In This House

The Guard Dog

A non-fandom collage! This collage was inspired by the guard dog/I'll protect you with my life/devoted follower vibe.

Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul is currently flooded

I don't make these kinds of posts, but Rio Grande do Sul (a brazilian estate) is going through its worst natural catastrophe in recorded history and I need everyone to know about this. Its currently looking like this:

What is going on

Most of Brazil suffers from yearly floods during the rain season. These floods most of the time aren't bad, with water going away a few hours later. Sometimes they are a nightmare, with people losing their homes and most if not all belongings. But this?

This is not fucking normal.

Currently (May 6th, 2024) there's +80 confirmed deaths and 873 thousand people are being affected by these historical floods. Eight hundred and seventy three THOUSAND people. Once again: THIS. IS. NOT. NORMAL.

Rio Grande has 496 cities, and currently, 364 are reporting problems related to this. It's almost the entirety of Rio Grande - and you know how big Rio Grande is? If you're from the USA, its just a bit bigger than Colorado, and just a bit smaller than Nevada. If you are European, Rio Grande is bigger than the United Kingdom. Can you imagine if almost the entirety of the UK was underwater? Because I sure fucking can just by watching brazilian news!

Rio Grande expects floods. It rains a lot in Brazil. What no one expect is having to deal with 2,30 meters - 7'7 feet for reference - ABOVE the expected flooding level, which is 3 meters (9'10 feet). This means that there were 5,26 meters (17'3 ft) of water. Chart for comparison:

I live in São Paulo, which is completely unaffected by what is going on over there, but I need people to be aware of this. Why?

How YOU can help

A single US dollar is almost five reais. One euro is around 5,50. This may not be much to a lot of people reading this, but literally anything helps. If you donate U$10, it's R$50 for us. If it's euros, then it's R$55,00.

If you can't donate, please just reblog this post.

INTERNATIONAL DONATIONS INFO

If you use euros, here's the donation info:

Standard Chartered Bank Frankfurt Bank

Swift: SCBLDEFX

Bank Account: 007358304

If you use dollars, here's the donation info:

Standard Chartered Bank New York Bank

Swift: SCBLUS33

Bank Account: 3544032986001

You need to inform this in order to donate:

IBAN Code: BR5392702067001000645423206C1

Name: Associação dos Bancos no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul

CNPJ: 92.958.800/0001-38

NATIONAL DONATIONS INFO

If you're brazilian, oi, aqui tá o Pix do canal SOS Rio Grande do Sul para você ajudar:

Pix: CNPJ: 92.958.800/0001-38 Banco do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul ou Associação dos Bancos no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul

Seconding Deadly Education trilogy. That had be in a CHOKEHOLD

In honor of JKR being a total waste of breath and space yet again:

Other (better) books to read instead of Harry Potter—

1. The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson.

“ Under Platform 13 in one of London’s busiest train stations is an old doorway covered with peeling posters. Behind I is the entrance to a magical kingdom and island where humans live happily with mermaids, ogres and mysterious creatures called mist makers. When a beastly woman named Mrs. Trottle kidnaps the islands young Prince, it’s up to a strange band of rescuers to find him, save him, and return him to the king and queen. But can the rescuers—an ogre, a hag, a wizard and a fey troop around London unnoticed? And what if the prince doesn’t want to go back?”

(This book contains an impoverished ‘orphan’ raised by cruel adults, a bumbling old wizard, magical young adults, and an entrance to a magical world on a train platform in London. Sound familiar? Because it was released in 1994…three years prior to the first Harry Potter book. Just sayin’.)

More below the cut:

2. A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer.

“Teenager Farris Nallaneen is the heir to the small northern dukedom of Galazon. Too young still to claim her title, her despotic Uncle Brinker has ruled in her place. Now he demands she be sent to Greenlaw College. For her benefit he insists.

To keep me out of the way more like it!

But Greenlaw is not just any school—as Farris and her new best friend Jane discover. At Greenlaw students major in…magic. But it’s not all fun and games when Farris makes an enemy of classmate Menary of Aravill, life could get downright…deadly.”

(A fabulous magical coming-of-age story with an interesting heroine and clearly defined magic system. The sequel is excellent as well.)

3. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novic.

“Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans. I don’t need his help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts—I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world.

At least, that’s what the world expects.”

(A dark magical school actively trying to kill its students and a misfit heroine with a mysterious power. A golden retriever of a male hero who is in constant need of being rescued and a group of misfits who come into their own power by forging their own paths…the book ends on a cliffhanger but the series is complete.)

3. Anything Tamora Pierce. She does coming of age in a magical world stories so well. My personal favorites are the Trickster's Choice duology of Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen and the Beka Cooper series which begins with Terrier.

There's SO many series out there which do the themes of Harry Potter in more interesting, well-written stories that don't support the physical embodiment of a Dementor. Try some out! I love recommending these books to the students in my life that are looking for good books 'like Harry Potter', but these are just my personal suggestions. I'm always on the lookout for more...

A porcupine’s Halloween present (+ original sound effects)

“There are other forces at work in this world besides the will of evil.”

ya'll who's up for group meowing

does anybody remember fun. Nobody even remembers fun. anymore, give me a second I— I need to get my story straight my friends are in the bathroom getting higher than the empire state my lover she's waiting for me just across the bar my seats been taken by some sun glasses asking bout a scar but I know I gave it to you months ago I know you're trying to forget but between the drinks and subtle things the holes in my apologies you know I'm trying hard to take it back so if by the time the bar closes and you feel like falling down I'll carry you home

Motivated By Death

A collage inspired by Hannibal.

current fan creation landscape is kinda like if you went to a party with a homemade cake and everyone takes a slice and silently thumbs up at you with no attempt to start a conversation except for occasionally some guy sits in the corner with a tape recorder critiquing the cake as though he was a restaurant critic and another guy is handing the cake to an uber driver like "yeah i need you to find a restaurant that makes cake like this so i can have more of it" and the only person that's talked to you in 30 minutes is a very sweet little guy who was like "hey i liked your cake" and then ran away apologizing for bothering you the moment you said thank you.