Inquisition should have let me start the Protestant Reformation. There should have been an option for my mage Trevelyan to derail everyone's politics by telling them Andraste thinks they're a little bitch and to free the mages

I should at LEAST be allowed to pull a Dona Gracia Nasi and refuse to speak to anybody who doesn't unilaterally agree on removing the Templars from the Circles

....where's my Revolutionary Hat?????

What's the point of having a massive army of soldiers, diplomats, and spies if I don't use them to create a religious panic?????

i wanna start a religious schism, bioware. what's the point of having an army if i can't start a religious schism

@digitalcactusblog oh I 100% fully believe that Andraste was not only a mage but an abomination, likely Faith

oh, headcanon ACCEPTED

Lorraine Baines McFly and Female Autonomy

Hello. I have spent the past month slowly losing my mind about Lorraine Baines McFly, Marty's mom in Back to the Future, so I am finally trying to articulate some of the reasons I'm so feral about her.

There's a quote from Lea Thompson, the actress who played Lorraine, that goes, "The three parts that women usually get to play are virgins, whores, and mothers, and in Back to the Future Part II, I got to play all three." While this is commentary on Hollywood and the limited roles that fictional women get forced into, I think it's also interesting to think about it in terms of how these roles are reflected onto actual women and used to limit their personhood and confine them to a very narrow range of acceptable behaviors . . . and then in turn to think about how the character interacts with these roles on a Watsonian level. They're affecting not just Lorraine the character as she was written, but Lorraine from an in-universe perspective trying to navigate life as a woman in a patriarchal world. Some of the sexism she faces is a deliberate narrative choice and some of it is a result of the writers' blind spots, but for the purpose of this essay I'm less interested in teasing out which threads are which and more in looking at it holistically.

Because the thing about Lorraine is that she's aware of what the acceptable roles and behaviors for women are, and the versions that we see of her across the various timelines alternately fight against and capitulate to these constraints. What is a woman allowed to be? How much is Lorraine willing to break from those restrictions? How much does she allow other women to break from them? Does she resent her role or embrace it? I have a lot of thoughts specifically about how the different iterations of her interact with concepts of female agency and autonomy.

(Putting this under a cut because it is. Long.)

i don't really mean this as criticism but every They Might Be Giants song i've ever heard all share this same ultra particular vibe i can only describe as "this sounds like something a programmer started spontaneously singing around the house at like two in the morning because he was trying to annoy his girlfriend's cat"

I read this aloud to spouse. He said "oh I don't think that's fair."

I proceeded to demonstrate by singing the opening lines of several They Might Be Giants songs while leaning sideways in my computer desk chair and addressing an imaginary cat.

Spouse conceded the point.

Over 10 years ago I drew this mother naga with her kid and a bowl of gulab jamun, and I was blown away to see people still reblogging it and saying kind things here. I decided to draw a sequel, the PTA (People That are Anacondas) meeting is over, and she finally gets to have some gulab jamun. c: I really hope this cheers you up some.

My first reaction: she finally gets to have some!!

My second reaction: oh gosh they're holding tails in the second picture okay I need to reblog this.

tear down this fourth wall

Is this anything?

(It has been suggested that the middle of this chart should say "Schrödinger's Cat" which is, as an addition itself, simultaneously true, false, helpful and unhelpful, just as Schrödinger wouldn't have wanted, especially as it would, ironically, not be in any of the boxes.)

some wips of my newest project!

this one will have hair, maybe a cape of some sort, and possibly mechanical wings, but i'm not quite sure how i'll approach any of those things, so i'm posting her as she currently is. i've really enjoyed doing projects that involve both making the base sculpt and a fair bit of post-printing customization, and painting & adding details to this doll was mega fun to spend my weekend on. the sculpt itself just kind of happened; couldn't exactly tell you why she is a steampunk violin demon girl, except that it was what i found fun in the moment.

Crossposted from BlueSky!

Okay, you know what, I'm curious.

(I put in the most common ones I've seen but I'm sure there's a lot more, so please share what it was in the tags if you want to)

I had a greek-mythology-retold-for-kids book on my bookshelf with all the other fairy tale books and authored kids' books and I read it along with the others and it just kept coming up so I remembered it better than most other individual ones.

My parents had this audiobook of some brittish guy telling less-sanitized-than-you-might-think retellings of the big myths they left playing when I was sick in bed and they were both working.

First contact was a series of greek mythology books that I pestered my folks to read to me so much when I was a toddler, that I accidentally learned to read.

We had a mythology unit in 6th grade and not only did I read everything all at once the week it was assigned but then I went to the library and read everything I could get my hands on. I remember for my 11th birthday my parents gave me a copy of Bullfinch but it drove me banana crackers and saying because it conflated Greek and Roman constantly and then I found Edith Hamilton and it became my absolute all time favourite.

We learned about Greek mythology in grade school, but I am almost sure I had already avidly read D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths (heavily bowdlerized for child readers) before then. It's possible that was where I first read it, though.

This was the 1980s and most of the sources above didn't really exist at the time. (Fanfic and fanart existed but I had no access to them. Videogames existed but I don't think any of them at the time were based on Greek mythology. Books and movies based on it certainly existed -- I have been reminded of Clash of the Titans in particular, and there were elements of it in some comic books such as Wonder Woman -- but I can't think of any TV shows or musicals based on it until much later.)

[ID: Martha Wells reading from her book All Systems Red, with robots - mechanical contraptions slightly smaller than most cats, some aerial and some with huge treads - surrounding her, positioned to look like they're listening attentively. Text reads "Martha Wells reading to the search and rescue robots at the TEES (Texas A&M University Engineering Experiment Station) Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR)."]

Can we all take a moment to appreciate this photo from Martha Wells's website

this delights me unreasonably

For a bit of fun linguistic trivia that only other nerds will care about (it's me. I'm the other nerds), i.e. stands for "id est" and e.g. stands for "exempli gratia."

The real question is when to use e.g. vs inter alia.

The difference between that is and for example may also not be clear to everyone!

"That is" means: what I just said and what I am about to say are two ways of saying essentially the same thing.

"For example" means: what I am about to say is one or more kinds of what I just said, but there are many other kinds I am not including.

It's the difference between "I can't eat stone fruit, i.e., fruit with a hard center pit" and "I can't eat stone fruit, e.g., peaches or plums."

LOTRWEEK 2024 Day 3 — the green earth in the daylight (insp)

For still there are so many things That I have never seen; In every wood in every spring There is a different green.

-- Bilbo Baggins at Rivendell, The Fellowship of the Ring

There was a ship that sailed the sea, And it told me the world was gonna roll me. The winds blew up, her bow dipped down Oh all that glitters is gold!

Soon may the wellerman come, The brain gets smart but the head gets dumb; One day, when the tonguin' is done: No shine if we don't glow.

Her world caught fire (how was yours?) When down on her a right whale bore. But she liked that and she never got bored; They took that whale in tow.

Soon may the wellerman come, It won't make sense not to live for fun, One day, when the tonguin' is done, We won't know 'til we go.

Before the boat had hit the water She bundled up til she got older All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her Get paid for your show!

Soon may the wellerman come, To bring us sugar while the head gets dumb; One day, when we live for fun, We'll shine if first we glow.

So much to do, so much to see, But the captain's mind was not of greed! What's wrong with taking those back streets? She took that ship in tow.

Soon may the wellerman come, It didn't make sense not to live for rum Smart brains, when the toungin' is done, Won't know if we don't go.

For forty days or even more The shape of an L sat on her fore; All boats were lost, there were only four But stars still broke that mold.

Soon may the brain get dumb, The ice gets thin while the wellerman comes, One day, when the shinin' is done, We'll glow and then we'll know.

Now hey, all-star, the game's still on - The years still come, and the whale's not gone! A little more fuel would be a good call To encourage the rock-star, crew and all!

Soon may we live for fun, And don't stop coming for tea and rum, Go play, when the glitterin's done, We might well swim and go.

Soon may the wellerman come, The brain gets smart but the head gets dumb; One day, when the tonguin' is done, We'll take our shine and glow!

@sufficientlylargen I need you to know that I immediately called my spouse into the room so I could sing this to them in full.

Would it be all right if I were to spread this outside tumblr? And if so, how would you like to be credited?

As an adult you must cultivate the skill of “Gross! Oh, well. Not my business.”

Applies to everything from BDSM parties to your sister’s godawful interior design choices to weird bachelor pad meals eaten over a sink.

Gross! Oh, well. Not my business.

I have seen this now three times, and agreed with it fully every time, so by this time I ought to be expecting what it says. And yet this time my brain decided to misread it.

Specifically, to misread it as "Ghost! Oh, well. Not my business."

Seems like also a useful skill to cultivate, depending on context.

My perfect mashed potatoes

The secret is in the water; literally, it’s IN the water.

See, when you boil potatoes, a lot of special starches and sugars and stuff leeches out into the water. When you drain the water before mashing them, you throw away a lot of good stuff, which is a big part of what makes mashed potatoes “dry” and bland, even when you add large amounts of cream and butter and things.

So don’t throw out any water.

Here’s how you do that:

First, cut your potatoes into smaller cubes than you probably do. (I’ve left the skins on for flavor and also, that’s where a lot of a potato’s nutrients are, like protien and iron and vitamins B and C, just to name a few)

The reason for cutting them smaller (besides avoiding giant peices of skin) is so that there is less space in the pot between each peice for water to fill, so you use less water to cook them. That’s important because you won’t be draining any water, so you can’t afford to have too much water! For the same reason, just barely cover them with water when they go on the stove.

But! Before you do that, put the pot on the stove with some butter, garlic, and seasonings; let the butter start to sizxle just a little then put most of a single layer of potatoes in the pan and let the brown and sear. Turn them, brown them on all sides, get ‘em fairly dark (I forgot to get a pic here because I was worried I’d burn the butter).

Ready? now throw the rest of the potatoes in right on top, and add your water, give them a stir. This way, you’re boiling in some of that lovely fried potato/french fry flavor.

Okay, so, as they cook, you may need to add a little water, not too much! ideally the very highest piece of potato will be poking just above the surface. Now, when your potatoes are really really soft, mash them directly into the water. Just pull them off the stove, leave all the water in, and start mashing. Trust me. At first you’ll think there’s too much water. If you get them mashed and they ARE a little too liquidy, just put ‘em back on the stove. You’ll have to stir often or constantly, but they will steam off additional water without losing any good stuff.

Now add some salt, and taste. Right?! And you haven’t even put in any cream or cheese or anything yet.

Speaking of which, you can use like, a third of the amount of butter or cream or anything, and they will still taste better than usual. So they taste better AND they are higher in nutrients AND lower in fats and salts! That’s a lot of win — enjoy your potatoes!

Fuck Columbus! Indigenous Rights! And happy Thanksgiving!

Have I never reblogged this? How have I never reblogged this? I've been using this technique for years now and it's become a mainstay of my kitchen toolbox.

OP, I'm sure you've already heard this a lot, but many many thanks for sharing this.