#maybe so. maybe so.
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I read that you don't watch bible shows or write bible poetry anymore, but can i ask you if there a specific reason (apart from being an atheist, my friend is agnostic but she's interested in religion)? I mean, you used to write magnific poetry and i saw that you recently re published them on ao3. I don't mean to be rude or disrespectful or anything, if this is too personal feel free to not answer.
(It’s probably too personal, but when has that ever stopped me!)
For me, I think it boils down to:
The Christian Bible is only a truly meaningful and unique story if it is a deadly serious exercise in communicating with, reaching for, finding the limits of, and generally exploring/naming/scoping/realizing/reaffirming the divine. Don't get me wrong, I loved writing about angels, prophets, the early church, Peter and Judas, Eve and Mary! But the thing I really loved, the thing that rung like a struck bell, was that in doing so I was reaching for God, and everything that capital-G-God implies. The seriousness of it, the truth of it, was the point. If I just wanted to write about social institutions, there were better examples; if I wanted to talk about alternative dimensions where the laws of physics are different, there's plenty of room in scifi and fantasy. Writing about the Church, about Purgatory in the very Catholic sense of exploring something that could actually exist in the theological universe and what it would look like, is a totally different project than "hey it would be crazy if the lion that is also jesus talked."
I loved the Christian Bible as a way of exploring these ideas as well as something I felt, deeply---and in doing so, affirming that these feelings were a mirror, an extension of a greater ontological reality that I could only catch in glimpses, out of the corner of my eye.
Now I don't feel that! And I don't believe that particular reality exists. It doesn't make what I wrote before meaningless, but it does mean I have little interest in returning to it. What joy could I take in seriously communicating with the divine, if I don't believe there's a divine to reach for? I'd be better off divorcing myself from the rituals, the hierarchy of angels, the Aristotelian physics embedded in the Catholic universe---writing fantasy, essentially, at least I can return to these things with more distance, insight, and interest.
(To be fair, I'm still wildly susceptible to depictions of faith in literature---there's a reason that The Silt Verses is one of the only podcasts I've been able to keep up with. But that's fictional religion, separate and apart from writing, reading, and thinking about the characters of the Christian Bible with deadly seriousness.)
None of this means the Christian Bible isn't meaningful in a general sense of Western thought, literature, art, history. I still think the Psalms are beautiful, am intrigued by the stories (and recastings and retellings and musicals and---) that the Christian Bible birthed. But if I'm interested in religion as a political force, or the church as a sociopolitical institution, I don't have to sit through Passion of the Christ 2: Christ Harder to do it. At the end of the day, I don’t believe in god, so I don't feel any particular interest in returning to the spaces where that’s a valid question.
And for someone who grew up in a faith that regularly had us chant “I believe in one god, the father the almighty....” I’m not sure what place there could be reserved for me now.
#.......did I write this whole post and go ''hey maybe you're still mourning your loss of faith?''#maybe so. maybe so.#tw religion#tw christianity#it begins in a garden#also I posted that stuff on ao3 because I haven't written anything new. it's really not that deep.
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some quick drawings of little Soos I made a while ago
#those were some rough sketches i decided to clean up and color#they're still a bit messy looking but screw it#i actually had some more but i didn't like how they turned out so i scrapped them#maybe i'll redraw them sometime#gravity falls#soos ramirez#stan pines#digital art#my stuff
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Whoever conceived and animated this moment, I hope they're doing well and thriving. This is S-rank romance stuff here.
#the ship overall is C to A tier#but it's things like THIS that push it up toward the A#titan ae#titan a.e.#cale#akima#it just...#starts with them chilling together being comfortable in each other's space#that would be enough that's a point there#then she goes and HANDS HIM THE SANDWICH SHE'S EATING#sharing their food#that's another one#and she does it because his hands are busy so he can't feed himself#so that's a third point#and she does it WITHOUT LOOKING AT HIM which is a FOURTH point#and he bites into it without request or invitation so that's a FIFTH point#and then he TAKES THE WHOLE SANDWICH AND GULPS IT DOWN LIKE A LIZARD#which is a SIXTH point#and jumps it up to SEVEN because she pulls her fingers free and finally looks at him and yells at him#IT'S A SEVEN-POINT ROMANCE COMBO#do you know how utterly rare those are?#those are generally earned through KISS scenes where the hands move and the heads touch and maybe there's a spin#they achieved a seven-point romance combo by SHARING A SANDWICH#fixing machines and sharing lunch URRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHH
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Been re-watching gravity falls for the summer
#new sticker design? maybe??#dipper pines#mabel pines#gravity falls#fanart#my art#sticker design#artists on tumblr#digital art#pines twins#I’m so glad it’s having a renaissance lol#they’re soooooo cute#bill cipher#he’s there you just gotta look
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caught them doing the SIN, cos, tan (bad trigonometry joke, I'm sorry, you have permission to euthanize me)
bonus:
#I don’t know WHY on earth I drew this but sir mix-a-lot was playing so maybe that explains it#the book of bill#gravity falls#billford#Art Of The Sun Chip#gravity falls fanart#stanford pines#bill cipher#fiddleford mcgucket#fiddauthor#artists on tumblr#ford pines#art#drawing#fanart#my art#doodle#illustration#procreate#comic#please don't repost my artwork onto other sites thank you!
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also deciding to make stuff that 12 year old me would have wanted to draw
#i dont even care im never escaping the sexyman enjoyer allegations#cringe is dead let me draw the sexyman this is literally tumblr#gravity falls#bill cipher#dipper pines#mabel pines#i have more but i gotta go back to work so maybe ill post it tmr who knows
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having such an obvious favorite character trope is life ruining bro
#icarus speaks#SO MAYBE I HAVE A TYPE 😭#you can literally instantly pinpoint most of my favorite characters it’s so fucking evil
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Can’t explain it but they’re really cunty in this photo
#idk they’re just so fucking adorable#maybe I’ll draw them from this reference#star trek#star trek tos#star trek the original series#spock#leonard bones mccoy#james t kirk#silly star trek stuff
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Planet's Fucked: What Can You Do To Help? (Long Post)
Since nobody is talking about the existential threat to the climate and the environment a second Trump term/Republican government control will cause, which to me supersedes literally every other issue, I wanted to just say my two cents, and some things you can do to help. I am a conservation biologist, whose field was hit substantially by the first Trump presidency. I study wild bees, birds, and plants.
In case anyone forgot what he did last time, he gagged scientists' ability to talk about climate change, he tried zeroing budgets for agencies like the NOAA, he attempted to gut protections in the Endangered Species Act (mainly by redefining 'take' in a way that would allow corporations to destroy habitat of imperiled species with no ramifications), he tried to do the same for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (the law that offers official protection for native non-game birds), he sought to expand oil and coal extraction from federal protected lands, he shrunk the size of multiple national preserves, HE PULLED US OUT OF THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT, and more.
We are at a crucial tipping point in being able to slow the pace of climate change, where we decide what emissions scenario we will operate at, with existential consequences for both the environment and people. We are also in the middle of the Sixth Mass Extinction, with the rate of species extinctions far surpassing background rates due completely to human actions. What we do now will determine the fate of the environment for hundreds or thousands of years - from our ability to grow key food crops (goodbye corn belt! I hated you anyway but), to the pressure on coastal communities that will face the brunt of sea level rise and intensifying extreme weather events, to desertification, ocean acidification, wildfires, melting permafrost (yay, outbreaks of deadly frozen viruses!), and a breaking down of ecosystems and ecosystem services due to continued habitat loss and species declines, especially insect declines. The fact that the environment is clearly a low priority issue despite the very real existential threat to so many people, is beyond my ability to understand. I do partly blame the public education system for offering no mandatory environmental science curriculum or any at all in most places. What it means is that it will take the support of everyone who does care to make any amount of difference in this steeply uphill battle.
There are not enough environmental scientists to solve these issues, not if public support is not on our side and the majority of the general public is either uninformed or actively hostile towards climate science (or any conservation science).
So what can you, my fellow Americans, do to help mitigate and minimize the inevitable damage that lay ahead?
I'm not going to tell you to recycle more or take shorter showers. I'll be honest, that stuff is a drop in the bucket. What does matter on the individual level is restoring and protecting habitat, reducing threats to at-risk species, reducing pesticide use, improving agricultural practices, and pushing for policy changes. Restoring CONNECTIVITY to our landscape - corridors of contiguous habitat - will make all the difference for wildlife to be able to survive a changing climate and continued human population expansion.
**Caveat that I work in the northeast with pollinators and birds so I cannot provide specific organizations for some topics, including climate change focused NGOs. Scientists on tumblr who specialize in other fields, please add your own recommended resources. **
We need two things: FUNDING and MANPOWER.
You may surprised to find that an insane amount of conservation work is carried out by volunteers. We don't ever have the funds to pay most of the people who want to help. If you really really care, consider going into a conservation-related field as a career. It's rewarding, passionate work.
At the national level, please support:
The Nature Conservancy
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Cornell Lab of Ornithology (including eBird)
National Audubon Society
Federal Duck Stamps (you don't need to be a hunter to buy one!)
These first four work to acquire and restore critical habitat, change environmental policy, and educate the public. There is almost certainly a Nature Conservancy-owned property within driving distance of you. Xerces plays a very large role in pollinator conservation, including sustainable agriculture, native bee monitoring programs, and the Bee City/Bee Campus USA programs. The Lab of O is one of the world's leaders in bird research and conservation. Audubon focuses on bird conservation. You can get annual memberships to these organizations and receive cool swag and/or a subscription to their publications which are well worth it. You can also volunteer your time; we need thousands of volunteers to do everything from conducting wildlife surveys, invasive species removal, providing outreach programming, managing habitat/clearing trails, planting trees, you name it. Federal Duck Stamps are the major revenue for wetland conservation; hunters need to buy them to hunt waterfowl but anyone can get them to collect!
THERE ARE DEFINITELY MORE, but these are a start.
Additionally, any federal or local organizations that seek to provide support and relief to those affected by hurricanes, sea level rise, any form of coastal climate change...
At the regional level:
These are a list of topics that affect major regions of the United States. Since I do not work in most of these areas I don't feel confident recommending specific organizations, but please seek resources relating to these as they are likely major conservation issues near you.
PRAIRIE CONSERVATION & PRAIRIE POTHOLE WETLANDS
DRYING OF THE COLORADO RIVER (good overview video linked)
PROTECTION OF ESTUARIES AND SALTMARSH, ESPECIALLY IN THE DELAWARE BAY AND LONG ISLAND (and mangroves further south, everglades etc; this includes restoring LIVING SHORELINES instead of concrete storm walls; also check out the likely-soon extinction of saltmarsh sparrows)
UNDAMMING MAJOR RIVERS (not just the Colorado; restoring salmon runs, restoring historic floodplains)
NATIVE POLLINATOR DECLINES (NOT honeybees. for fuck's sake. honeybees are non-native domesticated animals. don't you DARE get honeybee hives to 'save the bees')
WILDLIFE ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER (support the Mission Butterfly Center!)
INVASIVE PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES (this is everywhere but the specifics will differ regionally, dear lord please help Hawaii)
LOSS OF WETLANDS NATIONWIDE (some states have lost over 90% of their wetlands, I'm looking at you California, Ohio, Illinois)
INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE, esp in the CORN BELT and CALIFORNIA - this is an issue much bigger than each of us, but we can work incrementally to promote sustainable practices and create habitat in farmland-dominated areas. Support small, local farms, especially those that use soil regenerative practices, no-till agriculture, no pesticides/Integrated Pest Management/no neonicotinoids/at least non-persistent pesticides. We need more farmers enrolling in NRCS programs to put farmland in temporary or permanent wetland easements, or to rent the land for a 30-year solar farm cycle. We've lost over 99% of our prairies to corn and soybeans. Let's not make it 100%.
INDIGENOUS LAND-BACK EFFORTS/INDIGENOUS LAND MANAGEMENT/TEK (adding this because there have been increasing efforts not just for reparations but to also allow indigenous communities to steward and manage lands either fully independently or alongside western science, and it would have great benefits for both people and the land; I know others on here could speak much more on this. Please platform indigenous voices)
HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (get your neighbors to stop dumping fertilizers on their lawn next to lakes, reduce agricultural runoff)
OCEAN PLASTIC (it's not straws, it's mostly commercial fishing line/trawling equipment and microplastics)
A lot of these are interconnected. And of course not a complete list.
At the state and local level:
You probably have the most power to make change at the local level!
Support or volunteer at your local nature centers, local/state land conservancy non-profits (find out who owns&manages the preserves you like to hike at!), state fish & game dept/non-game program, local Audubon chapters (they do a LOT). Participate in a Christmas Bird Count!
Join local garden clubs, which install and maintain town plantings - encourage them to use NATIVE plants. Join a community garden!
Get your college campus or city/town certified in the Bee Campus USA/Bee City USA programs from the Xerces Society
Check out your state's official plant nursery, forest society, natural heritage program, anything that you could become a member of, get plants from, or volunteer at.
Volunteer to be part of your town's conservation commission, which makes decisions about land management and funding
Attend classes or volunteer with your land grant university's cooperative extension (including master gardener programs)
Literally any volunteer effort aimed at improving the local environment, whether that's picking up litter, pulling invasive plants, installing a local garden, planting trees in a city park, ANYTHING. make a positive change in your own sphere. learn the local issues affecting your nearby ecosystems. I guarantee some lake or river nearby is polluted
MAKE HABITAT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. Biggest thing you can do. Use plants native to your area in your yard or garden. Ditch your lawn. Don't use pesticides (including mosquito spraying, tick spraying, Roundup, etc). Don't use fertilizers that will run off into drinking water. Leave the leaves in your yard. Get your school/college to plant native gardens. Plant native trees (most trees planted in yards are not native). Remove invasive plants in your yard.
On this last point, HERE ARE EASY ONLINE RESOURCES TO FIND NATIVE PLANTS and LEARN ABOUT NATIVE GARDENING:
Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Resource Center
Pollinator Pathway
Audubon Native Plant Finder
Homegrown National Park (and Doug Tallamy's other books)
National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder (clunky but somewhat helpful)
Heather Holm (for prairie/midwest/northeast)
MonarchGard w/ Benjamin Vogt (for prairie/midwest)
Native Plant Trust (northeast & mid-atlantic)
Grow Native Massachusetts (northeast)
Habitat Gardening in Central New York (northeast)
There are many more - I'm not familiar with resources for western states. Print books are your biggest friend. Happy to provide a list of those.
Lastly, you can help scientists monitor species using citizen science. Contribute to iNaturalist, eBird, Bumblebee Watch, or any number of more geographically or taxonomically targeted programs (for instance, our state has a butterfly census carried out by citizen volunteers).
In short? Get curious, get educated, get involved. Notice your local nature, find out how it's threatened, and find out who's working to protect it that you can help with. The health of the planet, including our resilience to climate change, is determined by small local efforts to maintain and restore habitat. That is how we survive this. When government funding won't come, when we're beat back at every turn trying to get policy changed, it comes down to each individual person creating a safe refuge for nature.
Thanks for reading this far. Please feel free to add your own credible resources and organizations.
#us election#climate change#united states election#resources#native plants#this took 3 hours to write so maybe don't let it flop? i know i write long posts. i know i follow scientists on here#that study birds and corals and other creatures#i realize i did not link sources/resources for everything. i encourage those more qualified to add things on. i need to go to work
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I like how people on tumblr/twitters examples of irredeemable media are always coincidentally media that had been highly popular online 5 years prior and would, say, potentially be something a young adult might be embarrassed about having liked as a teenager at one point
#txt#im calling myself out btw i know it when i see it. i did this so much when i was like 18-23. maybe even older but ill be nice
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btw! I was made aware that many people don't know that we're boycotting Eurovision this year, so.
we are boycotting Eurovision, as per BDS guidelines.
don't watch the stream, don't engage with the videos, don't post it about it on social media using hashtags that are going to trend. whatever you're getting from the show isn't worth it
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they should invent a new type of "staying in bed for 2-3 hours after you wake up repeatedly opening and closing apps on your phone" where it makes you feel awesome and energized and emotionally fulfilled
#buny text#I'm fine i've just been staying up too late playing bg3 the past few nights#and then wanting to wake up before noon so my parents don't say anything rude to me so i end up getting less sleep to facilitate that#and it's catching up to me#i feel like this explanation maybe undermines my previous statement of 'I'm fine' a bit but I'm fine i promise#look at my lop posts boy
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(look at what i have to offer) — this is the spider's nest.
#wild life smp#grian#<- is that really... his tag...?#grian fanart#life series smp#wanted to also make him wear skizz's tie specifically bec i hc he cant tie it properly himself so its always lopsided#perhaps later on he then wraps it around his fist#anyway this was A LOT . simpler in my head. never again will i draw rails#eydidraws#my art#trafficblr#mcyt#self indulgent drawing for me . maybe ill post the original sillier sketches later :'D#also kinda failed but i wanted to give the illusion of 8 legs so shadow-arm-sleeve-coat (left) / shadow-arm-shadow-coat (right)#* extra edit for clarification: yes my wl! grian is wearing mumbo's jacket (all the rips) and skizz's tie (unharmed since he fell) :D#maybe when they resurrect next time ill draw them without it lmao
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i am a being capable of immeasurable love and whimsy
#and also. am a ilittlel kitty :3#mine#cats#brain empy. felt tip cats ONLY#we were promised snow today n then they decided actually :) rain all day for u#i bought new wool for a cardigan today im SO excited its gna be so colourful#i was going to do some sort of Thing on the back like a heart or something but im still too scared to do colour changing stuff#maybe....maybe next time#i think i will try a patter w like. an actual grid with it first rather than just rawdog it#bc i . do not know what im doing :3
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David Tennant for Prime Minister, please.
edit- Since this is getting so much attention, edited to include descriptions of screenshots.
This woman has lost her fucking mind.
Jo, are you okay?
#Fuck your Rowling#Fuck terfs#David Tennant#Fuck Harry Potter#And everyone who watches Rowling’s new Harry Potter show#little whinging fuckers#gender taliban?#have you completely lost your mind JKR#maybe just stop being a little whinging fucker JKR#if he's smart he would never want this job because it's a horrible one but we'd be so much better off with a sane person in charge#But seriously Rowling are you okay?#does she look tired to you?#well I guess this has broken containment#He didn’t actually say you’re name JKR#he just called out transphobes and you assumed he was talking about you#which says you know exactly what you are and identify as a transphobe#says a lot#described
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told myself i'd make a short sketches during my break time.. i made a whole ass comic
#gravity falls#stanford pines#stanley pines#stan pines#comic#my art#au#maybe a continuation from that one stan brothers sketch i did hee hee#i love them so much its not even ok
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