#which I approve

[watmalik]

Hmm was Lucy going to sit on Tim’s lap? Asking for a friend 🤭

[pinacoladamatata]

blink and you'll miss it moments around skyhold....

[fisherrprince]

Instead of writing a fanfic like a normal person this oneshot turned into two separate, contextless things,

[aethersea]

I've always wanted to learn bookbinding, ever since I was a wee little nerd, but there are a lot of things I've always wanted to learn, and this one has both a daunting upfront materials cost and a daunting upfront research cost. however, my sister is a jewel among siblings and gave me for christmas last year a handy dandy bookbinding manual, a block of good paper, and a little bag of tools.

but I still didn't have a suitable workspace, nor any of the many important tools and materials that she didn't include in her gift. so I just read the manual and pined. until maybe a month ago I got fed up with pining, flattened a cardboard box for a cutting mat, and went to town.

and I'm real proud of myself, so here's me rambling, plus photos!

I went to the thrift store and got glue + some fabric to bind the cover, went to Michaels for a paintbrush (and later went back for a metal ruler lmao it's amazing how useful it is to have a straightedge for cutting the paper), and...could not find material for the cover boards. so I went home and pined some more. but the urges were too strong, so after a couple hours of moping I got a stack of printer paper at the grocery store (I could not bring myself to use the good paper for my first, inevitably weak attempts, I just couldn't do it) and started making a little booklet. which was a great idea, it turned out, since it makes for good practice with cutting the paper, measuring things, punching holes in the signatures, etc.

I have a big box of greeting cards from Michaels, which I used for the covers. it didn't feel like I was making a Real Book, so I got some colored paper from the stationery store and used that for end papers.

so fancy~

galvanized by this success, I ordered a stack of chipboard online to use for cover boards; and once I was confident that I could cut paper without making it look too stupid (getting that straightedge ruler sure helped lol), I made signatures out of the good paper, left them under some heavy books overnight since I don't have a book press, and then punched holes in them! (huzzah for this nice video on getting the holes right)

my sister's gift included good linen thread. it's unwaxed, but after some poking around on r/bookbinding it looks like that just means I'll have to be more careful to avoid tangles and keep good tension. I am fine with this. I can be extra attentive. (I considered just running it over a beeswax candle, but one commenter said if your wax has paraffin in it, it could melt in a hot car, ruining the spine. I can't guarantee my candle is 100% beeswax, I didn't make it, so maybe we just move on.)

I don't have good linen fabric to use for the tapes, but the important part there is that the fabric be thin, sturdy, and not stretchy. the probably-cotton I got from the thrift store fits the bill, so it'll do!

this is a french link stitch, which I got from this exceedingly good tutorial. apparently it's strong enough on its own that for a book of this size, I don't actually need tapes, but I'd already cut the things so eh here we are. and tapes plus french link will make it a stronger binding still (according to a friendly redditor on r/bookbinding), so we carry on.

specifically we carry on to the gluing step. now as I mentioned, I do not have a book press, and you....kinda need one for this step. you need to hold the book block in place with the signatures facing upwards, pressed together hard enough that the glue won't run down between them and stick the pages together (though you do want the glue to get between them just a little, just for like a 16th of an inch). you at least need some clamps and a couple boards to sandwich the book block with.

but you know what? I'm not a professional, this is my first ever book, if it's a little bit off it'll be fine. so we grab all the heaviest books off the bookshelf and improvise.

it's fine! I'm sure it's fine! and just in case it's not, I've tucked a bit of cardboard underneath to catch any glue that drips down so it won't land on the floor. see? I'm prepared! I'm acing this.

and actually, it really was fine. I used clear elmer's glue, applied with a flat paintbrush from the art supplies aisle at Michael's, and frankly I liked the way the flat paintbrush let me slip glue in between the signatures. I did poke around on a couple bookbinding sites to see what kind of glue I should use, and the gist is that although there are better options than this, elmer's glue is perfectly serviceable, and the main downside is it's not archival grade. but I don't need my first bookbinding attempts to last 200 years, that's fine.

the next step is to add the mull. mull is a specific type of fabric – extremely loose-weave linen – and the idea is to paste it down over the spine to essentially hold the tapes and signatures all in place in relation to each other.

but I don't have mull! so I'm using more of the thrift store probably-cotton, because it's thin enough and not really stretchy at all. I'm sure this will be fine too. I painted a layer of glue onto the spine, then left it to dry a bit while I measured and cut the fabric, then painted a generous stripe of glue down the center, where it'll affix onto the spine. then I added a bit more glue to the spine, just to be sure, and pressed the mull into place, rubbing it thoroughly to make sure it's firmly affixed to every signature, with no creases in the fabric or air bubbles beneath it.

honestly I might have overdone it on the glue. I've never done this before, I don't know! I think it's okay, though – I tried not to ever let it become a thick layer, just a slight coating, since the danger of too much glue is that it might crack once dry and weaken the spine.

and now we leave it in the press overnight to dry, and pick up the next step in the morning!

[sualne]

have some trans swan lake barbies

[moomeecore]

Hey guys. So I know we've all gotten some very bad news, and anyone with a conscience is deeply upset. But one of the things this means is that the situation in Palestine is even more urgent, because we know that while Kamala might have, Trump isn't going to listen to any calls to lessen America's support of violence in Palestine. So, I'm putting out my next fundraiser post a bit earlier than expected - I really, really encourage you all to read these and try to match at least one of my donations, and reblog if you can't. I wish you all the best.

Waleed Ayman Alanqar and family - vetted (#107) - The fundraiser is for Waleed, his wife Areej Haniyyeh, and their 3 year old son, Ayman. They were forced from their home almost a year ago. The fundraiser is to help them raise the money needed for the family of 3 to evacuate to Egypt. They have €1,606 raised of their €20,000 goal - only 8%! - so I'm donating a little more than the usual €5 (€7). Waleed's tumblr account is @ayman-waleed, if you want more info.

Alaa and family - vetted - Alaa and her husband were displaced from their home on October 7, while Alaa was pregnant. Alaa's husband died before their daughter was even born, and now Alaa is raising her baby without him, after having to give birth without the needed medical care. Because of the poor conditions, her daughter has been suffering from illness, including a viral stomach infection and histolytica worms. Alaa needs to pay for her daughter's medical treatments, and for milk and diapers which are very expensive in Palestine right now. They have $14,280 raised out of their $30,000 goal. Alaa's account(s), for more information: @alaa-gaza / @alaa-gaza223

Wafaa Abdul Karim Abu Al-Rish and family - vetted / vetted - The fundraiser is for Wafaa (@wafaaresh3) and her family, which includes her mother, her brother Mohi (@mohiy-gaza), her sister Fidaa (@fidaa-family2), and Fidaa's two children (Sila, who is two years old, and Mohamed, who is 6 months old). They also have a cat. They have been displaced more than 10 times. Wafaa's mother has chronic illness (hypertension), and is unable to access her medicine, which means her health is getting increasingly worse over time. The main goal of the fundraiser is to help the family evacuate to Egypt. Wafaa's fundraiser has $74,018 raised out of her $85,000 goal.

I'm going to post a second part with three more fundraisers soon!

Here's my previous fundraiser posts: Post 1, post 2, post 3

[navree]

Incorrect, the fact that Biden has dropped out and a candidate with history of supporting medicare for all and being more receptive to a ceasefire in the I/P conflict has made me go from "I cannot morally support the Democratic nominee" to "I am voting for the Democratic nominee despite the fact she isn't perfect in every respect." I'm really happy this played out. The Dems for the most part abandoned the old Obama platform and it feels like its possible an actual progressive agenda could come to pass in my lifetime.

Kamala 2024!

If you weren't going to vote Democratic in this election before Biden dropped out you're a dorkass loser who does not care about any of the issues you're yammering about here and also a fundamentally bad person, and I hope you get run over by a bus.

But you got one thing right in all of this gibberish, Kamala 2024.

[midoristeashop]

It’s ween 🎃 guess who I’m going as

also I did end up making the staff but the idea of walis took me out LMAO

Yurified pinoy Jack Frost is MY Brazilian miku

[grey-wardens]

[moeblob]

[pandoraroid]

milo lowkey hates being an outfit repeater and asher makes it his business to be an outfit rememberer just to mess with him

[iwasbored777]

I think Branch has abandonment issues because of everything he went through and Poppy knows this.

Yes, both are true and I HAVE to talk about Poppy's behaviour in Trolls Band Together more cuz she doesn't get enough appreciation for her character development and for how much she loves her boyfriend.

At the beginning of the movie she wants him to give his brothers a second chance because she wants him to be with his family. He's not happy about it at first but later he is and she's super happy because she thinks everything is perfect just like he thought.

Until it wasn't. When they both learn at the same time that his brothers don't want to see each other again after rescuing Floyd he leaves and she realizes that this means to him way more than it means to them so she doesn't waste time arguing with them (Branch already did that) and she goes with Branch. She loves him, she doesn't need her favourite boy band to reunite anymore, her priority is making her boyfriend happy again and that can only be accomplished by saving Floyd. But when she finds Branch again he is cold because he's hurt and he doesn't want her help because he thinks that she will abandon him too just like they did. I can only imagine how much it hurt her when he said that, she thought that he believes her that she loves him because she really does. She was already betrayed by a guy she cared about in the past (remember Creek? Ugh I hate him). But instead of focusing on her feelings she's focusing on his because he needs reassurance now more than she does. She trusts Branch, she loves him, she knows he loves her and she tells him that she's with him and reminds him that they've always been there for each other.

She even put his feelings before her sister, when she had to choose. No one's saying that she would never come back to find Viva after the mission is done but she came here to help Branch and that's what she's gonna do above all.

Yes, Branch is an amazing boyfriend, and I'm so thankful that the writers made him this way. I'm not saying that he doesn't deserve the praise he gets, he really does. But I'm saying that Poppy deserves more praise in general. She's so amazing and so underrated.

[amber-laughs]

thinking about how catelyn always wanted the direwolves to shut up and ghost was the only one who never made a sound

something something jon’s subconscious need for catelyn’s approval being born into his outer vessel

[marzipaint]

extremely late barricade day post. barricade month

[naomiknight-17]

Y'all it has been a TIME

Without making this post a thousand miles long, between vet bills, home repair, and a hiccup with my student loan payments, I am very in the red

I would very much like to be out of the red, and also be able to afford to go out for a nice dinner to celebrate my 14th wedding anniversary, which happened earlier this week, but went mostly unnoted.

So! You know what that means! Time for another...

DONATION DOODLE DRIVE

Would you like to help me out and also maybe get a fun doodle in return? (Please note style may vary!)

Simply tip $5 or more at my Ko-Fi and include a 2-3 word doodle prompt such as "bunny pirate" or "round cat" or "great big butt" and I will take it from there!

If you want to help out and you don't care about a doodle (or the minimum is too much) then tip whatever amount you want and don't leave a prompt, and instead of a doodle you will receive my immense gratitude 🩷

Thank you for reading, and extra super thank you if you consider sharing this post or sending a tip my way!

[sophfandoms53]

Got some mixed feelings about the Striker is Satan’s son theory circulating around rn LMAO

Also the fact this has all started from a single silhouette of this man is very funny