#I think the closest media to me I'm aware of that has people of color is a fanfic my partner has been slowly writing

[luna-is-out-there]

As far as I know, the trans lady currently in charge of my local trans support group is a person of color. (She's awesome and beautiful and I'm so proud of her and glad that the old folks there chose her to take over🙏)

There are so many more people in our community than the two or three in the now very fucking old Stonewall fables.

saying this for my non black queer followers but: black queer folk have always existed, we've always been around, especially when it came to defending and fighting for our communities rights.

it sucks to see us never included in queer centered art or post, but we exist.

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #175

Do you own anything from Victoria's Secret "Pink" line? Do you really think the clothes are worth the price? No, I couldn't fit in their stuff, but also I would not pay those ridiculous prices for undergarments or perfumes. I haven't heard good things about how their models are treated either, so I don't want to support their business anyway.

Who would you say is the overall best person you know, and why? Uh, that's really hard. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, like I really don't know. People I know may excel in one attribute, but seriously lack in other things. I suppose my mom is the closest that comes to mind though, her level of forgiveness, selflessness, and loyalty is fucking unreal, I just don't like how aggressively spiteful she is towards my dad. She's also a massive doormat, like people use her A LOT, and it's all because she has no idea how to say no, and she knows it.

Do you have a specific gas station you usually go to? Or do you stop wherever? No; I don't drive/have my own car, but Mom will try to pick out a lower price than other ones when she's driving around. We have a Shell or something not even a minute down the road which I do think we usually use, but she definitely sometimes picks other places.

What is your opinion on dating someone who already had a child/children from a previous relationship? It's not something I personally want; I do think someone having a kid could contribute to me choosing to not date them, but I'm unsure. It's not to be mean or anything, I just know that I could never be a proper parent figure to them, especially a child that isn't mine, and when you decide to date a parent, you're picking that child to be in your life too.

Have you recently accomplished anything that you are proud of yourself for? Yeah, honestly. I'm becoming capable of lasting longer and longer on the exercise bike, I'm being more diligent with my diet, still sometimes doing my PT exercises (by this point I've mostly outgrown them, other exercises like the bike benefit me more), and even after like, five-ish months or so of searching, I'm still job hunting nearly daily. Indeed has practically been my homepage lol.

Are you still friends with any of your exes? Do you still communicate with any of them at all? No. I'd be fine interacting with Aaron in a hypothetical situation, we have no ill feelings towards one another at all that I know of, we just grew apart, I don't even think he has social media anymore.

Is there anyone that you text on a regular basis that you do not have saved in your phone? If so, why don't you have their number saved? No.

What's the color of your front door? It's white.

How many people have you been really in love with? Two.

How frequently are you inclined to read, and how much? Not much, honestly... and definitely not as much as I want to. Odds are if I have access to technology, I'm using that in some way instead of reading, but I hate that about me. Like, I do enjoy reading, I have fun doing it when I'm into the book, but it like, automatically takes a backseat if I have Internet access. I'm entirely aware it's because I'm addicted to technology, like I've known this about me for a very, very long time.

How do you feel after spending a great quantity of time online? Oh yikes, that timing lol. I'm basically always online, like if I'm conscious the odds are high I'm at my desk on this laptop doing one thing or another, and I really do hate it about me. I've been this way since I was a kid and I honestly don't think I'll ever be able to tame it down unless I literally had no way of accessing it, period. Even when I DIDN'T have access to a computer for around two months, as soon as I got it back, I was back to my normal ways again.

What is something you hope you never have to do again? Various health issues. Work in customer service of any sort.

Have you ever seen a leech in person? I feel like I have? I'm terrified of them though, I fucking cannot handle parasites, so I feel I'd remember if I ever had one on me.

What are two things you'd tell your child self that you wish you would've known then? TO STOP GIVING A SHIT ABOUT BEING SEEN AS "WEIRD" OR "CHILDHISH" AND JUST BEING SO FUCKING SENSITIVE TO JUDGMENT. Honestly, I feel like half the "judgment" I obsessed over never even really fucking happened, like there was no ill intent behind things said, I just take negative opinions of my interests to be a very personal attack on me as an individual. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and when you consider I'm more sensitive than ever about me and my hobbies and what I like, it's clear that this is an issue that was never corrected, and my life would be PROFOUNDLY improved if I stopped giving such a shit about the opinions of people whose names I don't even know or whose faces I've only seen once. The second thing I'd tell myself is to be strong and brave, and know that even when things got too dark to see where my life was heading, we came out of the tunnel one day to see light in life again.

Did you used to play hopscotch? Yeah I did.

Do you have anything monogrammed? No, that's never been my thing. My sisters like that stuff, though.

Have you ever joined a mosh pit? No, even as a big metal music lover I do not see the appeal in these at all. People get seriously hurt in those things, like I think people have literally been trampled and died.

Have you ever been hurt by a narcissist? Yes. Then again, I feel like most people have been in one way or another.

Have you forgiven everyone who's wronged you? Way too fucking many too many goddamn times.

What's your favorite thing to do at sunrise? Watch it happen, and also listen to the birds.

What does Notre Dame Cathedral mean to you, and how has its fire affected you? It's an incredible bastion of art and its persistence through time, I was heartbroken when the fires happened. It felt like watching the burning of the Library of Alexandria in modern times. I can't imagine seeing such a fantastic piece of architecture crumbling and NOT be affected by it.

Are you prophetic? I don't believe anyone is, we're all just mortal humans here for barely a blink in the grand scheme of existence and the universe.

Have you ever smoked weed, and if yes, did you like it? No, I'm not into smoking any substance. I do want to try an edible one day in a safe environment with people I trust, though, because I'm very curious regarding how it might help my anxiety.

Does your town's hospital have a good reputation? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, holy shit are there stories.

Have you ever read a Bible verse and thought, "this isn't true"? If so, what do you do when that happens? lmfao you mean since I was a child forced into attending Sunday school???????

What is your favorite shade of brown? Like a creamy coffee brown.

Do you prefer kale, lettuce, or spinach? Lettuce. I'm not sure if I've had kale, though.

Can you usually tell when someone has feelings for you? I feel like I can. Usually.

Do you know what things your pet(s) prefers to eat? I know Roman prefers wet food over dry; he mostly eats dry because boy those wet food poops are just lovely, but he definitely gets excited when we mix it up. I can tell you with absolute certainty that Cookie is insanely greedy with human food she's not supposed to have, and I really wish Mom would stop giving in to her begging.

Would you ever consider visiting Texas? I have zero interest in going there unless either of my two online friends I have and fully trust in Texas invited me to be at like their wedding or something, and even then it would very much depend on how doable travel would be.

Did you ever want a pony for a gift as a kid? Never seriously, no.

Do you know who your mom's favorite singer is? Oh well that's fucking easy, James Hetfield from Metallica. That's been her "celebrity crush" for as long as I can remember, that's her favorite band ever.

Have you ever tried to surf? No, save for like as a kid trying to stand and balance on pool accessories.

Do you want to learn? I'm not particularly interested.

Honestly, have you ever mooned anybody? No.

Which one of your family members do you wish you could see more often? Specifically, the immediate family of my mom's sane brother. He, his wife, and their kids. Like most of my maternal family though, they're in New York.

What room in your house is the messiest? Well, it's not necessarily messy, but it is very disorderly: the spare bedroom where I use my laptop. There's not much in here, but what is in here is placed without any visual appeal in mind. I'd really like to do something with it, but I'm not asking my mom to buy furniture and decor for a spare room when I haven't even done MY bedroom makeover...

Are you proud of your parents? Yes. I could go on for hours upon fucking hours about how proud I am of my mother with her fucking unmatched fighter's spirit, and I'm definitely proud of my dad beating long-time alcoholism. I honestly can't applaud him nearly as much as my mom, like honestly my dad is not a top-tier parent in a number of disappointing ways, but he's definitely gotten better with age. He's absolutely a better grampa than he was a dad.

Have you ever used a "puppy face" to get your way? I actually don't even remember doing that as a kid. The only time I'd ever do it would be entirely playfully.

Do you have dimples when you smile? Yes, very clearly on my left cheek. I feel like I had one on the right when I was young, but I don't see or feel it anymore.

Have you ever carved anything into a tree? Not that I recall.

Who will you be with Saturday night? idk, Girt's off so I might see if he wants to go see the Barbie movie, but I might wanna wait a few more days so the theater isn't crammed full.

What woke you up this morning? Nightmares. Twice.

Did you kiss or hug anyone today? No.

When were you the saddest in your life? End of 2015 and all of 2016. No hell a devil could ever design would be worse for me than what that fucking time period was. Every waking moment I wanted to be fucking dead and the only dreams I ever remembered were about my ex and not positive.

Do you ever get groceries delivered to your house? Only if the specific item needed is not available for pick-up in the store. Mom generally orders our groceries online and then we pick them up in the car, but sometimes something very specific has to be ordered not directly from the store location we go to.

What was the last job interview you went to where you didn't get the job? Do you think the interview went well or not? It was Pizza Hut I think, that or Inn, and I'd THOUGHT it went well; the guy who interviewed me even told me he had very high hopes of me getting a yes. Nowadays though I'm immensely grateful I never got the call back; this was in desperate times before my third job where I finally settled I just fucking can't work in customer service. Thinking I could ever be a waitress was absolute insanity, it would have gone horrid.

What's your favorite pasta shape? Probably penne. Or normal spaghetti noodles, I just don't like that they're generally messier to eat.

What's one of the saddest movies you've ever seen? I normally answer this with The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, but just to mix it up a bit, Johnny Got His Gun is also fucking heart-wrenching.

What was the last physical pain you experienced? Menstrual cramps.

Do you know anyone who is terminally ill? Yes, she's way too weak for cancer treatments in her age so we know what's happening.

[reverielix]

Excuse me Sir, Sorry to bother you. But frankly I'm new to this astrology topic but it's very fascinating to say the least.

Friend asked me to do a natal chart? No clue. Have no clue. Saw the previous post, was wondering if you help a stranger out here ? Lol.

Hi haha!

I’m a Miss but OFC I CAN TELL YOU MORE ABOUT IT! (Can you tell I’m excited? Lol) I’ll be seizing this opportunity to make an...

Astrology basics masterpost

Okay first off, the natal chart is a “snap shot” of the sky when you were born with the earth in the middle. There are 4 compounds that birth charts are made of:

1. The signs

You’ve definitely already heard of zodiac signs. In astrology, the sky is divided into 12 equal parts, each reserved for a sign starting at Aries and ending at Pisces. It goes like this: Aries ♈️, Taurus ♉️, Gemini ♊️, Cancer ♋️, Leo ♌️, Virgo ♍️, Libra ♎️, Scorpio ♏️, Sagittarius ♐️, Capricorn ♑️, Aquarius ♒️, Pisces ♓️

Basically, each sign is associated with certain character traits (which range many more than I or any singular source could encompass in short, I left a few links for gathering information in the end of this post). But it always depends on how evolved the person is. Aquarians CAN be detached if not evolved, but also have many more qualities such as their modality and element (which imply traits such as their innovative nature, intellect, hunger for knowledge, empathy, sociability,...)

So basically there are 4 elements (fire, earth, air and water) in astrology and 3 modalities (cardinal, fixed, mutable) which all carry certain meanings to them. Those elements and modalities are evenly distributed within the zodiac and move along the signs in the order I wrote them up above. So we start with cardinal fire (Aries), then we follow up with fixed earth (Taurus), after that we’ve got mutable air (Gemini), then again a cardinal sign but this time belonging to the water signs (Cancer), and so on. Additionally, all earth and water signs are of negative polarity while fire and air are of positive polarity.

The signs are the outermost circle you see when looking at your birth/natal chart. (On the left, where the arrow points, for instance, was Virgo ♍️ when & where you were born) They represent the way that you express a certain core part (3rd point) of yourself.

2. The houses

The numbers you see around the innermost circle with the lines in it are the houses. Each house is ruled by a sign in modern astrology: Aries is the first sign, so it rules the first house,...). This means that each house is afflicted with one sign and its qualities and traits.

Each house represents an area of life: The 4th house—ruled by Cancer—represents the home, comfort zone, where we crave for stability and emotional support as well as a lot more.

The angular houses ruled by cardinal signs, so: the 1st house (ascendant/rising), the 4th house (ic/ Imum Coeli), the 7th house (descendant), the 10th house (mc/midheaven) show in the picture you sent me with arrows and have a special significance in the chart + also have aspects (4th point) to them shown.

The first 6 houses are afflicted most with yourself and the last 6 houses have to do with your social/public self (e.g.: 2nd house has to do with resources and the 8th with shares resources). This can also be applied to each sign ruling the house.

3. The celestial bodies

When somebody asks what your zodiac sign is, you would answer with Capricorn, when in actuality, it’s just your sun sign (so one of many zodiac signs in your chart).

Each celestial body represents a core part of the human psyche/personality and also rules a/two sign(s) and with that a/two house(s). Another terminology for rulership can be domicile (e.g.: Saturn is in domicile in Capricorn).

Every planet is afflicted with the signs (and houses) in the form of essential dignity (whether in terms of exaltation/fall or detriment/domicile)

The sun rules Leo and the 5th house. These connections are made as to better understand each house/sign/planet and clarify/stress the connections between these three “compounds”. So, ruling Leo and the 5th house, the sun represents how we express ourselves and how we perform along with our egos, overall sense of identity and self-awareness among other things.

Before you say that you (know people who) don’t relate to their zodiac sign or don’t seem to present yourself/themselves like that at all: a placement (celestial body in a sign in a house) always depends on the aspects and also the house that nobody talks about. You’re not only a Capricorn, but a Capricorn sun in the 4th house conjunct Mercury,... (+ other aspects). Your sun in the 12th/7th/8th houses (houses, among others, afflicted with the subconscious) can mean that your way to express yourself is more in the background or not quite figured out yet. (With Leo in the 12th house that may also apply to you:) In the case of the 12th house, you may want to express yourself, but don’t exactly know how to...

Also, all of your chart matters! The sun sign is only a part of it, though one of the 3 most important placements (sun, moon, rising).

For the following paragraph keep in mind: personal/inner celestial bodies/planets (houses and signs matter equally), generational/outer planets/placements (houses matter most because they move slowly along the zodiac. the slower they move, the less the sign matters.)

The celestial bodies used in astrology aren’t limited to a certain amount as asteroids can also be interpreted/also have meanings but the most commonly used and talked about are: the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars (Nodes, Vertex — aren’t celestial bodies but fall into the “sign & house are important” category and are a tool that function/are illustrated like celestial bodies), Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto (Chiron, black moon Lilith)

You can see each celestial body’s name listed with its symbol in the bottom right corner of the screenshot you sent me and can then look at the circle between the signs and house numbers for where they are placed.

Lastly, planets are afflicted with each other as well since generational planets can be higher octaves of personal planets, and “get along” or don’t “get along” just like the signs, whose compatibility is determined by...

4. The aspects

The expression of every planet depends on these! Aspects show the relationship between two placements and how they connect into one whole personality (Additional information about humans in general: our personality integrates at around the ages of 7 to 9. Before that, we have different needs and wants but not one integrated personality that is made of interwoven traits, qualities,...). They point out how many degrees two or more placements are away from each other (e.g. 180deg = opposition). So when you look at your own chart, you can see that Virgo ♍️ and Pisces ♓️ are in opposition to each other. This also means that people born during Pisces season and people born during Virgo season celebrate their birthdays approximately 6 months apart from each other (because the sun needs a year to transit through the signs).

There are major and minor aspects. Major aspects are usually displayed in the innermost space of the circle using different colored lines and are an umbrella term for: the opposition, the square, the conjunction, the trine and the sextile. Minor aspects are usually listed in extended chart selection options (semi-sextiles, quincunxes, quintiles,...)

Those are then divided into hard/challenging (square, opposition,...), neutral (conjunction,...) and soft/harmonious (trine, sextile,...) aspects. Example: your Sagittarius Mercury (communication, (early) education, rationality, speech, day-to-day expression, perfectionism/detail-orientation,...) in the 4th in a trine (same element, a “flow of energy”) with your Aries moon (emotions, empathy, feelings of security, nurture, comfort,...) in the 8th can indicate potential for the verbal expression of your emotions. You may let your emotions out by talking to people who you live with or your immediate family. Moreover, you could have a desire to write about your emotions in a philosophical/educational way to make others think, but decide to keep your writing to yourself or your closest circle nonetheless. One could chat about an aspect for sooo long just because there are so many things associated with the houses, signs, aspects and celestial bodies. There are so many different angles to take and you’re never done learning about astrology.

Whenever you ask somebody what sign is most compatible with yours, you’d look at the aspects between your sign and other signs to determine if your placements are in a harmonious relationship with each other, though synastry (astrology of compatibility between two birth chart) is much more complex then that.

Lastly, aspects don’t go specifically with one sign/house/celestial body, and some placements can also be unaspected. There are also things such as retrogrades, chart shapes, aspect patterns, dominant signs, persona charts, interceptions and much more but that would definitely go beyond the scope. Let me know if you’d like for me to make a post going in depth regarding those things.

How astrology on social media and day-to-day life has been altered to be regarded as something it is not:

The key is to view modern astrology less as a predictive tool or proof for assumption—because frankly it isn’t—but more as a tool to recognize psychological patterns and behavioral tendencies, which ultimately are what astrology illustrates through elements in the sky. So, no, actions cannot be justified because somebody has a certain placement. (As I mentioned above, it is crucial to regard that placements can be evolved or not evolved and therefore can “manifest” (not the candles in a circle for clear skin and money kind lol) differently). Lastly, astrology doesn’t tell you what to do and you alone have the power over your behavior. You can break free from the patterns illustrated and tendencies pointed out. It’s all about who you choose to be.

Please mark that the links for planets, signs and houses don’t encompass everything that the planets/houses/signs illustrate. For more information I recommend Hannah’s Elsewhere, astro-charts, astro.com, cafe.astrology or astrology.com (lmk if you know about more sources).

[mnvulpin]

"I love your drawings and want to learn to draw, do you have some tips for me?"

Sometimes I receive messages like this from people who want to start drawing but have no idea where begin to.

I have some difficulty to answer this, because 1) I honestly don't think I'm a good artist to teach someone, I need to improve my skills as well, and 2) I don't know how much of art background the person has and what type of information they really need.

But here are some advices I usually say to beginner artists who came to me asking me for tips:

Fundamentals

Beginners (and even some non-beginners!) always forget the basics. They usually look to a cool drawing, like an anime character or a stunning background painting, and try to imitate it, but don't know how to draw simple forms like a cube or a sphere.

Before everything, study drawing fundamentals. It won't be fun for anxious people who want to draw like an expert in few days, but it's necessary. Volume, basic forms, lines, perspective... that's all subjects you must learn.

Anatomy

When you master the basics of forms, you can start the next step: anatomy study. How the human body works? Try to study bones, muscles, joints and proportions for each gender and age. Also study poses, motion and gesture drawing.

Colors

You can make beautiful drawings only in grayscale and black ink, studying values to make them look great. But colors have its importance and impact, so take a look on color theory.

Compositions

For this step I strongly recommend to study photography composition. Rule of thirds, balance, focus, leading lines, point of view and depthness are subjects you need to know.

Stylization and Exaggeration

After practicing drawing in a classic way, you can study about styles. Yes, I don't recommend you to begin learning drawing in anime or cartoon style, because they're based on abstractions that will disturb your art comprehension if you're a beginner. But after mastering the human anatomy, then you can try to understand why some characters have exaggerated proportions or expressions, and how to use the exaggeration as a tool.

Landscape, animals, objects and more

Actually you can study these subjects since the beginning, but I like to recommend studying them after you study human anatomy because when you draw, you're projecting your view of the world, and the world has human scales for you. "Man is the measure of all things", said Protagoras.

Intention, Storytelling and Context

Images usually tell a story and have an intention. Everything you make have a purpose, even if you don't think about it consciously. Every image has a history, social context and cultural meaning, so be aware about the message you're trying to express to your audience.

Be careful of stranger's opinions

Nowadays we have many online spaces where we can share our works and ask for criticism. Be careful: you'll see a lot of suggestions and tips from many different people that might confuse you. If you're a beginner, avoid these places and learn to make self-criticism. Ask only to closest, trustworthy people.

Drawing costs time, but keep studying!

If you're a beginner and started to study fundamentals and anatomy right now, probably you will notice that you won't improve a lot in a day. You will draw for more two weeks, a month and a year, and maybe you won't be drawing like your favorite artist. It's perfectly normal, drawing takes a lot of time for improving. Be patient and enjoy your process!

At last but not least...

There many ways to learn to drawing. You can follow up my tips here, but feel free to disagree. But remember, drawing is a skill that you need to practice a lot to get better, it's not a natural knowledge.

Also, I personally prefer to start learning drawing with paper and pencil. You can use digital if you wish, but for the beginning I think it's better to develop your self-confident on traditional media, where you don't have tricks like Ctrl+Z or Ctrl+T. Don't throw away your studies and mistakes, they're important to see your progress later.

Have fun!

_________________________________

References:

Books

Drawing Workshop, by Lucy Watson Anatomy for the Artist, by Sarah Simblet Interaction of Color, by Josef Albers

Courses

Drawing Characters in Motion, by Lexin Yuan Figure Drawing Fundamentals, by Proko

Entertainment

Blue Period, by Tsubasa Yamaguchi

[agentsex]

Any opinion on Shane Dawson and his recent 'documentaries'? He's the only reason I have heard about Jeffree Star at all. Shane made him out to be this funny and likeable character. And all of YouTube makes Shane out to be this super nice dude that couldn't hurt a fly. I'm kinda torn in my opinion about him though. I feel quite manipulated by his videos. Was wondering if you had an opinion? If not, that's fine.

Of course you’re being manipulated by the videos. But you’re always being manipulated by media. That’s how it works. You need to be aware of the manipulation.

If you’re asking me my opinion on Shane Dawson, I can’t answer that because I don’t know much about him. I tried to watch his documentary on Jeffree but honestly I couldn’t get through it, but I don’t know if it really matters. Jeffree could be a funny and likeable character and still be a secret racist, and it’s accusations of racism that kicked off this last scandal.

Let’s go back to what Gabriel Zamora originally said about Jeffree on Twitter:

“Honey, every time I was around him he would constantly say racist things about black people, but would validate it by saying, ‘I’ve had so much black dick I can’t be racist.’ To use derogatory racial slurs and think that a person of color is less than you by the color of their skin is disgusting. But when I first met him I was smaller and naive and confused that one of the TOP in this industry that I grew up watching was being like this confused me and made me uncomfortable. A lot of people think he cut me off, but that’s not the case. Once I realized it was real racism, I realized I couldn’t be friends with him. I unfollowed him early last year and he got mad and blocked me. […] I knew then that coming out and confirming all the racist ‘rumors’ about him would get me a lot of hate because he’s built his own community and it’s much larger than mine. I was honestly scared to get that kind of hate. But today I can tell you that I am strong and can honestly stand behind what I say. […] I experienced actual hang outs with no phones or cameras where he could say whatever he truly wanted. I heard him say hard R like it was a common word.” 

Even after all this bullshit, all the apologies and dirt-digging and accusations ... Zamora never retracted this statement. In his “My Truth” video (does every video have to be over 40 minutes?!), he never retracts his statement. He never says, “I lied. Jeffree Star never said anything racist around me.” The closest he comes is saying that he "fluffed them up.”

Nobody has contradicted it, to my knowledge. If you can point to someone who has or a place where Zamora did admit he lied, please point me too it! I honestly can’t watch all these videos, it’s too hard to keep up with it. 

In Manny’s apology video, he also doesn’t say, “Jeffree has never said anything racist around me.” What he says is, “Those [hangouts with Jeffree and me] were things that I wanted to keep hidden and private. [...] There was a mutual understanding that I never wanted to go out and publicly bash anyone.”

What people aren’t saying is more important that what they are saying. Listen very carefully to what they actually say. What did Manny and Gabriel apologize for? Bashing Jeffree in public. They didn’t apologize for lying about him being racist.

I’m saying it again, the beauty community is making a big mistake in siding with Jeffree in this drama. When Zamora came out with his accusations against Jeffree, instead of investigating them to see if they were true, most people turned against him and looked for dirt in his past. Now Zamora has made his own video, and people are turning against Manny for, I guess, having a PR strategy to deal with a PR problem. It’s stupidly short-sighted. What people are doing now is going to make it so much harder for the next whistle-blower.