patchwork of pilfered posts

she/her - spinster - reader of books - INFJ ace as hell

[dippingpines]

I'm not gonna give up just because I can't do something! I will never let myself succumb to that despair! (Witch Hat Atelier, 2016 - present)

[innerchildabortionclinic]

also I don't think parents "these days" are uniquely terrible, I just think neglect is showing up in new ways as technology progresses. today's ipad kid would've been wandering around in a ditch alone all day and night before. parents not wanting to have to deal with children is not a new phenomenon.

[hydrasplatl1ng]

[peoplegettingreallymadatghosts]

fell for the oldest trick in the book

[ophilosoraptoro]

[severeprincesheep]

It's on the wikipedia page that literal sea people attacked out of nowhere?

[peoplegettingreallymadatghosts]

Never doubt my shitposts again

[power-handmaiden]

when I was in high school I had a literature teacher who had a policy of unlimited extra credit. All you had to do was read a book by a notable author (his discretion) and have a little chat with him after school to prove that you read it. No limits, no need for variety (one month I decided I really loved Kurt Vonnegut and just read everything of his I could get my hands on).

Yes, I was tearing through books constantly, and talking to this teacher at least weekly. Because even though I always loved reading as a kid, literature was always a very weak subject for me in terms of a teaching-to-standardized-test school setting (I just do awful on "what color were the curtains" type multiple choice questions. Those details don't stick in my memory THEY JUST DON'T). But that didn't matter for this class. I could just read my way out of any bad test score. I have always had fond memories of how I "fudged" my way through that class and "abused' the extra credit policy.

I was thinking about it again today, and only just now realized that he absolutely tricked me into being well-read, while my teenage self thought I was totally getting away with something. THAT MOTHERFUCKER. I hope he's doing well.

[captainjonnitkessler]

Starting to think that decades of media in which the Scrappy Young Protagonist single-handedly defeats the evil empire just by winning a physical fight against the dread emperor has done real damage to people's perception of oppressive systems of power

[arrowwanders]

I can't stop thinking about how anxiety management was depicted in the latest WHA episode, so I'm going to yap about it here.

As Euini has an anxiety attack, he is surrounded by three people who approach his anxiety differently.

Agott highlights his positive qualities and his strengths. She urges Euini to face a stressful situation head on and gets frustrated when he can't. This is how Agott manages stress and anxiety- she is hyper-competent and constantly pushing herself. From a therapeutic lens, this is closely aligned with CBT and ERP strategies for managing anxiety- reframe thoughts and face anxiety directly.

Richeh tells him that he can move forward and encourages him to be "alone". She is urging him to prioritize a sense of safety. This is how Richeh operates- she prioritizes her own sense of safety by being highly protective of her autonomy, which has been threatened in the past. Again, from a therapeutic perspective, this approach is reminiscent of trauma-informed strategies- build skills to support safety and stability in order to function through triggering situations.

Alaira doesn't say a word to him. She kneels down next to him. She witnesses and doesn't try to fix. She is concerned yet calm. Because she is the test proctor, she is limited in how much she can intervene, but like a good teacher, she is a quiet, reassuring presence. Alaira's approach reflects the importance of co-regulation- it is healing to have another person witness and hold space for pain with compassion and empathy.

Euini benefits from a combination of all three strategies. He takes in the supportive presence of the group around him. He realizes that his assumptions are false- no one is ridiculing him. If anything, they are quietly concerned for him. He gains awareness of his own negative self talk and learns to doubt the accuracy of it (he isn't quite ready to reframe negative thoughts into positive, but doubting is an important step). He takes steps to foster a sense of safety- turning the cloak into a cloak of borrowshade to hide. That's what really allows him to move forward with the test.

Most media would have a struggle like Euini's be resolved the Agott way- push through and suddenly find courage to face anxiety. That's not wrong, but it isn't realistic for every person. Safety and support from others can be essential for managing anxiety, and I'm so glad this episode depicted that.

[skara-skoot]

a (kinda) book accurate Howl Pendragon/Howell Jenkins from Howls Moving Castle. I’m not the biggest fan of silver and blue together but I tried to make it work, I’ll probably clean up the colors later 😭 design wise i really wanted a star on his chest to symbolize his contract with Calcifer. i also wanted him to look likes he’s trying to cosplay a wizard…

should I draw Sophie or Markl/Michael next 🤔

[tisorridalamor]

Describing Terry Pratchett’s books is difficult. Someone asked me what the book I was reading was about, and I had to tell them it was about banking and the gold standard, but like in a cool way with golems and action. 

 I don’t think they believed me.

[poorlydescribedpterrybooks]

welcome to the club

[amatalefay]

It is so, so difficult to explain to people that your favorite book is about transgender feminist dwarves, Nazi werewolves, and the mystery of a missing piece of really old ritual bread. And Opera saves the day.

[poorlydescribedpterrybooks]

yes, give us those sweet, sweet, terrible descriptions

[rhys1812]

A tortoise who’s really a god, finds an allegory for Jesus and they go on adventures in an ancient greece like place and then a desert 

[thesummoningdark]

The chief of police averts a rerun of an ancient war, partially despite and partially because of being possessed by a dying dwarf’s graffiti

[nightfoot]

It’s like Les Miserables but Javert is the good guy and also there’s time travel.  

[aethersea]

Macbeth but it’s about the witches

[zephyrantha]

Chapter one, the protagonist is hanged. Then he’s put in charge of the post office. Yes, in that order.

[roachpatrol]

it’s like mulan if there were way more mulans in mulan and also pratchett is extra irritated that too many people missed the point of jingo

[hypotheticalwoman]

The bureaucrats of the universe get annoyed at the paperwork humanity causes so they decide to steal Christmas.  Replacement Christmas is done by Death and replacement Death is done by goth Mary Poppins, who is also in charge of the investigation.

[katedrawscomics]

these are all nice and accurate reasons to read discworld if you haven’t yet

[uovoc]

Romeo and Juliet football AU but the other team is wizards

[animate-mush]

Hollywood????

[garrettauthor]

An entire clan of tattooed, hairy, kleptomaniac, alcoholic Scotsmen decide a little girl is their new best friend whether she wants to be or not and she rescues her absolutely worthless brother by discovering the power of selfishness.

[darkravn]

@cosmictwobyfour

[nudityandnerdery]

Someone is dying, journalism is being invented, and part of Pulp Fiction is going on in the background.

[pimpmizziriam]

The universes burocrats want to measure everything so they pay a man to imprison time so everything will stop and they can measure things in peace. Goth mary Poppins saves the day, the fifth horseman of the apocalypse is the best Milkman in the world, and chocolate saves the day. Also someone was born twice.

[tanoraqui]

Classic dynastic machinations are happening in fantasy China, to be completely overturned by a gang of elderly barbarian heroes and the world’s worst wizard and best sprinter

[bailesu]

Death incarnate battles a shopping cart for the fate of the world.  

[sashathephoenix]

@grifalinas

[grifalinas]

Phantom of the Opera au, except there’s witches, a cookbook that is thinly-veiled pornography, and Christine is played by a fledgeling witch with multiple personalities who can’t stop being sensible long enough to enjoy herself

[letslipthehounds]

Hidden heir to the throne decides an cynical, alcoholic cop is the best role model in the world.

[brawltogethernow]

Atlantis provides an excuse for a xenophobia-inspired war between Britain and the Middle East but it’s fine because the armies are arrested for conspiracy to cause public nuisance.

[numberlover1729]

the jfk assassination is parodied in the above.

Rain is brought to australia by a lousy wizzard who runs from dropbears, steals a sheep, and invents vegamite

[dduane]

(sigh)(smile) All of the above.

[scribefindegil]

You can defeat Vampire Fascism with the powers of violence, your debilitating anxiety disorder, and a nice cup of tea

[boogerwookiesugarcookie]

the pied piper is a racket being run by some talking mice and a cat but they accidentally invent socialism. then of course there are also the rat horrors

[stargazing-bookwyrm]

A trio of witches (two of them uninvited) go on a journey to find out how the third one should be a fairy godmother. They run into and out of half-finished stories and manage to encounter a large amount of classic literature unscathed.

[cimminspronuncedcircle]

a cop time travels and has a hard boiled egg

[pippohound]

The hanged conman in charge of the Post is now in charge of the Bank and the Mint, who are technically owned by an incontinent dog now. Stamps lead to the invention of banknotes and now there’s golems everywhere, which is a problem and a solution in itself.

[blackrabbittttt]

The guy who made one of Replacement Death’s forms and experimented in steam power Died and his son created the first train, who is also a god and provides many of the autistic people of Fantasy New York/London a brand new hyperfixation, including the secretary of the most powerful man in Fantasy New York/London. Also the guy that should have been hanged (and is now in charge of the mint/post) is back helping the goblins make a revolution and work for his wife and train company. he takes goblin drugs at least twice and fights on top of a train with the alcoholic cop. dwarf bigots are mad about there being two genders.

[discworld-heritage-posts]

Discworld Heritage Post

[lake-yearner-unlimited]

I love Scott westerfeld's leviathan, I wish WW1 was real 😔

[8nin]

the tragedy of tumblr is you will inevitably meet people who you should be having a sleepover with. you should be rolling around on their floor and rummaging through their fridge and watching shitty movies with. you should be shopping with should be going out to a cafe with should be wandering through the aquarium with. people who you should be experiencing quotidian joys with... and you cannot! because they live one million miles away

[fluoresensitives]

Women stick thin and malnourished on the red carpet, and people are saying you can't point out that these women are dying because that's body shaming. Girl.

[doctordaemon]

@whitenikes

[pog-mo-bhlog]

So many "I was born too late" takes are actually "I was born poor" like I'm sure you WOULD have loved whatever historical quirk you're talking about, but sadly you would not have been allowed to do that. You would have died in a coal mine aged 13.

[pog-mo-bhlog]

Being afab will not protect you from dying young in a coal mine. They put wee lassies down there all the time and sometimes they died, just as the boys did. Your understanding of historical gender roles is filtered through the gender roles of the mid 20th century. Yes you would also have faced other gender based violence on top of this probably, but that doesn't make you exempt from death via coal mine.

Also thank you to every single person of colour in the notes pointing out how white the take I'm critiquing is. You are 100% right.

[specialagentartemis]

if you are going to make a post that goes “people have always been people” you are required to include an example from Africa or the precolonial Americas or Southeast Asia and if you don’t, you’re getting sent to history jail. I make the rules

[cyrjovie]

Saw a solarpunk creator spreading the news of scientists in China (if I remember correctly) experimenting with making plants bioluminescent to light cities instead of using as much artificial street lighting.

The conclusion was "this must be solarpunk" and I cannot emphasize how incorrect that is.

Whether or not this particular experimentation leads to less harmful man-made lighting, it isn't solarpunk.

Solarpunk is technology and infrastructure engineered to work in harmony with nature and community.

Changing nature to better fit human wants is NOT solarpunk.

[moniquill]

Bullshit.

Changing nature to better fit human wants and needs is fundamentally human.

Every vegetable you've ever eaten is the product of humans changing nature to better fit human wants.

I don't know that bioluminescent plants are a function solution to anything and I'm sure there are a number if very valid reasons that utmost caution should be taken with their potential implementation, but there is nothing 'not in harmony with nature' about messing with plant genetics.

Thank paleoindigeous genetic engineers from mezo/South America for the existence or corn, for example:

Zea Mays is a wholly human invention.

[alpaca-clouds]

This.

I also want to note: I think the research OP is talking about is actually from Europe, because I am aware of both a French and a Swedish research project on this topic. And admittedly, when that Swedish one released (that was in 2018, I think) I was also not fully sold, because it felt fairly gimmicky. But in the test areas where they implemented it a bunch of things happened over the test period. Distress in wild animals went down, air quality got better, and a bunch of other stuff. And now there is a project in France testing something similar since... 2023, I think?

And, yes. The general goal of those projects is basically to say: "Here is a thing where humans are negatively influencing nature. We cannot change that we are in those areas, but we can lessen the negative influence we have. Let's try this way."

Solarpunk is not about like... going back to the neolithic. It is about developing technology in a way that we can better live with nature. And this is doing that.

I do not even get OP's issue here. Like, having poles filled with water and bioluminiscent algae or fungi is not negatively impact the algae, bacteria, or fungi. Because algae, bacteria, and fungi, for the lack of a nervous system, quite literally do not care whether they grew in the ocean or in a bioluminiscent pole. But we know that this light is less disturbing to wild animals. We have shown that. Because light pollution is right now as much of an issue in some areas as other forms of pollution. So finding ways to reduce light pollution is very important.

And it should be noted: this idea about bioluminiscence as a form to light cities has been around in Solarpunk as a genre since 2014 and then of course has been a core idea that went into Lunarpunk. So while I do not know if those scientists were inspired by it or just came to the idea independently, it definitely connects to solarpunk.

[kaondecay]

Did a cursory search for sources- the Chinese glowing plant experiments are probably referring to this:

Sunlight-powered multicolor and uniform luminescence in material-engineered living plants

Here, we present the first multicolored luminescent plants excited by sunlight, featuring unprecedented brightness, long afterglow, and unif

Interestingly, their approach explicitly does *not* use genetic engineering! They argue that the genetic approach makes plants that are too dim & not color-customizable enough, so they're actually injecting the plants with luminescent microparticles. Looks like something about leaf structure makes this approach more viable in succulents than in other kinds of plants.

For genetically-engineered bioluminescent plants, I think the most recent thing is these "firefly petunias"?

Bioluminescent plants are now even brighter

Scientists have revealed how to make bioluminescent plants up to 100 times brighter. Reported in Nature Methods, a team of 26 scientists, wo

This is a US-based lab, and it looks like they're pulling genes from luminescence from mushrooms!

There's a BBC article about the French marine bacteria lights here:

The French town where the lighting is alive

From deep-sea fish to fireflies, dozens of organisms use bioluminescence to help themselves be seen in the natural world. But can we harness

I have zero expertise in anything remotely bio-ethics related, but my layman's take is that as long as you follow good safety protocols to ensure that your organism isn't super toxic and/or aggressively invasive before you start pushing widespread adoption, it's probably fine? Especially if you're replacing something that is already harmful. 🤷

[fillianore-moved]

so metropolitan museum of art has a register of books they’ve published that are out of print and that you can download for free! they’re mostly books on art, archeology, architecture, fashion and history and i just think that’s super useful and interesting so i wanted to share! you can find all of the books available here!

[skatinginfinitelywithyourmom]