#two different people with very different priorities

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Did the books ever say why Rufus Scrimgeour doesn't like Harry or even refuse to team up with Harry despite Rufus opposing Voldemort just as much as anyone else?

He wanted to team up with Harry, Harry was the one to tell him no.

In HBP, Scrimgeour uses Percy as an excuse to go and talk to Harry. He is trying to get Harry onside for the Ministry’s image and to get Intel on Dumbledore, but Harry is just too smart for his bullshit and knows what Scrimgeour will accomplish by this cooperation:

“It would give everyone a lift to think you were more involved, Harry,” said Scrimgeour, sounding relieved that Harry had cottoned on so quickly. “ ‘The Chosen One,’ you know . . . It’s all about giving people hope, the feeling that exciting things are happening. . . .” “But if I keep running in and out of the Ministry,” said Harry, still endeavoring to keep his voice friendly, “won’t that seem as though I approve of what the Ministry’s up to?” “Well,” said Scrimgeour, frowning slightly, “well, yes, that’s partly why we’d like —” “No, I don’t think that’ll work,” said Harry pleasantly. “You see, I don’t like some of the things the Ministry’s doing. Locking up Stan Shunpike, for instance.” Scrimgeour did not speak for a moment but his expression hardened instantly. “I would not expect you to understand,” he said, and he was not as successful at keeping anger out of his voice as Harry had been. “These are dangerous times, and certain measures need to be taken. You are sixteen years old —” [...] “I don’t want to be used,” said Harry. “Some would say it’s your duty to be used by the Ministry!” “Yeah, and others might say it’s your duty to check that people really are Death Eaters before you chuck them in prison,” said Harry, his temper rising now. [...] “No, it was honest,” said Harry. “One of the only honest things you’ve said to me. You don’t care whether I live or die, but you do care that I help you convince everyone you’re winning the war against Voldemort. I haven’t forgotten, Minister. . . .” He raised his right fist. There, shining white on the back of his cold hand, were the scars which Dolores Umbridge had forced him to carve into his own flesh: I must not tell lies. “I don’t remember you rushing to my defense when I was trying to tell everyone Voldemort was back. The Ministry wasn’t so keen to be pals last year.”

(HBP, Ch16)

And he wants no part in it because he knows Scrimgeour and he see the war and what needs to be done very differently. Scrimgeour wants to win the war, and he wants it to look like the Ministry is effective since he is also thinking about his career — Harry's priorities are very different.

In DH, again, Scrimgeour asks Harry questions, he wants Harry's information to help deal with Voldemort because he is a complete loss. Unfurtunatly, he is still making the mistake of treatign Harry as a subordinate, and Harry rightfuly tells him to fuck off:

“I have some questions for the three of your and I think it will be best if we do it individually. If you two” —he pointed at Harry and Hermione— “can wait upstairs, I will start with Ronald.” “We’re not going anywhere,” said Harry, while Hermione nodded vigorously. “You can speak to us together, or not at all.” Scrimgeour gave Harry a cold, appraising look. Harry had the impression that the minister was wondering it was worthwhile opening hostilities this early. “Very well then, together,” he said, shrugging. [...] You may wear that scar like a crown, Potter, but it is not up to a seventeen-year-old boy to tell me how to do my job! It’s time you learned some respect!” “It’s time you earned it.” said Harry.

(DH, Ch7)

The thing is, like I said, Harry is right to do so. Scrimgeour sees Harry as a tool and a symbol; he doesn't actually respect Harry as an equal. And easy mistake to make, considering Harry is a 16-year-old student. Scrimgeour treats Harry as if he's stupid and young and easy to manipulate — when he isn't.

Harry isn't interested in Scrimgeour's power plays and attempts at hiding just how much the Ministry doesn't have things under control. He doesn't care about politics, or his own career or the larger system, or appearances. He cares about people and ensuring they are safe from Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Scrimgeour is indifferent to Harry at first, he starts disliking him only after he speaks to him because Harry is: clever, cheeky, bold, and sees right through Scrimgeour. He doesn't like Harry because he can't use him, but if Harry had told Scrimgour he'd work with him and negotiate the conditions of his "Ministry appearances", I think Scrimgour would agree to hear at least him out. He is a politician. He'd be willing to release Stan if he gets something he sees as equal or better out of it. The problem is Harry isn't a politician. Harry isn't there to negotiate terms and compromise — Harry wants things to be done openly and honestly, and the way he thinks is right, which is not how the Ministry works.

(Under different circumstances, Harry could have negotiated terms and compromised like Scrimgour wanted. But Scrimgour tried to manipulate Harry as his first move, and Harry doesn't take kindly to being disrespected, looked down on, or used)

Scrimgeour wanted to work with Harry, just, not in a way Harry would've (or should've) wanted to work with him. They both see the war very differently from each other.

[ray935sworld]

Alex Marquez for number 9 please 🥰🥰

Based on this

Sleep deprivation

Alex & Marc

aka Alex being too ambitious and Marc being a helpless overprotective brother

Marc once more realized the downside of being an athlete sponsored by engery drinks.

It was barely morning and he saw Alex take a red bull out of the cupboard. He watched how his younger brother let it rotate in his hold. He spun it around his fingers before opening it and pouring it down his throat. He took big sips, almost desperate for the drink.

Why did they even had those drink? They weren't healthy. Alex shouldn't drink them, especially this early in the morning.

"Everything okay?" Marc asked loudly and watched how Alex flinched. He turned to him, visibly startled to see him.

"What? Yeah. I just - I need to get some stuff done and I didn't sleep well" "Why not?" "Cause the monster under my bed kept kicking me" Alex rolled his eyes and gave his brother an annoyed look.

Marc didn't fail the notice the dark circles under his eyes that kept growing.

"What do you think? I just didn't sleep well!" "Chill, maybe you were up all night watching porn or something" he replied jokingly, hoping to ease the tension but to no avail. "Very funny" the younger one muttered before disappearing.

It was in the afternoon when Alex drank his next engery drink.

He took a deep breath, trying to get the little voice out his head that this wasn't healthy and how it messed with his training.

He knew that already. He knew all those weird chemicals messed with his diet and by the way his hands were shaking, he knew it wasn't avoidable.

The voice told him he should get some sleep. Rest. Let his body heal and then deal with everything else. That his health should be his priority. But he couldn't do that.

His eyes felt dry. They were burning like fire. Every time he blinked, there was a short moment of release, a little break, a moment of peace. But as soon as he opened them again, it kept on burning.

He sighed, giving in for a moment. He felt his shoulders heavily weighting him down. He felt the pressure building up, almost bubbling over, crushing him under it.

He felt his mind getting tired, his brain and body begging him to lay down, rest, get some sleep. But he refused. He couldn't. He didn't want to. Even the pressuring headache couldn't make him sleep.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to explode. He wanted to run as far away as he could and just disappear.

He just wanted to lay down and sleep. Sleep and not wake up. Sleep until everything went away, until no one cared about him anymore. Sleep until everything was over.

But he couldn't.

He had things to do. He had people he needed to make proud. He needed to make something out of their work, no matter how much he hated that everyone looked at him.

So instead he trained. And trained some more.

He texted his engineers to ask weird questions about the bike that didn't make sense. He looked over the data for a few million times just to try and see stuff that wasn't really there.

He needed to figure out what he was doing wrong, why he only had one win while his brother was so much better. He even snuck into Marc's office and made pictures of his data to compare them. But despite a few differences that were because of the bike, he didn't saw anything he didn't already know.

But slowly it was taking his mind away. He knew he was running out of time. He had to get a grip around the data and the different feeling on the bike.

Le Mans had been his final straw. Not just one but two crashes when he should have been on the podium.

He couldn't keep going like that. He couldn't get P2 or crash. He didn't want to be Mr P2. He wanted to be Mr P1. He wanted to be P1 in the championship and carve his name into the trophy like his brother did so many times.

He wanted to have his own trophy in their house, next to his, championship celebration helmet and his championship winning bike.

He wanted it to be the NR 73. Not 93. Not this year. Not when he was so close.

So if it took studying data and the next track till late and night just to wake up at the crack of dawn to go for a run, then by God, he would do it.

He would do it.

He would take the championship away from his own brother

For once he was okay with working in that Italian pricks favor. If it was him protecting Rossi's record, he'd be fine with if because for once he decided to be selfish. He decided to be just as much of a selfish asshole as his brother. He decided that from now on, they weren't brother on track. He decided to act the same as Marc always had.

No way back.

He felt his eyes burning, a reminder of all the work he put in and squeezed the can in his hand a little tighter.

He knew at the end of the year, a Marquez would put his name on that trophy. But this time it was up to him, which one it would be and Alex wouldn't let this chance slip away.

Not now. Not when he was so close.

Marc watched him from afar. He watched how he put on his running gear in the evening, just like he had done in the morning. He'd take the dogs out for a run, he had said.

Marc had just nodded even if he wondered how many runs their little legs could stand if Alex continued like that.

He saw how tired Alex was and he saw how Alex ignored his own needs. He didn't like that. He hated that. He wanted to wrap his baby brother up in a blanket, make him food and let him fall asleep on the couch, like they did when they were kids.

But now he couldn't because he knew Alex was working towards a goal that sometimes took inconvenience as a payment. And as hungry Marc was for success, a part of him needed to see his brother's work pay off.

As a brother, he wanted to see Alex on top. He wanted him to take care of himself and he wanted him to win.

But as a rider, he knew he'd always work against Alex ambitions so no matter what he'd say to him, the younger one wouldn't listen.

[lilisouless]

There are two things about this

Does the show deserves to be critized for the handling of wesper? Yes, EH must get shit for all he did

Are people aiming at the right direction when it comes to Wesper? No, that’s the issue, people complaining about Show!Wesper being slowburn without further elaboration that “it wasn’t like in the book” simplify the Grishaverse, Jesper, Wylan & Wesper quite a lot. Because Shadow and bone can teach you plenty of terms in adaptation,good and bad, since SoC is a very character centered work, character essence and depth has to be priority , the characters are more interesting than the events.

So, points against Show!wesper:

-Eric Heisserer and the rest of the crew are weird (to say the least) about Jesper’s sexuality, even if he slept around in the books (which is hardly as important as the show makes it to be, and Kit was flat out wrong and tasteless for saying Jesper is attracted to everything that moves). Why mention this? Because my main grip with the hookup storyline, that I wouldn’t have otherwise, is because they didn’t do it as a logical conclusion,an elaborate way to set an interesting dynamic like “it’s the right call” , no,the way Sab crew has treated Jesper tells me their reason to took that choice is only to make a joke out of Jesper’s promiscuity. This if you ask me sort of hurts a bit the relationship. Jesper not remembering him or even having some kind of reaction to meeting Wylan again, makes me believe he is not attracted to him, not physically at least. That’s the one thing i actually think was ooc on his side, book!Jesper disliked Wylan personality and even him had some attraction, hints even before Leigh’s retcon. Book!Jesper would be a MASSIVE bitch to Wylan,but wouldn’t forget sleeping with him. Let me summarize: if Jesper had only been pretending to forget, i would actually be cool with it. It’s the reasons and the framing they choose,because unlike me,they don’t care about Jesper, while even show! Jesper is more than that,to Eric he is comic relief and half of a mlm relationship that tends to be popular.

-We actually don’t know why Show!Jesper likes Wylan, he sees him play the piano then flirts, things such as Wylan being upset with Jesper to me he is not in love with him and his attachment comes from a need to not be alone (Kaz losing it,Inej wanting to leave being events close). Is not a BAD way to start a relationship, it could evolve in true love eventually, show!Wylan is not Show!Jesper’s true love yet,he was a guy that was on the right place and the right time and anyone could have been on his place. The thing is that this can only work if the writers were aware of that, which I seriously doubt , like i said, he is not treated seriously as a character, the reason they rushed the relationship is so fans would get the cute moments they crave , sure we can find some value to it but to them it’s as simple as that.

In short,the grip with Show!Wesper is not on the show itself , is mostly fine as a stand alone,and could be better but that’s a what if without the spinoff. The real problem is the reasons why they made those changes, characters like Jesper deserve better than being seen only on stereotyped lenses. The reason the show version works is that the book character is that good, and Kit is competent enough to add layers on his performance, but no one on the writers room was doing any favors.

Now:

Does this mean show!wesper is out of character and/or doesn’t make sense?

Other than Jesper forgetting about Wylan I’d say no, it does if you bother to put thought on it. The other thing is that aged up Jesper probably reacts in a less teenagy way over a crush on a guy he considers too different from him and not understanding what his feelings are coming from.

The real win book!wesper has on the show version is that we actually see Jesper fall in love with him. It’s the opposite of the show where he is desesperate to hold on to someone and not be alone, book! Jesper thinks he wants Wylan at distance and constantly fights over he actually wanting closeness, it’s more true on that sense. When I say “win” I don’t mean is better necessarily,it’s more like “more appealing” to us. To me saying the book is better because it takes longer is very shallow and purist,some of us can actually pin it down.

The show however nailed some important stuff: the WHY they should be together they are a great influence in the other, they are naturally drawn to each other regardless on situation.

All I said doesn’t mean show!wesper is bad, if the spinoff was in good hands they would evolved in something just as good, it’s an interesting concept, is getting to know each other after their relationship instead of before, the sole concept has plenty of potential to consolidate why they are so perfect for each other that circumstances are irrelevant,the show doesn’t contradict it, in fact it seems like an idea.

You may notice I have limited myself to Jesper,that’s because he is the one whose personality had some shifts, he had to be a but more mature for the story to work. Wylan, i think he is completely in character.

Like,tell me Wylan wouldn’t have slept with Jesper if he had choosen to ask him out instead of annoying him?

Also many people forget Jesper was irritated in their first meet,show! Jesper clearly wasn’t sent by Kaz

“But book!Wylan wouldn’t have a ONS,he’d be too scared!”

Wylan walked in the direction Jesper told him, without a real protection,Nina and Jesper even bitched about how hard it was to look out after him, that’s not an over carefull person.

“But Wylan doesn’t argue with Jesper enough”

True,when I watched the show I was like “why aren’t you talking back at him?” Then the ons was revealed and yeah,of course it’s not the same an annoying guy you have a crush on, bickering being the only way to get some of his attention. Show! Wylan is with a man that already saw him naked, he still tries to get back a bit but clearly would rather avoid the embarrassment of how he was forgotten.

Also yes,they ended up moving in together after barely months. Show is not that far away.

I am not against show!critism but people’s arguments many times are as shallow as the things they critize

"I can't believe they sped up show Wesper! It's nothing like book Wesper!"

Bestie? Did we read the same book? I feel like most people forget that the events of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom take place in the span of a few weeks to a month or two. When they say that the duology is fast-paced, they mean it. It is hella fast-paced. The Crows go from Ketterdam to the Ice Court to back to Ketterdam to the sugar heist to getting trapped at the hotel to the Kuwei-auction drama at a mind-boggling speed. No wonder all of them were going insane towards the end of CK.

And Jesper and Wylan? These two meet each other just a week or two before the duology begins, develop a huge gay crush, go on a heist, develop romantic feelings beyond the crush, get involved in Kaz's antics which happen over a month's time at the minimum, kiss each other before the Kuwei-auction drama, and then move in at the end. Just like that. No words, no extra thoughts, they just went "fuck all that GeTTiNg To No EaCh OtHer NoNsenSe, we moving into that mansion, BITCH!!!"

Who said Wesper was a slow burn? THEY'RE NOT!! Never have been. Show Wesper was perfect. The met each other before the show, developed gay crushes again (probably had sex?), reconciled when Kaz's antics brought them together, spent some time together, and then got together and moved in at the end, easy peasy. And they weren't deprived of that cute, emotional connection either, it was literally present, just in a slightly updated way, and Kit and Jack DELIVERED!!

Reminders, the only slow burn SOC couple in both the books and the show is Kanej. When you consider the in-world time of the Grisha world. Only Freddy and Amita were meant for the "slow burn romance" assignment. (And heavens above did they deliver, as well, I mean, I was screeching like a dying whale during most of their scenes, as long as you ignore the writers and their stupid decisions)

[sing-me-under]

Bruce Wayne is more important than Batman.

I feel like this should be more obvious, but no, it’s Batman. Bruce Wayne is the one who can genuinely change the system, who is able to provide and aid the people of Gotham. He is old money. As much as I despise capitalism and the power of the 1%, Bruce Wayne has the ability to change people’s lives on a systematic level. He is rich and influential but most of all, kind. He can fund charities, establish nonprofits, create jobs, better the prison system/mental asylum, etc etc etc. Yes, Gotham is probably genuinely cursed to always suck, but that doesn’t mean any efforts to help do nothing at all. Just some relief, another chance, a little bit of hope, is still better than being abandoned.

Empathy is supposed to be Bruce’s key personality trait. It’s why an old money socialite who has never wanted for anything (other than his parents) is able to look at Gotham and think “I want to help them”. It’s the whole point of his existence: someone with plenty of resources to help people actually does instead of sitting around, hoarding their wealth, and being condescending. And the whole “dead parents” thing motivated him to help people more directly beyond just writing checks and make speeches. Batman is the method that helps where the system has failed. He stops crimes (organized, petty, terrorism) that corrupted law enforcement ignore, perpetuate, or simply aren’t capable of handling.

Then there’s the whole “judge, jury, executioner” shit and the running theme of empathetic villains whose methods are terrible but their motivations stem from a flawed system. There are so many eco-terrorists, so many “teachers” and scientists, so many victims of circumstances who lashed out at a world that hurt them just as much. The exact degree of maliciousness varies from rogue to rogue, but none of them are innately evil (cue the criticism of the vilification of the mentally ill and minorities). The best Batman is the one who is empathetic to his rogues, who calls them by their actual names instead of their monikers, who is willing to agree to their demands within reason, who cares about their well-being and treatment once they got beat to shit for their acts of terrorism and probably murder. The best vigilantes in Gotham punch a guy in the face then offer them a chance to turn their life around. They would stop a robbery, but they’d look away when someone swipes food from a grocery store. Any hero could sit beside a scared kid and cheer them up, but a Gotham vigilante needs to be kind to the adults too (it’s why I think the WFA kidnapper trio is so funny, like they’re clearly not evil or malicious, but they are committing potentially violent crimes). Say what you will about the flaws in Batman’s principles, but you can’t deny that redeemed rogues are capable of so much good.

(As far as I know, the Joker is the only exception to this, and he doesn’t even have a backstory like at all. I actually blame the current state of Batman on the popularity of the Joker because the Joker is essentially pure evil and his very existence undermines the messages of the other rogues. But he’s more popular and produces more sales and honestly isn’t it just the funniest thing ever that DC pushes most for a villain that preaches about the flaws in human goodness? Isn’t it fucking hilarious that they’re blaming individual people for their problems (one bad day) rather than societal injustice??)

Yet for some reason, Batman is often written as if his entire mission revolves around the one moment where his parents died. “No more victims,” he says, then proceeds to brutalize anyone who remotely disagrees with his methods. He doesn’t discriminate between victims, except he’s not fixing or preventing anything. He’s just punching people one by one, and they’re not a victim if he’s the one punching them. It’s as though he believes the only way to victimize someone is by physically harming them. Without “Bruce Wayne,” Batman never interacts with those in power who are the root of the problems. As such, it ends with a Batman who only beats up people who are just trying to survive in the hellscape that is Gotham, so really he’s even worse than cops at the point. It’s why the current “edgy” Batman’s “no kill rule” is so stupid because his mission is entirely egocentric, a projection that lacks any nuance, and blames the symptoms, not the cause.

Stopping crime is police shit. Helping people is heroism. The former is dictated by the legal system. The latter is intention. You can help people by stopping crime, but stopping crime without helping people is just being hostile.

[a-walking-fandom-reference]

i hate when people act like you are really only learning a language if you can speak it or as soon as they hear you are learning a language they ask you to say something…

[racke7]

Me vs school-stuff

Last week we started on a new big project. Then we reached a roadblock of "fuck this is gonna get complicated" and (reasonably) decided to not do anything about a specific part until we'd all watched the material (so that we could do it all together).

That meant that this monday, we poked at the material a bit, and then had a discussion about it that forced us to contact our teacher for a "do it like this"-decision. (We managed to snag him before the end of the day, but nobody was really in the mood for continuing after that.)

So on tuesday we sat down together for three hours to get the first part implemented.

Then there were a bunch of work-stuff, so we skipped until thursday. Where we spent another nine hours working our way through the second part (with some other unrelated glitches popping up and needing to be addressed).

So, despite this friday being a holiday, we decided that the third part should be getting done today. And looked at a bit of code together, scratching our heads about one specific aspect of it (that we early-on all agreed not to implement until we were basically done with the project so that it wouldn't "get in the way"), before breaking off after two hours (we didn't quite figure it out, but *shrug*).

This means that this week (including the regular lectures), I've probably spent something like 25 hours on just... sitting in group-calls, studying. (When usually, that number is like... maybe eight hours, if it's been a busy week.)

I've also managed to fuck up my sleeping-pattern badly enough that I actually started a "sleep excel-sheet" to keep track of how badly I'm sleeping. And according to it, on average? These last two days I'm sleeping in two-hour batches.

So yeah. My life is going fantastic.

[asgardian--angels]

Planet's Fucked: What Can You Do To Help? (Long Post)

Since nobody is talking about the existential threat to the climate and the environment a second Trump term/Republican government control will cause, which to me supersedes literally every other issue, I wanted to just say my two cents, and some things you can do to help. I am a conservation biologist, whose field was hit substantially by the first Trump presidency. I study wild bees, birds, and plants.

In case anyone forgot what he did last time, he gagged scientists' ability to talk about climate change, he tried zeroing budgets for agencies like the NOAA, he attempted to gut protections in the Endangered Species Act (mainly by redefining 'take' in a way that would allow corporations to destroy habitat of imperiled species with no ramifications), he tried to do the same for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (the law that offers official protection for native non-game birds), he sought to expand oil and coal extraction from federal protected lands, he shrunk the size of multiple national preserves, HE PULLED US OUT OF THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT, and more.

We are at a crucial tipping point in being able to slow the pace of climate change, where we decide what emissions scenario we will operate at, with existential consequences for both the environment and people. We are also in the middle of the Sixth Mass Extinction, with the rate of species extinctions far surpassing background rates due completely to human actions. What we do now will determine the fate of the environment for hundreds or thousands of years - from our ability to grow key food crops (goodbye corn belt! I hated you anyway but), to the pressure on coastal communities that will face the brunt of sea level rise and intensifying extreme weather events, to desertification, ocean acidification, wildfires, melting permafrost (yay, outbreaks of deadly frozen viruses!), and a breaking down of ecosystems and ecosystem services due to continued habitat loss and species declines, especially insect declines. The fact that the environment is clearly a low priority issue despite the very real existential threat to so many people, is beyond my ability to understand. I do partly blame the public education system for offering no mandatory environmental science curriculum or any at all in most places. What it means is that it will take the support of everyone who does care to make any amount of difference in this steeply uphill battle.

There are not enough environmental scientists to solve these issues, not if public support is not on our side and the majority of the general public is either uninformed or actively hostile towards climate science (or any conservation science).

So what can you, my fellow Americans, do to help mitigate and minimize the inevitable damage that lay ahead?

I'm not going to tell you to recycle more or take shorter showers. I'll be honest, that stuff is a drop in the bucket. What does matter on the individual level is restoring and protecting habitat, reducing threats to at-risk species, reducing pesticide use, improving agricultural practices, and pushing for policy changes. Restoring CONNECTIVITY to our landscape - corridors of contiguous habitat - will make all the difference for wildlife to be able to survive a changing climate and continued human population expansion.

**Caveat that I work in the northeast with pollinators and birds so I cannot provide specific organizations for some topics, including climate change focused NGOs. Scientists on tumblr who specialize in other fields, please add your own recommended resources. **

We need two things: FUNDING and MANPOWER.

You may surprised to find that an insane amount of conservation work is carried out by volunteers. We don't ever have the funds to pay most of the people who want to help. If you really really care, consider going into a conservation-related field as a career. It's rewarding, passionate work.

At the national level, please support:

The Nature Conservancy

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Cornell Lab of Ornithology (including eBird)

National Audubon Society

Federal Duck Stamps (you don't need to be a hunter to buy one!)

These first four work to acquire and restore critical habitat, change environmental policy, and educate the public. There is almost certainly a Nature Conservancy-owned property within driving distance of you. Xerces plays a very large role in pollinator conservation, including sustainable agriculture, native bee monitoring programs, and the Bee City/Bee Campus USA programs. The Lab of O is one of the world's leaders in bird research and conservation. Audubon focuses on bird conservation. You can get annual memberships to these organizations and receive cool swag and/or a subscription to their publications which are well worth it. You can also volunteer your time; we need thousands of volunteers to do everything from conducting wildlife surveys, invasive species removal, providing outreach programming, managing habitat/clearing trails, planting trees, you name it. Federal Duck Stamps are the major revenue for wetland conservation; hunters need to buy them to hunt waterfowl but anyone can get them to collect!

THERE ARE DEFINITELY MORE, but these are a start.

Additionally, any federal or local organizations that seek to provide support and relief to those affected by hurricanes, sea level rise, any form of coastal climate change...

At the regional level:

These are a list of topics that affect major regions of the United States. Since I do not work in most of these areas I don't feel confident recommending specific organizations, but please seek resources relating to these as they are likely major conservation issues near you.

PRAIRIE CONSERVATION & PRAIRIE POTHOLE WETLANDS

DRYING OF THE COLORADO RIVER (good overview video linked)

PROTECTION OF ESTUARIES AND SALTMARSH, ESPECIALLY IN THE DELAWARE BAY AND LONG ISLAND (and mangroves further south, everglades etc; this includes restoring LIVING SHORELINES instead of concrete storm walls; also check out the likely-soon extinction of saltmarsh sparrows)

UNDAMMING MAJOR RIVERS (not just the Colorado; restoring salmon runs, restoring historic floodplains)

NATIVE POLLINATOR DECLINES (NOT honeybees. for fuck's sake. honeybees are non-native domesticated animals. don't you DARE get honeybee hives to 'save the bees')

WILDLIFE ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER (support the Mission Butterfly Center!)

INVASIVE PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES (this is everywhere but the specifics will differ regionally, dear lord please help Hawaii)

LOSS OF WETLANDS NATIONWIDE (some states have lost over 90% of their wetlands, I'm looking at you California, Ohio, Illinois)

INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE, esp in the CORN BELT and CALIFORNIA - this is an issue much bigger than each of us, but we can work incrementally to promote sustainable practices and create habitat in farmland-dominated areas. Support small, local farms, especially those that use soil regenerative practices, no-till agriculture, no pesticides/Integrated Pest Management/no neonicotinoids/at least non-persistent pesticides. We need more farmers enrolling in NRCS programs to put farmland in temporary or permanent wetland easements, or to rent the land for a 30-year solar farm cycle. We've lost over 99% of our prairies to corn and soybeans. Let's not make it 100%.

INDIGENOUS LAND-BACK EFFORTS/INDIGENOUS LAND MANAGEMENT/TEK (adding this because there have been increasing efforts not just for reparations but to also allow indigenous communities to steward and manage lands either fully independently or alongside western science, and it would have great benefits for both people and the land; I know others on here could speak much more on this. Please platform indigenous voices)

HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (get your neighbors to stop dumping fertilizers on their lawn next to lakes, reduce agricultural runoff)

OCEAN PLASTIC (it's not straws, it's mostly commercial fishing line/trawling equipment and microplastics)

A lot of these are interconnected. And of course not a complete list.

At the state and local level:

You probably have the most power to make change at the local level!

Support or volunteer at your local nature centers, local/state land conservancy non-profits (find out who owns&manages the preserves you like to hike at!), state fish & game dept/non-game program, local Audubon chapters (they do a LOT). Participate in a Christmas Bird Count!

Join local garden clubs, which install and maintain town plantings - encourage them to use NATIVE plants. Join a community garden!

Get your college campus or city/town certified in the Bee Campus USA/Bee City USA programs from the Xerces Society

Check out your state's official plant nursery, forest society, natural heritage program, anything that you could become a member of, get plants from, or volunteer at.

Volunteer to be part of your town's conservation commission, which makes decisions about land management and funding

Attend classes or volunteer with your land grant university's cooperative extension (including master gardener programs)

Literally any volunteer effort aimed at improving the local environment, whether that's picking up litter, pulling invasive plants, installing a local garden, planting trees in a city park, ANYTHING. make a positive change in your own sphere. learn the local issues affecting your nearby ecosystems. I guarantee some lake or river nearby is polluted

MAKE HABITAT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. Biggest thing you can do. Use plants native to your area in your yard or garden. Ditch your lawn. Don't use pesticides (including mosquito spraying, tick spraying, Roundup, etc). Don't use fertilizers that will run off into drinking water. Leave the leaves in your yard. Get your school/college to plant native gardens. Plant native trees (most trees planted in yards are not native). Remove invasive plants in your yard.

On this last point, HERE ARE EASY ONLINE RESOURCES TO FIND NATIVE PLANTS and LEARN ABOUT NATIVE GARDENING:

Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Resource Center

Pollinator Pathway

Audubon Native Plant Finder

Homegrown National Park (and Doug Tallamy's other books)

National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder (clunky but somewhat helpful)

Heather Holm (for prairie/midwest/northeast)

MonarchGard w/ Benjamin Vogt (for prairie/midwest)

Native Plant Trust (northeast & mid-atlantic)

Grow Native Massachusetts (northeast)

Habitat Gardening in Central New York (northeast)

There are many more - I'm not familiar with resources for western states. Print books are your biggest friend. Happy to provide a list of those.

Lastly, you can help scientists monitor species using citizen science. Contribute to iNaturalist, eBird, Bumblebee Watch, or any number of more geographically or taxonomically targeted programs (for instance, our state has a butterfly census carried out by citizen volunteers).

In short? Get curious, get educated, get involved. Notice your local nature, find out how it's threatened, and find out who's working to protect it that you can help with. The health of the planet, including our resilience to climate change, is determined by small local efforts to maintain and restore habitat. That is how we survive this. When government funding won't come, when we're beat back at every turn trying to get policy changed, it comes down to each individual person creating a safe refuge for nature.

Thanks for reading this far. Please feel free to add your own credible resources and organizations.

[cilantroodon]

[ID: Four gifs of Jamie from Ted Lasso in black and white with text over them. The first two are Jamie having his cheek pinched by his mom, and him grabbing Roy's face, with the text "How much of my mother has my mother left in me? / How much of my love will be insane to some degree?" The second two are of his dad shadowboxing up to him before punching him, and Jamie shadowboxing Roy in Amsterdam, with the text "How much of my father am I destined to become? / Will it wash out in the water or is it always in the blood?" End ID.]

“could I change it if i wanted? can i rise above the flood?”

[sera-wasnever]

There's that post going round about how calling discourse "online" to say it isn't real is wrong because those are real people saying those things which is true! It's too easy forget online that the other people involved are real people with real experiences, opinions, and feelings to hurt. But that's the point.

I don't agree that that's always what calling things "overly online" means, not fully. The discourses that get dismissed like that exist in the types of communities fostered by social media with all the lack of nuance, drive for attention, and detachment from consequence that entails. Specifically in the case of queer discourse (since we aren't usually born into these communities but pop up everywhere) it's often influenced by people in specific situations where they don't know many, if ANY other queer ppl irl. The discussions that spring up in these groups can be disconnected from how people interact irl where you are immediately faced with others' humanity. Isolation means you cannot help but see experiences other than your own as theoretical. So yes, some discourses can pretty fairly be characterised as "online" and "not real", despite those individuals obviously being real people. They're behaving and arguing in ways that are encouraged by the online space where things feel less 'real' and where the discourse is uninterrupted and all-consuming.

[skyahri]

How They'd Do You |Naruto Men X Reader| HC

Characters: Sasuke Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Shikamaru Nara, Madara Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki.

Summary: How they are in bed.

Warnings: NSFW. Mentions of sex and foreplay. Breeding kink, breast and nipple play, head, etc.

Masterlist Ko-fi

- - - - -

Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke isn't one to give up control very easily, especially when he's in any sort of vulnerable state.

More often than not, he's on top of you, forcing your legs against your chest and not holding anything back as he thrusts into you.

On the rare occasion he allows you to top, he's still 100% in control. He always ends up taking over towards the end when he can't take it anymore. His release is close, and something in his brain is begging him to rail you.

He wouldn't be into actual choking in fear he'd lose control of his strength, but he's not afraid to use your neck as a handle of sorts to keep your body from moving too much.

Hes the embodiment of a breeding kink.

He's close to his end. He places his hand on your stomach and forces his seed in you.

If he's still got stamina, he's pushing you onto your hands and knees for round two, ass high up in the air.

"Not a single drop spills. Got it?"

Emergency contraceptive is your best friend, but let's be real. It fails sooner rather than later based on the sheer amount you rely on it.

Kakashi Hatake

Foreplay king. He loves head, both giving and receiving, sometimes even at the same time. Nipple play, fingering, whatever it is you're needing, he's providing.

Passionate.

When he does share his mind, it's never a light matter, and sex is no different.

Kissing, hand holding, praising - it's all a very important part of the act for him. He's pouring his heart and soul into you every time you're together.

But don't get it wrong, he's still a man. Those sweet nothings and soft whispers about how much he loves you quickly turn into dirty talk.

"You're such a good girl."

"You look so pretty wrapped around my cock."

"You're mine, you know that?"

He definitely sticks his fingers in your mouth.

After a certain point, he let's his dick do the thinking for him. You don't mind one bit.

He's all about aftercare. Rags or showers or just physical contact, whatever you want, he's got it. He knows he's not always the best at taking care of you, but this is one instance where he's confident about what he's doing.

Shikamaru Nara

My man is lazy and that doesn't change, even in the bedroom.

He usually doesn't go down on you but enjoys when you sit on his face. He'll wrap his arms around to grip your thighs. He's never one to turn down head but doesn't really make foreplay a priority.

Some might call him a pillow princess at first glance, but it's deeper than that. He has the control, he just let's you do the work most of the time.

You may be on top, but his strong grip and guiding fingers tell you exactly what to do.

Sometimes, he doesn't care for the pleasantries that come with dragging it out. He'll nestle between your legs and let his head dip down to your neck.

Lazy thrusts, but that's fine. Deeper is always better than faster.

He doesn't really do dirty talk, but he's definitely not silent. He's vocal, always groaning, maybe he'll tell you that he loves you if he's feeling a certain way.

Madara Uchiha

Most of the time, he's hate fucking you.

There's no time for foreplay when he's immediately slamming you against the wall when he gets home.

Despite all the anger radiating off of him as he mercilessly thrusts into you, he's calling you the sweetest nicknames he can think of. Love or Darling or something of the sort.

He always finishes inside. You're not sure if he's just too busy letting his frustration out to think, or if he's actively trying to get you pregnant.

It's both... sort of. For him, anger is just passion and fuel. It has nothing to do with his actions. He's pumping you full of his cum because he likes to claim you. He wants you to bare his children. He wants people to know you're his.

Aftercare isn't as straightforward for him. He's not offering to clean you up, but he tries to find ways to subtly apologize for turning you into a toy.

Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto runs on pure instinct in every aspect of his life.

He's doing what feels right in the moment and confirming it with you if it's something he's unsure about. (Consent is key).

He's a people pleaser. He's always making sure he takes care of you before he even thinks about himself. Eating you out, fingering, breast play, whatever you want.

He's sloppy. It's just something that always emerges with him. He's placing wet kisses on your neck, his hand placement can sometimes be a bit awkward, but it all adds to the experience.

His head gets so foggy with love and lust that he honestly can't think straight. The way his body takes control and he ravages you in an almost primal way, it's to die for.

[irrealisms]

everyone in mcyt fandom talks about bad inventories but i feel like we don't talk enough about the different types of bad inventory & the ways that inventories can be characterizing. i took most of these screenshots but one or two of them aren't by me and i've just had them saved for a few months sorry. i'm taking inventories from various people across various servers (wild life, dream smp, hermitcraft, lifesteal, and 2b2t) to illustrate my point here

like there are inventories that are bad because they're empty:

but then there's also inventories that are bad because they're full:

and, like-- the different ways an inventory can be bad are also characterizing? an inventory can be bad because the items aren't stacked; or because it's empty of anything useful; or because it's so full of building/fight supplies that there's no slots left for doing anything else; or because it's full of random junk. it speaks to a character's position (compare tubbo's diamond sword and empty inventory to ranboo's netherite sword or zam's full inventory of potions) and the rules of the server they're on (tubbo's not wearing elytra because elytra aren't allowed on the dsmp; zam's inventory has chorus fruit and wind charges but no ender pearls because ender pearls aren't allowed this season on lifesteal) and what their priorities are (building, pvp, lore) and how organized vs scattered they are and so much more. another inventory i like:

like!!! that's so instantly characterizing, for both the character and the server!!!! 5 stacks of end crystals + obsidian. 6 stacks of tnt. 3 stacks of god apples and a stack of chorus fruit as your only food. the bucket of lava and bucket of water for lavacasting. the fact that the flint and steel is enchanted with unbreaking. that's a STORY--of the character but also of the server! this is not the sort of inventory you have on most servers! it's so focused around griefing--explosions, lavacasts--and pvp, and the stacks of god apples as primary food source are an instant warning sign for widespread duping. the chorus fruit not for fights--ender pearls are strictly better, and he's got some so he clearly has access to them--which means it's for escaping traps, which means that's a live concern. it's got a lot of pvp supplies but it's so wildly different from the lifesteal inventory in ways that speak to the differences in server rules and cultures. like, horrendous inventory in many ways. also, very good inventory in some ways. also also, delightful inventory! fascinating inventory!!! inventories are such a delightful source of instant characterization i love them so so much

[an-ruraiocht]

90% of the time when i see reviews and posts saying "this book needed editing" i don't think the reader have any idea what editing actually entails. usually this is actually code for one of several "problems" with the book:

it's too long, or it's slower paced than this reader's preference. they believe "editing" would mean making it shorter

it has a heavily descriptive style, which the reader doesn't like. they believe "editing" means paring every sentence down to hemingway-style prose with no adverbs

it doesn't follow the very rigid "save the cat" style 3-act story structure, disrupting the reader's sense of narrative tension. an editor, they believe, would've made sure it did

there were a few typos or formatting errors, and they believe it's the editor's job to catch these (it's not, it's typically the proofreader and the typesetter who have responsibility for that kind of thing)

and finally, most often:

the author had different narrative priorities than the reader, who thinks an editor would have made the author change their priorities.

the thing is, there are actually issues with editors in trad publishing being overworked to the point where things aren't getting the thorough, thoughtful editing that they need to be the best version of themselves. there are plenty of badly-structured, poorly-researched, and clumsily written books out there. moreover copyediting is typically freelance and perhaps because of that, this is the area where i see the largest number of issues: continuity issues, grammar issues, factual errors etc that someone should've spotted and didn't.

but this is not typically what people's "this needed an editor" reviews are focusing on. most often it just means they didn't like the book and they've decided editing is an all-powerful force that would have transformed it into a book they liked. but that's not how it works. and disproportionately what this comment means is that the book doesn't match what current fashions have decided is The Correct Style to write in

"this book needed an editor" if it's traditionally published, it had one. like. by definition. it was an editor who bought the book. that doesn't mean the editor did a great job but they definitely existed. there were probably at least two (acquiring editor who does the dev edits; copyeditor who does copyedits), and the proofreader, and a bunch of other people besides.

also i think people think editors are the ones who like. implement the changes. but they don't. they give comments and recommendations and ask questions and the author is the one to act on them. the editor will not rewrite the book. they will not fix the problems themselves, they will highlight the problem and the author will figure out a fix for it, or they will decide they don't agree that it's a problem and leave it as it. and a lot of the sentence-level style stuff is entirely on the author so if they don't have an ear for the rhythm then nobody's going to fix that for them. editors do a lot less than people seem to imagine they do, tbh

anyway

for reference—

structural/developmental edits: is this chapter in the right place and does the plot make sense and is the characterisation consistent and effective

line edits: is this sentence in the right place and is it as stylish as it could be

copy edits: is this sentence grammatically correct and consistent/factually correct within the story/its world and do the spellings follow the publisher's stylesheet

proofreading: are there any typos in this sentence and was the formatting preserved correctly when it was typeset

[khywren]

it's time for some more astarion analysis~

making this a separate post in case people wanted to reblog just the gifs on their own and don't care about the extra fluff. i'm certain this scene has been analyzed to the hells and back by this point, but when i was making this set something really stuck out to me and i wanted to throw my two cents in anyway.

this is the tail end of the mirror scene from act 1, where you catch astarion looking in the mirror and lamenting about not being able to see his reflection or knowing what he looks like anymore. and while that alone is sad enough, it gets SO MUCH WORSE.

if you express genuine interest in his predicament (i.e. asking him if he misses his reflection and what color his eyes were before he was turned), you get to see the mask slip. it's one of the first times in the game that he's not hiding behind his quick wit and silver tongue.

if you tell him you'll be his mirror, you can see the change in his demeanor immediately. his face softens, the cadence of his voice changes; you can literally hear the vulnerability in every word he says. huge props to neil and the rest of larian for making the distinction between these dialogue options, of course. it's the little details that really make moments like these shine.

but there was something else i noticed in the footage i recorded as well that i hadn't picked up on any of my other playthroughs. i've spent a lot of time staring at this man's face, especially while capturing idle animations for gifs and wallpapers, and most of the time it's what you'd expect, with minimal face movement, expressions changing, etc. most companions i record seem to behave the same way, with similar expressions/blinking/eye movement.

but just look at astarion's face here. this feels deliberately unique. he is SO anxious, so worried how you'll perceive him. the rapid blinking, the nervous darting of his eyes… it genuinely breaks my heart.

(tumblr will only let me upload one video per post, but just look at any other idle footage of him and you'll see the difference)

and the second you tell him what he thinks he wants to hear? that he's very attractive? he slips right back into his suave, flirtatious persona, and even praises you for complimenting his looks. even if you eventually ask him if all he wants is shallow praise, he still deflects and isn't completely honest with you.

note that if you choose to take the less compassionate route and simply tell them that he has a "very good face," he will still prompt you to tell him what you see when you look at him, and the delivery of the line is subtly but noticeably different and more guarded. similarly, if you poke a little too much fun at him by calling him old and draw too much attention to his mole, he gets very flustered and ends the conversation immediately. understandable, since he's relied on his appearance for so long, and hearing (even jokingly) that even that might not be something he can use anymore must be at least a little terrifying for him.

so naturally, you might think that by being truthful with him would perhaps net you a better result -- after all, you're telling him what he asked for, what you really see, that you see him as more than just someone to lust after -- but it doesn't. he actually seems a little upset if you choose those dialogue options. in that moment, he wants to know that you find him attractive, because he thinks that's all he's good for. because if you find him attractive, there's a chance that he could seduce you and use you for protection against cazador. i do think he also genuinely wants to know that there's so much more to him than just a pretty face, since that's a big theme of his entire story/romance arc, but that's not at the top of his priority list this early in the game. he's relying purely on instinct. he knows how to respond to people telling him he's attractive. accepting genuine compliments about the person beneath the mask? that's probably not something he's had much (if any) experience with in close to two centuries. he didn't have the luxury of being able to let anyone see who he really was.

all that to say that this interaction is really heartbreaking. he wants to be seen, wants to be understood and possibly loved, but at the same time he still thinks he needs to put on a front to ensure he can keep himself safe. watching him slowly start to unlearn those habits during the course of the game has been one of my favorite things about bg3 and a huge part of what's really endeared astarion to me as a character.

[nuwanders]

While I respect what you're trying to do and I agree with the general idea and sentiment behind there's just the problem that boycotts don't work in our contemporary world unfortunately, especially on big companies like microsoft, I remember when this happened with hogwarts legacy and it didn't change anything, in the end that just became a sort of weird purity test, I din't buy that game cause I had no interest and even if I did I hate jkr, but I don't see any use in shaming people who do.

I don't think you're doing purity testing or anything similar, and the effort is admirable, but I think believing that people that buy the game don't care about palestine is wrong, I think it's more that they don't see the use in trying a boycott that will fail.

Btw I hope the boycott succeds I sincerely don't think it will, I myself am not buying the game for a while and will probably pirate it, but it's my personal choice and I don't see the use in shaming people for playing it as it won't win them over and will most likely make them bitter towards the cause, people are fickle and selfish by nature, and the same thing happened with hogwarts legacy. People said it revealed those who played ad unworthy allies, but I don't think we should exclude people by worthiness, you don't win by having "quality" you win by having "quantity".

That's just my two cents on the subject though

consumer boycotts can and do work. a few highlights taken from here (emphasis my own):

Affirming the role the BDS movement has played in the Israeli economy’s “spiral of collapse,” as 130 leading Israeli economists describe it, in September, the Chairman of the Israeli Export Institute said: “BDS and boycotts have changed Israel’s global trade landscape.” He added, “Economic boycotts and BDS organizations present major challenges, and in some countries, we are forced to operate under the radar.” Israel’s projected annual GDP growth rate for 2024 is 0%, according to leading credit rating agency S&P, and some 60,000 Israeli businesses are projected to have shut down during this year of ongoing genocide. Global sales of McDonald’s, a prime BDS target, “fell by 1.5% between July and September, the biggest decline in four years, more than twice the size forecast by analysts. It followed a 1% drop in the April to June period.” In October, fossil fuel giant Chevron, a priority target of the BDS movement, halted a $429 million expansion of an Israeli-claimed fossil gas field amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and its brutal bombings in Lebanon, Syria, and beyond. In August, in a significant BDS win, French insurer AXA was forced to sell its investments in all major Israeli banks. In November, Carrefour closed all branches in Jordan due to BDS pressure. Carrefour’s partner in most of the Arab World, the Majid Al Futtaim Group, reacted to BDS Jordan’s boycott pressure by ending all business with the French retailer in Jordan. In November, the Boycott PUMA campaign confirmed that, following relentless BDS campaigns worldwide, the German company had ended its complicity with Israel’s apartheid regime. In December, the Strauss Group, a complicit Israeli multinational food and beverage corporation, was forced, due to an effective BDS campaign, to sell off its shares in the US-based company, Sabra, which mass produces the culturally-appropriated popular Arab dip, hummus."

looking further back, boycotts, divestments and sanctions played a crucial role in dismantling the apartheid state in south africa. from here:

Boycotts may have been a form of activism that was easier to implement on a variety of different scales, but it provided a very extensive impact on apartheid in South Africa. The very threat of boycotts of South Africa in the 1984 Olympics pushed the leader of the IOC to go against the Olympic Charter and keep South Africa out of the Olympics – making the decision as early as 1981. This showed the power the boycotts had built up, and the authority they carried. The boycotts were seen as being so effective that even the IOC would not be able to withstand their financial and diplomatic fall-out. South Africa would finally rejoin the Olympic community in Barcelona in 1992, “following the commencement of governmental talks to finally bring an end to apartheid.”

that targeted boycotts can be extremely effective is not up for debate. but i think the crucial thing to acknowledge here is that they are one of the most easy and accessible forms of protest because they do not require you to actually do anything.

your argument would hold water if i was demanding that everyone go out and start blowing up embassies or setting themselves on fire. but BDS is literally just asking people to do nothing at all.

this isn't a moral purity thing, it's a statement of fact that boycotts only work if people participate. and they fail because of the exceptionalist arguments you're spouting here: "it's my personal choice." ok, sure. it's my personal choice to not get vaccinated. it's my personal choice to vote conservative.

the other thing is that microsoft is one of the more egregious targets on the BDS list, for reasons better outlined here. i know that this isn't the fault of the folks working at bethesda, who will be several degrees removed from the heinous shit happening at the top. but BDS has specifically listed Microsoft's gaming division as a key component of the boycott, for the very fact that video games are perhaps the easiest product for the average consumer to opt out of.

tldr;

boycotts are effective

they are easy

they only work if people participate

BDS has specifically named bethesda

people should therefore boycott bethesda

i don't think i'm being unreasonable in expressing disappointment at the large swathes of TES fans who see themselves as above it

[reasonsforhope]

"High along the peaks and ridges of the mountains in Ecuador, a 25-year-long conservation program is bearing succulent fruit in the form of cleaner water and abundant wildlife.

Established in the year 2000, Quito’s fund for the protection of water has allowed a critical South American ecosystem unique to the world and vital to both plants and animals to reclaim vast tracts of its former landscape, and people are noticing the difference.

“Before the water fund, the páramo in Antisana was very degraded. The only thing you would see was sheep.” Silvia Benitez, the Nature Conservancy’s Director of Freshwater for Latin America, said in a statement. “The change has been amazing. Vegetation is back. The wetlands are restored.”

“Now people see groups of deer. They see puma. I saw a fox. I had never before seen a fox in this area.”

The story of this quarter-century success began when the United States nonprofit the Nature Conservancy partnered with Quito’s water utility company, known as EPMAPS. The second-highest capital city on Earth by altitude, Quito is surrounded by a famous ecosystem called the páramo, a biodiversity hotspot where masses of mosses, lichen, high-altitude palms, and endemic grasses create a mountain environment unlike any other.

The páramo covers slopes above 10,000 feet in elevation all over the Andes Mountains, and acts like a giant sponge absorbing and condensing moisture from the lower ground before releasing it in streams and rivers further down. The Nature Conservancy estimates that in Colombia, where páramos cover just 2% of land area, this hydrological service provides 70% of all municipal water. It’s estimated that páramo sequesters 6 times more carbon than tropical rainforest.

EPMAPS and the Nature Conservancy organized $21,000 in seed money to kick-start a trust fund that would charge downstream users of water from the páramos around Quito for the conservation measures needed to protect them.

Called the Fund for the Protection of Water, or FONAG, it’s accumulated $2.5 million in annual contributions over the last 25 years, and as a result, páramos are retaking ranchland that once displaced them, and the wildlife like whitetail deer, Andean bears, Mountain tapirs, and condors are returning as well.

“Since FONAG’s beginning, its priority has always been the protection of the water sources. But when you conserve water sources, it’s almost automatic that you have other co-benefits—biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and social benefits,” said Bert de Bievre, Technical Secretary of FONAG.

Local communities have become very involved in FONAG’s work. Two dozen have become páramo rangers, local ranchers have moved their animals to lower elevations, agriculturalists have worked with EPMAPS to switch to low-impact methods of cultivation away from watersheds, and the Nature Conservancy runs a nursery that grows many of the endemic páramo plants for use in reforestation.

The Quito-FONAG model is now being implemented across the northwestern areas of South America, and it shows how much can be achieved by simply letting rivers run free.

“Each year, the global water sector spends $700 billion on building and repairing pipes and reservoirs, using grey solutions to engineer themselves out of a problem created by deforestation, agriculture or other threats upstream,” said Brooke Atwell, Associate Director of the Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Watersheds strategy.

“If we were able to reallocate just 1% of that spending ($7 billion) toward protecting nature, it would eclipse all global philanthropic spending on conservation today.”"

-via Good News Network, April 1, 2025

[bbokicidal]

"Good Luck, Babe." - Angst! [Hyung Line SKZ]

Notes : Part 2 to the "Are You Serious...?" mini-series where SKZ are walking red flags. Here is your comfort-not-comfort, because sometimes there are no happy endings and they don't redeem themselves.

Warnings : Angst with no comfort, Breakups, Unhappy endings sorry not sorry. This is also rushed and I'm very tired but people wanted it so bad so here it is. <3

"Are You Serious...?" Hyung Line Here

BangChan - Brushing off/Having the wrong priorities -> You leave when he isn't home.

It was two forty-three in the morning when he had texted you that he was leaving the studio, walking with his head down and eyeing his phone to see the little 'Read' message pop up. When it didn't come through after a few moments, he tucked his phone away with a soft sigh and continued on.

It was two fifty-eight when he texted you asking if you wanted anything from the convenience store. Again, no reply or read receipt, so he assumed you had fallen asleep and simply wouldn't reply. You were probably curled up in the sheets, hair messy and face puffy with slumber. The thought made him smile as he paid for his water.

It was five after three when he stepped into your apartment and locked the door behind him.

It was three thirteen when he stepped into the bedroom after washing his face, stopping in the doorway. Your nightstand was cleaned off and you weren't in the bed.

It was three fifteen when he picked up the sheet of white on your side of the bed to read over the scribbled and frantic handwriting, tear stains littering the paper.

'Don't bother falling in love again until you can get your priorities straight.'

It was three twenty-five when he messaged you once more, asking why you had decided to up and leave so suddenly.

And it was three twenty-five when the blocked receipt popped up on his screen.

Lee Know - Keeping secrets / Prioritizing Privacy within himself -> You remove yourself from the relationship while he is on tour.

If he didn't have the audacity (or BALLS.) to tell you he was going on a six month tour until the day before he left, he didn't deserve to know you were leaving the relationship at all.

You'd packed your bags full of your belongings, leaving gifts Minho had given you on your shared bed and leaving everything practically spotless The drawers were empty, the bed made and folded so neatly - the living room cleaned, carpet vacuumed, kitchen spotless and ready to be filled with cooking and shared laughter as hugs and kisses were exchanged.

The door fell shut softly behind you, the sound of your suitcase rolling down the hallway quietly echoing in the apartment before you grew too far away for it to recognize the sound any further.

Minho stepped into the apartment three months later, unlocking the door and letting it fall shut behind him. He stared into the emptiness that was his apartment, eyes dragging to your key sitting on the bare countertop. He breathes out slowly, pulling his mask down beneath his chin and letting his eyes wander over the quietness of the home.

He couldn't be upset. He knew he set himself up for this in the long run.

Even then, he couldn't stop himself from softly calling out your name - only to be met with no reply as he dreaded.

Changbin - Not knowing the difference between being rude and being blunt -> You finally snap on him.

"Shut up! Just shut -- up!" You finally yell, bringing your hands down hard on the counter in front of you.

Your boyfriend stares over at you in surprise at your outburst. "What is your problem?" He huffs out, blinking a few times just to clear the shock from his face. "Don't start throwing a tantrum."

"This isn't a fucking tantrum, Changbin! This is me telling you to shut your mouth for once! I don't need this-- berating that you constantly give me. You don't know when to just shut up and it drives me crazy sometimes...! You tell me 'this doesn't look good,' or 'You talk too much,' or 'You're too loud.'"

"You ask me if you're too loud or if something looks good. Do you want me to lie to you?" His eyes narrow as if he's so obviously right that you are wrong.

You scoff, tears clinging to your lashes. "I ask you sometimes and yes, I do appreciate your honesty, but I don't always need your opinion, Changbin! It's like you -- use my appreciation of your honesty to just voice your negativity towards me now. You just say shit just to say it."

His lips part as if he wants to defend himself, but you cut him off by rounding the corner and beelining for your shared bedroom.

"If you can't learn to shut your fucking mouth, Bin, I don't know if we can keep this relationship up for much longer."

His eyes widen in surprise and he sinks where he stands, hand twitching on the countertop as if wanting to reach out to your retreating form. Had he messed up that badly all this time?

Hyunjin - Being too cocky / Making you feel inferior -> You grow fed up with it and decide to break it off.

"What was that?" He snaps all too quickly, resting one hand on the door of the bathroom so no one else would enter. Even though there were.. multiple stalls.

"I was talking to someone, Hyunjin. It's called socializing. And surprise! Isn't it crazy someone is talking to me tonight?"

"Hongjoong? Talking to you..? He doesn't even know who you are -- Why would he?" His eyes narrow, offended already that you seem to insinuate something regarding him. "What are you trying to get at?"

You scoff, eyes rolling dramatically. A habit you'd picked up from him, unfortunately. "You never talk to me at afterparties because you're too busy being social with the other idols. I get that you should talk to them for press and to look good and whatever but Yeji isn't your girlfriend, Hyunjin - I am! You don't need to stand there all night ogling her and being smooth..!"

"At least if she were my girlfriend, my girlfriend would look fucking good for once."

Your jaw pops open as you stare up at him, fists clenching at your sides. You'd done your absolute best to dress as nice as possible tonight - granted yes, your makeup was smoked out and your hair was a bit messy from dancing but you'd been trying to enjoy yourself while your boyfriend stood at the bar talking to --

You feel a huff of air leave your throat before you pull open the door, ripping it out from under his hand where he leaned. He fumbled, glaring down at your retreating form. "Where are you going?"

"Back to Hongjoong." You reply, never bothering to turn around.

"Why? I'm talking to you now, isn't that what you wanted? My attention?" He moves to follow, stopping in the doorway when you do turn to glare up at him.

You seethe. "Quit worrying about why I'm talking to him, Hyunjin. Maybe you should worry yourself with wondering why you just lost your girlfriend instead."

He blinks, ears red with anger. "I don't want you talking to him--!"

"And I don't give a fuck, because you're not my boyfriend anymore!" You step back, lifting a hand to flip him the bird as you disappear into the crowd once more in search for the captain of Ateez. "Call me never, babe!"