Clever Musings @clio164 - Tumblr Blog

random PSA, I know a lot of people use duckduckgo as a Google alternative search engine, but it always kind of annoyed me when I was using it because it felt like No Name Brand Google

I have switched to using Startpage.com and vastly prefer it. for one thing, instead of displaying an "AI summary" at the top of the search results (unless you turn it off, yes I know), it displays the first paragraph of the Wikipedia article, with link, whenever it finds one that's relevant.

also a waaayyyyy better sense of design than duckduckgo

also private, European based, least annoying search I've used lately (RIP old "don't be evil" Google)

yomikoreadsbooks

Keeping a list of Google alternatives just in case…

saxifraga-x-urbium

i have one of those, scraped from multiple different rec posts:

Search Engines

Infinity Search is an alternative search engine with a special focus on privacy

DuckDuckGo is a popular search engine for those who value their privacy and are put off by the thought of their every query being tracked and logged. Uses bangs, ![site] for in-page search (sells your data to microsoft and draws from fucking bing)

WolframAlpha is a privately owned search engine that allows you to “compute expert-level answers using Wolfram’s breakthrough algorithms, knowledgebase, and AI technology.” A data search engine.

Boardreader is a search engine for forums and message boards. It allows you to search forums and then filter down results by date and language.

Based in France, Qwant is a privacy-based search engine that won’t record your searches or use your personal details for advertising. Uses “&” as a bang search.

Another privacy-based search engine is Search Encrypt, which uses local encryption to ensure that users’ identifiable information cannot be tracked. Metasearch across multiple engines.

Offering unbiased results from several sources, SearX is a metasearch engine that aims to present a free, decentralized view of the internet. Can be self-hosted.

Gibiru’s tagline is “Unfiltered private search” and that’s exactly what it offers. Requires AnonymoX Firefox add-on for privacy.

Disconnect allows you to conduct anonymous searches through a search engine of your choice.

Swisscows provides fully encrypted searches to protect your privacy and security. Built-in violence/porn filter cannot be overridden.

MetaGer offers “Privacy Protected Search & Find” through its anonymised search. A plugin will allow it to be made a default.

Gigablast is a private search engine that indexes millions of websites and servers real-time information without tracking your data, keeping you hidden from marketers and spammers. Variety of filtration and refinement options for searching.

Oscobo is a search engine that protects your privacy while you search the web. By not using any third-party tools or scripts, your data is protected from hacking and misuse. Has a Chrome extension to allow use in toolbar.

https://search.marginalia.nu/ an independent DIY search engine that focuses on non-commercial content, and attempts to show you sites you perhaps weren't aware of in favor of the sort of sites you probably already knew existed. Use old-school searching rather than query-based for the best results.

https://www.mojeek.com/

https://wiby.me/ - It’s goal is to index as many personalized websites as possible, and NOT commercial sites.

https://4get.ca/ it works a lot like SearX, but honestly better. It doesn’t have its own index, but pulls from many others. I think it’s the best for research, since it allows you to search for answers from different indexes, is easy to configure, add free, and avoids censorship as much as it can.

https://www.searchenginemap.com/ for more on how search engines relate to each other.

https://yep.com/ is a crawler

https://www.etools.ch/ retrieves from Google, Mojeek, Bing, and Yandex, like Searx

https://www.dogpile.com/

https://searxng.org/ (next gen Searx)

https://luxxle.com/ - possibly conservative?

https://presearch.com/ - good for academic?

https://kagi.com/smallweb - free/randomised Kagi.

Other Searchers

www.refseek.com - Academic Resource Search. More than a billion sources: encyclopedia, monographies, magazines.

www.worldcat.org - a search for the contents of 20 thousand worldwide libraries. Find out where lies the nearest rare book you need.

https://link.springer.com - access to more than 10 million scientific documents: books, articles, research protocols.

www.bioline.org.br is a library of scientific bioscience journals published in developing countries.

http://repec.org - volunteers from 102 countries have collected almost 4 million publications on economics and related science.

www.science.gov is an American state search engine on 2200+ scientific sites. More than 200 million articles are indexed.

www.base-search.net is one of the most powerful researches on academic studies texts. More than 100 million scientific documents, 70% of them are free.https://cosine.club/ is an electronic music similarity search engine

h-yomotsu

I made a tutorial for my chubby Rocky plush!

You should totally make your own little pal :)

Feel free to ask me stuff if anything’s unclear!

pantserspen

How to write HATEABLE Villains

1. Give them power over something the reader cares about A villain who can’t actually hurt anything important is just annoying. Give them control over a person, a system, a truth, or a resource the protagonist and reader are emotionally invested in.

2. Make them punch down, not up Readers hate villains who abuse people with less power. Targeting children, the vulnerable, the innocent, or the desperate instantly signals moral rot.

3. Let them feel justified The most infuriating villains believe they’re right. They don’t see themselves as cruel, they see themselves as necessary, logical, or “doing what must be done.”

4. Make them calm while doing terrible things Cold politeness, soft voices, or pleasant manners paired with cruelty feels far more disturbing than loud rage. It creates emotional whiplash that sticks.

5. Give them small, petty cruelty on top of big evil Genocide is abstract. Stealing someone’s last comfort, humiliating someone publicly, or enjoying another person’s fear feels personal — and that’s what makes readers angry.

6. Let them win more than feels fair A villain becomes hateable when they keep getting away with it. Let them succeed. Let them walk free. Let them hurt people without consequence — for a while.

7. Deny the reader catharsis Cut away before justice. Interrupt revenge. Delay consequences. The lack of emotional release builds frustration that gets attached directly to the villain.

8. Make them emotionally invasive They don’t just hurt bodies — they manipulate, gaslight, shame, isolate, and reframe reality. They make the protagonist doubt themselves.

9. Let them corrupt something good They twist love into control, faith into obedience, loyalty into fear, or law into cruelty. Watching something pure rot because of them creates hatred fast.

10. Don’t soften them with too much sympathy A tragic backstory can explain behavior, but if you want them hateable, don’t excuse it. Let the story clearly show that their pain does not justify their harm.

ncc-1701-uss-enterprise

happy valentine’s day from ME, ncc-1701-uss-enterprise! here are some shitty valentine’s cards i made. use them as you please

atompalace-official

Sweetheart Sylveon 🌈💌🎀✨ Happy Valentine’s Day!!! 🩵💕

pusheen

dbdauplifts

REMINDER: signups for Fandom Trumps Hate, a fandom auction benefiting progressive nonprofits, are now open!

Creator signups close this Sunday, and craft bazaar signups close on March 3rd. Check out @fandomtrumpshate for more info! 💙

chrisssiren

hiii! do you have any tips for writing smut? or even just writing in general. i want to start writing, but i find it hard to actually begin my fic 😭

love your blog sm btw!! <3

hello!! i'm honored you're asking me for tips! and thank u sm^^ i have a guide here if you want to check it out!

all pics used below are from pinterest, background removed and re-colored by me.

please keep in mind that english is not my first language.

a simple guide to writing fanfics:

use "said" less but don’t stop using it entirely.

read other people’s works and/or books.

this helps with expanding your vocabulary. which makes writing easier.

try being more descriptive.

instead of writing your sentences like this:

Snow White bit into the apple, but it was poisoned and she died.

try writing it more like this:

Her teeth sunk into the flesh of the orchard fruit, a soft hum leaving her lips at the juicy sweetness filling her mouth. But before she could enjoy it further, her body grew heavy and she felt her vision swim.

The apple had been poisoned.

And so slumped Snow White onto the ground; Dead.

learn how to punctuate dialogues.

when writing smut, don’t be afraid to use filthy words.

the more obscene the descriptions and words are, the better it will be. If you’re gonna write freaky shit, make it freaky. go all out.

the difference between the three dashes.

learn to differentiate homophones.

homophones are similar sounding words that many people seem to confuse. i have a post made here!

proofread your fic a few hours (or a day) after writing it.

you will find mistakes you didn’t notice when you first wrote it.

and lastly, don’t overthink it too much.

this is supposed to be for fun, you don’t get paid to write fanfics so don’t be too hard on yourself!! there’s always room for improvement.

four different ways to start a fic:

with a dialogue.

"Chris, are you fucking kidding me-"

"Relax, I can fix it." Chris cuts you off, kneeling down to collect the scattered mess of papers on your bedroom floor. He’s your best friend—who’s also so close to failing half of his classes right now.

So, you’re his tutor for the whole semester.

"You really need to pay attention to what we’re doing instead of your phone." You sigh, knowing he was probably talking to some girl and getting distracted enough to knock over the stack of papers that were on your desk.

with a short, dramatic sentence.

This can’t be real.

Your brother’s best friend, Matt, is currently sitting on your bed with your toys placed in a neat line across your bed. And not stuffed animals, like, vibrators and dildos—yeah, that kind of toys.

"Which one’s your favorite?" He asks, casually, like he’s asking about the weather.

You swallow thickly, hoping your voice don’t come out shaky or breathless and betray your attempt to hide how turned on you are right now. "The pink one—the pink vibrator."

with an in-depth paragraph.

The Sunday afternoon sun bathes Chris’s room in gold, the soft breeze from the outside world seeping in through one of his windows that’s slightly ajar. And there lay two figures, snuggled under a thin cover, bodies warm and sluggish from sleeping in all day.

Chris’s fingers trace small, gentle circles on your lower back, his cheek squished against the pillow and his eyes half-closed. His voice is all soft and unguarded when he speaks, like you’re his safe place and he can be himself without the fear of being judged.

"You look so pretty." He murmurs, voice raspy, sounding almost in awe as he gazes down at your sleepy face.

You can’t help but smile at his words, snuggling closer and exchanging soft I love you’s.

with the order "present, past, present".

Your back almost arches off the bed, only to get held down by Matt’s hand on your pelvis. His fingers are curling roughly and rubbing that spongy spot inside your warm, slippery walls. (present)

The overwhelming pleasure he’s giving you is making your eyes roll back, choked whimpers and moans escaping your parted lips. Your hands are fisting the sheets tight enough that your knuckles had gone white.

Just a few hours ago, you two were nothing but friends—with too much sexual tension. He’s the one who brought up squirting—how he’s never made a girl squirt before—and somehow, your conversation turned into you preparing to be fingered by Matt. (past)

That’s how you got here, on his bed, writhing and moaning as he goes all out trying to make you squirt. His eyes are intense as he stares at your face, your moans and whimpers going straight to his painfully hard dick throbbing against the fabric of his pants. (present)

hope this helps :)

burntcopper

things english speakers know, but don’t know we know.

windycityteacher-deactivated202

WOAH WHAT?

ice-light-red-deactivated201611

That is profound. I noticed this by accident when asked about adjectives by a Japanese student. She translated something from Japanese like “Brown big cat” and I corrected her. When she asked me why, I bluescreened.

moved--306389

What the fuck, English isn’t even my first language and yet I picked up on that. How the fuck. What the fuck.

exomoon

Reasoning: It Just Sounds Right

arkthepieking

Oooh, don’t like that. Nope, I do not even like that a little bit. That’s parting the veil and looking at some forbidden fucking knowledge there.

canthinkofaurl-deactivated20221

How did I even learn this language wtf

titaniumelemental

I had to read “brown big cat” like three times before my brain stopped interpreting it as “big brown cat”

arjan-de-lumens

I’m kinda reading “brown big cat” as “brown (big cat)”, that is, a “big cat” - like a tiger or lion or other felid of similar size - that happens to be brown. “Big brown cat”, on the other hand, sounds more like a brown cat that’s just a bit bigger than a regular housecat - like a bobcat or a maine coon cat or something like that.

the-real-seebs

yeah, a brown big cat is almost certainly a puma. a big brown cat is probably a maine coon.

whetstonefires

yeah, if you put the adjectives out of order you wind up implying a compound noun, which is presumably why we have this rule; we stripped out so much inflection over the centuries word order now dictates a huge amount of our grammar

delphinidin4

Just looked up why we do this and one of the first lines in this article is, “Adjectives are where the elves of language both cheat and illumine reality.” so I know it’s a good article.

Things this article has taught me:

This same order of adjectives more or less applies to languages around the world. “It’s possible that these elements of universal grammar clarify our thought in some way,” says Barbara Partee, a professor emeritus of linguistics and philosophy at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Yet when the human race tacitly decided that shape words go before color words go before origin words, it left no record of its rationale.

One theory is that the more specific term always falls closer to the noun. But that doesn’t explain everything in adjective order.

Another theory is that as you get closer to the noun, you encounter adjectives that denote more innate properties. In general, nouns pick out the type of thing we’re talking about, and adjectives describe it,” Partee told me. She observes that the modifiers most likely to sit right next to nouns are the ones most inclined to serve as nouns in different contexts: Rubber duck. Stone wall.

Rules are made to be broken. Switching up the order of adjectives allows you to redistribute emphasis. (If you wish to buy the black small purse, not the gray one, for instance, you can communicate your priorities by placing color before size). Scrambling the order of adjectives also helps authors achieve a sense of spontaneity, of improvising as they go. Wolfe discovers such a rhythm, a feeling-his-way quality, when he discusses his childhood recollection of “brown tired autumn earth” and a “flat moist plug of apple tobacco.”

Brain scans have discovered that your brain has to work harder to read adjectives in the “wrong” order.

TL;DR: No one knows why we do this adjective thing but it’s pretty hardwired in.

cuzosu-blog

@deadcatwithaflamethrower Linguistics tidbit.

thecsjones

Since it’s never credited, this is from Mark Forsyth’s The Elements of Eloquence, and just one reason why I think it’s required reading for anyone interested in prosecraft. Every page is this useful.

Christmas cookies made this year. Mom bought some eyeball candies, so I made biblically accurate angels along with their more traditional representations.

#supernatural #biblically accurate angel #christmas #gingerbread cookie

transisstor

Reblog if you think fanfiction is a legitimate form of creative writing.

helloliriels

All writing is creative writing, if A) it didn’t exist before you wrote it, and B) you used your imagination to come up with it. The characters and setting used does not nullify your creativity in playing in that space. Just ask the comic book world, and literally any franchise.

creativepromptsforwriting

Sassy Dialogue

Part I

"Oh honey, if I wanted your opinion, I'd have rolled my eyes louder."

"Did you come here to be annoying or is that just a happy accident?"

"Please, your drama is exhausting and I only have one espresso left in me."

"It's cute that you would think that I'd care about what you have to say."

"I don't have time for this. My lip gloss is already drying."

"You talk a lot for someone with nothing to say."

"Congratulations! You just lost the argument and the plot."

"Is that confidence or just a delusion with a good contour?"

"You really committed to being wrong. That's dedication!"

"You say that like it's supposed to hurt my feelings. Cute."

"No, I'm not mad. I'm just trying to figure out how someone can be that wrong and still be alive."

"Wow. That was almost a valid point. Almost."

"If ignorance is bliss, you must be thriving."

"I've seen salad with more bite than that insult."

"You're not mysterious. You're just hard to tolerate."

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

deverauxwrites-deactivated20251

Writer Confessions I Should Probably Keep to Myself ☠️

🎭 Character Habits

Parenticide Enthusiast: I axe parents left and right—not because I'm sadistic, but because I'm too damn lazy to write them as real humans who might need to show up again.

Mentor Melodrama: I over-romanticize mentors; half of them feel like surrogate lovers, father figures, or both, and I know I lean into that “what if” tension.

My Trauma, Their Trauma: Half the trauma I write? A funhouse mirror of my own shit. The other half? I crank it up past realism until I have to step back and go, “okay, maybe that’s too fucked up.”

✍️ Writing Style

Curse Calibration Issues: I second-guess my swearing levels. Sometimes I hit it sharp, sometimes I pull a blunt-force “fuck” that doesn’t need to be there.

Obsession with Texture: I can’t let anything exist plain. Chairs aren’t chairs—they’re cracked leather. Blood isn’t blood—it’s rust, iron, sheen, smear. Every noun comes with a costume.

Overbuilding Addiction: I map vault layouts, archive boxes, floor plans, office seating charts; when half my readers just want to know who kissed who and when.

⚔️ Process & Worldbuilding

Rabbit Hole Diver: I research like a scholar, but then three hours later I'm on a medieval torture devices site when all I needed was “what does a lantern smell like after rain.”

Name Necromancer: I build entire dictionaries of cool-sounding words I'll never actually use.

Map-Maker Syndrome: I can’t write a scene until I know where the fucking door is, what kind of hinges it has, and how many tiles are cracked in the bathroom.

💀 Story Arcs

Soft Blow Trauma Dealer: I keep a stockpile of “dead mom from cancer” or “dad left when they were one” because it’s quick, cheap trauma fuel.

Desk Dom Obsession: I swear my characters won’t fuck on desks, then circle back and practically dare them to anyway.

Almost Too Far: I like toeing the line where a scene nearly crosses into “oh shit, did I just traumatize myself?” territory.

deverauxwrites-deactivated20251

If I See ‘Eyes Like the Ocean’ Again, I’m Walking Into It 🌊

Eye descriptions should feel like they belong to the character, not like the author is reaching for a paint swatch.

1. Anchor to the world around them. ◈ Instead of “her eyes were green like emeralds” (basic as hell), tie the color to something tactile, lived-in, or familiar. ◈ “Her eyes held the green of river moss, slick and stubborn, clinging to stone.” ◈ “His irises were the pale gray of storm clouds rolling in over the bay.”

2. Let mood dictate the shade. ◈ Don’t just say the color—show what the color feels like in context. ◈ “Brown, but not warm—the flat brown of soil long starved of rain.” ◈ “Blue, sharp as cracked ice under a boot.”

3. Avoid jewel comparisons unless they actually matter. ◈ Gems read cliché and are over used unless you want a comparison for a character that literally deals in wealth, nobility, or shine. ◈ Other wise, try and twist it: “Her eyes caught the light like cut glass, sharp enough to draw blood.”

4. Play with movement, not just color. ◈ Eyes aren’t static. They shift, reflect, hold. Describe the way the color behaves. ◈ “In the sun, his eyes seemed almost amber, restless as honey stirred with a spoon.” ◈ “Her gaze darkened until the blue looked like ink bleeding through paper.”

5. Use negative space. ◈ Sometimes it’s more striking to describe what the eyes do to others than the literal shade. ◈ “Whatever color they were, they left him unsettled. His gaze was too steady, too knowing.” ◈ “Her stare hollowed him out, color irrelevant beside the weight it carried.”

segamascott

Why the fuck are you 30+ on tumblr

this is my house?

grungixfungi

dduane

(dry laughter) People are getting upset about the presence of thirty-year-olds??

I have been here since 2008. I am seventy-three years old.

These mewling puling babes-in-arms trying to make the Olds go away can just run off behind the bike sheds and suck it. We are not going anywhere. We were here first.

is-that-sand-in-my-waffles

rule #1 of tumblr polls is NEVER include a joke option if you don't want it to win by a landslide because tumblr users have one committed relationship in their lives and it's to the bit

copperbadge

"I have one committed relationship in my life and it's to the bit" is something I may have to put on a cross-stitch/t-shirt.

creativepromptsforwriting

Halloween Throwbacks

Prompt #285 (Now 2039…)

“Most of the time being a werewolf sucks. But in 2020 there will be a full moon on Halloween and I’m going to win all the costume contests!”

Prompt #345

“So this doesn’t bother you?”

“Honestly the wings are kinda disconcerting.“

{Submitted by: hamilfact}

Prompt #124

“Okay.”

“Okay?! I tell you I’m a vampire and you say ‘okay’?!”

“As long as you don’t start sparkling when we hang out, I don’t see the problem.”

Prompt #191

“Do you have the hair?”

“No, because seriously where do you get the hair of a mythical creature?”

Prompt #284

“What can I say? Opposites attract.”

“That is really not a good excuse for sleeping with a bloody angel!”

Prompt #225

The orphanage was set in an old colonial house. Some children would say that it was haunted. But everyone knows that children have a wanton imagination.

Prompt #4

There was a cat sitting in my kitchen. I don’t know where it came from because no one of my neighbors ownes a cat. She just sat there on my kitchen table and stared into my eyes.

Prompt #28: Write About (8)

Write about someone receiving shocking news from a palm reader.

Prompt #96

There is a garden gnome in my front yard that wasn’t there last night.

Prompt #141

They told us not to go in there. But who’s listening to adults anyway?

Prompt #414

“So, now you have a tattoo that wasn’t there yesterday?”

“Yes.”

Prompt #112: Three Words (17)

Use the words sigil, secret and sorrow in your next story.

Prompt #418: Imagine your OTP (11)

Imagine your OTP where the friends of Characters A and B try to be matchmakers on Halloween and get them each in one part of a couple’s costume without them knowing.

+ if they only find out they form a couple’s costume because people at the party keep coming up to them to tell them how cute they are

+ if they only see each other later in the night to see if everyone’s right about them

Prompt #229: Quotes (32)

“You’re an angel.”

“Am I? What’s an angel without its wings?“

Spooktober 2020

Spooktober 2021

Spooktober 2023

Things to do at Halloween

Happy Halloween, guys!

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