“Frodo: I can’t do this, Sam. Sam: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam? Sam: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.” Tolkien

I believe Tolkien said it best

Valentine’s Day themed border of dozens of tiny hearts in shades of red and pink on a pale grey background. Text reads: Publishing Your Work | Poetry & Writing Calls for Submissions February 2025: Journals, Competitions, Bursaries, Residencies.

Over 150 calls for submissions of poetry, fiction, flash, non-fiction, art, photography & more - competitions, literary journals, residencies, bursaries etc - open or with deadlines in February 2025. Best of luck & pls share! www.thisiswordbox.com/wordbox-blog...

All writing—and all writers—are welcome in Ellipsus, but there’s a special place in our hearts for the creative writers who’ve been quick to adopt and celebrate what we’re building. Many people have flocked to Ellipsus because they (rightfully) have concerns about how their writing might be monitored, scraped, or censored by other tools. To make sure our stances on privacy (we’re for it), generative AI (we’re against it), and transformative works (❤️ AO3) are clear, we’ve revised our privacy policy and terms of service. Nothing’s materially changed, but the language should be much, much clearer. Here’s the gist: Your data is yours. We won’t access, sell, or use your personal information for nefarious purposes. Ever. We won’t police your content. We’re a writing tool—we don’t host published works. We strongly believe in creative expression, and you’re free to write whatever you want. (Just don’t commit crimes or use Ellipsus to harm yourself or others, pretty please.) We’ll always keep you in the loop. These docs are a WIP—we may update them to reflect changes to how we operate, prevent abuse, or better safeguard and serve our writers. When there are significant changes, we’ll let you know first. We want you to feel safe and confident when storing your work in Ellipsus.

Writers (rightfully) have concerns about tools monitoring, scraping, or censoring their work.

That's why we updated our privacy policy and terms of service to make sure our stances on privacy (YES), generative AI (NO), and transformative works (❤️ #AO3) are crystal clear. 💎

ellips.us/4glC4Sr

Artwork of green forested mountains with snw-capped peaks beneath a starry blue sky. A quote from J.R.R. Tolkien is written beneath: “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” Art: https://sweetsequels.com/

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater." (J.R.R. Tolkien)

God, what a beautiful book.

Gwerful Mechain. She was a 15th century Welsh poet who wrote aggressively vivid poems on, amongst other things: wishing a brutal death on domestic abusers, celebrating the glory of the vagina, about her love of big dicks, and slamming her neighbours for not letting her shag their husbands

Little Kitty, Big City is in the Chicago Field Museum cat exhibit, Cats: Predators to Pets!! This is the largest natural history museum in the world and I am so excited I am to be a part of this.

I don't have good pics yet, so if you are in Chicago and you plan to go to the museum, send me a pic!

The book of kismet.

going to get cloned, drink some amazing cocoa, go on some weird dates, and then find the love of my life

text: turning the page to a new year image: a two-panel black and white comic drawn on grid paper a white rabbit furiously slams open a door, a stressed look on their face "MESSAGE TO ALL BITCHES" the first speech bubble reads a second, closer image of the same rabbit, eyebrows furrowed, sweat beading, mouth screaming "PLEASE SURVIVE"

it's that time

“We can begin a whole new year together,” said Frog. “We will skip through the meadows and run through the woods. In the evenings we will sit right here on this porch and count the stars.”

“You can count them,” said Toad. “I’m going back to bed.”

A painting of a bird beside the text "maybe next year you can finally get your shit together"

Revue of Souls

#mayakuro #RevueStarlight #スタァライト

reading an old children’s book that describes a “wicked old woman,” propped up by pillows, “reading a sprightly story, at which she was laughing. Beside her was a bottle of champagne; she sipped a glass from time to time,” and if that isn’t life goals.

u smell like turkies yum

mine likes to try to “bury” my tea by making scooping motions around it on the table.

U.S. v. Skrmetti: Teen At Heart of the Supreme Court's Trans Healthcare Case Calls It "Body Horror" What trans teens fear about U.S. v. Skrmetti, reported from the steps of the Supreme Court.

my latest @teenvogue.bsky.social:

I interviewed trans teens across the U.S.—including L.W., the 16-year-old at the heart of U.S. v. Skrmetti—on their fears and anxieties about the threat of gender-affirming care bans and a looming Trump admin.

"Trans healthcare is suicide prevention, at its core."

Gotta hurry up and watch hehe

what a distinguished, adorable hazard