Met a couple of shleepy fellas today.

#Animals #Sleepy #SummerDays #Photography

It has arrived! I'm blown away with how good this is. This is a 15-year-old dream come true! Now, there's a lot to practice and learn to git gud. But soon I'll begin producing terrible comics.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, and especially to @davidrevoy for the direct suggestion and tremendous informative work, including instructions for the keypad customisation on Linux.

#DrawingTablet #Krita #DigitalArt #Linux #FediArt #MastoArt #XpPen #webcomics

Quest update: the dark warlock fell, so my artefact has been granting its +2 to my servant leadership skill. Yesterday, I infused more magic into it. A lil story first...

Some twelwish years ago, someone organised a bike tour in Transylvania, and we joined with a large group of friends. It was an epic adventure, but the important bit here is that for years, I honestly claimed that some of those regions are the most scenic I've ever witnessed. True, this stance had a lot to do with the good times we had as friends, but it still held true. Until yesterday.

I'm here in Cascia (I'll toot about the event I attended later). Whenever I visit a new place, especially more remote ones where the likelihood of ever coming back again is low, I max out my sightseeing and, when possible, crown it with a local hike. Around here, that's the pilgrimage route to the Scoglio di Santa Rita. It's a touristy little sanctuary at the top of a peaking rock. Not being a person of religion, I didn't get much more from the whole saint shebang than an appreciation of history and admiration for people who are in this game for more than just themselves.

Nevertheless, this being a pilgrimage, I took the soul-searching bit seriously - the Universe knows I'm in need of it. I won't bore you with the deets of my struggle, let's just say it was about what really gives me joy in this existence, and let's leave it at this: on my way back, I made decisions and peace to accompany them. And just then, I came across this creek, where, perhaps again thanks mostly to the magic of the moment, I got immersed in one of the prettiest spaces I've ever been to. It had it all: a bank of colourful stones (I whisked one away), a stone wall with a grotto, crystal clear blue water with fish swimming irenically, lush, big-leaved greenery, the chirp of birds and cicadas, the murmur of water, popping red poppy flowers on the far bank, clear blue skies - all of it enclosed between mountains.

I sat for a bit, being completely aware that next to my short-term decisions made earlier, this, here, was what I wanted in the long run. It was a yet unnamed emotion, a rare, truly sacred place, a longing. Spinoza described this perhaps best through his pantheistic ideas, equating the concept of god with nature as a whole, with us a part of it. I left the sanctuary up at the peak unmoved - down here though, Nature was holding mass.

So, I took my crystal out and submerged it in the numbingly cool water, careful not to spook the fish. Then I just knelt there, with my hands becoming one with the cold cleanness and I embodied the feeling for later reminiscence. When I took my artefact out, it was imbued with the gelid serenity that I will now carry whenever I'm contributing to the World. New enchantment slot unlocked!

#TTRPG #Spinoza #Cascia #Umbria #Pilgrimage #Hiking #Travel

I love NSR and alternate reality games, and there rarely comes something as close to perfection as Brave Sparrow by Buried Without Ceremony.

It's a tiny pamphlet that with innocent sincerity insists that you are not human. You are a sparrow, stripped of your wings by sorcery, trapped in a human body, and this booklet is your initiation codex into the underground.

What I tend to do myself (in education and, lately, attempts at creating TTRPGs and other games), is to embed the lore into the instructions. The rules are the ethos. When executed well, this does miracles to immersion. To be fair, such an approach usually wouldn't be a great idea to implement unapologetically, since mechanics and storytelling have to align first. However in Brave Sparrow that is exactly what makes the game flow even better, likely due to the short scope of the publication.

You collect real feathers. You carry them in a real bag. You wear a pin. You conduct missions that are risky, symbolic, beautiful acts of adventure in places you've never been. You hold feathers against your skin and believe. This game is as heartwarming as it is tragic.

Yet, the world is too big and this game way too niche. You may never meet another sparrow. So I'm sharing it here. Maybe you're one of us and you've always felt the phantom wings and the craving to soar.

Are your feathers fusing?

https://buriedwithoutceremony.com/brave-sparrow

#NSR #TTRPG #AlternateRealityGame #IndieGames

In the Netherlands, the first of May is honoured quietly (mostly due to the historical proximity of other holidays), but to me, this is basically the only day I ever intrinsically celebrated. I don't even care about my birthday this much. This is mostly thanks to my cultural heritage and cosy memories, since where I come from, people go to nature and have relaxed, community-oriented fun times.

So, since I moved here, I make time to slow down, enjoy the beauty of the world, and reflect on my life. Today was such a day.

If you are around Amsterdam, absolutely don't miss out on Amstelpark, currently dressed in flowers. Next week, it will likely be in full bloom.

#MayDay #Amsterdam #Photography

Dear Fedipeeps, I seek your counsel on buying the right drawing pad. Here are my ideal requirements, though I am willing to compromise (especially on the price, and except the Linux part):

- Something to use with Krita - I am not a sophisticated artist by any margin, I plan to mostly draw naive, aquarelle- and flat-like comics and text-accompanying images.

- I prefer to see what I draw on the surface, so with a screen.

- Price range up to 666€.

- I use Linux, it should fully work on it.

I used some cheap Wacom in the past, it wasn't half-bad but I don't enjoy staring at a different screen. I've seen Huion Kamvas 16 Gen 3 recommended for my requirements, but I have no idea what I'm doing.

Any tips welcome!

Appreciated if you share this toot for visibility!

#AskFedi #AskMastodon #DrawingTablet #Krita #DigitalArt #Linux #LinuxArtist #FediArt #MastoArt #Huion

@TarkabarkaHolgy
@ovoao
@ljwrites
@SJohnRoss

While I don't believe in concepts proof contradicts, I do trust the power of stories. This goes for little lucky charm trinkets and especially crystals. They don't inherently contain powers to influence whatever part of reality we wish influencing. However, we can anchor stories to them that stir the silken webs of memories and as such, they can remind us of how, in a moment past, we found it important to act in a certain way.

Today, us, the citizens of Hungary are voting against one of the greatest villains of our time. This dark warlock directly inspired most strongmen and protofascists of today. If he falls, their illusions of sinister grandeur will be shattered. Thus, this vote casting is about far more than just the soul of a nation.

This day holds a powerful storytelling potential. So, after my democratic duty was fulfilled, I ventured to a merchant to find a suitable item that I could imbue with the meditations of today and forge an artefact.

I chose a crystal icosahedron. This one is not perfectly chiseled, but it does disperse enchanting colours of light and is mesmerising to look at. One of my favourite monuments, erected in Amsterdam to celebrate Baruch Spinoza and his ideas, includes an icosahedron, symbolising the intent and process of cultivating one's mind. Thus, this little artefact of mine represents the need to have a sophisticated and clear mind when working towards empowering the people, even if it's uneven as humans are quite inconsistent and chaotic beings even when they try.

It's small enough to fit into one of my passive inventory slots and will grant me +2 to servant leadership. Unless the dark lord remains in office, in which case this artefact will be cursed and grant me the special +1 bonus to resistance and sabotage, but I will also have a permanent +2 to my Rage emotional stat.

#Democracy #Hungary #Elections #TTRPG #Spinoza

So, Meta downloaded an unholy number of pirated books via the BitTorrent protocol to train its AI and is now arguing in court that seeding those books to strangers along the way counts as fair use. Because, you know, that's just how business works.

But wait, it gets way better!

At the same time, Spotify is cracking down on Anna's Archive, the very shadow library Meta torrented all those books from. Apparently some of the music on Anna's Archive is now a problem for them. Whether even their lawyers fully understand why remains unclear. They sure are not paying attention to history.

To complete the full circle of irony: Spotify infamously launched its own service by... pirating as much music as it could get its hands on before quietly sorting out the licenses later.

So to summarise: piracy is a crime, unless you're a billion-dollar company using it to build an empire, in which case it's either fair use, transformative or just a fun-fact origin story they don't put in the press kit.

Schwarzenegger-shooting.gif

#piracy #BigTech #hypocrisy #RiseUp

I try to ALT text all my images according to recommended good practices, such as this one:
https://www.perkins.org/resource/how-write-alt-text-and-image-descriptions-visually-impaired/

This takes some effort and it helps only a minority. But to that minority, ALT text makes an incomparable difference. It's worth it, please do it.

However, I realised that sometimes context isn't implicit in ALT descriptions when we rely on experiences made for fully functioning senses. For example, if I post a still from a movie implying a certain meaning that is obvious to anyone who has seen it, that assumes the movie can be just as easily interpreted by people with impaired senses. Clearly, that's not the case.

So, if you encounter any of my posts and the ALT text isn't providing enough clarity, please reach out and I will do my best to explain.

#accessibility #AltText #a11y #FriendlyFediverse

Fresh beigeizen introductory post! 🌱 I moved here from another server, and here I feel like I can be weird but in a benevolent way. Privileged to be here.

A confession to open with: I'm a bit lost lately. Not in a dramatic way. More like staring at foggy buildings disappearing into the heights, seeing the beauty but not feeling the associated eerie melancholy. My life path is on autopoiesis, but not quite clear. It's challenging in a satisfying way, yet my mind is filled with a kind of jaded static. Perhaps I'm at the age of needing to rediscover myself. Or it's just the world being a lot right now. Likely both.

I make my living by making educational journeys happen. I design them from idea to delivery, or support others to do something similar. My background is in #psychology, and all my educational content intersects this science with democratic values and history. All #education should playfully animate curiosity and empathy. It's my way of contributing to nudging the world in better directions. Without heavily investing into emancipating, inclusive educational systems, we are all lost.

When I'm not doing that, I'm playing games - board games, TTRPGs or video games. Numenera is still my favourite tabletop RPG (campaign incoming, wish us good times). I'm also exploring Pathfinder, and I'm an #NSR fan with a soft spot for narrative-driven adventures. When it comes to vydia, #Faeria is my competitive favourite (let's connect and play if you're the rare breed who plays it too), while lately it's #ULTRAKILL where I go to feel things.

Speaking of worlds being built, I'm currently crafting #Cosmoboros, an outlandish TTRPG emerging from a #psychedelic haze. Also some smaller experimental stuff, like a floppy disk solo journaling game.

Occasionally I'll post photos I've taken or strange little stories I've written. I like books and non-conventional comics, so expect some reviews too. I just try to share bits of what inspires me. I tried to trap my shitposting persona to a secret account, but sometimes I can't help myself (not that I'm good at the art).

Full disclosure: I like AI (not limited to LLMs), I think it's one of the most wonderful things we've ever forced into existence, though I do criticise many of the technology's real-world effects.

Human rights are for everyone, except perhaps those who actively work on taking these rights away. Call these people what you want, to me, they are the enemy. Other than that I don't care what you believe in, as long as you are willing to discuss our inevitably different interpretations of the universe with an open mind.

If I need to tell anyone that all my opinions are my own and don't represent that of any other party, then they should also know that everything I say or ever said is a bad joke.

My beliefs are conflicting and I know that whatever I believe in is very likely not how things actually work.

#introduction