Writing and Languages

What Could Go Wrong? They/Them

[userfish]

this pride month we’re all going to be radically pro transgender. or else.

[userfish]

hey so this means radically pro ALL transgender. don’t put limitations on this. all trans people are radically accepted here.

[donuts-multifandom-hellhole]

Something that I get chills about is the fact that the oldest story told made by the oldest civilization opens with "In those days, in those distant days, in those ancient nights."

This confirms that there is a civilization older than the Sumerians that we have yet to find

Some people get existential dread from this

Me? I think it's fucking awesome it shows just how much of this world we have yet to discover and that is just fascinating

[sleepymccoy]

@makaeru peer review cos this made me check when the Sumerians happened and I forget how recent history is for every other continent. 7000 - 8000 years ago just isn't that long when you're in Australia, and the amount of detailed history we have access to here is wonderful and should be recognised more internationally

Source (non Aboriginal)

And a quote I picked out from a longer interview with an Aboriginal local elder about the area where he touched on the history

Source (the rest of the interview is really interesting and all transcribed, have a look if you're curious)

[chaotic-archaeologist]

This is part of my Ancient Civilizations class that I teach, which does a whole week about Australia and the Torres Strait Islands because I was sick of never seeing them represented in USAmerican history contexts. With the help of @micewithknives and @acearchaeologist I've learned so many incredible things about Australia's past and it's been incredibly rewarding to share them with students.

[aggressivelybicaptainamerica]

My favorite fact about Aboriginal oral history is the fact that we pretty recently discovered that the Aboriginal myth of the 7 Sisters, an origin story for the Pleiades star cluster, accurately reflects a point TEN THOUSAND YEARS AGO when two stars in the constellation got close enough together to no longer be distinguishable by the naked eye.

The story? 6 sisters running from something that took their 7th sister.

[jinkohhh]

as a gilgar gunditj woman, i was not expecting to see my culture on my dash.

thank you for spreading our words and treating our culture with respect.

[klingonrealitytelevision]

I wish more people used Magic the Gathering's Color Pie instead of D&D's alignment all of the time.

Like, saying a character embodies the selfishness and impulsivenes of Red Black offers more depth than Chaotic Evil

[asteroidtroglodyte]

It’s substantially deeper.

[asteroidtroglodyte]

Good enough for me

The Colors of Magic

[as it applies to Character types]

I hate Good vs Evil as a Character alignment choice. Hate hate HATE hate. I’m sorry, but Good and Evil can be measured along many axes, and fucking nobody wakes up in the morning and goes “golly I sure do love being Evil! Gonna go make the world worse on purpose because I’m just so awful!”

Get the fuck outta here with that Protestant-ass characterization. I got something better for you:

[Watsonian; the colors of magic are drawn from different landforms, such as islands or mountains, and are characteristics of a type of magical currency called Mana which serves as the mechanical resource used to cast spells.]

[Doylist: each color has its own philosophies and opinions and perspectives about the world that influence Design beyond simple aesthetics]

Hence:

Each Color has its own axioms about Good/Evil!

White: Without Rules, without Order, without Law, there is only Chaos, and Good cannot exist amongst Chaos. We must all do our part.

{I’m gonna use pink for White because it’s the most “power of heart” color}

Blue: Ignorance inevitably results in Evil; Good can only be accomplished with Knowledge. Even distasteful or horrifying Knowledge has Utility.

Black: People will label anything that they Like as “Good” and whatever they dislike as “Evil.” Whoever has the most Power gets to dictate what that means in practice.

Red: Ya wanna know what’s Evil? A single man ordering around thousands of others! “Evil Empire” is redundant, all Empires are “Evil.”

Green: The nature of Evil is to Take more than is Needed, to Exploit, and to Exclude. If one wishes to be Good, one should endeavor to be Respectful, Generous, and Harmonious.

—-

As you can see, this gives us substantially more dimensionality for characterization.

[asteroidtroglodyte]

So let’s flesh this out

Your standard high fantasy village is in grave peril. The village elders confer, and a champion is chosen to go forth to save the village.

Why is the village in peril?

Red: A despotic Tyrant has been building an Empire, conquering kingdom after kingdom and bringing them to their knees. Even if you surrender, your culture and way of life will be destroyed.

Green: This village has long been a haven for Outcasts, Misfits, Freaks, and Weirdos. It’s tucked away, not very rich, but rich in Love and Family and very nice hand crafts. Unfortunately, it sits on top of a large copper vein that the Imperial Treasury wants to exploit, and you all are very much in the way.

White: Your village has long suffered raids from bandits, barbarians, and outlaws, and the strain of recovering each time is becoming too great; something must be done.

Blue: The land suffers under the iron-fisted rule of a despotic tyrant. Your village has discovered the secret to his awful power and how to destroy him. Unfortunately, he knows that you know.

Black: Truth be told, your village isn’t actually “in peril” (at least, not any more than usual). Nobody sent you. You were not chosen. But there is Evil afoot, and you are offended by this Evil, and you will see to it personally that it ends.

[klingonrealitytelevision]

I'm at work atm but yes all of this. You understand the complexity beyond just Good Vs Evil and how the colors are both a simple and complex character building tool. And you haven't even gone over the beauty behind wedges/shards (yet?)

Chaotic good? You would do good above all else? How? Because using the color pie you've got White Red, a passionate fight for justice, almost zealot like.

White Blue, perhaps justice at the cost of some personal freedoms? A calm controlling fight because they know best

Or White Black, justice for you and yours. A fight where the ends justify the means and history is written by the winners.

I could classify all of those as Chaotic Good, but they're all technically different.

[asteroidtroglodyte]

cracks knuckles

Chaotic Good:

[in a Dystopian Punk setting]

Blue: A digital archivist sits at a bank of monitors, collecting, preserving, and distributing banned books, explicit art, and radical music.

Black: “Why? Because fuck ‘em, that’s why. Who says they’re the Good Guys? Them? You gotta open your eyes, man.”

Red: “I just feel like, if you wanna live in a Free Society, you gotta occasionally inconvenience those who are accustomed to getting whatever they want.”

Green: The Secret Police would kill him on the spot if they knew how many Scapegoats he had smuggled to safety. He had no great love for these people, but as far as he was concerned they were innocent and did not deserve to die.

White: [Actual Public Face of The Resistance. Wrote The Manifesto. Spends most of The Revolution de facto imprisoned.]

[ladyphlogiston]

I don't really get this yet (especially the difference between Red and Black tbh) but I'm going to read more about it because it is cool

[asteroidtroglodyte]

You see, the colors are partially defined by their relationship to each other; they don’t fully make sense without discussing all 5. So.

Red is also an ally of Green, whereas Black is allied with Blue. They both hate White.

What does this mean?

You probably noticed that both Red and Black are Selfish; their motivations are intrinsic, and they do not believe that they owe the world anything. This is what we mean when we say they are both “enemies of White”, as White in this context is the color of self-sacrifice, of giving yourself away.

But they disagree on other points.

Red and Blue are enemies. Blue is ultimately concerned with Control; of the self, of others, of the laws of reality itself. It pursues knowledge, and treasures it, but generally does not believe that it should be free to all. Blue gatekeeps.

Red hates all of that.

Black? Black is fine with it. Considers it useful, even. Black and Blue are allies. They get along fine. See, Black is much more likely to have minions than companions; more likely to desire sycophants than advisors. Additionally, Black and Blue both understand Politics.

Vise versa; Black and Green are enemies. Can’t stand each other. Green thinks Black is an ego-driven narcissist and will absolutely call them out on it. Green doesn’t take any one person very seriously. Green is a big fan of councils and democracy; Green likes community gardens and libraries. And when Black tries to pull a power grab, tries to assert dominance, do you know who will be standing right next to Green saying “not on my watch?” Red.

Red and Green get along fine. They both appreciate the world for what it is. They’re not trying to conquer or subjugate it. Red says “Strength is Freedom” and Green says “Strength is Responsibility” but they both agree that things like political machinations and inherited titles are a subversion of The Way Things Should Be.

So.

Yes, Black and Red are both Selfish, they do not consider The Community to be their personal responsibility. But. They have very different opinions on the subject of Authority.

[ramblin-tiger]

I've been playing MTG (Magic the Gathering) since 2010/2011. And let me tell you, @asteroidtroglodyte has put the color wheel of MTG Into alignments PERFECTLY. While I could add to it, I am under no illusion that I could do any better or even as well as they have. Even if you know nothing of MTG, you should read this in its entirety because it is so painfully accurate that it feels good.

And if there is ever more additions? I shall be here waiting because this is pure gold.

[asteroidtroglodyte]

(Ah yea, validation, that’s the good stuff)

Cracks knuckles

[The color pie performs a]

Casino Heist

White: The Organizer, the Team Leader, the Mastermind. They’re not even in it for The Money; they’re gonna give most of it away, donate it to charity or something. Their principle contribution is the team itself: knowing the right people, being able to convince them to join this mad scheme, coordinating them through The Big Plan. Nobody else is capable of wrangling a Crew like this.

Blue: The Technical Wizard, Master of Gadgets, Hacker of Computers. The actual technology involved is irrelevant; this is the person who understands the arcane secrets: they have Keys to The Backdoors; they know exactly how long the Important Door is vulnerable; they know the things the Casino doesn’t want them to know. They will spend the money gaining more control in their life: more anonymity, debts settled, perhaps a new identity.

Black: The Face, The Impersonator, The Confidence Artist. Gets recruited to The Crew when the White interrupts them in the middle of a Confidence Scheme. Consummate liars, actors, impersonators; they can be whatever, or more precisely whoever, is required by The Heist. In it for the money. You can always trust them… to act in their own self interest. Sex appeal part of the toolkit almost by default.

Red: The Escape Artist, Driver of Getaway Vehicles, Captain of The Exit Strategy. Unfazed by Chaos, unruffled by changes to The Plan. Generally heavily ADHD coded, with a pinch of Adrenaline Junky sprinkled on top. Master of vehicles, evader of Law Enforcement, the one responsible for ensuring everyone’s freedom at the end of The Plan.

Green: The Muscle. Martial Artist, Mercenary, or Military Veteran? A good question that will never be adequately answered. The Casino is very likely to resist being robbed, and Green is here to Apply Force. The precise nature of that force will depend on genre and rating, but if there’s gonna be a showdown with law enforcement or security, that scene will be Green’s moment of glory.

[wizardofbones]

I'm trying to understand green, and differentiate it from white. So green and white are both colors of peace and community, but their relationship to blue is different.

Blue is the color of progress, of never being satisfied, of an unending crusade of betterment.

White, as an ally of blue, takes a similar mindset, of "I want to change the world for the better." White wants to unite the world under its own banner of peace and law.

Green, meanwhile, opposes blue's obsession with progress. It's the color of tradition and preservation. Green is less concerned with changing the world. Instead it believes in protecting it from any force of control. It's also more concerned with local concerns than the entire world.

Did I get that right?

[asteroidtroglodyte]

Yes

[to elaborate]

Green and White resemble each other (from a distance, if you squint) for a lot of the same reasons Red and Black resemble each other: in the simplified “Good Vs Evil” systems (like D&D), Black/Red is “Evil” and Green/White is “Good.” Green and White agree on things like “serving the community” and “the greater good.” They both believe in self-sacrifice, which is why they both hate self-serving, egocentric Black.

Where they differ, much like Red and Black, is in their relationship to Authority.

As you observed, White’s amicable relationship with Blue is indicative of White’s desire to enforce an agenda; they want to change the world. White’s agenda is nominally one of Peace and Harmony, but, unlike Green, White isn’t actually willing to take “No” for an answer.

White believes in Authority by Rule of Law; White loves Rules; White is an Empire Builder.

Green? Not so much.

You see, things like Empire have certain requirements: for example, having an administrative ruling class necessitates a subservient labor class. Having “Rule of Law” necessitates things like “state monopoly on force” and “law enforcement.” And Green? Green spends waaay too much time hanging out with his buddy “all cops are bastards” Red to really have enthusiasm for “Crime & Punishment.”

Green is very Grounded.

In a room full of White soldiers, a man in a fancy hat makes a speech about sacrificing your life to secure the nation’s future. There is cheering.

In a room full of Green warriors, the exact same speech is met with “If I die in some field far from here, who exactly will protect my family? You?”

Not to imply that White doesn’t care about their family as much as Green does! They do! But “family” means something different to each of them.

White values the Family Name. White wants to have a bazillion babies and encourages them all to be doctors and lawyers and judges. White is a disciplinarian who believes in tough love. A good plan to make a White-aligned parent proud is to go forth and accomplish things.

Green values the Family Members. Green encourages their children to just be themselves, even if that’s not exactly in line with what society expects. Green prefers the carrot to the stick. One of the best ways to make a Green-aligned parent proud is to simply be there for your family.

The grim side of Green is that Nature is both brutal and savage, and Green doesn’t actually see a problem with that. Predation and Plague both have valuable roles to play in Nature, and Green respects that. Green is also skeptical of things like “private property” and has very little ethical issue with simply taking things (when in need).

So, yea. You hit the nail on the head there.

[asteroidtroglodyte]

CONTROL

[so what’s Blue’s deal?]

Every color has 2 allies and 2 enemies. Blue is allies of White and Black, and enemies of Green and Red.

What does this mean?

Blue and White share a big picture perspective. They care about abstract ideas: ideas like Justice and Fairness, concepts like Civilization and Progress. White and Blue can wax philosophic together through many days and nights, eagerly debating the finer points of Law and Order over endless cups of coffee.

At a different table, on a different night, Black and Blue discuss different sorts of ideas. Ideas like Politics and Tactics, or the gap between Power on paper and Power in practice. They sip expensive whiskey in a private corner and discuss Secrets and Gossip; make plans together to secure their interests.

Blue bridges the gap between Black and White. Black wants the power to help themselves, and White wants the power to help others; what Blue wants is the power to acquire more power.

But there are 2 major obstacles: Red and Green. You can’t control these guys; they don’t take orders.

Green’s utter lack of ambition makes them impossible to tempt or bribe. They’re endlessly sentimental and highly skeptical of anything new. Believing that life is already perfect, they cannot be sold on the idea of Progress.

Red will disobey an order just because it’s an order; even against their own self-interest; just to prove a point. Red is deeply emotionally motivated, and being ordered around feels bad. Plus, Red is incapable of taking anyone seriously, which rubs Prideful Blue very much the wrong way.

When left to its own devices, Blue will do Research. Ultimately, what they want is to understand. They wish to know how the universe works so that they can manifest their will and ideas into it. Blues are thinkers.

[eldritchsandwich]

There is a lot more on this on the magic the gathering developer’s blog thing

[squiggelsquirrel]

I want to add:

Colorless - Mostly mindless artifacts, robots, etc. that can be used by anyone and don’t have an agenda. But also eldritch aliens who’s agenda is too incomprehensible to fit the color system.

Multi-colored - Some individuals, groups, etc. are best regarded as a mix of two or more colors. This can make for some interesting combinations that may not feel like they perfectly fit the 5-color system.

[magus-of-the-color-pizza]

Approved. Good explainer, @asteroidtroglodyte !

[fierceawakening]

Just to add to this excellent post:

Black is often portrayed as the con man or the person who gets ahead at any cost, which isn’t by itself evil but often lends itself to bad guys (or antiheroes who end up doing good things for personal and selfish reasons.) But I think there can be unironic Black aligned good guys sometimes too. Black is very individualistic like Red. “I want to make my own way. I want to prove myself. I want my rank in society to be something I earned.”

Think the way American culture describes capitalism. (Whether it’s an accurate description is a controversial topic and one I’m not especially interested in arguing about here.) Rather than social rank coming from bloodline, anyone can succeed if they’re innovative enough, clever enough, or ruthlessly efficient enough.

Which means that someone who is Black aligned might be less personally greedy or cutthroat and more “to hell with a society that orders us to protect us. Even if a world where we’re all free is cutthroat and harsh, we can decide who we want to be and fight for it honestly there. If we lose we can hone our skills and get back in the ring.”

Black/red is often depicted as essentially Chaotic Evil, but I think it can also be Chaotic Good. Just not the friendly kind.

I’m writing something now where the protagonist is clearly the good guy, but (as I interpret this stuff) is black/red. Her enemies are the evil, “thinking for yourself is bad so let us do it for you,” version of white/blue.

(There’s a Discworld quote I see now and then that I very much see as good guy Black. It’s the one where the witch fights for what she cares about because it belongs to her, and “don’t mess with what’s mine.”)

[asteroidtroglodyte]

Magic The Gathering was first created by one Richard Garfield, while he was in college. He was pulling inspiration from Early Dungeons and Dragons, and the same fantasy pop culture references that Gygax & Co were pulling from, along with his own Jewish upbringing. In the very earliest sets, White is unambiguously GOOD, black is unambiguously EVIL, and blue, green, and red have very little ethical stance, being mostly flavored around things like “red mage cast fireball!” And “elves are forest wizards!” It was very much an unbalanced mess, in terms of mechanics and design philosophy.

It wasn’t until years later, under the helm of Mark Rosewater, that the colors began to really inhabit their current philosophies, which were clearly also influenced by some more nuanced ethics. This is where Black gains the ability to be the “Good Guy” and white the ability to be “bad.”

Under the new framework, and discarding the historical association with angels and demons and other such trappings of abrahamic faiths, Black becomes a valid ethical stance. In fact, one could argue that Black is the de facto core color of modern economic thought. But that’s another post

If you go digging into my post on 2-color characters, I make the argument that The Owl Lady, Eda Clawthorne, is a Black/Red hero.

I’m taking some liberties, to be sure, but I read Mark Rosewater’s blog for years, I studied quite a bit of ethics and philosophy in my spare time, and I feel pretty confident in my understanding of the ideas behind these things.

[gonzos-humansona]

Woman in front of me in line at the caffe nero changed my life yesterday when she ordered a prosciutto sandwich but pronounced "prosciutto" like it rhymed with mosquito. "Pruh-squee-toe."

I heard this person say "uhhhh yeah can I get a prosquito sandwich please?" and I knew I'd never be the same. Prosquito. Prosquito. Its everything to me. I haven't been able to stop saying that lmfao. This is my spinch. This is my bagel and creem cheems. This is my ranibow sprimkle.

friends and family are already tired of me going crazy over prosquito but its so special to me

[spiderbitesandvampirevenom]

can we bring back the term "fair-weather friend" bc I feel like if fair-weather friends got called that more this whole argument about whether or not you should be there for your friends when it's inconvenient/at what point of personal inconvenience it's ok to bail on your friends would kinda fall apart bc like. we literally have a word for "friend who's only there when you don't need something from them" because the baseline expectation is that a friend should be there even when it sucks. like we used to make fun of people for bailing on their friends.

[bitchesgetriches]

How much does termination affect job prospects if they were reasonable. Like for people who were fired for harassment and stealing. I admit to have acted pretty rude towards staff at my last job which got me fired. Like yes it’s my fault but I worry that this can make me unhireable in the near future.

Well, it kinda depends. You can never, EVER list that workplace as a reference now, because at best they will simply confirm your dates of employment and at worst they'll tell potential employers "Oh yeah, they were awful to work with."

But if a potential employer doesn't reach out to them, you can control the narrative yourself by a) not bringing it up, b) reframing the circumstances of your hiring, or c) finding a friend from that old job who will serve as a reference by saying that it wasn't your fault you got fired.

Anyway, I recommend the time-honored tradition of reframing: explaining the situation in a way that makes you sound rational, responsible, and blameless. But it takes practice to do it right, and you are definitely at increased risk of this negatively impacting your job search.

MASTERPOST: Everything You Need to Know about Getting a Job, Raise, or Promotion

Did we just help you out? Say thanks on Patreon!

[noneedtofearorhope]

seen this survivalist/prepper type infographic about the FIVE ABSOLUTE ESSENTIALS IN THE END OF THE WORLD and of course it has water listed, seems obvious. but then the little blurb about why mentions 'for flushing'... you're not going to make it.

[noneedtofearorhope]

since i rarely see mention of solutions for human waste in my occassional peeks into shtf spaces, i figure most of you (who assume generally are even less familiar with such spaces) probably aren't aware, so here is a relatively simple, easy to prep option: the bucket toilet (preferably the twin bucket toilet)

Bucket toilet - Wikipedia

so yeah... save your water for more important things than flushing, such as washing your hands after you use the loo!

[unbossed-deactivated20251218]

If you're ever in a situation where you need to know this then you'll be in a similar situation, hygiene-wise at least, to mine whenever I was deployed as an infantryman. Here's the manual I used as leader of the field sanitation team in my unit's advance party. It's got a lot of toilet options and it tells you how to place it safely separate from your cooking facilities, if you happen to be maintaining a camp for an extended period of time for some reason.

[queeranarchism]

The 'twin bucket toilet' means two buckets and separate peeing from pooping. That will really help with preventing smells, as poop stinks much more when it's wet. Throw some straw, dry leaves or sand on every poop and let it dry.

[briarpatch-kids]

Here is some more in depth information about composting toilets from people who use them regularly with tips and troubleshooting. (The bucket toilet is a form of composting toilet, for people new to the concept)

Some of their tips aren't great for low supply situations, but they ARE making it work long term as a regular thing. I feel like some of those could be adapted in a disaster situation, like if you're already using innoculants you can pull some culture from a previous batch.

They also talk about building long term toileting facilities and modifying a port a potty into a 5 gallon bucket system.

What is a composting toilet? How our DIY composting toilet system was built and how it works for our cabin and campsites on the CSC land.

[charlataninred]

Love how tumblr has its own folk stories. Yeah the God of Arepo we’ve all heard the story and we all still cry about it. Yeah that one about the woman locked up for centuries finally getting free. That one about the witch who would marry anyone who could get her house key from her cat and it’s revealed she IS the cat after the narrator befriends the cat.

[meraarts]

Might I add:

The defeat of the wizard who made people choose how they’d be to be executed

The woman who raised the changeling alongside her biological child

The human who died of radiation poisoning after repairing the spaceship

[eater-of-hopes-and-dreams]

The adventures of a space roomba

Cinderella finding Araura (and falling in love)

I don’t know a snappy description but the my nemesis cynthia story certainly lives in my head

[blitzlowin]

hilariously, these are almost all in my fic tag. so, a compiled list from the notes (and some extras):

The God of Arepo (graphic novel 1 / 2 / 3) (ebook)

The Monster of Sentan

The Witch’s Cat

Raise Both Children

Stabby the Roomba (honorable mention)

Cinderella Marries the Prince (comic)

My Arch Nemesis Cynthia

Pirates and Mermaid

Eindred and the Witch

The Demon King

The Cornerwitch

Grandmother Beetroot

Apocalypse Daycare Worker

Grandmother Accidentally Summons a Demon

New Year Saga

A Story About Changelings

Ranger in the King’s Forest

The Difference Between a Hare and a Rabbit

Goblin Men (Canines)

[charlataninred]

I am in love with you /p

[the-thread-of-the-infinite]

What about the one with the princess locked in a tower learning to become a wizard? That’s lived in my mind for years and I haven’t seen it in a long time

[death-of-the-endless]

Oh, love that story, adding it to the list: 20. Princess Talia and adding a few more contenders 21. Thyme 22. The Monster under the Bed 23. A Meaningful Death 24. Humans are unstoppable…until they aren’t 25. The Monster under the Fridge 26. Antler Guy 27. Cleric slamming healing spells

[death-of-the-endless]

Adding a few more I remembered:  28. The Frog and the Scorpion 29. HSTHETE 30. The First Witch in the World 31. Imagine that Oceans were replaced by Forests  32. A Faerie taking a Name  33. The Dragon on the Farm  34. Synovus & Menace  35. Raising the Anti-Christ  36. Aliens vs. Flora & Fauna of Earth (pretty sure there are even more additions to the original post but I had this one saved)  37. Doctors without Borders…in Space!  38. The Villain-Wrangler  39. The Last Contact  40. The 100 Parent-Point Children  41. And the Heavens Wept  42. The Night Gentleman  43. The Serpent God and their Priestess 

[knottahooker]

44. No One Showed Up for the Last Storytime

[adamskiiii]

Wow! @writing-prompt-s contributing to like half of these!

[writing-prompt-s]

I can hardly take any credit for these stories! But I love sharing them. Unfortunately I cannot read all the prompt responses so please tag me if you want me to reblog a story that resonated with you so I can give it a little boost :)

[brick3621]

45. Bob the Maintenance Robot

[slightly-awkward-sunshine]

I made this a long time ago and was very nervous about posting it to Tumblr. I can’t really think of a good caption~ everything I wanted to say is in the little blurb at the beginning. 

‘God of Arepo’ Fan-made graphic novel 

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Read the Original Story Here

[slightly-awkward-sunshine]

HAPPY FIVE YEARS OF GOD OF AREPO COMIC!!

Seriously this is still one of my favorite things I've ever made, and I go back regularly and read all the nice comments you guys have left (sometimes they make me cry). Now that tumblr's image limit is 30, I thought it'd be nice to have the whole comic in one post <3

Also I don't sell any copies, I don't think it would be fair to make money off a story I didn't write, so if you'd like the high-res images to print out yourself (for Personal use ONLY) you can email me at [email protected] or I have a form on my website where you can send me a message :)

And if you like my art you can support me on Ko-Fi or follow me on Instagram!

But seriously thank you for the outpouring of love I love literally all of you guys who took the time to comment or share my comic :')

[reimenaashelyee]

My adaptation of the God of Arepo short story, which was originally up at ShortBox Comics Fair for charity. You can get a copy of the DRM-free ebook here for free - and I'd encourage you to donate to Mighty Writers or The Ministry of Stories in exchange.

Again it's an honour to be drawing one of my favourite short stories ever. Thank you so much for the original authors for creating this story; and for everyone who bought a copy and donated to the above non-profits.

[superlinguo]

2026 LingComm Grantees

The 2026 LingComm Grants awarded seven $300 (USD) grants, thanks to Lingthusiasm patrons, as well as Lukas Graf, Sarah Kelen, Daniel Currie Hall, enchantedsleeper, Rob Monarch, and Kirby Conrod and friends. Each grant winner was connected to a relevant lingcomm expert for advice and support. The 2026 LingComm Grants received 111 applications.

Tundealao Toyi Joshua, Tone Deaf AI: Visualizing the “Digital Divide” in African Languages

Garima Sukhwal, Menu Linguistics

Ngoungouo Yiagnigni Abass, The Sound Detectives

Cooper Bedin, Drag video essays on language and pop culture

Sabela Morais Martínez, Hugo Parra, Sabela Treinta Lomba, Marco Bravo Rodríguez, Samuel Fentanes Barrozo, Lucía Vieitez Portas, Dálle á lingua. Conversas sobre lingua na taberna

Nastasja Deretić, Lingvistasja – Linguistic Emancipation

Kirby Conrod LGBTQ+ LingComm Grant

Suvarna P, Gender and Sex In Malayalam Podcast

Commendations

Melissa Schuring, Expedition Youth language

Baqau Hassan Omotayo, CivicLingua Lab

Martina Guzzetti, Mind the Gap: A Zine for Decoding the Language of Your Body

Lacey Wade, Phil Duncan, Jeff Holliday, Utako Minai, Steve Politzer-Ahles, Adam An, Bayleigh Baldwin, Lillianna Lamagna, Language Exploration at the Library

For more on the 2026 grants, the winners from previous years, and other lingcomm resources, check out the LingComm website.

[allthingslinguistic]

It's always so interesting reading through the LingComm Grant applications and seeing what topics and formats people are excited about communicating at the moment. Congrats to all the winners and honourable mentions, and thank you to all the applicants for trusting us with your dreams.

[flowers4therapture]

a single andes chocolate mint from the olive garden can fully nourish an adult human for up to 96 hours

[elodieunderglass]

This is genuinely the idea behind Kendal Mint Cake

[hylianengineer]

Say what now?

[elodieunderglass]

Kendal Mint Cake is a sort of highly dense lump of sugar flavoured with peppermint oil. It does not spoil, and somehow contains 2x more sugar and glucose than sugar or glucose. It is a purposeful product intended as an emergency ration to give a boost of energy when mountaineering. It is associated with hikers and mountaineers in the UK and is sold in camping/outdoor stores. Typically you keep a packet permanently in your camping bag or car or emergency kit, and just never move or remove it. If the time comes, it’s there.

I gestured a hand across an explanation of a Scottish field geologist character named Ken(dal Mint Cake) stating that he always has a packet of Kendal mint cake somewhere and received a message from a friend saying “I didn’t know you also knew (guy that Ken could conceivably be based on)”. I didn’t. This is just a portrait of too many extant guys.

There are several species of this man crashing cheerfully around the UK receiving deep spiritual pleasure from crouching in a puddle in a howling gale up a mountain nibbling pieces of violent mint sugar and apparently metabolising sufficient joy from this to polish off Kendal Mint Cake in marketable quantities for over 100 years.

Unless they made too much of it originally and are still selling it.

It isn’t sugar cube. It’s sugar to the fourth power. Nobody sounds reasonable talking about it.

[elodieunderglass]

Tumblr users rising to the challenge . You’ll note the recurring theme

Step 1: go on an entirely optional adventure

Step 2: get into an unpleasant condition in bad weather

Step 3: become very uncomfortable and hateful

Step 4: Kendal mint cake

Step 5: access stratosphere with tits blown off

Step 6: summit

Step 7: say “that was lovely”

[skull-bearer]

If only it had been founded 35 years earlier, the Franklin expedition would have found the NW Passage while carrying their boats like a pack of very determined sugar fuelled ants.

[so-i-did-this-thing]

How have we gotten this far without showing the packaging, oh, you know this stuff has cocaine in its DNA.

[hearthwitchery]

View this post on Instagram

Many of the Olympian Gods also had manifestations or side-hustles as household deities.

[covid-safer-hotties]

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New stock and a small sale on respirators! One of the best shops for low-volume covid-cautious supplies!

[covid-safer-hotties]

Found an email in my inbox:

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[covid-safer-hotties]

Antigen Rapid Test Bulk Purchase

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^They'll supply close-to-expiring kits for a substantial discount to schools and similar institutions!

[free-my-mindd]

[persimmonteas]

“you dangle on the leash of your own longing; your need grows teeth.”

— Margaret Atwood, “Speeches for Dr Frankenstein"