petrock-rambles

[petrock-rambles]

When i say that anti trans laws will affect cis people too, I’m not saying “we’re all in this equally.

I’m saying it because cis people will never care for us on our own.

It’s not some hippie dippy kumbaya bullshit, it’s strategic and necessary. Sorry it doesn’t pass your purity test!

[petrock-rambles]

If you like frogs. Or possums. Or cool builds. Or happiness. This is the video for you.

[petrock-rambles]

Scenes like this are why I believe Pokemon are actually alien invaders who slowly replaced every other lifeform on Earth and use their psychic powers to trick humans into thinking Pokemon are normal and have always been there. They tried replacing humans, too, but the attempts (Mr. Mime, Jynx, etc) are too uncanny and humans don't fall for them.

Ash started his journey towards the end of the takeover. He was one of the last people on Earth to see real animals.

WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE.

[petrock-rambles]

SMH the British Museum stole his hammer on top of taking the entire hoard. Typical British Museum behavior.

Most hoard images from Wikipedia.

Found with the rest of the hoard, the handaxe pictured above was probably found either while digging his own hole for the treasure or maybe earlier in a precious bout of hoarding by some Romano-Briton who thought it was cool enough to bury along with all of his coins and Juliane's bracelet, because cool rock. This was absolutely the correct move.

Article here from Smithsonian Magazine.

[petrock-rambles]

The three things I learned most in driving school were:

-Be Safe. Use all your safety equipment. Running lights should always be on, headlights should always be on when it's raining or dark. If your car has an Auto Headlight feature, use it. Signal for every turn. Seatbelts on and tightened, and make sure your seat, steering wheel, and mirrors are adjusted perfectly for your comfort and ease of use.

-Be Alert. Check your mirrors frequently, even when you aren't backing up. Pay attention to the drivers around you. Keep your music at a moderate level so you can keep an ear out for expensive sounds or any warnings from other drivers.

-Be Predictable. Drive at constant speeds, don't swerve or brake unnecessarily, signal your turns in advance, etc. This helps other drivers plan their routes with you so that everybody gets where they are going safely.

I am BEGGING younger drivers. drive carefully. give yourself room. for fuck's sake use your turn signals and don't fucking weave thru traffic. this is not a video game, this is real life and if you get into an accident, you could get killed or kill someone else VERY easily

[petrock-rambles]

Zoom In, Don’t Glaze Over: How to Describe Appearance Without Losing the Plot

You’ve met her before. The girl with “flowing ebony hair,” “emerald eyes,” and “lips like rose petals.” Or him, with “chiseled jawlines,” “stormy gray eyes,” and “shoulders like a Greek statue.”

We don’t know them.

We’ve just met their tropes.

Describing physical appearance is one of the trickiest — and most overdone — parts of character writing. It’s tempting to reach for shorthand: hair color, eye color, maybe a quick body scan. But if we want a reader to see someone — to feel the charge in the air when they enter a room — we need to stop writing mannequins and start writing people.

So let’s get granular. Here’s how to write physical appearance in a way that’s textured, meaningful, and deeply character-driven.

1. Hair: It’s About Story, Texture, and Care

Hair says a lot — not just about genetics, but about choices. Does your character tame it? Let it run wild? Is it dyed, greying, braided, buzzed, or piled on top of her head in a hurry?

Good hair description considers:

Texture (fine, coiled, wiry, limp, soft)

Context (windblown, sweat-damp, scorched by bleach)

Emotion (does she twist it when nervous? Is he ashamed of losing it?)

Flat: “Her long brown hair framed her face.”

Better: “Her ponytail was too tight, the kind that whispered of control issues and caffeine-fueled 4 a.m. library shifts.”

You don’t need to romanticise it. You need to make it feel real.

2. Eyes: Less Color, More Connection

We get it: her eyes are violet. Cool. But that doesn’t tell us much.

Instead of focusing solely on eye color, think about:

What the eyes do (do they dart, linger, harden?)

What others feel under them (seen, judged, safe?)

The surrounding features (dark circles, crow’s feet, smudged mascara)

Flat: “His piercing blue eyes locked on hers.”

Better: “His gaze was the kind that looked through you — like it had already weighed your worth and moved on.”

You’re not describing a passport photo. You’re describing what it feels like to be seen by them.

3. Facial Features: Use Contrast and Texture

Faces are not symmetrical ovals with random features. They’re full of tension, softness, age, emotion, and life.

Things to look for:

Asymmetry and character (a crooked nose, a scar)

Expression patterns (smiling without the eyes, habitual frowns)

Evidence of lifestyle (laugh lines, sun spots, stress acne)

Flat: “She had a delicate face.”

Better: “There was something unfinished about her face — as if her cheekbones hadn’t quite agreed on where to settle, and her mouth always seemed on the verge of disagreement.”

Let the face be a map of experience.

4. Bodies: Movement > Measurement

Forget dress sizes and six packs. Think about how bodies occupy space. How do they move? What are they hiding or showing? How do they wear their clothes — or how do the clothes wear them?

Ask:

What do others notice first? (a presence, a posture, a sound?)

How does their body express emotion? (do they go rigid, fold inwards, puff up?)

Flat: “He was tall and muscular.”

Better: “He had the kind of height that made ceilings nervous — but he moved like he was trying not to take up too much space.”

Describing someone’s body isn’t about cataloguing. It’s about showing how they exist in the world.

5. Let Emotion Tint the Lens

Who’s doing the describing? A lover? An enemy? A tired narrator? The emotional lens will shape what’s noticed and how it’s described.

In love: The chipped tooth becomes charming.

In rivalry: The smirk becomes smug.

In mourning: The face becomes blurred with memory.

Same person. Different lens. Different description.

6. Specificity is Your Superpower

Generic description = generic character. One well-chosen detail creates intimacy. Let us feel the scratch of their scarf, the clink of her earrings, the smudge of ink on their fingertips.

Examples:

“He had a habit of adjusting his collar when he lied — always clockwise, always twice.”

“Her nail polish was always chipped, but never accidentally.”

Make the reader feel like they’re the only one close enough to notice.

Describing appearance isn’t just about what your character looks like. It’s about what their appearance says — about how they move through the world, how others see them, and how they see themselves.

Zoom in on the details that matter. Skip the clichés. Let each description carry weight, story, and emotion. Because you’re not building paper dolls. You’re building people.

[petrock-rambles]

That's my favorite part of the movie! I love the captain so much.

[petrock-rambles]

Can we get some pictures of corvids?

EVERYBODY WANTS CORVIDS UNTIL ITS TIME TO PAY THE PIPER!!!

Here are a few favorites...

Tufted Jay (Cyanocorax dickeyi), family Corvidae, order Passeriformes, endemic to Mexico

photograph by Daniel Garza Tobón

Yucatan Jays (Cyanocorax yucatanicus), L - juvenile, R - adult, family Corvidae, order Passeriformes, endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico

photograph by Shawn Conlon (@shawnconlonphotography)

Green Jay (Cyanocorax luxuosus), family Corvidae, order Passeriformes, near Roma, TX, USA

photograph by Alan Wilson

Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), family Corvidae, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

photograph by @mikullashbee

Rufous Treepies (Dendrocitta vagabunda), family Corvidae, order Passeriformes, Jahalana, India

photograph by Charles J. Sharp

Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), EAT A TASTY PINE NUT!!!, family Corvidae, Siskiyou Crest, OR, USA

photograph by Frank D. Lospalluto

Bornean Green Magpie (Cissa jefferyi), family Corvidae, Crocker Mountain Range, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo

photograph by Henrick Tan

Common Green Magpies (Cissa chinensis), family Corvidae, order Passeriformes, Latpanchar, West Bengal, India

photograph by Pranab Kumar Misra

Yellow-breasted or Indochinese Green Magpie (Cissa hypoleuca), BATH TIME!!!, family Corvidae, order Passeriformes, Viet Nam

photographs by Leo Ngo

Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia), family Corvidae, order Passeriformes, western USA

Photograph via: US Fish & Wildlife Department

[petrock-rambles]

There have been posts I wanted to reblog, but was afraid to because of this very thing. "Wait, this person is making a very good point, brownies absolutely do taste better when served on a warm-colored plate, but what if this person has opinions about the Middle East which don't align with the site's zeitgeist? Do I want the drama that's sure to come from reblogging this post about how plate color affects the flavor of brownies?"

I am so tired guys. Please learn that it's OK for people with different opinions to exist in the same public spaces as you. I'm begging you. As long as they aren't hurting you or other people (or promoting such things), they have a right to exist here too. You don't need everybody to think like you.

there are many things tumblr as a whole has to learn but one of them is “someone can reblog a post without them endorsing every action the op has ever taken, we are not beholden to do background checks on the producers of every shitpost on the internet”

[petrock-rambles]

Addition to that last note: SWAMP COOLERS WILL NOT WORK. Buy an air conditioner, not a swamp cooler! If it cools you by adding moisture to the air, IT WILL NOT HELP.

y'all it's about to get really fucking humid and hot

[petrock-rambles]

The last thing I ordered was food, so yeah, I am keeping it, and I have enough to share with the peasant!

[petrock-rambles]

this reddit thread of living your silliest life is so so good

[petrock-rambles]

My first instinct seeing the first image: "Oh no, they had to use purple." My experience with meteorology is limited strictly to the consumer side of things - I watch the weather channel sometimes - but that limited experience tells me Purple is the Bad Color.

The rest of this backs all of that up. Things are going to be Bad. Please stay safe.

y'all it's about to get really fucking humid and hot

[petrock-rambles]

[OC] were-dragon? man-dragon? an excuse to play with muscles shapes.

[petrock-rambles]

Aah, I was saving this one for TFTuesday and then almost forgot to post! Here’s a rather unique comm I did for AnnonymousFurry, who asked to be transformed into a dog - but what kind was completely artistic freedom! A brave request. I chose a saluki, one of my favorites. 😊

[petrock-rambles]

https://dieworkwear.com/2022/08/26/how-to-develop-good-taste-pt-1/

From the comments "In my experience clothing on anyone looks best when it is done with confidence. We are all different shapes and sizes. I was really struck by your post on dressing well that included John Goodman in a faded t-shirt and jeans. He rocks it!"

Excellent advice, whatever gender or style one is looking for. Thank you

I'm a trans guy and Derek, I can tell you my wardrobe has improved a huge amount simply by reading your threads. The "dress for your body type" stuff never worked well for me; your threads about putting together an intentional look and for getting a good fit - that's 99% of the game.