Hi, my name is MJ. I’m 16, my pronouns are they/them. I wanted to join the writeblr community.
A few things about me: I’m black. I love reading, writing and watching movies. I’m non binary. I’m currently in writing a novel (hopefully) and have a very vague outline at the moment.
I’d really love to get involved in this community and post regularly with my updates on my story. If anyone can recommend any other writeblrs that would be awesome!
Can you please reblog if your blog is a safe place for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, pansexual, non binary, demisexual or any other kind of queer or questioning people? Because mine is.
Things they don't tell you about being a first time wheelchair user in highschool
Literally everyone will ask if you broke your leg(s). Everyone. Even people you don’t know. Theyll ask a lot and think you’re extremely fragile.
bruises show up within the first day of rolling around, and they can really suck
people will try to grab your chair if they think you’re struggling and it can be hard not to snap at them for it
static electricity is a huge issue. You will probably either continuously shock your leg when you’re rolling around or do what I did today and zap someone so hard as you pass that both of you nearly keel over
people will call you out as a faker if you do anything even remotely fun ever on your wheelchair. Wheelies? Obviously your legs are fine lol not like you have to go down fucking curbs /s
puddles are the worst and if there’s a curb with a puddle all around and you have some ability to walk its a better idea to just stand up and navigate the chair than to fall backwards into said puddle
weird looks from people are inevitable, especially from people who don’t like you
bus drivers will often push your chair and give you advise you don’t want to hear, even if you tell them nicely you can push yourself. Its really hard not to get mad at them for it
no wheelies in school. Though if you do it in the elevator when no one else is with you you can’t really get caught.
speaking of wheelies, always be ready to throw at least one arm behind you in case you fall. They say tuck your chin in but its easier and more reliable to throw your hands back and keep your neck up so you don’t hit the floor. Sore arms are way easier to put up with than head injuries
don’t even bother to try and roll back up curbs. You will either be there for an hour or fall backwards. I managed to do both.
90% of classrooms that aren’t special ed are not very wheelchair accessible.
people will automatically assume you’re faking something if you’re not considered dumb enough in their standards to fit in with disabled students (aka high class ableism at its finest)
people are going to give you weird looks if you don’t suddenly start sitting with the other disabled kids
standard backpacks usually dangle way too much to keep on you easily, so try to pack light
built in storage on wheelchairs cannot sufficiently carry books
don’t try to hold an umbrella. Period. Especially not with your teeth. It doesn’t work.
don’t try to give the bus driver your ticket while you’re stuck on the ramp. And speaking of, its easy to start falling down the bus ramp so be careful, and when in doubt throw on the breaks
and finally if you’re like me pray to god you don’t go nonverbal when someone is trying to push you and you don’t want them to because it is hard to get them to stop if you can’t speak
able-bodied people can and should 1000% reblog this, some of these things I’ve seen on tips about using a wheelchair but a lot of these weren’t things I’ve seen
also in trans news that should be talked about. laverne cox has stated that on saturday her and a friend were assulted in a park and it’s not really getting the same attention as elliot. we can still be proud of him without ingnoring what happened to laverne and her friend.
if you claim ally ship to the trans community then you can’t ignore the bad things that happen to especially trans woc. and if you’re a white trans person you can’t just talk about other white trans people. it just shows that you only care about trans people if they are white and that shouldn’t be the case.
if your gonna talk about elliot please also talk about laverne. she deserves better and we should all do better to raise up the voices of black trans women.
It is important for EVERYONE to know how to help ANYONE. Not everyone can give them selves their medicine under every circumstance. Be educated, help out.
In the last year, i have gotten about five new violent allergies from foods i used to be able to eat. Next time i eat a fruit, my throat could close. I may not be able to inject myself. My boyfriend and i played with my trainer pen for like 30 minutes. He knows how to inject it. I know how. This is important.
As someone with food allergies I feel like everyone should know this. Especially for those who are physically or mentally unable to stab themself with a needle for whatever reason (such as myself who has an extreme phobia of needles), others around them need to know how to administer one in case of an emergency.
Another tip! If their thigh isn’t exposed don’t panic! The needle will go through fabric as long as you don’t try to push through a seam. Seams are too thick for the needle!!!
turkey and azerbaijan are attacking armenia right now, and it’s 1915 all over again because the world is distracted and people are too busy wondering if they’re gonna live or die, and who gives a shit about my country anyway? my mum told me to tell my friends and explain to them what’s happening and that we are the victims in this war because azerbaijan is spreading lies and people are believing their lies and i told her, what good is that going to do? do you think anyone’s going to come to our aid? is russia going to help us? is america? is england? erdogan said they will finish what their ancestors started, and he means genocide. he means ethnic cleansing. he means to massacre every last one of us. and in doing so admitted to the very same thing turkey has spent 105 years denying. i don’t know who to tell and what good telling people will do because we’re a small, insignificant country, and we have nothing to offer to the people in power, the handful who rule the world. so i sit here with my pain and i feel helpless. i know there’s twitter threads and links to petitions and people being urged to contact their senators, and sorry if im being pessimistic, but azerbaijan has been attacking us for the last 22 years, and though we defend ourselves, we can’t do anything to stop them. they’ve violated ceasefires (and geneva conventions) multiple times. i don’t think they’ll rest until every last one of us is dead.
we just want peace. we just want to live peacefully. we’re not asking for a lot here.
Watching this happen I’ve been so scared there is going to be another genocide and nobody would notice. My whole life I’ve hated how forgettable armenian people seem to be to the world. Protect armenian people or rot, please don’t turn a blind eye to us again. And same as above, reblog or unfollow.
here are some cold hard facts for those interested:
1. after losing the war in 1994, the az government spent the next nearly 30 years on a) dehumanizing armenians, b) blaming armenians and losing the war for the terrible socioeconomic state of the people in this oil-rich country while president and his family steal all of the money their oil produces, c) pushing armenophobic propaganda on the population since kindergarten age, d) oppressing and humiliating the other ethnic minorities living on its territories, e) regularly violating the ceasefire of 1994 whenever the internal situation get tense and the ppl get angry, f) selectively sending the youths of said ethnic minorities to the bloodiest parts of the frontline whenever said ceasefire violations happen, g) suppressing free speech, arresting journalists, harassing and threatening those who dare to voice their discontent, etc.
2. in early 1920s, josef stalin, in order to appease the new turkish “republic” and its leader ataturk, with the hopes of using turkey as the base for spreading the communist revolution further into asia, passed artsakh (also known as nagorno karabagh) with its 95% ethnic armenian population onto the new created turkic azerbaijan republic (a country that did not exist before 1918, that’s what newly created means), despite the opposition from the people of the region in question and the republic of armenia.
3. during the 70 or so years that artsakh was part of the azerbaijan republic as an autonomous region, the gov of azerbaijan did everything they could to a) suppress the development of the region, b) change the demographic of the region by moving turkic population to artsakh
4. in 1980s, the people of artsakh, utilizing their rights stipulated in the soviet constitution, petitioned both moscow and baku to be allowed to reunite with armenia. as a response to this, the azerbaijan government started large-scale repressions against the organizers and activists of the reunification movement. arrests on made up charges, threats and violence followed (more info on all that in the link provided below)
5. the people of artsakh then held a referendum as was their right under soviet constitution, and more than 90% of it’s population voted in favor of seceding from the azerbaijan republic. the response to this were the anti-armenian pogroms in baku and sumgait ( https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-18-mn-305-story.html)
Alexander Gulanerian heard the mob pounding down the hall seconds before his door was broken down and they stormed in, brandishing knives, b
6. all this grew into the first artsakh war, which azerbaijan lost, as mentioned in point 1.
to sum it up: artsakh was never a part of the independent azerbaijan republic, during it’s brief 70-year forced az control its indigenous armenian people were oppressed via various government policies, the people of artsakh deserve to live a free and happy life in their homeland, free of threats and fear of annihilation that is sure to happen if azerbaijan takes control of the region
to them, it’s just a territory and they want that territory without the people.
for further reading, check out this comprehensive timeline of the artsakh history up to 2017( when it was written)
For centuries the sacred khachkars of Djulfa stood tall along the banks of the River Aras — hulking and ornately carved 16th-century headsto
while you are at it, read up on the armenian genocide and keep in mind that turkey, specifically for this war, moved syrian jihadists to azerbaijan to fight against armenia and artsakh. read up on the kind of internationally banned ammunition azerbaijan has been using against the civilians in artsakh capital, and then maybe make your judgement.
oh, and if anyone tries to frame this as an islam vs christianity thing, send them to hell, regardless of the side they claim to support, bc this isn’t it.
spreading awareness is HUGE because azeris are spreading lies (mainly on twitter bc apparently thats the only social media they’re allowed to use atm? i haven’t verified this but it checks out with the dictator in powet lol) and it’s really really really important for us to counter their lies with FACTS. like there’s far few of us and we don’t have any bots lmao so it’s really hard to get people to listen to us.
cardi b apparently made a post about it, talking about how there’s a genocide going on in armenia, and azeris started harassing her so she sort of backtracked and said something like “i didn’t know there was two sides to this” and like it’s not the only person they’ve done this to!
this video on twitter actually explains their tactics (the girl in the video is basically translating azeri post) how they target people who speak out in support of armenia and make them rescind their support.
so yeah. it’s important for us to fight against the misinformation. and i think i have no respect for any armenian person who chooses to not engage because the internet is our battlefield. this is where we fight because it’s the least we can do. (note i said armenian person, because i don’t think its fair to ask this of people who don’t have a personal stake in this war).
System of a Down just released 2 new songs, their first new music in 15 years, to raise money for the Armenia Fund. Go to their Facebook page or https://systemofadown.bandcamp.com/ to purchase the songs for a donation as little as $2 USD or more of your choice
There are people in the notes saying this isn’t a gassing and it’s “just” a disinfectan0 being sprayed on surfaces to avoid covid, and people are “just” having allergic reactions to it
That post explains better what this chemical is and what is going on.
“The guards are spraying this disinfectant in retaliation for the report [that revealed the deplorable health conditions in detention centers]. To be clear - HDQ is an industrial-strength disinfectant, which according to the manufacturer is “harmful if inhaled” and “causes severe skin burns and serious eye damage.” The guards are spraying it on everything every 15-30 minutes, according to sources, and immigrants in the center have already experienced severe symptoms including blisters, rashes, bleeding, fainting, breathing difficulties, headaches, stomach pain, and nausea. “
It’s not just allergic reactions. That’s a severe misunderstanding of what disinfectants do and a refusal to acknowledge how serious this is and WHY people are freaking out.
No, they’re not literally being gassed in the grandiose (gore-iose?) way you’d think of - being shoved into an iron chamber like animals that then is filled with gas that melts their skin… But they are still being forced to into small areas with harmful fumes and surfaces covered in chemicals that are made to eat living matter.
If you had to be in a room for days and weeks with bleach or peroxide all over everything, you don’t need to be allergic to start having severe reactions. Cleaning chemicals say to use protective gear and ventilate the area for a REASON.
I work as a university custodian. This is the chemical we’re using to sanitize surfaces we’ve cleaned due to coronavirus. We’re not supposed to spray it directly on any surfaces. We spray it onto a cloth and then wipe surfaces with it. It’s supposed to dry before people come into contact with those surfaces. Once it dries on water fountains it’s rinsed off (I don’t know if it actually does anything to rinse it off when it’s already dried but that’s the procedure - we have to let it dry to make sure it’s had enough time to kill virus particles). That’s in university buildings with extra ventilation that are sanitized twice a day. This is horrifying.
Did a little follow-up research on this - apparently 250 of the detainees are ordered to be released due to the unhealthy conditions and crowding at the facility. I couldn’t find anything saying whether or not the disinfectant is still being used or what the conditions currently are. ICE is pushing back on this order arguing that they’d be releasing “dangerous criminals back into the public” despite the 250 being released either have no criminal record or have served their time.
The articles I read were written around October 27 to 28; this is reblogged as of 11/11/2020.
On November 4th, 2020, the president of Honduras declared a state of emergency and established a code red alert for the entire country. The Honduran population has been greatly affected by the devastating effects of Hurricane Eta, and will continue to see its repercussions. Hurricane Eta is the second largest hurricane since Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which had vast effects in the country some of which the country still hasn’t been able to fully recover from.
We are all asking for your help to be able to provide essential supplies to those who have been greatly affected by the detrimental effects of Hurricane Eta. Funds will be solely dedicated towards providing the following supplies to those most in need:
- Food / non-perishables
- Bottled water
- Clothing and blankets
- Flashlights, lamps, etc.
- Personal protective equipment (masks)
- Personal hygiene products
With your donations, we will be buying the necessary supplies for people who have lost most or all of their belongings, as well as support centers that have been set up as shelters to those people.
My brother and family has been working with these organization during these recent days and asked me if I could help spread the world. The combination of Covid and Eta has been destructive for numerous communities across Honduras. Even if you are unable to donate, I would really appreciate if you reblogged this! Thank you so much! 🙏🏼
People take names and especially surnames so damn seriously and act like they’re written in stone but the big secret here is they’re all fake, it’s all made up. David Tennant picked out his name at 16 because his real name was barred from the actor’s union he joined on account of their No Doubles Allowed rule, and he wound up naming himself after Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys of all things, and now many years later his whole family carries on that same made-up name he committed to as a teenager. All names are made up and fake as hell, call yourself whatever feels right.
As a trans person it actually always makes me sad when even a cis person tells me they hate their name. I’m always like, change it, and they’re like “oh I dont want to go through the paperwork etc” and I’m like, you don’t have to, just use a different name socially, have your friends call you what you want, and they never know how to respond it seems, like they can’t really wrap their head around that concept being easy and acceptable.. It just makes me sad for them cause I live in such a different social world with fellow trans people in which having a chosen name is expected by most people AND respected, no one will ever mention your legal/deadname.
Cis people can do it too! Normalize it!! You don’t have to be trans to have a chosen name! No one should ever have to go through the burden of hearing yourself being called something you can’t stand, as someone who knows how terrible that feels. Your identity is your own to dictate and dont let the world stop you
(Ofc just be sure to avoid appropriating names outside of your culture that aren’t meant to be shared)
Hi! I’m cis and I dont go by my legal first name out of preference! I’m also currently in the process of legally changing my surname so it’s not the same as my abuser’s! Coming from both the informal change and legal change sides, it really is as easy as mentioned above. The only thing I can’t do is sign legal documents with my preferred first name, but even that depends on the situation (First “Preferred” Last, for instance). My grandmother switched her first name spelling just because and even signed legally with it, and it just became part of her legal identity. Using my preferred name has made me so much happier, and I chose it when I was in 4th grade. 4th grade me just straight up did what she wanted and I haven’t regretted it since.
I’ve spoken up about this before, and it might seem nitpicky, but it’s the difference that lets people claim that being antisemitic isn’t even about Jews.
My current project is about to be the most pantsed story I've ever written. I have a few extremely vague ideas, and most of what I know I'm going to write is more emotionally based that plot based at the moment. So this is a change from my usual writing, hopefully it goes pretty well.
How are your WIPs going so far? I hope everyone has a good month 😊
So the anxious, overprotective parent in me feels the need to drop a dime.
I cannot say this strongly enough: PROTECT YOUR WORK. Don’t rely on anyone else, or common decency, to do this for you. There is an entire branch of legal practice devoted to arguing about intellectual property (frequently short-handed as IP) rights. If there’s an entire branch of legal practice devoted to arguing about a thing, it means that it’s important (and often, that there’s big money at stake).
A few good strategies to protect your work/IP:
1) KNOW YOUR PLATFORM. Every platform has different rules. Some have more robust IP protection than others. Here are Tumblr’s:
HOWEVER (AND THIS IS IMPORTANT!!): other platforms do not necessarily have the same protections. I regret to say that I have personal experience with this as far as Discord and other DM services go; DM services have almost no protection, even with date/time stamps, while most blogs have protections akin to Tumblr.
2) Put all of your OC–art, writing, whatever–under a Read More tag. This ensures that if you ever choose to delete it, it really disappears from Tumblr, because even people’s reblogs won’t have the text–only a link to an abandoned page.
3) Limit how much OC you share. I know, this is Writeblr, sharing is kind of the point. What I mean is, don’t share long, continuous chunks of text. I’ve learned over time to keep it to 1-2 pages (~300-800 words).
4) This one is a kick in the head, and I’m sorry: there are people who have no qualms or scruples about stealing the hard work of others. The law of averages dictates that some of them are on Writeblr. My life experience outside of Writeblr tells me that wolves wear sheep’s clothing, and I see no reason to expect that would be any different here.
This is really so very important and so good of you to share, @typewriter-jade
Unfortunately all of the above is very true and the advice shared is probably the best advice you’ll get for keeping your stuff as safe as possible.
Please do take the time to ensure that you work out a plan for how you want to share your writing. It took me a while to find a process / plan that works for me and makes me feel comfortable about sharing my writing.
i sometimes worry about certain types of writing advice i see on the twitter sphere in terms of neglecting your physical health. maybe this was just a few one-offs or whatever but i’m usually going, “hmm, are you five or are you thirty?”
so that said:
Please use the restroom when you need to. Don’t wait until you’ve reached whatever wordcount you’ve set for yourself. This is how you get UTIs and other bladder infections, and if you’re in the US, that can be expensive to treat. (Also, UTIs suck. Speaking from experience).
While coffee is a quick energy giver, you will crash. And it will suck. Too much can cause the shakes. It’s okay to consume coffee if you like it! But try to go for an alternative healthy route if at all possible. If you like tea, drink tea. But be sure to drink water!
That said, take breaks when necessary and EAT!! Make a small snack or make lunch or dinner or start meal prepping. It’s okay to step away and do something else. Writing isn’t a be all, end all sort of situation. You will get stuck if your brain isn’t being given sustenance.
Experiencing wrist/hand pain is a very good sign to stop. Either for the day, or for awhile. Do some stretches, go outside if you can.
“I write for days on end, barely any sleep” isn’t healthy. Your brain needs to rest. Your eyes need to rest. This is a surefire way to get yourself very sick, very easily. (I speak from experience, but I don’t have the best immune system. If someone is sick, I tend to pick up whatever they have after a day or two so. I mean, this is dependant on the person).
TAKE BREAKS. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GET TIRED!
Anything that promotes neglecting your needs is advice to be ignored. Idfc if they have “New York Times #1 Seller” in their profile, if they’re suggesting you neglect your physical needs for hours, ignore them.
This is supposed to be fun.
This is supposed to be fun.
It’s okay if you don’t write for a few days, it’s okay if you don’t finish a novel in a month. Seriously, take your time. This is not a race. Yes, you might want to finish the rest of your story within a couple of days, but don’t push yourself until you burn out. You’ll likely just hate yourself in the end.
tl;dr: i’m a grumpy old person who hates seeing advice that promotes unhealthy activities, whether in jest or in seriousness. there is someone out there who will take it seriously. when you’re writing, just take care of yourself.
Your health - physical and mental - is important and should not be neglected. Your writing matters but *you also matter.* You as a whole person.
I really find that in creative fields there is this performative passion that is expected. A romanticism surrounding obsession and mania, self-sacrifice and suffering.
That isn’t necessary. It’s extraneous to the process of creation. It’s ultimately counterproductive in the long run.
So, here’s a reminder that you matter and no piece of creative work is worth sacrificing your well-being.
Hey remember when US and Russia was all like “We’re the best!!! We’ve won the space race!!!!” But India sent a kick-ass space probe to Mars and the whole mission was fuel efficient, costed less and a roaring success in the first try and then they were like “…..wait no that can’t be true” and still have the audacity to call us “underdeveloped” or only view us as a ‘third world country’? :)
For anyone who needs more info, the probe was called Mangalyaan (which literally means space probe vehicle) or Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and you can also get more information here and here
and shout out to the women engineers integral to the launch
“Indian staff from the Indian Space Research Organisation celebrate after the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft entered Mars’s orbit.
On November 5, 2013, a rocket launched toward Mars. It was India’s first interplanetary mission, Mangalyaan, and a terrific gamble. Only 40 percent of missions sent to Mars by major space organizations—NASA, Russia’s, Japan’s, or China’s—had ever been a success. No space organization had succeeded on its first attempt. What’s more, India’s space organization, ISRO, had very little funding: while NASA’s Mars probe, Maven, cost $651 million, the budget for this mission was $74 million.
This was not the only success of the mission. An image of the scientists celebrating in the mission control room went viral. Girls in India and beyond gained new heroes: the kind that wear sarees and tie flowers in their hair, and send rockets into space.”
there’s a movie adaptation of this! it’s obviously more dramatized/they use different names but i really really loved the movie! it’s called mission mangal and it was the first time i had heard of this and i was so surprised that literally? no one talked about it??? what they accomplished is incredible.
ALSO, Mangalyaan launched in 2013 and was meant to be a 6 month mission. It’s been in orbit around Mars now for more than 5 years and has enough propellant to keep going for even longer.
Yass!! It’s such a historic accomplishment and i was delighted when it was all over the news (at least in India, i cant BELIEVE im only now discovering that the news wasnt as hyped up in the rest of the world wth). Please see Mission Mangal if you can i ADORE that movie