Tess "Querying The Egg Prime Directive!" Tanen
LightNews LightNews
banner
mothmother.com
Tess "Querying The Egg Prime Directive!" Tanen
@mothmother.com
2.7K followers 1.8K following 3.2K posts
Neurospicy disabled anarchist trans lady, making music, stories, poetry, and trouble. Recovering academic.

Patreon: patreon.com/MothMotherTess
Moth Mother Studios: MothMother.com/
Consulting: TessTanen.com
Everything Else: linktr.ee/MothMother
Posts Replies Media Videos
mothmother.com
Added some shading and detail. A clean scan of the final pencils Inks of the pencils, without shading.
December 19, 2025 at 1:24 AM
mothmother.com
Some process photos of this drawing as it evolved.
An early sketch of the bird's nest in pencil with just the top details starting to come together. A slightly more developed pencil drawing of the bird's nest with more details and shading in place. The finished preliminary pencils of the bird's nest with most of the main details worked out. Added a branch and cleaned up a bunch of the lines
December 19, 2025 at 1:22 AM
mothmother.com
Creating my own black walnut ink, and learning how to draw with it feels like a perfect middle finger to the soulless AI slop slingers. Today I had a breakthrough, and made one of the best drawings of my life!
A pencil and ink drawing of a bird's nest
December 19, 2025 at 1:19 AM
mothmother.com
Starting on illustrations for my new chapbook of poems about feminine monstrosity, body horror, and cosmic transformation.
A black walnut ink drawing of a hand with long talons and scales surrounded by flames or fog or some other miasma.
December 18, 2025 at 3:18 PM
mothmother.com
They're the best!
Cat feet!
December 18, 2025 at 3:13 PM
mothmother.com
Some mornings you just want to stay in bed...
Two kittens, curled up and sleep on a dusky pink comforter, with a nerd vanity and a wall decorated with framed pictures, cards, and a sword in the background. Reflected in the mirror are sunlit green house plants.
December 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM
mothmother.com
Seven years! I have so much trouble reconciling my past and present incarnations sometimes!
A mirror selfie of a masc presenting Tess in December 2018 in a black skirt, leather belt with pouches and a black T-shirt with pink text. Her hair is bleached and asymmetrical, shaved on one side. She has a terrible denial beard and moustache. Tess in December 2025, wearing tight gray pants, a red top, and gray sweater/scarf. Her long dark hair falls and waves past her shoulders and there is a subtle pink sparkle to her lips. Also she's very obviously a woman in this picture.
December 18, 2025 at 6:21 AM
mothmother.com
Introduce yourself with five animals you've seen in the wild

White tailed deer
Eastern Cottontail
Gray rat snake
Assassin beetle
Trash panda

(All seen regularly around our yard, along with countless woodpeckers, hawks, jays, & other fun birds & the ubiquitous red squirrel. I love my new home!)
A male white tailed deer with a large rack of antlers in my front yard. A juvenile Eastern Cottontail bunny, surrounded by clover. A close up image of a silver spotted skipper butterfly. A gray rat snake in a cabinet on my porch.
December 17, 2025 at 2:13 PM
mothmother.com
First night in the new house and the first night of Hanukkah. Made do with birthday candles and the backup Hanukkiah my son made in preschool, but what is more Jewish than making do?
A Hanukkiah with two candles in burning.
December 15, 2025 at 12:00 AM
mothmother.com
My girlfriends are moving, which means we get to be U-Haul Lesbians today!
Two very cold girls in a U-Haul
December 14, 2025 at 9:44 PM
mothmother.com
What's up, Sailor Sluts!
Tess, with a low cut black top, wearing an ankh necklace.
December 13, 2025 at 2:21 AM
mothmother.com
Went bra shopping in-person for the first time since coming out in 2019, and spotted this as I was leaving the store. Never have I been happier to feel like something wasn't for me than when confronted with "C|S Menswear"!

C|S Menswear: for the cis man in your life.
A brick storefront that is labeled C|S Menswear
December 12, 2025 at 1:31 AM
mothmother.com
One of my best friends from grad school collects pictures of sexually suggestive mushrooms and I love her for it!
A grid of sexually suggestive fungi A grid of sexually suggestive fungi A grid of sexually suggestive fungi A grid of sexually suggestive fungi
December 9, 2025 at 7:09 PM
mothmother.com
why did humanity stop rollerblading?
A poster for the '90s rollerblading movie Airborne. Against a backdrop of blue clouds for random images have been cut out and pasted into space. The top three are of a dude in a tie-dye shirt and long jean shorts engaged in various acts of rollerblade stunting. On the bottom left, however a red-headed dude holding a pair of rollerblades ears creepily over the shoulder of a flannel in jeans wearing moment with long red hair. In an arx above their heads is the slogan "Man wasn't made to fly. Kids were!" To the right of them is the copy: " Mitchell became the most popular guy on earth once he took to the sky! Heroes aren't made. They're....AIRBORN" Y'ALL! IT'S BAD!
December 9, 2025 at 5:26 AM
mothmother.com
why did humanity stop rollerblading?
Four characters from the film Hackers, in 90s techno-nerd clothes and rollerblades. From left to right: Lord Nikkon, Crash Override, Acid Burn, and Cereal Killer.
December 9, 2025 at 4:02 AM
mothmother.com
Getting into the solstice spirit by practicing painting fireglow in watercolor. I'm learning a lot!

(the first piece is a collaboration with @drtanenbaumii.bsky.social who drew the initial pencil sketch for me to ink and color.)
A watercolor and ink painting of a Yule log with three candles burning on it, and bits of Holly decorating it. A watercolor painting of a candle against a dark background.
December 5, 2025 at 8:09 PM
mothmother.com
My most hipster trait is that I listened to more of my own unreleased music in 2025 than anything on any streaming service.

My favorite musical artist? Oh you probably haven't heard of her... Because it's ME, bitches!

🤘😈🔥
Tess sits in her studio wearing shorts, a mauve top, and headphones. A microphone is visible in the foreground and several guitars and a large speaker are visible in the background.
December 4, 2025 at 12:56 AM
mothmother.com
46
A cute girl with curly dark hair, glasses, and a Stranger Things T-shirt. She has a purple stripe in her hair and freckles.
December 2, 2025 at 10:35 PM
mothmother.com
Gonna highlight some quotes from the actual paper here because they hit so fucking hard and because they highlight the ways that Epistemic Exploitation serves to maintain the oppressive status quo. Privileged people preserve existing inequalities by denying the lived experiences of oppressed people.
Black and Third-World people are expected to educate white people as to our humanity. Women are expected to educate men. Lesbians and gay men are expected to educate the heterosexual world. The oppressors maintain their position and evade their responsibility for their own actions. There is a constant drain of energy which might be better used in redefining ourselves and devising realistic scenarios for altering the present and constructing the future. (Audre Lorde 1995) It is physically and emotionally draining to be called upon to prove that these systems of power exist. For many of us, just struggling against them is enough — now you want us to break them down for you? (Julianna Britto Schwartz 2014) The function, the very serious function, of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language, so you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly, so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms and so you dredge that up. None of that is necessary. There will always be one more thing. (Toni Morrison 1975)
December 2, 2025 at 2:28 AM
mothmother.com
Any time that person is faced with a request to educate, they must judge whether or not the conversation is a safe one for them to participate in. Are you genuinely interested in learning, or are you engaged in "Sealioning"?
wondermark.com/c/1062/
A six panel Wondermark comic by David Malik Panel one: A man and a woman in a steam powered contraption having a conversation. The woman says,"I don't mind most marine mammals. But sea lions? I could do without sea lions." The man says, "Don't say that out loud!" Panel two: AC lion appears behind their vehicle. It says, "pardon me, I couldn't help but overhear..." The man says" NOW You've done it." Panel three: The sea lion gets much closer to the woman. It says, "I would like to have a civil conversation about your statement. Would you mind showing me evidence of any negative thing any sea lion has ever done to you?" Panel four: The couple is at dinner, and the sea lion is still with them. The woman looks visibly annoyed. She says, "Go away!" The sea lion says, "There's no need to raise your voice, I'm right here.I'm just curious if you have any sources to back up your opinion?" Panel five: The sea lion is now sitting beside the bed of the woman, who is sinking into the pillows. She says "You're in *my* house!" The sea lion replies, "You made a statement in public for all to hear. Are you unable to defend the statements you make or simply unwilling to have a reasoned discussion?" Panel six: The next morning, the couple is attempting to eat breakfast, but the sea lion is still there. The man says, "I told you dude! Sea lions!" The sea lion says "I have been unfailingly polite and you two have been nothing but rude." The woman says "I am trying to eat breakfast!" The sea lion says "Very well. We shall resume in an hour."
December 1, 2025 at 11:39 PM
mothmother.com
My little homage to Blippo+
November 30, 2025 at 5:43 AM
mothmother.com
Tess- coded characters.
This one is kind of a twofer: The Unicorn and Molly Grue from The Last Unicorn. Stockard Channing as Aunt Francis in Practical Magic. She wears a shiny robe in earth tones, and her hair is enormous and perfect! Torture Tortura from Tis Time For Torture Princess. She is a succubus, wearing a white shirt, and black half corset, and black gloves. She has red eyes, pointy ears, and dark hair and a bob cut, it was two horns poking through. Few characters resonate more with me than a succubus who tortures people by doing increasingly kind things to them! Bernadette Peters as The Witch in the original Broadway production of Into the Woods. She wears a low cut white dress, with poofy sleeves, and a poofy train. She is a goddess!
November 30, 2025 at 1:02 AM
mothmother.com
So excited to reread @magicariot.com's Magica Riot and then roll right into Full Bloom!

It's blizzard conditions outside so I'm going to get cozy by the fire and just sink into these!
Dead tree versions of Kara Buchanan's Magica Riot and Magica Riot: Full Bloom! They are propped up against the screen of my laptop, whose keyboard is illuminated a rainbow colors. There is a T4T sticker, and a gauges sticker, and a press pot game sticker. A pride flag is visible up to one side, and bear trees surrounded by snow can be seen through the window behind the laptop.
November 29, 2025 at 10:18 PM
mothmother.com
Okay, I'll play....

You just died, the sixth picture in your camera roll is what killed you.

I guess I need to be more careful about how long I let food stay in the DANGER ZONE!
*cue Kenny Loggins*
A meme with a picture of someone taking a frozen turkey out of the fridge. The text reads: "I don't know who needs to hear this but it's time to move the cookie turkey to the freezer the cycle begins anew."
November 28, 2025 at 4:49 AM
mothmother.com
2019 vs 2025

I'm thankful for over 6 years on estrogen!
A woman in a green plaid dress with short asymmetrical hair. A woman in the same green plaid dress, and a brown belt, and glasses with longer hair.
November 28, 2025 at 12:08 AM