https://ko-fi.com/blockswingperry MOM I LOVE YOU KEEP OFF MY BLOG. PICKLETRON YOU TOO - - - PINTEREST ART THIEVES DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT | acorn weevil | luxurious melon | the dark room is scary after watching scary videos :(
ok so in an attempt to try and make myself have a better chance at actually knocking activities out and being productive after work i deleted instagram off my phone, i blocked reddit, and have tumblr on semi screen controlled.
ive found out that i actually wont open my laptop to watch instagram as much as my phone, and instagram is not interesting enough to go through the trouble of reinstalling it on my phone. unfortunately i will need to redownload it at some point to start back up my professional art account because some features are mobile only :/
reddit honestly was taking place of using tumblr but a way worse version of what i actually wanted from tumblr. if i actually need to get to reddit for answers to questions i have, i just stop my screen time app from working for ten minutes
ok so in an attempt to try and make myself have a better chance at actually knocking activities out and being productive after work i deleted instagram off my phone, i blocked reddit, and have tumblr on semi screen controlled.
ive found out that i actually wont open my laptop to watch instagram as much as my phone, and instagram is not interesting enough to go through the trouble of reinstalling it on my phone. unfortunately i will need to redownload it at some point to start back up my professional art account because some features are mobile only :/
reddit honestly was taking place of using tumblr but a way worse version of what i actually wanted from tumblr. if i actually need to get to reddit for answers to questions i have, i just stop my screen time app from working for ten minutes
ok so in an attempt to try and make myself have a better chance at actually knocking activities out and being productive after work i deleted instagram off my phone, i blocked reddit, and have tumblr on semi screen controlled.
ive found out that i actually wont open my laptop to watch instagram as much as my phone, and instagram is not interesting enough to go through the trouble of reinstalling it on my phone. unfortunately i will need to redownload it at some point to start back up my professional art account because some features are mobile only :/
reddit honestly was taking place of using tumblr but a way worse version of what i actually wanted from tumblr. if i actually need to get to reddit for answers to questions i have, i just stop my screen time app from working for ten minutes
i’ve invented a new microwave its called microwave 2. it randomly makes your food colder 9% of the time. don’t worry i’ve already entered your home and replaced your old microwave with it. im very good at technology
Whatttt is with the tendency of Tumblr users to seek absolution from every single person who offhandedly posts about disagreeing with something they do
I say this not unkindly, but firmly: to function as a member of a social species, you have to get comfortable with the idea that not everyone will like you
so. i just learned that my entirely me-written resume flags as being AI-written by automated HR systems for a few writing quirks and the fact that i followed all the rules of good resume writing, which is apparently a telltale sign of AI use in this fucking hellworld. i've been desperately applying to jobs that i am massively overqualified for for months with no response, not even an interview, and now i find out that at least part of the reason is because some fucking moron decided that following the rules every career advisor has given me for a decade means i cheated and should be disqualified. the ai bubble cannot pop soon enough. what the actual fuck.
"frequent use of action-result sentences. bullet points all start with action verbs. no career gaps." girl what the fuck are you talking about. that's just resume writing advice being followed. i just did what i was told. it's a fucking resume. you're supposed to do all that stuff. what the fuck do you mean it looks ai generated and wouldn't pass basic detection systems?????????? for following the resume writing rules????????????
every photo i take on a phone i always increase the saturation, mess with the shadows and contrast, i always turn down the highlights for personal preference, and then mess with temperature and tint to your hearts delight to get much better looking photos
every photo i take on a phone i always increase the saturation, mess with the shadows and contrast, i always turn down the highlights for personal preference, and then mess with temperature and tint to your hearts delight to get much better looking photos
Namaygoosisagagun First Nation/Collins has burned to the ground. The entire community is nothing but ashes after being quickly consumed by wildfires. They did not have any support from emergency services, and no one offered aid. The community saved themselves by escaping into boats because no one came.
Mishkeegogamang and Cat Lake have lost power. Families are ending up in shelters with nothing. Armstrong, Lac La Croix, Whitesand, Gull Bay, Lac des Mille Lacs are currently in the fires path and all members are being evacuated.
All this loss, all this devastation, and it was entirely preventable.
After steadily underfunding wildland firefighting and purposefully excluding Indigenous wildland firefighters and Indigenous wildfire organizations from wildfire operations, firefighter training, decisionmaking, and resource exchanges, in 2025, Doug Ford slashed the forest firefighting budget.
It's hard to ignore his decision to cut funding and leave us out of adequate fire training (even though we've lived with forest fires for thousands of years—far longer than settlers have been in Canada—and made sure fires like the ones we're all seeing today were prevented through kinisitotēn) when, despite making up less than 5% of the population, we account for 42% percent of all wildfire evacuations in Canada.
And when we are successfully evacuated, we face discrimination and racism—like Kashechewan—because it's always been easier to blame us than it is to blame the true culprit: denialism, corportate greed, and colonization.
The people of Collins and every other impacted community deserve better.
Right now, the AFN is currently accepting donations to help Collins First Nation. If you're able to, please consider donating.
ONWA (Ontario Native Women's Association) is another great place to donate to. They have outreach vans going to motels and inns and offering food, water, resources, and cultural support to those impacted by the wildfires.
Other places to consider donating to are Mikinakoos Emergency Fund, Red Cross, True North Aid, Indigenous Climate Action. You can also send donations directly to Whitesand First Nation via e-transfer ([email protected]) and they request that you add your full name in the e-transfer comment section to receive a tax receipt.
*Before sending money, verify that the appeal appears on an official First Nation, Tribal Council or registered charity channel.
If you can't offer financial support, please consider donating items of need. Moontime Connections is currently accepting drop-off donations. If you live in the Thunder Bay area, Namaygoosisagagun Health Office is also taking in donations! They can also bemailed to Superior Inn Hotel & Conference Centre at 555 West Arthur Street, Thunder Bay, ON, P7E 5P8.
Ooh, ooh, these stunning photos are from a lovely interview Noma did last year about Murderbot for Vestal Magazine, and I was able to track down the link, for anyone who'd like to (re)read the interview!
What does it mean to be alive when you’re not fully human?
In Murderbot streaming on Apple TV, Noma Dumezweni’s powerful performance as Dr.
CA __ How would you describe your character Dr. Ayda Mensah?
ND __ Mensah is doing the best she can under the circumstances. This isn’t the world she knows. She and her team aren’t used to dealing with corporations or politics. We come from a place that values emotional connection and humanity. We have chosen to be on this planet for research. She's holding the team together. She's very warm, she's very open. She listens to each individual as she's running the crew. But she's not supposed to be a fighter. She's not supposed to be in danger. Yet danger arrives. So she covers her panic attacks. She covers the stress. To be a leader, you don't put your fears onto the people that you're looking after. That's what I love about Dr. Ayda, and I loved playing her because she likes people. She likes to see the essence of the person she's talking to.
CA __ When you look at the show holistically, what's one lesson someone could extract from watching Murderbot?
ND __ The main thing is that with sentient creatures, even with our pets, our hearts open, your life will be changed for the better than when we're in fear of people. That's why I love what Martha wrote. I see our world in her books and in this show. Especially in this moment in time, we have to be willing to meet “the other” as we perceive it. And in Murderbot, the other is a sentient construct, a clone grown from human flesh and metal. It’s a fighting machine, a killing machine. Murderbot doesn’t like humans, because humans are cruel. All the worst attributes it’s encountered come from its job as a security unit. But from my perspective, the joy comes in watching Murderbot meet the people from the Preservation Alliance. That experience changes how it sees humanity. And in turn, it changes how we see ourselves. In a good way.
Advice from Dr Mensah: “The people around you are very important to how you are going to expand as a human being and as a spiritual being. People who expand you, keep their company. People who drain your energy, say thank you for the experience, and move away.”
The fics I’ve read and enjoyed for the month of July. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.
This round up is LONG. Much longer than usual. I have no idea how I managed to read so much fic considering I (almost) devoured an entire book series?
Fandoms included this month:
Superman (2025)
The Murderbot Diaries
DC (Batfamily)
The Sunshine Court (AFTG Series)
Original Works
Hands of the Emperor (HOTE) (Lays of the Hearth Fire series)
Clone Wars
Superman (2025)
SuperTwitter by 3xtomorrow
Twitter/X of the DCU reacts to the events of Superman (2025)
jen is on vacation @tennisgirllll
i’d join superman’s harem
MurderBot Diaries
STRUCTURE UNSTABLE by Killbothtwins
On a mining colony, SecUnit suffers through the daily tedium of life as a corporate murderbot. But all is not as it seems. And it has more friends than it knows.
Distress Call by e_va
Murderbot gets put in a box. This is totally fine, and it is coping really well. Thanks for asking.
*
692,876 seconds had passed since they'd shoved me in this box, if you were wondering.
Demo and Inspection by mensah
Part 1 of No Easy Distance
Dr. Mensah gets outclassed by the company in her attempt to get PreservationAux out of the standard rental of a company SecUnit. The live demonstration isn't as intimidating to her as the company executives think, however.
Or: Dr. Mensah "meets" Murderbot for the first time.
I Am Not Yet Born by quintessence_of_dust
The whole thing took 3.7 minutes. It was impersonal, efficient, and streamlined, just the way the corporates liked it. Oh, and the new construct was screaming the whole time.
Bharadwaj is sent a packet of video files from the Corporation Rim as part of her research for her documentary. When viewing one clip in particular, SecUnit's human friends learn something new about the lives of constructs.
Munch by Polyhexian
2.0, says Perihelion disapprovingly, you are nibbling at Three’s processor.
Only its tertiary motor systems, 2.0 pouts, it's not even using them.
You can't just start destroying things in Three’s brain, Perihelion admonishes. It needs that.
Threat as Greeting by FlipSpring
I pull close to it in the feed, and say, “You were lucky.”
The rogue SecUnit reacts, physically and in the feed. It sits bolt upright, and a wave of fear ripples off of it like a [cloud of micro-debris], or like an [emergency evasive maneuver that grinds a planet’s upper atmosphere]. It’s unpleasant. It’s unfamiliar. I capture the data, store it, and start chewing on it immediately.
~
ART meets Murderbot, from ART's POV
Construct, Social by kiwisson
Late-night human behavior discussions with your favorite deadly weapon.
Watch Party by scheidswrites (+ podfic)
A former employee of The Company arrives on Preservation.
layover by torpidgilliver (+ podfic)
When ART finally confirmed the PA credentials and cycled the lock, I was waiting in the foyer. I'd disabled my human behavioral code, so I didn't twitch when the whole group of humans all stopped in their tracks to stare at me.
I said, "You have boarded the Perihelion, registered teaching vessel of the Pansystem University of Mihira and New Tideland. Please state your business."
In my feed, ART whispered, You sound like a shuttle attendant.
I sound like a SecUnit.
(During a cargo run, ART is subjected to a random security sweep. Murderbot falls back into its old routine of supervising annoying humans.)
DC (Batfamily)
Natural Consequences by motleyfam
If at six years old, Tim chose to watch that scary movie with the alien ripping open the guy’s stomach that Jack told him he was too young for, then he could change his own sheets later that night when he wet the bed from nightmares. If at eight, Tim broke a window playing with his new slingshot too close to the house, then he could pick up all the shattered pieces of glass himself and pay to replace it from his birthday savings. If at twelve, he was irresponsible enough to forget to request more funds on his school lunch account before his parents traveled to the remote mountains of Nepal, then he could go hungry for a few days until they returned to cell service range.
His parents rarely ever punished him, per se, but they’ve always been big believers in letting him feel the full weight of his natural consequences.
Tim knows better than to expect any help.
–--
When Tim gets hurt doing something stupid, there are a few misconceptions that still need to be cleared up between him and his new family.
The Sunshine Court (All for the Game Series)
I held on as tightly as you held onto me by perchancetosleep
Instantly, Wymack knows that this is going to set off a bomb in their home. Elodie is a good kid, quiet and skittish as hell, but smart and polite and pretty receptive to the general structure of their house. This kid has defiance written all over his file, and he’s fifteen, which means that he can take however much belligerence he’s guessing and fucking multiply it by ten.
But it’s also clear that Jean needs somewhere safe. And that is something he and Abby can easily provide.
Original Works
A Long Journey Home by tuesday
"I'm afraid," and King Ric really did sound apologetic with Nils kneeling at his feet, "that no matter your intentions or willingness to be there, after everything that's happened, we can't let you go."
The Lays of the Hearth Fire Series By Victoria Goddard (i.e, HOTE)
Hazards of Duty by WerewolvesAreReal
Someone tries to kill Cliopher. And then someone else tries to kill Cliopher. And then a few (dozen) more people.
Also, Quintus chooses an awful time to visit.
Shrouded Sun by WerewolvesAreReal
His Radiancy is not well.
The Virtue of Being True by electropeach (+podfic)
"You're under an enchantment, Cliopher. The good news is that the protections his Radiancy has placed on you have shielded you; the bad news is that the protections that block the spell are also reflecting it, meaning that instead of you it affects everyone who comes near you. You may have noticed an unusual propensity for candor in your vicinity today?"
A reverse truth serum plot leads to Cliopher having a very strange day.
Clone Wars
mutual affection by z_eus
Obi-Wan Kenobi loves the men of the 212th, and will do whatever it takes to keep them happy and alive. Little does he realize how much they love him too.
OR, 5 times Obi-Wan took care of his men, and 1 time they took care of him.
The Sun Rising Slow by blueleafsky
They haven’t even been deployed for a month when they get new orders, new regulations, and suddenly the chain of command gets turned on its head.
It wasn’t supposed to work like that. The Jedi were supposed to be the ones doing the planning and the leading, but after the first few battles it became very obvious that none of them knew what they were doing. Half the Senate panicked and wanted to start negotiations with the Separatists. The other half did not, and somehow that led to both sides deciding that the lesser evil was declaring the clones were actually pretty competent at the thing they’ve literally been made for.
Cody probably got lucky with his Jedi; it doesn’t complain or try to outmaneuver him and it’s actually quite helpful. If it was a brother he’d be fond of it.
Or,
The clones were (wrongly) taught that the Jedi are immortal eldritch beings devoid of personhood, the Jedi are enslaved by the Republic within a few weeks of the war starting, and nobody knows how to ask the right questions until it's almost too late.
Cody's inability to interact with people without making spreadsheets to analyze their behavior saves the galaxy.
Another design is using 2 20x25x1 filters, taping them to the sides of the box fan and then to each other so they sort of make a triangle, then cutting cardboard to make a top and bottom to the triangle.
This was discovered as a more effective design during the 2020 US west coast fires.
I’ve personally used both the flat single-filter version AND the triangular two-filter version, and based on subjective personal experience I would argue that the benefits from the second filter, both in terms of airflow and filtration, are absolutely worth it. If you need a makeshift air filter and you have two filters to work with, build the triangle (if not the box, i have no idea how good that one works but based on the info here i presume it’s a fair bit better.)
