N.L. Bates
@nlbateswrites.bsky.social
Canadian author of SFF stories, sometime accidental filker, frequent tabletop gamer. Dancer, cyclist, boxer. Segue incarnate. I am also the musician Natalie Lynn. She/her. Find me at https://nlbates.com/
Reposted by N.L. Bates
Since I'm doing all sorts of end of year reminders, reminder that you do not have to make losing weight a New Years Resolution. Doesn't matter what weight you are, you don't have to guilt yourself into exercising. There's a reason that shit never works, and also? Fat is fine.
Fat is fine.
Fat is fine.
December 31, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Since I'm doing all sorts of end of year reminders, reminder that you do not have to make losing weight a New Years Resolution. Doesn't matter what weight you are, you don't have to guilt yourself into exercising. There's a reason that shit never works, and also? Fat is fine.
Fat is fine.
Fat is fine.
Reposted by N.L. Bates
This perfect good boy just got admitted to the ER overnight so if anyone feels like buying digital albums on Bandcamp this is a great time to do it.
December 30, 2025 at 11:48 PM
This perfect good boy just got admitted to the ER overnight so if anyone feels like buying digital albums on Bandcamp this is a great time to do it.
Reposted by N.L. Bates
Only a few days left to give to my winter fundraiser for our local animal shelter. We're getting closer to $7,000 - can you help us get there? Thank you!! 🎁 givebutter.com/n5l31M
December 21, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Only a few days left to give to my winter fundraiser for our local animal shelter. We're getting closer to $7,000 - can you help us get there? Thank you!! 🎁 givebutter.com/n5l31M
Reposted by N.L. Bates
Hadeel has really bad asthma and has to get medicine for it every month that is expensive and hard to find in Gaza- even a little donation can help ❤️
I’m sharing a Palestinian account every day and today is Hadeel. Hadeel was studying social work before the war but she hasn’t been able to continue her education. She is the mother of 2 year old Nimr and she has chronic asthma. She has lost a large number of family members including her father.
December 21, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Hadeel has really bad asthma and has to get medicine for it every month that is expensive and hard to find in Gaza- even a little donation can help ❤️
Reposted by N.L. Bates
Now I'm trying to figure out what the map actually is... Distance from major metro areas?
The United States when left in the fridge for a week
December 22, 2025 at 4:12 AM
Now I'm trying to figure out what the map actually is... Distance from major metro areas?
While I'm boosting Parliamentary petitions, I'll throw out one more: a petition to amend the Canada Labour Code to repeal Section 107, the bit of legislation that lets government legislate striking workers back to work:
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
Petition e-6979 - Petitions
www.ourcommons.ca
December 21, 2025 at 10:06 PM
While I'm boosting Parliamentary petitions, I'll throw out one more: a petition to amend the Canada Labour Code to repeal Section 107, the bit of legislation that lets government legislate striking workers back to work:
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
Boosting again!
Canadians, please sign! #TransRightsAreHumanRights
We need compassion and community, not ideological cheats.
Link to sign: www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
More details from the petition in image, if you need it.
Please sign! 🇨🇦
We need compassion and community, not ideological cheats.
Link to sign: www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
More details from the petition in image, if you need it.
Please sign! 🇨🇦
December 21, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Boosting again!
Reposted by N.L. Bates
This happens every freaking time.
I know the machines find cancer (if you're white)
BUT a very different machine is making it so I ran into like 30 extraordinarily incurious people on here yesterday who can't research and insist they don't trust you if you CAN.
I know the machines find cancer (if you're white)
BUT a very different machine is making it so I ran into like 30 extraordinarily incurious people on here yesterday who can't research and insist they don't trust you if you CAN.
December 21, 2025 at 7:12 PM
This happens every freaking time.
I know the machines find cancer (if you're white)
BUT a very different machine is making it so I ran into like 30 extraordinarily incurious people on here yesterday who can't research and insist they don't trust you if you CAN.
I know the machines find cancer (if you're white)
BUT a very different machine is making it so I ran into like 30 extraordinarily incurious people on here yesterday who can't research and insist they don't trust you if you CAN.
Reposted by N.L. Bates
This is specifically about AI use in humanities disciplines within academia, which is clear from context- this crap is extremely harmful in that setting. Inevitably, people show up to be like "AI finds cancer cells tho".
NOT THE SUBJECT, and that conflation has been inflicted upon us intentionally.
NOT THE SUBJECT, and that conflation has been inflicted upon us intentionally.
You absolutely will not convince a bunch of historians and sociologists and whoever else is in this thread that you know more than we do about this and we should use it. I wish you AI enthusiasts would stop wading into our conversations. You have nothing helpful to contribute and are snarky.
December 21, 2025 at 7:09 PM
This is specifically about AI use in humanities disciplines within academia, which is clear from context- this crap is extremely harmful in that setting. Inevitably, people show up to be like "AI finds cancer cells tho".
NOT THE SUBJECT, and that conflation has been inflicted upon us intentionally.
NOT THE SUBJECT, and that conflation has been inflicted upon us intentionally.
Reposted by N.L. Bates
Here’s a demo of one of the songs that will be on the album, as well as testimonials I have received from my song commission work! If you would like to commission a song and help fund this album project, you can learn more here :)
www.kickstarter.com/projects/cop...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/cop...
December 21, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Here’s a demo of one of the songs that will be on the album, as well as testimonials I have received from my song commission work! If you would like to commission a song and help fund this album project, you can learn more here :)
www.kickstarter.com/projects/cop...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/cop...
Reposted by N.L. Bates
My standard response is "tell me, in specific detail, how exactly I'll be 'left behind,'" and to date not a single techbro has ever answered the question. "You'll be left behind" is a statement of religious faith, not business fact, and should be treated as such.
So the “figure out how to use it lest you be left behind” replies about ‘AI’ that have been popping up here strike me as inauthentic but also kind of funny because they grant the point that rather than an automation panacea these technologies are quite difficult to figure out how to use effectively
December 21, 2025 at 5:11 PM
My standard response is "tell me, in specific detail, how exactly I'll be 'left behind,'" and to date not a single techbro has ever answered the question. "You'll be left behind" is a statement of religious faith, not business fact, and should be treated as such.
Reposted by N.L. Bates
Deep breath
Ok I'm going to try and stay calm
But I'll point out that AI translation is literally causing translators to be fired (see the whole Harlequin line in France)
(1/?)
Ok I'm going to try and stay calm
But I'll point out that AI translation is literally causing translators to be fired (see the whole Harlequin line in France)
(1/?)
December 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Deep breath
Ok I'm going to try and stay calm
But I'll point out that AI translation is literally causing translators to be fired (see the whole Harlequin line in France)
(1/?)
Ok I'm going to try and stay calm
But I'll point out that AI translation is literally causing translators to be fired (see the whole Harlequin line in France)
(1/?)
Reposted by N.L. Bates
this is a Canadian petition to uphold charter rights for transgender and minority communities
if youre Canadian, please sign it. if youre not Canadian, please share it.
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
if youre Canadian, please sign it. if youre not Canadian, please share it.
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
December 20, 2025 at 3:20 AM
this is a Canadian petition to uphold charter rights for transgender and minority communities
if youre Canadian, please sign it. if youre not Canadian, please share it.
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
if youre Canadian, please sign it. if youre not Canadian, please share it.
www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...
Reposted by N.L. Bates
This pretty much mirrors my thoughts. The principle is "you should write your own words"; this stuff is the fine print.
Thanks to @sfwa.org for being so responsive to concerns around the Nebula Awards and LLM use. The Nebula should honor human creativity, as the revised rules now state. However, we also don't want to see writers tripped up on eligibility or hit by witch hunts over minor LLM usage like spell check. 1/
Thoughts on the Nebula Awards, LLM usage, and where we draw the line | Jason Sanford's Genre Grapevine
Get more from Jason Sanford's Genre Grapevine on Patreon
www.patreon.com
December 20, 2025 at 7:14 PM
This pretty much mirrors my thoughts. The principle is "you should write your own words"; this stuff is the fine print.
Reposted by N.L. Bates
Thanks to @sfwa.org for being so responsive to concerns around the Nebula Awards and LLM use. The Nebula should honor human creativity, as the revised rules now state. However, we also don't want to see writers tripped up on eligibility or hit by witch hunts over minor LLM usage like spell check. 1/
Thoughts on the Nebula Awards, LLM usage, and where we draw the line | Jason Sanford's Genre Grapevine
Get more from Jason Sanford's Genre Grapevine on Patreon
www.patreon.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Thanks to @sfwa.org for being so responsive to concerns around the Nebula Awards and LLM use. The Nebula should honor human creativity, as the revised rules now state. However, we also don't want to see writers tripped up on eligibility or hit by witch hunts over minor LLM usage like spell check. 1/
Reposted by N.L. Bates
John Oliver really was not kidding about the overwhelming rebellious power of just saying “Fuck you, make me.”
we can kill them all if we just work together and ✨believe💫
December 15, 2025 at 8:49 PM
John Oliver really was not kidding about the overwhelming rebellious power of just saying “Fuck you, make me.”
Reposted by N.L. Bates
Join me and my @texastech.bsky.social Climate Center colleagues for a breakdown of all things COP30, in an hour.
Nick is an ecologist, Ting is an engineer, Bryan is a humanities scholar, and you know me: so it should be a great discussion.
Free & virtual!
www.eventbrite.com/e/inside-cop...
Nick is an ecologist, Ting is an engineer, Bryan is a humanities scholar, and you know me: so it should be a great discussion.
Free & virtual!
www.eventbrite.com/e/inside-cop...
December 1, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Join me and my @texastech.bsky.social Climate Center colleagues for a breakdown of all things COP30, in an hour.
Nick is an ecologist, Ting is an engineer, Bryan is a humanities scholar, and you know me: so it should be a great discussion.
Free & virtual!
www.eventbrite.com/e/inside-cop...
Nick is an ecologist, Ting is an engineer, Bryan is a humanities scholar, and you know me: so it should be a great discussion.
Free & virtual!
www.eventbrite.com/e/inside-cop...
Reposted by N.L. Bates
BCS Patreon has fallen below the monthly amount we need to pay our authors a pro rate and our First Readers a worthy honorarium ($125/mo). Sometimes folks need to lower or pause their support; we understand. But less than 1% of BCS readership donates or supports. www.patreon.com/beneath_ceas... 1/3
Get more from Beneath Ceaseless Skies on Patreon
creating an online fantasy magazine & podcast
www.patreon.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:08 PM
BCS Patreon has fallen below the monthly amount we need to pay our authors a pro rate and our First Readers a worthy honorarium ($125/mo). Sometimes folks need to lower or pause their support; we understand. But less than 1% of BCS readership donates or supports. www.patreon.com/beneath_ceas... 1/3
A colleague was showing me a project I'm taking on and suggested I use Copilot if I had any questions.
I refrained from asking how, exactly, that was different than a Google search. Please be proud of me.
I refrained from asking how, exactly, that was different than a Google search. Please be proud of me.
December 1, 2025 at 10:11 PM
A colleague was showing me a project I'm taking on and suggested I use Copilot if I had any questions.
I refrained from asking how, exactly, that was different than a Google search. Please be proud of me.
I refrained from asking how, exactly, that was different than a Google search. Please be proud of me.
Reposted by N.L. Bates
We're so close to funding! Did you know you can put us over the top if you get a copy edit from us? They're discounted too, so you can support a small businees for Black Friday!
#tbb #editor #copyedits
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
#tbb #editor #copyedits
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
Space Wizard Science Fantasy: Year 4, part 2!
We're releasing 7 new queer science fiction and fantasy books from December 2025 to June 2026! We're changing formats just a little this year so you get your rewards earlier.
www.backerkit.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:39 PM
We're so close to funding! Did you know you can put us over the top if you get a copy edit from us? They're discounted too, so you can support a small businees for Black Friday!
#tbb #editor #copyedits
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
#tbb #editor #copyedits
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
Reposted by N.L. Bates
Finished Day 3 of PAX Unplugged, saw a hilarious panel with @itsquinns.bsky.social and Good Games Morley, then took the train to NYC and got a night harbor cruise!
The campaign is almost to $5400 today! So close to funding...
#amediting #amwriting
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
The campaign is almost to $5400 today! So close to funding...
#amediting #amwriting
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
Space Wizard Science Fantasy: Year 4, part 2!
We're releasing 7 new queer science fiction and fantasy books from December 2025 to June 2026! We're changing formats just a little this year so you get your rewards earlier.
www.backerkit.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Finished Day 3 of PAX Unplugged, saw a hilarious panel with @itsquinns.bsky.social and Good Games Morley, then took the train to NYC and got a night harbor cruise!
The campaign is almost to $5400 today! So close to funding...
#amediting #amwriting
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
The campaign is almost to $5400 today! So close to funding...
#amediting #amwriting
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
Reposted by N.L. Bates
SKULL X BONES, the new #SFF #anthology from @joshuapalmatier.bsky.social, featuring interior art by DH @gregoriusu.bsky.social & Ariel Guzman, & great stories by 14 fabulous authors, will be released Dec. 14. Just in time for holiday giving! Pre-order now at .
November 24, 2025 at 1:45 AM
SKULL X BONES, the new #SFF #anthology from @joshuapalmatier.bsky.social, featuring interior art by DH @gregoriusu.bsky.social & Ariel Guzman, & great stories by 14 fabulous authors, will be released Dec. 14. Just in time for holiday giving! Pre-order now at .
Reposted by N.L. Bates
“How am I supposed to just infer what people’s gender deal is??” Well buddy, I don’t know how Korean speakers identify which verbal declensions to use based on age and status when they meet each other but they’ve pulled it off for centuries so I guess the answer is put your bussy into it
September 6, 2023 at 12:05 PM
“How am I supposed to just infer what people’s gender deal is??” Well buddy, I don’t know how Korean speakers identify which verbal declensions to use based on age and status when they meet each other but they’ve pulled it off for centuries so I guess the answer is put your bussy into it
Reposted by N.L. Bates
✨️My End of Year Sale is Live! ✨️
Ends January 2nd
❤️All comms are $15 off❤️
❤️Anything on my inprnt is 10% off on top of their sales or with code UO30NCSU if no sales❤️ (code works through December 11th I'll post a new one then)
Here are my links!
littleevil0ne.carrd.co
#art #artsky #myart
Ends January 2nd
❤️All comms are $15 off❤️
❤️Anything on my inprnt is 10% off on top of their sales or with code UO30NCSU if no sales❤️ (code works through December 11th I'll post a new one then)
Here are my links!
littleevil0ne.carrd.co
#art #artsky #myart
November 11, 2025 at 8:04 PM
✨️My End of Year Sale is Live! ✨️
Ends January 2nd
❤️All comms are $15 off❤️
❤️Anything on my inprnt is 10% off on top of their sales or with code UO30NCSU if no sales❤️ (code works through December 11th I'll post a new one then)
Here are my links!
littleevil0ne.carrd.co
#art #artsky #myart
Ends January 2nd
❤️All comms are $15 off❤️
❤️Anything on my inprnt is 10% off on top of their sales or with code UO30NCSU if no sales❤️ (code works through December 11th I'll post a new one then)
Here are my links!
littleevil0ne.carrd.co
#art #artsky #myart
Reposted by N.L. Bates
I'm late to the party, but I'm riding a train so I have some time after finishing up PAX Unplugged this weekend.
My favorite genre is a cross genre, of course. I love science fantasy. It's that intersection with alien wizard and techno-knights!
#TBBChat
My favorite genre is a cross genre, of course. I love science fantasy. It's that intersection with alien wizard and techno-knights!
#TBBChat
Introduce yourself with your favorite genre, whether to read or to write. Tell us why you picked that one! Remember to chat w/ others & use the tag #TBBChat.
November 23, 2025 at 7:58 PM
I'm late to the party, but I'm riding a train so I have some time after finishing up PAX Unplugged this weekend.
My favorite genre is a cross genre, of course. I love science fantasy. It's that intersection with alien wizard and techno-knights!
#TBBChat
My favorite genre is a cross genre, of course. I love science fantasy. It's that intersection with alien wizard and techno-knights!
#TBBChat