Hunt's Mesa, Monument Valley by Bousure
The Stonewall Inn
Sweet Seals For You, Always

izzy's playlists!
Not today Justin
Keni
tumblr dot com
No title available
RMH

❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
untitled
One Nice Bug Per Day
sheepfilms
hello vonnie
🩵 avery cochrane 🩵

Product Placement
art blog(derogatory)
𓃗
KIROKAZE

Andulka

#extradirty
seen from United States

seen from Singapore
seen from Ecuador

seen from Canada
seen from Singapore
seen from Tunisia

seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Chile
seen from Bangladesh
seen from Russia

seen from Bolivia
seen from Brazil

seen from Venezuela
seen from Germany

seen from United States

seen from Austria

seen from Albania
seen from Bangladesh
seen from Venezuela
@nuclearly
Hunt's Mesa, Monument Valley by Bousure
Are you as ADHD as I am? Then here’s a quick and easy guide to help you get a headstart on your microlibrary.
Overwhelmed by politics and life? Here’s a quick and easy guide to starting your personal trans microlibrary 🩷 written especially with the ADHD girlies in mind.
This article is the second in my Trans Literature Preservation Project initiative, aimed to combat the rising threat of fascism and anti-trans censorship around the world 🗣️
If you’ve ever wanted to read a book by a trans person before, I’ve included dozens of links in here to help you get started! There is absolutely no expertise required to do this work 🩷 Cis people can help too!
This one is making the rounds now, and is still both relevant and pressing!
Are you as ADHD as I am? Then here’s a quick and easy guide to help you get a headstart on your microlibrary.
Overwhelmed by politics and life? Here’s a quick and easy guide to starting your personal trans microlibrary 🩷 written especially with the ADHD girlies in mind.
This article is the second in my Trans Literature Preservation Project initiative, aimed to combat the rising threat of fascism and anti-trans censorship around the world 🗣️
If you’ve ever wanted to read a book by a trans person before, I’ve included dozens of links in here to help you get started! There is absolutely no expertise required to do this work 🩷 Cis people can help too!
This one is making the rounds now, and is still both relevant and pressing!
If THE modern translator of the OG Odyssey text wrote this about my film adaptation I’d kill myself
Emily Wilson you’re goated
She absolutely destroyed Nolan in this review O_O
"Without a tub of wax for my ears – which Himesh Patel’s ever anxious Eurylochus, Odysseus’s doomed right-hand man, uses to sail safely past the Sirens – I was exposed to the full din of thumping sticks, staffs, swords and clashing armour, thunderbolts, crashing waves, grunts, screams, toppling palaces and burning temples. But unlike Matt Damon, the wax-free Odysseus who is tied to the mast as he is conveyed past the Sirens (naked ladies reclining on some uncomfortable-looking rocks), I gazed at the shipwrecks and bloodbaths without any agony of emotion."
and
"There are more female characters than in most Nolan movies, thanks to the source material. But none of them has much to say, in contrast to the characterisations in the poem."
Well, that tracks for a Nolan film -
"The couple have no chemistry and nothing in common. Throughout his wanderings, the uxorious Odysseus clings to a little doll figure, intended to represent his wife (like the spinning top clutched by Leonardo di Caprio in Inception); the real woman is barely more interesting."
Yikes -
"If you’re not going to compose a script in Homeric Greek, or even in metrical English verse, you might as well use something like conversational American English. But writing dialogue is not one of Nolan’s talents. The language is relentlessly expository, humourless and flat."
The lines she calls out in this section will probably make a least a couple of my friends laugh incredulously -
"I was humbled to learn that Nolan has read at least the first line of my translation of The Odyssey into iambic pentameter. In at least one interview, he cited my version of the first line of the poem: ‘Tell me about a complicated man.’ But I would be ashamed to have written any part of this script."
....oh my GOD, EMILY -
"The most troubling ethical problem with Nolan’s Odyssey concerns the decision to film part of the movie in the occupied territory of Western Sahara, thus normalising the ongoing violence against the indigenous Sahrawi people. It is particularly galling that Nolan used this land simply as a visually striking backdrop for a film that centres, aggrandises and redeems the hero of a territorial war on account of his belated and partial acknowledgment of his own guilt."
And deepest respect that she didn't fail to mention the film's colonialism in production. You can tell she added the very last paragraph saying "'thanks for maybe getting people interested in classics" only because an editor begged her to say something - anything - nice about the movie.
Pay attention to it!
1, 4, 7, 10: Long-term nuclear waste warning message / 2: House of Leaves / 3, 9: Hollow Knight / 5: Signalis / 6: Anatomy / 8. Underwater cave in Florida
Official House Post
"how do you feel about labels as a queer person?"
By Czeck writer Karel Čapek, inventor of the term ‘robot’ as well!
This is one of my husband’s favorite short stories. He quotes it from memory. I’m pretty sure he can recite the entire thing from memory.
This is a tremendously impactful short story and every time I see it, it serves as an excellent reboot button for my state of mind.
this is fucking incredible
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
i hope the original author sees this thread go by (or y'all are leaving comments on ao3), there is a A LOT of love in the tags and they absolutely deserve it
hey, I'm isaac chotiner I wrote this! I thought a small handful of people might enjoy it and instead it is by some margin the most popular thing I've ever posted on ao3. two key takeaways: 1) the people crave affectionate fidelity to the new yorker style guide, and 2) yuletide rules
Matt Levine linked to my fic in Money Stuff and described it as "Isaac Chotiner/Shirley Jackson fan fiction," I feel like I'm on drugs and/or hallucinating
what the actual fuck did I just read (positive)
Today's Adventure is that I, after an unintentional 13-hour power nap,
Got woken up at 6AM by a phone call from a friend stranded in Montana because of the heat wave and almost no cell service because of their crap provider.
OhSoThat'sHowIt'sGonnaBe.jpg
Ok.
I somehow summon a week's worth of spoons and in less than 30 minutes and 5 phone calls, get them
A hotel
An appointment with a mechanic from 2 states away
A perscription refilled from 2 states away
and A Pizza
Go me.
But then it's 8AM and there are unscheduled live humans at the door and while EVERGENCY MODE is still on, I have already blown through a ton of spoons, and also probably shouldn't meet whoever it is wearing just a pair of bootyshorts that say "CRYPTID" in Gothic Font on my ass.
So I greet them in those shorts and a T-shirt that I manage to put on both inside out and backwards
#nailedit
It is, Fortunately, not the mormons.
it is, Unfortunately, two UPS guys trying to deliver my other in-house friend's new phone except the new guy doesn't know how to operate the "sign for package" device, and the old guy that's supposed to be mentoring him is like, 92, deaf as a post, and doesn't actually know how to operate the device either.
by the way
it is already
over 100 out
it takes almost 30 minutes to sign for the phone
when i get back inside, i discover that apparently the Corgi has learned how to open his kennel from the inside because he is now out of the kennel and waiting for me to come in.
he also has cat litter all over his face because while he was waiting for me he also learned how to open the baby gate to the cat's room and help himself to a cat shit breakfast.
He'll be fine
He's a cattle dog, they're legally required to have at least 1 really disgusting snack they love.
but
more to the point
i have no idea at what point he learned to open his kennel from the inside
has he been staying there out of politeness this whole time??
And
I got other shit to do today.
namely.
I'm seeing a realator
The Devils most pathetic yet effective demons
I get a reminder text that I have an appointment with her
at least
I think that's what it is because what she sends me is: "🏡⏰12:00 ❔"
With the time typed in the middle like that.
She is, according to her profile, at least 80.
so I reply "😎👍"
and then she sends me a string of GODDAMN POST-MODERN EMOJI HEIROGLYPHICS THAT TAKE UP MY ENTIRE SCREEN.
She's on an iPhone so half of them don't even translate across platforms
It takes me half an hour and three different software programs and goddamn wingdings to translate, but she has sent me the address and rules about masking and not wearing shoes inside.
in emoji
instead of like
literally any other format
I am
FASCINATED
and simply must meet the woman so if I don't come back to update I got stolen by the fairies but I'm taking the Corgi with me as protection so I'll see y'all later.
Update:
It's not fairies
It's Doris.
might be about to get a sewing machine and/or start an ACAB riot.
Ok, so:
I'm going to see a prospective house because due to various circumstances, I'm probably going to be moving to the other side of a major metropolitan area in the next few months, but that's not important.
I get to the house
I get a text from the realtor
The realtor is not the person who has been texting me in emoji
The person texting me in emoji is the homeowner, who the realtor says will let me in if I want, she's running late.
Sure
Why not
I put Herschel on leash and go to the front door
As much crime as he commits at home Herschel The Hanukkah Goblin has terrific public manners, and is Very Cute so I'm about 90% sure the emoji fairy is going to let me take him through the house
Door opens.
90-something blue haired old lady with a spine like a question mark and glasses that could be used as telescope lenses opens the door.
"OH [Gallus]! How lovely to see you!"
This woman clearly knows me because she remembers my anniversary was last week and that my sister is back from Australia.
Problem is
I know about 500 geriatric ladies with blue hair, scoliosis and extreme prescription glasses, because I am a member of 2 quilt guilds, the scientific illustration guild, the rocky mountain SCA and stagehand for three different theater companies, so I know everyone's grandma and fuck me if I can tell them apart.
Wait
There's a quilt in thekitchen, visible front hall
I don't know faces but apparently I can recognize applique techniques at 40paces.
"...Doris? From SAQA?"
"YES! Who is this handsome little man?"
Herschel speaks enough English to know that "handsome little man" means "this person will feed me milk bones and bacon if I'm cute enough"
Immediately does a Sit Pretty and Shake.
Doris is bewitched
This is fine, but I also know I'm about to severely disappoint the realtor because there is no way in hell I'm moving into this House.
Because
The reason Doris is moving out is that her neighbor is a Cunt Magnifique and has been harassing Doris and everyone else to form an HOA and "improve the quality of our residents" because this woman has nothing better to do than be a racist-ass busy body, and recently, she's set her husband, a county sheriff on Doris, trying to bully her into signing paperwork and threatening her with legal action and writing her up for bullshit property violations
Ain't putting up with that shit
And neither is Doris, so she's selling all her shit and moving out to live with her grandchildren in Santa Monica.
But she's technologically impaired, so the only indication that there is an estate sale happening is a small paper sign in her front yard.
"Doris." I say, as Herschel makes himself comfortable on the couch for belly rubs and pieces of ham. "Did you tell SAQA or FRCC or anyone on Facebook that you're having the sale?"
"oh, I don't know how to do all that!" She sighs. "I tried to call the Denver post but they just put me on hold for ages..."
"Watch Herschel for 20 minutes and he's only allowed to have that one piece of ham."
Pics of everything
Address, time and pics to Facebook, both quilt guilds she's in, two more I have contacts for, nextdoor, and the local SCA discord for good measure.
It's 12 minutes and Herschel persuaded her to give him at least three pieces of ham.
He is petitioning for a fourth by doing a little puppy dance on the living room rug.
"OK, that's enough ham, people will be here in 10. Where is your cash box?"
Because apparently I'm running an estate sale today too.
It's fine :)
There's about 7 minutes of quiet.
Then
They DESCEND
The first on the scene is DeeDee, who doesn't believe in speed limits. She's arrived with a horse trailer. I remember that she is also moving.
"HI DORIS SWEETHEART WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS TODAY I WAS GOING TO TAKE ALL THIS TO THE GOODWILL HERE LET ME SET UP ON YOUR LAWN "
DeeDee is 73, and has a special spiritual bond with Hello Kitty. She weighs like 98lbs, dresses exclusively in neon pink sanrio clothes and the kind of eye makeup drag queens aspire to.
She also speaks non-stop at a volume normally associated with jet engines.
Half the horse trailer is already spread out on the lawn.
Doris is putting price stickers on stuff
Herschel is trying to tear open a bag of cotton batting.
This, and the arrival of approximately 56 minivans, five more trucks with horse trailers and Corgi Excitement Screaming alert Cunt Magnifique that something is happening outside.
Madame saunters off her porch up to Doris and Demands to know what's happening, you're supposed to notify the neighborhood and get a permit to-"
Doris, surrounded by her pack of silver wolves, shouts. "OH HELLO! EVERYONE, THIS IS MARCIA. I'VE TOLD YOU ALL ABOUT MARCIA." >:)c
... further details in a bit I think the Vikings are here.
~`* SOMEONE'S GETTING FIRED!!*`~
OK so.
You know those high school house parties you see in movies, where the person invites only a few friends, but those friends call their friends, and those friends call THEIR friends and soon like 500 people show up to one house and someone calls the cops and that one John Mulaney sketch with "SCATTER!" happens?
Old people will 100% do this too, except instead of a house party it's an estate sale on a wednesday afternoon and when the cop shows up there are lawyers present and he is in DEEP SHIT because his wife just spent the afternoon admitting to doing a bunch of wildly illegal shit on tape.
So when we left off, the party had really started getting underway, because Marcia the Cunt Magnifique had decided to crash the estate sale and whine about "we're supposed to coordinate garage sales as a neighborhood" and "your friends are blocking traffic on this cul-de-sac while nobody is home" weh weh-
DeeDee is about ready to throw hands but she is nowhere near the most dangerous of the Silver Silver Wolves.
That's Dr. Ruth.
Dr. Ruth turned 99 this year and went paragliding for her birthday
So you understand just how hard she goes
Dr. Ruth sort of hobbles over and point-blank asks "So I understand you've been trying to start a homeowner's association?" :3c
Marcia
Entirely misunderstanding how much danger she's in
Starts enumerating the TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS of trying to start one, because SOME PEOPLE DON'T RESPECT AUTHORITY and all the paperwork and talking to people and she even had to ask HER HUSBAND. A SHERRIF. To go around and hand people stuff to sign.
Some people, right?
Dr. Ruth nods. Some people. She agrees.
You know.
Her son is a lawyer.
Why doesn't she give him a call?
Marcia, a Moron: Oh that'd be great!
Dr. Ruth, hobbling back to Doris: "Don't worry. David will handle this."
Meanwhile
The Friends-Of-Friends and the Friends-Of-Friends-Of-Friends are arriving, lured in because they heard the words "Longarm Sewing Machine" and "Hand-made quilts"
Various factions present include but are far from limited to: -Probably Six Quilt Guilds -The Denver Art League -The Denver Leather League -The Vikings -The Klingons -The Colorado Wild Game Share -A Pack of Scientific Illustrators -A Pack of Assorted Scientists they brought with them -The Sheep Lesbians -The Horse Lesbians -Three Extremely Competent Finnish People (My Scientific Illustration Professor and her sisters) who immediately take over the estate sale and turn it into an auction to maximize profit and keep the taxes in order.
Someone brings two additional Corgi called "Cap" and "Bucky"
They are Pembroke Corgi, and weigh about 21lbs apiece
Herschel is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi and weighs 42lbs because he's hug even for a Cardigan, and is Delighted with his New Minions.
They worship him as a God and follow him around so every time he sticks his face in something two smaller corgi faces immediately follow, like some kind of adorable cerberus.
Pelts and meat shares are being traded out of the backs of trucks and vans
Someone is making bratwurst.
Intrigued by the Brouhaha, Doris' neighbors emerge.
They are also Geriatric and very nervous, because Marcia has been harassing them too.
They are telling this to the members of these factions that are also lawyers.
There are at least 5 of them so far and David isn't even here yet.
I realize my realtor isn't even here.
I decide to text her.
She is somewhere in the crowd and having a nervous breakdown because She's SO LATE!!!
Ma'am.
It's 103 out.
I was just handed a freshly grilled Brat
Some bitch is incriminating herself on the lawn.
Nothing scheduled is happening.
Come sit in the yard and watch the Corgis play on the Palyskool plastic slide set. They're disassembling it like tiny furry engineers.
Have a bratwurst.
One of the Klingons appears, having physically carried my realtor through the crowd, and gently deposits her on the lawn before handing her a Bratwurst.
Diane, the Realtor, is not much older than I am, and from the preppie swaths of society that has "Never had a dog growing up" and "Didn't Know People Could Just. Make. Blankets?" and "What is this? It's like a hot dog but spicy?"
She is having a LEARNING EXPERIENCE.
One of the Horse Lesbians comes over and compliments Diane on her Dior handbag.
Diane thanks her ans compliments the apparently expensive brand scarf she has on. Do you. Know all these people?
Horse Lesbian explains that she's part of the SCA, and what that is, and that why yes. Her girlfriend Tasha is an armorer. Yes like for knights.
More Livestock Lesbians assemble.
They are pulling off shirts to show off livestock and battle scars, and biceps.
Diane is LEARNING A LOT TODAY.
I am just getting everyone's contact info and making sure Herschel does not consume his weight in bratwurst.
BWOOP!
Uh-Oh.
Marcia's Husband is here.
I step out front.
He has used the siren to largely part the crowd and pull into his driveway but it has closed around him and there is No Escape.
He starts huffing and puffing about blocked traffic and permits and the like, but this is not his usual Can-Bully-Without-Consequences crowd.
These are Grandmas.
Veterans of the 60's protest front who never let up.
He's starting to turn bright red and looks like he's about to cry and I've got my phone out to record whatever Incident is about to occur.
-And a Mercedes pulls up.
It's David.
Dr. Ruth's son.
The Lawyer.
And I emphasize that The because David is not some mere ambulance chaser.
David is the guy that the state sends to prosecute Corporate Fraud and Organized Crime and Other State Departments.
David was part of the team that took down the CO Branch of the KKK.
David is all of 5'4", very round and a balding little man that looks like the Dictonary Definition of "Nebbish" that moves with such intense confidence and authority that he pretty much has the Pillar Men Theme Blasting behind him at all times.
So when he and three other lawyers from the state's office step out of the car
Mr. Sherrif goes from red to while like color-changing octopus and I am like 50% sure he shit himself.
Because what he and Marcia have been doing is Very, Very, Very, VERY, Fucking Illegal.
"mArCiA!" he garbles. "sHuT tHe fUcK uP!"
Marcia is standing in the middle of the cul-de-sac, having spent the last 3 hours recounting to anyone who will listen about the 'measures she's had to take' and now the 5 lawyers that were here are delightedly handing over the paperwork that she had forced on Doris and her Neighbors, and pointing at all the doorbell cameras and witnesses out to the state's top prosecutor.
Friends
I ugly laughed.
FOUR HOURS LATER: -Auction wrapped up with a solid $40K to Doris' name plus pending sales on some of her larger furniture and antiques
Plus whatever David gets in damages from the county sherrif's office.
Marcia and husband are fucking busted
Herschel spent all afternoon running around and eating snacks and is passed out on the floor
Diane is "meeting up with" one of the Horse Lesbians next week.
The sewing machine went to someone else but I did open my purse and found out Doris or someone shoved a bunch of cash in there.
I'm getting ice dream and going to bed.
#stefan voice: this post has everything #senior citizens. quilts. hello kitty. vikings. horse lesbians. legal consequences. finnish auctioneers. one realtor’s gay awakening. corgis.
(@nonasuch)
Okay, I need to add some clarification and correction to this.
This photo is known as The Pale Blue Dot. It was taken by Voyager 1, a space probe meant to explore the outer reaches of the solar system. Far from dying, she's still out there doing her job and is the furthest human made object from Earth.
In the mid 80's, they knew Voyager 1 would soon pass beyond where her cameras would matter and she needed to save power, so the question became: what's the last thing she should take a picture of?
Carl Sagan and Carolyn Porco both independently had the same thought: take a picture of Earth. Us. Yes, it would be essentially just one pixel. It wouldn't be scientifically useful. It might even damage the camera because of how intense the sun is, even forty times as far from Earth as Earth is from the Sun. But they got it sorted because it's NASA.
3.7 million (not billion) miles away, that's Earth. Caught in bands of light, artifacts of the Sun's incredible power even 4 million miles away. We are an island in a sea of radiation and vacuum and it's all we have.
I can't say it better than Sagan did, so I'll let you alone with his words:
From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar", every "supreme leader", every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
— Carl Sagan
I think the truth is just a lot better.
“So... We got the exploding diarrhea. Here's my advice for anyone who doesn't have it yet:
It's going to take a minute for the government to pin down where this is coming from, and then issue a recall, because the FDA has been gutted. But, I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt : this is coming from Taylor Farms produce, and you will see them recalled.
You'll want to avoid all Taylor Farms produce in the grocery store. They supply McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, about any fast food place you can think of.
Raspberries, watermelons, cilantro, and the veggies you're hearing about are not causing this many people to get sick. It's the shredded lettuce, specifically, that's the problem. But, you'll want to stay away from every type of produce this company puts out, because one strand of shredded lettuce is all it takes to contaminate bushels.
Taylor Farms is the source. Taco Bell proactively pulled their produce from their restaurants. You're going to see other fast food places doing this, and probably will see that before the government names a source. The FDA knows this, but they can't come out and tell us all until there's proof, which takes resources and research, which takes manpower, but the FDA has been cut by about 20-30%
During the Biden term, onions at McDonald's had ecoli. We knew this because DNA testing was done quickly and they were able to narrow it down to one place that caused the outbreak. And, it was traced back to Taylor Farms. This isn't going to be solved as quickly though.
When you get this, make a virtual appointment to your PCP - a "same day sick" appointment. Tell them someone in your family just tested for this and was positive and was prescribed Bactrim. If you go in person, they're probably going to make you poop in a cup and wait until results come back to prescribe.
You'll know when you get this. Trust me on all of this.
You'll want to stay hydrated because this parasite damages the lining of the small intestine. Your small intestine, in turn, secretes more water into the gut, and less nutrients and liquid are able to remain in the body. So no matter how much you shit, you're going to want to drink. A day of this leads to dehydration if you don't increase your fluid intake, and a few days will land you in the hospital.
If you have headaches, weakness, muscle cramps, dizziness, or an increase heart rate - hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Go to the ER for fluids if you can't drink enough.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk. Brought to you by America's 250 birthday celebrations, workforce reduction in the FDA and CDC, and viewers like you.
Please feel free to share this.
And, MAGA - don't blow up the comment section. I argued with y'all on COVID bc I was afraid y'all would die, but I really don't care if you get explosive diarrhea.
And no, ivermectin will not help this at all.”
we should mandate industrial themed nonbinary names to balance out all of the people naming themselves after trees. throw Anvil into the mix
My friend really changed once she became a vegetarian
its like ive never seen herbivore
i sighed so loud my mom asked me if i was okay and she’s two rooms away
🪩 🎶 🦀 🦀 🦀 🎶 🪩
One popular take on "deconstructions" of children's media I'll push back on is the idea that talking about how fucked up it is that a bunch of kids have to save the world is inherently pandering to adult audiences. Kids love it when kids' media is about how fucked up it is to be a kid who has to save the world – you've just gotta not be condescending about it.
do you live in seattle (the american city)?
yes
no
please reblog to get this poll out of my bubble, i want reach
I'm trying to make a TTRPG myself, and I was hoping you might have a place to look for useful resources in my specific niche. I am creating a game that is a synthesis of the entire white Wolf family of games. I am also creating a world for this, a high fantasy, multi-genre that is experiencing the 1660. Do you have any resources you might be willing to share? Thank you in advance for your time!
based on my limited knowledge of white wolf games, I think you would get historical utility from:
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn: the early chapters give a look into how capitalism was born of early slavery and settler-colonialism. The section on Bacon's Rebellion, though occurring in the 1670s, lays out the messy class politics of the time.
Pirate Enlightenment by David Graeber: accounts of 17th century European contact in what would become North America and Madagascar that argues for "The Enlightenment" in Europe being born of European colonist and pirate dialogue with the indigenous Wendat/Huron Confederacy in what's now Canada, the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy in what's now the US, and the Malagasy in what's now Madagascar.
For more big picture views of how history and the world function that I think would be helpful for worldbuilding generally
The Conquest of Bread and Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution by Pyotr Kropotkin: foundational anarchist communist texts that provide historical and scientific frameworks for analyzing the systems that govern life and propose alternatives, not as the product of some future threshold of technological advancement, but born of cooperation that has always been possible and has always re-emerged despite repression. Lots of good information on pre-industrial class struggle and biology that you could extrapolate with fantasy elements.
The Dawn of Everything and Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Wengrow and David Graeber: anthropological works focusing on the history of money and politics and debunking the prevalent models of linear progress from "primitivity" to "civilization" and the image of the "noble savage." If you want to understand how the world and societies function and how to conceive of your own for fiction, I think these are the two works most useful for that. I think everyone should read them, they were deeply influential on me, as was all of Graeber's work.
My general advice is always just to read more history, think about the systems and elements that shape a place and her history, and think about how any fantasy element you introduce would affect the structures or power and production that exist.
My specific advise, as the Maidist girl, is to rip out men from your setting and make something only about girls. I'm also always a fan of taking out horses because the horse is probably the animal most responsible for our prevailing class systems historically besides the man. I think those two removals would alter history more radically than like, being able to cast fireball, honestly.
Thank you so much! I appreciate the assistance. Those are good recs, I've actually read all of them (Graeber is a major influence on me as well). The 1660 year isn't a hard line, I picked it looking for a specific historical set of circumstances: the development of the modern state (in our world, that makes my world post-Westphalia, as well as post-Reformation), the emergence of cannon that can be moved easily (as opposed to a ten-ton thing that only wealthy empires can have, and only one of), and the proliferation of effective personal firearms (the flintlock musket in this case). And in fact, I *did* take out the horse, put something much more useful in there. I also removed -Rome -Christianity -Divine Right of Kings (or, as I call it, a hierarchy based on some man, and it's *always* a man, who thinks god wants him to have all the power and wealth) -Whiteness entirely (whiteness is also a fantasy concept, in that it is as real as magic and elves, it was just made by a fucking *HACK*, and did more damage) And I separated the continents by several thousand miles, so settling another continent is *insanely* expensive, and very little return, and added more water, so travelling by ship long distances is *dangerous*. Never thought of taking men out entirely. I think I removed patriarchy tho. Men aren't exactly a *class*, since it's pretty hard to go "I should be in charge because I was born with A Penis, and you should be property because you have A Vagina" when you have stuff like women who can control reality with their words, make deals with angelic generals, and are on occassion undead horrors who drain the blood of men to live.
gotcha, I'd be real curious to see what you've got when it's done! I don't know if I have much else I can recommend for this specific era, I'm generally more knowledgable about the times before and after, but as far as other readings go, I have:
Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasant's War by Lyndal Roper: an excellent historiography of Europe's largest uprising prior to the French Revolution, taking place in 1525 and relevant to the themes you discussed above. Christianity plays a major role, but even ignoring that aspect, the revolt is important for how it foreshadowed later unrest during the death throes of feudalism and the way it was coopted and revised by later ideologues is worth understanding, whether it be nationalists ignoring the class elements, or Marx and Engels downplaying and maligning the peasante participation to give credit to urban leadesship who, really, tried capturing existing movements and abandoned them when unable to. Mercenaries also played a major role, many of whom fought with the peasant rebels.
Foundational Description of the Art of Fencing: The 1570 Treatise by Joachim Meyer translated by Dr. Rebecca Garber: the introductory chapters give a fantastic overview of the historical context of late 16th century German urban development and the economic and cultural conditions that produced the desire for these swordplay treatises at all. I think, broadly, understanding the basics of some system of weapon martial arts is good to know for anymaid making fantasy where melee weapons still show up in any degree, but the early sections are really why what I recommend this.
I think if you've already removed patriarchy as an element, you've done the hard part and are most of the way there on removing men, since imo they're kinda part and parcel to each other and it bleeds heavily into all other class dynamics. Some people like them, and, yknow, I'm not gonna change that, but I think it's always worth stopping and really considering
1) Do I, personally, like having men around and seeing them more than I would having a woman take their place?
2) Does having men add anything to my world and my story?
3) Do I require men to convey any element of my setting, or could something else fill that gap?
and for some people the answer is yes, but I always encourage doing away with men as a default assumption and something to be included in fiction without question