bits and bobs

Herold of Andraste!

In good storytelling small details matter, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is proof of this. It shows a lot in the way characters are presented. Now, since it's Lyonel Baratheon who's responsible for male nudity (and partially Dunk), the Targaryens, who are the opposite of Baratheon in a sense (especially Baelor) look very reserved. They only show their faces and hands. Needless to say that the show's creators have done a great job here.

Here's the frame that's always worth mentioning. You instantly know where to look, your brain knows, and it's thanks not just to our hero's good looks — it's also thanks to the lighting and values. Artists are taught this. And here the center of immediate attention is not even Baelor's face, it's mostly his hands. And both look fine (how dare he look so fine), but his hands are somehow so particularly fine that we just can't get over them. Nature's been very generous indeed to Baelor Targaryen/Bertie Carvel. The director and the cinematographer have made all the right choices.

So there he sits, playing with his ring absent-mindedly. And he does this thing a lot (probably the actor's choice). The first time we see him, he's eating something (most likely grapes), and he twiddles a grape with the air of a man who just loves to have something to play with in his fingers. Probably a piece of characterisation — because Baelor is a fun guy. But also, his sense of touch is obviously important to him. And I also see this as a part of his general agility and, in a sense, his training as a fighter. Heightened senses — agile limbs — hallmarks of someone who's good with a sword.

But anyway, for some reason these beautiful hands with long nimble fingers become important. We know them, we remember them, we admire their owner.

Fast forward to the last scene where Baelor's talking to Raymun Fossoway.

He's received the fatal blow, he's dying, while still remaining on his feet. And he's obviously noticing some sinister signs — something's not right. But he doesn't say "The headache is killing me", or "I'm getting sleepy", or "I'm cold", though all of these would have been accurate. He says, "My fingers feel like wood." It's the first thing that comes to his mind, something that surprises and unsettles him most of all.

Something that's been important to him for all of his life, an integral part of him is leaving him, and he doesn't know why. He most probably does feel something's gone very wrong by this point, but he cannot know the full extent of the damage. All he knows — he's in pain, he feels weird, and now his fingers feel like wood. For him it's like saying "I don't feel like myself anymore, there is something wrong with me, and I probably need help" without saying it.

It's sad. It's heartbreaking. It's brilliant.

(this list is mainly ways non-locals can donate but by extension offers a lot of resources and places to volunteer in the Twin Cities + there are specific ways to donate time under the cut which can be adjusted to your local neighborhood)

full credit to cataloo from r/minnesota [x]

🩵Immigrant support

Immigrant Defense Network – coalition of 90+ groups organizing rapid response and collecting evidence.

Immigrant Law Center of MN – free immigration legal representation to low-income immigrants and refugees.

COPAL – advocacy, organizing, phone hotline. Focus on Latine community.

Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) – education and protest organizing.

Interfaith Coalition on Immigration – advocacy, aid, events.

Monarca MN – training and phone hotline.

Unidos MN – education, protests, advocacy.

Center for Victims of Torture – advocacy and mental health services for immigrants and refugees.

International Institute of Minnesota – refugee resettlement group that provides support and legal help to vulnerable new-to-country families.

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota – offers services to refugees, including legal aid to non-citizens.

🩵Food support

If local, food donations are welcome, otherwise monetary donations help these types of orgs source what is most needed

VEAP

Second Harvest Heartland

Every Meal

The Food Group

Meals on Wheels MN

Find a local food shelf

🩵Mutual aid funds & community support

Community Aid Network

Twin Cities Trans Mutual Aid

Leo's Tow (Venmo @leostowingmn) is towing cars back to families if a car is stranded when someone is detained.

🩵More links

MN50501 Mutual Aid Linktree – well-organized list of various Twin Cities groups.

Mplsmutualaid Linktree – many neighborhood and individual GoFundMes listed here.

Mpls.St.Paul Magazine – see Food Drives and Fundraisers.

Stand with Minnesota – extensive list of organizations, mutual aid, and crowdfunding campaigns.

🩵Donate blood

Memorial Blood Center declared a blood emergency on Tuesday, Jan 13. MBC is the blood supplier for both tier 1 trauma hospitals in the metro area (Hennepin County Medical Center and North Memorial Health).

American Red Cross

🩵Donate food or other goods

Mpls.St.Paul Magazine – see Food Drives and Fundraisers.

Volunteer your time (under the cut)

i need money to support my family 🙏

all reblogs are appreciated

The bugs sheets: 50$/60$

variable price according to complexity

One bug: 17$

Ocs and fanart (any fandom)

Doodles:

send a DM if you are interested or have questions

to really boil it down to essentials like ...

childhood trauma is overwhelmingly common

childhood trauma creates long term stress which leads to nervous system disregulation [same source]

nervous system disregulation leads to inflammation in the brain

inflammation in the brain leads to "mental illnesses" like schizophrenia, major depression, and ptsd

these things contribute to stress, ensuring the stress stays chronic as well as the nervous system disregulation, which leads to physical illness and premature death

and then you look at like ...

spending time in green spaces like forests and blue spaces like oceans and rivers are both therapeutic

singing (especially group singing) boosts your immune system, mood, and regulates your nervous system

exercise regulates your nervous system and alleviates "mental illness" symptoms

playing is therapeutic and integrates your emotions and identity even in the face of trauma

and its like. oh okay. as modern cultures we barely have time for and are discouraged from participating in all the things we evolved to thrive with while constantly heaping on the amount of stress we can possibly fit in our day to day lives

and its like well no wonder people love concerts and karaoke and national parks and sports and going to the beach and playing games. these things Literally make us healthier

but also we need to make these things more regular parts of our lives if we're gonna have the endurance to fight rising global capitalism, fascism, and genocide

so my tips for Surviving All This Shit:

go to the park or be around a body of water at least once a week. schedule a time & make it part of your routine

exercise for 20-30 minutes most days, whether its walking around your neighborhood, playing a sport, lifting weights while you watch tv, swimming, etc

sing with your friends. go to local concerts. sing to your pets. sing at religious services. join a choir

play a game at least once a week. obv my recommendation is ttrpgs (anything but d&d 5e, i beg), but this also includes any video game that's not online competitive games against strangers. playing video games for 30 minutes a day but not over 3 hours a day is literally healthy for you

stop looking at traumatic news if youre not going to do anything about it. if you read a news article and then go volunteer, get involved in a community, donate money, or engage in activism, that's awesome!! keep it up. if you read the news regularly and it makes you upset and scared and depressed and then youre too overwhelmed to do anything about it Please Stop For Real you're both not helping the situation and also actively literally killing yourself. find one topic to engage with, find a way to make a difference for that topic, and delete the news app from your phone im being so real right now

read nonfiction by indigenous authors! this is just a general tip but also like. open your mind to other ways of society operating. it was not always like this and does not have to stay this way. if you see a recommendation post on here seriously look at the recs and try to get one from your library. there's a rec list of indigenous nonfiction here and another rec list here for some options that could be good to start with (both very north america focused). you can also search "indigenous nonfiction" in the tumblr search to see what others are reading. i'm currently making my way through braiding sweetgrass and indigenous economics is next on my list