dumb bitch energy

Like, have you ever heard of the Murphy Party? Sometimes called the  Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party? They were the first wagon train of the pioneers to make it over the Sierra Nevada, two full years before the Donners tried it, first of the american pioneers to reach the shores of lake Tahoe, first licensed physician in California, etc. etc. Ten families, about fifty people, not a single casualty (they actually arrived with more people than when they left). Because when the Donners picked the most charismatic city boy as their leader, the Murphys picked a mountain man. Where the Donners decided to take a “shortcut” that was completely impassable based on a letter they got from somebody who wanted to drum up business for a trading post he was building but who had never actually driven a wagon, the Murphys scouted properly and stuck to paths their vehicles could actually traverse. Where the Donners decided to shoot at the people who were already living in the area, the Murphys asked the natives for directions. When they got snowed in, they sent a few men on ahead to bring back supplies to the rest of the party after building a sturdy cabin for shelter, instead of trying to hole up in shoddy tents and lean-tos before eating each other.

Not to mention all the idiotic in-fighting in the Donner party; they were constantly brawling or stabbing each other or exiling people or just leaving old men on the side of the path to die or “accidentally” shooting their rivals while cleaning weapons, while literally hundreds of other wagon trains somehow made it through the same trials without any murder.

Donner was not the original leader of the group- the expedition started out under the leadership of a man named Reed, who did know what he was doing and had lead several groups safely to the Oregon Territory before.

When they reached the point where the new “California Trail” diverged from the Oregon Trail Donner convinced a large portion of the group to join him and travel across the Sierras.

Reed knew this was a very, very bad idea but Donner was apparently just- extremely charismatic and persuasive. Not only did the Reed Party safely make it to Oregon, as originally planned, but Reed immediately headed south as fast as he humanly could, and upon reaching Sacramento recruited a rescue party to bring emergency supplies up from the other side of the pass.

Unfortunately, it was already too late in the year and the weather forced the rescue party to turn back. Despite knowing the odds against the Donner Party surviving Reed refused to assume their deaths and stayed in Sacramento waiting for the mountain trail to clear.

So not only did Reed warn them not to, he was also the one that found the survivors afterwards.

If x charity aims for £10, but gets £15, would you expect then to give back the extra five or give it then to another charity? No. Any extra costs go into the “rainy day” fund; sometimes servers crash or break, sometimes false reports are made that require the legal team, sometimes you need to hire coders or what not to implement new features or fix bugs or deal with broken code … 

The money they aimed for is the bare minimum, which goes towards things like basic server costs and domain names and legal advice and so forth, but they don’t just “pocket” the rest (as people claim). It’s not a business. It has no advertisements. It needs some “rainy day” cash to function. 

You can’t ask a charity to give money to another charity. 

They don’t “pocket” excess money. They have a publicly accessible budget - waaaay more info than most charities, in fact. In it, you can clearly see where each dollar goes. (Also, you are vastly underestimating either how much traffic AO3 gets or how much servers/hosting costs.)                    

In my experience, people who don’t work in web design and hosting just have no concept of how heavy a load something like AO3 would have. Not only is the traffic absolutely buck wild, but the quantity of data that archive needs to store is fuckoff crazy. I’m talking “more than the library of congress” crazy. The only reason it doesn’t require Netflix levels of data serving is that it’s text based rather than video.

AO3 is in the top 300 websites in the world, and the top 100 in the US. It is the number 2 literature website.

Number 2 in the entire world. JSTOR is 20.

It sees about 6 million people a day. About 250k an hour. Each of those people is loading multiple pages, many are running searches that execute on literally hundreds of potential variables per search. The demands involved are astronomical.

JSTOR, btw, makes 85 million dollars a year.

It’s 18 ranks below AO3′s traffic, and takes in 650 times the amount of money.

But let’s say you think that’s an unfair comparison. Would you say that the Project Gutenberg Literature Archival Group- another text based archive that handles literature operating outside traditional copyright requirements- is more similar?

Because it sees all of 4% of the traffic that AO3 handles.

Care to guess its budget?

Double that of AO3.

AO3 is doing shit on the kind of shoestring budget that I fully, 100% cannot comprehend. And that’s just the archival service.

The 130k also pays for the OTW’s legal team, which they use to defend the right of fandom to fucking exist.

For instance: 

- “I was just holding your hand to convey sincerity and you said something I don’t have an immediate answer to, so I’m going to kiss your hand instead.” 

- “you’re only semi-lucid and are sort of reaching for my face and for various reasons I shouldn’t kiss YOUR face, but your hand is right here and I still need to convey affection”

- “your hand is the only part of you with only minor injuries and the doctor [healer, whatever] is right there and will get mad at me if I move you”

- “you were going to play-hit me but I’m actually much faster in the reflexes than you and also my catching your hand and kissing it is part of our game”

- “you just touched my face so your palm is right there” 

- “I’m extremely happy about something and this felt like the best spontaneous action, what am I, an expert on motivations?” 

- “this is YOUR hand, so it is particularly delightful to me” 

- “we were cuddling and holding hands and I felt like it” 

- “I was just struck by the overwhelming delight I feel at your existence and your hand was the most conveniently positioned thing to kiss in response to this thought process”

making a post to collect all those long threads that i always see discussing something or the other in mythology WITH sources to prove a point! all pantheons available here, sorted alphabetically.

A

apollo and fatherhood

apollo, demeter and the coming of winter

apollo using zeus’ thunderbolts 

ares is a GREAT dad

D

depicting apollo as feminine

does apollo’s domain over medicine also concern mental wellbeing

F

freyja, general information and appearances in text

H

the hades and persephone myth, and it’s significance in ancient culture

hephaestus isn’t ugly!!

hera and the other ladies who “married” zeus before her

L

loki’s symbols and motifs

M

the medusa and perseus myth, and medusa’s relationship with poseidon

P

persephone as a feminist figure, and why it’s important to not erase the patriarchal context of her myth

persephone and demeter’s relationship, and evidence that there may have been conflict between the two (and that’s okay!) AND feminism

persephone didn’t cheat on hades with adonis

W

who would take over olympus if zeus stepped down

why titans and gods are NOT different

Z

zeus does love hera

———

if you come across any other interesting threads, send me the link and i’ll add it here :)

London-based student Lewis Hornby is a grandson on a mission. When he noticed that his dementia-afflicted grandmother was having trouble staying hydrated, he came up with Jelly Drops—bite-sized pods of edible water that look just like tasty treats.

Each of these colorful “candies” is made up of mostly water, with gelling agents and electrolytes making up just 10% of their composition. Available in a rainbow of colors and presented in packaging reminiscent of a box of chocolates, Jelly Drops are an easy and engaging way to avoid dehydration—a common problem for those suffering from degenerative neurological diseases.

“It is very easy for people with dementia to become dehydrated,” he explains. “Many no longer feel thirst, don’t know how to quench thirst, or don’t have the dexterity to drink.” With this in mind, Hornby set out to find a solution. In addition to seeking advice from psychologists and doctors, he opted to “experience” life with dementia himself through the use of virtual reality tools and a week in a care home.

Once he was familiar with what dementia patients need, he brainstormed what they want. “From my observations, people with dementia find eating much easier than drinking. Even still, it can be difficult to engage and encourage them to eat. I found the best way to overcome this is to offer them a treat! This format excites people with dementia, they instantly recognize it and know how to interact with it.”

Second of all, I’d like to remind everyone that Jell-o counts as a fluid. 

That is, many doctors prescript Jell-o, and Gelatin treats to children and adults who, for whatever reason, have trouble keeping hydrated. Maybe they have jaw issues. Maybe dementia, or they are on a fluid-only diet and drinking broth for weeks is mind-boggling boring. 

Jell-o brand in particular has a lot of sugar added to the packets, however it’s quite straightforward to buy plain gelatin and make low-sugar jelly blobs to snack on for that sweet fruit-pop of hydration.

Soo~ Here we goooo~ 

2 cups juice – Orange juice, grape juice, whatever you want. Fuck, you could even use your favorite blend of tea, or coffee (though coffee, in my experience, needs a little more gelatin to set properly)

Low heat until juice is hot, but before it starts to boil – once you see a bit of bubbles rising, add 2 tablespoons gelatin, and stir gelatin into hot juice until totally dissolved.

Turn off heat

Add another cup and a half of juice (or whatever), stir for another minute or so, then pour into a mold.

You could pour it into ice cube trays, a Tupperware container, or any sort of silicone candy mold.

Cover it, stick in the fridge overnight, and viola~

Bite-sized taste snacks, full of water.

Gelatin is broken down very easily and put to use once in your gut, so it’s fine to eat loads of it, and otherwise you’re just taking mouthfuls of juice… or tea or whatever.

If you want it a bit more sweet, feel free to add sugar or honey to your hot juice… or hot…whatever…

seeing inventions like this come into existence is uplifting!

Hi anon, I have read MANY good Joe/Nicky fics, or at least fics I have enjoyed! I am not entirely certain why you have come to me with this, I am after all just a humble fanartist who rambles a lot, BUT I am nothing if not opinionated so I will happily provide :D

While We're Young 

by Hyb @h-yb,(pretty sure this is the correct tumblr, let me know if not) 2k words, M rated

He knows what Genoa does to Nicky. 

Nicky and Joe visit Genoa in the modern-day, post-canon. This one is one of my favourites. It is sweet and introspective and beautifully, poetically written. When I’m looking for a fic of these two, unless it’s an AU of some sort I just really want something that makes me feel their age, the depth of their love, how incredible and breathtaking it all is and this one definitely does all of that. I don’t have smarter words here, just read and bask in the beauty of it all. Mild sexual content but it’s not very explicit. 

Salt and Harvest

by hollybennett123, 3k words, M rated

The making and the breaking of bread, throughout the centuries.

The first time Nicky bakes bread for them to share — thick, rounded puffs of aish baladi, prepared with the utmost concentration and care — the sun has begun to set in Cairo, staining the sky the same vivid colour as the tangerines that grow ripe and heavy on the trees outside their door.

A very fun and sweet look at how Joe and Nicky live through the centuries, as demonstrated by different moments of Nicky baking bread. I think the characterization is spot on and I think again you really feel how long they have lived and loved and just the act of baking bread for someone you love... I love that as a concept. Has some sexual content also, again not super explicit, but just a heads up. 

As an Ancient City

stonecarved (figure8) or @lgbtmazight, 2k words, M rated

This is a language no one else in the world is fluent in: the glint in Nicky’s eye, the unbearable gentleness with which he pushes Yusuf flat against the bed.

--

Joe and Nicky, from 1099 to 2019, through continents and dialects.

This one again is a collection of different moments through the centuries, but this time the angle is the languages they speak. yes, I might have a favourite type of fic for them lol. This one is very good however just both as writing in general and as fic of them specifically.  I feel like this too captures the characters and their dynamic as well as their age and complexity really well. And this one also has implied sexual content.  

When The Cherries White With Blossoms, Be Ready & Be Brave

by chapstickaddict, 17,5k words, E rated

“What are you doing?” he mouthed into Nicky’s thigh.

“Watching you sleep.”

“What else are you doing?”

“Rewriting King Lear,” Nicky said. His voice was plagued with distraction. Joe pulled himself up enough to see the page; Act II ran red with slashed words. His lover’s eyes were the color of the sky just before a tornado touched down.

This one is post canon and deals directly with the aftermath of the movie. Nicky is troubled by bookers betrayal and worried his and Joe’s intimacy is going to push Nile away like it did with Booker. Joe is worried about Nicky worrying about that and Joe is worried about Andy being mortal but not dealing with it very well. This fic is Joe’s pov and I think it explores his relationship with Andy in a really interesting way as well as how Nile fits into their lives and into the team post-movie. I like how their chemistry is written and I really like the Joe worrying about Andy angle, I feel like there isn’t enough of that in the fandom so far. This one has multiple explicit sex scenes however so that’s something to be aware of, kids don’t click on it. 

Brother of My Heart

by, @aphroditestummyrolls , 6k, Not rated

Joe didn’t think about the World Cup or Lord of the Rings as they pulled up the long gravel path to their destination. He didn’t even register his first sighting of the windswept cottage in Scarborough. He didn’t remember parking the car. He barely acknowledged anything outside of Nicky, opening the door, wrapping a warm, grounding hand around his and leading them up to the house. Joe was more tired than he had ever been, he was convinced of it. All 953 years, he’d never been this exhausted, this broken, this hurt.

The weathered old door closed behind the lot of them, and Joe heard Andy’s long, tired sigh as she flicked on the light. Nile dragged her feet to the kitchen counter and leaned heavily against it, running her bloody hands down her face. Nicky had done his best to pick the glass out of her braids, but she still looked… well, she looked like she’d jumped out of a penthouse window.

She was going to be good for the team. She wouldn’t be like…

Booker hovered halfway between Andy and the door, as if he didn’t know if he was supposed to be there. Joe watched him, his brother, standing there with that haunted look in his eye, and it lanced through him like a blade.

This one is also post-movie and dealing with the fallout, though this is much more about Booker and his actions. Definitely not very kind to Booker this one but it’s justified. I liked that Nicky gets the furious anger moment with Booker for hurting Yusuf and I like that Yusuf gets to cry and also be comforted by his loving husband who would fight the world to keep him safe. Everyone hug joe 2020. No sexual themes in this one so everyone go ahead freely lol. 

---

and like honestly? i have anorexia but this is why i constantly talk about the dangers of the “health and fitness” industry and diet culture bc we have essentially normalized certain symptoms of disordered eating but it’s ok if it’s under the guise of health i guess???

like how is calling it “clean” eating NOT a way to moralize food

how is intermittent fasting NOT the same thing as skipping meals

how come when i buy clothes that don’t fit, it’s something i have to tell my therapist about because it means i am putting pressure on myself to fit into them, but if a “normal” person does it then it’s just motivation for them?

where is the fucking line???

and more importantly when are we going to start acknowledging that the entire world is pro-ana but that’s too harsh of a description so we slap some health buzzwords on it to make it palatable

when are we going to take responsibility for encouraging disordered behavior instead of labeling those of us with EDs as the crazy/imbalanced ones

biologist:

 (Like we’re so aggressively social that we looked at APEX PREDATORS and went ‘they look soft! Friend????’)

FIC VENN DIAGRAM - HURT/COMFORT // SOULMATES // NO SMUT // FANTASY/MYTHOLOGY

@so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed made this request and it fell a little out of my usual wheelhouse so I phoned by dear friend @twopoppies for help. So this one should be considered a joint effort + I used  Gina’s fic recs to help me. (It is also straight up coincidence that one of your fics ended up in this one.)

Fever Started Long Ago

Make Your Words a Weapon @helloamhere

A Fire in Us @hereforlou

The Haunting of Louis Tomlinson @helloamhere

Say Hallelujah, Say Goodnight @alivingfire

Deleted Your Number (so I can’t call you) @sunflowrsix

Wishing You Were Them @gaycousinlarry

The Devil in My Brain @princesshalo

Black with Autumn Rain @whimsicule

I won’t let you forget @graceling-in-a-suit

To Be Real @hazzabeeforlou

it’s time to find your wings again @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed

Don’t Let the Tide Come and Take Me 

Rutger Bregman is the Dutch historian who became a global sensation after an appearance at this year’s Davos summit, where he accused attending billionaires of ignoring taxation. Now he has created another viral moment in an extremely uncomfortable interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson.

Bregman so riled Carson with his accusations of hypocrisy, critiques of Fox’s conservative agenda, and attacks on Donald Trump that the TV host called him a “moron” and angrily told him: “Go fuck yourself.”

Source