welcome

welcome header image by coralei minors/ageless blogs please do not interact! 19

[judgejudyofficial]

stop letting miserable people on the internet convince you that you must have a concrete, well-constructed opinion on everything that has ever existed.

[supreme-leader-stoat]

[judgejudyofficial]

everybody say thank you Marcus Aurelius

[animentality]

[theauspolchronicles]

OK but I do genuinely believe we need to push for something like this before it's too late - and not just in digital spaces. We should have the right to peace and quiet from advertising. There should be more limits on how much and where we get advertising because otherwise it'll just become a creep of more and more until every fucking public space is lit with several billboards blasting us with ads, and the walls between spaces lined with ads, and our commutes filled with ads, and local parks sponsored by corporations to offset the cost of local councils, and so on and on and on and on. No. I need quiet. I need spaces where ads cannot touch me.

[solar-sunnyside-up]

There are places working on it! Here's some:

Grenoble, France, in 2014 banned any new billboards and took down the city owned ones in a step towards de-advertizing public spaces. They swapped out the billboards with trees btw!

The city of Nantes in western France has recently banned most electronic billboards, dismantling 110 in one night. The municipality is also cutting digital advertising in shop windows and on the public transport system. It’s also banned all advertising near schools. Which is apart of Frances over all goal to reduce visual noise and light.

In 2009, Chennai, India prohibiting billboards, digital banners and placards in public spaces.

São Paulo Brazil created a law "Lei Cidade Limpa" (Portuguese for clean city law) in 2006

Several states, namely Maine, Vermont, Hawaii, and Alaska have banned Billboards and have been working on other electronic ad bans.

This article goes over what some other locations might look like without such advertising

So just know these kinda policies are possible! Whether your in Europe where the UN is working on anti-Ad legislation, in the US, or South America!

[draconixwingforged]

Spell of Ad Removal

Like to charge, reblog to cast

[nonaferatu]

This would have had me crucified on tumblr 10 years ago but maybe we are ready for this conversation now:

If you are a socially anxious person, you have to socialize. Your panic/anxiety attacks will only get worse and trigger more frequently if you constantly avoid contact with The Public. Not saying that you need to be a social butterfly- but there is a genuine problem with not being able to order your own meal at a restaurant. And it cannot be solved by always having someone else do it for you.

This is a PSA to about 3/4s of the Portland Youth populace

[nonaferatu]

everyone who reblogs this and is like "I ordered my own tea this week" or "I only barfed once when I had to give a presentation'- you are doing amazing sweetie. Have patience with yourself, you are relearning a skill so difficult that people get 4 year degrees to do it professionally.

[coinandcandle]

Sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone and read that book that's more than a decade or even century old to learn more about magic and witchery.

You have to interact with literature and media that isn't within your own echo chamber.

You need regular confrontations with opinions and ideas outside your own bubble otherwise you. will. not. grow.

You must be able to read things critically, knowing that picking up a book and reading it does not equal you believing every word.

Learn about how others view the world, learn how people's beliefs work, learn how to intake information without assuming that every bit of information is on a binary of "good" or "bad" information.

This is the witchy version of me telling you, lovingly, to go touch grass.

[valentinethejester]

Now lets discuss why you think Cyborg is 30 despite being a member of the teen titans and the racist implications of that statement 🎤

[valentinethejester]

Black people in the ops comment section are rightfully calling them out for it but like no fr lets discuss how its the black guy you said this about how young darkskin black boys are constantly perceived to be grown and forced to grow up sooner than their nonblack or lightskin peers. And as for Cyborgs appearance if you knew anything about him you'd know he was a highschool athlete close to graduating when he had his accident.

[elisecairo]

[katherynefromphilly]

As someone who was alive when Bob Ross (and William Alexander before him — that’s where the approach is from) was on PBS, I can 100% testify that you can paint along with him.

You may need to learn how to set up your paints and such… but this is what people did, live, while the show aired. That’s what the show was for. I had family members create lovely works of art they enjoyed, which I still have on my walls, because William Alexander and Bob Ross both said:

SCREW METICULOUS CLASSICAL ART PRACTICES — JUST GRAB A PALETTE KNIFE AND BIG OLD BRUSH AND PAINT!

They freed a whole generation of people who were taught to paint detail and realism and exact representation of reality — people who largely gave up this kind of thing because it got tedious.

I watched the joy of family members as they rediscovered art as a messy fun spontaneous half hour activity.

Give it a try.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

bringing a sort of "slavery is still alive and well in US prisons" vibe to the office Juneteenth post that my higher ups don't really like

[hunter-gratzner]

From what I understand slavery was never actually abolished in the us. It is still legal and all.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

the amendment that "ended" slavery specifically left permission for slave labor as punishment for convinced criminals and our inmates have been legally exploited ever since, yes

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

not a bummer, say it louder

[fipindustries]

ok this looks ultra mega based, are you kidding me? can you imagine the bullshit i could get up to with this bad boy? fuck yes i want ten

[mint-corset]

Wait are iPhone bros coping because Apple has to be more universal? Lol.

[such-justice-wow]

Boo hoo i'll be able to add more physical storage to my phone and be able to change out batteries if they degrade as well as all these other optional features I won't have to touch

[lectorel]

Continuing in the trend of political cartoons depicting milquetoast moderate positions seem so much cooler and more badass than they are

[domina-honoribila]

I love how they add totally absurd things no one is asking for to make the idea look crazy. And still, I must emphasize, failing to make this look like a bad idea.

[teaboot]

"Is this what you want? Is this ugly stupid bullcrap what you want??" the biggest loudest idiot in the room asks, holding up a picture of the hottest looking shit I've ever seen

[57circlesofhell-deactivated2015]

I once tried to explain depression to someone as like if one day you gradually started to lose both your sense of taste and your ability to feel full. And you don’t know why, but now everything you eat tastes like mashed potatoes and nothing you eat is satisfying. You keep eating because you must eat to live, but the effort that it takes to prepare food is taxing and there is no pay off. You just know it will taste like mashed potatoes. You just know you will still be hungry. So you stop bothering with seasonings. Then you stop bothering to use ingredients you used to like. Then you start to wonder what the point of eating is because there is no payoff. You still feel hungry and you’re sick of the taste and you don’t know if you will ever enjoy food again and you don’t know why this is happening.

If someone comes up to you in this scenario and says, “Well have you tried spicing your food? Using different ingredients? Eating foods you used to love?” It isn’t necessarily helpful because the reason you stopped doing all that in the first place is that everything…tasted…like mashed…potatoes.

[ladyjanelly]

This. Completely this.

[eleilinnrallin]

This is a reminder for those who handmake Christmas presents that now is not too early to start. It may in fact be a good time to start if you have a lot to make/your craft takes a long time. You should maybe start it now, whether that's brainstorming or actually doing the crafts!

[newtsoftheworldunite]

Translating this into tumblr's preferred public service announcement format for this kind of alert:

[bitchesgetriches]

Everything Is Becoming a Bank

Most major corporations — from airlines to social media platforms — now aspire to become unregulated banks. Bankification today accounts for

[apatosaurus]

This is a long read, but worth it. Some takeaways:

-Don’t use “buy now pay later.” The fine print isn’t what it seems.

-The fine print on medical financing, store credit cards, and contactless payment is also not what it seems.

-Payday loans are still predatory, even when offered by your employer

-Rewards programs are an income stream for the companies that run them. The points systems are manipulated so that the house always wins. They depend on people leaving money in rewards accounts and not in interest-bearing traditional bank accounts.

-Electronic payment apps like VenMo are not banks. You don’t earn interest. Your money is not protected.

-Your financial information is not private if your money is not kept in a regulated bank.

-None of this is regulated by the FDIC. Your money is not protected if it is held by a non-bank doing banking business. Our economy is not protected from the collapse of financial institutions that are not banks.

-The Biden administration was making progress in increasing accountability for non-banks operating as predatory financial services providers. The current administration is reversing those protections to favor corporations.

[mierac]

Oh boy.

 A third of younger Americans hold their savings on nonbank tech platforms like Venmo

PEOPLE! DO NOT LEAVE YOUR MONEY IN VENMO OR APPLE PAY OR ANY OF THIS SHIT. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GO FIND A REAL BANK OR A CREDIT UNION.

If Venmo were to close tomorrow all your money would vanish. There's no insurance or guarantee on any of these things. I know banks aren't great but legit banks will have the "FDIC insured" logo on their doors and websites, which means if my bank goes under tomorrow I still get my money back. Also I guarantee you there is a credit union somewhere in your town, go find it.

You can leave some money in Venmo or Apple pay or whatever, but NOT ALL OF IT for the love of God.

[lizardlicks]

If you don't want to deal with the large banking industry i get it. Go sign up for a local credit union. They're FDIC insured, your money stays local, and you can personally get to know and talk to your bank.

[the-real-seebs]

Probably the best piece of advice I ever got from my lawyer was opening a credit union account. They really are noticably better behaved than banks.

[cwicseolfor]

Your money IS NOT insured under the FDIC in a credit union account (they’re bank-only); it is insured under the NCUA instead. Insured institutions will typically put the logo or a statement about said insurance on the bottom of their webpages and mailers or letters. (Investment accounts in brokerages would be insured via the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, SIPC, but only against the brokerage going out of business or similar, not against market losses when the prices of things an investor owns go down.)

This matters a lot in this administration because there are so many attacks on regulation, especially the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CPFB) and attempts to do bullshit like force banks to bail out crypto speculators before US dollar holders, so I would not be surprised if they tried something there too.

[bitchesgetriches]

We go over this exact topic (the FDIC, NCUA, and even threats to the CFPB) in this video essay:

FDIC Insured Banking Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means: The Truth About Securing Your Savings 

[rachelbethhines]

PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay should only be for transferring funds and online payments as an extra security step, or as a possible back up if you loose your card and are waiting for a new one to come in.

They are not for storing/saving your money!

[starlightxraven]

Nobody needs AI to search the Internet, court says in ruling against Google

Google AI Overview court loss in Germany could spell doom for AI search industry.

[appalachian-werewolf]

"Google AI Overview court loss in Germany could spell doom for AI search industry."

It fucking better.

[mrsjdavis]

Like to charge, reblog to cast?

[sunflowerquill]

Some (Free) Writing Resources I Use

I've noticed that half the writing resources I see recommended are usually pretty limited without paying, so allow me to list off some of the completely free ones I've used throughout the years:

Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator

Literally amazing for creating maps, it's so detailed and has a wide variety of options. I made the map for my book using it by modifying one of its randomly-generated templates. You definitely don't have to be an artist to use it but I did personally add little details to mine via hand later. Nevertheless, highly recommend.

Scribus

If you're formatting your own book, Scribus is basically the free version of Adobe InDesign. It has a bit more of a learning curve and doesn't have all of InDesign's capabilities, but it's just perfect for book formatting. I formatted three whole books on it by myself and they came out great. You've just gotta have a bit of patience until you get used to it.

Fantasy Name Generators

Ok yeah, this seems obvious since it's a very well-known website. I often use it as inspiration without directly taking names from it (since the names I put into my books almost always bear some sort of meaning), but then I looked at the sheer number of categories and HOLY MOLY. It may be called Fantasy Name Generators but you'll find names for everything there.

PureWriter

Well, this is awkward, because this writing program actually has a premium version so it's not completely free... Should I feel like a hypocrite? Maybe, but I think the free version is more than enough for most writers. It's on mobile and PC; mind you, I've only ever used the mobile version, but I'm really satisfied with it. Even without Premium there are no ads, the formatting options are a delight, and it's just really handy for writing on the go (because Google Docs and Word are atrocious for writing on mobile, fight me on this). Anyway, very neat program.

WordHippo

By far my favourite online dictionary (aside from the more 'professional' ones like Cambridge) because it provides you with quite a lot of options: from synonyms and antonyms to words that rhyme with the word you've put in! As someone whose books include some lore-important poetry here and there, it's been a real lifesaver whenever I find myself stuck.

HeightComparison

So... this may seem weird. It's a really small detail, but since I am also an artist who depicts her characters, I think that knowing your characters' heights (especially in comparison to one another) can really help with writing all kinds of interractions. Like the classic "someone stands on their tiptoes for a kiss" or "this person has to duck when passing through a doorway". I used it to measure my characters' sizes compared to a building and then used that information to determine the size of another being that appears in the books. Pretty fun stuff.

Anyway, that's all. Speaking of free resources, I recently discovered Carrd and it's pretty neat for making a simple site to display your books. Check it out! :)

Toodles <3

[iwannarunawayandbeapirate]

GM Resources

Here are my favourite websites that help me prepare and run TTRPG sessions (I mainly play D&D 5e but many of these will also work for other games). All of these are either completely free or have a free base version.

2-Minute-Tabletop: Lots of free tokens, maps and more! Also contains some content you have to pay for, but the free selection is usually enough for me. Very useful, especially if you're running online games. You can even customise the tokens' colours.

Lost Atlas: A huge selection of free maps, with filters to help you find exactly what you're looking for.

Falindrith's D&D Monster Maker: Create custom D&D monster statblocks. Lots of customisation options, from spellcasting to legendary actions. Very useful if you want to create a unique BBEG, but too complex to use for minions imo.

Fantasy Name Generators: You've probably heard of this one before, but it's incredibly useful. Whether you need to quickly come up with some NPC names, figure out what that town is called, or invent an extra riddle because your players solved the puzzle way too quickly, you'll find what you need here. It's very versatile and even has specific name generators for some RPGs!

Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator: This is my favourite world map tool. You can generate a random map and then customize it until it fits for your campaign. You can let it generate country and town names for you or come up with your own.

Dungeon Scrawl: Create your own digital battle maps. Base version is free, but you can pay for a premium version if you want more features. Not as quick as simply downloading an existing map, but you will be able to create exactly the kind of map you want.

I Loot The Body: Great if you need to quickly generate loot, treasure, or NPCs (I mainly use it for the latter). Compatible with D&D 5e and Pathfinder 2e.

Nuudel: Wonderful tool for planning the date and time of your next session. Easy to use and it works very well. If you make a poll with it, make sure to select "All voters can modify any vote", otherwise it can lead to problems if people want to edit their own answer. The website is German but you can switch to a different language in the drop-down menu in the top right corner.

These are just the ones I know off the top of my head, if I remember or discover more websites/tools I will update this post.

Feel free to reblog and share your own resources!

[midwinterhunt]

Hot Writers Don't Gatekeep

the writers REALLY liked my artist resource post, so I thought i'd give y'all my dragon hoard of things i use for writing

Reverse Dictionary, you type in the meaning of a word, and it gives you a bunch of words that mean that. (MY MOST IMPORTANT OFFERING IN THIS LIST)

Slang Dictionary, what it says on the tin.

Anglish Translator, Anglish is if English evolved without borrowing from other languages and it really itches my brain (Anglish is if english grown without borrowing from other languages and it truly itches my brain)

Incorrect Quotes Generator, Put character names in, and incorrect quotes come out. Really fun way to goof around with your characters' dynamics.

Handspeak, an ASL dictionary

Library of Babel, Odds are, the finished version of your wip is in here somewhere

The best fantasy map maker i have ever used

Glitch Text Generator is one I use A Lot, does ť̷̨̢͓̤͔̤̤̝̺̯̄̔̄̌̄͗͒͋͂͋͝ḩ̵̼̜͍͚͕̏̓͊̈̉̆̄͐́͗͒̈̃̊̚͜i̵̻̐̇̎̏̀̋̌̃̇̿͘̚s̴̮̔̂̇͒͑͝͝ͅ to your text

Totally not bootleg microsoft office

Emotions Thesaurus a guide for writing emotions and their associated body language

Mythcreants, has a whole bunch of stuff you can read to learn more about the technical aspects of writing

A decent article talking about what to think about when creating a language

Trope Talks, particularly good for beginner and younger writers or people who have a hard time reading. Honestly this whole channel is a fantastic format to get information into my adhd rattled brain.

FOR MY AO3 BESTIES! Postimages will host your image forever so you can embed it into your work

Ambient Chaos, sometimes the only thing in the world that can kick your brain into writing mode is nuclear sirens and lofi beats

Radioooooo, play a station from any place and year. Particularly helpful for period pieces.

[midwinterhunt]

Food timeline, when foods were invented

[aerimmiese]

AO3 Social Media AU Work Skins, a collection of guides on how to incorporate CSS/HTML into your socmed fics, “to enhance our storytelling and make a more immersive reading experience.”

Coding Encyclopedia, a comprehensive guide to coding for AO3 fics.

[sailermoon]

this is how new yorkers @ mamdani

[sailermoon]

[anexperimentallife]