This links to a wheel with nearly a hundred fic tropes for plots, settings, and more. Spin it twice.
This could also work with art inspiration, but the buttons only allow for so many characters on them. And please do ramble in the tags! I'm going to have no idea what most of you are talking about, and it's going to be great.
I personally believe that Mrs. Murray has a notebook where she writes down all of the incredible things Qiu says. Or at least she should! š¤ Here's a peek at a convo between the two of them while at school.
Our Life: Now & Forever is a nostalgic Visual Novel where you create your own character and grow from childhood to adulthood with your two closest neighbors. Itās currently in development by GB Patch Games.
Steam Page
Itch.io Page
Discord - Ā Twitter - Website - Patreon
USA people! Buy NOTHING Feb 28 2025. Not anything. 24 hours. No spending. Buy the day before or after but nothing. NOTHING. February 28 2025. Not gas. Not milk. Not something on a gaming app. Not a penny spent. (Only option in a crisis is local small mom and pop. Nothing. Else.) Promise me. Commit. 1 day. 1 day to scare the shit out of them that they don't get to follow the bullshit executive orders. They don't get to be cowards. If they do, it costs. It costs.
Then, if you can join me for Phase 2. March 7 2025 thtough March 14 2025? No Amazon. None. 1 week. No orders. Not a single item. Not one ebook. Nothing. 1 week. Just 1.
If you live outside the USA boycott US products on February 28 2025 and stand in solidarity with us and also join us for the week of no Amazon.
Are you with me?
Spread the word.
to all my researchers, students and people in general who love learning: if you don't know this already, i'm about to give you a game changer
connectedpapers
the basic rundown is: you use the search bar to enter a topic, scientific paper name or DOI. the website then offers you a list of papers on the topic, and you choose the one you're looking for/most relevant one. from here, it makes a tree diagram of related papers that are clustered based on topic relatability and colour-coded by time they were produced!
for example: here i search "human B12"
i go ahead and choose the first paper, meaning my graph will be based around it and start from the topics of "b12 levels" and "fraility syndrome"
here is the graph output! you can scroll through all the papers included on the left, and clicking on each one shows you it's position on the chart + will pull up details on the paper on the right hand column (title, authors, citations, abstract/summary and links where the paper can be found)
you get a few free graphs a month before you have to sign up, and i think the free version gives you up to 5 a month. there are paid versions but it really depends how often you need to use this kinda thing.
Good evening, friends, let me tell you some Secrets on how to argue like (and with) assholes. Iām writing this because I keep running into a particular asshole, and I need to stop engaging with them, and so this is an instruction sheet for myself as well as you guys.Ā
First, try to avoid assholes; they donāt deserve your time and energy. But, if an Argument is unavoidable, here are a few tips on how to emerge unscathed.Ā
Let go of the idea that youāre going to win.Ā
Youāre not gonna win. Nobody wins in an argument with an asshole. But, on the other hand, you can make them lose. You can deprive them of their entertainment and their triumph.Ā
How???Ā
Do not present your side of this debate.Ā
This is so counter-intuitive for most of us who believe in things like, oh, science, or real facts, or the idea that real facts can be determined by science. Hereās a cool terrible thing about humans: certainty has nothing to do with facts. And when people are certain, that is when they become assholes.Ā
When someoneās only goal is to win an argument, any real evidence or facts you give them is just ammunition for them to turn against you.Ā
You will not convince them. So what should you be doing?Ā
Destroy their arguments.
This is a thing of joy, because itās what assholes are used to doing. They are, at heart, morons who donāt know how to construct, only how to destroy.Ā
I used to be super emotional about arguments like this. I couldnāt think of anything to say while the other person ranted on about their horrifying bigotry. Now Iām a lawyer, and Iāve learned to weaponize my essentially nitpicky nature. For money.Ā
So here are some easy tactics you can remember and deploy:Ā
- Make them defineĀ the words they use. Nitpick the definitions.Ā
- Turn questions back on them. If they ask youĀ āwhy do you believe xā, ask them why they believe y. If they pull someĀ āI asked firstā shit, ask them why theyāre afraid to defend their beliefs.Ā
- Call them emotional.Ā If possible, pick out specific emotions. This is especially devastating when youāre debating a man, as he will get more emotional as a result.Ā
-Ā āWhy is that funny? I donāt get it.ā Making people explain mean jokes can be a delight; they just wilt the more you question them about the underlying assumptions.Ā
- Laugh at any especially dumb shit. Like they use some slogan or catchphrase thatās obviously untrue, due to science, or essentially ridiculous, likeĀ āweāve made America great again,ā and you just blurt out laughing. If they get mad, tell them ā oh, so sorry, Iāll shut up, Iām giving you the floor to talk about your beliefs. Iām respecting you. This is a goddamn power move. It gives you the high ground, and also the implied control over the situation. The floor belongs to you, but you are yielding itĀ to someone because you can.Ā
- If they make an awkward exit, let them. Especially if they call the discussionĀ āpolitical.ā It means theyāre feeling attacked. Graciously allow them to retreat with their tail between their legs. If they storm off, allow them to do that too. Congratulations; youāve ended the argument and you donāt have to deal with it anymore.Ā
Basically: hand the asshole a shovel, and letĀ āem dig. Relieve yourself of the burden to convince them they are wrong, and just sour their fun instead.Ā
ā
Additionally, these are the tactics that assholes use, consciously or subconsciously, all the time. Recognize them. Once you know what they are, you can become immune to the intimidation and belittling tactics.Ā
Good luck.Ā
Theory:
Werewolf as fear is Losing Self-Control, Werewolf as fantasy is Letting Go Of Self-Control.
Vampire as fear is Being Controlled by outside forces, Vampire as fantasy is Having Control over outside forces
Am I getting close to something here
Okay, so I try hard to cover global queer history, and this isn't marking a stop to that, but I am aware that most of my audience is American, and I want to address them very directly right now.
Google Removed Pride Month From Its Calendar App, and Stonewall National Monument's "LGBTQ" status was changed to "LGB" on the government website. This is the beginning of the erasure of queer history, not the end. I don't know what the future of the United States looks like, as someone who studies queer history and has done so for many years, I want to share some tools with you.
Now is a good time to prioritize local queer history, Making Gay History is a great project, so is the Digital Transgender Archive, but also check your city and see what resources there are.
Read and buy books about queer history. I have an affiliate list with some of the books I personally recommend.
If you use Google Calendar, repopulate that resource with so much queer history with a free queer history calendar plug-in, it has names from queer history that you can also learn more about for free when they come up. As the author of these articles, feel free to save them, print them off, whatever makes them freely accessible as suppression get's worse.
Use your local library. Email the board about book bans, request banned books, request queer books, and make your voice heard.
Make queer art. Share queer art. Protect queer art. Here is some public-domain queer art to use as you wish.
Keep up with queer news, THEM is a great resource.
All of these tools are currently freely accessible with an internet connection. Queer history is a community responsibility, do your part.
Although healing powers are common, yours is one of the strongest in the world. The hit squad big pharma sends manages to take out your entire family but you survive. Now the world is about to find out that power wasn't the ability to remove ailmentsā¦it's true nature is to simply remove.
Compiled some basic information I know about drawing fat characters for beginners since I've been seeing more talk about absence of really basic traits in a lot of art lately.
Morpho Fat and Skin Folds on Archive.org (for free!)
FEBRUARY 28TH 10AM PST!!!!!!!
for everyone asking me "what do we do??!??!"
The Care We Dream Of: Liberatory and Transformative Approaches to LGBTQ+ Health by Zena Sharman
Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (And the Next) by Dean Spade
Cop Watch 101 - Training Guide
The Do-It Yourself Occupation Guide
DIY HRT WikiĀ
The Innocence Project - helps take inmates off of death row
Food Not BombsĀ
Transfeminine Science - collection of articles and data about transfem HRT
Anti-Doxxing Guide for Activists
Mass Defense Program - National Lawyers Guild
How to be part of a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team)
Understanding and Advocating for Self Managed Abortion
The Basics of Organizing
Building Online Power
Build Your Own Solidarity Network
Organizing 101
How to Start a Non-Hierarchical Direct Action Group
A Short and Incomplete Guide for New Activists
Eight Things You Can Do to Get Active
Palestine Action Underground Manual
How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm
Spreadsheet of gynecologists that will tie your tubes without bothering you about it
COVID Resource Guide
Mask Bloc NJ (find one near you, these are international!)
Long Covid Justice
Donate to Palestinian campaigns (2, 3, 4)
Donate to Congolese campaigns (2, 3)Ā
Donate to Sudanese campaigns (2, 3)