sevenperseids

[sevenperseids]

My favorite sign at the women’s march. The nonchalant lollipop sucking is also a mood

[sevenperseids]

Helpful things for action writers to remember

Sticking a landing will royally fuck up your joints and possibly shatter your ankles, depending on how high you’re jumping/falling from. There’s a very good reason free-runners dive and roll. 

Hand-to-hand fights usually only last a matter of seconds, sometimes a few minutes. It’s exhausting work and unless you have a lot of training and history with hand-to-hand combat, you’re going to tire out really fast. 

Arrows are very effective and you can’t just yank them out without doing a lot of damage. Most of the time the head of the arrow will break off inside the body if you try pulling it out, and arrows are built to pierce deep. An arrow wound demands medical attention. 

Throwing your opponent across the room is really not all that smart. You’re giving them the chance to get up and run away. Unless you’re trying to put distance between you so you can shoot them or something, don’t throw them. 

Everyone has something called a “flinch response” when they fight. This is pretty much the brain’s way of telling you “get the fuck out of here or we’re gonna die.” Experienced fighters have trained to suppress this. Think about how long your character has been fighting. A character in a fist fight for the first time is going to take a few hits before their survival instinct kicks in and they start hitting back. A character in a fist fight for the eighth time that week is going to respond a little differently. 

ADRENALINE WORKS AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU FIGHT. THIS IS IMPORTANT. A lot of times people think that adrenaline will kick in and give you some badass fighting skills, but it’s actually the opposite. Adrenaline is what tires you out in a battle and it also affects the fighter’s efficacy - meaning it makes them shaky and inaccurate, and overall they lose about 60% of their fighting skill because their brain is focusing on not dying. Adrenaline keeps you alive, it doesn’t give you the skill to pull off a perfect roundhouse kick to the opponent’s face. 

Swords WILL bend or break if you hit something hard enough. They also dull easily and take a lot of maintenance. In reality, someone who fights with a sword would have to have to repair or replace it constantly.

Fights get messy. There’s blood and sweat everywhere, and that will make it hard to hold your weapon or get a good grip on someone. 

A serious battle also smells horrible. There’s lots of sweat, but also the smell of urine and feces. After someone dies, their bowels and bladder empty. There might also be some questionable things on the ground which can be very psychologically traumatizing. Remember to think about all of the character’s senses when they’re in a fight. Everything WILL affect them in some way. 

If your sword is sharpened down to a fine edge, the rest of the blade can’t go through the cut you make. You’ll just end up putting a tiny, shallow scratch in the surface of whatever you strike, and you could probably break your sword. 

ARCHERS ARE STRONG TOO. Have you ever drawn a bow? It takes a lot of strength, especially when you’re shooting a bow with a higher draw weight. Draw weight basically means “the amount of force you have to use to pull this sucker back enough to fire it.” To give you an idea of how that works, here’s a helpful link to tell you about finding bow sizes and draw weights for your characters.  (CLICK ME)

If an archer has to use a bow they’re not used to, it will probably throw them off a little until they’ve done a few practice shots with it and figured out its draw weight and stability. 

People bleed. If they get punched in the face, they’ll probably get a bloody nose. If they get stabbed or cut somehow, they’ll bleed accordingly. And if they’ve been fighting for a while, they’ve got a LOT of blood rushing around to provide them with oxygen. They’re going to bleed a lot. 

Here’s a link to a chart to show you how much blood a person can lose without dying. (CLICK ME) 

If you want a more in-depth medical chart, try this one. (CLICK ME)

Hopefully this helps someone out there. If you reblog, feel free to add more tips for writers or correct anything I’ve gotten wrong here. 

[sevenperseids]

cnn took this gp inauguration pic and im SCREAMING

joe looks like he’s abt to cry

george is literally making The Office face

hil babe i’m sorry babe bc this should have been your day

bill sending his fucking laser eyes

obama closing his eyes imaging those uncle joe memes 

the secret service guys 

michele & jill communicating is this for real? telepathically

the guy in the cowboy hat fast asleep????

even laura bush is like tf?????

[sevenperseids]

No, punching a neo-Nazi in the face does not make someone “just as bad as them.” Punching someone in the face is NOT equivalent to preaching, practicing, and supporting white supremacy, eugenics, racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny. Get your “Hug a Nazi and smother them with love,” bullshit outta here. 

[sevenperseids]

If you listen to nothing else, please listen to this. There will be a run-off Senate election on Dec 10th in Louisiana, and the Democrats have a shot at winning. If they could get that one seat, it would flip the Senate 51-49 in their favor, and keep the GOP from having complete control of Congress. This is HUGE. This is whether or not SCOTUS Judges get approved, whether or not Bills get passed. 

That thing going around about pressuring electors to name Clinton President over Trump is never going to happen. Ever. But this is a thing that actually could. If you know anybody who knows anybody who lives in Louisiana, pressure them to vote for Foster Campbell. Pay for their cab to the polls! Hell, donate to their campaign! This is not fear mongering or hyperbole when I say this last race is life or death for millions of people.

Democrats have one final shot to flip a Senate seat – but in order to pull off an upset, they need to quickly rally around the Louisiana candidate whose victory could be a bright spot in an otherwise dismal year. Public Service Commissioner – and jovial cattle farmer – Foster Campbell will face off against Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy, a twice-failed Senate candidate, in a Dec. 10 runoff.

On the surface, it might seem like a lost cause: A Democrat running a statewide campaign in Louisiana in the Year of Trump. On the contrary, though, Campbell has a legitimate shot to upset his opponent the same way Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards did in 2015. Yes, Louisiana has a Democratic governor. He’s busy at the moment cleaning up the fiscal mess left by his predecessor, failed presidential candidate and Kenneth-the-Page avatar Bobby Jindal.

Edwards pulled off an upset in part because of Jindal’s failures, and in part because he ran against, a less-than-charismatic politician tainted by a bygone prostitution scandal. But Edwards prevailed not only as an anti-Jindal and anti-Vitter. As an Army veteran with family law enforcement ties and a calm demeanor, he was a strong candidate in his own right.

Campbell, too, is a good bet; he has a wicked sense of humor and speaks plainly. During a recent debate, he rebutted false allegations of ties to ex-KKK leader David Duke, saying, “I have nothing in common with David Duke other than we’re probably breathing.”

Democrats who feel frustrated, fearful, and angry following Donald J. Trump’s upset win, listen up: Go donate $5 to Campbell’s campaign. If you’re in Louisiana, vote for him on Dec. 10. If you know someone in Louisiana, spread the word. Help raise money and awareness for Campbell.

Electing Foster Campbell is the most immediate way to rebuke President-elect Trump. A Campbell victory would mean a 51-49 split in the Senate. This is the last best way to make a difference in 2016.

Campbell is a fighter. During his career, he’s fought for ethics reform, lower energy rates for rural consumers, and for victims of domestic violence. Guided by a love of family and a deep-seated faith, he fights for the little man – and woman.

He can win. Repeat that over and over until you take action. The national Republican apparatus is gearing up to defeat him, and you can make a difference.

Campbell is a man of the people; Kennedy is counting on the elite. This year alone, he was the beneficiary of $400,000 from a political action committee funded by one Chicago family.

Campbell doesn’t have a Chicago sugar daddy; he has gumption. Fight for Foster.

[sevenperseids]

^This. Also remember that you can grant or deny your representatives the thing they want the most: Your vote. If they hear enough people threatening to vote them out of office, they'll change positions.

Oh boy, ok, so my congressman ( I fall in his district by about, 2 streets hurray ) was apparently one of the first members of congress to support trump for presidency and now I'm... very much more intimidated about calling even though him being directly in the transitional team seems like a better opportunity to maybe make a change? My main concern here is the very very very slim possibility he'll pick up the phone and I'll be too afraid to say anything, that probably won't happen, right?

Ugh that SUCKS my friend and I completely and totally understand the intimidation factor; my senators are both Big Deal Assholes (one is the GOP Majority Whip and the other is TED GODDAMN CRUZ) so you are in good company in the “ugh shit what if he picks up the phone himself??”

However, for better or worse it is huuuuugely unlikely that he will pick up himself; if he’s one of the brown-nosers who are balls-deep in the transition than he’s way too busy licking Trump’s boots to actually be in his DC office. So you’re safe as houses in that regard.

If you’d like to play it mondo safe though, I’d suggest calling his district office - it is literally impossible that he’s there at the moment, since legislators very, very rarely go to their district offices and frankly the dude is either in DC or in New York City at the moment. Plus the staffers who pick up at the local office will, interestingly, be more likely to pass along your comments and ensure that the congressman hears them, since staffers at district offices are less involved with the nitty-gritty of DC politics and more involved with, you know, actually listening to the people he’s supposed to represent.

But I totally agree with your assessment that having a rep who is working on the transition team is a silver lining on a very dark cloud; certainly your rep can ignore the flood of constituents that call him telling him that they want Trump’s advisors and cabinet and other types to be non-trashfire asshole bigots - but he cannot say he didn’t hear them. And the next time your Congressman has a town hall, you can go down there and say “hey there, I called you with these issues and this is what you did, now I’d like an explanation please.”

That is your job, that is your responsibility, and that is your power. Remember this and let it guide you for the next four years: your representatives (be they national, state, or local) are far, far more intimidated by you than you could ever be by them.

[sevenperseids]

The First Amendment Defense Act (https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2802) will legalize discrimination against gay and transgender people. Call your Representatives and demand they vote against it. Call your Senators and demand they be ready to filibuster it in case it doesn't die in the House. And pass this along. This is going to be one of the first things they try to ram through.

[sevenperseids]

Well. After two weeks of running around incoherently and signing a lot of petitions that have little chance of effecting change, I’ve joined some citizen activist groups and have begun following the goings-on in Washington with a little more focus.

I’ll be posting information here periodically about 1) bills currently in the House that, if passed, would harm women and minorities, 2) environmental and civil rights organizations that are putting out calls for support, and 3) anything else I see that names a concrete threat and a provides a means to a concrete solution. I’ll tag all these posts with #PostElection2016.

[sevenperseids]

Great American Garbage Fire 2016

Well. That happened. My brain is stuck on a loop. I keep bargaining with myself about what could have happened had I and enough other Clinton voters in the heavily blue states traded votes with people in Florida and Pennsylvania. We should have locked it up, but we didn’t. I am preparing to do everything in my power to mitigate the short term damage of Trump’s election and then help the Democrats take back control of the Senate and the House in 2018. I guess that means I’m going to be in the streets yelling at people to vote in the midterm elections and writing a lot of letters to Congress and state legislature. To all my LGBTQIA, Black, Muslim, Asian, Jewish, Latina/Latino, and/or immigrant followers, just know I’m with you.

I went into Election Night by heading to the gym to run off some nerves on the treadmill. I was expecting the race to be a nail-biter, but was totally unprepared for how the shit hit the fan in Florida and North Carolina. Then Trump started sweeping the Midwest. That was when I went to the showers to drown out the rising panic. Not long afterward, they called Ohio. Matt texted and said the overnight markets were cratering. I bought booze but couldn’t bring myself to drink it. I cried all night and most of today.

It’s maybe just cold comfort at this point, but at least Clinton won the popular vote. It is going to be a rough 4 years ahead of us, but if we are kind to each other, if we organize and protect each other, if we continue fighting, I believe we can stall some of the damage and get through this. Stay safe everyone.

[sevenperseids]

WHITE. PEOPLE. 

[sevenperseids]

Protests across at least 7 cities

[sevenperseids]

Hi everyone! This is an illustrated guide I made as part of my co-admining work at The Middle Eastern Feminist on Facebook! It will be published there shortly.  The technique that is displayed here is a genuine one used in psychology - I forgot the name and couldn’t find it again so if you know about it, feel free to tell me! Some could say: “Yes but you can use that technique for instances of harassment other than Islamophobic attacks!”, and my reply is: Sure! Please do so, it also works for other “types” of harassment of a lone person in a public space!! However I’m focusing on protecting Muslims here, as they have been very specific targets lately, and as a French Middle Eastern woman, I wanted to try and do something to raise awareness on how to help when such things happen before our eyes - that way one cannot say they “didn’t know what to do”!  I’d like to insist on two things: 1) Do not, in any way, interact with the attacker. You must absolutely ignore them and focus entirely on the person being attacked! 2) Please make sure to always respect the wishes of the person you’re helping: whether they want you to leave quickly afterwards, or not! If you’re in a hurry escort them to a place where someone else can take over - call one of their friends, or one of yours, of if they want to, the police. It all depends on how they feel! For my fellow French-speakers: I will translate it in French and post it on my page as soon as I can :) Please don’t hesitate to share this guide as it could push a lot of people to overcome bystander syndrome!! Lots of love and stay safe!

[sevenperseids]

somewhere in the United States right now is the first woman president. she is watching this unfold and she is making plans. 

[sevenperseids]

listen.

even if trump wins, it doesn’t mean it’s over. congress will not let him do most of what he wants to do (i mean, a lot of it’s unconstitutional, lmao). even if they do, it will a take a long time, perhaps even bleeding over into the next president’s term (and i hope to god that next president is a democrat). so do not assume that everything he proposes will happen! and voting is not our only way to participate in the government. protest. lobby. fight. don’t just accept a trump victory. if he wins, we need to fight harder than ever. we can’t give up. we can mitigate the effects of a trump presidency, but we need to fight.

millennials are a powerful group. we can make our voices heard. i know it’s scary. but it’s more important than ever to fight. don’t give trump an easy victory. fight as hard as you can for the entire 4 years he might be president. and help each other, protect each other. lift up your head and fight together. it’s easy to be discouraged, but the fight is not over.

i’m scared, too. i’m scared for my life. and take the time you need to take a deep breath and get away from everything for a little while. but in the end, if trump wins, we cannot make that easy for him. people are making a trump presidency seem like doomsday right now, but congress, checks and balances, and the actions of people – like us – can stop most of it from happening. the only bad thing that is really guaranteed to happen under a trump presidency is the appointment of some conservative supreme court justices (but even then congress has to approve them).

so tl;dr: if trump wins, the fight is not over. take a deep breath and hold your head high. he cannot, and will not, do everything that he’s proposed. so keep fighting and don’t let him destroy everything we’ve worked for.

[sevenperseids]

When Donald Trump repeals Obamacare, people are going to die. When Donald Trump defunds Planned Parenthood, people are going to die. When Donald Trump refuses to pass gun control laws, people are going to die. When Donald Trump implements crazy border control policies, people are going to die. 

If you didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton because she’s “still bad,” fuck you. There are no other words to say: FUCK. YOU. 

[sevenperseids]

I would like to inform me that I figured it out and the answer is that fruit flies are smarter than I am.

Research lab problems

Rrrrrggghhhh why is animal behavior so weird? I swear every time I try to troubleshoot one problem, my flies are just like, “LOL, never mind, now we’re going to do something totally different. Have fun figuring this one out, sucker!”

I don’t understand it. Their brains are smaller than the eye of a tiny needle. How the hell does it make their behavior so complicated?

[sevenperseids]

WHEN R U GOING TO UPDATE AGE OF INERTIA (by the way your James is beyond perfect I literally squeal whenever he's mentioned)

:( I don’t know. I’ve written a bunch of edits for the older chapters and the first scenes of Chapter 16, but I haven’t been able to get into the right frame of mind to write lately because research demands so much of my time and energy. I mean, I could write a fic this week, probably, but it would just be a thinly-disguised stream of consciousness about working in a fruit fly lab. A character would wonder why they’re being forced to fix laboratory equipment with a screwdriver and sort flies with a paintbrush when they have a wand. I’d make up a terrible, terrible excuse for why wizards in labs must do things the Muggle way. Then Voldemort would show up and dump alcohol into a vat of fly food and ruin everything.

I would think it was funny. But it wouldn’t be. Trust me.

*Cough* Sorry, got a little carried away there.