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It would be a real struggle to get out of some of these vintage beds.

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Source details and larger version.
It would be a real struggle to get out of some of these vintage beds.

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"Slave is an Ephebian word. In Om we have no word for slave," said Vorbis.
"So I understand," said the Tyrant. "I imagine that fish have no word for water."
Terry Pratchett, Small Gods
Iāve been rewatching handmaidās tale
When it first began airing, in 2016, it quickly became something I watched alone in off hours while my spouse was busy because they couldnāt stand it. It felt, to them, like excessive and needless pain - like political torture porn. Itās an understandable perspective, I think, and I couldnāt put into words at the time what exactly I saw in it beyond that.
But lately, Iāve had the scene from the ābefore timesā where the main character finds out women have been stripped of their financial rights when her credit card is suddenly declined. Thereās a believable mundanity to that moment, a relatability that stuck with me. The dread of realizing your bank account is empty, money gone faster than you anticipated and youāre not sure why, not knowing in that moment if youāve overdrawn or been scammed somehow or if your paycheck didnāt go through or⦠or, I guess, if the government has seized your assets and reduced you to sub-citizen status without warning. It just felt like a very imaginable extension of an already familiar feeling.
I needed to watch it again, like listening to a song stuck in your head in the hopes of it unsticking. And the scene was later in the show than I remembered, and so many other little things were hitting in a way I know they didnāt back, and now I guess Iām rewatching the whole thing.
It only took me an episode or two in to realize what it was I got from this show, though. The thing that felt worthwhile, despite the brutality and the anguish that fills it. If nothing else itās a reminder that it is possible to survive things that may be unimaginable to you now - that people have survived these things, and will again, and that survival is worth honoring. And itās a reminder, simultaneously, of the importance of fighting back and refusing to give up or give in. That survival and staying alive are not always synonymous. It must be a reminder I need now more than I did then, because it seems so obvious to me now⦠which is in and of itself unnerving in a way.
The smallest, silliest thing that immediately stood out to me was the eyebrows. 2016 feels like it just happened, I donāt think of this show as āold,ā I didnāt expect it to really look noticeably different than something made a year or two ago⦠but it does. Everyoneās eyebrows look so thin and trim and tidy, even in the āafterā times. Thatās how long itās been, how long this dread has been living in the pit of my stomach, this quiet anxiety Iāve been rationalizing and coping with just fine but can never really shake.
The thing about the credit card scene, a thing I had forgotten and maybe the very thing I felt I needed to see again, is that it comes along much later than I thought. Not just in the sense that it was a later episode, but later in the process of the insurgent fascist governmentās seizure of power. It happens suddenly, yes, but in the context of a drawn out unraveling that the characters have been steadily acclimating to. Itās an abrupt change, but itās not shocking to them - at least, not quite shocking enough. The main character doesnāt immediately pack her bags and plan an escape. Thereās objection and protest along the way, sure, but not theyāre not flooding the streets and rioting. Itās less than I would have imagined in 2016, far less than the uprisings of 2020, but it feels proportionate now. Itās what I would expect now. And when the main character attends a protest, and senses that itās about to turn, and begins retreating just in time as an armed force in riot gear opens fire - that feels believable now, too. Not that it didnāt before, but in a way that feels closer now. In a way that dulls the impact of the scene itself. And when the queer university instructor finds out sheās being shelved because a student glimpsed a photo of her with her wife and their child on her phone, that feels believable too. Believable like you could tell me it was already happening, and I just hadnāt heard, and Iād believe you. And all the scenes of men in positions of power discussing the birth crisis and coolly discussing enslaving women as a solution, that too feels believable. Tangible.
I kind of rolled my eyes when I first heard there was another season coming, had no real interest in sitting through another season of agony. It already felt kind of drawn out to me, I was already kind of over it by the end of season four (if not sooner). Rewatching it hasnāt changed my feelings on virtually any of the criticism I had or heard of the show while it was previously airing, but⦠Iām glad I decided to revisit it. Iām not sure how enthusiastic Iāll be for another season by the time I finish this rewatch, but it makes more sense to me now.
āWomen are so adaptable, my mother would say. Itās truly amazing what we can get used to. Iāve been here for two months. What have I gotten used to?ā
Flotsam, Jetsam and a Little Gypsum
Getting carried away and Getting ahead myself are the Two best ways to travel Around these here parts
I Believe In You
Authorās Notes: I received a prompt from @darthsinister66ā from a "Asks for OCs and their Partner(s)" post. āš Write a love letter from your OC to their partner(s). BONUS: write a reply!ā The following piece is part of my Awakenings series. Itās a letter sent from Corellan Halcyon, my Jedi Knight / Alliance Commander, to Kira Carsen, while Kira is leading a mission to Tatooine, their first time apart after Kira joins the Eternal Alliance. (For details on the aftermath of that mission and their reunion, read Acclimation, which is Chapter Ten of the series.) Ā
Kira,
I know itās only been a few hours and that we talked before you left. But there were some things I felt I needed to tell you. Things I hope you already know, but I needed to say anyway.
First ā Iām sorry your first mission leading a strike team is to Tatooine. I remember you didnāt care for the place, and I donāt blame you.
Second ā Iām even sorrier that your first mission involves containing an outbreak of Rakghouls. I know this mission will test you, physically and mentally. But your experience fighting them in the past makes you the best qualified person to lead this mission, and you above everyone else on your team understand not only the stakes, but the purpose of the mission: Killing Rakghouls is merely a short-term necessity. Your mission is to contain the outbreak, and in doing so, to protect as many innocent people as possible.
Thatās what the Alliance is about.
Thatās what you and I have always been about.
Third ā I love you. And I believe in you.
I promise that when you get back, Iāll make it up to you. I waited all this time to get you back; I donāt intend to ever lose you again.
Iām yours. Eternally.
Love,
Corellan
(Tagging @the-raven-of-higheverā and @swtorhubā )

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Starting week 4 with Tabs and she still hasnāt really ventured outside her room, though now she doesnāt like the door closed.
In May they had taken her out of a large stall with other friendly cats at the rescue and put her in the kitchen to try to socialize her better, but in the kitchen they also had two asocial cats (Beasley was described as ānastyā) so as much as I think Tabs got better at getting pets she also got more wary of other cats.
She will go on little recon missions to another room upstairs, but if another cat appears (and Winter has not been helpful by putting her under surveillance like at *all times* - if he hears her in the hall he will run upstairs to watch her) Tabs will immediately get nervous and head back to her room and go under the bed again. So we keep having these treat sessions to try to convince her the residents here are really pretty chill and easygoing (even Winter.)
The other difficulty is that because she was confined to just one room of the rescue, if she sees me walking towards her she thinks sheās in trouble and better hustle back to her safe zone. So if she is out exploring I have to remain unseen or perfectly still.
Summer and Sam have both sniffed noses with her, which I thought was a pretty big step, even if she did hiss in their faces.
I think she is actually a pretty smart cat, and definitely just wants to be loved, but has like layers of traumatic circumstances and being an older lady just has to be given time.
Guinevere does a lot of chewing. She's 8 months old, well past teething. It's as cold as we ever get outside, the rest of us just want to curl up in the warmth and snooze, but Gwyn needs to chew.
I expected this, or at least thought it was probable. I saw some rather frantic chewing occasionally in foster dogs when they had a significant life change that was *good*.
Understand, Gwyn wasn't mistreated before. She had all her physical needs well met and daily affectionate handling. But her life now is very different. And even if she likes the change, change takes acclimation.
I'm doing my best to direct her to chew toys instead of stuffed toys or cloth (we've lost a couple of Tristan's toys, but ones that we won't miss),and she's getting pretty good about going for the permitted chewables. Occasionally she seems to desperately need to rip fabric. I have a holey old towel here for those times.
Based on the fosters who chewed, I expect this probably won't last more than 4 or 6 weeks, then probably she will not need to bite stuff every day, quite so much. Hopefully then we can safely get out the rest of Tristan's toys.
A bucket of friends!!!!