#there are some resources I want to link

[gayahithwen]

People fought and died for the right to vote. No taxation without representation is what the US was founded on. Which turned out to give power to rich, white landowners. So people fought for the right to vote without owning land, which was countered by the law in many places making it so you had to make enough money to pay taxes in order to vote. More people could vote, but still no suffrage for the poor. So then they fought for every (white) male citizen's right to vote, regardless of how much wealth he had. And eventually, that was granted, though not universal until after the American Civil War. And then the fight for women and black people started. And if the impoverished white men thought they had it bad, it was nothing compared to what women and people of color went through to get the vote. The women's suffrage movement took off first, but women died in that fight. Men were not quick to give women a voice at the table, and it lead to a lot of violence. But eventually, women elbowed their way in and demanded a voice, and convinced enough men to vote on their behalf. It's pretty well documented, look up the suffragette movement. Women's right to vote was hard earned. And all along, there was also the fight for people of color to be allowed to vote. There's a LONG timeline on that issue, which to a degree is STILL ONGOING. But we all know it, right? Black people weren't allowed to vote in most places. Native Americans couldn't vote, or later only could vote if they abandoned the communities they were born into. In 1882, they passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. The civil rights movement was carried by black people, because even though by the 1960s they technically had the right to vote in most places, there were still too many barriers in place to disenfranchise black people from voting. So they fought for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And in 1971, the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18, because 18 was how old you had to be to be drafted by the army, meaning a lot of young men were drafted into the army and sent to Vietnam, even though they weren't deemed mature enough to vote. The ability to vote from age 18 has so many dead young men behind it, as well as a good deal of veterans who still carry the trauma of being sent to kill people in a war started by leaders they weren't old enough to vote against. And it's still ongoing. "Unincorporated territories" like American Samoa have to follow US laws and pay US taxes, but they're not allowed to vote. Their fake elections have an average higher turnout than mainland US does in its actual elections. They want to have a seat at the table, but they're not allowed. And if you look at that history, that STILL ONGOING history, and just shrug and choose not to vote, because the available options don't excite you enough? Then... I don't even know what to tell you. I feel like there should be a service where we match undecided voters with people who should be but aren't allowed to vote. Like, if you can't bring yourself to vote for Biden because he's not helping Palestine or Ukraine enough, could you bring yourself to vote for him and the most election-reform friendly candidates down the list if you could hear it from the mouth of a born American from American Samoa or Puerto Rico, who is still not considered a full citizen? Like. Vote. Please vote. How long has your family been in the US? Were they part of the Revolutionary War? Did they shout "no taxation without representation" as they were killed by the redcoats? Was your ancestral grandmother allowed to vote when she arrived? Do you have any Native blood in you? Do you know from which tribe, and whether the ancestor who left was eligible to vote at the time? What do you think they would ask of you? Like. The right to vote is so fucking important, we're still fighting the fight, and you think you'll somehow do more by not participating in the system? Disclaimer: I can't vote. I'm not a US citizen. I live here, but my legal status doesn't afford me voting rights. This is literally ME begging you to vote if you can, because I can't. All that stuff about your ancestors is real, though. You can look up the history of voting rights in the US and see how hard people fought for them. And the stuff about "Non-incorporated US territories" is real. Please do look that one up too if you're not familiar. My point is, the system doesn't get better by ignoring it. Just learn how to vote out of solidarity with others if you can't muster the energy to do it for yourself. Please.

starring at the news as the eu election results slowly trickle in and ?????? to all the people telling Jews that Jews are safe in Europe (or to go back there) fuck you. Parties that were founded and taught by actual Nazis are winning.

This is not safe for Jews, for queer people, for muslims, for anyone really. This is gross and you all are gross. Also if you didn't go vote because you were disappointed in how the left dealt with things: fuck you this is on you too.

[verflares]

what if he was webkinz

[broken-timemachine]

091305

[unorcadox]

Hey I heard you were accepting questions about what being a system is like? I know someone i consider my little brother who i recently found out is a system. I don't know much about this if you couldn't tell lol. Do you know any reading materials, videos, or just personal advice on how to best support/understand him? Id try and find these on my own but I don't want to accidently learn misinformation and have no clue where to start. Thanks in advance and hope you have a fantastic day 👍

hi i'm gonna be real, watching other ppl find out their systemhood has rly shown me the like #1 thing to AVOID is system spaces online because it is maximally confusing, contradictory, and just a huge dramafest regardless of stance, experience level, etc.

personally speaking i'd recc just... exploring it with him? talk to him about it, meet his alters (where comfortable for him at least) and generally just... Try to Listen and Be Involved. it should be said like, his alters have been there the whole time, he hasn't changed in any way other than understanding himself differently now, and thus try not to treat him differently unless he asks that of you.

as for resources tbh it's a complete mess, i personally just read a lot of plural content on here in the various tags when i was starting out but imo tbh with you, i would focus on individual experience more than anything concrete. system stuff is highly complex and not super consistent as each brain handles it differently, so imo go with the flow. 👍

oh yeah personally i would say like. pluralkit and simplyplural can be nice & very helpful if he's so inclined, it makes my life infinitely easier and more fulfilling so yeah. anyways hope this helps and sorry for a messy answer LMFAO

[xenocorner]

Art Resources 01 [Facial anatomy]

Hi! First post of the Art Resources thing I mentioned a while back :) Figured I'd start with something people generally want to know more about- or something people think they already know about but could still used some lesser known tips!

Resources, break downs and tips under the Keep Reading thing :]

1. The Basics

There are thousands of methods to constructing the face. The most popular one is the little circle with the cross in the middle, and sometimes a few more lines for the jaw. While that can be a useful guideline, if you're just starting to learn the ropes it might be better to use a method that has more structure decomposition and land marks to help guide you. Here I'll leave two methods of deconstructing the face that I believe are the most useful to draw faces in different angles and perspectives as well as identify where exactly should each element be placed.

REMEMBER: All of these methods are just guidelines. In order to get different facial features, you can adjust proportions for each of these and play around with sizes.

1.1 The Loomis Method

A structural approach to drawing the head, based on first: simplifying general forms and second: identifying landmarks for the face elements. Pretty good for beginners, helps you understand the head from a more tridimensional stand point to be able to draw it from different angles.

1.2 The Reilly Method

Also a structural approach, but this one is based on understanding the rhythms of the face (proportions, harmonies, and even some general muscular anatomy). It can be a bit harder to understand and use as a building block for beginner artists, but it can serve as a way to check your proportions after an initial sketch.

Here are other two methods, a bit less known, but that go a bit more in depth about the head. If you're a beginner, I'd recommend watching the Loomis method first before diving into these other two methods. Note: these are playlists covering each method, and the videos are longer, but worthwhile.

1.3 The Michael Hampton Method

1.4 The Steve Huston Method

And here's a hybrid of a visual and structural approach too if you're interested! (Again, this one is recommended mostly if you already have a good grasp of the general structure)

Having trouble finding that reference of the head from that specific angle? Here's a 3D model that can be used as reference from any angle. Bonus: It has a built in light feature that allows you to understand which planes of the face the light would hit!

There's also a version with more feminine features.

Here's a website that lets you pick a head angle and then searches for reference images with that angle too. Allows you to pick age, gender, and other features like glasses, facial hair, etc.

2. Understanding What's Below

When drawing the head and face, what most people think of is what we see everyday: the skin. However, there's more to the head and face than just that: there's a whole structure laying underneath that builds up everything on top. Understanding that structure can lead to better execution of skin level facial anatomy.

And what's that structure? Well, bones of course. And muscles. Even if (most of the time) we don't draw them, knowing they exist and how they are placed on top of each other can help with building what we do draw. Understanding the building blocks of the face will make it easier to avoid, say, making one eye bigger than the other. Or a forehead that's too small. Or ears that are too high. Or side profiles that cut off the brain.

Something I recommend for this is making study sheets of the bone structure, muscular structure, and skin structure. For this it's important to name the main bones and muscle groups. Not because you need to commit them to memory, but because if you name them on your practice sheet, it's easier to remember later on that they EXIST (even if you don't remember the name).

Here's a 3D model of the skull

Useful guide for the names of the bones of the skull

Here's a 3D model of the face muscles with names

3. Elements of a Whole

So we now understand the general structure of a face and some useful guidelines to build it. Good! But now, a face has a bunch of individual elements with their own individual structure and stuff to look out for. Those are, of course:

Eyes

Noses

Lips

Ears

3.1 Eyes

It's important to note that the eye has a volume of its own- it's not just a sticker laying on top of the face. It can be helpful to think of the eyeball inside the eye socket when drawing it (taking into account the bone structure we learned before). When understanding the eyeball as a sphere, it becomes easier to place the skin above: the eyelids. This can help with drawing the eye from any angle.

This can also help when drawing the dreaded Other EyeTM, specially if you are still a beginner artist. If you start by constructing the eyes with spheres and approach it from the perspective of "placing" the skin above that sphere, it's easier to get sizes and proportions right.

3.2 Noses

Again, spheres can be your friend.

3.3 Lips

Spheres part 3

A funny thing with lips that often gets over looked when one is just learning the ropes of anatomy is that it also wraps around the volume of the face. Just like the eyes aren't stickers laying on top, the lips aren't either. It's important to take the curvature of the face when placing the lips from different angles and expressions. For example, when we thing of a smile, its usually this idea that comes to mind:

Which yeah, that's fine! ...As long as your subject is facing straight to the camera.

But when we have even a bit of perspective, the way the mouth looks changes, and we often don't think of that and just draw what we think the mouth looks like... which can lead to odd looking mouths, like they're pasted on. So, it's important to keep in mind the volume of the face:

This is true for all features of the face: keeping in mind the volume. But, it can be more noticeable on the mouth.

3.4 Ears

Spheres part- no.

Even if the ear is one of the "flatter" parts of the head, it doesn't mean they don't have volume. Depending on the angle of the face, it'll change how much of the ear is shown- or which parts.

All ears are different and have their quirks, but they all can be divided in three major segments, colour coded in the image. If you deconstruct the ear in these three major parts, keeping in mind they have their own volume, it should be easier to figure out which of those parts will be seen depending on the angle of your face.

4. Expressions!

Now that we understand the elements and construction blocks of the face (bones and muscles), we can play around with them a bit more. So, time to make expressions!

When playing with how the skin moves, it's fundamental to understand the muscle groups of the face and how they move, relax and tense depending on the expression. Knowing that these muscles exist and how they interact with the skin above will help you know where the eyebrow should furrow, where wrinkles would form.

A BOOK I widely recommend is Anatomy of Facial Expression, which you can find here for purchase

Or here as a PDF

This book also covers skull anatomy, so it's a useful tool to study the structure talked about in 02.

There's also an ArtStation account that uploads a bunch of useful 3D model resources for anatomy (facial or otherwise).

Scott McCloud's book, Making Comics, has a section dedicated to facial expressions too (great book in general, not only if you're interested in comics!). You can find it in PAGE 80 (or 88 in the document).

Another thing that can be helpful is studying from life! You can do that by making different expressions in front of a mirror and pay close attention to which muscle groups tense and relax, where wrinkles appear, how your skin moves. Or, if you're like me and hate staring at your face, you can also study from video references.

Here's a link to a PLAYLIST containing various videos of people making different expressions.

The previous playlist contains real people, thus, REALISTIC ANATOMY. It's important to note that even if your drawing style is heavily stylised (like anime, cartoon, etc), it's still fundamental that you understand real world rules so you later know how to bend and break them properly to implement those to your own style.

However, that doesn't mean you can't study STYLISED EXPRESSIONS too! It's actually a great idea to see how other people exaggerate certain anatomical aspects to their own work so you can also understand how to do it in yours. Here's a list with various videos of EXPRESSIONS IN MOTION for animation tests. Study them the same as the previous ones: paying close attention to how the face and muscles MOVE.

Pause the videos you study as needed! While all of this might seem more useful for animation, it's also incredibly useful in illustration, and studying things in movement can help with understanding them better, thus putting them to paper (or tablet) becomes easier.

Finally, here's some videos in a sort of CLASS FORMAT that can help with walking you through drawing expressions more effectively than a text post could lol

[boyfriendunsolved]

the new video was greatly needed if watcher had any hopes of staying afloat. unfortunately, this backpedaling does not change the fact that

1) high production "television quality" content is what they want to make

2) this content is evidently not what people want to watch (even post-apology i'm seeing a lot of people saying they liked bfu better than anything watcher has produced)

again, if they have a clear vision of what they want to make, that's great. but unless there's a market for that content, then it's not going to turn a profit, or break even for that matter. yes, artists deserve to be paid for their work, but art is always bought by people who want and have an interest in said art.

im an artist pursuing my dreams too, but i don't expect people to buy my niche paintings just on the principle that i am an artist creating what i want. if i wanted to make money from this and turn it into a business, i would take commissions and specifically create what other people want. that is what having any kind of artistic job is about, unfortunately.

it's great if what you want to create and what people want to see overlap, but that's not always the case. and i really fear this is the case with watcher and they won't pivot enough to fix any of their problems

[p4nishers]

can we actually take a moment and remember swan upon leda? can we actually shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down and think about our lord and savior swan upon leda because i'm tired of doing it alone every single day guys

[mooseyspooky]

@wolfstrong I have now added "I Want the One I Can't Have" to the list of songs I think Moz wrote about Johnny

I also added "My Love Life" because somehow I missed it, too.

Lastly I made a Youtube playlist of all the songs on the list, because Spotify is missing too many of them for me to bother with making it there (lots of the rarer Moz b-sides and demos aren't on Spotify - as well as some bigger songs like "Pregnant For the Last Time." It's weird).

Here's a link to the original post for those who missed it. It's been updated a lot and has basically become a marrissey master post at this point lol

[kyouka-supremacy]

Uhm..................

[alltimefail-sims]

Do you have any tips for getting into/making sims stories? (Idk what to call them lol, but like your strangersville story), and tips for taking posed screenshots because I’m struggling-

Hello, friend! 🤗

I am so genuinely flattered that you would ask me for advice. I'll admit, I've only been officially on simblr for a little over a year and I'm just getting a groove in posting, so I'm still learning about the storytelling format and posing aspect, too. Here are some really great posts that helped me:

@seaslugsims: Storytelling Resources Part 1

and Storytelling Resources Part 2

Storytelling Tips and Tricks thread started by @citylighten (Check the reblogs on this one - so many amazing, experienced creators have weighed in on their personal tips and tricks)

I hate posing sims, but I've found that it just takes practice and patience. @ts4-poses is a great resource blog for finding poses because it is organized into categories, making finding a specific pose less overwhelming. Put all the sims you need for a story post in the same household so you have full control of them all. Ravasheen's ISO Camera for in-game photos is what dreams are made of because the photos always come out perfect and no one has to be behind the camera to take the picture. When taking photos using the tab key, take them from multiple angles so you have a lot of options when editing your posts.

I also would say don't be afraid to just keep asking for advice! If you see a post you like, don't be afraid to ask someone how they did it! I've learned so much just by going to creators like "Hey, this post you made was so great... what editing do you use? Do you use a reshade/gshade shader? Do you resize photos?" You can learn a lot from others, and over time with practice (and a lot of trial and error) you will gain your footing and develop a style of your own!

Now, onto where I have personal experience: getting into stories and making stories! For me personally, a good story is all about characters and world building. Because simblr stories give you an opportunity to show varying perspectives and focus on more than one character's viewpoint (kind of like a comic or TV show), you can best take advantage of that by writing in-depth characters you love (or love to hate, lol). Knowing the setting and how the characters fit into that setting is really the backbone of any good story, and if you care about the details and you care about those characters, your audience will feel that! Also knowing what you like to write helps, too! I like sci-fi, fantasy, and coming of age; I like mysteries and love stories are my lifeblood (I'm a hopeless romantic); and I am a sucker for a good found family trope... so that's what I write! You'll never catch me writing horror stories full of loss, or adult romance stories, nor am I gonna pop out a teen drama (yk like Degrassi-esque or Disney Channel) or something cutting-edge/dark/with a strong visual aesthetic (like Euphoria) because I know that's not my thing (and editing is not my strength - I would HATE spending hours editing posts where some others might love that part of the process. I don't write or create something because I think it will be popular or on-trend or garner viewership (even though wanting validation is not a bad thing imo) I just create to create. I create using my strengths first, and I would recommend you write to your strengths and don't feel like you have to rush the process.

My biggest piece of advice is that if you have a story to tell, tell it! Trust me, someone (or a lot of someones) will love it. You may only get a few views at first, or it may take off right from the jump, but regardless your story is worth telling. Start by just opening a google doc and jotting down ideas as they come to you until one sticks. Don't be afraid to shelf what doesn't work or what you're not feeling any more. My Strangerville story was not my first venture on simblr, but it is the only one I have loved enough to keep up with.

Lastly, please let me know when you do put your story out there. You've already got one fan!!! 📣💕

[jofiah]

Hey, remember I said I wanted to make a neocities? Well, here it is!

It's still a little rough and there's some more pages planned, but the basics are there. Importantly, I got my "Projects" page done that I can use as a portfolio to show my level design things, and other stuff maybe!

[monster-noises]

I am experiencing... frustration.

[miodiodavinci]

ough got to head to bed for work things in the morning but i am about 1/3rd of the way through with the revised UTAU guide and it is (checks watch) roughly 13 pages so far so yeah i might be going a little overboard with this

[bugsongs]

i completely forgot my favorite writing magazine switched to being only digital bc they sent me like one email about it two months ago so now that i'm trying to check it out it's like oh no problem just put in your access code that we emailed you :) except i don't have that and i'm trying to find a support email or something and its like. this is too much effort. i understand paper is expensive but i just want a physical magazine mailed to my house 😭

[koushirouizumi]

{Reference}/{Starting Master-list} - Donor Children History in Japan

(Gathered by me for reference; It's been a while since I researched this, but maybe you'll become Informed by following these {and I do plan to search around again}...)

Also re-blogging for my own reference since I'm, you know, a Donor child, and wanting to research more about how the laws surround such in other countries, including for the series I create fan works for.

(Some of the language may lean slightly bionormative in the reporting, so it is important to keep this in mind. Please note I am compiling these for my own reference, too.)

Children born through Artificial Insemination Speak Up {2003} "The Ministry of Health reports that {Donor children} births have been reported since the mid-seventies in Japan. While statistics record about 10,000 such children, the numbers could be much higher."

"There is no correct record on the number of AID children {Donor children, etc} as laws now do not stipulate that parents and doctors record such births. We contend the actual numbers could be between 100 to 200 a year," says Tomoko Kashiwage, a director in the infertility section at the ministry.

(...) Experts are now supporting the passage of a law in 2004 that would allow children above 15 years the right to the disclosure of personal details of donors of sperm and eggs in their birth.

(Yuri Hibino) Attitudes towards Disclosure of Children’s Genetic Origins among Japanese Patients Using Assisted Reproductive Technology {2014} (PDF) Keyword: Donor conception; Right to know; Infertile patients; Japan "In Japan, a 2003 government report recognized the right of children born via donor-assisted conception to know about their genetic origin, including identifying information about the donor [2]. However, this right has {not} been enacted into law(...)"

first, woman gives birth using egg from anonymous donor {2017 Mar}

"(...) Although there have been earlier cases of children conceived using a husband’s sperm and eggs donated by sisters or friends"...

{Tradition} denies Surrogacy {2017 May};

"Most major media covered the March 22 Tokyo news conference where Sachiko Kishimoto of the nonprofit organization Oocyte Donation Network (OD-Net) explained how a woman in her 40s had recently given birth to a daughter who had been conceived using the woman’s husband’s sperm and an egg from a third party. Though there have been instances in Japan of women giving birth by using the eggs of friends or relatives, this was the first publicized case in Japan of a baby successfully coming to term with the help of an anonymous egg donor."

"(...) there are no laws governing infertility treatments using donated eggs from third parties"...

"Japan tops the world in the number of women who undergo infertility treatment, while at the same time it also has the lowest success rate." (...)

[anipgarden]

Some of you may have heard about Monarch butterflies being added to the Threatened species list in the US and be planning to immediately rush out in spring and buy all the milkweed you can manage to do your part and help the species.

And that's fantastic!! Starting a pollinator garden and/or encouraging people and businesses around you to do the same is an excellent way to help not just Monarchs but many other threatened and at-risk pollinator species!

However.

Please please PLEASE do not obtain Tropical Milkweed for this purpose!

Tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica)--also commonly known as bloodflower, Mexican butterflyweed, and scarlet milkweed--will likely be the first species of milkweed you find for sale at most nurseries. It'll be fairly cheap, too, and it grows and propagates so easily you'll just want to grab it! But do not do that!

Tropical milkweed can cause a host of issues that can ultimately harm the butterflies you're trying to help, such as--

Harboring a protozoan parasite called OE (which has been linked to lower migration success, reductions in body mass, lifespan, mating success, and flight ability) for long periods of time

Remaining alive for longer periods, encouraging breeding during migration time/overwintering time as well as keeping monarchs in an area until a hard freeze wherein which they die

Actually becoming toxic to monarch caterpillars when exposed to warmer temperatures associated with climate change

However--do not be discouraged!! There are over 100 species of milkweed native to the United States, and plenty of resources on which are native to your state specifically! From there, you can find the nurseries dedicated to selling native milkweeds, or buy/trade for/collect seeds to grow them yourself!!

The world of native milkweeds is vast and enchanting, and I'm sure you'll soon find a favorite species native to your area that suits your growing space! There's tons of amazing options--whether you choose the beautiful pink vanilla-smelling swamp milkweed, the sophisticated redring milkweed, the elusive purple milkweed, the alluring green antelopehorn milkweed, or the charming heartleaf milkweed, or even something I didn't list!

And there's tons of resources and lots of people willing to help you on your native milkweed journey! Like me! Feel free to shoot me an ask if you have any questions!

Just. PLEASE. Leave the tropical milkweed alone. Stay away.

TLDR: Start a pollinator garden to help the monarchs! Just don't plant tropical milkweed. There's hundreds of other milkweeds to grow instead!