...

and i feel like people forget just how many parts of the world didn't use wheels consistently until the last couple of centuries

like. not because they were "primitive" or hadn't thought to invent it, but because there are terrains and regions where wheels just aren't useful. in deserts. on islands. in places with a lot of bog or heavy snowfall.

in the upper pennines, wheeled carts only came into common use when the coal industry grew in the 18th century and the gravity train was developed. until then, roads were too hard to maintain and most people just used horses, mules, or sleds for heavy transport.

in argyll and the west of scotland, where mountain terrain hits the coast and where the lochs mean that there is a lot of coast, it is much easier to use boats and rafts than to try to transport freight overland. so small freight was similarly carried by livestock or dragged, and only as far as the nearest body of water.

in the southern fens (before they were drained) rafts were more common than carts, usually being dragged over mud and bog rather than floating in deep water.

and it is relevant to note that all of these were in England and Scotland, places which had, on aggregate, been using wheels since the neolithic. none of these places failed to invent the wheel. they just uninvented it. because it was useless. other cultures in broader terrain areas (like the steppes, or the deserts, or the Arctic) may never have invented the wheel at all, bc, like, why would you? it's useless.

Sketching

when phantom of the opera was playing, a woman behind me whispered "kitty!" to her friends whenever the cat appeared on screen. everybody laughed when clara bow made a guy ride the bus with her. the organist played bits of scotland the brave and yo ho ho and a bottle of rum and what do you do with a drunken sailor during the black pirate with douglas fairbanks. it's just been such an amazing, lovely experience to go to the theatre and see something beautiful and transporting, because that really was the goal, and it still feels fresh and new because you're watching people do things that haven't been done before!

if they start again this summer I highly recommend it for anyone in vancouver, and for people in other places, I recommend watching a silent film on a big screen in a dark room. it's a totally different way of experiencing it than just watching on youtube in the daytime!

commissions are open!!

please help me pay my rent while I look for stable employment, I'm currently £260 short for June, every little helps 🙏

flat colours: half body - £30 | full body - £60 + £30 for additional characters

shaded: half body - £50 | full body - £80 + 50% for extra characters

CHIBIS at a discounted rate of £30 full body each, £45 for two!

please DM me if you're interested! you can see more examples of my art here and get more info about the commission process here. payment either through paypal or revolut. I also have a ko-fi if you'd rather just tip an artist in need ✨

Sometimes I had facial hair and sometimes I didn't, and because of the mask, it didn't seem to be a factor in how I was read, because I guess not enough beard poked out.

A woman told her kid "tell the nice lady which snack you want" and the man behind her said "thank you, sir" when he paid. Had a woman call me bro and then a very straight older man hit on me and called me sweetheart. Not all gendered interactions were ideal but there was such whiplash having gay men talk to me like a gay man, dykes give me the nod, and then straight people of both assumed genders either thought I was one of them or their opposite.

I had never had such a fluid experience happening in real time, and it was SO unclear to most people that two of my coworkers were convinced I was trans, and I said that I was, but both were certain I was trans in "opposite" directions, so when one would call me "she" the other would defensively call me "he" and vice versa. It took me a while to realize that they didn't think some fluidity was involved but that the other was actually misgendering me and I was FIRMLY trans in one direction or another.

I’m having thoughts about the Shane trying to keep to himself when he’s unwell.

Imagine the Metros have just played a game, managing to scrape a win that should have been easy, but Shane feels like death warmed over so it was far harder than it should have been. The game wasn’t in Ottawa, but it was only an hour or so away. Due to their schedules, Ilya and Shane haven’t seen each other in 10 days, and because they’re only an hour apart, they were going to meet half-way or something. But Shane messages, calling it off, not wanting to compromise the Centaurs chances of any wins. Even if it kills him not being able to see his boyfriend.

As soon as he’s back in the hotel, he strips out of his suit, throws on Ilya’s hoodie (thank god Hayden knows, he needs his comfort clothes right now) and just collapses beneath the covers, trying to pretend he’s not shaking from fever even though Terry gave him some good medicine.

The phone buzzing in his hand tells him Ilya’s still arguing with him, trying to convince Shane to tell him where he is, and blearily, he replies - one eye squinting open, one-handed, ignoring the countless typos. But before he wins the argument, he’s being dragged to sleep. He’ll apologise to Ilya later.

I've read posts and fic where Shane and/or Ilya have people post on Twitter or Reddit about sleeping with them, and EVERY flavor of that is very funny/lovely.

Sex god Ilya, Shane who was mid at best with women, Ilya who is like the cryptid of Bostons club scene (everybody has a story, some are charming some are hilarious), etc.

I bring you: somebody who made it a point to sleep with as many hockey players as she could writes a tell-all book named Puck Bunny.

She ranks Ilya with a great dick, amazing body, but like 6/10 cause he didn't eat her out but asked for oral, kinda pushy but also kept asking if it was okay, not much chatter and he left immediately after showering ALONE at her place??

Shane gets a 9/10. He's hot, solid dick, didn't seem interested in penetration, but was happy to eat her out until she tapped out and did it like he was gonna be getting a grade. When she was done they showered together and he just jacked off then offered to wash her hair. Gave her some solid interior design advice and a kiss goodbye.

Shane is torn between complete humiliation and pride because he beat Ilya at sex with a woman. Ilya is torn between seething jealousy that somebody slept with Shane and told the world, and dread that people think he's a SIX. That he wouldn't go down on a girl!! That he was uncertain and rude???

"Shane, we need to release the sex tape so they can understand context. They need to see me be throat goat. Hear me ask you if you like so I can hear you beg for more. Shane stop laughing."

Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ Nubia for Wonder Woman #34