The Eternal Doomfluff

Hey, you've stumbled onto a random blog, congrats! Expect random thoughts, random stuff, and maybe some actual common sense.

[timemachineyeah]

This is a jar full of major characters 

Actually it is a jar full of chocolate covered raisins on top of a dirty TV tray. But pretend the raisins are interesting and well rounded fictional characters with significant roles in their stories. 

We’re sharing these raisins at a party for Western Storytelling, so we get out two bowls. 

Then we start filling the bowls. And at first we only fill the one on the left. 

This doesn’t last forever though. Eventually we do start putting raisins in the bowl on the right. But for every raisin we put in the bowl on the right, we just keep adding to the bowl on the left. 

And the thing about these bowls is, they don’t ever reset. We don’t get to empty them and start over. While we might lose some raisins to lost records or the stories becoming unpopular, but we never get to just restart. So even when we start putting raisins in the bowl on the right, we’re still way behind from the bowl on the left. 

And time goes on and the bowl on the left gets raisins much faster than the bowl on the right. 

Until these are the bowls. 

Now you get to move and distribute more raisins. You can add raisins or take away raisins entirely, or you can move them from one bowl to the other. 

This is the bowl on the left. I might have changed the number of raisins from one picture to the next. Can you tell me, did I add or remove raisins? How many? Did I leave the number the same?

You can’t tell for certain, can you? Adding or removing a raisin over here doesn’t seem to make much of a change to this bowl. 

This is the bowl on the right. I might have changed the number of raisins from one picture to the next. Can you tell me, did I add or remove raisins? How many? Did I leave the number the same?

When there are so few raisins to start, any change made is really easy to spot, and makes a really significant difference. 

This is why it is bad, even despicable, to take a character who was originally a character of color and make them white. But why it can be positive to take a character who was originally white and make them a character of color.

The white characters bowl is already so full that any change in number is almost meaningless (and is bound to be undone in mere minutes anyway, with the amount of new story creation going on), while the characters of color bowl changes hugely with each addition or subtraction, and any subtraction is a major loss. 

This is also something to take in consideration when creating new characters. When you create a white character you have already, by the context of the larger culture, created a character with at least one feature that is not going to make a difference to the narratives at large. But every time you create a new character of color, you are changing something in our world. 

I mean, imagine your party guests arrive

Oh my god they are adorable!

And they see their bowls

But before you hand them out you look right into the little black girls’s eyes and take two of her seven raisins and put them in the little white girl’s bowl.

I think she’d be totally justified in crying or leaving and yelling at you. Because how could you do that to a little girl? You were already giving the white girl so much more, and her so little, why would you do that? How could you justify yourself?

But on the other hand if you took two raisins from the white girl’s bowl and moved them over to the black girl’s bowl and the white girl looked at her bowl still full to the brim and decided your moving those raisins was unfair and she stomped and cried and yelled, well then she is a spoiled and entitled brat. 

And if you are adding new raisins, it seems more important to add them to the bowl on the right. I mean, even if we added the both bowls at the same speed from now on (and we don’t) it would still take a long time before the numbers got big enough to make the difference we’ve already established insignificant. 

And that’s the difference between whitewashing POC characters and making previously white characters POC. And that’s why every time a character’s race is ambiguous and we make them white, we’ve lost an opportunity.

*goes off to eat her chocolate covered raisins, which are no longer metaphors just snacks*

[dee-the-red-witch]

Because given recent events, THIS CLEARLY FUCKING NEEDS TO BE SAID AGAIN.

[stag-bi]

i never understood why ppl drink alcohol when they feel bad?? if i do that, i end up feeling even more terrible, and/or self harming and being reckless abt it

generally ive never understood why ppl do any intoxicants when theyre in a bad place/depressed, i mean yeah i get high sometimes when im having a bad day cause it kinda rounds the edges or something, but full on medicating your mental health issues/traumas with drugs or alcohol is unhealthy as fuck and shouldnt be glamorised

[thrillagervk]

From what I understand, they want to have a similar sort of effect that someone who is drinking during a high point in their lives, not knowing that it’ll put them into that low, or that they want an easy way to vent that out to someone. Bartenders are in a line of professions where they are in a situation to listen to people without much judgement that a friend or family member might have, which they may or may not realize that they’re saying because again, getting drunk.

But you’re right, there is a glamourization that happens with people drugging themselves up to try to dull their pain, and there needs to be better education for alchohol and drug usage so that they know that it isn’t a good thing to do.

[autisticarchive-deactivated2019]

Daily reminder that the notion that neurodivergent people can’t possibly understand themselves and their neurodivergences accurately is an ableist myth used to take power, autonomy and community away from neurodivergent people. 

[thrillagervk]

As my grandma was telling my little brothers today about allergies because one of my brothers might be switching foods with his friend:

“I’m lucky that I only get the sniffles when I eat [her allergen]. There could be a day where I eat it and I go into shock and die.”

A part of the reason why it’s important to ask whether someone has them if you have them over and don’t know their allergens. And why I have to be careful around perfume.

[necessaryveganism]

Hi! My birthday is in two months and I was planning on having some friends over for dinner, but I was wondering... What are some things that omnivores would eat and not complain about that is vegan? Thanks in advance!

Just prepare tasty food. “Omnivores”, by definition, will eat anything and that includes vegan food. So if they’re the type of people to complain about something being vegan, they’re going to do it regardless of what you prepare.

[thrillagervk]

A non-vegan chipping in for a sec here. Try to avoid having a green salad as the main dish, rather have it as a side option or not at all. Finding out what allergies they have would go a long way in trying ease their concerns about what you’re preparing, so you can make a few dishes that don’t have them so that everyone has something to eat where they don’t have to worry. And when preparing things, make sure you wash your hands after making each dish or section of a dish before going to the next, it’s what I do a good chunk of the time. The main part is giving them familiar dishes that are safe for everyone, from my view.

And as for dessert, maybe some nice cream on top of small vegan cakes, with them choosing some fruits to add in or on top of the ice cream?

[thrillagervk]

I should really stop looking in food-related tags this late at night, otherwise I’m gonna run out of my snack foods.

Then again, some of the food looks delicious.

...Crap.

[yolondarowlettfashion]

How to bake without eggs (aka the vegan way!):

read more: http://glennmowryfashion.tumblr.com/post/143001715428/how-to-bake-without-eggs-aka-the-vegan-way

[thrillagervk]

Might try the non-soy ones at some point, depending on when I start getting the urge to bake again. Because variations are fun!

[macrobacon]

from @angphalangie - Vegan nutrition. It’s the healthiest way to eat and live, physically and mentally. Best way to protect the planet, humans, and animals. Dairy blocks the absorption of iron. The best way to get your dark chocolate is from either cocoa paste, or an organic free trade vegan chocolate bar with a high dark chocolate content, 70%, and low sugar, preferably not refined sugar. Eating iron rich foods with vitamin c rich foods will enhance the absorption by almost 5 times. #govegan #crueltyfree #vegansofig #vegan #fashion #friends #family #smile #burger #bacon #steak #foodporn #food #foodshare #coffee #animal #restaurant #health #diet #fitness #body #delicious #yummy #happy #usa #nature #earth #picoftheday #peace #life by msashg08 http://ift.tt/1YUXp76

[thrillagervk]

Pardon me for interrupting, but iron in meat is easier to absorb than iron in plant-based sources, so even though the other sources might have more iron per 100g, it is recommended by the Dieticians of Canada that vegetarians eat 200g for the 100g (I’m using the amount in your chart) of meat that an omnivore would to get a similar amount absorbed into the body.

As well, actual serving sizes of food vary depending on the place and meal. At a restaurant, you might not be able to get the high-iron vegan foods because of menu tests that rule them out, and I don’t think it would be safe for people to risk aggravating another’s allergic reaction if they have a condition where they have to watch their iron and decide to bring in a nut or lentil-based allergen.

Speaking of allergens, anything could be one, and there are people that could be allergic to multiple ones that a vegan would eat. Just as people can be allergic to meat. For example, a family member of mine is allergic to peanuts, and another’s tonsils were aggravated by the same nut.

Not to mention that certain foods just taste or feel weird to people because of how their mind works. For example (and this is a non-protein one), I actually prefer eating kiwis inside their skin because it feels better to me, but I cannot eat cauliflower at all or cooked broccoli.

Also, could I have a non-biased source for the Vitamin C thing? I’ve never heard of it before now.

http://www.dietitians.ca//Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Minerals/Food-Sources-of-Iron.aspx for my source and some recommended amounts.

[deactivated-blog]

I made my first batch of “nicecream.”

My thrown together recipe: - five pretty ripe bananas, chunked and half- frozen in a ziplock bag - maybe a cup of plain almond milk - 1 package of mint chocolate vegan drinking chocolate mix that I found in the cupboard - tablespoon of baking cocoa - blend till smooth - dark mint chocolate candy bar broken in bits, folded in (not blended) - at this point it was too soft so I stuck it in a container and back in the freezer

Couple hours later, tasted it. Still not quite firm enough so I’ll eat most of it tomorrow. It is pretty decent for a first attempt. I don’t think I like the mint with banana much. My next batch I want to do chocolate & peanut butter instead. I also have some raspberries but they might be too perfect to blend.

[thrillagervk]

Nice cream with bananas is a tricky thing to do. I usually don’t add any milk of sorts to it so that it stays together better, and you have to be careful at the blending stage. You want it to be smooth while still at an ice cream-like thickness.

I actually prefer having my bananas sliced when making it as opposed to chunking it so that it’s easier for the blender to break the pieces apart. This is just me, though, it could actually be the reverse is true.

And I’ve done both peanut butter-chocolate and raspberry, and both are pretty delicious. You want to blend the chocolate in as opposed to folding it in like you did with the mint one because that breaks it into smaller pieces. Careful with raspberries, as they can overpower the banana flavour if you desire that in that batch.

^^; Sorry if this is unwanted, I just get passionate sometimes about food.

[deactivated-blog]

Thankyou for the tips! Truly appreciated. I’m new in the kitchen.

My blender had trouble so I think I added to much almond milk. I’ll try slicing thin the next batch and seeing if I can get it to blend without milk.

[thrillagervk]

No problem! I’ve had a bit of experience with kitchen stuff partially because it’s my job, partially because it can be fun to try new things out. Like the time that I first made a somewhat vegan spaghetti, that was around the time that I realized that I was a texture/taste person in an actual term.

Yeah, the thinner the better, but you have to be careful that they’re not too thin or else they’ll thaw before they can blend. I also remembered that the bananas can be left in the freezer for a while if they’re sliced beforehand, but that was because at the time my mother got /a lot/ of ripe bananas.

[deactivated-blog]

I made my first batch of “nicecream.”

My thrown together recipe: - five pretty ripe bananas, chunked and half- frozen in a ziplock bag - maybe a cup of plain almond milk - 1 package of mint chocolate vegan drinking chocolate mix that I found in the cupboard - tablespoon of baking cocoa - blend till smooth - dark mint chocolate candy bar broken in bits, folded in (not blended) - at this point it was too soft so I stuck it in a container and back in the freezer

Couple hours later, tasted it. Still not quite firm enough so I’ll eat most of it tomorrow. It is pretty decent for a first attempt. I don’t think I like the mint with banana much. My next batch I want to do chocolate & peanut butter instead. I also have some raspberries but they might be too perfect to blend.

[thrillagervk]

Nice cream with bananas is a tricky thing to do. I usually don’t add any milk of sorts to it so that it stays together better, and you have to be careful at the blending stage. You want it to be smooth while still at an ice cream-like thickness.

I actually prefer having my bananas sliced when making it as opposed to chunking it so that it’s easier for the blender to break the pieces apart. This is just me, though, it could actually be the reverse is true.

And I’ve done both peanut butter-chocolate and raspberry, and both are pretty delicious. You want to blend the chocolate in as opposed to folding it in like you did with the mint one because that breaks it into smaller pieces. Careful with raspberries, as they can overpower the banana flavour if you desire that in that batch.

^^; Sorry if this is unwanted, I just get passionate sometimes about food.

[thrillagervk]

Possibly silly question that I’m unsure of the answer to:

If you want to cosplay as a character that you only see the eyes of (the rest of the eye slot opening being a black void), is it okay to put black costume make-up around your eyes so it mimics that effect? Is that even safe to do?

[thrillagervk]

Reblogging because I’m still unsure about this and I’m mega insecure about things with my body and this would be the only way I could put myself out there.

[thrillagervk]

Babies are cute but kids are cuter and need more love in the adoption system. Not even going into the teens because that’s a whole nother ball park.

[thrillagervk]

Powerade, ginger ale, and water make a nice drink when you have the flu.

It coming up is a problem, however.

[byelacey]

for a long time I've been drawing based on what my head can remember/think of instead of following poses or the like mostly because I don't want to be thought of as a cheater. Reblogging that post definitely helps shed a new light for my future in drawing and doodling as a pastime, thank you!

You’re welcome, anon.

There seems to be this school of belief on the internet that’s aggressively anti-reference. I don’t know when it began or where it really came from but it’s incredibly toxic to artists who may be just starting out or who have no formal education. They’re told that using reference is cheating, or its theft; that it makes you less of an artist.

And for a long time, I believed them.

I want you to think back on when you were 5 or 6 years old and you were learning to write. No one gave you a blank page and told you to draw the alphabet and that you should know what the alphabet looks like? You had reference. You practiced that reference and you learned how to write. Now after practicing your letters for years, or course you don’t need a reference.

Art is the same way. Only drawing a human is a bit more complicated than drawing the letter A!

No art teacher is going to tell you to draw things straight out of your head. They’re going to make you use a reference and practice and learn how things are put together so that someday you won’t have to rely solely on reference -but the option is there for you to use and you totally should.

In closing, references are just another tool in your artist kit, useful as a tablet or a pencil. And I hope I made sense. \o/

[vextera]

10 million thumbs up.

For the longest time when I was younger, references were considered cheating and your value as an artist was dictated by how well you can draw from memory and anatomy knowledge alone.

But my growth as an artist was painfully stunted because of that. I saw little to no progression on my skills during my later teen years because I was too filled with false pride to buckle down and really learn. I was one of the best artists in my social circle at the time, and getting my ego constantly stroked for my non-referenced works only enabled me to perpetuate the belief.

It took me years to finally start doing life drawings and find reference material, because I still felt like it was cheating. But the truth of it is that professional artists use references. They use them all the time. For everything.

I really wish I had someone to hammer that into my skull when I was younger. I wish someone could have convinced me otherwise back then. I’m working hard, but I could have been so much better today if I hadn’t bought into that viewpoint in my youth. (Curse the ego. Seriously.)

Please use references. For everything. It’s not cheating. It’s the only way to learn.

[sir-camelot]

God this is so eloquently put. I agree so hard it hurts.

[byelacey]

I love your post so much, @vextera I want to reblog this again. Practice is all well and good, but if you aren’t learning from practice? Then what is it really worth? Let’s put an end to this ‘references are evil’ madness. :)

[vextera]

Absolutely agreed. 

 From personal experience, the “references are evil” bullshit is touted by (usually) younger artists who very much want to be perceived as impressive (such as my younger self). 

 This mindset is spread by others, both artists and non-artists, who don’t know any better, but listen to that person because “hey, they’re a better artist than I am, so they must know what they’re talking about”. 

 I’m not sure how much of that can be confronted or changed, but as someone who was entrenched in that sort of community for several years… That’s my take on it. 

 Draw to learn, not stroke your ego. 

  @bylacey Thank you. Sorry for hijacking your ask response. <3

[drovie]

If anyone says a real artist doesn’t use reference, just look at Mucha. Every. Single. Piece used a model as reference. He would even stage elaborate sets and photo sessions before working on a painting. Every great artist studies from life, that’s how we know how the form works.. so we can break the rules in our own creative ways.

[thrillagervk]

As a taste/texture eater, many milk substitutes taste absolutely disgusting to me. In fact, it was only yesterday that I found the first one that I liked, Veggemo unsweetened. I also tried the vanilla and didn’t like it, but my grandma did.

Drinks are a fussy subject for me.

[altonzm-deactivated20170213]

post apoc media is always banging on about the necessity of macho survival skills but frankly it’s the gardeners/farmers who know 150 preservation techniques for winter beets and who understand the art of good pH balance in compost who will survive on our non energy dependent farms while you all butcher each other with katanas in burnt out shopping centres

[thrillagervk]

Does anyone who is more experienced in Crystal/Stone healing know of the best way to clean them if the house they’re in could possibly have a huge amount of spirits around? If it helps, I have two citrine, an aquamarine, a sunstone, a rose quartz, and a tiger iron/mugglestone.

I dunno, sometimes they just don’t have the same feel as when I got them.

[thrillagervk]

Reblogging because still unsure about this.