I don’t have kids…but I love my friends’ children!

I live by myself…but I’m very social!

Guess what? You don’t need the but!

You’re allowed to not have kids. Even if you’re in your 30s or 40s. In fact, you’re allowed to not particularly enjoy kids if that’s true for you. And even if you do adore your friends’ kids, you don’t need to stipulate that when telling someone you don’t have any.

You’re allowed to enjoy living by yourself. In fact, if not seeing people for weeks on end is life-giving for you, that’s totally fine! And even if you are very social, you don’t need to stipulate that when you tell people that you live alone.

Let’s stop making people—including ourselves!—feel bad for not following traditional or prescribed scripts for life.

childless live alone childless by choice solitary

rivertalesien

filiseverus

The Barbie movie reminded me about how when I was little my parents were upset that I kept making my Barbie dolls kiss, so they bought me a Ken doll. The next day they found me having a funeral for poor Ken in the garden, he had died of tuberculosis. All the Barbies were in attendance and I buried him under our rose bush. The Barbies were too poor to afford a headstone (it was 1875) so I didn’t mark where the grave was and I never could find him again. He’s probably still there.

thefingerfuckingfemalefury

RIP to this Ken

I am sorry these Victorian Lesbian Barbies could not afford a headstone for him but at least he got a proper burial and is hopefully in Ken heaven now, Beaching Off all day <3

hellotailor

SAG-AFTRA (the actors' union) just released a list of all the A-listers who donated $1 million or more to the strike fund.

Source: instagram.com

qvert

xenobotanist

Thinking about this conversation from Discord

septmilleneurones

Now see, this really pisses me off (the “kids are resilient” thing, not your response to it) because there has been study after study about what actually happens!!!

If the kid receives support during/after the traumatic event, they get stronger.

If the kid does not receive support during/after the traumatic event, they get fucked up.

True resilience in kids has ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS been the result of the support they receive.

tsthrace

“True resilience in kids has ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS been the result of the support they receive.”

qvert

radi0-open-door

destinationtoast

Have you ever roleplayed one of your ships during sex?

YES - with someone who also ships it

YES - with someone who isn't very invested in my ship

BLORBO-STYLE - a blorbo/OC or blorbo/reader scene

NO - Haven't had the opportunity but would like to

NO - Unsure if I'd ever want to

NO - Would not want to (but do like/want sex)

Don't like/want sex

Other/show results

See Results

"Roleplay" is loosely defined - e.g., if you've called your sex partner by a fictional character's name on purpose or vice versa, or if you've discussed a hot scene from a fic you read/wrote and then acted it out together with the understanding that you're thinking about what the characters would do in the situation. The main thing is that your partner has to be aware & at least mildly participating; it's not secret/one-sided fantasizing.

"Ships it" - for the purposes of this poll - they're actively enthusiastic about the ship and think about it even when you're not around. I have partners who know the canon and enjoy my fic but don't otherwise think about my ship, and I wouldn't say they ship it.

If you want to describe an "other" situation but don't feel comfortable doing so in a reblog -- I have anon asks turned on/can keep asks private if you mark them as such.

tsthrace

I did not actively roleplay with my partner, but I was nonverbally fantasizing about the ship while engaging in a sexual situation.

(I was an “Other” vote.)

bettsfic

Anonymous asked:

Do you have any writing tips for newbies?

bettsfic answered:

i only have one, and that’s to change your perception of a project. nearly all writers approach their work with the goal to Complete A Thing. and for fiction writers, that makes sense: a completed narrative is one with an inciting incident, rising and falling action, a resolution, and a denouement. when the story is over, the project is over.

but that’s not what a project is, and if you approach writing with the attitude of, “i’m going to write a novel,” you’ll struggle at best or outright fail at worst. finishing a story is an intermediate skill. finishing a story well is an advanced one. don’t worry about completing anything until you come across a story that forces you to finish it.

you’ll improve most by creating studies in discrete craft concepts. approach a piece of writing as a study in developing character, a study in setting, a study in the style of your favorite author. and when you focus on that thing, give up everything else. if you’re studying character, fuck conflict. if you’re learning how to build setting, feel free to begin every sentence with “there was.” the focus is setting, not style.

every successful thing i’ve written began as a study in something. the story i wrote that got me into a bunch of residencies and a PhD program began as a study in similes. my first published piece began as a study in modernizing a short story i read that had been published in the 80s. my most recent successful story began as a study in widening narrative access. the novel i just finished began as a simple character study, because i’d never really allowed myself to do that before.

when you’re drawing in a sketchbook, the goal isn’t usually to make a whole-ass picture. the goal is to draw a hundred eyes, or hands in different positions, or your own face over and over again. when you’re learning to dance or fight or any other athletic thing, you have to practice the steps and basic skills first. we take writing for granted in that we conflate basic literacy with writing skill, and because storytelling is one of the most innate aspects of being a human, many people tend to approach it from the wrong direction.

but by approaching writing as a series of studies in specific craft elements, you approach it with questions rather than answers. the stakes remain low–the goal is no longer to make something good, but to learn a skill that you can take with you to your next, hopefully even better, piece.