#best travel blog articles

[india-trendin]

Are you craving the great outdoors? Fear not! Virtual travel experiences extend beyond cityscapes into the untouched wonders of nature. Picture yourself traversing the golden dunes of the Sahara Desert, hiking the rugged trails of Patagonia, or witnessing the majesty of the Northern Lights- all from the comfort of your living room. Mother Nature’s Beauty knows no bounds in this digital expedition.

Read more at click here: Best travel blog articles

[challengemag]

Get the Best Sports Blogs Only at Challenge Magazine

Learn about your favourite sports with the best sports blogs from Challenge Magazine. Challenge Magazine is an e-magazine that posts interesting articles on topics from around the world. Go to the site and read.

[thydungeongal]

hi!! i’m just starting to get into game theory and design and was wondering if you had any essays or anything you would recommend. i’m breaking out of the dndsphere (to the shock and dismay of many friends lol) and your blog has been really interesting to read i appreciate your perspective <3

Hi, and thank you for the kind words! :) anyway, I sadly don't have, like, a bibliography of online articles that I tend to come back to, but instead have mostly developed my perspectives on RPGs by subconsciously tapping into the thoughtform of the weird transfeminine overmind and just reading a lot of games and partaking in this discussions.

And that would be my first piece of advice: read lots of games! Keep your eyes peeled for bundles that feature lots of games of various kinds to broaden your horizons. Bundle of Holding is a good resource for this, as is itch.io, and the former actually has an indie cornucopia available at the moment:

Anyway, I can't think of any particularly informative specific essays, but for some other blogs, here's Traverse Fantasy (creator of 0D&D clone Fantastic Medieval Campaigns):

Um, if you can find it, go read Wisher, Theurgist, Fatalist by @jennamoran. It's a game that is also almost like a dissertation on what games are. That's the best I can describe it.

There are some really informative and opinionated people out here on Tumblr as well, not all of them always posting about TTRPGs but with very interesting perspectives on them. If you want to take a peek behind the curtain of the creation of a very crunchy, deep RPG, I recommend following @anim-ttrpgs. The asks they get and the stuff they post are very illuminating about their specific approaches to game design. Other people whose game design perspectives I find extremely valuable (they may not post about game design on Tumblr on the regular but like still): @cavegirlpoems @jdragsky @open-sketchbook @prokopetz @theresattrpgforthat and too many others for me to list right now.

Anyway, yeah, read lots of games, and don't forget about old games. This is a 50-year-old hobby and in many ways it feels like we're only scratching the surface of what these roled playing glames can even do, but many many classic games and their contributions to the medium have also been forgotten. It's all well and good to know that D&D 5e is big and smelly and that some of the cool goth kids still play V5 and that there's also some games being Powered by the Apocalypse or Forging in the Dark, but it's equally valuable to know that 1st edition Traveller kind of whips sack, RuneQuest 1st edition was much more of a dungeon game than you would imagine based on modern RuneQuest, and that Paranoia 1e was actually really well-written and funny speculative fiction.

I hope that is at least somewhat useful. :)

[lunarlando]

thinking about girl dad!lando 💭

a/n: hello and welcome!!! first ln4 post of many to come hopefully. i have so many more thoughts about this, so if anyone wants to come chat or bring up some headcanons of their own, feel free to pop into my inbox :)

girl dad!lando who can hardly believe his ears when you tell him you're pregnant. he's at the height of his career, and having a baby would be a huge change. he's still young, of course, but when he thinks about who he wants to do life with for the rest of his years, the resounding answer is you. so finding out that in nine months time, you're both going to be bringing a child into the world—one that could quite possibly turn out anything like you—oh, he's over the moon. he doesn't even know if it'll be a girl or a boy yet, but either way, he's beyond excited.

girl dad!lando who hates missing appointments and checkups all the time due to the constrains of his job. he wants to be there with you every single time, but with training and races and all the traveling, it's just not in the cards. occasionally he'll be able to pop in via video chat or phone call, but most of the time you have to update him after all is said and done, and he hates it. he feels guilty that he can't be there for you as often as he wants to. you assure him time and time again that it's okay; as long as your baby is healthy, it's okay. he'll have all the time in the world to spend time with them once they're born.

girl dad!lando who becomes even more excited when you find out you're having a girl. it was one thing to think about this baby and wonder about all the possibilities. it's something entirely different actually knowing. he hopes with all his heart that she looks exactly her mother, and already knows she's got him wrapped around her finger. he does his research too—sends you countless articles from parenting blogs and tries to educate himself on how to be the best parent so his baby girl will thrive as she grows up.

girl dad!lando who absolutely refuses to miss the birth of his daughter. he doesn't care what race week it falls on, doesn't care how much shit he'll get into for missing it, on this he stands entirely firm. nothing will prevent lando from being right beside you the entire time. and when the day does come, it's the first time mclaren has to bring up a reserve driver for him. he's a whirlwind around the house when you tell him it's time to go the hospital, grabbing the baby bag you'd both pre-packed and sending off texts to everyone important, making sure everything is in order before helping you waddle to the car. and much to your annoyance, he's never driven so slowly through monaco as he does on the way there. you're surprised you don't have the baby right there in the car with the way he crawls through the streets at a snail's pace.

girl dad!lando who nearly cries when he first gets to hold his little girl in his arms. she's just so...tiny, compared to him. she latches onto him instantly, little hand curling tight around his finger like she knows he's her papa. in that moment, looking down at this precious thing cradled against his bare chest, he vows to never ever let anyone or anything hurt her, for as long as he lives. it's like his heart has made its way outside his chest and into his hands. he actually does cry when he looks over at you—the one who made all this possible. he knows for a fact he'll never love anyone or anything as much as he loves the two of you.

girl dad!lando who takes a month or so off to spend time with you and baby girl norris and settles into fatherhood surprisingly well. he's the definition of doting dad too, taking care of everything he can so you can rest as much as having a newborn will let you. he also does a massive amount of shopping, even though baby girl norris had already gotten everything a baby could ever need, even before she was born. they ranged from practical items like bottle warmers and value size packs of diapers (thanks to her uncles checo, hulk, and kmag, who knew what parents actually needed) to a copious amount of formula 1 team themed attire (redbull onesies from uncle max, ferrari bibs from uncle charles and uncle carlos, mclaren everything from uncle osc, you name it). stuffed toys, baby books, hats, bibs, even teeny tiny baby sized sunglasses—baby girl norris already has a fan club of aunties and uncles surrounding her.

girl dad!lando who can't sleep sometimes, so he just watches his baby girl sleep, just so he knows she's okay. and when she cries herself awake in the middle of the night, he's right there to soothe her, picking her up, holding her close to his chest, rocking her back and forth gently. he talks to her too—tells her stories about how her mama and papa met, how much you love each other and how much you love her. stories about his family and your own family, about his racing family, his best friends. everyone he loves already loves her too. one time you rouse from your sleep to find his side of the bed and her crib empty, and you almost panic before spotting a faint glow coming from the living room. upon further inspection, you find him doing laps around the sofa, gently pat pat patting her back to get her to sleep again. your heart breaks wide open at the sight of the two loves of your life bonding.

girl dad!lando who gets so nervous the first time you bring baby girl norris to a race. she's a little bit older at this point, old enough to take in all the sights and sounds of the bustling paddock, but still young enough to where she has no idea what's going on. he carries her on his hip, shielding her eyes and ears from the flashing cameras and loud noises, beelining right for mclaren hospitality as quick as he can so she can get settled before he gets too busy. he worries about her constantly—is it too hot or too cold out for her (you've got a cute little romper and a jacket in the baby bag if either is the case), will she get bored (give her a plastic spoon and she'll be entertained for hours), is it too loud for her (mclaren engineering fashioned a custom set of baby sized headphones just for this occasion). you have to be the one to stop him from pacing a hole in the floor and tell him he's got more pressing things to prepare for.

basically girl dad!lando who does his best to be the best dad he can be for his little girl, even though he might not be around as often as he'd like.

[entwinedmoon]

This month is the 40th anniversary of John Torrington’s exhumation and autopsy. I’ve been doing real-time daily updates over on this post to show just how long and drawn out the process was. It took over a week, starting from when Beattie arrived on Beechey to when they first started digging to when they finally got the coffin open. Right now, those updates are in a bit of a lull because, after they dug down to the coffin, they had to wait for permits to move onto the next part, so there won’t be another Daily Torrington Dig update until August 17.

While we’re waiting for Beattie to get his permits to crack open a cold one (Torrington’s coffin) with the boys (his scientific research team), you can check out my Torrington blog posts to keep the spirit of the season going. The posts Sacred to the Memory of and A Star Is Born would be especially applicable right now as they explore Torrington’s death, exhumation, autopsy, and the media’s response to the photographs of his well-preserved body.

But there’s something else I wanted to share here, another type of media response that I’ve known about (and had a copy of) for a while. I shared it years ago on Twitter, thinking it would get a laugh there, but that was, er, not the reaction I received, so I’d held off on sharing it anywhere else because I thought most people would find it inappropriate. However, I was reminded recently by a friend (don’t know if they want to be tagged here or not, so I’ll go with not) about the existence of this particular piece, and I realized that this might be something that would be more appreciated here on Tumblr, where we like to photoshop Torrington’s corpse into memes, ship him with the guy he’s buried next to, and want to see what he would think of Takis and flavored vapes.

The article I’m referring to is the story about Torrington that appeared in the Weekly World News.

If you’re not familiar with the Weekly World News, it was a notorious tabloid that made up absurd stories and pretended it was real news. Some news stories were actually true—so it wasn’t completely like today’s The Onion—but there were also plenty of clearly fictional articles, featuring bizarre, often supernatural stories, such as Elvis sightings, a double-decker bus mysteriously found at the South Pole (“scientists” claimed aliens did it), or Bat Boy, a boy who was part bat, part boy.

Torrington’s level of fame within the cultural consciousness of the time meant that he, too, got to experience the tabloid treatment.

(CW: pictures of Torrington’s mummified body beneath the cut)

Published on March 3, 1992, was this front-page story:

Man buried in 1845 brought back to life!

Sailor’s coffin frozen in arctic ice 147 years!

Hush-hush new drug revives corpse, say doctors!

Yes, according to the Weekly World News, John Torrington was brought back to life in 1992. There’s even a full article all about how it happened.

MAN FROZEN SINCE 1845 BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE!

Scientists revive seaman trapped in ice 147 years!

Sailor back from the dead still thinks James K. Polk is President of the U.S.!

By Cal Sanders, Special Correspondent

The perfectly preserved corpse of a British sailor who was buried in an icy grave after he died on an Arctic expedition in 1845 has been revived by scientists—147 years later!

And while Petty Officer John Torrington’s health is fragile at best, the team of doctors who illegally plucked him from his grave and brought him back to life say he is aware of his surroundings, walking with help and might very well be able to lead a normal life “if this man has the psychological strength to adapt to the 20th century.”

“It’s hard to believe but this man thinks James K. Polk is President of the United States and insists that horses and sailing ships are the best and fastest ways to travel,” Dr. Hermann Richter said in his report on the experiment that brought Torrington back to life.

“Electric lights literally scare the hell out of him and to be perfectly frank about it, he hasn’t quite decided if he’s dead or alive. About the best we can do at this point is take his recovery one day at a time.

“If Torrington survives we will have produced a living piece of history. If he dies, at least we’ll be able to say that we tried to do something that might ultimately have benefited all mankind.”

The decision to steal Torrington’s corpse from its grave in northern Canada couldn’t have come easy for the Richter team, which issued its report to selected European newspapers “from an undisclosed clinic in Germany.”

For starters, the young man’s grave has stood as an unofficial monument to the courage and determination of 128 adventurers led by British explorer Sir John Franklin—adventurers who gave up their lives to chart the last 300-mile-leg of the treacherous Northwest Passage between 1845 and 1848. Torrington’s body was exhumed once before, in 1983, but it was carefully reburied after scientists took a small tissue sample to determine the cause of death. As it turned out, Torrington died from lead poisoning after eating provisions out of tins that were sealed with the dangerous and often lethal metal. Needless to say, news that Richter and his associates secretly exhumed the body a second time, smuggled it into Germany and succeeded in bringing it back to life have infuriated many experts, some of whom consider the theft of the body criminal. Richter himself insisted that Torrington is in good hands and will be free to go when he is strong enough.

The doctor went on the say that he understands why the experiment might sound extreme to some people but he believes that the revival of Torrington “furthered the best interests of medicine and science.” Richter’s report did not include any of the techniques that were used to revive Torrington but it did mention “an exciting new drug” that might one day make such revivals routine.

Because he died of lead poisoning, it is also believed that Richter and his team somehow cleansed Torrington’s tissue of the deadly metal before bringing him back to life. For the record, Torrington was a man of 20 when he died. Now he looks like a man of 80, photos supplied by Richter show.

“A century and a half of death is enough to age anyone,” said Richter.

There’s a lot to unpack here—the morally dubious German doctor with a mysterious, Frankenstein-esque resurrection method; the burial and exhumation dates both being off by one year for some reason; the short, skinny guy in the obvious bald cap that they thought would pass as Torrington; and so much more. Interestingly, a lot of the article seems to focus more on how scandalous it is that Dr. Richter stole Torrington’s body, as if the writer thought that the revival of a long-dead corpse wasn’t enough of a scoop. Also, I’m not sure if Torrington would even have been aware that Polk was president in 1845—was he the sort of guy who paid attention to international politics? Wouldn’t it have made more sense for him to think Victoria was still queen?

Many people might be offended by such an article, but the Weekly World News never cared about who they offended. Unsurprisingly, one of those who did take umbrage with the story was Dr. Owen Beattie.

In a short article in the Times-Colonist Metro about a week after the Weekly World News story ran, we got to hear Owen Beattie’s reaction.

HEE-(T)HAW . . . It was standard checkout rag fare. “Man Buried in 1845 brought back to life” shouted a recent front page of Weekly World News. “Hush-Hush New Drug Revives Corpse,” it continued.

These startling revelations bore some significance for both the wax museum’s Ken Lane and University of Alberta anthropologist Owen Beattie. The man purportedly thawed like last night’s dinner was John Torrington, one of three sailors from the Franklin expedition buried on Beechy [sic] Island. The Franklin expedition—and John Torrington—feature large in the wax museum’s arresting Frozen in Time expedition. Torrington’s body was exhumed from its Arctic grave in ’84 by Dr. Beattie, who determined death was from lead poisoning.

Neither Ken nor the anthropologist felt their respective professional worlds crumbled with the News article. (It ran with a photo of an emaciated looking chap being assisted by doctors and reports that Torrington is terrified of electric lights, still believes Polk is the U.S. president, and horses are the only way to go.) Ken shrugged it off with a what-can-you-expect-from-a-checkout-rag laugh. The anthropologist wasn’t quite so forgiving.

He refused to comment on it at all, insisting that his research speaks for itself. Apparently John Torrington was quite dead when he was exhumed and equally so when buried after the autopsy. But then that’s not the sort of stuff that sells check-out rags.

While it’s perfectly understandable that Beattie would not appreciate something like the Weekly World News’ fake story, what I find most interesting about this snippet is that there was a wax museum with a Franklin Expedition exhibit that included Torrington??? Does that mean there was a Torrington wax figure???? Where is it now????? Can I buy it?????????

These very important questions aside, it’s fascinating to see that Torrington was well known enough to make it into a “checkout rag.” Maybe it’s not the legacy he would have wanted, but at least it’s worth a good laugh.

[alonetimelover]

pairing: Harry Styles x booktuber!reader

summary: The internet speculates about whether Harry and YN are together. She admits to some hidden feelings to her best friend. He still cannot use his IG and buys any book that she recommends. Finally, something happens. But is it about them?

a/n: Second part of the booktuber!reader in celebration of 1000 of you following my little messy blog. i hope you enjoy it! love ya!

part 1 taglist

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harryupdates

liked by hArrysbtch, harrysmoustache and 57 593 others

harryupdates HARRY and YN via her best friend's IG story.

view all 5 842 comments

hArrysbtch THEY ARE SO CUTE I LOVE THEM

hArrysbtch also, that best friend of yn is really putting them in the spotlight, isn't she?

⤷ harrysmoustache that's what i said! wasn't she also the one with them in italy???

⤷ hArrysbtch you think she shared those photos?

⤷ harrysmoustache yeah, it's all connecting nicely

harrysmylife i mean... that can be a couple but best friends as well. like, i sit like this with my male best friend

harrysfan39 his dimples...

harrysfan87 she's so beautiful... has anybody said it already?

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CELEBRITY GOSSIP

HARRY STYLES, BOOKS, AND LOVE FROM A YOUTUBE VIDEO

If you are wondering if this article's title is stating that Harry Styles is a taken man, you would be correct. Starting with the simple YouTube video posted by the channel of the name ynrecommends and ending with a yacht vacation near the coast of Italy and burning romance.

But let's start at the beginning. The booktuber from ynrecommends (YN YSN) did a little video of reading books that Harry Styles recommended during his interviews and so on. Because of the Harries (name of Styles' fandom), the video skyrocketed and gained hundreds of thousands of views in a matter of a few days. That's probably how our heartbreaker found the video, leaving a little comment and not forgetting to flirt with the author (we love it!). You could say the story of them began right in front of our eyes.

It was a few months ago, and throughout them, there were multiple crumbs left by the couple. Joined bookshop travels, appearances in YN's vlogs and other videos, and of course, THAT vacation on Harry's yacht.

As our source that is very close to both of them says 'the romance started late in their time of knowing each other, because of their both overflowing schedules and fear of ruining the friendship.' What is more, we didn't only get the words but also photos that clearly confirm the romance between the rock star of our generation and the indie booktuber despite YN's claims of 'being single and very happy with it.'

Is that how you are with your 'friends'?

What do you think is true, our sources claims or YN's words?

Source 74%

YN's words 26%

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Text messages between YN and her best friend

ynn🧠 my lovely, favourite best friend, i have a little, tiny question bestie🫦 i'm your only best friend maybe besides Harold...🙄 ynn🧠 yeah yeah, i know you like him, don't hide it buuuuut, back to my question... bestie🫦 yes yes, what's up? ynn🧠 i'm not accusing you of anything, i just wanna ask if you send somebody the photo album from italy? bestie🫦 remember that ig account we did in uni? i thought it would be a nice idea to turn it into a little photo diary. i put some of the photos there. i told you on the boat, like a week ago. why? ynn🧠 i forgot about it, im so sorry! but someone from that account must have seen those photos and sold them to that gossip magazine... whole internet thinks im harry's girlfriend. i got like 50 dms asking how much i paid him to be with me bestie🫦 fuck im so sorry, sweetheart! i totally didn't think about it. tbh, i kinda forgot he was famous while being there with you two ynn🧠 yeah, i forget about it whenever i see him and don't be sorry, baby! it's not your fault some of those people will do anything to gain even a little bit of money i only asked because harry's manager needed to know if any of our photos were hacked or somethin' bestie🫦 was harry mad about the article? ynn🧠 he said that after years of having bullshit having written about him, he got used to it. but i can see that it bothers him that he can't have a moment for himself bestie🫦 fuck, im gonna bake him some good cake as an apology ynn🧠 it's not your fault!!!! harry knows it bestie🫦 okay, but im baking something anyway and btw, that article isn't so far from the truth, is it? ynn🧠 what do you mean? bestie🫦 oh, come on! you two act like a couple whenever you're together! there must be something there ynn🧠 ... there's not, really. we never talked about it but just fell to that closeness as friends. you know how touchy i am with people that im comfortable with, he's the same. it just looks like we're a couple, but no bestie🫦 but you want more, don't you? ynn🧠 i value him too much as a friend to think about it

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yourinstagram

liked by harrystyles, hArrysbtch and 251 382 others

yourinstagram first day on this fancy boat, and i was crawling (freaking scared to fall into the water) and in the last few days, i was swinging myself on this little hammock, crazy days, crazy

thank you harrystyles for putting it up for me, love ya my bff

view all 34 428 comments

harrystyles You ditched me for those books

⤷ yourinstagram they are literally my job

⤷ harrystyles You took 30 books with yourself. A seond suitcase just for them.

⤷ yourinstagram blah blah blah you took two guitars

⤷ harrystyles That's literally my job.

⤷ yourinstagram yeah, that's what i said

harryupdates brave move, yn

hArrysbtch i'm waiting (impatiently) for the next video

⤷ yourinstagram it's coming, it's coming. a little vid of italians recommending me their favourite books!

harrysmoustache not the little explaination of that on ephoto from that article 'i was crawling, cause i'm scared'

⤷ harrysmylife subtle but to the point

stylebabie 'my bff' i know she is cackling behind that little screen

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harrystyles

liked by yourinstagram, yourbestfriend, harryupdates, annetwist and 18 201 383 others

harrystyles momento magico in italia

view all 482 381 comments

yourinstagram thankfully that photo was taken before me almost drawning

⤷ harrystyles i rescued you

⤷ yourinstagram if by rescue you mean laugh, panic and then dive and almost make me drown again, then yes, you did rescue me

jeffazzof Harry.

⤷ harrystyles Jeffrey.

⤷ jeffazzof Check the account.

⤷ harrystyles Oh.

hArrysbtch hsdfUHFJHLVBRIAP what the fuck ehat the fuck

hArrysbtch i am so confused right now

harrysmoustache you guys are playing with us

harryupdates wrong account, harry!

annetwist Bellissima 😍

harrysmylife the flower, the EARRINGS, yn, the cat... i cannot.... this man is a menace to the society

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hArrysbtch

liked by harryupdates and 3 402 others

hArrysbtch this video was worth the wait! yn is one of the best and realest youtuber out there. plus, harry filmed this episode for her so it's even better

view all 928 comments

harryupdates I loved it too! the little moments of them interacting behind the camera kept in the video were absolute gems!!!

⤷ hArrysbtch YES!!! it was so funny and wholesome

harrysmoustache harry's little 'i think you'd like this shot' during a moment when yn is walking down the alley.... soooo cute i love them

stylesbabie this is my first video of hers that i watched and i am so mad at myself. this is the best booktuber channel i've ever come across

harrysmylife yn interacting with Harry's italian friends, having harry translate the recommendations from people on the street and him just hyping her up... just so freaking cute

harrymylove i don't care if they are together or just friends, i just enjoy watching them be together, like, next to each other. it's so refreshing and lovely

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londonboyharry

liked by harryupdates, hArrysbtch and 10 318 others

londonboyharry this is what I saw while walking around the park near my hotel in italy... Harry literally made yn stop mid-sentance and said 'wait, i need to take a photo of you.' i- i was melting and couldn't believe my eyes and ears

view all 2 307 comments

hArrysbtch he is so boyfriend

hArrysbtch like, he must be, come on

harrysmoustache i say i don't care if they are together or not. but i do. i so do. i want them together more than i want myself to find a partner

harrysmylife BEST FRIEND/COUPLE ON EARTH

harrysfan88 i love that we're all confused about them

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yourbestfriend

liked by yourinstagram, harrystyles and 34 028 others

yourbestfriend put those two in a room with books and that's what you get...

view all 5 301 comments

yourinstagram i was just looking through the atlas, come on

harrystyles And I was actually reading, not faking like some of us.

⤷ yourinstagram oh fuck off

⤷ harrystyles This is not so treat people with kindness of you.

hArrysbtch i love the fits so much

harrysmoustache this si so frustraiting

⤷ harrysfan49 why are you so obsessed with them? leave them be

⤷ harrysmoustache i just want to know if i can call them the best couple on the planet

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harryupdates

liked by harrysmylife and 32 482 others

harryupdates HARRY with a fan today in London!

view all 4 302 comments

hArrysbtch he's so cute

hArrysbtch wait, yn wore that t-shirt in her latest vlog

⤷ harrysmoustache sharing clothes????

harrysmylife he looks so cute, i want to put him in my pocket

stylesbabie the cardigan is back, guys

harrysfan87 i am the one who met him!

⤷ harryupdates how was it?

⤷ harrysfan87 magical! he stopped after walking out of the bookstore when i walked up to him. he had a bag full of books. i asked him what he was buying and he said 'oh, ehmm, i have crime and punishment, hamnet, emma and some Sally Rooney here'

⤷ hArrysbtch that guy is just buying anything yn recommends...

⤷ stylesbabie but none of it was in her italian vlog?

⤷ hArrysbtch yes, but those are the books from her 'summer to autumn reads' video

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yourinstagram

liked by harrystyles, yourbestfriend and 1 019 392 others

yourinstagram story in two acts... 🏡📚

view all 23 492 comments

harrystyles Scandalous.

⤷ yourinstagram Forgot you have sensitive eyes after a bad night sleep.

⤷ harrystyles I slept very well last night, thank you.

yourbestfriend 👀

⤷ yourinstagram 🫣

hArrysbtch WTFSAJFHOAUW no way

hArrysbtch this is confirmation, isn't it?

⤷ harrysmoustache i think so

⤷ harrysmylife but... we don't know if that really is harry

harrysmoustache she bold and she sexy

comment liked by harrystyles, yourbestfriend and 234 others

jeffazzof Congratulations, YN.

⤷ harrystyles thanks jeff!!!!

comment deleted

⤷ yourinstagram thanks jeff!!!

⤷ harrysmoustache girl, we saw that!

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a/n: do we think yn and harry finally got together?

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📌: @daniellef89x @crazygirlinthisworld @ameerakane20 @golden-hoax @sleutherclaw

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Metoidioplasty FAQ

My arm and upper thigh after about a decade after phalloplasty.

My Personal Surgeon and Their Clinic

Interview with Dr. Chen about Bottom Surgery

Penile/ Phalloplasty Erectile Devices

Expectations- Personal Advice on Setting Expectations

Urethra lengthening Procedure Information- Self written article.

Importance of Uriologist

Phalloplasty Website - Includes Parents Guide

Urethra Lengthening Procedure

General Surgical Risks

Plus Sized Surgery Risks

List of Phalloplasty Surgerons in the USA

Vaginal-Perservering Phalloplasty Procedure

Graft SiteCare for Forearm -Free Flap Phalloplasty

What Happens if Erectile Device Breaks?

Image of My Phalloplasty (wearing underwear) Educational Purposes Only

Phalloplasty Procedure Outline by GRS Montreal - (Link to Webpage)

First Ever Phalloplasty Procedure - Surgeon

Michael Dillon- Trans Pioneer (First phalloplasty patient)

How to Find Proper Sources of Information in a World of False Information/ Online Safety

Why certain terms can be hurtful. Please respect my/others views.

Tattooing over your forearm skin graft -ask

Testosterone and Hair Loss Information

If there are any other posts/ other topics I should add to this directory, please send me an ask. I will never post your username without your expressed consent in the ask.

[funemployed-fangirl]

Modern Bridgerton AU

Colin & Penelope

Colin has no interest in getting anywhere near the family business. He takes an extended gap year after high school (he goes to “find himself” on a farming collective in New Zealand…after parting his way through Europe for 6 months). Eventually he does make it to college, after which he fucks back off to wander around the world.

Penelope has always enjoyed writing, but more importantly loves observing people from the side lines. She’s the quiet one in a loud, kind of obnoxious family, so pretending to be invisible comes easily for her. She goes to NYU and gets a degree in Journalism. While there, she starts the Whistledown blog making observations about the New York elite (it started as a class project…then she kept going). It's mostly benign. Sometimes it’s the social stuff (who was at which party wearing what), and sometimes it's in-depth analysis of how someone’s business is doing (data and all). Whistledown basically becomes required reading for New York upper social circles. 

Fun side note: While Colin and Penelope have always known each other (Penelope is best friends with Colin’s younger sister Eloise), they’d never spent any time together (who hangs out with their little sister’s friends?). That is, until they get to college. Because of Colin’s gap years, they end up overlapping at NYU for a couple years, during which time they get pretty close…like, REALLY close. But then Colin graduates and heads off for his adventures and Penelope stays in New York with her ever growing Whistledown blog.

They reconnect when Colin comes back to the city. There’s a drunken hook up in the back of a cab (following a party of some sort), after which they spend the next day together. Since it’s a Sunday, Violet is hosting Sunday Family Dinner, so Colin just texts "I'm bringing Penelope." Everyone's like, cool, great, we love Penelope. They show up holding hands and keep sitting down next to each other with his arm around her waist, holding hands, leaning into each other - full couple mode, no shame. It still takes everyone legitimately half the night for someone to go... is something happening here? 

Patented Bridgerton style everyone-at-once conversation explodes at the table: 

Benedict: Surely Penelope can do much better than Colin. 

Eloise: No way something is happening here. Oh my god are you two dating? No way, you would have told me. Oh my god, are you two actually dating?

Kate: Eloise, are you going to be okay? 

Daphne: They did look awfully cozy at Cressida's birthday party last night. 

Sophie: Did you two hook up after Cressida’s birthday party?! 

Anthony: Did you think none of us would notice that you were suddenly a couple?

Gregory: We’ve all been here for 3 hours and none of us did notice. 

Hyacinth: Except for me, obviously. 

Francesca: Then why didn't you say anything?

Hyacinth: I’VE BEEN SAYING SOMETHING FOR YEARS!

Colin gives them a few minutes to wear themselves out before announcing that yes, they are together. And things escalate quickly after that, with them getting engaged after a couple months. At their engagement party, a drunken Colin makes an impromptu speech where he announces that he’s “just SO PROUD of his fiancé, Penelope! Do you guys know how awesome she is? She runs that gossip blog that everyone’s obsessed with ALL BY HERSELF! How cool is that!” Yeah…no one knew it was Penelope’s blog.

The consequences of her being outed as the author of the blog aren’t dire (it’s not like she’s ever been intentionally malicious or tried to ruin someone). In fact, she starts getting access to hot ticket restaurants and parties, and the society girlies are suddenly nicer to her as they start trying to score spots on the site for their side hustle brands. She gets a buy-out offer (Buzzfeed, Cracked, Wired, whatever) and the site expands. A lot. She continues to run it, and Colin writes travel articles every once-in-a-while (he’s basically a kept man and living his best life in their Upper East Side penthouse).

more (x)

[writingquestionsanswered]

Have you got any advice/resources for non US writers trying to write something set in America? The internet is so US centric that it’s kind of tricky to find research sources that don’t assume you know a lot of things already, making it difficult to work out cultural differences I should be aware of, or to find points of reference I can properly understand. I need a part of my story to take place in the US and I want it to fee asl accurate as I can get it (but I can’t afford to fly over)

Non-U.S. Writer Setting Story in U.S.

I don't know of any resources dedicated specifically to non-U.S. writers who want to set their story in the U.S., but keep an eye on the comments in case anyone knows of any.

The cultural differences you'll need to be aware of depends on your own culture, where in the U.S. your story is set, and who the specific characters are, as many places in the U.S. culturally diverse.

Google Searches - Specific Google searches may be your best bet. Like, for example, "What are some cultural differences between Tokyo, Japan and Atlanta, Georgia?" You can also try something like, "What is the cultural makeup of Atlanta, Georgia" (for example) and then research those specific cultures. And, to get a feel for the general city/state/regional culture, you can try searches like, "What is the culture of Atlanta, Georgia" or "What is the culture of Georgia, U.S.A. like?"

Groups and Forums - Groups and forums (such as on Facebook, Discord, and different web sites) can be a great way to chat with others about specific topics. If you can find travel groups/forums based in your country, you might be able to find posts about traveling to the location of your story setting. Or, you could post and ask if anyone from your country has traveled there and what it was like.

Blogs, Vlogs, and Articles - You can also look for travel blogs written by travelers from your country, as well as travel vlogs on YouTube, to see if they have gone to the location of your story setting. Travel articles in online travel magazines published in your country are another option.

Location-Based Web Sites - Most towns, cities, counties, states, and regions have their own web sites and web-based travel guides geared toward visitors. For example, if you Google, "Visit Atlanta, Georgia, U.S." the first hit is a web site called "Discover Atlanta," which features information about things to do, popular events, areas of the city, getting around, and more. In fact, under their "visitor guides," they have a guide specific to international visitors available in multiple languages. Odds are, other big cities as well as states will have something similar.

My post Setting Your Story in an Unfamiliar Place has some other general suggestions that might be of help. You can also send your questions here, and I can do my best to answer them as will others in the community who are from/familiar with the location of your story.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[walkingwiththegods1]

Our duty with Gaia, The Earth; The Living Beings, and with The Humanity: Stopping Climate's Change from The Pagan/Wiccan/Witch's Perspective.

(Note: I mention some advice than may help to our Planet and us, than show our devotion and duty to the Earth/Deities; but... If you are allergic to any food or ingredients, don't use them; and read any container or product before to buy it or eat it, to avoid allergic reactions; and don't make changes in your diet, if you are a minor; you are pregnant, lactanting, with a medical condition, or; recovering of a disease: Thank you for reading my post!)

We tend to focus too much in our Spirituality (Or, in our faith), than we sometimes may loss sight of the material aspect in our lives; like profits to buy the things we need, socialization; work in The Communities we live (in a big or a little scale), or spending more time with our love ones, 'cause we may have neglected our families/friends/plants/pets; attending to other things. Today, I will talk of one of the things; we may forgot sometimes, as both our duty and an offering to the Deities...

...Fighting against Climate Change in a daily basis, in all the ways we can!

Now, all of you may think: What kind of nonsense is this, of talk about Climate Change in a Pagan/Wiccan/Witch Blog?! Well... Before you think in leaving this post, I'm assure you than this will maybe more useful than you may think, so please... Get along with this, and in the end; you will decided if it reading it, was of any worth for you!

As a person tha lives in The Caribbean... I had live the horrifying impacts than Climate Change, has caused indirectly in my life; and directly, in the lives of others than lives in communities far from were I live in my country, and... In the images from the the nearest islands, and in the nations bathed by The Caribbean Sea. (I don't going to fill your mind, with the saddest and terrorific details than may causes to anyone than reads them; at least 1 or 2 nights of nightmares; but... I will resume it, in two quotes: ''The water for the first time, innundated completely to the street were I live'', and ''I don't desired what I have saw in the news, even to my worst enemy...'' )

I'm talking of this issue, 'cause Climate Change is not something than we expected to happen; when we have our heads full of white/gray hairs, or; as something than the ones younger than us, with have to deal with our lack of efforts to stop it, after we left this world: The Consecuences of The Climate Change (including the more unbereable heat we felt and feel in these years), is not something of a far future... Is happening in front of our own eyes, now!

The Pagans, The Wiccans and Witches of The World, we must do all we can in our hands, to avoid the dark fate than may fall over the present and future generations; and over our Planet, as much as possible: As ''The Special Sons and Daughters of Gaia'', we must do it for our Mother Gaia; which provide us of our food, the nature where we go to recharge our energies or where to live; the plants and animals than heal us and reconfort us even with their sight and presence, and... With her endless maternal love for all the beings in The Earth.

These are all the things in full we can make to honor the compromise to help to Gaia, to help her to fight Climate Change; than is the same to help to sustain life for all of us... And, for our Planet:

Eat Local Products, as much as possible: 80% of your grocery buy, must came of your country. Ex.: If you buy 10 articles, only 2 of them, can be foreign products. If you buy 100 articles, only 20 can be; of foreign production. (In this way, means of less use of gasoline to transporting food; less air's contamination, plus... Saving more money!)

Travel using Non-Motor Vehicles, as much as possible: Roller-Skates, Skateboards and Bikes; are your best options for short trips. If you have trouble walking, or you can't walk more than 4 Kms. At foot... Use public transportation, or share a car with family/friends! (If you use an electric wheelchair for any reason, don't worry: Is your way to move in The World, and... Wheelchairs never has appeared as a contaminating vehicle!)

Travel more inside your country, than to foreign lands: Less distance to travel... Means less contaminating material than may ends in the water, the soil and/or the air. And... You will have the chance to meet wonders in your own nation, than you didn't know than exists! (Save the money of your countless trips on a cruise/plane, for your next spring/summer/autumn/winter/end of the year/beginning of the year getaway!)

Turn off any devices than you are not using in that time: If you know than your trip to the nearest store at home, will take more than 20 or 30 minutes... Why leaves the TV/AC/PC/etc, turn on? Is the same thing, if you leaves a light on; or any devices on without using it at the moment. (Your pocket and The Planet... Will thank you for that!)

Uses your technology devices, in a wise eco-friendly way: If your smartphone has more than six month of being buyed, and have a little scratch on the screen... Please don't discarded for a new one, if is still working mostly well: Give it a least six months more, so to avoid the liquids than leaks to the earth, after the Smartphone/Laptop/PC/Tablet; are trowed to the garbage. (Plus, you will have more time and money to buy a new device; with a higher quality and durability than the old one!)

Buy Beauty and/or Personal Care Products made with organic ingredients: You can buy an Sunscreen, than doesn't damage to the Coral Reefs; in a supermarket (Is that simple to take care of ourselves and the Planet), and even if is not 100% organic... Is a big change, as of using Shampoos; Makeups, or anything for your routine than have mostly organic products; or at least the less amount of chemicals possible.

Eat more Vegetables/Fruits/Legumes/Mushrooms, and less Animal Products: Dairy products, Honey and Eggs (Unless, you're a Vegan...); are the best sources of Proteins of High Quality and Vitamin B12, which deficiency causes many health issues; and are the best way to prescind of eating meat, specially red meat. (If you were advice by a doctor to eat meat for anemia, do it as the doctor advises you: I want than people to saves The Earth... Without risking their health!)

Buying Second-Hand Clothing, and/or New Clothes dyed Naturally; help too: Dyes in clothes are mostly chemicals, and contaminates the earth; the rivers and the seas: If you don't like the idea of using second-hand clothing (you can leave it in hot or clorinated water for 24 hours, rinses totally and hang it outside till totally dried; to left than the power of The Sun, desinfects and killed whatever the washing alone couldn't; but... YMMV!), then find online what companies and brands uses natural dyes in their clothes; so you now know to where to buy; to your next brand new clothes!

Reuse any container than says reusable, after you finish the original contain in it: Example: If that little container of Sodium Bicarbonate is now empty... You can use it to keeps all those loose button than fall from your clothes, or that little glass bottle of olive oil; wash it well, mix vinegar and oil with spices.... And makes your own homemade salad dressing! (These are general ideas, to avoid to add more garbage to The Earth; for a awhile)

Play Board Games/Table Games, when you get tired of watching TV/Websurfing: By turning off your TV or your Computer, and play Board/Table Games; you will save energy and money, and keeps your brain healthy. (If your live alone, or don't have someone to play regularly... Remember than ''Solitary'', ''Sudoku''; ''Kakuro'' and ''Crosswords'', can being play alone, the same as a Puzzle of 100 pieces; or more!)

Try to watch less of 4 hours of TV, a day. (If you still watching, or using a TV; at home): One of the Home Devices than more consumes electricity, is the Color TV; and watching 4 hours of TV or more, is detrimental for your health, the Earth (Or your wallet); but... In the time of the TV Streaming, is hard for many people to fulfill this goal; but... Don't feel guilty about it! Just pick wisely at what moment of the day you will watch TV: You can watch two hours at afternoon and two at nights, or four hours after returning from work; or one hour of TV at the morning and the rest after work: You will have more time to do things than you like, like a walk to your neighborhood or community; visit to friends, reading a book, starting a new personal project, talking to a friend/family member at the phone... And anything you have a long time not doing, for watching more TV than you should. (Trust me: Just like you... I Woke up one day, saying to myself: ''I think is time to watch LESS TV!...'')

With all these advices, you life will improve greatly; and you will feel proud of helping to our planet, to others; and to Gaia.

That's all for today: Than all of us can help to Gaia in anyway we can, be it in the big or small way; for our future... So Be It!

[seabeck]

FAQ + About (for mobile)

About me: My name is Milli (she/her), 25yrs. I love taking photos of nature and my Subaru. I’m a huge nerd about mushrooms, plants, and skulls. I’ve been hiking ever since I was a little kid and at this point I feel at home in the woods.

I have a flock of chickens, a boyfriend, a dog, and waaay too many house plants

Did you take all the photos on this blog?

Yep, every photo posted here was taken by yours truly unless otherwise noted (very rare).

What camera/lenses do you use? 

My crop sensor/work kit is:

Nikon D7100

10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR

Dolica ZX600B103 Tripod

My full frame kit is:

Nikon D850

Sigma 150-600mm f5.6-6.3 

50mm f/1.8 G

60mm f/2.8 ED Macro

Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR G

17-35mm f2.8 

20mm 1.8 ED sold

Sigma 150-500mm f5.6-6.3  sold

Kenko extension tubes

Raynox 250

Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB (works for macro + everything else)

Filters and other gear:

Hoya circular polarizers + Stop down/up kit

Nikon camera backpack (discontinued)/TARION Camera Backpack

Instax Mini 90

Other cameras I’ve owned:

D50

D200

D3000

D7000

Here’s my lens wish list, some are on there for fun and some I actually want.

What camera gear would you recommend for a beginner?

Before you worry too much about getting the best gear, make sure you learn how to use it first. You could go out and buy the fanciest camera and lenses and still not take good photos because you don’t know how to use your camera or how to “see”. There’s also a saying, “you marry your lenses and date your bodies”. Invest in good lenses, preferably full frame compatible ones in case you ever decide to upgrade to full frame, and get a cheaper body to start. With that out of the way…

If you’re just starting out, I’d recommend getting a refurbished or used camera from the D7100+ line. They’ve come down in price as of late and are pretty solid cameras. Just make sure to check the shutter count.

I’d skip anything from the D3000 & D5000 lines. They’re not bad cameras but they do not have built in autofocus meaning they rely on the lens itself having autofocus. This isn’t horrible but it does limit what lenses you can use (and some of the lenses that won’t autofocus with those cameras are good AND cheap) and that can be confusing for a beginner.

As for a lens, a 50mm f/1.8, or 35mm f/1.8 is a great lens. Both lenses are inexpensive, have good quality glass, and can used for nearly everything. The 18-55mm lens that comes with cameras isn’t bad either. 

I don’t shoot Canon/Sony/whatever else so I can’t give any advice there sorry!

How did you learn to take photos?

LOTS of practice, I first picked up a camera back in 2013. In high school and college I took photography classes but ultimately I didn’t really learn much from them, they started at too basic of a level.

I did learn a lot about photography from taking art classes however. They taught me framing, how to use shadows/light, and movement in a photo (where does your eye travel when you view an image/art piece). My mom is also a professional photojournalist so I picked up some knowledge from her and my grandfather who’s also a published photographer.

How can I take better photos?

Again, lots of practice. Learn what every setting and button on your camera does, try different shooting modes, take the same photo at several different apertures and shutter speeds to see what changes. You can learn a lot from reading articles too but the best way to learn, imo, is by doing. Don’t worry about getting the best gear and the best camera, learn how to take photos first.

Study other photographers photos, and even paintings, and see what you like. Pay attention to directional lines and where your eye travels. Learn how to use Photoshop/Lightroom (just pirate it). Take photos in different weather, lighting, and times of day. 

What programs do you use to edit? What presets/filters do you use?

I use Lightroom and Photoshop Classic along with custom presets that I’ve made for different situations (fog, snow, etc) to process most of my images and then I make minor tweaks. A lot of my presets started as VSCO presets and then I kept the things I liked and changed the things I didn’t.

What is your job?

I’m a real estate photographer specializing in short term rentals. I love it.

Are you related to Eddie Vedder?

Yep, we’re very distantly related. Something like 7th cousins twice removed but I’ve never met him.

Can you add a photo to your print shop?

Sure! Just tell me the name of the photo (or link it if possible, I reuse a lot of names) you want added and I’ll get it up there.

May I use one of your photos?

I’m 100% ok with people using my photos as a reference for drawing/painting, I’d even love to see the result. For anything else, just shoot me an ask beforehand and I’ll let you know. Please do not repost my photos on Tumblr or elsewhere without my permission.

[sillysybilsden]

Ehilà, viaggiatore

Hey there, traveller

Dedicated to my twin Lares.

Foreword

Hello there! It's me, the Silly Sybil (fka Clever Crow). I've been wanting to do this post for months, but life got in the way and I eventually forgot about it. But hey: better late than never, right?

Now, to the post.

In this foreword, I do want to address the nature of my resources. In fact, I am not writing all of this off of articles or academic works, but off of a questionnaire I had published back in July 2023. The answers given by fellow pagans are the main resources for this blog, whose objective is that of determining the main characteristics of two different approaches to lost practices: reconstructionism and revivalism.

Why choose such a peculiar approach to resources? Reconstructionism and revivalism are part of a spectrum, which can be intended and defined differently by different practitioners. Every pagan will have a slightly different idea of these terms. That means that these labels do not have a universal meaning - there is no institution recognised worldwide that gives us the requirements to be a revivalist or a reconstructionist: it is up to the practitioner and their understanding of the term. This is the reason why I've decided to opt for a form rather than articles as a resource. After all, who, better than a pagan who lives and practices paganism daily, can instruct us about paganism-related terms?

One last important thing I want to do is introduce you to our “cast”* - the wonderful pagans who took the time to compile the form, that is:

➳ anonymous contibutor (revivalist)

➳ Dead (revivalist)

➳ Guenevere (reconstructionist)

➳ Magpie (reconstructionist)

I do feel like thanking the people above is the least I can do. For this reason, I thank all of those who participated from the bottom of my heart: this post wouldn't exist without you.

*The "cast" is formed by aquaintances from a closed Amino community.

On paganism

In order to understand the definition of paganism-related labels, we must first define paganism. My personal research led me to two definitions I will provide you with:

An umbrella-term that indicates non-Abrahamic religions*;

An umbrella-term that indicates religions that are not main world religions**.

The options above might seem similar - if not identical. However, the subtle difference between them is extremely important.

According to Dr. Angela Puca¹, pagan beliefs/religions show the following characteristics:

A polytheistic and animistic approach to spirituality;

A direct relationship with the divine - which sometimes translates with little interest to scriptures and interactions in a non-institutionalised way;

The belief of immanence - the belief that the divine is everywhere and, thus, is not external to the natural world but within the same;

As a consequence of (3.), the reverence for everything as everything holds divine power.

For the reasons above, pagans are very likely to believe in magick - if not practice it. Quoting Dr. Puca, one could say that some of the most popular beliefs that fall under paganism are “Wicca/Witchcraft, Druidry, Heathernry, Asatrù, Goddess worship, ethnic reconstructions and other animist earth-based traditions”.

Now that we have defined, very broadly, what paganism is, let us get to reconstructionism and revivalism.

*Abrahamic religions include Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

**Main world religions include, among the others, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism.

On reconstructionism

“Reconstructionism is about recreating an ancient or dead religion as closely as possible to the original source. This means learning about, understanding, and incorporating historical traditions. Being a Reconstructionist involves a lot of time and research.” - Magpie

“A reconstructionist seeks to find the historic pieces of practice and remain true to that as best they can.” - Guevevere

As the two members of the cast above already said ever-so-clearly, reconstructionism puts a lot of emphasis on historical accuracy - which revivalism also does but to a lesser extent, as we will see later on. The key characteristic of this approach to pagan traditions is the will to practice a dead religion as it was by ancient peoples.

For example: a modern Hellenic polytheist who considers themselves a reconstructionist will do a ritual as a 3rd century BCE Hellenic polytheist would have - if that is indeed the era they mean to reconstruct: the same pagan religion can show different characteristics depending on the century.

The modern reconstructionist practitioner will not alter the rituals and, sometimes, nor will they attempt to fill the gaps with their own UPG*². For this reason, many reconstructionists affirm that it takes a lot of time and research for them to add new practices to their own, as they must research thoroughly the subject and reconstruct it exclusively thanks to historical accounts - for this reason, they rely on academical and primary resources**. Sometimes, if gaps make it impossible to reconstruct a, say, ritual, reconstructionists might decide not to include it in its entirety - in place of, as said before, use any UPG to fill said gaps.

*Unverified Personal Gnosis: a belief that is not backed up by mythos and is exclusively theorized/recognised by the single practitioner.

**Primary resources: texts that were written in the historical period that one is researching. Eg: Saint Augustine of Hippo's texts are a primary resource to those who are researching 4th/5th century Christianity.

On revivalism

“Revivalism is a sort of subcategory of Reconstruction. It has the same goals and also has an emphasis on historical accuracy but tends to be on the less strict side and not as culturally focused*. While Recon. as a whole would include people that expect near-total adherence to historically or culturally attested practices, Revivalism is more theologically focused and has more room for adaptation to one's existing culture and environment. *cultural context is still important, revivalism just doesn't expect participation/membership to a specific culture.” - Dead

“Revivalists keep a sense of tradition within their practice but still allow room for UPG/SPG* and modern practices while still keeping it within the religion.” - anonymous contributor

As we anticipated before, revivalism, too, heavily focuses on historical accuracy. However, there is more room to add one's personal beliefs and/or alter some parts of the practice. This is the very big - and very important - difference between the two approaches: while reconstructionism hardly accepts UPG or SPG to fill the gaps - and, so, adjust part of a practice to one's needs/beliefs -, revivalism is much more flexible on that bit.

For example: a modern Gaulish polytheist who considers themselves a revivalist might decide to fill the gaps given by the little - and biased - resources on their practice by adding their own UPG to what is already historically attested.

Just because revivalism accepts UPG and SPG, it doesn't mean that it is a less-demanding approach than reconstructionism. In fact, it does require the same amount of research and of digging into academic and primary texts. Revivalism is about *adapting* an historical practice; it is not about eradicating it from its original historical and/or cultural context, which has to be researched nonetheless. One could say that revivalists want to reconstruct ancient practices as if they were never destroyed in the first place, taking into account the evolutions such practices would have gone through in the contemporary world. Thus, using one of the examples above, if I am a revivalist I am not practicing Hellenic polytheism as a 3rd century BCE polytheist would have, but I am practicing it as a potential 2024 Hellenic polytheist would have after all of the probable changes religion could have gone through.

To better explain the difference between reconstructionism and revivalism: Roman deities used to be offered incense and wine. If I were to use a reconstructionist approach, I might want to stick to these offerings as they are two of the few offerings that are historically attested. If I were to use a revivalist approach, I might prefer using incense or wine, but I could opt for a strawberry beverage from time to time.

*Shared Personal Gnosis: a belief that is not backed up by mythos and is exclusively theorized/recognised by a group of practitioners.

Conclusion

I personally, to this day, do not know whether to consider myself a reconstructionist or a revivalist. That is because, depending on the pagan community you're interacting with, the "requirements" to label yourself as reconstructionist or revivalist might change - and this is something I already mentioned in the foreword. What I - and the other contributors - tried to do is give you some very broad guidelines in order to let you establish whether you fall under one or the other category.

If you do not find any of these two approaches fitting for you, there is no need to worry: as I stated in the foreword, we are talking about a spectrum. Some people lean towards one of the two extremes of this spectrum and there might be people who find themselves outside of it, which is valid nonetheless.

This being said, I thank you all for reading this blog. Let me know in the comments whether you describe yourself as a reconstructionist, a revivalist or something else entirely!

Wish you a pleasant day/evening/night.

The Silly Sybil

Resources

Informative

¹ Dr. Angela Puca's video on paganism

² Dead's post on UPG and SPG

Paintings

¹ "Priestess of Delphi" by John Collier

² "Magic Circle" by John William Waterhouse

³ "Roman Woman Lighing a Lamp at the Home Altar" by Stephan Wladilawowitsch Bakalowicz

[soracities]

Do you have a job? I'm not asking this to be rude at all, I was just wondering. You seem to read and engage with writing so much, and it's something I've been struggling to find/make time for with my job.

Hi anon! I think this blog makes it seem like I engage far more often than I do chiefly because most of it consists of queued posts--otherwise how much I'm reading, or what I'm reading, varies constantly: sometimes it's just an article or two a week and then nothing else for a while, sometimes it's 3 or 4 a day, sometimes it takes me 3 months to get through a book and sometimes I can do it in a week. I have a lot more free time now than I used to (free as in "mentally free") but I used to be a childminder for a long time so finding time for reading was definitely a struggle, especially because there were other obligations, so for me managing my reading at the time was more about managing and adjusting my expectations in response to the time I did have and the pace of my day-to-day life. This meant acknowledging that sometimes I would simply be too exhausted to engage in the ways I wanted to and finding more practical and workable means of doing so. The time I wasn't looking after kids involved me travelling about quite a bit and because I can't read books on public transport, I'd read one or two articles instead. If I wanted to read consistently, the only time I could really work that in was in the evening before bed and accept and embrace that as the pace that worked best for me at the time. Really, I think the most important thing is to work with the time contraints you have and find what works for you and try not to worry so much about what you may be missing out on or how fast / how much you are accumulating in your readings. Finding time, especially when you work full-time or have other commitments is hard so the most important thing is to allow yourself the pace that fits you—that might be a few pages every other night, or 20 minutes in the morning while you have your tea or coffee etc., I don't know if this answers your question fully, anon, but I hope it helps a little x

[gemsofgreece]

https://fortune.com/europe/2024/07/09/mayor-of-athens-overtourism-greece-not-viable-visitor-tourism-economy/

Nothing new but the Greek government should really invest on other aspects except from tourism. Like yes it's profitable but it can't be the only source of income alongside with agriculture.

OH MY GOD yes! Kudos to Haris Dukas for saying this, I suppose it's still a very unpopular and brave opinion among the politicians, who are known to care only for the short-term non-viable benefits.

I have a lot of feelings and thoughts regarding overtourism, given that I started this blog exactly because I am interested in the tourist industry, in touristic promotion in general.

A few days ago I scrolled through an article which was saying that some smaller country in Europe is getting more and more tourists and aspires to reach Greece's numbers by also competing with us over our tourists for a similar tourist product (beaches and sun) and there was this tinge of annoyance I felt because it's a cool country and I have been there but I have an opinion on this, so I was like somewhere between "bitch please" and "why, are we doing something wrong?". I mean, I wish the best for them but the annoyance was about kind of targeting tourists interested in Greece with cheaper offers and also because I am interested in this, the travel promotion of Greece, even as a hobby, so you know it sort of affects me, lol . But as I was scrolling down the article, I saw the other Greek comments and they were like "Good, let them go there and leave us in peace".

This gave me such a pause. It was one of the few times I found the comments shaking me towards their direction instead of making me angry or sad. I paused and thought, shit, they are actually right.

Let's be real, Greece does suffer from overtourism. Not only this but its overtourism is very disproportionately distributed in the country. Greece's travel product is also badly, old-fashionedly promoted (still the sun-and-beaches of the 70s which was only targeting Northern Europeans). All these create those masses of tourists following blindly the horrible itineraries of poorly informed, outdated travel agencies. Half of these people have no idea why they are coming and what they are supposed to be seeing and doing in every place.

I will go back to the notorious example of "Santorini is overrated and Greece has no trees" that you will hear a few of them say. You have people boarding a plane from the other side of the world to visit and stay on a half-submerged volcano crater and they are wondering where the forests are! People really have no idea where they are going and what for. Now this is a type of tourism we resolutely do not need. If you have to explain to someone what Santorini is AFTER they have gone there, everything was entirely lost on them, it was doomed from the beginning.

One of the most maddening videos I have ever watched was an American woman doing a travel video. She followed the AmericanTM tourist plan: she found a resort and just stayed there locked until the day of her return came. She also had just become a mother and she was dragging the baby in a different continent, only to walk it around the resort over and over. For some reason she made a youtube video for this. She didn't say anything negative but obviously if I knew nothing about Greece and I watched this, I would be like "wow what a boring place Greece is, you can't go anywhere, it's just a resort and a small market nearby". Is there really a need to overbuild the country with such massive resorts only to accommodate people who have no idea why they are coming and what they are supposed to do once they come?

Ultimately, tourism must NEVER be the main product of a country's economy. NEVER. It is very unsteady, unreliable business and when it starts doing too good, it means it will very soon ruin the country. The tourism industry must always remain steady, balanced and viable. There should be a predetermined viable percentage of area and investment that should be dedicated to tourism in every region and NEVER surpass those limits. In short, tourism should be only a side business for a country's economy and not the main thing. Even as a side thing it can become destructive. Look at how the Spanish and the Italians have started taking wild measures against tourism. There are literally protests in Barcelona with people asking tourists to leave to their face. We don't have this in Greece yet because for us it is our main industry so we still prioritise the financial need but it will soon happen here as well.

There is urgency to boost the first and especially the dead second sector in Greece. There is just no other solution. There is no light in the end of the tunnel. The first sector should not expand a lot (because its shrinkage the last decades led to the improvement of the once overexploited ecosystems, we do not want to undo this) but we should boost our produce's quality and its prestige in exports. Is there any Greek who hasn't discussed with their family that the local produce often tasted better than the imported one? Literally all of us. Greece can not produce in quantities but it can produce in quality. One example, I don't know if you know it; Greece sells olive oil to Italy and Italy rebrands it as Italian olive oil (which so far is more well known worldwide) and exports it internationally. This is an agreement between the two countries from which Greece gets fast and sure money and Italy covers deficits in the quantities required by its importers. All is well but Greece is once again getting the short end of the stick, because in the long term consumers who buy this olive oil and like it will form an affinity for what they think is the Italian olive oil and not the Greek one. Greece loses from the prestige it could perhaps have gained and it loses the chance to sell Greek olive oil more competitively for what it really is. Like, every choice we do as a state is a shot in our face. I don't know how we do it. It's a talent.

(BTW no bad feels to Italian friends, this is only critical of the Greek exporters' choices, both Greek and Italian olive oil rock but I am sure if the roles were switched and Italian olive oil was sold internationally as Greek, you would too maybe feel a little awkward about it.)

I won't even go to the second sector, I won't even go there. I will just say, whoever had PITSOS electric devices in their house in the early 90s ... is probably still having the very same devices right now as we speak. I know my parents do. PITSOS devices are what we call in Greek "bad dogs". They just don't ever break. At least not in the first 30 years of usage. Fortunately PITSOS re-opened but it will take ages for them to regain all the lost ground and even try to compete now with the foreign brands, even on a local level. And they have been so ruined that I can't tell their new products will be of an equal quality as the old ones. Greece had a lot of industries. It even had good fashion industries. It's crazy that it was much better self-sustained pre-EU. By the way, I am not blaming the EU or the tourists above. No, I am blaming the Greeks for getting worse and worse and worse at managing themselves.

Should I go to the merchant navy? Let's have a laugh. Greece is still miraculously the world leader in merchant navy with Greeks owning the 25% of commercial ships in the world. Of course, a few decades ago it was the 50% but we would certainly do our best to lose that. The problem is that most of the tycoons have left the country and have their bases in the UK and other countries due to a better tax system and they sail under different flags. The funny thing is that I was reading some articles and the president of the Greek tycoons was saying that they come constantly in contact with the Greek state to discuss all this, there is interest on their side to come back, to work things out but it's always to no avail. At this point, even the TYCOONS can't work in Greece!!! XD Top that. By the way, I am not concerned about how the ship owners will get by, trust me, but these businesses are always two-way relations. Imagine all the bases, all the shipyards, all the ship making, all the jobs in ship making and in the commercial navy. Imagine owning 25% of world's ships and NOT being an international leader in shipmaking. Plus, Greeks have historically and traditionally been seafarers, this is a quality of ours we should keep cultivating, even as part of our heritage, even for the heck of it.

We have destroyed all this and have thrown all our efforts to a badly planned, unstructured mass tourism. We are running towards self-destruction head first in every possible way. There are so many foreigners who are totally sold on the stereotype "Greece has no economy, never made anything". It wasn't like that. We had and still have fine produce. This is why Greek food is considered tasty. It's not having super complex, surprising recipes. It's the quality of the produce that makes Greek cuisine famed for being both tasty and healthy. We used to have good or at least very decent industries. I think apart from cars we were pretty self-sustained on most other things. And we used to have balanced, healthy tourism with travellers who knew why they came and they often came back again and again and even stayed for life after pension because they knew why they did it.

So, I am not against tourism, I will never be but it needs to become quality tourism again and a SIDE thing for us as well. When I say quality tourism, I do not mean luxe / expensive tourism because I hate the idea of a place being inaccessible to someone who truly desires to visit it, unless they are a millionaire (let alone that luxe tourism would also stop locals from travelling inland, which already is happening) but tourism needs to become intentional again. Meaning, a tourist should be a traveller, an explorer. They should understand what they come for and take their time to explore the country properly, with respect and genuine well-meaning interest to the best of their ability. By the way, this should apply for every country. And this is honestly the safest way you can have an authentically good experience in a new country.

As for those smaller countries which try to reach Greece's numbers, well, good luck for the five years until your country gets utterly ruined.

[dearweirdme]

i think all of bts sometimes feed shippers, I guess this is a controversial take for some, I do think even tae was feeding shippers with the hawaii post, I don't think they're horrible for doing that, it's just the business side of things, with jk and jm, they don't even have to do much, writing bullshit articles like they have about the show recently is already enough for people cus most of this fandom is jkk biased and ship jkk, I do think they enjoyed their trip tho and that they're friends, same with tkk, now idk if the are you sure trip was jkk's idea or that of the company but I don't think that their friendship is fake

and yeah I do think tae posted those photos at this time deliberately, is that his own personal reasons or the company asking him to do that to placate tkkrs or him just posting cus he did type 1 in hawaii and jungkook was there and he knows people like seeing bts members interact or him just wanting to appeciate his best friend or hell him being bothered by jkk, we'll never know for sure

i realize i'm saying all this to you, a blog that believes tkk are dating, while I'm on the fence still about them being real (i go between real and not real a lot, I just really love them together regardless), to me even if they are real, this post of tae's doesn't negate that, I do think it's fan service but I do also believe they're close/potentially together, I just think that all tannies do fan service

english isn't my first language, so I hope this makes sense, and ofc everyone's welcome to disagree, most probably will, this is just what I believe

Hi anon! Your English is fine! It's not my first language either.. people constantly have to suffer through my typo's and weird-ish wording 🙈.

Interesting take! I think this again comes to what you feel 'feeding shippers' actually is. I do agree that all members engage in fanservice yeah. Definitely not horrible, it's part of their jobs. We actually love when they do it, so I'm not complaining at all.

I don't think most of this fandom is a Jkkr, though your biased may come close. The difference in response to Jkk and Tkk moments always becomes very clear. Which is weird considering Jkk takes are way more out there than Tkk takes I think.

I don't see Tae's Hawaii pics as feeding shippers though. I don't think this was meant for Tkkrs alone. I think it was meant for the whole fandom. To show a moment that I think was very precious to him (but yeah I am a Tkkr, I can see if you're more neutral.. and place no value on the captions 😂... how it might be fanservice to you). The very real difference is that Tae and Jk in Hawaii together definitely wasn't for Amry's entertainment.. while the travel show is intended for that. I don't think the company asked him to post Taekook pics, especcially not with those captions 😂. I kinda believe they are mostly in control of their social media accounts these days (probably some boundaries).

[emmedoesntdomath]

RACETRACK MOTHERFCKING HIGGINS YOU GOSH DARN HISTORY NERD

RACERACERACERACERACERACE

also, i feel so seen rn *wipes away emotional tear*

so, ed ‘racetrack’ higgins was a newsie who helped lead the 1899/1900 newsboys’ strike against william randolph hearst and joseph pulitzer with louis ballat (who was known as kid blink), dave simons (who we don’t know the newsie name of), and (reportedly, because there aren’t that many sources with him) spot conlon (and, honestly? they could have been the same kid. not likely, but possibly). he was a brooklyn newsboy (from brighton beach specifically), and was between the ages of 16-21. he spent a considerable amount of time between the two racetracks he was near (hence the nickname). he had talked about william c. whitney, who owned a private racetrack, trained horses, and spent a lot of time at sheepshead (he said he had run horses for him, but that could be false). in just about every article he was interviewed for, it was noted that he talked A LOT about the races, even when they weren’t mentioned. like, at all (I love that for him, actually). he was charismatic, bold, and a natural-born leader. unfortunately, after the strike, he essentially disappears. there were a lot of ed higgins in the new york/jersey area, and it’s hard to track an idividual person, especially after the war started.

for more historical racetrack stuff, go check out @musicalcuriosity ‘s blog, they’ve got some great stuff over there.

now, because this isn’t actually my historical area of expertise, AND because I have actual hcs, we’re going to move on to the fun stuff.

ANTONIO ‘racetrack’ higgins is a manhattan newsie. he’s the second in command to jack kelly and more or less the ambassador to brooklyn. he’s snarky, loves gambling and spot conlon, and is probably the reason adderall was invented. he’s brilliant with numbers, but couldn’t tell you how to spell algebra to save his life. he’s petty, smokes more than anyone should, and will risk life and limb for those that he loves. he doesn’t plan to make it to 25, but will lie to anyone who asks and says he wants to be doctor for kids.

he becomes a newsie at nine, right after his mom dies, and he looks (maybe) seven, so he’s immediately taken under the wing of an older newsie. he’s dragged to the races after they finish selling, and it’s like something just clicks inside of him. he notices the trends, gets good at counting the cards, finding the tells of a good bet.

when asked, he would just shrug, a jaunty grin on his face. “it’s jus’ numbers,” he would say.

he meets a young francis sullivan (newly jack kelly) and charlie (now crutchie) when he stumbles upon their hiding spot in an alley. he recognized jack, and laughed instead of cowering when he threatened to soak him. he cheerfully informs them of a better place to hide on top of the lodging house, and from then on, they’re brothers friends.

he travels to brooklyn by himself the first time on a dare from albert (who has since become his best friend), and gets caught by hotshot within thirty minutes. he gets told to never come back with a hearty punch to the ribs for good measure.

he returns the next day.

he’s not allowed coffee (per jack), because he’s apparently “too damn jittery” as it is.

he can speak a little bit of italian, and converses with itey when they’re both at the lodging house. if he’s in public, he pretends he doesn’t know any.

when finch and albert start dating, part of him is sad, no matter how happy the rest of him is. it’s not fair, and he doesn’t know why, but it feels like a door’s shutting. he laughs, and holds spot a little tighter afterwards.

skittery taught him how to throw his first real punch, and then immediately started a fight with him “to make sure he understood the lesson”.

he’s scared of loud thunderstorms.

he hates the sound of a creaky wheel on a carriage.

he doesn’t mind girls, but he would prefer short brunettes with a temper (he’s very much got a type, and he’s not ashamed of it).

he would love harry potter, but despise JKR.

he believes in god, but doesn’t go to church.

if he had a kid, he would name them either maria or sebastian, after his mother and uncle respectively.