#and non-school settings

[anonymousdandelion]

A general tip for students who are sending those dreaded Religious Absence Emails to your professors: Rather than asking permission to take the day(s) off, politely let them know that you will be taking the day(s) off.

In other words, consider not saying this:

"May I miss class on [date] so I can observe [holiday]?"

It's not that there's anything wrong with the above, per se. But because it's phrased as a request, it risks coming across as optional — a favor you hope to be granted. Problem is, favors are not owed, and so unfortunately asking permission opens the door for the professor to respond "Thanks for asking. No, you may not. :)"

Instead, try something along the lines of:

"I will need to miss class on [date] because I will be observing [holiday]. I wanted to let you know of this conflict now, and to ask your assistance in making arrangements for making up whatever material I may miss as a result of this absence."

This is pretty formal language (naturally, you can and should tweak it to sound more like your voice). But the important piece is that, while still being respectful, it shifts the focus of the discussion so that the question becomes not "Is it okay for me to observe my religion?", but rather, "How can we best accommodate my observance?"

Because the first question should not be up for debate: freedom of religion is a right, not a favor. And the second question is the subject you need to discuss.

(Ideally, do this after you've looked up your school's policy on religious absences, so you know what you're working within and that religious discrimination is illegal. Just in case your professor forgot.)

#this strategy got me through all of college #and some professors were a lot more supportive than others but no one ever told me no #because i didn't give them the chance #jumblr #judaism #religious absences #relevant to other minority religions as well #as well as non-religious accommodations #and non-school settings #dandelion says #jewish dandelion #note: the policy/legality details will vary depending on where you live and go to school #when i talk about religious discrimination laws this is based on public universities in the us

[jill-question-mark]

Re: printer paper being nice for bookbinding...

So you specifically said not to do this but...

1)using plain printer paper is totally fine for books if that's what you have access to. It's what I started with and some people just stick with it.

2)most of us who get really serious into it get custom cut paper to be short grain as it should be. We get 11x17 paper cut into 8.5x11 so the grain is correct. Most Renegade Bindery people in the US get it from Church paper, and they've added a listing to their website for it. And it's nice paper. (Hammermill cream typically.)

Nooo don't encourage me! Danger, danger! As punishment you get to see the results of me going to poke around in my old college work.

Here's a little book I probably made after somehow acquiring a colour inkjet printer. The colours have held up well after 25 years!

The interior consists of anatomical clip art. Why? I dunno. If I pretend to be an art historian of myself, I could say I was making a prescient statement about computers taking over everything including our bodies, but honestly I was probably just having a laugh with the extensive clip art collection that had come with my.. WordPerfect? or Corel Draw? software.

Two little books with non-adhesive bindings and rather nice Japanese paper.

The covers stay on via paper tabs.

Here's a set of two books with covers made from hand-dyed/patterned fabric from my textiles classes. The covers are again attached with paper tabs that I made into a decorative element.

More handmade paper. It's unsized and feels like quality paper towels. Looks like dried flower petals aren't an acid-free material and the colour didn't hold up :P

cool little triple-fold guy.

Hand-marbled paper... I was really into purple and teal in combination.... It was like 1997

Bonus: me snarking on "AI" technology, before the turn of the century. Plus ça change? Unfortunately, the computer didn't do a bad enough job to be funny.

#my art #my REALLY OLD art #bookbinding #non-adhesive binding #paper marbling #long post #i also have a set of snarky greeting cards that are pretty good #those were from a class called Printed Matters #the professor was one of the OG 1970s hippie artist guys that gave the school its reputation #we all got a 'high pass' grade as long as we made... anything at all #and showed up to class

[qlala]

giving myself an idea for a new fic and trying to stealthily open a blank word document but the tiny edna mode that i installed in my brain for exactly this reason immediately wakes up from a dead sleep and begins smacking me over the head with a rolled-up newspaper

#she doesn't know about tumblr tags though! #anyway. leonard finally accepting that mick is right and he's obsessed with the flash #but obviously just the idea of him #so to cure himself of this he starts shadowing barry around his daily non-flash life #and breaks into his apartment and goes through everything in minute detail #because surely this will put len's temporary insanity to rest #by proving to his own brain that barry allen is just Some Guy. he's boring. even worse: he's twenty-six. #but obviously it backfires #and len finds himself scowling at the salt-and-pepper shakers that iris west made for barry in a high school ceramics class #and they're totally mishappen and leaking salt and pepper from the bottoms but barry still has them loyally out on his table #he finds a box of milkbones in the pantry and hopes it's some puppy play kink that len can mock him for #but no it's because his elderly neighbor's dogs gets loose once a week and barry always helps her go round them up #when len DOES find the kinky things they're expensive and well-researched and depressingly right up len's alley #and len ends up just as obsessed with barry allen as he is the flash #he gives up and steals the salt and pepper shakers and swaps them for a cardboard set from the grocery store #with a note inside the salt shaker that gives barry an address and a time for that saturday night #and a p.s. that says to bring the silk rope

[shitysimp]

The beakers paid Brandi to test the prototype of the cloning machine

#if we consider the non clean template of course #and also this is a headcanon i'm not setting it as a general truth #it is a headcanon for my version of UberHood that I had in my head for soooo fucking long but never really put things in place #i mean at least I started and of course i did with pleasentview #and i'm trying my best to connect it with strangetown with some lire but rn i'm bugging #like in my version I already settled that it's mortimer who is abducted and bella who is searching for him through her secret agent carrer #and that Micheal is still alive but mmmm should i spoil? #yes i should 'he didn't get engaged with dina and is having a fling with nina #aaaannnddd yeah already forgot what i had planned i should officialy write them #ALL THIS TO SAY I will be a bit absent these days bc school and stress and yadiyadiyada but i also want to do the things i like and take li #take life slow and learn how to manage time bc one of my resolutions was to post more this year and now it's like the end of January 💀💀💀 #anyways bye kisses to all of you beautiful peoples

[variousqueerthings]

my friend and I are watching the high school musical movies (I think I'd only ever seen the second one before), and yes. Chad is queer in some form and Ryan is obviously gay, but I feel like I've not seen people discuss how Kelsi is so very non-binary coded

#high school musical #im watching high school musical #im watching movies #we've seen the first and second now #also a tad aroace but that may be the unfortunate fate of being gender non-conforming in appearance #and therefore the plot is like uhhh stick'em behind the piano #it's the appearance of course but also the purpose within the plot #nb characters as existing both outside of the plot in some way but also as those who set up plot #(ex. puck telling parts of the story but not having any personal stakes -- #or kelsi writing the songs that get gabriella and troy to sing and thereby get together + reunite) #im sure people HAVE been discussing this and i have simply... not been around the high school musical crowds thus far

[drewsaturday]

i've had such a weird relationship with making fanon things lately for a few diff reasons i think.

i haven't rly been inspired enough to take things beyond my thoughts and make an actual thing out of them. part of this is probs bc of my medication. the other part is that...

i don't have the time to dig too deeply into my favorite things rn. this means i don't dig up new parts to feel excited about, i don't feel Qualified to carry those ideas out bc my understanding of the source material is so limited and people expect waaaay too much quality from fanworks these days, and i feel like i'll never be able to finish what i start anyway.

lastly, i've been doing fandom so repetitively i'm just... tired? of the same thing over and over again. i work on a thing, i polish the thing, i post the thing, i wait for feedback that is either nice/mean/empty, rinse and repeat. the solution would be to just not post these things, but why go through all that effort to carry something up out of an idea stage then since that's what makes me most excited? and if i spend the time drafting, it feels like a waste of time since it's not going to go anywhere.

i do think a lot of this is medication, because it dulls Just how insane i am capable of getting about a thing. in the past i would have sooo much drive because i felt like if i didn't make a thing, i'd explode. i don't rly get that anymore, at least not in a big enough burst to keep me working on things very long.

i've instead been thinking a lot about diving into original content because... although i make everything for fun, i think original stuff has way less of the above issues attached.

there's no time limit. i'm not... "competing" for being able to get an idea done first, or trying to get a fanfic out while there's still hype over a show, or worrying about my work being ooc compared to someone else's, or worrying the fandom landscape i vibe with is going to change when people move on.

it's theoretically not as repetitive. i'm sure the things i'm interested in shows are similar to what i come up with from my brain, and i could just try to make different things for fandom than i'm used to. but i am kind of tired of my inability to do anything besides hurt/comfort oneshots for the same kind of pairing over and over again. this would force me to actually develop other shit too lmfao.

it's Technically something i could profit off of if i really wanted to, making it less of a waste of time. for fandom, it feels like a waste of time if i'm not putting a fanon thing out for other fans to see. it also feels like i put a ton of work into my own little understanding of a show--fleshing out backstories and worldbuilding etc. so if i move onto another fandom... it feels like it was all for nothing, esp if i don't make something from it all. ideally i would be doing it just for the fun but there needs to be some balance with what i consider pay-off. and since i usually don't stay motivated long enough to do these big huge projects, or people move on, or other people do the idea first because i work so slow, it's just gotten rly un-motivating.

there's like, layers of motivation imo. i like a thing and i get excitement about making stuff for it and exploring certain parts of it. and i can do that for myself, but to make it stand on its own enough to post for other people to see isn't something i currently get enough motivation for. and because of that, it makes the fun part feel like a waste of time i guess.

i usually stay away from my own original stuff bc i honestly just don't feel the level of excitement with it as i have felt with fandom in the past, and... it's just harder lmao? but i think it would be good for me to at least fuck around with it.

fandom started as a vessel for creativity for me. i wanted to make videos, it gave me footage. i wanted to draw, it gave me designs for characters. i wanted to write, it gave me a sandbox to play in. and i still find those things fun, but i guess it just feels like i'm limiting myself by only playing with other people's dolls in a public park for all to see. like i'm just not as connected to the Making part as a hobby or to the parts of myself i would put into it.

idk, i am just rambling and i think honestly if i Did have more time it would help take a lot of the above pressures and risks away and balance me out so that making silly little fanfics sometimes would feel more worth it because i'd feel free to do other things as well.

i also do sort of get glued to the screen when i'm in mode of making and posting things and i'd like to uhhh. do other things with my life too sometimes lmfao. part of this boredom does probably stem from being chronically ill and therefore barely leaving my house. i haven't been able to do other things beyond fanon creations in years. so no wonder i'd feel less inspired and more bored.

i also think i've gotten tired of watching things feeling like a chore. oh shit i need to write down this scene so i can use it on a fanvid, or make sure i take note of this piece of dialogue for this character's backstory, etc. i know i bitch about how i don't hate the word "content creator" bc it is just an easier catch-all for me as someone who makes lots of diff things, and i still agree with that, but i do think because of my own levels of perfectionism, mixed with honestly how weirdly expectant of quality fandom has become, it's become a chore to engage with source material.

another thing is i've always felt like i've needed a purpose in what i've made and that purpose tends to be justified by the community interactions. it makes me feel less lonely and it helps me feel inspired and like... it doesn't hurt to know you'll get feedback on something because you've found so many supportive friends in it. i rly just haven't landed in any new communities i vibe with a ton for the things ive gotten into lately, so there's less motivation there. that's not to say anyone's Bad, just... discord servers are too big, tags are too dead or all over the place, i don't message people to become friends, and the communities and friends i do have from fandom are all kinda doing different things rn, etc.

the other form of purpose would be challenges--exchanges, bingos, etc. this fanwork isn't just a random thing for fun, it has a reason for me to work on it enough to let it see the light of day. and i think i've kinda broken my brain a bit using those for motivation so much, but the alternative would be to never get anything into a publishable state, but without it being a publishable state and interacting with communities through it there's no reason for me to really spend all that much time on it in the first place, which means i'm really not getting to Create.

i think the biggest issue these days if every part of the creative process now feels like it's "for show" and original stuff that has literally no audience is the only way to kinda undo the amount of rules that's put on me and my creativity.

tl;dr i'm just not feeling the same fulfillment from making fanon stuff as i used to so i guess i need to experiment with making other things so i can still do the Making part and see where that lands me, and see if it can help undo some of the toxic mentalities being an exclusively fandom girlie for so long has kinda instilled in me.

i'm sure i'll still make fanon shit every so often--i honestly have been so busy that output won't be noticeably different from my usual once every five months contributions. i just need to get back into the right blend of circumstances for it to feel worth it, and until then i guess i need to dig out the dolls from my own attic instead of someone else's so i can have a less complicated vessel for creative hobbies because i'm fairly certain i'd still like to create.

#txt #this is just a v long ramble that im not sure makes much sense honestly or will be readable to anyone but myself at this point but eh #just needed to word it all out #...also just remembered another reason that causes that imbalance of fun #is chronic pain making certain art forms like drawing quite painful so although i've been wanting to learn art techniques #and practice generally in non-fandomy ways #i'm stopped by how it's more worth it to sketch a blorbo every so often #but idk i want to try figuring out better ways of going about that for myself and #since i can't have both fandom and original without pushing myself too far i kinda have to Choose art advancement #over stupid blorbo drawings #same with if i spend too much time typing etc #and that plus time constraints are why im making it out to be such a one or the other thing #but it also... is... #because i rly don't think i can keep doing fanon stuff without at least mixing things up somehow #if not moving to original stuff altogether #i do think that once im out of school and i have a more stable schedule #i'll be able to set aside specific free time each day as opposed to being all over the place #and that will help as well so i don't feel Guilty over creating things #when i should/could be doing something more productive bc i also do want to move my life forward rather than being SO escapist #and the guilt aspect gets in the way a lot more than it when i had more passion to beat it back with #that rly is my own fault tho for being in charge of my own schedule and being so bad at it lol #one last little note for myself is i think a lot abt non-fandomy hobbies i have like music #where yeah ive made some filks but for the most part idk what im doing #im just there to have fun and enjoy myself bc it's just... the entire reason i do it #and i dont rly get that from the things i also can use for fanon creations these days more readily

[clanoffelidae]

Having non-binary dysphoria is fucking weird bc it’s like

Brain: don’t like this body

Me: okay do you want a male one?

Brain: that’s even worse

Me: okay so what do you want???

Brain: not this one

#non binary #gender dysphoria #its really not that surprising that some of my friend groups have running jokes that im an otherworldly entity in a human body lol #if i had a nickel for every friend group that decided i was some sort of ancient deity in human form id have two nickels #which isnt a lot but its weird that it happened twice #‘well did you start the joke???’ I Did Not #they came to these conclusions on their own #both of them are equally shitposty which is a mood tho #first one was bc i was obsessed with oranges in high school #and a group of friend watched me maul like 7-8 of them at lunch #and i became the god of oranges #then i had an orange on me one day when a friend had a test in history she was nervous about #id taken it earlier that day and felt fine so i gave her the orange and told her to set it on her desk #to create an altar to me and i would give her the answers (made her laugh <3) #she came back later saying she did that and then suddenly remembered everything #make of that what you will #my second god assignment is biblically accurate furby and also possibly a god of peace #it’s complicated #the lore keeps developing #nonbinary

[enthusiastic-nimrod]

Bea's house! I'm not 100% happy with how it finished up, however it really did help the energy I'm trying to capture here.

I don't think I've mentioned it before, but I've always wanted for the series is a wide array of unique backdrops and landmarks; so getting better at buildings and prop design is an absolute must for me.

#illustration #magical school girls #msg #bea #background #set design #farm #land boat #chickens #I think the two big overall issues with this are perspective #and also emptiness #I'm not sure HOW empty I want it all to be because. well. #she lives on the edge of society #under a rock #so there should be open space #but I also need a “foresty” area #and a small “seaside” village #her house being a sea arch tho? that is non negotiable

[nerdgirlnarrates]

It is very weird trying to explain to potential landlords/roommates what my living situation will be like during away rotations. I have some strange answers to questions about what kind of roommate I’ll be.

Person renting out their room: “I wanna get to know you before we live together for a month. What are your hobbies?”

Me: “don’t worry about that. I’m gonna work 80-ish hours a week and come home to sleep, shower, and study. I’ll leave around 4 am and get back at 8 pm or maybe sometime the next morning. You’ll see me every third day, and I’ll be very quiet. If you hear soft crying sometimes, don’t worry about it.”

In many ways, I am the ideal roommate because you basically get to collect rent from someone who is never there. On the other hand, you have to deal with a roommate who’s practically invisible and her occasional muffled stress-crying sounds. Kind of like living with a ghost.

#it is an odd set up #and I feel weird trying to explain my schedule to non med people lol #like I will be actively sacrificing myself at the altar of The Match the whole month #so I probably won’t bother you because I’ll be busy dying in a work room somewhere #having said that I am looking forward to aways #medblr #medicine #med school #med student #my content #my text posts

[jazzymin97]

So like off topic, and kinda background info; but I made an off hand comment to my Christian family like last year or the year before or something— about how tarot decks are really so pretty and I wouldn’t mind having a deck and like learning how to read the cards. Okay they know I’m like kinda a slut for good art so they probably dismissed anything about it aside from that. Like I wasn’t kidding. A lot of tarot decals I’ve seen — especially the ones in Nola are just like so pretty. It’s the kinda comment that if I wasn’t over the age of 18; I absolutely would have been torn a new one for because “that’s occult stuff! How dare you forsake our lord!?” But like with a lot more cussing hilariously.

Anyway, Well last year(2022) my sib got me a YGO themed Tarot deck for Xmas. And this past xmas(2023) another deck from my parents showed up and my sib joked “ah look, apparently it’ll be tradition to get you tarot cards for xmas now.” And I’m just— wait?? I thought the YGO one was one off because it’s for a fandom I’ve been involved with since I was like 10. But they’re like going out of their ways to find tarot decks??

Am I even allowed to like use them? I thought first decks had to be gifted by someone who already uses them? I’m like so close to just opening the decks and vibing and doing a spread to see what they tell me and I just don’t know if that’s even a good thing.

Anyway, yeah, so a fanfic totally had me thinking about those two decks just causally sitting where my cats can’t get em and now I can’t stop thinking about it.

#tw religion #tarot reading #tarot cards #tarotblr #tarotcommunity #tw christianity #tw christmas #I mean my parents claim to be Christians #both were raised as such. kinda #mom was raised by two excommunicated Catholics #and my dad definitely had a looser teaching of it. which isn’t completely unexpected by a mix fam set up #but they don’t really practice or quote it except to be rude with it?? #like one teaching that stuck with me was ‘treat others how you want to be treated’ and ‘you get what you get and don’t throw a fit’ #and my dad was the primary one who enforced it and that’s bc he doesn’t actually agree with most the teachings of the church #I absolutely didn’t realise it until right after I graduated high school #anyway #like I said they claim to be Christians but they don’t really practice except to be rude #and both my sib(both non binary hilariously) are lgbtq+ and they don’t really say things to us past #‘I love you but I don’t love that aspect.’ and then like say the stuff in general about the community and it’s just wild #my sib and I are deffo kinda Christian raised but niether of us really ID as Christian #definitely just rambling in my notes. totally a normal thing to do. #i really just wanna know if it’s be a bad thing to use the tarot cards. to actually learn. like is it rude? #even if I don’t do readings for like other people; would it be wrong for me to do it? #I absolutely believe if a diety or multiple exist— at least one is entertained by my continued existence

[the-irrelevant-trumpeter]

hate that i'm out of school and still can't do all of the things i want to do, but not because of time restrictions, just because i don't have the energy anymore

#i wanna make some yt videos and i wanna set up the mmni ship tournament that i said i'd do forever ago #and i wanna queue up more incorrect mmni quotes because i haven't posted on that blog in a hot sec #and i wanna catch up on reading fics and i wanna finish the fic i'm halfway through #and i wanna keep planning the big wip so that i can start writing that too #and i wanna get back into reading books because i haven't read a non-school book in a long time #and i wanna make gifsets and i wanna watch all of the movies and shows that i have on my watchlist #and i wanna finish the music arrangement i was working on too #and i'm sure there's more stuff as well #but i just! can't do any of it because i don't have the energy

[thedragonagelesbian]

prayer circle real quick im about to roll stats for a new character

#the boy is coming out of his vat #...after i brush my teeth and start laundry #erxius posting #also no matter what im dumping wis & int. this is non-negotiable. yes hes in the d&d magic school setting. #its my time to play a himbo

[sternfleck]

If you see that Buddhism post that’s going around, virtually every single piece of it contains serious inaccuracies, so just…maybe read a book or some YouTube videos or articles if you’re curious. I can provide recs

#Vajrayana is a subset of Mahayana for one thing #but Buddhism isn’t like Abrahamic religions and that whole post is trying to map it out like one #I grew up Buddhist and went to a monastery’s temple regularly #the Dalai Lama’s doctor was my family doctor for Tibetan medicine #“name the three major schools of Buddhism” is a fucking stupid framework for how to familiarise yourself with this religion #read Buddhist texts! watch videos from Buddhist sages! you can’t understand Buddhism by turning it into a chart #it’s a much more fluid and syncretic set of traditions with many more regional variations than the Abrahamic religions have #or fucking…western occultism for that matter lmao #non-Buddhists being like “oh you like the Buddha? name three of his albums” like fuck OFFFFFFF #my posts

[jorvikzelda]

every day I look at the date and I sweat a little more profusely

#yes this is about jorvikpov yes I am SLIGHTLY shitting crying throwing up about the deadlines I have set for myself this week #thank fuck it is a calm week at school because I will be having to write tomorrow #I wanted to be done with all 4 posts for this week by tonight.... i am ABSO LUTELY FUKCING NOT #yes it is crucial that they are released this close together like it is actually fully and entirely non negotiable #I WANT TO POST THEM SO BAD THOUGH it feels like these are my magnum opus. I don't even really know what I'm going to do with myself After #that's how Monumental they feel #z talks