I POSTED THIS TO THE WRONG ACCOUNT OOPS

Absolutely stunning!

Love. Part 1 of 3.

For the anon who requested a yandere Eros of Hawks. I am gonna break this down into 3 parts so more to come! :) Thoughts are under the cut!

Keep reading

do you ever just regret making something

I’ll never get tired of looking at Yuumei’s art

Seeding Imagination~

I just love winged turtles <3

A picture is worth a 1000 words and this photo speaks heavily to me…

Instagram: _whisperingletters

Commission art for @borntoexplore11-blog and some extra art cause i can't resist drawing more of this Mirio pup~

Thank you for posting this

We can save the oceans together!!!

TeamSeas Will Not Solve the Global Plastic Problem... But it can be Part of the Solution

There is a lot of plastic in the oceans, and the facts are a lot more dire than we think it is. But working to curb plastic pollution is still a viable goal to strive for!

For those of you who may not know, #TeamSeas is a cleanup project promoted by Mr. Beast and Mark Rober in partnership with the Ocean Cleanup. This project is projected to take 30 million pounds of trash out of the oceans by January 2021.

They are funding this effort the same way 4Ocean does, by cleaning up 1 pound of ocean plastic per $1 USD donated to the cause (well, 4Oceans states that 20 lbs per 20$ bracelet bought, but same difference). Granted, I am not a fan of 4Ocean, and this video by another YouTuber explains why. I have other issues with The Ocean Cleanup that I will address later.

Personally, I think working to clean beaches and taking trash out of the oceans is a fantastic idea, and I think more people and especially companies and the government, should focus on it more. Sadly, we put more of the onus on individuals than on the companies making the pollution and governments allowing it to happen.

I also think that fundraisers like this are a great way for a lot of people who may feel powerless due to age, socioeconomic factors, disability, and more to be able to feel like they have some power. Particularly when it comes to making the world a better place, and that cannot be overstated.

Not everyone has the ability, time, energy, etc to go to a beach cleanup. Especially if you live in most of the world that is not even close to a beach to clean. So being able to spread the word or donate 5 bucks is a good way to feel like you are doing your part.

But why would I be wary of supporting as project like this? Well, let's look at potential issues with TeamSeas, and see if there are ways in which we can be more effective in stopping plastic pollution and cleaning it.

The issue with plastic collection

In 2016, it was estimated that there were 150 million metric tons of plastic in the oceans that were growing at a rate of about 11 million metric tons annually. So we can assume there are at least 200 metric tons of plastic in the oceans, if not more.

That is 441 billion pounds of trash. This means that 30 million pounds of trash being picked up is only about 0.06% of the total plastic waste currently in the ocean.

There are other issues as well, such as the focus on buoyant plastics. The video by Mark Rober shows trash leaving a river and floating to the machine that collects it.

While I agree that mechanisms like this are great because they pick up the trash before making it into the oceans, it only picks up the trash that happens to float to it. Something that can also be done without the need for a large machine.

The issue with focusing on floating plastics is that most aren't floating at the surface. It is estimated that between 94%and 99%of all plastics that have entered the oceans have fallen to the ocean floor. That means that they cannot be picked up by these machines.

On top of that, about 11% of all plastic in the oceans is microplastics and is often too small to be picked up by these machines. Most microplastics are also fairly dense, meaning that they do not float either.

While 60% of all plastic produced is considered to be buoyant, many factors come into play that cause them to sink over time. These include degradation as well as waves that can pull down plastic which then stays on the ocean floor due to water pressure.

This project seems to be marred by similar problems seen with Team Trees, which is another project Mr. Beast and Mark Rober did 2 years ago with planting 20 million trees. Lack of foresought in the fundraiser did very little to help the environment overall, and Mr. Beast was criticized after this video due to the wasteful habits in his videos.

But what about the organization itself? What about The Ocean Cleanup?

The problem with The Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup is an organization that has been criticized for various things dating back years.

many of their ocean cleanup machines use a decent amount of unnecessary fuel. Something they themselves admit on their own website. This means they are putting more carbon and other toxins into the air for the act of cleaning a relatively small amount of trash from the oceans.

The interceptors, which are the ones that are at the base of the river, are claimed to run on 100% solar energy. This is a good thing, but it is just a fraction of the overall issue.

On top of this, The Ocean Cleanup seems to be funded in part by the very companies that are making the plastic packaging going into the oceans, like Coca-Cola. Coca-cola seems to be using this as a shield to hide behind their continued creation of plastic bottles, which they refuse to stop making.

I guess it is more profitable to back an organization scooping their trash out of the oceans than it is for Coca-Cola to just stop manufacturing plastic bottles, or at least create massive infrastructure designed to take accountability for their pollution. Like bottle take-back programs.

The founder of the group, Boyan Slat, also seems to be a bit of a misogynist. He seems to like to dismiss female experts who mention that the design for his vessels was likely to capsize, calling them "emotive" in 2019.

The Ocean Cleanup also seems to have a major issue when it comes to trapping hundreds of animals in their nets when catching plastic at sea. There seems to be no oversight to ensure that they do not harm marine animals in their pursuit to clean the oceans.

Rebecca Helm, who points out the concerns of trapped animals in the article I linked to above, also revamps here issues in a Twitter thread at the start of this campaign. She, as a woman, also seemed to have been ignored over the past couple of years.

I hope that everything has changed, and that there are no issues when it comes to this project. The fact that Ocean Conservancy is supporting it makes me feel a little bit better about the organization and project as a whole.

Doing what we can to help, and holding those in power accountable

So while this can help people to feel better about donating, I also think that acting as if this is going to solve major issues with ocean trash is a little reaching. The Ocean Cleanup claims it will clean up 90% of the world's floating ocean plastic pollution, but their hopes of cleaning 20,000 tons of trash a year pails in comparison to the 8 million tons of new plastic trash littering our oceans annually.

Helping to clean the oceans is fine, but this organization is not going to solve the problem. It will never clean 90% of the 1-6% of ocean plastic that floats. But as someone who is trying to help clean the oceans, I respect the organization for that. It will take millions of people and many years to help clean the mess that companies have created.

While I applaud Mr. Beast and Mark Rober for trying to do what they can as influencers to help, and bringing the issue of ocean plastic to light, I think the project itself toots its own horn too much.

Beach cleanups and working to find ways to make the earth a better place within your power is a great thing to do! We all have our own abilities and skills that we can bring to the table, and they should all be used to benefit each other and the planet. However, we should be pressuring the government and corporations to fix this problem, as they are the ones who made it in the first place.

Fundraisers for beach cleanup is great and all, but it will never be sustainable without laws and policies to clean the pollution and prevent it from being an issue in the first place. Lobby your government if you can.

This is also why I focus on donating to 350.org, as it is an intersectional organization that helps to pressure government and corporations into enacting policy and law that benefits the environment as well as the people who live in it.

But more importantly, VOTE. Write to your representatives. Vote for people in state, federal, and local elections that will have your best interests and the interests of the environment in mind. Demand to be represented by the people you vote into office. Make sure that your voice is heard, and that your demands are clear.

It is not up to us to fix this mess, but we have no other choice than to work hard. We need to force governments and corporations to fix the mess they made in the pursuit of profits.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

If you like what you have read and want to support me, you can by using the shop links below! But only buy if you need more reclaimed crafting supplies, used clothes, etc. Don't buy just for the sake of buying.

Upcycleability- My Etsy shop where I sell my upcycled crafts and salvaged/reclaimed craft supplies. This includes fabric, yarn, beads, ribbons, leather, buckles, scraps, and more!

UpcycledLucy– My Poshmark to buy used clothing that I salvage from being thrown out. Often sneakers and other shoes, but also shirts, jeans, pants, and dresses of all genders and sizes.

Lucienes– My eBay shop where I sell everything else that I salvage, such as books, games, boxes, and more

5-10% of all sales from the above links go towards 350 dot org, an intersectional activist organization working to fight climate change and get climate justice.

I'm currently stuck with "Ship in a Bottle" by Steffan Argus.

ATTENTION

If you see this you are OBLIGATED to reblog w/ the song currently stuck in your head :)

I just came across this story by chance and it is written beautifully!

The Lost Queen

— summary: You woke up near a military camp without remembering how and why you got there, you didn’t understand why they were dressed like ancient Greeks, all you knew was that you weren’t safe and you needed to get out of that place as soon as possible. Too bad for you that you found yourself attracting unwanted attention from the Macedonian King and he won’t let you go so easily.

— genre: yandere, dark!au.

— warnings: time travel, obsessive and possessive behavior, murder, mention of torture, kidnapping, angst, fluffy (very rarely), dub-con, possibly smut.

— pairing: yandere!alexander the great x female!reader, yandere!generals x female!reader

— word count: 686.

— chapter 1; chapter 2; chapter 3; chapter 4;

Prologue

Your heart was pounding fast inside your chest, your breath wasted as you ran desperately across the desert of Gedrosia. It didn’t matter that you were going to die of sunstroke, thirst or hunger, you wanted to escape. You desperately wanted to leave this place, run away from the people who were chasing you and didn’t seem to want to leave you alone from the moment you woke up bewildered in this… World, at this time.

Your only advantage at this point was distance, but you knew they would catch up to you eventually. Your back ached and was still dried with blood from the punishment he had meted out after your last escape attempt. He thought that way you’d learn not to challenge him again, but he didn’t seem to know you weren’t the quitting type.

You wouldn’t give him the taste of victory. He wouldn’t have you, at least not alive.

You groaned in pain and frustration as your legs gave out and you fell into the hot desert area. You looked around and all you saw was blue sky and sand and more sand. You were lost.

Tears of frustration fell from your eyes and wet your chiton. You knew you should stop crying and save what was left of liquid inside your body, but you couldn’t. Months of despair, terror and witnessing the atrocities committed came to your mind and your eyes were filled with tears. He did this to you. They did this to you.

You hated him, you hated them all. It didn’t matter that they were kind and welcoming to you at first, a complete stranger, none of that mattered because they ruined you. They could have fed you, given you clothes and a bed when you were lost but that didn’t matter anymore… Not after everything you went through, what you experienced in those months with them.

You tried to get up but your legs ached and your bare feet burned when you tried to stand. A snarl escaped your lips and with a lot of effort you went back to walking through the vastness that surrounded you. You would die. You were sure of it, if not for the desert at his hand.

You preferred the first option. Even if dying of thirst, hunger, heat or cold is bad… You knew you were better than you dared to think about what they would do as soon as they laid their hands on your body. Fuck, you’d rather rot than allow yourself to be touched by him again. He would never lay hands on you again, you mentally swore to yourself.

You cursed the heavens as you felt your vision darken, your body weak and in need of sustenance. You knew you couldn’t walk any further, your legs burned with every step you took and your vision grew darker and darker.

Your eyes struggled to open when you heard the sounds of horses approaching and you cursed yourself and kept trying to walk, but it was too painful. He was close. You screamed in frustration as your body gave out and you were forced to sit on the hot sands. You couldn’t go any further, you didn’t have the strength.

Your tears fell once more as the noise of voices and horses approached you.

“That was it,” you thought as you choked on your tears. You prayed to whatever gods were listening but your prayers went unanswered. Your eyes closed as you felt a horse neigh loudly behind you and then its rider descended. Your skin shivered as he touched you, taking your aching body in his arms.

“I found you.” He purred, touching your face gently with his callused, battle-scarred hands.

You didn’t respond and just let him carry you on his lap and you didn’t even react when he forced you to mount the stallion in front of you and you ignored the presence of his generals. Those who were once like your friends.

He would always find you. Alexander the Great would never let you go. He would never let his Queen escape.

— lady l: so this was the prologue to a fanfic I’ll be writing about one of the greatest conquerors in history. I will take historical liberties in that, nothing here will be historically accurate all the time. I hope you like it and feel free to give feedback or if you just want to talk about the fanfic or anything else. If you want to be tagged just ask, love you all and take care! ❤️

I’m not sure why, but I love these pictures so much!

“Come on Bakugou, let’s race.”

Ahh! Had to add Kiri with his Bakugou. Both pull off motorcycle’s very well.