#(i do not live in minnesota or even the americas)

[anoxthon]

please tell me you guys have seen the new minnesota flag competion

#my vote goes to 253 #(i do not live in minnesota or even the americas)

[goaliekisses]

we had a breakdown over some Unwholesome slutty sid content yesterday so here’s some wholesome content from the athletic on sid

It was 2016 in Minnesota and an aggravated coach Mike Sullivan was searching for the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins following a loss to the Wild. Sullivan needed to speak with Sidney Crosby and was walking briskly on the event level of Xcel Energy Center.

Then, he stopped in his tracks.

Around the corner outside of the Penguins’ locker room, Crosby, minus his jersey but otherwise still wearing his equipment, was sitting on the floor. Speaking with a child in a wheelchair, Crosby sat so that he could better make eye contact. He often does this. Sullivan executed a U-turn while his captain sat with the child for 20 minutes, a scene that unfolds countless times across North America every season.

Thousands upon thousands of people have flocked to arenas for decades to watch Crosby play hockey since was a boy. Crosby’s greater mission, though, has always been to comfort the sick and unlucky among us with an uncommon grace and thoughtfulness that is uniquely his own.

“There’s never been anyone like him before,” former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. “And there will never be anyone like him after.”

The widely held belief that the world of professional sports doesn’t showcase any authentic role models is inaccurate so long as Sidney Patrick Crosby walks among us.

“You always hear that saying,” Bobby Orr said. “You know, that so and so is a better person than he is a player. Well, the great thing about Sid is, he’s one of the five greatest players in history. There’s no question about that. But he actually is a better person than he is a player. Now, think about that. I love him.”

On the ice, he is a living legend. The massive legs, the impenetrable ability to protect the puck, the greatest backhand ever, the cannon-like burst of speed through the neutral zone, the rare playmaking ability, the tenacity, the intelligence, the determination, the precociousness as a teenager, the longevity as a thirty-something and the ability to score goals on hockey’s biggest stage are all indelible trademarks of his greatness.

The mythology of Crosby off the ice, however, may be even more worthy of inclusion in the history books and it is very much rooted in reality. He’s not just an ambassador for hockey, but an ambassador of kindness.

“He was like that even as a little boy,” said Troy Crosby, his father. “He was getting so much attention when he was little, and then as he became a teenager. It could have gone to his head. He could have gotten a big ego. All Sidney ever cared about was taking care of other people.”

Crosby made his NHL debut on Oct. 5, 2005, in New Jersey. It was a zoo after the morning skate. Hockey was back after a year-long lockout, Crosby’s debut was being made in the New York area against Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur and it was Mario Lemieux’s 40th birthday. While he was the center of attention, Crosby, who had turned 18 two months earlier, wasn’t concerned about himself.

“He was giving these interviews and there were people everywhere” said Tom McMillan, the former Penguins’ vice president of communications. “But he noticed, in the hallway outside of the locker room, that his mom was being surrounded by reporters. He was worried about her. She was fine, but he was worried about her. So he comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, can you make sure my mom is OK?’ From the very beginning, he was worried about everyone but himself. He never changed.”

Including his salary and endorsements, Crosby has earned in the neighborhood of $200 million in his career. His father isn’t the only one who says Crosby hasn’t changed. His teammates agree. Team employees agree. Even living legends like Orr agree.

There is a simple explanation for this, Crosby insists.

“I don’t think money ever gives you the vehicle to treat anyone differently or to be disrespectful,” he said. “I get to do what I love to do and I’m very appreciative of that. I don’t take that for granted one bit, regardless of what my pay is. I get to do what I love. The least I can do is treat people well along the way.”

Crosby’s legend in the Penguins organization is such that his contributions to society draw biblical comparisons.

Literally.

“I always say that he’s like a child of God,” former Penguins broadcaster Paul Steigerwald said. “That’s how I’ve always seen him. He has a certain light in his eyes that I always notice. He’s a genuinely good soul. People often give credit to a person’s parents for raising a great kid. I totally get that and they did a great job. But I also see a natural soulfulness to Sid that is innate and not necessarily learned.”

Crosby is a role model, and he knows it. He embraces it.

“I’ve been around a while and I’ve met a lot of people,” Rutherford said. “I’ve never met anyone like him. He only does things for the right reasons. And he cares about people so very much. Other players of his stature don’t always act like this. But he’s different. And you see it most when it comes to the way he treats children.”

The Penguins are the NHL’s oldest team, thus, many players have children. During the Stanley Cup years in 2016 and 2017, it was commonplace for Matt Cullen’s children to be hanging on Crosby after playoff wins, as they would naturally gravitate to the best player in the world who just happened to be the nicest guy in the room.

Crosby, in fact, has been known to have spirited mini-sticks games with Nikita Malkin. And yet, his treatment of children isn’t confined to the children of his teammates.

One story lives in Crosby lore.

It was Jan. 11, 2014. The Penguins had just won in Calgary, 2-1, in the weeks leading up to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. After the game, the Penguins departed to their bus on a frigid Alberta evening.

While sitting on the bus, Crosby noticed a handful of teenagers standing behind a fence, which was located on a steep hill beside the Saddledome. They were chanting Crosby’s name and had signs wishing him well in the Olympics.

Upon seeing this, Crosby, dress shoes and all, sprinted up the steep, icy hill. He not only signed all of their jerseys but talked hockey with them for a few minutes before slowly coasting back down the hill.

“I’ll never forget seeing that,” Steigerwald said. “Who else does that?”

Not many people would do such a thing, it can be presumed. But Rutherford saw it every day while he was the general manager of the Penguins.

“The way he treats children is the single most impressive thing I’ve ever seen in my career,” Rutherford said. “When you see those groups of people who want autographs, you have to be careful. A lot of those groups have people that are there every day and looking to sell autographs. But I’ll tell you this about Sid: Never, not one time, has he ever passed by a child who wanted an autograph. No child is ever left behind. I’ve seen him sign autographs and then get on the team bus. Then, he sees a kid pop up who didn’t get his autograph signed. So, he always gets off the bus and makes sure the kid has an autograph and a picture with him. He understands the effect he has on people, but he’s the farthest thing from arrogant you could possibly imagine.”

Crosby is a regular at the UMPC Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital. While the Penguins do occasionally orchestrate team visits that Crosby naturally takes part in, he’s a regular at the hospital. He does so on his own time.

No cameras. No reporters. No attention.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Troy Crosby said. “That’s the way he wants it. It means a lot to him to spend time with kids, just him and the kids. He doesn’t want people knowing about it and he goes to lengths to keep it that way.”

Crosby seems miffed when others are blown away by his character. To him, to be polite, generous and thoughtful is simply natural.

“Treating people the right way has always been important to me,” Crosby said. “Whether it’s your teammates, people you see at the rink, fans, kids, whatever. You’re supposed to be good to people in life. You’re supposed to be respectful. So, that’s what I try to do every day. It’s always been a very important thing to me.”

#he’s so GOOD 😭😭😭😭 #sidney crosby #pittsburgh penguins

[greazyfloz]

Lovers & Strangers -Chapter 7

Previous

I sat in the airport early Saturday morning probably still drunk waiting for my flight. Somehow Ethan convinced me to stay on Wednesday night, and he was serious about me coming to Minnesota. His parents arrived yesterday, and will be waiting to pick me up when I get there. I don’t know why I couldn’t just take a later flight but here I am, sitting in the airport at 5:45 am for my 6:20 am flight. I literally was only able to have a 2 hour nap… I shouldn’t be here. 

When I got to my seat on the plane I fell asleep immediately and slept the entire 2 hour flight. This time when I woke I was hungover. 

I got off the plane and made my way past the baggage claim to not only see Ethan’s parents but mine… Great. I walk over and my parents each give me a hug, then Ethan’s parents proceed to give me a hug next. “Hey! How have you been?” Ethan’s mom says and I smile slightly

“Good!” I say and she looks at me again

“You feeling okay?” she says grabbing my parents attention

“You look white” my mom says 

“Plane sick” I lie

“Since when have you gotten plane sick? You love plane rides.” My mother says again

“Lots of turbulence this time, I don’t know mom” I say before we head out of the airport.

We go to breakfast at some small cafe as our parents chat about this afternoon's plans to go to the Mall of America, since we can’t really see him until after his game tonight. “No offense but I just want to have a nap” I say to them. 

“You don’t want to shop?” my mother looks at me confused. 

“Not really, I was up late last night” I say

They continue talking about last night and seeing Ethan as I swirl my food around the plate, as I’m really not hungry. My attention was suddenly grabbed at the sound of Mark’s name. “And that Mark is a sweetheart” my mother says and I look up

“Oh he is the sweetest, a really good boy! Always greets us when we go down to the school.” Ethan’s mother confirms

They continue talking about Mark, where he is from, what his parents are like, what his parents do for a living, his academic standing, etc.. It really amazes me how Mark comes off as so sweet to everyone else except for me. 

After breakfast they drop me off at the hotel giving me a key. I walked into the hotel and up to the room where I layed for a bit, I pulled out Instagram and posted the pictures I took last weekend. After I posted I fell asleep. 

Ethan and I’s parents arrive back into the room and gently wake me up. As I’m getting ready to roll out of bed I pick up my phone checking my Instagram notification on my recent post as commenting back. 

yourusername

liked by edwards.73, nicoleeee, savswrld, and others

Tagged: savswrld, edwards.73, nicoleeee, cassidyholms & khlofosho

yourusername last weekend's photodump #goblue 💙

view all 15 comments

edwards.73 who's that handsome man? 🤤

mackie.samo I was wondering the same thing

nicoleeee no one I'd rather pee with 💓

savswrld Um, hello? cassidyholms we are irrelevent

khlofosho All the good pictures get taken when I don't go 😭

I start getting ready for the game quickly as it took me awhile to roll out of the bed. As I am in the bathroom putting makeup on, my mother comes in and shuts the door behind her. “Can I help you?” I ask her giving her a side eye in the mirror. 

“Have you been checking your grades lately?” she says looking at me through the mirror

“Last I checked they weren’t that bad” I say before batting my eyelashes on my mascara wand, “calm down” I say rolling my eyes

“You’re at risk of academic probation, you lost your scholarship for next year, and you’ve been absolutely hell to be around, and you are trying to tell me I should be calm. Y/f/n I will tell you right now, If you end up on academic probation I won’t even allow you to go back in the fall to correct that!” she says sternly at me, “understand me?” 

“Yes! Okay! Jeez, I’ll try harder” I say and my mother shakes her head leaving the bathroom. I finish up before going back out to meet everyone in the hallway. We went out for supper and then headed over to the game. 

After the big win, we all headed down to the ice level to meet with Ethan. I stand with our parents as they chat about the game Ethan just played as I see him walk around the corner. When we make eye contact, he makes a funny face to me and I scrunch my nose and smile back as he approaches our group. He hugs both his parents, then mine. 

“So what’s the plan for tonight?” Ethan’s father asks him

“Just bed, celly starts tomorrow when we're back” he says and a small chuckle escapes his lips. “You guys going right back? He asks our parents

“We might go out for a drink” his mother tells him right before someone yells out that they are loading up the bus

“Okay, well if I don’t see you tonight, we are eating breakfast at the hotel tomorrow morning at 8” he says, hugging us all one last time before walking towards the group. 

I get dropped off at the hotel and make my way to the room. As I get off the elevator I make the turn around the wall entering the hallway where my parents and I’s room is when I see Ethan standing outside my door. It’s been quite a few days without sex, so I knew exactly what he wanted. And I wanted it too. 

“Oh, I thought the celebration starts tomorrow” I say as I approach him. 

“I was thinking we could get an early start,” he says, making me instantly weak in the knees. 

“Alright, but we gotta be quick” I say unlocking the door and we both enter. I shut the door that connects to Ethan’s parents room and turn to Ethan taking my shirt off in the process. Ethan takes his off as he watches me unclasp my bra, and we take our pants off at the same time so we are both completely naked.

I walk up and press my lips to his and we being making out. He pushes me hard against the door I just shut. He trails kisses down to my chest as he massages my tits. He then begins sucking hard on them, making me gulp. “C-careful!” I say to him and he begins massaging my tits a little more rough making me throw my head back on the door behind me. 

I begin to slowly lower myself and he releases my tits so I can face his cock. I spit down on it before grabbing it and stroking him. I look up to make eye contact with him, “You don’t know how bad I needed this” he says then releases a heavy breath. I tilt my head and lick from the bottom of his cock up to his tip, kissing it before sliding it in my mouth. I begin sucking on his tip first as I stroke his the rest of his cock with my free hands. I release my mouth and look up at him before entering him back in my mouth even further. I continue sucking back and forth and I hear Ethan give me praises through his soft moans. “C-come’ir” he says and I release his cock from my mouth standing in front of him. He grabs his cock and strokes it a few times as he brings his lips to mine to makeout with me again. He lets go of his cock when he feels my hand try to take over and reaches down rubbing circles around my clit fast, “I’m already so close” he says breaking from the kiss so he can watch me moan as he slips two fingers inside of me pumping it a few times before curling his fingers hard inside of me. 

“Fuck E” I moan out as Ethan bites on to his lip enjoying watching me moan for him. He then pulls his fingers out and I whimper slightly at the loss of friction between us. He pulls me over to the bed and leans me down so I was bent over the bed laying on my stomach. His foot hits mine hinting to push them apart so both my legs take to steps apart opening my legs for Ethan. 

I hear his balls swing back and forth hitting skin and he strokes himself hard before thrusting into me deep, “Fuck Ethan!” I whimper loudly and he stops himself deep inside of me before saying: “Shhh! We can’t be too loud”. 

He begins thrusting inside of me as he grabs my hips so he can become more forceful as he pushes himself in me. He pumps hard and fast, making my legs weak. I can’t help but to arch my back slightly. At this new angle Ethan repeatedly his my g-spot over and over, “Fuck Ethan right there! OH MY GOD!” I whimper loudly again. He doesn’t shush me this time instead I feel him twitch inside of me slightly as he continues thrusting into me. He cums inside of me as he is thrusting me quickly becoming sloppy. 

“Oh Fuck!” he says pulling himself out of me fast

“Again Ethan?! Seriously?” I ask him as he runs to the bathroom grabbing some toilet paper to wipe up the cream oozing out of me. 

“Fuck, I’m sorry!” he says handing me another bit of toilet paper to clean what he missed. I clean myself and take the cream filled toilet paper and throw it into the toilet flushing it as Ethan gets changed. I come back out and get myself dressed as Ethan lays on the bed watching me. 

After I get dressed I open the door between the two rooms and crawl beside Ethan. He puts his arm over my shoulder as he turns the tv on. We watched the tv before I accidentally fell asleep and Ethan slipped away without waking me. 

In the morning, the alarm goes off at 6:30 am and I sit up immediately rubbing our eyes. I look over at my parents bed to see them already up scrolling through their phones on Facebook or reading some article or something. I roll back over falling asleep for a bit before another alarm goes off at 7. I finally get up and make my way to take a shower. 

I get myself ready then grab my bag and heading down to put it in the car. When I put the bag in the car, I then turn back towards the hotel and join Ethan’s parents for breakfast. As we eat the whole team came down. Ethan sat at the table with us waiting for the area to be less squished by the breakfast area, before getting up to get his own, then sitting with his team. 

After I finished eating, it was time for us to leave so I could catch my flight. Ethan quickly came over and gave his parents and my parents a hug, telling him that he will see them next weekend before hugging me, “I’ll see you in a bit” he says with a soft smile.

#ethan edwards #ethan edwards smut #ethan edwards imagine #mark estapa x reader #mark estapa #umich hockey smut #umich hockey imagine #umich imagine #umich hockey

[atopfourthwall]

A bit of a weird question, but I might be moving out of my home state to minnesota, specifically minneapolis, because being trans down here is rather rough. Do you have any advice for living in the state? Cool hidden spots? What to do for a person who's never experienced a snowy winter?

Alrighty, a few things I can mention - some of it is secondhand so don't take my word for it, but it'll be helpful. -Trans healthcare (and quality of healthcare) is pretty good in the state in my experience. You SHOULD be able to find the resources you need, though bear in mind while quality is good, price is no different - shit's still expensive everywhere because health care is itself expensive, but any other Minnesotans here feel free to reblog or chime in the replies with anything particularly useful or helpful. -Alrighty, your winter experiences will be slightly different depending on if you're living in the suburbs or the city itself. In an apartment in the city? You're probably fine - I'm assuming relying on public transportation, of which there are several options like the buses or light rail, though I know people from other cities who come to Minnesota say our public transport is lacking compared to other major cities. What I can say is that with the winter, unless it's a REALLY bad storm or the temperature drops to dangerous levels (we're talking degrees below zero), everything should still be open and running. -If you have your own car, during the winter keep weighted things in it - a cement block, bags of sand/salt, etc. Increased weight helps keep you from slipping. It's not perfect but it helps. Consequently, if you lose control on the ice, turn INTO the skid and pump the brakes - don't just press it flat, repeatedly pump the brakes to regain control. -If you have a house and a front walk/driveway, SHOVEL AND SALT. Overhangs on houses drip water when the temperature is right for melting, but the temperature will usually drop and freeze. Salt that area to either prevent it from freezing or make it easier to chop through with an ice chipper. Shoveling is just necessary depending on the severity of the snow (usually anything more than an inch or two should be shoveled) both for safety and because mail carriers will not deliver if you don't. -This year we had a reeeaally bad winter. Multiple heavy snowstorms that required going out to shovel multiple times during the day. Get warm clothes, wear layers - especially until you're used to it. However, most years it's fine. Light snowfall during winter, covers everything, maybe one bad storm but most of the time tolerable. -As for stuff to do - TONS! Minnesota has a thriving community of nerds, artists, performers, and just talented people in general. We have two major zoos - one of them paid, one free (Como Zoo), multiple parks and indeed Land of 10,000 Lakes so lots of lake beaches to enjoy swimming or fishing if that's your thing. The Science Museum remains one of the coolest places to learn stuff on various science topics even into adulthood. Conventions are relatively plentiful, though as a warning some cons are for-profit and have some... questionable leadership, look into them before deciding to go - particularly on the anime con front, but we have sci-fi/fantasy cons aplenty, too. The Mall of America is a big, big place with tons of fun stores and whatnot, including the former Camp Snoopy (currently Nickelodeon Universe). The Walker Art Center has an amazing statue garden, including the iconic Cherry and Spoon fountain. There's also the amusement park Valley Fair, which during Halloween becomes Valley Scare with spooky attractions in the neighboring area that's used for the annual Renaissance Festival. -Minnesota is a fairly large state. Not Texas big, but since it's mostly plains and hills, a lot of it is spread out and getting from one city to another usually requires going on freeways (we're also weird because we have left exits on some parts of freeways). If you don't have your own vehicle, you may want to consider getting one just to get to farther places. That's all I've got off the top of my head! Good luck with your move and remember: we only have two seasons here - Winter and Road Construction.

[anipgarden]

Ani Reviews: Hellstrip Gardening

Alrighty homies here's another Informal Book Review. This is the second time I've done a book review, but I hope this is helpful!

[Photo ID: a book, titled "Hellstrip Gardening: Create a paradise between the sidewalk and the curb" by Evelyn J. Hadden (Author of Beautiful No-Mow Yards) With photographs by Joshua McCullough, Foreword by Lauren Springer Ogden]

Out of the seven books I checked out from the library this round, I picked this one second because not only was I looking forward to the read, but so were some friends in my gardening server! Its one of, if not the longest book in the stack--the main contents are 279 pages total--but its definitely well worth the read! You can see where I live blogged it here.

The inspiration and energy in this book is potent! By the time I finished reading the foreword and the introduction, I was already dreaming up new gardening projects to work on next spring, and that energy stayed up all the way until the end! It definitely helps that the photos in this book are absolutely gorgeous! Seriously, even if you aren't wanting to make a front yard garden, I'd recommend this book for cool garden photos alone! This is another one of those books that's way more relevant if you're the home owner, or a landscaper (or just got permission from your parents to do some front yard gardening), but even still so much of the advice in this book is great for just about any kind of gardening as well! Between beautiful photos of front yard gardens others have already done, tons of encouragement and advice on how to handle anything from trees to poor soils to outdated laws and HOA boards, and a deluge of plant recommendations for different grow zones and purposes, it's definitely a valuable resource!

After the introduction, this book is separated into four major sections referred to as Parts. There's Inspirations, Situations, Creation, and Curbside-Worthy Plants. If you're looking for ideas on what a converted yard can look like, Inspirations and Creation is the place to go. If you're unsure how to do so with any specific circumstances you may be facing, Situations is the section for you. So on and so forth. All in all, between the gorgeous photos, and the amazing content, this was a fairly quick read for me!

I will say, this is a book aimed directly for gardeners in the US. While some of the general advice might be good for people abroad, at the end of the day its a book written in an American perspective for gardeners in America. That being said, it focuses on America as a whole--so if you're hoping for a dedicated section on how to do what you want in your state specifically, you might get lucky, you might get unlucky. I know the example garden for my state wasn't anything I'd be excited about, meanwhile there's three sample gardens for Minnesota (two in Minneapolis) and there's only twelve sample gardens in the book! Also, if you're looking for a book to tell you to only ever use native plants in your garden, this isn't the one--the book will eagerly encourage you use native plants, and will implore you to remove any invasive plants that may be on your property, but is also more than welcome to recommending well behaved non-native plants. Let it be known that I don't think this is a problem at all! But if you're picky about that, I'm just letting that be known.

Oh and also one final note. The book is called Hellstrip Gardening, and it does talk about hellstrips, but it doesn't only talk about hellstrips. A good chunk of the example gardens don't even have hellstrips. This book talks plenty about full yard transformation! Which I find fantastic and enlightening! If you're looking for a book that's only about hellstrips, though, this isn't it.

All in all, this is an amazing book with amazing photos, 10/10 could probably show to someone to get them to see the light of front yard gardens.

#ani reviews #ani rambles #out of queue #hellstrip gardening #I think another cool thing about this book is that it--albeit briefly--addresses some of the fears people might have about converted yards #like it doesn't go into full detail about all of them but it at least acknowledges it #which is honestly better than what a lot of articles i've read or the other book I've read in this stack have done #and granted the info they gave about alleviating tick fears isn't anything I haven't heard off a headspace hotel post #but it is nice to see it acknowledged in a published work! #still not sure if I would be able to convince My Mom to do something like this #because outside of 'wide paths' it gives no advice about Snakes and thats probably my mom's biggest concern outside of 'yard is lawn is gra #and my previous google search attempts yielded Nothing Helpful in that front #but thats less of a flaw of the book itself and more of a 'hurdle i personally gotta figure out' #i am getting off topic lets end the tags here gbye

[kat-simss]

[UNDER CONSTRUCTION - CAPTION COMING SOON 2 A TUMBLR DASHBOARD NEAR U]

With the Winter of 186x soon coming to a close, the settlement welcomed a new wagon train just in time for spring.

Caroline Chaires was freed by the end of the Civil War. Although her brother, Amos, had huge plans and longed to go west to make something of himself, leaving the past behind him, Caroline struggled to leave behind the place she considered to be her home: after all, it was all she had ever known, and she yearned to cling onto it as the end of the war put her life on an uncertain path. Finally, though, Amos won out, and Caroline and her brother joined a wagon train westward. Unfortunately, Amos grew ill halfway through the journey, and died of cholera a few months before their arrival in Minnesota, leaving his sister alone and stuck in a foreign place, far from her home, friends, and the parents she’d left behind.

(I just realized that I forgot to mention that Caroline is a slightly made-over version of @lilith-sims‘ Deja, so thanks to lilith for such a beautiful sim)!

Gustav Schwartz left Germany at the age of fourteen, stowing away on a ship to America in search of riches and opportunity. Despite the atrocious conditions in steerage, Gustav maintained his big heart and his relentless optimism. During the journey, he was even able to reconnect with Alexander Church, a native to St. Louis who had once worked alongside Gustav when he had first arrived in St. Louis and began to learn English. Alexander was the son of former slaves who had escaped during the war and fled to St. Louis, barely eking out a living as a railroad worker and doing odd jobs for neighbors. After several months of working together, Gustav’s relentless optimism and dreams of moving west inspired Alexander to join him on his journey. The two spent months traveling alongside one another after learning they had joined the same wagon train; Gustav gave Alexander a few tips on farming while Alexander filled in the gaps in his knowledge of English, and they soon became close friends. Now, each of them seeks to build a new life for themselves in the west of the “land of opportunity.”

Hürrem “Helen” Çağlayan was born and raised in Tétouan, Morocco, until the Spanish-Moroccan War (also called the Hispano-Moroccan War) quite literally showed up on her doorstep. The Battle of Tétouan left Hürrem to bury her father and brother, as both were killed in the fighting. However, a sympathetic Spanish soldier took a shine to her, taking her on as a servant (and, soon enough, as a wife), nicknaming her “Helen.” Without anything to keep her in Morocco, and with memories of her past haunting her at every turn, she agreed to return to Spain with her new husband, Antonio Casaviella.* Despite their rapid courtship and marriage, the two were passably happy together, and welcomed a daughter in the winter of 1861. During a visit to America to visit one of Antonio’s relatives who had immigrated there, the promise of gold and free land caught Antonio’s eye, and he urged his wife to join him. Reluctantly, Hürrem agreed, and prepared for an even longer journey after the month-long ocean voyage to the American coast. Unfortunately, both Antonio and Hürrem’s young daughter succumbed to the same outbreak of cholera that claimed the lives of several others during their journey, leaving Hürrem alone in a foreign land in which she barely spoke the language. However, it was far too late to turn back, and Antonio had sunk the last of their savings into the trip westward, leaving Hürrem both without a home to return to or the money to get there. However, she is determined to make the best of a horrific situation, grieving her husband and child while hoping to find a new, permanent place to finally call home.

*I meant to name him via a roster of Spanish soldiers who fought in Tétouan, but couldn’t find one (I could only find general news reports on the war and the battle rather than specific names, apart from this section on Wikipedia). I didn’t want to use a real name (i.e. one of the few names I could find via the list on Wikipedia) since that would feel a little weird, so I used Leopoldo O'Donnell (a Spanish general and the eventual Prime Minister of Spain)’s mother’s maternal last name (apologies if the terminology is wrong), Casaviella, and Antonio Ros de Olano, who fought in the Battle of Guad-el-Jelú, another divisive battle in the Hispano-Moroccan War. You can read more about each of them here, here (content warning: mention of brutality/torture of enslaved individuals) and here (unfortunately, I couldn’t find any other sources about Antonio in English, but there are some excellent sources listed under the Wikipedia article).

Inderjit “Ida” Kaur faced constant discrimination and eventual famine at the hands of the British during the first twenty years of her life in the Punjab region of India, and losing her mother and sister to famine in 1860 meant that she jumped at the chance to escape British persecution. She immigrated to the U.S. in late 1861. Although she had lived a somewhat-comfortable middle-class life prior, her savings had run dry by the time she reached America, throwing her headfirst into poverty. She toiled for months in a garment factory near the coast until one of her friends in the factory spread word of free land in the west. That land promised the independence she dreamed of, hopefully far away from the racism and Islamophobia which still ran rampant, and a hopefully-comfortable life through which she could gain back some of what she had lost.

James Reid is a name some of you might recognize, the son of former-slave-turned-wealthy-business-owner Matthew Reid, whose family looked after Lydia’s younger sister, Susanna Harrison, while Lydia joined the wagon train west to throw slave-catchers off her sister’s trail. After graduating from university, James Reid was sent with Susanna to ensure her safety on the journey to be reunited with her sister, but after reaching [still unnamed homestead town], he quickly got other ideas. Although he had grown up in the lap of luxury, “roughing it” a little in the Minnesotan forests didn’t seem too bad. Although his father was disappointed that he didn’t want to continue on the family business, he was relieved that Susanna and Lydia would have someone to look after them, as Matthew had grown rather fond of the girls and treated them like his own children.

#ts2 #the sims 2 #the sims 2 challenge #ts2 homestead challenge #the sims 2 homestead challenge #ts2 challenge #ts2 gameplay #hc #ts2 victorian #ts2 old west #simblr #sims #gaming #video gaming

[docholligay]

What's the three best and three worst places you've been?

I assume this is like, cities, and not, you know, prison.

Cities to which I very likely can and will return someday I enjoyed them so much:

London, UK

Boston, USA

Minneapolis, USA

Glasgow, UK (I know this is four I know I know shut up)

Cities where I am unlikely ever to darken their door except by absolute necessity:

St. Louis, USA

Cambridge, UK

Atlanta, USA

I enjoy so many more places than I do not enjoy, and this was shockingly hard for me in the positive to narrow it down to three. I have friends outside of London and Boston, and so I had to think carefully on whether or not that affected my answer. I enjoy seeing them, and so that's always a positive.

So, what cities would I return to outside of getting to see a single person I know? The other problem with this is I'll go almost fucking anywhere, I am a very adaptable person and find many ways to have a good time. Even NYC, which was very very hard for me the first time I went, I think I've figured out how to have a great time there. So even my bottom of the barrel, given a cheap and easy chance, I'd probably give another shot, just with knowing what I know now and trying to massage the things I didn't like.

London: Samuel Johnson said that when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life, and that's remained true for me. Not only is there a lot to do--this is true of many big cities--but the vibe of the city is much more low to the ground is the only way I can think of to say it, compared to NYC and LA, both of which genuinely have a lot offer but feel extremely frenetic to me in a way London does not. Narrowly beat out Paris simply because the subway is better than Paris'. Also it is I think more chill than Paris, but I sort of like the ways Paris is out of its mind.

Boston: This is another one I would call "Low to the ground" in a way that I think makes no sense to anyone but me. It feels like people live in Boston. Also I eat my weight in oysters at least once a trip. Great food scene on both expensive and cheap ends.

Minneapolis: The whole world is sleeping on Minneapolis. They have a rapidly growing food scene, great craft beer scene, the sculpture park is immense amounts of fun even in winter (a/n: I am cold-hardy), and minnesota nice is a REAL thing. We walked into a brewery and were standing at the counter, I said something offhandedly to Jetty about how it was real wet and cold out that day, and the guy at the counter was like, "Oh you don't have to buy a beer just to get out of the cold! Go ahead." I wanted the beer, mind, but I thought the attitude was great. We went to a piano bar that made its own mini pop tarts that were shockingly great, also go to Black Sheep Coal Fired for pizza.

Glasgow: I will spend the rest of my natural life trying to talk people into going to Glasgow, and probably fail because everyone wants to go fucking Edinburgh because it's instagrammable and ~'arry Potter~ and whatever. Anyhow, I did not hate Edinburgh at all despite that bitter little screed, but much like Minneapolis, people are sleeping on Glasgow. Great boutique hotels at extremely fair prices, amazing Indian food (Dishoom did beat Mother India out, but damn is it close as fuck, and Ashoka won for me for casual Indian), and again, like Minneapolis: The people. Are so. Nice. Legit if I had left my passport on a bus in any other city I feel I would have been fucked, but on a weekend, the bus system and the extremely nice people at the coffee shop were all working to try and get it back to me (and we did!) And the gal at our little hotel took time to chat with us every evening (full disclosure: She was Irish, and when she found out we were from a rural part of America, she spent so so much time trying to talk us into rural Ireland for our next trip, because we'd love the vibe of it. Someday), and I had the ABSOLUTE WORST old fashioned of my life made by the most amazingly kind woman in history, and I drank the whole thing and thanked her profusely. The pub near our hotel was incredible and homey (little boutique hotels are in neighborhoods there. Fantastic.) Glaswegians GET THEIR PARTY ON EARLY, mind.

#it was when we were there i knew having made Emily be from glasgow #was 100% the correct option

[girlwyrm]

i wish i could feel like an adult again. i lived on my own for 4 years and felt grown but a series of bitter betrayals later and ive been living in my parents spare bedroom for almost 2 years now. im lucky that my parents dont fucking suck and respect me as an equal and dont even charge me rent- but it still feels terrible. it's either this or homelessness. with the wages people pay in this shithole ill never make enough to get a car or move out. i think i smoke to feel like an adult. which is such a teenaged thought it ends up making me feel even less like an adult. i know plenty of other people feel this way but with how isolating it is living without a car in middle america i still feel alone. i feel like an insecure teenaged monster- not a 24 y/o. i really dont know what to do. i feel disgusted at my own weakness. all i can seem to do is seethe in my own bitterness and claw at the sheets at night in fits of muffled frustration. everything ive tried to do to improve my conditions has ended in utter failure in one way or another. none of my old friends talk to me anymore. ive made lots of new online friends but there's an awful distance there. those relationships dont feel real like they did when i was a isolated teenager anymore. i turn fucking 25 in the spring. i was 22 when my so-called close friends of many years illegally evicted me during a harsh minnesota winter. still no license. still no job. i have a fucking marketable skillset but nobody in that field will hire me without a drivers license. i turned down a 50k a year salaried position that offered to buy me a car and a few months rent because my family told me we were moving to the west coast and that move never even materialized. i feel so cheated. i just dont want to be alone and washing dishes for 10 dollars an hour anymore. i get off a shift late at night and step out onto the empty street and there's nowhere to go and nobody to talk to. i just smoke my mature, sophisticated cigarettes that make me feel like an edgy teenager and then walk to my parents house to get high and listen to music alone and in the dark. this is no way to live.

[bradsmindbrain]

Maybe Ted and Jack encountering one of those monster communities you mentioned?

Rural

Summary: Jack brings Ted to visit a monster town in Minnesota, and they run into an old friend.

TW: None

Ted shivered a bit as Jack let him to the outskirts of what seemed to be a ghost town. The town itself was surrounded by the woods of northern Minnesota, a biting chill lingering in the air. To say he hated the cold was a major understatement, due to the composition of his body, it could actually cause severe damage to him. Luckily, it was nowhere near cold enough to actually do any major damage, but that’s not to say it was comfortable, not in the slightest. Still, he was interested in seeing the monster community that apparently lived here according to Jack. Looking at his husband, he gave a curious grumble.

Jack gave a small laugh, “Yes, mi amor, I assure you there are monsters living here. It’s so isolated I doubt anyone would be able to find it unless they know where it is.”

Jack’s words seemed to be true, for as they got closer to the town, he noticed all kinds of creatures walking its streets, humanoid wolves, a few large oxen with blue fur, and a few Sasquatch-like beasts among other things. Once they were in the town proper, it was clear that it was absolutely bustling with activity despite the dilapidated outsides of the buildings, as lights could still be seen inside as various monsters drank, shopped, or ate. Not a single one turned an eye at the two of them, well, a few did look slightly confused by Jack, but seeing as how he looked human most of the time it didn’t really come as a surprise.

“So,” Jack questioned as they walked down a street, “what do you think?”

He grumbled in response. Despite the cold, this little town did seem quite quaint, seeing all these monsters living in harmony, unjudged by what they were was nice to see, all things considered.

Jack smiled, “It’s nice to hear that.”

“Hey, Jack!” a voice called out from off to the side. He and Jack spun around to spot the source of the voice, a large, white-furred wolfman. He wasn’t anything like Jack’s werewolf form, arguably he was more like a wolf than Jack was, with a wolf’s head and even a tail. 

Jack smiled upon spotting him, pulling him into a hug when he was close enough, “Paul! Long time no see, mi amigo.”

The wolfman barked out a laugh, “It’s been what, seventeen years? What brings you here?”

Jack smiled, “Yeah, seventeen years sounds about right, and I came to show my husband this place.” Jack paused for a moment turning to face him, “Oh, my apologies, mi amor. I should introduce you.”

Jack turned back to Paul, smiling, “Paul, this is my husband, Ted. Ted, this is an old friend of mine, Paul.” 

Paul extended a hand, “Nice to meet you, Ted. Nice to see that Jack’s got someone to be with now.”

He extended his own hand, shaking the wolfman’s.

Paul laughed, “I haven’t seen anyone like you before,” he turned to face Jack, “tell me, what is he?”

Jack raised a hand to his chin, “Well, he used to be a human, but now, we don’t really know what we should call him. People around the Everglades call him a “man-thing,” but he doesn’t like that at all.”

Paul nodded, giving a small hum before looking at him, “Well Ted, they call people like me Minnesota Wolfmen, if you’re curious.”

He rumbled softly in response, Jack had bought him several books about monsters and cryptids, and he vaguely remembered reading about North America’s various Wolfmen. 

“So,” Paul said, “why don’t I show the two of you around.”

Jack smiled, “That would be nice, what do you say, Ted?”

He gave a grumble of affirmation in response. 

Paul nodded, “All right then, follow me.”

From there, they spent the next few hours following Paul’s lead as he spoke about the town’s history and the various points of interest within it. Truthfully, he found it all very interesting, not to mention seeing all the various creatures that lived here was quite amazing as well.

At the end of their little tour, Paul led them into what seemed to be an inn, turning to face them, “So, any questions? It’s quite a nice place to live, if you want to, I mean.”

He thought for a moment, trying to come up with a response. Despite the town’s bitter cold, it seemed like quite a nice place to live. On the other hand, he didn’t think he could leave the Everglades. So many fond memories had been made there, so many moments that had shaped his life had occurred there, to throw it all away and live somewhere else… it didn’t feel right. He’d never been fond of change, and a change that large, well it was inconceivable. He grumbled to Jack, letting him know his thoughts.

Jack nodded before turning back to face Paul, “As nice as it would be to live here, I think me and Ted will have to pass. I was just coming over to show him what places like this are like for a few days. He wouldn’t be too happy to leave the Everglades.”

Paul nodded, “I understand.” After a moment, he turned to face the check-in, “Well, I suppose the two of you should get a room here then.”

Jack grinned, “Gracias, Paul.”

The wolfman smiled before leaving, “It’s no problem Jack. I’ll see the two of you later.”

After that, Jack got the two of them a room, which they immediately went to before plopping down on the bed, it was getting late. Jack looked at him, smiling, “I’m glad to know you like this place, Teddy Bear.”

He gave a soft grumble, pulling Jack’s smaller body into his chest. 

Jack gave a small laugh, “Don’t worry, we’ll only be here for a few more days, and I’ll promise we’ll go to places that are warm enough for you.”

He gave a grumble of approval before drifting off to sleep, Jack in his embrace.

#werewolf by night #wwbn #wbn #jack russell #ted sallis #man thing #marvel #mcu #russallis #my stuff #prompts

[notfromcold]

Been trying to learn more about the Indigenous people of Boriken (Puerto Rico). There’s been a lot of research showing that the Indigenous people of Boriken were not all killed during and immediately after the Spanish invasion.

My grandmother was from Boriken but she moved to Minnesota in the late 1940s after marrying a US Navy pilot. She left Boriken behind. She didn’t teach her children Spanish, though by the time her grandchildren were born, she tried to teach us some. She taught me one Indigenous word: coqui. It means little tree frog. She said that was the word for them because that’s what they sound like when they call in the trees at night.

I don’t know if I have Indigenous heritage. My grandmother always said her parents came from Spain, but genealogical research that a distant relative did and posted on the internet (thank you, thank you, distant relative) shows that’s completely untrue. I don’t blame her for that little, protective untruth. She was the only Boricua she knew in Minnesota -- the loneliness and racism must have been crushing. Her US Navy pilot, the man who swept her off her feet in San Juan, used to sing that awful song from Westside Story to her ... “I want to be in America.” I never met the man but I get furious when I think of him doing that.

I’ve thought about doing DNA testing, but what would that even matter or show at the end of the day? Plus, the genocide of the Indigenous people means that many, many men were killed. So most of what has been passed down is mitochondrial DNA. That means that I could have Indigenous ancestors, but unless they are related to me through a maternal line, their DNA may not live on in me. 

And then there are the privacy issues inherent in DNA testing. What am I going to say? Sorry to any relatives who might be wanted for crimes.... I was dealing with some identity issues....

The distant relative who put together so much family history on the internet was able to find ancestors who came over from Europe. They also found ancestors in little towns in Boriken, people born in those towns who showed up on censuses but whose parents are a mystery to us. Who were those people? I don’t know. I barely know who my grandma was given her need to shield us from the heritage that marked us as “other.” She passed away when I was 14. We fought when I was a kid over my desire to be vegetarian. And I think she figured out that I was queer and didn’t really approve. But I do miss her.

What I do know is that the legacy of Boricua resistance lives on in me. Learning about the Young Lords and the Rainbow Coalition has been a constant source of inspiration for me.

Obviously, this doesn’t even go into the long history of African peoples in Boriken due to the trans Atlantic slave trade. I can’t claim that history as mine, either, but it is tied inextricably to the history of Boriken.

#boriken #boricua #genocide cw #taino #colonialism cw #fuck christopher columbus #slavery cw

[clairelsonao3]

Happy STS, Claire!

What is something that makes its way into everything you write? A character type, a scene, a trope, anything?

Is there something you really want to include in a story at some point, but haven't had the chance yet?

And do you ever hide easter eggs in your writing, even if chances that anyone will find them are low?

Happy STS, thanks for the ask, Elli!

Romance, or elements of romance, seems like something I'm incapable of leaving out of anything I write. It's probably why I've realized I may not be cut out to be a literary fiction writer, despite my MFA, because I just want to write about girls kissing cute boys, and that sadly just is never going to be regarded as serious enough to win me the Nobel Prize for Literature. Sigh. It's so unfair. (And whump, of course, although romance has historically been easier to work into most stories than chains, whips, and shackles, not that I don't try).

One of those things -- an impersonation gambit -- I finally did get to incorporate into Ch. 25-26 of GSNBTR. There are a couple of whumpy things I'm dying to include, but I may get to include them before the story is finished. If not, I'll incorporate them into the sequel or a side fic or something. (Don't wanna give them away here, though!) A few other random things I've been wanting to write about forever (in no particular order) are thieves, turn-of-the-century NYC, gutterpunks, international intrigue, Central America, and Antarctica. Maybe all in the same story.

I LIVE for Easter eggs, the nerdier the better. The Adored is absolutely littered with references to country rock legend Gram Parsons (up to and including the surname of the male MC), but he's never actually mentioned. The funniest part is that it's a YA novel, and the chance that any contemporary teen reader will ever pick up on references to an obscure country rock singer who died back in 1973 is slim to none, so it really is all purely to entertain myself (and maybe my dad, lol). And in GSNBTR, I keep managing to stick in references to Bob Dylan, despite the fact that in this universe, his career never technically existed, and he's probably still living in Hibbing, Minnesota, and retired from working at his family's appliance store. But as a protest singer, I feel like somehow, his spirit still informs this particular dystopian universe. And again, no one is likely to pick up on them anyway, so I figure, why not go nuts.

#asked and answered #gsnbtr #wip: the adored #sts #writeblr #my writing

[weebsinstash]

Came back to your blog after 3 months because i knew u would have some hot political takes. Was not disappointed.

Well I'm, I'm not trying to post about politics too much on this blog, because this blog is supposed to be a source of comfort, but like. This is. An extremely significant development for human rights in America. A really really massively horrible development because they're not just taking away abortion rights, they're using it as a precedent to go after gay marriage and other things next. Like for example? There's literally a sitting Republican US senator from Texas named James Cornyn and he literally, i shit you not, retweeted former president Obama talking about how we should undo laws preventing segregation next

Like this isn't even a fucking joke anymore. I can't even fathom it. That a sitting member of our government not only said something as disgustingly heinous as "yeah now that abortion isn't constitutionally protected we should do the separation of races next" but decided to say it by retweeting our former black president like ????? This country is actually going down in fucking flames right now???? We are actually descending into Christo-fascism while being told this is democracy in action???

Like even when I write things about abusive partners or reproductive abusers, that's still in the scope of fiction. We can all read it and consume it and sure, it might make some people uncomfortable, but we all know it's not real. But now in reality the country im living in is being taken captive by the deeply conservative religious far right and now, being forced to have babies even if it kills you is something politicians in my country are FIGHTING to do

Like. Jesus Christ. Did you know in 2019 Ohio tried to pass a bill where, in the case of an ectopic pregnancy, the doctor is ordered to reimplant the fetus into the womb or face "abortion murder charges". Like, literally, that is literally a surgery that does not exist and has never even been successfully attempted. We literally do not even have that science yet. It is literally impossible. But these psychotic fucks are so out of touch that you either listen to them or they throw you in jail

Oh and uh. It doesn't even end here? Have you guys heard that across the pond, the UK government is trying to overturn a law that is literally called the human rights act and. Reading everything that would be undone makes me physically sick. If that law is overturned, if you're chronically ill or disabled even just with autism the government can assign you a DNR without your consent? Just basically fucking say you don't deserve to live and KILL YOU? They're also going to rule on if police are obligated to protect your human rights, very similar to a case we had here in America, 2005 Castle Rock, where the Supreme Court decided that no, the police aren't obligated to protect you.

So yeah uh. I'm kinda of just honestly constantly depressed and panicking a lot and that's why I don't write a lot anymore. Like I WANT TO but. It's like I'm living in a nightmare.

Also last thing I want to say. Please for the love of God start doing research TODAY about the candidates for your state's primary elections coming up in August. I live in Minnesota which is basically THE ONLY STATE IN THE MIDWEST that is currently protecting abortion rights and the Republicans are already firing up their base to try and elect a new governor. Like I literally hear old men talking about taking back the house and the senate on the bus and i want to SOB

I just really, I'm fucking crying, I just really cannot BEG ENOUGH that we all get out to the polls because it keeps getting worse. The Republicans are trying to break your spirit and make you lose faith in voting and we CAN'T, we have to keep voting, it's the only power we have! We can't just watch them ruin our country and ruin our planet and ruin our future!

So yeah. Please start doing research if you're in the states and start researching who is running for governor, secretary of state, etcetera, because uh. The Republicans are probably going to take everything back including the next presidential election and. They're literally setting things up where they'll have the majority power for decades. The fact that the Supreme Court has become majority conservative is going to shape all of our laws for decades to come until some of them either die or be removed. I'm just scared. I dont think there's any coming back from this. I think our country is only going to get worse from here on out, and we're going to take the rest of the world down with us

[dwn024]

well at least i only have a year left before i graduate and can live in the US again for good. i like north america even if i have to move away from jersey again for work (cuz there are more big TV animation studios in california and canada than NYC) i am staying in north america this is my home i like it here i don’t see a reason to Leave a place i Like Living In ESPECIALLY to move to a place i HATE living in like the UK. if you have the Choice and you’re gonna move somewhere why would you Want to go somewhere worse i’m sticking to the continent that has dunkin and sheetz and eggo waffles and big open skies and fireflies and people that know what a jughandle is and informed consent HRT clinics that i don’t have to wait six years minimum to get approved for and states with trans protection laws and the ability to legally change my name and sex without even starting HRT or getting surgery first and people that have the same regional dialect as me who can actually understand what the fuck i’m saying without gawking or me having to repeat myself eight hundred thousand times and without that pretentious fucking condescending attitude that’s just ubiquitous in british culture i would rather take overly-friendly northeastern americans who are way too casual with you and don’t look scandalized if you say fuck in public and fucking 7-11 SLURPEES!!!!!!!! i love living here i don’t want to leave this is my Home not only do i LIKE it here but i can’t fathom why anyone would choose living in the UK over the US. like okay sure healthcare but the NHS gets worse and worse every year ESPECIALLY when it comes to trans healthcare and plus: that is only One reason you have to consider all the like quality of life shit such as “would i be happy living here fulltime” “does the gruel you can buy at the supermarket make me want to kill myself” “am i so homesick it’s physically painful” “are there things i like here” “is there anything to do here that is better than the other place” “How Easy Is It To Transition” and of course the US is so goddamn big that there’s so much variety within those aspects especially these days on the trans safety front which obviously sucks shit but at least moving to a different state within the same country is way easier logistically than moving to an entirely different fucking country where you have to deal with the foreign immigration laws and acquiring citizenship VS the US to move from say new jersey to minnesota it’s still the same country you don’t need to pass international borders and since it Is the same country even though there are regional differences in culture it’s definitely WAY WAY WAY WAY more similar than moving to a whole different country. texas and minnesota are LEAGUES more similar to each other than the US and UK or even the US and canada have pretty significant differences but the US and canada are still more similar to each other than the US is to the UK. i can’t speak for the similarity to mexico cuz i’ve never been there but i would still rather be in mexico than the UK because at least it’s CLOSE to home. god even the air is different

basically tl;dr i cannot wait to graduate and never ever go back to the UK for any reason ever holy fuck i hate it there so much it will never be my home like north america is Especially the northeast ESPECIALLY new jersey no one has any goddamn idea how fucking homesick i have been the past SIX FUCKING YEARSSSSSSSS i wish i could do all my classes remotely the last year so i can just stay here and graduate online that’s basically how i graduated high school the last year cuz of how i got kicked out

[minnesotadruids]

How long have you been a druid and how long was the initiation process?

Bullet point timeline!

Early 1990s elementary school: Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Books about ancient civilizations and archaeology pique my interest - the slippery slope begins

1997 junior high: The miniseries Roar starring Heath Ledger as an Irish warrior in the Iron Age features druids depicted in a positive light

1997 or thereabouts: Miranda J. Green publishes The World of the Druids and I find it in a library - I'm fascinated

1999: I realize solstices and equinoxes are on the calendars but we never do anything to observe them - so I start

1999, December 22, Midwinter Solstice: I organized a solstice party with my high school friends - it's a full moon

2002, June: I go on a 10 day tour of Ireland after graduating high school - I'm mystified at the landscape where druids once walked

2003: I date a Wiccan and start researching different forms of paganism with interest

2004, January - May: I spend a semester living in Ireland - most of our cottages are haunted - locals don't like talking about the nearby faery hill at all - the landscape is surrounded by megalithic stone monuments: tombs and standing stones - Bronze Age stone alignments whisper and hum to each other - I see the Neolithic tomb at Newgrange: 5,200 year old inscriptions in stone, their meanings lost to the ages, move me to tears that some forgotten persons' handiwork will be appreciated for thousands of years after I'm gone - and what would I leave behind that lasts?

2004, May: Home from Ireland, I have better access to internet where I can launch myself into the study of the ancient druids, the Druidry Revival movement of the last 300 years, and neo-druidry - I declare myself to be practicing "rogue druidry" - which I now convey as "freeform druidry" as to not confuse it with role playing game terminology - I learn of the Reformed Druid movement, founded right where I live in Minnesota, but am dismissive of it when I read that they don't take themselves very seriously (which turned out to be inaccurate anyway)

2009: I start dating another pagan who inspires me to explore paganism deeper

2011, spring-summer: In a desire to join a druidic community I create a grid of contemporary druid orders comparing basic criteria to see what sets them apart - I keep circling back to the Reformed Druids of North America because it started popping up in threes in my research, and I was finding lots of synchronicity as well as similarities to my personal existing practices - then I find an actual photo of myself circa 2003 in a book about druids from 2004, and I'm like, "that's it, I'm joining, I'm already in the book and I haven't even contacted these people yet"

2011, August 21: I declare my belief in the Two Basic Tenets of Reformed Druidism and enter the order

2012: I organize the 49th anniversary reunion at Carleton College on Beltane

2013, late winter, early spring: I organize the 50th anniversary reunion at Carleton College on Beltane - in the weeks leading up to it, "Mike the Fool," the 30th Arch-Druid of Carleton College Grove emeritus expects me to Vigil and enter the Third Order while I'm there

2013, Beltane: Seventeen druids show up from around the country, some flew in from as far as Ohio and California - 7 are members of the Council of Dalon Ap Landu - in the afternoon they requested to interview me to ascertain my level of preparedness to enter the priesthood - it was not stressful, yet was slightly reminiscent of having to stand before a panel of professors and defend a thesis - this went on for about half an hour to 45 minutes or so, then they deliberated in private for about 20 minutes and determined that I was ready to Vigil for the Third Order - we all had dinner at the local Indian restaurant, and my Vigil began at sunset, along with one other member of my Protogrove who like me was also a Second Order druid at the time (but he had already been 2nd Order for 10 years as of that weekend) - dawn came and we had passed our ordeals, and were duly ordained as Third Order druids and became members of the Council of Dalon Ap Landu

For me to go from newbie to a member of the priesthood in about 2 years is not that uncommon, especially at Carleton College Grove where members join and graduate within 4 years, and sometimes have to hastily ordain someone to the priesthood right before they leave to ensure the tradition will be passed along.

Still I faced heightened scrutiny from the Council since they didn't really know me that well compared to my grovemate. They wanted to make sure my dedication was solid and my commitment was genuine before they allowed me to enter the priesthood. Nine years later, I still remain committed.

#druid #druids #druidry #druidism #RDNA #reformed #initiation #ordination #consecration

[colors-chaos]

I Like America and America Likes Me

My English professor asked me to write about one of two things, what I like about America or what I don’t like about America, like I’m Langston Hughes. Maybe I could’ve stolen his lines, and “...let the page come out of [me]--/ then, it will be true.” (Levine et. al., Hughes 844). Maybe I could’ve talked about all the stuff I don’t like about America. My professor said we couldn’t choose any middle grounds, that we either had to like America or we had to dislike America. I thought about all the things I could say about America that I don’t like, and if I mentioned them here I’d fail this class and not graduate high school (183 days left!) so I’ll leave them out because I decided to write about what I like about this place. Because there’s so much wrong with America and so much of it affects me and the people I know and so much of it doesn’t apply to us at all or if it does it’s indirectly but I’ve had a really busy semester and I had two concerts this week and this is the second paper I’ve written for this class this week. So I decided I’m writing about the small, insignificant things that I like about America, and this is my page for English 232 (Levine et. al., Hughes 844).

I like America because I have a phone and AirPods and Spotify Premium that one of my friends pays for all the way in Minnesota. He works at a pizza place and they probably overwork him because he’s seventeen and chronically ill and the doctors don’t know what’s wrong with him but he hasn’t given up yet. And he makes art, he makes so much art, in all forms and while he’s drawing he listens to music and he understands the need for Premium so he pays an extra two dollars a month so a girl he’s never met in person can listen to music without ads on her phone and we’re friends because we watched the same TV show over quarantine and then joined a Discord server together to talk about the show and we don’t talk about that show anymore but that’s okay because now we talk about our lives and other shows we’ve seen. And when I’m having a bad day I can put in my AirPods and play any song I want to and maybe I can wallow in my sadness and feel bad for myself or I can try to pull myself out of it. And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but according to Spotify I listened to 50,715 minutes of music this year and I’m even listening to Spotify while I write this. Because music is a crutch for me and someone in Minnesota cares about me enough to spend eight extra quarters a month so I can be happy and cope through my senior year of high school and I swear one day I’ll pay for it myself and pay him back for the money he’s spent on me, but when I get déjà vu when I listen to certain songs like I did before I started this paragraph so it’s okay that someone else is paying for this right now.

I like America because I’m a drum major in my school’s marching band and I get to help and serve the others kids in marching band. Because the concept of marching band is derived form the military, and while the military isn’t perfect because I knew what E. E. Cummings meant when he said “why talk of beauty what could be more beaut-/ iful than these heroic happy dead” (Levine et. al., Cummings 612). Because I’ve lived in this town my whole life and sometimes people don’t come home, but I got to talk to military musicians from the base last week and they said their nine-to-five is just rehearsing music and while I’d never make it through boot camp, I’d love to get paid to do what I love. Because the government spends a lot of cash on our military but at least we got marching band out of it, and marching band helped me find myself and it’s helped so many kids across the country discover music and make friends and fall in love and high school relationships don’t usually last, but the moment is what matters. And when I’m helping a younger marcher and I explain how to play a note or how to keep their legs straight or how to make their playing more musical, their faces light up and I feel like I’m finally doing something right. Because in the off season they’re starting to realize I’m not the serious drum major they’re used to I’m a student musician just like them and I mess up a lot and they see I’m human. And I can be both the hard drum major and the relaxed clarinet player and fun pianist I am because I’m human and I live in America, and I can be a human with depth in America.

I like America because my mom is a teacher. She teaches fifth grade and when she comes home and talks about how much their kids loved an old classroom game I played in fifth grade, or how they’re struggling with fractions so she’s going to use baking to demonstrate what three-fourths means, I’m reminded that even in this year, the year where I turned 18 and I’m an adult now with a driver’s license and a car that I’m responsible for putting gas in and I wake myself up for school every morning at 6 AM, there are still kids who are eleven years old and experiencing what it means to be eleven. They’re still discovering YouTube and Netflix and anime and books and they’re learning how to draw their favorite characters and original characters with mismatched eyes and wings and fangs and armor that they’ll look back at in seven years and think, “Why did I think that was cool?” (And I know this because I’ve been there). And maybe they make the rubber band bracelets that I used to make back then, or maybe there’s a new fifth-grade trend I’m way too old to know about and much too old to participate in. I like America because not everyone is an adult with cars and licenses and favorite gas stations, sometimes they’re fifth graders learning how to draw.

I like America because when we have nothing to do after school, my best friend and I go to the McDonalds down the street from our high school and we listen to classic rock and my best friend calls it a “Life is Strange” moment. Life is Strange is a video game that I like because the music is good and the art is cool and it’s set in the Pacific Northwest which is a place I’ve always wanted to go to and none of our stories were set there but that’s okay. But my best friend likes the game because she’s bisexual and she sees herself in the main character, who chooses her girlfriend over her hometown at the end of the game. And the smile on my best friend’s face when she talks about those fictional characters makes living in America a little better, because she can be happy and love who she wants to. We won’t end up like Max and Chloe did, in the ruins of a small pass-through town in each other’s arms, but we’ll still ditch school together and stop at every gas station in town looking for seasonal sodas.

I like America because as a people, we are so self-centered that we can do whatever we want to, and no one can tell us any differently. I like America because we’re too wrapped up in ourselves to think about anyone else, which makes finding people who care about you special, and it makes us value those around us more. We are not perfect. We are not the same country we were in 1776. And we have freedoms to do what we want, like go 400 words over the word count but hope your professor forgives you because this is, without exaggeration, the most personal essay you’ve ever written and it’s full of run on sentences but that was a choice because this is supposed to sound like you’re saying it out loud and it would be better spoken out loud but I’m turning in a PDF the day this is due. We are a country with an economy and a culture made of the rest of the world and we have job opportunities and elections, and people go to college and we’re a mess but we fight for what we think is right and we make things work. And this isn’t written to minimize the problems we face, but this is about what I like about America, and these are the things that makes living, living in this country, not so bad. I make it work and my friends make it work and my parents make it work and everyone I see driving in my car or walking their dog makes it work. And we’ll continue to make things work until the day out country succumbs to the fate of existing on Earth and dies. But to put things simply in the words of The 1975, “I like America and America likes me.” (Bedford)

#word vomit #essay #english essay #the 1975 #personal essay #words #also this is a personal essay like #this is 100% my opinion on these small insignificant moments where im trying to find the best in the worst #so #dark academia #light academia #chaotic academic #ramblings

[kat-simss]

The Adamczuk Farm

After many, many, many, many (many, many...you get the picture) months of false starts and a rather inconvenient interlude where I was expected to. Y’know. Do actual work (AKA I started college! Yay!), I finally booted up my game for long enough to start something I’ve been trying to do for ages now: @princesspiratecat’s Homestead Challenge.

As many of you know, I love history dearly, and for some reason I appear to suffer from American History Brain Rot (it’s probably the American public education system tbh), meaning that I find 1800s immigration and the “settlement” of the American West (despite it already being settled by the hundreds of Native Tribes and groups that had lived there for centuries) incredibly interesting. What can I say, the “Dear America” books had an affect on me as a kid, I love history, and I (unfortunately) live in America, so I jumped at the chance to put all of that shiny 1800s CC to good use.

For those of you not familiar with the challenge, go ahead and read @princesspiratecat’s version, it’s great, and her game is beautiful! The challenge takes place shortly after the Homestead Act was passed in 1862, giving settlers incredibly cheap or even free land as long as they agreed to live on it and “settle” it for a certain period of time, i.e. farming (again, despite these lands already being farmed and lived upon by Native Americans).

In my case, my game takes place in (roughly) 1863-64 somewhere in Southern or South-Eastern Minnesota, the home of the Dakota people (as well as other groups such as the Ojibwe to the North and North-East, but I’m focusing specifically on the Dakota since my challenge is set on their land).

As usual, I don’t want to bring in some of the more horrid aspects of history or those that I don’t have enough experience or knowledge to accurately portray (plus, this is the sims, and plenty of people play it for escapism, not as an accurate portrayal of life), so I’ll try to make my gameplay a mix of, well, gameplay as well as some story-telling. There may be some upsetting topics discussed (especially since the challenge takes place during the Civil War), but as usual nothing will be shown, and I want to focus this challenge far more on gameplay rather than something story-heavy like my decades challenge. I’ll try to trigger tag everything accurately (if I miss something, please let me know so I can tag it appropriately), and I hope you enjoy!

#ts2 #the sims 2 #the sims 2 challenge #ts2 homestead challenge #the sims 2 homestead challenge #ts2 challenge #ts2 gameplay #hc #ts2 victorian #ts2 old west #simblr #sims #gaming