Susan Collins could have put a check on Republican misogyny and slowed the GOP War on Women, but like all conservatives, her words of support mean nothing: betrayal is the design.

No remorse. No regrets. No shame.

lucy gray would have loved girl i’ve always been by olivia rodrigo so much

Giant Leopard Moth

COURTESY SUSAN COLLINS

Everlark🫶🏻❤️‍🩹

I finally watched the ballad of songbirds and snakes and I don't like it sending the message that being hot is an excuse for any crime 😕

They all lied, and contrary to what they are now claiming, Susan Collins and Joe Manchin were not “fooled” by their lies. They knew. We all knew.

The John Roberts Court will go down in history as one of thee most corrupt, regressive, depraved, illegitimate, Christofascist courts in American history, and that’s no easy feat.

👉🏿 https://www.thedailybeast.com/on-roe-are-joe-manchin-and-susan-collins-stupid-or-do-they-just-think-we-are

👉🏿 https://www.npr.org/2022/05/03/1096108319/roe-v-wade-alito-conservative-justices-confirmation-hearings

The Ballad of songbirds and snakes Susan Collins

Before the reader's eyes is the rise of a despot - the very President Snow from the Hunger Games trilogy. But in my opinion, it will be interesting to read not only fans of history. And certainly do not refer this book to teenage fantasy and light reading.

In my opinion Collins has really grown as a writer. She painstakingly draws details of the personalities, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions.

Coriolanus' attachment to the smell of roses, which is associated with his dead mother and helps to calm him down, his struggle with the image of his overbearing father, his shame at his plight as an orphan, his attempts to stay on top of the social ladder, his courageous actions, not dictated at all by concern for others, the ambiguous selfish tenderness for his cousin and grandmother - like a three-year-old who perceives everyone only through himself, his thoughts about his origins and destiny, his fear of being left on the margins of life. And "friendship" and "love." In inverted commas because these concepts are unknown to our hero, but he really wants to be accepted, to adapt to the environment, and for this he needs to interact with people somehow. So he interacts: he smiles, helps, co-operates, serves and even cares. But in the inner dialogue we always hear the truth. Each person is simply a means to an end for Snow.

At the very beginning this boy wants to justify and support, it's as if he has no choice. But in the last third of the book the transformation is completed and we are shocked to see the devastating consequences. And we knew from the beginning who it was! We knew it wouldn't be otherwise and still we are horrified by the plot twist and the actions of the characters.

Oh yeah, and there's also the tenth Hunger Games in this book, not at all as technologically advanced and popular as the games in Kitniss' time. Yes, and compared to those games that go on in Snow's head - they just pale in comparison. But, believe me, our hero will add pepper to them, and that's what he does from the very first pages.

In my opinion, the entire Hunger Games series of books is about how war uglifies society. How concepts are overturned, will is lost, hatred is nurtured. About how propaganda of any kind works, and how difficult it is to break out of that cycle, not only for those who have gone through the war, but for many generations of descendants later. Snow says (not verbatim) that war, once started, never ends. It is in people's souls and in their heads. And as long as that is true, there will be more and more Hunger Games.

Snow lands on top.

This is important bipartisan legislation that should be passed, especially in light of the threat by Clarence Thomas to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. Everyone should have a right to marry the person they love and people currently in same-sex or interracial marriages should not be afraid that their marriages could suddenly be considered null and void because of a right-wing judicial agenda. 

Millions of American families have come to rely on the promise of marriage equality and the freedoms, rights and responsibilities that come with making the commitment of marrying the one you love.

But Congress has not enshrined marriage equality for same-sex and interracial marriages into law. That is why we are working to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, bipartisan legislation that is another step forward in the United States to prevent discrimination, promote equality and protect the rights of all Americans.

Individuals in same-sex and interracial marriages need, and should have, the confidence that their marriages are legal. These loving couples should be guaranteed the same rights and freedoms of every other marriage. The American people overwhelmingly agree.

Over the past 30 years, Americans have grown more supportive of marriage equality. In 1996, less than one-third of Americans — a mere 27 percent — supported same-sex marriages. A quarter-century later, in 2022, more than 70 percent of Americans support marriage equality, including a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents.

We all have family, friends, co-workers or neighbors who are in these marriages. These partnerships deserve fairness and the recognition, stability and rights of marriage. They are an accepted part of American life.

While a wedding ceremony and party are rites of passage that everyone should be able to enjoy if they wish, a legally binding marriage comes with another set of amazing rights and responsibilities. Married Americans are afforded tax benefits, often paying a lower rate. Married couples are able to receive earned benefits for spouses, such as Social Security, Medicare, disability and those from the armed services. Those who are legally married are able to visit their spouses when they are ill, while others are often not and are considered strangers under the law. In a dire circumstance when a spouse is incapacitated and unable to make their own medical decisions, their better half has the right and responsibility to make those tough decisions for them, as it should be.

The Respect for Marriage Act is a simple, straightforward measure, only four pages in length — it is shorter than this op-ed. The bipartisan legislation would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that allowed states and the federal government to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other states. The Respect for Marriage Act would simply require the federal government to recognize a marriage if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed. It would guarantee legal marriages are given full faith and credit, regardless of the couple’s sex, race, ethnicity or national origin. This legislation has earned bipartisan support in Congress because it grants same-sex and interracial couples the certainty that they will continue to enjoy the same equal treatment under federal law as all other married couples.

just rewatched the hunger games movies for the first time after reading crimson rivers and cried for the first time ever

they survived the great war...

“I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that. So after, when he whispers, "You love me.Real or not real?" I tell him, "Real."”

-Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

So what do people actually think the background characters in the Underland chronicles look like

Just wondering. From all the (amazing) Fan art I have seen of Gregor , Lizzie, and Boots the fandom seems to have a pretty cohesive Idea on what they look like. Luxa also seems to have a pretty standard image in the fandom (Though wasn't she on the cover of the first design of MOS) with the only differentiation being how far along she is in puberty. Reminder if she was in the overland she would be in the sixth grade.

Other characters though Like really what do people think they look like. In my head Mrs. Cormaci is a plump/rounder women and I thought for years I had read that in the books until I saw fanart of her being drawn as more slim. Then I reread part of TPOB and was like Oh it never says what shape she is, I guess I just thought she was bigger because she is always cooking so much rich sounding food for charities. Then I remember seeing some one post once that what if she was Hazard's maternal grandmother. His maternal grandparents live in NYC, and Mrs.Cormaci is mentioned to have had a daughter.

Well that is bitter sweet because on one had that means that Mrs. Cormaci's daughter has been missing for years and in fact died without her mother ever knowing what happened to her (she also would not have known when her father died). Gotta then wonder if Mrs.Cormaci giving Lizzie her daughters old cloths is more than just her trying to help the Campbells while also declutter her house. But that also means Hazard has at least one Grandma who is really grand, if this relation was ever realized then maybe Hazard could come up to the overland for visits and stay with Mrs. Cormaci. Also she would probably have pictures of her daughter that she could show Hazard so he could remember what his mom looked like. Anyway I really liked this theory and wanted it to be cannon, but then i realized that since Hazard's overland features are his black hair and green eyes his overland relations probably have them to, and was like oh wow I never pictured Mrs.Cormaci having green eyes.

Another character I think about is Vikus. In my head the males in the underland Henry, Mareth, York all have short close cropped hair because they fight so much. Or in Howard's a short stack of wavy/curly locks cut just short enough to stay out of his eyes when wet. I do love the fan art I have seen of Henry with long hair though. But When It comes to Vikus , I guess since he seeks peace and is better relations, I usually imagine him with long grey hair and a long beard. to me he winds up looking kinda like men in biblical stories. Solovet however is muscled with a near shaved head. She is on the small side and slouches a bit when trying to appear as a gracious hostess and that plus her wrinkles make her seem non dangerous. When she is in planing/battle mode though she stands perfectly straight and those seemingly kindly wrinkles disappear, and she just looks completely terrifying.

Dulcet and Nerissa are other cases. Dulcet is described as being shy and very pretty. But as someone who works in childcare I can say with certainty that her hair is most likely a mess, her simple cloths likely have stains and crayon markings all over them. This girl is a beautiful mess. Then we have Neressa whom everyone knows is a mess. Since she is constantly described as wide eyed, tired, frail, to thin, and wearing her long hair a loose pony tail. But I don't often see it acknowledged that she canonically wears multiple layers of cloths at once or that her cloths never match.

I said most of the men in the underland would have short hair, could Hamnet have grown his hair out longer in the jungle, to try and make himself look different from how he did as a solider. Likewise I also imagine his lizard skin cloths being frayed and raggedy at the edges, much different from whatever military uniforms regalians wear. Anything to help hims see something different when he looks into the water. Can we talk about how when Gregor first meets Howard he describes him as tall and really strong, Then during his time with the plague Howard looses like 20 pounds and has scars wear ever he had bumps. Howard likely could not even fit into his old cloths after getting better.

What do Gregor's parents look like. We know they are both thin and tired. His dad's hair has gone completely white. Grace's cannot be to far behind with how hard she works and being in a state of constant worry for her family. Do fans still Agree with the theory that Grace is white and the Dad is black?

Also one more thing. Why does everyone think any of the underlanders that haven't completely greyed over have silver-blond hair. Like I know Luxa has that shade. Luxa would also probably be blonde if she has been born i t he overland. But it only specified that a silver tint was part of what distinguished the underlanders. Personally I always thought they could have any hair color (examples I imagine Howard being brunette and Mareth having black hair) but that it would always be paler than an overland counter part.

Like I know and respect that the characters descriptions are vague on purpose, and that the fun is that we can imagine them looking in so many different ways. But like really how do people imagine their favorites look. What little we get implies that the characters do not fall into the young adult novels trope of making them all look super hot. They are scared, beat up, anxious, and some are wearing cloths that do not fit them, some are missing body parts. To me that makes them infinetly more fun to imagine than most YA novel characters

So seriously if you have any strong clear/headcannons as to what you think certain human characters look like, please share them int he comments.

Brian McFadden.