#bunche beach preserve

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Reddish Egret

Location: San Carlos Bay – Bunche Beach Preserve, Fort Myers, Florida, USA

by Nathan Arnold

Audubon Photography Awards

[sunchases]

on july 17, harper's most special person was born. taesoo might not find it to be a big deal, but harper definitely does. a look at bin taesoo's birthday weekend. featuring @wcvensouls. happy birthday, taesoo! ♡

[chaoticm0therfvcker]

Beach Day (ElderLily modern au)

Elder Faerie and White Lily are on their first date since they tied the knot and got married to each other, and it’s your classic day at the beach! Sadly, Elder Faerie isn’t as excited for this as he’s acting, for he has a secret he’s kind of ashamed of

Tags: transmasc elder faerie, body dysmorphia, elder faerie has top surgery scars, a shitload of fluff and cuteness

“I can’t wait to show you the beach! It’s so beautiful.” White Lily excitedly told Elder Faerie.

As a kid, Coconut Beach was one of her favorite places to visit, next to Dragon Hill. It was this beautiful beach, with the softest sand, the clearest water, the cleanest coast, and so, so many different sea shells and little fish, and even some bits of coral from a coral reef near the coastline. That beach, as well as the national park, sparked her love for travel, and as soon as she was old enough to be on her own, she traveled the world, discovering new cultures and figuring out who she truly was.

It’s how she met Elder Faerie, it’s how she fell into that coma, it’s how she discovered all the fear and grief and darkness that plagued the world and sparked yet another passion, one for peace and love and justice and prosperity. But above all else, it’s how she realized just how precious her friends and her lover truly are, and how despite her now fragile form, she must care for them in any and every way possible. Crazy how the butterfly effect works, huh?

That beach changed her life, and now, that beach was going to be hers and Elder Faeries first date since they married and moved in together.

“And I can’t wait to see it, my love.” Elder Faerie replied, glancing at his wife and smiling softly.

Admittedly, Elder Faerie was happy to be going to this beach. He had seen just how happy Lily was to be taking him to this place, and the way her eyes lit up while describing this place to him, and after seeing all the horrible things she had been through recently, he knew he had to do whatever possible in order to preserve that innocent joy. Even if that meant facing a fear that had been looming over his head for years now.

See, Elder Faerie is a transgender Man. He was born a girl, with his cutesie innocence and his love for both cute girl stuff like fashion and makeup along with boyish stuff like video games and fantasy weapons. However, when he hit puberty, he realized something was off about his identity, about the way his soul felt broken when he developed curves and breasts, and his suspicions were confirmed when he discovered the gender spectrum in health class; he realized that he was in fact, a man. Sure, he still liked the classic “girly stuff” like cute dresses and his long, luxurious hair that reached down to his waist, but didn’t mean that he was truly a man.

He was a man stuck in a girls body, and now with a new body build and a bunch of crazy hormones, he was aware of how trapped he was, and he hated it.

Of course, White Lily knew all of this, and it almost made her love him even more. The way he braved such a difficult time, how he discovered such an amazing thing about himself, and how he was willing to share such a personal detail with her made her heart flutter with admiration and love.

However, because of his gender identity, Elder Faerie had gotten top surgery when he was in his early twenties, and while White Lily was fully aware of this too, she had never seen the scars left behind by his procedure.

Despite how wonderful he felt no longer having breasts, he hated those damned scars. It felt like some sort of burden, a dark secret that was harder to own up to than even realizing that he was trans. It made him feel incomplete, disgusting, fake. He had tried overcoming his fear by coming up with some stupid scar story like trying to dry a kitchen knife off with his shirt, but nothing realistic enough came to mind.

He wanted so desperately to believe that White Lily would accept him no matter what kind of scars were on his body, but nothing could calm his fear.

“…sunscreen, umbrella, drinks…” White Lily was mumbling to herself. She then turned to Elder Faerie, who had a wide-eyed blank expression on his face as he tightly clutched the steering wheel. “Are you okay, honey?”

Elder Faerie snapped out of his daze and glanced at White Lily with a confused expression on his face. “Huh? Oh, of course, I’m just thinking of all the wonderful things that might be at this magical beach you love so much. I packed my bathing suit, right?”

“You’re wearing it, silly. Don’t you remember putting on your swim trunks before we left?” White Lily giggled, “Are you… sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” Elder Faerie reassured her, “just tired I guess.”

Just then, they pulled into the beach’s parking lot, and after finding a place to park, they got out and unloaded their stuff. Walking onto the soft sand on the beach, the couple found a spot, laid out their towel, and got to enjoying the beach. They shared snacks and drinks, made cute little sandcastles, and talked about life together.

Then, White Lily wanted to get in the water.

“I’m going to get changed into my bathing suit,” she said, pointing her thumb at the nearby bathroom, “why don’t you take your shirt off so we can go swimming? The water is really nice.”

Elder Faerie nodded. “Go ahead, I’ll be here waiting for you.”

Once she had walked off, Elder Faerie sat down on the towel and wrapped his arms around his knees, burying his head in the space between his knees and his chest. He just felt so… ashamed. He was ashamed of his body, of the scars on his chest, of his fear, of his cowardice, hell, he was ashamed of his shame! Most of all, he was ashamed of his lack of trust in his own wife. He knew White Lily loved him for who he was, and that she would be perfectly fine with the remnants of his top surgery. However, something deep within him was withholding his ability to show her the truth. Would she really be fine with it? Even if she was, how would she react to the way he kept this from her. There were just too many variables to trust that it would go well.

“Fae…?”

Elder Faerie’s head shot up at the sound at his nickname, and he saw White Lily standing before him, looking concerned. “Fae, what’s wrong? You’ve seemed off all day.”

“I’m okay, I promise.” Elder Faerie replied, shaking his head.

“Honey…” White Lily sat in front of Elder Faerie, “I can tell that something’s wrong. I know you want to support me and share my passions and stuff, but I don’t want you do feel like I forced you to come here.”

“No, it’s not that, I wanted to come here! I just-“ his breath hitched, and he could feel the sting of tears in the corners of his eyes, “I just-”

Before he could say anything more, White Lily leaned forward and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly and nuzzling her nose into the crook of his neck. “It’s okay, Fae. You don’t have to worry about anything, i promise. I won’t force you to tell me what’s wrong, but I can’t help you if you don’t communicate with me. Just tell me what you need from me and I’ll do whatever I can to make you feel better.”

Though hesitant at first, Elder Faerie returned the hug, relaxing into White Lily’s grasp. “There’s… something that I need to show you.”

Elder Faerie stood up and slowly unbuttoned his shirt, shrugging it off of his shoulders. There was his bare chest, featuring his top surgery scars.

White Lily stood as well and gazed at the scars, gently reaching out and grazing them with her fingertips. “This is what you wanted to show me?”

“As you know before we met, I got top surgery.” Elder Faerie explained. “The doctors removed the breast tissue, and I didn’t have boobs anymore, and it felt amazing. But these scars, they made me feel ugly and unwanted. I know I could’ve easily trusted you to see them, but I couldn’t bring myself to show you.”

Once he had finished, White Lily immediately pulled him into a loving kiss. “You are not ugly, you are the most beautiful person in the universe, and you have been the most amazing boyfriend ever. Even before we confessed our love for each other, even when I was in that coma, you were the most incredible man that I could have ever encountered in my entire life, and a few scars aren’t going to change my view of you.”

“I’ve just felt so ashamed of them,” Elder Faerie admitted, “I was ashamed of my scars, and ashamed of my own inability to tell you. I mean, I’m supposed to be the brave one in this relationship! I’m supposed to support you, protect you, keep you safe and loved! And I’ve survived so much, and yet I’m afraid of showing you a few little scars.”

“It’s okay to be scared, my love.” Lily replied, “it’s okay to be vulnerable, and you don’t need to protect me. And how I see it, these scars tell a story. One of pain and fear and confusion and doubt, but also one of hope and love and triumph. They tell a story of a challenge you were able to overcome and the way it changed you for the better.”

Elder Faerie looked at his girlfriend lovingly, feeling himself start to tear up again. “I love you so much…”

“I love you more~” White Lily replied in a cheerful, sing-song tone of voice, “now c’mon, once you touch the water you’re going to love it.”

White Lily grabbed her lovers hand and started to pull him towards the water. Elder Faerie happily followed, quickening his pace so that he could walk next to her. Once they reached the water, White Lily dipped her toes in, Elder Faerie following suit. Then White Lily playfully kicked water at him.

“Hey!” Elder Faerie said through giggles. Putting his hands up defensively, he kicked water at White Lily as well, earning a giggle and a similar response from White Lily. Soon, the tension between them had melted away, and it was as if their sad yet intimate moment had never happened. The two were playing like kids, giggling and splashing each other, swimming out into the deeper parts of the water, and even exploring the nearby coral reef, White Lily of course having to wave hello to all the cute little fish that swam past them.

Soon, hours had passed by, and by the time they had dried themselves off and loaded their stuff back into the car, the sun was setting behind them.

“Today was amazing,” Elder Faerie gushed, “you were right, that beach is amazing.”

“I told you, that beach changed my life,” White Lily agreed, “I know it’s just sand and water, but that beach is the reason I decided to explore the world, and we both know what would’ve happened if I had never traveled.”

Elder Faerie chuckled lightly. “Well, you did travel, and we met, and we fell in love, and now we’re married, so it doesn’t matter.” He hesitated for a moment, then added “Maybe we should go there more often. Maybe even invite my little brother and his son when they visit.”

White Lily smiled softly and rested her head on her husband’s shoulder.

“That would be amazing…”

Taglist: @janayuga @katsunemillennium @trustymikh @c00kietin @tartelongan @cedric-my-beloved

[dcangel]

INSTAGRAM POSTS #1

In a world where the teen wolf kids are famous…

Liked by s.stilinski24 and others

yourusername almost tripped on the rocks :/

View all 289 comments

lydia_martinn pretty y/nnn

↳yourusername luv you lyds <33

s.stilinski24 hmm i wonder who took the picture 😐

↳yourusername i have my own photographer 🤷‍♀️

user1 come home the kids miss you

user2 mommy? sorry- mommy? sorry

allison.argent11 marry me?

↳yourusername ofc bby

Liked by lydia_martinn and others

yourusername pretty x pretty

View all 364 comments

user1 holyyy 😍

s.stilinski24 move i can’t see the sunset

itzscotty.m was this at the preserve

↳yourusername duh

↳user1 what preserve yall🤨

↳user2 yall be hanging out together?

user3 mid

↳user4 fr

↳allison.argent11 tell me you’re jealous without telling me you’re jealous

↳user5 i’d be jealous too she be stealing yor man

↳itzscotty.m your* 😊

Liked by allison.argent11 and others

yourusername where i belong obvi

View all 431 comments

lydia_martinn feeling a little left out rn

↳itzscotty.m me too

↳yourusername IMSORRY i didn’t have any pictures with you guys

user1 who’s the guy? asking for a friend

↳yourusername uhh

↳s.stilinski24 idk it’s not like he’s tagged in the pic

user2 kiss marry kill: extreme level

↳user3 fuck* marry kill

↳user4 THEYRE MINORS

↳user5 nah that’s crazy

yodel.lahey.hoo where’s my invite

↳yourusername bro you literally said you didn’t like the beach what

↳user6 STOP IS THIS THAT ISAAC GUY??

↳user7 I THINK SO

↳user6 HIS USER HAS ME CACKLING

so here’s the first little instagram post thingy. i’ve been seeing a bunch of people doing this with their fav characters/shows so i wanted to try my own. lmk if you guys like it and maybe want more??

if you have any questions abt the usernames or how the comments/replies work, feel free to ask <33

[hanasnx]

I got something for you, Magic Mike Anakin

oh?????

oh really?????

alright so i’ve seen both magic mikes and i gotta say i like the second one better just cos its about men exploring positive masculinity and pursuing their passions for fun instead of profit. also “the kid” annoyed the hell out of me, so did his sister. and ill be honest amber heard’s character in xxl annoyed me too :/ its a give and take really.

i did like XXL a lot because of that groom scene?? hello??? it was with “big dick richie” and it was the only dance that made me have a physical reaction. i was so skdjksjd heres the link

☥ its so very anakin coded to me for some reason. like he’d totally lean in to say something naughty in your ear after you were just “married” and brings you to the stage.

picks you up and hooks his arm under your legs effortlessly

sit you down into the sex swing. chain up your legs. whipping his tie around like he would actually whip you with it given the chance.

picking himself up like that using the bars and pretending to fuck your face. hanging upside down to shake his hair out over your crotch and tickle in between your legs.

☥ this scene had so much good energy to me it looked so fun and juxtaposed the idea of you either get one or the other when you marry— you get a gentleman that marries you and treats you right, and a freak that treats you like the slut you are when its time to consummate the marriage. very anakin

☥ i know ive talked about anakins character not being very sexual unless hes with a person he really likes, but who says this dance cant be between him and you aka his lover?

also i love the idea of a demisexual stripper that just shatters a harmful stereotype “if youre a stripper you must love sex right?” “im basically asexual” “oh” sumn about it scratches my brain

☥ anakin running around with his 501st crew to dance for fun and have beach parties and compete in a drag bar for cash bcos you only live once. he’d definitely be the thrill seeker of the group and the guy that does the most stunts just cos he can. like sets up the stage to like do a bunch of flips through hoops of fire ?? he has no sense of self preservation!! hes doing it!

☥ the way he’d be able to move his hips skfjddsfklj plsss. hed be so fluid and we all know hes already jacked. one of his hobbies is def working out and dancing like this requires a lot of work and training!

☥ not to mention those hips would be amazing in bed,,,,, aye yai yai. he’d push and pull and direct you and position you like a rag doll— hit spots inside you you never thought possible. make you clutch the sheets and drool all over yourself.

☥ he’d revel in the attention tbfh he loves making ladies feel special

☥ he’s probably a fan favorite just because of his personality. also theres a big air of mystery surrounding his scar that only adds to his sex appeal

☥ eeee imagine him flirting with you after the event like “you like what you see? interested in a private show?” he’d be such a tease

☥ he honestly would use any excuse to wear less clothes

[oncorhynchus-nerka]

I'm gonna get called a hater but I see red every time I get recommend videos on Instagram of ppl taking 20000 shells every time they go to the beach and then I look at the comments and anyone saying to not take any (OR EVEN JUST TAKE LESS) get mobbed for "ruining the fun" bc it "doesn't hurt anything" like y'all realize that the shells EXIST IN THE ECOSYSTEM right. sure yeah it's only One Person taking a bunch of shells- but it ISN'T. It's thousands (if not hundreds of thousands around the world) of people daily deciding to take them. There's literally less shells TO BE FOUND. I'm going to the beach today to look for shark teeth, so I'm throwing stones in a glass house (except shark teeth you find at beaches are fossils so they've been preserved for millions of years and won't become part of the ecosystem in the same way as shells.) but if you REALLY want to take any seashells please either 1) don't or 2) just take one or two max. i know half of the instagram posts are going to just take the pictures for the likes and then shove them in a box somewhere or throw them out. you can even get fake ones if it's that important to you. Think about the beach in Japan with star-shaped sand granules that's been decimated because thousands and thousands of people take only a little bit of the sand. Seashells provide habitat and extremely important nutrients for the soil and ocean AND AID IN CO2 ABSORPTION. Spend a few minutes studying how calcium carbonate (the material shells are made of) affects the atmospheric greenhouse gasses and then decide if you need to take shells from the beach.

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

ROUND 1 MATCH 13

Chrom propaganda:

“He eats oranges with the peel still on, he's an absolute himbo. Also the writers accidentally made his daughter canonically trans so he definitely supports trans rights. And technically you can only marry him if you play as female Robin but their dynamic is still just as romantic if you play as male Robin (they literally call each other their other half and m!Robin and Chrom have a valentine's day duo unit in the gatcha, and in the anthology manga m!Robin asks Chrom to make polygamy legal so he can also marry Chrom's wife and they can be a family) so most people play the game with the gay mod so they can still marry him as a guy. He's incredibly stupid ("yeah, let's set all our ships on fire then walk through a volcano, you're so smart, Robin" "I know you've had prophetic visions about killing me and our daughter came from the future to warn us it would happen but I'm sure THIS TIME it won't because of the power of our bonds") but also really sweet. In the summer DLC they're fighting on a beach and when he sees Robin get excited over a weird creature they found he immediately forgets about the battle and starts trying to make a bunch of crafts (and failing) and cooking food (and failing again) and writing "Chrom and Robin were here" in the sand so that Robin could have some nice beach memories. I'm obsessed with this man”

Corsac propaganda:

“Huntsman concerned with preserving the ecosystem and obtaining potion ingredients in a sustainable manner. Pro-level survival skills and non-existent social skills. Easily flustered by flirting, but will excitedly teach you how to distinguish animal droppings.”

[elizabeth-mitchells]

last night i had a very detailed dream about watching the first episode of yellowjackets s3. basically winter was over and the girls were making a trip back down to the beach (yes, my brain still has yj mixed up with the wilds what about it). everyone that died was there as ghosts and lottie and laura lee had a beautiful reunion just like i've always imagined it, but laura lee was upset for some reason! i think because lottie continued to have zero self preservation instincts. there were also new characters again, as if we wouldn't notice, again. one of the girls was carrying a venezuelan flag (idk ask my brain about it). and when they reach the beach and start swimming they find a weird floating building and a bunch of people living there?? but they're so sketchy. the girls make a deal with them, leaving one of the new girls with them in exchange for food. but it's yj so the food was a dead man 💀 but he was so nasty looking they refused to eat him lmao so they went back to the beach people to make another deal and this time they were planning to trick them and betray them and i'm pretty sure the season was going to be about them killing these people one by one

[thebluestbluewords]

Tide Pool Adventures

“You cannot eat a raw jellyfish.” Evie says firmly. “We share one bathroom, and I am not skipping my skincare routine just because you decided to eat the ocean and  gave yourself food poisoning.” 

“Maybe the jellyfish should be your new skincare routine,” Mal says thoughtfully. “It looks soft and slimy enough.” 

“Gross. I don’t want to put things you pulled out of the ocean on my face.” 

“Or in your mouth, apparently.” Mal teases. She’s in an unexpectedly good mood. The beach, which she’d expected to be bright and sunny and full of cheery tourists, is instead slightly overcast and full of interesting things that have washed up right by the edge of the water. There’s an intriguing amount of slime in a series of pools that’ve formed under the wooden dock, and she’s got a plastic bucket that was definitely intended for children and a vague plan to gather a bunch of slime to dump on the boys later. 

“I don’t want to put anything you haven’t cleaned with soap in my mouth.” Evie says, wrinkling her nose at the thought. “And that includes you, M. We really need to stay somewhere with a shower soon.” 

“Aww, you don’t love my natural scent?” Mal says brightly. She’s still got the dead jellyfish in one hand. It’s really fun to touch. Maybe if she can put some sort of preservation spell on it, they’ll be able to fit it somewhere in the truck. 

Evie takes a subtle step away from Mal’s jellyfish hand. “I love so many things about you, and the fact that you sweat more than most grown men I know is not one of them.” 

[uninformedartist]

Sorry If I sound mean but you live in cape town right Probably one of the most beautiful places on earth And I barely see any photos The mountains the beach and A bunch of other stuff 😭 If I was living there now , I will post every single day I live in flat ass Texas where the most views you get is trees or hills lol 😆.

Aw don't feel bad. I have a friend from Texas and she showed me some beautiful photos from there. Such amazing nature reserves and the Hamilton Pool Preserve, beyond words how beautiful it is, she showed me photos from her family visit there.

And ty, the only reason I don't post a lot of pics cos I'm personally used to the sea, mountains ect lol. This is just a few pics of the area I live in, coastal, and one picture I took on a drive up the mountain looking down to the valley below and further up winelands. I got better pictures, just all on my old phone ^^

[therainingkiwi]

Percy Jackson and Long Island

TL;DR: The CHB scenes of the new Percy Jackson show were shot near Vancouver, BC. Which is gorgeous but also it's so different from Long Island. You should look at some pretty pictures of Long Island below the cut.

-----------

Percy Jackson trailer came out today and it's GORGEOUS.

In particular, the CHB scenes are beautiful, and the Vancouver-area woods they used for location shooting are breathtaking. I'm very glad they shot on location there.

Also, I need people to know: That's NOT what Long Island looks like. That shoreline doesn't look like Long Island Sound. Those trees are not Long Island trees. That shot of campers crossing a rope bridge? Yeah, I'm willing to bet that shot alone contains more elevation change than all of Long Island.

So, when you picture the scenes in your head, maybe try this: replace the tall conifers with a forest of short maples, oaks, and beeches. The leaves are lime-and-emerald green in the summer, as is all the light that reaches the forest floor. The forest is open and sun-dappled, thinning out towards a shore of grasses and giant sand dunes, rolling towards a body of water that looks like the ocean, but calmer. Less terrifying. More familiar. You can't really see the other side, but you know it's there--you can see it if you go a little further out. There is the occasional Eastern White pine tree, but they're singular tall trees that stick out clearly above the otherwise low-lying and open landscape. Most Long Island trees are not tall--which is why Thalia's pine stands out so much. There are gulls and other seabirds everywhere, and you can hear their calls on the air. In the summer, the air is hot and humid, and the ground is damp. You can tell this land fades to wetland not far from here. There are no mountains, just gently rolling hills and windswept sand dunes.

Like I said, I'm glad they didn't schlep a production team and a bunch of child actors all the way across the country to film on location. Vancouver is beautiful, and I'm excited to see that version of camp.

But, in your mind's eye, at some point, perhaps think of Long Island. Think of low lying forests. Think of dunes and wetlands and gulls and scrub grass. Think of cloudless skies. Below the read more are some photos of Long Island nature reserves, beaches, and Native reservations (there are two of them on Long Island--Shinnecock and Poospatuck/Unkechaug*).

The place is beautiful, and deserves to be appreciated.

This photo of the Jerome A. Ambro memorial wetlands was found on zaubee.com, and was taken by Noelle Casey. The image depicts a tan sandy beach in the foreground, and low-lying grassy wetlands in the mid-ground. At the far left edge of the photo, you can see the first few trees of a forest that presumably continues off to the left. In the background, you can see forested gentle rolling hills. The bright midday sun is visible in the picture, and there's not a cloud in the sky.

Cuffee’s Beach on the Shinnecock Indian Nation’s territory near Southampton on Long Island, New York.

Photo by Jeremy Dennis (Shinnecock Indian Nation)

From &lt;https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/Shinnecock-Nation>

This image shows a dry, grassy shore. Presumably, it is winter, since the short trees visible on the left of the landscape don't have any leaves. The viewer is looking out on a deep blue body of water, where the opposite shore is far away but visible. The picture is bathed in a golden, late afternoon light and the sky fades from a pale orange to a cloudless blue.

This is a photograph of Hither Woods Preserve, a park in Montauk. I couldn't find details on the photographer. The image shows a forest. The trees are thin, and the foliage is dense, but you can see sky through the light green leaves. The trees are thin, and straight, and there's broad leaf plants providing ground cover. Through these plants, you can see a brown forest floor that gently slopes upward. In the middle of the path, a brown winding trail is edged with sticks to make it stand out clearly.

This entire blog post about Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Park is worth a read, for the beautiful photography if nothing else.

*Just to clarify, Poospatuck is the name of the reservation itself, and Unkechaug is the name of the tribal community that lives on that reservation. The name of the reservation is taken from the nearby Poospatuck River.

[notathrowawayname]

Books and zombies

I feel the need to rant about a sidequest, so here I am screaming into the void.

I recently played Dying Light 2, because I really enjoyed the first one and killing zombies with parkour is fun. In both games you can forgive the weak story because the game really isn't about the story, it's about the gameplay. That being said, both games have entertaining sidequests. In Dying Light you meet a guy that thinks the zombie virus was started from a meteorite, which you find and bring back to him, for which he gives you the "super weapon" called the "anti-gadoid gun". It's utterly useless, like it blasts air that doesn't seem to effect anyone in any way? But the quest dialogue is fun and you get XP for doing it (as well as an oh so valuable safe house. You need those to skip the night and in Dying Light, night is so scary most players skipped the night) Again in Dying Light 2, to their credit, the writers did put in effort into sidequests (main quest is so hard to be invested in, but to summarise, you're looking for a long lost sister and your one lead is the head of the facility you were both at as kids). There's a sidequest where you have to kill a mutant zombie because an artist wants to use the pigment it develops, and there's an awful singer who's scarf you find to get her to stop sinigng (she sings anyway, absolute queen). Where am I going with this preamble? Well I wanted to make sure you guys understood that I didn't have an issue with this game's writng because it did what it needed to most of the time, which is give you a good reason to kill zombies. And for that reason, I could accept that it didn't have to be well written or interesting, just a few wacky or melodramatic lines of dialogue. And then I played the Book Club sidequest. Some background (I'm sorry I know it's long, but I want you to feel the same seething frustration I do). In Dying Light 2, you play as Aiden. Aiden is a Pilgirm, a messenger who travels from settlement to settlement in this post apocalyptic world. You've come to the city of Villadore to follow a lead on your missing sister. The city is split into three factions: Survivors, Peacekeepers and Renegades. They are, in order: not fascists, fascists, also not fascists but you only find out they have a proper settlement at the very end of the game (you can't side with them, they exist so you have someone to kill no matter which of the other two factions you side with). You get different benefits for siding with either the Survivors of Peacekeepers, but I picked Survivors because: a) fuck the fash and, b) Survivors give you trampolines. Everyone is struggling to survive because apocalypse, but it certainly looks like the fascists have the best/most resources, like living in the beached warship and having armour. A bunch of the Survivors have superstitions about the old world, because that was what made everything go to shit. There's stuff like how one doctor hides their scientific preparation of remedies as voodoo, just so that people are more likely to take the medicine. So when you first arrive at the warship, home of the fash, it feels more like the old world. And on this warship, you can find a library. This library is inhabited by two people, cooky old man Albert and sexy librarian Thalia. You know what isn't in this library? Books, at least not as many as there should be. Albert and Thalia want to preserve the knowledge and wisdom of the old world by finding rare/important books. Thing is, the world went to shit a long time ago, so there aren't many books in good condition left. Even worse, those that are in good condition are in dangerous locations, too dangerous for Albert or Thalia, and the Peacekeepers won't lend them any soldiers to go and get them (fucking fash). But you, being the _super cool badass_ that you are, can go where they can't, and retrieve the books to keep human knowledge safe.

At first I thought "neat", and left it at that. The game has a few little details that suggest reading is on the decline, eg. there's a note you find written by a mother looking for a keyboard complete with all the keys to teach her kids the letters. So you go to dangerous place, kill zombies, get books, and bring them back.

Here's where it gets interesting.

The books aren't just items you pick up, each one is named. You find books by Kafka and Orwell, even poetry compliations. And every time you bring them back to the library, you talk to Thalia who expresses her opinion on them, and then asks "what do you think?" And like, the options for the responses are actually thought out? Also, Aiden has read them??? This guy that spends every waking moment rummaging through bins and killing zombies and doing sick parkour moves is better read than I or most of the people I know are? And the things he says reveal part of his character?? Like I played through the entire game and I swear to god no moment told me more about Aiden as a character than these conversations, even when the decision of which of the two responses he has are up to you.

You do this ten times, each with different books and different conversations, different reasons why the location is dangerous. One time you encounter Renegades who've heard "there's treasure in the safe", when really there's an early edition copy of Treasure Island in the safe. The whole sidequest colours this world with the idea that illiteracy is rampant and it's actively making this world a worse place, and that the librarians are doing what little they can to change that. It's so clear that the devs cared about this sidequest, because it's the only one with it's own special cutscene, and as far as I can tell Thalia is the only character in the game you can romance.

And would you like to know how this sidequest changes the main quest?

In a game of "never have I ever" Aiden drinks because he's had sex since coming to the city.

That's it

Like you literally bring the Communist Manifesto back to librarians living under a fascist regime and nothing happens. No censorship subplot, no change in behaviour, nothing. Back to business as usual, head out there and kill zombies.

It's one thing when you never expect anything from the writing. It's another thing to see everything they've done could build to something good, and doesn't. I feel like I've been narratively blue-balled.

Anyway I planned out a spite-fic because of it. I might write it out at some point

[onlyonewoman]

As a 40+ woman who's a hardcore feminist and is quite good with both the rolling pin, the sewing machine, actual handwashing clothes, drying herbs and shit like that: I HATE the current tradwife trend on social media for three main reasons: 1. It romantisizes a period of time in history where women literally had less choices in every single aspect of her life than now. 2. You NEVER hear women in their 80's gushing about what an amazing life they had as stay-at-home wives - let alone how happy their own mothers were. You only hear those who have the luxuary to choose. 3. These so called tradwives are, based on what the average houswife was capable of between, lets say, 1900-1950~ish, nothing but a bunch of vlogging cosplayers who love to pretend they're not telling other young women how they should live. I'm sorry, Mrs. Cosplay Wife, but unless your hands are sore, strong and sinewy from hours of physical labor, your pantry stuffed with boring jars of boring food you're preserving in various ways and you know how to mend clothes both by hand and on machine, you're nothing but a fraud. A real damn house wife is someone who works hard around the house to provide for her family - however it may look. It means long hours of sometimes really boring labour. It means knowing how to take GOOD care of the households clothes and linen. Not just throwing them in on a whim in the machine. NO! We're talking meticulous care here - and lots of ironing and, if possible, mangling. It means preparing and cooking meals every fucking day, doing the dishes, the basic plumbing, getting your ass out into the fucking woods during berry season when others lay on the beach! Forget about spending quality time with your kids - they're either in school, doing homework, helping with chores or out playing. Your husband is too busy trying to support a family of too fucking many on a salary that was good enough in the 50's, but not now, so how about some goddamn reality check? If you're blogging/vlogging about how much you love the 1950's estethics and how much you love cupcakes and traditional values, you're just a young, privileged snob, rich enough to not know a flying fuck about how the real housewives in the 1850 ruined their hands with laundry before turning 30 or how those who took drugs to keep the depression at bay in the 1950's felt, because without a world of strangers constantly engaging with and making you earn YOUR OWN money instead of forcing you to ask your husband for it (because, you know, traditional wives HAD NO FINANCIAL FREEDOM), all those colorful, expensive brand kitchen stuff you're prancing around, all the sponsorships and your own bank account, you'd be just as stuck as the women you're trying to cosplay as. You're not traditional, you just have a thing for a certain aestethic and that's fine. But remember: as long as you earn more on strutting around in chechered aprons that aren't made to spill on, moving through you sparkling kitchen with 50 gadgets your great grandma couldn't even imagine over her depressing zinc tub with dirty dishes, than the average worker at a laundry, a restaurant, a goddamn sweatshop couldn't even dream of buying despite working as hard as the actual homemakers did back when managing a home meant absolutely vital stuff for a family to survive, you don't get to point that well-manicured finger at those who call you out on your bullshit. You're not traditional. You're influencers with advertisers who're using your homes, looks - and sometimes your kids - to earn money by cosplaying a 1950's look that most families - especially the non-white and the disabled - weren't a part of. And on top of it, you can't even darn a fucking sock without ruining your expensive manecure. My great grandma would've eaten you for breakfast - before heading out to march for voting rights.

[elminx]

Thoughts on my practice, August 2023

Note: As you might imagine, this will not be a full accounting of my practice as there are things that I cannot share for any number of reasons including but not limited to: you wouldn't understand, it's not mine to share, and it's ongoing magic.

I have been slowly coming out of magical hibernation as I get farther away from taking the awful meds (awful FOR ME) that made me so depressed that I was struggling to live, let alone do magic. There was a reckoning that had to be done. Everything was a mess - my altars, my relationships with my spirits, and the cobwebs inside my mind and spirit.

It was about this time last August that they upped my meds and as the months wore on into winter, my practice became virtually untenable. I have to forgive myself for that: both for agreeing to take meds that I knew from experience might be Bad, for continuing to take them as long as I did, and for falling off of my practice. I'm...working on it.

June and July were about playing clean up and catching up.

I had been doing a lot of work around my mindset and changing the way that I notice and experience the world. Though this is strictly "magic" in the sense that I don't normally cast spells toward this goal, it is unquestionably a part of my practice and my current path as a witch. So this month, feeling like I have the bones of my practice righted, I returned to this work.

Our month began with a full moon in Aquarius on the 1st. My intention for the month is: No matter how my day goes, I return to my heart. I tried to solidify this intention by focusing on my gratitude practice for the first eight days of the month - each day I came up with eight unique things that I was grateful for which I recorded in my witch journal. This is a reminder for me to look for the good things in life rather than focusing on the bad.

This is important for me because I have an anxiety disorder and tend to catastrophize - returning to my heart and being present with my body is my best method of alleviation. I was especially worried about this Venus retrograde which squared off with my Sun, Ascendant,y Mercury, and Chiron. Leo season is often a bit of a struggle for me since it activates so much of my chart (and I'm not fond of the summer heat either).

It happened that coincidentally on the 9th day of the month, my partner and I got into the car for the long trek north to visit his Grandmother. This was very path-affirming for me as, on our way, we got to stop and walk on the beach we used to stay at for all of my childhood. I'm deeply in love with the Atlantic Ocean (she is my deepest and truest love) and it was wonderful to return to the place where this affair began so many years ago. We spent the week wandering back and forth from Nana's house in the mountain to varying parts of the coast and it was wonderful and unquestionably heart healing.

Now, back home, I have had a week to return to my craft in earnest. I did some cat magic under the energy of the Leo new moon and then set to work on the harvest. It is August after all!

As a kitchen witch who likes to can and preserve food for the winter months ahead, August is go time. So far I've made and frozen tomato soup and tomato confit, and we've dried a bunch of onion, herbs, and hot peppers. Next on the docket is some salsa verde and then hopefully another batch of tomato soup and some red salsa as well. If I'm extra lucky with tomatoes from the farm, I'll end up with some marinara sauce as well because we really enjoyed ours last year.

This week begins my regularly scheduled work with Mercury Chthonia during their retrograde cycle and I'm actually pretty excited about this. The deeper that I get into self-exploration and shadow work, the more that I have learned to enjoy the deep slowdown of retrograde season. I have a bunch of half-written blog posts to edit, so this seems very Right On Time to me.

My other plan for this week is to clean off and rearrange my Earth Altar (see also: plant stand). The seasons are starting to change rapidly here and I am so ready for many Autumnal harvests. I might do a bit of work with my bestie goldenrod but otherwise, I intend to take it easy and, as I said, return to my heart with every opportunity.

[bllsbailey]

Scott Jennings Drives the Final Spike Into the 'Never Trump' Campaign As Only He Can

There's been a lot of talk since Election Day about the winners and losers in the various races, but one group on the losing side that hasn't gotten a lot of attention in the aftermath of what's gone down so far has been the infamous Never Trump grifters.

We've written about them often here, and how for eight years they've betrayed their supposed "principles" every time they've opened their mouths, have cashed another check from their fat cat Democrat donors and/or media overlords, or in one group's instance allegedly looked the other way during a sexual predator scandal.

Among the worst of the lot, of course, are the co-founders of the Lincoln Project, for whom no low is too low to stoop.

SEE ALSO:Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson Can't Escape His Own Stench After Moving on to Latest Grift

With all of that in mind, we turn to more Election Day post-mortem commentary from Republican strategist/CNN political analyst Scott Jennings, who - as we previously - reported - delivered some harsh reality checks to his colleagues and Democrats in the early morning hours about the "we're fed up" message sent by voters during Tuesday's elections. 

A few hours later, Jennings proved that he was not done after a statement issued from anti-Trumper Liz Cheney regarding the president-elect's resounding victory prompted him to drive the final spike into the whole Never/Anti-Trump campaign. 

Here's how the segment started:

KASIE HUNT: Liz Cheney tweeting her reaction to Donald Trump's win just moments ago. Here's what she says, quote, "Our nation's democratic system functioned last night, and we have a new president-elect. All Americans are bound, whether we like the outcome or not, to accept the results of our elections. We now have a special responsibility as citizens of the greatest nation on earth to do everything we can to support and defend our Constitution, preserve the rule of law, and ensure that our institutions hold over these coming four years. Citizens across this country, our courts, members of the press, and those serving in our federal, state, and local governments must now be the guardrails of democracy." So, of course, Liz Cheney had devoted herself to preventing Donald Trump from ever entering the White House again, but the never- Trump movement inside the Republican Party, honestly, not borne out here today.

This was Jennings' response:

SCOTT JENNINGS: A bang-up job. I mean, I -- this never-Trump whole complex that grew over the last several years, nothing has ever failed as hard in politics as this. The Lincoln Project, all these people that built millions upon millions upon millions of dollars from Democratic donors, and all the eggs that was put in this basket. The split was amazing. Trump got like 94 percent of Republicans. I don't think they accomplished anything, except probably build a bunch of beach houses. That's about what they did. Republicans being lectured to, condescended to, browbeaten by all these folks over the last -- look, at some juncture, it's OK if we have different opinions about the election. You don't have to beat people to death over it. And the more you do that, the more it drives people away. Total failure

I don't think there's any room for argument there. 

And while Trump's "NeverTrump" detractors like Rick Wilson and the like would say "Well, we helped kick him out of office in 2020," the net effect of that effort was a) to make Trump get even louder and b) to drive even more people in Trump's direction (including bigtime movers and shakers like Elon Musk and Joe Rogan), which culminated in one of the most (if not the most) spectacular comebacks in American political history.

Something equally delicious about the voter repudiation of these types of tactics on Tuesday will be that five or 10 years down the road and beyond, very few people will remember much about the NeverTrump movement. But they will for sure remember how Trump seemingly rose from the political ashes to get his revenge in the best way possible: by way of the ballot box.

RELATED:House Democrat Drops Truth Bomb on Woke Elites in Aftermath of Party's Election Day Drubbing