Hate it when TikTok farm cosplayers and cottagecore types say stuff like "I'm not going to use modern equipment because my grandmothers could make do without it." Ma'am, your great grandma had eleven children. She would have killed for a slow cooker and a stick blender.

I’ve noticed a sort of implicit belief that people used to do things the hard way in the past because they were tougher or something. In reality, labor-saving devices have historically been adopted by the populace as soon as they were economically feasible. No one stood in front of a smoky fire or a boiling pot of lye soap for hours because they were virtuous, they did it because it was the only way to survive.

Taking these screenshots from Facebook because they make you log in and won't let you copy and paste:

thought of this immediately and was delighted to discover it’s the same op

Lorwyn Eclipsed story

(Source: trust me)

So Discord just put out a poll about the use of AI on their platform.

We absolutely cannot let them even consider implementing this. It's a few simple multiple-choice questions, and an optional essay at the end. Be polite, but be extremely firm about this.

pokèmonize yourself!!!!

1. spin this wheel to see your pokemon type
2. spin this one to see how you'll look like

my dad thinks the concept of shipping is hilarious. my parents are cool, they know about my online presence, it's fine. dad doesn't scroll my blog or anything, though--he's usually too busy watching dubiously homoerotic pro wrestling clips or playing valheim--so his idea of shipping culture is bizarre

damn near every time I mention im working on a fic or piece of fanart, he gasps in hopeful anticipation and asks "tamatoa and heihei?!" and he always acts bitterly disappointed

no, dad. i'm not writing or drawing anything where a 50 foot crab and a literal chicken have any kind of relationship at all. you've been asking me to make this ship happen for almost nine years now and the answer has always been no. it's a running gag, of course, but--why would you even think of that?! what kind of shit do you think happens on ao3?!

I have decided to make my dad's vision a reality

behold

happy holidays. My dad is threatening to print this on a shirt

Op did he like it or did he love it

he says he's gonna wear it to work

does anyone have that post that mashed up caramelldansen with down with the sickness

self-awareness check, list five things you like that aren't media pieces in the tags now ‼️

The Teller Of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells "small" fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences…

Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a knead for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.

Tao sets down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past are closing in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.

To my great surprise, The Teller Of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong has pulled ahead as my favorite book that I've read in 2025. As I said during my December wrap-up,

You get used to the slight tonal whiplash pretty early on. This book is incredible because it wraps up all of the loose threads it introduced, and even the bits that seem…out of the way end up reinforcing the main themes of the narrative. And the romance between two of our main supporting characters! I can actually buy it! That and the lesbian nunnery. That was great too. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Our main cast is primarily four characters - Tao the fortune-teller, Mash the ex-mercenary, Silt the only-kind-of-reformed-thief, and Kina the baker. Mash has a wife that he's trying to get back to once he finds his missing daughter. Silt and Kina slowly develop a proper romance through the course of the story, but it is never the primary focus. And Tao? She is, to be frank, what I read as aromantic-asexual (just like me) and never winds up shoved into a romance for stupid reasons. All of the personal relationships between our main characters are held up as equally important, not just the romantic ones.

While there were some parts that felt like unnecessary wandering in the moment, it did manage to wrap back around to the main themes of this book. What are those main themes? Personally, I found them to be loyalty and reconciliation. Everything from the found family aspect that builds over time and the relationship of Tao with her mother to the way that the group sticks together when Tao experiences racism from other characters wraps back around to those two themes. This is also, at its core, a deeply hopeful book.

And for those who are worried about such a thing: they do find the child. They find Mash's daughter. It's near the end of the book, but they find her.

This was my favorite book from 2025, and I hope that I read plenty of books this year that can join it.

My (late) contribution for Make A Terrible Comic Day! I've been going to the library more often lately so this has been coming up a lot, cause I want something to read but have had trouble finding anything that I'm comfortable with.

If anyone has recommendations please please let me know because I am struggling.

official aromantic terrible comic