#and as far as i know tumblr doesn't natively support that so....

[pencap]

By Sylvie (j.p.)

[rin-fukuroi]

𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 [𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞]

Please do not translate or publish my works without my permission.

The originals of my works can be read here

Fandom: Honkai: Star Rail

Pairings: Aventurine x dealer!fem!reader

Warnings: gambling, sexual tension.

Note: English is not my native language, so I apologize if there are errors in the text qq I'm just starting my blog on Boosty, but I'll be glad if you support me with a subscription and read the full NSFW version of this work there. Soon there will be other works that will not be published on Tumblr.

▶• ılıılıılıılıılıılı. VIVIZ — MANIAC

You have long heard from other casino employees about a certain visitor, which comes here quite often, but you have never been lucky enough to meet him until today. The girls sighed languidly, referring to him as a handsome man, preparing to serve him the best drink, for which he would pay generously, and the men working in security only irritably noted that if he visited the institution today, they would only have more work. Then you didn't pay any attention to their words until one of the bar staff squealed with delight, energetically pointing at the blond man who entered the hall.

A dazzling smile, a light gait, but a sly look hidden behind gold glasses, gliding across the tables and the employees standing behind them before playfully sparkling violet-blue eyes rest on you. Your back straightens reflexively, and your fingers wrap around the back of your hand, and you nod in greeting when several men, led by a blond man, approach your poker table. You have been working in the field of gambling for several years, so you can easily notice expensive watches, chains and rings on his hands and a long earring in the ear of an elegant man in a hat, dressed in a black jacket with a fur collar, a turquoise shirt with a small but provocative neckline on the chest and white trousers with patent leather shoes. In total, all the clothes and trinkets of this person can be compared to the cost of your life. Winning will not matter to him, as losing will not greatly affect the quality of his life, which means he simply enjoys a sense of excitement and superiority, since, according to rumors, he plays very well.

«Well…»

— Oh? I haven't seen you before, — the blond man lowers his glasses on the bridge of his nose, smiling slyly at you as soon as you raise your head.

— I'm sorry, sir, today I'm serving you, because the dealer who is more familiar to you is ill, but I assure you, this will not affect the quality of the time spent in our institution in any way, — you kindly answer with a calm expression on your face, which causes the blonde to chuckle softly.

— How official! Relax, honey, — the man leans lower, slightly tilting his head to one side, carefully watching how the expression on your face changes to a more tense one. — It's a pity that… Oh, what was her name? — the blonde pulls away, thinking for a second, trying to remember the name of your colleague, but in the end only sighs briefly, spreading his hands. — It doesn't matter. You've been brought up to date, that we're going to need a separate room, haven't you?

— Yes, sir. Please follow me.

An unpleasant person. It was clear from afar that it was better to stay as far away from him as possible. These vibes of nauseating self-confidence and narcissism definitely don't bode well, but you still humbly do your duty, pulling on a smile and letting the guests into the VIP-room. Usually this room is rented by companies of influential people whose names are so well known to everyone that such guests don't even bother to introduce themselves, because you always know who they are, but these men… You're seeing them for the first time.

Anyway, a job is a job.

— Have a seat, dear guests. Would you like to see the bar menu?

Men in suits silently take their seats, and only an energetic blonde immediately responds to the sound of your voice, standing in front of the last empty chair.

— We'll order the same as usual,— the stranger says sweetly, spreading into a frighteningly sweet smile that sends chills down my spine.

— I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know…

— Oh, how could I forget! — the blond man clasps his hands in a gesture of apology. — Whiskey on the rocks.

His theatricality is a little annoying, but that's none of your business.

— As you wish, sir.

The female silhouette peeking out from behind the slightly open door and instantly disappearing after the blonde's words only made your task easier, allowing you not to even leave the room. It seems that this man is really very popular among girls, which, in principle, isn't surprising. A pretty face, a thick purse and a sugary voice, like a demeanor, are the pillars that support the classic image of a heartthrob in the eyes of any woman. It would be fascinating if you hadn't met such people before. This place is teeming with both men and women, sometimes even reasonably believing that the whole world belongs to them. Perhaps you would have bought into his charisma too, if you were as frivolous as a bar employee rushing into a room no more than five minutes after the order was placed.

— Thank you, dear. As always, you help out, otherwise my friends seem to be out of sorts today, — the blond man chuckles melodiously, looking at the other five guests. You can almost see in their stern looks the desire to strangle this talkative flatterer, and you can't help but chuckle to yourself.

— Anything for our beloved visitor! Have a nice game, — your friend blushes, smiling shyly before leaving the room, barely restraining a satisfied squeak.

You modestly clear your throat, drawing the attention of everyone at the table to yourself.

— Well, gentlemen, shall we begin?

You leave the button* in front of the blond man sitting first on your left hand. Early* is the most unfavorable position to start the game, but he should have known about it when he sat down here, or is it just an accident?

After the preflop*, while you were deftly shuffling the deck in your hands, someone had already started emptying their glass of whiskey, someone took out a pair of fragrant chocolate cigars. The blonde just watched carefully how skillfully you dealt the cards, not missing a single movement of your fingers. For a second, you even doubted that he didn't trust the new dealer, but every time you dared to look at him, his lips stretched into an even more sugary smile, and his eyes always found yours. Is he trying to get you into the same emotions as the silly waitresses? You wonder how soon he'll lose interest in your indifferent face?

The game went on quite calmly until three people remained at the table, including a smiling blond man.

— Ace of hearts, two of spades, jack of hearts, ten of clubs, two of hearts. The bets are made, you can open, — you say in a monotone voice, glancing at the cards on the table that turn over one by one.

«Street? Not bad…» — you stop looking at the blond's cards before you hear a thud on the table. After looking at the other hands it became clear that there is nothing on the table stronger than two pairs.

— Oh, don't get mad! We've just started, — the blond man raises his hands in an innocent gesture, chuckling softly, it seems, making the man opposite even angrier.

It seems that now you understand a little what the casino guards were so unhappy about, but the more games passed, the more sad the blonde's position became. The empty glasses were hastily replaced with newly filled ones with a new portion of whiskey, and the concentration of smoke in the small room became more and more suffocating, it seems, only exposing the undisguised glee of the men at the table, allowing themselves to mock the blonde, who was catastrophically unlucky today. A flush* against a royal flush, a pair against a square* and, in the end, his hand could only boast of the highest card*. What a disappointment.

— Here, order yourself one more whiskey, — one of the departing men casually tossed a couple of chips in front of the blond man sprawled on a chair, grinning hoarsely before staggering slightly out of the room after the other four, whose loud voices disappeared into the noise of the casino outside the door.

— Sure, — the man who remained at the table smiled gently at the departing acquaintance before taking a sip from his glass.

You wanted to say something, maybe even encourage him, but it's not your way to mind your own business, so you just silently gathered the cards from the table, about to ask the guest to leave the room, when suddenly he spoke first.

— That's not what you expected, is it? — you turn to the blond man, who is resting his head on his own palm. The same strange smile is still playing on his lips, even despite how much money he left at this institution today. He's really weird.

— I don't know what you mean. I don't know how you play, so I couldn't even try to predict the outcome of the game.

— Come on. You know how I play. That girl from the bar told you about me, didn't she?

Annoy.

— Even so, I'm not used to trust rumors, — you reply indifferently, carefully putting the cards back in the box.

— In that case, now you can conclude that I'm a lousy player? Oh, that would be unfortunate, because everyone has unlucky days.

— I don't think it's about luck, — you wanted to say that someone should just drink less and make less risky bets, but you restrained yourself, maintaining professionalism.

— Ho-oh? Then what is it? — the blond man perked up even more, waiting curiously for your answer.

— It is not appropriate for me to give advice to visitors, because my earnings, among other things, depend on them.

— That's how it is! So I was wrong when I decided that you weren't like the other girls looking at my wallet?

— It turns out that it is. But I'm looking at the wallets of every potentially profitable player for me, — you shrug your shoulders. — And now, if you'll excuse me, you should leave the room, since the game is over.

— How pragmatic, you remind me of someone I know, — the blond man, as if he hadn't heard your last words, gets up from his chair, coming closer. — So you don't believe in luck, huh?

The man leans slightly forward, looking into your eyes from under the half-lowered glasses on the bridge of his nose. The expensive sweet fragrance of the perfume instantly cuts into your nostrils, and you take a small step back.

— It's absurdly to rely only on luck in poker. That's all I wanted to say.

— Hm-m … — the blond man pretends to think. — You're right. Then what about roulette?

— Even roulette has its own patterns, but if we don't go into details, of course, this game revolves exclusively around chance.

— Great! Then can we play? — the man turns towards the roulette table, which has apparently not been used for a long time, in the corner of the room.

— I'm afraid my shift is already over… — you frown, even before you finish, he interrupts you.

— Oh, I was so catastrophically unlucky today that I just want to win back at least another game, otherwise I won't be able to sleep peacefully tonight… Are you really that heartless?

— You can use the services of a croupier and play roulette in the hall.

— It would be sad, because I already liked you, — the blonde smiles, looking into your eyes again.

— If you're trying to flirt with me like that, then I'm in a hurry to upset you — it won't work, — you reply irritably, about to leave, when suddenly a weak grip on your wrist stops you.

— I'm sad to hear that, but what if I make a bet?

You turn around, batting your eyelashes in puzzlement when you meet the sharp gaze of a man's violet-blue eyes.

— You can't play roulette without betting, what's the point of all this?

— Let's say… if my bet plays out, you owe me a kiss, what do you say?

You almost boil with anger, looking at this personification of self-confidence standing in front of you.

— I'm not going to play your games, let go of my hand.

The attempt to pull back your hand was unsuccessful, on the contrary, only forcing the blond to pull you closer.

— It seems that luck isn't on my side today, so if I lose, I'll just leave.

The desire to just slap him in the face is almost impossible to ignore, but you wouldn't be working here if you weren't a gambling person too. Your lips stretch into an arrogant smile as you approach the blond man's face, slightly squinting your eyes.

— In that case, on what number* will you put it on?

The blond man's eyebrows rise, after which a ringing laugh is heard in the room.

— I knew you could entertain me! — the man lets go of your hand, but does not take a step away from you before saying softly. — I'm betting on zero.

«He's crazy!»

You almost laughed at how crazy his bet turned out to be, but it sounds like he's already agreed to leave you alone, so you just smiled, silently retreating to the corner of the dimly lit room. The table has indeed not been used for a long time, having already become covered with a layer of dust, but you take a small ball, gently rolling it in your hand before turning towards the blond man who remains standing at the poker table. He doesn't seem to care at all that he's going to lose now, and the smile doesn't leave his face for a second. It will be all the sweeter to see how the expression on his face will change when he loses.

— Your bet is accepted, — you say loudly before spinning the roulette wheel by throwing a ball at it.

The man doesn't even look at the spinning roulette wheel, instead watching your eyes follow the ball as it slides across the sectors.

12, 35, 3, 26, and finally….

— It can't be… — you whisper, eyes wide open and just looking at how the ball stopped at zero.

— Ho-oh? What's is it? Judging by your reaction, did I win? — the blond man grins, slowly removing his hat from his head and leaving the hat on the edge of the poker table.

This can't be happening. Betting on numbers is always a huge risk, because the chance that the ball will stop at the chosen one is incredibly small. Was he… really just lucky?

You purse your lips, summoning all the self-control you have to turn to the man with an indifferent expression on your face.

— That's right, congratulations on winning, sir.

— M-m… it's not just a win, you remember the conditions, right? — the blond man says playfully, slowly walking towards you, until finally he towers over you, elegantly ripping the glasses off his face.

«This jerk has probably been rehearsing this for years…»

— I didn't have to accept such bets at all, — you mutter irritably.

— I understand your disappointment, but still, you accepted it. Be kind enough to hand me my prize, — you look into the extraordinarily beautiful eyes of a man, trying your best to deny how really attractive he looks without glasses and a hat.

— Ahem… okay. But can I at least get your name? I wouldn't want to kiss a complete stranger.

— Huh? So you don't know who I am? How cute, — the blond man squints, breaking into a smile. — You can call me Aventurine. And you… — the man hooks the badge on your chest with the tip of his finger. — Y/N.

Where have all your old composure gone? They probably got lost somewhere in the midst of this madness, which for some reason you signed up for, following your own excitement. Self-confidence is just as much your enemy as Aventurine, only in this case he is elated with victory, and you are trying to collect your thoughts in order to fulfill the conditions of the game he started.

— Excuse me… — you mumble awkwardly before pressing your lips to the man's cheek, leaving as quick a kiss as possible to hastily turn away, hiding the blush that has appeared on your face.

— Hey! And what was that? — Aventurine says in disappointment, touching the place of your kiss with the tips of his black-gloved fingers.

— You asked for a kiss, but didn't specify which one, — you try to sound confident, but still mentally berate yourself for not being able to look into his eyes right now.

— Oh… — the blond man sighs heavily, pulling away and approaching the roulette table. — I'm not satisfied with such a victory. Let's do it again.

— Huh?! — you cry out indignantly, looking at the back of the impudent man rolling the ball around the zero sector. — I shouldn't be here at all, and neither should you!

— I'm betting on zero again.

You freeze, raising an eyebrow when you turn to Aventurine.

— You're going to lose.

— Maybe, — the man shrugs, turning to face you and leaning on the edge of the table. — But if the bet plays out again, you'll give me a real long kiss.

— I'm not going to waste my time on this madness. The chances of hitting zero a second time are so small that it's easier for you to just leave this room right now, since it's simply impossible to play this bet.

— Let it be so. You don't lose anything if you're so sure of my defeat, do you? Besides, didn't you say that you don't give advice to the players?

It annoys you how logical his words sound. But what's even more annoying is that you really doubt it. It's just not possible. You have to show this arrogant idiot his place.

— Okay, — and here you go back to the roulette table again. — But if you lose, you will never return to this casino again.

Aventurine's purple eyes widen before flashing a gambling spark.

— And you know how to make the game more interesting, — the man grins, picking up the ball from the table, carefully leaving it in your hand. — I agree.

This will be the craziest bet anyone has ever made in the entire existence of this casino. And it only fuels your interest too. You spin the wheel in anticipation by throwing the ball. Your heart is pounding in your chest, as if your own life is at stake. It's been a long time since you've experienced such adrenaline, no matter how absurd what's happening, because it's worth it to win…

— Ha-ha! It seems that today is really my day, — Aventurine grins as the ball slowly rolls and stops at sector zero. Again. — The money I lost in poker was worth spending all my luck on such a tempting prize.

Impossible. He just did the impossible. What were the chances? The mind is so devastated by shock that you can't even approximate the probability, just silently looking at the green sector in amazement.

— You're not… cheating, are you? — you're almost whispering, without opening your eyes from the little ball.

— What cruel accusations! How, tell me, could I cheat at roulette? — the man clicks his tongue in frustration, slowly wrapping his arm around your waist before pulling your body towards his. — If these are just assumptions without any evidence, I think it's time to start awarding the second prize.

The lips open, releasing a soft sigh into the air. You feel the warmth emanating from his body, the smell that his nauseatingly expensive clothes exude, and you feel his measured breathing on the skin of your face when Aventurine bends down, almost touching his lips to yours and freezes.

— I'll make it easier for you this time, — the blond whispers, letting his warm breath caress the delicate skin of your lips.

— What do you mean?.. — the only thing you managed to say right before Aventurine's lips covered yours.

Long fingers dive into your hair, forcing you to tilt your head back, and he deepens the kiss, insistently making his way with his tongue through your lips, which are not too resisting. A soft moan dissolves in Aventurine's mouth, and your fingers desperately cling to the fabric of the shirt on the man's chest, but still you respond to the kiss, allowing your tongue to stick out a little further, slowly waltzing in tandem with his. The shock was instantly replaced by a mixture of embarrassment and a flutter in his chest. It seemed that this kiss lasted forever, so harmonious, gentle, but passionate, as if you have known each other for so long that Aventurine doesn't need much effort to make you melt in his hands, which you allow to touch your body.

Lips gasp for air as soon as Aventurine pulls away, looking at your flushed, relaxed face, which isn't touched by the former cold indifference with which you looked at him all evening.

It's a strange feeling. From the very beginning, when you saw this man, the only thought that you would never in your life become infatuated with just his presence somewhere nearby was ingrained in your head, now fighting for supremacy with the unwillingness that he would let you go. You shouldn't give in to this.

You gently press on Aventurine's chest, shuddering as soon as you feel his warm skin under your fingertips, noticing that you touched this very seductive neckline.

— Is that all? I have to go… — you say softly, trying to get out of Aventurine's hands, but he's not even going to let go of your waist or your cheek, to which his palm is still pressed.

— Really? Well, then I won't hold you back, — the blond man grins, still continuing to prevent your imaginary escape.

— Then let me go. I gave away your winnings and I don't owe you anything else.

— Yes, you did, — the man whispers, gently stroking your cheek with a thumb in a leather glove.

You look at each other without saying a word and freeze like statues. The muffled sounds of slot machines, clinking glasses and laughter come from the hall outside the door, breaking the silence that hangs between the two of you, but you can't hear anything else except your own rapid heartbeat throbbing in your ears. A strange warmth spreads in your chest, gradually sinking down, and a heavy weakness settles in your legs, which doesn't allow you to move from your place.

«What are you doing, Y/N?», — you ask yourself one last time before you swear unintelligibly under your breath, grabbing Aventurine's shirt in order to involve the man in the kiss again. Greedy, careless, but you needed it. The blonde's palm shamelessly moves to your buttocks, covered with black trousers, gently squeezing the elastic flesh, and your fingers slowly slip under the neckline in the shape of an inverted heart, caressing the heated skin of Aventurine's chest.

— W-wait… — you suddenly break off the kiss, breathing heavily and looking at the purple irises covered with long eyelashes.

— What's is it? I won't complain that the dealer is harassing me if you're worried about it, — Aventurine grins, forcing the expression on your face to change to the old irritation.

— This is wrong. I don't have to…

— I don't care about the rules, — the man tilts his head to one side, smiling playfully. — I'm betting on black.

— What? — you ask discouraged, watching the man's fingers hastily undoing the buttons of your white shirt.

— If I win, now you'll be my prize, — Aventurine winks at you before opening the cotton fabric on your chest, noticing you are wearing a black lace bra. — Tsk-tsk, how unlucky you are today. I won again.

✧ ✧ ✧

The button is a special chip marked "D", transmitted clockwise and identifying the dealer (in this case, the dealer is an employee of the casino, so the button only determines who will bet first).

The early position is the player's place at the poker table, located immediately behind the dealer.

Preflop is the initial stage of the poker game, which includes the distribution of cards and the first bets, including blinds.

A straight is a combination of a sequence of five cards.

A hand is a combination of two cards in the player's hands.

A flash combination of five cards of the same suit.

Royal flush is the strongest combination of cards from 10 to ace of the same suit.

A pair is a combination of two cards of the same value (for example, two aces).

A square is a combination of five cards of the same value (for example, four aces).

The highest card is the card of the highest value of all lying on the table.

In roulette, it is possible to bet on one color, on even and odd numbers, and so on, including you can bet on a specific number, which is quite risky due to the reduced chances that such a bet will play, but the winnings from it are multiplied by 35.

[cyle]

Hello!

I was wondering if you could give us some insight into how tumblr live came to exist/how it will work? For example will we be able to out out entirely instead of just snoozing it? A lot of people are worried about their privacy being violated due to the location tracking (most of our tumblr blogs aren't exactly for our irls to see) and I'm worried this is going to cause another case of site-wide mass hysteria.

I know not all staff members work on everything so If you can't help here do you know anyone i should try asking?

hello!

check out the Staff post if you haven't already, i know it doesn't explain the "how this came to exist", but it gives a good overview of the feature. this is a big moonshot experiment for us, and it's been exciting to see a lot of positive reaction to it and people doing fun stuff with it so far. it's a lot more full-featured and enticing than our previous attempt at live streaming back in ~2016, and there are more features to come. personally i can't wait to live stream our Hack Day Rave Room natively on Tumblr, finally.

there is no way to opt out "fully", but you can choose not to use it, like other features of the site that don't have any full "opt out". also, there is no specific geolocation tracking -- your phone has to explicitly give permission for that, and we don't want it. i've always fought pretty hard NOT to get that kind of hyper-specific data, i think it's pretty creepy unless the product doesn't make sense without it (and, to me, it makes no sense for us to collect that data on tumblr today).

that said, we're not doing any more specific "location" tracking with Live than we've ever done, or any website does. for example, this website will tell you where it thinks you are, without using any specific location tracking permissions from your device. the only way to avoid that is to not use the internet at all, or use a VPN to obfuscate your true "location".

and as always, if you have strong feelings about any of this, please file a Support ticket with your feedback! (use the new Live Streaming category or the Feedback category.)

[not-poignant]

October 2023 Writing Round-Up

Here's the monthly round-up of everything written and posted in October 2023! What a bumper month it's been!

Underline the Black 64 

Underline the Black 65 

Underline the Black 66 

Underline the Black 67 

Underline the Gold 05 

Underline the Gold 06 

Smoke in Autumn 07 

The Nascent Diplomat 37 

The Nascent Diplomat 38 (Augus + Gwyn Tier+) || Ream

Underline the Gold 07 (Augus + Gwyn Tier+) || Ream

Constellations 02 (Gary + Efnisien Tier+) || Ream

Chapter Commentary - Underline the Black 27 (Mosk + Eran Tier+) || Ream

Chapter Commentary - Underline the Black 28 (Mosk + Eran Tier+) || Ream

FANFICTION

A Stain that Won't Dissolve 22 (Alex/Sebastian, Stardew Valley)

A Stain that Won't Dissolve 23 

A Stain that Won't Dissolve 24 

Palmarosa 04 (Astarion/Raphael, Baldur's Gate 3)

Palmarosa 05 

Palmarosa 06 

Palmarosa 07 

Palmarosa 08 

--

Absolutely hectic I tell you! There were an extra six chapters not on the schedule. Madness :D 

--

I soft launched my Ream account, which is a subscription site that is a mirror of Patreon. For anyone who's ever had any payment processor issues with Patreon, doesn't want to support that site, or is super pro supporting a site that allows the kind of written content AO3 does with no censorship, then Ream is the place to be. :D If you ever want to ask me any questions about it, please do, but all-in-all it's the same. The only difference is you're charged only once a month instead of twice!

My favourite part about Ream so far is that you can actually just follow for free, without paying a cent, and give the space a try and see how it feels. It means you'll get the round-up posts and November schedule directly to your email, which is awesome because Tumblr can bury things super fast. :D

--

For me on the writing side, I was technically on holiday! I wrote a lot of Underline the Red and a lot of Palmarosa. I played a whole lot of different video games, started watching Bridgerton, and did a bunch of gardening. 

All in all, we landed in a space of 31,041 words! And I'm absolutely raring to go for NaNoWriMo, where I'm aiming to write either 60,000 words or write 20 chapters, whichever comes first. Wish me luck and to remember to hydrate :D 

In November, I'm going to be smashing out a lot of our core stories - Underline the Black, The Nascent Diplomat, Constellations and then likely also fanfic like A Stain that Won't Dissolve and hopefully there's some time for Palmarosa in there! 

I will probably launch Constellations on AO3 in December. 

November is likely to be another hectic month with updates, and hopefully it means you get to pick your favourite stories to focus on :D 

--

I'll see you all in November! It's definitely getting hotter now, and we have snapdragons and moss roses in our garden, and soon - hopefully - some dahlias too. Many of the Australian native plants have stopped flowering in preparation for the heat, because our plants know summer is not the best time to flower - pretty weird when you compare that to much of the southern hemisphere! 

(Happy Halloween everyone, have a safe month, take care of yourselves, and take care of each other <3 )

[petedavidsonscock]

tumblr leftists have been posting a lot about family abolition and i wanted to see What The Fuss Was About. there's obviously a ton of literature on the subject but i started small w a 17-page article (family abolition) by kathi weeks. (this took me an hour and a half to read; hooray for theory.)

i took notes as i went for comprehension purposes and am mostly posting here for, idk, encouragement to self because i want to read more. the article was interesting & i've copy and pasted my notes below in case anybody wants to take a look. i don't know if the article will be accessible to all but if anyone wants a pdf i can email it to them.

also no guarantee that the notes will be good. they are Unedited.

- family has served as a safe harbor/form of protection for marginalized groups against the white state, but that doesn't mean it's, like, good.

- "key fundamentals of the family form": social reproduction, couple form, bio-genetic-centered kinship

- "the family’s utility as a site of social reproduction is predicated on the ways it naturalizes hierarchy, constricts us socially and privatizes care"

- legitimates & naturalizes gender essentialism, since it depends on the unpaid, unacknowledged domestic work of women, which is supposedly "natural" to them due to their feminine qualities

- makes broad social issues (e.g. wealth inequality) seem like private matters (e.g. because a lot of wealth is inherited)

- family makes possible the liberal ideal of individualism by placing man in a household, supported by an Othered woman rather than a broader network of society

- privatizes care: gets a lot of free labor out of people, primarily women: domestic work, raising of children, elder care, care for the ill and disabled

- "the crucial function of romanticism is to enable the ‘blurring of the economic contract’ that was once clear as the major rationale for marriage" (442)

- the couple is understood as a private agreement between individuals, one that is best suited to meeting basically all of our needs. it's seen as "natural" but also propped up by immense state effort. note the effort made to get native americans to marry as a part of their forced assimilation into american society

- "the pinnacle of liberal individualism"

- the declining rates of marriage are not a challenge to the family institution. they might be read as a final & complete privatization of family, finally + totally w/o state efforts

- it seems like the opposite of liberal individualism is an understanding of personhood that is inherently relational and interdependent

- imagining children as parents' property reinforces the idea that it's their jobs to take care of them for no pay, in the same way you don't get paid to paint your own house

- points out how egotistical it is that it's normal + accepted for parents to want their kids to be essentially clones of themselves

- personal responsibility equated to family responsibility

- "the figure of the Child is supposed to be what gives someone a stake in the future, but in fact it tethers them to the past; by affirming a future that is adequate to the present, a future that could be a home for the figural Child and that thus bears a family resemblance to the present, true futurity, futurity as a project of political imagination and invention, is foreclosed." (447)

- alternatives: a) to expand the amount of people who can fulfil the roles currently expected to be done by one person, allowing for far more flexibility in fulfilling people's needs; b) make families wholly unnecessary thru institutional infrastructures that make it so that people's health/safety doesn't depend on individuals in their lives choosing to be kind to them. "communities of care."

[ramlethality]

coming back to tumblr only to see ppl defend taika waititi for the no hostage letter. as far as ive seen, he hasnt released any form of retraction or comment regarding that letter, so what r yall defending? u dont know him so how r u so sure he *doesn't* believe the beheading babies propaganda? and may i remind yall that he didn't sign the ceasefire letter, so again, i have to ask, what r yall defending??

and no, just bc someone is jewish and native doesn't automatically excuse them from supporting genocidal propaganda. think a lil pls

here's the letter in case yall decide u wanna forget abt it https://www.nohostageleftbehind.com/

[gisellelx]

Thoughts on twilight movies and cast? I only liked the books.

It's impossible to be a big fan of Carlisle and really enjoy the movies. The movies, between the scripts and Peter Facinelli's wooden portrayal, take a really interesting character and turn him into a one-dimensional do-gooder dad. At times you actually get exactly the opposite of the character in the book, such as the scene at the beginning of New Moon, when "by all accounts we should be damned regardless" is stated as just a fact instead of the opening gambit to an explanation of why he still has a very deep faith and why he is working toward salvation anyway. He gets stupid lines like "I hate hurting any living creature" because the whole section of Edward explaining Carlisle's philosophy was deemed unimportant but they still have to somehow shoehorn in why Edward doesn't eat people. As a result, he comes off as a fraction of the character he is in the books, and even there he isn't but a fraction of the character who is hinted at in the books. I also think the movies were a victim of their own success. The first movie is kind of adorable, really. It's this whole cast of bit actors who had never had a major role, the special effects are hilariously low-budget (Kellan and Jackson running on the bed of a truck, anyone?) and it's just kind of campy and sweet. In the later movies, they had bigger budgets but were still stuck with the cast and uninspired script writing, and so they could CGI a baby and wolves, but the story was too odd to support those choices. They tried to make big action scenes that weren't really in the books (especially Alice's vision in BD II) and they didn't make any sense grafted onto the existing narrative. So, I don't particularly care for them. I certainly never bothered to buy more than the first one, and I didn't even see Breaking Dawn II except once via a grainy bootleg until it came out on Netflix last year. I think they should've stayed safely in the realm of "just a teen movie" and not tried so hard, because it was so obvious they were trying so hard and it got secondhand embarrassing. And while I think the casting of the tribe was mostly great, I have issues with the casting of Taylor Lautner, and I think they did far too little to ensure they were casting Native actors and allowing them to be Native characters (for example, of all the things to keep faithful to the books about, it was cutting off their hair??? It wasn’t even mentioned! Let them keep their hair!), which could've been a justice the movies made to improve the books and just chose not to.

I also think all the cast was too old—I know that people are just like, "Well duh, a 23-year-old doesn't look like he could be the dad of a 17-year-old" but...that's the point? The actor has to be able to carry it. Peter Facinelli right now *is* the father of a teenager and two twenty-somethings and can barely manage to act that way. So while I kind of adore the fact that he seriously nerds out on the character of Carlisle the same way I do, I don't think he ever should have been cast. He’s better at silly roles like Nurse Jackie; this one called for someone with more acting gravitas. I'm characters and world first, book plot and explanation second, movies at a distant like, sixth. I could do without the movies. I do find it fascinating that much of Twilight tumblr seems to almost not even know the books; probably because it's so much easier to meme the movies. That causes some attendant problems to people's interpretations, where sometimes I say something and people jump on it forgetting that the thing they're quoting did not happen in the books or was even counter-indicated in the books. But that's part of what makes fandom fun.

I do love the CRAP out of the Hoke house, though. It, too, is totally the wrong interpretation of the books but god is it a gorgeous piece of architecture.

[rosepetalsthings]

We talking about our experiences as older mcyt fans? Okie dokie, I'm 29 btw

So I am not a Dream fan specifically, I much prefer Philza, and BBH would be the fav closest to the group, but I have followed his stuff just out of it being on the peripheral from who I watch and who I was friends with irl. That said this isn't my first rodeo with accusations, some that have been true and some false. The important thing is to step back, which can be hard when you like something or someone. Think of a doctor not being able to operate on a loved one, it can cloud them and make the operation more dangerous. Doesn't mean they aren't a good doctor, just that the feelings we have can overwhelm us.

As far as the situation itself, well from all I've seen it's kind of a non-issue at this moment. Given what we know that is. My stance is bound to change with new info and verifiable evidence of course. It has been very strange to see the reactions though. With all the jumping some people are doing they should try out for the Olympics! But I kinda get both sides and why they would jump to a stance, whether that be one of support or condemnation. It's because they have those strong feelings, after all you have to care about something a lot to hate or love it.

And I think the internet leans very heavily into action above thought sometimes so all those emotions get turned into action and that can end in a very bad way.

So yeah, kinda rambly but I hope it makes sense. Basically I see where everyone is coming from even if I don't agree, I do just block and move on like a true tumblr native lol

Cat Anon

Thanks for sending your thoughts!

This is very well thought out and I pretty much agree with it all. A lot of people on the internet can jump way too quickly, and then fill in the blanks themselves or with things that aren't even verified. And this isn't the kind of thing you should jump into, because it's an incredibly serious accusation and should be treated as such.

Also yeah, I understand people's opinions too, even I don't like or agree with them, but I can see where they're coming from.

[mimisempai]

When I lean on you, my weakness becomes streng

Summary:

Mobius is sick and Loki is going to prove to him that he doesn't need to be strong all the time and that he can lean on him.

Tumblr request : Can I have...extreme fluff....Mobius gets sick and Loki freaks out because he has no clue how to help humans?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33034006

1038 words - Rating G

"Mobius! Look at that kitten lifting his paws like that, he's so adorable."

Mobius, standing in the doorway of the living room, sighed.

Usually he found it amusing to see Loki all excited on the various videos he could find on the net, but not today.

"Loki... wouldn't you like to drop your laptop for two seconds and Aaaaatchi!"

Loki, startled, turned around to look at his lover and realized what state he was in.

Mobius’ eyes were red and glassy, his complexion was gray and he had black circles around his eyes.

Loki rushed to him to support him.

"Mobius... you're not going to tell me it's just tiredness. You're going to have to accept the fact that you're sick. Yes, even the big, strong Mobius can be brought down by a little virus. So go to bed! Right now!"

"No... I have too much work, I can't miss a day."

"I don't want to hear anything, there's nothing urgent that can't wait until you get better!"

Mobius protested, "But-"

Loki sat Mobius down on the nearest chair, pulled out his tempad, made a timedoor appear through which he disappeared before reappearing only seconds later.

"Loki?"

"I've informed HB, Casey and the team, you're on indefinite medical leave. And before you protest, HB has me tell you that she doesn't want to see your ass again until you are fully recovered. Her words!"

Mobius obviously disagreed, stood up abruptly, but felt dizzy and had to sit back down immediately.

Loki made him stand up and supported him to take him to the bedroom.

"Mobius, now you go to bed!"

"But Loki... dinner..." the protests of Mobius became weaker and weaker.

"You are sick Mobius. You go to bed and I'll make dinner."

Mobius scowled and in the midst of a coughing fit tried to tell Loki, "But... kof... you're not the best... kof....cook, sweetheart."

Loki gently pushed him onto the bed, so that he could sit on the edge. He began to take off his shoes and socks. "You are sick! It's my turn to take care of you and I'm a good cook, I've been making progress."

Mobius came forward to wrap his arms around Loki, and kissed his forehead.

Loki sensed from the burning lips that Mobius' temperature was not normal.

"Mobius you have a fever..." He sighed, "Why didn't you say you were feeling so bad?" He shifted his hand into his Jotunn form and gently ran it over Mobius' face and lingered lightly on his forehead.

His lover's face relaxed under the coolness.

Loki pushed him back so that Mobius lay down on the bed.

He took Mobius' burning hands between his cooler ones and asked him gently, "Mobius, would you allow me to use magic to undress you and put you in a more comfortable attire to rest?"

Mobius, feeling the fatigue creeping up on him now that he was lying down, replied with his voice still hoarse from his coughing fit, "Yeah, go ahead."

Loki just twirled his hand in a gesture now familiar to Mobius, and in less than 10 seconds, Mobius found himself clad in a pair of sweatpants and a cotton henley, reveling in the feel of fresh, clean clothes.

"Thanks..."

"You're welcome love." replied Loki while covering him with a warm blanket.

Then he stood up and said softly, "I'll be right back."

A minute later, Loki was back with a glass of water and a fever pill.

"Here love, take this."

Loki sat on the edge of the bed and supported Mobius while he took his pill and the glass of water.

Mobius didn't take it right away and said softly, "I don't like that you have to do all the work." Then after swallowing the whole thing, he laid back down, exhausted and Loki put the glass of water on the nightstand.

Loki sighed, "Mobius, when I'm sick, do you let me do all the work?"

Mobius merely stared at him.

"Well?"

"Loki... you are never sick..."

"Well I should correct," Loki rolled his eyes before continuing, "when I'm not well, or I've been hurt, do you let me do anything?"

Mobius replied, frowning, "No of course not."

"There you go. Remember that time you literally locked me in our room? "

Mobius's lips twitched a little and he was about to answer but was taken again by a coughing fit. Loki's hands were immediately on him, rubbing his shoulders.

"Mobius, you need to rest, love."

At Loki's genuinely worried look, Mobius smiled gently and obeyed.

"You're right.  I'll stop being annoying. But I hate that you see me being weak."

Loki ran his cool blue hand over his forehead again and replied softly, "Mobius, you have seen me weak countless times and yet you don't love me any less, do you?"

"No, of course not Loki! »

Mobius began to get agitated.

"Shhh Love..." Loki continued his hypnotic caresses on Mobius' forehead, "so know that it's the same for me. Let me take care of you for once. I love you no less"

He leaned over Mobius and pressed a long kiss to his forehead.

A few moments later, Mobius finally fell asleep. Loki stayed a few more minutes to watch over him, to make sure his rest was peaceful.

He returned to the open kitchen, suddenly finding himself helpless. Because contrary to his bravado in front of Mobius, he had no idea what to cook for someone who was sick. But he wanted to do it, to prove to Mobius that he could also rely on Loki.

After a while of contemplation, his eyes fell on his laptop.

He went to get it and typed, "Soup recipe for the flu."

Ten minutes later, after checking that he had all the necessary ingredients in their fridge and cupboard, he started to prepare a Chicken Noodle Soup.

As he prepared it, he was somehow filled with warmth because he was making it for Mobius. He was doing something for someone he loved. Every gesture he made was only to make his beloved feel better. It was a feeling he couldn't get enough of.

That too was a glorious purpose and probably one of the most beautiful.

__________

Belongs to this one shot series : X

Thanks for reading this far, feel free to leave a comment, I always reply! As always, bear with me as it is not beta'd and english is not my native language I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless🥰

[kingofthewilderwest]

"#just because you have a bias about certain socioeconomic groups which tend to listen to country doesn't mean" // Yup. I tend to side-eye folks who are like "I like all kinds of music except country and [Insert a genre of music usually associated with Black creators like rap and hip hop]" You're not slick, ppl. I know what you're saying.

^^^^^^^^^ You hit the nail on the head.

It’s racial bias. It’s socioeconomic bias. It’s bias against people groups who have less respect and say in society.

From my tags on this post:

#don’t get me started on a long rant of the progressive side of country music and what’s been progressive FOR DECADES#from times near its BEGINNInGS#through the modern age#just because you have a bias about certain socioeconomic groups which tend to listen to country doesn’t mean#that that’s actually what the genre is or who the artists are#I could go for a LONNNNG time about this#a LONG time#some of the best protest songs I know of today’s current political situation#are country#or have like ya’ll forgotten about the folk revival#of the 1960s#or…#gahghfnfddhgnghfngh#I AM GAY AND I LISTEN TO COUNTRY#NYEH!!!!

Now. I understand disinterest in a genre because it’s not your aesthetic, but when people express their feelings for country, R&B, hip-hop, etc. …the dialogue isn’t casual “It’s not my thing.” The dialogue is a hateful, passionate retaliation.

Other genres aren’t treated like this. It’s normalized and encouraged to hate on country and rap. These genres are systematically treated with less respect and that disrespect culturally arose because these genres are associated with less-respected demographics. 

(Country music is associated with people of low socioeconomic status, for people who aren’t explicitly aware.)

Anecdotally: I’ve caught something interesting about anti-country music sentiment. Many people tell me they can’t stand the “twang.” Half the time, I’ve noticed that their internalized definition of “twang” isn’t the vocal technique; it’s that they can’t stand the presence of a Southern accent. And hooboy does that have TONS of sociocultural bias issues. As a linguist, I’ve read endless sociolinguistic studies about how Southern dialects are treated as “lesser,” and how speakers of the dialect are automatically judged to be less intelligent, etc. It’s not good, folks.

Sometimes, to help friends get out of their anti-country mindset, I’ve “tricked” them into liking country. See, genres like bluegrass grew closely out of Scots-Irish folk music. Often, we’re playing the same tunes on both sides of the Atlantic. So I play a few instrumentals, my friend goes, “Oh! I love Celtic music

The biases against those demographics color how people view the music. There’s endless things that can be said about hip-hop bias, holy shit. I won’t focus on that today because I don’t believe I am qualified to be a spokesman. Someone who understands that genre better, and other genres associated with the African-American community, and is African-American, would be a better human to listen to than me. I defer to their knowledge and experience. It’s hella important to understand what bias has been reflected against those genres.

But there’s just as much bias against country music, against another demographic. And I’ve found it wild how it gets treated on places like tumblr, which wants to stand up for underprivileged groups, but somewhat inaccurately associates country music as “anti-gay conservative evil white person music” rather than music of people historically of lower socioeconomic status.

Yes, some of the demographic that listens to country music or plays country music are bad apples. But like… thinking the music is JUST THAT is a huge disservice to what country actually is and who the music artists actually are.

The history of country music is one giant collaborative melting pot of people from many different cultural backgrounds. Broad West African influence. Mexican influence. Italian influence. German influence. Scots-Irish influence. Cherokee influence. More. Early record labels like OKEH foolishly separated “hillbilly music” (presumably white folk music) from “rhythm and blues” (presumably Black folk music) without understanding the constant racial, demographic, regional, and cultural cross-pollination that occurred between the musicians from country music’s origins. And while there ARE certain issues in country music’s past and present, and we can’t let those issues go forgotten, that’s far from the whole story. We shouldn’t romanticize issues, but we should acknowledge that this music genre has given us major strides too.

Country music is the banjo, brought from Africa, combined with the mandolin, brought from Italy, combined with the fiddle, brought from Ireland, combined with the guitar and the dobro and the accordion and the upright bass and the electric guitar and the electric bass and whatever instruments you want to put in there.

Country music is African-American musicians like DeFord Bailey, the first radio star ever introduced on the Grand Ole Opry (THE most revered country music hub out there), blues harmonica performer, playing to crowds decades before segregation was de-legalized. He toured with white Opry musicians who treated him as one of their own. It’s soul music genre pioneer Ray Charles producing a studio album entirely dedicated to country music hits like “Hey Good Lookin’” from Hank Williams. It’s country star Charley Pride, who despite the racism against him in the 1960s rose to fame and made audiences fall in love with his beautiful voice. It’s the African-American musicians who inspired many commercial country stars, like Arnold Shultz influencing Bill Monroe and the railroad workers inspiring Jimmie Rodgers.

Country music is stars like Johnny Rodriguez and Rick Treviño, singing country music in Spanish, and using obvious Latin flavors in the genre.

Country music is filled with badass women like the ladies who STARTED THE GENRE ROLLING IN THE FIRST PLACE, Sara Carter and Mother Maybelle Carter (whose guitar style is hugely influential to this day) and Maybelle’s daughters Helen, June, and Anita; the first female music manager in the music industry, Louise Scruggs; songwriters like Felice Bryant and Loretta Lynn; the most awarded female artist in Grammy history Alison Krauss; and powerhouses like Dolly Parton who stepped out of an over-controlling entertainer’s shadow to become a badass in all things like supporting the LGBTQ community, contributing to pro-transgender films ahead of their time, and starring in sex worker positive productions like “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”

Country music is filled with activism. Johnny Cash showed a heart for those forgotten by society. He toured many times in prisons. Cash especially was an activist for Native American rights. He toured with Native American songwriters so audiences could hear their own words (I’ve been trying to find names but I’m having difficulties re-finding that information, so my apologies for not giving names of those who deserve to be mentioned). Cash released albums dedicated to exposing past and present injustices against the Native American people. He went on tours specifically to Native American reservations. 

And it’s not just Johnny Cash!

Country music is many stars from the Grand Ole Opry banding together to release AIDS benefit albums - big names like Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson, Marty Stuart, aurgh I’m too lazy to write them all, PEOPLE.

Country music is Earl Scruggs and his sons playing at the Vietnam War Protests.

Country music is tied in with the fucking folk revival of the 1960s, which was deep in left-wing activism and the Civil Rights Movement. Folk singers sang traditional Appalachian and English ballads alongside their own compositions, topical pieces protesting the current political situation. You can call one artist “folk” or “Americana” and another one “country,” but the influences were intermingling, and it’s why we have Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie and Joan Baez and John Denver and Pete Seeger owning a banjo that says, “This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.”

Dammit, I have a full BOOK that discusses country music and political ties. 

There’s another book out there, which I haven’t read, that discusses the relationship between country music and the queer community, and how bias against country music is NOT as reflective of the listening demographic as we stereotype. I’ll take the word of one reviewer who said:

[Nadine Hubbs] explores country music lyrics, presenting a great deal of evidence suggesting that working class America is not inherently homophobic, but that as middle class cultural taste has changed to include formal acceptance of homosexuality, this process has included pinning homophobic ideas on the working class.

Country music is lyrics like this 1975 controversial song “The Pill”:

You wined me and dined meWhen I was your girlPromised if I’d be your wifeYou’d show me the worldBut all I’ve seen of this old worldIs a bed and a doctor billI’m tearing down your brooder house‘Cause now I’ve got the pillAll these years I’ve stayed at homeWhile you had all your funAnd every year that’s gone byAnother baby’s comeThere’s a-gonna be some changes madeRight here on nursery hillYou’ve set this chicken your last time‘Cause now I’ve got the pill

Country music is lyrics like this 2013 song that feels as relevant than ever:

If crooks are in charge, should we let them pick our pockets?If we don’t want trouble, should we not try to stop it?We could just sink into the quicksand slavery we’re born inBut fighting endless wars for greedy liars is getting pretty boringThey think they got us trained, so we’ll think we’re living freeIf we got time and money for junk food and TVBut it’s plain honest people never stand a chance of winning electionsThey just let us pick which liars take our rights away for our own protectionThe corporate propaganda paralyzes us with fearDestroying our ability to trustFear keeps us fighting with each other over scrapsStarving to death in the dustOrganized religion really helps you submitBut the meek are inheriting the short end of the stickFear surrounds compassion like a layer of moldAnd weakens our defenses so we’re too weak to be boldLife could be heaven, but this corrupted systemTakes away our rights, expects us not to miss themThe middle class is shrinking while the lower class growsIf we don’t wake up soon, we’ll have no class left to lose

Country music is Christians themselves criticizing the hypocritical Evangelical culture in the USA for the bullshit hatefulness stewing inside it:

Every house has got a Bible and a loaded gunWe got preachers and politicians‘Round here it’s kinda hard to tell which oneIs gonna do more talkin’ with a crooked tongue

And as that one post I just reblogged shows, there’s MANY queer country musicians out there producing explicitly pro-LGBTQ+ music.

I’m brushing over so much. I’m sorry for the simplification that goes with me doing such a pass-by overview. I’m sorry I’m focusing more on history than the present (I know more about the 1920s-1960s eras, so I’m talking from my strong suit). I hope the information is at least strong enough to get my point across.

There are definitely listeners and artists in country music who are uber-conservative white hateful Christians. Yes. I know why country music gets associated with that. But.

Country music is not ABOUT this uber-conservative white hateful Christian side. The genre is not “polluted”. It is a thousand voices from a thousand perspectives of people from many backgrounds and beliefs. And many of those thousand voices are old traditional songs that came from Black communities, or were composed by Mexican-Americans, or were performed by folk artists as part of a protest for equal rights. 

(Note: I’m *NOT* saying all Christians are bad or that different political angles don’t have merits. I’m Christian myself! And you don’t know my political party. I’m just trying to get the point across that country music isn’t ENTRENCHED in one questionable demographic.)

You don’t have to like country music. It doesn’t have to be your aesthetic. But if you find it fun to get in on society’s popular country hate roasting… please rethink this. The reason country music has been hated from its roots is because it’s associated with the socioeconomically disadvantaged.

I’m with you 100%, Ashley. When someone says they like all genres “except country music and rap,” I get a little leery. I used to be one of those people when I was younger. I had to learn to grow past those biases. But once I did, I realized there was so much I was hating on that I didn’t understand. Now, I hope I can help people overcome their own biases, such as ones they don’t realize they’ve had - for things like music.

Hi ya’lls. I’m queer and I love country.

P.S. If anyone has anything to add or correct, please feel free to add on! I’m doing my best but I do not know everything and would be happy to learn more, too!

[turtlesandfrogs]

I'm gonna stop you right there in your first sentence where you're blaming vegans (at most 2% of the population in the US, which I assume is the intended audience of this post), instead of the "health conscious" crowd who switched from corn syrup to agave because it was hyped as an healthier alternative. Those folks are a much higher percent of the population and thus has far more purchasing power. But, in truth, agave syrup is a relatively small part of the problem.

The main driver of agave demand is alcohol in the form of mezcal & tequila. So listen up, alcohol drinkers- you're killing bats! (If you can't tell, I'm joking here) Except apparently even then the real issue is early harvesting on immature plants due to boom-bust cycles in the agave market, over-harvesting of wild plants, and drug runners making use of the bat caves to hide their stuff. Sounds like good examples of why a universal basic income and drug legalization would be a good ideas!*

If you do drink tequila, please look for the Bat Friendly label, which means farmers let 5% of their plants bloom, feeding supporting the bat population.

Next, you draw a false dichotomy between honey and agave, when there are in fact multiple alternatives to both liquid sweeteners.

Bats do indeed feed off the nectar, so bonus points there. However, what's sold as agave nectar doesn't come from the flowers- it is from the stalk of the plant, and undergoes processing to get that sweet sugary goodness, just like corn syrup.

Then you claim that agave is 90% fructose, and thus bad for you. I'm assuming you didn't provide evidence partially because it's hard to find evidence. According to what I found (from nutrientsreview.com which I'm only not linking because I keep reading that Tumblr does weird things to posts with links in them), agave syrup can be anywhere between 56% and 92% fructose, while honey is 70% fructose. That doesn't look like a strong argument for honey being better on the basis of fructose content. For the curious, high fructose corn syrup is 42% fructose, and is called such because it's got more fructose than glucose (32% glucose).

I have no boat in this race though because I'm fructose intolerant, so I can't have EITHER! I was exceptionally annoyed with agave syrup though when it was being touted as an alternative to hfcs seeing as it is just as processed and has more fructose.

The next person claims that honey left in hives will ferment and make the bees sick, which is so amazingly not true it is straight up shocking. I actuality kept bees for a while, and learned a lot, as people with ADHD who hyperfixate tend to do. One of the things I learned is that bees carefully dehydrate nectar by fanning it until it becomes honey (along with the bit about stomachs and enzymes and such), which is well-known for never fermenting or going bad. Uncapped (unfinished) cells of nectar can ferment, but that's a normal part of their diet. Capped cells of honey stay good for years, they do not ferment in the hive.

You know what does happen if you leave honey in hives? The hive becomes crowded, and the bees decide to swarm. Which is a hassle for bee keepers and coincidently how bees naturally reproduce.

The real problem with bees is how they're managed in industrial agriculture and the effect non-native honey bees have on the native bee species populations.

The big issue that I don't see talked about enough is how bees are used for pollinating our vast tracks of monoculture foods. Apples, oranges, strawberries, and more are all pollinated by bees trucked from state to state- and the stress, crowding, and moving from area to area lead to diseases & bee parasites spreading through honey bee populations. That's more of an issue than selling honey, which by the way, isn't the main income stream for bee keepers. Interstae pollination services is where the money is, and potentially causing colony collapse disorder.

But the real fact of the matter is that honey bees are not the bees that you should be concerned about. They're are farmed, and replacement nucs are easily bred to replace those hives lost.

The real concern is with native bees (in the US at least). There are hundreds of species of native bees, and some of them are in real trouble. This is because of habitat loss, true, but also honey bees are not native to the US, they're very efficient, and they're generalists, meaning that they harvest nectar and pollen from a wide range of plant species. This can be a problem, because some native bee species are specialists, meaning they only use one flower species. If a whole hive of honey bees got there first, the native bees are out of luck. Honey bees are competing with native bees, and they're winning.

Some farmers are already looking using/encouraging native pollinators instead of using honey bees, BTW. This goes beyond mason bees, to creating nesting sites for native bees, planting areas with native plants, and so on. It's really interesting, I suggest you look into it.

In sum, if you want to help the bats and still drink alcohol, look for the Bat Friendly label, and campaign for a ubi & drug legalization. If you want to help bees, plant native plants, preserve habitat, and encourage others to do the same.

*If I just lost you: if farmers had a ubi, they wouldn't feel the pressure to harvest early out of financial desperation & would be able to set aside 5% of their crop to let bloom and feed the pollinators, including bats, which is what the people trying to save the bats would like. If people had a ubi, drug addiction and usage rates would go down, and if we decriminalized drugs and legalized them, drug runners wouldn't be using the caves.

Vegans of tumblr, listen up. Harvesting agave in the quantities required so you dont have to eat honey is killing mexican long-nosed bats. They feed off the nectar and pollinate the plants. They need the agave. You want to help the environment? Go back to honey. Your liver and thyroid will thank you, as well. Agave is 90% fructose, which can cause a host of issues. Bye.

[ryon-the-guardian]

Thanks for the replies, reblogs and notes Everyone. I'm posting a reply here on the original post in hopes that it reaches as many as possible, especially the people who reblogged/replied with stated opinions. If this doesn't work and there is a better way to reach, please let me know and i'll do it.

I want to start by saying, or rather, reitarate, to the few who resulted on personal insults. We're on tumblr, personal insults are not good for anything but a chuckle.

One person suspects i'm a Mormon. I want to state that i'm not, i was born an Orthodox Christian and i've been non-religious for over a decade, that being said i'm not anti-religion as far as faith goes, only the establisment of it (priests, greed, etc). Mormon's are a rather tiny margin here in Greece, so perhaps i'm lacking first-hand experience when it comes to them, which is very possible. However i never defended Mormonism, I stated that a lot of critics of Joshua Graham can't see past his religion for various reasons. Also i'm not even sure that Joshua is ACTUALLY a mormon, since his society stemmed from Mormonism but has "changed" (i hope thats the right word) over the years in the post apocalypse world.

Now, to those of you who took time out of their life to give structured points disagreeing with my original post. I'd like to begin with pointing out that i never stated that i believe Graham IS a good man, what i believe he is, is a man trying to atone for his past, a man trying to be better against his base nature. Some of you missunderstood my point of mentioning the in-game karma and thats partly my fault as i could have articulated it better. The karma in-game, the vast change between the Evil karma of the Malpais Legate JG and the Good Karma of HH Graham is something that highlights that struggle to be more, to be better, something that is supported even more by the ending slide if you spare Salt-Upon-Wounds. Even Sawyer has commented on that, with Graham being a character in conception since the now-scrapped Van Buren.

On the subject of modern world morality, i'm of a mind that characters that live in a world that is different than ours should be judged by the criteria of that world and not our own.

On the subject of race, colonialism and the "White Savior". Honest Hearts was produced in a tiny amount of time by a skeleton crew, things that wanted to be there couldn't, stuff about tribal lore, stuff about the White Legs, in general a lot of stuff was cut. Granted, for the purpose of this discussion, that doesn't really count. What i want to point out as a matter of further discussion is that The Sorrows and Dead Horses aren't actual natives like the natives repressed, misstreated and sometimes even plainly slaughtered by our world's so-called "Civilized people". The Sorrows are descendants of kids from a School that found their way to Zion. The Dead Horses are descendants of a mix of travelers from different places and countries from a Reservation east of the Grand Canyon. Granted the Dead Horses do have some Navajo blood. The White Legs are the most problematic of the bunch, with them being the ones closest to ACTUAL natives as far as ancestry goes, and its a shame (again, i apologize if not the right word) the game reduces them to raiders with no depth. Not that they couldn't be the "bad guys" as origin doesn't make someone a saint, but they could have been given depth and reason. And to that i'll agree.

I fail to see if i missed another point so i'll wrap this up for now and add more if need be. I'd like to thank the people who took time to discuss, some of your points are things i will be looking more into, seeing as i don't know everything and i would like to further educate myself of some of the matters you brought up. My opinion on Joshua remains unchanged, i do believe he can be better, i don't think i'll ever change my mind on this character, not because he's my blorbo, because he isn't, the only true Blorbo in New Vegas is the Courier after all. But because i believe that everyone has a chance and a right to try to become a better person.

Thanks again for your time everyone.

Everyone thinking Joshua Graham is a villain is just probably ignoring the fact that his Karma is marked as good.

He isn't a villain, he's a man atoning for the monster he used to be. But some of you all just see bad mormon man.

His path to becoming better is religion, a fact some of you all disregard simply because it doesn't happen to be a religion that receives hate enough to call it a -phobia.

"He should regret by himself, not because of religion." Oh please, we all have a drive that causes us to strive to be better and for him it's his God, there's nothing wrong with that.

Oh and btw if by the end of the DLC he's still someone who prioritizes vengeance over forgiveness, that's on you bestie, you let him kill Salt Upon Wounds.