So, India Is Dying.

So, India is dying.

Look, I know a good number of you are from the US and things aren't amazing there either, but my country is literally on the brink of collapse. So I'd love it if we could talk about that for a minute.

If you can't do anything else, please just read and reblog.

A second COVID wave has taken out the healthcare system. There are no more hospital beds. There's an oxygen shortage. There's a critical vaccine shortage. The Central Government has thrown its hands up and is passing the baton to the State Governments to do what they can.

There are over 16 million covid cases. A record 330,000 new cases reported yesterday - comparable to the US at its peak. 187,000 dead as of today.

There is no plan.

Mass cremations are taking place. The cremation grounds are running day and night and they are short on wood. People are watching their loved ones die while waiting for a hospital bed, and then they're unable to give them the proper burial rights.

Hospitals are overwhelmed. Patients are being confined, two to a bed. They're the lucky ones.

We are on the verge of people dying in the streets.

This is the second-most populous country in the world. The largest democracy. A country that encapsulates over 15,000 years of recorded human history and has endured everything from famine to invasion to colonisation.

We might be at the end. This might be the thing that does us in.

People are dying.

People are dying.

People are dying and there is no plan.

More good news? Variants are popping up. A double mutation strain has shown up. It is resistant to current vaccines. This will not go away. This is the devastation they warned of when the anti-maskers were out protesting the minor inconvenience of covering their face in public.

My country is on the verge of an emergency state. Our government has failed us. This is as dire a situation as it ever could be.

Look. I don't do much with my life. I write fics, some of you have read them and that's pretty much it. I spend my days with my head in the clouds because that's where I like to be.

But two days ago, my grandmother tested positive, had to be taken to hospital and the ambulance caught fire.

She barely made it to the urgent care she needs.

So, here I am, using whatever meager platform I have to cobble this request together. Because I have to do something.

If you can, donate.

Or spread the word.

Help. Please.

Music to my ears

Legendary

Gorgeous

Stunning

Awe-inspiring

We love one (1) Anti-Rey/lo King and man do I absolutely love these iconic headlines

There is so much hate towards non canon ships in this fandom. Like, let people ship who they want no need to be hostile. Even though I like Percabeth that doesn’t mean ships like Pipabeth or Jercy wouldn’t be cute

PSA to my white friends and followers: In the wake of a phenomenally important guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin Trial, I’d like to remind you all that the fallout of this case will likely mean more police violence against our Black friends and neighbors, not less. Looking at the statistics in the weeks leading up to this verdict shows that this is already the case. Police in this country are angry that society is beginning to hold them accountable for their abusive actions, and they are looking for revenge. So if you see a cop interacting with a BIPOC, DO NOT walk away. Video record if you can (and as long as it doesn’t further jeopardize the safety of the BIPOC involved), but absolutely do not walk away. It is critical that we do our part and look out for people, and make cops think twice about abusing their powers of authority and near-immunity to murder citizens people.

Brazil is suffering from the worst COVID outbreak there is, and no one is talking about it. This is not just in terms of the number of cases, but also the government’s active refusal to do anything and in fact hurting attempts to help. 1 in every 4 COVID deaths in the world is in Brazil. There isn’t enough access to vaccines. Food is unaffordable, let alone masks. People are actually starving to death. Hospitals don’t have enough beds or oxygen. And if this is not enough of a reason to talk about it, the variant that is sweeping through Brazil is twice as contagious, and has also been seen to infect people who have already been infected with other variations of the virus. The variant has crossed borders already.

These Twitter threads give all the details that i know. Please go through this and share widely. 

The second twitter thread provides details of how to donate. Here is a link. It is in Portugese, but google translate is working fine here and also, the author of the thread will translate to guide donation if contacted. 

Please share with as many people as possible. The people of Brazil need international support.

⚠tw: sexual assault⚠

Since no one is calling the rape scene in episode six of Bridgerton what it is - rape - I have a few things to say. 

Simon very clearly tells Daphne to “wait” but she continues. That makes it rape, point blank. Consent can be revoked at any time during the act and if the other person continues, it is rape. It does not matter the genders of the participants, if you have had sexual relations before, or if you are married to your rapist. IF SOMEONE SAYS STOP AND YOU KEEP GOING, YOU ARE RAPING THEM. There is no “gray area” here. She knew what she was doing. 

I keep seeing people trying to justify Daphne’s actions and it is disgusting and inexcusable. Yes, Simon was wrong for lying to her about his ability to father children, but THAT DOES NOT MAKE WHAT SHE DID ANY LESS HORRIFYING. Yes, Simon was wrong but that doesn’t mean he deserved to be raped. The show never has Daphne even apologize for raping him.  Absolutely gross. And I’m supposed to root for them as a couple after this? Fuck that. 

(Also, Daphne’s complete lack of knowledge about how babies are made is historically inaccurate. Regency era young women did by-and-large know where babies came from. But I’m digressing from the point. Regardless, lack of awareness is not an excuse for committing rape.) 

Then, I keep seeing people say that the rape was not a rape because “Simon could’ve fought her off if he really wanted to” or “he consented to sex before and seemed into it in the beginning.” NONE OF THIS CHANGES THE FACT THAT IT IS RAPE. Some people are frozen in situations of trauma. They panic. And you can see in his eyes after the rape that he is upset and shocked. Would you ever ask a woman who says she was raped why she didn’t fight her attacker harder, or tell her she must’ve been enjoying it because she didn’t fight him off? 

Also, I repeat, CONSENT CAN BE WITHDRAWN AT ANY TIME DURING THE ACT. He tells her to “wait.” She doesn’t listen. It is rape. If the roles were reversed, and a woman told a man to “wait” during sex and he didn’t, would you still have the same response? Simon has the right to determine whether he reproduces or not. The show could’ve had the two of them discuss their opinions on children and Daphne help Simon put his trauma behind him through communication and support. Or - considering the pull-out method is not the most effective - perhaps she could have thought she was pregnant and this could have started a dialogue, with the end result being Simon decided he wanted children after all. This did not need to happen. 

There is also the added element that Daphne is white and Simon is Black, which makes her rape of him even more atrocious than it already was. Why should a Black man have to forgive his white wife for raping him? She is not entitled to his body. Fuck that. 

And then we have showrunner Chris Van Dusen JUSTIFYING the rape by saying it was “part of Daphne’s journey.” I am disgusted. Every one who took part in writing this scene should be ashamed of themselves. 

Reminder that men can be raped. Women can be rapists. Men have the same right to say ‘no’. Everyone needs to listen to and respect their sexual partner. Daphne and Simon’s relationship is not “swoon-worthy” or “romantic.” It is toxic. There is no “gray area” here.