"this is an inaccurate adaptation" okay but is it good "this didn't happen in the book" does it make sense in the context of the new work though "they totally changed the plot" and is the new one good or bad "it's completely different" not what I asked "they changed all the stuff I like" then I get why you wouldn't be into it but I'm asking about its own artistic merits "this character is meant to be blonde" I couldn't give less of a fuck
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Mary x Matthew marriage of convenience fic, chapter 30. This time we catch up on whatever the heck has been going on with Mr. Bates.
Chapter snippet:
The court was– predictably– a madhouse of press. From the moment Matthew stepped out of the car with Robert in front of the imposing building, until they ascended the marble steps, they were surrounded by black-suited men busily asking for comment. They seemed to swarm like a particularly hungry school of carnivorous fish, each hoping for their bite.
Matthew found himself gritting his teeth as he shouldered past them. Which he only grit harder, when he and Robert took seats in the courtroom and he noticed Sir Richard sitting on one of the benches across the room.
The newspaper magnate tipped his hat at them when he caught Matthew looking. Matthew only glared back. This man had put Mr. Swire into debt and Lavinia into harm's way, and now he had set his sights on Matthew’s home. It rankled that there was nothing that he could do about it.
“I feel a bit like a bug pinned to a board,” Robert said, catching the direction of Matthew’s glare. “Laid out for everyone to examine. I hate it.”
“I can’t say I disagree,” Matthew muttered darkly. Sir Richard was not the only man in the gallery with his eyes on them. The courtroom was beginning to fill up, and seated in the front row without fail those who entered looked their way.
A character trait/dynamic that I'm endlessly compelled by is someone dealing with (or, like, failing to) being the child of people who were too busy being good people to have the time and attention to be good parents. This can be anywhere from 'was a public defender who gave a shit working 60 hour weeks with basically no vacations' to 'left their family behind to join the revolution/war effort and is now a universally beloved martyr-hero who saved/remade the world with their final breath' on the groundedness spectrum. The important thing is a viscerally felt but confused and ugly mess of longing, resentment, and guilt about feeling the resentment.
#the idea that someone can simultaneously be a bad parent and a good person is one that seems to escape a LOT of people#I see far too many people who insist that if someone is a bad parent they're also a bad person#because being a bad parent MAKES them a bad person#“well they never should have had kids if they were going to be bad at it!” cool cool so I don't know if you know this but#not everyone is able to see how things will play out before they happen#also someone may be a GREAT parent for one kid but a mediocre one for another kid#because (and I know this is another pretty alien idea to a lot of tumblr) everyone is different#what one child needs is not necessarily the same as what another child needs#anyway#it's much more fun to explore this concept in fiction than in reality#when it happens IRL at least one real person gets screwed over; in fiction it's an interesting story to explore
So fucking true
I know people who are great as friends for example, but they shouldn't be parents.
i am terminally A Sucker for characters who have a towering and generally earned ego about their own ability and absolutely no self-worth about themselves as a person at all. intoxicating combo.
my petty gripe about anachronism in historical/fantasy/spec-fic worlds is attraction language.
We’ve all heard the “should you use modern queer labels or not” argument but honestly even when people go “true, they wouldn’t use the labels ‘aromantic’ or ‘asexual,’” so often the characters describe their experiences as “I never felt romantic attraction” or “I don’t feel attracted to anyone” in ways that makes me go. You are stilllllll thinking about this in an extraordinarily modern online way. That 19th century steampunk detective man will NOT be angsting about having never felt romantic attraction, he would be angsting about being unable to feel moved by the beauty or charm of a woman, or something. And I do think that “attractiveness” language is different from the identity-level idea of experiencing attraction—Sherlock Holmes does not talk about not experiencing attraction, but when Watson says “What a very attractive woman!” Holmes responds “Is she? I did not observe.” (And then Watson calls him an inhuman automaton and calculating-machine and Holmes calls Watson’s judgement biased). Never swayed by the attractiveness of a man or woman, never desirous of marriage, never charmed by the delights of love, all of these feel like some of the variety of ways that someone in this milieu might describe an ace- or aro-spectrum identity more than “never felt attraction” does. Mostly because, like the terms for aromantic and asexual themselves, nailing down an exclusively attraction-based definition of a-spec identities is a relatively new and extremely post-AVEN thing. And yet in fiction everybody knows to articulate their experience as feeling sexual/romantic attraction. And I always want to go nooo how would THIS character think about it?? Not how you think this character SHOULD think about it, how would THIS person in THIS context articulate their feelings?
its 2026 i cannot handle any more fucking "author A obviously ripped off author B" discourse by people Who Have Only Seen the work of author B and admit themselves that they have no further knowledge of the literary landscape they are moving in. like.
Another design is using 2 20x25x1 filters, taping them to the sides of the box fan and then to each other so they sort of make a triangle, then cutting cardboard to make a top and bottom to the triangle.
This was discovered as a more effective design during the 2020 US west coast fires.
It's That Time Again: Wildfire Season is Upon Us (It never really stopped being that time.)
I wanted to put together a post of resources and advice all collected into one spot, so here we go!
And remember, just because you think you live in an area where you are safe from wildfires because "it doesn't happen here" does not mean your risk is zero. Wildfires can happen anywhere in the United States, and their prevalence is increasing. Don't be afraid, just be aware and prepared.
Watch Duty
First and foremost, no matter where you live, I HIGHLY recommend getting the Watch Duty app and turning on alerts for the area you live. It is available on Apple, Android, and just as a website. It will allow you to get push notification updates for any wildfires that start in your area, what's happening with them, evacuation information, shelter information, and more all in one spot. It is now available in all fifty states.
The basic and important functions are all free, but you can also get a paid subscription to access some other neat stuff like a flight tracker to see what the firefighting aircraft are doing, fire progression prediction models, a list of links to local emergency services radio feeds you can listen to, etc.
Local Alerts
Signing up for local alerts is also something you need to do. EVEN IF YOU WERE SIGNED UP BEFORE 2026, RECHECK THAT YOU ARE SIGNED UP. Last year the Code Red system, which was one of the most popular local alert systems, was hacked and many places have since moved to other platforms. This means you may need to sign up again even if you were signed up before.
To find out what your local alert system is and how to sign up, search for your town's emergency management information, check government websites, check local fire department websites, or ask local officials.
Mitigate Mitigate Mitigate
Wildfires are going to happen. The best way to help protect your home and/or your business is to mitigate the impact when a fire starts. Things like defensible space, keeping your roof free of combustible debris, screening vents with metal mesh, and using fire safe plants can all be the difference between saving your home and losing it.
The FireWise program is a great place to get started with mitigation, especially if you are interested in community and neighborhood scale projects.
Another great resource if you want to look at mitigation on the community scale is the trainings offered by Coalitions & Collaboratives.
Be sure to also check what resources are available in your local community. You may be able to grants or other forms of support to help with your own mitigation projects.
Prevent the Fire Before it Starts
Put your campfire all the way out. Maintain your vehicle to prevent sparks. Don't park on or against dry plants. If you are towing, make sure your tow chains aren't dragging. If you have snow chains hung on the bottom of your vehicle anywhere, make sure those aren't dragging.
Obey Fire Restrictions
Fire restrictions are generally done on a city or county level, and can be found on the associated city or county websites. Some places are better about this than others. Most areas use the same general restrictions like no open burning, no fireworks, etc., but some may have more specific restrictions you should be familiar with.
And use common sense. If it is hot, dry, and/or windy, don't do things that could start a fire.
Know How to Report a Wildfire
Reporting a wildfire, or potential wildfire, can be tricky without an address. The BEST way is to provide a latitude/longitude, which can usually be obtained on your phone by opening a map app and dropping a pin where you think the fire is, or using other place finding apps like a compass.
If that's not an option, the closest cross streets and landmarks are good. Try to give the closest town as well, even if it is a good distance away, since there are many duplicate place names so having the closest town will help narrow things down considerably.
Understand Your Insurance
I wish I had a good link for this one, but it's going to vary heavily by state. Everyone is doing something different these days, pushing different legislation, enforcing different things. The best thing you can do for yourself is to read through your current policy(ies), talk to your insurance agent, and look up ongoing reforms in your state/area. But it is better to take the time to understand these things now, ahead of fire season.
Have an Evacuation Plan
Know multiple ways out of your neighborhood AND the area where you work AND anywhere else you spend an extensive amount of time. There is a very, very good chance that in a wildfire emergency your cellphone will lose signal and you will not be able to use a GPS app. Pre-planning your evacuation route--and actually driving it a few times--can be critical.
Keep up to date paper maps in your vehicle as well, and know how to read them, in case you lose cell signal for a more extensive amount of time.
Do not attempt to drive on roads that you and/or your vehicle is not capable of. If you get stuck, that creates a much bigger issue for you, other evacuees, and responders.
If you don't drive, for reasons of disability or otherwise, make a plan with friends or family for how you will get out. If you don't have a good support system, reach out to your local fire department to see if they know of any local services that can help, or if they can just take note of your address.
Have a Go Bag Ready
Last but not least, have a Go Bag ready along with your general preparedness measures. A Go Bag is something with JUST the basics. It is not meant to be everything you could ever need, or a full survival system. It is a backpack with the necessities to get you through the first 24-48 hours of an evacuation so you can get your feet under you and figure out the rest from there.
(Full alt text for this poster below the cut.)
As the world changes, it is important to be prepared to safely and efficiently evacuate your home, potentially with little or no warning. Preparing ahead of time can help to reduce stress and anxiety, and help you evacuate safely if the time comes.
Red Level (No Warning): People | Pets | Keys. Human life matters most. If you can’t rescue your pets, let them out to give them their best chance. If evacuating by car, don’t forget your keys.
Orange Level (Less Than an Hour): Crucial Meds | Important Papers | Money | Paper Map | Pet Vaccination Records. Crucial meds and medical equipment. Papers including passports, birth certificates, medical records, etc.. Multiple forms of payment. Paper map with marked evac routes in case of signal loss. Phone. Most evac centers require vaccine records for pets to be allowed in.
Yellow Level (More Than an Hour): Photos | Hard Drives | Computers | Chargers | Irreplaceable Items | OTC Meds | Pet Supplies | Pet Food | Clothes | Weather Gear. Family photos. Hard drives and computers. Make digital backups ahead of time. Charging cords. Irreplaceable items such as collectibles and mementos. Over the counter medical supplies such as Aspirin and tampons. Pet supplies such as bowls, crates, toys, and litter. Pet food and treats. Clothes. If you are running out of time grab your laundry basket. Weather gear if needed.
Green Level (General Preparedness): Food | Water | Radio | N95 Masks | Multitool | Power Pack | Gas | Stove + Fuel | Flashlight | Toiletries | Emergency Contact Info | Bedding | First Aid | Can Opener. Easy prep, shelf-stable food. Water. Battery powered/rechargeable NOAA weather radio. N95 masks for smoke. A multitool. Rechargeable power pack for phones. Keep your car at least partially fueled at all times. Portable stove and fuel for cooking food without power. Flashlight and spare batteries. Toiletries including hair products, toothbrush and paste, etc.. Emergency contact info for friends and loved ones. Spare pillows and blankets. Dedicated first aid kit. Can opener.
Save yourself time and stress by preparing an evacuation bag ahead of time and keep it in an easy to access place. At the end of every season rotate out the perishable items within such as food, water, and medications. The more you can keep in the bag, the more time you’ll have to grab everything else. Remember, it is okay if you can’t do everything. Some preparation is better than no preparation.
If you are in the U.S.A. and experiencing disaster related anxiety call the Disaster Distress Hotline at 1-800-985-5990 for support and resources.
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If you share this image outside of tumblr, please link back to my website: www.Katy-L-Wood.com
this is a really good post and i wanted to add more disability-specific information, since many of us do have to have very different considerations for wildfire emergencies. i recommend this resource from the partnership for inclusive disaster strategies! check out their useful tips page, too.
PIDS also runs a disaster preparedness and response hotline for Deaf/disabled people and older adults experiencing disasters. you can call or text 1-800-626-4959 or email [email protected]. they can also do ASL calls via videophone. they are able to make referrals, share information, and coordinate support for you during a disaster.
this organization's main focus is keeping disabled people, especially people with high support needs, from being wrongfully institutionalized during disasters.
many disability-specific nonprofits have their own recommendations tailored to the needs they generally see in their communities, so check national nonprofits for your disability types and see if they have any resources available. these nonprofits as well as your local P&A (Protection & Advocacy system) may be able to offer legal aid if your ADA rights were violated during disaster response. i have also seen specific disability nonprofits provide interim DME after disasters.
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