time yet for a hundred indecisions

IDGAF if the women in my fiction are empowering or aspirational, I'm an adult, I don't need role models, I want the women in my fiction to be interesting, and if that involves being pathetic, hypocritical, amoral, or trapped in a delightfully dysfunctional relationship so be it

The Holdovers (2023)

Dir. Alexander Payne

Language: English

James baldwin’s the artists struggle for identity. Btw.

"That I have experienced my share of traumatic experiences, have survived abuse of various kinds, have faced near death from accidental circumstance and from violence (different as the particulars of these may be from those around me) is not a card to play in gamified social interaction or a weapon to wield in battles over prestige. It is not what gives me a special right to speak, to evaluate, or to decide for a group. It is a concrete, experiential manifestation of the vulnerability that connects me to most of the people on this earth. It comes between me and other people not as a wall, but as a bridge."

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, Elite Capture, 2022

Scene study#7, by Thomas Ngan.

If you're lamenting the fact that you used to be able to shoot through a 500-page novel in like a day when you were in middle school and now you can't, it's worth bearing in mind that a big part of that is because when you were in middle school, your reading comprehension sucked. Yes, mental health and the stresses of adult life can definitely be factors, but it's also the case that reading is typically more effortful as an adult because you've learned to Ponder The Implications. The material isn't just skimming over the surface of your brain anymore, and some of the spoons you used to spend on maximising your daily page count are now spent on actually thinking about what you're reading!

Commonwealth Books, Boston

Sometimes fiction doesn’t have a moral to the story. Sometimes fiction points at something and goes “Ever thought about THAT???” And you look at what it’s pointing at for a bit.

Currently: Amy Key, Arrangements in Blue

Jeanette Winterson, Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery; “Art Objects”

'30 March, the Day of the Land', poster issued by the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1986 on Land Day.

"Absolutely no one comes to save us but us."

Ismatu Gwendolyn, "you've been traumatized into hating reading (and it makes you easier to oppress)", from Threadings, on Substack [ID'd]

a weird thing is that we got waves of people going "who cares if its cringe or youre annoying! have fun!" but no one really learned how to accept the fact that some people will find you annoying or think your art or your work or posts or anyrhing sucks and thats ok. rather it just became a weird "if people think youre annoying theyre just morally bad. let people enjoy things!". like no i think this yes man only biome sucks and people are allowed to not like artstyles and shows and media and other things

if youre an artist, a creator, or just someone whos involved in hobbies: learning that no matter what you do, some people will find you annoying is extremely important for your mental health, just as learning that not liking things is normal and youre allowed to do it

as people have mentioned in the tags, i think this yes-man attitude leads more people to make up random moral reasons to dislike things. if disliking something for no reason is bad, then you have to constantly justify yourself as to why this thing sucks, which is also not mature and sucks

Crazy how many people want characters in fiction to speak and act like they’ve had 20 hours of intensive therapy. Could NOT be me I want these bitches fucked up insane

Pride & Prejudice dir. Joe Wright | 2005