Adib Khorramblr

Cover Illustration by Forouzan Safari. Cover Design by Daniela Medina.

What's that? It's the cover for my debut adult romance, I'LL HAVE WHAT HE'S HAVING!! Coming at you August 27, 2024. Which is like...five months away. Terrifying!!

When it comes to love, substitute teacher Farzan Alavi is a disaster. Newly heartbroken—again—he’s drowning his sorrows at Kansas City’s newest wine bar. Only instead of being crowded between strangers, he’s escorted to a VIP table for one. There, the hot sommelier does more than treat him to the meal of his life. The way he flirts with Farzan ignites instant sparks.    There’s just one problem: David Curtis thinks Farzan is Frank Allen, Kansas City’s most influential food critic. The truth only comes out after the two spend an unforgettably hot night together. Good news—both think the mix-up is hilarious. Bad news—David is studying to become a master sommelier and has no interest in a relationship.    Neither expects their paths to cross again . . . until Farzan inherits his family’s bistro. The two agree to a friends-sans-benefits exchange: David will share his industry knowledge, and Farzan will help David study. Only business turns to pleasure when neither can ignore the attraction still sizzling between them. But with David set on a cross-country move after his test, and Farzan committed to his family’s restaurant, how can their relationship last past the expiration date? 

It's got...

–A fast burn romance –Elder millennials –Mistaken identity –A one night stand that leads to more –Food and wine –Friends with benefits to lovers –The best friend group around –Four chili peppers on the Adib Khorram Spice-o-meter (we're talking a lot of boning, people.)

You can even preorder it now if you like!!

queer kickball league championships

french fries

kansas city

that one friend who has the world's ugliest dog

a reference to The Californians

group chats

the muppets

"unsuccessful" eldest child feelings

and more

plus you can get your preorders signed if you like

There’s a reason we call Qanon followers Qultists.

The subreddit r/QanonCasualties is also a good resource, or at least a place to find people who have experienced having their loved ones radicalized by the alt-right and having discussions on the topic.

Night meeting sketch

fucking australia’s trying to get everyone to link their government id to their social media accounts else you cant use them anymore, the actual fuck is wrong with this country

please, actually, get fucking mad over this, the entirety of australia basically just banned all social media for anyone who doesnt want to give up their privacy to the government, there was no vote on this, no nothing, they just went ahead and fucking passed this ridiculously privy law and barely anybody’s talking about it the actual fuck

okay so to actually explain what exactly is happening, it’s an age thing. theyve used ‘protect the children’ and ‘let kids be kids’ as a weapon again. anyone under 16 is banned from social media, but to enforce this they have openly admitted everyone will need to link their government id to their social media. this whole ‘protect the kids’ thing was a very obvious trojan horse for getting ppl to give up their privacy.

and yknow, that alone is a very shitty law even without the whole surrendering your private information to the government thing.

theyve made outside uninhabitable, there’s nowhere left to go. public areas have degenerated, theyve turned hanging out into a crime with loitering, streets feel unwalkable sometimes, parents are more wary of letting their kids walk around on their own than they used to be, and now theyre trying to ban one of the main ways kids manage to distract themselves inside the house.

when i was 15 i was depressed and lonely, unable to leave the house very far, no friends, nobody. the one place that helped me feel less alone was online communities. i wouldve killed myself if it werent for the support i recieved on there. and now theyre trying to ban that for future generations, in a world that hates them being both outside and inside.

and even still, this is still a fucking trojan horse to get you to give up your privacy.

some proper info on this bullshit

If you want to read a charming contemporary romance novel that has accidental identity fraud (which is also full of muppets references), I’LL HAVE WHAT HE’S HAVING by @adibkhorram is currently downpriced to 1.99!

how its been going

me taking criticism about something i've botched

[image description: an aging white homosexual in a floral shirt stands in front of a red and black floral background. He looks dejectedly and says, "Well, it was quite hard work for an aging homosexual."]

I saw this mentioned as a bit of an aside on another post but since it was a little bit besides the point of that post decided to make my own post about it instead of derailing that one.

It IS very interesting how in Lord of The Rings orcs are the soldiers of a (compared to the rest of the world) highly industrialized and technologically advanced military force, yet pretty much every high fantasy media that has borrowed the concept of orcs since then has instead given them the "tribal savages" treatment, and i don't know how I failed to realize that difference until I saw someone else bring it up.

Like of course this is not saying that the depiction of orcs in LoTR is not problematic for a lot of different reasons (there have been years of discussions unpacking that) but it IS an interesting change and I think a pretty ideologically loaded one.

Thinking about it makes me remember this article I read a few years ago about how, regardless of genre trappings, a lot of high fantasy (especially in ttrpgs and videogames) actually has a lot more in common narratively and thematically with wild west ""cowboys vs indians"" films and shows than it has with its aesthetic inspirations. Like once you look at it with that lense in mind it becomes really conspicuous how much these works like giving the "tribal savages" treatment to any sapient creature that exists for the heroes to fight.

Tags by @jungwildeandfree:

#something interesting could probably be written about orcs in LOTR in light of racial thinking -- #orcs of course in LOTR were originally ELVES. who were 'warped and twisted' by the torment of Sauron and Morgoth #who then one assumes became able to perpetuate the species (unless Sauron maintained a kind of elf federal reserve) #so orcs take on many of these mmm Less Human qualities -- 'bandy-legged' and 'fanged' etc #as a result of their true nature (elvish) having been corrupted #there IS also one way in which their true nature shines through though -- elves are brilliant artisans #the elves of the First Age created boats and swords and jewels that were so perfect they became magic #orcs in LOTR preserve that ability -- they have a dark ingenuity for weapons of war that is functionally sorcerous in its results #now. let's once again examine the 'LOTR as allegory for the Great War' #Germany was (we all remember) one of the more aggressive nations going into the Great War #but prior to that point they were a NEW nation as well! one which had a TON of intellectual and manufacturing power #Germany could have been regarded as 'the future of Europe'--they were advanced and cosmopolitan and had a strong academic tradition #and their reputation (at the time) was one of strength and honor and ingenuity--and a warlike nature--but ultimately great promise #but in the Great War all of that went sideways--became twisted by propaganda and the idea of Der Tag and the ideals of German supremacy #and in the years running up to WWII (when writing LOTR) Tolkien (we know) was aware of the further corruption of German culture -- #--which was taking place under Hitler and the Nazi Party. #So in sum you have here -- this great nation (Germany) which had sprung up newly-formed with such potential -- #--the character of its people much-discussed with excitement for what the future might hold (and some apprehension about what they Wanted) #and then this nation of craftspeople and thinkers and artists (Germany for example INSTRUMENTAL in the Romantic movement just decades prior #(not only in terms of 'art' (visual) but also literature and philosophy) #--Germany also gave Europe the philosophical origins of several disciplines (psychology--phenomenology--sociology)-- #--at a time when these disciplines were considered to be infallible and possibly indicative of a bright and enlightened future of humanity #--Anyway then THIS NATION of great and high character is corrupted and all its people march to war -- #and their ingenuity is turned to violence and propaganda and clever weapons and explosives and choking gas #anyway yeah you get the point. TLDR there's a lot that could be said about the 'true nature' of orcs in LOTR #as a representation of the 'fall' of Germany from grace during the twentieth century #and of course originally 'fantasy' orcs are. mm. the bare scraps of Tolkien's idea filtered through the minds of American men from the 60s #so of course they are. simply racist

KINDLING made Indigo’s Best Books of 2024! 🔥 Thanks so much to Indigo’s staff and readers for including KINDLING among such wonderful titles!

If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

Hey, the ACLU is getting people to send letters to your Reps to have Congress pass the No Kings Act.

This bill is to ensure that even sitting presidents are held liable for their actions. That NOBODY is above the law.

Their goal is 150k messages sent and at the time of writing this they're about 2.1k off from that goal!

ACLU gives you a prefilled message that you can edit to send to make the process easier, and will send it out for you.

This only takes a few minutes!

I know I've said this a hundred times but if you're worried about palestinian fundraisers being scams at least consider donating to MSF. It's a highly reputable organization which has broken its long-standing neutrality to denounce Israel in front of the UN. Here's all the aid MSF is providing to Gazans (documentation available in multiple languages).

Since I know no one's gonna click on that link, here's a quick overview of some of the various ways in which Medicins Sans-Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) is aiding Palestinians

- Since Oct 7 2023, MSF provided for 14000 hospital admissions and 7500 surgeries, on top of treating 27500 people for physical violence causes, treating 34000 people for diarrhoea (very common condition in Gaza currently due to the sanitary crisis) and holding 18000 mental health sessions.

-MSF is currently operating in two hospitals, eight healthcare facilities and fifteen mobile clinics, providing surgical support, wound care, physiotherapy, maternity and paediatric care, basic healthcare, vaccinations, and mental health services among other things (more info on the treatments provided by each facility on the link above). Additionally, they provide training for psychological, medical and paramedical volunteers, and donate first aid kits to various camps (info on the specific locations on the link above).

- Via their partnership with the Palestinian Agriculture and Development Association, they're building latrines for over 30000 people in six camps, distributing hygiene kits to 2400 families, and ensuring clean drinking water for 25000 people, on top of equipping a camp for 70 families with accessible sanitary facilities for disabled people.

- Since October 7, 2023, eight of their medics have died. Seven of them are remembered here, and their latest, Hasan Suboh, in this statement that denounces Israel's allies for disregarding the fact that the protection of humanitarian workers is not being guaranteed as they claim.

MSF does not only stand for Palestine in humanitarian terms, it also does so politically to an extent, holding Israel and its allies accountable for sabotaging ceasefire negotiation attempts.

MSF also provides aid to Sudan, the Democratic Republic Of Congo, Haiti, Ethiopia and 76 other countries.

To better maximize your donation to MSF, I advise keeping an eye out for donation doubling and tripling periods, which occur fairly often and can be checked on their website.

Costume Mash Up Idea: Jareth the Goblin French Pole Vaulter

So one of my neighbors has a lawn Roomba or whatever they're called, and this thing trundles around looking like a background robot in the background of the original trilogy, and ABSOLUTELY BAFFLING THE DOGS.

They have concluded, I think, that it's some kind of prey animal because right after this video ended they decided to crouch down and stalk it, which means I'm 90% sure I'm going to have to stop Arwen from eating it at some point.

Of course it's a prey animal it fucking eats GRASS

While I can’t fault your reasoning on robot taxonomy, apparently we’re both wrong:  Arwen, as much as she is a high-prey-drive animal, is foremost, a herding dog, and has decided that the Lawn Roomba is a SHEEP.

What happened is the lawn roomba belongs to the guy that does most of the maintainence on the neighborhood park, and he had it out grazing on a different section of lawn when my parents came down for a walk and Arwen was siezed by 200 years worth fo Kelpie Instincts, rolled out of her Harness and proceded to herd the shit out of this tiny, oblivious robot.  

Everything was on display- mock-stalking, intimidating eye contact, barking, running in front of it to try to get it to balk, the scariest barking she can muster (which is actually.  pretty scary if you’re not used to Loud Dogs), looking back at my parents for directions.  or rather, looking at my Mom while Dad tried unsuccessuflly to capture her.

After about ten minutes they realized she wasn’t biting it, and decided to let her play Sheep Simulator 5000 for a while. She eventually figured out that 

Conent that this was apparently some kind of blind, deaf and particularly stupid sheep, she could now manage the robot by smacking it if it got too close to the creek bed or fence for her liking, and was eventually content to sit on the highest point of the field and Supervise (TM) it.

“Hey.” Said Roger, owner of the robot. “Do you think if I put the ramp down she’ll herd it into the back of my pickup?”

Arwen was mostly asleep in the afternoon sun as roger put the ramp down but woke right up when mom Whistled, then pointed at the truck.  She immediately went after the robot and did something that wouldn’t have occured to me, an allegedly more intelligent being: the robot is roughly triangular, and when it hits an obstacle, will change direction so that one of its other sides (rather than points) is now the ‘front’.  So to get it to move in a straight line in the direction she wanted, Arwen would smack the two sides of the robot that she didn’t want it to go in in quick sucession, and got it across the field, over a small hill and up the ramp as fast as it’s clumsy little wheels could go.

“I didn’t know you had a fully-trained sheepdog!” Said Roger

“Me either.” said Mom.

So Arwen now has a Semi-Weekly Appointment to play with Sheepbot.

I just saw a completely different one of your posts that happened to mention Arwen and my brain went "could it be the Arwen with the lawn roomba friend?!" and then spent 10 minutes finding this.

I had only seen screenshots and have literally retold this story to friends bc it's just so wholesome, so this is a very fun moment for me lol

The upside is that there was an absentee ballot recount in our most populated and very blue county and it pushed us over for a blue Senate win. So yay for that because I was fucking miserable seeing the Republican win there too.

Btw, this is another reason to call your county clerk and make sure that your absentee ballot was counted! Even if we get another Trump presidency, which is very likely, those absentee ballots make a huge difference when it comes to the Senate, the House, governors, and other federal and state officials who can completely change the balance of their governments. My state's electoral votes may be going to Trump and the majority of the elections went red, but we still got a Dem Senator and that win still means a lot.

Reblogging this for the day crowd. Even if you don't think your ballot is enough to help sway the presidential election, there are still so many elections happening that CAN be changed with a recount.

@yeah-thats-probably-it this could not just be a tag

yeah. yeah