starksinthenorth

[starksinthenorth]

Genuinely hope "JD Vance killed the pope" becomes a legit, widespread rumor. I hope the whitehouse has to make a statement, thus only adding fuel to the fire about it.

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Broke af?

But still interested in feeding yourself? What if I told you that there’s a woman with a blog who had to feed both herself and her young son…on 10 British pounds ($15/14 Euro) per week?

Let me tell you a thing.

This woman saved my life last year. Actually saved my life. I had a piggy bank full of change and that’s it. Many people in my fandom might remember that dark time as when I had to hock my writing skills in exchange for donations. I cried a lot then. 

This is real talk, people: I marked down exactly what I needed to buy, totaled it, counted out that exact change, and then went to three different stores to buy what I needed so I didn’t have to dump a load of change on just one person. I was already embarrassed, but to feel people staring? Utter shame suffused me. The reasons behind that are another post all together. 

AgirlcalledJack.com is run by a British woman who was on benefits for years. Things got desperate. She had to find a way to feed herself and her son using just the basics that could be found at the supermarket. But the recipes she came up with are amazing. 

You have to consider the differing costs of things between countries, but if you just have three ingredients in your cupboard, this woman will tell you what to do with it. Check what you already have. Chances are you have the basics of a filling meal already. 

Here’s her list of kitchen basics. 

Bake your own bread. It’s easier than you think. Here’s a list of many recipes, each using some variation of just plain flour, yeast, some oil, maybe water or lemon juice. And kneading bread is therapeutic. 

Make your own pasta–gluten free. 

She gets it. She really does. This is the article that started it all. It’s called “Hunger Hurts”.

She has vegan recipes.

A carrot, a can of kidney beans, and some cumin will get you a really filling soup…or throw in some flour for binding and you’ve got yourself a burger. 

Don’t have an oven or the stove isn’t available? She covers that in her Microwave Cooking section. 

She has a book, but many recipes can be found on her blog for free. She prices her recipes down to the cent, and every year she participates in a project called “Living Below the Line” where she has to live on 1 BP per day of food for five days. 

Things improved for me a little, but her website is my go to. I learned how to bake bread (using my crockpot, but that was my own twist), and I have a little cart full of things that saved me back then, just in case I need them again. She gives you the tools to feed yourself, for very little money, and that’s a fabulous feeling. 

Tip: Whenever you have a little extra money, buy a 10 dollar/pound/euro giftcard from your discount grocer. Stash it. That’s your super emergency money. Make sure they don’t charge by the month for lack of use, though.

I don’t care if it sounds like an advertisement–you won’t be buying anything from the site. What I DO care about is your mental, emotional, and physical health–and dammit, food’s right in the center of that. 

If you don’t need this now, pass it on to someone who does. Pass it on anyway, because do you REALLY know which of the people in your life is in need? Which follower might be staring at their own piggy bank? Trust me: someone out there needs to see this. 

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The answer shouldn’t have been about is innocence. It should’ve been about ALL of their innocence, until proven guilty.

The true test is if we afford everyone their rights, as they are entitled under the rule of law.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is an example of someone who is wholly innocent but still was punished.

But our society is only as moral as we treat the worst of us, not the best.

He deserves his freedom.

But they all deserve to receive due process, even if they’re terrorists who serial killed their way across the country.

The promise of America is Innocent Until Proven Guilty.

and regardless of one of their conditions, they’ll all deserve a chance

yeah.......... i truly hate the democratic party with everything i have in my soul. all he had to say was "yes, i'm defending this innocent man because he did nothing wrong but come to america seeking a better life" and he couldn't even do that. naturally the comments i've seen say shit like "i don't have to agree with you but i'll defend your rights" and i ask once again what are we disagreeing with Kilmar Abrego Garcia on???????? what did he do besides be brown and have tattoos???????? why shouldn't we defend him??????? oh my god this fucking country

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Never let them forget his wife (Melania) brought her parents over this way

never forget this in the context of their push against women’s rights and abortion. They want ciswomen in the kitchen with babies, even though any population depletion can be solved with immigration. It’s a tool of control AND a xenophobic racist bullshit.

It’s totally cool how the official White House twitter is pushing white nationalist talking points.

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I think we should write more straight relationships with 2010s TV queerbait tactics. Let that man and that woman's lives be horribly intertwined, let them take bullets for the other, let them be each other's meaning but NO KISSING. They are holding each other platonically. You're crazy for reading anything romantic into it at all tbh

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Realized you have new (to me) chapters of G&W so was reviewing your tag to see if I missed any new author Notes. An old old post mentioned “One Immovable Character Trait” in your character notes and I was wondering if you could share just general tips or tricks of the trade you use when crafting characters? Your versions of fanfic character rewrites are obvious in their homage but also distinct and I’m very curious about your process to get there!

I write a LOT of snippets in and around writing the actual story, which helps me practice getting a feel for my characters. The One Immovable Character Trait thing does help a lot, but so do the questions 'what does a character want' and 'what will the character do to get it'

I also find a lot of use out of figuring out how a character talks, out loud or internally. Laeriel repeats a lot of short phrases while speaking, partly because she hasn't totally figured out what she's going to say when she starts talking (and it takes Laeriel a little longer to figure out how to 'talk right' at people, having trouble with social nuance and all), but Lillian usually thinks very hard about what she's going to say before she says it and almost always has a clear understanding of how to operate socially in almost all circumstances. Lillian, therefore, is generally more 'polished' when she speaks even in more intimate settings. Lillian also won't say things that are hurtful unless she means to be extremely hurtful, whereas Laeriel does not understand why someone might be hurt when she's just being forthright and may not even notice she's hurt someone's feelings.

I am not of the school of thought that thinks of characters as real people who talk to me or 'refuse to cooperate' or any of that. I have found that writers who espouse that way of thinking about characters also usually write things I don't enjoy. That doesn't mean it's wrong, before people start being upset at me about it in the notes as they have been in the past. It just means I have noticed a correlation between my enjoyment or lack thereof and my later understanding of how the writers in question discuss their work. So please understand that my way of going about things involves treating characters as the tools I feel they are to tell the story I want to tell. I'm not sure if that will give you more insight into the above or not.

Always glad to hear from you!

[starksinthenorth]

Finally reading Heavenly Tyrant, and I'm kind of liking the policies of Qin Zheng. He seems like a decent dude.

Of course, if Wu Zetian has to kill him before the book ends, I'm not going to be that broken up about it.

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now that jimmy carter is dead can i just say what an absolute power move it was for him to run for governor of georgia with segregation as his platform, only to do a complete 180 once in office. insane

[starksinthenorth]

Fun fact: Plessy v. Ferguson was never officially overturned (“Separate but Equal”).

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Going into Month 2 of a presidency that hasn’t started yet like

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This is going to be a long 4 years.

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When Korra started, gay marriage wasn’t legal in all states.

The Legend of Korra ended with Korra and Asami holding hands so Arcane could have Caitlyn and Vi go absolutely feral in a jail cell today

What a difference 10 years of representation makes

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Heartwarming story: Little girl doesn’t have to do anything to fund her dad’s surgery because his expenses are covered by his country’s universal healthcare.

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Not me trying to make “no one haunts the narrative like Gaston” work for this comment

I have never seen anyone haunt a narrative like elia and lyanna

og pic credit https://www.tumblr.com/cyrranka/

[starksinthenorth]

AU where Laena succeeds Rhaenys’s and sustained injuries during the war in the Narrow Sea

Salo out here playing checkers while Ambessa came straight from Game of Thrones LOL

she does look good in Lannister colors…

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Helaena flying on Dreamfyre with her babies

Helaena being a threat to the Blacks because she flies a dragon on par with Silverwing and Vermithor in scale

Her babies playing dragons before Aegon comes in and the figures are Dreamfyre and Sunfyre and they fight over Dreamfyre

Jaehaerys asking at bedtime when they can see Dreamfyre again

Jaehaera finding the Dreamfyre figurine and giving it to Helaena because she understands her twin is gone, and saying he can have a turn to play with it

Helaena being unable to fly anymore because of her grief and mourning

Helaena telling someone that she was supposed to die first, and her children supposed to claim the dragon after her, and what good are dragons if we can still be killed in our homes?

Criston being inspired by this comment for his insane murder plot

Helaena saying more cryptic things about dragons falling from the sky, one by one, after Rhaenys dies