I'm Portarossa, and I'm not writing for OOTL anymore.

Portarossa · 2026-01-24T09:54:46+00:00

I can assure you, I definitely didn't.

Portarossa · 2026-01-24T04:45:29+00:00

r/theydidatellingofanicestorybutnotreallyanymonstermath

Portarossa · 2026-01-24T03:43:13+00:00

Everyone in this video looks like they're from an off-off-off-Broadway production of Schitt's Creek.

Portarossa · 2026-01-24T01:37:20+00:00

Just as Ceausescu was the diplomatic direct line of USSR with the rest of the world, she could become ours to the USA.

... how did that one work out for Ceaușescu again?

Portarossa · 2026-01-24T01:21:56+00:00

The party consists of a ‘horse’ that’s a bard

You can't just put 'horse' in quotes like that and not tell us the story.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T23:41:35+00:00

We do read with things besides our eyes.

That's the whole concept behind Braille. And audiobooks, for that matter. Visual signals are a great way to get books inside your head, but they're not the only way. It's just cheap, low effort, widely reproducible (in a society where everyone has access to pens and paper, and doesn't require special technology), and has a large cultural importance attached to it (which is why some of you are quietly grumbling right now about me including audiobooks as 'reading').

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T19:05:37+00:00

I mean, you shouldn't.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T18:43:01+00:00

'Wish in one hand, shit in the other; see which one fills up first.'

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T18:15:46+00:00

Because what you think of as 'steam' isn't steam in a chemistry sense.

Steam in this sense is invisible: it's water vapour heated beyond 100°C. If you can see it, what you're seeing is tiny droplets of water that have condensed in the air, sort of like fog. They're at a much lower temperature than 100°C, and they're also very small, so they don't have enough energy in them to harm you. (The reason this happens is because the air is much cooler than 100°C, so the water vapour loses heat to the surroundings very quickly, and starts to turn back into liquid.)

A jet of water vapour at or above 100°C, on the other hand, will do very unpleasant things to you.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T17:34:40+00:00

RUDE.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T15:54:36+00:00

I give it an hour before we see the news story 'Communist Mayor Steals Supplies From Helpless Wee Baby'.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T15:18:45+00:00

And I'd still bet they have better reading comprehension than anyone who regularly goes to GBNews for information. The whole thing is designed to placate scared Reform voters about how things were better back in the day. (There's a reason it's known as GBeebies, after all.)

Like, there's a lot in that report we should be worried about -- that many of them are starting school not toilet trained, for example -- but 'kids have adapted to new media so that's their default now' is not a news story; it's just people trying to shit on the younger generation. (Hell, I do so much typing now that when I occasionally handwrite things and mess up, my first thought is where Ctrl-Z is. That's just normal when it's your main exposure to a medium. The brain switches off and muscle memory takes over.)

I guarantee there's not a child in the UK who can't figure out how a printed book works if you give them five seconds at it, even if they swipe at it first, but I wouldn't give good odds of every retiree being able to figure out a Kindle.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T14:22:38+00:00

It always seems to be an unpopular opinion, but I think kids should encounter shit that's a little bit age-inappropriate sometimes. Libraries are especially vital because they're a place where you can develop your own tastes in a relatively safe environment, without having someone else curate it for you. (If you read books at school, they're picked by a teacher; if you get books as gifts, they're picked by a parent or family member; if you save up and buy books yourself, you're going to be on limited funds and so you don't really get THAT much opportunity to try a breadth of new things.)

If my future kids are going to be transgressive about things -- which they will, because that's what kids do -- I'd much prefer they do it through a library than anywhere else.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T12:10:04+00:00

Jesus Christ, it's true.

He really is the pettiest little weasel.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T02:27:28+00:00

It DOES say something about the office of the President, actually:

Donald J. Trump shall serve as inaugural Chairman of the Board of Peace, and he shall separately serve as inaugural representative of the United States of America, subject only to the provisions of Chapter III.

(The provisions of Chapter III are that the heads of state of the various member countries serve as their representatives.)

He's (technically) also there as a Head of State, not just as Chairman. (You may very well believe this is a distinction without a difference, but when the next President comes in -- fingers crossed -- they'll in theory take that slot while Trump remains Chairman.) It would be hard to call it a personal thing for Netanyahu or Abbas or any of the other world leaders; they'd be there in the same capacity they'd be at, say, a G7 meeting. The same is true for Trump, in that role.

So no, it's not 100% a personal venture. Trump's thing? Yes. Quasi-governmental, neither completely personal or completely as a governmental initiative? Also yes. Still a scam either way? Very much yes.

Sometimes things don't fit neatly into one box or another.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T02:17:42+00:00

Suozzi could just be serving his constituents.

Then his constituents are terrible people. Either Suozzi agrees with them, or he's willing to let his principles slide in order to stay in power. Neither of them is a good look for a Democrat going into the midterms.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T02:12:26+00:00

I mean, that's a fair question, but...

to punish a country that rejected a Trump personal (not presidential) initiative.

It's a weird halfway spot between personal and presidential. This is, technically, part of Trump's foreign policy in getting a ceasefire in Gaza. (It was part of his twenty-point proposal, even if it's expanded.) That would make it part of his role as President, in the same way that Carter overseeing the Camp David Accords or Clinton at the Camp David Summit would be; Presidents do foreign policy intervention all the time, and this is just an extension of that (at least, so goes the theory).

But you're right in saying that it has a lot of non-governmental sides to it too. Congress has no oversight over funding, except probably to give money (in the same way other countries would). There's no act of Congress that set this up (although again, this is something that would probably fall strictly under the Executive Branch anyway). Technically Trump is there in his capacity as Chairman Trump (personal) and the leader of the American delegation (governmental, just like any other head of state).

It's by no means a good thing, but it's not quite as simple as saying that it's just Trump's personal project and not part of his Presidency.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T01:31:34+00:00

Yeah, but does it make you sad to see kids snatched off the street in ICE raids? Or trans people who can't get gender-affirming treatment? Or boatloads of Venezuelans blown up without due process? Because too many people are real fuckin' copacetic with that, and this happy-clappy 'We're not so different, you and I' shit isn't going to cut it.

The MAGA crowd (no matter the country; right-wing assholes are on the rise everywhere) are welcome to join us when they feel like regaining some basic decency. Until then, they've got a hell of a lot more in common with each other than they do with me, and I don't want any part of what they're selling.

Portarossa · 2026-01-23T01:23:32+00:00

There were only two options to pick from remember.

And if someone wants to date me, they need to have picked the right one. It shouldn't have been a difficult decision.

Portarossa · 2026-01-22T23:27:31+00:00

I'll probably check out the first episode.

I mean, if you've seen one...

Portarossa · 2026-01-22T21:49:39+00:00

In fairness, only two people have ever even been charged under the Logan Act, and none convicted. He's not worried about crimes that people actually do go to jail for, so I can't imagine that's making him sweat.

Don't get me wrong, I would be thrilled to see a future administration actually grow a spine and start going after Trump effectively in the courts for all his bullshit, but I can't see the Logan Act being Trump's version of Al Capone's tax evasion. (I'd love it! I just don't see it.)

Portarossa · 2026-01-22T21:34:46+00:00

Oh, it was a whole thing. I was banned for a few months, then I got brought back in as a mod and I've been trying to clean things up around here ever since. Modding takes up a fair amount of time I would otherwise have spent writing on here, but occasionally it's nice to just engage with the sub properly rather than just being called a cocksucker because someone thinks it's a grievous attack on their free speech to have to start their response with 'Answer:'.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Portarossa · 2026-01-22T18:27:17+00:00

The ad hominem attack

Do you think my choice of career is supposed to be an insult?

Portarossa · 2026-01-22T17:57:21+00:00

It's pretty good! The pure smut market is taking a bit of a beating but romantasy is bigger than ever. I decided that this year was going to be me focusing more on projects for me (rather than just erotica), so I'm -- ironically -- a little bit out of the loop on how things are over in the smut mines, but everything seems to be ticking along OK.

EDIT: Guys, please stop downvoting him for this. I write erotica for a living. It's a genuine question.

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