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Step into my office 📚

Thank you, Rochita! The story in question is free to read over at @strangehorizons.bsky.social.

Rochita is helping me with my fundraiser for my medical needs. If you liked the story and feel so inclined, my fundraiser is linked below:

gogetfunding.com/medical-and-...

Hello, friends! I am back and will be making a concerted effort to post regularly on here, because the other place is truly hideous. I have a huge platform there and will continue to use it for good, but it will be nice to spend more time in sunnier climes if you’ll have me!

Also this is why people take classes. You’re all gonna start off wonky, but everyone is there to mutually benefit each other’s growth with direction and intention. That’s not the same thing as exposing your growth to strangers who aren’t invested in you as a person or an artist.

There's a discourse that basically goes: Alice: But I want to use Al to do art Bob: Just do it yourself Alice: But I am not good at it Bob: Just be bad, and post it on the internet, it's fine! And Bob is lying, it sucks, you will get savaged as anyone who has taken a picture of their dinner knows.

This is such a bad take I had to block the person no matter how many smart people I like follow them lmao

This is presumes that all creative output must be availed to the public. This is stupid. You do not owe everyone a behind-the-scenes look at your development if you don’t want to.

Image of a growth chart. The first section is steadily rising with text above it that reads "oh hey :) my art's improvi-" the text is cut off by a dramatic downward spike. Underneath the spike it reads "what the hell" in italicized red text. The chart then dramatically returns to the previous upward slope with two lines of text. The one right after the spike reads "what the hell was that<" and the second line further along the slow reads "oh hey my art's improving :)"

Found the chart! It was on Twitter, username was @ DelKittyy but I'm not sure if they were the original maker or not.

ahh!!! is it the skill-taste gap chart?! I think about it all the time.

bsky.app/profile/kody...

Self-consciousness about your art feels unpleasant, but it means your tastes are growing. Your personal taste as it guides your work is kind of an essential part of being an artist. Practice builds your skills and your point of view! You want to develop the Artist’s Hand *and* the Eye, so to speak.

Here’s some David Mattingly art to make your Friday a little better.

When I say my two cats are very different, this is what I mean.

Pancakes: laser-focused on the ball, alert, 100% in lethal hunting mode

Truffles: paws mournfully at… where the ball isn’t

[instantly] I would die for the Creature

[2 seconds later] I would murder for the Creature

[10 seconds later] I would murder Victor specifically for the Creature

Shorter version: people are using cancer in romance backstories because it’s less fraught than using covid: discuss

Sorry to everyone who thinks there should be fewer romances involving grief, but we all just lived through a mass death/disabling historical event with absolutely zero public rhetoric about it (or the fact that it’s ongoing) and grief romances is one big way we’re all Working That Out

Why didnt anyone tell me the internet is straight up broken?

We've got the energy, focus, & motivation we have today. No more; no less. No shame or "should" is going to change it.

Thing is: we CAN do the trauma recovery basics-- self-compassion, self-acceptance, patience, & authenticity-- no matter how much bandwidth we do or don't have.

Happy Bi Visibility Day 2025! It's Bi Visibility Day, and we're celebrating as we do with books starring bi main characters! For even more recs, check out past years' posts! Young Adult Wish You Weren’t Here by Erin Baldwin All’s fair in love and Color War. Juliette doesn’t hate Priya Pendley. At least, not in the way teen movies say she should hate the hot popular girl.

Happy Bi Visibility Day 2025!

It's Bi Visibility Day, and we're celebrating as we do with books starring bi main characters! For even more recs, check out past years' posts! Young Adult Wish You Weren’t Here by Erin Baldwin All’s fair in love and Color War. Juliette doesn’t hate Priya Pendley. At…

Deep Engagement

For when you’ve got the energy to write more.

Call out multiple details you enjoyed.
Connect it to canon or other fics you’ve read.
Write your commentary as you read along.

I’m a PASSIONATE fanfic commenter, but sometimes it slows me down because I feel like I need to leave long notes. But, as an author, I know even a short comment matters. So I made a guide to make it easier. Hopefully this helps someone else too! #fanfiction #fanfic #leaveacomment #harrypotterfanfic

They say lunar eclipse stories play out 6 months and solar eclipses play out a year.

Saturn in Pisces (institutions/limits in a watery, boundary-blurry sign) systems trying to enforce limits even as things are emotionally saturated and unclear.

This eclipse season is a lot heavier than most. Solar eclipse Virgo this Sunday is in opposition to both Saturn in Pisces and Neptune in Aries

Saturn & Neptune themes show up as authority vs. illusion.

saw a post i liked on tumblr today.....didnt see that they'd posted it on their account here but i wish they would its a sentiment that resonated w me more than making "good" art it's just important to make art....thanks man

introducing one of the characters for ‘War and the Maiden’, my comic for this year’s @shortboxcomicsfair.bsky.social:

WAR ❤️‍🔥⚔️
More than human but not quite godly, the personification of War is an ageless, unrepentant figure waiting for the Maiden in the library at the end of the world.

If you feel depleted or weighed down, give yourself permission to hit the hay early, or take it easy if it’s still daytime in your timezone when this aspect perfects. The good news, is that the Moon is now free from the malefics as we head into Monday!

The Moon closes the day with a square to Saturn in Pisces which kind of underscores the weight of the enclosure, bringing the themes of responsibility, limitation or even fatigue to the forefront.

next several hours. These “malefic besiegement” periods can often feel tense or heavy, where ease is harder to come by and our emotional resilience is tested. So, make sure to give yourself, and others, a little more space and patience during this time.

Gemini’s desire for variety, and Virgo’s demand for precision.

By early afternoon, the mood brightens considerably as the Moon connects with Venus and then Mars in fairly quick succession. This pings their sextile which is due to perfect on Tuesday. Venus brings charm, warmth and…

The square to the Sun marks the last quarter phase of the Moon’s monthly (or moonthly!) journey and marks a point of tension in the cycle, where we’re in need of clarity but it might be difficult to find. You may also feel pulled in two directions — between…