Stede’s slutty shoe bows

wear clothing that clings, even when it's hot. i don't wear (just) shorts when i work outside in the grass, instead i put workout tights on underneath them to make sure every inch of skin below my waist is covered. tuck pants into tall socks so it's harder for them to crawl up and please use bug spray.

ticks like dark, damp, and sweaty. this means pits, pubes, cheeks, knees, and your scalp. i cannot count the number of times i've done a tick check, come back clean, just to hop in the shower and find one in my hair or behind my ears. always shower and shampoo thoroughly after being outside.

how to check for ticks:

strip completely naked. ticks go for dark, wet, hairy parts of the body. shaving won't help you keep them off, but it might help them be more visible if you have dark or curly hair. get in front of a mirror and look yourself over visually. lift up any skin folds and fun your hands over any part of you that you can't get an adequate eye on. the worst part of myself personally to check is my mid back--i can't see it well and i can't feel it in its entirety. i usually need help removing ticks stuck to my back.

IF YOU FIND A TICK ON YOU, DO NOT BURN IT, DROWN IT, OR RIP IT OFF WITH YOUR BARE HANDS. DO NOT TRY ANY OF THE "TIPS AND TRICKS" YOU'VE SEEN ON THE INTERNET.

the best and safest way to remove a tick that hasn't released itself is consistent, steady backward pressure. find a good pair of tweezers and pull gently but consistently. do not let go until it is removed.

ticks are incredibly difficult to kill. they are basically sherman tanks--their bodies are thick and shell-like and almost completely puncture- and crush-proof. if you DO find one crawling or latched on you, once it is OFF, genuinely my suggestion is to crush it with a rock. that is the most success i have had with killing them is to literally use a fucking rock. strength of their exoskeleton depends on region, but they're tough little fuckers.

IF YOU BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE JOINT PAIN, MUSCLE STIFFNESS, FEVER, UPSET STOMACH, LETHARGY, OR RED TARGET-SHAPED RASH AFTER BEING BIT BY A TICK, GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM IMMEDIATELY. THOSE ARE SIGN OF TICKBORNE ILLNESS.

This is as complete as it will get, for now, no Ed tattoos, we die like Ned Low!

Sneaking out to write some love letters

The city is currently building affordable housing down the street. These units are for people who have been homeless, and are putting their lives back together. They aren't *just* off the street - say that's level one of rebuilding. These units are for people around level four. They have found jobs, they are working to have normal lives again. This man is fighting against this with every breath in his body, lobbying the councillors, reps, endlessly screaming at the BIA (Business Improvement Association) meetings, canvassing other businesses on the street - he won't stop yelling about how this is just going to be a crack den. It isn't. It's supported housing that works with the city and programs. Everyone else knows this. But this cis white man, every time no one agrees with him, screams louder. He doesn’t want homeless people to be visible, and he does NOT want them to be helped to get homes.

The people who are gonna move into the building thus far are lucky that the majority of us in the neighbourhood are not like this man. But it's just luck. There are lots of neighbourhoods full of people like this man.

Once in a BIA meeting someone asked him if he'd be happier if the community fridge was moved two blocks down. He said emphatically yes.

Way to admit you just don't want to look at people you deem less than you. Oh and this guy also keeps arguing that the landlords in the neighborhood should have more say in decisions, that their opinions should outweigh mere residents'.

she wanted us to focus on the art, on the innovation of heated plumbing, on the tiles and decorations of the bathhouses, and all we wanted to do was learn more about the people under the floors, and she didn't know anything more about that. in fact, she said she thought we were focusing too much on superfluous details.

it feels almost hokey to put too fine a point on the idea im getting at here but i will anyway: There are a lot of people who are still under the floors, all these beautiful, convenient, brilliant innovations of modern society (think fast fashion, chatgpt, uber, doordash) are still powered by people working in inhumane, untenable conditions.

because I don't have to like it, I don't have to consume or even see it, to understand that censorship of anything at all is bad and harmful.

respectfully, if you think I like "every single thing", you are wrong. there are dozens of things in fiction and fanfic tropes that I dislike, hate or find disgusting. but no matter how much I hate them, I will always defend their rights to exist without being censored, and I will always condemn harassing real people over fiction.