Alysa Taladay 🦖SF/F Writer✨️🚀
@taladayarts.bsky.social
Scifi/fantasy epic writer Alysa Taladay (pen), creator of The Ryozae Alliance. Shapeshifting space dinos in '90s era US South, + identity & mental health issues. Half-Hawaiian, AuDHD. She/her ... complicated. 🌈+ https://ko-fi.com/alysataladay/
Pinned
I am a sci-fi/fantasy writer who wrote most of The Ryozae Alliance, a 9-book epic, by hand. I'm now working to bring it to life. 90s-era characters and settings, alien dinosaurs, alien worlds, war, and undercurrents of magic await. Follow along and support the Alliance! linktr.ee/taladayarts
I had to gender swap my protag to make him function as an independent person, and not just the poster child for my trauma. I love him so much more for it. I did end up writing about familiar issues with protag #2 (accidentally), but I was in a healthier state of mind by then, and it works out.
December 22, 2025 at 1:19 AM
I had to gender swap my protag to make him function as an independent person, and not just the poster child for my trauma. I love him so much more for it. I did end up writing about familiar issues with protag #2 (accidentally), but I was in a healthier state of mind by then, and it works out.
I think our follow-up topic should be reconciliation. How do we reconcile between such vastly different worldviews? It does us no good to bellyache over our woes without considering a path forward./
The word of the week? Reductive. We're living in an age of hyper-reductive discourse. It's always so refreshing to talk to someone who so passionately loves the humanities and cheerfully pursues every rabbit hole topic to the nth degree with you.
December 20, 2025 at 10:59 PM
I think our follow-up topic should be reconciliation. How do we reconcile between such vastly different worldviews? It does us no good to bellyache over our woes without considering a path forward./
Reposted by Alysa Taladay 🦖SF/F Writer✨️🚀
this was a huge project - i interviewed dozens of americans who feared the worst from the start of the trump era, i wanted to understand why it was obvious to some, but not others
i'd like to thank everyone who participated
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
i'd like to thank everyone who participated
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
The Americans Who Saw All This Coming—but Were Ignored and Maligned
Call them the Cassandras: the people—mostly not white and male—who smelled the fascism all over Trump from jump street. Why were they “alarmists,” and how did “anti-alarmism” become cool?
newrepublic.com
December 18, 2025 at 11:28 AM
this was a huge project - i interviewed dozens of americans who feared the worst from the start of the trump era, i wanted to understand why it was obvious to some, but not others
i'd like to thank everyone who participated
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
i'd like to thank everyone who participated
newrepublic.com/article/2042...
The #1 movie when you were 10 is how your 2026 is going to go.
Er, cheesy and overdramatic? Oh ... boy?
Er, cheesy and overdramatic? Oh ... boy?
December 20, 2025 at 10:23 AM
The #1 movie when you were 10 is how your 2026 is going to go.
Er, cheesy and overdramatic? Oh ... boy?
Er, cheesy and overdramatic? Oh ... boy?
Look, I would take awful notes, then copy my notes and copy off friends and textbooks right before a test (I had a history prof who eschewed all reading material*), and it was still better than this.
#AcademicSky
Students PREFER using LLM/AI to notetaking...
... but experiment shows lower comprehension & retention
It's like they say, you gotta put in the work to understand things better. No pain, no gain.
Shortcuts are, well.... shortcuts.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Students PREFER using LLM/AI to notetaking...
... but experiment shows lower comprehension & retention
It's like they say, you gotta put in the work to understand things better. No pain, no gain.
Shortcuts are, well.... shortcuts.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Effects of LLM use and note-taking on reading comprehension and memory: A randomised experiment in secondary schools
Students' rapid uptake of Generative Artificial Intelligence tools, particularly large language models (LLMs), raises urgent questions about their eff…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Look, I would take awful notes, then copy my notes and copy off friends and textbooks right before a test (I had a history prof who eschewed all reading material*), and it was still better than this.
Just wanted to share an example of how complicated science can get, beyond the high school level. And when people ask me why I didn't pursue science academically, it's because it literally looks like this in every subject, and my brain cannot. 😅 Mad props to the scientists out there. #sciencesky
December 19, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Just wanted to share an example of how complicated science can get, beyond the high school level. And when people ask me why I didn't pursue science academically, it's because it literally looks like this in every subject, and my brain cannot. 😅 Mad props to the scientists out there. #sciencesky
Reposted by Alysa Taladay 🦖SF/F Writer✨️🚀
I can guarantee that this gumbo is not AI (I finally got around to making gumbo with the frozen Thanksgiving turkey carcass)
December 19, 2025 at 2:51 AM
I can guarantee that this gumbo is not AI (I finally got around to making gumbo with the frozen Thanksgiving turkey carcass)
Reposted by Alysa Taladay 🦖SF/F Writer✨️🚀
Co-signed. AI is the worst thing to ever happen to HistoryTube; even as much as an AI-generated thumbnail or narrator and I'm muting your channel. You have a fucking duty to relate the truth of history as best as you're able, and if you're using ehn-good-enough AI to do it, I don't want hear it.
One of the WORST things you could get AI to do for you would be anything historical. Even just with google, never mind AI, a lot of what the internet has on offer is inaccurate, incomplete, or nonexistent. You need a human who knows where to look to get and synthesize the good stuff.
"concept artists can experiment with AI to make their lives easi-"
wrong
I smack you with Claire Hummel's immaculate and detailed understanding of costume design, which she got by studying historical references, which made her strong, which you will not become by relying on AI
get good
wrong
I smack you with Claire Hummel's immaculate and detailed understanding of costume design, which she got by studying historical references, which made her strong, which you will not become by relying on AI
get good
December 19, 2025 at 1:58 AM
Co-signed. AI is the worst thing to ever happen to HistoryTube; even as much as an AI-generated thumbnail or narrator and I'm muting your channel. You have a fucking duty to relate the truth of history as best as you're able, and if you're using ehn-good-enough AI to do it, I don't want hear it.
...Materializes? 🫤
Confederate marker materializes at Marion Square charlestoncitypaper.com/2025/12/17/c...
Confederate marker materializes at Marion Square - Charleston City Paper
A controversial 2.4-ton road marker honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee appeared last week without hoopla at Marion Square on King Street, surprising some history buffs around Charleston.
charlestoncitypaper.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:48 AM
...Materializes? 🫤
Reposted by Alysa Taladay 🦖SF/F Writer✨️🚀
Close Trump ally Larry Ellison now owns one of the biggest sources of Gen Z’s disinformation about American politics, all in time for the midterms.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — TikTok signs deal to sell US unit to American investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake.
December 18, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Close Trump ally Larry Ellison now owns one of the biggest sources of Gen Z’s disinformation about American politics, all in time for the midterms.
I bought the 5E D&D "Heroes of the Borderlands" Starter Set, hopefully because it will help explain the game to my husband, and ... I mean if you are starting from *ground zero* it's not bad. It has what you need to explain the mechanics. It also labels a drow as just "elf" and ...
December 18, 2025 at 10:56 PM
I bought the 5E D&D "Heroes of the Borderlands" Starter Set, hopefully because it will help explain the game to my husband, and ... I mean if you are starting from *ground zero* it's not bad. It has what you need to explain the mechanics. It also labels a drow as just "elf" and ...
Reposted by Alysa Taladay 🦖SF/F Writer✨️🚀
The EYE has won.
Why did iPhone and Mozilla have to turn rogue at the same time? I cannot see anything anywhere (which may be good considering news and weather I hear about on the side) but those of us who depend on our tech are a tad annoyed right now.
Zzzzzzz
Why did iPhone and Mozilla have to turn rogue at the same time? I cannot see anything anywhere (which may be good considering news and weather I hear about on the side) but those of us who depend on our tech are a tad annoyed right now.
Zzzzzzz
December 18, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The EYE has won.
Why did iPhone and Mozilla have to turn rogue at the same time? I cannot see anything anywhere (which may be good considering news and weather I hear about on the side) but those of us who depend on our tech are a tad annoyed right now.
Zzzzzzz
Why did iPhone and Mozilla have to turn rogue at the same time? I cannot see anything anywhere (which may be good considering news and weather I hear about on the side) but those of us who depend on our tech are a tad annoyed right now.
Zzzzzzz
Super random, very nerdy story/RPG idea: An alternate US history where it's the late 1600s/early 1700s, the Golden Age of Piracy is still going strong, the West is uncolonized, and all the mythic beasties are real. You're an adventuring party in a wild and unknown world. You could:
December 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Super random, very nerdy story/RPG idea: An alternate US history where it's the late 1600s/early 1700s, the Golden Age of Piracy is still going strong, the West is uncolonized, and all the mythic beasties are real. You're an adventuring party in a wild and unknown world. You could:
A BG3 group that has removed me more than once for wholly arbitrary reasons rejected another innocuous share post. That's okay. I finally gave up and left. Enjoy my new Durge, #baldursgate3 fans. I still think he's hot. Feel free to share your lovely creations, because that's what we do.
December 18, 2025 at 9:09 AM
A BG3 group that has removed me more than once for wholly arbitrary reasons rejected another innocuous share post. That's okay. I finally gave up and left. Enjoy my new Durge, #baldursgate3 fans. I still think he's hot. Feel free to share your lovely creations, because that's what we do.
Bestie finally got her PhD in Philosophy, which she's been working on for a decade, so we celebrated by spending 4 days talking about social movements and the state of the world and the future of her career (in this climate...) and my own literary endeavors.
December 18, 2025 at 5:01 AM
Bestie finally got her PhD in Philosophy, which she's been working on for a decade, so we celebrated by spending 4 days talking about social movements and the state of the world and the future of her career (in this climate...) and my own literary endeavors.
Reposted by Alysa Taladay 🦖SF/F Writer✨️🚀
amazing
I vaguely remember a Michael Caine interview that he owes his film career to the fact that an American director had no real understanding of British social class and cast him in a lead role as an officer which an English director would never have considered for someone with his accent/background
December 18, 2025 at 1:39 AM
amazing
Just heard a local radio ad suggesting lottery tickets as the ultimate gift for a complete stranger, such as a new neighbor. ... I am begging you ... please do not. 🤣
December 17, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Just heard a local radio ad suggesting lottery tickets as the ultimate gift for a complete stranger, such as a new neighbor. ... I am begging you ... please do not. 🤣
I added liquid smoke to my grandmother's stroganoff recipe, and I'm not sorry. It's perfect. (she gave me 2 versions, and it's the one without alcohol. the other is made with steak, sherry, and white wine. we don't mess with that one. 😁) ...Should I be posting the recipes I talk about?
December 16, 2025 at 11:35 PM
I added liquid smoke to my grandmother's stroganoff recipe, and I'm not sorry. It's perfect. (she gave me 2 versions, and it's the one without alcohol. the other is made with steak, sherry, and white wine. we don't mess with that one. 😁) ...Should I be posting the recipes I talk about?
We ARE losing a lot of land here in the US to data centers. It's gross af, environmentally damaging, and endangers the rural and disadvantaged communities they're built around in multiple ways. 💀
@larianstudios.com using Gen Ai just to "explore ideas" is still plagiarism & environmentally damaging. Ya'll are relying on theft of other people's work for "ideas" that aren't even your own & draw over. If your committed to community loyalty, treating your customers right, and your fans: stop it.
December 16, 2025 at 9:46 PM
We ARE losing a lot of land here in the US to data centers. It's gross af, environmentally damaging, and endangers the rural and disadvantaged communities they're built around in multiple ways. 💀
It's a controversial take, but using AI as an early stage search engine of sorts is something I've seen a few professional artists doing.
Not saying I agree or disagree with it, but just putting the information out there. I personally have deeply mixed feelings on the matter.
Not saying I agree or disagree with it, but just putting the information out there. I personally have deeply mixed feelings on the matter.
Swen went and posted this in response to the backlash about the genAI usage
December 16, 2025 at 9:34 PM
It's a controversial take, but using AI as an early stage search engine of sorts is something I've seen a few professional artists doing.
Not saying I agree or disagree with it, but just putting the information out there. I personally have deeply mixed feelings on the matter.
Not saying I agree or disagree with it, but just putting the information out there. I personally have deeply mixed feelings on the matter.
Reposted by Alysa Taladay 🦖SF/F Writer✨️🚀
December 16, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Reposted by Alysa Taladay 🦖SF/F Writer✨️🚀
We are still in a world where Palestinians are murdered and it’s just accepted as normal. We are fated to be murdered, there’s nothing unnatural or noteworthy about it. State violence and colonialism kills invisibly.
It doesn’t have to be like this, though.
It doesn’t have to be like this, though.
December 16, 2025 at 9:18 PM
We are still in a world where Palestinians are murdered and it’s just accepted as normal. We are fated to be murdered, there’s nothing unnatural or noteworthy about it. State violence and colonialism kills invisibly.
It doesn’t have to be like this, though.
It doesn’t have to be like this, though.
Reposted by Alysa Taladay 🦖SF/F Writer✨️🚀
I used to live in a Beijing alley that had the best coffee shop I've ever been to in my life at one end. just incredible coffee, I miss it every day.
HARD BOILED DETECTIVE: another cruel sunrise over the city of the damned. another corpse. another widow. another cup of black coffee to drag my sorry ass back to life- *sputtering*
ME: do you like it? it's an ethiopian washed process single origin
DETECTIVE:
ME: are you getting apricot notes
ME: do you like it? it's an ethiopian washed process single origin
DETECTIVE:
ME: are you getting apricot notes
December 16, 2025 at 4:54 PM
I used to live in a Beijing alley that had the best coffee shop I've ever been to in my life at one end. just incredible coffee, I miss it every day.
I was expecting boring news on my birthday. I've been let down in the best way. 😅
[December 16th, 1985] BREAKING: Paul Castellano, 70, the reputed "Codfather" and head of the powerful Gambino crime family, was shot six times in the head and face outside a Manhattan steakhouse, along with his driver and bodyguard Thomas Billotti, who was also killed. The killings, which occurred
December 16, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I was expecting boring news on my birthday. I've been let down in the best way. 😅
I have waited the whole year for this moment. 🤣 Happy 40th to myself. 🎉🎂
[December 16th, 1985] a-ha releases their single "The Sun Always Shines on T.V."
a-ha - The Sun Always Shines on T.V. (Official Video)
Official music video for a-ha - "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." from 'Hunting High And Low' (1985)
🎼 Listen to more a-ha here https://lnk.to/ahastrm
📺 Watch all the official a-ha videos here…
www.youtube.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I have waited the whole year for this moment. 🤣 Happy 40th to myself. 🎉🎂