In light of my recent monkeypox post, A LOT of people seem confused or unaware of the growing public health concern. Here’s some high level info
Monkeypox is a rare disease from the same virus family as smallpox. Since May ‘22, a concerning outbreak has been occurring across many countries, including the US, that historically have not reported the virus
Symptoms can include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body
The current outbreak appears to be spreading mostly through close, intimate contact with someone who has monkeypox. It can spread via direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids; respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact; touching items that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids; and pregnant people can spread the virus to their fetus
Most of the confirmed cases of monkeypox are men who have sex with men (MSM). This is not because MSM are biologically more susceptible to monkeypox. MSM generally have a better relationship with medical practitioners than heterosexual men, so they are more likely to get tested. Monkeypox is likely a concern for the broader public too
Good news: We know a lot about monkeypox (unlike the case with COVID). It is not transmitted as easily as COVID and is not as deadly. Two vaccines already exist
Bad news: In the US, the Biden Admin is dragging its feet on vaccine roll out. Most people, even at-risk populations, can’t get them yet. Most people are also unaware of this outbreak because the media is failing to inform the public. I hope this post helps shrink the info gap a little bit. Please consider spreading the word and adding to this post with more info and resources
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Thunderstorms
Captain Magnum x gn!reader
ask: Don't really know how this works I haven't been on here long enough but uh- if your still taking requests for Markipliers egos and stuff could you do a Captain Magnum x reader who has a huge phobia of thunderstorms and Magnum notices while there's a thunderstorm going on and comforts them :')?
A/N: I wrote this during a thunderstorm so I could keep track of my movements when I got scared. That is my official excuse for how long this took. I missed Magnum so much. Nothing but respect for my Captain. I’ve been into pirates recently because of Our Flag Means Death streaming season 1 now on HBO Max. Also, my writing teacher has assigned us to write everyday but she never said what so expect extremely short bullshit posted more often. Maybe on Ao3. I don’t use tumblr anymore lmao.
Word Count: 1.5k
Warnings: Uh. Destiny 2 reference. Battleblock Theatre reference. Mention of. genitalia. yep. Fear of thunder.
--
In hindsight, you probably should have mentioned the extreme fear of thunder before you joined a pirate crew. On the sea. Where storms… happen. And they happen frequently. And strongly. And loudly.
You had no idea how they could do that. Stand out there. With the wind whipping the sails and waves throwing the boat the rain stinging their skin and the lightning striking anything it found and the fucking noise. The boom of the thunder. The explosions deep in the sky, a threat from the gods telling you mortals that you could die at any moment. It was fucking angry. Like Poseidon invited you to Olympus for dinner and you slapped him in the face.
Not that the crew cared. The crew was fucking joyous. The crew… the crew was fucking dancing, goddammit. You couldn’t tell them now. You couldn’t. It’d be the death of any respect they might’ve had for you. You were pretty sure you heard Magnum's booming voice yelling "COME ON! GIMME ALL YE GOT! YE DON'T HAVE THA BALLS".
You couldn't tell them now. You couldn’t.
The door swung open, cracking the wall, and making you flinch. Magnum waltzed in with a laugh that reminded you of Lord Shaxx to a degree.
"Hoo, the waters be wild tonight, eh, mate?" He stomped into the room, hands on his hips. He looked around, but you weren't sitting in the room. His smile fell. "Mate? Where are ya?"
"In here." You called from the wall. A hole in the wall, moreso. A hide hole. Behind the mirror. It came with the ship, or so you were told.
He bounded over and opened the mirror, leaning his head to the side to see. You were sitting on the floor, knees to your chest. He frowned.
"What're ye doin', child?" He asked. You shrugged in response. "Couldja get outta there?"
You shook your head.
"Why not?"
You shrugged.
"Alright then." He closed the mirror and you thought that was the last of it. At least until you heard the distinct sound of wood cracking and breaking and splintering, making you hit the deck for fear that the storm had just gotten that strong.
You looked up once it stopped to see Magnum holding the mirror. The one attached to the wall. That was no longer attached to the wall. It was basically a door, honestly.
"... hi." He said. You blinked at him.
"Hi, Cap." You sighed.
He looked around your cabin a moment before deciding to just set the mirror against the nearest wall. He then shuffled into the hide hole, needing to duck down quite a bit, and plopped down next to you with his legs resting high up on the wall.
"... what's tha matter?" He asked, softer than you were used to from him.
"There's no matter. Nothing's the matter. I'm fine." You rambled, avoiding his gaze. Your eyes flicked back to him, where he sat squinting at you, scrutinizing.
"Don't lie to me. I can see it in your eyes." He waved a finger at you. You looked back at him and tilted your head.
"Really?" You raised your eyebrows.
"No, but ya just admitted ya lied, so mission accomplished." He laughed. You scoffed.
"Oh, you're an asshole." You shook your head, but had a smile on your face.
"Oi! I may be an ass, but I am no asshole, y'understand?" He teased.
"10-4, good buddy." You nodded and stared at the wall in front of you.
"... what's tha matter?" He asked again.
"That mirror was stronger than I thought it'd be." You brought the conversation in a completely different direction. Magnum looked back at the new hole in the wall. He then looked at you, suspicious.
"Fuckin' strong for some glass and wood." He agreed nonetheless.
"I thought it'd shatter, but she's still intact. Fuckin… fuckin strong-ass storm, but she's intact… she's alright… for now…"
Alright, maybe not completely different a direction.
"... what's tha matter?" He repeated for the third and final time.
"Nothing. I'm fine." You shook your head.
"You said." He quirked an eyebrow.
"Then why're you asking?"
"Cause I don't believe you."
"... right. Ok." You took a deep, calming breath, reminding yourself that your captain wasn't shallow. Well, actually, he was shallow. Extremely so. But he liked you. He was your friend. Maybe a little more, though you weren't sure whether it was further in the platonic direction or veered into romantic. You exhaled and turned to your captain. "Magnum."
"Hm?" He hummed his acknowledgement, giving you the softest eyes you've ever seen from him.
"You like me, right?" You started. He squinted at you once more.
"... mm-hm?" He hummed, already not knowing where this conversation was headed.
"And you respect me?" You continued.
"Yeah…?" He snickered, bringing his hands up and dropping them back on his thighs.
"And that won't change right?" You begged.
"Not unless ya give me reason to. Where're ya goin' with this, mate?" He crossed his arms and shifted so that he was facing you a little more. His eyebrows were furrowed and he looked confused and worried. You didn't like it.
"... Magnum, I have… a confession." You turned to face him fully. He looked you up and down, trying to investigate your body language.
"... go on." He raised an eyebrow again.
"I'm afraid of thunder." You blurted out. For a moment, neither of you said anything. That continued for about 3 more moments.
"... and?" He said, eventually.
"What?" You asked.
"Is that it?" He started to laugh.
"Wh-yeah." He sighed and clapped a strong hand on your shoulder, making you wince.
"Mate, we all have fears."
"Yeah, but mine's… dumb…" You mumbled. You tucked your knees into your chest and turned away from him.
"... I'm afraid of something." He murmured after a few seconds. You snapped your head up to look at him.
"What is it?"
"... rats." He sighed. You barked out a laugh. He gaped at you, incredulous. "Oi!"
"I'm sorry I just… remembered elephants and… yeah. It-yeah. You're just so big, it seems so silly." You rambled, still giggling.
"I'm trying to comfort you on your fear, and you're over there laughing at mine!" He scolded.
"I'm not, I get it! You're just… why would they be ascolded. To you, specifically?"
"Are ya serious! Y'ever heard of the plague?"
"Vaguely aware of it."
"Nasty, nasty business."
"You afraid of mice?"
"Nah, mice're cute."
"Well, that's presumptuous. Mice can spread disease."
"So yer afraid of thunder." He cut off the debate once he knew you'd made a reasonable point. You rolled your eyes.
"Yeah. The only good thing about a storm is the rain. And rainbows."
"It's just water. And light."
"It's pretty. But I'm hiding here. From the storm."
"Mm. A'right. I'll wait too then." He stated. You frowned.
"Oh, you don't have to. Go enjoy the storm. Don't mind me." You waved your hand towards the door. He matched your frown.
"Well, no. I can't leave ya alone. What kinda cap'n doessat make me?" He scoffed.
"You like the storm." You pointed out.
"There'll be other storms." He countered.
"You can't be with me for all of them."
"I can be with ya for this one." You tried to stare him down. He stared back. You soon got very, very uncomfortable and looked away with a tsk.
"... fine." You acquiesced. He smiled apparently pleased with himself.
You both sat there as the storm raged on. You flinched and covered your ears at any particularly loud BOOM, and Magnum flinched at your flinching. Whenever he thought you were being a little dramatic, he thought back to when a rat had gotten onto the ship and he screamed like a 5 year old girl he accidentally frightened once. That shut the thought down as quick as it popped up. He squeezed your shoulder when you whimpered and rubbed your back when you curled in on yourself.
Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore. He looked at your shaking figure and it made him feel so… what, sad? He hadn't felt sad since '04. So he made a decision.
He grabbed you by your upper arms and dragged you towards him, putting you in his lap. Your back was against his chest and he wrapped his arms around your middle.
"Mags?" Your voice cracked when you tried to ask what was happening.
"Try to go to sleep." He instructed. Another loud boom made you flinch hard.
"I can't…" you whispered. He sighed and rested his chin on your head.
"... dream of quiet places. Light wind and sprinkles of rain on a sunny day. Maybe a rainbow, if you'd want. Birds and worms and koi fish. All the dumb shit ya like. I'll bring ya to land soon and you can enjoy the quiet. Just… deal with it for now." He squeezed your middle. You closed your eyes and took a few deep breaths, the vibrations from his chest soothing you a bit.
He moved his hands to gently cup your ears. The sound it made calmed you a little. He slowly opened them again and flattened his palms to try and protect your ears from any further noise.
"Night, Mags…" You muttered.
"Night, mate." He rumbled back, not knowing if you could hear him or not.
It stormed through the night, and he made sure to wake you up to see the rainbow that appeared on the horizon. You stared at the rainbow, unaware that he had chosen to stare at you instead.
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Tumblr and the No Good, Very Bad Idea
So. You might have heard the news that, as of July 12, Tumblr is testing out converting GIFs into looping MP4 videos to help pages load faster:
This is bad. Tumblr is the only mainstream site left where you can post GIFs and they’ll continue to be GIFs - well, sort of, as Tumblr previously tested and implemented turning GIF into GIFV with the same purpose, and it decreases the quality of the original GIF file. Turning them into MP4 videos is even worse.
GIFs are GIFs. They’re not videos. Creators spend hours making a GIF that will look good as a GIF, not as a video.
I hope I don’t need to explain to anyone why continuing to screw over creators is bad for a site like Tumblr, whose continued existence depends on creators not giving up on it, and why gif-making is important to fandom existence.
I for one will not continue to make any more gifsets if I know they’ll just be turned into MP4 files. It’s disappointing to spend my time making something and watch it become ugly once it’s uploaded - and that’s what is already happening without the MP4 conversion.
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
Don’t bother sending a support ticket! They will tell you to do what I’m about to tell you:
Send an ask or submission to @wip - the official “work in progress” blog of Tumblr where people can send in suggestions.
Their ask box is open every Monday from 6AM to 6PM EST.
The conversation isn’t over, guys, but it’s important to be a part of it. If you’re a creator or support creators (and you should), then set an alarm on Monday and go send them a message.
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