Brose knows (maybe)

But one thing human babies are really good at - often within seconds of being born - is asking for help.

As we mature and gain new skills - vocabulary both verbal and written, gestures, facial expressions, and so forth - the way we ask for help changes. But babies have just one way of asking for help - filling their lungs with air and wailing. And they're right to do so! Their needs are unmet and they cannot do a damn thing about it except request assistance.

ANYways yeah zie was my mutual and like, reblogged a lot my smaller posts. (that isn't to discredit what my mutual pompeyspuppygirl is saying about zie clout chasing ofc). AND idk zie was always reblogging art from new and undiscovered artists and reblogging donation posts (which if you don't know is really bad if you're trying to clout chase...) (again, though, ppg is my mutual i believe her.) and like, remember on valentines day i tried to blaze zir posts and zie told me to stop because zie didn't want the posts to go viral? (but again ppg is my mutual and has a lot of proof in the Google doc I'm not trying to disprove that I'm just saying what else I know)

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones;

So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus

Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:

If it were so, it was a grievous fault,

And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it.

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest–

For Brutus is an honourable man;

So are they all, all honourable men–

Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral.

He was my friend, faithful and just to me:

But Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

He hath brought many captives home to Rome

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And Brutus is an honourable man.

You all did see that on the Lupercal

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;

And, sure, he is an honourable man.

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,

But here I am to speak what I do know.

You all did love him once, not without cause:

What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?

O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,

And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,

Oh _lovely_. Everyone go turn this off:

But still interested in feeding yourself? What if I told you that there’s a woman with a blog who had to feed both herself and her young son…on 10 British pounds ($15/14 Euro) per week?

Let me tell you a thing.

This woman saved my life last year. Actually saved my life. I had a piggy bank full of change and that’s it. Many people in my fandom might remember that dark time as when I had to hock my writing skills in exchange for donations. I cried a lot then. 

This is real talk, people: I marked down exactly what I needed to buy, totaled it, counted out that exact change, and then went to three different stores to buy what I needed so I didn’t have to dump a load of change on just one person. I was already embarrassed, but to feel people staring? Utter shame suffused me. The reasons behind that are another post all together. 

AgirlcalledJack.com is run by a British woman who was on benefits for years. Things got desperate. She had to find a way to feed herself and her son using just the basics that could be found at the supermarket. But the recipes she came up with are amazing. 

You have to consider the differing costs of things between countries, but if you just have three ingredients in your cupboard, this woman will tell you what to do with it. Check what you already have. Chances are you have the basics of a filling meal already. 

Here’s her list of kitchen basics. 

Bake your own bread. It’s easier than you think. Here’s a list of many recipes, each using some variation of just plain flour, yeast, some oil, maybe water or lemon juice. And kneading bread is therapeutic. 

Make your own pasta–gluten free. 

She gets it. She really does. This is the article that started it all. It’s called “Hunger Hurts”.

She has vegan recipes.

A carrot, a can of kidney beans, and some cumin will get you a really filling soup…or throw in some flour for binding and you’ve got yourself a burger. 

Don’t have an oven or the stove isn’t available? She covers that in her Microwave Cooking section. 

She has a book, but many recipes can be found on her blog for free. She prices her recipes down to the cent, and every year she participates in a project called “Living Below the Line” where she has to live on 1 BP per day of food for five days. 

Things improved for me a little, but her website is my go to. I learned how to bake bread (using my crockpot, but that was my own twist), and I have a little cart full of things that saved me back then, just in case I need them again. She gives you the tools to feed yourself, for very little money, and that’s a fabulous feeling. 

Tip: Whenever you have a little extra money, buy a 10 dollar/pound/euro giftcard from your discount grocer. Stash it. That’s your super emergency money. Make sure they don’t charge by the month for lack of use, though.

I don’t care if it sounds like an advertisement–you won’t be buying anything from the site. What I DO care about is your mental, emotional, and physical health–and dammit, food’s right in the center of that. 

Here’s an up to date link

every 4 years I see people talking about how they live in a red state (or more rarely a blue state) so their vote doesn’t matter and I just want to briefly point out that I think nearly every state is either a swing state for the Presidential election, having a key Senate Race that will decide control of the Senate, has one or more key House races that’ll decide control of the House, or is having an important Governor’s race that’ll could flip control of the state

Presidential Swing states:

Arizona

Georgia

Michigan

Nevada

North Carolina

Pennsylvania

Wisconsin

Key Senate Races:

Arizona

Florida

Maryland

Michigan

Montana

Nevada

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Texas

Wisconsin

States With Key House Races:

Alabama

Alaska

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Maine

Maryland

Michigan

Minnesota

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Texas

Virginia

Washington

Wisconsin

Swingable Governor Races:

New Hampshire

North Carolina

A district where the Democrat gets only 30% of the vote is very different from a district where the Democrat gets only 40% of the vote. In both cases they lose (unless the conservative votes are split). But! If the Democrat gets 30% of the vote, the Republicans know that next election cycle that district is safe. They don’t need to put much money or effort in getting their guy elected, they could put up an inanimate object and it would probably win the race. So they can take all their money and put it into races that are competitive. Races that could go either way.

But if the Democrat gets 40% of the vote, that changes the calculus. Maybe it’s still a safe district! … but maybe it’s trending purple-to-blue. If they want to keep it safe, they gotta pour resources into it. Which means they have fewer resources to spend on the swing states, which means that Democrats elsewhere have a greater chance of being re-elected.

Also, consider it from the Democrat perspective. If the Democrat gets 30% of the vote, they’re not going to support the next candidate very well. They’re going to use their resources elsewhere, and the chances of your district flipping or getting competitive are vanishingly small.

But if the Democrat gets 40% of the vote, then it’s worth it to pay more attention to the local races, see if they can influence things and build up a voting base and flip the district.

Politics is a long game. You’re not just voting to get someone elected this term. You’re also voting to try and set things up so that things are possible further on down the line.

Missouri might be in a blood-red Republican headlock when it comes to office holders, but a constitutional amendment to restore abortion rights is on the ballot, too.

Florida also has an abortion access initiative, and in addition, you’ve got Amendment 3 up, which will legalize marijuana use and possession.

Ohio has a chance to change the way legislative districts are drawn, hitting back at gerrymandering.

Also the “I didn’t vote group” is the largest voting group by far.

Texas for example, if every Texan voted, would very likely be a purple/blue state but a lack of engagement (and aggressive voter suppression) makes it red.

Slightly oblique, but I personally voted for Nader in 2000, in Florida, on principal. And while I do feel very clear that decision was based on a worthy principal, it was completely ignorant of the implications. And, in hindsight, we now know that if I and a little more than 500 other people had not done that, we would’ve had a very different next term with Al Gore as president.

This is the really relevant part: Even in an election where the number of votes cast is up to 9 digits, a few hundred people can make a difference. Your vote is no longer lost in the sea. It is actually almost decisive.

So I'm sure you've all heard about the 6 degrees of separation that connects us all right? (example: I know Sandra > Sandra knows a fanfic author > that fanfic author knows Corey FUCKING Taylor. I'm 3 degrees of separation from Corey FUCKING Taylor!! *ahem* I digress) So me & Sandra know SPN & we're in the fandom. We know some peeps & we've heard of @quickreaver, a freaking legend in the fandom.

So we reach out to Quickreaver & holy shit, she comes to talk to us (everyone be cool, y'all)

She puts us in touch with some of her friends & that leads us here. The power & beauty of friendships is insane y'all.

Anyway. Have you heard of the A Monster By Any Other Name Series? By Laura Rye & Bailey R Hansen? Maybe you know it by the name of the first book: Freak Camp?

No, you haven't heard of it?

Well, today is your lucky day friends. Fortress: the fourth book in the series is out NOW! TODAY! September 1st 2024. There has never been a better time to pick up the series and dive into the world of Jake & Tobias. You have 4 amazing novels to sink your teeth into.

And if you have heard of it, did you know Fortress, the fourth book in the series is out NOW! TODAY! September 1st 2024!! You should go pick it up. Expand your collection. C'mon, you can fit one more book on that shelf. :D

Me & Sandra sat down with Laura (No tumblr account as of yet) & Bailey ( @knownasbelen ) last weekend to talk about the series, their love of spn & fandom, how they got started and of course the release of Fortress (now! today! September 1st 2024!)

We had an amazing time with them & we all could have talked for hours and hours longer (stupid life, getting the in the way. So rude). That interview will be out on 10th September (We're good, but we're not edit, master, make vids, upload, release in a week good. That is for people who have staff lol)

Sooooo while you're waiting to learn all about Laura & Bailey and the world of AMBAON, you should pick up the books & get stuck in. You'll probably have finished them by the 10th cos you won't be able to put them down.

What are you waiting for. Jump over to https://freakcamp.com and get started (make sure you check the warnings for book 1! Be safe & start with book 2 if you need to. Look after your mental health people <3)

If you live in the US and you have a phone you need to keep secret for any reason, make sure that it is turned off at this time.

Yes, I'm doing this months in advance, and yes, my blog has very little reach, but I figure better to post about it more than less.

TURN OFF YOUR OTHER PHONE AND DO NOT TURN IT ON AGAIN UNTIL YOU ARE ALONE AND SAFE BECAUSE THE ALARM WILL COME THROUGH AS SOON AS THAT PHONE IS POWERED ON.

AGAIN I REPEAT:

OCTOBER 4, 2023

THE ALARM WILL COME THROUGH AS SOON AS THAT PHONE IS POWERED BACK ON.

SO ONLY POWER IT BACK ON WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO.

OCTOBER 4, 2023

If this doesn't make sense, then good news it's not for or about you but still reblog it because you never know who may need to know this.

Like how does a person whose entire moral code and sense of ethics is founded on a stalwart faith that There Are Rules That Must Be Followed dedicate their entire life's work to teaching the most chaotic goblin goddamn language currently spoken on Earth, that looted the word "loot", hunted their singular second person pronoun to extinction, and whose spelling and pronunciation are so detached from each other that native speakers have national competitions about getting it right?

Immediately coming up with an ulterior motive or other negative interpretation of novel information isn't especially clever. It doesn't automatically mean you're smarter than everyone who is seeing it as neutral or positive. It means you're leaning in to your brain's default settings.

The actual smart thing a range of explanations/interpretations, and apply some relevant criteria to determining which seem the most likely or important. In cases where an actual danger exists, it does make sense to give more weight to the negative possibilities, but automatically assuming an ulterior motive of every human being you see in an internet video a) does not improve your safety in any way, and b) isn't as impressive as you think it is.

200 years ago, somebody was complaining about Kids These Days burying their faces in books in order to avoid socialising just the same as someone else is now ranting how their children would rather browse their phones than listen to them rant. People were arguing anonymously in the posting boards and newspaper sections just the same as they do on the internet. Someone in the bronze age woke up at 5 am to the sound of toddlers fighting over complete nonsense just the same as someone woke up to the same noises today.

“Boss made a dollar Granddad made a dime But that was a poem From a simpler time.

Boss made a thousand Gave pa a cent But that penny paid the mortgage Or at least it paid the rent

Title: To Be Free Once More (That’s Worth Fighting For) Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Era Author: Batsutousai Rating: Mature Warnings: Alternate Universe, Qui-Gon survives, Jedi Shadow!Obi-Wan, Jedi culture positive, Coruscant Guard deserve better, clone trooper dehumanisation, institutional abuse, discrimination, learning to trust, Jedi and clone trooper relationships, strangers to friends to lovers, idiots in love, trans/nonbinary/agender clone troopers, Summary: As a Jedi Shadow, Obi-Wan hadn’t expected to have much to do with the clone troopers. Until, suddenly, he does.

Notes: This fic will be 15 chapters long, with the final chapter going up at some point on the 17th of May, for those who prefer to binge.

CHAPTER ONE

“Aayla gets on well with her troopers,” Obi-Wan commented, having heard about her friendship with her commander from Quinlan, who seemed torn between being overprotective of her presumed virtue, and delighted that she’d been paired with a commander that she got on with. “Anakin, too.”

“Anakin has never been particularly comfortable with authority figures,” Qui-Gon commented drily. “His refusal to act like one was wholly expected.”

“Yes, I wonder where he got that particular mindset from,” Obi-Wan muttered loud enough for Qui-Gon to hear, and studiously ignored his former master’s chuckle. “When are we dropping from hyperspace next?” He wasn’t certain about comming Anakin for advice, but Aayla might have some actionable suggestions, and it had been far too long since he’d last spoken to her.

Qui-Gon hummed, then used the Force to call his comm to him, typed something on it, then set it down and went back to his trimming.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at the complete lack of answer, then left the bed, which he’d been lying on, since the only chair was serving as a plant holder, to kneel in front of Qui-Gon’s footlocker, delighted when it opened at his first guess for the code.

“What, exactly, are you doing?” Qui-Gon asked, tone dry, but presence in the Force warm and amused.

“Disregarding your presumed boundaries,” Obi-Wan returned cheerfully, even as he pawed through his former master’s belongings.

Qui-Gon huffed, then called, “Come in, Commander!” when the quiet doorbell chime sounded.

“You asked to see me, General?” Commander Cody asked, once they’d stepped into the room far enough for the door to close again behind them, curiosity curling through the Force around them.

“Yes,” Qui-Gon agreed, setting down his sheers and turning to face the clone. “Obi-Wan was asking whether there was any way to make the troopers more comfortable with him mingling with them.”

Obi-Wan groaned into the footlocker; he should have guessed that his former master’s solution would be to simply ask one of the clones. “If the answer is there isn’t one,” he said, before the commander could open their mouth to respond, “please just tell me so; I’m perfectly capable suffering the next week dealing with Master Jinn.”

Read the whole chapter at Archive of Our Own!