As someone from a hot country that's regularly on fire, here's some tips:

WATER IS YOUR FRIEND! WATER! IS! YOUR! FRIEND! You can transfer SO much heat into this bad boy! You cannot cool down without water!

Wrists under the cold tap. Splash your face and the back of your neck. Fan yourself.

In some countries you can buy a little handeld fan with a water sprayer.

Damp tea towel around the neck. Stick an ice pack in there on hotter days.

Half fill a water bottle with water, stick in freezer. If you use a bottle with a straw, make sure it's lying on its side with the straw side up and out of the water. When frozen top up the rest of the way with tap water and off you go.

Desperate to cool off? Wet T-shirt. Sit in front of a fan. This will nuke it, just don't get hypothermia and don't fall asleep like this.

Cold showers are also your friend in summer. Some people get psyched up by these. Personally, I sleep like a baby, so I'm good to have them before bed. Just keep in mind that it takes a bit of time for the cool to circulate, so your body will tell you that you're colder than you actually are. I find that when I have cold showers I need to step out of the spray when I think I'm cold... I'll just wait, and thirty seconds later the temperature has evened out and I actually need to step under again. Rinse and repeat until you maintain coolness even after stepping out for a bit.

If you can't do cold showers, turn the cold shower on anyway and just stick your arms under. When they're cold, lift your arms up above your head. The sensation of cool blood draining into your body is fucking weird and kinda unpleasant but less unpleasant than being hot.

Feet in a tub of water with ice. Blood naturally flows to your extremities when hot, so take advantage of this. If you don't have a tub of ice water, sticking a wet rag on your feet in front of the fan works too, it's the less powerful version of the wet T-shirt.

Drinks lots of water but make sure that water has electrolytes as well. Stay in the shade.

Keep air circulating. Fans don't actually cool rooms down, they just help transfer heat from your body to the moisture on your skin or the air via evaporative cooling.

Block north facing windows early in the morning so the sun doesn't get in. If you're in the northern hemisphere, this is opposite for you. Keep in mind that if your home is brick, the bricks will still heat up and slowly release heat into your home even after the sun goes down so this will only do so much.

If it's hotter inside than outside, close all your windows but two, making sure they're on opposite sides of the house/unit you're in. Point a fan out of one window, making sure that the doors between the rooms with the open windows are all open. This will help create a mini pressure system in your home, pulling cooler air in and pushing the hotter air out via the fan. Bonus points if you can get that fan high up where the hot air rises; even within a single room the top is much hotter than the air by the floor. Adjust the amount of open windows based on how many fans you have, but generally you want more windows with fans open than windows without fans to keep the pressure correct.

Obviously, use your common sense for these. Not everything WILL work for you, just use the stuff that does and adjust what needs to be adjusted. Some of these will be impossible to use in the workplace but others you can still use. Others are best used at home. If humidity impacts your ability to use any of these, get a dehumidifier if that's an option, or use more ice instead of evaporation.

not the cliff. not the blood. not the pain.

i think he saw isaac. a little boy with dark hair and curious eyes running through tall grass somewhere untouched by grief. laughing. alive in the way memories allow people to stay alive.

i think he saw eliza too. because for all the years that passed, for all the things arthur lost and buried beneath anger and regret, there had once been a woman he had built something with. a simple life. a future.

i think he saw hosea sitting beside a campfire, smiling that tired smile like he’d known all along arthur would find his way back to himself.

maybe mary was there. maybe she wasn’t angry anymore. he lost mary emotionally. maybe she wasn’t crying. she was just smiling. no more tear-stained letters. not saying goodbye at train station. just mary. mary who laughed softly at something he’d said. reaching for his hand. looking at him the way she did before the world got in the way.

i think he saw the gang before the cracks. before the deaths. before dutch lost himself. lenny laughing too loud. sean causing trouble. kieran sitting awkwardly at the edge of camp. susan calling everyone to supper, pearson stirring something over the fire. karen’s laughter carrying across camp. tilly reading beneath a tree. mary-beth with a book in her lap. sadie becoming stronger after grief hollowed her out. charles sitting quietly at the edge of camp, carving at a piece of wood while everyone else talked. steady and loyal. everything arthur wished the world had more of.

all of them frozen in those ordinary moments nobody thinks to treasure until they’re gone. a camp untouched by grief. a family before it became a memory.

and somewhere beyond all of that, john and abigail. alive and together. jack growing up with two parents who loved him. the life arthur never got to have, but the one he spent his final days fighting to protect.

because that’s the thing that gets me. arthur died knowing he couldn’t save himself. but he saved them. and that was enough for him. maybe, as the sun climbed over the mountains, he looked out at the world one last time and saw not everything he’d lost. but everything he’d managed to leave behind, a boy who would have a father. a family that would get another chance.

maybe he saw his mother too. not as the faded photograph tucked away among his things. not as a memory worn thin by time. but as she was. warm hands. kind eyes. a voice he hadn’t heard in years. and maybe, for a moment, she looked at him and saw not the outlaw, not the gunslinger, not the man carrying a lifetime of regret, just her son.

maybe he even thought about dutch. because some losses aren’t deaths. sometimes they’re watching someone you love become a stranger.

sunlight spilling across its back, just as something guiding him home. because after years of running, fighting, surviving, hurting, losing, maybe arthur’s final vision wasn’t death at all.

maybe it was every person he loved waiting on the other side of the sunrise. and somewhere, beyond the sunrise, a little boy and his mother waiting for him to come home. ☀️🤍

“Be loyal to what matters.”

and in the end, what mattered was never the money. never the gang. it was them. always them. 🦌

"She didn't love me enough, I guess. Or... I wouldn't change."

brushing   snow   off   their   shoulders

offering   to   carry   their   bag

humming   a   lullaby   beside   them

making   sure   their   drink   is   just   right

touching   hands   under   the   table

sharing   a   quiet   moment   in   an   elevator

pulling   the   blanket   up   over   them

fixing   a   crooked   button   on   their   shirt

gently   resting   a   hand   on   their   knee

bringing   them   flowers   “just   because”

watching   them   in   the   soft   morning   light

adjusting   their   glasses   for   them

saving   them   the   last   bite

quietly   placing   their   favorite   book   in   their   hands

squeezing   their   arm   in   silent   support

brushing   dust   off   their   shoulder

letting   their   head   rest   on   your   chest

warming   up   a   heating   pad   for   them

kissing   the   top   of   their   head   in   passing

whispering   their   name   like   a   secret

setting   their   phone   to   charge

pouring   their   tea   before   your   own

tucking   a   note   into   their   pocket

drawing   a   small   heart   on   their   wrist

holding   the   back   of   their   neck   gently

pulling   them   away   from   the   cold   wind

leaning   into   each   other   on   a   train

pressing   their   hand   over   your   heartbeat

offering   your   hoodie   on   a   cold   night

packing   a   snack   for   them

gently   rubbing   their   shoulder   while   they   talk

picking   them   wildflowers

saving   a   seat   beside   you   for   them

mouthing   “you   okay?”   across   the   room

standing   behind   them   while   they   cook

helping   with   their   coat   sleeves

asking   if   they’ve   eaten   today

tracing   their   laugh   lines   when   they   smile

turning   their   playlist   into   a   shared   one

leaving   a   mug   of   cocoa   on   their   desk

tying   your   scarf   around   their   neck

brushing   your   thumb   across   their   wrist

sitting   beside   them   during   a   tough   day

helping   them   put   on   a   bracelet

resting   your   head   on   their   lap

carrying   them   when   they   fall   asleep   somewhere   strange

painting   their   nails   for   them

pressing   a   kiss   to   their   wrist

gently   holding   their   chin   to   meet   your   gaze

leaving   your   scent   on   their   pillow

guiding   their   hand   while   drawing

humming   a   song   they   like

quietly   whispering   “i   missed   you”

brushing   a   tear   from   their   lash

hiding   a   gift   for   them   to   find   later

gently   pulling   them   into   your   arms   during   a   bad   dream

braiding   their   hair   without   asking

waiting   up   for   them   to   get   home

offering   your   lap   as   a   pillow

warming   their   hands   with   yours   in   your   pockets

shielding   their   eyes   from   the   sun

holding   their   face   during   a   long   hug

wrapping   your   arms   around   their   waist   while   cooking

softly   squeezing   their   pinky   when   anxious

sharing   a   hoodie   without   asking

resting   your   head   on   their   shoulder   during   a   movie

lightly   stroking   their   hair   while   they   read

offering   to   write   something   for   them

sneaking   a   Polaroid   of   them   smiling

casually   interlocking   fingers   while   walking

wrapping   an   arm   around   them   in   their   sleep

offering   a   tissue   before   they   ask

kissing   their   knuckles   one   by   one

gently   drying   their   hair   with   a   towel

placing   their   hand   over   your   heart

taking   their   photo   when   they’re   distracted

watching   them   laugh   and   smiling   to   yourself

opening   the   car   door   for   them

waiting   to   make   sure   they’re   inside   safely

gently   tugging   on   their   sleeve   to   get   their   attention

letting   them   nap   on   your   chest

setting   an   extra   place   at   the   table

lending   them   your   favorite   book

adjusting   their   jewelry

putting   a   hand   on   their   back   when   guiding   them

whispering   “you’re   okay,   i’ve   got   you”

resting   your   foreheads   together   mid-hug

brushing   rainwater   from   their   hair

slipping   your   hand   into   theirs   in   silence

bringing   a   warm   drink   to   their   bedside

folding   their   laundry   with   a   soft   smile

reaching   out   instinctively   to   steady   them

tracing   the   veins   on   their   wrist   with   your   finger

taking   off   their   shoes   after   a   long   day

straightening   their   tie   gently

offering   to   help   them   undress   when   tired

letting   your   head   fall   on   theirs   in   a   quiet   moment

playfully   hiding   behind   them   when   nervous

buttoning   up   their   cardigan   slowly