The Dragon's Bookish Hoard

A place for me to talk about my hoard of books and projects.  33, she/her.

[kyleblackpaw]

Visit Original Link

Well as long as we’re talking about the ancient internet, who remembers this.

[drphaffot]

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

… I just realised that some of my mutuals are Too Young to get flashbacks from this. I hate the internet.

[moniquill]

Robot Unicorn Attack is from 2010. The window for ‘ancient’ keeps getting smaller. Anyway, All your base are belong to us.

[firespirited]

I’m a simple person, i see the delightful duo that are flamboyant and nerdy Erasure, and reblog to share the love. Whether you discovered them via a scrubs episode or a flash animation, seek out more. It’s all wierd and wonderful.

[draconym]

Me: Fuck, the paper towels I want are on the top shelf.

The Sir David Attenborough That Lives In My Brain: Being smaller-than-average presents an added challenge to foraging ... but necessity is the mother of invention. A little creativity turns a baguette into a tool, and voilà--

(paper towel roll falls on my face)

Sir David Attenborough, pleasantly: Success.

[where-his-towel-is]

was chatting to a new friend yesterday and she's new to dnd, and her GM is using AI????? to generate????? his materials?????????? i'm sorry, if you are using AI to create stupid vapid versions of the cool stuff your brain could make... then you aren't a GM. that's not dnd any more.

i refuse to be sat around a campfire trying to listen to a story and the storyteller is on their fucking phone and is speaking like a bad chatbot. and the THING IS!!!! there are so many resources to help you GM!!! i'm a lazy GM, i don't do much prep at all, and i have been doing that for years without AI. start here: DM Screen - 5etools Fantasy name generators. Names for all your fantasy characters. The Ultimate D&D Session 0 Checklist | Level 1 Geek 5 Amazing Free Fantasy Map Builders | DickWizardry donjon; Fractal World Generator Fast Character | D&D Character Creator Battle Sim dnd assets to get lost in - Google Drive Mapmaking Assets – Forgotten Adventures Bestiary r/d100/ and that is skimming the surface, frankly. people give away this stuff for free and make cool tools because they love the game!!! they want you to use them, they want you to have fun and become a great storyteller!! we already know that not everyone has time to prep endless amounts of lore, and you don't have to do that. BUT i'm begging you not to fall into the AI trap. you're capable of so much better, and your players deserve better. they want to hear YOUR IDEAS from YOUR BRAIN, not the chewed-up versions of a fifth-hand mangled copy (that is burning down forests and polluting water sources.)

[striders]

the other day i saw a tiktok of a woman talking about how her hyper-militant abusive parents would sometimes punish her by “taking away her name” and referring to her as a prisoner number. genuinely terrible stuff, obviously. but i skimmed the comments and. listen. i truly DO NOT mean to dunk too hard on this person, like they could be a kid or something, but.

just. breathtaking. imagine if your primary reference for the concept of the un-personing of prisoners was (check notes) a book series about owls.

[saleensundria9]

This is why it's important to Include stuff like this in fiction, especially ya fiction. It can be a lot of sheltered and/or indoctrinated children, in the case of a lot of rural "Christians", first introduction to these types of concepts in a way they can understand.

I don't think there's anything weird or shameful about it. Knowledge is knowledge, regardless of where it came from.

[a-polite-melody]

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

I was once listening to one of the ten billion animorphs podcasts out there, with two hosts, one who'd read Animorphs as a kid and one who was reading it for the first time as an adult. For those who don't know, Animorphs is a war story in which a handful of children have to secretly hold off an alien invasion until the "good" aliens arrive to save Earth. It starts off with fairly clear-cut Bad Species of aliens and Good Species of aliens but as the series goes on it becomes clear that there is no such thing as a good, clean or glorious war, that a clean Good Side and a clean Bad Side is usually propoganda, that heroism is a matter of circumstance and that war will chew up and spit out even the victorious; there are no winners in war, just the side that lost less.

It's a lot, for books aimed at eleven year olds who want to read about kids turning into fun animals.

On the podcast, the two (American) hosts happened to get onto the topic of the post-9/11 Iraq War and their reactions to it. They were both children at the time and as such could not be expected to have particularly nuanced views of US military policy. The person who hadn't read Animorphs was unsurprised by the declaration of war; that's what you did. Someone attacks America, America goes to war. That's how a country protects itself, through military revenge. The Animorphs fan, about the same age, had been devastated and against the war from the start. War was a Big Deal and, while sometimes unavoidable, should be a last resort; a lot of people were going to die, and a lot more were going to get hurt, and no matter how the war shook out it was still going to be horrible. They attributed this perspective, of course, to the series that had taught them about the horrors endemic to war in an engaging way at such a young age -- to Animorphs.

That's what kid fiction is for.

[pangur-and-grim]

Queer Books and Authors are at a Breaking Point

Authors, agents, publishers: every part of the industry is seeing the strain of five years of escalating anti-LGBTQ censorship.

[pangur-and-grim]

if you'd like to show support, here are some upcoming queer books:

When Life Gives You Corpses is a brilliant YA about a cursed praying mantis who falls for a young witch. Yield Under Great Persuasion is a raunchy, but surprisingly sweet story about two men repairing their relationship. Fabulous Bodies is a horror story about a queer rockstar rising from the dead.

This is Where the Future Bleeds is a fantasy set in a vividly imagined land, where two women (who happen to kiss) are the key to healing the broken sky. You're No Better is a story about a teen struggling in the shadow of his murderous parent. Oil on Canvas is about a woman who finds disturbing paintings in the home of her dead mother.

and then here's a list of 26 queer books by Black authors set to publish this year, and a 10 upcoming books by trans authors. if you want to fight back against queer censorship, use your wallet! or (if that's not an option) you can contact your local library and ask them to stock a copy.

[penelopepennington]

In addition: looking for indie publishers and queer bookshops is a great way to find and support queer authors and stories of so many infinite varieties! (The following suggestions are based on my UK-centric knowledge)

(Some) Queer Presses:

Lurid Editions are "a publishing project committed to intentional and conscientious acts of archival repair". They are "attentive to how marginalised histories are forgotten and remembered, [and] hungry to rediscover overlooked queer books". They've just received funding from Arts Council England to engage queer readers in a project to contribute to the archive!

Cipher Press "We’re really keen on the idea that queer and minority stories are for everybody, and we want to make our books – and the stories they tell - accessible to all" (what an amazing mission statement!)

Anamot Press "Anamot [Անամոթ] means shameless in Armenian. ⁣⁣Anamot Press publishes poetry and prose on intersecting experiences of gender, sexuality, race, migration, class, belonging and loss - with no shame."

(Some) Queer Bookshops

Queer Lit Oh man, I remember when this was just a tiny little shop, and now they're the biggest LGBT+ bookshop in Europe! They do amazing work in donating books about being trans to schools and parliament! They have a pay-it-forward board that will make you sob with its notes of love and support. (You can tell I wish I still lived nearby)

Lighthouse For Scottish friends - "a queer-owned and woman led independent community bookshop. We are an unapologetically activist, intersectional, feminist, antiracist, lgbtq+ community space"

Gay's The Word The OG Queer bookshop in the UK. One day I will make my pilgrimage!!

This really is just a tiny snapshot of all the amazing work of celebration and resistance that's being done for Queer literature at the moment. We live in frightening times, but I promise there is still lots of love and joy and hope out there in spaces like these. Support them in whatever way you can!!

[logically-asexual]

i feel so seen!!

(twitter thread)

[boop-your-dragons]

Does everyone "have" a gender?

Examining 'gender detachment' in the asexual community

[snazzy-hats-and-adhd]

Saving @derinthescarletpescatarian 's tags because I just like the way they are worded.

[tsarq]

This is so cool

[runesinthenight]

This is so validating because the respondents in this paper are saying some of the same things I've been feeling and thinking for years.

I'm asexual. I figured that out not long after I first came across the term in high school. But figuring out my gender took a lot longer. I didn't really think about my gender identity for years, it wasn't until I was in college that I started trying to figure out what my gender was. That process took years.

I didn't really feel attached to my assigned gender, but I also didn't feel the gender dysphoria that trans people described. I didn't particularly feel like I was neither of those either. For a long time, I honestly didn't feel like any of the gender descriptions and identities I was coming across really fit. I just didn't care that much about what my actual gender was. Eventually I decided upon the agender label as that seemed the most apt. As the paper says, it's really hard to be truly without gender in this highly gendered world. Agender is a way of defining myself in a way that people who experience gender might be able to understand when "I'm just me." isn't really an acceptable answer to the "what's your gender?" question.

I don't mind being perceived as a gender, none of them are offensive to me. While I do like when I am perceived as male or at least not female, I think that more has to do with growing up female and not wanting to be pushed into traditional female roles and values than a connection or repulsion to any gender. I'm impossible to misgender because I frankly don't care.

Honestly, the biggest problem I have with my gender, is trying to define it to people. There's been a large push in recent years for asking people for their pronouns, or including pronouns in things like email signatures and surveys. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a bad thing! This is very affirming for a lot of people. But it feels like I need to pick something that doesn't quite fit. At pride, for instance, there's always pronoun buttons. But they're all she/her, he/him, they/them, she/they, he/they, it/it, xe/xir, etc etc. And that's great. I'm always glad that there are a lot of options for people. But there's never any pins for any/all pronouns. I've never picked up a free pronoun pin at pride, despite always looking, because they all feel like picking what pronouns I don't want poeple to use and the answer is that I don't care. I fround an any/all pronoun pin once at a queer museum and I cried.

I really suggest you read the paper if you haven't. Not just the article, the whole paper. This is probably the most seen I've felt in a long time.

[the-irreverend]

And stay safe everyone!

[wootwona]

since the old version of this post was flagged for ‘adult content’…

reblog this post if your account is a trans safe space or owned by a trans person!

along with that, reblog if your account is a non-binary spectrum safe space or owned by someone on the nb spectrum!

[nug-offical-deactiv]

support. always.

[evil-pukicho-real-offical]

Forever and always.

[mechanicallyfantasticriddle]

Always!!! My blog is owned by a non binary/trans person!!!

[loontattoo]

see unfortunately I have this condition where if I am not explicitly told that I am a part of the ingroup then I will assume I must be part of the outgroup

[odyver]

alright I've got to do some quick math to explain attitudes towards AI to my boss.

we're looking to create an AI policy, and when we were talking about this, my boss (older millennial) was genuinely shocked to hear that younger people do not (seem) to view AI positively (a la the recent commencement speakers being booed)

please rb for larger sample size!

Question 1/3

What is your age, and do you feel AI is a net positive or net negative in our lives today?

under 18, AI is a net positive

under 18, AI is a net negative

18-29, AI is a net positive

18-29, AI is a net negative

30-45, AI is a net positive

30-45, AI is a net negative

46-60, AI is a net positive

46-60, AI is a net negative

over 60, AI is a net postive

over 60, AI is a net negative

Voting ended on13h

[odyver]

Question 2/3

How often do you visit or interact with museums/archives (whether in person or online)?

Frequently (multiple times per month)

Often (multiple times per year)

Occasionally (a couple times per year)

Rarely (once every couple of years)

Never :(

Voting ended on13h

[odyver]

Question 3/3

If you saw a museum was using AI in exhibits, marketing, research, etc., would you be more or less inclined to visit that museum?

under 18, more inclined

under 18, less inclined

18-29, more inclined

18-29, less inclined

30-45, more inclined

30-45, less inclined

46-60, more inclined

46-60, less inclined

over 60, more inclined

over 60, less inclined

Voting ended on13h

Thank you for helping with this data collection. Please rb for as big a sample as possible!

🫶

[gay-mormon-wizard]

today I used the phrase "breasting boobily" in casual real life conversation and everyone was shocked asking how I came up with that and I had to explain it. ive been at the devil's sacrament so long that I forgot he wasn't god

[lets-burn-down-the-post-office]

“I’ve been at the devil’s sacrament so long I forgot he wasn’t god” is getting added to the tumblr line book

[idlelizard]

unusual ungulate

[idlelizard]

Technically 22, but a number of those are very vague silhouettes🦎 edit: this person got all of them so there's the answer key!

[daysleftofsecondterm]

Tried to reblog this post:

but Tumblr refused to let me for some reason.

Anyway, I’ll just show you what I tried to write here:

[thatoddboy]

Also, this is not a hypothetical.

This is a real scenario that is happening now

[daysleftofsecondterm]

Which is why people whose brains literally cannot let them lie need a way to hack the meat computer to keep people alive

[cosmic-whorror]

Capturing the unicorn

[depsidase]

[dandelionsresilience]

Just gonna drop these here as a starting point :)

How to identify, and then deal with, your emotions

Emotional regulation skills

Conflict resolution skills

Creating and enforcing boundaries

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy skills

Emotional intelligence ideals to aim for

Axes of self-care/wellbeing

Self-care self-evaluation (find out where you’re starting)

How to make a self-care checklist

How to start a self-care habit

Reparenting resources

Crash Course Psychology

KhanAcademy: Understanding the Self and Society (some units more relevant than others)

Emotional education activities for children and teens

Social-Emotional Learning activities for kids (information can be adapted for adults)

[witchshut]

[ID: Post by WarpaintJournal. Text reads: "Teaching people how to regulate their emotions is crime prevention. It's addiction prevention. It's suicide prevention. It's generational healing. It's how we stop raising adults who explode, implode, or shut down at the first sign of discomfort. Emotional regulation is not just a soft skill. It's survival. It's the foundation of a society where people can disagree without dehumanizing each other, where accountability isn't seen as an attack, and where conflict doesn't always have to mean violence. You want a better world? Start with emotional education." End ID.]

[titsay]

[nekoning]

the use of AI lately has made me feel so hopeless, i translated pages of an unfinished fanzine of mine so i can remember why i love art...i hope it can resonate with anyone feeling the same way

[khaire-traveler]

My silly addition that I hope brings a smile to OP's face. Art is a beautiful thing in every single form, and even my silly finger-drawn art deserves to be shared. I hope that people are inspired to keep drawing, regardless of their perceived "skill". Do makes you happy, y'all! Spread the humanity. 🧡