Roxana C.
@roxchir.bsky.social
Disillusioned with the world, but probably still slipping friends pages of a novel.
Absolutely fair. I heard thunder in the back of my mind and saw a flash of lightning as that memory rose from the depths, so I had to share it.
December 29, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Absolutely fair. I heard thunder in the back of my mind and saw a flash of lightning as that memory rose from the depths, so I had to share it.
Unless you're writing a sex scene. If you're writing a sex scene, please, for the love of god, check if you've used the right words.
(This has been brought to you by an experience I had a few years ago, when someone was sticking something into a clitoris, assuming it was a vagina, and... no.)
(This has been brought to you by an experience I had a few years ago, when someone was sticking something into a clitoris, assuming it was a vagina, and... no.)
December 28, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Unless you're writing a sex scene. If you're writing a sex scene, please, for the love of god, check if you've used the right words.
(This has been brought to you by an experience I had a few years ago, when someone was sticking something into a clitoris, assuming it was a vagina, and... no.)
(This has been brought to you by an experience I had a few years ago, when someone was sticking something into a clitoris, assuming it was a vagina, and... no.)
This town might have had something going for it, except it probably doesn't. Industrial towns don't die prettily.
December 28, 2025 at 3:13 PM
This town might have had something going for it, except it probably doesn't. Industrial towns don't die prettily.
So, the thing is, communist architecture is this brutalist stuff, not amazingly well done. Kind of sordid looking. Very grey and same-y. Matchbox apartment blocks.
But they had something going when it came to urban planning. Loads of green areas. Walkable places. All that.
But they had something going when it came to urban planning. Loads of green areas. Walkable places. All that.
December 28, 2025 at 3:10 PM
So, the thing is, communist architecture is this brutalist stuff, not amazingly well done. Kind of sordid looking. Very grey and same-y. Matchbox apartment blocks.
But they had something going when it came to urban planning. Loads of green areas. Walkable places. All that.
But they had something going when it came to urban planning. Loads of green areas. Walkable places. All that.
This is... interesting, actually:
December 28, 2025 at 3:07 PM
This is... interesting, actually:
Picturesque autumn street view:
December 28, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Picturesque autumn street view:
The abandoned building is still abandoned in 2022 (this is from a different angle, but it's the same building):
December 28, 2025 at 3:04 PM
The abandoned building is still abandoned in 2022 (this is from a different angle, but it's the same building):
Omg, May 2022 photo! Slightly better, but you can see the patches of newly rennovated and repainted apartment exteriors on the right. (Still... not great.)
December 28, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Omg, May 2022 photo! Slightly better, but you can see the patches of newly rennovated and repainted apartment exteriors on the right. (Still... not great.)
An abandoned building with broken windows - and a couple of kids who seem to be staring straight into the camera:
December 28, 2025 at 3:01 PM
An abandoned building with broken windows - and a couple of kids who seem to be staring straight into the camera:
I just *had* to check it out - it had a population of merely 10.000 in its heyday (1992?), and the number dropped below 8000 by 2010.
The most recent streetview photos are from 2009. It's sordid, even for 2009.
The most recent streetview photos are from 2009. It's sordid, even for 2009.
December 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM
I just *had* to check it out - it had a population of merely 10.000 in its heyday (1992?), and the number dropped below 8000 by 2010.
The most recent streetview photos are from 2009. It's sordid, even for 2009.
The most recent streetview photos are from 2009. It's sordid, even for 2009.
Reposted by Roxana C.
It is about this: because so many people do not give a shit about romance, shit gets tried in romance first.
You should pay attention to romance publishing news and care about it, because they will try that shit here first.
You should pay attention to romance publishing news and care about it, because they will try that shit here first.
December 24, 2025 at 2:52 AM
It is about this: because so many people do not give a shit about romance, shit gets tried in romance first.
You should pay attention to romance publishing news and care about it, because they will try that shit here first.
You should pay attention to romance publishing news and care about it, because they will try that shit here first.
"Don't get involved where your pot isn't boiling" is a Romanian version.
December 18, 2025 at 7:19 PM
"Don't get involved where your pot isn't boiling" is a Romanian version.
I'm not sure I managed to make this make as much sense as it does in my head. (I'm sleepy and phrasing things feels harder than it ought to.)
October 26, 2025 at 10:23 AM
I'm not sure I managed to make this make as much sense as it does in my head. (I'm sleepy and phrasing things feels harder than it ought to.)
But they're both stories about how, eventually, you need to leave behind your "toys" in order to be a "proper adult", as society views adults.
This, supposedly, will earn you the reward of a romantic partner.
It's not dating advice on how to find someone who will love you. It's a dangling carrot.
This, supposedly, will earn you the reward of a romantic partner.
It's not dating advice on how to find someone who will love you. It's a dangling carrot.
October 26, 2025 at 10:21 AM
But they're both stories about how, eventually, you need to leave behind your "toys" in order to be a "proper adult", as society views adults.
This, supposedly, will earn you the reward of a romantic partner.
It's not dating advice on how to find someone who will love you. It's a dangling carrot.
This, supposedly, will earn you the reward of a romantic partner.
It's not dating advice on how to find someone who will love you. It's a dangling carrot.
The story we're told is this: men mature slower, but they *need* to put aside boyish things, pick up responsibility and be "men".
Women, by contrast, are always assumed to have left behin "girlish" things long before. They are presumed to have no desire to play, or engage deeply with stories.
Women, by contrast, are always assumed to have left behin "girlish" things long before. They are presumed to have no desire to play, or engage deeply with stories.
October 26, 2025 at 10:12 AM
The story we're told is this: men mature slower, but they *need* to put aside boyish things, pick up responsibility and be "men".
Women, by contrast, are always assumed to have left behin "girlish" things long before. They are presumed to have no desire to play, or engage deeply with stories.
Women, by contrast, are always assumed to have left behin "girlish" things long before. They are presumed to have no desire to play, or engage deeply with stories.
If you watch movies in this key*, I meant to say above.
Women can be in fandom as kids, wanting to be princesses, and that's "cute". Then they can progress to boy band fandom - but this is more of a precursor to real relationships. They get boy crazy, and then they find a guy to date.
Women can be in fandom as kids, wanting to be princesses, and that's "cute". Then they can progress to boy band fandom - but this is more of a precursor to real relationships. They get boy crazy, and then they find a guy to date.
October 26, 2025 at 10:06 AM
If you watch movies in this key*, I meant to say above.
Women can be in fandom as kids, wanting to be princesses, and that's "cute". Then they can progress to boy band fandom - but this is more of a precursor to real relationships. They get boy crazy, and then they find a guy to date.
Women can be in fandom as kids, wanting to be princesses, and that's "cute". Then they can progress to boy band fandom - but this is more of a precursor to real relationships. They get boy crazy, and then they find a guy to date.
Fandom and play are seen as "childish", so they need to be put aside to be a "viable adult". If you watch movies, guys need to throw out their "toys" to represent maturity.
But women are presumed to mature faster and are therefore rarely represented as having fandom or toys.
But women are presumed to mature faster and are therefore rarely represented as having fandom or toys.
October 26, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Fandom and play are seen as "childish", so they need to be put aside to be a "viable adult". If you watch movies, guys need to throw out their "toys" to represent maturity.
But women are presumed to mature faster and are therefore rarely represented as having fandom or toys.
But women are presumed to mature faster and are therefore rarely represented as having fandom or toys.
I have some Thoughts about this. I think you're right about male shame. But I think it's part of a larger narrative about "normality" and "adulthood", that assumes that all romantic relationships are similar and share similar goals - all happy relationships are similar and all that.
October 26, 2025 at 10:00 AM
I have some Thoughts about this. I think you're right about male shame. But I think it's part of a larger narrative about "normality" and "adulthood", that assumes that all romantic relationships are similar and share similar goals - all happy relationships are similar and all that.
It's frustrating enough that I'm very serious about potentially switching careers.
October 1, 2025 at 7:23 AM
It's frustrating enough that I'm very serious about potentially switching careers.
But LLMs don't grow, and don't work in teams. They just spew things out, inconsistently. Your job is no longer "expert". It's "expert-turned-nanny".
I can't do my job properly because now I'm just fixing stuff that I didn't need to fix before. It's so frustrating.
I can't do my job properly because now I'm just fixing stuff that I didn't need to fix before. It's so frustrating.
October 1, 2025 at 7:21 AM
But LLMs don't grow, and don't work in teams. They just spew things out, inconsistently. Your job is no longer "expert". It's "expert-turned-nanny".
I can't do my job properly because now I'm just fixing stuff that I didn't need to fix before. It's so frustrating.
I can't do my job properly because now I'm just fixing stuff that I didn't need to fix before. It's so frustrating.