the human heart is no small thing

Nate, 29, he/they, jewish, history of science enthusiast, melancholic, cosplayer, viola bard, and real actual werewolf.

[astriiformes]

Was talking about a post I saw related to printers working very infrequently and joked that there should be a bracha for when printers actually work and without missing a beat our housemate replied "Shehecheyanu"

[astriiformes]

I think it is finally starting to sink in that we're really actually leaving and I can tell because I feel like crying

[unknought]

Higgledy piggledy, turning and turning as gyres are widening, centers unheld,

things fall apart and there’s anarchy everywhere; falcons fly freely and can’t be compelled.

Dimming the tide there is blood in the water and everywhere customs of innocence drowned.

Held by the worst is a fervent intensity; lacking conviction the best run aground.

Surely there must be some kind of apocalypse; surely epiphany must be at hand!

Visions unbidden from Spiritus Mundi of something awakening out on the sand:

Head of a man with a leonine frame and a pitiless gaze that’s as blank as the sun;

sleep became nightmare by passage of centuries long before eons of slumber were done.

Higgledy piggledy, beast of antiquity, imminent, just as the prophecies warn,

shambling slowly but revelatorily, slouching towards Bethlehem, there to be born.

[gendercensus]

The 2026 Gender Census is now open!

[ survey.gendercensus.com ]

The 13th annual international gender census, collecting information about the language we use to refer to ourselves and each other, is now open until 13th August 2026.

It’s short and easy, for most participants it takes 5 minutes or less.

After the survey is closed I’ll process the results and publish a spreadsheet of the data and a report summarising the main findings. Then anyone can use them for academic or business purposes, self-advocacy, tracking the popularity of language over time, and just feeling like we’re part of a huge and diverse community.

If you think you might have friends and followers who’d be interested, please do reblog this blog post, and share the survey URL by email or at AFK social groups or on other social networks. Every share is extremely helpful!

Survey URL: https://survey.gendercensus.com

The survey is open to anyone anywhere who speaks English and feels that the gender binary doesn’t fully describe their experience of themselves and their gender(s) or lack thereof.

Thank you so much!

[ Link to survey ]

[michaelnordeman]

Eurasian magpie/skata. Värmland, Sweden (July 14, 2024).

[cuppydogshane]

all the rights that come with marriage you should be able to have without marriage btw. you should be able to designate a person who can visit you in the hospital regardless of your relationship to that person.

[astrotheyge]

I'm here.

[seabeck]

Under ferns

[astriiformes]

Doing some more packing and I do keep thinking about the sort of depressing but historically significant strata of protest signs stacked together in our home that screams "Has lived in Minneapolis/Saint Paul since late 2018"

[astriiformes]

Hm. Similar situation emptying out my winter jacket pockets before I pack it and finding an ICE OUT OF MN button and a whistle.

[thanook]

ironically enough, bringing a plushie to a public setting as an adult requires a tremendous level of emotional development, and attempting to shame an adult for having a plushie in public requires a significant amount of immaturity. this applies to a surprising number of things.

[bump-of-whump]

Ref Recs for Whump Writers

Violence: A Writer’s Guide:  This is not about writing technique. It is an introduction to the world of violence. To the parts that people don’t understand. The parts that books and movies get wrong. Not just the mechanics, but how people who live in a violent world think and feel about what they do and what they see done.

Hurting Your Characters: HURTING YOUR CHARACTERS discusses the immediate effect of trauma on the body, its physiologic response, including the types of nerve fibers and the sensations they convey, and how injuries feel to the character. This book also presents a simplified overview of the expected recovery times for the injuries discussed in young, otherwise healthy individuals.

Body Trauma: A writer’s guide to wounds and injuries. Body Trauma explains what happens to body organs and bones maimed by accident or intent and the small window of opportunity for emergency treatment. Research what happens in a hospital operating room and the personnel who initiate treatment. Use these facts to bring added realism to your stories and novels.

10 B.S. Medical Tropes that Need to Die TODAY…and What to Do Instead: Written by a paramedic and writer with a decade of experience, 10 BS Medical Tropes covers exactly that: clichéd and inaccurate tropes that not only ruin books, they have the potential to hurt real people in the real world. 

Maim Your Characters: How Injuries Work in Fiction: Increase Realism. Raise the Stakes. Tell Better Stories. Maim Your Characters is the definitive guide to using wounds and injuries to their greatest effect in your story. Learn not only the six critical parts of an injury plot, but more importantly, how to make sure that the injury you’re inflicting matters. 

Blood on the Page: This handy resource is a must-have guide for writers whose characters live on the edge of danger. If you like easy-to-follow tools, expert opinions from someone with firsthand knowledge, and you don’t mind a bit of fictional bodily harm, then you’ll love Samantha Keel’s invaluable handbook

[astriiformes]

God we have so many craft supplies

[astriiformes]

Doing some more packing and I do keep thinking about the sort of depressing but historically significant strata of protest signs stacked together in our home that screams "Has lived in Minneapolis/Saint Paul since late 2018"

[stjohnstarling]

You really can get Tumblr users to fall for anything - medieval-era feudalist propaganda, for instance - if you sound authoritative and put it in the form of a list.

[ratbreadd]

think about it long time

[highways-are-liminal-spaces]

[astriiformes]

I always think it's sort of funny when people say they only like m/m ships because they don't want to write about misogyny and thus are less interested in writing about female characters because it's like yes, obviously the biggest thing here is that they are actively doing a misogyny, but also, they are either:

Admitting they are capable of imagining a world where there's no homophobia, but still misogyny

OR

Not a fan of misogyny but fine with writing homophobia

Neither of which is a great look!!