Do you hear the sounds of nerds? @whodoyouc - Tumblr Blog

would you ever consider doing a tutorial on shading? i absolutely love the way you shade characters, it always seems to give so much more depth

My computer struggled so hard rendering this, but here's a lowdown! - Multiply, for shadows. Making coloured shadows that contrast your general tone/bg so Warmly toned character? Cool toned shadows! Also using a big soft brush to soften harsher light and picking up edges with lighter colours! I also like gradients! - colour dodge. This one just intensifies colour for me! Strong light source or a colour you want to sneak in? use it! - soft light. Kinda makes everything coherent, smooths the tone of everything together, also brightens a bit! - Screen is just a bit of fun really, weird bright tones or subtle ones! I hope this is somewhat helpful!!

#art #art ref

cafe-fotografia

leer-reading-lire

Alguien me habló todos los días de mi vida

al oído, despacio, lentamente.

Me dijo: ¡vive, vive, vive!

Era la muerte.

Jaime Sabines

whenimgod

Marie Curie's notebooks are crazy once you think about it. They're so radioactive they have to be sealed in a lead box. Imagine a world where atomic theory is forgotten and a dude just goes "yea there's a book that details the secrets of the universe, the machinations of the creation of existence down to its barest essentials, but if you get close to it you fucking die. The more you read it the more your body slowly disassembles into mush." like wat excuse me

mx-macintosh

y'all need to relearn the word erratic and stop using schizophrenic/bipolar/psychotic as a replacement

mx-macintosh

y'all need to relearn the word particular and stop using ocd as a replacement

weresoul

People need to relearn the word "egocentric" and stop using narcissist/narc as a replacement.

thatpreciousthing

People need to relearn the word "impulse" and stop using "intrusive thought" as a replacement

haarute

me: i can't do anything... i don't know what my life is anymore...

the jacob wysocki tulpa manifesting inside my brain:

touhouweed

carys-the-ninth

The problem with commercial F/M romance is that it's written by the most heterosexual women alive and reading it you feel yourself slowly suffocating from the Gender of it all like a fish in a eutrophying lake. And what we actually need as a culture is F/M written by insane bisexuals violently allergic to heteronormativity

souridealist

I know exactly the phenomenon this post is talking about (and there's also the related phenomenon, where it's all a little bit Gender but reading too many in a row turns you into the suffocating fish) but the good news is, what you're looking for is out there! You have to dig a little more, a lot of it is from smaller presses or self-published, but it's there. (NB: a lot of what I'm about to list is self-published, but it's up to the same basic standards of proofreading / formatting / editing as traditional, by my measure.) These are mostly historicals with a smidgen of fantasy because I like that level of remove, but if anyone has modern-set books to rec (or anything really) please do hop in!

Courtney Milan is probably the biggest name for this; she was writing virgin hero / former sex worker heroine and women fighting duels for men's honor when she was publishing traditionally, and since going indie around 2012 she's only gotten better. I can't really advise you to start at the one whose heroine is a radical suffragette activist, since it's fifth in its series, but that's the kind of thing you'll get.

Cat Sebastian has a mostly M/M catalog, but she has three M/F stories, plus one featuring a man and a nonbinary character who has to navigate being AFAB in the Regency era, and honestly I feel like that addendum goes a long way towards demonstrating that you will not find the atmosphere eutrophying. You can get in-universe smutty historical RPF or flirting via blackmail letters in there too.

I've only read a little bit of Rose Lerner due to an unfortunate incident where my immersion in a charmingly sexy and sex-positive novella was violently disrupted by food-safety-related squick (please do not peg your boyfriend with a porous stone cooking implement used in a professional kitchen in a time before the concept of sterilization! you cook with that!!) but like. that was the problem I had, that's a rec along this front in itself, and if you're less insufferable than me it's a great time. For that matter I can't imagine it happens in more than one book, I should pick up more of the others.

KJ Charles is likewise almost entirely an M/M author, but her Lilywhite Boys series has two M/F entries, one featuring a trans woman who makes her living as a music-hall female impersonator in order to be herself, the other featuring a cranky bisexual detective who shot her love interest one time.

T. Kingfisher (pen name of Ursula Vernon) has a sequence of what she describes as romance novels, though I'd call them a little more heavily hybridized with fantasy than that implies -- if you're just here for an unadulterated romance novel you may be taken aback by the severed head plot. I, personally, like a nice 50/50 split of severed head plots and romance, so that's far from a downside, I just find it best to set expectations. Also there's anthropomorphic badger creatures whose concept of gender is determined by social role and several of them pop up in different books to serve as a kind of Greek chorus, which is also a thing I think more romance novels should have.

Oh, and I haven't read a ton of Talia Hibbert -- like I said I mostly go for historicals -- but I've heard a lot of very good things, she has a mix of M/F, F/F, and M/M in her bibliography, and the one book I did read was very much not a fish-killing lake sort of book either, so that's probably a good way to go.

Anyone else with recs, please do chime in!

samwisethewitch

Homemaking, gardening, and self-sufficiency resources that won’t radicalize you into a hate group

It seems like self-sufficiency and homemaking skills are blowing up right now. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic crisis, a lot of folks, especially young people, are looking to develop skills that will help them be a little bit less dependent on our consumerist economy. And I think that’s generally a good thing. I think more of us should know how to cook a meal from scratch, grow our own vegetables, and mend our own clothes. Those are good skills to have.

Unfortunately, these “self-sufficiency” skills are often used as a recruiting tactic by white supremacists, TERFs, and other hate groups. They become a way to reconnect to or relive the “good old days,” a romanticized (false) past before modern society and civil rights. And for a lot of people, these skills are inseparably connected to their politics and may even be used as a tool to indoctrinate new people.

In the spirit of building safe communities, here’s a complete list of the safe resources I’ve found for learning homemaking, gardening, and related skills. Safe for me means queer- and trans-friendly, inclusive of different races and cultures, does not contain Christian preaching, and does not contain white supremacist or TERF dog whistles.

Homemaking/Housekeeping/Caring for your home:

Making It by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen [book] (The big crunchy household DIY book; includes every level of self-sufficiency from making your own toothpaste and laundry soap to setting up raised beds to butchering a chicken. Authors are explicitly left-leaning.)

Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair by Mercury Stardust [book] (A guide to simple home repair tasks, written with rentals in mind; very compassionate and accessible language.)

How To Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis [book] (The book about cleaning and housework for people who get overwhelmed by cleaning and housework, based on the premise that messiness is not a moral failing; disability and neurodivergence friendly; genuinely changed how I approach cleaning tasks.)

Gardening

Rebel Gardening by Alessandro Vitale [book] (Really great introduction to urban gardening; explicitly discusses renter-friendly garden designs in small spaces; lots of DIY solutions using recycled materials; note that the author lives in England, so check if plants are invasive in your area before putting them in the ground.)

Country/Rural Living:

Woodsqueer by Gretchen Legler [book] (Memoir of a lesbian who lives and works on a rural farm in Maine with her wife; does a good job of showing what it’s like to be queer in a rural space; CW for mentions of domestic violence, infidelity/cheating, and internalized homophobia)

“Debunking the Off-Grid Fantasy” by Maggie Mae Fish [video essay] (Deconstructs the off-grid lifestyle and the myth of self-reliance)

Sewing/Mending:

Annika Victoria [YouTube channel] (No longer active, but their videos are still a great resource for anyone learning to sew; check out the beginner project playlist to start. This is where I learned a lot of what I know about sewing.)

Make, Sew, and Mend by Bernadette Banner [book] (A very thorough written introduction to hand-sewing, written by a clothing historian; lots of fun garment history facts; explicitly inclusive of BIPOC, queer, and trans sewists.)

Sustainability/Land Stewardship

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer [book] (Most of you have probably already read this one or had it recommended to you, but it really is that good; excellent example of how traditional animist beliefs – in this case, indigenous American beliefs – can exist in healthy symbiosis with science; more philosophy than how-to, but a great foundational resource.)

Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer [book] (This one is for my fellow witches; one of my favorite witchcraft books, and an excellent example of a place-based practice deeply rooted in the land.)

Avoiding the “Crunchy to Alt Right Pipeline”

Note: the “crunchy to alt-right pipeline” is a term used to describe how white supremacists and other far right groups use “crunchy” spaces (i.e., spaces dedicated to farming, homemaking, alternative medicine, simple living/slow living, etc.) to recruit and indoctrinate people into their movements. Knowing how this recruitment works can help you recognize it when you do encounter it and avoid being influenced by it.

“The Crunchy-to-Alt-Right Pipeline” by Kathleen Belew [magazine article] (Good, short introduction to this issue and its history.)

Sisters in Hate by Seyward Darby (I feel like I need to give a content warning: this book contains explicit descriptions of racism, white supremacy, and Neo Nazis, and it’s a very difficult read, but it really is a great, in-depth breakdown of the role women play in the alt-right; also explicitly addresses the crunchy to alt-right pipeline.)

These are just the resources I’ve personally found helpful, so if anyone else has any they want to add, please, please do!

nothorses

My partner has been getting really into Sandor Ellix Katz’s work on fermentation, and ended up checking out The Art of Fermentation from the library so many times that I just got him a copy.

It’s really good! He’s read snippets of this and Katz’s other books to me, and the guy is really committed to sharing knowledge, uplifting indigenous knowledge and voices, and educating the world in how much nutrition, health, and culture we’ve lost as big corporations have chipped away at traditional at-home fermentation practices in favor of dead, sterile food and a fear of beneficial bacteria.

Fermentation is so much easier than you think it is, so much cheaper, and so so tasty. Seriously recommend giving it a look.

depsidase

espanolbot2

Hm, I was pondering about the recent-ish trope of Adventuring Guilds (effectively trade unions for protagonists in fantasy rpg-inspired settings, which I’m sure I’ve seen in a bunch of things but the main example that springs to mind is Goblin Slayer to my annoyance but the Hero Association in One Punch Man has a similar albeit superhero-slanted deal), and how mechanically in the setting they exist to ensure x reward is provided for x amount of work/danger involved but in a meta sense are there so the characters don’t have to go looking for heroing gigs on ye olde Craigs Lyst or something.

It’s an interesting idea, similar in a manner to the many fantasy trope-tinged guilds in the Discworld novels of the late great Terry Pratchett, although an amusing idea occurred to me with the idea of trade unions for fantasy heroes.

Like, if there are unions to ensure employment and fair pay for folks clearing out dungeons, getting gnolls out the cabbage patch, stopping gnomes from going through your bins, and so on, then, logically, there much exist fantasy hero scab workers as well.

Folks that the local king or something brings in for lower pay on more dangerous jobs. Folks who are, say, completely new to the setting, out of their depth, and are thrust into a dangerous situation by a seemingly benevolent authority figure because said authority figure is too cheap to hire someone who understands the risks involved and asks more suitable wages for the role…

Y’know…

gojirahkiin

Oh my god… the entire isekai genre is a way for Big Adventure to avoid negotiating with Adventurer Unions!

espanolbot2

I mean, even as the person who suggested it I’d admit it’s really silly, but at the same time even modern capitalism sucks when dealing with organised labour, I’d imagine that in a pseudo-feudal setting they’d be even more awkward about it.

crinosg

Kid from earth: What? Where am I? Who are you?

Wizard: Do not be afraid young one, I have summoned thee from across time and space to our world, we are in desperate need of a hero to save our world from the forces of darkness. It is your destiny to save our world from utter ruination. Will you take on this epic quest.

Kid: Sure!!!

*Bunch of adventurers kick open the door*

Wizard: Oh shit oh shit no no no no.

Head adventurer: AINT NOBODY GOING ON ANY EPIC QUEST.

Kid: Um, who are these guys?

Wizard: Um, they are agents of the dark lord sent to stop you, quickly run past them and go do that quest.

Head adventurer: Yeah you can shut up now. PAULIE. SILENCE SPELL.

Paulie: You got it boss. *Silences the wizard*

Head adventurer: Look kid, we’re representatives of the local 102.

Kid: Uhhh….

Paulie: The adventurer’s union.

Kid: Ah. Okay I know what Unions are. They have those here?

Head Adventurer: Sure do kid, and we got word that this douchebag was using magic to pull in unqualified under aged non union adventurers from another dimension so that he could avoid having to pay us our proper due. How old are you kid?

Kid: Um….14?

Head adventurer: Come on.

Kid: Okay twelve

Head adventurer: *Turns to wizard* You kidnapped a twelve year old kid to go fight the dark lord? Were you even gonna give them any equipment? Any magical training? Any supervision?

Wizard: *shrugs*

Head adventurer: *Hands kid a scroll* Here is a portal scroll back here, you want to still do this in like six years, give us a holler and we’ll set you up with some basic training and an apprenticeship, Until then, go back to your world and do whatever kids there do.

Kid: Yessir.

Head adventurer: As for you ya douchebag, Go tell that fat gasbag of a king he wants the dark lord defeated he better pony up the cash to hire a real, union certified adventuring party. And you try this crap again then the next kid you summon is gonna have an epic quest of dislodging my boot from your ass.

rocky-road-art

my meet the artist 2024!!

#look at my cool ass friend #art

warmsol

august please be good to all the friends in my phone. thank you

tlirsgender

One of my more outwardly baffling autistic traits is that often I will fully know that you're being sarcastic or joking & I'll just keep talking. I'll respond to it in earnest thinking I'm continuing the bit but I do it too flatly and everybody knows I'm autistic so they'll stop and be like hey that was a joke & I'm like I know

vernadskova-deactivated20230803

Ok so Haumea, a dwarf planet beyond Pluto, spins so fast it gets elongated like this. This is just what it looks like. Something deeply unsettles me looking at it. Terrifying.

spidereggs-deactivated20230413

this is so fucked up

ann-beth

#egg planet EGG PLANET!!!!

riding-with-the-wild-hunt

today's vetted fundraisers. i know i there are lots of these floating around, but please keep sharing and donating if you can, even if it's a small amount. if we disengage, we dash these families' hopes for a better future

july 7th:

Eyad Sami, his wife Amal Mahmoud, and their four children (CHF6,180/CHF20,000) - @eyadeyadsblog, verified by @/90-ghost

The AlBalawi family of ten, including several children (multiple are sick) and two chronically ill members who need treatment (€8,186/€50,000) - @aboooodsblog, @albalawii, @bisanalbalawi, verified by @/90-ghost

Mohammed Hijazi and his elderly parents, one of whom is severely injured and needs surgery to restore his ability to walk (€1,728/€20,000) - @savemohammedfamily, verified by @/90-ghost

Ashraf Alanqar, his wife Widad Issa, and their little son Bakr (€3,934/€30,000) - @ashrafanqer, verified by @/90-ghost

Yousef (a toddler who needs lifesaving treatment for a blood disease) and his parents (€2,117/€25,000) - @dima96yousef, verified by @/90-ghost

Youssef Hilles's wife and five children, including his young son whom he's never gotten to meet in person (€3,446/€23,000) - @zeinyousef, #206 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's spreadsheet

Basel Ayyad and his family of eight, including his sick daughter who is losing her sight without treatment (CHF2,612/CHF60,000) - @basel-1995, #214 on @/nabulsi and @/el-shab-hussein's spreadsheet

Ramez Hilles and his family of ten, including several children (€853/€37,000) - @ramezderar, verified by @/90-ghost

Ghada Afifi (needs surgery for a heart condition) and her family ($1,720/$50,000) - @lifeasme24 on tiktok, verified by @/lieahsblog (reach out for more details)

Wafaa Alnhal's family of 15, including four children and a newborn (they've already lost multiple family members, including Wafaa's young niece) (€26,148/€50,000) - @wafs-posts, #171 on @/nabulsi and @/el-shab-hussein's spreadsheet

The Al Zaeem family of seven, including four children and their severely ill grandfather ($19,011 CAD/$50,000 CAD) - @yosofzaeem, @malkzaeem, verified by @/nabulsi

Widow Safaa Abubaker and her two little children (€868/€15,000) - @safaamo, verified by @/ibtisams

Ahmed Baalousha, his wife Islam, their three children (one a newborn, he suffers especially from malnutrition), and Ahmed's parents and sister (€14,769/€50,000) - @5735765, #234 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's spreadsheet

Muhammad Al-Habil, his wife, their three young children, and Muhammad's chronically ill parents (€8,850/€50,000) - @mohammedfamily11, verified by @/el-shab-hussein

Helping Siraj Abudayeh, his wife, and their three children to rebuild their beloved home ($4,081 CAD/$82,000 CAD) - @siraj2024, #219 on @/nabulsi and @/el-shab-hussein's spreadsheet

Evacuating Firas Muhaisen's family of six (including three children) and paying he and his sister's medical school fees (needed by next month) ($1,939 CAD/$82,000 CAD) - @firasmuhaisenn, @nisreenameen, @hashem-fromgaza, verified by @/90-ghost

Nael Khalid and family (unknown amount) - @islamgazaaccount2, verified by @/90-ghost

Fiancés Noor and Alaa (both have lost multiple family members already) (€2,823/€25,000) - @nouralaagaza, verified by @/ibtisams

Helping Mahmoud Abu Hamam and his family rebuild their house and their lives ($790/$25,000) - @ma7moudgaza2, #149 on @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi's spreadsheet

not yet vetted:

Amjad Al-Shaltawi's family of 11, including several children and his wife Suha, who's lost her whole family (€658/€97,000) - @amjadshiltawu

Helping Hamed and his family to rebuild their home and livelihood (€643/€70,000) - @hamedkara

any contribution you can make is infinitely valuable, regardless of the size of your following or the amount you can give. let's keep working together to support families like these suffering violence and displacement. your help can save lives.