hi if u want to do yoga for mental health reasons u should try searching for trauma-based yoga practices. even if u don't consider urself as having Trauma with a capital T it just genuinely does what it says on the tin and loosens up ur emotions to get out

follow-up points of interest:

back in the 00s a single dancing anime chibi gif would feed us for months on end

Here’s the template. Go forth and recreate the dancing anime chibi gif. Revive the old ways.

how to keep following people when a major social platform implodes

(...and you don't want to join 20 new websites)

First, get an RSS reader*:

You'll be able to make a custom feed to follow blogs, webcomics, social media feeds, podcasts, news, and other stuff on the web all in one place. To follow something, find its "feed URL"-- often marked by an icon that looks like this ↓-- and paste it into your reader of choice as a new feed.

Some feed URLs for social media:

(If you know an artist who exclusively posts to Instagram, you may want to gently suggest that they crosspost elsewhere...)

Also see how to find the RSS feed URL for almost any site. Try using public RSS-Bridge instances or Happyou Final Scraper to generate feeds for sites that don't have them (Pillowfort, Patreon, etc).

*You can set up your subscriptions in one reader and import them into another by exporting an OPML file.

This!

RSS feeds were a great way to keep track of things before the rise of the platforms, and (if we’re smart) they’ll be great again.

I got a laptop with Windows 11 for an IT course so I can get certified, and doing the first time device set-up for it made me want to commit unspeakable violence

Windows 11 should not exist, no one should use it for any reason, it puts ads in the file explorer and has made it so file searches are also web searches and this cannot be turned off except through registry editing. Whoever is responsible for those decisions should be killed, full stop.

Switch to linux, it's free and it's good.

u r absolutely right I have SO many complaints about Windows omg.

For anyone who'd like to follow along, I'm gonna share how to get around those things with group policies bc they're more user friendly and descriptive than registry editor imo :3 I'll also show how to get around needing a Microsoft account to get setup.

For the Device Setup

"OOBE" stands for Out Of Box Experience which is what that setup workflow is. But it also happens to be a folder with a little program in it that'll let you skip connecting to the internet; this makes it so you don't have to sign up with a Microsoft account and can just use a normal local one instead. And it already comes preinstalled! Here's how you get to it:

Now when you're brought back to the setup workflow, the page where you connect to the internet will have a new button on it that lets you say you don't have internet. Clicking that and proceeding through the rest of the setup lets you get around the Microsoft account thing.

Group Policies

You don't have to know much about them, these are just a bunch of specific settings for what your computer can or can't do that lets you decide how it works in different ways.

I'm gonna show you how to turn off the recommendations and internet stuff basically. For now bring up search and type gpedit, pick this

It'll open up to Local Group Policy Editor and we can get started :3c

Start Recommendations

In the side menu, go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar. Click on Settings to sort them with all the "Turn off" ones bumped to the top.

Here's what you should set:

Windows Spotlight

Back in the side menu, go down to Windows Components > Cloud Content

Cortana

In the side menu, this one's back at the top under Computer Configuration. You're gonna want to go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search

News and Interests

In the side menu go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > News and interests.

Microsoft Account Login Nudges

When you don't use a Microsoft account they'll nudge you repeatedly to sign in so you can "get the most out of your experience" *gag*. The group policy for turning that off has a note that suggests it might not work with Windows 11 though (implicitly), so you can close the group policy editor window now and for this last one let's just open up the regular settings.

Go to System > Notifications > Additional settings, then uncheck all the boxes. And there ya go! (✿◠‿◠)ﾉ u are done.

Group policies are kind of a rabbit hole so while there is a lot more you could change or read into, for your own sanity's sake I would advise against it and say call it a day lol

This is all extremely good information, thank you very much for the addition!

People with low spoons, someone just recommended this cookbook to me, so I thought I'd pass it on.

I always look at cookbooks for people who have no energy/time to do elaborate meal preparations, and roll my eyes. Like, you want me to stay on my feet for long enough to prepare 15 different ingredients from scratch, and use 5 different pots and pans, when I have chronic fatigue and no dishwasher?

These people seem to get it, though. It's very simple in places. It's basically the cookbook for people who think, 'I'm really bored of those same five low-spoons meals I eat, but I can't think of anything else to cook that won't exhaust me'. And it's free!

Why do my interests in canning, couponing, and homesteading overlap so often with blogs with titles like ‘The Obedient Housewife’? 

Like, I’m like, “I want to learn to make soap and farm,” and suddenly I see 500 “traditional family” motherfuckers like no you are mistaken. I am just a simple lesbian anticapitalist looking to limit my consumerism as much as possible.

‘these fun crafts will keep your kids occupied until your husband gets home!’ no i want a clothespin crown for me

As a nerd who homesteads, let me share the data I have gathered!

First is my megalist of homesteading-related links I’ve gathered over the years. I’m a mod over at r/homesteading and this is where I’ve put a lot of good sources (not all, admittedly some are still sitting in my bookmark folder waiting to be added). The search function at reddit is wretched, but there’s also been lots of good things I’ve shared there too. Please note that many of these sources are not actual webpages, but PDFs. That’s not an accident, PDFs are where you find the really good in-depth stuff.

Many of my sources are from the Extension Service. They won’t try to relate to you based on your lifestyle or sexual identity or religion or whatever, but due to that, they also won’t be alienating you either.

The Cooperative Extension Service (US only) exists in all 50 states and in most counties. It is taxpayer funded. The Extension Service exists to help people become more self sufficient, for farmers to be more successful, for people to be healthier, for kids to be well adjusted, to figure out how to grow the best plants in your area, etc. Some county offices even offer cheap classes in things like gardening, canning, soap making, and they’re taught by people with training in these areas (I once heard a great talk on composting from a soil scientist that way). Do you want to know what type of plant something is? Do you need help figuring out a plant disease or pest issue? You can now contact them online and get great info.

I HIGHLY recommend checking out your state’s extension service website, because they do offer different types of information, depending on what is grown/raised where you are (and how well funded they are). My county extension puts out a monthly gardening newsletter, which includes a helpful ‘this is the time of the year to do —-’ part.

Here’s an example from North Carolina - check out that left sidebar

Here’s an example from California - this website is HUGE so dig around

Here’s an example from New York - they have a calendar at the bottom, showing how they have things like hydroponic and urban agriculture workshops coming up.

Interested in raising animals? Penn State Extension is really really good. They have tons of free materials and courses available online, some I pulled for my megalist at the top of this.

National Center for Home Food Preservation - they cover the important aspects of food safety, and also have some recipes. Many state Extension Service websites will have lots more recipes.

If you have kids, check out 4-H programs for them. It’s part of the local public school system here. If you’re homeschooling, you can also purchase their science-filled educational and self sufficiency materials (materials are divided by age ranges - Cloverbud Member: ages 5-8, Junior Member: ages 9-13, Senior Member: ages 14-19). One of my coworkers is in 4-H, she’s still in high school, and last year she raised an award-winning heifer.

Congress grants the money for funding these programs, and they’re connected with various universities. There’s a level of cutting edge scientific knowledge and academic rigor you don’t find in blogs or even most books. There’s LOTS of homesteading books filled with outdated information like ‘till the earth every year’ hell I still have older coworkers who do it and I’m trying to figure out how to gently tell them that they’re destroying their soil that way, and that there’s better methods now, methods grounded in science.

Knitting - try this youtube series

DIY Crown - here’s a youtube video on how to make a mermaid crown

Hope this is helpful to someone out there.

HOLY FUCKIN SHIT BLESS

Idea: sew some cute little moths with scrap fabrics and sew them on holes you have on your clothes so you can keep wearing them :)

@wastelesscrafts

Thank you for the tag! That's such a lovely way to cover up holes in fabric.

The original link leads to Pinterest, so here's a direct link:

Simple fabric moth and butterfly sewing pattern (by Sew Modern Kids)

every time i see those posts like ‘what food from a show did YOU always wanna try’ i go lol none? but i just remembered im a liar

i always wanted the fucking soup brock made in the pokemon anime

Hello OP, i don’t have anyway to prove this is the same recipe they make in the shows but i make this to calm my inner kid from wanting the fictional soup:

Make sure you have all your ingredients ready and at hand for this one to make sure it comes out nice and tasty!!!

Notes:

I personally prefer to use chicken, love how it goes with potatoes and veggies. Also the tight is very tender and flavorful. With beef you have to be careful not to overcook it or it’ll get gummy and hard to bite, so make adjustments.

VEGAN: could also skip the meat, cheese and heavy cream for a vegan option.

I make it for my younger sister and she loves it. Instead of meat i add some diced, toasted nuts when served. Cashew, pecan and pistachios work nicely.

You’ll have to use 5 tbsp of flour to thicken up the broth a tid bit more without the heavy cream but you can still use a vegan milk.

You can totally skip the coriander, but it adds another dept of flavor.

Do try it with the cheese tho, i promise it’s GODLY. Gouda and manchego are my fave, the melt nicely and have a strong after taste, but i guess any cheese that melts could work.

Finally, if you are like me and like spicy food you can add chopped chili. Serrano and arbol chiles are my go to’s, freshly chopped sprinkled just after serving my bowl.

Hope y'all give it a try and if you have any doubts do ask!

Provecho!

this is literally the best addition i’ve ever gotten to any of my posts thank you so much

Hey I tried this recipe out and I can confirm that it tastes heavenly!!

Can confirm this soup is absolutely divine!

Substituted spinach for broccoli because my partner is not a fan of the latter and used chicken and bacon. Gonna try it again with a nice Italian sausage in place of the chicken next time.

@kdinjenzen

one of my "special interests" in the past couple of years has been exploring fast fashion vs. slow fashion. it has been a long journey trying to find clothes that actually 1) fit me 2) look good 3) are made from material that is not actively shoving plastic in the ecosystem 4) involve ethical labor, fair trade, fairly compensated, etc

before i did this research, i really had no clue about fabrics or fashion brands. i used to think i had zero interest in fashion, in fact.

i grew up wearing walmart and thrift store clothes, and when i went to college i bought clothes from target and asos. something started to shift a little bit when i found vintage resellers on etsy and ebay... those clothes were so unique. but a lot of the vintage clothes were polyester blends, stiff, and would fall apart as easily as my asos clothes. i would leave them hanging in my closet and never wear them. i would wear the same old t shirts and jeggings every day. i felt like it was impossible to ever wear comfortable clothes, or ever feel good in clothes, so why bother?

it started with linen. linen is very comfortable and pretty sustainable. i was amazed that i didn't feel the urge to rip my clothes off when i wore linen. lightbulb number one.

a friend let me borrow a nooworks dress, and i went to the store and got some overalls. wow. overalls. lightbulb number two. holy shit, you can wear overalls. you know how people say "not binary or non-binary but a secret third thing." that's overalls.

i realized i loved the bonkers prints that nooworks had, and all of it was soft, and made ethically. it was a higher price point than i was used to, which gave me pause. but then you realize: we're not supposed to be buying dumb clothes every other weekend. and isn't a slightly higher price point for soft clothes that you won't want to tear off your body worth it?

so i started my research. i made a spreadsheet. the prices can be all over the place across brands, so i made a column for prices. sizes can be all over the place too -- people always ask me "where is the plus size slow fashion?" it's there. just look at the size column. people say "isn't it better to buy secondhand?" yeah, it is. i have many links to secondhand sources.

if you have any suggestions or additions please let me know, it is a living document.

I have a mute character in the story I’m writing and one of my beta readers suggested I use italics when they sign so that I don’t have to keep peppering “they signed” or “their hands flashed” throughout the piece.

But like…I always read italics in a different tone like they’re thoughts. It seems quieter than using normal quotations which makes what they say look less significant on the page than other character’s dialogue.

I really don’t think my audience needs me to use completely different punctuation around a mute character. There’s no need to act like they’re speaking a different language since their muteness isn’t a focal point in the story.

So really this reader’s comment has done the complete opposite of what they intended. Now I’m actively taking out as many of my “hands flashed” notations as possible and just writing in normal body language because, clearly, the other characters understand them and my audience doesn’t need to be coddled.

As an HOH reader and writer I can affirm that once the signing has been established it can just be treated like “said”.

You can add little things for emphasis though, like how fast or flippant a sign is given, also a lot of our “punctuation” is in facial expressions, so wild looks is kind of normal. Also messing up signs and just.. pushing them aside. Like, you mess up a fingerspell and just take both hands and shove the air in front of you to your side, people who sign eventually end up doing this for other things, like a “forget it” motion. It’s like a “wave it off” gesture.

Body language for someone who signs is a lot more animated than someone who speaks, as we use our upper body a lot in our conversations, so the act of “signing” is more than just hand signals.

Yes….yes GOOD this is the good stuff right here. I’m going to incorporate some of these ASAP ESPECIALLY the pushing the air but to clear it of your mistakes

In case you wanted to make your story more realistic to signing in general:

If your character is only partially mute (as in they can sometimes speak) or newly mute (they recently lost their ability to speak and previously knew how to do so in the common tongue) and/or grew up around hearing people who speak even if they never could, keep in mind that they have a different signing “accent” for lack of a better word.

People who are Deaf And Learned Sign As Kids instead of the common tongue will be more fluent, they’ll have a wider vocabulary, their signs will be fluid and fast, like speaking to anyone in their first language. They will not have to mentally translate their thoughts to sign the way someone who learns sign as their second language would have to - they already think in sign. Traditionally, sign language even in American or British sign goes in spanish sentence structure, not english. They will be difficult for anyone who is NOT a fluent signer to understand! If your character isn’t fluent, they will probably need to ask fluent signers to slow down!

Meanwhile if your character is Mute, there’s a good chance that they weren’t always, OR they grew up around people who could both hear and speak. Their signing will be more rudimentary (even if the hearing speaking people around them teach them sign at an early age instead of just having them write down what they want to say, bc most people do not care to accommodate you if you can’t speak at all), at least until they learn it better from other signing people. Their vocab will be smaller, and their signs may be slow and clumsy. They may have to finger spell a lot. They will probably get frustrated with their inability to articulate what they want, and they may frequently need to resort to writing down what they want to say. They’ll also likely put signs in the same sentence structure as the language the people around them spoke. This literal translation of each sentence WILL confuse fluent signers!

When talking to deaf people, or other fluent signers, there are a few pretty widespread cultural things you could consider as well: for example, Deaf Time! Deaf time means that once you start talking with a deaf person/fluent signer with no other means of communication, They won’t stop till the conversation is done or you literally have to leave! The chance to sign with someone you don’t know tends to be pretty rare, and the language barrier in general makes deaf people/people who sign exclusively pretty isolated. There’s also the fact that signing with a flat face is only common in non-fluent signers; your expression determines some words! The difference between “good” and “great” comes down to your expression, and signing either with an impassive face is the equivalent of talking in a monotone. Not necessarily rude - but fluent signers will be able to clock you. (I know this bc my autistic ass cannot sign the difference between words like that, and it drove my teachers nuts.)

I hope that helps and that I’m not too late

Source: I’m hard of hearing and selectively mute and my signing accent is absolutely abhorrent :)

I redid this list because broken links 💀

General Tips

Coloring

Human Anatomy

Clothing

Animals

More

Interactive Fiction - Twine Resource Megalist

This Resource Megalist is intended to centralise the resources for the IF Tumblr community to create Interactive Fiction with Twine. While most will focus on the Twine formats, other useful resources will be included.

I don’t know much about other Interactive Fiction programs or format aside from Twine. Even then, I tend to only use Sugarcube. Though this list may try to cover all Twine formats in its resources, my bias for the SugarCube format will be obvious.

If you have a resource I should include, send it to me and I’ll add it !

Official Twine Links

Official Website : Twinery (you can download Twine or use it online) Official Discord: Twine Games, the creators of Twine and most formats, as well as Twine wizard hang out there to help. Official Reddit: Twine Games, answers Twine related questions too.

Twine Formats

Harlowe: Current version: 3.3.3 Repository, Documentation. Creator: Leon Arnott

SugarCube: Current version 2.36.1 Repository, Documentation. Creator: Thomas M. Edwards/TheMadExile/TME (Patreon) also created the Tweego Compiler (all format).

Chapbook: Current version 1.2.2 Repository, Documentation. Creator: Chris Klimas (Patreon), who also created Twine!

Snowman: Current version 2.0.2 Repository, Documentation. Creator: Chris Klimas, but currently maintained by Dan Cox.

Many other formats have been created for Twine, and a non-exhaustive list can be found on this page. Please note that some formats may not be complete or available anymore.

Aside from Tweego, there are also other compilers. A non exhaustive list can be found here.

Forums and Guides

The Twine website has a guide to help with the Twine interface here, as well as Cookbook to help you choose the format you may want to use. The Cookbook includes explanation and tutorials on the ways the different formats operate. There is also the old Twinery Forum where many questions were solved before it closed in 2017 and the Twine Q&A (similar fate). Please note: Due to the Forum closure and the lack of update for the Cookbook, some examples/code may be out of date (though the logic may still be good).

If you are looking for a Forum style-community for help (or discuss Twine), you should go instead to the IntFiction Forum!

Other Guides, Tutorials and Communities

The documentation for each formats may still not be quite easy to get, as it often use very technical description. Below are some guides and tutorials with maybe easier explanations. There might be more (please let me know!).

Guides and Tutorials non-official

YouTube Channels:

Note: The Twine interface changed in 2022, some aspects of these tutorial may be outdated.

Written Guides:

Tumblr coders

Below is a list of IF creators using Twine and having created tutorials/answered asks. Please check the creator’s FAQ before sending an ask/contacting them. There might be coders for other formats making tutorials, but I do not know of them.

SugarCube

Harlowe:

Coding Communities

Below you will find Discord servers focused on coding with Twine or Interactive Fiction where you can ask question. I am sure there are others Discords or Forums out there (especially with other languages) !

Other Twine Resources

Custom Macro (GitHub + Patreon/Kofi links)

There are A LOT of people who created custom macros for Twine (SugarCube especially).

SugarCube:

Harlowe:

Templates (Visual or Code)

Note: I have not tested all of these below.

SugarCube

Harlowe:

Twine 1:

Other Twine Resources

Tweego

Other

Other Coding/IF Resources

Knowing a bit about other coding languages can help you with customising the visual or the gameplay of the project. CSS/HTML are most helpful when understanding templates or how to build/edit the visual size; JavaScript for the gameplay/animation.

W3Schools is more accessible to new users and the explications tend to be easier to understand overall. However, MDN is thought to have the superior code and will let you know more easily if a code/rule is compatible between browsers. Both websites will include explanation for JavaScript, HTML and CSS.

If you want to learn JavaScript, you may want to start on this website.

Accessibility Resources

An important point that should be included is how to make your project accessible (for screen-readers, colour-blind, visual sensitive, etc…). While the way Twine/Tweego compiles the project into an HTML file already takes some of these into account (especially for screen-reader use), but the way one codes may hinder this accessibility.

Misc Stuff

Codepen is useful to test HTML/CSS/JavaScript. There are also some cool code out there (but edits are required to work on Twine).

Pattern of CYOA Games is more of an IF Planning resource than a coding one, but is always useful to have.

Interact-If has also reblogged some resources (see the Platform Ref Tag Subsection).

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Again, this list is non-exhaustive. I’ve only added what I know/have seen around the internet. If you have Twine resources not included in this post, please let me know so I can add it.

If I have forgotten Patreon/Ko-Fi links for any of the people mentioned above, please let me know ask well!

a bunch of random studies from last week

locusimperium:

So I tried this recipe.

And it is GREAT.

It basically makes the platonic ideal of commercial sugar cookies, only in bar form. When I give them to people (which I do a lot, because this is one of those simple recipes where the results seem very impressive), I just tell them they’re sugar cookie bars.

Life hack: add white chocolate chips and sea salt

I made these today for the equinox with sea salt caramel chips and they are simply amazing. Let’s see how long they last with six people in the house!

Noting for later (as we need more butter for this, and probably won’t do a grocery shopping till the weekend).

The OP version of this has become my go-to cookie for basically all things and I have a whole cohort of friends and colleagues who would murder each other to get them. Haven’t tried any add ons yet, since the base recipe is SO GOOD.

I’ve reblogged this before and I’m reblogging it again because I’m about to make it again tomorrow and I wanted to add my own tale of just how amazingly delicious it. it was SO incredibly simple to bake and with an extra dusting of brown sugar on top and served warm and soft they gift you with the taste of the nectar of the gods when paired with a small glass of milk. this image is from when I first made them a couple years ago:

GO. MAKE THESE !!!!

I make these every Christmas.  One year they didn’t work out and I went to family Christmas without them and three people nearly cried.

I'M CRYING I'M ACTUALLY CRYING

Folks: Back in June the Biden administration also made it possible to claim LOAN CANCELLATION for over a hundred predatory for-profit colleges. Thousands are illegible for total relief-- return of money paid, and credit score readjustment. Now that other student relief action is in the news a LOT of people are just learning about Borrowers Defense.

ohhhh my heart is so full right now. ive watched the art institute eat naive young artists alive for decades now. i hope they all burn down. i hope the upper management all die broke and ashamed, like so many hundreds of their graduates have.

This is, obviously, amazing, but CRUCIALLY, if your school is listed here, you have to apply for the cancellation. This is NOT automatic. This is a payout from a settlement based on a government suit against the conglomerate running these schools. I urge everyone who has outstanding student loans to go to this website and APPLY FOR A SETTLEMENT. YOU HAVE TO APPLY.

ASAP there is a deadline.

THIS IS THE LINK YOU WANT.

https://studentaid.gov/borrower-defense/

A useful article from King Arthur Flour (my beloved) on baking while disabled.

This genuinely might make me cry. I already deeply appreciate King Arthur for making the best GF 1 for 1 flour. And having good recipes. But an article posted by them from someone with disabilities about how to do the thing even with disabilities? That’s just genuinely lovely. I know that my bad there is low, but it’s low for a reason and hopefully stuff like this can continue to raise that bar for disabled people like me.

cooking while chronically ill

baking with arthritis or other chronic hand pain

living with chronic migraines

adhd meal plan

chronic pain tips

getting yourself to eat

foods to eat when nauseous

printable medication log

stretches to relieve back pain

safe foods for sensitive stomachs

heating pads vs ice packs