Happy New Year 🥳

god of shipwrecks, for last year's swordtember

scum bunny's self saving system

Happy Friday! Here are some golden sparkly trees to celebrate.

anyway since pride month is coming up and my local barnes and nobey has once again decided to only put young adult books in their corporate mandated rainbow display, y'all want some queer reading recs that aren't YA?

alright gang here we go, one queer-ass book for every day of pride month, plus a lot of bonus recs by extension because most of these authors have written more than one book. remember to buy from bookshop dot org or directly support a local indie by ordering through them 🖤

To add to this list:

Among the Hollow by Roman Ankenbrandt: Lesbian 'resident blight on humanity' necromancer and nonbinary body-less soul embark on a journey though byzantine style empire to stop the potential return of a god soul.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: Lesbian necromancer and her lesbian cavalier, in space, in the future, kind of turns into an And Then There Were None situation on the path to learning secrets of the past and the path to ultimate lyctorhood. (However be prepared for some major character deaths, I cried for a half hour after I finished the first book).

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman: Badass bisexual Librarian spy secret agent Irene and fellow Librarian Kai work for an interdimentional library and defend the multiverse from fae and dragons.

The Lighthouse "Well, technically you're supposed to avoid lighthouses, so you don't crack up on the rocks."

-this line paired with the mindset of Stede that he ruins everything he touches or keeps close is 😘👌

Happy OurFlagMeansDeathDay 🏴‍☠️!

And here's a speed paint for this piece ^^

the THING about Oluwande is that his competence level is "night manager who has worked in this 24 hour McDonalds for 4 years and knows all possible McDonalds scenarios but outside work his life is not even a little bit together" and the thing about Jim is that their competence is "wildly experienced mechanic who can fix literally anything in the 24 hour McDonalds with a wrench and some duct tape but can't figure out how to heat up a burger without burning it" and the rest of the crew is "has been working in the 24 hour McDonalds for a maximum of two weeks, and doesn't know how to do anything". except Buttons, who is "has worked in this specific 24 hour McDonalds for 15 years, but still causes regular incidents any time he is at the cash register".

One reason I think it’s important that tumblr understands that AO3 emails spark dopamine and not serotonin other than the fact that I’m a neuroscientist who is very tired is because dopamine is part of the reward system.

I honestly think that emails from AO3 affect the reward system very similarly to gambling. When you get a sudden, random reward (AKA a comment on your fic), it feels great, and you want that again. But as the gambler writer, you have very little control over when the rewards come in or how many. There are games fandoms where you might have a higher chance of getting a response, or tropes, pairings, etc, but in the end, the reward is up to fickle fate (or possibly fantastic marketing on your part if you know how).

Randomly received rewards are incredibly addicting.

Similarly, not receiving a reward when you think you should get one feels very, very bad.

People who are more satisfied in their lives are less susceptible to the highs and lows of gambling and other addictive behaviors. If you are finding your relationship with you AO3 stats page or AO3 emails is unhealthy, it might be worth it to 1. turn off email notifications (so the randomness of the reward is removed) 2. Pick a time each week to check for comments (now it’s on a schedule) and 3. See if there are ways to improve your life elsewhere so that your mental health does not fluctuate with the whims of strangers sending you comments.

It’s not a moral failing to like attention. I have no judgment for people who get into a negative cycle with these things. This is for your mental health. Writing can be so rewarding for so many reasons, and I really just want to see other people find the joy in it.

This post has been going around again, and the question you should ask yourself is not, “am I addicted to emails/comments/AO3?” But “does posting fic put me in a bad mood? Do I get anxious waiting for emails? Is my relationship with AO3 causing me mental pain?”

The problem isn’t whether you are “addicted,” the problem is whether you are experiencing painful emotions in response to a hobby that should be fun. That’s what needs evaluation.

Another solution that’s worked for me is only look at the numbers going up the first week a fic is posted. This is when it’s most likely for comments and numbers to go up. After that week, I just do not check that work again. If I get comments I answer from the inbox without checking which fic the comment is on.

Commission of Rhen for Between Ink and Shadows by Melissa Wright.

Heather Vaughan

Corey Brickley

Tā moko and Blackbeard - PLEASE READ

Omg Blackbeard’s tattoo’s are so cool-

Wait a second …

WHOA WHOA WHOA HOLD ON A MINUTE THERE

That went from zero to 100 REAL quick lets get some education about tā moko up in here before we make these wild claims! Tatau or tattoos have been found all over the world in many civilisations, but it was absolutely the Age of Sail and the colonisation of the Pacific Islands that popularised it and spread it around the world. Tatau is a samoan word that means to strike, and many polynesian cultures have a rich history of tattooing with very specific meanings and connections. Western sailors visiting the islands got their own and soon brought tattoos back to white civilisation where we know and love it today as artistic body modifications. Western tattoos usually come with deep individual personal meaning as opposed to the widespread cultural meaning that occurs in polynesian tattoos. Tattooing has also had a big impact on the queer community too which makes the ofmd connections all the more interwoven (it’s about the intricate rituals)

Edward “Blackbeard“ Teach from Our Flag Means Death is played by Taika Waititi, a Māori and jewish man, and as part of his character design, Taika’s own tattoos were added upon to create the visuals of blackbeard! These tattoos are an essential part of the character and it makes sense that anyone drawing or especially cosplaying Blackbeard would want to make sure that these tattoos are included. Unfortunately there has already been a few (probably well-intentioned) call-out posts for doing so (see above), saying that cosplayers should not be drawing on tattoos that have specific cultural significance! Which is absolutely correct! The problem is these posts have also failed to recognise what is and isn’t Māori tā moko and what is literally just . . a regular tattoo 🙈  Here’s Taika and his tattoos:

The eagle on his chest, the little Rita Ora tattoo on his hip and yes, those black bands on his arms are all likely to have very personal meaning to Taika but they are not tā moko.

Tā moko is the practice of tattooing that is specific to the Māori people and a quick google search will show you just how recognisable tā moko is, a tradition that goes back hundreds of years.

Tā moko is usually the more traditional type reserved for the face and the more modern concept of tattoos as body art can be referred to as Kirituhi. Every piece is unique to the wearer, with koru (spirals) that represent family and the darker infilled parts using various symbolic patterns.

Here to give some input as Māori people themselves are my friends on twitter speaking about the specific tā moko that Taika has that you shouldn’t try to reproduce: The tā moko on his leg, the whare (meeting house) on his wrist, and the traditional imagery of rā the sun on his back (seen in the above photo of Taika also) 

@neonbirb

@weylandyuutani

@ceylonthae

So to conclude: YES as a non Māori person you should avoid drawing on tā moko as part of a cosplay as there is very deep cultural and personal significance in those specific tattoos, and Māori people who see their culture misrepresented in a poor rendition of tā moko will likely take offense. but unless Taika himself has asked people not to there’s nothing wrong with drawing on the tattoo’s that aren’t tā moko, including the eagle on his chest and yes, those two black bands on his arms. BUT ALSO: do not erase tā moko from fanart of blackbeard, if you want to draw the whare on his wrist or the rā on his back, or the kirituhi on his leg - power to you!!! And don’t bloody whitewash the man either or I’ll set the kraken on you!!!  ☠🐙 (Please go retweet and support my friends on twitter I have linked them all above their tweet screenshots!)

like what would you do.

Love that in the character guide of the new MDZS translation, everyone has their swords and stuff listed under weapon but then there’s these two

more OFMD lockscreens - this time (most) of the crew.

as before, likes/reblogs/etc are much appreciated if you use one!

damn your love, damn your lies

god’s only intention in making earth was this. humans and everything else was an accident

this is god’s one and only vision