Tessera

Space Witches, Esq.@popelizbet.bsky.social · 2w ago

If someone wants to kill me, potentially the best way is for them to say, "Would you like to try cave diving?" because I would love to try cave diving.

if someone tells you I went caving, never mind cave diving, they are lying to cover up my murder because absolutely tf not.

Contrast with contemporary Gothic fiction: the haunting of a recent and bloody (colonial) past hidden away under rotting floorboards. It seems that whether we're trying to recreate the past or trying to escape it, it inevitably shapes us.

Inspired as I am by the niggling idea of the Gothic involving a search for a lost medieval past, I tracked down a copy of the gorgeous book The Gothic Revival by Chris Brooks.

An art book open on a table, featuring the rich interior of St Giles' Church un Cheadle, Staffordshire (1841-6). The sanctuary appears on the left and a decorated doorway appears on the right (items 139-140). Chris Brooks writes that Pugin's Decorated style "combined cultural expressiveness, strong architectural forms and a bold handling of space with ornamental elaboration – naturalistic carving, rich mouldings, inventive tracery design, gorgeously patterned textures."

Another spread from the art book, this one looking at William Butterfield's 1849-59 project of the All Saints' church on Margaret Street in London. This is an example of High Victorian Gothic, veering away from Ruskin's natural forms and hues and into an industrialised ideal. Chris Brooks writes, "Butterfield's patterns are hard-edged, geometrically precise... and his material textures assertively artificial: mass-produced bricks and tiles, marbles mechanically polished to a mirror-like sheen. All Saints' connotes the industrial regime: in its finishes; in the compositional discipline that yokes constituents into a corporate scheme even as it emphasises their separateness; in the logic of Butterfield's industrially processed materials; in the way perfect surfaces and symmetrical shapes evoke the machine."

an ocean of emotion@betarayben.bsky.social · 2w ago

Post your last two brain cells

Post your last two brain cells

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 2w ago

Could Excel be conscious? We surveyed more than Jan 1 1900 people to find out.

unforth | Claire Houck | Duck Prints Press @duckprintspress.com · 2w ago

Another side project right now = assessing different word processing/note-taking apps for writing. I use Obsidian for most of my drafting, and I'm taking a look at some similar apps like Standard Notes, Notesnook, and Joplin (which all offer encryption).

Our Kickstarter to fund WILD AND FULL OF MARVELS: QUEER FANWORKS INSPIRED BY FOLKLORE AND FAIRY TALES is proceeding a pace, and so are our contributor teasers. Check out art by Amalia Zeichnerin and Sam Inverts and stories by Isabelle Delisle and ilgaksu! duckprintspress.com/2026/07/21/w...

A graphic entitled Wild and Full of Marvels Art Teasers. It shows two art crops from larger works, with the name of the artwork and artist beside the art. Artwork 1: A merperson tail, watercolor, in shades of blue, titled "Two Mermaids" by Amalia Zeichnerin. Artwork 2: a young person in a red cape being spoken to by a person wearing only a loin cloth, with long white hair and wolf ears emerging from among their hair. Entitled "Hoodwinks and Wolfsbane" by Sam Inverts.

A graphic entitled Wild and Full of Marvels Story Teasers. It shows two excerpts from stories. The first is from a story entitled "An Unlikely Perfect Evening" by Isabelle Delisle. Text: For two days and two nights snow had fallen without respite or mercy. It sat on the ground, hip-high where the trees—naked of all but the last stubborn leaves on the rare oaks—had provided the most shelter. Elsewhere, it was well as tall as a man, shaped into hard and cruel blades by the wind.

Pierre knew winter, knew its storms and endless nights, but only, before, from the comfort of the house that had warmed his father and his father’s father, circling with others into a huddled village. Winter was different, here.

Excerpt 2 is from "obstreperous and unreasonable" by ilgaksu and is accompanied by a small "author" image of a small blue winged creature drinking from a sealed boba cup. Text reads: If he was asked—which he never is—Etienne would admit he isn’t sure he remembers life outside of the castle anymore. This makes sense, philosophically. The nature of a civilised soul is its amenability to adaptation; an educated man works with, not against, reality. Accepting that Etienne’s one constant is the castle—that he, undying, can never leave, and must remain within the grounds forever, in his current form—

That is simply an exercise to gentlemanly logic.

Clarissa C. S. Ryan @wintersweet.bsky.social · 2w ago

If you’re not familiar with it, here’s an overview! It really is a drafting tool, not a word processor, and I think it’s good at what it does. (Also, very pretty.)

unforth | Claire Houck | Duck Prints Press@duckprintspress.com · 2w ago

Guest blogger Kaiden Alderling dug in and did a bunch of research on the writing software Ellipsus, and joins us for today's post to discuss some pros and cons of the software! Check it out on our blog: duckprintspress.com/2026/07/21/p...

What's up with Ellipsus, the writing tool that's become a popular alternative to Google Docs (especially in fan spaces)? I dive into the tool's usability, privacy policy, and anti-AI commitments in a blog post for @duckprintspress.com: duckprintspress.com/2026/07/21/p...

Pros and Cons of Ellipsus Software for Writers – Duck Prints Press

duckprintspress.com

Sally Sultzman @sallysultzman.bsky.social · last mo.

So the GTA contract is that she can play as much as she likes, right?

You know what I need to see today? I need to see your tattoos. Your pretty ones, the complex ones, the ones your most proud of. Big, tiny, don't care--if you like 'em, I wanna see 'em.

> cold crossed by an old wood stove > holding pattern, fabric smoked I'm excited to announce that my poem, "retail her," has been published in today's episode of the 4Lph4num3r1c podcast by @zoeticpress.bsky.social!

The text "retail her" appears with an author photo of Kaiden Alderling, along with the official name of the Alphanumeric podcast, 4Lph4num3r1c2.0

The Whimsical Muse@whimsicalmuse.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Sounds WAY better.

I realize that “hustle culture” is all the rage, but what about “sit in front of a crackling fire in a Scottish Highlands cottage during a pouring rain whilst reading, sipping tea, and eating scones” culture?

A.C. Wise@acwise.bsky.social · last mo.

Congratulations! You deserve it.

I'm absolutely thrilled to share that my novelette Wolf Moon, Antler Moon is a finalist for this year's Eugie Awards! Huge congratulations to my fellow finalists! It's a fabulous list! eugiefoster.com/eugieaward

Lindz McLeod - THE MISEDUCATION OF CAROLINE BINGLEY is out now!@lindzmcleod.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Advertise your Bluesky account with a Simpsons image.

Advertise your BlueSky account with a Simpsons image.

beetle moses@beetlemoses.bsky.social · 2mo ago

✅ Be told that we love a moray

Two panel comic. Panel 1: a spiral notepad is held by an off-panel individual. The notepad reads: TO DO: Peek out from behind a rock; Open and close mouth repeatedly. Panel 2: it’s a moray eel

I'm just using Word for creating a final file when submitting. Which is good! Otherwise, I might die of laughter while in the middle of a writing session. Look at my bear arms, friends. 🌈

In Microsoft Word, "over my bare arms" (B-A-R-E) has been underlined with the grammar suggestion to use B-E-A-R instead.

unforth | Claire Houck | Duck Prints Press@duckprintspress.com · 2mo ago

The art is gorgeous! Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/duc...

I don't love the crops in the base post so here, have a thread.

The cover of a book entitled Wild and Full of Marvels: Queer Fanworks Inspired by Folklore and Fairy Tales. It features an elaborate, fantasy-sinpired border in shades of blue and green, with fairies lifting a gauzy veil to reveal a fantasy scene below of a white mermaid with blonde hair drawing her hair back to reveal her bare torso and curve of her back, which segues into a pink-purple mermaid tail. In the foreground is a slim, muscular darker-skinned woman with long black hair in a braid held back by a bandana. She wears simple clothes and stands knee-deep in the water, and is pulling on a rope as if to tow in something not in view. Her gaze meets that of the mermaid, who raises a hand with webs between the fingers in an inviting beckon.