#the amount of people who cannot get this...

[xxasphodelxx]

I just went to an outdoor concert where folks were dropping like flies. I cannot stress to you enough, if you're going to an outside event in this weather, DRINK WATER. And intermix that with something like Gatorade or Liquid IV so that you can replenish the salt you are losing along with the water as you sweat everything out. Applesauce pouches are also a good, portable way to get more fluids but also FOOD into your stomach if you're feeling too queasy to eat.

Furthermore, apply the best sunscreen you can find. (Note that I said the best, not the one with the highest SPF number on the shelf, because a lot of them don't actually filter as much as they say they do or don't stay on well. Check the results of non-biased third parties who have tested the brands, not what the people trying to sell you their product say!) Reapply every few hours for as long as the sun is out because you WILL sweat it off!

Lastly, I can confirm that cooling towels on your neck is a lifesaver. And on top of that, they make umbrellas with UV filters now, and holy shit, the relief is instant. Like, it's not gonna magically make you cool, but it lowers the amount of UV rays hitting your upper body and provides instant shade in spots where there is none.

These things combined (hydration, electrolytes, regular sunscreen application, a cooling towel, and an umbrella with a UV filter, along with a handheld fan) are how I got out sweaty and just a tad nauseous from chugging water and not eating much when other people at the same event were collapsing, fainting, vomiting, and even being hospitalized from heat stroke. Please be smart and take precautions if you want to do something outside during a bad heat wave!

For all of the northerners that stood up for Texas during our freeze and said, "Don't make fun of them, they've never dealt with this before. Their infrastructure isn't made for snow and freezing."

This one is for you.

Where I live 108°F with 80% humidity with no wind is normal.

Pacific North West is dealing historic best waves 35-40°C or 95-105°F.

First of all. Don't make fun of them for bitching about the heat. Just like Texas isn't built for a freeze and our pipes burst, Pacific North West isn't built for heat and a lot of their homes don't have AC.

If you live somewhere with a high humidity like 80+ HUMIDITY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. The "humidity makes it feel cooler" is a lie once it gets beyond a point.

If you live somewhere with a lower humidity, misters are nice to cool off outside.

Once you get over 90°F (32°C) a fan will not help you. It's just pushing around hot air. (I mean if you can't afford a small AC unit because they're expensive as hell, by all means a fan is better than nothing).

If you have pets, those portable AC units aren't safe. If your pets destroy the outtake thing, it'll leak CO2. Window units are safer.

Window AC units will let mosquitoes or other small bugs in. Sucks, but that's life.

Now is not the time to me modest. If you have to cover for religious reasons, by all means. If you don't, I've seen people wear short shorts and a swim top. It's not trashy if it keeps you from getting heat stroke.

If you do have to cover up for religious reasons, look for elephant pants or something similar. They're made with a breathable material.

Shade is better than no shade, but that shit it just diet sun after some point. Don't think shade will save you from heat stroke.

I know the "drink your water" is a fun meme now, but if you're sweating excessively you need electrolytes. Drink Gatorade, Powerade, or Pedialite PLEASE. I don't care if you're fucking sitting in one spot all day. That shit WILL save you from heat stroke.

Most importantly. RESEARCH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEAT STROKE AND HEAT EXHAUSTION PLEASE!

If you're diabetic and can't drink Gatorade, mix water, fruit juice, and either lite salt or pink salt

If you can afford it, cover windows with thick curtains to insulate the house

If you have tile floors, lay on them with skin to tile contact. If you don't, laying your head on cool counters works too.

If the temperature where you're at is hotter than your body temperature, don't wear heat wicking clothing. Moisture wicking is safe though.

Check your medication labels. Many make you more susceptible to sun and heat

-Room temperature water will get into your body faster. This is something I learned doing marching band in high summer in Georgia, and it saved all of our asses. Sip it, don't gulp it, especially if you're getting into the red; same goes for whatever fluid you're drinking. And just in general drink during the day.

-If you are moving from an air conditioned space to an un-air conditioned space, if at all possible try to make the shift gradual. When my dad and I were working outside and in un-ac houses a few years ago, he'd turn the air down to low in the truck about ten-fifteen minutes before we got where we were going. This way your body doesn't go from low low temps to high temps. S'bad for you.

-If you can, keep your lights off during the day. Light bulbs may not generate a lot of heat, but the difference is noticeable when it gets hot enough. I literally only turn my bedroom light on in the evening when it gets too dark.

Don't be afraid to just like... pour water on yourself if you need to. The evaporation will cool you off.

Put your hand to the cement for 15 seconds. If you can't handle the heat, it'll burn your dog's paws. Don't let them walk on it.

Dogs with flat faces are more prone to heat stroke. Don't leave them out unsupervised.

Frozen fruit is delicious in water.

Wet/Cold hat/handkerchief on your head/neck will help you stay cool.

Pickle juice is great for electrolytes! You can even make pickle juice Popsicles!

Heat exhaustion is more, "drink water and get you cooled off." Heat stroke is more "Oh my god call 911."

Image Description provided by @loveize

[Image description: an infographic showing the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke. The graphic is labeled "Heat Dangers: First Warning." Signs of heat exhaustion: faint or dizzy, excessive sweating, cool, pale, clammy skin, rapid, weak pulse, muscle cramps. If you think you or someone else may be experiencing heat exhaustion, get to a cool, air-conditioned place, drink water if conscious, and take a cool shower or use cold compress. Signs of heat stroke: throbbing headache, no sweating, red, hot, dry skin, rapid, strong pulse, may lose consciousness. If you think you or someone else may be experiencing heat stroke, call 911. End description]

Be safe.

-fae

[xandezsims]

L&D Trans Sim Tagging: EA Made an Oopsie

Xan here. Remember how I never got into Fullbody outfits, in the original Trans Sim tutorial? Well, I am honor-bound to get into it a little. Why? Because I made a discovery, and it's...not great.

TL;DR: The Part Flags for most of Life & Death are messed up. Trans Sims are wearing the wrong meshes and it cannot be avoided; EA has to fix it.

If this concerns you, please upvote the report, and spread the word. They have ignored the Sims community about gender-related glitches in the past. Help us make them fix this, so we don't have to.

In-depth explanation about the problem below.

I was stoked to see we got clothes for both frames in the newer packs. Finally, Sims can wear whatever gender clothing they want! That's the goal, right? But, recent testing made me wonder how they handle opposite-frames. I thought I could learn something to help with inclusive tagging. So, I stuck Carmen in a dress from L&D, and:

It passes from the front, but...her chest. That's the opposite gender distortion. The one caused by putting a AM (masc frame) mesh on any AF (female) Sim, trans or not. I've definitely talked about this.

I went and cloned both meshes to check the tags, and sure enough:

Quick tagging lesson: toggling Restrict Opposite Frame means Carmen can't wear the AF one. She has to wear the AM frame dress, because as a trans Sim, her frame is AM. (Literally, the Opposite Frame of her gender.) But because she has breasts, she inherits the chest distortion all female Sims get wearing a man's top. The same applies for Erik, her counterpart (AM w/AF frame).

With a sinking feeling, I went back to the game and tried...everything.

I ran out of space, there are more. Trans-men are the same. I got halfway through the AM catalog and ran out of willpower. I'm betting almost every item made for both frames in this pack is tagged wrong. It's locked by frame, instead of gender. With pants, that's not a problem--but tops, dresses and suits will all be swapped.

So, now we know Fullbody meshes work similarly to tops. They need to be locked by Gender. And it's really just that tag. To test, I went back to my cloned dresses, and fixed it with two clicks:

This means all women regardless of frame can use the AF, and all men can use the AM. And here's the result: AF dress on AF Sim, AM dress on AM Sim. They literally swapped dresses.

So, easily fixed! That's 2 files out of...all of them. (sigh) I filed a Bug Report, linked above. Hopefully the amount of evidence I provided will get an actual response. That, or they'll think I'm an arrogant prat for telling them how their game works. But, I didn't break it.

Moral of the Story: this is a great example of what not to do if you make cc, or if you retag what you download. Remember, if you want to limit who can wear a mesh:

"Restrict Opposite Gender" for Tops and Fullbody; this makes sure all AF and AM Sims wear their meshes, and don't end up with chest lumps.

"Restrict Opposite Gender" for AF Bottoms; Trans-AM Sims break in half. Don't Restrict AM Bottoms at all. They fit everyone.

Or, Don't Restrict Anything, if you want all options. Note: distortions will happen. Mark your gender filters. They help a lot.

Earrings, Hats, Makeup, Gloves, Socks, Tights work for everyone

Necklaces and Nails are "Restrict Opposite Frame"; Trans Sims can't wear these from their own gender. They don't fit.

If you got this far, thank you for sticking it out. My innocent question turned into a tagging lesson (again). But, if it helps anyone in the future, I'll be glad. At least now we know there's a problem.

Please boost the Bug Report, share if you found it useful, and thanks for reading. I'm on the soap box again re: trans inclusion, but it's still Pride and I can't not stand up for my people. The more we know, the better we can do on our side.

Finally, tagging some folks who might want to know, if they don't already (feel free to ignore): @sejianismodding @the-crypt-o-club @yooniesim @whyhellosims @thefoxburyinstitute @sims4tutorials @mmfinds @gncc

[theseinfernalangels]

Love Letters — Garrick Tavis

Synopsis: Recovered Correspondence between Lieutenant Garrick Tavis and Lieutenant Cosette Camden, Princess of Navarre.

 Takes place over the course of the first part of Iron Flame and is for Day 3 of Garrick Week: Distance.

The contents of this recovered correspondence are not dated, but are believed to have been sent between the timeframe of July 29th and December 3rd, 634 AU. This is not a completely recovered set of writing. Whilst included missives were found in the ruins of the Samara and Montserrat outposts, other letters are actively being sought after by scribe and rider alike for insight on personal relations within harsh military structures. Just for studying. Totally just for studying.

— A personal addendum from Jesinia Neilwart, Curator of the Scribe Quadrant of Basgiath War College

Princess,

Fuck. It’s not even been a week without you, and I can already feel myself coming apart (No — not like that. I wish.). Everything would be so much easier with you here, but at the same time, I’m glad you’re in Monserrat rather than Samara. This place is not for the faint of heart, and while you are the most capable woman I know, I can already tell that riders are eaten alive here. Especially when you’re me. I have to start from ground zero all over again to make people trust me, fight twice as hard for all the same privileges that others are handed so easily.

I can’t help but wonder if it’s the same for you. Have people started suspecting about you yet? I doubt anything would happen — you’re an active service member with incredible skills — but a part of me worries that someone will be there to snitch you out. Stand your ground, beautiful. You’re more than any of these people can claim to be, anyway.

I’ll try to keep my missives as brief as possible, although I’d try to write whole tomes for you if I had the time. I love you in ways that consume me wholly. Please stay as safe as you can.

Yours forever, 

GT

⁺₊⋆ 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊

Garrick,

I can say with upmost certainty that no one here knows a thing, besides that we are together. Seriously — the amount of times I’ve been referred to as “Tavis’s Girl” rather than my own name is appalling. I don’t know many people here besides this one girl from my wing, who decided upon meeting that we are friends. I quite like her. She makes for good company.

I’ll be honest with you, my love; I’m lonely. I miss you more than I miss the sun in a hurricane. Sometimes, I wake at night reaching for you, only to be met with nothing but sheets. Disappointing, but fine.

I’m so sorry I can’t be there with you. Had I known that you’d be sent to Samara, I would have requested to be there, too. I don’t care if it’s dangerous — you cannot convince me that there is a place safer on this Continent than being by your side. Even surrounded by hundreds of infantrymen and dragons, I would still feel better if I could see you. Oh, well. I can be patient, I suppose. 

I send you all the love from my place here. Rest assured I am safe and sound, despite the constant conflict. Send Xaden my best, too — I can’t imagine he has it any easier, especially with his Violet ordeal.

Thoroughly and utterly yours,

CC

⁺₊⋆ 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊

Princess,

I’m glad you’re at least making connections with people — but who am I kidding? That’s what you do best. If your jackass brother weren’t the crown prince, you’d make the fairest queen of all.

You want to know what’s funny? Second to being classified as a traitor, people know me as yours, too. I guess sticking to one another like glue for three years paid off. 

Xaden wishes you well. The lucky bastard gets a couple of days every two weeks to go see Violet. I’d say I’m jealous, but I think Chradh would choke at the thought of being mates with Seachran. Correction — he just yelled at me extensively.

I would try and tell you about my days, but I’m afraid there’s not much to talk about right now. All we do is train and fight, with some recreational fighting on the side. Gambling is a big deal here, apparently. I bet I could cheat my way into getting the weekend off to see you, but I know you prefer honesty over everything. You’ve always been better than me, you righteous little light.

I heard that there was an attack near you recently. I imagine you are perfectly fine, but quick correspondance would be much appreciated.

Still terribly lovesick,

GT

⁺₊⋆ 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊

My love,

Rest assured that I am okay. That "attack" was nothing more than a drift of gryphons gone astray. They were taken out quickly, with an efficiency that…Well, I’ll be honest. It scared the shit out of me. I forget sometimes that we’re actually in the service and not students anymore. 

Physically, I am fine. Emotionally? Drained. There is only so much time some can go without seeing the one they love, and despite what you may think, I am a woman of very weak willpower. Perhaps we spent a little too much time together back in Basgiath, because I find myself watching for you around every corner and through every door. It saddened me at first, but now it’s pretty funny. No one here even looks like you, yet I still was hopeful anyway. Perhaps that is foolish. I find it comedic. I think I have to — or else I’ll find myself succumbing to the things that haunt me otherwise. 

Don’t ask. It is best to leave it at that.

Tell me everything and anything you want. I would gladly listen to hours of strategizing and arguments just to hear your voice. You wouldn’t have to cheat, either. We both know that you’re the best of the best, and anyone who thinks they can one-up you just because of a damned relic can kiss my ass.

Always, always, always,

CC

⁺₊⋆ 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊

My darling,

Nothing in that beautiful mind of yours could ever be foolish. On the contrary, the same is happening to me. Riorson tried to assure me that it was fine, since some of the women here, “look like you, anyway,” but I disagree. None of them have your smile. They don’t have the freckles that only show themselves in the summer. They don’t have your inclination to take others under their wings, and they certainly don’t have your eyes. I don’t think anyone does.

Oh, yeah. They don’t have Seachran, either. I think we’d know if they did.  

I think you’ve boosted my ego tenfold, but that’s not much of a change, as far as I’m concerned. No time for being humble when I’ve got a lovely woman waiting for me and a bunch of dark wielders ready to hunt me down.

Call me a dreamer, but I can’t wait until this is over. I have so many things I want to show you. To share with you. To be with you. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, and perhaps you’ll think I’m a sap, but that’s alright. You could call me a traitor straight to my face, and I’d just appreciate how it sounds on your tongue.

Still drowning within you,

GT

⁺₊⋆ 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊

My love,

 Firstly, I would never entertain the thought of calling you anything like that. You deserve only the sweetest of words from me, and that’s all you’ll get — unless you decide to be a dumbass.

Maybe you are a dreamer. Maybe it is wishful thinking. The thing about being a light-wielder, though, is that you learn to wish on stars frequently. I am a dreamer, too. Let me share a piece of my dreams with you.

When this war ends — because we will end it — all I want is you. I don’t care where we go, whether it be Aretia or someplace else. Just us and our friends for a while, taking chances and getting to take a moment to breathe air that isn’t tainted with blood. I see the sun, and that river you’ve told me so much about, and waking up to fresh sheets and warm touches. We can be soft and keep it that way,  just you and me, and then…I’m not quite sure. I have thoughts, but I don’t like being too forward. 

Fuck that. Never mind. I want a life with you. A family — a real one, where we never question if someone loves another or if their presence is wanted in the first place. I’ll give as much as you will, because I know you will without asking. That is why I want it in the first place; there is no one else I’d share the sentiment with.

So call yourself a dreamer and a sap. Just know that I am ten times more delusional than you are.

Dreaming of you,

CC

⁺₊⋆ 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊

My brightest light,

You can’t just say things like that and expect me to be normal about it. No, I am not crying; it is just exceptionally hot sharing a room with three other riders.

You want my dreams? I’ll give them all to you. I want it all. All of it. The sun, the river, the sheets, the touches, the family. I will give it all to you if you do the same for me. Actually, I’d give it all to you, regardless. You deserve every fucking moment of it for everything you’ve given me. 

Will we have any idea of what we’re doing? Probably not. Neither of us have parents to consult, and I don’t quite understand children, but that doesn’t mean we won’t try. How many do you want? We’ll go from there.

Chradh says he’ll give us parenting advice. I’d sooner let him barrel-roll me into the side of the outpost.

Shit. He’s taking it personally now.

As I was saying, I want to give it all to you. The moment I have the chance, I’ll come to you and we’ll talk it out. I have something to ask of you, anyway. Tell me when it’s best for you, and I’ll fight like hell to get my forty-eight hours, and I’m not sharing. I know it’s not much, but it’s what I can manage without getting my ass kicked — even though, between you and me, I couldn’t care less if Command got mad at me. They’d have to find me to execute me, and fortunately for the both of us, I’m pretty fast.

I’ll be in your arms soon,

GT

⁺₊⋆ 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊

My love,

I also have my forty-eight hours for you. I wasn’t even aware we could do that, but according to command, I’ve been out fighting so frequently that they’ve decided to give me a break of my choosing. Part of me wants to be offended and wonders if they think I’m delicate; the other part couldn’t care less. I haven’t had a break since the moment I slid from my mother’s womb on to her bedroom floor. I think I deserve it.

The end of November or beginning of December would suffice, I think. Since they won’t consider rotating stations until April, the halfway point is probably the best option — for both convenience’s sake, as well as my sanity.

I cannot wait to see you! I have not slept very well since the night before Reunification Day — the last night we had together. Where you should be laying, I have only sheets to cling to. If they smelled like you, maybe I would complain less, but no. I probably average a good four hours, but I know I’ll get at least six with you.

To put it bluntly, I need you here. Desperately. The end of November, at the earliest, please. Ask any question. Request anything of me. I don’t care. Please, just come home to me.

Don’t keep me waiting,

CC

⁺₊⋆ 𖤓 ⋆⁺₊

“I miss you.”

His words are mumbled into your hairline, his lips brushing against your skin like a midnight prayer. It may as well be; the moon, bright and swelling, paints his skin white as milk against the stone alcove you rest under. Despite his softness, his word choice has you frowning and tilting your head up.

“But I’m right here,” you reply, one brow furrowing in confusion.

Garrick just smiles. “I know,” he says. “But I still miss you. I miss you when I’m at Samara. I miss you when I’m on the battlefield. I miss you when you’re three inches away from me.” He presses a gentle kiss to the tip of your nose. “No matter where I am, I miss you.”

“Ah.” Has Garrick always been so poetic? Or is this just another change made by the distance and the four months that have separated the two of you?

You could barely go four months without him. You’re not sure if it’s romantic or pathetic. 

“Something on your mind, lovely?” Garrick asks, slipping a finger under your chin to pull your eyes to his. His eyes, wonderfully hazel, search yours carefully. It’s no secret to him that you’ve been struggling without him there beside you, and it’s not like he can say any different.

“No.” You tuck your head into his shoulder and sigh. “I just can’t wait for the next few months to be over. They’re talking about transferring some people out, so I’m hoping luck will be on our side and I’ll get sent to Samara.”

A low chuckle leaves him. “I’m not sure you’d enjoy it there. Unless you’re into watching two sweaty, shirtless men go at each other while everyone else drinks.”

That puts a mischievous smile on your face. “Does one of those sweaty, shirtless men happen to be mine? Because I’d totally be into that.”

That painfully adorable dimple flashes on Garrick’s cheek. “Pervert.”

You shove him playfully, although he doesn’t budge a bit. “Don’t act like you would pass up the opportunity to see me fight someone in just my bindings. I’m surprised you haven’t campaigned for it yet.”

“Well…” He glances around before snaking his hands around your hips and pulling, trapping you further into his embrace as you let out a little squeak of laughter. “I’m definitely not against the idea.“

You lean in and press a light kiss to the hollow of his throat. “You wouldn’t get jealous of other men seeing me without my leathers?”

Garrick scoffs, but the cocky grin is too obvious in his voice. “Wear whatever you want in front of any man. At the end of the day, you’ll end up with me, anyway.”

You snort but shake your head fondly. It’s been three years since the two of you started going out, ever since that terrifying October of your first year. For every day since then, you’ve gone back for Garrick, and he’s always come for you. You didn’t even mean to propose the jealousy scenario, but grateful satisfaction blooms in your gut. Garrick is a lot of things, but he’s certainly not insecure.

“Alright, wise guy,” you joke, poking him in the ribs and receiving a mocking pout in return. “You wanted to ask me something. Talk.”

His eyebrows raise in surprise, stretching the scar on his face a little like he didn’t expect your demand. “Someone’s eager.”

“Of course I am,” you shoot back. “I haven’t seen you in months. Haven’t heard you in months. Ask me everything so your voice sticks with me better.”

He just shakes his head, relaxing against the wall and reaching for the ends of your now-loosened hair. “You missed me, too?”

Your lips purse as you flick him in the chest, your eyes softening as he catches your hand to bring it to his mouth. “Of course I did, idiot. And I’ll miss you in forty-eight hours. Now, spill.”

His lips tense in the way you know is him holding back a dirty joke, and then he just smiles, wrapping an arm around your waist to anchor your body to his.

“…I’ve been thinking,” he says quietly, after a few heartbeats. “About us.”

Oh? You tilt your head. It doesn’t surprise you, given how often you’re thinking of him, but it’s definitely not something you think he’d need to ask about.

“These past few months…” He sighs roughly. “They’ve been painful without you. Really fucking painful. I never imagined how often I’d go to bed and not be able to sleep without your head tucked into my shoulder, or how pissed off I’d get when you’re not there to keep my head set.” 

Your gaze softens, a hand coming up to brush against his unscarred cheek lightly. “Gare…”

He brushes his thumb against your lower lip, shushing you gently. “No, listen. Let me say my piece.”

Your lips seal almost instantly.

He starts again. “You’ve always been right there, you know? Even before Threshing, before we even properly met, you were there. Defending Freya from those assholes. Defending mefrom your brother, even though you knew fully that he wanted both of us dead. I thought you were insane back then.”

A wry smile cuts across your face. “Not now?”

His fingers glide across your jaw. “I digress. And even after that…you never left. Never. Not when you knew we were hiding something. Not when I had to lie. Not even after War Games, and I knew you wanted to scream at me.”

His eyes find yours. “Somehow, despite everything, you’ve never left. Do you know how many people in my life get to say that? It’s not many.”

“Like that’s hard?” you reply quietly, tracing up his relic with your pinkie. “You never gave me a reason to leave. In fact, you’ve only ever given me reasons to stay. I’ve never had that before, either — a reason to stay where I am, perfectly content with what I have.”

“I want you to have that.” Garrick reaches down into the pocket by his thigh, but it’s out of your line of sight. “Always. A reason to stay. A life that you want that wasn’t just thrown your way for the sake of convenience. A place where you’re truly happy, like we talked about. The sun. The river. A family.”

For reasons you can’t quite comprehend, your heart starts racing, knocking your breath from your lungs. Sure, Garrick’s always been a sweet-talker when it comes to you, but this? This is nothing short of a confession. 

But he didn’t say he had a confession. He said he had a request.

You search his eyes, the hazel glow growing brighter in the starlight. “…I don’t understand what you’re trying to ask of me.”

He just smiles. Not cocky. Not cheeky. Just gently. Wanting. Earnest. 

It sets your heart ablaze.

“Lovely.” He shifts a little, adjusting his grip on your face so his thumb can trail over your cheekbone — no doubt re-memorizing the pattern of your freckles. “I can’t do it without you. Anything, really. Sleep, walk, fight the war, live. At the end of the day, I’m just a man, and I never want to have to let you go.”

The cool skin of his fingers brushes against yours as he laces your palms together, pressing something small and cold in between your hands. You watch him quizzically before you bring your hand away from his, flipping your palm towards you and choking once you catch sight of what he’s places in it.

It’s…a ring.

Relatively small, it is. A silver band, patterned in small designs that spread across the surface. The gem lays carefully within the widest spot, golden yellow and glinting in the light. Smaller, matching gems dot against the band. Citrine. They’re beautiful, just like sunlight.

No. Not just sunlight. Your light.

Your breath catches. Oh, gods. 

It’s not just a ring. It’s a ring.

Your head snaps up, meeting his eyes that are lit with pure, unadulterated adoration.

“Say you won’t let go of me, Princess?” he asks, cupping your cheek in his palm.

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

You blink once. Twice. A third time, just out of habit. You open your mouth and then close it, your voice stolen away from pure disbelief.

He wants to marry you. To stay with you.

It’s enough to make you start crying like an infant.

“Fuck.” You press your face into his chest, not caring that your hot tears are soaking into his tunic with every shaky breath that leaves you. “Oh, gods.”

A hand ghosts up your spine, cradling you carefully. That’s when you feel it — the gently weight of something pressing into your spine. Cold. Heavier. 

Another ring. His. When did he slip it on?

“Lovely?” he prompts, dragging his lips against your forehead. “Are you—“

You cut him off by tearing yourself away from his chest, meeting his confusion-filled gaze with your own, packed with every thing, every feeling, every moment you share with him. Your eyes drop to his lips, and then trail back up shakily. Watching. Waiting.

“Yes,” you breathe. “Thoroughly and utterly. Yes. Please. Stay with me, forever. Please.”

His lips are on yours before he can even agree, sealing the promise into your mouth.

Searing. Binding. Filled with every ounce of joy and love and light and longing and want.

You’ll never have to let him go.

And, as if in response, the moon starts to glow a little brighter.

Taglist: @wonderstruckbyyou, @jessicalee22likestowrite, @freezerbride18, @ineednewdaggers, @suspicious-stain-in-spain, @kienhawon, @goldenmagnolias, @bi-incog-btch, @gracie-rosee, @lxnvmvrzx

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[utilitycaster]

ok I do not want to put this on the post about sf worlds without homophobia bc it does make a fair point in some cases about internally coherent worldbuilding, as well as plugs the Vorkosigan Saga, which I am always in favor of doing. however, at least in a fantasy world with a decent amount of available magic via different means, and especially if magical ability is not solely tied to book learning (ie, cannot be prohibited via social control), it's always made sense to me because like...what if you tried to force this person who could get pregnant into an unwanted marriage and they just eldritch blasted you for it. and what if this happened with enough frequency that people just gave up on trying to control this shit because they kept getting eldritch blasted by women and queer people. Like in a low-magic fantasy, I agree that it would be complicated unless there was some other force involved (eg, religion, as in the Kushiel novels where 'love as thou wilt' is divine decree ie god wants you to have consensual sex and doesn't care if it's gay, and even those have misogyny and heteronormativity outside of Terre d'Ange, and the initial trilogy doesn't really deal with trans identity that I recall). But if magical powers that don't require specialized training to obtain are present in a certain percentage of the population at random, at some point, fear of getting vaporized for disrespecting someone's autonomy is a powerful enough motivator to create a roughly egalitarian society. Or in other words, I kind of agree in that I think it's better to ask yourself "why is there not misogyny and queerphobia in this setting and what norms and systems would arise to handle matters of inheritance and childbirth in that case" than to automatically say it's unrealistic.

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[thinkblotted]

Building a Better Star (aka, the Star Essay)

I like Star. I’m getting that shit out of the way right here at the beginning, just in case. I like Star, I like what she is, I think she deserves better writing. 

Also - these are my takes. These takes may not be your takes. We can have different takes.

Okay? Okay. Let’s go. 

For the purposes of this analysis and suggestion, I’m only going to be going off of movie canon Star, rather than book canon Star, because while they’re basically the same, there are a few background elements in the book that expand  on Star’s internal thoughts and relationships with the boys that you could only get from exposition in the book, and that’s not as available a source as the movie, so. 

Since I’m either posting this on tumblr for the four people who will read it, or filming myself talking about this like a normal person with normal hobbies, I won’t explain who canonically she is because that’s unnecessary for this audience of me and a discord server, but rather who she is as a character as presented.

The thing about The Lost Boys is that it exists as a double edged sword of characterization for all its characters. They’re all incredibly simple, and in that white space that’s left behind where deeper characterization would be put in other movies, here there’s just a void, leaving the audience to fill in the gaps however they see fit with whatever they can glean from the surrounding world. 

The vampires are the prime example of this - of all the characters, they get the least amount of dialogue and have the most void to fill in who they are as characters. Star is the runner up, having more character, but the same amount of void in her backstory. 

So who is Star? 

Star is The Girl of the group, a trope wherein you have a group of characters who make up the core of your main cast and usually they’re all male, with one or occasionally two exceptions being girls - if it’s two, one will be the ‘nerdy’ or otherwise ‘not strictly desirable by main male cast’ role, and the other will be The Girl, who is almost always the love interest of the main male, who, even though she’s more of a main character then the secondary girl, typically does less than them. As presented, Star fits this trope easily, as well as filling out the subtropes that it consists of. 

She’s soft-spoken, pretty, demure, stays out of most of the fights in the story, offers the protagonist advice but never tells him directly how to face the conflict of the story, offers support but never directly physically supports the protagonist. She’s an inciting incident all to herself, but never actually drives the plot forward except to be a shining prize on the mountaintop of the narrative that the protagonist must climb in order to claim. 

After being in the Lost Boys fandom for about two and a half-ish years now, there are some take-aways specific to Star that the fandom tends to play on the most. 

And I want to add in here, I do not have a problem with these traits being assigned to her. Star, like the rest of the cast, is a very malleable character. The void around her is just as vast as the other vampires, and this is fandom - we play with blorbos from our media like dolls. This entire thing is purely based on what I personally would like to see Star become, and since I’m a freak, I don’t just write fanfic, I also do this. Apparently. So take everything I’m saying with a giant grain of salt.

The traits that I most see attributed to Star are:

-She’s a shrinking violet, either unwilling or unable to interact directly with the conflict of the story

-She’s being held against her will to the point that leaving in any capacity is not only not an option, but would lead to physical harm/possibly death if she tried (ie, she’s an abused captive) 

-She cannot be held responsible for any bad decisions she’s made in the past or makes in the current story, or any bad turns the plot takes 

The first assertion is held up pretty well by the canon of the movie, and most of the fandom also agrees that it would have been nice if the movie actually did make Star a little less soft. There have been several outcries for Star to ‘vamp out’ like the Boys did, to at the very least give her a scary vampire face! Her tiny confrontation with Max at the end of the movie would have been a perfect space for that, but unfortunately, the movie has 80s-itis and being the female love interest and a victim in the plot, Star isn’t allowed to be aggressive in such a blatant manner. 

Star also hangs back whenever the Boys have presence on the screen. She’s never in the forefront, sharing the space, she’s in the background, watching them, only observing. The one time she directly contradicts them, ‘Leave him alone’ she’s told straight up to ‘chill out, girl’, and she doesn’t continue the conflict. When she does decide to try and be more forward with Michael, directly affecting things, she waits until there is no other persons of consequence around in order to do so. 

The second assertion of her being held against her will is a little trickier to pin down as a trait, but evidence of this is implied with how she contributes to the narrative - mainly, in asking Michael directly to save Laddie and her from the Boys, or at the very least, the situation she’s in. Though, it should be noted, that Star never makes a direct statement of what that situation is. She hedges that it’s being being driven to kill to sate the vampiric nature, but when taking scenes like David simply saying her name to get her to come to him, being told indirectly to back off when the Boys are hazing Michael, and backing away in a fearful manner when Michael is drinking the blood wine into consideration, there’s the darker notion that she’s being abused in other ways. 

Because the movie is meant to be a lighter flick, full of scary-yet-alluring vampire punk boys and over the top monster-hunting gore, billing it as a ‘horror-comedy’ excludes any deeper exploration or more explicit on-screen showing of verbal, emotional, or physical harm that Star may be experiencing. Doing so would take away from the fantastical and darkly whimsical nature of the story, grounding it too much, and making the Boys, though they be villains, into villains we wouldn’t love to hate.

Thus, the darker implications of what Star might be facing behind the scenes, when Michael isn’t around and before he came along, is left to the audience’s interpretation, as well as any ability Star has to struggle against them. The fandom frequently interprets as none, thanks to the plot of the movie being what it is. 

The third major assertion that the fandom tends to adopt is that Star is largely if not completely irresponsible for the missteps of other characters and for her own predicament. 

This given trait is the most difficult to back up with evidence directly from the canon as it relies heavily on filling in the blank spaces of Star and the other character’s backstories. Star is not responsible for Michael spotting her in the crowd at the concert or deciding to follow after her. Star technically didn’t tell Michael to accept David’s goading to race. Star told Michael she both didn’t know how to help him, and couldn’t explain it. Star is not responsible for Michael’s induction into the Boy’s gang because, well, she told him what he was drinking was blood. Star never directly acts to drive the plot forward until the beginning of the third act when she does admit to Michael that she needs his help, thus, cannot be held responsible even in part to Michael’s involvement. 

Lack or acceptance of Star’s responsibility for her own inability to leave the Boys is even harder to pin down, as we have no movie canon for what her life was like before meeting the Boys. The implication from the world around them is that Star is a runaway kid like many of the people seen in the opening sweep of Santa Carla, likely from a crappy home and was taken in by the Boys but soon got in over her head, but this is never directly confirmed. 

The idea that Star made a bad choice, and was not just manipulated and coerced after the ‘honeymoon’ period with the Boys is somewhat controversial as it paints Star in a less favorable light. She isn’t an innocent victim, but rather someone who made a bad call and refuses to acknowledge her own agency in that decision, instead placing any and all blame on the Boys. 

‘But what if she’s tried that already?’ Unfortunately, that lies entirely in the realm of off-screen possibilities that are not support by any canon. Star in the movie is never shown or implied to have tried escaping before, and in the book she merely has internal monologues about wanting to leave, not that she’s ever attempted it. 

Giving Star any one of these traits on their own isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Star is very much helpless in this situation - she’s in a den of immortal man-eating monsters while only being barely half of one herself, and refusing to take the option that would grant her more physical power to assert control in the situation, because the act required would be a shattering of her moral compass. Regardless of her involvement in how she got here, she deserves to be able to leave and make better choices. 

But giving Star all of these traits at once with nothing else to her flattens her completely. It does her, in my opinion, an incredible amount of injustice to absolve her of any kind of responsibility in her own problems and then rob her of any bravery to take a risk and change it herself.

And that’s not a good character. 

In order to build a better Star, we need to first accept a truth that might be a slightly hard pill to swallow: 

A good Star is not necessarily a protagonist. 

At least, not in the same way that Michael or Sam can be. Michael and Sam are protagonists in that they’re the heroes of the story. They face the main conflict head on and drive the plot forward with their actions, and are who we’re rooting for to win. We see them and their actions as ‘good’. They are absolved by the framing of blame in what is done to them. (Michael in getting in over his head with the Boys by ignoring the reservations and loose warnings of others, and Sam of murder with the fact that the Boys are man-eating monsters bent on getting back at them when one of their own is killed.)

If you make Star a protagonist in the same way, with her needing to be framed as ‘good’ in the story, but only keeping the character traits previously listed, then she’s a boring character. She becomes only nebulously ‘good’ just by virtue of not technically having done anything that could be considered ‘bad.’ Being counted as a heroine only by default. 

And that sucks. That puts her simultaneously on a pedestal where she can do no wrong, but is an empty shell that’s there to smile or cry and do nothing else. 

Often, when talking about female protagonists, antagonists, anti-heros and characters with grey morality or amorality, the added layer of them being women forces ten times the scrutiny on not just how they’re built as a character, but on their creators and why they’re choosing to build the character in the way they are. Any mistakes plot-pushing decisions made by the character aren’t as likely to be accepted as just the character acting in the story, but get traced back to the author. The audience constantly asks the question, ‘if it was a male character, would there be consequences for this act, or are you treating this character special because they’re a woman?’ 

In this case, it’s ‘Michael also fucks up, and yet is treated as a victim, deserving of sympathy and being saved by his brother rather than having to fight all on his own. Their situations are the same. Why not Star? The only difference between them is gender.’ 

This essay is not about whether or not Star is deserving of being saved, nor is it saying that she deserves being trapped in the situation that she’s in. But much like how Star reminds Michael that she did indeed tell him that it was blood in the bottle and he scoffed at her, Star deserves not to be a lifeless doll being acted upon, and a good female character deserves to not be a pretty, perfect Barbie doll that does no wrong and always looks pretty. 

So with the knowledge that a better Star cannot be purely a protagonist, how do we lower her from the boring pedestal? 

My suggestion: by inverting her three main traits

The first: If she’s billed as meek and demure and soft, then make her more aggressive and vulgar 

The second: If she seems to be kept at silent gunpoint, then give her more freedom to act

The third: Make her at least partly responsible for her own situation, regardless of whether or not she thinks she is 

The first revised trait is the most important in my opinion to building a better Star, as it will help direct and reinforce the second two. 

A large part of Star’s lack of presence in the movie is quite literally, a lack of physical presence. Star seems to hate even being near the vampires, and depending on what kind of story you wish to show her in, it could make sense. But chances are, if she’s given the shrinking violet trait, she’s been given the other two as well, and that makes a bad Star. She must be allowed to speak, and more than that - she must be allowed to show emotion. 

Let Star be angry. Let her be hurt in a way that’s not beautiful and languorous, a wilting agony of suffering in silence. And I’ll say it: Let Star say the Fuck word. As silly and simple as it may seem, such a small detail can transform a character. Star deserves to be as rough-edged and imperfect in her words and attitude as any of the rest of the Boys, possibly more if she’s in a situation that she hates! If she had the bravery to run away from home, then she should be afforded the bravery to be more than a pretty, silent, pure woman who doesn’t know what a cigarette is. 

The second revised trait is going to be the most fluid in interpretation because it relies the most on the author or artist or fan’s personal interpretation of what the relationship between Star and the Boys is really like. 

In the movie, Star seems to move with the Boys. She’s usually near them enough that they can keep an eye on her, as we see with David watching Star talking to Michael before the beach race. The only times we see Star distance herself physically is right after the bonfire, where she comes to the Emerson cabin to convince Michael to save her, or when she and Michael have sex. The first time, she seems desperate, like she may not have much time, and the second, she’s been left there on her own while the Boys go out and cavort, likely with the implication that she should stay where they can find her when they get back. 

Again, this is the trait that can be toyed with the most, but a good way to combat the feeling that she’s being held against her will is to give the notion that there are parts of being around the vampires that she likes. There are tiny hints of this in the movie, and the book expands on this. In the movie, there’s a moment during the race where Star seems to be enjoying herself while riding with David - at the very least, she’s enjoying the speed and thrill, if not the person she’s with. In the book, Star and Paul have the best relationship of any of the boys, with Paul trying to cheer her up and promising a ‘happily ever after’. To keep it from feeling like a full captive situation, give Star a reason to feel a bit conflicted over the pack. She’s there in the first place, after all. 

The third revised trait is going to be the most controversial, as it’s a hard thing to admit when people in real life do it. 

Admitting that sometimes, the problems we find ourselves dealing with, are our own fault. We make a bad call, we make a poorly informed decision or decide in the heat of the moment. Sometimes, we are lied to, but the lie is flimsy and we chose to swallow it because it’s what we wanted to hear at the time. I like to ask authors writing villains this - what’s worse and more compelling; a villain who lies, or a villain who tells the protagonist a truth they don’t want to hear? 

And, as backwards as it sounds, making Star partially responsible for her situation is giving her more agency in her story. It gives her a reasonable character flaw that she has to confront and defeat. 

Here is where I’m going to throw in an interesting observation about a specific scene that I think helps lend itself to this particular revised trait: the scene where she asks Michael for help directly. In canon, the scene goes about like this - Star comes to the cabin, Michael tells her that he knows about the vampires, and when he expresses that he thinks it’s basically done for him, Star tells him that it’s not, he’s not fully gone, and that she needs his help to save all three of them. Now, there’s something really, really interesting to me about this scene: Star is NOT a reliable narrator during it. At all. 

To say that she’s lying outright about everything would be untrue, but when you examine it, you realize that she’s being untruthful all the same. When Michael gets upset, accusing her of not caring about him because in his eyes she let this happen, she says that she DOES care about him, using physical touch to reinforce this. When she’s soundly rejected, by Michel slapping her hand away and demanding to know why she REALLY came, she very reluctantly tells him that she was hoping he’d help them. It’s her last answer, the last thing she wanted to say. Obviously hoping that the emotions would be enough to persuade him, rather than just saying that she needed help outright, which would be easier to say no to. 

Secondly, the WHY. Star states that Michael was ‘supposed to be her first, because it’s what David wanted’. When watching the scene, the delivery, the body language, and given the full context of the plot and how we’ve seen Star behave? We can only come to the conclusion that Star. Doesn’t. Know. That. 

Max’s ultimate goal is to get Lucy, and to get Lucy, he needs Michael and Sam to be on board, or at least BE vampires. Killing one of her children would hardly serve that goal. Given the ending fight, Max doesn’t give a dead rat’s ass about Star. And Star? She doesn’t even know Max exists. David telling Star to kill Michael to turn her into a vampire is not only pointless, but going expressly against Max’s wishes. We don’t know how much of Max’s plan David and the Boys know about, or given their personalities and implied relationship with him, even care about, but defying him in this instance doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to do. 

Not to mention - Star does like Michael. She hugs him at the end, she does give him a warning about the blood, albeit a weak one. She does attempt to fight Max in the end, even if she fails. As for her thoughts on David, those are more complicated. Whether the relationship is real, coerced, that she’s simply a pawn being used to tug Michael around or whether she and David did like each other at one time, is unknown, but it is clear that Star knows that David is interested in Michael, and doesn’t like it. So it would then be logical to assume, given this, that Star would assume, based on what she knows and has been able to observe, that she’d pain David in a worse light. Insinuating that it’s HIM who’s pulling the string, assuming what he wants and what his intentions are, even if she DOESN’T. KNOW. 

All this to conclude: Star is an unreliable narrator taking actions based on her own flawed assumptions. Which means she’s going to make mistakes, and miscalculate her position. She’s going to cast herself in a certain light, and like anyone, maybe not want to admit when that light is suddenly not a reflection of her best. 

So, how do I conclude this. 

Star is an interesting character, and I do enjoy her. If you managed to sit through this to get to here, and if there’s anything to take away from this, it’s that I enjoy Star and I want her to be a better…her. She deserves to cuss and spit, she deserves to be angry and sad at her predicament, she deserves to be loved as a whole person and not some untouchable angel. Let her fight. Let her bite. Let her bleed for her freedom and personhood.

Most importantly, if you allow the Boys room to be more than they are presented as on screen, then you can afford to give that to Star. 

Thank you for reading, if you did. 

@misslavenderlady (I almost forgot!)

[colrell]

Will Graham is a Hyena.

Now, please hear me out on this because I've been sitting on for a while. I love those misunderstood animals more than anything... and I love Will Graham with almost the same amount of veracity. So.

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens | 1922 | dir. F.W. Murnau

Will is ostracised by society.

Hyenas, just like Will, have been rejected by humans and painted as monsters. Seen as simple, stupid scavengers who will do anything for a scrap of meat. I think we've all seen how they have been depicted in media such as The Lion King: dumb, cruel idiots whose only desire is to steal and destroy what other, more royal animals (lions: productive members of society) have built for themselves.

They are regarded as savages with no brains. Only capable of acting if under guidance of a firm fist of a leader and sometimes pitied by others... meanwhile, Hyenas are actually highly intelligent, social predators who hunt in groups and share their kills much more often than they scavenge. They remember faces and can identify friend from foe. They live in clans that get up to hundreds of members: but this fact goes unmentioned in most media.

Will isn't seen as somebody capable of caring for his own life because. Just like hyenas, he is treated as an outsider in his own home. Alan pitied him because she didn't think he could take care of himself. She saw him as a dependant and troubled man because he showed signs of being autistic. Jack treated him as a tool and lead him into destructions because he didn't think Will could make good decisions on his own and in his eyes, if Will were to be left to his own devised— he could stop being useful.

This image of hyenas— of Will — wasn't entirely undeserved, of course. They are, after all, a little bit weird. They look weird, act weird, and refuse to conform even when this refusal leads them to the outskirts of society... even before Will Grahams' encephalitis, he was as different. Everybody knew there was something 'other about him, which is experience shared by many people withing the queer and autistic-spectrum community. Some of us deliberately choose to mask because this is just a more comfortable way of existing day-to-day. We recognise that if we were to act as ourselves: the 'typicals might see it as an affront to themselves.

Others, however, take a different approach. They embrace this otherness as a badge of honour despite what others wish for them. Will Graham is one of those people, and just like Hyenas, he paid the price of it in ostricisment.

They reject judgement.

This brings us to how Hyenas are unapologetically themselves. Of course, an animal cannot be aware of what we as humans see them as, but in a way, they still are, and Will is much the same on that regard: doing his thing and refusing to follow others' ideas of himself.

Will Graham, for all the talk about how lost and confused he was before Hannibal, actually knew about the darkness within himself and he had accepted it.

It is very evident in the first episodes of the series, where he states this over and over again— others aren't allowed to judge. He is what he is. He is rude, he avoids eye contact, and he reconstruction murderers' minds and won't allow others to stand beside him while doing it because he won't take their judging glances for it.

He doesn't want to be psychoanalysed. Hannibal 'won't like him when he's psychoanalysed'. Nobody ever does because he won't let them change him. He doesn't want to change: he just wants to be left alone.

The reason for his fear during the first season wasn't his empathy. Will Graham knew what he was since the very beginning. He knew he's different. He knew of this dark side of himself, which craved to kill before encephalitis came along, and that is what made Hannibal so enamoured with the man.

I know that many people believe Hannibal to be the reason for why Will started to kill or fantasise about it... but he did it since before knowing Hannibal. The reason why Will was so petrified wasn't because he started seeing himself kill. It wasn't the fantasies or Hannibals manipulations that brought him to this state of hysteria because Will knew what he was already.

It was a lack of control, which brought him over the edge. Fear of losing composure, of killing and not knowing it. Not the act of killing itself. Until the sickness came for him, Will perhaps wasn't doing well... but he was content with how things were. He never wanted to be helped or changed. He merely wished to be accepted.

Will is a scavenger... and predator.

Yes, I know that we all see the agent as a fisherman— luring and waiting for prey to come to him, but that is not all that he does.

Hyenas are hunters first, which is another thing that media often gets wrong.

They hunt for their own food, and they do it successfully, collectively, and cruelly. Funfact: most of the videos featuring hyenas hanging around corpses, which are being eaten by lions, are actually hyena kills that were falsely attributed to their enemies.

Much in likeness to how Will fantasises about his own work, hyenas murder with beautiful personality. Their hunts are bloody, wild, and brutal. They are savage in how they kill, chasing the weak and biting them until the inevitable collapse. They don't wait for their victim to die. There is no need to.

But they can scavenge— and scavenge they do. It reminds me of how Will continues to eat Hannibals' own prey even after learning about what it is; How he waits for Chiyoh to kill the prisoner herself and creates art out of the corpse because his curiosity was more important than the act itself. How he was fine with Matthew doing his dirty work for him. How simple act of threatening Hannibal with a gun brings out a vicious smile... he liked the idea of having Hannibal at his mercy, of the psychiatrist not knowing if he will die tonight (being sure he shall).

There is a lot of cruelty within Will Graham, which he never attempted to hide. It was simply overlooked because of his desire for bringing justice that came alongside it.

Hyenas and Will are queer icons.

Not only for how gay his relashionship with Hannibal is.

Our fandom is full of trans and gender nonconforning people. Will is heavily autistic-coded, and transgender people can identify with him for a huge variety of reasons. We see his struggles, the way he suffers with his own identity in comparison to how others see him, and we empathise because it mirrors our own experiences in the world that does not and nefariously refuses to understand us.

Hyenas, as some of you may know (and others are learning about it in this post), spotted hyenas in particular, have been viewed as "double-sexed" since before the times of ancient Greece. The reason for this is that females of the species sport a genitalia that looks indistinguishably like the males'. For ages, humans believed them to be either all bigenital or constantly sex-changing animals. They are plenty of myths and stories about this fact.

They do not change their sex, of course. Either on a whim or based on necessity— female spotted hyenas are born, age and die as females just as the males remain just that for the entirety of their lives... however: this does not change how they were (and still are, for some) perceived.

Reasons for this state are multiple. For one, spotted hyenas are a matriarchal species. They are much bigger, stronger and dominant towards the males. They have thick skulls, powerful jaws and brute bodies. This uniqueness is ensured by a large amount of androgens their bodies produce during growing up: making them stronger... and also causing their (already naturally big) clitorises to grow to sizes comparable to a males'. They will even mount the males (and other females) at times as a form of domination tactic. This intersex-like feature is found in ALL female spotted hyenas.

In recent years (or decades), they have become one of the symbols for the transgender community. Indeed, hyenas are unique and beautiful gender-benders.

And just as members of the queer community, they are hated by the mainstream media— and loved by those who took the time necessary to understand them. Sounds awfully like Will, doesn't it.

Hyenas have been misinterpreted by us for centuries. And so is Will Graham by almost everybody in his community.

They are notoriously called ugly, much like Dolarhyde's claim of Will not being attractive. It is not true: Hyena's beauty is a matter of opinion. They have a distinct, heavy smell which they spread all over their territory, however people who live amongst them often like to remind sceptics that they actually do not smell any worse than their natural enemies: lions, do. They're claimed as ugly because humans don't understand them, because they're demonised and 'obviously', evil can not be beautiful— it must be ugly, stinky, disgusting...

Aren't those all epithet given to the people in the queer community? To Will, in a sense?

Hyenas— and Will, are victims of abuse.

There is a group of African people known as The Hyena Men, the Gadawan Kura. They group travels throughout Nigeria with their half-tamed hyenas and other animals and make them perform various tricks in order to make a living.

Which— here we go to the point:

Hyenas are social animals and just like dogs, can be socialised and trained. They actually make wonderful friends, if you have the resources and enough persistence within you to try. Those people, the Gadawan Kura, recognised it and use it to their gain. There has been a photographer who documented some of this relashionship between those hyenas and their men. It's a very fascinating and interesting tale to read about.

Until you learn that said hyenas weren't brought to this point with love but through abuse.

There is a very painful parallel to how Jack treats Will thought the whole story, and before it, and how the Gadawan Kura train their hyenas through beatings and scraps of food. They are rewarded for good behaviour... barely.

Doing tricks (profiling), brought along traveling (dragged around to crimescenes even when he doesn't want to), given rewards in food (told he's doing good work though said work is breaking him).

Abdullahi Mohammed with Gumu | Ogere-Remo | Nigeria | 2007

... and there is also the fact that Hyenas closest relatives are the meerkat and mongoose.

And we all know Hannibals' stance on that one.

[tiggymalvern]

I cannot emphasise how much of a miracle this has been in cat medicine. A disease that mostly affects young cats a year of age or less went from being basically 100% fatal to 95% curable with one drug.

All the initial work for this drug (and another one called remdesevir) came out of Australia, because the drugs were easy to get hold of there for animal use and virtually impossible anywhere else. The papers were published, the word got out and the drugs were still not legal in the US.

So the drug black market sprang into action. There were facebook groups set up to connect people with dying cats with people who had a supply and would hook you into the chain in under 24 hours. I do not know where these people were getting the drugs from. Nobody ever wanted to ask. I do know that they were saving cats' lives.

It obviously wasn't an ideal situation - you're hoping that the drugs are actually in the right concentration and the amount you're giving is the amount you think you're giving - but when your cat's going to be dead in a week anyway, what do you have to lose?

Fortunately the FDA got the urgency of it too, and rushed through authorisation faster than I've ever known. So you can now legally get a guaranteed supply through online pharmacies and suddenly a death sentence is 'one course of treatment and cured'. It's been truly astonishing for me to see these kittens turn around the way they do. and go on to lead normal cat lives.

we have to write poems in my creative writing certificate program, so I pieced something together from Belphie's medical reports

[gaycubedenby]

I would apologize, but yall are gonna see more of these. I cannot apoligize for the amount of brainrot I currently possess over Sunrise on the reaping.

Below the cut are spoilers.

So i remember when the original hunger games came out, and everyone was convinced that Prim was choosen to punish Katniss due to her hunting, and what not. I don't think they did that. To be honest, I don't think the capital cared that she hunted.

I could agree that Prim was maybe choosen to fit an archetype that they wanted for the games, but I don't think her name was the only one in the bowl.

Until

Sunrise on the reaping.

I think Prims name was in there for every slip, but not for Katniss. To punish Haymitch. Snow is petty. I would not put it past him to put the daughter of the girl haymitch threw a brick at because she was getting to close and his best friend, into the games.

One he would have to mentor. Someone who is like Louella and Lou Lou. One that he would have to watch die, probably brutally, knowing there was nothing he could do to save her. Like louella. Like Lou lou. Like Mayislee and Ambert. Like all his doves in his own games. Like his own brother.

Because yeah Katniss was hunting and doing things she shouldn't, but it sounds like that was common for 12. I don't think they would have expected katniss to volunteer. It was unheard of. So I don't think it was a ploy to grt her to volunteer, or even to punish her. If anything punishing her would just be icing on top.

But snow using the young daughter of haymitchs best friend to further remind haymitch of his control and his reach? This man cant stand the Covey 40 years after Lucy Gray, I can see him easily being petty enough to do this 24 years after killing Haymitchs family and his girl.

To make him mentor this little girl, the daughter of two people he loved very much and who loved him, who held on to him after his games as long as they could, and to send her into the arena. To make her die in a horrible, awful way. Now that....that would be snows way of icing Haymitchs horrible, poisoned birthday cake.

[desiredrealitytv]

You are now watching… desired reality tv!!!

hi there! welcome to desired reality tv! i’m your host: brooke! and i can’t wait for you to tune in to the channel. today news center 222 is gonna be covering an interview with yours truly, by yours truly.

first things first, get to know your host!

･ ｡ﾟ☆: hi everyone! my name is brooke, i’m 19 years old, and i’m an aquarius sun, aries moon, and gemini rising! i learned about shifting/manifesting wayyyy back in 2019! i’ve been actively practicing shifting since 2020 and have been doing manifestation/spiritual practices for about the same amount of time!

my favorite color is purple (clearly). i love music (even though my taste is quite basic idrc). i like to read (i say as if i’m not in a horrible reading slump). i’m new to tumblr in general and i’m super open to making new shifting/loa friends if anyone’s interested! <3

where do i shift to?

･ ｡ﾟ☆: currently, i’m fixated on my mcu x marauders crossover dr! james potter holds my heart and soul i fear… (but don’t tell him i said that please!)

i also have a dc x mcu dr, which i’m superrr excited to shift to but it’s a bit more complex than my other dr so it’s on a back burner in my mind!! (who am i kidding, i fantasize about it all the time?!)

as for other drs… in theory i have a few fame drs, an f1 dr, a pjo/hoo dr, an andrew garfield spider-man dr, and whatever else is on my mind any given day. none of these are scripts i’ve finished tbh, but i want to go there one day. (anyone else get the urge to shift to any media you consume?!!)

miscellaneous facts about me?!

･ ｡ﾟ☆: as i stated before, my favorite color is purple, i love all shades, lavender and royal purple (cool undertones preferred) have my <3 fully. i love fantasy and dystopian books, always looking for good recs because i hate searching on my own can’t lie (i promise i’m gonna read caraval soon rachel.) i’m obsessed with learning about the universe, spirituality, neuroplasticity, loa, all of the “woo woo” witchy or science idc, it’s fascinating.

series i love: invincible, the vampire diaries, teenwolf, young justice, cobra kai (haven’t finished the last season yet), THE ORIGINALS (elijah mikaelson the man you are), x-men 97, percy jackson, the mcu, harry potter (fuck jkr btw), the arrowverse (have not finished everything but still love it), the hunger games, spider-verse and all spider-man media, little women, and probably a bunch more i cannot recall.

fav artists: harry styles, arctic monkeys, maisie peters, sabrina carpenter, frank ocean, taylor swift, 1d, zayn, ariana grande, tate mcrae

where am i at in my journey?

･ ｡ﾟ☆: currently? i’m on my way to fully shifting to my marauders x mcu dr. i’ve mini-shifted so many times i cannot remember, i’ve fully shifted to alternate one offs of either my cr or dr… (super annoying btw, but thankful for the proof of shifting i suppose) i’ve also had plenty of “dream-shifts” which is a term me and @alleviatcd coined a few years ago, which basically means shifting through a dream into a real life version of said dream or something similar. (we were using it as a really loose term tbh)

i’ve had plenty of experiences with shifting and manifesting by now, i’m at the point in my journey where i’m implementing it in a way where it’s just a normal part of my life, not some outlandish goal i’m trying to complete. i decided to make this blog to have somewhere to ramble (like most of us i assume), and hopefully help a few people and myself out along the way.

if you’ve read all the way down here… i love you so bad wtf?!!! thank you so much for tuning into the pilot episode of desired reality tv: news center 222! if you’ve got any questions or ideas for me to post about send an ask, a dm, or whatever, i love yapping. and i love YOU all!

with love,

b <3

[whump-prompts-and-ideas]

Whump Prompts: Nobody believes whumpee vs. everybody believes whumpee - stalker edition

Nobody believes:

the horror of being abandoned by those closest to them. whumpee thinks they're going crazy, and everyone has more sympathy for the perceived loss of sanity than for the things whumpee is actually going through

or, they're not even sympathetic about that, and whumpee slowly loses friends as people get fed up with whumpee "making things up" and "attention seeking"

whumpee asks for help double checking things (did I lock the door? can you watch my bag?) and is repeatedly shut down by people who should care about them. The fear of someone stalking them is only paralleled by the betrayal

being shamed, repeatedly, by other people for causing a scene, for being paranoid, for taking this joke too far

Why don't other people believe whumpee? Is it that they don't know who the stalker is, so it all seems like a true crime fantasy they're making up? Do they know who the stalker is, but of course "whumper would never do that"?

Everybody believes:

the horror of helplessness. whumpee knows what's happening to them, everyone else knows, and not a single person can stop it

in a modern setting: whumpee has tried phoning for help. has tried getting a restraining order. nothing is good enough proof that they're in danger. even those who are wellmeaning have hands tied by bureaucracy.

It's just whumpee and whumpee's loved ones staking out now, trying to make sure whumpee is never alone–but somehow the gifts, the messages, the threats keep coming. Keep showing up. All the love in the world cannot stop the whumper.

In a pre-modern setting (medieval, ancient, renaissance) arranged marriages are a great setting for this. The whumper king/queen/monarch has their eye set on whumpee and no amount of pushback will stop them. Is pushback even acceptable?

Why doesn't knowing stop the whumper? Are they too powerful to disobey--a political, a royal, a CEO, a mafia boss? Or are the supernaturally powerful, and no one is going to be able to stop, say, a ghost whumper from getting to whumpee in the house where the ghost died?

So what do you prefer?

[kygerbearr]

we need to have a conversation about unlearning helplessness in your twenties. you cannot be reaching this age and refusing to make changes to things well within your control at this point. obviously there are circumstances that actually do leave some people helpless but most of what you are saying is something you (yes, You) can overcome if you have any amount of discipline and actually like give a shit about doing better. I know it is hard. ask for help if you need it, there are people who also want to see you do better if you are willing to put forth the effort. this is a general sweeping statement that mainly pertains to social behaviors, I am not referring to disabilities mental or otherwise (e.g. oh you have depression? get over it.) that's your one and only clarification on this matter. anyways humans are greatly capable of change I think you just need to practice potentially with some assistance

[chaotic-history]

"The male-male relationships that these 18th-century men desired did not use passionate heterosexual love as their model or language, but instead a masculine relationship of friendship, in which sexual desire was included." - Michel Rey, 1700-1750, Les sodomites créent une mode de vie

FUCKING THANK YOU.

[neodymiumcuilz]

Hello, did you know people in Gaza have to live with the knowledge that they could be bombed and killed at any moment?

And could you imagine planning your entire day around getting some food and water, or using a toilet?

Imagine constantly hearing planes and drones?

Could you imagine what living the the most inhumane and horrid conditions?? Trying to care for your children?? Imagine living through deliberate starvation, and being forced to go to one of these aid centres that kills starving people, and risking your life for food, because you don't get enough donations...

This is a reality for Ahmed ( @samirahmed125 ), and he is from Gaza and needs out donations. He has been reaching out to me, and he describes his suffering. I cannot even fathom it.

I look at the small amount of donations, knowing that $300 is needed for them per day. And I fear Ahmed would have to go back to that "aid" distribution centre.

Please, keep sharing and keep donations flowing, they need $300 per day and can hardly raise more than $30.

Ahmed also needs donations to save his son Samir, Samir's condition is dire and his life could be severely effected by slow donations. Samir was shot in the abdomen, and due to lack of supplies, he cannot get the medical treatment he needs in Gaza. They need donations to travel and recieve treatment.

Please, if you have a blog with alot of followers, please share this fundraiser. Even with a few words you can bring so much awareness.

tagging to reach the algorithm:

@palestinegenocide @sar-soor @akajustmerry @annoyingloudmicrowavecultist @tortiefrancis @feluka-blog-blog @flower-tea-fairies @tsarizu-archive @riding-with-the-wild-hunt @visenyasdragon @belleandsaintsebastian @ear-motif @kordeliiius @brutalia @raelyn-dreams @troythecatfish @theropoda @tamamita @4ft10tvlandfangirl @queerstudiesnatural @northgazaupdates2 @skatezophrenic @awetistic-things @camgirlsurvivalguide @baby-girlsx @nabulsi27 @thejasontoddarchives @anarchafemme @sweet-honey-bunnies @lesbiansforglados @dxppercxdxver @sheepory @elb4ckfl1po @millenniumidol @heart-forge @infectiouspiss @baweiii @butchfeygela @fox-guardian @oars @wolfythewitch @technofeudalism @pizzat-i @theomenroom @unearthprisonpanopticon @sealsdaily @ashwantsafreepalestine @ubernegro @bugmatics @kingoftheironcity @checkadii @wolf-tail @thi4f @mt-travaii @redbuddi @plasticduck @risoria @mollysunder @sister-lucifer @punkeropercyjackson @immediatebreakfast @khizuo @nevert-the-guy @ahaura @chanafehs @yourpersonaltimebomb @wolstinien @neechees @ankle-beez @webdings4 @silicacid @schroedingers-mooneater @lonniemachin @dykesbat @charlott2n @watermotif @yeetsintovoid @momorikoz @determinate-negation @girlinafairytale @yugiohz @rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world @painfully-unoriginal

STOP SCROLLING, SAMIR AND HIS FAMILY ( @samirahmed125 ) need urgent help !!

As I said, Samir's family have been working unbelievably hard to try collect donations. They are broken and tired and seeing Samir in pain is unbearable.

Together, we can help save Samir's life with donations, please let us come together and have our hearts and humanity come together. It's abhorrent to me how many people (especially with bigger platforms and pages) don't post or talk about Gaza, people could find a fundraiser and help because YOU shared.

Please, take part in helping save Samir, donate here, 38% of the goal has been raised. VERIFIED BY @/gazavetters (#428) and by various other accounts.

Samir needs his spleen removed, he is also in a coma and risks having his foot amputated.

(Please share the QR codes scan to donate !!)

tagging for reach:

@palestinegenocide @sar-soor @akajustmerry @annoyingloudmicrowavecultist @tortiefrancis @feluka-blog-blog @flower-tea-fairies @tsarizu-archive @riding-with-the-wild-hunt @visenyasdragon @belleandsaintsebastian @ear-motif @kordeliiius @brutalia @raelyn-dreams @troythecatfish @theropoda @tamamita @4ft10tvlandfangirl @queerstudiesnatural @northgazaupdates2 @skatezophrenic @awetistic-things @camgirlsurvivalguide @baby-girlsx @nabulsi27 @thejasontoddarchives @anarchafemme @sweet-honey-bunnies @lesbiansforglados @dxppercxdxver @sheepory @elb4ckfl1po @millenniumidol @heart-forge @infectiouspiss @baweiii @butchfeygela @fox-guardian @oars @wolfythewitch @technofeudalism @pizzat-i @theomenroom @unearthprisonpanopticon @sealsdaily @ashwantsafreepalestine @ubernegro @bugmatics @kingoftheironcity @checkadii @wolf-tail @thi4f @mt-travaii @redbuddi @plasticduck @risoria @mollysunder @sister-lucifer @punkeropercyjackson @immediatebreakfast @khizuo @nevert-the-guy @ahaura @chanafehs @yourpersonaltimebomb @wolstinien @neechees @ankle-beez @webdings4 @silicacid @schroedingers-mooneater @lonniemachin @dykesbat @charlott2n @watermotif @yeetsintovoid @momorikoz @determinate-negation @girlinafairytale @yugiohz @rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world @painfully-unoriginal

[sunlit-mess]

I can only take so much, but lately, they have replaced my reflection. And realize I'm just as bad as them.

[hexcodewisteria]

something really gets me about how shisui actually raised her voice when she said "please don't stop me!". she almost sounded scared. how she clenched her hands together and shuffled away. how maomao looked so shocked at the sudden bout of sheer emotion. it makes me think that if maomao had pressed just a little more, just a bit more, that shisui would have wavered. she might have listened.