If you love weird art and hate fascists, itch.io has a "No ICE in Minnesota" bundle with proceeds benefiting the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. (My friend works there!)
There is... so much stuff in there. "Joggernauts" is one of my wife's favorite games, and I've been looking at getting "Inspirisles" for literally years. There's a bunch of game assets, writing tools, solo games, books, zines, music... I got overwhelmed just scrolling through it. Definitely worth the $10 to an important organization.
It became a tradition to gather on the beach, when they could, to play dogfight football. Mav invented it to make them into a team, and they kept it up after they’d become even closer than that.
Bradley was flat on his back, hot and sandy.
Nat had shoulder-checked him down into the sand—nothing stood in the way of her urge to win, not even friendship—but it was Jake’s face he saw against the big blue sky.
It was Jake’s hand, pulling him up, and Jake’s mouth on his, an easy kiss.
This was a new tradition, too: them. Together.
Written for the prompt ‘beach’ over at @topgundrabble ❤️
I'm still rotating the whole concept of Mori in my head two weeks later. I don't think I've ever run across a character with a power quite like this one? Isolated future vision, sure, but nothing so comprehensive. Makes it impossible not to play god, because even if he did nothing whatsoever, it would still be choosing that future over other possibilities. There is no future where nobody dies and everybody is always happy, so every choice he makes becomes choosing who lives and who dies and knowing who those people are (at least until that branch evaporates). And knowing that a certain number of people will want him dead for this, to boot.
One of the characters in The Last Unicorn says something about there being a limit to how much one man can make or mar, even a very powerful wizard.
Keita Mori, age 11, about to run away from home to work for an opium smuggler because it will be important years later: Bet?
im doing the storygraph 2026 genre challenge plus a personal non fiction summer challenge: do you have any book recs about indigenous history? (awesome if they involve texas, usa but not necessary.) i’m not trying to get misinformation’d by an ai article generated two months ago.
Chill if not im gonna call my library tomorrow either way.
I just started Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
(Sorry if ur not the person to ask for this i may have you confused for a different blog. I know theres an anthropologist and someone who works as a historian(?) sociologist(?) in the public sector(?) in a capacity that relates to indigenous people in america. I don’t know if they’re the same person)
Lol, I've never explicitly stated my job, but that's not necessarily an incorrect list of what I do. My job title and description doesn't technically include history, sociology, or anthropology, but I end up doing a lot of history research anyway and there's no way to turn off the anthropology brain. I do do work with Native American Tribal organizations.
(I won't lie, I'm frequently torn between wanting to talk about the specifics of my job but also I don't want to dox myself)
Unfortunately I know basically nothing about Texas-specific Indigenous history. Most of my work has focused on the Upper Midwest, and most of the books I've read have been more ethnographies rather than histories - most of my history knowledge on the topic has come from primary source documents, working with community members, and just generally accumulating information over the years. So I don't even really have history book recs. The closest I got on my bookshelf right now is an ethnography in the Arizona region: The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in O'odham Country by Gary Paul Nabhan.
However, it's possible other people here might have good suggestions! If anyone has recommendations let us know!
Unease and tension permeated the streets as a pair of fleet officers strode down the sidewalk eyeing the passersby. People were afraid to so much as avoid eye contact or cross the street. Every act of avoidance was under intense scrutiny. If they had nothing to hide, then why show signs of discomfort? The sight of fleet officers on patrol shouldn't mean anything to anyone innocent. The fact that their presence brought anxiety to the city's denizens only proved their guilt.
It had been a little over six months since the officers flooded the city to "survey and observe" and "eradicate insurgents threatening social order" after reports of high amounts of hemorebel activity were sent to the fuchsia in charge of commanding and overseeing the region. It was common knowledge among the citizens that the city had several groups of rebels within its borders, but there was generally a unwritten rule to turn a blind eye to them. "Mind your business," as it were. Being a majority lowblood and midblood city of roughly two hundred and fifty thousand trolls with a lack of highblood and subjuggulator presence, it would have been strange to not become a hotbed for those who opposed oppression from the privileged castes. However, when highbloods or clowns did roll through, the silent agreement kept them hidden and safe.
At least, until it was broken.
Rezera kept his head up and eyes forward as the fleet officers marched toward him down the street. Don't look away. Don't look anxious. Don't give them even the slightest cause for suspicion or it could mean his life. His hands stayed hidden in the pockets of his jacket to keep their shaking out of sight, and he focused on keeping his breathing steady. No obvious deep breaths while avoiding hyperventilating. He had nothing to hide, after all. He was just going to meet his matesprit, Shalia, at the book store where she worked so he could pick her up for their date.
"Evening," one of the officers said casually as Rezera passed, and he could feel his heart leap into his throat. Don't let your breath hitch. Don't stiffen up. Don't break your stride. Don't look away. Unable to speak lest a crack in his voice betray the mask of normalcy he tried to maintain, he simply smiled and nodded in response and prayed that would be the end of the interaction. Even with the fleet officers now behind him, he fought to keep his anxiety hidden. Too many people had been pulled aside and questioned when they showed signs of stress after passing an officer believing they were no longer being watched.
When he finally reached the bookstore five minutes later, he felt like he was ready to collapse. However, the sight of his matesprit at the counter was enough to brighten his mood. With a weary smile, he approached the counter leaned against dramatically with his back pressed to its edge as he leaned back, one hand placed across his forehead like a fainting victorian.
"Oh, my dearest of darlings, I fear I may perish~ and only your kisses can revive me," Rezera whined pitifully and turned his head to meet the other olive's gaze. Shalia giggled at him and playfully flicked his ear, earning her a flinch and a pained yipe from her mate. "Ah! Abuse!"
"Now's not the best time, Rez," Shalia said, her voice slightly lowered as she nodded toward the in-store cafe at the end of the building where a pair of fleet officers were sitting and talking over coffee. Immediately, Rezera's expression dropped.
"There's no getting away from them. I just passed two more on the way here," he said and lowered his own voice as well. At least they were occupied with something else and hopefully not paying any attention to them.
"Just be grateful they're in uniform and easy to spot instead of dressing in plain clothes ," she informed him, and he visibly shuddered at the memory of being pulled aside by a couple of plain-clothes officers more than once. "How much longer do they expect us to live in constant anxiety like this?"
"As long as it takes for them to think they fixed the rebel problem. I'm scared to leave my hive most of the time," he said with a sigh and buried his face in his hands. Shalia put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Well, let's not waste tonight, then. I'm gonna clock out, get my stuff, and change out of my work shirt," she told him before leaving her place behind the counter and walking away to the employee break room. As she departed, he looked back at the cafe, and he swore his heart stopped for just a moment upon seeing that the fleet officers were gone. He could feel his heartbeat start to escalate and his hands shake, which he quickly shoved into the pockets of his jacket. He leaned against the vacant counter and tried to look casual, but he couldn't stop his eyes from darting around the room. Did they leave, or are they walking the store looking for anyone they deem suspicious? Was it safe to be in here? They could be anywhere now.
Rezera could feel his breathing speed up into short, quick inhales and exhales, and his body felt stiff as a board. He didn't dare take a step in any direction for fear one or both officers would step out from their hiding spots and clock his unease. Had it even been a minute since Shalia left?
"You there!" a commanding voice rang out, and the air in the entire store became still. Rezera whipped his head around to see the two fleet officers sharply approaching and dragging a bronze probably no older than him in their grip. Stop being so tensed up. Relax your breathing. Maintain eye contact. Don't let them know you're afraid.
"Evening, officers. Can I help you?" he asked with only a tiny tremble in his voice. One of the officers, a tall blueblood with wide angular horns, jostled the bronzeblood harshly by his arm, and the troll winced in pain.
"This troll is believed to be a member of a rebel cell. He says you can vouch for him. Can you?" the officer asked.
"I remind you that lying to a fleet officer to hide rebels and rebel activity is a felony offense," his partner, a fellow blueblood, warned and narrowed his eyes.
"He can tell you I'm not a rebel! H--" the bronze started only to be silenced with a punch in the stomach. He instantly crumpled, and were it not for the officer holding him up by the arm, the poor guy would be on the ground.
Rezera frantically looked back and forth between the officers and the troll. He'd never seen him before in his life, and looking beyond them he could see other patrons watching in apprehension or hurriedly making their exit. The troll looked to Rezera with panic in his eyes. He couldn't hesitate for much longer or he would be under suspicion as well. They needed an answer from him, and there was only one he could give that would guarantee they leave him alone.
"I don't know who that is, sorry," he answered truthfully as he looked up at the officers. Although he did his best not to look down at the bronze, he could feel the sense of betrayal and terror emanating from him as though he were standing in front of an industrial heater. The officers nodded and looked down at their next victim.
"That's what I thought," the officer with the angular horns spat, and the two of them swiftly turned towards the exit with the now violently struggling bronze in tow.
"Wait, wait please!! You don't have to do this! I'm not a rebel! I swear I'm not one of them!" he begged as they continued dragging him behind them. Even after the officers left, the atmosphere inside the bookstore was suffocating with anxiety and fear. Rezera stood like a statue as several thoughts racked his brain all at once.
Did he do the right thing? Should he have played along and potentially saved his life? Would doing so be worth possibly being clocked and arrested with him? What's going to happen to that bronze? Are they going to kill him? Torture him? Both? Was he truly an innocent person, or a rebel hoping for a savior? Wh--
Rezera's thoughts were cut off by the feeling of a hand on his arm, and with a startled yelp he scrambled away and equipped his cattle prod from his strife deck before realizing it was only Shalia. How did he not notice her approaching? How much did she see?
"It's just me! I-I didn't meant to scare you, but you didn't answer when I said your name," she explained herself and took a step back with her hands in front of her defensively. He stared at her as the adrenaline in his system lit his nervous system on fire. He lowered the weapon before placing it back in his strife deck, and Shalia closed the gap between them and took one of his hands in both of hers.
"How-- What did you see?" he asked her with shaking voice and trembling hand.
"I didn't see anything, but... I heard the troll being taken away," she admitted. They stood in silence for several moments before Rezera spoke.
"He came to me for help. I-I should have--"
"Don't. Let's just try to enjoy the night and pray nothing else happens," she cut him off before walking him to the exit and onto the street.
"We can't-- I can't keep living like this," he muttered. Shalia squeezed his hand.
"If we're lucky, we won't have to for much longer."
I'm looking for recommendations for lighthearted/humorous books to read out loud to my family. So far, we have read:
Howl's Moving Castle
Dealing with Dragons
Lord Peter Wimsey books: Clouds of Witness, The Five Red Herrings, Strong Poison, and Unnatural Death (which was too sad for us), plus the short stories
Assorted Jeeves and Wooster books (these were some of our favorites)
The Importance of Being Earnest (also a favorite)
Northanger Abbey
My grandma isn't as into the fantasy books, and doesn't want to read Discworld/Good Omens, which we'd have read otherwise.
Please reply or reblog if you have a recommendation for our next read!
