#information that should be readily available

[mimic-octopus]

I know that it’s pissing people off to see statements from celebrities where they mention doing their own research to decide who to endorse.

It seems stupid because it feels like all the relevant information is readily available and sometimes shoved in our faces. People sometimes forget that not everyone is plugged in to the news. At this point, I don’t think the reason matters.

The thing is people should do their research. People shouldn’t vote blindly.

I assume a lot of people who support Trump listen to Fox News blindly. Wouldn’t they benefit from researching the claims that that channel spews?

Along those same lines, people need to do their own research to understand what and who they’re supporting.

Kamala is the only option but I know that I don’t support all her policies. I know that because I did research. You should be educated about what you’re voting for. I also know that I can still make my voice heard about the policies that I don’t agree with by contacting my representatives and senators.

The quality of research is also important. Did you check multiple sources? Is the source reliable? Is the source biased? Critical thinking is a skill that we all need.

[always-andromeda]

Hey gang, here’s the moodboard for this morning! 😀👍🏻

[aparticularbandit]

the fact that i can look up an actor’s waist size for fic writing purposes and actually find their measurements makes me uncomfortable.

but also i guess i’m the one who looked it up.  i’m just.  uncomfortable by the fact that i know i can find it and it’s that easily accessible.

[chaosnightmare]

tbh i assumed he was talking about like, the universe itself. if the prism breaking shattered the universe into a bunch of alternate universes that would definitely qualify as it all being broken

that's possible too but i'd assume as he is not a god shadow does not necessarily know about the status of the entire universe, not to mention sonic, who we see actually travelling through these alternates, still not exactly understanding the situation by the end of a 40 minute introduction. (so it would be a bit too contrived imo if shadow just. knows automatically what the plot is with no context as to how he came to that understanding. i want to give the writers more credit than that since the first episode seems promising). to me it makes more sense if he means something like "sonic, everything is fucked up and weird" than "Sonic the Hedgehog from Sonic Prime we are trapped currently in a dimensional rift caused by the Paradox Prism thus sending you far off into distant universes and timelines through cracks in spacetime". the fun part now though is getting to see

[moe-broey]

AH I also had a thought to make a pinned (feels sacrilegious to me and the way that I am LMFAO) but not so much an introduction (that's what the bio is for that's all you get 😤😤😤) (which maybe I could update too actually 🤔) BUT

I'm a very disorganized person in general try as I might to have SOME semblance of organization. But I think it could be useful to list some tags that have specific things in them. Like I do wanna get more serious about comics/storytelling especially, plus I want to start collecting/compiling more Askr refs -- making a masterpost of where to find everything could be useful! Plus might help me figure out consistent tags for it too.

Much to think about......

[sage-nebula]

I've watched pretty much all of Jenny Nicholson's videos (despite not being into most of the things she's into) for a variety of reasons, but one of the reasons I watch her content is because I think that she seems like a truly stand-up kind of person. Of course, given that she is a person creating content for YouTube, we're only allowed to see the version of herself that she wants us to see. I'm under no illusions about that. But the version of herself that she presents to us, the viewers, seems to be a person who is not only genuinely passionate about the things she discusses (and honest about why she'll hold back on discussing certain topics when fans of those topics can be awful about it), but also who considers the experiences of (for lack of a better phrase) the average person when it comes to the theme parks and other experiences that she reviews.

Three specific instances come to mind: one from the Evermore video, and then two from her most recent Star Wars hotel video. (Side note: she was so, so right that Disney marketing is stupid as hell for not letting influencers et cetera use the common names for things. The average person doesn't know what "Galactic Starcruiser" is, but will understand "Star Wars hotel." Get it together, Disney.)

In the Evermore video, Jenny talks about how she emailed Evermore Park ahead of her visit to try to get more information prior to her visit. Things like whether there was a dress code, what she could expect when she arrived there, information that should have been readily available on the website but wasn't. She mentions that she could have mentioned that she's an influencer and that she probably would have gotten a response (because they never emailed her back), but that she deliberately chose not to.

"So I did attempt to email ahead of my visit, trying to ask basic questions about the park and inquire about renting it out. When I did that, I was intentionally vague; I didn't link my channel, and I didn't use my primary email. And I sort of suspect that if I had done the whole influencer song and dance -- said my channel name, my subscriber count -- I might've had better access to the park, and perhaps even a better experience. But that wasn't the point. I didn't want to call ahead. I'm the mystery diner! I'm the undercover boss! If you can't deliver an equivalently good experience for all guests, that's on you and your business." [x]

Then, in the Star Wars hotel video, there were two instances in which Jenny had to reach out to Disney customer support for assistance, and received absolutely nothing in return. The first was when she paid for a photo taking service, but had absolutely no photos taken of her. When she reached out to Disney customer support for a refund, they refused to give her said deserved refund. The second instance was when she had purchased a large droid figure from the hotel, and had it shipped to her house via the Disney shipping service. The Disney shipping service inputted her address incorrectly (in fact I think she says they put in a completely different address altogether), so her droid was lost. Once again she reached out to Disney customer support to find out what she could do about this expensive item she had purchased, only to be told that they couldn't do anything to help her.

In both cases, Jenny took to twitter to post about how Disney was refusing to a.) issue her a refund for a service she paid for but never received, and b.) help her receive an item she'd paid for but never received. Both times, Disney reached out immediately, issued her the refund, and overnighted her lost item. Jenny correctly identifies that they only did this because she's an influencer with a large twitter following, and has this to say in the video:

"They didn't even ask for my phone number. Like someone at Disney just did the legwork to go into the database, look up my booking info, find my phone number and then call me within a day of the tweet going out. And the person who called me was really nice, and I'm thankful he cared to resolve it. BUT, I just always feel very cynical when I try to resolve issues through the appropriate channels available to all customers and nobody will help me until they find out I'm an 'influencer.' I spoke with several other guests who got [the photo taking service] and had the exact same problems as me, and they never got refunds." [x]

And

"But then after I tweeted about it on my twitter account with a lot of followers, Disney suddenly resolved it and they sent me a replacement. They actually overnighted it to me. And along with it they sent a lot of miscellaneous goodies which I really appreciated. So here again, I feel if this had happened to anyone without a lot of twitter followers, they would have had a significantly more frustrating experience." [x]

I feel that this post will probably read as giving Jenny kudos for doing the bare minimum. And I think that on some level, that's true. But it's true because nowadays, many influencers won't even do the bare minimum. They would have Disney immediately issue them a refund, or overnight the droid to them with the additional goodies, and then make posts gushing about how great Disney's customer service is, despite knowing full well that the (again for lack of a better term) average person who doesn't have a huge internet following would never receive that kind of support from Disney. Similarly with Evermore, most influencers would call ahead and flex their follower count to try to get a bespoke experience to then show on their channels. They wouldn't want the same experience everyone else gets. That won't generate good content, in their eyes, and besides, they're better than that. Don't you know who they are?

But Jenny, despite her follower counts, keeps it real. Yes, she appreciates that Disney did give her the deserved refund and did send her the droid + gifts. But she also points out, both times, that if she'd been a person without a large twitter following, they would not have done that, and people in the exact same position she was with the photo service didn't get their deserved refunds. With Evermore, she didn't call ahead because she DOES want the same experience everyone else gets. She wants to be able to give a genuine review. Whether that review is positive or negative is dependent on the business itself.

Again, this probably seems like giving Jenny kudos for the bare minimum of decency. And I agree that on some level it is. But I also think that, in today's day and age, we really don't get that with a lot of influencers, who are in it for the sponsorship money (and who get their egos way inflated), and so it's nice to have a reviewer / theme park influencer who is honest with her opinions, and who recognizes that yeah, Disney did give her special treatment, but that it shouldn't have been special treatment, that they should be helping all of their guests like this, through the normal channels that she tried using, and they are a shit company for not doing that.

I just really appreciate Jenny.

[cripplecharacters]

Do you know any good sources for burn scar care?

I’m writing a character who was burned in a spaceship crash. The story is set several years after the fact, and I want to incorporate that detail into the story. What would a burn scar care routine look like?

Hi!

I generally recommend medical websites for this kind of stuff. There are tons of information readily available online, especially about things as common as a burn injury. Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors or MSKTC can be helpful for you!

While caring for a burn scar will be different for everyone (there's many types, degrees, plus just individual differences between burn survivors themselves) some of the things that you can include;

Burnt skin doesn't produce its own oils, so it gets dry. It needs to be moisturized, oil-based products (think coconut or grape seed oil) are often used. The heavier the lotion, the fewer times a day it needs to be applied.

Massaging a scar, especially when it's relatively new. It can be a massage, but stretching or just putting pressure on it is part of that too. It helps the skin from becoming extremely sensitive. Initially you do it delicately, but after the scars are matured it's fine (or recommended even) to put some force into it. This loosens them up.

Itching is a huge issue. Both massaging and moisturizing help with that, but if it's still causing problems then there are medications that could provide some relief.

Protecting the skin from the sun. All year, including cloudy weather. Sunblock, big hats, sunglasses if needed, all that. This applies to people with darker skin as well because the skin loses its pigment after a burn (it can sometimes come back but it's definitely not a guarantee).

Avoiding the heat. A lot of burn survivors will have problems with temperature regulation because burns damage the sweat glands, so they overheat faster. There's nothing burn-specific here, same protocol as for avoiding a heatstroke - drink water and keep out of the sun.

Wearing softer and looser clothing. Rough and tight clothes can cause blisters, and that is a Problem. Inappropriate materials could also induce more itching.

Taking pain meds. Chronic pain is common, so your character might need medication.

I definitely wouldn't say that this is an exhaustive list, but I think it's a good start! If you need more details, I think the resources linked above should work.

I'm glad to see people interested in burn scars being a disability that requires a lot of care rather than seeing it as a solely visual thing! Makes it much more authentic :-)

I hope this helps!

mod Sasza

[hyperiondickrider]

Baby Bunny~

(Chapter 1)

Vox x Reader; Valentino x Reader; Alastor x Reader; maybe Lucifer x Reader

After your untimely death, Mr Vox was kind enough to take you in and give you a job as his assistant. However, it appears that you’ve caught the eyes of few other demons, who are certainly not afraid of a little competition…

Frankly, Vox was a stressed out man.

Endless meetings to attend, scripts to review, and catastrophes to clean up; very little could consistently relax the poor man. Luckily, one of these particular vices just happened to be readily available; you.

Oh, how he loved to watch you flit around his offices, big floppy ears twitching with concentration, large brown eyes peering up at him, searching for approval and validation. It almost made him feel guilty, the way you obeyed his every beck and call.

Regardless, your presence had become a somewhat comforting one in his workplace, ever since you had the unfortunate fall from earth following your untimely death. Your loyalty to the overlord only made sense, given his boundless generosity towards you, providing you with a job as his personal assistant, as well as a small flat inside his studio.

Thus, when he discovered that Valentino had decided to send you on an ‘errand’, he was less than pleased. Of course, you with your unbridled kindness and timidity couldn’t even think of refusing such a request, despite the sex maniac holding no legitimate power over you. So, off you went, suddenly feeling rather exposed in your open white blouse and tight leather skirt (a favourite outfit of Mr Vox), as you wandered through Pentagram City, glancing back occasionally at the directions that Mr Valentino had so graciously provided.

All of a sudden, you feel yourself slam into something, or more aptly, someone. Your nose begins to twitch in fear of the consequences, knowing full well the cruelty of the sinner residing in the area. Peering up at the stranger with teary eyes, you mumble an apology, and pull yourself back up on shaky legs.

“Not to worry, my dear! Accidents happen, of course! Although, you really should watch where you are walking, darling.”

The static in his voice, almost tangible, sends shivers down your spine, his glowing eyes intensely staring into your own, as if to bear witness to your very soul.

“How rude of me, I neglected to introduce myself. I’m Alastor, darling, the Radio Demon.”

The man, Alastor, extends a hand to greet you, but the mention of his title causes you to freeze, and flinch away in fear. The demon’s smile strains in reaction, appearing confused and mildly offended.

“T-the Radio Demon? M-Mr Vox said I’m not allowed to speak to you..”

Alastor’s grin tightens at this comment, his snarl baring gums, yet he chooses to feign ignorance.

“My dear, it’s impolite to not return a greeting.”

Due to the mild threat in his tone, you reluctantly tell him your name, your bunny ears twitching in fear, as you look up at him.

“Now, my dear bunny, wherever were you off to on this fine morning?”

“Mr Valentino w-wanted me to s-speak to Angel Dust about his s-supposedly ‘poor work ethic’. S-so, I was h-hoping to find him at the Hazbin Hotel..” you trail off, unsure of how much information you could safely disclose.

But Alastor’s grin only brightens at the news.

“Well, my dear, you’re in luck! I was just about to head over there myself!” With that, he pulls you closer to him, evoking a surprised yelp from you, and wraps his arm tightly around your waist, setting off at a brisk pace.

Alastor hums a jolly tune, seemingly ignorant to your struggles in keeping up with his quick pace, almost being dragged along. Finally, once you had reached your destination, he finally releases you, this time choosing to grab you by your arm. But, for some reason, he chooses to spare a moment, and look you over.

You stood a fair bit shorter than him, having to crane your neck to meet his eyes, but furthermore you were simply trembling with fear. Your nose was twitching, your floppy ears fluttering with anxiety, and your doe eyes refusing to meet his gaze.

You truly were just adorable. Oh, he was going to have fun breaking you.

And with that, he flung open the hotel doors, the action catching you off guard, as you jump again.

“Awfully jumpy today, my dear? Why, is everything alright?” He asks with a condescending grin.

“Just peachy, Mr Alastor.” You manage to mumble out a reply, starting to overcome your fear of the radio demon.

“Now, now, you mustn’t lie, my darling. But, trust me, you have nothing to fear here.” He draws you closer again, his clawed hand playing with your hair, as you looked up with a tight frown. Once he got bored of your lack of reaction, he decided to switch his focus, petting your bunny ears. This action caught you off guard, their sensitivity causing you to whimper, bringing a hand to your mouth to stifle your noises. Alastor’s grin grew ever wider, finding a new way to push your buttons. He increases pressure on his ministrations, causing you to yelp as your jelly legs gave out and you collapsed against his chest. He finally relents in favour of hoisting you back up onto your shaky legs and wobbly knees, forcing a whine from you at the loss of contact. He chuckles darkly at your compliance, your passive nature truly pleasing him. Perhaps he should keep you around; that truly would annoy Vox… but that’s a thought for another day. For now, he needed to build trust in you.

“Toots? What are ya doin here, cutie?”

Angel’s New York drawl fills the room, his voice full of concern.

“M-Mr Val sent me, Angie. Please, I-I don’t want you to get hurt…” your eyes well up at the thought of poor Angel’s contract, as he rushes over to hold you.

“I just came to warn you, Angie. Mr Val isn’t pleased. He’s mad at you, and he’s gonna make it hard for you. P-please, Angie, come back, for your own sake. I miss you…” you trail off, sniffling.

“I know ya do cutie, and it’s ok that big V’s mad at me. I can take it, sugar. But, toots, what about you? Does Vox know ya here? He’s gon be real mad that you been hanging with smiles over there.” Angel rebukes you, concerned for your own wellbeing.

“M-Mr Val said he’d tell Me Vox that he’d sent me on an errand for him, so I think I’ll be fine…”

“Sure, toots, whateva ya say.” He pulled you in for a tight hug, as you buried your head in his chest fluff.

Angel seemed a lot happier now. You were glad that he had begun to escape Mr Val’s clutches.

“Angel, who’s this?” A chipper voice interrupted your thought, as you were greeted by a tall blonde girl, who seemed ecstatic to see you.

“Charlie, this is Y/N. She’s Vox’s assistant and just came ta check up on me. Y/N, this is Princess Charlie Morningstar; she runs this shitty hotel where I’m stayin.”

Suddenly aware that you were in front of Royalty, you bowed nervously and squeaked out a greeting. Your timidness was met with aws and statements of your cuteness, causing your face to darken slightly out of embarrassment.

“Well isn’t she just adorable! Now my dear friends and guests, I believe I should be escorting our dear bunny back to her workplace. After all, we wouldn’t want your boss to worry about, would we? “

You gulped at Alastor’s words, nodding your head vigorously, as he once again, grabbed you by the arm and began marching away.

“See ya, cutie! Come visit sometime!” Angel yelled as you left.

“Bye-bye, Angie! I’ll definitely come see you again!”

And with that, you set off towards the entertainment district.

[0w0tsuki]

God damn "dude/man/guy is gender neutral actually" discourse is really a sign y'all are fucking hopeless. Because the bar is quite literally on the FUCKING FLOOR.

You know the stereotypical "performative cis liberal ally"? The one who upon acknowledging they've been corrected about an accidental misgendering, turns it into an entire god damn show of apologizing and telling you how HARD they're working to gender you correctly. Yeah if you're someone who defends the use of dude and man as gender neutral terms guess what? Even with making every apology a grand display at least they're fucking apologizing and putting forth an effort to show you that they're putting your interests in mind.

Which is more than can be said of you.

Imagine if they were told they accidentally deadnamed you. And instead of the usual acting like they just accidentally hit their own fucking child they went "Actually I think [DEADNAME] is pretty androgynous and could be used for anyone of any gender! I'm not going to use it now that you have corrected me! But I just wanted you to know I didn't see myself as explicitly misgendering you when I used [DEADNAME]"

We are asking for the BARE MINIMUM amount of effort! Literally all you have to do is if your going to insist that "Using gender neutral terms when referring to somebody even when their actual gender is readily available information is actually the correct way to gender somebody online" that at the VERY LEAST use actual gender neutral terms instead of dude/guy/man. You don't even give up your use of it in your everyday life. You're only being asked to think about this in spaces where trans women are common such as online queer spaces.

That is how little trans women not being misgendered left and right in places that sell themself as safe for her matters to you. It matters so little that you can't even be asked to not do the barest minimum to not contribute to an environment where anyone who wants to misgender a trans woman with no repercussions can just Dude her knowing full well that she will view it as misgendering and fall back on "oh I was just being gender neutral. YoU sHoUdN't AuToMaTiClY aSsUmInG pEoPlE's GeNdErS!!" Which is a common enough occurrence that we have to have this fucking discourse.

The bar is on the floor and y'all are digging holes just to not have to face the smallest of inconveniences. Performative allies are fucking lapping you. You should be embarrassed.

Do better

[hyperlexichypatia]

Prescriptive diet culture, especially (but not exclusively) the sort aimed at losing weight, is ableist and sizeist, with frequent undertones of racism, classism, and sexism. It relies on the premise that all bodies can and should fit into a certain size and a certain range of “health” and ability, that fat and disabled bodies are inherently lesser, and frequently relies on patronizing or limiting the options of poor people for their alleged “own good,” stigmatizing or patronizing the food choices of non-European cultures, and judging women’s and perceived-women’s bodies more harshly than men’s bodies.

In response to this, various fat liberation, body positive, and health-at-every-size movements have arisen to challenge this narrative to varying degrees. One of the alternatives often promoted in these contexts is “intuitive eating,” in which people eat what their bodies crave, whenever they’re hungry, instead of following a prescriptive diet or schedule. This is framed as radical, liberatory rebellion and self-actualization against diet culture.

Intuitive eating is great for some people. However, there are some problems with promoting it as a universal solution.

First of all, “Everyone should eat intuitively” is just as prescriptive as any other prescriptive diet. It still frames food choices as something with a right and a wrong answer. What superficially sounds like “Eat whatever you want” actually becomes “You must eat whatever you want, and examine carefully whether you actually want it, and defend your choices accordingly.”

Secondly, intuitive eating is fundamentally inaccessible to the majority of the world’s population. Perhaps if we lived in a Star Trek universe where we could just command a replicator to create food and have it instantly ready for us, then most, if not all people, could eat intuitively. But in our own world, our food choices are constrained by time, money, and availability, as well as restrictions like allergies and sensitivities.

When I think about what food I want to eat, I have to think about what I already have. What I can afford to buy. What I have the time and energy to prepare. I might “intuit” that I crave a steak, but what I have readily on hand is a bowl of cereal. Intuition won’t help someone with chronic fatigue who can’t stand at a stove for long or chop vegetables, or someone on food stamps who has to stretch their budget, or someone who works long shifts and comes home exhausted, or a parent of three children with food allergies who only feeds themself leftover scraps from feeding them. Who has time and energy to cook a meal from scratch? Who has money to go out to a restaurant? Whose invisible and underpaid labor -- farm workers, grocery workers, restaurant cooks, homemakers -- does this system rely upon?

The third problem with promoting intuitive eating as a universal solution is that many foods are manufactured in such a way as to sensorily mislead the eater about their properties. The idea that “artificial” or “processed” foods are somehow “worse” than “natural” foods -- or that those are meaningful categories -- is ridiculous and baseless. However, it is a fact that many foods are made to mimic the look, taste, smell, and texture of foods they do not actually contain. This makes it harder for eaters to “intuit” a food’s properties by the usual means. Eaters may have to rely on ingredients lists and nutritional information rather than sensory input alone. This is especially true for people who have specific nutritional needs, like allergies or nutrient deficiencies, to either avoid or seek out specific food attributes.

Finally, even if all other obstacles were eliminated, some people are just not good at intuiting their own food needs. People with executive functioning disabilities may forget that they’re hungry, or not recognize their bodies’ hunger signals. Not everyone is naturally good at piloting a meat suit. Food is difficult, and it’s okay to need external reminders to refuel.

Intuitive eating rhetoric can sound suspiciously similar to the common rhetoric of the “natural” “wellness” movement, stemming from the premise that all bodies are born with a natural alignment to a certain standard of “health” and normative ability, and only external factors and individual choices can “corrupt” it. In reality, there are no normative bodies or abilities. Plenty of people are born with food-related disabilities, whether difficulty remembering to eat, anxiety, susceptibility to nutrient deficiency, allergies, diabetes, or all kinds of other conditions. Food is hard. Harder for some people than others. And that’s okay.

There’s nothing wrong with intuitive eating, but it’s not a universal solution to everyone’s food difficulties. We need affordable, accessible food for everyone. We need everyone to have the free time and support they need to perform all activities of daily living. We need living wages for everyone at every part of the food supply chain. We need clearly labeled food ingredients and nutritional values. We need a society where everyone has the resources, time, and support to eat whatever they want, and the information to know what they’re eating. And then, maybe, intuitive eating can be a more attainable goal for people who want it.

We also need a society in which bodily autonomy is respected, and people’s food choices and other health and bodily choices are rightly regarded as no one else’s business. We need widespread recognition that there’s no standard of health or ability that anyone “should” have and no way that anyone “should” eat, and that what matters is ensuring that everyone has equitable access to resources, which each individual can choose how to use, whether that’s eating frozen dinners every day, growing vegetables for fun, eating only purple things, or using a timer to remember when it’s time to eat. But until we achieve that society, “intuitive eating” might as well mean “let them eat cake.”

[acheronist]

to the ghost of henry peglar, congrats on writing your poem down 177 years ago!!!

to the actual academic scholars who have studied the pages before me....

so I took the royal museum greenwich's scan of the poem page (which is available online hereeee) and screwed around with its light levels in photoshop until henry's script was darkened enough to see more clearly. then I digitally traced over the darkened letters as best as I could, while also trying to discern his handwriting, and type up how I was reading it & this process took me about a week to get done between like... living my regular day to day life lmao.......

so when it WAS done, the final isabel acheronist peglar papers ["the open C"] transcript seemed a bit different than how I remembered the readily available russell potter transcript going ? (the poem is on the last two pages of that pdf for those of you who don't spend a billion hours a week looking at it btw)

it felt like I was getting more/different information out of it, compared to the potter transcript, which was kind of stressing me out honestly. so THEN I compared mine with barry cornwall's original poem and found more words that matched up? particularly in the second and third stanzas?

so!!!!! almost two hundred years later here's what I've landed on:

April 21 1847 the C the C the open ) ( it grew so fresh the Ever free the Ever free the Ever free without it without it covered it will Run to Earth above Re gions Round I love the C I love the C when I whare & I wish to be with and and silence whare Never go if a sailor should a Come and Make the meek What matter what matter Come Ride Or Sleep there was shores white and of red morn at the noisy hours knew I was ever near I was Born the [...] in felt Unto the Maid the wale the young dolphin ...... yet thes back of gold the Call of gods When I was on Old England Shore I like the young C more and more oftentimes time flew to a sweltering place like a bird thats seeks it mother Case and ware she was bird oft to me for have I loved a young and Hopen C

so then after going thru All Of That, I wanted to have a version of the original poem with parts that Henry did remember clearly highlighted for comparison purposes:

I know it's a popular theory that Henry was writing a dirty parody of the original poem? which if true, is funny as hell. me when i have to write cheeky victorian porn before i die.

But (serious voice) something about that hadn't ever seemed exactly right to me... IN MY HEART it seems more realistic that around 1847 he (and also by extension, the whole surviving expedition crew) were starting to experience confusion / brain fog symptoms from being ummmm quite physically unwell. the lead poisoning/scurvy combo would have severe effects on the brain's ability to function properly, and I started to wonder if Henry was trying to test his memory somehow? So he picked a widely known and popular Victorian era poem about being a sailor to see how much he could recall??? and he then got a little whimsical with it, and wrote in his own words to fill in the portions he couldn't fully recall, because it's his own diary and likely didn't expect anyone else to ever read it, much less have it turn into ONE of TWO surviving sources about the expedition?????

like... idk... this is probably the work of someone in the exact moment as they were starting to realize how bad things were, and then was trying to cope by using poetry. and That hurts my feelings enough as it is, but going through it was also just a very weird and haunting experience....... like, I can recognize all these tiny details in this dead guy's script and handwriting now. and to read his own account of his life in his own words, what stood out to him and what he recalled, what he wanted people in the future to know about him? insane. it literally felt like i was getting haunted by him for no reason. on top of knowing that Someone (#teamarmitage) loved this guy enough to keep his memory protected and safe, even though They Were So Totally Fucked And Going To Die There, unknowing if they'd ever be found again........

SIGHING + SIGHING + SIGHING + SIGHING + CRYING A BIT HONESTLY

anyways thanks for reading this all. I don't think that this is revolutionary franklin expedition news by any means, and idk if there's a better different transcript somewhere that i've not found that already covers all this? but it's consumed a lot of my life lately lol and i wanted to share. because its the anniversary of henry writing it, and it felt...... important....? 💌....????

[determinate-negation]

Nov 2023: "im so tired of this self infantilizing attitude at a certain point people need to admit that theyre choosing to be, as i said, incurious."

You come off as an asshat pretending to be the curiosity / morality police. There are always going to be gaps in your knowledge you're not even going to try to correct because you don't know it's missing. It's self-infantilizing if it's a personal excuse as to why going forward someone is specifically whining why they can't do it. It's a legitimate reason, however, when someone is describing why a mass of people probably don't know something and why you'll continue to see people not knowing it.

"i decided to read about imperialism and educate myself on it"

Ooh good for you mate, have a gold star and a lollipop, you're so much better than your peers for deciding to read about imperialism. You should decide to read and educate yourself on how to make a convincing argument next.

"and the information is readily available, anyone with an internet connection in america could do the same if they were curious about history."

Super glad you found an interest in something, but now I guess it should always be a universal goddamn standard? You want every itch of curiosity you get and spend your time on to be a reading requirement for the population? Or is it just select subjects you've arbitrarily decided were important? What about my interests? Why aren't you at least foundationally familiar with my interests? Why haven't you reviewed and studied the texts I base my own morality on? Is it because you're intellectually lazy and wholly incurious or is it just there's only so much capacity for your attention that being broadly shamed on tumblr isn't a valid enough reason to suddenly start learning new subject matter out of some misplaced sense of shame?

If you're at all upset about my response, just know that it's EXACTLY how your post came across. Just as cunty, accusing, and insulting. That's what you sound like to people when you think something is important. It's a huge turn off to any spark of interest you think you're igniting.

“ You want every itch of curiosity you get and spend your time on to be a reading requirement for the population”

yes. reading and education are good. cope

you should add the context too (the korean war) if youre gonna add the date. you should ask yourself why the massive amounts of death and destruction and continued exploitation and abjection of the people of the world at the hands of the united states and its allies never comes up in your daily life, its a big question that implicates our entire society and the lives (and deaths) of millions of people. i dont know to impress any further the amount of suffering and exploitation im actually speaking of here. why is this your response to that?

[fubblers]

Blind people get inundated with questions constantly on the internet of “how are you typing if you’re blind?!??!”

You can Google this information. It is readily available to you. Many blind YouTubers have made videos about this.

Here’s some basic info about blind people you should know:

Most blind people have some sight

Computers have high contrast modes built in for blind people with some sight

Totally blind people offen do use computers

Blind people can use screen readers to use a computer

Blind people can use touch screens on smart phones by enabling the accessibility settings

If you read any of that and thought “whoa how does that work?!” I really encourage you to go type it into YouTube and watch a video.

Also I encourage everyone to enable a screen reader on their smart phone for an hour and play around with it!

I am fully sighted but I used speech-to-text and a screen reader to do my job and use my phone. I get migraines from reading and screens due to my history of head trauma.

If you’re sighted but have a disability that affects focus, reading, looking at bright lights, etc….. check out a screen reader!

And if you ever have a question for a disabled person on tumblr… try googling it first, genuinely. I’m not even trying to be snarky or rude. A lot of disabled people have to answer the same basic question about their existence every day for their entire lives. Just Google it.

[astrabear]

This is not to yuck anyone's yum, I don't have a problem with other people doing this, but I personally don't care for Joe and Nicky (in canon-compliant fic, obviously it's different in AUs) thinking of each other as their husband.

I just don't think that Joe's throbbing forehead vein was because "boyfriend" was simply not a serious enough label. The issue is that none of the relationship terms used by mortal people with their short lives can possibly describe a relationship that's approaching its 1000th birthday. If that mercenary had said, "what is he, your husband?" Joe would not have been like "yeah, actually, he is."

I've had conversations about this before, and I know that for some other queer fans being able to refer to them as husbands is deeply meaningful in a way that it just isn't to me. I'm glad they get to have that.

I also think of my stepfather's last time in the hospital. There was that whiteboard in his room where the staff recorded all the information that needed to be readily available. There was a section for emergency contact and they of course wrote my mother's name and number and labeled her "wife." And my stepfather made them add "friend, lover, partner." Now of course you could say, "well, 'wife' should encompass all those things," but it was important to him. Big "she's not my wife, she's all and she's more" energy. And he wasn't even a tenth as old as Joe!

I tend to avoid relationship words in my own fic and just stick with names. I've used "love of his life" once or twice, which is nicely canonical and also wonderfully sappy. If I had to be more concise I'd probably go with "beloved." "Husband" feels cold and empty and shallow. What are they to each other? They are Joe and Nicky. There are no words for it.

[mcyt-yaoi-exchange]

SIGN UPS FOR THE MCYTBLR YAOI EXCHANGE HAVE OPENED!

To participate in this event, please join our discord for easier communication.

Link to the FAQ for our gifting requirements

As this might be someone first time signing up via AO3's gift exchange matching system, this will be a detailed guide on how to do so.

You can edit your sign ups until they close August 7 at 11:59pm EST.

Guide on how to sign up underneath the cut!

Guide for Sign-Ups!

Link to collection where you sign-up from

Highlighted below is where you click to sign-up

At minimum we want you to have three requests and three offers; if you have more rare pair options, ones that you don't think people are going to offer please have a safety option available.

Ordering of requests does not matter, they all have the same priority. You will be creating/receiving (1) one gift.

There are several different ways to fulfill the minimum requirements if you cannot for whatever reason, like having character-specific or pairing-specific requests if you are not in enough fandoms.

A pairing-specific example would be ZITS (Hermitcraft) and ZITS (Life Series), which could be separated out into two different requests.

Below is a Scott Smajor specific request example focusing on Empires SMP and Life Series.

You can even customize your request to include crossovers (this should be one of your 4-10 requests).

If you have reached the point of trying your best to manipulate the sign ups to your needs please contact a mod for additional help.

Gift Types:

If you plan to choose gift type: other at sign up,choose at least one of the other main categories and inform a mod of what your alternate creation would be.

Relationships:

Before sign ups we had a nomination period where people submitted pairings they wanted to request/offer. If you did not find your desired paring please drop your request in #questions-for-the-mods on discord to add to the tag set.

We currently have 302 available parings from 20 different series.

Link to pairing spreadsheet

Ratings:

For ratings, you have to choose one or both of the options available (Gen and Explicit). We are purely filtering for NSFW content.

If they only select Gen, that means they only want a non-explicit piece. If people are opting into explicit that means they're okay with NSFW, when you choose explicit AO3 will default to showing E in the symbols quadrant.

Description Box:

This is where you list out your DNW (Do Not Wants), wants, and prompts in as much detail as you like.

Add here if you wanted to clarify anything like pairing, since they all had to be unique— meaning it can't be repeated for a request if you used it in another request.

There is an optional option to add an URL link to each request; you can link a google doc of your DNW's/wants/prompts in more detail if you do not have room in the description box. Include the bare minimum DNW in the desciption box for mods can see more readily see if anything has been violated.

You are not required to fill out the description box for offers.

Treats:

Treats are additional gifts that you can make on top of your assigned gift, either to another person or to the collection itself. They have no minimum requirement.

Treats are opt-out, please write somewhere on your requests that you do not want treats.

In the end this is what your request would look like to your gifter. This was for a different event so the formatting is slightly different.

Reminder that sign ups close August 7, 11:59 EST

If you have any further questions or run into problems submitting please use #questions-for-the-mods channel on discord.

[freesia-writes]

Ch 21: Deceived

~ Master List ~ Previous Chapter ~ WC: 2.1k

If you’ve seen The Bourne Identity, this chapter is an attempt to channel those vibes.

. 

Hunter waited until the door clicked then abruptly sat up, mind racing with her mysterious words and the undeniable air of guilt hanging over her as she’d kissed his forehead. He pulled on his clothes at breakneck speed, tucking his weapons into their usual places and slipping into the hallway. Keeping a nonchalant pace, he headed for the stairs, peering down the middle of the spiraling steps to see how far ahead she was. But there was no sight of her.

Backtracking to their door, he found no exits, just other hotel rooms. He returned inside, throwing his few things into his bag and slinging it over his back. Some raised voices in the courtyard below caught his attention, and he rushed to the windows, peering down to see the source. 

His heart stopped. 

Imperial troopers were pushing through the crowd, heads swiveling back and forth on high alert as they appeared from all directions and converged upon the courtyard at the base of the hotel. He cracked the window slowly, just enough to be able to hear their words. 

“Standard ground op. Target is to be brought in alive. Let’s go.”

Hunter couldn’t believe it. Did Lyra know more about his past than she’d let on? Was this her doing? Where was she? And why had she apologized? He shook his head, clearing the thoughts and narrowing his focus to the well-worn habit of observation, assessment, and strategy. 

The troops fanned out when they reached the door of the hotel, some going around the sides and others taking up posts around the open area. Hunter scanned the nearby rooftops, empty as far as he could see, and went through every feature of the building he’d taken mental inventory of as they’d arrived. He secured his pack, ensuring his disguise was readily available, and narrowed his eyes.

It was time to move. 

He looked at Lyra’s suitcase, tempted to grab it but reeling with the implication of all that was occurring. 

She could get it herself, he decided, ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest and slipping into the air duct.

“Hostile engaged.”

Hunter squeezed some careless cover fire over his shoulder, spinning behind a wall.

“Headed north. All units converge.”

A leap between buildings, a roll upon landing. 

How could she have done this to him?

“Get us eyes in the sky. Hostile is utilizing the roofs.”

He sprinted across an open area, noting the trajectories of the troops below. 

Had it all been a lie?

“Cut him off at the marketplace.”

He sprang from balcony to balcony, sliding down the last part of the wall and ducking into an alleyway. 

There had to be some kind of misunderstanding. She really… She’d really seemed to…

“Don’t let him get to the bazaar.”

Forcing nonchalant body language as he bent over the barrels of a fruit stand, his breath was hot against his own face as he panted beneath his quickly-donned disguise. Two troops ran past, boots heavy as they matched the beating of his heart against his ribcage. He’d gone soft, he grumbled, purchasing a jogan fruit and strolling slowly through the densely-packed stalls of merchants. 

He should have known better. Known that he wasn’t made for that kind of life. 

“Sir, we’ve lost him.”

He would never make that mistake again.

* * * 

“Most of the Republic’s records are either revised with Imperial bias or heavily encrypted,” Tech’s voice crackled quietly over the comm. Hunter’s dark eyes glittered with intensity as he watched and listened to every movement on the shuttle. “However, I was able to find some curious information from some of the Coruscant news outlets. It is… well, to be frank, it is surprising, and not at all what one would expect considering what we have thus far seen in our dealings with–”

“Get to the point, Tech,” Hunter growled. 

“Lyra Vetana is wanted for being a traitor to the Republic. The Empire continues to seek justice for her offenses against the Office of the Chancellor and the political group by which she was employed.”

A wave of nausea ran from Hunter’s head to his feet, furthering his frustration at the news. He was a battle-hardened soldier. He’d been through virtually every torturous situation known to the galaxy. It had never affected him before. Yet now, he found it hard to think at all, much less with any semblance of clarity. 

“She was imprisoned after it was discovered that she was selling secrets to the Separatist Alliance,” Tech continued, evoking another shake of the head from Hunter. “An unknown source enabled her to escape not long after the Republic became the Empire, and she remains on the list of wanted individuals.”

“I don’t believe it…” Hunter muttered, flames of rage dancing around the deep ache in his chest. 

“It does seem a stark contrast from her character as we have yet observed it. Although it would seem that she has experience in leading a double life, which would explain her ability to deceive so easily.”

Deceive. He’d been deceived. Flashbacks of tender moments played in his mind without his permission; small moments of wonder and connection, warmth and vulnerability, all monstrous now in their complete and total lack of authenticity. He had to force his face back to neutrality, continuing his vigilant scan of the shuttle’s passenger area. Everyone seemed bored and content, and they were almost back to Xylo, but his pulse pounded in his ears as he grappled with the rollicking anxiety within.

“Her familial accomplice is also wanted by the Empire, but there is no evidence of any actual crimes on her–”

“Familial?” Hunter rubbed his forehead with a hand, clenching his jaw.

“I assume, due to the same last name. Breslin Vetana. Currently twenty-two years old. On the watch list due to conspiring with known enemies of the Republic and possessing information desired by the Empire.”

“She said it was a friend…” The muttered lament was unintentionally filled with enough pain and regret to evoke a response from Tech, low and garbled as the shuttle entered the planet’s atmosphere. 

“I am sorry, Hunter. It is painful when things are not as we believe.”

* * * 

“You’ve got to eat something,” Wrecker said quietly, pausing his own meal to regard his brother across the table. “It’s been weeks.”

“I will,” Hunter answered, idly pushing his food around as he hunched over his plate. Silence passed between them for a while, then Hunter straightened, dropping his fork with an air of agitation. “It’s just… We can’t just stay here and wait for them to find us.”

“We’ve got our plan, Hunter. Remember? We all know what to do. If the Empire does show up, they won’t find anything, and they’ll have no reason to come back.”

“All they have to do is ask around…”

“And we’ve got that covered too.” Wrecker’s voice was steady, his expression sincere as he took another bite of his own dinner. “It’ll be alright.”

Hunter sat back in his chair, rubbing his forehead before resting it in his palm. The last few weeks had passed in a blur. He’d filled his family in on all that had transpired, insisting that they all needed to pack up and leave because their location had been compromised. His urgency had been met with sympathy yet resistance; none of them were in a hurry to leave the lives they’d built over the last couple of years on Xylo, so they’d reached a compromise. At the first sign of any Imperial activity, they had a contingency plan, and while it hadn’t fully appeased Hunter’s fear, he’d been strongly outvoted and forced to settle.

So he’d gone hunting, finding it more difficult than usual as his focus shattered among a million thoughts. 

He’d made small talk with the locals, constantly analyzing every intonation and gesture for any hint of ill intent.

He’d appreciated Omega’s quiet consolation during her short visit between internships, insisting that she repeat the safety precautions to him over and over before seeing her off again. 

The sinking pit in his stomach had grown.

But he’d kept it to himself when he paid off the shuttle station attendant to let him know if anyone matching certain descriptions arrived on the island…

When he snuck into Lyra’s house to place some small devices in inconspicuous places…

When he’d investigated the nooks and crannies of her home and found a hollow panel in the wall that admitted him to a tiny back room, where he had sensed all of the metal and electronics, and discovered a variety of long-range transmitters and more weapons than any one person would ever need. 

The pit in his stomach threatened to engulf him whole.

Unbidden, memories would fill his mind at the most inopportune moments. The feeling of her body snug against his as they dozed on the couch, the stubborn insistence to inspect random bits of nature, the self-conscious chuckle at her own bad jokes. They were all cast in shadow, however, covered in the sickly pallor of betrayal. 

Tech had discovered some additional information one evening, prattling on while Hunter stared at the edge of the balcony, unresponsive and dejected. Family dinner was going on all around him, yet he still felt as though he were underwater somehow. 

“Did you hear me?” Tech interrupted his rumination. 

“No, sorry,” Hunter muttered, shifting his gaze to his brother where he sat beside them at the large wooden table. 

“I said that some internal bureau files noted that Lyra’s escape from jail involved outside assistance, and the last time she was seen was on a cargo transport with a wealth of firearms. For all of the expressed aversion to weapons and the notably mild disposition, this is quite a departure from Lyra’s nearly cowardly avoidance of conflict.”

Cowardly. That word rankled in Hunter’s mind too, though he didn’t know why. She was a coward for deceiving him for so long. Why hadn’t she just given him away immediately? When had she learned the truth? Decided to turn him in? And she didn’t even have the guts to be there when it happened, to look him in the eye when the Empire showed up to take him. 

“Still want to stick around?” Hunter finally spoke, gaze sharp as he stared at Tech’s impassive face. 

“I require more information or an actual, tangible threat to justify a complete uprooting of the lives we have established here.”

“Will Imperial Troops at the door be ‘justifying’ enough?” 

“Hunter,” Tech said, a touch of exasperation in his voice. “Plans are in place. Preparations and contingencies have been made.”

An uncharacteristically light touch to the shoulder caught Hunter’s attention, and he turned the opposite way to see Wrecker beside him, a soft yet confident expression on the large clone’s face. 

“We’ll be alright,” he reassured, resting his hand atop Hunter’s back. “We always find a way.”

Hunter sighed, head lowering between his shoulders. He sat still for a moment, then pushed his chair back and rose to his feet, scooping up his plate and utensils to take to the kitchen. 

“Poor guy,” Phee remarked quietly, watching him heading to the sink once inside the sliding glass door. 

“Think he’s right? That we should be worried?” Wrecker asked, tilting his head at her across the table. 

“I don’t know,” she confessed, casting a glance at Tech, whose thoughtful gaze was fixed on the door where Hunter had disappeared. “Something about it just doesn’t add up.”

“I’m surprised she put up with him as long as she did,” Crosshair remarked from the far side of the group. “I would have gotten my reward and been out of here.”

“Sure you would,” Echo said dismissively, clearly believing none of it as his brow furrowed in thought and he leaned on an elbow to see the others. “But why would she take him to Keytoll and do it there? Why not here, where she could get all of us at once?”

“Probably wanted to keep this a safe place to get away from it all?” Wrecker guessed.

“Yeah, but she hasn’t returned,” Echo pointed out. “And then why would she come back here when we’re all here? Any sleemo knows that’s not going to be a pleasant conversation.” 

“Well, let’s just take it one day at a time,” Phee said with an air of finality. “Things have a way of coming to the surface once the water stops rippling.”

Hours passed.

Days.

Weeks.

.

Song: Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi

Previous Chapter ~ Master List ~ Next Chapter

Join the tag list by commenting for the discord server link or filling out my form.

@lightwise @littlemissmanga @dystopicjumpsuit @523rdrebel

@solstraalaa @skellymom @photogirl894 @youreababboon @anything-forourmoony

@reader6898 @moonstrider9904 @hipwell @lamiliani @catoo

@ilarria @padawancat97 @yve-barr @lucyysthings @flowered-bicycles

@maddiedrmr @techhasmjolnir @arctrooper69 @spicy-clones @ezras-left-thumb

@cw80831 @dreamie411 @meagmcc12 @waytoooldforthis78 @hunter-lvr

@baddest-batchers @yunggoblin @sweeticedtea @imperfectxprincess @ivyyyyy

@callsign-denmark @leotawrites @carlislecullensadilf @ivyyyyy

@thetechturn @burningnerdchild @galaxyofthoughts99 @salaminus @goldy-lots

@littlefeatherr @thiswitchloves9904