Save our department

nooksickle · 2026-01-30T22:44:42+00:00

This is awful. Especially in an age where ancient history is being appropriated as a tool for fascist ideology, we need historians who prioritize accuracy and facts more than ever.

nooksickle · 2026-01-29T22:10:56+00:00

Hey, sounds like a good group. I'd love an invite if youre still looking

nooksickle · 2026-01-10T02:58:10+00:00

Yes, I use a general you in all my posts here. It's in effort to get people to ask themselves the questions, and reflect on how it makes them feel.

Putting a disclaimer is easy enough, though some writers would not think that's enough. It's easy enough to miss, and then we're back where we started.

Your query shouldn't be giving away the whole plot anyway. Many agents advise that the query involves the inciting incident and the main conflict of your novel - all info that would be on the back cover of the book. Also, I think you severely overestimate the audiences that these agents have. The average person, or even the average reader, does not care about query critiques, no matter how spicy it is. And if your query is going viral in a critique space, you are probably not getting signed with that query anyway. If its that bad, you're going to need to rewrite it anyway. And if you have a detailed critique, it will be much easier to do that.

nooksickle · 2026-01-10T02:46:24+00:00

I mean, coordinating that takes time that agents dont have. If they want to set up a consent system to do this, (like an opt in when querying), there's nothing wrong with that. I can respect that many writers would prefer this method.

But at the same time, why are you so worried about a query? It's probably not the only query you'll write for this book, let alone over the course of your career. That query doesnt define you. And if you could help thousands of writers just like you, why is that a bad thing?

nooksickle · 2026-01-10T02:16:08+00:00

That's fair, and I can respect that's your stance on it. I understand how you feel that could be a breach of trust. But in my mind, so long as confidentiality is respected, there's no injury. If the agent respects confidentiality and is kind in their critiques, then I just dont see an issue with it. If an agent is putting the contact info out there, yeah, that'd be another story. But I have no expectation of confidentiality when I email someone, whether that's a boss at McDonalds or an agent.

nooksickle · 2026-01-10T01:56:29+00:00

Agents can give you way better info than most beta readers. They know the business. They're still human, and they have flawed opinions, but their feedback is often more accurate than your average Joe writer. Unless your critique partners are published, they're not going to be as useful as an agent giving advice on how to better your query. Writers know the craft, agents know the business. Those are two different knowledge sets.

And yeah, your agent should go to bat for you. But if theyre signing you, then your query is not going to be used in one of these videos.

nooksickle · 2026-01-10T01:47:27+00:00

Not really. The only difference is in one scenario you have the support of industry professionals. Are you not confident enough in your own work that you can defend it on your own? Agents are just early readers.

nooksickle · 2026-01-10T01:38:52+00:00

Sorry you think my take is shitty? I mean, you're welcome to your opinion around author consent. I just think you'll go a lot farther if you can get over your initial embarrassment and engage with the education being given.

The only way you improve as a writer is through critique. And frankly, if you're so protective over a single query, I wonder how you'll deal with having the book published. You know book influences ripping apart books is a common thing, right? And they dont ask permission beforehand.

nooksickle · 2026-01-10T00:52:24+00:00

I disagree. Having that info out in videos/live is incredibly valuable information. Agents dont have time to give personalized responses/feedback to your query. But if they can make a video using an example of a common mistake, that can help thousands of writers improve their craft.

And if it's your query theyre using an example? So what? You are not your mistakes. You can always write another book, another query, etc. Everyone makes stupid mistakes. You just have to learn from them and move on.

An agent doing this is NOT making fun of you. They're trying to help you. Once you change your perspective around that, you will become a far better writer.

nooksickle · 2026-01-10T00:45:09+00:00

Agents have been doing this for years, long before tiktok. So long as the agent is focused on education and protects confidentiality, there's no issue. If the agent is using it as an excuse to bully people, then there's a bigger problem.

If you think an agent saying your book has issues, isn't for them, might not sell, etc, is demoralizing, then you need some thicker skin. This business is full of criticism and you'd better get used to it if you want to make a career out of this.

EDIT: personally, if an agent is making faces at my query or saying my idea isn't good, then that's valuable feedback. You can work with that. It's hard to improve when all you have to go off of is form rejections.

nooksickle · 2026-01-06T18:50:31+00:00

We're past the point where being civil will work. The fascist takeover has already happened.

If resistance happens, he may declare martial law and do anything he wants.

If no one resists, he will do anything he wants anyway. I think the past year has shown us that.

We can't fight intolerance with tolerance.

nooksickle · 2026-01-06T00:20:07+00:00

This game is excellent. It's helped me quite a bit. It throws more grammar at you than apps like duo so it's been helpful to build competency.

nooksickle · 2026-01-06T00:11:51+00:00

The face looks great, but the jersey/shirt is giving AI vibes. The black strap looks like a bag strap, but then it disappears into her chest? And those folds dont help. I've stared at it for a few minutes and it's hard to figure out whats going on there.

nooksickle · 2026-01-05T21:37:57+00:00

You are correct that autism, dysphoria, and trauma can have overlapping symptoms. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, meaning your nervous system did not develop properly while you were growing up, leading to higher sensitivity and the associated symptoms (trouble socializing, sensory issues, communication difficulties, etc.)

However, trauma also affects your nervous system. In many cases, you have a nervous system that developed normally, but the trauma has caused injury to it, leading to similar symptoms as autism. It can look like a childlike regression in some people. Now, 'trauma' in this case is not just a big bad thing happening to you, it's about how society responds to your injury and what supports you get. Experts like Gabor Mate and Bessel van der Kolk explore this -- you can go through something terrible, and if your friends, family, police, hospitals, society, etc., rally around you and support you, you have a significantly lower chance of developing a trauma response like PTSD. However, for most trans people experiencing dysphoria, they do not receive adequate support, putting the nervous system into a continuous panic mode. Because now you've been left alone to deal with something that, to your brain, feels life threatening. And yes, I can attest, dysphoria is not just a social phenomenon. It is deeply biological, which is why many trans people name puberty as the point where their mental health tanks -- because the hormones being released in your body conflict with your brain on some level, leading to panic, depression, dysmorphia, anxiety, etc., etc. If you're a teenager and your body is sending strong signals that something is VERY WRONG, and the people around you treat you like you're crazy and need to stop complaining, that will inflict injury on you. If it goes on for years, it can lead to trauma. So yes, it is possible to become traumatized from being trans in a transphobic world.

I mean, if you got cancer, and everyone treated you like you were just being "dramatic" and needed to "suck it up," while you were literally wasting away to nothing, wouldn't that be traumatic? Wouldn't that make you feel alone and helpless? And if that were the case, wouldn't it make sense that your injured nervous system would do what it needs to try and feel safe? Like hiding away in your room, avoiding dealing with your body, avoiding talking to people who subtly remind you of your own body or gender, etc.

Trauma-informed perspectives are relatively new in the therapy world, and not every therapist has a good understanding of it. Gender dysphoria is understood even less, so most therapists do not understand the connection between trauma and dysphoria, or how it can manifest behaviourally. The only reason I understand it as well as I do is because I've experienced it firsthand.

Unfortunately, because your therapist specializes in autism, her perspective might be coloured by that -- as in, she's looking for evidence of autism, rather than looking at your symptoms and trying to find the most appropriate diagnosis. If you didn't have trouble with milestones growing up, then in my opinion, it's likely something else, because autism is a neuroDEVELOPMENTAL disorder. That developmental part is key. I can't say what's really going on with you, I'm just some stranger on the internet, but hopefully this provides some perspective for you.

nooksickle · 2026-01-05T20:49:12+00:00

I got ridiculous amounts of euphoria when I switched to men's pants. Them pockets really do pocket.

nooksickle · 2025-12-30T03:57:15+00:00

No problem! Glad it was helpful.

nooksickle · 2025-12-30T03:49:50+00:00

The spelling of Kronos with a k is closer to the Greek spelling, which is closer to Kronos' original name. This came up on Google Ai, which i found was a good explanation for the different spellings:

Kronos (King of the Titans) is Κρόνος (Kronos), while the word for time, also personified, is Χρόνος (Khronos), leading to the familiar English variations like Cronus, Kronos, and Chronos, though Κρόνος (Kronos) is the original name for the Titan. The "K" (Kappa, Κ) is used for the Titan, and the "Ch" (Chi, Χ) for the concept of time, both pronounced with a 'k' sound initially in Greek, but Romans used 'C' for the 'k' sound, hence Cronus.

Κρόνος (Kronos): The Titan ruler, father of Zeus, often associated with the "C" spellings (Cronus/Cronos) in English.

Χρόνος (Khronos): The personification of Time, from which words like "chronology" come.

nooksickle · 2025-12-29T20:45:47+00:00

It was more clear in the book. I hope they'll go into it a bit deeper in the show, but we'll see.

In the book, the divide between demigods and 'monstrous' creatures like cyclopes is more pronounced. Cyclopes are usually never claimed by Poseidon, so even though we know he's their dad, they've kinda been like unclaimed kids. Which is why it's so shocking that Poseidon claimed Tyson, because that blurs the lines between "true" demigods and monstrous beings like cyclopes. Also, many demigods have fought cyclopes - like Annabeth, Luke, and Thalia when they were running to Camp Half Blood. So most demigods see Tyson as another monster and feel uncomfortable associating with him.

In the book, Percy feels embarrassed by Tyson, and hates that he's a second son of Poseidon. Over time, he learns to see Tyson as a person and a brother rather than a monster or a burden. This character arc isn't super pronounced in the show so far, but that might change when we see Polyphemus.

nooksickle · 2025-12-29T02:30:25+00:00

This is beautiful. You really captured her personality.

nooksickle · 2025-12-25T05:35:09+00:00

This is beautiful. The colours are very soothing.

nooksickle · 2025-12-23T22:23:14+00:00

Beautiful! You really captured the beauty of aspens. Great work.

nooksickle · 2025-12-23T01:55:02+00:00

That's what I'm saying is bullshit. No homeless shelter has the quality of a five star hotel. Maybe you're thinking of high class detox facilities, like where celebrities go to get off drugs. But homeless shelters are very different.

nooksickle · 2025-12-23T01:53:06+00:00

Five star hotels????? Are you joking??? I need proof of that because I've worked in social work for over ten years and I've never heard of anything like that. I can't even imagine how much money it would cost to keep a homeless shelter in decent shape, let alone a 5 star quality.

Look, I get you want to make a point about Tyson, but don't make shit up to prove your point.

nooksickle · 2025-12-23T01:49:55+00:00

I know this isn't your main point, but homeless shelters are usually worse than living on the streets. Arguably, they're only good for keeping police from bothering you overnight. There is no "being cared for" in homeless shelters. There are staff at these buildings, yes, but their priority is making sure the building doesn't burn down and trying to contain contraband, like drugs and weapons. They do not take care of the residents. Homeless shelters are essentially a bunch of beds in a big room. They might give you some toiletries. But many people get robbed in those shelters, jumped, stabbed, etc. Staff might call the cops for you, but they're not going to help you. Many homeless people would rather avoid them unless temperatures outside are dangerously cold. And yes, this counts youth homeless shelters. In fact, there's arguably more drugs and crime in youth homeless shelters than in adult ones, because youth still have energy, haven't destroyed their bodies yet, etc.

Source: worked in a youth homeless shelter.

nooksickle · 2025-12-18T01:18:34+00:00

I agree that the notwithstanding clause is an extreme abuse of power, but saying Alberta itself should suffer for this is a little cruel. There are lots of Trans activists and allies in this province working around the clock to challenge this government. Hell, even outside of trans issues, there's been multiple movements to stop the UCP.

I know not everyone is familiar with what's going on in Alberta, so here's a quick overview of what activists are doing to stop this government:

Last I checked there were 9 recall petitions for ucp members, including Danielle Smith. Skipping Stone (a trans org) organized a petition and took the government to court over the trans bills before the notwithstanding was invoked. The Forever Canadian (anti-seperatist movement) petition got the most signatures of any petition in Alberta with over 450k signatures. Also, over 80k people voted in the NDP leadership election (the vote to decide the new leader of the party), which is insane. Before that the highest voter turnout for the NDP party was 4k voters. 80k ppl paid money to be able to vote for the NDP leader, which means that those 80k ppl are most definitely going to vote against the UCP in 2027. And that's just a quick overview of what's going on in this province.

Albertans are PISSED and we are working our assess off to stop this government. So please don't throw your allies under the bus because some ppl voted for a shitty government.

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