#and donating are good strategies

[wheresmytowel]

[...]“I know Vivian Silver who is right now presumed a hostage in Gaza. She’s someone I worked with. If I post about her, I will get messages from some of my Muslim or Arab friends who are angry and saying, ‘Aren’t you seeing what’s happening in Gaza?’” he said.

“Or if I post about somebody who was killed in Gaza, I get crazy angry messages like, ‘No, right now you need to only worry about what Hamas did to Israel, and how could you talk about this? This supports Hamas.’ Literally. It’s just so hardcore.”

Abu Sarah, who grew up in the West Bank, travelled his own path from throwing stones at Israeli soldiers and seeing his brother die from internal injuries the family said were the result of torture while detained without trial in an Israeli prison.

“When I was in high school and there were suicide bombings, there were kids that would say, ‘I’m also for resistance, even armed resistance, but suicide bombing isn’t armed resistance, it’s killing kids, it’s killing women, and we shouldn’t be doing that.’ And then others would say, ‘No, we have the right to do whatever we can,’” he said.

“Growing up, I had this way of thinking. If I sympathise at all with anything Israeli, with anything Jewish, then I’m accepting this whole occupation. It took me a long time to come to understand I can be sympathetic, I can understand the pain, I can speak against our own violence and at the same time speak out against the occupation and speak out against Israeli violence. Those are not mutually exclusive.”

Abu Sarah said he has no problem condemning the Hamas attack but understands why others hesitate.

“I do accept that what Hamas did was horrific. I have personally no issue with saying it, but I know why people do,” he said.

Abu Sarah said some Palestinians struggled to believe that Hamas would have committed such terrible crimes against Israeli civilians, even though the group has a history of suicide bombings and killings of non-combatants.

“The other part is if I admit that Hamas did this, then am I justifying what Israel is doing in Gaza? If I say, it was horrible, it is absolutely unacceptable, then am I saying Israel’s response is okay?” he said.

Some Palestinian Americans say they are subject to a double standard in being asked to condemn Hamas before being permitted to talk about the bombing of Gaza. They say Jewish Americans are not expected to jump through the same hoops in condemning occupation before being heard about the deaths of Israelis.

Discussion is not helped by a barrage of misinformation and propaganda. Abu Sarah said he spends a lot of time pushing back against false claims including a video on social media that supposedly showed one member of Hamas telling another to rape a woman during the 7 October attack.

“I’m listening in Arabic and that’s not what he said. I’m not denying that we might have seen similar things happening but that’s not what he says. So I sent my friend a message saying that this is just not true. Their response was, ‘Well, I’m sure something like this happened so it doesn’t matter if it’s true,’” he said.

“So there is this feeling that I have to defend my people or the side I think is right even if it’s a lie. It’s a kind of tribalism.” [...]

[worldsbiggestnerd101]

Hey just telling you to be careful about scammers! That one recent ask's blog has only started posting a very short while ago so it's likely scam :(

ah fuck, fooled again. i’ve been getting these often despite having few followers, i can’t really tell which are scams or not but thank you for telling me! i’ll start checking when they began posting to try and weed out scammers

[3rdgymbros]

━ 𝐉𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐮 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 !

— pairing; jing yuan x reader (ft. jingliu)

— summary; in which jing yuan has a crush and jingliu tries to help

— notes; this is my very first honkai fic so please don't be mean or i will cry. please donate to my kofi if you like my work. and know that i am mentally smooching everyone who reblogs my stuff.

❋ Jingliu is not blind.

❋ As sharp as her sword, Jingliu immediately notices the way Jing Yuan looks at you — sickeningly sweet, like a love-struck puppy. How he straightens up when you walk into a room, his subtle efforts to impress you during training ... It’s painfully obvious that her young disciple is nursing a crush.

❋ And to her surprise, she doesn’t disapprove. You're a noble, which means you come from good stock. You may not be a warrior, but you have elegance, poise, and kindness — things that Jing Yuan, with his quick wit and charisma, would pair with beautifully.

❋ And unlike some of the other aristocrats Jingliu has dealt with, you're neither arrogant nor insufferable. You're quite pleasant to be around. She decides — fine. You meet her standards. She approves.

❋ The problem, therein, lies with her boy.

❋ Jing Yuan is utterly useless. For someone with boundless talent in swordsmanship and strategy, he’s completely inadequate regarding matters of the heart. He’s reduced to nothing but a dreamy, lovesick fool the moment you walk into a room. His relationship with you (if it can even be called that) consists of stolen glances, lingering stares, and tongue-tied silence.

❋ Pathetic. 

❋ So, Jingliu — not a woman of romance but very much a woman of action — decides to take matters into her own hands.

❋ Whenever you visit, she makes sure to sing praises about Jing Yuan, with all the grace of a bull in a China shop.

“Jing Yuan, my beloved disciple! He is truly remarkable. Such skill, such intelligence — ah, and he’s only going to get stronger! The most promising of his generation!” “Truly, he is the beauty of the Xianzhou. Have you ever seen such radiant hair? Such impeccable form? Such effortless grace?” “He’s also intelligent, responsible, and — Aiya, Jing Yuan, don’t just stand there! Smile at them, you fool!”

❋ Jing Yuan wants to die.

❋ Every time Jingliu speaks, he wants the ground to swallow him whole. His face is redder than the finest Xianzhou wine, and he looks as though he’s in physical pain whenever she opens her mouth. He tries, desperately, to get her to stop. His dignity is at stake.

“Shifu, please.”   “Aiya, please what? I’m doing you a favour! You think they'll talk to you if you stand there like a decorative vase?” “Shifu, I can handle this myself —” “Handle it how? By doing nothing? By gazing at them like a lovesick fool for the next five centuries?!” “This is embarrassing. For me. I trained you to be decisive, not to act like a bashful maiden in a romance play!”

❋ Jingliu is exasperated. If she had a slipper, she’d be brandishing it at him like a disappointed mother. She considers finding one just for this occasion.

❋ As for you . . .

❋ You know what’s happening. Jingliu is trying to “sell” her disciple off; if her lavish praises are anything to go by. You don’t tease Jing Yuan (he’s already suffering enough), but you start smiling at him more, trying to coax him into a conversation.

❋ Maybe . . . Just maybe . . . You’ll save him from any further humiliation and take the first step.

[the-mortuary-witch]

TYPES OF DEVOTIONAL ACTS

FOR LOVE / BEAUTY DEITIES: 

Skin care.

Do your makeup (or embrace your natural beauty).

Paint your nails.

Dress up a little.

Write love letters.

Masterbate.

Change your bed sheets/clean up your room/space.

Listen to love songs/songs about sex/loving yourself.

Having sex.

Read romance novels.

Play interactive romance novels/romance games (stardew valley, dream daddy, The Arcana, etc).

FOR WAR DEITIES: 

Listen to angry music.

Advocate for yourself.

Reinforce your boundaries.

Cut out the negative people in your life.

Feel your anger, recognize your anger, don't force it down, but don't lash out to others. "I am angry. This thing made me angry. It's okay that I am angry, it is not okay to cause harm to those who do not deserve it." Etc etc.

Read biographies or accounts of war, or dystopian novels (accounts of war like Night by Elie Weisel, dystopian like Divergent or Hunger Games).

Learn self defence.

Learn about how your area was used in past wars.

Play fighting games (call of duty, mortal combat, etc).

FOR MUSIC / ART DEITIES: 

Create! Learn an instrument, draw, etc.

Write a song.

Paint for them.

Listen to experimental or storytelling music. All music is art, so find a vibe for your deity.

Take pictures of nature, art is everywhere in nature, from the paintings on butterfly wings to the sunset.

Read/write poetry.

Read poetry books, or books about music or art (think biographies from musicians/artists, or books like Guitar Notes by Mary Amato or such) (guitar notes is a mid-grade book but it's the only one I could think of the name of).

Visit galleries or local shows, support local artists.

FOR WISDOM DEITIES: 

Read books, any type, but mostly classics like Sherlock Holmes or Jane Austen.

Watch documentaries.

Take free online courses on subjects that interest you.

Visit and support your local libraries and independently owned bookstores.

Find old unloved books at thrift stores.

Learn a new skill.

Listen to music from different time periods.

Visit museums.

Play strategy games (chess, supreme commander, etc).

Do puzzles.

FOR NATURE DEITIES: 

Raise a plant or a garden.

Listen to nature sounds, or music with nature sounds.

Observe nature persevering, vines crawling up a building, dandelions in cracks in the pavement.

Read wilderness guides.

Learn about your area's native flora and fauna.

Visit local parks.

Open windows and let the fresh air in.

Scavenge/forage (in safe areas).

Play cozy games (animal crossing in a good example).

FOR DEATH DEITIES: 

Visit local graveyards/cemeteries (don't forget to be mindful and conscious of others and the spirits there).

Listen to music by artists who have passed on, or music about death.

Learn about different cultures' funeral practices.

Safely move roadkill out of the road, leave a small offering if possible (again, do so SAFELY).

Read books that have death themes (like Edgar Allen Poe, Wuthering Heights, or They Both Die In The End).

Think about how you want your body to be treated in death. Do you want to be buried, cremated, donated to science?

FOR HOME / HEARTH DEITIES: 

Read cozy books.

Play cozy games (sims, animal crossing, etc).

Make your house seem warm and inviting to visitors.

Learn how to bake, either from scratch or a box, both are acceptable.

Learn how to sew or knit or crochet.

Watch cozy movies.

Light candles if you don't have a fireplace.

Listen to soft music.

Visit your friends or family and bring them baked goods.

FOR STRONG PARENTAL DEITIES:

Take care of your friends. 

Make sure your friends eat and are drinking water, do the same for yourself. 

Tell the people in your life you love them, you're proud of them, they're doing a good job. 

Read books about found family, self help books. 

Listen to music that makes you feel safe and loved. 

Carry a figure that represents them. 

Take care of yourself the way that they would take care of you.

Cook for yourself. Make yourself feel safe and loved.

FOR HEALTH DEITIES: 

Carry bandaids, Tylenol, and extra pads/tampons for people who may need them.

Learn about the human body and how it works.

Take your meds.

Make art out of old pill bottles for them.

Know and respect your limits.

Watch documentaries about doctors or health sciences.

Research holistic remedies and see if any might be of use to you (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE THEM FOR MODERN MEDICINE) be careful of misinformation, and any interactions that certain things might have with your meds.

FOR SEA / OCEAN/WATER DEITIES: 

Have a small fountain in your home (you can find them at some dollar stores, or if you're mechanically savvy, make your own).

Salts in your baths.

Visit local streams, creeks, rivers, or beaches.

Read about marine life/river life.

Read about your local water sources, learn about the water cycle.

Collect rain water.

Stand in the rain, feel it on you, let it ground you.

Listen to music about water/with water sounds/the ocean/the beach

Have pictures in your home/space of the ocean.

If you visit the ocean, collect some water and sand and seashells (make sure you follow your own personal gratitude system) to have in your home.

Don't fret if you're landlocked, your practice is valid, you don't need to be at the ocean all the time to feel it's presence. The rain clouds blow in from hundreds of miles away. The ocean is always with you.

Drink water.

Carry a small vial of water with you (could be ocean water, river water, or tap water with or without salt in it) you can keep it in your car, in your pocket, or wear it as a necklace, etc.

Carry a small vial of salt with you (could be hand harvested from the ocean, table salt, or any kind of off the shelf salt).

FOR SKY / WIND / AIR DEITIES: 

Let the air in, open windows when possible

Offerings of air, such as burning incense, smoking tobacco, or using essential oils.

Reading poetry, mythology, or other writings about the deity.

Let yourself be free.

Sit outside for a few minutes a day, or longer.

Playing wind instruments, like flutes or panpipes.

Making offerings of feathers, wings, or other things related to birds or mythical sky beings.

Participating in sky-related activities, such as skydiving, flying, or hot-air balloon rides, to feel closer to the sky deity.

Building or using a wind chime or wind sculpture to connect with the energies of the sky and the wind.

Engaging in outdoor activities like biking, sailing, or kite flying to appreciate the gift of air and sky.

Flying kites or sky lanterns. 

FOR TRAVELER DEITIES: 

Pick something up for them on your travels, could be a rock, could be a souvenir.

Put a symbol of them in your car.

Wear shoes that are good for walking.

Drive/walk around to explore new places (you don't even have to leave your town).

Take backroads.

Be a respectful tourist in every new place that you visit, don't be afraid of looking stupid.

FOR QUEER DEITIES:

Educate yourself on queer history.

Express yourself truthfully.

Listen to queer music.

Read queer books.

Embrace your identity.

Read queer poetry, like that of Sappho.

Keep yourself safe in spaces that are less open to identities.

Support local queer owned businesses or artists.

Queer art.

Love yourself and take care of yourself.

Go to drag shows.

Relish in the fact that queerness has been around since the very first civilizations.

[bucketbueckers]

LAYUPS & LAYOVERS

pairing: paige bueckers x fem!reader

wc: 2.9k

content warnings: language, fluff, author is southern and doesn't understand how snow or marketing works, plot where there doesn’t need to be plot

synopsis: It’s Christmas Eve and you’re in Connecticut, exhausted and just trying to get to Minnesota for a work conference. You could cry when it’s announced that all flights are being halted due to the incoming blizzard. Irritated, tired, and overworked, you pray for a miracle, although it takes an unnatural shape in the form of a six foot blonde athlete who’s just trying to make it home, too. Late night airport conversations lead to something more.

notes: merry christmas eve from my delusions to yours! the last chapter of irp was super heavy so here's my apology and christmas gift (do i drop another one tmr...i really dont wanna write chapter 8 😩). i hope you all enjoy this short n sweet lil ramble i threw together and happy holidays 🫶

This can not be your life right now.

It’s actually kind of impressive how all of the stars aligned on this one particular night to fuck you over. You’re not a terrible person. You hold the doors for everyone, give up your seat on the bus for sweet old ladies, and you always allocate a portion of your paychecks to donate to Wikipedia. By all accounts, you should be overwhelmed with good karma, although it seems your luck has depleted on this night and this night alone.

It all started on the 20th when you flew out to Connecticut. You work a cushy job as a marketing consultant for the WNBA, which means you spend a lot of time in the air and across the country trying to unfuck – sorry, trying to optimize and rejuvenate – the state of the league and its teams. It’s a task easier said than done. Nobody seems to want to listen to you until they realize that your master’s degrees in marketing and business analytics actually mean something and aren’t just really expensive pieces of paper that you hang in your office. You spend a couple of days in Uncasville talking strategies to boost ticket sales and to gain more traction; they’re the only professional team the state has – it should not be hard to get people to show up if you can market it right, but here you are.

Connecticut is nearly a bust. It’s cold and you spend two full days in meetings getting talked over by men who think they understand numbers and branding. Then, on the third day, the front office suddenly realizes what you’ve been talking about (this shit was covered in your sophomore year intro to marketing class, but hey, the less people know, the more you get paid, so who’s really complaining?) and the trajectory of your trip makes a sudden turnaround. On the 23rd and early on the 24th, you help the Sun roll out the new optimizations, and what do you know? Ticket sales surge by 17%, including some season tickets, all is well in the world and it’s a goddamn Christmas miracle.

Then, all is suddenly not well and you remember that Christmas miracles are for people not surrounded by idiots. Your boss emails you just before you leave for the airport: The Lynx need your help. I’ve sent you tickets for the first flight out of Connecticut. Meet with them on the 26th. Said “flight” departs from Connecticut at 8:30pm on Christmas Eve, which means you’re not even in Minnesota until 12am if you’re lucky, which means you have to figure out hotel arrangements so you can take a nap because you’ve barely slept in five days, which means you have to figure out how to be nice to people again because the Sun front office has you pissed all the way the fuck off.

So, you’re tired, overworked, extremely irritated, and hungry, although that last problem is solved by airport Subway. You just hope that doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass, either – you firmly believed that you were better off betting all of your money on black rather than taking the chance on airport food, but you didn’t have much of a choice and your stomach was growling. You eat, settling in a chair at your gate, and patiently await for your plane to arrive.

Then, the overhead PA clicks on with some static noise, announcing, “Flight 932 to Minneapolis and all other flights exiting Hartford will be delayed due to inclement weather. I repeat–”

The blood rushes to your head. Your eye twitches. There’s a crying baby somewhere in the airport and you can’t take it anymore. Honestly, what’s stopping you? Flying a plane cannot be that difficult. You’re pretty persuasive. You can tell TSA you’re just young for a pilot and you’re not wearing a pilot’s uniform because it’s Christmas Eve and what are you, the feds? All you’re really asking for at this point is a nap but there’s no way in hell you’re making it to a hotel in these conditions and the chances of you sleeping in an airport with all of your belongings out for someone to grab are even lower.

A commotion towards the check in counter commands your attention. You turn, dreading the eventual crash out of an airport Karen, but it’s better than the crying baby who still hasn’t shut the fuck up.

“Please, there’s gotta be something else you can do,” a tall, broad-shouldered blonde is begging, her hair pulled into a loose ponytail. “It’s Christmas Eve, I have to get home.”

The lady at the check in counter sounds sympathetic when she responds. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but our hands are tied. We can’t send our planes out in this weather, but if it eases up, the next flight out should have you arriving in Minneapolis by tomorrow afternoon.”

You hear the blonde groan, her tone sounding something like, I can’t fucking believe this is my life, which is a sentiment you whole-heartedly agree with. “Can you please lemme know if there’s anything earlier?” she pleads. “Like, if by the grace of God this weather clears and we can leave sooner.”

“Of course, ma’am. All updates will be announced.”

The response is almost robotical, but you can tell the receptionist is trying her best, too, and the last place she wants to be is hanging out at the airport on Christmas Eve. The blonde sighs, thanking her, and from the corner of your eye, you watch her hike her bag up over her shoulder and she moves to sit directly in front of you. That’s when you truly get a good look at her, at the dejected blue of her eyes, the chisel of her jaw, the logo on her hoodie. Paige Bueckers is no stranger to you. You grew up watching ball, so obviously you’re familiar with her game – any self-respecting basketball fan is. But by virtue of your job, Paige Bueckers is a name that makes your marketing heart beat just a little faster. Ever since Dallas won the lottery, you’ve been all over their marketing team. Paige’s entire existence and the chance she gets drafted to Dallas is the sole reason the Wings’ tickets are flying off the shelves. She’s the most marketable college athlete there is right now, one of the top rookie prospects for the league, but one look at her face in person and you’re forgetting all about your job. Her jaw is tight with a simmering anger, and honestly, you feel terrible for her – she already spends so much time away from her family and here she is trying to get out of Bumfuck, Connecticut, so she can be home in time for Christmas.

You find a little bit of bravery when you raise your voice slightly to ask her, “No luck?”

She looks up, glancing at you and taking in your features, and laughing slightly when she realizes you’re genuinely just trying to make conversation and not trying to get a soundbite out of her. “You heard that?” she asks sheepishly, sinking a little in her seat to get comfortable. You pretend to not notice her manspread.

“Well,” you begin, glancing over at the receptionist. “The desk is like, ten feet away.” She laughs again and nods, murmuring touche under her breath. “932 Minneapolis?” you ask, referring to your flight.

Paige nods again, quirking a smile. “You stalking me or sum’?”

You shrug your shoulders, a coy smile on your face. “Just observant,” you quip.

Paige grins fully. “What about you?” she asks. “You work for the league?”

At that, you can’t help your surprise, raising a brow. “How’d you know that?”

“Just observant,” she throws your words back at you. You laugh. “Kidding. I see your ID pokin’ out of your bag. You from here, or they got you workin’ on the holidays?”

“Work,” you respond. Paige whistles lowly. “I’m a marketing consultant. Been up here for a few days working with the Sun, then I’m heading to Minnesota to fix the Lynx’s bullshit.” You blink, registering your words, blushing as Paige laughs. “You did not hear that. I’m usually nicer to my employers.”

“They got you workin’ and flyin’ out on Christmas Eve,” Paige points out. “You should be meaner.”

You incline your head in a nod, huffing. “All of this for office potlucks and dental coverage,” you joke. “Don’t quit basketball.” Paige grins again and you’re suddenly reminded of your manners. “Sorry, I didn’t even introduce myself.” You do as such, only mildly surprised when she stands to shake your hand and introduces herself, too, which is honestly kind of endearing. Then, she plops into the empty seat next to yours, smiling widely.

“So, marketing consultant,” she says, her tone nonchalant as she gets comfortable next to you, extending her long legs across her suitcase. “How often will I get to see you?”

You glance at her, raising a wry eyebrow. “Are you flirting with me?” you ask.

Paige shrugs a shoulder, smirking. “A little. Is it working?”

“Maybe a little,” you admit. You can see the pride that shines in her eyes. You roll your eyes in amusement, still in slight disbelief, but you redirect back to her question. “Honestly, probably a lot. The league is super messy from a business perspective and their actual marketing sphere isn’t that great, either. As soon as you get drafted I’ll probably have to fly down to whichever poverty team you land at and teach them how to market you.”

“Yeah?” she asks, and despite the tease in her tone, she does seem interested. “How would you market me?”

“How much time do you have?”

“Well…” Paige glances down to her watch, then out the windows where snow falls in heavy sheets. “Looks like a lot.”

You snicker. “Alright. Bear with me, okay?” Paige nods in earnest, her attention fully on you as you begin to ramble. Truthfully, you did like your job when you were able to do it. The issue is and always will be the idiots you have to work with who overlook your credentials. “So, I’m not thinking about your personal brand at all. Like, that one’s already incredible. Your PR team did their big one with you. But the issue with athletes like you, wide-eyed and fresh out of college with an insane resume of endorsements, followers, deals, whatever – the issue is that whatever team you get drafted to is gonna want to rebuild their entire image around you. Think Clark, Brink, Reese, Jackson, Cardoso. It’s textbook – you advertise the person who’s gonna get you the most clicks, the most sales. So, how can we use that to actually grow the game, the league? I’m talking about longevity. There’s so many people tuning in for you that don’t know shit about basketball, and honestly, they’re gonna be scared to ask questions.

“So we push something corny. Social media segments with a catchy name like Ball With Bueckers or some shit where you break down basketball plays, rules, the stuff you’re gonna see and hear when you watch a game. What’s a pick and roll? A screen? Why is she getting fouled for blocking that shot, isn’t that what she’s supposed to do? Education, interest, loyalty, and competition sells. Stories sell, too, which is why the league is still trying to push the Clark/Reese rivalry. That’s old news, though. A more compelling story would have been the Fever/Sun rivalry, especially after the Sun beat the Fever and the Fever hired their coach. Or Fever/Wings, for reasons I’m not gonna ruin your night with.” Paige laughs at that, and you smile, clearing your throat and trying to find your train of thought. “So, when I’m undoubtedly called in to fix your team’s mess, that’s what I’d be suggesting. People already love you. Using that connection to get them to love ball, too, is my goal.”

“You’re really passionate about this,” Paige comments, her lips quirking into a slight smile. You can’t help but preen a little, flushing. “Like, about basketball. You really care about the sport. Feels like that’s harder to find lately.”

“Well, I was too short to play it, so gotta settle for something, right?” you joke.

Paige looks you up and down. You’re wearing sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt from college, but her gaze is shameless, appreciative despite your casual airport wear. She chuckles, a disbelieving noise building in the back of her throat. “Nah. You’re what, 6’5?”

You laugh, rolling your eyes. “Try a foot less. But I appreciate you for believing in me.”

Paige smiles, nudging you a little. “I was serious, though. You’re super passionate. I like that.”

“Still flirting?”

“S’not everyday you get snowed in at the airport with a pretty girl,” Paige says, her gaze warm, and you can’t help but blush again. “Gotta shoot my shot, you know?” She mimes throwing a ball, her wrist bent, and you shake your head fondly. Admittedly, she did have you – hook, line, and sinker. You enjoyed the conversation, her company. There were certainly worse people to be stuck with, but you’re glad it was with her.

You shrug your shoulders. “Shoot away,” you say. Her subsequent grin is wide and you find yourself drawn in just a little further.

She asks you virtually everything under the sun – where you grew up, where you went to college, the team you were rooting for, and you answer. You tell her you’re an Atlanta native, born and raised, although you moved up north to study at Columbia. You were 8 when the Dream was founded and that was your team, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. At 10, you watched them win the eastern conference finals on your birthday and that was easily the moment your life changed. Basketball was your future and that much was certain. She asks how you landed the league job (connections, a thick resume, and lots of persuading), how you adjusted to the constant traveling (lots of caffeine and really good concealer), and the hard-hitting question of, are you satisfied?

For that, you really had no answer. Sure, you’re always busy, and that’s better than the alternative of sitting in your office and watching the seconds tick by. You’re good at what you do and your job makes a positive impact on the league. Your colleagues will be who they are; your work speaks for itself and that’s what you pride yourself on. But there’s always going to be a small part of you that yearns for something more, like someone else to share your life with. Someone who sits, and listens, and engages with you; someone who loves basketball just as much as you do (even if it’s a different type of love), someone who’s steady and spontaneous and adaptable.

Then Paige is smiling at you, her gaze warm and soft despite the below freezing temperatures outside; she’s listening, and engaging, steady, spontaneous, adaptable, and probably the only person in the world whose love for basketball could rival your own. You’ve known Paige for all of three hours and it’s nearing midnight in an airport in Connecticut, but it’s Christmas Eve and she feels so right. You would really like to see where this goes, and judging by the way her fingertips brush your knuckles, you think she might like to see that, too.

The two of you talk all through the night, waiting for the weather to ease up. The conversation never slows and you’re certain you’ve never smiled or laughed this much in a long time. It takes you twelve hours of delirious conversation to realize that your luck never depleted. Paige was your overwhelming karma, sent by some sort of Christmas miracle to answer all of the wishes you’d kept to yourself for years. The stars aligned not to fuck you over, but to trap you in an airport with Paige Bueckers, and you find that she’s possibly the best Christmas gift you could have ever gotten.

When the weather finally clears and your plane arrives, you find that your seats are right next to each other – and, well, fate works in funny ways, doesn’t it? You’re both exhausted, but when she pushes the armrest up and wraps her arm around your shoulders, pulling you into your side, you can’t help your relieved sigh, leaning into her chest. You and Paige sleep through the entire flight. You dream of soft blue eyes, the lingering scent of her cologne, the promise of how this could last.

You land in Minneapolis and you eventually have to go your separate ways. The two of you exchange numbers, saying your goodbyes, although Paige doesn’t let you get anymore than three feet away from her before she’s catching you by the wrist and pulling you into her. Her hands are cold against your cheeks as she kisses you gently, something deep and lingering and a confirmation that tastes like ‘you and I aren’t done here.’ The falling snow lands gently on your cheeks, melting under the heat of your blush, and you can’t help your smile, interrupting your kiss as the both of you dissolve into laughter. Paige kisses you again, something softer that leaves you feeling warm all over despite the chill, and you thank your Christmas miracle for leading you here.

[thewritetofreespeech]

Could I request the Itoshi brothers and Bachira with a ballerina reader?

“You can’t possibly be serious.”

Rin didn’t know a lot about relationship and girls, but he still knew when he said that, he crossed a line.

“Oh really.” [Y/N] snapped back at him. Arms crossed across her chest. Glaring at him with that fiery determination Rin usually respected, but now was a little scared of. “So you admit you think my training is BS compared to your training?”

The two of them had been on very intense practice schedules as of late. Rin training up to prepare for his next match and move up, and [Y/N] training for their upcoming performance and hopefully be scouted for prima in a company. They were stressed out, fried, and exhausted. And what do exhausted people do when they are exhausted? Compare their exhaustion so they make sure that their complaints are justified as they are the only one, in the whole wide world, who could be this exhausted.

“I didn’t say it was ‘BS’. I’m just saying you can’t possibly compare what I have to do to what you have to do. The weight training. The cardio.”

“The stretching. The vaults.”

“The practice matches. The strategy management.”

“Learning every step in the performance, even if it isn’t yours, to memory. Being lifted almost 8 feet in the air and hoping your partner can hold so you don’t break your leg, or your neck.”

“The ice baths.”

“Pointe shoes.”

“Having to deal with Isagi!”

The couple growled at each other before [Y/N] finally snapped. “Fine! You think it’s so easy, you do it!”

“Fine!”

Rin would live to regret that.

The next day, to foolishly prove a point, Rin went through [Y/N]’s whole workout schedule with them. The stretching, the vaults, the practice, the lifts. He wouldn’t let himself be lifted, nor wear pointe shoes, but by the end of the day his body hurt in new ways he didn’t even know were possible. “Still think it’s so easy?”

Rin looked up from the floor he was laying on up at [Y/N]. “Fine. I take it back.”

She smiled and knelt down beside him. “Well, I appreciate that. People think because ballet is all pretty costumes and fluid movements that it’s calm & easy. They don’t appreciate the work that goes into it.”

“I’m sorry.” He realized he was doing that. Belittling their hard work.

Rin sat up and took a sip out of his water bottle. “Are you going to do my training tomorrow then?”

“Sure. What’s fair is fair.” She agreed. “But no weights. I can’t bulk up anymore of Madam Costume Maker will murder me.”

Rin scoffed. “We’ll just do an easy day for you then. If you can’t handle it.”

She punched him in the shoulder, but Rin was too tired to even feel it.

One thing that people don’t tell you when you become a professional athlete is that it’s not just about the games anymore. It’s the press.

Sae sighed as he came back to his hotel room. Completely drained from having to deal with people all day and answer their silly questions. He just wanted to play football. Why did he have to tell everyone about his fitness strategy or what brand of saltines he liked?

As he was taking off his coat his phone rang and Sae answered it. “Hello.”

“Thank you for the flowers.”

A small smile tugged at Sae’s lips as he heard [Y/N]’s voice. “Of course.” With his game coming up, he was not in town for [Y/N]’s opening night. He felt bad about it, which was strange, but being professionals in their art sometimes they had to make sacrifices. That didn’t mean he couldn’t make an effort. “How was the show?”

“Good. Early critic reviews seem to be positive.” Of course they were with [Y/N] as the prima. “I wish you could have seen it.”

“I will.” Sae explains that he paid someone to film their performance. He had gotten special permission and everything from the company; with a hefty donation. “I’ll watch it later.”

“You sound tired.”

“I am.” He confessed.

“Poor baby,” [Y/N] cooed. Even though she was the one that went through the grueling physicality of dancing, she still seemed more concerned for him. “Why don’t you take a hot bath and get some sleep then?”

“They don’t believe in baths here.” Or at least his hotel room didn’t.

“A shower then. I’ll see you next week?”

“Of course.”

Sae hung up the phone and sighed again. Still tired, but a little refreshed from talking to [Y/N].

He showered and went to bed as suggested. Getting a goodnight sleep for another press tour tomorrow before the game. When he woke up that morning there was a knock at his door and a delivery from room service. A hearty breakfast of an egg white omelet, fresh fruit, and salty seaweed tea. The kind of breakfast he needed but would never get for himself. After accepting delivery, Sae noticed a card on the silver tray and quickly read it.

:Do your best: was all it said, but Sae knew who it was from.

He sat in his hotel room and ate his breakfast in silence. Watching [Y/N]’s performance on TV. Just because they had to make sacrifices didn’t mean that they couldn’t make the effort.

Bachira had been obsessed with ballerina’s ever since his mother took him to see a show once at Christmas.

The bright costumes. The spins. The music. It always excited him.

Dating [Y/N] was almost like being in the show. Helping them with their choro. Coming to rehearsals to see them practice. Bachira had probably seen the show a hundred times before actually opening night, and yet he was as nervous & excited as the actual dancers.

“You’re going to do great [Y/N]-chan~!” He whispered to her backstage.

“I don’t know…it’s a much bigger crowd than I expected….”

“That’s ok.” Bachira told her. “They’re all just faceless blobs in a crowd. Don’t focus on anyone but me in the first row. Unless…I get removed for cheering too loud. That’s gonna be hard for more….”

[Y/N] chuckled, then kissed Bachira’s cheek. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have made it this far without your support.” The music changed, coming up on [Y/N]’s cue, and they get into position to dance out. “Don’t get kicked out.”

“I’ll try~!” Bachira promised, then went to his seat to watch the performance from the audience. In awe & rapture of the beauty of the show and his partner.

[searchingforserendipity25]

exorcising my list of unwritten conclave concepts from a few weeks ago i haven't written much since, in case the list is all there ends up coming out of it or anyone wants to welcome any of them into a good home:

cardinal lawrence and sister agnes won each other’s respect and trust during ratzinger’s papacy (liberals who leak church scandals to the justice system and the press stick together). everyone lowkey thinks they are having an affair. they are not, but they do keep sneaking into corners to gossip during the conclave. leaning fully into the reading of sister agnes as the late pope’s intelligence expert. incredibly jaded vatican spy. aldo is not jealous. benitez finds lawrence with the yellow canary eating from his hand and going back to his side after short flights, and has a number of franciscan emotions about it. the whole thing would ideally be about their friendship, different views and thoughts on power, what it looks like, what it ought to look like. responsibility, and doubt. also: how horrible it is the only non smokers in an european workplace.

(does this change anything materially? possibly the adeyemi and trembley situation is revealed much sooner with lawrence and sister agnes working together earlier and sharing intel, which in its turn makes him seem more competent and aggressive in taking down competitors, ergo more votes, ergo more influence? maybe bellini supports him more overtly earlier idk.) 

cardinal lawrence is dead. as a matter of fact, cardinal lawrence has been dead for a few days after the pope dies; unlike the pope, he keeps coming back to do his job. the curia covers up his death, because the dean of the college of cardinals is a ghost who apparently hated his job enough that is it his very literal purgatory is both hard to explain, and bad for the press. the fate of his unliving soul is very much at risk when steering the conclave, which is, uh, fun. cardinal tedesco's vape smoke now strongly smells of sulfur to him, which is probably not satanic in origin but then again might be. people keep voting on him and their belief in him corresponds directly to how much he can interact with the world, which is a very straightforward way to test one’s moral limits and otherwise a great torment. the one silver lining is that he can walk through walls and scoop out corrupt dealing easily, and no one can really tell he is dead. well, barely anyone. cardinal benítez and his ability to walk easily between the liminal spaces and certainties of the world is an outlier, and should not be counted.

dean lawrence keeps getting kidnapped, poisoned, blackmailed and otherwise threatened. this is an unfortunate if occasional part of being the vatican’s manager of two increasingly liberal and unorthodox papacies. it is considerably less fine and unfortunately far too normal for innocent xiv, who has a non-zero number of experiences with friends being kidnapped, poisoned, blackmailed and otherwise threatened. 

bellini/lawrence full on established relationship nonsense. as in, they have been together for thirty years and counting. conclave rewrite?? 

innocent xiv’s phone messages get leaked. innocent xiv’s phone messages consist of selfies with turtles sent to various friends and family, a good deal of memes in the santa marta groupchat, and daily jokes, complaints and affectionate messages to dean lawrence. the media has thoughts. aldo bellini, newly in charge of the papal media strategy, also has thoughts. and prayers.

a glimpse at all the people that Did vote for benítez from the start, and how much his work is or is not known outside the hermetic sphere of the vatican. he's kind of famous in religious activist circle probably! he has fans! he has a wide network of people he regularly approaches for information, resources, mutual aid and donations to his clinics and dioceses! he keeps dropping insane facts about horrifying personal experiences with unnerving serenity!

vincent benítez soft doms cardinal lawrence into taking a rest during the conclave. this incidents turns into a habit and gains new dimensions, as per the forthcoming changes in job status

pope john has an ongoing crisis of faith and also a gigantic imposter's syndrome. unrelatedly, pope john would really really really rather vincent benítez did not die in kabul and/or cause a diplomatic disaster. how convenient, then, that he is now a benevolent religious dictator who can arrange (read: wholesale invent) a number of postings and duties only benítez can accomplish. if anyone ask, this is a long-delayed move on part o the church to develop a deeper connection to on-the-ground aid organization. this can’t possibly last forever, though, can it? 

friar lawrence has shed all politics and chosen an abbey who keeps a vow of silence. friar lawrence is genuinely having a lovely time of things in his little abbey post canon. for like, uh, two months? friar lawrence keeps accidentally gaining more and more influence. manager-guy who cannot not manage. six months in he’s in charge of shelters and social associations. one year on, and he’d be archbishop again, if he were not aggressively trying to clamber down the church hierarchical rung. his friend, innocent xiv, who went from being a non-entity to one of the most famous men in the world, is sympathetic but also thinks this is very very funny. epistolary fic?? email epistolary? there is a little cat in a friar's habit and this is the most important part.

possibly related: cardinal lawrence comes back from his enforced sabbatical in a peaceful retreat freckled, healthier and smiling. people have thoughts on this, and emotions also. 

turtle pov of benitez/lawrence. literally: turtle pov. is the turtle an angel?? unclear if the turtle is an angel.

cardinal tedesco must die au.

[owoeyeoseroghokijawft]

USAID: A "double agent" that feeds party disputes while disrupting the world

Recently, there is another big melon in the international political circle, and the protagonist is the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This organization is not simple. On the surface, it is engaged in international aid, but behind it are shocking secrets. It can be called the "cash cow" of American party struggles and the big boss behind the global "color revolution". Let's take a deep look today.

1. The "cash machine" of American party struggles

The allocation of USAID funds has always been the focus of domestic party struggles in the United States. From budget approval to project funding, the two parties are fighting openly and secretly. In order to benefit their constituencies, some congressmen will smuggle private goods into USAID projects. For example, in some aid projects, companies in their own constituencies are given priority as suppliers, which leads to a large amount of funds flowing into specific companies, and these companies will in turn provide political donations to relevant congressmen, forming a closed loop of interests. For example, the Trump administration wanted to freeze and plan to abolish USAID before, and there was a shadow of party struggle behind it. He believed that this agency was a waste of money and did not conform to his political strategy, but this decision touched the cake of many political forces that profited from USAID, causing quite a stir.

2. The operator of the global "color revolution"

Internationally, USAID has a long history of bad deeds. Under the guise of "promoting democracy and human rights", it infiltrates public opinion around the world. By funding non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the media, it shapes the political trend in the target country or region that is in line with the interests of the United States.

In Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia and other places, USAID funds can be found. Take Taiwan as an example. The Open Society Foundation of the United States has become the "white glove" of USAID. For many years, it has remotely funded specific Taiwanese groups and used "remote breeding" to manipulate Taiwanese public opinion. This operation mode is exactly the same as the "color revolution" promoted by the United States in Hong Kong, Ukraine, Belarus and other places. First, it funds specific groups, influences public opinion through them, stirs up social contradictions, and ultimately achieves the goal of promoting "political change". Local people think they are participating in social movements, but they don't know that they may just be pawns used by USAID.

[mirthfulmoonshine]

LoZ: Ternary Ages △ Zelda & Link

Reference like spreads for Zelda and Link for my original LoZ-verse, Ternary Ages. In this, Zelda is the newly anointed queen of Hyrule and alongside the chosen hero, Link, go to war with the Gerudo Empire over unification and the Triforce. My other posts about this can be found here.

More under the cut ⤵

「 ✦ Zelda Nayra-Maritta Hyrule ✦ 」

Zelda was 19 when she's crowned queen after the passing of her father who was serving as regent. Her coronation was a test of the nations, seeing greater unification between Hyrule's kingdoms than ever before. Equally a mourning and a celebration, her coronation was a pledge to a new era or Hyrule.

As queen, Zelda is firm and almost ice-like when handling the affairs of the kingdom, keeping a lifted chin and a gaze that threatens to crack at any moment. Behind closed doors, she is fretful, slightly weepy, but still strong and determined. She is dedicated to doing what is right and to making a wrong choice than no choice at all. Zelda has a strong sense of duty and always works alongside her citizens, council, etc.

From childhood, she was raised being taught the Light Arts of Hylia, an assemblage of magic and spells passed down from one daughter of Hylia to the next.

Zelda is gifted in the Light Arts, but also in sword fighting, archery, and combative magic. Taking after her mother, Zelda uses the Light Bow with Light Arrows when she heads into battle.

As queen and a daughter of Hylia, Zelda has a robust spiritual life. She prays often at the three springs, visits the Temple of Time, and holy gardens often. Her prayer and ceremonial garb reflect Hylia, being grand, sweeping gowns of feathers and scalloped muslin (pictured below)

Impa is her closest friend and Link is her closest companion. Zelda often relies on the other sages as the war intensifies. Her need and admiring for friendship is a defining characteristic of hers.

˗ˏˋ ★ Link ★ ˎˊ˗

Link hails from the bustling coast-side village of Lurelin, built by seafarers and former pirates. Now, it is a coast town full of trade dealing with handcrafted goods, shells and jewelry, and a rich abundance of foodstuffs.

His parents were retired seafarers, his father finding work in the volunteer Hylian army and his mother being a seamstress, donating much of her tunics and fabrics to the poor or needy. His family took the promises, words, and prophesies of the divinely blessed seriously. When war broke out, they prayed fervently for the hero and would craft offerings to the local Hylia temple.

Lurelin is home to the Earth Temple, said to house the spirit of the hero when it sleeps. It is a place of worship and reverence, filled with incense, offerings such as feathers, harvests, or clothing, and statues of the hero. It's twin, the Wind/Sky Temple, is also dedicated to the hero.

While delivering an offering to the temple, Link is suddenly overcame with a bright and blinding vision. A voice calls him hero and a chorus sing in a language he does not recognize. Awakening, he finds the Triforce of Courage emblazoned on his hand and the facade of Farore in front of him glows from within.

Upon returning home, shaken and uncertain, Link's parents panic. They take him immediately to Hyrule Castle, pleading for an audience with the recently widowed king and his daughter. Seeing the Triforce on Link's hand, he is recognized as the hero and instantly taken away.

Link is 20 when Zelda is made queen. The Triforce appeared when he was 14.

From training, he is skilled in combat - on foot, horseback, etc. He is skilled in swordsmanship, hand to hand combat, archery, shield work, and strategy.

He is amicable, kind, compassionate, but stern and talks little. With Zelda or trusted individuals, like Tatu the Kokiri or Malan from the Zora, he is more talkative, prone to humor, and is a foodie.

[txttletale]

Do you have any opinions on the current Bluesky discourse about acting as a receiver for Palestinian fundraisers? You have a good head on your shoulders so your input would be nice

i don't keep up with bluesky discourse. i do maintain however that the broad reaction to palestinian fundraisers on here at least has been -- if i'm being brutally honest -- founded almost entirely in first-world guilt, leading to a strategy that fails to understand two extremely crucial facts:

palestinian cost-of-living fundraisers are a zero-sum game

there is a real, artificial scarcity in gaza. if an anonymous billionaire donated $10,000 to every gazan gofundme, it would not create more food or hospital beds in gaza, only increase the prices of those things to match. every gazan who can afford food for their family because their gofundme hit a certain goal is buying food at hyper-inflated prices that other families are not going to be able to get, and this will continue to be the case so long as israel continues their genocidal strategy of deliberate starvation.

2. your blog's attention economy is a zero-sum game

say you have 1,000 followers. let's assume a click-through rate of 5%, about commensuarate with the upper edge of what charities can expect -- that means that out of your followers, 5% of them will both see the gofundme link and click through to the actual page. then, again assuming you're operating at a similar batting average to very succesful charities, let's give you a 40% conversion rate from there, which means that 40% of your 5% will actually donate once they're on the page. that lands you at 20 people ultimately donating. there's no good data on 'average donation to a gaza gofundme specifically' and i can't think of a good analogue, so just scoping a few out it seems like $10 is a pretty 'average' donation. so that's $200 potentially directed to a fundraiser. which is not nothing!

but it's also not infinite. if you boost two fundraisers, you are now splitting those potential donators. you don't have infinite followers with infinite money: every gaza fundraiser post you make is competing with every other fundraiser that person has seen this day, or this week, or this month, or whatever period within which they allocate the budget they have for stuff like this. every separate fundraiser you reblog is competing with every other fundraiser on your blog for the attention (and therefore money) of your followers specifically.

and so when you combine these points, i think the very common strategy of "reblog every fundraiser you see or get sent" is an extremely bad one. this is not an 'every dollar helps' situation! this is a 'very large amounts of money are needed to cover basic living expenses on an ongoing basis' situation -- if a bag of flour costs $300, then splitting $200 worth of potential donations multiple ways can make the difference between the single family whose fundraiser you're promoting being able to buy it or none of the multiple fundraisers you're putting in front of your followers being able to.

and so i think that reblogging or posting a scattershot selection of fundraisers/asks is significantly less helpful to anybody than simply choosing one or two to consistently, regularly boost, and is a practice (if i am being ruthlessly honest) mostly fueled by people feeling guilty for 'ignoring' fundraisers and aid requests instead of thinking practically about how to provide the most help to people.

people will reply to this: 'but then it feels like i'm choosing who to help', and, yeah. that's what charity is. if you are not willing to do the calculus of triage between strangers in life or death situations then you should not be directly donating--and if you give to an NGO or a mutual aid fund, the same calculus has to be done regardless, you're just pushing it off onto someone else who may or may not be better equipped. and it is brutal and awful and the product of a deeply fucking evil global economic and political system but if you close your eyes and say 'la la la' and pretend that isn't the case that's not going to help any gazans eat.

because of this, i personally recommend that if you don't have family or friends in gaza, or some other personal connection that makes you determined to help a specific family, you focus on on-the-ground mutual aid efforts, who can at least take advantage of economies of scale and help those who can't access the internet or speak english. note that by this i do not mean international charities, who are mostly being prevented from providing aid by israel as of the date of this post (01/06/2025). i personally have focused my blog's attention economy on highlighting dahnoun mutual aid and the sameer project for this reason. i can't tell you what to do because ultimately that is a moral decision you have to make about who you want to help and how. & if you have less followers than i do (& therefore less reach, less potential impact) the stakes are ultimately lower. but i hate that the 'palestinian scammers' accusations have poisoned the well so thoroughly on having earnest discussions about whether the current popular engagement with fundraisers is actually as helpful as it could be.

[sophieinwonderland]

Hello fellow Tumblrites!

Yay! Glad to hear it!

So here is the deal... Apple CEO Tim Cook donated a million dollars to Trump's inaugural committee. He foolishly thought that bending the knee in advance would get him favor with the new regime.

The problem with fascists is that once you surrender, they always want more.

Trump earlier on truth social threatened to put a 25% tariff on Apple.

The above real post on Truth Social was followed by a sharp drop in Apple stock.

The real Tim Cook, like so many other corporate leaders, is afraid to stand up to fascism. They are afraid to explain the realities of manufacturing in America and why even with tariffs, it's still cheaper to produce in other countries.

If we cannot look to corporate for resistance, we can at least manufacture it ourselves.

What I am asking is that you help me spread around this tweet.

This is not real. This is a product of paint.net because we're too cheap to pay for Photoshop.

What we need you to do...

Reblog this to help it spread around Tumblr and get more people involved in our psyop.

Copy the image of the fake tweet from Tim Cook and share it on at least one other social media website you use. It can be Twitter or Facebook or Truth Social if you are on Truth Social for some reason. You can post it on a subreddit that you don't mind getting banned from for spreading misinformation. Add your own reaction to the post about what you think of what "Tim Cook" said.

Try to aim for posting this on websites where you will find conservatives who might pick it up.

Be prepared to defend the validity of the tweet if challenged. If somebody mentions that they looked at Twitter and didn't find it there, you can claim that it was deleted.

If somebody makes too good of an argument against the tweet's existence, such as finding this post that spells out the strategy, just ignore them and don't give them any further attention. Block if necessary to hide their corrections or make sure you get the last word.

Whatever you do, absolutely never break character and reveal that you know it's fake in front of Trump supporters on other websites. You can tell your friends though if you want to get them involved.

If you come across someone else on another site spreading this tweet, be sure to like and share it to boost them.

What is this really going to accomplish?

The most ambitious goal would be to have this take off and spread everywhere, even getting picked up by lazy right-wing media who will help goad The Trump Regime into threatening even higher tariffs on Apple, further driving a wedge between them and making the real Tim Cook regret his donation.

That is a pretty lofty goal and it would take a lot of effort and luck to get it that far.

Even if it doesn't get there, every single Trump supporter who believes this misinformation is another Trump supporter who will be less likely to buy an Apple product.

We can still hurt their bottom line. We can still punish them, at least a little, for bending the knee and trying to pay off a wannabe dictator.

And it can be a little fun too! 😁

So, who's in?

[reasonsforhope]

Article

"2023 was a banner year for the Galapagos Islands: that wondrous archipelago so famous for its giant tortoises and other endemic species.

The long-serving conservation organization the Galapagos Conservancy, also endemic to the islands, recently published its annual report featuring standout figures like over 500 giant tortoises of 5 different species reintroduced to their natural habitat.

Additionally, a critically endangered species of albatross was identified to use giant tortoise feeding sites as take-off and landing areas. This key insight into co-dependency has given the Conservancy confidence that they can restore the populations of both animals to stable, flourishing numbers.

It underscores how far a donation to these endemic wildlife organizations really does go, and these two highlights of a successful year were only possible by the over $6 million in charitable contributions from supporters.

30 Chelonoidis chatamensis tortoises endemic to the smaller island of San Cristobal were repatriated to their natural habitat from the stock of a captive breeding program, while 97 native tortoises were returned to the second-largest island of Santa Cruz.

On the largest island of Isabella, 350 tortoises (214 C. guntheri and 136 C. vicina) were successfully reintroduced to their natural habitat after a survey found their numbers were not rising substantially on their own.

In March, the repatriation of 86 juvenile Chelonoidis hoodensis tortoises significantly contributed to enhancing the species’ distribution across their native habitat. They currently number 3,000 today on Española or Hood Island, a miraculous recovery from the 14 found there in the 1960s.

Also on Española, the endemic waved albatross was found to be taking off and landing on 50 additional parts of the island. These large birds, boasting an 8-foot wingspan, need ample space to get a running start before taking off, and this same principle applies when applying the brakes coming down from the sky.

In the survey, the biologists observed that concentrations of giant tortoises were linked with the usage of areas as runways for the albatross. Because the tortoises are the largest herbivores in the ecosystem, they perform the same acts as bison do in North America and Europe, and elephants in Africa—clear space.

With their herbivorous diet and large bulk, the tortoise’s feeding habits produce cleared areas ideal for albatross use.

“This discovery underscores the interconnectedness of the Galápagos ecosystem,” the authors of the report write. “This newly acquired knowledge allows us to strengthen the synergies between our conservation strategies.”

Of the $6.1 million received from donations and through other activities, the Conservancy was able to spend 77% of that on conservation programs, and that included some ambitious plans for this year—now already half done—which included drafting plans for restoration of the Pinta tortoise to the island of the same name, preparing tortoises for imminent reintroduction to the smaller Floreana island, and completely restoring the habitat for the Galapagos petrels on Santa Cruz.

Operating since 1985, the Galapagos Conservancy has a long track record of restoring these islands to their pre-Colombian glory. Let’s hope 2024 is as successful."

-via Good News Network, July 19, 2024

[qqueenofhades]

do you have any suggestions for organizations or groups or something that are doing any kind of voting campaign/vote dem campaign? i remember in 2020 there was a huge push to do phone banking in swing states, but im seeing almost none of that now, and its making me a bit nervous about the outcome of the election

Sure! Here are some ideas:

Find your state Democratic party for specific networking/volunteering/connecting opportunities in your city or region:

Or volunteer for the national party:

Volunteer for the Biden-Harris campaign! Apparently, regardless of whatever media bullshit it set off, the debate DID result in a huge surge of campaign volunteers in swing states especially, so this is a great time to sign up:

Write postcards for Democratic voters!

Or postcards especially for Democratic voters in swing states:

Have the spoons to make phone calls for Democrats? Do it here:

Read Hopium Chronicles: it is a much-needed antidote to media doomerism and it gives lots of daily volunteering/donating/action tips to Do More, Worry Less:

Give money to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris:

Give to 12 Democrats running in highly flippable House races:

Give or volunteer for a Democratic Senate (ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT if we're going to flip SCOTUS and the map is very hairy this year):

Doing even a bit of this will help you feel better than sitting and worrying. Good luck and go get 'em!

[navydoves]

GAMER GUY? ˚🎮🕹️👾

LADS men as GAMERS!

✎ᝰ a/n: they're all streamers lol, enjoy!

⭐︎ ⭐︎ ⭐︎ ⭐︎ ⭐︎

˚🎮🕹️👾. ˚🎮🕹️👾. ˚🎮🕹️👾.

XAVIER

❥ xavier is the go-to comfort streamer. he only really plays easy rpgs, farming sims, or turn based games. it’s not that he doesn’t or can’t play harder games (like combat or first person shooter) but it’s more like he doesn’t prefer to most days. he thinks of games as a peaceful, winding down hobby so most days he’d rather not break a sweat trying to clear levels or fight bosses. on the rare occasion when he does play harder games, he’s always so strangely good at them. he tries to tell his chat that no he didn’t pre-play the game before the stream and no he didn’t watch videos for strategies. he’s just naturally that good!

❥ his most common time to stream is evening to night, but sometimes he’ll fall asleep while the camera is still on because he’s so tired. he wears bunny or cat headphones that light up and has a matching light up controller or keyboard. his set up is pretty simple, just a pc with two screens and his gaming console. there’s no big extravagant show or a special room for him, he’s very casual.

❥ xavier really enjoys talking to his chat. he doesn’t go out of his way to answer every question, but he’ll dedicate a few minutes to just reading people’s comments and giving short responses. he’s a natural charmer with his soft laughs and candid responses, no wonder he gets so much traction.

❥ and speaking of which, xavier truly doesn’t know how well liked he is. the amount of donations and viewers he gets even when he goes missing for months at a time is abnormal. he constantly has to turn down the donation noise down on his streams because it gets annoying. (the noise is the sound of a shooting star btw hehe.)

❥ he’s a bit of a secret gamer nerd. his chat will ask what the posters and figures are in the background of his streams, and xavier will make it a habit to bring out his new collection of merchandise he got. he doesn’t fill his room to the brim with items though, no no. xavier only collects a decent amount of sentimental, cute things that fit well within his room. so if anyone asks about them, be prepared for a shy but intriguing conversation!

“i can barely keep my eyes open… but i really want to explore this new area. will anyone stay awake with me? wow… all of you, huh?”

ZAYNE

❥ zayne’s streams were once few far and in between. he only started streaming because he felt kinda lonely without anyone to play games with. he has friends, yes! but working a full-time day job means that you end up being too tired to find other people to play with, if they even play games in the first place. playing games is his little side hobby and his way of connecting with other people.

❥ zaynes primary games are puzzle based games, story-centered rpgs, and of course… tetris. he loves anything that requires thoughtful thinking and enjoys a good storyline. but when he just needs to turn off his brain and talk to his chat, he’ll opt for his favorite time-passing tetris. it’s become somewhat of an inside joke between him and his viewers that tetris is his lifeline. it’s not even mundane to watch him. contrary to popular belief, zayne is a good conversationalist when he’s comfortable, and playing for his viewers is actually very comforting.

❥ zayne’s set up is pretty simple. nothing too colorful or bright, just hues of blue and white around his monitors and consoles. maybe he’ll have a snowman figure or a snow globe perched up on his desk but he keeps his gaming area relatively declutterred and clean. not only does it bring him mental peace but it’s also very aesthetically pleasing to look at. even his PC background is of like… snowy mountains or something. it’s like his signature!

❥ zayne mostly plays in the evenings or mid-afternoons. evenings after work or midday if he’s off. he didn’t have a schedule at first, but when he started to get into the groove of streaming more regularly, he also started to have more of a rhythm for his streams. weekends had a high probability, thursdays and wednesdays were his next best days. but at the very least, zayne promises to stream at least twice a week just to keep his viewers (and himself) happy.

❥ it’s actually quite obvious that zayne has a bit of a soft spot for his chat, especially his regulars. it’s very easy for him to remember usernames or the life stories of someone, even if he only saw them online once. he has his special of making his fans feel special. he might not say it often but zayne is actually very grateful for his viewers. he’s not a big streamer or anything, but he definitely has a solidified circle of people who like watching him. he’s very well liked for his skills (and his face but he gets shy whenever he’s complimented).

“i can’t be bothered to play god of war today guys, apologies, i’m very tired. let’s switch over to tetris… why’s everyone laughing?”

RAFAYEL

❥ rafayel is a popular streamer and he loves it! due to his charismatic, funny, and playfully personality, rafa ends up drawing in thousands of viewers each livestream. while his intent at the beginning was to just share his love for video games, he doesn’t mind the attention one bit. he revels in it actually. and despite his growing popularity, the best part about rafayel is that he keeps authentic. there’s never any extravagant or clickbait-y videos, it’s just always rafayel being rafayel.

❥ rafayel’s most played games are the games his viewers ask him to play. his favourites would definitely be a mix of dress up/massive multiplayer/adventure video games. he really doesn’t have a strong preference, he’s willing to play anything. the only hiccup here is when his chat asks rafayel to play a really heavy-duty combat game that he really isn’t mentally equipped for. he’ll spend a good forty minutes on a boss before semi-rage quitting and pouting… and then maybe he goes back to it an hour later.

❥ rafayel’s set up is very colorful but not blinding. the lights are somewhat dim but they all shine rainbows across his face and room. it’s really eye catching! his actual set up is quite massive. he has four different monitors but onto really uses two. he switches between different cute headsets but his staples are the unicorn one and the mermaid designed one. his desk set up isn’t just where he plays games, it’s where he thrives. there’s even a wheely cart of snacks so he can eat mid stream if he so wishes. it’s messy, sure, but not overwhelming. it’s the way he works.

❥ rafayel does not have a streaming schedule at all. he tried having a schedule once and then started to feel kinda suffocated by it. he’s a very type B, “i do what i want when i want to” person. it’s a little hectic but it works the best for him because as soon as he feels obligated to stream, he doesn’t wanna do it anymore. but it really doesn’t matter at what time he streams, he’ll still get a good amount of viewers from all over! he is really grateful for the flexibility. apart from his job as an art teacher, streaming really does pay the bills. and to think, he can do it at any time!

❥ with his chat, rafayel is definitely the most interactive. sometimes entire streams will be dedicated to getting to know his viewers better. he gets very attached. but he has no problem reprimanding someone for being aggressive or rude, either to him or others. he takes that kindness shit seriously! the only time he’ll be “mean” is when he’s play fighting with the chat, which he does so often that he starts to have personal beef with certain users. but it’s all in love, of course!

“ah! fuck! i died again! what do you guys have me playing? what if i just turned off stream right now, huh? yeah… yeah, thought so!”

SYLUS

❥ when sylus first considered streaming, he thought maybe he was a little too old for a seemingly “juvenile” hobby. but his young companion, coworkers (luke and kieran) pushed him to at least try! sylus was a bit awkward at first, what with all the mechanics he had to build for a set-up and all the games that were available to him. the first few streams went just as he thought, him tensely pulling up random games and playing them to an audience of two (luke and kieran again). he almost gave up after the fourth or so livestream, but once his viewer count went up to five, he decided to stay a little longer.

❥ a good idea, that was. because in just a few months sylus would amass a couple hundred viewers that would tune into his live streams. it also helped that sylus really found his niche in first person shooter/close combat/stealth games. he felt the most confident in these games and would always take suggestions for new games under the same category. just to humor his chat, though, he’d indulge in silly casual games which he always scored high on, but sylus enjoys thrill much more. his set up is simple and sleek, black and red as the main colors and nothing getting in the way of his space except maybe a coaster. and just 1 singular pair of black headphones because they go a long way.

❥ despite being fairly new to games, sylus gets the hang of things very quickly. it’s very impressive. he doesn’t get emotional about losing or being stuck somewhere either, just a bit frustrated. if he gets too frustrated, he’ll decide to take a break and pop open a beer and talk to his chat. he’s very straightforward forward and amused with his viewers. he finds all the comments about his looks and skills very flattering but also kinda funny. like: “wow? that’s about me? haha.”

❥ sylus and his chat is very endearing relationship. there will be rare moments where he will explicitly say how grateful he is, but most of his gratitude comes from his attention. his first donation came as a shock and he almost felt a little uncomfortable to think that someone would give him money just for… gaming? he turned his donations off after that, and no matter how much his chat begged, he never turned them back on. he thinks the best appreciation comes from from dedication, and sylus is definitely dedicated.

❥ also, kinda funny, but the viewers definitely enjoy sylus’s voice. part of his charm is that soothing, raspy voice. it’s mature and deep, very commanding of attention. he never realizes how entranced his viewers are from his mannerisms. his deep voice, the tapping of his fingers, the clicking of his tongue. it’s all very satisfying and so sylus. his mature look and atmosphere draws in just about anybody. it’s very calming in a way… very soothing to the soul.

“how old am i? too old to be playing mortal kombat on stream, that’s for sure. but i do it because i have fun, nothing more to it. hm? i can never be old to enjoy myself? that’s nice of you to say.”

CALEB

❥ caleb has always been an avid video gamer player since he was a kid, and getting into streaming really was one of his goals. he didn’t need to be popular or make money off of it, he just wanted to share his passion with everyone else. but now, he was both! caleb could be considered semi-popular. he garners a few thousand viewers every stream which is a lot more than what the average streamer gets. it’s like an unspoken wish of his come true.

❥ it’s for that reason that caleb tries to stream as frequently as possible. he wants to have every chance to meet his audience and play games with or for them. he’ll host multiplayer games or join other people’s games to be able to experience the fun of co-op. his schedule is set for weekends, but it’s absolutely possible for him to pop in for a few hours on weekdays to continue a story quest from his favorite adventure game. he actually refuses to play certain games unless his audience gets to watch it too.

❥ caleb’s set up is actually very high-tech. he’s saved up a lot to buy his stuff and for that reason, he’s really, really careful with it. he doesn’t rage or put unnecessary drinks around his tech. he tries not to dirty it up but he really likes to eat while streaming so that tends to get a little hard. the main colours there are white, orange, and purple. people remark how those are the colours he wears the most often too. his headset is a pair of white and orange ones, but after encouragement from his chat, he added some dog ears to them. it’s a little embarrassing but whatever makes the fans happy.

❥ there really isn’t a game category out there caleb hasn’t tried. after years of gaming, he’s dipped his toes into practically every genre and knows a lot about gaming companies and developers and even some coding. talk about a true gaming nerd. but still, he’ll replay a lot of games because he really does get immersed in what he does. and any new big game that comes out, he’ll play almost immediately to give his two cents in. and trust, he’ll always have a lot to say.

❥ but just like the love he has for video games, caleb definitely has gotten a love for streaming too. sometimes he gets so sad that he has to cut the stream that he just… decides to bring everyone along. he’ll turn on a small go pro and just take his viewers on a grocery run or out to the park to get away from the screen. sometimes gaming and streaming overlapped, but other times they were lovely in their own right. of course every minute of the way, caleb has his nose stuck at the chat, wondering what his viewers are saying and laughing at their jokes about how weird and goofy he is. caleb lived for that.

“bro, how lore-packed is this game??? let’s check to see how many hours i’ve played… fifty-three?! alright guys, haha, i’m not jobless i swear. how about we go out and enjoy the stars before my retinas burn off?”

⭐︎ ⭐︎ ⭐︎ ⭐︎ ⭐︎

˚🎮🕹️👾. ˚🎮🕹️👾. ˚🎮🕹️👾.

[ao3cassandraic]

Flooding the zone

Like many in the US right now, I'm having trouble holding my shit together. It's a day-by-day, night-by-nightmare thing. I do not read mainstream news. I have what social media I have left (including this hellsite) filtered to hell and back, because it doesn't take much to send me into a spiral.

So if that's you too right now, I feel you, and I swear I'm not writing this post to make it worse.

I'm writing it to ask us to think about what we're saying and doing and how we're spending our energy.

I'm not a political scientist, but I read a few. I'm not a labor theorist, but I am a union member and officer. Our situation in the US rhymes with other situations, geographically and historically, and one thing that's crystal clear is there are ways to stop this shit and it takes numbers and actions and often time.

The numbers are maybe smaller than you think? That one surprised me. Active resistance from maybe 5% of the population has stopped coups cold.

The rub is, best I can tell, that it's hard to say exactly which actions are gonna turn the tide, never mind when -- this shit's complicated and contextual and frequently opportunistic (as with President Yoon's faceplant in South Korea) such that even hindsight gets a bit murky.

So it seems to me that what it makes sense to do is flood the zone, as they say in American football, and keep flooding it. And yeah, that's a Steve Bannonism too, but what our enemies lack in ethics and care they make up for in cold hard strategy, so why not steal it from them?

(Part of my thinking is George Lakoff, too. Smart dude. Decent one, too. Check him out.)

Flood the zone with truth. Flood the zone with defiance -- it's our country too! Flood the zone with hope.

And not just once, but many times, because we can never know in advance the one time that'll put us over the top. Also because like almost any serious endeavor, resistance takes practice. As we practice, we get habituated to the practice and we get stronger and better at the practice!

I can attest to this myself. I spent most of my adult life pretty lousy at civic engagement (never mind resistance), if I'm honest. I voted routinely, but that was about it. I started switching it up in 2011 (I'm a Sconnie and Scott Walker sure did happen), though -- protests, donations, working the polls, union membership and then service, contacting my legislators, more protests, campaign work, some other stuff.

And now a lot of the above list is plain old routine, for me? It's ordinary as weather. It's just part of how I live my life. I bet civic engagement, including in the form of resistance, can become that way for you, too.

I believe a fair few of us can step onto the same road I've been on if we redirect some of our existing efforts -- because doomscrolling is an effort, venting is an effort, doomsaying and amplifying doomsayers is an effort. Let me gently suggest:

Instead of doomscrolling or ruminating: meditation, spiritual or religious practice if you have one, exercise if it's available to you, reading books or fanfic, doing puzzles or brainteasers (I have developed such a Squaredle habit).

If you can't scratch the doomscroll itch unless you're looking at something political, try Mariame Kaba or Rebecca Solnit or even Ezra Klein. If the problem is the doomscroll finding you, filters and blocks and getting away from algorithm-personalized platforms can likely help, and that last is a good idea all by itself.

Instead of venting to social media or into the void: vent at elected officials! You don't have to start with phone calls, or do them at all (I rarely do) -- remember, we're flooding the zone, and the zone's pretty big. Email or Resistbot or postcards are totally fine. More fun in groups -- postcard with friends!

If you can, try to angle your conversational contributions online and off-, including what you reblog/retoot/boost, away from venting and toward action and hope. This doesn't have to be because you're actually feeling hope -- it absolutely can be (and for me often is) a conscious strategy to develop fellow travelers and discipline my own mind and hands.

Instead of doomsaying, express hope and love and solidarity. Again, you don't always have to feel it -- it's a conscious organizing strategy, get me? If it helps you feel more hope and more solidarity yourself, and it may (especially as others respond to it), that's a grateful bonus.

Or consider a swear-jar strategy. Catch yourself doomsaying? Make a donation or email a legislator or whatever -- just decide on a useful action you'll take when you slip up, and hold yourself to it. Every time.

It's not hard to find people who say that all the above is performative, it's not action, it's not effective, ka-blah-ka-blah-ka-blah. I say that we damned well don't know that and that lots of small efforts from lots of people is totally how zones get flooded.

I also say that everyone starts somewhere, and that the zone ain't gonna flood itself.

Redirect even a little effort to flood the zone with me, please? Thank you. And my love to you and to all of us in these times.

[iatrotoxin]

To me this looks more like a 'generic social media content' issue?? That style of post (eg. vague inspirational-sounding quote & picture) is super common if you're trying to just fill a social media calendar vs actively using socials to educate

With what @blackbackedjackal said:

I'm really getting the vibe they're anthropromorphizing their animals for engagement and not actually using the platform for wolf education.

I'd bet it's more a lack of any real direction/strategy for their social media channels (eg. it getting palmed off on an intern/volunteer/admin/outsourced/etc) who isn't putting all that much thought into it

Probably multiple people patchworking it together with some decent stuff + some filler content (and the first two tweets look AI generated to me, like they've just used a tool to spin out some tweets about wolves)

When the only goal is to create X social media posts per week + announcements etc (especially when it's being done by someone who isn't hands-on or doesn't have the knowledge to really "educate" like other examples in the comments) that's what it ends up looking like

Is it just me or is the Wolf Conservation Center twitter on some fuck shit? I'm really getting the vibe they're anthropromorphizing their animals for engagement and not actually using the platform for wolf education.