#also our food has been less and less because I don't know what I'm allowed to eat anymore because of my step family

[itz-pandora]

Huh. If my life was a quote, it'd be "one of those sad ones with a deceptively happy tune"

[space-mango-company]

Stranger | Chapter 2

Chapter Links: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

TW: Descriptions of Violence, Mentions of Cannibalism

Tags: Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x Atreides!Reader, Arranged Marriage, Eventual Smut (still not in this chapter lmao), No use of y/n, Original Characters, Canon what canon

Word Count: 2k

A/N: So... this was posted prematurely a couple hours ago. This is the actual finished longer version. If you don't know what I'm talking about, thank god. Sorry this took so long, lmao

Just letting you guys know that my knowledge of the lore is purely based off of the movies and the Dune wiki rabbit hole I fell into right after watching part two. I also took a few liberties with the canon here.

I'm super open to constructive criticism, or any criticism at all (feel free to absolutely roast me). Like I mentioned, I've never written fanfic before so I'd love to hear your thoughts!

The evening of your first day in Giedi Prime was celebrated with a banquet where you were introduced to the most important people on the planet. You've heard many stories of the ruthlessness and brutality of the Harkonnens, hence surprised by the courtly welcome during the dinner. Although you did your best to politely ignore the Baron who floated at the head of the table being fed by servants.

You were sat beside his nephew who, despite your mother's education, has evaded your insight. You couldn't quite get a read on him.

Feyd-Rautha whispers to you amid the buzzing conversations of the banquet hall, "are you enjoying the food, little hawk?"

You shoot him a questioning look.

"I like your hairpin," he sneers.

You resist from reaching to touch the Atreides symbol affixed in your hair.

"We don't see such ornaments often here." He quietly laughs in his devilish way, only too amused with himself.

Ah, you realize. He means to torment you.

"Seems early for pet names," you say, picking at your plate, "we've only just met."

"Oh, and yet we are to be wed in less than a week's time," his raspy voice rings in your ear, "I should like to be familiar with my future wife, Lady Atreides."

The marriage pact had been signed when you were only a little girl. Inheriting your father's inclinations, you swore you would uphold your duty, undeterred by the gruesome and abhorrent stories about the Harkonnens—because you knew that centuries of conflict could end within a generation with this union. You were a willing bride.

And yet.

You give him a smile that, to those not privy to your conversation, would seem genuine, "You know nothing of me, na-Baron."

"I should like to learn," you doubt his sincerity but care not enough to discern it. He takes a smug bite of a forkful of meat, "perhaps tomorrow, you shall learn something of me."

The following morning Iassa helps you into another black gown, this time with a veil in anticipation of the black sun.

"Is it not dangerous for Feyd-Rautha to wager his life for a show?" you question.

"The na-Baron is a skilled fighter, my lady. He will emerge victorious," Iassa is straight-faced as she drapes the veil over you.

"Yes, I do not doubt it, but given he is the Baron's heir. Does it not seem a touch irresponsible to even risk it at all."

Not that you actually cared for his life, you just expected that the Harkonnens would be concerned with the preservation of their house regardless of their brutality. You recall your grandfather who got himself killed fighting bulls for sport.

"The na-Baron will be fighting war prisoners. They will be drugged beforehand. It is perfectly safe, my lady."

"Oh." You couldn't decide if you were disappointed or not, "I see."

Iassa seemed intent on dropping the subject, so you do.

You stand before a mirror and take a look at yourself. It is impossible not to be reminded of your mother. She was never one for vanity, but you like to think there was a part of her that always enjoyed the elegant dresses she and you 'had' to wear. You allow yourself a somber smile behind your veil.

"You look beautiful, my lady," Iassa curtsies.

"Thank you," you look at her bowed figure, gray robes made more dull by the stark black choker on her neck. You were sure she was at least 2 standard years younger than you are and it had only been a few months since you came of age. You wondered if she liked pretty dresses too.

Before you can ask her, there is a knock at your door.

The house steward, Jaromir, clears his throat when Iassa opens it for you, "The na-Baron requests your presence before he enters the arena."

Heavy doors open for you in one of the chambers beneath the arena. You are greeted by the sight of a half-dressed Feyd-Rautha being helped into his armor by a servant.

"Lady Atreides," he looks you up and down, "I hope you slept well."

You bow your head in acknowledgment.

"Your knives, master," a large man whom you assume to be the bladesmith presents Feyd-Rautha with two daggers.

The young Harkonnen takes one and caresses the blade with his fingers.

"I've come to wish the brave na-Baron well before his fight in the arena," you say in false earnestness.

He smiles at your inflation of his ego.

"Though I must say, I am relieved it is all for show. I would not like to see my groom wounded before we are wed."

"For show?" Feyd-Rautha tilts his head and you see his arrogant facade show the slightest crack.

"Yes, I've heard your opponents will be drugged will they not?" your voice dripping with innocence, "to ensure your safety, of course."

His grip on the dagger tightens, "and where did you hear this exactly?"

You sense the awkwardness and tension in the servants. The one who had helped don Feyd-Rautha's armor has quietly retreated to the far side of the chamber. There is a subtle tremble in the hands of one holding a plate of towels. You finally notice the three women piled upon a raised platform glaring at you.

"Just voices around the fortress," you shrug.

A deep breath recovers Feyd-Rautha's smug expression. "Call for the warden," he orders one of the guards by the door, "tell him to prepare new prisoners. Sober ones."

"My lord, you need not endanger yourself," you feign worry.

"Nonsense." The na-Baron walks closer to tower over you, "My lady bride deserves to see my true prowess."

He sees through your challenge, but you don't care. Seeing his self-satisfied smirk wiped from his face for even just a second was worth it.

"Besides," he turns away from you to inspect the second knife, "my darlings enjoy meat that's fought for its life."

The three women sneer at this and you see their sharp teeth as they hiss amongst themselves.

You've heard of Feyd-Rautha's concubines long before you arrived on Giedi Prime. Tales of their taste for human flesh were one of the things that tested your resolve in fulfilling the marriage pact. You didn't mind that the na-Baron would keep other women. It would result in less of his attentions on yourself, you figured. It was their perverse appetite that nauseated you.

A look of revulsion hides behind your veil which you sense they would be all too happy to rip to shreds.

"I will see you in the stands, little hawk," Feyd-Rautha whispers to you as he waves for a guard to escort you out.

You do your best to drown out the noise of what seemed to be a countless audience that came to see the na-Baron fight. You could understand now why they uphold such brutal traditions. The people are so excited for it.

On the other side of the arena, you sense Vladimir Harkonnen watching you from the Baron's Box that towered over the whole arena. The blazing sun only helps you avoid looking in his direction. You were sat at a viewing box, still for nobility and separated from the masses, but much lower and closer to the sands of the arena. Jaromir had told you that you were to 'give the na-Baron your favor'.

Before long, the master of ceremonies announces Feyd-Rautha's entrance in Giedi Prime Speech. They are celebrating his betrothal to you and the union of Harkonnen and Atreides, you translate in your head. You wonder if the people care for the politics of the Great Houses. They seemed no less excited to cheer at your name despite the centuries-old blood feud.

Massive doors open as the na-Baron walks into the arena. His arms outstretched holding his knives like an extension of his limbs. He riles up the crowd as he walks towards the Baron's Box and kneels to his uncle. He then rises and walks toward you, smirking under the stark light of the black sun.

You may not fear earning the Harkonnens' contempt, but you were the Duke of Caladan's daughter and you knew that the favor of the people was invaluable.

You stand and walk to the edge of the viewing box. The glowing smile you reveal as you lift your veil draws cheers from the crowd that rival what Feyd-Rautha received. You produce a pure white handkerchief from your dress pocket and make a show of kissing it and waving the cloth at the buzzing crowd. You throw it off the edge and it floats toward the na-Baron who had moved both daggers to one hand to catch it. He looks up at you with what you think could be the seeds of respect and tucks the cloth into the tight armband around his right bicep.

He turns back to the audience and raises his knives in a war cry. The crowd explodes in guttural cheers and applause. Feyd-Rautha takes his position in the middle of the arena as his first opponent is released into the white sands.

You've heard of the Harkonnen heir's aptitude in single combat. It's time to see if the stories were true or if it was just another part of their menacing facade.

You were handed a pair of spyglasses to observe with. The two fighters approach each other, the prisoner wielding a knife of his own. Feyd-Rautha holds a taunting stance. The prisoner was sober, you were sure, but even without the spyglasses, you could see he was weak. You surmised the Harkonnen cells weren't very hospitable. He attempts a swipe but the na-Baron parries with ease. Another and the na-Baron dodges. Zooming in, you could see Feyd-Rautha's twisted amusement. He was toying with the poor man—and the people loved it.

The crowds cheered at the clashing of metal, thundering when the na-Baron drew first blood by slashig his opponent's arm. It wasn't long before Feyd-Rautha's dagger had impaled the prisoner's heart. There was no pause before a second prisoner was brought out to meet a similar fate.

Feyd-Rautha stood unwounded, seething with exhilaration. He enjoyed this; the thrill of killing. He basked in the roar of the crowd. You had never ended a life before, but some deep part of you could almost understand how he felt in that moment.

A third prisoner enters the arena. He looked older than the first two, bearded and taller. He reminded you of Gurney Halleck, the Atreides Warmaster. This man certainly wasn't at his prime but you could tell he would not go down as easily as the first two.

The warrior holds his blade out in a firm fighting stance, refusing to make the first move. You notice picadors in black suits have entered the arena, circling the na-Baron and his opponent. Feyd-Rautha lunges at the prisoner and a quick series of parries from both sides occur. You see the finesse in the na-Baron's movement. He recognizes his opponent's skill and he is taking this one seriously. You were not sure what you expected of the Harkonnen's fighting style but Feyd-Rautha was vicious but precise. The crowd gasps when the prisoner disarms one of the na-Baron's knives. The warrior manages to get a grip on Feyd-Rautha's armed hand and aims to pierce the na-Baron's neck with his blade. The na-Baron struggled against his hold and the arid air was thick with anticipation.

You were unsure what outcome you desired as you stared through your spyglass. Perhaps this warrior kills your betrothed. What then? Would you really be able to go back to Caladan's windy cliffs again? Return to the arms of your mother as if it were all a bad dream? You wonder if when Feyd-Rautha becomes baron, and you his baroness, could you convince him to let you see your family.

The warrior's blade was dangerously close to your future husband's throat when one of the picadors lashes at the warrior. The na-Baron growls at the offending picador as the warrior is weakened. Feyd-Rautha pushes him off and allows him a moment to recover, taunting him to try again. Blades clash once more and after a sequence of quick ferocious movements, Feyd-Rautha's blade slashes the warrior's throat. Blood made black by the infrared of the sun splatters onto the na-Baron. He licks the darkness that landed on his lips. Heaving, he takes your bloodied handkerchief off his armband and raises it to you and the roaring crowd.

You did not even realize you were already standing, breathless at the sight.

Chapter Links: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

Taglist: @torchbearerkyle @austinswhitewolf @dreamlandcreations @emeraldsgirl @strawberryfieldsforevermore

[catadvice]

Hi, I have a question and I’m not exactly sure who to ask haha.

So, my cat Bruno is an outside cat. He’s middle aged in cat years and has really bad only child syndrome. And, we recently started taking care of this stray kitten that we found. And Bruno doesn’t like him… at all. And he’s also not eating now. Idk if the two are correlated, but I’m really, REALLY concerned. Please give me some advice 🥲

Hey! First of all, keep in mind that I'm just a person on the Internet who has cats and really loves cats, but not a vet or an otherwise qualified cat expert (tm)

That saying, I have successfully introduced a kitten to a resident older cat so I can give some advice there.

(Long answer below the cut because I ended up writing a lot more than I thought I would!)

It can be quite a big adjustment for cats who have been living as the only cat/pet of the family to suddenly having to share their space with a new kitten, and especially for older cats there can be problems with the kitten being very energetic and wanting to play with an older cat who does not share the same enthusiasm for play time.

The thing that worked for us is following the strategy shared in these videos I'm going to share below.

In general, I recommend all of Jackson Galaxy's videos on how to introduce cats. The tl;dr is that you need to introduce them very slowly and by gradually using more and more senses (smell, sight, etc.). For example the first step is to isolate the kitten in only one room of your house (with its food and litter box etc.) so that the resident cat can smell the new kitten but isn't able to see it nor interact with it physically. I know you said Bruno is an outdoor cat but I'm assuming the new kitten is staying inside the house (if it isn't, please bring it inside, you'll need to sort out vaccines and neutering/spaying before you can safely consider whether you will allow him to be an outdoor cat too).

(A brief note on cats outside: I would urge you to carefully consider whether you want to leave your cats outside or not, but I don't know your situation, where you live, or any other reason that you might have for Bruno being an outdoor cat, so I'm not going to say anything more than this.)

Use food as a way to bring them closer. Feed the kitten inside the room it's living in for the time being and feed Bruno outside the room and gradually move their bowls closer day by day so that eventually they're eating on opposite sides of the closed door.

Honestly, follow the advice from the videos as much as possible, it would take me forever to re-write it in this answer but I can guarantee you that it will work. This does not mean that the two cats will ever be best friends at the end of the process (because it very much depends on the individual cats' personalities and their lived experiences), but what you're aiming for by doing all this is to make it so that at least they tolerate each other's presence and are not stressed out by the other cat.

It will take a long time, yes. It took us close to three months to introduce our new kitten to the resident cat. But it was worth it, because that way it will never became a stressful experience for either of them.

Last advice on Bruno not eating: I'm very sorry to hear this and I wish I could tell you whether it's due to the stress of the new cat being introduced, but the reality is that no one will be able to tell for sure whether it's related to that or something else. So before you do anything, please bring Bruno to a vet for a check up, they'll be able to examine him and rule out actual medical emergencies. The bottom line is that not eating is not a good sign. If he's still drinking despite not eating you can be less worried, but he needs to see a vet ASAP if the not eating has been going on for more than a couple of days and is not normal behaviour for him. Ultimately, you know your cat, so trust your instincts but my advice here is vet first.

I hope you find this useful, that it turns out Bruno is perfectly healthy, and that the introduction between him and the new kitten goes smoothly!

If you have any more questions my inbox will always stay open, and please give us an update if you'd like to in the future!

Best of luck to you, Bruno, and your new kitten 😸

The videos I recommend watching:

[f1llory]

i know this all started like 11 years ago but i'm still so mad at how the hunger games movies have removed practically every trace of the avoxes that they can. i know that movies can't include everything from the books, but the avoxes are so important to the story and it does a real disservice to the movies by removing them. also, it would have added maybe a couple minutes per movie to include them the way they were in the books.

there are mentions of them here and there, and we do see lavinia briefly, but the only avox who's there in any meaningful way is pollux. and they couldn't take him out of the movie! not only is he important to include with the camera crew, he has to be there because he's the one who leads the group through the tunnels. if it were possible to cut him out of mockingjay, i think they would have.

removing so many scenes with lavinia genuinely detracted from my enjoyment of the first movie. especially witnessing her capture & carrying the guilt about it. when there are avoxes waiting on her, katniss does treat them politely, but i think it would have been so important & impactful to see her truly recognizing lavinia and her humanity and trying to communicate with her like anyone else. fixing this probably wouldn't add more than like 5 minutes to the runtime, but it would be such an improvement.

and don't even get me started with darius being removed from the movies. maybe he shows us a little less about katniss's character than lavinia would, but the mentions of him in catching fire add so much to our imagination of the hob and illustrate just how different peacekeepers were in district 12. this is also the first time this has happened to someone katniss actually knows. i think this would take maybe a minute and a half to fix? at most. really all we would need to see is darius talking to katniss in the hob, then being one of the peacekeepers getting captured when thread takes over.

obviously they kept pollux in because they literally couldn't remove him from mockingjay. i don't really have any complaints about his portrayal in the movies, which is kind of surprising given how passionate i am about him. also, the movie actually portrayed castor's death better than the book! it wasn't really in the book, basically castor was there and then he wasn't. so the movie version has a lot more impact.

also, it sucks that we didn't get to hear what happened to lavinia and darius. i always have intense second-hand embarrassment at the fact that in the book, peeta realizes pollux is an avox then immediately starts trauma dumping about seeing lavinia and darius tortured to death. if it were done as written in the movie, i might have experienced literal physical pain. but at the same time, i think it's very important that katniss finds out what happened to them. also in the books, squad 451 hears all the avoxes in the tunnels screaming as the mutts kill them. i feel like that would have been really easy to add in.

anyways we are moving on before i write an entire dissertation on pollux.

it was even worse in tbosas! the movie cut the scene where snow sees dr. gaul experimenting on and torturing avoxes. it would have been absolutely horrifying to see that translated to the screen, but it's incredibly important to snow's character development and his transformation into someone who both allows and perpetuates that cruelty. also, justice for ma plinth! i think it would have been incredible to see more of her and the way she treats people. in the book, she is so kind and caring to the avoxes working in her house. they're able to communicate with her, and she cooks food that will be easy for them to eat. since treating the avoxes as remotely human is so unusual, treating them with such love and respect is a revolutionary act, and goes to show what kind of person sejanus was raised to be. i know that this would add quite a bit to the runtime, but it probably should have been two movies anyways.

i know that side/background characters are cut from movies all the time. it happens. but even without getting a lot of lines, the avoxes are incredibly important to the story. these are people who have been enslaved, tortured, and dehumanized more than basically anyone else in panem. once characters truly see the avoxes, they're forced to confront the true brutality of the capitol and what they'll do to keep people in line. i think the movies don't truly force audiences to confront the brutality of this punishment. any rebellion is punished by literally robbing people of their voices and cutting them off from everything they've known. even if there's someone left to buy their freedom, they're physically disfigured for life--even removal of part of the tongue can have catastrophic side effects.

also, characters' perceptions of avoxes can say a lot about the kind of person they are. avoxes are the lowest class in panem, and treated with about as much agency as a piece of furniture. people aren't supposed to treat them like people. they're only supposed to talk to avoxes when giving them an order. despite this, there are certain characters who choose to show them kindness and love.

anyways i'm gonna end this here before i write a post so long it crashes tumblr but pls ask me literally anything about pollux i am in love w him <3

[iliterallydecepticanteven]

Sorry if that's a dumb question but what is actually going on with milk in America right now?

Like, many years ago I heard that raw milk is basically so good and healthy and all but it wasn't really a big thing at the time. (I can tell by your post tho that that might have been misinformation back then already.)

Now it seems like milk was made political because certain groups just kinda... claimed raw milk as theirs?

I am so confused. I am genuinely from a place where milk is not that political (it is a bit but not to THAT extent) and I am just confused about what's going on.

Especially because I did NOT get my information from groups with a certain mindest politics-wise. Or let's just say it how it is. It seems to me like right-wingers are just fucking claiming milk and it fucks me up so much because how is milk even related to politics in the slightest?

Again, sorry if this is a dumb question and kind of a rant but right-wingers and anti-science people infuriate and confuse me. I am confused.

(Also I don't know what's wrong with raw milk but that might be because it's not a big deal in my country anyway. Never seen raw milk for sale anywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if it's banned entirely tbh.

Alright, buckle up because this is gonna a long answer.

For some background, food has always been tied to politics in America whether people realize it or not. The most recent popularity of raw milk in America being associated with right wing politics and conservatives has its ties in conspiracies that the government is "poisoning" us by "tampering" with our food. Additionally, it can be tied back to the libertarian ideas of having absolutely no government involvement in anything ever including food safety. This is the same thought process behind the whole bullshit of "if you can't pronounce an ingredient then it must be bad for you" as if that makes any fucking sense.

A bunch of bullshit studies that were disproven claimed that raw milk contained more vitamins and minerals and enzymes that were destroyed when milk was pastureuzed, making the milk less nutritional. This is of course bullshit as the only difference between raw milk and safe not raw milk is that it gets pastureuzed. Pastureuzing milk is simply the process of heating milk to just below boiling for a period of time to kill bacteria, viruses, and any other pathogens in the milk. You can even pasteurize milk in your home on your stove top!

But it's become a major talking point and a way for conservatives to make themselves feel important and different, by going against policies in place to make them safe, and to "stick it to the man," so to speak. Conservative and right-wing rhetoric is dependent on being right all the time even when they're very obviously not. It's also very anti-science as, if something cannot be easily explained or is considered a waste of time or money, regardless of how vitally important that thing is, it is cast aside and deemed useless.

Now you mentioned America so I assume you're not from here and this where this gets messy. Because unlike other countries, America often allows states to make their own individual laws on certain issues. For example, regardless of where you are in America, you cannot have an alcoholic drink or purchase alcohol unless you are 21 years or older, as this is a federal law and not a state law. But for selling raw milk, that is a state law, which means all 50 states can make their own decisions on whether or not to allow the sale of raw milk. South Carolina allows the sale of raw milk but it's neighboring state of Georgia does not. To further complicate things, some states don't allow raw milk to be sold in stores but it can be sold on farms.

Finally, the main problem with raw milk is that it is full of (and I'm not joking when I say this) shit. Cows are not clean animals, and while modern milking practices do require that their udders be cleaned with antiseptic prior to milking, it doesn't get rid of everything. Pasteurization is a life saving process to ensure safety when consuming milk as heating it kills off common bacteria that may be present due to contamination from the cow's udders being dirty as well as bacteria that may be in the cow's body and perfectly fine for the cow but would absolutely wreck a human body. The most common bacteria include salmonella, e. coli, and listeria, all of which would make someone incredibly sick and possibly even hospitalize or kill them. The good thing is that those bacteria and other bacteria, viruses, and microbes present in raw milk that could harm humans all die at around 165°F/74°C, and pasteurization heats milk to 182°F/83°C, killing off those microbes and making the milk safe to consume.

So, in short, right-wingers and conservatives are using raw milk as their new anti-government anti-science talking point, just like did with the COVID vaccine, and like they did regular vaccines before that. Don't drink raw milk because best case scenario you'll get sick and worst case scenario you'll die. Also, as a bonus, here is my favorite instance of fuck around and find out from a state legalizing the sale of raw milk:

Basically this guy pushed for raw milk to be legalized in West Virginia and when it was he drank a bunch of it in celebration and a few hours later they found him sick as hell on the couch in his office. It still makes me laugh whenever I see it lol

[lucy90712]

Road to recovery- Part 6

masterlist After going to Pablo's place last week he's been really busy with physio at the club so we haven't talked quite as much which has been kind of a good thing as it has allowed me to process what happened when I left his. Sure a kiss on the cheek is probably normal to some people but with Pablo it really threw me off as I've realised that I have feelings for him but of course we are just friends so all of the things that the kiss made me feel I need to bury them deep down and forget about them. Having a few days with less contact has helped me to push away my feelings as I'm not being reminded of them as often. Today however Pablo is coming over to my place as it's on his way home and don't get me wrong I'm happy to see him but I'm a bit nervous as I don't know if I'll make things awkward. 

Last night I made my brother help me tidy my apartment as I have been slacking a bit with cleaning as its quite hard for me to run the hoover around and reach certain shelves to put things back or dust. The place definitely isn't fully clean but it's better than it was and I know Pablo won't really care it was more just for me. This morning I also realised I don't have much food or at least not healthy food so I had to drag myself to the nearest store to get some things which was more difficult than I anticipated but I made it home in one piece eventually. By the time I got home I was already exhausted as it takes a lot of effort to walk anywhere now and because I'm not training everyday I'm not as fit as I was a few months ago. 

Before Pablo arrived I took some time to lay down but I didn't get long as it took me so long to get to and from the store. I had about 15 minutes before the buzzer to my apartment went off and I allowed Pablo in before texting him to tell him I'd come down and meet him as my apartment isn't the easiest to find. When I made it to the lobby Pablo was waiting for me with a big smile on his face and something in his hand which he handed to me telling me it was a smoothie from this place he likes to go to sometimes after training. I thanked him and after I tasted the smoothie per his request we made our way up to my apartment.

As we walked in I locked the door behind us but when I turned round Pablo had disappeared from my sight. It didn't take me long to find him though because as soon as I turned the corner into the living room he was stood looking at some of the pictures I have hanging up. He was looking at the collage of pictures I have up which has a mixture of pictures of me with my friends and family and some of me from competitions mostly from when I was younger. I don't look at the pictures that much as I'm used to them being here so I forget that other people find it interesting to look at childhood photos. 

"How old were you in this picture?" Pablo asked looking at a picture of me receiving a medal at a competition while being surrounded by girls much taller than me

"I think I was 9 or maybe just turned 10 but the other girls were mostly 12 or 13" I said 

"Wow and you beat them all" he commented 

"Yeah pretty much since I started gymnastics I've been competing against girls much older than me" I explained 

"Thats so amazing you'll have to show me some videos of you doing gymnastics" he said 

"I can do that I have loads of videos on my laptop as I always have to analyse my performances afterwards" I said 

He looked at a few other pictures and made fun of how I would have my hair in two little pigtails pretty much at all times when I was little even when I didn't have much hair to put up. After he was done laughing at me I grabbed my laptop and let him pick some videos of my recent competitions for us to watch. He was so enthralled by all of the videos after every one he asked me to tell him what I was doing as we watched it again. I loved that he was taking such an interest as I know he doesn't really know anything about gymnastics but he was making an effort to learn and that means a lot as most people I meet don't seem to care at all. He wanted to know all about what it's like at a competition and how the scoring works so he could get as much of a full experience as possible without actually going to a competition. 

Since we've met I've been watching a lot more football and I've watched some compilations of Pablo playing too because I felt like I should know more and I was curious. I must say despite my lack of knowledge Pablo seems like an excellent player and hopefully one day I can see him play in person. I have never been into football or really watched much as I have always training or at competitions on weekend and when I wasn't I was always at my brothers races so it's never something that crossed my mind. While watching I tried to make sense of the rules but there were just some things that made no sense to me so I asked Pablo while we were talking about our sports. He did his best to explain everything and he told me more about his team so I knew who everyone was for when I next watch a game. 

We did other things for a while until Pablo told me that Barcelona were playing in the champions league so we put the game on and started watching it together. It didn't take long before I saw how truly passionate about football Pablo is because straight away he was shouting at the team and he got so annoyed when they conceded. I tried my best to offer a more positive outlook as Pablo kept saying the team were going to lose but it didn't help so I just watched. As the match progressed I got increasingly tired but I wanted to stay awake and watch the game; Pablo must've noticed this as he pulled me into his side and leaned my head against his shoulder to allow me to rest a bit. As we kept watching I rested my eyes a few times but I was always woken up again by Pablo but it was ok because the entire time he was tracing shapes on my side which was really relaxing.

The match eventually ended with a loss for Barcelona so Pablo wasn't happy but I tried my best to cheer him up and eventually I got him smiling and laughing again. Once he was happy we avoided talking about sports for a while instead we watched tiktoks until we were both laughing our asses off which really lightened the mood. Pablo's laugh is so infectious that once he started laughing I couldn't help myself and then we were done for we didn't stop laughing for a good 10 minutes. When we finally stopped we had to take a few minutes to each catch our breath and just calm down. 

"Have you ever been to a football match?" Pablo asked breaking the silence 

"No I haven't" I replied 

"Well I was going to watch the teams next home game this weekend would you want to come with me?" He asked 

"I'd love to but only if it's not a problem and you want me to" I said 

"Of course I want you there it will be fun I want to bring you to your first football game" he said 

"I suppose if I'm going to attend a football match it might as well be with a professional player" I laughed 

"Good I'll come and pick you up before the match and we'll go together and you can meet the rest of the boys" he said 

The thought of meeting the rest of Pablo's teammates is already making me anxious but I'm excited to go to a game in person and with Pablo who I know is dying to go and be with his friends it should be a fun night. 

[beanghostprincess]

Hi!

I just read a very funny fic 'Much ado about nothing' by Fire_lily and Violet_20 on AO3 and I was wondering... how do you think Sanji (and by the other guys) would behave when the girls are on their periods?

Okay, yeah, it was really funny. I often think about this, honestly, ngl. And you know how much I tend to write because I'm a menace to society, so I'll try to keep it brief. Btw, assume all the guys here are cis men (which hurts, because I'd rather die than say Usopp, Luffy and Zoro have dicks. But okay. Let's say they do) and that Nami is the only one in her period (because I think Robin is trans and also she has been dealing with pain so much on her own that even if she had her period, the crew wouldn't even notice. Nami, Franky, Jinbe, and Brook would be the only ones knowing).

Chopper is the one explaining what a period is, by the way, because these idiots know the basics but not much and I think they could use some health classes? Like, seriously, it'd be nice.

Luffy: Doesn't understand what the fuck is a period (Makino explained it. His ass didn't listen). If Nami is bleeding, can't Chopper cure her? Oh, he can't? Is she sick? Is she going to die? No? She's fine, then? But she needs them to give her a break because even if she isn't sick, she's still not going through the best time. It's uncomfortable and she feels bad and sensitive. I think Luffy would have a lot of questions and he would ask shamelessly about them. And he would also try to be considerate and share his food with Nami and cause less trouble. I know he's chaotic but he's always really nice when a crewmate is in pain, and if Nami (his navigator. His Nami!!!) is feeling bad, he'll do whatever he can to help her. If she has cramps he'll probably stay beside her and sleep with her and cuddle. He's actually worried sick even if she tells him she's fine.

Zoro: He doesn't really give a fuck. Kuina explained what periods were to him and how unfair it was and he agreed. It is unfair. It is fucked up. They shouldn't go through that. He respects Nami a lot for being able to work and yell and live normally while she's bleeding and cramping (I mean, that's HIS normal state, but Nami isn't like him). So he just supports her from a distance and if she needs anything he'll just try to help and that's it. He's like?? He's normal about it. Just a thing the body does. Everyone thinks it's such a big deal, but it's not.

Usopp: He grew up with Kaya. I don't need to say anything else. He's always complaining about Nami being louder than usual or oversensitive and saying that she doesn't need to blame them for being in pain, but he only says it because they're best friends, lmao. "Girl, I know you're in pain but it's not my fault. Chill. Do you want a chocolate bar?" and he's pretty much the only one allowed to keep her company when she's stressed and too angry to deal with the others. Bestie privileges. He knows how to make her happy. The perks of having a childhood sweetheart and taking care of her when she was on her period (she was just emotional, though, not like Nami who is a ticking time bomb depending on the month). He always has pads, pills, and distractions ready for Nami. He's just there and normal about it and helping her out.

Sanji: Fucking dramatic. I can't stand him. I'm gonna throw bricks at him. I love him, but he's either the most respectful gentleman on earth or the weirdest guy ever about this. He's probably both at the same time. He's SO annoying, oh my god. He keeps wanting to do everything for Nami, and okay, the food, tea, and extra snacks are fine. But it's just too much. He's the one crying all the time like "WHY DID GOD CURSE OUR MELLORINES WITH SUCH PAIN?????????? OH NAMI-SWAN IF I COULD TAKE YOUR SUFFERING I WOULD!!!!!! YOU ARE SO BRAVE FOR THIS!!!!!" and Usopp is the one actually throwing stuff at him and kicking him out of the girl's room when he comes to bring some snacks and won't shut up. He's,, Overly helpful. He has good intentions, really, but Nami is just on her period. She can still move and do her own things, thank you very much. I think he learns to be more normal about it with time, though. And he's just this way with Nami, probably (I say this bc I'm writing a Sanuso fic with Trans Usopp on his period and I swear Sanji is normal about it).

Chopper: I mean. It's the doctor. He keeps an eye on Nami and takes care of her. He's gentle and always tries to bring her painkillers if it's too much. Reminds her to drink a lot of water and eat properly but never too much because she could get sick! He's the cutest, gentlest thing ever.

Franky: Another dramatic man. He's just like Sanji, except that instead of crying because Nami has to go through this, he keeps saying she's SUPEERRRRR COOL AND STRONG FOR DEALING WITH THIS. But it's only for a few seconds and then he's just acting like a dad. Which includes helping if needed but then asking the weirdest questions to see if Nami is alright.

Brook: He would be the sweetest thing ever. But also, we gotta admit that he's still a perv and would ask to see Nami's underwear anyway. But leaving that aside, yeah, he's sweet. He offers tea and gentle music while she works and tries to be a gentleman. He makes a few jokes here and there, Nami hits him, the usual stuff. But he's a sweet grandpa so he's just there being nice. But, y'know, Brook is always nice to be around. He just offers his help more and often asks Nami if she's feeling okay.

Jinbe: He doesn't quite understand what he's supposed to do, but he just doesn't get in Nami's way if she's mad, and if she's sensitive he'll try to make the crew shut up for a while. Gentle older man. He always tries to make peace around the place, but pretty much like Brook and he also tries not to overstep. He asks Zoro if he should be doing something, and Zoro just shrugs and says to let Nami do her own thing.

[exoticalmonde]

LUNDInium Outskirts /but it's her insane doodles/ PART IV

Me: *Casually watching my operators work on ZT-7 farming* Me: *Looks away for a second* Lessing: "Du kannst rennen, aber ich werde weiter jagen." Me:

I forgot I set all the Leithanien characters to German the day before...

--- Me: *In the base* Poz: "Doctor, if you insist on spending time together, how about we talk about your favourite books?" Me: *Pushes everything off my desk to clear space* "You just need to ask!"

--- There is no doodle for this one, but since it's HorseUncleTM merch, I wanted to show it off because the last part didn't actually feature what I was shown and how insane it looks knowing she has her entire desk COVERED with them.

---

How is RI-13 not broke yet living in holes, who knows...? Perhaps the rumours are correct and Dr. Lundi really dealing secretly with firearms on the black market of Sargon. ---

The event of Dr. Lundi half-crying on the bus back home because she couldn't stream to us BUYING the SKIN will be a core memory created based on eternal friendship. I will never be happier to wake up than I am when I see an 'Eve, can I be soggy again?' before being bombarded with Mlynar details and ramblings regardless of what I say.

There's a lot to unpack but I can't possibly ever talk about Mlynar the same way Lundi does in VC. She pulls up receipts proof of her words as well every time she mentions something.

--- We also have a new Pinkie sticker! Wahoo team!!!

Based on this --- Based on this post about our Arknights Yumeship's kid being bullied, I had a little spiral and was just thinking about different scenarios. Out of all the answers given, Kryo's is most direct and... very in character towards his sarkaz/draco child.

Lundi's also leaning towards physical aggression, instant retaliation for their little baba horse.

And then I just... imploded... (This was on the basis of the parents trying to justify their child's behaviour)

While Pinkie is not too interested on the aspect of children we've been trying to involve them more in the Yumeship questions just because their relationship with Swire/Chen is SO wholesome but they're shy to actually indulge. It's alright, we will always be there for the sugarbaby ultramind that is our friend.

You can see this conversation was very important to me.

Which is why this ART IS SO CUTE IM CRYING I LOVE THEM

---

Vigorously searched for the video, but basically, me and the Team were watching Unusual Memes from this one channel and one of them was of a guy who walked up to his neighbour/friend's home camera and said 'Well, you DON'T get to decide when to party, I want you around now.' And well... if that isn't Lundi pulling Dr. Eve out of bed during some of her emotional episodes.

In reference to this, Dr. Pinkie was upset Lundi wasn't just breaking down my door because she usually does that without asking. So some edits were applied and a part 2 has been added:

We all loved everything about this. Thank you Pinkie for always being some of the best designers and always editing things in the funniest way possible.

Me: "It looks like I'm getting kidnapped." Lundi: "Child napper."

... ... ... I JUST NOTICED THIS GIF WAS CREATED??!?!?!?!?!?!?

I'M GETTING TURNED INTO SOURDOUGH HELP ME --- Pinkie stealing Dr. Lundi's food.

--- God forbid I ever sneeze in call

--- And as some of the final doodles there's for this part, allow me a little TW about bugs because I am absolutely terrified of this thing and I am afraid that its arms are longer than mine so I can't even come into reach to kill it.

It's not my fault people make shelves so high up.

[zootzbootz]

ykw fuck it. putting my mudkip ramble here rrghhhhh

cw for murder (fictional) also spoilers for typomaniac and rare candy below the cut

starting off with his speech around the beginning of typomaniac. or inner monologue rather.

"Motivation. There's that word I've come to love so much during my existence. And a word I probably don't even understand. Look at this guy. Trying to sympathize me with his life story. What will motivate me to care? Key words, connections? I dunno. I'm not even sure why I'm here in the first place. But it'll never get a word out of me. Not to talk is not the smartest thing to do, they could jump to conclusions, and then haul me off to prison. Or send me to the chair! Whatever, I don't mind. What motivates me not to talk? I don't know, what motivates the Pokemon around me to talk? I'm not listening to him, HE even knows that. What motivates everyone here to try to get an answer?! But, what really motivates someone not to do anything at all? Is it the food they eat? The crap they watch? The job they work? The life condition they're in? Sometimes, that's not even the case, if you ask them yourself, they probably won't even know the answer! Hey, I don't even know what motivates me to do what I do. You see, I'm a scientist. I dissect Pokemon to see how their bodies work. Is it the fascination I get to see how everything is put together? Or is it the thrill killing these Pokemon, because they're usually mostly the ones I hate. It's okay, it's all for the research!

Look at this, got this guy's element of power! The power we aren't even allowed to FRICKEN use because it's against the law! What motivates one to follow the law? You can get away with it, if you're smart enough, like me. But like I said, I don't even know why I'm here. It isn't about the hundreds of Pokemon I dismembered. NOPE. What, do you think I'm lying to you? What would motivate me to lie to you?! come up with your OWN conclusions! But what would motivate you to care? You don't know me personally. Motivation is just a part of our lives. It helps us to do stuff, and it helps us to NOT to do stuff. Looking around me, I can see a lot of Pokemon lack motivation.

Except for one... Which is the reason why I bring up these sort of questions, and it's the reason why I bring up this story”

during this monologue he claims not to know what motivates him to do what he did- to kill those pokemon. but typomaniac *SHOWS* us his motivation. and rare candy further confirms it.

see, mudkip only has one friend. *one* , and he doesn't have parents either. he's around 12-13 and living completely on his own.

that one friend in question, being chespin. and it's incredibly obvious that chespin is somebody mudkip cares DEEPLY about. and possibly admires. as chespin is an incredibly positive and GENUINELY kind person. he *seems* annoying and clueless but it's shown multiple times as well as outright stated (by MUDKIP no less) that chespin is probably more intelligent and observant than most of them are.

meanwhile, mudkip himself seems to be.. rather pessimistic. he's typically quiet. doesn't tend to talk a lot outside of situations he deems necessary or when he's alone with chespin.

when fennekin comes into the picture- mudkip is INCREDIBLY jealous right off the bat. at first, I thought it was because he was afraid of his ONLY friend being taken away. finding someone better than him. but I firmly believe that's not the case. I feel like, honestly ... mudkip would have been just fine with fennekin being friends with chespin. or even being friends with fennekin himself had he managed to push past the jealousy. but that's not the reason he wanted her out of the picture. the REAL REASON was a fear he had- which was fennekin *hurting* chespin. physically, emotionally, mentally- it didn't matter. he's seen his best friend get BULLIED RELENTLESSLY by the majority of the other students at their school. save for a small select people. he's seen him get treated horribly. so of course his automatic assumption would be that he's getting used.

now.. skipping ahead a bit to rare candy. when mudkip is in prison. they're trying to make him talk- to get him to demonstrate how he's able to remove pokemon's elements while keeping them alive. dr. sylveon ends up threatening chespins life right in front of him- and keeping chespins life on the line becomes his ONLY motivation to give them the demonstration

and now.. here in lies mudkips exact motivation.

chespin was ALWAYS his motive.

he was the entire time.

even before mudkip was caught. it was always chespin. making sure he was safe, or at least alive- he was the only person mudkip feeled cared about him and the only person mudkip probably really cared about.

because even after learning mudkip was a killer. he STILL remained friends with him. he still visited him regularly in prison. he still showed him genuine kindness and compassion.

and I firmly believe him dissecting the pokemon was just something that came along with it. perhaps out of curiosity. or to give himself a more "interesting" or deeper motivation than just... trying to protect a friend.

he tried so HARD to keep chespin from getting hurt.

but it was mudkip himself who ended up hurting chespin more than anybody else did. (aside from Dr sylveon but like. tbh I'd argue what happened with chespin and mudkip would have hurt chespin MORE since they were FRIENDS.

and then after it's revealed chespin was the one who turned mudkip in. this fucking destroys him. his ONE friend. betraying him like this, especially since going to prison was his number one fear. the act in his eyes was unforgivable enough for him to outright tell dr. sylveon to make sure chespin sees him dying while being granted "freedom"

.

.

.

I'm normal about this series (lie)

[not-terezi-pyrope]

Hi, I’m also fat and trans and struggle a lot with eating, and I just wanted to share with you the biggest thing that finally got me to stop intentionally starving myself— *it doesn’t work.* it *will not* make you lose weight. Not in any kind of sustainable way. By the time your body is desperate enough to start eating itself that way, the damage to your organs will be irreversible. You will not look good. You will not be thin. You will be dying. You will look like you’re dying. And because you put your body into famine mode, it will hold on to fat even harder, and your stable healthy weight will likely go *up*. Accepting that my body is always going to look like this is torture, but it’s also the truth. We have to find a way to live with ourselves. We have to find a way to exist in our bodies as they are, instead of trying to die in the slowest and most pointless manner possible. Starvation doesn’t work, dieting doesn’t work, exercise doesn’t work, because this isn’t something wrong with your body that can be treated like an illness you can overcome. This is what your body is supposed to look like. Fat is healthy.

And food is wonderful. Good food on its own can be a reason to live. Eating delicious food, connecting to my body through the simple natural pleasure of eating, helped more than any diet.

Please eat something delicious today for me, even though you don’t know me. Even if it’s just something small. Just sit with it, take your time and really taste it, and remember the joy food is supposed to bring you, even though self loathing has made you associate it with suffering.

When you feel ready to return, eat slowly. Savor everything. Seek out new food experiences so your diet is varied. Find the foods that bring you joy. You’ll be surprised by some of them. Fight the urge to treat eating like a chore or a torment, and make meals something to look forward to by filling them with food you’re actively excited to eat. For you, the healthiest food is the food you’ll eat. Anything is better than nothing.

Just stay alive.

Not to object to your nice words here, but the material reality for me is that it has been working. At least leading up to this point.

Maybe that means the less intensive version of this, plus medication, plus lack of binge eating sessions, is what was working effectively, and what I'm doing now might abstractly raise my set point if I were to start eating more again (would prefer not to).

But I definitely don't think that where I was a year ago was inevitable or even necessarily healthy. I refuse to frame it like my body is "supposed" to look like anything, it can be whatever I choose it to be as a result of my choices, and I'm allowed to make whatever choices I want. Hence my transition, hence my weight loss also - at least as it currently stands, and regardless of whether it turns out to be sustainable (I hope at least some of it does, which based on how I looked at 19 I suspect may be the case, at least to a more middling set point. I suspect that my eating habits before were unhealthy in the other direction, and I don't buy that I'm spoiled goods and have irrevocably altered my metabolism).

And either way, going back to that is not an option for me. To be frank, anon, I would rather be sick and slim than gain back those 40 kilos. If I have to maintain this diet indefinitely then I'm allowed to choose that.

[riddlerosehearts]

very long and very negative/depressing vent post under the cut because i don't wanna bother my friends at 7 am and don't have anywhere else to put this lmao

i'm gonna be real i'm in my late 20s and have never, ever had what i'd consider a happy life. i've had a few days of happiness here and there but i just do not know what a genuinely happy, fulfilling, hopeful life is like. i might've known when i was like, younger than 10, but my memory sucks so bad that i hardly remember that time and the only thing i was holding onto for a chance of getting to find out someday was keeping trump out of office forever. my mental health gets worse all the time and trying to do anything about it is so, so hard.

and this is going to sound so fucking silly when it's the least of anyone's problems right now but i am the most disney-obsessed person who's never been to disney world because my family could never afford to take the trip. i used to dream more than anything of getting to go with my whole family even just once someday and i lost that dream permanently when my mom died, far too suddenly and far too young, and now i just want to go there for a few days with my dad and brother before my dad gets too old and his health too bad to be able to enjoy it. i just want a nice week-long family vacation where we get to laugh and smile and eat overpriced mickey mouse-shaped food together, my mom's spirit joining us from heaven while we ride peter pan's flight and ask my favorite princesses for their autographs, just once in our lives like so many other families get to do, but i no longer believe we will ever be able to afford that because i'm so scared thinking about if we'll even be able to afford to live the same way we have been under a second trump presidency.

for so long i've fantasized about my family getting out of alabama someday, about being able to move to a state where we could have access to things like health insurance and public transportation that would help mitigate so many of our worst problems, and not to mention abortion rights in case i ever needed one. but moving has always been too out of reach and under a second trump presidency with the rest of the government full of fascists i'm terrified that those states will no longer be able to exist in the same way.

i've dreamed about being able to get a breast reduction--not even full top surgery, just a good reduction because that's truly all i need or want--so i can stop wanting to tear my giant chest off out of soul-crushing gender dysphoria on some days but again, i've lost hope of ever being allowed access to health insurance that could cover that. it's only going to get less and less safe to even be trans, or queer at all, in alabama in the first place. my sister who also lives here in alabama has a wife and two little boys and i'm so scared for them. i'm so much more terrified of everything than i was in 2016 and i am just so, so unfathomably tired. like literally what is even the point of anything anymore? why do i not deserve to know what being a happy person feels like? why does my family not deserve comfort and financial security when they are such wonderful people, so much better than i am? why am i even bothering to cost them so much money and stress by still being alive? what is the point of anything in this world?

[qyburn]

How do you think Munch lived before? Where did he live? Where does he sleep? I wanted some details, because I'm trying to write some kind of fic and I'm not that good at it, what do you think? Where was he before Roy hired him? I wanted to write a fic without all the erotic stuff that part of the fandom does, I want something more serious, about his trajectory. So, I wanted some ideas: did he live by breaking into houses? Did he live on empty plots of land? What was he eating? What did he do on a daily basis? Where does he get cigarettes and so on? Sam said that the idea is that he doesn't carry things with him, because he's the kind of guy who when he needs to, grabs a gun, a cigarette and so on. Like the scene of him picking up the cigarette from the ground, what did he do before? What kind of jobs was he taking? Just kidnappings and murders? What do you imagine? Has he had other "Irma's"? Where did he break in and stay quietly in the person's house? Where did he sleep in the meantime? I would like some insights, I am grateful for your headcanons.

all great questions!! under the cut since my responses are kinda long:

so according to munch in the finale, he doesn't need to sleep. we can assume his curse has left him biologically frozen in time like a vampire. i think he was still able to rest & eat, but they dont actually serve any real purpose. he's not restored afterward nor would he suffer when deprived of those things. he closes his eyes, but he doesnt relax or dream. he eats, but it just disappears inside him. this makes it tricky to pinpoint why exactly he's a smoker, though. if i had to pull something out of my ass real quick, i'd say its an easy way to confirm his own existence, like how we can see our breath when its cold, or when we hold our hands close to fire. it becomes addicting to him in that sense, rather than his body needing nicotine itself. he wouldn't respond negatively to cigarettes at all, but because tobacco just generally stains anything it's in prolonged contact with, that explains why his teeth are so tarnished.

as for jobs, i genuinely think he was a drifter in every sense of the word. he has an innate need for creature comforts so i think his quests to find those things lead him to kill-or-be-killed situations. money is also a tricky topic bc idk what it'd mean to him apart from a sign that the completion of a job has been acknowledged & properly compensated. he didn't seem to care about roy's money once he acquired it. my guess is, in relation to your "irma" question as well, that he leaves money where it's most needed. he clearly gave some to her when she returned to the house with groceries.

munch might have acquired firearms by brazenly attacking organized crime circles or just stealing off of criminals. i think he'd be efficient & quick enough that the murders would just be reported as internal conflict.

i don't see him as a vigilante but i also don't think he'd just hurt people indiscriminately. he's had centuries for his hatred of the rich to fester, & he's very clearly disturbed by the deaths of innocents re: irma. i understand this is kind of a conundrum where dot is concerned, but again, it's represented through a cycle. munch maintains it by allowing himself to be employed by the powerful to secure that throwaway money. all he knows after being hired by the tillmans is that a rich man wants his wife back, whom he probably assumes is also rich, like bunny lebowski. it's only after he sees how hard dot fights back that he questions the nature of the job.

i think munch has had other "irma's", but not recently. i said this in a previous post, but i think every once in a while back in the day he'd stop by a rural family's home & offer to help them out for a bit in exchange for food & board, which he only took advantage of for a couple of days out of fear that his presence would somehow attract danger. again, this is less of a need to satisfy biological hunger & more about his hunger for companionship & family. losing that which he found in the indigenous tribes that invited him in left him very hesitant to seek it out anywhere else. fleeting moments are better than none at all. something else to dwell on is him assigning irma as his temporary "mama". from this we can infer 3 things:

he misses having a mom, & he wants someone to take care of him. obvious.

calling her his "mama" might be a way of apologizing for scaring her. awkward, yes. ineffective, yes. but the title suggests purity, hardship, and the respect owed to a mother who exhibits those things. another example of his innate connection to women.

he suggests it casually, showing he doesn't feel guilty for breaking in. this interested me for a bit since it makes him partly responsible for irma's death, but the more i thought about it, it makes sense because he is aware of his own power, power he wasn't employing to bully. in exchange for her charity, he promised to protect her. this made her death that much worse & undoubtedly stirred past trauma.

there's also the question of his sudden need for a mama. what about the dot job made him that lonely or scared? my theory is that the kin connection to dot was sparked during their "battle". he didn't know how to respond to it, especially considering this woman was briefly his victim. he figured he could seek an outlet somewhere else, but somewhere incedentally close to dot, in a house in the suburbs. his ability to "know people" must've told him that irma was not one of the suburbanites. she is ignored, her house is falling apart, etc. this is presumably why he didn't break into a more well-off house.

when he doesn't want to go through the trouble of bothering people, he'd most likely find uninhabited homes or buildings to squat in. the little hut in the beginning of episode 9 intrigued me, but nothing about it suggested it was owned by him. it might just be a shed used by ice fishers. it made me think of the one wrench & numbers used in s1 to keep warm.

as for what munch does in his spare time, there's nothing in the show to really drive me in one direction or another, so i like to think he reads. finding books without the use of a library is not uncommon (those little free libraries where ppl leave books for others to take). plus he can just steal & then leave them somewhere when he's done. i like to think reading is how he learned to speak english, even way back in his early years.

[inventors-fair]

Next to Come: Split Precedent Runners-Up

Our runners-up this week are @loadingreadywalk, @nyxbird, and @yourrightfulking!

@loadingreadywalk — Death & Taxes

Great username, simple design, cool stuff. Shame that Death is already a card (on Life & Death) but in my fantasy-land I'm imagining in good faith that you're either reclaiming it or just didn't know and either way, I think that this version is probably more likely to be printed in the limited environment that wants it. The only question is about Taxes, and lemme tell you I've never been good at taxes. What I will say is that most Treasure precedent (which should always be capitalized!) in white is a repeatable effect that is indeed taxing; as permanents, your opponents can change their game actions to reflect whether or not you get your due.

Here, it feels a little dodgier? Imagine, on the play, your opponent's played a second land and then passes. You cast Taxes, then play your second land. By the time your next turn's come around, if you have a land, you've generated an extra mana, where your opponent may not have. That, to me, feels out of the color pie. But also, Discerning Financier kinda does the same thing, so what the heck. BUT but, it's public information that can be interacted with and incentivizes letting your Treasure go... What's the end game? I think... I think it would be okay. In a WB deck, both early game and mid-late game can be taken care of. I'm erring on the side of you knowing what you're doing. Man, that's a tough one.

@nyxbird — Will to Live

I'll note that the story here is quite good if you take some of the Will aspect as less hypnotic despair and more along the lines of someone being persuaded by your iron dominance because you're that much better—almost a blackish side of Blue. And then, yeah, Live-ing on the creature you just took? Very fun. The board possibilities in the late game can allow for the UG midrangey or ramp decks to absolutely go nuts on the crackback. Just make sure that you spell your keywords right, yeah? Get that "indestructable" back on the chopping block before you commit.

For what it's worth, too, I love this Amonkheti dynamic where the zombies, eternalized or embalmed or whatever, are all shambling without will and, as such, as much easier to take over with this card because, well, no mana value. I mean, c'mon, I think that that's awesome! There are board possibilities with this card that don't make it strictly better than Entrancing Melody necessarily, but it's still real damn strong. Is Live the card that'll save you after you steal a small threat, on the defense? Or is it going to make the card you Will-ed that much stronger? The implication that you Live the Will-ed creature is fascinating tension to me. Will you? Won't you? I just think it's neat. Great card for the shell, a top-end rare to guide ramp decks to victory.

@yourrightfulking — Goods & Services

I find it interesting that you can't actually have both, despite the two of them representing the same general family of thing, e.g. peanuts. And also, props to having someone render this for you, heh... I know that set symbol like I know the back of my toast, the one without butter. And you'd 'butter' be ready to see what kinds of goods and services that this card has to offer. What I like about Goods is that, on the one hand, it's an easy lifegain card with Food being fairly deciduous or whatever, and there's also the possibility of an archetype that could absolutely kick ass with it.

Services? Well, you'd better be willing to pay. It's such a great twist that you actually took a blank & blank and twisted it so that both of them are independently cool but together they're supposed to show similarity, and by contrasting them that contrast is itself elevated. I'm down for it, and especially down for the two worlds where one person is indeed displaying goods for you, and on the other side... Well, the wetwork is some serious business, but paying for it can be costly, especially in limited where your options are just that. This card feels really balanced in all the right ways, and I can envision civility and assassination in equal measure. I hope that that makes sense because when I told my therapist that, they just stared.

Commentation and commendation soon! @abelzumi

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Why are birds considered dogs?

Because birds are dogs, duh. I'm not joking. It really is a common misconception that there are two different types of dog: the ones with four legs and fur (called "canines"), and the others with wings and feathers ("avians"). In reality all dogs have either type of appendage at some point in their lives — most young puppies have no feathering but they will grow it later as part of puberty. Similarly, many adult canine animals spend time living among the avian population when younger or during certain times of year. For example, many owners keep parakeets for companionship purposes; these might be used to bring babysitters into one's home if you aren't able to find an actual human sitter! (Weirdly enough, this is actually more popular than people think.)

In fact, most of our more familiar domesticated breeds were derived from wild canids which had contact with humans over long periods of time — after a while the ancestral relationship becomes difficult to discern because any physical trait could have been selected by both. This means it's hard to know where exactly your neighbor's goldfish-toothed dog came from, let alone whether he was originally yellow or chocolate brown.

However, we do have more reliable information on other animals such as turkeys and horses, whose ancestors didn't live around us until recently. Both were developed through selective breeding based on specific traits like aggressiveness and stamina, so even though they don't look much like wolves anymore they still share important genetic similarities. Aside from hair coloration, bird species resemble each other less closely than horse or cow varieties despite being closely related. The reason for this difference isn't known yet, but it probably has something to do with how relatively recently humans began selecting them. One possible scenario involves food scarcity in certain parts of Europe leading to farmers having to feed livestock whatever edible plant matter they found nearby rather than just keeping the plants themselves growing. There wasn't time for domesticated versions of many plants to evolve, since rapid diversification would have meant losing valuable nutrients before anyone got a chance to notice what made the best pig fodder, etc., while cultivating crops allowed for greater control over the diet. Therefore birds emerged as useful scavengers who could eat anything without needing training. They also turned out to make good guard animals — even predators like hawks and falcons will display territorial behavior towards potential competitors — although owls seem to take offense at this. Overall, the two groups interbred quite frequently, so birds are mostly descended from domesticated canines and vice versa. If you looked carefully you'd see evidence for both everywhere, like the feathery stumps of wolf tails mixed in with the tufts of fluff left behind by pet parrots. Or maybe you wouldn't…

So I guess why birds are called dogs depends entirely on whom you ask. Most people have never heard the theory described above, so they generally believe that dogs are those things that have four limbs and fur. Since birds have only three limbs and feathers instead of fur, the misnomer persists unchallenged. Meanwhile scientist types prefer the term "bird" because that includes everything, including non-domesticated populations, whereas "dog" implies artificial selection. To them it's a question of precision vs. clarity. Personally, I call my chicken "my little boy," so perhaps I am biased toward accuracy over practicality here. My answer may not satisfy you, but it should tell you why the confusion exists and give you lots to think about.

[amnotaqueen]

A Fake Compliment/ Getting Supply

Every now and again there is the rare compliment that isn't really a compliment. It's a weak attempt to make himself seem like less of a bad person, I guess.

Today we were dressed up, going to the second day of our Regional Convention as Jehovah's Witnesses. He says to me, "This, your dress, still fits." I was wearing an old skirt and blouse that I've had a long time. The best 'compliment' he could come up with, without making himself throw up, I guess, was that it was good that I could still fit into old clothes. And that was it. He didn't linger one bit in any positivity about me. He has said things in the past like, 'That dress looks good'. Not, 'YOU look good.' I don't get romance. I don't get affection. I don't get noticed. My mom used to compliment me all the time and then sometimes at her urging he would agree with whatever compliment she gave me. I don't know how to respond to his apparently fake compliments anymore. I know they are insincere now, but I didn't always know that. Now, I mostly wonder, why would he be complimenting me? What is his ulterior motive. The motive definitely is not because he loves and appreciates me and wants me to feel loved and appreciated.

Yesterday, after the convention when I asked about buying some fast food for dinner because I didn't have time or energy to prepare a dinner for us because of the convention, he immediately responded by asking me if I knew how much was on his credit card. He was obviously annoyed that I wanted him to buy us dinner. Yet, today he introduced me to a Nigerian couple at the convention and he had expressed to them how good it would be if we all could get together and have dinner after the program, but he knew it was not possible because they were most likely tired and needed to get back and rest. He was trying them, hoping they would say 'Oh, we don't need to rest! Let's hang out!' But they did not. And there was no mention of how much was already charged on his credit card. There is no price he won't pay to get his supply. He does not withhold from himself the way he withholds from me and our son. It means that he is very willing to spend money to socialize with people he has just met, but he has not desire to spend money to eat with just me and his son.

Recently, I've gone months without a working dryer. I was hanging clothes to dry on my son's swing set outside (which my mom bought). I would also hang wet clothes on various pieces of furniture in a spare room in our house. Or I was drying clothes at my mom's house. He neglected fixing the dryer for months. He finally fixed the dryer when we were moving and then he left the dryer, so we moved without it and the washing machine. He had fixed it because he planned to rent the house we were moving from. That was what got him to fix the dryer, not the fact that it was inconvenient for his wife to get the laundry done for our family with only a working washing machine. Then, after we moved, I went another almost 3 months with no washer and no dryer. I was going to a laundry mat and washing loads as cheaply as possible (i.e. throwing as many clothes that would fit into a single washer, whites and colors together, with no bleach. Towels were mixed in with regular clothes. Bedspreads and sheets were not washed as frequently as they should have been.) Whenever I asked about getting a washing machine and dryer, he didn't have money. It was not a priority. I went to the Laundromat to wash our clothes when I was sick with strep throat in the snow and rain during this time. I'm not allowed to get sick. He does not think to help me at times like those. And he always has money to do the things HE wants to do or that gives him the supply he needs. At one point, he told me that I could wash clothes in the bath tub. I should hand wash a weeks worth of clothes for two adults and one kid in the bathtub? I still need to have his meals cooked too, you know. He is crazy. And when I asked him where I was supposed to dry all of our clothes since we moved and I don't have the swing set and extra space in the house now. It's very windy where we are, too windy to hang clothes on the fence to dry. Besides, that would be embarrassing for me in the neighborhood we are in. My narc husband didn't reply and didn't care.

He finally, eventually bought a washer and dryer. But the message that I do not matter one bit was heard loud and clear

[freetheshit-outofyou]

Hi Sir.

First, thank you for your years of service.

But thank you also for your intelligent, interesting, often funny, always thought provoking Tumblr!

(My own Tumblr is, um, less high minded.)

We may be very different men in some ways, but your ideas on government, self defense, outdoor recreation, food, nature, married life, and most other subjects are right on, Sir!

On marriage, I happen to have a husband, not a wife, but I think for both of us the experience is an amazing journey of discovery and adaptation.

On self defense, I was never in the military. Honestly I don't know what half the weapons you post are. I just try to do a little karate, and lately a little kobudo in my "old age." (59, the oldest I've ever been!) But I marvel at your evident skill and breadth of knowledge. The whole point of being able to fight, after all, is to attain peace.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts online, Sir!

Just when I’m sure the Human race is beyond recovery someone pops up and reminds me there are still good damned people on this blue sphere we call home. @hoss-sc, First and foremost, thank you for your kind words, with that said I have been accused of a great many things, High Minded is not one of them, but I'll take what I can get. Thank you, it is my honor to have served, I found more than I’ve lost and it changed my perspective on so much. It is true we are different men but as I have found, people as individuals, devoid of the separations and segregation that are placed on us by society and governments see more eye to eye than we know. When you understand that the very people, organizations and governments that keep putting us in little boxes are the very one’s fanning the flames of hate and distrust. Reminds me of this scene from Men In Black.

I don't have much need of those little boxes, those categories that we are yoked with. I chose who I like, or dislike, based on who they are not who I'm told they are. As I have said many times on here I don't care where a person comes from, who they bend a knee to, who they sleep with or what color they are. My baseline qualifier is what kind of Human they are. I have never had one of those artificial sub-categories clarify a person for me, only time and actions can so that. The chaff will always separate from the Wheat given enough time to do so.

I am pleased you and I have much more in common than not. I think every Human has Rights that exist before the laws of men. I think life outside teaches more practical lessons than and room and 4 walls can. I think Governments should be small and people should be allowed to be free. Hoss, I’m glad you have found your love and your happiness, damnit it is a rare thing in this age of instant gratifications and disposable relationships. With that said I have been married 3 times, the first one left me while I was deployed, the second one stabbed me and the one I spent all those years looking for, well, we’ve been together 17 years this July. I don’t care if one is in a same sex relationship or an opposite sex relationship, who people sleep with has very little to do with me or what I think of them. I’m sure you and I could have long conversations about the boxes society has created to keep people both locked up and hidden in. Self-defense, Man this hits me to my core. EVERY HUMAN HAS THE RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE!! Self-defense is the cornerstone to living a life free from oppression either from thugs and criminals or oppressive governments. I think everyone should learn a form of unarmed self-defense and learn to use firearms because deferring your safety and the safety of those you love to someone less concerned about your survival just isn’t the greatest option. I taught unarmed self-defense for 10 years and I have taught armed defense for close to 30 years, each one is an important aspect in our personal responsibility to not live in victimhood. A few years back I started training in Filipino martial arts (kali, escrima, arnis) with a guy out at NAS Fallon, it is so different from the traditional Jiu Jitsu I started with in the 90’s and the Gracie style of Jiu Jitsu I did for many many years and the same style my kids do now. I trained at if for a little over a year before the guy got orders and I haven’t found an instructor since, small town blues. I cannot accurately express how important I feel self-defense is. But, as you know, as we get on in the years all the shit we did to our bodies in our younger more rambunctious years starts to slow us down. I’ll be 53 in June and all those “Oh shit, I survived that!” moments remind me that I am not quite a spry as I once was, but I’m also not dead. I will never be as fast or agile as I was at 20 or 30 or even 40 but I will never go down without a fight, it’s just not in my DNA. Thank you again, I mean that from the deepest places in my soul. “The ultimate aim of martial arts is not having to use them” ― Miyamoto Musashi, A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy