cuddles)

Imagine... (‘this snowmaze seemed fun until I got lost’) by @drabblesandsnippets 🔥

Needs and Wants by @ellemj 🔥 (Sex Pollen)

Pillows on the Floor by @noonecareslol (Domestic fluff)

right where i need you by @nickfowlerrr 🔥 (Fluff and smut)

Kink: Somnophilia by @gremlin-girly

Bucky Barnes x Natasha Romanov

Oh, What You Do to Me by @missmorwen (Soulmates)

Cassian

Held in Silence by velarisdusk (AO3) 🔥

In the Firelight by velarisdusk (AO3) 🔥 (Size difference)

Plank You Very Much by @illyrianbitch

Sweet Surrender by velarisdusk (AO3) 🔥 (PWP)

The Weight of Expectation by velarisdusk (AO3) 🔥 (Dom/Sub)

Clark Kent

Wait a Minute, Are You Jealous by @hederasgarden

Eris Vanserra

Strings of Devotion by velarisdusk (AO3) 🔥(Pet Play)

Loki

Liberties by @lokisgoodgirl 🔥 (Sex magic)

When the Ball Drops by @mochie85 (First kiss)

Poly/Multiple Partners

Being mated to ... with Azriel, Eris & Lucien by @fieldofdaisiies 🔥

birthday girl by strawberrybrat (AO3) 🔥 (Bat Boys/Feyre) (Double Penetration)

First Night by @buckets-and-trees (Stucky x Reader) (Romantic fluff)

Shadows and Steam by Abyssqueen (AO3) 🔥 (Bat Boys x Feyre)

When the Stars Bear Witness by velarisdusk (AO3) 🔥 (Bat Boys x Feyre) (Threesome)

Sergei Kravinoff

for all that he’s rough, you're soft. By @dearhargrove (Sleepy cuddles)

In the Hunter's Arms by @moonlight-joy

Kraven's Temptation by @omgkatherine01 🔥 (Rough Sex)

Steve Rogers

Steve & Photographer Reader by @imyourbratzdoll 🔥 (Daddy kink)

[adventure-showdown]

Series 15 Roundup:

Episode Rankings:

By original score:

The Story and the Engine

The Well

Lux

The Interstellar Song Contest

The Robot Revolution

Wish World

Lucky Day

The Reality War

By week on score:

The Story and the Engine

The Well

Lux

The Robot Revolution

Lucky Day

The Interstellar Song Contest

Wish World

The Reality War

Overall Maximums, Minimums and Averages

highest original rating: The Story and the Engine, 8.34

highest week on rating: The Story and the Engine, 8.4

lowest original rating: The Reality War, 3.47

lowest week on rating: The Reality War, 2.96

average original rating: 6.91 (7.48 excluding the final two episodes)

average week on score: 6.46 (7.19 excluding the final two episodes)

series rating: 5.86

How does this stack up with the rest of the era?

[yikes, does that make things look bad]

Episode Rankings:

By original score:

The Star Beast

Wild Blue Yonder

Rogue

The Story and the Engine

Boom

The Well

The Legend of Ruby Sunday

Lux

73 Yards

Dot and Bubble

The Giggle

The Devil's Chord

The Church on Ruby Road

The Interstellar Song Contest

The Robot Revolution

Wish World

Empire of Death

Joy to the World

Space Babies

Lucky Day

The Reality War

By week on score (note, the christmas specials were not polled):

Wild Blue Yonder

The Story and the Engine

Rogue

Boom

73 Yards

The Well

Dot and Bubble

The Star Beast

Lux

The Giggle

The Legend of Ruby Sunday

The Devil's Chord

The Robot Revolution

Lucky Day

The Interstellar Song Contest

Empire of Death

Space Babies

Wish World

The Reality War

Averages:

60th Specials: Original - 8.44, Week on - 8.07

Series 14: Original - 7.61, Week on - 7.34, Overall - 6.98

Series 15: Original - 6.91, Week on - 6.46, Overall - 5.86

My thoughts:

Series 15 is clearly by far the weakest, however it is safe to assume these results are skewed by the abysmal finale, excluding the polls for the final two episodes the results are much closer to, though still below those of series 14

I would like to specifically point out the results of The Reality War, no other story, across the whole era, recieved a score of less than 6 the first go around, and only two (Wish World and Space Babies, and even then just barely) scored less than a 6 the second time around, The Reality War managed half of that. Additionally, the lowest previous mode of 6 belonged to Space Babies on only its follow up poll, The Reality War has a mode of 1, and the second highest levels of agreement across any previously conducted. Aside from Wild Blue Yonder, the most popular options on any given poll fall between 20 and 35%, The Reality War was scored a 1 by around 40% of people. The dislike for the episode cannot be understated

Episode Breakdown

The Robot Revolution (Original) mean: 6.93, mode: 7 (31%)

The Robot Revolution (Week on) mean: 6.75, mode: 7 (30.5%)

Lux (Original) mean: 7.88, mode: 8 (31.9%)

Lux (Week on) mean: 7.48, mode: 8 (30.6%)

The Well (Original) mean: 8.26, mode: 9 (30.6%)

The Well (Week on) mean: 7.90, mode: 8 (33.6%)

Lucky Day (Original) mean: 6.43, mode: 7 (23%)

Lucky Day (Week on) mean: 6.30, mode: 7 (33.7%)

The Story and the Engine (Original) mean: 8.34, mode: 9 (27.3%)

The Story and the Engine (Week on) mean: 8.40, mode: 8 (28.1%)

The Interstellar Song Contest (Original) mean: 7.00, mode: 8 (22.2%)

The Interstellar Song Contest (Week on) mean: 6.28, mode: 8 (20.7%)

Wish World (Original) mean: 6.93, mode: 9 (19.8%)

Wish World (Week on) mean: 5.62, mode: 7 (22.1%)

The Reality War (Original) mean: 3.47, mode: 1 (39.4%)

The Reality War (Week on) mean: 2.96, mode: 1 (39.8%)

series as a whole mean: 5.86, mode: 7 (26.8%)

[polyamships]

[ID: Text in the center says Polyam Shipping Day, 14th of every month, June 2025 - Domesticity. Below Polyam Shipping, and to the left of Day, is a red infinity sign that finishes in a heart on top. Surrounding the text are rows of stylized hearts in the colors of both versions of the polyam pride flag (black, red, bright blue, light green, dark green, light blue, navy). Either side of the prompt are emojis, house with garden on the left and guide dog on the right. /end ID]

June 14th 2025 is our 48th Polyam Shipping Day. The optional theme for it is: 🏡Domesticity🦮

There are many angles you could choose for this prompt. This could be about kitchen table polyamory and how partners get along in the domestic space. This can be about the transition period after moving in together or when there's new relationships within the polycule. Maybe this is time to dust off that curtain fic you started working on some time ago but thought no one would read. Perhaps you will try your hand at future slice of life where your polycule has been a family for a while. This can also be about revelations had in domestic settings. Maybe your characters are adopting a pet and adjusting to this new reality.

…

We’ll be tracking #PolyamShippingDay, and keeping an eye out for any @polyamships mentions too. We will reblog any polyam-positive fanworks featuring polyamorous ships of any configuration/type from any fandom. All ratings are welcome but anything nsfw/triggery should be warned for and behind a read more, as should very long tumblr fic.

You can also submit works directly to the blog or send us asks to let us know to check your blog for a post. If you’re posting on AO3, our collection name is ‘PolyamShippingDay‘ and you can post to the collection here. Only fanworks submitted/@ us on tumblr or in the official AO3 collection, or fanworks posted to our Dreamwidth community, are guaranteed to be included in our roundup. Please also let us know what prompt you created for, if any - people are always welcome to create for past prompts instead.

We have a Discord - invite here - if you want a place to chat about your ships or what you’re creating for them.

We look forward to seeing what people create for it. If you’re enthused about the day, we’d be especially appreciative of any reblogs to help spread the word about the event.

[sassysnowperson]

The world is exploding and you want me to take care of myself?

I live in the U.S.A. As you might have heard, things are PRETTY BAD right now. It's been bad before, sure. I mostly coped with 2016-2020 by ignoring the news and writing a TON of fanfiction.

But between then and now I went and got a job as a therapist, and it turns out I can't just stick my head when my whole job is to help other people with the stuff that's stressing THEM out. So I've had to find a better way to deal with it. I thought some of y'all might appreciate a distillation of the conversations I've been having, with myself, and with the people I'm working with, as we try to figure this out together.

Yeah, It's Bad.

So yeah, we know that depression and anxiety are lying liars that lie. But. Your anxiety or depression isn't lying to you about this one. Things are bad. That said, maybe it's helpful to check if they are lying to you about your ability to survive this, to handle this, to find spaces where you can act. We are not doomed to paralysis and misery.

The Paralysis is the Point.

The current administration is using a playbook that involves trying to make their opponents feel overwhelmed, helpless, miserable. Any action we take against that is action against tyranny.

Action is the Antidote.

We live in an age where we can take in endless misery, about things that are either so big or so distant or so both that we are not able, by ourselves, to fix them. And that sucks. We need to find a way to turn that fear energy into action.

More Things are Action than You Think.

Self-care is an act of resistance. Authoritarianism does not do well with a hopeful, resilient, connected populace. Taking care of yourself is action, taking care of those you love is action, building hope and resilience is action. Talking to your neighbors, taking care of them, paying attention to their needs and seeking local solutions to address them - all actions. Any step you take towards building resilience in yourself and your community fights the crap you see on the news.

Speaking of the News.

Lets talk about digital self-care. This is not an all-or-nothing situation. If you need to detach completely, go ahead. But your options are not only ignore or open yourself up to an endless stream of misery. This is going to look different for different people, but we have got to refine our information boundaries. That might be blocking or unfollowing people (even people we agree with, who are saying things in a way that triggers our own despair). It might be losing certain platforms, it might be seeking out news from specific trusted journalists or a weekly roundup. Pay attention to how you feel during and after your news and social media use. Is it helping you live the life you want to live? Is it meeting a need? Is there a better way to get that need met?

Some Things are Still Good.

Let's make a Still Good list. All the crap in the world, but you know what, my cats purr is still good. The smell of vanilla and old books is still good, the look of a new-green shoot sticking out of the dirt is still good. No, we're not doing this to ignore the bad and pretend life is wonderful. But our brains are designed to prioritize threats, and with so many threats, it will wear itself out trying to protect you. Find the things that are still good, focus on them. Let yourself rest in the good, at least for awhile.

You are not alone.

It's so easy to feel alone. Feel like we misjudged the world, what was important to people. How can people think so differently than ourselves? The world is so big, things are so bad, and it feels like we're fighting by ourselves, so why not give up?

You are not alone. There are people that believe in the same things you do. You are not the only one fighting. Anything that you find full of despair and hopelessness, I promise, there are smart people with good ideas working on it. Take comfort from their presence. If you have space to do more, try to find them for the thing that's close to your heart.

I want better for us. And I know I am not alone. Neither are you. I promise. Neither are you.

[heartstringsduet]

2024 Art Roundup. Find all art here I created even more than the year before and I think I grew as an artist, even if it wasn't as much as I hoped I would. So so grateful to have people here for enjoy my art, at times even paid me for sketches and to those who share it around. It means so much to me to have this space. Thank you.♥️ ✨Tagging some peeps who I'd love to see their art/fic/creative round up but anyone please share what you made this year✨

@strandnreyes @reyesstrand @paperstorm @carlos-in-glasses

@birdclowns @reasonandfaithinharmony @theghostofashton @birdclowns

@eclectic-sassycoweyes @lightningboltreader @guardian-angle22

@bonheur-cafe @lutavero @alrightbuckaroo @ladytessa74 @literateowl

@lemonlyman-dotcom @whatsintheboxmh @liminalmemories21 @butchreyes @goodways

@welcometololaland @rmd-writes @henrygrass @freneticfloetry

@emsprovisions @sapphic--kiwi @tellmegoodbye @ironheartwriter @decafdino

@thisbuildinghasfeelings