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sunderwight · 4 months

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Moshang AU where Airplane transmigrates into a demon NPC from one of the fanservice clans he created, rather than into Shang Qinghua.

So basically, there was a point in time where a lot of PIDW chapters were just Luo Binghe running around propelled by political plots and rebellions from the demon kingdoms, and most of that actually just ended up being Luo Binghe collecting wives with cute animal ears and tails and various abilities that Airplane used all of once and then completely forgot about. They covered the usual bases of the sexy cat girls, sexy fox girls, sexy bunny girls, sexy bird girls with wings, etc, before moving into more, erm, niche animal hybrid demon territory.

Which is all a roundabout way of explaining Cute Hamster Boy Shang Qinghua in his faithful-to-canon clan of Hamster Demons, whose primary skills include cute squeaking noises and digging abilities.

In the process of making his braindead written-in-a-panic-at-3-am "world building" on this front actually function in a real version of the setting, there has got to be a way for the otherwise-unremarkable fanservice demon tribes to actually survive the incredibly hostile environment which Airplane otherwise described, though. Like yeah sure when you're writing a book you can just say in one breath that the demon realms are incredibly brutal and cutthroat, and then in the next that this tribe of bunny girls with no visible skills at self-defense has existed here for thousands of years, but if you actually tried to set that up in some kind of a simulation the bunny girls wouldn't last one year, let alone one thousand.

In that case of Airplane's hamster tribe, their digging skills are so supernaturally prodigious that they are able to construct massive underground fortifications in otherwise hostile terrain. But that still doesn't solve all of their problems, because they still need to acquire food, and for that they mostly do have to go up to the surface. Some of their weakness is mitigated by sheer numbers -- they have a lot of kids to offset the high mortality rate. However, to further increase the survival rates, the hamster demons also try and make contracts with some of the local liege lords or ruling clans whenever they expand into a new territory. In exchange for protection, they send some of their extraneous family members out as servants, to either cement alliances through marriage (that high fertility is helpful and was indeed the crux of Wife #whatever's acquisition in canon) or to work as diggers or even high-level architects.

As the like, twelfth son of the Hamster Demon chieftain, this is Airplane's fate. On the one hand he's highly positioned enough to get an education, and his plot knowledge helps a lot. On the other hand, he's not high enough in the hierarchy to be kept around, so it's either go work for some other clan or else risk his neck doing missions on the hostile and deadly surface. Neither seems great, but Airplane would rather try his luck as a sycophant than a warrior.

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on his mood when he thinks about it) when Airplane reaches sixteen years of age, it's around the same time that the Hamster clan's tunnels have expanded towards the Northern Desert. Airplane ends up being part of the "hiii~ pleasedon'tkillus let's be friends~" tribute to Mobei Jun's father.

Mobei Jun's father tosses him to Mobei Jun, so Airplane dutifully latches onto him in order to avoid being eaten by any of the other retainers. Airplane has been educated in various subterranean building skills and is under the impression that he's been given to MBJ in order to build him his own palace or something?

Everyone else assumes that the Hamster demon is a concubine.

Mobei Jun also thinks that's what he's been given, but he's too busy bristling in teenage offense at being given a concubine by his father to actually consider taking Airplane to bed. So when Airplane starts doing other things for him, he just sort of bemusedly lets it happen.

Gradually it becomes apparent that Airplane himself isn't interested in being a concubine. No. Clearly, this Hamster is gunning for future empress of the Northern Desert! How else would one explain all the lengths he's going to not only to win Mobei Jun's favor, but to secure his position and ensure his future rule? The system also wants Airplane to ensure the Abyss plot arc happens in the future, too, which means Airplane helps Mobei Jun win and instigate conflicts against the righteous cultivation sects too.

Obviously, Airplane wants power. Mobei Jun knows that if he gets an heir off of Airplane that will be that, the wily minx will use any children to secure his position, and MBJ is not convinced he could control himself well enough to prevent that sort of eventually. Airplane is fiendishly attractive, and he clearly knows it, and Mobei Jun is not sure if he wants to accept what increasingly seems to be the inevitable. He won't be a ladder for someone else's ambitions! But... as long as Airplane remains loyal to him, he will consider it. Even if Airplane never harbors any true affection for him, and simply considers him a means to an end. If, by the time he ascends the Hamster has not betrayed him or tried to elevate himself by flipping over this uncle's side, or seduced any of his other relatives or any of the highly-placed lords all salivating to steal MBJ's would-be empress, then Mobei Jun will grant his wish and make him the second most powerful demon in the North.

Airplane, meanwhile, just wants a snack and a nap. Maybe if he builds a secure enough fortress and amasses enough of an intelligence network and hoards a few advantages for himself, and figures out how to stop pissing off MBJ, he'll survive long enough to retire. Somehow.

#moshang #svsss #mobei jun #shang qinghua #airplane shooting towards the sky #scum villain's self saving system #og shang qinghua doesn't factor in I don't think #airplane gets shipped north around when mbj would have run into hhp and rescues him instead

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hellenhighwater · 4 months

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Hi Hell, I wanted to get your thoughts on something. My friend who has been vegetarian for close to 30 years is thinking about becoming vegan. His main reason is that the pain and suffering of an animal in the large majority of the animal product industry is not worth the enjoyment he gets from cheese, milk, etc. He hypothesizes that most people are not vegan due to lack of education about the industry’s methods, and because eating meat is so normalized. I mostly agree, but something about what he’s saying makes me feel bad. Maybe because I don’t see myself ever becoming vegan, due to how much I love certain foods, but I like to think of myself as an empathetic and moral person. So I think I just feel quite selfish.

He is a very analytical and logical thinker, and says he wants to find more anti-vegan arguments before deciding for sure, but can’t seem to find many. What do you (and your followers) think? I was thinking you aren’t vegan, but I don’t actually know.

This is very much not my lane, but if you want my two cents then for me it comes down to a few things.

One: there is a basic mass of food that any human needs to consume in order to stay alive. That can be plants, it can be animals, it can be animal byproducts. For the a significant proportion of commercially produced food, there is a negative impact. It's hard to quantify; in some cases it is certainly direct, quality of life issues for animals. In other cases it's more broad environmental impact from commercial farming, or quality of life for the human laborers involved in harvesting etc. It's hard to come up with any objective measurement for harm when comparing individual animal suffering vs human quality of life vs large scale environmental issues. There's plenty of information out there on some of the vegan diet staples and how increases in farming things like quinoa have enormously detrimental effects on their native communities, if that's something your friend is not already aware.

Two: There is a degree of this that is just...unavoidable. Things eating other things is the way living creatures survive, and on a systematic level there's not a ton we individually can do to change things--and on a practical level, there's only so much you can afford to spend on food, and organic, cruelty free stuff is more expensive. There is a level of privilege in being able to choose to spend your money in that way that is not always an option for everyone.

I'm not vegan. I'm not vegetarian. I care deeply about animals, and I'm aware of what commercial husbandry looks like--it's pretty terrible. I still eat meat. I try to do so as ethically as I reasonably can.

I don't have an issue with eating other animals. It's a part of nature. To me, I see the obligation more to do our best to try to get meat (or byproducts) that have been raised as well as we can manage. Free range eggs are pretty easy to come by, if you live in the country. Same with locally made cheeses and butters, even farm fresh milk--some places have self-serve milking that allows cows to roam in pastures and then be milked at will. Price and availability will vary by where you are, but it's more and more common; as more and more people start to care about how the people and animals involved in making our food are treated, better options become more available.

It also should be noted that the animals involved in farming are almost universally completely domesticated. There's no alternative for these animals and their progeny except for life in human care. These breeds require human aid for their own health and safety, because we have been breeding them for (in many cases) thousands of years to rely on us and to develop traits that will not aid them in the wild. If everyone decided, tomorrow, to become vegan, then these animals would need to remain in human care for however many thousands of generations it would take to breed them back to the ability to survive without us, or we would have to sterilize them en mass and terminate these breeds through lack of reproduction. It is not an option to just release these farm animals into the wild. Domesticated animals require human care. Some of them, like pigeons, have gone feral when we abandoned them, but they are not like their wild cousins, and it shows.

Because of the selective breeding involved in domestion, most of these animals are producing byproducts--eggs, milk, honey, wool, etc--in quantities that they do not need. While some species have been bred to do that to their own detriment, most heritage breeds are fully capable of producing more than they need of these things, and there can be true symbiosis between these animals and their human caretakers. Some of these things they need to have removed for their own health. It's an ancient bargain--we keep them safe, and warm, and healthy, and protected, and they give us that which they have in abundance. The problem isn't the animal product, it's how it's produced commercially.

So yeah--veganism is one option, but it is, in my opinion, a narrow scope at an issue that is far more nuanced. I think it's equally ethical to aim for a diet that focuses on local, ethical farming practices--for growing crops, for caring for meat animals, for beekeeping, for chickens and sheep and whatever else we need. We've spent longer than any of us will live making these animals part of our world--discarding them and what they can give us is not going to benefit them. We just have to learn how to treat them respectfully.

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novlr · 8 months

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Do you have any tips on how to improve on character beats, verbal cues and overall dialog descriptions? I struggle a LOT with those! Much appreciated!

One of the most overlooked ways to write interesting characters is through dialogue!

1. Start with the basics

Before you can write convincing dialogue, you need to thoroughly know your characters – their personality, backstories, motivations, and quirks.

Start with in-depth character development. Delve into their past, their relationships, the significant events that shaped them, and the dreams or fears that drive their actions. Your understanding of who your character fundamentally is will naturally guide their conversation style, topics they would discuss, and how they would react in dialogue, bringing authenticity to their interactions.

2. Know your character beats

Character beats form the backbone of a character’s development, marking transformative events, consequential actions, and insightful choices. Once you’ve developed your character’s personality, plot the key milestones that challenge and change them.

These milestones reveal how they react to their environment and to other characters, demonstrating their growth and change. Character beats are not merely plot developments; they encapsulate the internal evolution of your characters, paving the way for an authentic and compelling character voice.

3. Use verbal cues

Verbal cues serve as subtle indicators of a character’s underlying emotions and intentions, enhancing readers’ understanding of the character’s internal world. Voice modulation—from a soft whisper to a booming shout—can depict varying moods.

Unique speech patterns, like a nervous stutter or specialized jargon, differentiate characters and reveal aspects of their personality or background. Even the silence between words can be telling, with pauses and lapses in conversation often speaking volumes about a character’s emotional state.

Examples of verbal cues

Volume modulation: A character speaking softly when feeling vulnerable or shouting in anger.

Speed of speech: Fast-paced speech could indicate excitement or nervousness, while slow speech may show calmness or thoughtfulness.

Use of pauses: Strategic silence or pauses can suggest hesitation, contemplation, or underlying tension.

Stuttering: A character might stutter due to a speech disorder, nervousness, or anxiety.

Laughter: This can vary from sarcastic chuckles to uncontrollable laughter, indicating a range of emotions.

Specialized jargon: The use of profession-specific terms can give clues about a character’s background, knowledge, or occupation, just as colloquialism and local jargon can give examples of a character’s location, social status, background, and upbringing.

Choice of words: A character’s diction can reveal their education level, their cultural background, and their personality. Intentional choice can also indicate aspiration, an attempt to change, or an intentional misdirection.

Repetition: Repeating certain words or phrases could indicate a character’s preoccupation or fixation, or simply be a character quirk, like a catchphrase.

Tone: A sarcastic, cheery, or monotone voice can cue readers about a character’s current emotions.

4. Dialogue descriptions

The way you describe dialogue can significantly impact the reader’s perception of a character. Using descriptive adjectives in dialogue, like “he grumbled” versus “he exclaimed,” can drastically change the tone. Also, pay attention to sensory details – the sound, tone, pitch, and pace of a character’s voice can enhance reader understanding. Physical reactions and body language, like facial expressions, gestures, and posture, during the conversation further enrich the description, making the dialogue more engaging and revealing. Good dialogue varies description with dialogue tags, so mix and match the simple with the descriptive, and you’ll find a good rhythm.

See also: A Beginner’s Guide to Dialogue Tags and Vary Your Language With Synonyms To Use Instead Of “Said”

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lena-in-a-red-dress · 2 months

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No powers AU where Kara is a police sergeant, having come up through the ranks as soon as she graduated high school/college (not sure her education level... maybe graduated college early? Basically, she joins young and sticks with it). Lena is a combat veteran who becomes a firefighter with a reputation for putting herself in dangerous situations for the sake of saving lives.

They meet on a call when Lena joins the National City Fire Department. No one knows much about Lena's past, but she's friendly and personable elsewise, so no one really pushes. Kara is quickly affected by Lena's smoke-smudged grin and cocky wink as they wrap up the call with no casualties.

Kara starts to look for Lena any time a fire engine is needed on site (which is fairly often), and they soon build a rapport, and reputation for having good results when they work together. One day, Kara is off shift when she walks up to the firehouse in her civvies, and finds Lena working out in a muscle tank, lifting far more weights than Kara's libido can handle. She only just manages to keep her hands to herself when she invites Lena to a local farmers market the following week, which Lena accepts with a blinding smile.

Let's just say, they don't stay at the market for long before making a beeline for Kara's apartment.

#supercorp #firefighter cop au

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sirfrogsworth · 11 months

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Storytime...

A long time ago there was this thing called redlining. White people didn't want Black people living in their neighborhood. So Black people were forced to live in the poorest areas with the lowest wages.

Yes, they banned redlining. But stopping something does not necessarily fix the damage that was done. It did not magically give Black folks higher wages so they could move into better areas. They were basically stuck. They were unable to build up generational wealth. So their children were also stuck in those poor areas with low wages.

Redlining created a cycle of poverty that still exists to this day.

Public schools are funded mostly by property taxes. If you live in an area with expensive property, there will be more money to fund local schools. If you live in an area with less expensive property, your local schools will not have the ability to properly fund themselves.

Poorer areas have more crime. They pay their teachers less. So they have a huge issue recruiting qualified teachers. They cannot provide students with all of the tools they need to succeed. No computers or current textbooks. Schools in warm areas will not have air conditioning. Some in cold areas will have inadequate or broken heating. The building infrastructure may be falling apart with leaky pipes and dysfunctional bathrooms.

Distraction after distraction makes it a difficult environment to learn.

Kids in poor areas are also more likely to be food insecure due to food deserts and sometimes they lack free school lunch programs. Hungry kids do much worse in school. It is hard to concentrate when you are hungry.

So in order for a Black student to succeed in an underfunded school they have to overcome the following variables... hunger, less qualified teachers, lack of school supplies, deteriorating facilities, outdated textbooks, lack of educational technologies, and they are poorly educated about sex and drugs. Many can easily fall victim to addiction and the consequences of sexual activity. They are also overpoliced and overdisciplined. Often getting suspensions and expulsions for the same behaviors as white students who only get warnings or detention. They get suspended 4 times as much.

Under those circumstances, even the brightest and most hardworking kids might struggle to reach their potential. Their grades will suffer. Their test scores will be lower.

On paper, they don't look like a good candidate for admission.

Affirmative action was a way to give those kids with potential a second chance at a good school. Recruiters could judge the students on other variables. They could take into account all of the educational obstacles. And they could admit people who probably would have thrived if they were born in a different zip code.

If someone goes to a good school and has good grades and test scores, they will find a place to get a higher education. Maybe not their first choice. Maybe not a fancy Ivy League school. But they will get a good college education *somewhere*.

If someone went to a bad school and had no chance at achievement... without affirmative action they might not get into any college at all.

If Republicans want to level the playing field, perhaps start with public school funding. (And stop voting against lunch programs for chrissake.)

Until that happens, ending affirmative action will make the cycle of poverty that much harder to break.

#long post

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qqueenofhades · 10 months

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coming from one of those "born in mid 2000s and is now suddenly an adult, making everyone feel old," people, do you have any resources to learn how to bullshit your way through getting a job with zero experience. cause i cant even put like "babysitting" or anything since covid prevented literally any teenage-typical jobs and i kinda dont know what to put on a resume beyond the university im currently attending and the high school i graduated from. and they still dont teach you this in school even though we've complained for years 😭

Okay my chilluns, listen up. This is how to bullshit your way into a basic 1-page resume even if you think you have absolutely dum-dum-diddlysquat to put on it. I completely feel you, as it's hard as hell to get a job even in the ordinary course of things, and especially when everything seems to want 10 years of experience and a bachelor's degree (and still pays like shit). But you gotta be persistent anyway. So here follows the step-by-step guide of How To Resume:

Open a new Word (or other word-processing software of your choice) document.

Pick a nice, professional-looking font (for the love of God, no Comic Sans). Times New Roman is fine; you don't have to overthink it. My own CV is currently in Perpetua, because it's a nice serif that looks crisp and a little different, but it is still clean and readable. Garamond or Cambria or other starter typefaces are fine too. Make sure it is the right size, usually around 12pt.

Put your full name at the top, centered, in BOLD CAPITALS. Increase the typeface size a few more points on this, to make it stand out and to make it take up space.

Underneath this, in regular-sized text, put your contact information: mailing address if you're comfortable sharing it, or if not, at least your phone number and email address. Use a school email if you have it, and not some weird/in-jokey personal email.

Start a new paragraph. In a slightly smaller font (italic if you want to make it look classy) write a few words about yourself. This should be something like I am a [Major] student at [University] looking for a part-time, entry-level position in [sales, retail, office, etc]. A [year] graduate of [High School] in [City, State], I am [prompt, reliable, detail-oriented, mature, friendly, etc] and a hard worker who is eager to gain experience and positively contribute to your business.

Start a new paragraph. Change the alignment from Center to Left. Create a new heading in bold underline labeled Education.

Under this, fill in your education (college first, followed by high school). Include the institution name, city, and state, the year you graduated or expect to graduate, any honors or awards, any extracurriculars, any grade-point averages if they're good (i.e. 3.0 and above), and your expected major in college.

Start a new paragraph. Create another heading: Experience.

This is where you put absolutely anything you can think of (in chronological order, most recent first and counting backward). Did you volunteer for something ever in your life? Put it down! (Title of work, dates, location, brief description of work). Did you do yard work for someone for a weekend? Put it down! Were you (or are you) part of a student club or organization in high school or university? Have you organized or taken part in any local initiatives in your community or neighborhood? Put it down! Basically, absolutely any kind of work, paid or unpaid, that might be relevant, regardless of how long it was or when it took place.

Under that, put the new heading/paragraph Skills and Interests.

Have you worked with Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Adobe, Photoshop? Put it down! People love that shit! Do you use social media and/or know how to work it better than the average grandma? Put 'er down! You get the idea. Think of anything in your daily life that can be put in Job Language and then see if you can do that. You are in university; do you have any projects, papers, or other things that you're proud of? Have you successfully managed a (gasp) group project? Do you make any kind of art? Are you a registered voter who has taken part in civic/political organizations, drives, or events? (If not, REGISTER TO VOTE! This is your angry grandmother speaking). All of that can go down. Even if it's not job experience per se, it's life experience and shows that you are someone who is engaged with the world and working to gain more.

Last paragraph and heading: References. Ask a few trusted adults who know you well and aren't related to you, such as a favorite high school teacher or a university faculty member/degree advisor, if they'd be willing to serve as referees. Put down their full names, titles/place of work, email addresses, and phone numbers.

Voila! You have a full page resume, probably even a little more if you're lucky. Proofread, make sure the spacing is even and the alignment is right, it doesn't look weird, the text is a consistent size, it's all the same color, there are no glaring typos or grammatical errors, etc. etc. Save it as a PDF.

Boom. Done. You are now a Job Hunting Maestro.

If you get an interview, you don't need to pretend that you have tons of experience or that you're something you're not, but you can present what you ARE in a positive light anyway. Don't apologize for yourself or play yourself down pre-emptively; be confident about yourself and what you can offer. You're a college kid looking for your first part-time job, COVID prevented you from a lot of normal teenage work experience, you're willing to work hard and learn new things. Here's your resume. What would be a good time to talk again.

Good luck! I believe in you.

#anonymous #ask #how to adult #how to make a resume

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barblaz-arts · 7 months

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Seen your post about Israel/Palestine which is very good to care about, but I'm not sure everyone in the world are aware how fucked up the whole situation is. People think it's either this or that, but they should support the actual people, not Israel, not Hamas.

People from both sides got hurt, but the ones who were hurting longer in short term historical perspective, are Palestineans, if we take the long term (which only maniacs and fanatics actually care about) those are of course Jews, but it's more of a religion/ideology thing than some actual suffering.

The problem of this lack of knowledge, in my opinion, is that both sides, politically are shit bcs they use people and their feelings as pawns. Hamas has their military bases near civilian objects in Gaza, and at the same time Israel doesn't give more than two fucks about the civilian population, because they state that terrorists are hiding within the population, and Israel just makes attempts to swipe it under the rug a but by allegedly telling people to evacuate. If they wanted peace they should have started this whole bullshit conflict of interests half century ago. But I really have doubts that for them, being a very much newly established country, it was a fully uninfluenced decision. It was a way for the USA and Nato to weed their way into the Middle East and be able to control the situation. They have been getting ready for war for decades, hense females in regular military service, which isn't a thing in countries that don't really wait and want for any war happening, or have a stable way to enlist their immigrants into their military. But that's another topic. I made this example only as a means to explain why it was obvious Israel was getting ready for war. You can hide the actual point under the feminism and such, but it's not about feminism if it's not your right but your responsibility to serve the country. I don't really mind of course, but the militarization of society usually shows what is it going to be in the future. Especially if such militarization isn't sporadic, but been happening gradually over the years.

Back to history, The whole thing with Israel been festering previous decades, and first UK and after that USA allowed it to fester. It was the Osman empire region first (and I don't really like those slavers on principle, because they've been torturing my country with slave trader's raids on religious principle, for couple of centuries which prompted several huge wars to stop it from happening). After the dissolution of the Osman, as far as I remember, UK swooped in and basically did the colonising of sorts, they usually did, with no respect for local population and thinking they're the ruling caste while being unable assimilate the people into their culture because a) you can't make people want what they don't understand b) any more or less peaceful assimilation is when they actually want to be with you as allies and understand why exactly.

After that they synthetically made a country for jews, which is idiotic on its own merit and on everyone's merit. Like, their thing is that you had to be jew BY BLOOD to settle in the country, which is the beginnings of ultra nationalism, that's what I'm thinking. Not that many societies aren't nationalistic, but the sheer level of it is very odd. And the forefathers of the Israel aren't some lgbt activists who shine with rainbows and shit with butterflies, they are orthodox zionists. Which means, that their religion makes them free to kill people of other, opposing religion.

But it doesn't make the Hamas, as in the organisation, in any way clean and clear. They are terrorists, and they don't enjoy anything but sharia law, or their own charter, which states basically Jihad and jew killing. That is a very dangerous thing to support, because it's a very obvious thing - in this kind of tribalistic society that spurs from lack of education and all other good things in life, people with guns and moxie will rule the people who can actually make the whole thing better by promoting cooperation. You literally cannot negotiate with people who say that they will kill you if you're this or that, killing is bad, period. There's no way out of it, and I think we all need to step back and actually look at the reasons of conflict that go way back, not just the today's situation. It may lead us to the fact that, yes, Israel could've existed peacefully if it wasn't being militaristic, but only - only if they were no political powers in surrounding countries that made their goal the cleansing of Palestine from Jews. And why the Jews even started to get there? Not because they came on their own, no, it was a fucking plan by the actual colonisers, when they were more toothy and bold with their actions.

On a side note, that's partially why Russia/Ukraine situation is drastically different, they have deep ties to each other and speak the same language, had ability to talk to each other all these decades while being torn apart and pit against each other by lies about Russian colonisation of them, and lies of how it would be better if they join the EU. All the while, Ukraine was the best in agriculture in Europe before the whole EU and fracturing from the Russian orbit shebang, and now the industry was in shambles, even before the russian invasion. The same goes for their trading fleet - the whole Ussr built Ukraine the trading fleet and most of it was left there after the dissolution. What they did, they sold it out even if they couldve used it and by the 2018 they had about 5 big ships of their own. And that's how it was with all the economy - thieving it all out and then blaming it on Moscow.

In 2018 polls there were about 20 percent of Ukrainians who said they knew official Ukrainian, and 80 who spoke Russian and the eastern dialect mix of Ukrainian and Russian. You can make your own opinion out of this, ofc. That's not the same with Israel /Palestine situation, those nations are literally alien to each other in many things.

Yes, Ukraine was the synthetic country as well, but instead of being monogenous like both Israel and Palestine, they weren't, and had a very best economy in the Ussr, which made the whole notion of "Russia was is and will be bad" take lots of time in taking root in most of the people who weren't nationalistic, all the while Ukrainians were welcomed into Russia and not discriminated against in any way. Which is totally different to what was happening between Israel and Palestine, they had no actual ties, nothing except the USA military support for Israel so it stays on top, all the economic support to Gaza being settled in the pockets of all the middle men, and that's actually it.

But please, let's not forget, that the radical islamists are actually dangerous, and it's not a reaction to the USA involvement, or the reaction to anything at all but Quran. If there's someone who reads Quran and finds some Jihad mentions, there will be blood spilled over it. The whole, it's these guys fault or those guys fault doesn't really work when it's about politics, domestic or international. For things to work, there should be no radicals in the upper echelons of power. Which is not true in Israel / Palestine war from both sides. It's a very bad situation that may cause all kinds of tensions in all the world, because people aren't being well informed about the whole history of the conflict, without this or that side pushing their narrative.

At first, my knee jerk reaction was reading it as you thinking I support Hamas in any way. Which i dont. I must reiterate i DONT. I decided to revisit this later and calm down a bit and give you the benefit of the doubt here and assume that you're talking about other people, as I have myself seen say they support Hamas because history has often called rebellion groups of oppressed people terrorists and it's... Frankly terrifying to see.

Hamas specifically is a complicated situation that I have not yet dived deep enough into to talk about in detail, which is why I dont much talk much about them. I need to know more, I dont wanna talk outta my ass. But I do understand that radical Islamists are no good. I live in the Philippines. We have that too.

But the fact of the matter will always be that Hamas never mattered when it comes to what Israel is doing now and what they've been doing for decades. We must always remember this.

And while I'm on that topic, the "long term" suffering of Jews does not matter here either, because Palestinians didn't do that to them. A lot of zionists use it as an excuse and I am sick of it.

I'm not sure if you're saying one must be neutral about this. You're either hard to read, or I'm too sleep deprived and exhausted for reading comprehension. I think you are, but ai could be wrong. And I completely agree that it's the radicals in power that are to blame. In all my responses it is always the leaders I condemn most.

In any case, I'm just going to take this opportunity to say staying neutral isn't an option either because of the sheer power imbalance. Israel would be counting on the world looking away so they can erase all Palestinians. For this cycle of violence to be over on BOTH sides, Israel has to be the one to back off, as they are and always have been the ones with more power.

#free palestine #ceasefire in gaza #im not as eloquent as i could be because im tired and on the last day of my work week #but i didn't want this to be piled up by newer asks and get back logged #as i agree that it's very very important to separate support of Palestinians from Hamas

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 9 months

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Considering how rapidly the right's "war on woke" is expanding, it was perhaps inevitable: Self-identified "mama bears" on a Texas school board are angry that a classroom had a poster showing people of different races holding hands. Last week, the school board in Conroe, Texas, a small city north of Houston, turned the right-wing mania for censorship into a dark parody of itself. At issue? A poster that seemed to imply that interracial friendship is possible.

According to ABC 13 Eyewitness News in Houston, things started when school trustee Melissa Dungan declared that she had spoken to parents who were upset about "displays of personal ideologies in classrooms." When pressed for an example, according to the news report, "Dungan referred to a first grade student whose parent claimed they were so upset by a poster showing hands of people of different races, that they transferred classrooms."

"I wish I was shocked," Dungan said of the poster. "I am aware these trends have been happening for many years."

Some other members of the school board did, in fact, argue that there was nothing objectionable about such a poster. But Dungan was backed up by another trustee, Misty Odenweller, who insisted that the depiction of uh, race-mixing was in some way a "violation of the law." The two women are part of "Mama Bears Rising," a secretive far-right group fueling the book-banning mania in Conroe and the surrounding area. At least 59 books have been banned due to their efforts.

When another trustee asked Dungan if she personally objected to an illustration of cross-racial friendship, she demurred, simply declaring that she was just trying to avoid "situations like that." Situations like what, exactly? She didn't say.

Dungan's behavior is a perfect illustration of the "anti-woke" tap dance. The person alleging nefarious wokeness never admits to their own bigotry, instead pretending that they're reacting to "woke" people who are "pushing" an agenda, in this case through innocuous poster art.

Of course, the entire premise of the argument is rooted in bigotry, as this example shows. It presumes that the feelings of real or imagined bigots who might take umbrage at such an image are of paramount importance, and that everyone else's freedoms must be curtailed to appease them.

It's tempting to shrug it off as one-off weirdness from Nowheresville, Texas. But while this was an especially ham-fisted example, it's part of a well-funded nationwide effort, led by a group of interlocking far-right groups, aimed at destroying modernity, undermining democracy and imposing authoritarian government against the will of most Americans.

Donald Trump sucks up most of the oxygen in the discussion about rising American fascism, but even without him, this movement is powerful and widespread, and it's using these local culture-war skirmishes battles to seize even more power. And old-fashioned racism, the kind on display in Conroe, is very much at the center of it all.

Last week, the New Republic published a lengthy and terrifying investigative article by Katherine Stewart about the Claremont Institute, once a vaguely respectable conservative think tank and now among the leading right-wing organizations pushing the anti-education and anti-democratic agenda below the surface of the Conroe incident.

One of the many Claremont alumni Stewart profiles is Christopher Rufo, who spearheaded the recent hysteria over "critical race theory" in education. In reality, critical race theory was an approach used in law schools and other graduate-level academic spaces, and had basically nothing to do with public schools.

Rufo's ingenious idea was to turn it into a catch-all scare term that could be used to demonize any and all forms of anti-racist education, even something as previously noncontroversial as a poster depicting interracial friendship.

The far-right, anti-democratic politics of the Claremont Institute are so grotesque that many readers will dismiss them as preposterous, but it's all carefully documented and disturbingly real. As Stewart chronicles, Claremont has promoted the work of Costin Alamariu, who holds a PhD in philosophy from Yale and writes under the name "Bronze Age Pervert." He has declared that the "liberation of women" is an "infection" that requires "the most terrible convulsions and the most thorough purgative measures."

A frequent contributor to Claremont's online journal, who writes under the name "Raw Egg Nationalist," argues that "men and women shouldn't work together in the same spaces" and describes the Black Lives Matter protesters of 2020 as "hideously ugly, malformed people." Claremont-associated blogger Curtis Yarvin argues (in Stewart's words) that "America needs a king, a dictator with total military power." Claremont's most famous associate is board member and former law professor John Eastman, now known as "Co-Conspirator 2" in the indictment against Donald Trump for attempting to overthrow the U.S. government.

Because of their tight link to the book-banning efforts, the relatively new but suspiciously wealthy group Moms for Liberty has received massive media attention in the past couple of years. Even so, the group's radical ideology has not really been covered in most mainstream news coverage, which tends to portray the Moms as a bunch of overzealous church ladies. As Flux editor Matthew Sheffield, Media Matters vice president Julie Millican and researcher Olivia Little explained in a recent "Theory of Change" podcast, however, underneath the facade of "Christian moms" is some startling far-right radicalism.

For instance, while it was widely reported that a Moms for Liberty pamphlet from one branch was caught quoting Adolf Hitler, the group was able to spin that as a misunderstanding and a mistake. But at their summit a few days later, speaker Tiffany Justice yelled, "I stand with that mom" — the one who quoted Hitler — while the audience whooped its approval.

Moms for Liberty has heavily promoted trainings for conservative activists on how to take over school boards, which ought to make clear how we should understand stories like this one, which just sound like a racist tantrum in a Texas suburb. These aren't random or isolated events — they're part of a large, well-organized and well-financed attack on public education across the country.

Mama Bears Rising, the group that fueled the Conroe school board takeover, in unsurprisingly discreet about its connections to the larger national movement for censorship. But screenshots of online communications by local anti-censorship activists suggests that it's no coincidence that the books targeted for censorship in Conroe are the same ones that show up on book-ban lists across the country. Mama Bears Rising is drawing on the same playbook that's being disseminated nationwide through a well-funded network of Christian nationalist activists.

These days, it's almost never just one nutty lady at a school board meeting. It's about a movement with a committed ideology, that has deep connections to Donald Trump's campaign to end democracy.

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foxofninetales · 8 months

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How do public libraries choose which books to stock and which not to?

Somewhere, all of my coworkers just felt a shiver run down their spine because they KNOW what I'm like when I start talking collection development. Oh dear.

(As a disclaimer, I am answering this very specifically from the viewpoint of an adult fiction purchaser for a public library, because that's what I do. There are other considerations for nonfiction, juvenile, etc that I can't speak of with as much experience.)

The short answer is: our goal is to develop a collection that meets the needs of the local community.

The most obvious facet of this is purchasing, and the most obvious driver for purchasing is demand. How you calculate that demand varies: mine involves a combination of 1) fancy analytic software 2) pulling specific reports from our ILS data 3) patron requests 4) seeing what terms are being searched in our catalog 5) getting input from front-line staff about trends and chatter and 6) longterm knowledge of the general likes and dislikes of our community. Longterm authors are known quantities and pretty easy to predict, while new authors require reading reviews and evaluating their potential. It can vary from "this genre/author always circulate well in general" to "I know this book will be read by these three specific people". Bestseller lists are useful and you definitely need to pay attention to them, but those are national trends, and a good collection development librarian who really *knows* their community can look at two books that are selling almost identically nationally and know that locally they need to buy ten copies of one and one copy of the other. Heck, I buy for a multi-branch system, and I can tell you which genres and authors will do better at one branch versus another 20 miles away. Local means. *local*.

Anyway... another facet in meeting the needs of the community is providing representation. Here's where you get into fun things like GIS maps and census statistics and keeping up with local populations trends, etc., as well as just paying attention to who walks through the library doors, and who doesn't, and why that might be. Communities are diverse and you want everyone to be able to see themselves represented in your collection. This is where budgets really come into play, and how much money you have left after purchasing the must-have bestsellers. (See again: James Patterson rant.) This is also, unfortunately, restricted by what the publishers are putting out that is available to purchase - sometimes the representation you want to buy just isn't out there, especially if your supplier isn't good about small-press books.

"Quality" is a factor in purchasing, but sometimes people misunderstand this and think that this means that the library should buy nothing but classics and literary or educational books. NOOOOOOO. We evaluate books for quality before purchasing, but it's "quality as a representation of what it is" versus "quality against all books of all time". What this basically means is that yes, if the demand is there, we are going to buy that lurid potboiler that is written on a third-grade reading level, because that is that is what provides enjoyment for a specific level of reader, but it's going to be the best example of that genre that we can find. Those category paperback romances? Excellent examples of category paperback romances. The goal of fiction isn't foremost to educate, but I do get particularly excited when I find what I call "eye-openers", which are books that are absolutely typical genre fiction *except* they have one little facet that exposes the reader to something they aren't usually exposed to in that genre - a different race of protagonist, a queer sidekick, a facet of history that is looked at in a slightly more nuanced way.

Besides purchasing, another aspect is collection maintenance. For the most part, this is "weeding", which is the process of removing older books to make room for new ones. Collection space isn't infinite: for new books to come in, old books have to leave. This is comparatively simple for adult fiction, as it is largely based on what is still circulating and what has been gathering dust for three years, though the physical condition of the book also comes into play. For nonfiction, you also have to evaluate whether the information the book contains has become old/outdated/downright dangerous. Because i am fortunate enough to work in a library with ample collection space and a good budget, collection maintenance for our collection also involves strategic replacements where needed, not just of battered classics, but also of older series books that are still popular. (Agatha Christie is still one of our top 20 circulating authors, nearly 50 years after her death!)

The overall goal is to have a collection where everyone in your community will be able to walk through the door and find a book that appeals to them and is what they need right then, whether it provides a moment of startling revelation that shapes their life or just gives them the companionship to get through one more sleepless night.

#libraries #asked and answered

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intogenshin · 5 months

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Meropide's capitalist model

In Capitalism, each man is entitled to what he produces. Under Capitalism, fairness requires society to provide equal opportunity to achieve success.

Capitalism is comparable to a race in which every participant begins at the same point and the sole determinant of his results is his merit.

—Capitalism and Equal Opportunity

The principles by which the Fortress of Meropide operates are simple: everyone starts with the same opportunities to succeed, and everyone gains as much as they work.

The only currency they are allowed to use is Credit Coupons, and they must work for them.

Wriothesley: In the fortress of Meropide, Credit Coupons are the only currency, and everything must be purchased. In some sense, you could say using the coupons is a form of trade. But trade is always conducted by people, so if we want trade here to prosper, we need everyone to work hard and live their lives.

Whoever they were outside, and whatever resources and mora they owned, it has no value inside. Everyone is equal. The locals call this a form of “rebirth”, entering a system governed completely independently from Fontaine’s court.

Without basic levels of education and standards of living, the race is no longer based on merit—the starting points differ.

—Capitalism and Equal Opportunity

We find out that the Duke also makes sure to cover the resident’s basic needs:

Wriothesley: If nobody could afford a meal, then The whole fortress would be up in arms. That would only make things more difficult for me. So rather than saying that we’re giving everyone a free meal here, you should say that everyone’s hard work has improved the living conditions in the Fortress of Meropide.

Wolsey: Whatever the case, hard work is rewarded here. You’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else as fair and reasonable.

The fairness of the system is proved at the very start with the character Deakin, who welcomes the traveler and Paimon. When Wriothesley meets them, he asks if we were satisfied with his guidance and the player gets two dialogue choices:

Negative: It was okay. His attitude could use some work, though

Positive: He’s taken great care of us. Splendid chap, really.

If you choose the negative option, Wriothesley admonishes him, and his reputation before the Duke takes a blow.

Wriothesley: In that case, I regret to announce that Deakin here has just missed the best opportunity in his prison career to be promoted.

Deakin: I admit that I was only thinking about the coupons… I’m sorry to have disappointed you. I once hoped for a chance to do some higher-level work. I had no idea you two were big shots who were worthy of speaking with His Grace… Losing out on such big opportunity because I couldn’t see past my own nose…

Deakin’s mistake was that he should have worked hard regardless of who the traveler was, if he worked just as hard with every person he introduces, he wouldn’t have lost this chance.

As Wriothesley explains if you choose to praise Deakin instead:

Wriothesley: Outstanding. Well, Deakin, I recall we discussed fate during our last work meeting. I believe that fate will reward all those who take every aspect of their work and life seriously. When you return to your bunk, you’ll find the guards have issued some extra Credit Coupons to you.

Deakin: Thank you, Your Grace! Oh, and you two! I can’t believe you gave me such praise. If you need anything in the future, anything, please come find me anytime! No Credit Coupons necessary!

Later in the quest, you meet up with him again. If you chose the negative dialogue, he just apologizes, but if you chose to praise him he gives you the Coupons that Wriothesley issued him.

So this is a system that works on the basis of fairness, equal opportunity and hard work that is ensured by those in charge, but allowed to operate freely to each individual’s personal criteria.

For Capitalism to fully function as the theory dictates, a government is required to act as a referee. As a referee, the government ensures no one cheats the system and government implements fair regulations on the market so that no one entity dominates the entire system. With these government actions, each individual has what he needs to run a fair race.

—Capitalism and Equal Opportunity

And it works so well that people prolong their stay even after finishing their sentences.

The ideological principles of capitalism that promise fairness, equality and profit cannot be depicted in a more obvious way in the Fortress of Meropide. I hope we can agree on this, because it’s really said quite explicitly in dialogue.

But is it really fair?

After all, the prisoners only stay in the Fortress after completing their sentences because the “overworld”, as they call the city on the surface, discriminates against ex-convicts:

Downcast Convict: If you ask me, those pompous parasites on the surface act like they're all a bunch of aristocrats. Do any of them give half a hoot about a bunch of dogs like us?

Downcast Convict: I've heard that even if you're released after serving your sentence, going back to life on the surface ain't any better. Once a criminal, always a criminal, we're marked for life.

Traveler had an initial advantage over every other prisoner, and it’s that he was involved with a scheme he agreed to carry out with Neuvillette, so Wriothesley gave him special treatment on the first day. Had traveler been any other prisoner, it wouldn’t have mattered if Deakin treated him poorly or not.

Paimon: Even though the Duke didn’t say it too directly, judging from what he said at the end, it seems that he was only welcoming because we know Neuvillette…

Ideally, they should treat each other well equally, but a prisoner like traveler had a different status than all others, at least on that first day. So, despite of what’s on paper, the prisoners navigate the system through luck more than they do on hard work.

As exemplified with the meal system:

Sigewinne: What you get to eat depends completely on your luck. You could say that it’s a… distasteful little game that Chef Wolsey likes to play here in the cafeteria. Isn’t that the meal box that only super lucky people manage to draw? Seems like you two are quite fortunate.

Wriothesley: It actually has nothing to do with luck in this case. I had a word with Wolsey so you didn’t have to draw lots like everyone else.

Like the meal system, the opportunities that the prisoners have access to are entirely based on things like chance and personal connections.

Prisoners with better abilities, connections, inside intel and simple luck will have more success than others, so can this really be a truly fair system?

This is an existing criticism of capitalism, and I hope we can also agree that Genshin has depicted it in the Fortress of Meropide through actions and dialogue.

A different work that tackles the same rhetoric is Squid Game, where the systematic violence of capitalism is made completely explicit and graphic by turning these principles into a death game.

This video essay by the channel Kay and Skittles goes into it further:

"Sure, we’re killing you. Sure, we’ve taken advantage of you at your lowest point. But we’re giving you an opportunity, a fair chance to make it in this world."

Squid Game heavy handedly shows you what it thinks about that kind of ideological justification in a scene where that rhetoric is juxtaposed with hanging corpses.

Of course, just as it is out there in the real world, all this talk about fairness and meritocracy is a lie.

The games tend to be significantly luck-based. Take for example the candy-shape-game, in which contestants arbitrarily choose a shape that they only later find out they have to carve out of a thin piece of sugar candy, without breaking it. If you happen to be a triangle, you’ll have a much easier time than if you happened to be an umbrella.

What’s fair about that?

It seems more like who wins and who loses is determined largely by complete chance before the game even starts.

Some people are better at some things, some of the contestants might have skills or knowledge from their regular lives that helped them in some of the games. So it was never really possible to have a completely equal starting point in these games.

The difference between Squid Game and the Fortress of Meropide, however, is that the games are designed to be unequal (and the operator behind it manipulates the rules to please the investors), as everything in the show is explicit and direct: the system depicted in this story works this way on purpose.

Meanwhile, the Duke of the Fortress tries to ensure that these principles are respected. Neither Wriothesley nor the majority of the population in the Fortress want the system as it is designed on paper to fail.

If Squid Game depicts the realistic outcome of this system through allegories, then the Fortress of Meropide depicts the idealistic version where the flaws in design can be corrected.

Here’s the thing though:

It’s a prison.

Convicts do not get to choose their living conditions, nor do they have a motivation to leave the system either when they have already completed their sentences.

They live underwater, surrounded by nothing but machines without ever seeing the light of day. They don’t even know what kind of weather there is on the outside. They don’t see their families either. Everyone is equal in this regard, even the Duke himself.

Wriothesley: Isn't staying here all day and serving as the manager of the Fortress a kind of sentence unto itself, another form of prison? I just happen to have some support from the rest of the inmates, that's all.

In Squid Game, the participants join the game voluntarily, but they do so because they feel pressured by their living conditions, to the point they’re risking their actual lives for a minimal chance to win the grand prize. And once inside, they are treated like prisoners by masked guards.

So if these principles of fairness, equality and hard work can only work when the participants are treated like prisoners, deprived of freedom and autonomy, or when they are implemented in an actual prison,

How fair can the system really be?

#Fortress of Meropide #Fontaine #Genshin lore #Genshin analysis #I'm still annoyed by this game but I never cross posted this one to Tumblr #Wriothesley

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renlyslittlerose · 5 months

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Hi! Your fics are absolutely stunning but I think your job sounds so incredibly cool! If you’re comfortable answering a slightly personal ask, how did you become an archivist? What drew you to that kind of work?

Thank you for your amazing contributions to the Obikin fandom ❤️

Oh gosh, thank you so much! You're too kind!!! 💗

And I don't mind at all! I actually stumbled into it (mostly) by accident. I was finishing up my double degree at university in the Classics and History when one of my professors said that a local private club (think 'White's' in London - elite, mostly rich members or literal royalty) was looking to take on an assistant to help their lead historian, and they wanted a student from the history department. I decided to apply and lo! I was hired.

So I learned a lot about the basics while working alongside their more experienced archivist and curator who, bless her, really wanted to help me along. She gave me lots of tips, taught me how to carry out the job, while also trying to guide me toward bigger things.

Meanwhile, while I was working that job at the club, I started volunteering at my local RCAF museum where I learned how to accession, archive material, preserve artefacts, etc. I actually networked with my current boss at a Renaissance Fair lol (my boss used to be a professional jouster, if you can believe it).

Then, a few months into my volunteer work with the RCAF museum, they asked if I would be willing to come work for them as an assistant curator. I of course jumped at the chance, and with the blessing of my boss at the club, I quit and moved on to the museum! While working at the museum I went on to receive my Masters in the Classics, while continuing my on-the-job education at the museum. Archival work sort of pivoted to me over the years, so now I split my time between digitizing our archival material, photographing the artefacts in our collections space, and transcribing letters, diaries, etc. While also still accepting and accessioning new donations and trying to find space for them in our very small area 😭

I think I was drawn to the work because it's a real and tangible way to work with history, and to distribute knowledge to the wider world. Working with history can sometimes feel like you're yelling into the void - no one hears you in amongst the rest of the voices. Or, those who do hear you are just part of your very insulare, often times elitist community. Post-secondary education and the trappings that come with such institutions are often times gated to those who don't have the money or the means to attend. Education at a higher level is a privilege rather than a right.

But when it comes to museum work, we get to share our work and our knowledge with the wider community - with those who live nearby, student groups from local schools, as well as with tourists. And the amazing thing about our archives is that they're available online for free. Anyone, anywhere in the world, so long as they have access to the internet can peruse our archives at their leisure. I have spent the last eight years digitizing our archives and putting them online for anyone to use. Our knowledge and the history that is contained within the walls of my office aren't just for me, or for those wealthy enough to access them. They are for everyone.

And I think that's really, really cool. And that is why I love my job.

In the next few years we're hoping to expand the archives to include photographs of our artefacts, so that the material we cannot put on display are still available for the public in some form. And again, these will all be available for free.

I would link to our archives but I don't wanna dox myself (which is a sad statement to make, but that's just how the internet is now a days). But maybe one day you'll accidentally stumble upon my handiwork out in the wild, and if you do I hope you enjoy photographs of airmen and women, ground crew, officers and NCOs, dogs and cats as airbase mascots, or a ventriloquist mummy made by a POW out of cigarette cases :)

#ask #reply #mercutiosdiary #sorry that went on for forever

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notcaycepollard · 7 months

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I just saw your Barbie jacket and fell in love, such beautiful work!

I want to get into sewing but have no idea where to start, do you have any tips?

Yes! FYI, I had the privilege of learning to sew at a really young age, around 10-12, thanks to 1) learning the basics from my mum 2) having a second-hand sewing machine I could futz around on as I pleased. But I truly think anyone can learn to sew, it does not have to be a childhood skill.

If you want to try it out before committing to buying anything except fabric, there are almost always community or adult education classes or courses that can teach you basics on their machines. Depends where you live but you might find them through your local community college or high school night class, library, YMCA/community centre, or even by asking at a fabric/craft store.

I highly recommend taking a couple of classes if you're a complete beginner - they can teach things like laying out and cutting patterns, threading a machine, the basic stitch and finishing options, etc. Often they can also teach you how to use your own machine, if you've bought one but you're a beginner.

If you want to try at home, at minimum you will need:

A basic sewing machine - you can very often find good second-hand machines online (ebay, craigslist, local buy/sell Facebook pages). Mine is a Janome and I've had it for almost 20 years, but the old 70s steel Singer machines are fantastic in terms of longevity.

A pair of reasonably sharp fabric scissors. You do not need to pay a million dollars for the best scissors, but going up a level from basic craft scissors, and keeping them only for cutting fabric (no paper) will make your cutting-out experience a lot easier.

A packet of sewing pins. For pinning down patterns and seams. I like the glass-head pins since they don't melt if you iron over them.

A tape measure for measuring yourself and checking your seam width, hems, etc.

An iron and ironing board (or table with a thick towel laid down, if space is a real problem).

A flat surface to lay out and cut your fabric - dining table or floor both work fine.

A needle for hand-sewing - to sew on things like buttons.

A box of empty bobbins to wind your bobbin thread onto.

In terms of patterns - there are a huge range of indie pattern companies online now (meaning they're not the big commercial patternmakers like Butterick). Most often, you can buy their patterns as a PDF and print it out on your home computer. In all honesty I much prefer indie patterns to commercial - they're often a lot more up to date with style, and usually not as expensive - but they can also be limited in terms of sizing, the range of style options, and some people really like a printed paper pattern instead of having to print your own. I recommend Papercut Patterns as an indie option that's great for beginners.

Indie instructions can also sometimes be a bit confusing (I find Etsy patterns the worst for this) although often you can email them and ask - or Google "[name of pattern] sew along" for a video tutorial. You can also find step by step video or blog post tutorials for pretty much every sewing technique, including things like putting in a zip, sewing buttonholes, etc.

Once you've picked your pattern, you'll obviously need fabric. There are a million people online who espouse the virtue of sewing with old bedsheets from thrift stores; in all honesty I don't love doing this because 1) I get a huge amount of joy from beautiful fabrics 2) if you want to make things that look 'professional'/store-bought, bedsheet cotton is not always your best friend. BUT it is probably the cheapest option for fabric, and a very good way to start or to test that a pattern fits and you know how to make it before you cut it out in the nice linen that cost $30 a yard. Using thrifted fabric is also obviously really eco-conscious, although a lot of fabric stores (especially independent ones vs chain stores like Spotlight or Joann) make a point of selling 'deadstock' fabric - fabric leftover from a clothing designer's run.

That's probably enough to start, honestly just fuck around and have fun with it, screw up a few times, lean into the imperfection. I still regularly scrap projects that aren't working for me, no shame in doing so as long as you're enjoying yourself!

#sewing

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jarenka · 8 months

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so, here they are, my OCs from the fic I am currently writing.

The basic outline of the fic.

Surra, an Outer Rim planet with rich deposits of valuable minerals and metals, was annexed by Empire 15 years ago. Since Surra barely had any army, annexation was relatively "peaceful", and Empire started to exploit planet. Now, 15 years after, Anakin and Obi-Wan go undercover to the imperial military base near the central communication station. They need to help local rebels to sabotage military base and capture communication station during the rebellion.

Liana, 27, local. Smart, ambitious, level-headed, likes order. Was in her early teenage years when Empire annexed her planet. She enlisted in army because her family didn't have any money for her to receive proper education. She was pretty effectively brainwashed by imperial propaganda and it took years for her to understand what actually is going around and that all this "you are the part of mighty Galactic Empire" is just a total bullshit. At first Liana wanted to be a good officer, but found out it's not what Empire need. They need her to be loyal and ready to execute every order. Also, she understood that she has a choice: either stay at her home planet and have shitty military career, or go in the active war zone to fight Rebel Alliance or "rebellious planets" (a.k.a. uselessly dying for the Empire in some Outer Rim shithole). By that time she already started to lose her loyalty to the Empire so she never requested a transfer to an active war zone. One of rebels' agents noticed her frustration with her military service and recruited her.

Al'erias, 23, coruscanti. Came from a long line of military officers. His father served during Clone Wars, retired years after Republic turned into Empire. Al'erias followed his family's footsteps and joined military, despite he wasn't that interested in military service and his loyalty to the Empire was very weak. After being caught reading illegal independent newsletter, he was almost arrested, but his father's old friend helped him, so arrest was replaced with "exile" to the distant planet. Al'erias very quickly went from just reading illegal newsletters to actually joining rebels. Fellow officers on Surra consider him to be a careless privileged guy from the capital with rich parents so nobody takes him seriously.

Sanna, 38, local. Makes an impression of strict professional with dry humor, but actually she is just a bitter woman who threw her personal life away to help rebellion. She was already working on Central communication station when Empire annexed Surra. She was pretty aware that "peaceful accession" wasn't that peaceful, and participated in couple of protests, but they quickly died down. She continued to work as an engineer, made a career, but as a time went by she became more and more stressed and depressed. She started to drink a lot of alcohol to cope with a fact that she is indirectly helping Empire to maintain censorship in holonet and spread propaganda (central communication station provides holonet all over the planet). After she spend all her vacation drinking, Sanna contacted local rebel cell and offered them all the information about central communication station she had. She became rebels' agent.

#star wars #post-rotj au #my ocs #my art

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cervinelich · 4 months

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U.S. Americans: Vote Locally. Do it.

There seems to be a common misconception that the presidential election is the most important one not just for the USA, but for the world - WRONG!

Let me be clear: You should vote in the Presidential election.

Historically, young people don't vote. Even though young voter turnout has increased drastically since Trump, local voting is still largely being determined by conservative older generations.

Importantly, you should be voting locally in part because this is the largest influence over who gets nominated in the Primary and how your opinion is vocalized on a national scale. Also:

voter restriction/suppression

climate change efforts/issues (such as pipelines getting built)

policing, law enforcement and mass incarceration

availability of affordable housing, public transport, disability relief

education - as in, whether or not PragerU gets taught in schools

If you are worried about "being selfish" for focusing smaller local issues instead of global ones (such as the current genocide), I understand. However, this is a more effective way to pressure the current President - local legislators have more voice than we do. This is also setting up a less racist, genocidal future for global politics because Presidential nominees are almost always picked from State level positions.

The Presidential election helps people to feel good/bad about an "immediate" measurable result from a single action. But the truth is that the Bidens of the US will keep being the only rival to "I want to be a dictator" Trumps if we don't start investing our votes from the ground up.

Here is a guide (mostly from this website https://tminstituteldf.org/local-elections/ ):

CITY GOVERNMENT

School Boards:

Have the power to set policy and budgets for local schools, such as whether or not you can protest without losing your job or getting expelled.

Sherrifs:

Generally speaking, Sherrifs are fucked up. It's too much for me to go into here. They have way too much unilateral power with no oversight at all.

youtube

Prosecutors:

The largest contributor to mass incarceration

They set the terms on whether someone is charged with a misdemeanor or felony and being convicted of a felony will strip your right to vote in many states - some permanently.

City Council:

City Council approve things like city budgets and implement criminal and civil laws and regulations

Also the voice of their City at a State and Federal level. Generally, these are some of the people you should be shouting at to bring your voice higher up the food chain.

This includes the Mayor who often decides where budgets go (like schools or cops), and they also determine the level of enforcement of local laws.

County Board of Supervisors (County Commissioners):

Represent county issues in front of state and federal legislative bodies. Counties are also responsible for registering voters and administrating elections. i.e., another group of people who have a stronger voice against the elected Democrat when it comes to larger issues.

Planning and Zoning Commission:

Determines how and where affordable housing is zoned in your area. Has a huge effect on housing segregation.

Comptroller:

The City's accountant and budget manager - this is the person who audits the City Council and makes sure they aren't basically stealing money. They also approve city contracts such as those for affordable public transportation and shelters.

STATE GOVERNMENT

Judges:

This one is crucial. Your state judges act as the Supreme Court of your given state. The cases that they weigh on when it comes to state laws (such as abortion, medical autonomy, immigration, right to protest/free speech, etc.) these are binding and final.

Superintendent of Education:

This is the person who decides if PragerU gets to teach classes on why Zionism and Evangelical teachings are "ok and good, actually".

Secretary of State:

The person who certifies elections in your state - for the Presidency, but also for all of these other positions mentioned. It is so, so important that this person cannot be bought or pressured.

Attorney General:

Has influence over law enforcement agencies and represents the state in legal disputes - such as those where someone is disputing their rights are being infringed by the state. (abortion, medical autonomy, immigration, right to protest/free speech, etc.)

Governor:

Is basically the president of your state. They sign in laws, have veto power and oversee all of the other departments. They also can appoint Justices and State Senate seats if they are empty.

Not only does this person have a lot of state power, they also have a ton of influence over the broader federal climate and are one of the positions that fast-tracks to Presidency (see: Ron Desantis).

State Comptroller (or Controller):

Same as City Comptroller except extremely importantly they manage disaster relief/preparation funding - which is especially important amidst climate change.

Also oversee fraud investigations.

Public Service Commissioner:

Determines rates for things like energy, water, internet in your state.

Also deals with the gas and oil industry in your state, often being in charge of approval/rejection of the building of oil pipelines.

They can be appointed by the Governor.

State Senators:

Has just about the most authority in a state, with the ability to impeach Governors and deny someone the Governor tries to appoint

Another position that fast-tracks to Presidency

Draft and introduce/pass state laws and amend the state constitution

State House of Reps:

Can call for the removal of another legislator

Draft and introduce/pass state laws

All Right. I'm running out of steam on this post. Please, please, please, PLEASE register to vote *right now* and look over the website when you do to see if it can set up email alerts when an election is coming up.

Buy a calendar and mark voting days and stick it to your wall TODAY. Set aside an hour of your time, TODAY, to make a plan for voting.

Go to this website, enter your state. It will tell you exactly what to do. Register.

Lastly, if you don't like Biden and it makes you feel like shit to vote for him (understandably), then YOU NEED TO VOTE IN THE PRIMARY.

#us politics #politics #voting #us voting #I am sure I missed some shit here but I am tired and I don't usually make long posts like this #this took HOURS ok #listen I get it if you don't like biden I really truly do he is complicit in a genocide I GET IT #but if you think that trump winning is going to send some kind of message buddy you're just plain wrong #I am not saying vote blue cause I think democrats are good or because I'm a floppy liberal or whatever #you can do more than one thing at a time and imo voting blue for president is the bare minimum WHILE you protest & do public outreach #long post #Youtube

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tiredassmage · 28 days

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SWOOPS IN

Tav Questions for Leo: 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 21 and 22

GIGGLES! I knew you'd be at it! I'm still not too far into his run, so I had to let these marinate a little and get a bit further along in Act I to get a bit more data.

[30 Questions for Your Tav!]

3. Did your Tav receive any formal or informal education? If yes, how well did they learn? If no, why not?

So far I’m thinking to still diagnose him with unloved by rich parents syndrome, as per the textposts pile, lol, so, yes, I imagine Leo experienced some level of formal education; the family is well-known enough for their business endeavors in Baldur’s Gate, but probably less recognized than his father’s puffed chest might long to suggest and maintain. I think Leo’s a bit of a fan of stories as escapism in that sense; I’m playing him on College of Valor Bard, but his “education” in that regard is more likely to have come from tavern tales at the Blushing Mermaid and escapades to Sharess’s Caress. The other class I had briefly entertained was Wizard, so perhaps that’s where his family would’ve preferred he spent his time honing more of his talents versus where he really ended up. I think he likely finished most of his basic education with tutors and whatnot in the city before one of many, many arguments about Leo’s life choices finally saw him run out and fall in with less scrupulous crowds.

His martial training then is almost entirely informal - picked up from tavern brawls, pirates, and smugglers that became more and more of his common company in more recent years, until finally they became about his only primary company once he left his family. He knows enough to read and write well, and he’s absorbed some measure of history, but he wouldn’t self-describe as well-read and he’ll leave investigating every dusty tome in abandoned cathedrals and dilapidated towns to Gale’s ambitious nose. Ultimately, I think I’d call him a bit more street-wise than book-smart, but I also wouldn’t want to oversell either, exactly. The many fights at home make him a bit easily irritable at times and patience isn’t a particularly strong virtue of his. More than anything, he’d probably best be described as of a college of fucking around and finding out, frankly.

4. What hobbies does your Tav have? How did they acquire these interests?

Leo enjoys a game of cards and oral storytelling, though the latter might be something of a given with his class, lol. A lively tavern scene in the evening was a place to explore expression and live more out-of-bounds and it’s informed a lot of what Leo is currently. The art of the improvised, cutting insult was almost as good a defense as a sharpened dagger when he first started to jab elbows and shoulders with the kind in the Lower City those of the Upper would generally rather pretend don’t exist. Huddled around tavern bards, he’d hear colorful tales of adventure and exploration that planted the idea with him that it might be an alternative to the suffocating demands of power and prestige in the city.

8. Did your Tav have any romantic and/or sexual relationships prior to their Illithid adventure? If yes, who was it with and what was it like? If no, how do they feel about being single?

I’m still kind of hammering out the details and the whens, the hows, the whos, etc. of exactly what life was like for Leo before the mindflayers came and turned everything upside down, but the short answer is yes. One of Leo’s later frequent locations before a plan to leave Baldur’s Gate entirely started to take any sort of shape was Sharess’s Caress. Lured by not exactly the most honest crowd to such locales, Leo found sharing company in the arms of another man far more preferable to gritted teeth pleasantries with fair maidens at noble gatherings - something he’d generally have preferred to keep perhaps a bit more under lock and key. Not all of those experiences were exactly positive in that regard, and they play a hand in the kind of crowd he hung out with when he finally abandoned (or was run out of, depending on who you ask) Upper City living - smugglers, thieves, pirates - the likes of which taught him how to bargain and the power of a manipulative word perhaps better than any tutoring on dinner table manners and politics ever had.

One may have been the exception to Leo’s generally… questionable choice of company, however - a fellow bard with bright green eyes and hair the shade of a vibrant sunset over the docks. His chiding on Leo’s typical choice of company was usually accompanied with a kiss… or a handful of them. And worried eyes would often linger around the edges of the tavern songs they learned together. Neither of them were sure where they would go if they left, but… maybe… if they did…

Unfortunately, life isn’t exactly like the fairy tales, is it?

9. What was your Tav doing when they were taken by the mindflayers?

Trying to survive, as the short answer. While Leo wouldn’t exactly claim he’s a gifted liar or even a performer (generally), if nothing else, he’s got an odd brand of luck, maybe. A roundabout talking in and out of situations that came in handy and was honed when he found himself keeping the company of smugglers to have place to put his head down at night, shorn of the noble trappings that had initially raised him (or claimed it, at any rate). With the failed idealization of disappearing into the wilds of the realm still bitter and aching on his lips, Leo’s nothing if not a creature of habit. There was a lot about his life aiding smugglers (and possibly dubiously owing some connection to the Zhentarim about it) that wasn’t exactly not broken, but it was… working. Sort of. For the moment. It was a hell of a more appealing option than trying to crawl home and grovel for some biting form of ‘forgiveness’ for spurning the rest of his family, at the absolute least. At least he knew where he stood when someone put a dagger to his throat, eh?

11. What would your Tav consider to be their greatest flaw? Is this accurate?

Leo’s list of personal accusations is… fairly extensive. Unreliable of judgement, more coward than could be respectable, at the very least selfishly interested in keeping his own life. He’s a far harsher critic than need be, but there’s… a kernel of truth to his penchant for making ill-advised decisions. He could benefit a lot from giving himself a bit more grace that a lot of his more “questionable” decisions are motivated out of some flavor of fear (and who wouldn’t be overwhelmed when faced with a mindflayer invasion and a growing cult to some new god you’ve never heard of [no, he didn’t pay that great of attention to his history lessons, but how much does that really matter right now?!]). His biggest trouble maker is generally the whole package of misconstrued flaws and blame; Leo’s lack of… confidence? kindness? For himself usually leads him deeper into a cycle of acting in ways that fit the narrative of selfish, skittish, short of patience, and whichever other unflattering monikers he deems fit for the day than allowing him some space to recognize such fears and needs for a place to belong or fit in root from a not particularly supportive youth spent failing to meet lofty and often cutting expectations, mostly set by his father.

21. How does your Tav feel about love?

A darling subject for songs. Everyone loves a good ballad. He’d rather down several pints of questionable and not even particularly good ale than wrangle with the feeling in his chest that spawns from hearing the word and the memories it sparks of that other bard he spent a not insignificant amount of time learning from and spending time with. It’s nice. And it’s sweet - so he hears. It seems tempting to give a lot to enjoy the feeling of someone else’s hand nestled perfectly in one of yours, or to lose track of hours in an evening simply because you’re lost in the stars of their eyes…

What? No, he’s not wistful or hurting or missing anyone in particular. Shut up. How could you? He’s a bard, flowery words for all of this is just what he’s supposed to be good at!

(He’d… love it, to be ungraceful.) To be ungraceful but accepted with another.

He wants it. He tells himself he’ll settle for the mere physical sensations of closeness to another.

Nothing else has ever worked out to plan for him, after all. Might as well let others name the role for him and merely fill it. Maybe he isn’t the smoothest, most charismatic liar or charmer you’ve ever met, but he’s a performer by trade, right? At least he might be good for something, then.

22. Has your Tav become particularly close to anyone romantically and/or platonically in their journey? If so, who, and what is the relationship like? If no, why not?

Well, I’ll say I ruined my sleep schedule to finish the goblin camp last night and Leo’s love life in this party is frankly a fucking mess, which is just about what I expected, knowing him kafnalds;flsdf. I don’t think he knows what he wants yet.

Wyll’s charming - far more a righteous heart than Leo could ever see himself being. He is a darling hero. Those always make for charming songs. He’s sweet. Good. The kind word Leo can’t help but crave to hear. But maybe too good for him. It seems he’s got quite enough going on without adding… whatever… [vague gesturing] Leo’s got going on. The reasonable one, maybe. The type that would be in the thick of goblins and monsters and cultists and trying to save the world. Leo would be lying (and probably poorly, if the blush is to say anything) if he tried to claim he wasn’t interested in seeing the Blade’s dance or sharing a drink sometime. And maybe he’s a little curious what it’d be like to kiss those scars and ridges. Tempting…

Karlach and him need to be friends, I think. Absolutely wonderful, disastrous (positive) friends. Karlach’s just a powerhouse of energy for life - with a heart of adventure, a mouth just as good at ass-kicking as her strength of arms, and really just an all-around kind of alive and kicking that might just be as contagious or more than the heat of her engine. If she wouldn’t entirely singe him, she could absolutely pick Leo clean up off the ground and spin him around. I quite think she will, assuming they can make sure he wouldn’t roast in the process. To give him the opportunity to know what it’s like to be tall, y’know! Friends in hijinks energy.

And I think… Astarion might have his fangs in a bit more than his neck, for better or worse. Part of me wants to say of course you would, Leo. Because… of course he would. I’m not sure it’s genuinely affection and charm just yet - and Leo’s not exactly fully aware of the full scope of scheming it could be, exactly. He’s probably just aware enough that it could be little more than convenience and some sort of play at power or… some such, but he doesn’t particularly… care. At the moment. If it is just that. Which I’d say has the potential to backfire on both of them and accidentally get feelings in the mix if they keep going like this. Leo had sort of resigned himself to the physical nature of it, but there’s an undeniable charm to being called darling that Leo might… just forget to keep his head on straight [as if anything about him is] about.

And I’m… wondering how him and Gale are going to get along in the long run. Something about ambition between the two of them might end up scratching my brain, but it’s a bit too early for me to tell just where they’re going. Given Leo’s absolutely haphazard sense of direction though, that little bit of magic shared one night might’ve left Leo blushing and both of them stumbling a bit for more eloquent speech. We’ll just have to stay tuned for this one.

#answered #dot talk #dot's bg3 tag #bg3 tav #vs: the only things the foolish need are a suitcase and a trunk | bg!leo

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