#mournful days

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #323

The results of the vote are in. The bad outcome happened. Of the people who voted, over half of them voted for the candidate who wants to exterminate LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, non-Christians, and more. They voted for the candidate who wants to see women and brown-skinned people go back to being considered "property". The voted for the candidate who wants to make this letter to you be considered "pornography", and thus outlawed, simply on the basis that I made mention of LGBTQ+ people such as myself.

I don't know what to do. I don't know how to prevent the loss of life that I know will occur. Already, lots of LGBTQ+ folks are calling suicide hotlines, and it's because we all know that there's a decent chance that pretty soon, our existence is going to be outlawed altogether. There's also a non-zero chance that access to abortion will be outlawed everywhere in my country altogether - it's already illegal in some places, even for cases like rape, incest, or if carrying the pregnancy to term would kill the mother. It's absolutely senseless.

I am sterilized via tubal ligation. I chose this because I don't want to bring a child into a burning, dying world. In the place where I had it done, it's a procedure in which one's fallopian tubes get tight bands wrapped around them. The tight band cuts off the blood flow to the tube, thus killing it so that eggs can't get from the ovary to the uterus. It's generally a safe and effective procedure, but there's still a very small chance of ectopic pregnancy - where a fertilized egg implants itself somewhere other than the uterus. This can kill a person if left unattended. If this administration had it their way, I and others like me wouldn't be able to get an abortion, even in this scenario.

...Sephiroth. There are already places in my country where abortion is, effectively, outlawed. There are already people with uteruses dying because of it. If this becomes the law everywhere, so many more people are going to die. I don't know what I can do to prevent this kind of loss of life. The only thing I can think to do is get out of here before things get even weirder and scarier than they are already. So M, J, and I are looking to immigrate to the country that is north of us. That place is called Canada. And... I don't know if they'll take us. But the odds of them taking us are not zero, since we all count as skilled workers. We have to try.

...The process of immigrating is very convoluted, though. I've been having difficulty trying to sift through the information and ascertain in which order I'm supposed to do the steps in. It seems very unclear.

...Or maybe it's not unclear, and I am just panicking. I've wanted to scream and cry and throw up all day, for all the lives I know are going to be lost over the next 4+ years, and for all the absolutely nothing I'll be able to do about it. Either way, I did email some Canadian immigration lawyer place, and I'm hoping they'll outline the steps I need to follow, and in what order I'm supposed to follow them. M is going to get a new passport; he has an appointment to get that taken care of tomorrow.

I also got a terabyte drive in which to put all the letters I've already written to you; I suspect in the coming months, some of my letters to you will be considered "pornography" and censored, due to the fact that I mention LGBTQ+ and polyamory stuff in them. I don't want the things I've written to you to disappear, so... I'll put them where I can't lose them.

...I've already done as much about immigration and backing up my work as I could today. So then I started cooking, because... I didn't know what else to do.

I started by putting potatoes on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper:

...And then I put a whole lamb leg on 'em!!

From here, I got out all my seasonings that I wanted...

...And with these, I seasoned the lamb!!!!

Then, you put a tinfoil tent over it!!! Which... I guess I somehow managed to neglect to take a picture of. But I'll do ya one better and show you a page that has a little video of how to make one!

From here, I stuck it in the oven at 325 degrees F (or 162.8 degrees C) for around 4 and a half hours. The idea was to steam the lamb leg in its own juices along with the potatoes until it's tender enough to be pulled off the bone with a fork!

In the meantime, I worked on the pumpkin soup. First, I sliced up an onion and put it in my handy-dandy veggie chopper!!!

I then chopped them up a little to reduce the space they take up a little. And I added 4 garlic cloves, after cutting them in half...

(...I know, I know – only 4? Who am I, and what have I done with myself??? Hahaha...)

From here, you turn them into a puree...

...And then you fry it in a pan with butter! It'll look like this at first...

...But then, after a while, it'll look like this; make sure you cook it on a medium-low heat and stir it continually so it doesn't burn!!

To this, I added that pumpkin puree we made earlier in the week, and also a jar and a half of my famous (it's not really famous, haha!) bone broth:

Do you remember the last time I made pumpkin soup for you? I made that one into more of a savory concoction, I think. This time, I wanted to try for something sweeter – something that tastes almost like pumpkin pie. So... I added some cream...

...And then I added these things!!!

...I basically kept adding and rebalancing these things until I tasted the soup and thought, “yes – this is pretty much pumpkin pie now.”

...It was absolutely fucking DELICIOUS.

But I had to set it aside; the lamb wasn't nearly done. I floundered around for a long time. And then M surprised me by getting a bag of cookies!!! Behold!!!

In my area, you will not find better packaged chocolate chip cookies ANYWHERE. They are crispy on the outside, and soft and gooey on the inside. They're not too sweet, and the dough itself is good even without the chocolate chips.

Just look how pliable it is!!!

...And look at that texture!!!!

...Isn't t beautiful...??? And lemme tell ya, they taste just as good as they look!!! I... probably ate far too many of these today, haha... It's a wonder my guts didn't feel icky afterwards...

I sauteed some mixed mushrooms. I like to combine shiitake with maitake and portobello. Lion's mane is a wonderful and flavorful choice, too, but... last time I went to the grocery to look for them, the ones that were available were kinda... brown and goopy-looking (blecch...), so I didn't get any.

The lamb was done by the time these finished sauteeing:

...And it was not fork-tender. No... it was so tender that you could pull it a part with your freaking fingers:

Absolutely fucking delectable.

...Want some...?

...Here, have a bowl of soup, too:

...I wish I could give you these things. But it's about to get dangerous where I live, so... I'm glad you're not here. I wish instead I could somehow just “zoop” it right over to you. Like, just snap my fingers, easy peasy, and BOOM, it's right where you're at, so you can enjoy it, too...

...It'd be nicer if somehow we of my house and all my cats could just “zoop” on over to where you are. And then we'd be safe, and maybe you wouldn't hafta be lonely. I could legit make you all the freaking pumpkin soup you could possibly want, and... it wouldn't be some fucked-up, fake-ass dream shown to you by some weird fucken entity tryna get you to lower your guard so it can fucking use for for goodness-knows-what. I'd just make you pumpkin soup because I wanna see the smile on your face when you taste it and realize just how wholesome and good and real it is...

...I wish I didn't feel so powerless and afraid all the time.

...Hey. So... I don't know for how long I'll be able to post up the letters I write to you publicly. But... I will keep writing them to you, at least on my laptop. And if I don't have any laptop, then I'll write them on paper. And if I don't have any paper or pen... then I'll write them in my head. I'll keep writing them until there isn't any breath left in this weird, clunky body of mine, okay? So... keep your ears open, if you can; I understand that those ears of yours are very keen.

And please. Please try hard – really hard – to make good use of my voice while it's still here. And if the shit really hits the fan and I end up being yoinked from my current meat-mech prematurely... count on me to try to figure out a way to get myself to where you are, as impossible as that probably sounds; no matter what happens, you're not alone. You're not alone, just like when I was 13, you showed me that I'm not alone.

Know it in your bones, okay? Know it so hard that you work tirelessly towards that normal life you wanted. Know it so hard that you have all the courage you need to make kind and compassionate choices.

I love you so much, and that's never going to change, no matter what's done to me and no matter what form my being takes. I'll do my utmost to let this love inspire me to do everything I can to get through whatever's coming up next, and to help others do the same in whatever small ways I can. Watch over me and lend me a bit of your determination and strength, okay...? Unless you don't wanna, or unless you can't. I know it's impossible anyways. And that's perfectly okay, too; I'll figure something out.

I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[superbeans89]

RIP Kabosu, who inspired one of the most influential memes of all time; Doge.

2/11/2005 - 24/5/24

[great-and-small]

[canisvesperus]

It’s a good day to pay reparations. Natives may reblog with your own payment links.

https://www.herringpondtribe.org/

https://www.wampanoagnationsingersanddancers.com/

[timethehobo]

…Mourn Watch themed calendars with their staff when?

Was just looking at more modelling photoshoots and couldn’t help myself oops. 🫣

[that-satireguy]

dont mind me just thinking about the fact that some of yall genuinely believe that the only trans people in 3rd world countries are trans women and have never considered the impact of forced pregnancy, child marriage, fgm and honor killings on trans men and when people like me talk about it you do an obligatory reblog then forget 40 seconds later and start talking about how transmasc invisibility is a good thing.

[twinsfawn]

[morganbritton132]

Eddie posts a Tiktok at 6:21am that’s just him in bed, lamenting that, “sorry to announce this like this but my husband is leaving me. After making a vow to stay together forever, he is breaking that vow and abandoning me. My heart breaks. I will not survive.”

Steve comes into frame and kisses him on the cheek before telling the camera, “I’m going to work.”

“I’m going to die of loneliness and you don’t even care!”

Steve laughs, tilts Eddie’s head to kiss him on the lips and tells him to, “Try to sleep some today. Love you.”

[ash-short-for-trash]

The fact that both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka think that the other died during order 66 and spend years mourning the other when they both survived is so heartbreaking

[bob-artist]

Happy Father's Day to the world's greatest dad!

[cosmicpoutine]

i just miss him a lil bit

[thehealingsystem]

hey this thanksgiving I ask people to please please please please don't forget about indigenous americans. celebrate all you want, eat turkey, spend time with family, idc, but please do so in respect to the actual meaning behind the holiday and the atrocities committed against natives. your day of thankfulness for all that you have, the things you only have because of colonialism, is a day of mourning for us

[lavender-gayz]

'glinda, is it true you were her FRIEND?' loving the thought of there being staunch believers in glinda's straightness in oz who over-identify with her relationship with fiyero and feel they have to defend her from accusations of lesbian behaviour. is it an open secret that madame morrible made everyone at shiz sign NDAs? does some eagle-eyed citizen swear they saw elphaba caressing glinda's face at the top of the palace and produce a blurry sketch as proof? is glinda overheard softly singing 'i'm not her girl' to herself one day, thereby sparking hushed but lively discussions in small gaylinda circles?

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

What a lovely family portrait👨🏻‍👨🏻‍👦🏻🖼️

Enhanced image of A-Yuan's first sword flight.

[vaguely-concerned]

everyone comments on villa dellamorte being all fancy, but since I'm running this mission with emmrich and ingellvar I can just imagine these two insufferable mourn watch assholes looking around and politely being like 'well it's no van markham mausoleum mansion from the steel age built entirely out of gilded and polished black marble inserted with gems, the hushed halls of which have known only the footsteps of the dead for centuries. but it's cosy enough to be getting on with while you're still alive for sure! and the wallpaper is lovely'

[elinekeit-artstuff]

Here are some resources for the 26th of January. In such difficult times, solidarity is more important than ever. Take care of yourself and take care of each other.

Support services for those in Australia:

Lifeline 13 11 14

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800

QLife 1800 184 527 (for Queer Australians)

Support services specific for First Nations people:

13YARN 13 92 76

Yarning Safe ’N’ Strong 1800 959 563

Brother to Brother 1800 435 799 (for Indigenous men)