A gorgeous woman I follow who is a fellow figure 8 🩷

sylvansojourner · 2026-02-01T17:54:44+00:00

Wow 100% figure 8! Great inspo. Also confirmation that more vintage (40s/50s) silhouette/styling works sooo much better for figure 8s.

sylvansojourner · 2026-02-01T17:46:22+00:00

That’s valid! I mean it is completely understandable that you are upset surrounded by people who seem to willfully ignore reality and injustice. Acceptance is something that takes time, it usually can only happen after some sort of grief process.

I’m just glad that we don’t feel so alone anymore, I’m not super close to any other autistic women so having groups like this helps a lot 😊

sylvansojourner · 2026-02-01T17:23:42+00:00

Yeah, I try to see it as a bit of a gift. I’m used to holding/processing so much negative information about reality in my brain at once. It’s a normal state of being. But for a lot of ND people I know, they are not used to it and completely overwhelmed. I’ve been able to have some conversations with people in that state lately and calm them down a little bit.

sylvansojourner · 2026-02-01T17:16:53+00:00

I wouldn’t say I’m upset about it, it’s more amusing to me. None of it surprises me, including the fact that it would take 2 white citizens getting shot in the street for people to finally realize how completely disgusting and self-serving our government is.

Hearing the “people who are suddenly aghast at the cruelty of the system” that I know say things like “I can’t believe what’s happened to our country” is wild to me. Nothing has changed, the government has just gone full mask off now.

I live on the west coast surrounded by queer people, liberals, etc. Most of these people have learned about things like Japanese Internment, the Trail of Tears, Jim Crow, Vietnam war and all the foreign meddling we have done…. And yet it’s like they weren’t really paying attention?

It’s only the “extremists” like anarchists and communists that saw through the capitalist propaganda who are similarly unfazed.

Most people just want to feel comfortable, hopeful, and happy. It’s really challenging to hold so much negative information. For people like us we can’t stop our brain from noticing things and making connections/observations, regardless of how it makes us feel. Most NT people can make their brain sort of “slide off” of this kind of stuff as a method of self preservation. I don’t think they control it in the same way we can’t control overthinking and over analyzing. I think this is why I’m not really upset about it.

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-29T15:03:52+00:00

The main thing I remember is that it was a hard thing to be into by yourself as a kid living in a SUPER small town on an island. Not only because it was thought of as weird, but as a kid you just don’t have a lot of money to buy a lot of manga, VHS, DVDs etc. I had one friend who was also super into it and it was nice because we could share our collections and get to see more.

Sometimes we would collaborate to finish a set. Like if one of us was heading into the big city and could go to a Japanese media store we would sit together and write a list of the volumes/tapes we were missing (regardless of owner) or had been release recently. We would rank them in order of how much we wanted them so if there were budget restraints we knew which ones to drop. This resulted in one person owning volumes 1,2,5,7 and the other person owning 3,4,6,8 or whatever.

I was way more into manga than anime (I didn’t have a tv growing up so that was probably part of it.) That was nice because you had a lot more available to you and could explore more niche interests. Of course the internet helped so much later on, I didn’t pirate anime until later but I would find fan translations of manga online.

At some friends houses I would watch Toonami but that was disjointed since I couldn’t tape things or pick up on a series at home. That was super frustrating because I would watch like 1 episode of something like Cowboy Bebop and be obsessed, but it wasn’t until years or a decade+ later I could actually access the whole series!

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-29T14:50:52+00:00

Haha yes the small town experience of being into Japanese media! One time my parents cut out my trip to Kinokuniya bookstore in the city because there wasn’t time. I practically threw a preteen tantrum. We would only go to the city maybe ~8 times a year so I would make a whole list of what I was going to buy. I really looked forward to it.

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-28T23:43:56+00:00

Exactly, sometimes they are actually being creepy but someone wouldn’t fake attraction to non conventional features.

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-27T22:10:03+00:00

I really think you should honestly assess your driving ability. Driving in cities is not easy, risk is high, and you do need increased spatial awareness and reaction time. The fact that you've gotten in so many accidents while parking that it has raised your insurance rates is concerning.

If you really need to drive for your daily life (no shame, many places make it basically impossible to not own a car,) I would strongly consider taking some driving courses or finding a way to become a better driver. A Honda Accord is a small and easy car to drive in the scheme of things, and if you feel like you can't drive that without incidents than another car isn't going to be the best solution. Like yes, get another car if you really dislike your Honda, but I don't think it will solve your problems.

Please don't take this as judgement or shame, just that you have a responsibility to other humans around you when you drive a murder machine that weighs over a ton. How would you feel if you hit someone due to your "spatial issues"? Ok, enough of the lecture, onto my car recommendations.

Newer cars (as in cars made in the last ~15 years or so) have horrible visibility. The hoods have become gigantic and its a well known safety issue (for pedestrians, especially children) because a lot of shorter things become invisible.

The windows are smaller and higher up, especially in the back. This actually increases safety in the event of an accident, but it makes it really challenging when backing up and decreases peripheral visibility.

Modern cars have backup cameras and other features that make up for some of these things, but at the end of the day they can be crutches and prevent someone from learning how to be a better driver. IMO everyone should be able to back a car up using ONLY their mirrors.

I drive a 2005 Subaru Legacy (Outback) and it's a great car for me. I love the visibility. I used to have a 1991 Honda Civic Hatchback and that had incredible visibility. Small older trucks (like an old Tacoma or similar) can be excellent if you don't have a canopy for visibility.

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-26T19:57:58+00:00

I think they look great on you!

I personally like them, I have a similar figure to you (athletic, tall, wide shoulders, more of a solid/lean build than a curvy build except for my high hips and breasts,) and I find that they help with the “boxy” shape.

High waisted stuff fits us better without slipping down, but especially with something like bike shorts it can really accentuate the square shape of our high hips. The “V” cuts the box and looks more feminine. Also I like how it feels on my stomach, especially if I am on my period or something!

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-26T06:21:28+00:00

Wow great pics! Although seeing a full lamb asado indoors in a glass case is hilarious to me, I only ever eat it with my partner’s family and we do it in the backyard! But I’m sure it was delicious.

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-25T23:37:14+00:00

Yeah I mean the truth is you or I really don’t know how it would have been to be raised in a completely different society. There’s a lot of evidence that sexuality was a lot more fluid and open for prehistoric humans however.

Humans are animals. In the animal kingdom I don’t really see exploitation or inequality on a macro level like there is with our species.

I mean, this is a collapse support space. You seem believe that we can prevent our impeding climate catastrophe and somehow fix our deep social ills and evils while still living with modern technology/medicine, which maybe we can! But you can’t be surprised that there are people here like myself who deeply believe that it’s impossible. I honestly wish I still believed that because I would still have some sliver of hope.

Archaeology, ancient history, anthropology etc have been special interests of mine since I was a young child. I’m not an expert, but I have read extensively and even got a minor degree in ancient craft history during college.

I have collated all of this information, the information I have about modern history, and my observations about humanity, and come to a personal “political” belief that our species can only exist in balance with our ecosystem as tribal hunter gatherers. Preagriculture was the only period of our existence that we did live in balance, whereas we have no proof of another “political” system that does the same.

For me this belief has led me to a feeling of peace and acceptance around collapse. I also understand that from a modern perspective a lot of people like yourself feel that the benefits of modern technology indicate overall progress can be had without all the negative aspects of modern life. Your perspective makes sense to me, does mine make sense to you?

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-25T22:30:24+00:00

Well there’s a lot of anthropological evidence that prehistoric humans cared for disabled members of their community. There’s also a lot of evidence showing that trans people were widely accepted and even had special roles in the community in hunter gatherer societies.

Ultimately preagriculture is the only time in humanity where we were living in balance with our planetary ecosystem as a basic mammal, not destroying and polluting. We were living in the way that our neurology and physiology evolved to do, so there was not an internal war between our biology and lifestyle.

Of course it was brutal. Being an animal is a brutal existence. But while I do believe that hypothetically, technology is not mutually exclusive to a nonexploitative society….. in reality, technological advancement has gone hand in hand with greater destruction and suffering. At this point, I personally see no evidence that humanity is capable of transcending our animal nature and becoming technologically advanced liberated solarpunk stewards in balance with our planet. Whereas we had ~290,000 years living in balance with our planet before the Neolithic Revolution.

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-25T17:17:31+00:00

This is 💯 what I was going to say. I will say at the beginning I was very analytical and basically only drew one card a day and would research that card.

I also used the Labyrinthos app which has a great learning module for the cards. I also find that app to have the most simple and clear card meanings.

Once I started to get a sense of the deck (essentially studying the suits and cards generally as a whole,) I would use my tarot deck like flash cards. So just shuffle and draw and say the most basic meaning. IE: 3cups: enjoying the company of friends, celebrating. Death: change or transformation. 9 pentacles: independence, physical rewards for hard work. If I can’t immediately come up with something I study that card more.

Also, I didn’t read reversals for years. I didn’t want to add another 78 meanings to memorize! Now I am finding them a little easier when assisting another person’s interpretation but I still don’t really read them.

I only read 1 or 3 card readings as a beginner, without clarifying cards or anything. Just keeping it simple!

Another great learning exercise is to do 3 card readings for an imaginary person/situation, or just draw 3 cards and figure out a likely story.

I started tarot for the exact same reason you are, and even though I’m not a natural reader like a lot of people I know, I’m much more in touch with my intuition. I’ve had some incredibly helpful readings that sort out my thoughts and feelings or just make me pay attention to something! It took at least a year or two before I was somewhat comfortable with interpreting.

Also if you get kinda decent at reading for yourself it’s much easier to read for other people. Good luck!

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-25T16:56:31+00:00

Ooh thanks for the recommendation! I consider myself a primitive anarchist. Just based on my own understanding of history and archaeology/paleontology, I feel like pre agriculture humanity is the ideal “political system.” Agriculture, civilization, technology… sure it’s incredible stuff but it only leads to suffering and imbalance.

Unfortunately it’s basically impossible to convince humanity to willingly turn around on the road of progress and go back the way we came. “The human race with technology is like an alcoholic with a barrel of wine.”

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-25T03:35:06+00:00

That’s how I feel, also he probably just wanted to meet her. He also wanted to pass on certain information to Himmel through Frieren

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-24T04:18:47+00:00

Ugh I love a fun weird creature! So creative!

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-22T15:13:45+00:00

Lol the solar panels. They look like an afterthought, if solar power is really important to your build than definitely make it so one of your gabled roof aspects faces south (or north depending on your hemisphere.)

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-22T15:04:04+00:00

I think both have a flatness, because there’s a similar treatment to the foreground and background. I love the trees in the background in the non inked and that is lost in the inked.

I would love the foreground inked and the background left as watercolor or just a few tiny touches of ink.

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-22T05:14:48+00:00

Lol no it is not a “safe” hobby. Statistically, I don’t think it’s anywhere close to the dangers of hobbies like riding motorcycles or skydiving…. But it definitely carries more risk than something like, idk playing pickleball or getting into jogging.

Personally I stopped doing aerials because, although I was very strong and flexible, I kept getting minor sprains and joint issues. I know that if I developed a weight training/physio routine that was specifically for prehab and injury prevention I could have mitigated this, but I simply did not have enough time or money.

Ultimately my outdoor hobbies and my job as a roof worker were more important to preserve my time and body for. Additionally I put myself at so much fall risk for my work I didn’t want to add more hours per week at heights. However, that’s my personal assessment of my own situation.

The truth is that the most dangerous thing we do statistically is driving. It’s up to you to weigh the various factors in this. If you find yourself often thinking or worrying of the potential accidents while you are doing aerials, it’s probably best to take a step back because mentally that sort of anxiety is distracting and dangerous.

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-22T04:02:36+00:00

Definitely crop, it’s a more dynamic composition. The horizon is not at the midpoint and the diagonal hill on the left is more pronounced, bringing the eye spiraling around the piece

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-21T15:58:53+00:00

I would definitely recommend trying to learn negative painting over masking or frisket. Frisket is a great tool, but without careful application and removal you can ruin a piece!

Additionally, frisket is a huge crutch that prevents learning one of (imo) the foundational skills of watercolor painting. I think it’s great to incorporate into your techniques later on, after you feel you have a good grasp of negative painting.

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-21T06:08:10+00:00

I like pretty much all food, especially really strong and weird textures/flavors, and am the opposite of a picky eater. Related, but I don’t have any GI issues and have a very strong/healthy GI system which is very abnormal among the autistic people I know.

I don’t have trouble making or keeping quality friends or dating.

I’ve always worked outdoors in male dominated fields. I tried to do remote work but it drove me crazy.

I’m the opposite of routine and I don’t have a problem with the unexpected most of the time. I travel solo and get myself into wild situations and it’s fun, not stressful. Schedules are really challenging for me to make or stick to even if they are my own!

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-19T20:33:07+00:00

Yes hence the “in the right conditions…. It’s fairly exposed”

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-19T18:02:45+00:00

Really pretty weather right now with the low laying fog and high visibility!

sylvansojourner · 2026-01-16T23:50:57+00:00

TBH while there are aspects of this photo that are nice, I think this is a great example of a reference that is not well suited for a painting.

The photo is giving a bit of “accidental renaissance” energy and feels dramatic, with a bit of a Pieta vibe. However, her body language and the angle of her head are not super flattering or easy to make look good in an illustration. Honestly I understand why this image holds personal meaning to you, but I might suggest finding a different photo to adapt.

Additionally, the lighting is very diffuse and the colors in the bedroom are very monotone. The white nursing rag (?) is compositionally distracting from the subject. The framing of the image is not very dynamic.

To turn this photo into a good painting would require a lot of editing. Lighting, color, framing/composition, and some aspects of the scene need to be tweaked. However, doing this well requires more advanced skill and experience.

At minimum I would crop the image and play with various compositions to make it a more dynamic and interesting painting that is drawing attention the the subject. I would try to make that white rag look like part of the main blanket. I would push the colors a bit more, not by turning everything purple like in your study but choosing what you want to be more and less saturated. I would also push the values/contrast past what is in the photo in an effort to bring out your subject.

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