#but sometimes. you have to lower them

[holisticknight]

Okay so, I'm in the process of getting off the internet so my dog isnt in this fight as much as it could've been, but I've scrolled past this 3 times and you know what?

yes. i do want you to give money to the website before it fixes those problems. Because part of *why* those problems aren't being faced and fixed is bc the people who are currently investing money into tumblr *dont care about those problems*.

if the userbase could pull tumblr out of debt, it'd free the current staff from the need to try and appeal to investors. it'd save them from being forced to bastardize this site into becoming just another algorithmic-based social media nightmare.

i, personally, think the userbase on tumblr is too divisive to succeed. You've got a lot of people saying shit like this with *complete* disregard to things like: servers cost money. coding costs money. *Everything about tumblr* costs money. and yeah, it has some serious issues and yeah, those issues need fixed. But unless we - the users who want tumblr to stay the last bastion on the internet - start ponying *something* up, the people who can afford to fix the financial issues are also gonna be the ones who determine how shit falls out. and i promise you that there's not a capitalist alive investing in social media who cares about fixing antisemitism or hate speech happening across the platform they're investing in.

tumblr's userbase being incapable of picking its battles is going to kill this site.

"Tumblr is in financial deficit" I have to skip dollar menu meals.

[danandfuckingjonlmao]

so five and lila being a thing is going right next to allison literally sexually assaulting luther in the box of things we are absolutely under no circumstances accepting as part of canon right

[crabsnpersimmons]

I- I'll order whatever Chef Eclipse recommends... 🩵

Btw, your artstyle is so so soft and I just wanna HUG it! Your work is so beautiful and your ideas are awesome! Keep being amazing and be sure to take breaks when you need to! ✨

awww thank you Scar!! you're too kind 🥰🥰

here's Eclipse's response:

Eclipse: Any allergies or food restrictions I should take note of? I do want you to enjoy your meal, after all. Shall I start you off with a drink? How about something refreshing? Maybe something fizzy?

[serpentface]

Can you tell us more about the Usoma-Hibitte

The Usoma-Hittibe is a sister (typically the eldest) of the Usoma, the Wardi monarch.

((IMMEDIATE LINGUISTIC TANGENT: The phrase Usoma-Hittibe could be functionally translated "king-sister"- Usoma has been the word used for Wardi monarchs for much of their history, which does not actually Translate as 'king'. The word Usoma stems from a now obsolete concept-word referring to death as a 'catalyst of the cycle' (referring to death and birth as dualistic forces that sustain life via their perpetual cycling). This gradually became closer in meaning to 'benefactor of life' or just 'benefactor', which began to be applied to kings as an epithet, and eventually became their titles as sovereign with most other uses falling into obsolescence (though it also appears in the name of the Face Kusomache). Hittibe straightforwardly translates to 'sister', though dead literally is a feminine form of a word meaning 'of the (same) womb'.))

The modern day role is largely a remnant of traditions of the oldest Wardi monarchies and their lineage structures (most significantly the Ephenni, who developed the first monarchies and TREMENDOUSLY shaped all following models of Wardi kingship). All Wardi tribes had patriarchal systems of power (though with greatly varying intensities) throughout their recorded history, but not all have been patrilineal.

The Ephenni (and a lot of the other west-southwest proto-Wardi tribes) had matrilineal kinship structures for the vast majority of their history, with kinship passing from mother to son. This translated to a system of royal inheritance where kingship was passed from a king to his sister's eldest son, rather than to his own sons. The king and king-sister would each be wed to their own consorts, but only the king-sister's children would be potential heirs under normal circumstances.

In a societal context where power is patriarchal and inheritance is matrilineal, this system is Very effective for both ensuring inheritance remains in one family AND to prevent succession crises (which the incest approach to keeping rule within a family doesn't accomplish). A child's father generally cannot Technically be completely certain in a world without genetic testing, which in patrilineal kinship opens the door to claiming illegitimacy of heirs. A matrilineal structure where kingship passes from a man to his nephew via his sister negates this- the mother the a child is unambiguous (you can see her being pregnant and giving birth), and even if the child WAS born out of adultery, the illegitimate father does not ultimately matter to the child's status as legitimate heir. The child will bear the mother (and thus the king's) family name regardless, thus keeping power securely in one family with no avenues to dispute legitimacy.

The Usoma-Hittibe thus had profound importance as the mother of kings, outranking the Usoma's actual wife in significance. A Usoma's own sons would instead live out their lives as noblemen with no claim to the throne (though technically would be 'reserve' heirs in catastrophic failures where a Usoma-Hittibe and any other king-sisters fail to birth sons).

This matrilineal kinship structure was lost over the course of history through a combination of internal societal changes, centuries of occupation, and the assimilation of the various pre-Wardi peoples into collective Wardi identity. Imperial Wardi culture now exclusively uses a patrilineal kinship structure. However, before this change could fully occur, the Usoma-Hittibe's role had extended into numerous ceremonial and political roles and was deeply entrenched into the identity of Wardi royalty, and the position was thus retained even through her reproductive obsolescence.

The most obvious shift to the role of modern Usoma-Hittibe is that they are Not Only no longer the mothers of kings, but have absorbed the cultural 'celibate woman occupying positions of power' archetype and now remain unwed and ostensibly virgins for life, as well as having slightly 'masculinized' elements of their performance (their etiquette and some of their regalia is considered masculine, though not to the same extent as Odonii). This parallels the importance of celibacy and 'de-feminization' in Odonii, partly conceptualized as allowing a woman to retain strength in bodily and spiritual integrity that is otherwise deemed only natural to men. Like Odonii, the bodies of Usoma-Hittibe are politicized into symbols, imagined here as physical representations of the health, strength, and integrity of the royal family. She will be used as a proxy for the entire royal family in rites intending to bless and protect them. She is the public female face of the royal family, and serves ceremonial functions in most rites that would normally be taken by a family's wife.

In addition, a Usoma-Hittibe has a significant degree of hard political power. She is the default regent in case of an Usoma's early demise, has the ability to take action in his stead during absences, and can freely make appointments to the lower court (but not the council), giving her potentially tremendous influence over the court. Her power is still ultimately limited- a Usoma has absolute veto over any of her actions, she is prohibited from issuing military commands (even when acting as regent, this must be in coordination with the council), and the inner council has veto power by majority vote on actions she makes in a living Usoma's stead (though the council does not have generalized veto power over regent Usoma-Hittibe).

There has also been a significant shift in recent history to the Usoma-Hittibe gaining significant control over the state priesthood of the Face Kusomache (which is Partly assigned a role as the protector and legitimatizer of royalty). The Usoma-Hittibe is currently THE person who appoints a high priest to Kusomache as an aspect of her ceremonial roles, and the past few Usoma-Hittibe have negotiated privileges to perform rites otherwise exclusive to the priests (which is unprecedented, as this priesthood (and all other core cults to the Faces save for Odonii and Galenii) is closed and all-male). This has contributed to internal fracturing among this priesthood- cult traditions surrounding Kusomache focused on this Face representing death and safe transitions to the afterlife (as well as sacred mysteries and the movements of the cosmos), and the additional 'protector of royalty' trait was rather inorganically assigned by the merging of an entirely separate tradition. Many members of Kusomache's priesthood feel the Face is being warped and defiled, resent the Usoma-Hittibe's appointments of puppet high-priests, see tremendous insult in these royal lay-women integrating themselves into the cult's structure, and fear that these king-sisters will attempt to take over as high priests. Some have even broken off to form a separate sect to Kusomache in response, which by official decree are illegitimate, but is gaining public favor as one of many symptoms of growing distrust and dissatisfaction in the royal family.

---

SIDE NOTES ON THE QUEEN-CONSORT

The queen-consort's modern role is somewhat expanded in that she is now the mother of Usoma's heirs, but in few other capacities. Her powers are limited to those natural to her social status, and she has no hard political power whatsoever, even within the scope of the court (though some queens gain indirect power via personally influencing their husbands, sisters in law, and council). Imperial Wardi royal families have generally sought to display themselves as the ideal perfection of the familial sphere with the Usoma as the epitomical protective household patriarch, and thus a queen-consort typically lives in the utmost of feminine cloistering within the palace and is rarely (if ever) seen by the public (in the limited cases in which she travels outside of palace grounds, care will be taken to keep her out of sight within her carriage or litter). This functions to emphasize her privilege as the highest status wife within the domain, and by extension to show the invulnerability of the royal family as a whole by the unseeable and therefore untouchable nature of its Vulnerable wife/mother.

(The concept of a wife being able to exist in protection exclusively within the family home is considered an ideal, which isn't really attainable for nobility and is out of the goddamn question for the lower classes. You'll notice 'women's bodies being heavily politicized and abstracted' being a recurrent cultural theme here- the wife of a household is the vessel for a family's continued existence and conceptually the vulnerable representation of the family's survival, which must be controlled and protected. The social privilege of royalty allows for this to be utterly realized in the case of the queen).

The queen-consort is (apart from being known by name) functionally the abstract concept of the idealized wife and mother and the womb of kings rather than an individual person to most of the public. Attention is actively Drawn to her physical absence via a queen being represented in effigy in the vast majority of public appearances by the royal family (represented in statuary, and in abstraction in the form of the lotus sceptre held by the Usoma-Hittibe). Statues representing each current queen-consort are placed in major temples to Kusomache, Ganmache and Anaemache to gain the protection of these Faces and to be honored by the visiting public.

[aroaceleovaldez]

finally finished my project of collecting voiceclaims that are as close as i can find for my hcs of the main HoO cast - just for funsies so it's not as perfect as I'd like but whatever, it was a neat exploration and exercise of me trying to think of literally any franchise for voice actors.

Leo got two cause I had trouble of finding good clips for the voiceclaim that's closers to my hcs for him (the second half of his section). Also got to play the fun game of digging through my art for decent doodles of each character.

Also fun fact, I am almost completely unfamiliar with 3 franchises in this video and was just digging for voice clips on youtube. Try to guess which ones.

[stuckinapril]

i want to start journaling but i'm scared if my family go through my journal without my permission (since i'm closeted), is it valid if my journal is in google docs? i swear i want to journal in a real book, but it's too risky

Of course it’s valid!! There’s no right way to journal & not everything has to be about aesthetics. For the longest time I resorted to my notes app bc it was the easiest thing to have on hand, and just like you I didn’t want to run the uncomfortable possibility of being asked to look through my journal by friends or family. Now I have a journal bc idgaf and im willing to establish my boundaries lol, but I understand how microaggressive family gets & how not everyone has the luxury of their own space at times (especially in the context of being closeted & having to tiptoe around your family). So like seriously just do what works!!

[demigod-of-the-agni]

Peter Parker if he got bit by a radioactive sword ☢️🟢⚔️

if I had a nickel for every time I made a Spider-Man au based off a video game, I'd have three nickels, which isn't a lot but it's concerning that it's happened three times. This au is the spidey/final fantasy vii mashup, where Peter becomes the Unreliable Narrator

anyway someone pretty please write this au for me <333 I'll pay you <3333333

bg variants under the cut

the BIGGEST dilemma(s) was figuring out if I should

A) keep the eyes in my art style (no colours, just the highlight), bc ngl it makes him seem more babey (pic 1),,, or

B) add the mako-glow to the eyes so i could be lore-accurate.... also I spent a lot of time!! on colouring in those pixels!!!!! dammit!!!!!!!!! (pic 2) and

C) OF COURSE i was struggling to choose between the white and red backgrounds!!!!! evil me!!!!!!! making difficult creative decisions!!!!!!

i will,,,, try to draw the other peeps as well (mj as tifa and gwen as aerith ,,, mmm yesss esysey yes ssss) but i fear the monkey brain has already died........ i will try tho,,,,,,,,,,

[zvaigzdelasas]

*trying desperately to insist that homophobia is all caused by russian propaganda and fucking lithuania would be an LGBT paradise otherwise*

[yellow-yarrow]

kinda funny how cities skylines has this cutesy fun vibe but you are basically a dictator in it and the citizens ask for prisons and cops even if you build a perfect city while Frostpunk 2 has this stressfull dark mood but there is a council you have to convince to vote for your ideas and you can have things like equal pay for everyone, ubi, support for disabled people, etc

[skrunksthatwunk]

stole this chart from @asubakaa and spent wayyy too much time making my own so. yeah. also i did 6 instead of 5 bc i know no restraint

[vulpinesaint]

hrt is so awesome. like i've enjoyed my face and sometimes my body before but testosterone makes me feel like the sexiest boy alive

[poebrey]

do we think Tilly and Spock managed to poll everyone with their little clipboards when they did the going to the future thing or do you think there’s at least one crew member on Discovery who took the absolute worst nap of their life?

[blitz0hno]

Me pondering: kids are capable of going through and understanding complex problems and their feelings should be taken seriously when it counts.

Me practically: who are all these annoying fucking kids in the milgram fandom and why are they posting the worst takes and most irrelevant bullshit I've ever seen ever???

I think these are valid to coexist.

[forcebookish]

top deepening his voice when talking to mew's moms... gun speaking higher when talking to cher's mom... i love these choices

[mumblingsage]

I was going to ship my partner's Valentine's gift in a comically large box, only to learn it was 'nonstandard size' (despite me purchasing it from USPS, which you'd think could enforce some standards) and would cost over $100 to ship.

The clerk searched the back rooms of the post office for what felt like a small eternity and came back with boxes that were only 20 inches long on one side rather than all of them, a standard enough size to save me nearly $60.

I was so grateful that on my way out, I bowed to her.

The kicker is that she bowed back.

[aroaceofthesea]

Summer camps and similar very intense for 2 weeks and then suddenly finished activities are so tragic because you'll form one of the deepest connections of your life and then you never see those people again