Hey. I'm Zach.

This is where my inspiration and reference materials go. I use short phrases so it's easy to find i forget the word I used to describe the post the first time, but my [dos and donts] tag is for serious stuff, mostly writing people considerately.

[spicymochi]

your month, your mini cat!

[spicymochi]

These tiny cats are now sticker sheets in my shop!!

[cuunos]

jellyfish lifecycles piss me off a little bit

[cuunos]

you don't have to do that. you can just not do that

[eddieintheocean]

:D they can do more :D (x)

[reasonsforhope]

FDA just approved the world’s first once-a-week insulin injection for diabetics, a major development for patients who rely on daily insulin

For millions of people managing type 2 diabetes, mornings begin the same way — a needle, a dose, and a quiet mental note to do it all again

For millions of people managing type 2 diabetes, mornings begin the same way — a needle, a dose, and a quiet mental note to do it all again tomorrow.

That routine just changed.

On March 26, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Awiqli (insulin icodec-abae), developed by Novo Nordisk, as the first and only once-weekly basal insulin ever approved for adults with type 2 diabetes in the United States.

This is not a minor update to an existing drug.

It is the first entirely new class of basal insulin to reach U.S. patients in more than two decades.

Instead of injecting insulin every single day, people with type 2 diabetes using Awiqli will only need one shot per week, on the same day, every week.

That means reducing from 365 injections a year down to just 52.

For anyone who has ever felt the weight of that daily ritual — the anxiety of forgetting, the physical discomfort, the constant reminder that their body needs help — this approval represents something much bigger than a dosing schedule.

It represents relief.

How the Drug Actually Works

Understanding why this injection lasts a full week requires a quick look inside the body.

Most traditional basal insulins are absorbed into the bloodstream and begin breaking down within 24 hours, which is why patients need a fresh dose every day to maintain stable blood sugar levels.

Awiqli works differently.

Its active ingredient, insulin icodec-abae, is engineered to loosely attach to a blood protein called albumin, which is found naturally and abundantly in the bloodstream.

This attachment creates a slow-release reservoir.

Instead of flooding the system and fading fast, the insulin releases gradually and consistently over an entire seven-day period, keeping blood sugar in a healthy range around the clock...

What Comes Next

Awiqli is not standing alone in this space for long.

Eli Lilly is developing its own once-weekly basal insulin, called efsitora alfa, which is currently in late-stage clinical trials.

If that drug also earns FDA approval, it would give patients and doctors two once-weekly options to choose from, allowing for personalized decisions based on a patient’s health profile, insurance coverage, and individual response.

The broader direction of travel in diabetes care is unmistakable.

Fewer injections, smarter formulations, and better integration with digital tools like continuous glucose monitors and insulin-tracking apps are all converging toward a future where managing diabetes requires less daily mental effort without becoming any less medically precise...

A Small Shot With Large Implications

It is easy to look at a once-weekly injection and see only a scheduling change.

But the science behind Awiqli, the scale of the ONWARDS trials, and the consistent satisfaction reported by patients all point toward something that matters far more than convenience.

Diabetes management has always asked a lot of people.

It asks for daily vigilance, daily discipline, and a daily willingness to confront one’s own condition, sometimes in uncomfortable or inconvenient circumstances.

Anything that reduces that load, without reducing the quality of care, is worth taking seriously.

For the more than 37 million Americans living with diabetes, and the hundreds of millions more around the world, a simpler weekly routine could mean the difference between a treatment plan that works on paper and one that actually works in a person’s life.

That is the real significance of what the FDA approved on March 26, 2026.

Not just a new drug.

A new way of keeping people healthy, one week at a time.

-via Science Aim, March 29, 2026

[serial-unaliver-deactivated2024]

HELPPPPP

[charlesoberonn]

Reminds me of Jason Kander, former Missouri Secretary of State. When he went to the VA hospital to treat his PTSD, he told the nurse that Obama told him he should run for president, and she thought he was delusional.

[charlesoberonn]

Correction: It was worse. She asked him how long he's been hearing voices.

[therapyhorrorstories]

I think I'm gonna make this my go-to story. It's not the worst I've ever heard, which is an asset because people won't believe you if you tell them the actual bad stuff those people do. And it just perfectly sums up the casual arrogance everyone working in mental health seems to have. The way they treat you as inherently Lesser for being in their care.

[therapyhorrorstories]

If they can't even handle basic, easily verified shit like "I'm a lawyer" they are never going to believe you when you tell them that you know how to manage a condition you've been dealing with for decades better than they can or will.

[homoqueerjewhobbit]

And then there's Alexander Morris, who was put in a straitjacket, called racial slurs, and denied treatment for his potentially life-threatening heart condition when he told them he was the lead singer of the band he was lead singer of.

Four Tops singer sues hospital alleging racial discrimination after he says he was placed in a ‘restraining jacket’ | CNN

The lead singer of the Motown group the Four Tops has filed a federal lawsuit against Ascension Macomb Oakland Hospital in Warren, Michigan,

[plum-soup]

There are multiple parts of that article that are Jae droppingly awful but this one really gets me:

They almost let this man die in a straight jacket simply because they were too racist. And then when they realize their "mistake", they tell him that his life is worth a 25$ supermarket gift card. Of course he's suing them for $75,000 as he should but like. Can you imagine how insulted he must've been. The 4 Tops were one of the top Motown bands of all time. You can be at the top of the music scene and still, they'll kill you because you're black. And they'll use fake claims about mental illness and "aggression" to justify it

[genderkoolaid]

& to be clear: none of this is good for anyone. actually delusional people, people who actually hear voices or see things, do not deserve to be treated like this. there is nothing about a person harmlessly believing something fantastical (or which sounds fantastical to you) that requires you to put them in a straightjacket and drug them or deny them necessary drugs. Black mentally ill people do not deserve to be tortured and murdered in a hospital for being Black and mentally ill.

this kind of system is a weapon which can be pointed at anyone. in order to prevent shit like this from happening, we also need to deconstruct how we view mentally ill people, including people who are delusional and hallucinate, and what we view as "reasonable" or "necessary" when it comes to such people.

[eboneeblak]

Black femme goths

[creatingblackcharacters]

Now, a question for my Black followers ONLY:

The rest of you can (and really ought to!) reblog, but it's not your turn to talk. Just listen and reflect!

What DOES a good apology for antiblackness look like, to you?

Not a shitty twitter apology that dodges accountability. Not a genuine apology made to white fans to soothe their embarrassment and egos and maintain white solidarity.

What does an ACTUAL apology for antiblackness consist of, to you?

What actions do you need to see from people who claim to be better, to deserve your support despite a history of being unsafe?

Why do you think nonblack people feel they're entitled to grace, and what would actually EARN them your grace? What makes you not want to offer it at all?

I think there's a disconnect between what the group being harmed needs, and what people think the group being harmed should settle for. We've been forced to know the latter. How do Y'ALL feel?

[spacebeyonce]

it's hard to say 'cause rarely do I see an apology for antiblack behavior. but I guess that would be the start, for me - an ACTUAL apology towards the people harmed. not a vague, 'sorry if you were offended' post that people usually do, or blocking the people who call them out on antiblack behavior. I need to see some genuine remorse toward the Black community for their actions.

after that, I'd like to see that remorse in the form of further action. as you say, to be anti-racist is to put in CONSTANT work. if you really want to atone - put in the work. read more about racism and antiblackness. educate your peers around you who exhibit antiblack behavior if you can - or cut them off, if you can't. make more effort to uplift the Black fans in your fandom circles, if the antiblackness they have to deal with on the regular hasn't pushed them out - share their art, their stories. stand up for them. fight for them.

and understand that in spite of doing all of this - there will be Black people who will not forgive you. there will be Black people who will not be able to trust you. and you shouldn't let that hinder you in your efforts to better yourself in becoming a stronger ally for the people you hurt.

but that's just me tho!

[anyataylorjoys]

The Watermelon Woman (1996) dir. Cheryl Dunye

[seeveekat]

Hey this movie is really important in queer history! It was the first feature length film directed by a black lesbian! You can watch it here for free!

I really recommend you do because while it is a rom-com (and a drama), it also looks at how the stories of black queers are over looked in history.

[ex0skeletal-undead]

Nyarlathotep, Photoshop illustration by Danny Ingrassia

[necronatural]

Compiled some basic information I know about drawing fat characters for beginners since I've been seeing more talk about absence of really basic traits in a lot of art lately.

Morpho Fat and Skin Folds on Archive.org (for free!)

[tuttle-did-it]

draw more fabulous fat people.

[retquits]

reclaiming character designs from an old project ☕

[z0ruastudyblr]

Common Words & Phrases from AAVE

Gullah & Early AAVE

Gumbo – From Bantu kingombo (okra), brought by enslaved Africans and became the name of the Creole stew thickened with okra.

Goober – From Kikongo nguba, the Bantu word for peanut that entered American English via enslaved Africans.

Yam – From West African languages (e.g., Wolof nyami, "to eat"), brought over during the slave trade and adopted into Southern cuisine.

Banjo – From a Bantu root (mbanza), the instrument was crafted by enslaved Africans based on West African string instruments.

Bogus – Likely from Hausa boko-boko (deceitful, fraudulent), entering American English through African American speech in the 19th century.

Juke (box/joint) – From Gullah juke (rowdy, disorderly), derived from Wolof dzug (to live wickedly), later attached to roadside bars.

Tote (to carry) – From West African languages (e.g., Kikongo tota, "to pick up"), recorded in Gullah before spreading to mainstream English.

Dig (to understand) – From Wolof degg (to understand), popularized by jazz musicians in the 1930s after entering English through AAVE.

Jazz – Possibly from West African or Creole slang for energy/sex, first documented in AAVE in Chicago around 1912.

Okay (OK) – Though its origin is debated, strong evidence traces it to West African languages (e.g., Wolof waw kay) via enslaved Gullah speakers.

Hip/Hep – From Wolof hipi (to open one's eyes, to be aware), entering jazz slang in the early 1900s before going mainstream.

Hepcat – A compound of "hep" + "cat" (jazz slang for a person), literally meaning "one who has his eyes open" in West African-influenced jazz culture.

Jazz, Blues & 1940s–60s Era

Cool (as in fashionable/calm) – Originated in jazz circles, likely from saxophonist Lester Young, and entered mainstream via West African aesthetic concepts of composure.

Cat – A jazz-era term for a skilled musician or cool person, derived from West African-influenced jive talk.

Crib – Jazz slang for a house or apartment, popularized in the 1940s before becoming mainstream in the 1990s.

Hokum – AAVE slang for nonsense or BS, used in blues and jazz before being adopted more widely.

Diss – Short for "disrespect," coined in AAVE and popularized through hip-hop in the 1980s and 1990s.

Bad (meaning good) – From AAVE, where inversion of meaning creates emphasis (something so "bad" it's actually good), used since early jazz era.

Jive – AAVE slang for deceptive talk or a style of jazz dancing, used by Cab Calloway in his 1930s Hepster Dictionary.

1970s–90s (Hip-Hop & Pre-Internet Era)

Homeboy/Homegirl – AAVE for a close friend from one's neighborhood, popularized in hip-hop and later shortened to "homes" in casual speech.

Dope (meaning great) – Shifted from "stupid" in standard English to "excellent" in AAVE during the 1980s hip-hop era.

Props – Short for "proper respects" in AAVE, used in hip-hop to acknowledge skill or achievement before entering mainstream slang.

Word (as in "I agree") – AAVE interjection ("Word!" or "Word is bond") meaning "I'm telling the truth," derived from Nation of Islam teachings.

Phat (meaning cool/great) – AAVE acronym believed to stand for "Pretty Hot And Tempting," though likely an invented backronym; popularized in 90s hip-hop.

The Bomb – AAVE phrase for something excellent or top-quality, widely used in hip-hop lyrics before mainstream adoption.

Def – AAVE slang for "excellent," popularized by Run-DMC's "King of Rock" and 80s hip-hop culture.

Fresh – AAVE for stylish or excellent, used in early hip-hop and 80s pop culture before spreading globally.

Wack – AAVE for "bad, inferior, uncool," popularized in hip-hop and later mainstream youth speech as the opposite of "cool."

Hella – AAVE intensifier meaning "very" or "a lot of," originating in Oakland/Bay Area AAVE in the 1970s-80s.

Cap / No Cap – AAVE meaning "lie" and "no lie," popularized by Bay Area rap in the 2010s, derived from "capping" (exaggerating).

1990s–2000s (Internet Adoption & Ballroom Culture)

Slay – From AAVE and Black ballroom culture (Paris is Burning, 1990), meaning to do something extremely well, now mainstream via social media.

Spill the Tea – From AAVE (originally "spill the T," with "T" meaning truth), popularized by drag culture and Black queer communities.

Shade (as in insult) – From Black ballroom culture (documented in Paris is Burning), meaning a subtle insult, now used broadly in pop culture.

Reading (as in insulting) – From ballroom culture ("reading" someone), meaning to publicly insult with wit, immortalized in Paris is Burning.

Kiki – AAVE from ballroom culture meaning a casual gathering for gossip or chatting, later mainstreamed through pop music (e.g., Kesha).

Fierce – AAVE and ballroom term meaning exceptionally good or intense, applied to fashion, performance, or attitude.

Woke – From AAVE meaning socially and politically aware, first used in 1940s Black activism before resurging with Black Lives Matter.

Shook – AAVE meaning startled or upset, used in 1990s New York hip-hop (e.g., Mobb Deep) before mainstream adoption in the 2010s.

On Fleek – AAVE phrase meaning perfectly executed, coined in a 2014 Vine by Peaches Monroee, one of the last pre-AI viral AAVE innovations.

Finna – From AAVE contraction of "fixing to" (preparing to), documented in Southern AAVE for decades before wider use and dictionary recognition.

Chile – A phonetic spelling of "child" in Southern AAVE, used as a term of endearment or exclamation since at least the 1970s (The Wiz, 1978).

2010s–Present (Social Media & Gen Z Slang Pipeline)

Lit – AAVE meaning exciting or excellent (originally "intoxicated" or "on fire"), popularized in hip-hop before becoming a Gen Z staple.

Bae – AAVE term of endearment meaning "before anyone else" or just a shortened form of "babe/baby," mainstreamed in the 2010s.

Ratchet – AAVE originally meaning a rowdy, aggressive woman (from "wretched"), later used to describe anything wild or out of control.

Turnt – AAVE meaning excited or intoxicated, from "turned up" in hip-hop lyrics, mainstreamed in early 2010s party slang.

Clap Back – AAVE for a sharp, witty comeback or retaliation, popularized in hip-hop (e.g., Ja Rule's 2003 song "Clap Back") before internet slang.

Bussin' – AAVE meaning delicious or excellent, applied to food or anything great, popularized on TikTok in the 2020s.

Sus – AAVE shortening of "suspicious" or "shady," used for decades before Among Us made it a global meme in 2020.

Snatched – AAVE originally describing flawless hair/makeup or a tight waist, now used to praise anything perfectly executed.

Periodt – AAVE emphatic form of "period" (meaning "end of discussion"), with a hard "t" for emphasis, popularized on Black Twitter before global use.

Bonus: My personal favorite AAVE term that I see used online religiously is receipts! AAVE meaning the proof shown to back up an accustation

[modelsof-color]

Ajak Dhieu by Marcelo Junior Dino for Schon Magazine May 2026

[pinkplasticfangs]

i haaaaave to ask. do you have anywhere specific you research fashion for character design? Ive been trying to get better in that aspect myself but the only place i know is pinterest and she is not helping me at all... she rotates the same thing to me over and over again and I have no idea where else to look, as unfortunately i lack knowledge in any of that so im just wondering because im lost as hell i think my map has water damage

tbh, it depends on what you're going for!

if you want my best character design fashion tip, your most important starting point is going to be your cultural and economic research for your character, unironically. while i can point you towards street fashion/magazines/runway accounts (and i will), none of it will mean anything if you don't know how to use it!

establish where your character is from, how old they are, what their background and occupation is, what economics status they are, etc etc. when you are designing fashion for a character, you need to think about what is accessible to and around them and their lifestyle; after all, a homeless 30 y/o cashier isnt gonna be running around in pristine gucci and red-bottom heels, and a 20-something businesswoman can't show up to work in hand-me-down jean overalls and weather worn sandals. determine the things they need and their personal interests, as well as the cultures and geography that may effect them, and then you can start getting into flavor.

now, the really fun part, flavor!! this is where you can pull from your avant-garde inspo for things like shape, silhouette, texture, and more! on tumblr, i really like the blog @/fashion-runways for whatever new and old releases they have on their archive. i also like digging through different aesthetic and subculture blogs on here and twitter bc sometimes they'll have a curation of a certain aesthetic i'm going for (for example, i pulled from a few different coquette blogs and the neopolitan tag when I was researching for Nancy's redesign, and I dug through old hot topic tags/photos and 90s punk/alt/metal stuff for Caesar's redesign). familiarize yourself with different subcultures! they have history, and their language can help you curate looks.

fashion magazines new and old are also a HUGE resource!! FRUiTS was one of THEE japanese street fashion magazines back in the day, and a lot of current street fashion trends now pull from that - you should absolutely look into that one! For historical fashion (primarily 80s-00s), check out some old Sears/Macy's/etc catalogs for clothing in that time! if you're young you may not know, but ppl used to order clothing from magazine catalogs via calling before online shopping became any kind of accessible lol.

additionally, theres some really great fashion creators who know WAY more about fashion history than I'll ever understand lol. HauteLeMode on youtube/instagram/tiktok does fashion roasts and is super funny and awesome, and johnmvilla on youtube/instagram/tiktok does some great fashion coverage and is an art historian! theres way more than that, but i interact with their content the most.

besides that,,, just screenshot and save stuff you find interesting. if you like the color scheme or cut of a jacket on someone, put it somewhere so you can return back to it. i have a few different folders on my pc just for inspo stuff ive saved over the years.

ultimately, art is history, and art is political. fashion is just another form of living history and politics. your fashion should reflect the history, culture, and choices around your character.

long-ish tldr but figure out who your character is and what they have access to, figure out historical and cultural fashion influences by researching things of those time periods, get into online spaces revolving fashion so you can access resources like blogs/magazines/videos, and save whatever you find important so you can refer back to them later.

[marianarira]

All the torso animated studies.

[mapbreaking]

https://www.tumblr.com/missstrogen/815050610682511360/like-to-make-this-statement-you-have-to-ignore?source=share the immediate backtrack because even she realized how bad that post sounded is. telling

The way I could disprove all these points so easily. And will.

Pedophilia being vilified by the public does not mean it isn’t baked into society. Do you have any idea how many concepts are generally reviled by society for better or worse but are fucking inescapable anyway?

2. It’s actually both! If you can believe it pedophilia and misogyny go hand in hand! To this day people believe it’s normal and natural for grown adults to be attracted to younger girls (and favor them over adults!) because that’s when they’re “most fertile”.

3. Again, controversial doesn’t mean not normalized. How common is it for people to make a spectacle of how someone is “barely legal” and have that be treated like it’s some kind of tantalizing loophole to fucking a teenager? You can’t even be attracted to adults without some creep trying to make it pedophilic and you wanna convince me that shit isn’t at least somewhat built into society?

4. See number two.

5. Nobody thinks patriarchy was reshaped to allow pedophilia, it is inherent to it. Also it’s not a secret cabal. We know their names and not one of them got any kind of punishment for it.

TLDR; this post is stupid 💥

[creatingblackcharacters]

If you think Remmick's behavior in Sinners towards Sammie was in any way queer or motivated by sexual attraction, boy do I got a book you'll love!!

Join your fellow centuries of believers as you learn the racist history of white people (yes, the women too!) taking advantage of their enslaved Black victims' bodies in any way they saw fit, because they had a psychosexual obsession with the power they held over them! I'm sorry, I mean the "enemies to lovers obsessed vampire trope"!

[theslinkystickyvoid]

That title is kinda creepy to me.

[creatingblackcharacters]

So is eating Black people both literally and figuratively, my dear

[blackfandom]

Racism in fandom spaces is actually insanely bad and if you ever try to downplay or avoid conversations about it because "fandom is supposed to be fun" then I'm not sorry to say this: You're adding on to the problem.

[blackfandom]

If POC speaking up about a fandom's racism issue offends you more than the racism itself, you need to think about that. You need to think about how POC fighting racism offends you more than the racism.

[murfpersonalblog]

Apathy is the death of humanity, the sibling of hatred, and the child of PRIVILEGE. It must be so nice seeing discourse about racism as an inconvenience ruining your fun. Imagine having to actually LIVE within a racist system, and see evidence perpetuating that system everywhere you go, even in fandom spaces. Imagine how inconvenienced us racial minorities are--trying to speak up about oppression & discrimination & exploitation within media projecting subliminal or explicit messages that shape and mold the minds of audiences by triggering emotional responses based on LIVED experiences & dynamics--as you and all of your supporters gaslight everyone into thinking it's no big deal, it's not that deep, it's not about race, we're just sucking the fun out of the fandom. Imagine how much fun we're having being told our feelings & struggles & lives don't matter! Gosh, ignorance sure is bliss!