#hands :

[neuroqueercrafting]

It’s complete!!! — An Anthology of Sea Poems from the Second Century through the Present Day.

This was my first time trying my hand at bookbinding; it’s nowhere near perfect but i sure had fun & learned a lot! The imperfections mean that my progress will be more visible when i make future books.

Constructive criticism is welcome. i’ll put more pics + comments under the readmore. IDs in alt text.

^ this is what all the completed components looked like before i glued them together. i made a mess of the glue getting the fabric on the chipboard for the front cover, so there’s an unfortunate lump in the top corner. That’s fine though — ya live and ya learn!

i selected the poems myself, and i’m inordinately proud of the sampling of ocean poetry i ended up with.

i divided them into 6 sections, as the table of contents shows, and as the preface describes:

From Homer’s “wine-dark sea” to Hughes’ “wilderness of water,” the ocean has been a fundamental muse across millennia. For some poets, it represents adventure and freedom; for others, danger, mystery, death.

This anthology offers a sampling of all of these outlooks, starting with the idealized notions of speakers gazing safely out from land (part 1: Yearning Shores and part 2: playful tides). In these pieces, the beckoning waves promise beauty or novelty, revelation or rest. Once we cast off from shore (part 3: On Open Sea), however, the realities of ocean life rise to the surface: those tranquil waves can be stirred into a deadly frenzy; ships can deliver the violence of empires, with hulls full of enslaved and exiled souls.

And yet, those waves beguile us still (part 4: Romancing the Waves). How many poets have fallen “in love with Ocean,” sometimes not only in spite of but because of her many contradictions — the endless diversity of danger lurking beneath those timeless waves? The sea’s “Siren Song” ensnares poets and sailors alike (part 5: Tales and Terrors of the Deep), who cannot resist the call to put pen to paper or hoist sail to sky, no matter the cost.

Oftentimes, dwelling so upon the deep births mythical dreams — when creatures beyond our fathoming prowl the fathoms below us, and land slips out of sight, sirens and cyclopes, krakens and curses all become realer than any distant shore. Who are we when we are alone with nothing but the thirst in our throats, the creaking of the mast?

Finally, a poet’s musing may take them further still — the sea becomes Death, or Time, or Eternity (part 5: Somewhere Beyond Sea and Sky). When faced with such enormity as water stretching to every horizon, the soul becomes “the Drop, that wrestles in the Sea.”

Perhaps this is the ultimate source of the poet’s love for Ocean: nothing else on earth can embody our littleness and our infinity, our sense that something of us may last beyond the transience of this life — be it our spirits or simply our words — just as bones transform to coral in their seabeds.

[stimmingsensation]

gem store

[transastronautistic]

hey uh why is it so hard to get a good pic of leg hair

anyway it’s been a long time since i posted any hrt updates! i have so much leg hair it’s amazing. i used to have Zero leg hair anywhere above my knees, now i have lots. i have a little on like my stomach now too lol but luckily none on my chest or back yet, i personally don’t want that.

i may have said this before but i shave my face now!! i don’t get a ton of facial hair but enough on my upper lip and cheeks that i have to shave it or i look a mess

and finally a more recent thing i’ve noticed is that i’ve gotten pretty dang strong! Leah has one of those chin up bars in her closet doorway and i can lift myself pretty high and hold it for several seconds. i never could have done that before. and it’s not like i’ve been working out more than i ever have before or anything, i’m just gaining muscle easier. uh Here have an awkward pic!

and if anyone is interested in knowing specifics, i continue to do only 50mg (mL?) every 14 days which is a pretty low dose. i like taking it slow so i can be on it as long as possible because i like how it helps my mood!

[yyhdub]

did sc make these filters with me in mind ??? they/them

[peepies]

christmas me oh christmas me