Ember
@emberleo.bsky.social
Tales of a compulsively creative redhead in California. Pagan Clergy, Witch. Gamer, Geek, Fan. SPD, Spoonie. AFAB Enby, Fluid. DemiS, PanR, Polyam. She or They.
Yeaaah, as a former 2nd-gen-theatre-kid-and-gamer from the 90s, I gotta agree with Lum on this one. Theatre and fandom have always walked hand-in-hand.
D&D was founded by barely socially functioning wargamers, adopted by society's outcast teenagers, molded by frustrated fantasy writers, and visualized by marginalized artists.
"theater kids colonized the hobby"
friendo, you have so little idea of what you're talking about, you're speaking pakled
"theater kids colonized the hobby"
friendo, you have so little idea of what you're talking about, you're speaking pakled
December 14, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Yeaaah, as a former 2nd-gen-theatre-kid-and-gamer from the 90s, I gotta agree with Lum on this one. Theatre and fandom have always walked hand-in-hand.
I like Uncial and Insular, but who am I kidding, I love all of them.
November 10, 2025 at 12:34 AM
I like Uncial and Insular, but who am I kidding, I love all of them.
Well this sounds right up my alley! *goes looking*
Its SHIGIDI paperback release day, US & Canada! Its been a long, lovely journey but my award-winning novel about African gods on a supernatural heist at the British museum finally hits stores in a new format, with a new cover + a bonus short story! Get it y'all🙏🏾
Art by @stephenembleton.bsky.social
Art by @stephenembleton.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Well this sounds right up my alley! *goes looking*
Verified by a mutual friend: gofund.me/ba783bb3d
Donate to Help a Young Black Trans Masc Secure Safe Housing, organized by H Solomon
Hi everyone,
My name is Haisem and I’m a 21 year old Eritrean trans perso… H Solomon needs your support for Help a Young Black Trans Masc Secure Safe Housing
gofund.me
October 29, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Verified by a mutual friend: gofund.me/ba783bb3d
"Ancient Irish Potato Goddess"
In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand
I'll go first: Six page commercial lease.
I'll go first: Six page commercial lease.
October 13, 2025 at 6:42 AM
"Ancient Irish Potato Goddess"
"Lore source: 1940s Germany"
In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand
I'll go first: Six page commercial lease.
I'll go first: Six page commercial lease.
October 13, 2025 at 6:40 AM
"Lore source: 1940s Germany"
I have had more than one person over the years tell me they understand musicals now because of my tendency to randomly start singing. 😏
People who think musicals are "unrealistic" because people don't just burst into song do NOT have the right people in their lives.
I randomly sing every day and my old roommate and I used to do duets.
I randomly sing every day and my old roommate and I used to do duets.
September 11, 2025 at 1:25 AM
I have had more than one person over the years tell me they understand musicals now because of my tendency to randomly start singing. 😏
Useful blog article linked below with many useful links within it.
August 26, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Useful blog article linked below with many useful links within it.
Reposted by Ember
Today is Ganesh Chaturthi, so here's the thread i did last year!
So last weekend was the start of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, and I wanted to share about it and simultaneously clean up my broken twitter thread. so here's a #hinduthread about a beautiful holiday!
August 26, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Today is Ganesh Chaturthi, so here's the thread i did last year!
Reposted by Ember
Okay Bluesky, it's clear to me that a lot of you are falling for scams so I've decided to crack out the slides I use to educate high school students on identifying and protecting themselves from scams
Take a few moments as we go over a few types, methods, and how to express CAUTION towards scams
Take a few moments as we go over a few types, methods, and how to express CAUTION towards scams
August 3, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Okay Bluesky, it's clear to me that a lot of you are falling for scams so I've decided to crack out the slides I use to educate high school students on identifying and protecting themselves from scams
Take a few moments as we go over a few types, methods, and how to express CAUTION towards scams
Take a few moments as we go over a few types, methods, and how to express CAUTION towards scams
Reposted by Ember
"You say your pronouns are *this*, but I heard so and so talk about you and they used *this*, so I think I should be able to use what they use," is a logic used by the kind of person who definitely doesn't want you calling them what you've heard other people call them before.
August 3, 2025 at 8:16 PM
"You say your pronouns are *this*, but I heard so and so talk about you and they used *this*, so I think I should be able to use what they use," is a logic used by the kind of person who definitely doesn't want you calling them what you've heard other people call them before.
Reposted by Ember
Keep the two distinct in your head.
August 3, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Keep the two distinct in your head.
Reposted by Ember
The annoying spam texts destroying the Democratic brand:
$678M raised through those spam tactics
$282M to one consulting firm: Mothership Strategies.
$11M to actual campaigns (1.6%)
The party isn’t just treating donors like marks—it’s being fleeced itself yet continues to back Mothership.
$678M raised through those spam tactics
$282M to one consulting firm: Mothership Strategies.
$11M to actual campaigns (1.6%)
The party isn’t just treating donors like marks—it’s being fleeced itself yet continues to back Mothership.
The Mothership Vortex: An Investigation Into the Firm at the Heart of the Democratic Spam Machine
How a single consulting firm extracted $282 million from a network of spam PACs while delivering just $11 million to actual campaigns.
open.substack.com
August 3, 2025 at 5:02 PM
The annoying spam texts destroying the Democratic brand:
$678M raised through those spam tactics
$282M to one consulting firm: Mothership Strategies.
$11M to actual campaigns (1.6%)
The party isn’t just treating donors like marks—it’s being fleeced itself yet continues to back Mothership.
$678M raised through those spam tactics
$282M to one consulting firm: Mothership Strategies.
$11M to actual campaigns (1.6%)
The party isn’t just treating donors like marks—it’s being fleeced itself yet continues to back Mothership.
Reposted by Ember
Tom Lehrer made all of his music 100% public domain so if seeing people sad about his death makes you want to check them out… it’s free. he wanted you to share them.
tomlehrersongs.com
tomlehrersongs.com
July 27, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Tom Lehrer made all of his music 100% public domain so if seeing people sad about his death makes you want to check them out… it’s free. he wanted you to share them.
tomlehrersongs.com
tomlehrersongs.com
Reposted by Ember
With Tom Lehrer's passing, I suppose this is a moment to share the story of the prank he played on the National Security Agency, and how it went undiscovered for nearly 60 years.
July 27, 2025 at 9:01 PM
With Tom Lehrer's passing, I suppose this is a moment to share the story of the prank he played on the National Security Agency, and how it went undiscovered for nearly 60 years.
Reposted by Ember
I just sent this out.
The Jewish people have moral frameworks for this moment.
It is a choice not to heed them.
Please let us meet this moment, let us see the shattered Temple around us, right now, and our responsibility to it.
The Jewish people have moral frameworks for this moment.
It is a choice not to heed them.
Please let us meet this moment, let us see the shattered Temple around us, right now, and our responsibility to it.
to Jews, on the Gaza famine
an open letter: we have been commanded
www.lifeisasacredtext.com
July 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
I just sent this out.
The Jewish people have moral frameworks for this moment.
It is a choice not to heed them.
Please let us meet this moment, let us see the shattered Temple around us, right now, and our responsibility to it.
The Jewish people have moral frameworks for this moment.
It is a choice not to heed them.
Please let us meet this moment, let us see the shattered Temple around us, right now, and our responsibility to it.
Reposted by Ember
Useful thread!
From what I understand, the most helpful reframing is that what companies using generative AI are ultimately stealing isn't the existing works themselves - those are intact.
It's the future labor by humans they're trying to replace.
Address it with labor laws, not copyright.
From what I understand, the most helpful reframing is that what companies using generative AI are ultimately stealing isn't the existing works themselves - those are intact.
It's the future labor by humans they're trying to replace.
Address it with labor laws, not copyright.
One of the fun parts of policy work is that you have a handful of extremely important, esoteric, but load-bearing legal concepts (like fair use) that only ever make it into public consciousness when they're being targeted for destruction, and public opinion about them is entirely outcome-dependent.
July 22, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Useful thread!
From what I understand, the most helpful reframing is that what companies using generative AI are ultimately stealing isn't the existing works themselves - those are intact.
It's the future labor by humans they're trying to replace.
Address it with labor laws, not copyright.
From what I understand, the most helpful reframing is that what companies using generative AI are ultimately stealing isn't the existing works themselves - those are intact.
It's the future labor by humans they're trying to replace.
Address it with labor laws, not copyright.
It's not just that Deepfakes can make us believe false things are true.
It's that Deepfakes can let them claim true things are faked.
It's that Deepfakes can let them claim true things are faked.
July 16, 2025 at 1:22 AM
It's not just that Deepfakes can make us believe false things are true.
It's that Deepfakes can let them claim true things are faked.
It's that Deepfakes can let them claim true things are faked.
Reposted by Ember
As someone who is in contact with dozens of different non-citizens every day, I can anecdotally confirm that all of the documented people I know are living with some degree of anxiety and all of the undocumented (& their families) are living in some degree of terror. Please support where you can
July 10, 2025 at 1:33 AM
As someone who is in contact with dozens of different non-citizens every day, I can anecdotally confirm that all of the documented people I know are living with some degree of anxiety and all of the undocumented (& their families) are living in some degree of terror. Please support where you can
Reposting if only for the link to an alternative to Substack, which I know is needful.
I want to talk about my move from Substack to Ghost for a second, and what it's been like working with a nonprofit tech company that actually lives its values.
Especially if you're a writer still on Subtack, please read. 1/x
First of all, about the org: They are a nonprofit, I just met employee +
Especially if you're a writer still on Subtack, please read. 1/x
First of all, about the org: They are a nonprofit, I just met employee +
Ghost: Independent technology for modern publishing
Beautiful, modern publishing with newsletters and premium subscriptions built-in. Used by Sky, 404Media, Lever News, Tangle, The Browser, and thousands more.
ghost.org
July 10, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Reposting if only for the link to an alternative to Substack, which I know is needful.
The law is ambivalent at best, and precedent favors the shareholders.
"Oh, well then it's the shareholders responsibility to be ethical." But there's nothing at all enforcing that.
You get what you reward.
"Oh, well then it's the shareholders responsibility to be ethical." But there's nothing at all enforcing that.
You get what you reward.
Listen. Not a single for-profit, publicly traded company cares about you, me, or any of us. They're legally required to do what's best for the people who've invested in them, even at the cost of people's livelihoods.
July 2, 2025 at 8:54 PM
The law is ambivalent at best, and precedent favors the shareholders.
"Oh, well then it's the shareholders responsibility to be ethical." But there's nothing at all enforcing that.
You get what you reward.
"Oh, well then it's the shareholders responsibility to be ethical." But there's nothing at all enforcing that.
You get what you reward.
Reposted by Ember
With how many layoffs we’ve had over the past several years, remote work should be the default. Requiring relocation at this point is unreasonable for the risk that we’re just going to get laid off two months, six months, a year in.
July 2, 2025 at 5:56 PM
With how many layoffs we’ve had over the past several years, remote work should be the default. Requiring relocation at this point is unreasonable for the risk that we’re just going to get laid off two months, six months, a year in.
Reposted by Ember
It has a very real chance of failing—and *even if it passes with changes* it still has to go BACK to the Senate to get voted on AGAIN. And it barely made it through the first time
This thing is way more killable than you’d think and the longer we can drag out the process the more killable it gets
This thing is way more killable than you’d think and the longer we can drag out the process the more killable it gets
If you just look at social media instead of news sources, you might believe the “big beautiful bill” has passed already.
It hasn’t. It still needs to go through the House, where it has a strong chance of failing — so yes, feel as sad and angry and scared as you need, but PLEASE CALL YOUR REPS.
It hasn’t. It still needs to go through the House, where it has a strong chance of failing — so yes, feel as sad and angry and scared as you need, but PLEASE CALL YOUR REPS.
July 2, 2025 at 5:27 PM
It has a very real chance of failing—and *even if it passes with changes* it still has to go BACK to the Senate to get voted on AGAIN. And it barely made it through the first time
This thing is way more killable than you’d think and the longer we can drag out the process the more killable it gets
This thing is way more killable than you’d think and the longer we can drag out the process the more killable it gets
Reposted by Ember
