Getting on towards the end of November 2018′s Shiny Offerings!
Today I did a semi-commission piece for @lferion, as she has dibs after missing out on the previous four. If she decides she doesn’t want it, I’ll post that and other shinies tomorrow.
Tonight is earring night! I haven’t done earrings in a while. These turned out awesome.
Secrets
Silver-plated and hammered Stainless Steel Ring, Lampwork Glass, Gold-plated Stainless Steel & Gold-plated Brass (for stringing the glass), on hypoallergenic Stainless Steel Fishhooks with Gold-plated Stainless Steel highlights. Measures 1.75″ from top of fish hook to bottom of the ring.
(Yes, they’re Slytherin-themed. How could you tell?)
$25.00 USD + Shipping ($4.99 US First Class; $16.99 USPS International)
Weightless
Gold-plated Stainless Steel, Gold-plated Brass (wire), and Fire-polished Crystal on Gold-plated Sterling Silver Fish Hooks. Measures 2.5″ from top of fishhook to bottom of gold charm. (The Gold-plated Stainless Steel charms are hollow, so there isn’t any extra weight to carry around.)
It is a pain in the ass to get good photos of fire-polished crystal. Those in the photograph swirl from blue to green and back again with hints of gold and violet beneath.
$25.00 USD + Shipping
($4.99 US First Class; $16.99 USPS International)
Email me at deadcatwithaflamethrower @ gmail dot com if you’re interested!
I am, sadly, pretty unsurprised that I’ve never seen politician!Lando in fandom before, because in general the Star Wars fandom (and the Expanded Universe) seems to characterize Lando largely on the basis of a single statement from Han Solo about him.
Han tells Leia that Lando is a card-player, a gambler, and a scoundrel, and the Expanded Universe took that and absolutely ran with it, and, possibly because of the EU, fandom has taken it as gospel truth, too.
But the thing is, that’s only what Han says about Lando. It’s not at all what we actually see of Lando on screen.
The Lando of ESB is, in a word, responsible. That’s how he characterizes himself, a bit ruefully, and it’s borne out by his actions throughout the movie. He’s clearly been a very successful businessman for a while now, and he’s just as clearly respected and liked by the people of Bespin. He tells Han and Leia that he’s one of the few gas mining operations that’s still independent, and he’s clearly proud of this fact. He’s just as clearly invested in the work that’s being done on Bespin. He doesn’t just own the operation. He very obviously cares about it, and about the people who work for him. His decision to give Han, Leia, and Chewie up to Vader is ultimately an effort to save as many people as he can, made because he knows he’s caught between a rock and a hard place but, no matter how much he cares for Han, he is the administrator of Cloud City and the lives of everyone there are dependent on him. He’s responsible for them, and he’s willing to risk himself to protect his people. Only after he’s done all he can to protect them does he allow himself to try to help Han and co.
And when we see Lando again in ROTJ, he’s joined the Rebellion and been commissioned as a general. A general. For a guy who, so far as we know, has held no prior military rank, and who joined the Alliance maybe a year ago, that says quite a lot. Clearly, he’s committed himself to this rebellion – and he’s proven himself, both as a rebel operative and as a leader. From what we see of his interactions with his fighter squads, the other rebel pilots seem to both like and respect him.
So maybe Han is right, and at one time Lando was a card player, gambler, and scoundrel. But that’s clearly in his past, and the Lando we actually see on screen isn’t a scoundrel at all. He’s a respectable and respected businessman and city administrator, with an impressive military record and quite a few well-placed connections in Alliance leadership. He’s shown a definite aptitude for administration and civic leadership, and always puts the people he serves first even at great risk to himself.
In short, he’s excellent material for political office.
Bone necklaces are
cool and you get to wear the bones of your enemies, but if you wear the
bones of your enemies to work, people get nervous for some reason. For
the sake of job security, there are alternatives.
So, I go to get a hot steamy shower because my lungs cooperate so much better after one at the moment because crud. Jess follows me in and has nothing to say about being in the room until the shower is starting to steam things up. And then she had many things to say and they all were “out! out now!”
I let her out, and close the door again. And the door starts rattling. And when I am done my shower and open the door, she bolts from it to go sprawl elsewhere in the kitchen like she was there all along. And at the same time, is very loving and demanding of comforting scritches when I come over.
Apparently what she meant by out was “we get out!” not “let me out!”
(So now I know adorable squeaking noises while opening her mouth very wide to make sure I can see she is making the noises is “time to get out now, human!” I’m not sure if she wanted to save me from rain that was way too warm for rain, or she thought getting very warm + air getting hazy = probably fire, but either way. It’s adorable, even if there was nothing to save me from this time.)
These are the solutions we need to policing right now.
Remember: the problem cannot be solved by technocratic solutions (i.e. body cams, further trainings, etc.)
The problem is policing itself.
This is the sort of shit I am talking about when I say we need to only talk about getting rid of police but also about what sort of actual safety could replace it.
And no, it is not enough for this to exist ‘next to the police’. The harm is in the fact that circumstances of personal and interpersonal harm are viewed through the lens of law and punishment.
The moment we take the concept of laws & punishment completely off the table and start thinking in needs and how to provide them, we become capable of seeing what is needed to achieve actual safety.
*hugs you all* Because today is a day for hugs, and I’m going to run out of spoons if I go putting hugs in everyone’s ask box.
Feel free to reblog this to give a hug to every one of your followers.
*who is comfortable with being hugged. If you do not like hugs or are uncomfortable with physical contact, or even just prefer not a hug from someone not a mutual friend, cookies or other snacks suitable for your dietary needs and restrictions.
November finally released a shiny! November is free!
Victorian Armor, i.e. Victorian Ass-Kicking Necklace
This is the sort of thing that I made more often before shit hit the fan with my health a couple of years ago. It’s the sort of design that @thebibliosphere would lurch up to my virtual front door like a shambling Pride & Prejudice zombie, paw at the glass, and drool all over the beads. (In a dignified fashion.)
Given the stainless steel construction and the bit of ore for a pendant, you could probably beat someone to death with this, but honestly, then you have to clean the blood off and that’s a pain in the ass when your jewelry has beads and crevices.
Bicone AB-Coated Crystal, true Green Jade, Aventurine, and Stainless Steel on 7-strand coated Stainless Steel Wire with a Stainless Lobster Clasp. Smaller pendant is .925 Sterling Silver set with Jade; Larger pendant is raw Peacock Ore. Shorter strand has a bit of wiggle room and is 18-19″; larger strand and its peacock pendant hangs about 1.5″ lower.
$75.00USD + Shipping ($4.50 USPS First Class in the US, $16.95 elsewhere) Send me an ask or send me a gmail at deadcatwithaflamethrower if you’re interested!
How do you write healthy parent-child relationships?
this might be more response than you want, but interesting (and kinda depressing when you think about it) fact: there’ve been a bunch of research studies where parents have been asked what they think makes a healthy parent-child relationship, and they tend to like…not answer the actual question because they think they’re being asked what good parenting is, which is not the same. so they talk about things like helping kids with homework and making sure they eat well. children, on the other hand, usually respond to the same question with stuff that’s literally just the definition of healthy relationships generally. affection, honesty, respect, spending time together, sharing interests. and the real kicker is, objectively, we know that’s the kind of stuff that actually has a much better impact not only on whether or not the relationship is strong and positive but also the kid’s overall happiness and psychological health.
so, if you want to write a character who’s really intent on being a Good Parent you’d have them putting massive effort into making their kid Grow Up Right, worrying about shit like if they have The Right Friends and they’re spending Enough Time Outside. but if you want to write a good relationship, just make parent and kid laugh together and respect boundaries and be emotionally supportive, like you would when writing a solid pair of friends or romantic couple.
No that was actually really helpful and I’m glad you took the time to give a serious response
There's a Mirror on the Wall 