Under Six's Rock

Six, 34, he/they, literally a kitten. icon by @platinumpaladin

[sixylicious]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2026

Number of books you've read so far:

Admittedly, I don't track this... Maybe 15? Short stories is at least in the triple digits, though.

Best book you've read so far in 2026:

My memory isn't going to let me answer this one, sadly. I can't remember what all I've read.

Best sequel you've read so far in 2026:

Hmm... it's a reread, but probably Goblin Armor by @officialleehadan

New release you haven't read yet but want to:

It's only new to me, lol, but I'm looking forward to When the Crow's Away. I really enjoyed book 1 in the series.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:

Nothing I can think of? I'm too busy (and forgetful) to follow new releases.

Biggest surprise favorite new author (debut or new to you):

I'm working my way through the volumes of the Autumn Nights charity anthologies, and I like what I'm reading so far! I may go look up more works by some of these authors when I'm done with what I have.

Book that made you cry:

Okay, so I think I technically read it last year, but Martin Shannon's Of Dust and Demons was so touching I'm still thinking about it 6 months later.

A very, very close runner up is @/officialleehadan's Give Them a War, the ending of which makes me cry every time I read it.

Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received):

I'm gonna cheat a little here. I bought this awesome notebook on vacation and am excited to actually put something in it.

Book that made you happy:

Both of @michellehellerofficial's works are great, and I hear she's working on a sequel...

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

I know I have a few more Martin Shannon books to read... My TBR is pretty small, but life's been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to read.

Tagged by: @nonny-moose-writes

Tagging: @platinumpaladin @grumpydragontea and anyone else who wants to do it!

[molabuddy]

really specific trope i like that i feel like can only be explained in a diagram

[strongermonster]

perhaps some will disagree, but i think the world got worse when we changed the colour of the night

[strongermonster]

this is what i mean

[degenderates]

Via @bulbaderp

[itistimetodisappear]

To be clear, THIS is how nights of the future should be lit

This is bat friendly street lighting, which not only looks sick as fuck but allows bats to pass through without disturbance, as they cannot see red.

orange and especially white lights deter bats and prevent them from reaching feeding grounds at nighttime. Please if you can, write to your local council and encourage red street lights!!!!

[anarchistmemedistro]

ALSO! red light doesn’t fuck up human night vision much so you can go in and out of lit areas without readjusting

[anarchistmemedistro]

[thicque]

the red light not fucking up human night vision is also why a number of older cars had gauges that lit up red at night

[b0ggyb1tch]

i legit miss red lights in cars and appliances n stuff. red city lighting is goated

[just-french-me-up]

the urge to write is like a cat meowing for dear life for someone to open the goddamn door, who then shows utter disinterest in said open door

[queerdungeons]

birth

[tamascotchi-deactivated20190101]

THE PORTAL OPENS

[walmartdionysus]

[dotty-literati]

One year retrospective

[forlornmelody]

Feels like a good time to plug Lingonaut. It's 100% AI and ad free and the courses are developed by volunteers. It's in open-beta, so still a bit buggy, but it has the feel of Duo Lingo without the slop.

[himluv]

I'll also add Mango Languages, which you may have access to through your public library!

[raspberrybluejeans]

Mango has AI too.

[scribbledwriting]

My characters during the editing process:

[lichfucker]

[image description: a still of chidi from the good place. he’s saying, “we’ve been through some version of this 800 different times.” end id]

[nature-travel-photography]

The mountain caught fire for a moment - Author: No-Macarons

[nature-travel-photography]

Sunrise over Moraine Lake. Still can’t believe places like this are real. - Author: petalKiva

[penandinkprincess]

sometimes you see Takes™ that make you go "mmmhmmm okay yeah i see we both interpreted that differently based on what the show gave us, but i see how you arrived at your ideas even if they're different from mine," and then sometimes you see Takes™ that make you go "brother what show did you even fucking watch"

[tepkunset]

I feel like simply calling JK Rowling a transphobe isn't strong enough anymore. Like. This is not your grandpa calling you by your deadname at a restaurant kind of transphobic. This is her wanting to eradicate all trans people (with an extra special hatred towards trans women specifically). This is her trying just that by personally funding transphobic hate groups with millions to push around laws in the UK. It is not hyperbolic to call her a dangerous, genocidal maniac.

It's not about cancelling a problematic writer. It's about literally trying to save lives by denying her as much money and power as possible.

[tranthony]

grout white shark

[iamthelowercase]

Hello, tumblr! I saw something on here the other day that worried me, so I decided to Do Science about it. But I can't do it alone: I need your help to build the dataset!

Here's what I need you to do:

If you see a post with a "mature content" label, and it's 2026, DM me a link to the post.

Yes, that's really it.

I am hoping to collect several thousand such posts, so that I have a decent sized dataset. I do not care what the post is about; if it's labeled as "mature content", I want to add it to my dataset.

If I get 10,000 posts in my dataset before August 31st 2026, I will post my preliminary findings then. I won't feel comfortable calling my findings "settled" before 2027, unless I get over 50,000 posts.

[iamthelowercase]

Tumblr Science FAQ, round 1

What's your hypothesis, OP?

I am not talking about that unless I have results to share. That would bias the results.

I did write them down and I did share them with a trusted contact who can prove that I wrote them down the same day I made this post. (While I did so before I made this post, I am not sure they will be able to provide proof of that, because I did so on the same day.)

OP are you interested in...?

Do you have to click through to see the post? Does the clickthrough contain the words "mature content"? Then yes.

OP are you interested if the post is about...?

I am interested in the mature content labels, not the content of the post. Is there a clickthrough that contains the words "mature content"? Then yes.

[iamthelowercase]

Tumblr Science FAQ, round 2

Should I reblog this for reach?

Yes, please. I felt really silly when I noticed I forgot to include that in the original post.

Is it okay if I send you my own posts?

Yes, those are perfect for what I'm looking for. I actually need to do some processing on a post to make it useful for testing my hypothesis, and this makes it easy.

Are you looking for "potentially mature content" also, or just "mature content"?

I want both, please. Anything that throws up a blocking screen that you have to click through. The distinctions between them are one of the things I am hoping to study.

Does it matter when the post was made originally?

Technically no. There's no way to respond to this without introducing some bias in the results, and I don't want that. However, I do collect some data on a post as part of making it useful to me, and that data is easier to collect if the post is recent.

What if I request content label review on a post after I send it to you?

I need to see the mature content label to be able to use the post. Because the mature content label hides the content of the post, it is very hard to use a post that no longer has a mature content label. You could send me a screenshot, but people could use that to lie to me.

Basically, it's more work for you to make it usable to me.

OP are you a transphobe? It would ruin the experiment for me if you're a transphobe.

I promise I'm not a transphobe and not doing this for transphobic reasons. You should still double-check that I'm not a transphobe for yourself, though. I am not sure that this study will have the useful effects you're hoping for; I am studying something specific, and it may not be what you hope.

[atrusovaartist]

I always thought Reddit was a place where people could share things they created.A few days ago I posted one of my original paintings. People loved it. We had wonderful conversations about art, emotions, and how everyone saw something different in the same sunset.

About two hours later I was permanently banned from r/MadeMeSmile for “self-promotion.”

I accepted that different communities have different rules.But then something even stranger happened.Soon afterward, a moderator from r/pics started going through my account. Not just the new post—many of my older painting posts disappeared as well. One after another. Then I was permanently banned there too.

Maybe it was the same moderator. Maybe it wasn’t. I honestly don’t know.

What surprised me wasn’t even the ban itself. It was realizing how much power individual moderators have over what millions of people are allowed to see. One decision can erase years of posts from a community and instantly cut off your ability to participate, even if those posts had been happily sitting there for months or years.I’m not saying moderators shouldn’t have rules. Communities need moderation.But it does make you wonder where the line is between protecting a community and allowing a single interpretation of the rules to completely reshape what people can share.

The funny part?

I wasn’t advertising anything in those posts. I wasn’t posting prices or asking anyone to buy anything. I was simply sharing my original paintings because I enjoy discussing art with strangers from around the world.

Anyway…

Here’s the painting that apparently caused all the trouble. 🎨

[expressions-of-nature]

Nerskaya River, Russia by Roman Lushpa

[arcane-vagabond]

Reblog this if you would not only accept, but welcome fan art, moodboards, etc. of your fics

All of these used to be so common for people to show their appreciation of different fics and authors, and I think it’s a shame people don’t do it anymore. I love seeing fan work for my fics!!

[klapollo]

Washington Post is paywalling the article but it looks like Taylor Farms — a consumer bagged salad brand that also supplies produce to grocers and fast food chains like Taco Bell, Walmart, McDonald's, Chipotle, Burger King, KFC, and Meijer —may be at least one of the sources of the current cyclosporiasis outbreak.

Taylor makes bagged greens, salad kits, chopped salads, the works. Keep avoiding supermarket greens, but keep an especially close eye out for this brand/supplier. The above list of grocers and fast food chains is NOT exhaustive, so please continue getting lettuce and other raw produce taken off your burgers, sandwiches, etc.

[triplehamburgerjack]

Their other brand is EARTHBOUND ORGANICS!!!