#you can't just have one slice

[thedreadvampy]

legitimately insane how to some people, "we should wipe out this ethnic group that we've violently constrained to a ghetto because they're just genetically more violent and dangerous" is a reasonable and justifiable statement but it's Nazi Rhetoric to say something like, "it's bad that Israeli civilians are being killed but acknowledging that as tragic includes acknowledging that the almost daily state-sanctioned murder of civilians by the Israeli government is also tragic and unacceptable"

btw guys speaking of Nazi shit - can we check in, alongside what's been done to Palestinians in the last 75 years, what's the Israeli government's take on the Azerbaijani government's newest round of ethnic cleansing of Armenians? oh are the Israeli government's actions maybe not determined by Jewish identity, but by a commitment to colonial supremacy which puts them on the same page as other violently genocidal states like Azerbaijan, the US, and the UK? god can you Even Imagine?

(framing speaking against Israeli war crimes as inherently antisemitic requires understanding the Israeli state as representing all Jewish people, when it doesn't even represent all Israelis.

framing Israeli war crimes as synonymous with Jewish identity is pretty fucked up if we're being honest. I don't think that controlling water and power and movement for a captive population and shooting children dead for throwing stones is an inherent value of Judaism, any more than I think the torture carried out at Guantanamo Bay is an inherent value of Christianity - in both cases they're atrocities carried out by a far right genocidal government using religious identity as a shield.

Calling statements like "Israel is committing genocide against the people it's displaced" inherently antisemitic is doing more to further the idea that all Jewish people are associated with Israel than saying "the Israeli government is doing war crimes," which is a statement of fact about a country that exists and does war crimes. Is criticism of Israel as a nation often used as cover for antisemitism? Absolutely. Does that mean the Israeli government isn't doing literal war crimes repeatedly, on record, while talking publicly about scrubbing an ethnic group off the map? Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh well in the last 48 hours they've definitely cut off water and power to almost 600,000 civilians and allegedly used white phosphorus against civilians so in an extremely factual and unambiguous way yeah man those are Literal War Crimes whoever does them.)

#red said #sorry man saying 'it's bad to do genocide and war crimes' doesn't actually mean 'I'm happy when Jewish people die' #it means 'there is a context to Palestinian militants attacking Israelis which involves Palestinians being killed wounded or imprisoned #very nearly every day by the Israeli state and settlers. so no you can't treat a Palestinian attack on Israel as an unprecedented tragedy #without also recognising that Israeli forces have repeatedly visited attacks of similar magnitude on Palestine which is ALSO tragic #as well as the regular state-sanctioned murder of over 200 Palestinians in the 9 months BEFORE the Palestinian attack on Saturday #It means 'Palestinian lives don't matter less than Israeli lives' not 'Israeli lives don't matter' #this week is literally the FIRST TIME SINCE RECORDS BEGAN that more Israeli lives have been lost than Palestinian #bc for every year since 2000 orders of magnitude more palestinians than Israelis have been killed in this war #you don't get to say 'it's only bad when X ethnic group is killed it's GOOD to kill Y ethnic group' then accuse OTHERS of genocide apologis #it is legitimately a tragedy for Israeli civilians to be killed and wounded en masse. the people are not the nation. #but it's not less of a tragedy for Palestinians to have been killed and wounded en masse week after week for decades. #and when peaceful protest gets you shot and bombed and acting against the military gets you shot and bombed #and just existing doing nothing at all gets you shot and bombed. living near someone accused of terrorism. looking for your fucking cat. #when you're getting shot and bombed daily whatever you do. it's not surprising that sometimes people move to violence against civilians. #because as people from Gaza have said. better to die fighting for survival than die on your knees waiting. #which like. I'm not making a moral judgement one way or the other bc i am intrinsically disgusted by mass killing. as we all should be. #and this might be the movement which liberates Palestine and it might be the excuse which allows Israel to finish Palestine #and either way hundreds of people are dead on both sides and however you slice it that's a fucking tragedy #but we cannot. treat it as if Hamas' strike began the violence. and ignore the 200+ Palestinians killed by the IDF this year beforehand #Palestinian lives matter as much as Israeli lives. 700 Israeli citizens dead is a tragedy. 600 Palestinians dead is a tragedy. #and if you lay out the numbers from this weekend alone you can pretend that Israelis are getting decimated by Palestine. #but to do that you have to ignore the facts that for every 1 Israeli killed in the past decade 3 Palestinians die. #and that Israeli deaths happen in occasional outbursts of violence while Palestinian deaths happen every week #whether or not Hamas or any other Palestinian faction initiates violence

[icewindandboringhorror]

I can't do much productively during the heat wave/health issue flare up/etc. like work on my games or anything where I have to sit at the computer/type for long periods of time, BUT.. I did passively sculpt a few tiny foods lol. I wanted to do one of my bigger usual sculptures, but those take so much more time and concentration, I thought something small just to keep my hands busy would be better.. close up photos look kind of weird and blurry from my camera settings or something, but overall they came out okay, especially in person.. Nearly the only reason I ever wanted to buy dolls as a kid was to get my hands on the miniature foods and plates and stuff that came with them, I've always just been obsessed with small versions of things like that, so.. why not make some! lol

#sculpture #ooops.. i could have posted this on the art blog but I forgor and do not feel like reuploading everything #into a new drafted post on a whole other blog.. not in this heat.. i have no patience lol #items are: tomato. asparagus. a four leaf clover (not food lol). some sort of folded bun or dumpling with meat inside (not based on #anything specific. I just wanted to fold a flat sheet of clay into a shape). pomegranate. cheese wheel. lemon slice. some sort of mushroom. #fish (not a real one. just made up. if it looks like any specific fish that'd be interesting). and fig. #I haven't been able to get many avocaodo pits to carve again. so sculpting. then is good for a tiny craft #WISH I COULD DO COSTUMES OR SOMETHING.. i have some pikced out. bundles of clothes laying on the floor of the closet #but GODS even before the heat wave it's just been so warm.. I know.. it's the summer. of course it's warm #but WHYYYyy............. what if it just snowed all year around and was awesome and beautiful and i was so cold and could wear 25 blankets #at all times.. what about THAT hmm?? .. the ideal.. #anyway.. my favorite is the pomegranate and the mushroom maybe #The fig is hard because in the pictures of figs I googled a lot of them have that sort of white powdery type of thing on the outside #that grapes and plums and stuff have sometimes and it's hard to convey that weird like.. sheen.. plus the purple with almost powdery blue #and little lighter specks plus streaks of light green and a little orangey on some of them. #It's okay in person I think but this doesnt show up as much in pictures. The cheese also looks betterin person than images. you can't tell #the slight shine in the pictures lol. but the pomegranates look cool and also photograph decent.. hmm #I should have made toast with an egg on it or something. that would be a nice addition #OH ALSO ASPARAGUS MY BELOVED.. though they look a little wonky. the cuticle pusher tool that I sculpt with in leiu of any actual sculpting #tools has a kind of triangle edge that was suite for the little leaf details of the asparagus so that was cool. its like..ALMOST right lol

[48787]

New Transmission The fucking Scientific Instrument Class Pseudocons apparently developed what they're calling "Hetero Sapience" and are corrupting the brainmodules of the non-Pseudo 'cons around them by using annoying xenophilosophy words. Soundwave tells me they're 'Greek' and 'Latin' words, apparently. Cool, I guess? Anyway, if you see any SI Class 'cons causing... issues, just try your hardest to turn your brainmodule off before you start getting infected with their weird lingo, alongside all the other issues pertaining to letting the SI Pseudocons transmit data into your brainmodule in their own weird ways. Thundercracker, on a bet with Starscream, tried to get into an argument with one of them and his head literally exploded when it started talking about Alpha Trion's "Mythological Origins" in its weird dialect. He's mostly fine, CR Pods are working at 'peak' efficiency, but the facial reconstruction is apparently impossible due to some kind of corruption. I thought it was just some weird prank but there weren't even any scorch marks or anything. Just exploded. So yeah, just avoid optical contact and auditory contact to the best of your ability and you should be fine. Otherwise, try to force-shutdown your brainmodule if you can. Shockwave is working on a cure right now, mostly because I know he had something to do with this in the first place so he's going to be the one to fix it. He probably wanted a greater justification to do that weird data-transfer idea he mentioned previously. But it also explains the weird Thunderwing hypotheticals he's been asking me lately... Can I go one fucking cycle without someone trying to "Perfect Thunderwing's Work" or whatever other idiotic drivel that I keep finding our limited energon reserves siphoned into?? It's not even a Shockwave thing, it's like every damn Cybertronian these days thinks they have the "Missing piece of the puzzle" or whatever. In fact, Shockwave might be doing this as a weird threat against the other R&D 'cons to cement himself as the one and only Decepticon "Allowed" to have resources wasted on projects like that. Ugh, now that I think about it, that's probably a correct assumption and he's probably gonna expect me to thank him for it later. Ugh, and he's probably literally right. Ugh. At least his repairs both to himself and to his lab seem to be mostly complete so further research into the SI project should hopefully come along a little faster. Both Shockwave and Soundwave think the SIs could potentially be used as some kind of specialty weapon, but we'll have to see how they work on sparkless lifeforms, like biological lifeforms or xenomechanical lifeforms. The SIs don't seem to corrupt each other, but Shockwave keeps reaffirming that they're not "Sparkless Lifeforms" because they "were never lifeforms to begin with"... but I think he's trying to hide something. Usually Soundwave is the one to pick up on that kind of technological obfuscation, but he actually agreed with Shockwave and offered to send Ratbat to try to work out exactly what each "sapient" SI is now capable of on a personal level. We could have just had regular Cybertronians aboard to fill the role SIs fill. I would've preferred K Class to fill any role an SI could fill in all honesty!! But no, constructing cold wasn't enough, we just had to try to learn how to "Construct Frozen" and the "Absolute Zeroes" just had to be put on my ship. Whatever. I've probably said too much already. This was supposed to be a warning for my ship crew, but it's looking like it'll end up being transcribed on the golden disk as well so when this new Scientific Instruments of Destruction project backfires in some absurdly bombastic way there will at least be something remaining that says I was right. End of Transmission

New Transmission Okay so I was right, but so was Shockwave and Soundwave. Or, well, they were right just enough to make sure the backfire is postponed for at least another handful of cycles. Ratbat is still in CR from the investigation, but the cure Shockwave developed seems to be effective and Thundercracker is out and aiding the repair effort. Shockwave is now in contact with one of the SIs digitally and the other few are... integrating due to the personal efforts of Soundwave. I suppose now would be pertinent to mention not all the SIs developed the "Hetero Sapience" condition, many of them are safe for interaction. Soundwave is also currently monitoring their presence, Ravage is tasked with the regular SIs and Laserbeak is tasked with the "Sapient" SIs. Shockwave probably knows exactly what caused this event but he is preoccupied with the one he no doubt is either indoctrinating or ruthlessly interrogating. Report to Soundwave if you see any suspicious behavior, he has been working very hard to ensure the SIs have their purpose clearly defined (And closely monitored). And, Starscream, stop trying to convince the SIs that you are the leader of this ship. Not only have the majority of your efforts been wasted on subsentient automata, the only one you have actually found who possesses the ability to truly listen to you immediately came to the bridge to complain about you. They were the first sapient SI I communicated with directly and it was because they felt the need to complain about you. I almost feel embarrassed for you. Come back to the bridge so you can apologize to it or so I can teach it how to laugh at you. It's practicing right now actually! This moment of chaos should hopefully be largely under control now, the actual "population" of Scientific Instrument Class Pseudocons was actually quite fewer than initially expected due to an indexing error incorrectly labeling certain shells as SI class. At the very least, we have some more specialty warriors because of it all. End of Transmission EOF

#yippie peace through tyranny!! #nemesis posting #Decepticon High Command Slice of Life rambles #Matrix Visions #I like this “chat” font I think it's cool #spacebridge still needs more time in the oven unfortunately #I'm also procrastinating on that because I can't seem to wrap my head around guestmount but do not want to send backup files one at a time #wegh. It'll get done. Eventually. #I'll have so much more bullshit once I actually finish the damn comic my wife radically altered my life with hehehe #I cannot wait to start posting about Alpharius Trionicon. He's the fucking worst if you couldn't tell by name alone and I love him so much #Anyway I just had a very specific joke/pun in my head in the shower then it turned into a whole *thing* like it usually does. #I usually don't explain shit but the shower idea centered around getting the SI acronym to work for hyper specific jokes. #Still can't decide if I want to lock in on “Scientific Instrument” because it fits *so well* for *so many reasons* #But “Synthetic Intelligence” is more generic in a more understandable way... Eeh.. It's a little *too* generic. “Instrument” is cooler. #Once my wife helps me understand her lil fucker more I'll come up with an even shitter joke using “Y/N” so I can do Y/N x SI x SI bullshit! #Oh! The matrix triune project is coming along slowly as well!! I think I mentioned that microphone project once or twice now hehe #I'm gonna make so many shitty covers of songs once I get the soundproofing to start focusing on vocal training stuff #It's been quite a fun time aboard the nemesis!! There's so much to “Blog” about that it's hard to really know when to start *or* stop hehe! #And the fact that all these projects are all interwoven is so fucking wonderful!! I FINALLY feel able to fully grasp my own focus!! #My brain is like a particle collider for certain interests now. I can reliably just.. Spit things out and tie it into the other interests! #It's sometimes exhausting but in such a new way. Like a relieving exhaustion? #Still figuring that part out!! #Anyway that's enough personal project vagueposting I should really be getting back to work hehe this was fun

[ereborne]

Song of the Day: February 23

“Inkpot Gods” by The Amazing Devil

#song of the day #'if I don't make it back from where I've gone / just know I loved you all along' #I'm setting up my queue for a more proper recommendation tomorrow but I've been rereading 'shoulder the sky' by Night_Fury #the whole series draws from various Amazing Devil lines for titles and such #'back then I was dauntless' is my favorite reworking of the Melidaan arc I've ever seen absolutely anywhere #and the title is a line from my favorite Amazing Devil song 'The Calling' but 'Inkpot Gods' is used to stunning effect in-story #and the beautiful refrain from the end of the song is playing in my head now as I keep going into the series #today was a deeply unpleasant day: the inevitable finally happened and Duncan cut himself doing his mudlarking #we'd been trying to schedule a preventative tetanus shot but several times we've gone in for the properly scheduled shot #and found out that they didn't actually have one in stock. unspeakably frustrating #and today we ran out of time for a preventative one. I woke up #(actually I woke up for work as he was going out for his walk but I got a migraine halfway through my morning meeting--no good-- #and took the rest of the day off--turns out to have been a very good thing--and went back to sleep. so I woke up the second time) #to Duncan coming back from his walk with a sliced finger and the grody plastic-and-tin swan that had done the slicing #(picture of said swan under the cut because why not. it does look neat. can't see the sharp edge in the pic though it's underneath) #and so then we called the pharmacy and got the same automated 'of course you can have a tetanus shot' as ever so we made an appointment #and we got there and they did actually have a shot in stock this time! except that they weren't able to administer it #because now he's post-exposure that's a different shot and they aren't allowed. so we had to go to the urgent care instead #all told we spent about four hours out of the house on this mission but Duncan did get his shot and some bonus antibiotic goo for the cut #and it was worth it but also bleeeeeeegh it was miserable. which is where my recommendations do come in #when I tell y'all that I spent today reading Night_Fury's fics and also looking at valiants' CoD art and it saved me #whooo I mean it. being simultaneously stressed + bored is the nightmare state for me and instead I had wonderful things in my phone

[cannibalfrodo]

thinking about her (< canon male character no one hcs as transfem but me)

#mine #horrible horrible fate #people who have trans head canons going against canon are literally gods strongest soldiers we go through so much #and if she's a girl to me what then. what if I want to put her in dresses and have her get carried bridal style #you guys are all so up your own asses the way you don't ever want to represent trans joy #the way we can't even imagine to live in a world where trans people exist in stories without those stories just being about our suffering #I promise your trans head canon hurts no one it's our opportunity to feel like we belong within that world #also very convincing argument: pretty woman #imagine character u relate to experiencing gender euphoria it's soooo happy forever ur getting a slice of it that way

[nadjabear]

Now more than ever I have to follow this advice

#i can't keep on reading such bad takes on twitter and bato.to #i'll rant just a little lol #i caught up with a sign of affection and someone said they really don't care about the rest of the characters besides the main couple #and like??? you need to have an interesting supporting cast or else it just becomes really boring #i feel bad that i didn't like this anime but lovely com/plex had such a boring supporting cast #i can't tell you one interesting thing about them but every other romance and/or slice of life I've read has an interesting cast #i can think of at least one episode that was centered around them and not the main couple that made them even more likeable #you can't have hollow supporting leads what's the point then #idk i was just a little heated so many people were agreeing that they don't care and skip over the chapters of the supporting cast lol #god grant me the serenity to not read the comments pls I'll be better

[tardis--dreams]

Living my best life eating the same food every single day here

#i'm not even joking #i mean i hate my life and everything rn #but i found one (1) vegan food at a supermarket and i eat it literally every single day ever since i first found it #found some vegetarian stuff as well which i sometimes also eat as well as cereal with my overpriced oat milk #but today i had a slice of pizza in addition to my beloved vegan wraps and i thought #'damn this could have been another vegan wrap :(' #best stuff honestly #(it's the sauce. i wish they sold that sauce just as a regular product #i would buy all of it and ship it to germany so i can eat it every single day even after i get back home #tomorrow i get 2 wraps again instead of just one and something else #i cannot have variety in my diet #i need to eat this until i get so sick of it i need to find another food i can eat every single day #anyway so yeah #I'm in a bad mood all the time and hate everything but you can't say i don't have something to look forward to everyday #(i fear the day they don't have them in stock anymore #I'll breakdown crying in the supermarket) #void screams

[imwritesometimes]

already planning the first meal I'm gonna cook when we have food again the first thing I'm gonna bake godddd

#I think the first meal might be just some straight up good spaghetti idk or maybe like breaded chicken #and baby potatoes #idk idk idk I can't decide cause then there's also like the really good one pot meals I make #tacos....... fuck omg tacos #make some blondies. or a bundt cake. Cinnamon swirl bundt cake or chocolate w/chocolate ganache & fruit topping #idk idk idk there are no LIMITS WHEN YOU HAVE AN ACTUAL FRIDGE. AND FOOD. #fuckin pot roast and mashed potatoes and carrots and green beans like OMG I miss real food jfc #getting a wedge of parm and slicing it up w/the food processor I MISS FOOD #erin explains it all

[casketvamps]

this is how it feels when you clock in and get out onto the floor and immediately start getting complained at and talked down to by a customer whose problem started before you even set foot into the building

#work tag #girl idk what your problem is. i just got here #someone in that same group later ordered a drink that comes with ONE orange slice and ONE cherry #so i garnished it and brought it to her like usual you know #and she was like #''honey you need to bring me more cherries because APPARENTLY you just don't want me to have enough'' #kindly. it says on the menu that it comes with one and if you want more you have to ask as you are ordering. i can't read your mind #that group was fucking huge and didn't leave for like three and a half hours and the woman paying only tipped like $6 #well joke's on her. groups of 6+ automatically pay 18% gratuity

[sternbilder]

pro tip: if you're like me and you've ever wished you had some whipped cream to go with your snack but didn't want to go out and buy an entire can or make a huge batch for one thing, it's possible to make just a single serving by putting some whipping cream and powdered sugar in a small cup and whipping it up using a milk frother

#I feel like one of those tiktok food hack ppl right now I can't believe that worked #now my blackberries are extra yummy! #the recipes I like typically use around 350g whipped cream and 30g powdered sugar so that's the ratio I used #specifically I used 35/3 which made what I would consider to be a slightly large dollop #ideal to put on a slice of pie or something #basically you just have to make sure you're skimming the surface of the cream to actually get the air in there #and keep going until the consistency looks right #which takes like basically no time at all #it'll probably wear out the battery pretty fast but hey they're replaceable so shrug #also if you don't have a milk frother and you are an enthusiast of hot drinks i would 100% recommend #you can get one for like $10 and it's an easy way to step up your coffee or tea game #cam thoughts

[volixia669]

Going from being broke and working minimum wage to “actually has good job” will never cease being weird to me.

I can barely get any work done in a week and still make more than when I was breaking my body trying to do the work of three people. Like. ???

#lix rambles #this is just further evidence that minimum wage needs to go up #and working conditions need to improve #oh and laws against ghost staffing #laws against clopening would also be cool #for those who do not know clopening is when you have a closing shift and an opening shift back to back #its one of the worst schedule set ups especially in food #i personally never clopened #but i have traded shifts with coworkers so i would close and they could actually sleep before opening #ghost staffing or skeleton crews is just when they staff the bare fucking minimum #so if someone calls out sick someone else HAS to come in on their day off #managers can and will guilt trip you if you refuse to come in #or they force YOU to find someone to cover which means YOU need to text a coworker to cover #sliced off part of your finger? burned yourself? too fucking bad gotta come in to work food service if you can't find someone to cover #anyways now to take a nap because i woke up too early and while i won't get paid my current job just lets me do that??? #weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiirrrrd #also i swear this isn't bragging its just trying to digest that wow things CAN be better #maybe they should be better for EVERYONE

[drysauce]

noooo my friend just. went and took half of the cheese i bought for myself without asking me so i have to go shopping AGAIN today hhhhhhh

#because the one we bought together last time got all eaten #and like okay but you really could've asked #and i'd help you chop it #because it was cube shaped and she can't slice cheese like that so she just chopped bigger chunks and complained why am i buying cheese #like this #girlie in buying this for myself that's why #the cheese we buy from shared money is always sliced because she prefers is this way and she's the only one who eats it but like. let me #have my food the way i prefer it okay thanks #tho now that in thinking maybe she always takes so much cheese and that's why the two packages we bough last time ran out so fast #I'd ask her but she's probably gonna get angry at me for that so there's no sense #well whatever i'll go do groceries for her after school from our shared money and forget about it #i generally also eat what we but together. only cheese and milk are the exceptions #speaking of that maybe i'll also buy oat milk for her because she's been taking it for her coffee lately #and that shit is actually expensive so if we both drink it it's better that both of us buy it jshdhdh #anyway living with people is hard

[inkskinned]

the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.

three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.

two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.

their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.

one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.

i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.

i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.

and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?

you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.

a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.

someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.

#writeblr #warm up #this is longer than i wanted i really considered removing that part about myself and what i went thru #but i think it really fucking bothers me that EVERY time i talk about being an artist #ppl assume i just like. had the skill and ability to drop everything and pay for grad school. #like sir i grew up poor. my house wasn't a safe space. i gave up a FREE RIDE TO LAW SCHOOL. for THIS. bc i chose it. #was it fucking hard? was i choosing the hard thing?? yes. #but we need to stop seeing artists as lazy layabouts that can ''afford'' to just ''sit around and create'' #when MANY - if not MOST - of us are NOT like that. we have to work our fucking ASSES off. hard work. long and hard work #part of valuing artists is recognizing the amount we sacrifice to make our art. bc it doesn't just #like HAPPEN to us. also btw it rarely has anything to do with true talent. #speaking as someone with a chronic condition i hate when ppl are like u have it easy. like actively as i'm writing this my hands r #ACTIVELY hurting me. i haven't been posting bc my left hand was curled in a claw for the last week #this isn't fucking luck. after a certain point it's not even TALENT. it's dedication & sacrifice. #''u get to flounce around and do nothing with ur life'' is a narrative that is a direct result of capitalism #imagine if we said that about literally any other profession. #''oh so u give up 10 yrs of ur life to be a doctor? u sacrifice having a social life and u get SUPER in debt? #u need to work countless hours and it will often be thankless? well i wish i was that lucky'' #we should be applying that logic to landlords ONLY #''oh ur mom and dad gave u the money to buy a house? and all u did was paint it white and rent it? huh.''

[whateveriwant]

Thinking about girl dad!Simon during dinnertime :’)

Simon Riley who sits beside his young daughter as he cuts her home-cooked meal up for her.

Simon Riley who listens attentively as the spirited three year old recounts every excruciating detail of her day to him.

Simon Riley who *gasp* can't believe that Maggie – no, sorry, Margot – tried to dunk Chrissy’s – sorry, Christie's – dolly in the potty during playtime.

Simon Riley who hears that little snort you just gave him from across the table, but ignores it and continues to nod along to your daughter as he slices up her food.

Simon Riley who arranges the bitesize pieces into the shape of a butterfly, presenting it just the way she likes on her favorite Elsa plate.

Simon Riley who, from the corner of his eye, notices how she tries to pick around anything vaguely green or healthy-looking.

Simon Riley who gently reminds her to, "Eat your veggies, love. So you can get big and strong like me."

Simon Riley who has to hold back his laughter when he sees the horror flash across her face at the thought of growing to be the size of her old man one day.

Simon Riley who isn't immune to his little girl's puppy dog eyes when she asks if she can have ice cream for dessert.

Simon Riley who peeks over at you before telling her, "Maybe… but only if you finish your veggies, love."

Simon Riley who despises food waste, so when your back is turned, sneaks your daughter's uneaten broccoli onto his own plate.

Simon Riley who checks with her "All done?" once her dish is cleared, watching her exaggeratedly pat her belly like he does after he's had a big meal.

Simon Riley who grabs a damp cloth to carefully wipe her tiny face and hands clean, not stopping until she's giggling and telling him it tickles.

And Simon Riley who gives her that bowl of double chocolate chip ice cream after dinner as promised, loving the way her eyes light up when she discovers the extra scoop snuck in there by her adoring dad.

#simon riley #simon ghost riley #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost x reader #simon riley x you #simon riley fluff #ghost cod #ghost mw2 #cod x reader #call of duty x reader #cod mw2 #call of duty #modern warfare 2

[neckromantics]

We don't talk enough about how absolutely devastating and romantic and hot the idea is that Astarion would know the scent of your blood anywhere.

How quickly he would notice when you've even the slightest of nics? When, no matter how focused on anything else he might be at the time, he always comes to check it out?

You'll be peeling a piece of apple with your pocket knife when it slips in your grip. The sharp edge of the blade slices a shallow cut into the meat of your thumb, and you inhale sharply through your nose even though it barely hurts at all. Instinct has you sucking your injured digit into your mouth with a soft curse– the sweet juice of the fruit you were snacking on quickly overpowered by the metallic twang of blood.

You nearly jump out of your skin when he appears over you not a moment later. He makes some offhand comment about how careless you are. Takes hold of your injured hand and tuts like he intends to tease, but he isn't fooling anyone.

He stands so close, jaw ticking as he clenches his teeth, a tension in his shoulders that tells you he's doing everything in his power to keep composure. Your blood calls to him like a moth to a flame, and as funny as you find it in the moment, you don't have the heart to tease him for it. It's actually kind of endearing.

He'd only get quicker in noticing as time passes.

Especially after you've been traveling together for a few years, and he's come to know your scent better than his own. Which only makes sense considering how often he's got his nose pressed to some part of you. (He thinks you smell good.)

At this point, when you get injured in battle, he often catches the fragrance before you've even processed that you've been hit.

He'd suck in a sharp breath through his teeth– a hiss so loud that it catches your attention just enough for you to spare him a glance as you fight.

It's all you need to see just how blown his pupils are from where you're standing, mostly because his gaze is laser locked onto you to second you search for him. His movements turn faster. Deadlier, as he scans the field before you. Determined. Hungry. Angry. He's searching for the sorry wretch that dared to get the best of you– that dared spill even a drop of his beloved's precious blood upon the soil.

You've already taken them down, of course. Poor sap might have gotten a good dig in at your shoulder, but ultimately didn't stand a chance once he properly pissed you off.

Astarion's eyes go heavy.

Half-lidded in that special way of his and only darkening further as he appraises you. You can practically feel it as he follows the line of your throat, zeroes in on your pulse point for a moment, before settling to watch the warm crimson that's beginning to soak into the sleeve of your tunic.

You see a bit of concern in those eyes, but then he sees your smile and– A flash of hot, honeyed desire catches you by surprise.

You suddenly can't tell if it's just the blood loss making you woozy or if he's about to make you swoon like a maiden from an old romance novel. You try (and fail) to keep a straight face when he sinks his dagger into his final opponent's neck without so much as a glance their way.

There's a splash of red against pale white skin, and a lifeless body dropping to the grass by his feet. Your heart stutters in your chest, and he all but moans in response to the sound of it. A mere four paces and he's on you– hands and teeth and tongue exploring every inch of your exposed skin, ripping open parts of your armor to gain better access, like you're not stood in a field of gore and ruin and freshly spilled blood.

You cling to him like a lifeline.

Before he drags you away to camp– to a warm tent and a soft bedroll where he can have his way with you for as long as you and your mortal body will allow him– he has you down a potion of healing or two.

And it's a good thing one of you has a Lesser Restoration spell handy somehow, cause you're most definitely gonna need it.

#bg3 #astarion ancunin #baldurs gate 3 #astarion #astarion x tav #astarion x reader #bg3 tav #astarion headcanons

[cryptotheism]

I am fascinated by what makes something pornography. I think it can be defined by a core of fantasy. There is a gravity to it. As if everything in the story exists only so this particular scenario can happen.

Pornography breaks down when you extend it's borders. The eroticism of the Big Office Fuck N Suck starts to fade when you imagine everyone calmly going back to work. The pizza boy will get fired if he doesn't get back to work, and the nice young woman did in fact order that pizza because she is hungry.

Or maybe every stop on that pizza boys route is another Horny Milf or Hot Dad. Maybe nobody ever has money for pizza, and being a pizza guy requires significant athleticism. But if life in the Porn Universe is just an endless series of contrived happenstances, who grows all the food? Someone has to actually make the damn pizzas. Someone has to grow the flour for the dough, and drive the trains, and work the mills. Perhaps at its most extreme, the causality of the Porn Universe simply cannot proceed until someone busts a nut.

But in reality, people have wild encounters. There are office trysts and one-in-a-million flings with beautiful strangers. I am sure that every hour of every day, someone stumbles their way into a sexual mishap that would be panned as unrealistic if it were written for smut.

But then where's the line? When does a narrative become pornographic?

I think it has less to do with sex than it does with narrative contrivance. I think many video games are pornographic in this sense. When Raiden slices a missile in half with a glowing katana, the contrivance of the Rule-of-cool swallows itself, attains a narrative gravity that the tone cannot ever hope to escape.

I think the realm of pornography begins once questions of why become secondary. Why did he cut that missile in half? Because it's badass. Why did he get his dick out? Because it's hot. But more importantly, those things happen because the laws of the narrative demand it. It could not happen any other way. Raiden must cut the missile in half. She has to get her tits out. Otherwise, the story can't happen. But it does happen, and it fucks.

I think Pornography happens when the rules break down, when the ridiculous becomes not only necessary, but exalted.