Requests Are Open!

[pmamtraveller]

"Beneath The Golden Willow"

Ed Perkins.

[rainintheevening]

Okay, we got a new one, boys.

[stud-yawgmoth]

My analysis of "Asimov's Tail:"

It's the inverse of Chekov's Gun ("If there's a gun on the table in act 1, it should go off in act 3" or someone like that). Asimov's Tail is like saying "If a gun goes off in act 3, it should be on the table in act 1."

You don't need that for guns because we all know what guns are. A character in a modern setting pulling out a gun to win a fight on page 120 isn't going to bother the reader. But a tail is unexpected: You need the reader to buy in to and expect the tail before it becomes plot-relevant, or it'll read like a deus ex machina.

(Another comparison is Chekov was talking about the stage, and Asimov is talking about books. Asimov's Tail may not be as applicable to the stage, where the audience can all clearly see the character's tail in his costume.)

Separately, Asimov doesn't just say "You have to describe the tail," but "Someone has to step on the tail." Your character's trait or ability that will help them in a critical moment later in the plot must also have downsides. This will make the character feel more real, even if they're fantastical and alien.

[curlicuecal]

tbh, i think "it must have downsides to make the character feel more real" really undersells what this accomplishes.

You set up the tool of their victory as a personal *challenge* they must overcome. This makes the victory more surprising, character-building, and satisfying. The very trait, tool, or skill that was presented as a weakness becomes a strength.

[kvothes]

a good thread

[elumish]

I agree with all of this. But! I think it is also important to recognize that there are subgenres where it is significantly harder to find certain things, and it's actively unhelpful to readers to pretend that you can just find whatever type of book you want to read if you just know how to look for it, especially if you are sticking to trad publishing.

It is possible to find both sapphic SFF and M/M fantasy. It is significantly harder to find, say, aro urban fantasy. Or trans romantic suspense. Or intersex mystery.

A lot of the advice above only really works for trad published or popular books and for identities/subgenres/content that aren't too niche.

So here's some advice if the advice above isn't working for you (either because you can't find books with what you want or because the books you are finding don't end up being the vibe you want), from someone who reads a few hundred books a year:

Find websites or lists dedicated to the specific thing you are looking for. They will generally have more variety and will post you to examples that don't show up in regular rec lists. (ex: aro book recs, ace book recs, intersex #ownvoices database, sapphic books). Goodreads lists can (sometimes) also be your friend.

Get comfortable reading self-published and small press books. Trad publishing has its blind spots.

Check Reddit for recommendations

Start figuring out what it is specifically that you like and then start making your searches more specific. This can be subgenre (if you want urban fantasy, you're rarely going to find it just searching "fantasy"), tropes, plot devices, vibes, etc.

Look at the "readers also bought" on Goodreads/Amazon, similar books on Storygraph, etc. if you read a book you like. Even if you don't end up reading the one you click on, it can show you similar authors (similar to looking at the blurb on a cover), especially because far fewer books have blurbs now.

Check out the Literature Map for similar authors.

[lilachason]

Also! Ask your local librarian if they offer custom reading lists. This is a service a lot of libraries offer and you can get really specific recommendations tailored to whatever you want. They’re super fun to make and we want people to ask for them!

[actualized-animal]

Did You Learn?

you can lie on the floor in your home and the Soft Baby who lives there will approach you. this will increase your chance of contact with Nose Wet by 75%

[byjove]

My cat sleeps in positions that remind me of the grotesque plaster casts of people and animals that died in agony in Pompeii. My cat sleeps like a wilted and dying spider that has just been sprayed with Raid.

[pennaraptor]

emotional responses are deeply evolutionarily advantageous in any animals that are making complex decisions and behaviors (in many vertebrates, say) because they act as a reinforcer for a behavior. a bird taking a vigorous bath in a puddle is probably happy because if that behavior didnt elicit a positive feeling they wouldn't do it (it is dangerous to be on the ground and wet!). if an animal can feel fear, which i think is a less contested assertion to make, then it can certainly feel the opposite, that is, happy.

[pennaraptor]

Bernd Heinrich in his book Nesting Season

[literaryera]

I keep hearing John Green say he's retired from working and lemme just say John Green is the least retired retired person I've ever seen.

[sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog]

I am retired!!! I retired in October of 2017 and have kept my promise not to exchange my labor for money.

Since 2017, I have only done stuff that I thought was interesting or useful regardless of whether it pays, because we have more than enough money, and despite what billionaires might tell you, there is literally no difference between "more than enough" and "much more than enough."

So I no longer work for money. But in retirement one must keep busy, which is why I have taken on an unpaid gig as the social media intern for a coffee and tea business that donates 100% of its profit to charity.

I also sometimes travel to universities and other places to speak in support of Partners in Health and global access to tuberculosis care, and sometimes I write books because writing makes me happy, and every Tuesday I make a video on vlogbrothers, and I make a podcast about the world cup with my friends from high school, and so on, but none of these things constitutes work. These are just Retirement Projects, which are essential to a happy retirement.

[its-just-me-nichole]

If only we could all live such passion projects and doing genuinely good things for the world and people around us - also -

Have a discount code for the coffee he's slinging - or the tea - or - the socks or soap!! You'll love it!!

NTUBERCULO82790

[unsubconscious]

Elena Wuest (German, b. 1977) ‘Beyond’, 2025 Oil on canvas, 80 x 60cm

[mermaidenmystic]

Thank you so much @pocketfullofpoesies! 🩷

[antoniabishop]

make a wish

[soymoss]

starling

[iravaid]

Visit Original Link

On conservation and survival

[hope-for-the-planet]

This brought tears to my conservationist heart today.

The continued existence of these species is the legacy of so many people whose names we will never know--some of who never lived to see the impacts of their work.

When you count up the flaws of our species, you have to count the good things too--out of the many species throughout Earth's history that have caused the demise or endangerment of other species, we are the only one that tries to fix it out of our fascination and love for other life forms.

(Big thank you to the anonymous asker who sent this in!)

[hope-for-the-planet]

Earth Day reblog of this thing that made me cry.

And I'll add some other recent good conservation news.

•Green sea turtles are no longer endangered

•Giant pandas are no longer endangered

•Panamanian golden frogs were returned to the wild for the first time since they were wiped out by chytrid 17 years ago

•The Eastern humpback whale population has exceeded pre-whaling numbers and many other whale species are showing strong signs of recovery

•Salmon and bison have been returned to their former habitat in multiple parts of the US through dam removal, habitat restoration, and reintroduction

•The Western monarch migration was up 60% compared to last year

•Galapagos tortoises were reintroduced to Floreana for the first time in 180 years

•Attenborough's long beaked echidna was rediscovered after being though extinct for decades

•Five "lost" island bird species were documented by citizen scientist birders in 2025

Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there. I did not die.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Every time I see some joke about Star Trek-style teleporter technology I'm like "I should write a story about the potential of this technology re: the whole 'killing and copying people' thing and the ramifications of being able to essentially print people" and then I remember I already wrote it. Every single time.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

#*two hours later* hey derin? what the fuck was that

Expected result of teleportation technology I think

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

#I WAS TRYING TO GO TO BED 😭😭😭#just reached the end of part 1 i can't stop send help#fiction

Read the rest in bed! Problem solved!

[duarzish]

#Holy fuck, this story changed me.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Good, that's what stories are supposed to do!

[antique-scarecrow]

Oh wow. Wow wow wow wow geez. Go read this

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

[annawry]

I say this with all the love in the world. What the fuck.

(Also, hey, go read this. You'll think you know what you're getting. You won't.)

[defat1]

No, that's about what I expected from a Derin short story. Those things stick with you forever!

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

If I'm going to go to the effort of typing it up it had better fuck people up or I might as well go play computer games instead

[autumnmercy]

Whelp, that just entered my category of “stories that aren’t technically horror, but really feel like it.”

That’s a good thing of course, the story was brilliantly written, and I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

That category is most scifi

[inprisonforsparkling]

Just read this. What the fuck Derin

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Stori

[dawnsiren]

Derin, what the fuck was that???? Cursed implications

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Stori!

[tinycrowthings]

Derin, what the fuck.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

I keep telling you guys! Stori!

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

#my grandpa liked your story#he says you have a marvelous imagination and developed a very unique story#and said the ending was poignant#I agree with him#great story

You guys heard it here first, mysterious-corpse's grandpa liked my story.

[omnilily]

I thought I had thought of all the fucked up implications. I had not. Not even close.

Derin, what the fuck?

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

There are way more fucked up implications that didn't fit this story, I'm considering returning to the topic with a new one at some point.

[ocean-again]

Derin, what the FUCK?

[presumablyprocrastinating]

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Stori...

[boxell]

I love this stori so much :)

it's not even that fucked up I don't know what everyone's on about

It's so fascinating and wholesome :D

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

She was trapped and destined to die alone but she pulled herself together and lived So Many Full Lives

[saewokhrisz]

senki se menekül

[rosenkranz-does-things]

bath time

[letmestaytender]

[id: a gouache painting of a wet tiger sitting in a body of water. their hair droops and they have a neutral expression on. the water is brown and blue swirls while the sky is green. end id]

[jasper-dracona]

[additional id: the tiger looks very round, due to it being wet. It is very cute]

[velvetcloak]

andrew kwon | spring 2026

[hope-for-the-planet]

Black Hills drilling project canceled after backlash from tribes

A South Dakota mining company has canceled a drilling project in the Black Hills after opposition from Native American tribes and local grou

Protests and lawsuits from Native American tribes and other local groups stopped a graphite mining operation in South Dakota that was going forward without appropriate environment review.

The mining project has now been cancelled with the company stating it "doesn't intend to file another plan for this project.".

[milkandvoid]