#'but it's really helpful for people who-' at what cost

[lazyscience]

Question - what should people do?

I am serious like a goddamn heart attack, what do you think posting "BUT SHIT IS REALLY BAD AND PEOPLE SHOULD FREAK OUT" without any kind of suggested action is good for other than feeling morally superior?

"but people need to KNOW" - why? Why do people need to stand in this paralyzing fire hose of negativity and horror UNLESS THERE IS AN ACTION ITEM IT'S POINTING TO? Why do people need to feel more scared and helpless? Why is that good, other than punishing "the liberals" or "the leftists" or "the centrists" or whoever it is you're still mad at about the election outcome?

What you are doing is saying "look at all this awful shit that's happened" - key word HAPPENED, as in, can't be undone - "you are not nearly upset enough about this!" - how is telling people they are gullible, stupid and wrong for not panicking and doomering accomplishing anything either?

Maybe, just maybe, if now is the time to act, SUGGEST ACTIONS, jesus christ.

Like for example, live voice calling, faxing, or paper-mailing their Senators and representatives about the funding freeze, since those are physical items that they have to interact with/cost money unlike emails that just disappear into filters. And also getting hold of your STATE governor/lege to let them know "fuck Trump, this is not what the people who elected YOU want."

Like supporting government unions so they can protect their members.

Like contributing to food banks, clothing drives, and organizations fighting homelessness to increase their ability to help if people start getting forced out of jobs.

Like supporting journalist-owned news outlets like RawStory and ProPublica.

Like volunteering and/or donating to civil rights organizations to advocate where these structures are being dismantled.

Like teaching people who don't know how to fucking read so we can eventually dig ourselves out of this goddamn hole.

Like all the shit on this helpful list of actions to take that are neither attending a protest or voting.

Like checking in on their colleagues and friends who are directly affected by this shit? I did this today (I am one degree removed because a lot of the funding from my department comes from NIH, but do not myself work for the federal government. And similarly, I know people at NCI/NIH, like actually meatspace know, and yes, I am very worried about them!)

How about instead of just screaming at everyone "it's too late! everything sucks! why aren't you all screaming everything sucks!" why don't you help people who already feel overwhelmed, scared and like they're too small and useless to make a difference even if they tried, to know what they CAN do.

Otherwise, you aren't hurting Spraytan Hitler and Wannabe Lex Luthor, you're helping them spread chaos, fear and defeatism.

Every time I see "um actually executive orders take time to implement" I want to shake you and actually point you at the literal communications and actions happening IMMEDIATELY in the federal workforce. Which is what these orders are targeting.

The Dept of Ed already put people on paid leave and took down 200 web pages and cancelled 2.6 mil in grant money. The National Institute of Health, which is the biggest federal funder of biomedical research in the country/world, just cancelled its grant review process because those grants and the reviewers were all trained to include diversity support statements. This is happening to the NSF. NASA already started putting employees who do DEI on paid leave and encouraged other employees to snitch on people. The CDC is not allowed to communicate with the public.

This is happening now. Who the fuck cares of it gets challenged in court? It's *happening now.* Reversing it in court in several months (if we're so lucky, which I am NOT confident in, actually) does not necessarily give people back their jobs (or put them in a position to accept them if they are legally forced to get a chance to return to them) and does not undo hostility in the workforce that this has sown and does not give out grant money that was withheld.

And it's not just DEI. it's Accessibility too. It's happening *now.* Policies are getting reversed, and people are going to lose their jobs. Period.

No one is looking at the news and actually reading it. Everyone is just biting their nails at the headlines and letting people falsely comfort them that they don't need to worry or do anything yet.

[mlthree]

premedmajor!reader x businessmajor!simon

author’s note: i have been going through it recently so it’s important to note that this is completely self indulgent. like, completely self indulgent. 

simon is a business major. your stereotypical one, at that: endowed, frat boy, fuckboy. 

you're a premed. not as stereotypical as him, but people could piece it together from your behavior patterns if they had a bit of intellect. you’ve been told your entire life that medicine is what you were going to do, and as jackson avery said, “when you grow up hearing the same thing over and over, you can’t really think about doing anything else.” so when people tell you that you fit your major, you have to grit your teeth and say thank you.

you knew you should’ve hated him when you met him. you’d been dragged along to a frat with your friends and were outside taking a break from all the sweaty bodies and 110 decibel speakers when you ran into him. he was smoking a cig — which was funny, you thought, because a pen or a vape you would've expected, but... a cig? he offered you one but you shook your head, “those things are bad for your lungs.” he had scoffed. “there are other routes that can kill you faster, y’know.”

but, for whatever reason, you didn’t hate him. almost like you could tell there was more to his story than the reputation his friends had told you about, basically having given you a verbal dossier on all the boys from the frat when you were getting ready to go out mere hours earlier.

and you were right. he’d had a terrible childhood: father abusive, mother a victim, and younger brother an addict. his father viewed him only as the heir to his business empire, not as a son. he had to get his mba to become his father’s right hand man in their business tradings and unlock his trust fund. even though he had never been given the chance to decide his fate for himself, he was smart enough to know he’d be a fucking idiot to throw the cards which were given to him away.

you were shocked upon hearing his story. mainly because your background was incredibly similar — father abusive, mother a victim, a younger brother you missed every day, whom you had to leave at the house you wished to never see again. your father cared more about your future than you as a person — become a doctor, at any cost. and he meant any cost. your friends, your sanity, even your life. “both of your parents are doctors. anything else you do will be the same as working at a mcdonald’s. we have a reputation to maintain.”

simon’s dream had been to become an astronaut. what kills you whenever you think about it is his father had had the means to help him become on, but he just hadn’t cared. you’d had many dreams: racecar driver, actress, federal agent — all shot down the first man who was supposed to teach you what real love looked like. it had been your senior year of high school when you’d finally come to terms with your fate, having realized there was truly no way out of it, giving yourself some solace by remembering there were worse career paths to be forced down. plus, by the time you’d gotten your medical degree, simon would be in control of his father’s business and you two would be free to do whatever you pleased, with the means to do whatever you pleased. you want last minute garage passes to the abu dhabi grand prix? done. simon wants to take the both of you on a trip to kashmir this weekend for a month? not a problem. the common factor of your fathers using money to control you both finally, after decades, being damned.

so you two found solace in each others’ company. 

on tuesdays you both had a gap from 12 - 2, so you'd have lunch together. or, moreso, si would force feed you your lunch while you hastily wrote up your lab report for orgo which was right after.

fridays were your movie nights — your exams, reports, and labs for the week all done, you always crashed on fridays. you couldn’t even begin to think about actually using your brain, so si would pick you up around 6, take you to target to get whatever you were craving, and then it would be back to his apartment. your favorite movie night was watching la la land in a makeshift pillow fort where the blanket had collapsed on you two a few times throughout the movie, causing multiple tickle assaults where simon claimed the perpetrator must've been a ghost haunting his apartment. he didn’t understand why everyone said the ending turned it into a horror movie — that was before he watched it. he had been sobbing silently by the end of it, and you had to apologize for the movie choice while kissing all over his face before he even thought about forgiving you.

sundays were always interesting. the mornings were lazy — you two tangled in the sheets, unwilling to let each other go until it got too late to ignore the blistering rays of the sun coming in from his window. the nights were hectic — you were always finishing assignments and quizzes you’d put off until the last second, and he always had hours of meetings before the workweek began. at this point, you’re sure the target regional sales managers have been wondering why their data shows an uptick in sales of instant coffee and strawberry apricot red bulls on sunday afternoons. that's how much caffeine was consumed on sunday nights.

it was healthy, in a way — the anger you couldn’t hold towards your father for whatever reason you held towards simon’s, and the anger simon couldn’t hold towards his own father he held towards yours. both of you knowing the other had a person that fully understood them, understood their reactions to seemingly normal situations, understood their anxieties, and understood how they operated after 19 and 20 years of only being told they were deserving of conditional love.

and that’s the other thing — the unconditional love was scary, at least at first. you loved him loudly. talking about your boyfriend to all your girlfriends, all the time. instagram stories you’d clearly worked on for a while before hitting post. getting visibly jealous when another girl tried to make a move on him, not caring that everybody could notice you practically turning green with envy. 

he loved you more quietly. a package by your doorstep he’d never mentioned buying with whatever new trinket you’d saved to your paycheck week pinterest board. waiting outside for you after you mentioned you knew the day’s lab was going to be a rough one (grignard reagents), ready to scoop you up off your feet and take you home. the nuances in both your childhoods leading to the difference in how you two expressed your love for one another. you were shocked by how much was said in the unsaid, how loud his love could be with the smallest of actions. him, on the other hand? he was just shocked someone could love him as publicly, as undeniably, as you did.

and it wasn’t only healthy because you two shared similar life stories. you didn’t know how to describe it, but when you were with him, you felt like you’d known him your entire life. within just a few weeks he could predict your every move, your every word. he knew what you were feeling before you could put a finger on it. he was your ghost, always your shadow, so much so that he knew everything about you.

and you were his fawn, always jumping or spinning or pacing or running circles around him with those big doe eyes of yours, laughter bouncing off the walls, a ball of energy, his own personal sun.

he brought you security, love, the external masculinity you desperately needed in your life. you brought him a reason to wake up in the mornings.

⁀➷ more

₊˚⊹♡ taglist: @ghostlythots @redartifex @pricesprettyprincesss @negomisan @smutty-littleslut @thatgurlyoudunn0 @diseasedclitoris @j-k-6

[astraeus-tree]

Can you write something with Damian X Reader where R is an extremely intelligent girl, to the point of having discovered the secret identities of the entire Batfam only two months after moving to Gotham, and who is constantly in the Bats' action scenes (Like she shows up anywhere they're fighting criminals just to recite one by one the reasons why she's sure they're the Waynes, even with all of them denying it and pretending she's a complete crazy person. A bonus if Damian "hates" her (it's actually just misunderstood love because she's just awesome and he can't handle himself)). By the way: your Batfam fanfic is great!

Sometimes Things Aren't As Plain As They Seem

Pairing: Damian X F!Reader

Warnings: Self harm, blood, mention of torture near the end

Reader and Damian's age aren't specified and I'm really sorry but you can tell I gave up at the end I've also never written for Damian so he's probably ooc

You've held a secret for the past few months now.

No one else knew this secret of yours. Well, except the people involved in this classified information. Namely, the Wayne family and those close to them. In fact, this secret wasn't even yours to share.

What this secret was? The identity of the vigilantes that patrolled the streets of Gotham. Yes, the birds, the bat and those that worked with them in Gotham.

Your first hint was almost instantaneous after moving here. After all, who would have enough money for all those gadgets that Batman uses? Almost every citizen has come to realise that he doesn’t have any powers— with the exception of a few—so the only other reason would be man-made technology. But those costed money, and most people in Gotham could never afford those, so that left the rich or those with connection to them.

After this realisation, you made it your mission to find out their identities. It was a personal goal of yours, another thing to add to your list of achievements. And you did it. Just two months in to living in Gotham at that.

However, you needed confirmation. You were almost certain you were right, but you needed one final confirmation. You had doubts. The main being that it was hard to believe that someone from the high society of Gotham would even think to help the poor without a hidden motive. Bruce Wayne—Batman—had proven himself multiple times, yet the doubt would linger at the back of your mind.

So what better proof than word from the mouths of the heroes themselves?

Lately, Damian’s been dreading the patrols around Gotham. The reason being was this girl, around the same age as him, you.

In almost every patrol, you had interrupted them. You had somehow found out their routes for their patrols, even when they tried everything to make it impossible to track them. When questioned, you would say that there is a pattern in everything, that’s what made people human. Human, not a hero, not a killer, just human.

You would constantly put yourself in danger, just trying to get an answer from him and his father. You would always list reasons why Gotham’s vigilantes were the Waynes. It was almost endearing annoying.

In fact, you were a danger yourself. You were a risk. You could easily spill their identities.

So tonight, he would warn you. Save you. Unfortunately for you, his job was to analyse anything and everything about someone suspicious, and in his family’s books, you were one. Fortunately for him, you were easy to find, because just as you said, there is pattern in everything.

It was another night of you trying to get your final, solid evidence. You snuck around the streets of Gotham, heading to the area where you next expected Batman and Robin to start their patrol.

As you made you way, you felt eyes boring holes into you. You reached your hand into your pocket, clutching the pocket knife inside. As you heard a thud of a pair of feet landing on the ground, you turned around, shoving the knife at the person’s throat.

Your eyes widened when you saw a familiar domino mask staring back at you. Robin—Damian Wayne. What the hell? You’re usually the one to look for them, not the other way around. What’s with this turn of events?

“(Last Name).” His voice is sharp, not even bothered by the knife pointed at his neck.

“Robin? Why are you here? You’re not supposed to be on patrol yet.”

“Of course you would know that.” He mutters under his breath. “You’re putting yourself in danger. You need to stop or we will make you.”

“I- what?” You stumbled back, confused at his words.

“Stop following us. For your safety and our own.”

“Well maybe if you finally gave me answers, I’d finally leave you guys alone.” You cross your arm and roll your eyes. You knew you were being stubborn to a fault, but you really wanted this confirmation.

“And what will you do with this information?” He returns the action and raises his eyebrow.

“Nothing. Swear on my life.”

“And how should I trust you?” He asks, skeptically. There was an awkward silence between you two for a moment. You stared into each other’s eyes, before you put the knife to your palm and let the blood dripple down on the ground.

“May Lady Gotham herself place a curse on me should I lie.” You see his face twist, trying to make sense of what you just did. This was probably a stupid idea, but you needed answers. After all, the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back.

“Why did you do that? Do you know what you’ve just done?” Robin was dumbfounded. Who in the world would someone in their right mind make an oath like that just for some answers? Apparently you. He was almost amazed.

“Of course I do. Just tell me what I want to hear already.”

“Fine. You’re right. Will you stop putting yourself in danger already?” He sighs defeatedly. A smirk forms on your face, another goal achieved.

“I was right.”

“You were right.”

“Well, that’s all I needed! See you around wonderboy!” You turn on your foot, not waiting for his reaction to your nickname for him, and start walking back to your house. You’ll definitely be recording this down in your journal when you arrive.

“Hey wait! You hand’s still bleeding!” You stop in your tracks and look at your hand and back at Robin, now confirmed Damian Wayne.

“It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt that much. I’ll just bandage it up at home.” Actually, it did hurt, but you wanted to look cool in front of him. I mean who wouldn’t want to in front of the guy they like?

Another silence falls between you two. You could see the conflicted look on his face, even with the domino mask covering half of it. You mentally laughed at his expression. After a few seconds, he seemed to finally come to a decision. He reached for your wounded hand, and you hesitantly let him hold it.

“At least let me help. I have some gauze in my utility belt to cover it.” This boy really was full of surprises, first coming to you to threaten you and now he’s helping you fix a self-inflicted wound. You truly chose the right guy to have a puppy crush on.

“Alright.” He held your hand gently, like you were fragile glass that would break in one wrong move. He pulled out a roll of gauze and wrapped it around your hand. You can hear him muttering stuff under his breath before finally speaking up.

“You’re actually crazy. why would you make an oath like that?”

“Aww is little birdie concerned about me?” You teased him.

“(Last Name).” He remained serious, but you reply with a chuckle.

“I don’t plan to break it, so it won’t affect me at all.” He looks up at you, a disapproving frown on his face. You return with a smile and his face flushes before he goes back to fixing your hand.

He finishes up quickly and lets you go home.

As you finally walked back home you could feel somehow following you, but you didn’t feel threatened. You knew it was Robin.

The next few nights, you left a few art supplies on your window sill, and by the time you would wake up, they would be gone

This eventually evolved into letters that you would write to him. At first, you were met with silence, but you pursued. Eventually, you would finally see a reply and from then on, you two became friends.

Unspoken words lingered between you two.

They remained unspoken until a rumour goes around the rogues of Gotham that you knew the identities of the vigilantes.

You, not having any connections with them, lived in blissful peace. That is, until you’re kidnapped and tortured for your knowledge.

You spend hours in pain, never spilling a word. Not only because of the oath, but also to not put Damian in danger.

After a few hours, you were finally saved. High in emotions, Damian accidentally takes his anger out on you, before realising his grave mistake.

He isn’t greeted with your smirk, no, instead he sees your tears. That’s when he’s forced to confront his feelings.

During your recovery, he visited almost every day, apologising profusely.

The tension doesn’t go away even after your fully recovered, but you slowly but surely warm up to him again.

It takes a while to get your friendship to normal, but when it does, you get closer and closer.

In fact, you would say you two were closer than before. So it would come to no one’s surprise when you two eventually ended up in a relationship.

Some explanation -

The oath is basically self-explanatory. Should you break it, Lady Gotham would place a curse on you. It honestly just came to my mind while I was writing this and I liked it so I decided to add it

I also wanted to play around with the sentient Lady Gotham so yeah

Anyways, I'm so sorry this is kinda bad 😭I might rewrite this one day since I'm really not satisfied with it

I had to dance around the topic of reader being smart because I honestly didn't know how to write that

Tysm for the request tho! As much as I struggled with it, I absolutely loved the idea <3

I wanted to go into more detail but I got writers block in between and didn't want to make it multi-part so I had to do that last part like that 🥲

You guys know the drill, any mistakes are free to be pointed out and I will fix them as soon as possible

Don't know if anyone actually reads my long ahh A/N's, but if you do, asks are encouraged as I do love to interact with people and they give me motivation

[aventurineswife]

I was thinking about this, a teen reader, who is in possession of the fox miraculous from the series, is present during the 2.5 and 2.5 trailblaze quests and because of the reader having the fox miraculous, most people assume that their a foxian but their actually just a human, and their just using their illusions to mess with some Borisin.

“A dance of Lies, a Truth untold”

Summary: In the bustling streets of Xianzhou Yaoqing, you, a teen in possession of the powerful Fox Miraculous, live a double life. Gifted with the ability of illusions granted by Trixx, the spirit within the pendant, you navigate the tense environment of a city on the brink of conflict. Amongst the renowned warriors—Feixiao, the Vanquishing General; Moze, the Shadow Guard; and Jiaoqiu, the blind alchemist—you remain hidden, your powers a closely guarded secret. When the Borisin forces attack, your illusions turn the tide of the battle, though the warriors remain unaware of your role. As suspicions rise, you grapple with the weight of your secret and the hope that one day, they might understand who you truly are.

Tags: Feixiao x Reader, Moze x Reader, Jiaoqiu x Reader, Action, Found Family Secret Identity, Fox Miraculous holder Reader.

Warnings: Mild Violence (combat scenes), Themes of Secrecy and Self-doubt, Emotional Tension around identity and trust.

The warm, bustling streets of the Xianzhou Yaoqing were alive with the usual hum of activity, with merchants shouting their wares and people hurrying through their daily routines. It was in these moments that you blended in seamlessly, your presence unnoticed, much like the fox that prowls in the shadows.

You weren’t just any ordinary teen. You were the holder of the Fox Miraculous, a powerful artifact passed down through the ages, giving you the power of illusion. When Trixx inhabited the pendant, you could transform into a fox-themed superhero, a skilled illusionist whose abilities made you nearly invincible. But you weren’t ready to reveal your secret to the world—especially not to the renowned warriors who prowled through the Yaoqing.

Feixiao, Moze, and Jiaoqiu were among the most respected figures in the region. Feixiao, the Vanquishing General, known for her exceptional martial prowess, had earned a reputation as a force to be reckoned with. Moze, the Shadow Guard, was a silent and chilling presence, feared and respected by all. Jiaoqiu, though blind, was a master of alchemy and healing, carrying the weight of the world in his gentle yet burdened heart. They were not to be trifled with, and certainly not the kind of people you would trust with such a delicate secret.

Yet, here you were, standing in their midst, keeping your true nature hidden behind a veil of illusions. The pendant around your neck rested gently against your chest, its warm glow pulsing softly beneath your shirt. You hadn't activated it yet, but you couldn’t help but feel the temptation as the trio discussed the increasing threats from the Borisin forces.

Feixiao’s voice cut through the chatter, her tone as commanding as ever.

“You’re sure about this? The Borisin are getting bold. If we don’t act now, they’ll invade without warning.”

Moze, standing to the side, his eyes piercing through the conversation, nodded. “We strike first. Prevent the invasion before it’s too late.”

Jiaoqiu, his eyes closed as always, his expression one of thoughtful concern, added, “But at what cost? How many more will we lose in the process? My healing powers can only do so much.”

You had grown fond of these warriors, despite their hardened exteriors. They had been through much, each one scarred in their own way. You understood their pain, their struggles. But you couldn't afford to let them see who you really were.

You were just a human, after all. And if they knew the truth, they might think you were a foxian, one of their (no, Moze doesn't include in this) kind. But you weren’t. You were far from it.

With a quick flick of your wrist, you adjusted the pendant under your shirt, trying to steady your breathing. As you did, the whispers of the Borisin reached your ears—somewhere in the distance, their presence was palpable, like an unsettling shadow.

Feixiao was the first to spot the movement, her gaze hardening. “Prepare yourselves,” she commanded. “We’ve got company.”

Your mind raced, and you quickly slipped into the shadows, willing yourself into the familiar calmness that came with your illusions. You could see the Borisin soldiers moving closer, but to them, it was as if they were walking into a mirage. The air shimmered with distortion as you began to weave your illusion, your flute appearing in your hand.

A single breath, and you played the soft, haunting melody. A ball of energy formed at the tip, and you flung it into the air, scattering illusions of yourself in every direction. The Borisin soldiers faltered, confused by the sudden trickery. They weren’t sure which way to turn, as you danced between illusions with the grace of a fox in the wild.

Feixiao, Moze, and Jiaoqiu fought valiantly, but they were not aware of the true cause behind the confusion. They assumed it was just the environment playing tricks on their enemies. As Feixiao’s sword cleaved through one of the soldiers, she glanced back at you, her expression unreadable.

“You’re hiding something,” she remarked sharply, her eyes narrowing, though she didn’t press further.

You stayed silent, your illusions concealing your nervousness. You couldn’t let them know. Not yet. They would never understand why you were hiding the truth.

Moze, who had been silent for the most part, stepped forward after the last Borisin soldier was taken down. His piercing eyes scanned the area. “Impressive,” he muttered. “But how did you do it?”

“I just… had a little help from the shadows,” you replied, forcing a casual tone.

Jiaoqiu, standing at the back, tilted his head slightly, his keen sense of intuition telling him something was off, though he couldn’t quite place it. He gave you a soft, thoughtful smile. “You have a gift. Perhaps one day, you’ll share it with us. But until then, we must all carry our burdens, yes?”

The weight of his words settled on you like a heavy cloak. Despite everything, despite the secrets you kept, you felt an unspoken understanding with him. He, too, understood the price of power. He, too, knew what it meant to carry burdens in silence.

As the group began to move on, you couldn’t help but feel the heavy tension of your secret. They didn’t know. But maybe, just maybe, one day you would tell them.

For now, though, you would remain a shadow—a fox in the night, hiding your true form beneath a veil of illusions, even as your heart longed to be seen for who you really were.

[messangerforthestars]

“We need more morally gray characters” you guys can barely handle topaz and jade.

[diavolaangelica]

This is what happens when you elect corruption. You fell for his bullshit and now you are in the hot pot with the rest of us. If you think this targeting of all illegals for deportation is not going to have real economic consequences, think again. America's dirty little secret of their love affair for cheap non retaliatory labor that they don't have to pay properly or give benefits to is what is costing Americans jobs... not the illegal. It's greed. Do you know the other acronym for "FEMA" when disaster hits? "Find Every Mexican Available." Who do you think rebuilds this country when disaster hits? Who do you think has had a long history of sending their military here to help too? Any guesses? Mexico! If you want to start blaming the Mexicans for everything wrong in this country then you need to take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself if you aren't part of the problem too, because you blindly believe everything bad you've heard from those abhorrent politicians who have only one mission today... distract you from the ugly shit they are actually doing to this country. The opioid crisis didn't start in Mexico, it started right here in the united states with big pharma pushing their highly addictive drugs on people. Doctors were paid to prescribe Oxycontin, so they were handing it out like candy. People really need to start aiming their ire toward the greedy bastards that have no real interest in the American people or how we get by, because all they want is to line their pockets any way they can. I know many of you think you want all the illegals out, but I wonder, if you hate them so much, why do you love their food so much and why the fuck do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? When I was in college, I was working in grocery store deli. It was a big chain back then. I don't remember who was in office at the time, but I remember local news casters warning people to stay away from places where large groups of people congregated like the mall, shopping areas, and farmers market, because immigration was out picking people up. I remember going to work one day and they had a big ass light navy green and white immigration bus that looked like a prison bus parked in the parking lot to try and snatch people up. The raids didn't last very long and in that month, the grocery store took a big hit due to lack of customers, overtime paid to people who came to work to fill the void for employees who were not coming to work out of fear they would be arrested even though they were legal, and loss of product that couldn't be sold before expiration. The shit Trump is doing right now has real economic consequences, you may ]not see it right now, but you will... we all will, and it's not going to be good. He's already started off on the wrong foot, and of course he is incapable of the slightest empathy for the victim's family members of the plane crash, instead he would like to blame Obama and Biden... someone needs to remind him the HE is the one at the helm it is his responsibility and his duty to take accountability. Or should we be asking the neo-nazi shadow president Elon Musk to take accountability? Other people are writing his executive orders and he's just signing them. He is absolutely clueless of half the shit he is agreeing to right now, because he doesn't read shit and he doesn't want to hear shit, he'd rather be golfing... but let's just keep pumping out those meme coin scams.. for those who have lost all on his coin keep this in mind, 80% of the money made off that coin went directly to him... that is almost unheard of in the crypto scam scene. Usually it's lower because it's spread out between many people... but I digress... tldr we are fucked!

The First Felon could never be hired. DEI standards laugh at reject hacks like Trump.

[add1ctedt0you]

What a plot twist you were. [x]

[isfjmel-phleg]

😶

[mournmage]

A lot of people have tagged this with the sentiment of "yeah the actual betrayal for me was that he didn't ask my pro mage Hawke who's been with him the entire time on the same side of the fight to help him" and just. I need to make this very clear since this is my post:

I (along with my Hawke) did not view that as a betrayal either. Communication breakdown absolutely, among other things. But not betrayal.

It isn't a betrayal to me when the game makes it pretty clear both explicitly and via subtext that Anders does not tell Hawke or involve them beyond lying about gathering bomb ingredients because he is trying to protect them. It is one thing to Want to involve them, it is another to actually do it and to put them in the same danger he knows this will put him in. Hawke's status is mentioned multiple times both via codex and by Meredith herself to be the one thing protecting Anders from being taken by Templars and it's ALSO the only thing protecting a mage!Hawke as well. If Anders directly involves them at all beyond the small part he already asks for, he's risking not only himself but them as well. And idk man, I really cannot find it in me to blame him to want to spare Hawke the backlash this is guarenteed to cost him especially when you remember what happened to Karl at the very beginning of all of this too.

Lying to Hawke and all that about the bomb ingredients? Thinking that Hawke will want him dead because blowing up the Chantry and doing something so radical is unforgivable? That I can understand being viewed as a betrayal especially of Hawke's trust. (Even then I'm Personally more willing to forgive them because being that mentally ill and suffering that many years from systemic oppresion is bound to affect your more rational thinking.)

But not involving Hawke more because he loves them and wants to protect them? Not a betrayal to me. Never could be.

Thinking this afternoon about how so many people who romanced Anders considered him blowing up the Chantry to be a betrayal and how that just. Never really clicked for me to call it that. Because so explicitly So many times over the relationship he tells you this will be messy and never easy and at one point even explicitly says some things are bigger than he and Hawke's relationship and it is just. So clear that he loves them but they can't and won't stop him. And I cannot feel betrayed at all when he was upfront about that consistantly tbh.

[fingertipsmp3]

Maybe I did this to myself but it does irk me when people see me knitting and they ask who it’s for and I say it’s for me and the immediate reaction is “you should sell it” yeah… let me spend at least a week’s worth of my free time making an item I like, want, and would wear just to sell it on etsy, making at most a £2 profit on materials and not being compensated for my time whatsoever 👍🏻

[northwest-cryptid]

I literally feel like I'm dying and I need to see a doctor, but I can't worry about that right now because

My bank account is literally in the negatives because I'm too disabled to work and can't make money but I can't worry about that right now because

I'm months overdue on getting my car new tags, but it won't even start if I could drive it so I need to jump the battery and get gas which I don't have money for, but I can't worry about that right now because

People are still expecting me to be social across numerous friend groups and it's pulling me in so many directions that I'm stretched so thin I'm running on no social battery for the last month, but I can't worry about that right now because

I still need to actually clean the house, do the dishes, clean the cat litter boxes, vacuum, and do my laundry... but I can't worry about that right now because

I still need to actually set up my new desk so I can stream since I haven't been able to do that for weeks and streaming is unfortunately my only source of income for how little I make every month, but I can't worry about that right now because

My partner is going through a really hard time right now and I need to be there for her and do what I can to make sure she's okay.

[nie7027]

WAIT WHAT HOW DID WHISPERS FOUND OUT ABOUT WOLFGANG?? HE WAS THE ONE WHO HAD SHOWED THE LEAST TO HAVE SENSATE CONNECTIONS!!

will Riley and Nomi were obviously found out by the bpo and known to be connected (although I don't remember how whispers learnt about Nomi and Will being connected)

sun was probably the easiest to find out that was related to them since Nomi did a lot of hacking to help her which is something Sun couldn't have done on her own (and while the point of hacking is to leave not trace of you behind every person has its own style and no doubt the obp would be on the lockout for any hacking activity that smelled like something Nomi would do)

After that Capheus and Lito would be next in that order. Both showed out of the blue extraordinary capabilities that didn't make sense they knew and clearly marked them as sensates(just no way to know who they were connected to) just like the people visiting Capheus said. The only difference was that Capheus acts were widely known while Lito only had Dani and Joaquin as witness.

And finally Wolfgang mad Kala who showed it the less. In fact they didn't show it at all.

Kala with her perfect idyllic life never needed to make use of the others abilities (besides that one time will helped her defend herself at the temple).

And Wolfgang although did use the others abilities and pulled of amazing feats thanks to them all of those instances were stuff that would be credible he did on his own because they were in line with the type of person Wolfang is and what he's capable.

So yeah... HOW THE FUCK WAS HE FOUND OUT? While it made sense Lila would tell the obp about him she also said that the Cannibal was specifically looking for him!

So how???

Ugggh it really goes way too fastpaced in the last episodes and it doesn't make sense... the Wachowski sisters would never leave such a big pothole...

I know they had to skip a lot of explanations but...

Dammit netlix

[chipthekeeper]

There are so many easy answers for what I appreciate about Cinta. She's a badass, she's stone cold and fearless, she's the consummate rebel. Hell, she could be on rebellion propaganda posters (not that she'd ever allow that, she's gotta be able to go undercover after all)!!

I could talk about how cool she looks when she stabs Corv or when she comes down to shoot Petigar and save Nemik's life (for a little while, at least). I could talk about her A+ death glare or about how she almost laughs in Cassian's face when he hits on her. I could talk about how she's smart and resourceful and fucking strong. I could talk about how she's just, too beautiful to be real.

But everything I appreciate most about Cinta is everything we don’t see. Or, more accurately, what we barely see. What we get little glimpses of in the out of focus shots when she thinks we can't see her. This is a character who buries her feelings so deep down that she can even convince herself she doesn't have them, that they can't hurt her or define her. And so much of her character is revealed in super subtle looks and expressions, in small bits of dialogue because, as Varada said, "this is someone who has been through so much and is suffocating on her own rage and anger...So why would she waste words, or her breath, talking about it."

Throughout the whole Aldhani arc she only says a handful of sentences, all short and to the point but not unfriendly. She's always shown being active and helpful around the camp, almost smiling at multiple points. On first watch you can be forgiven for having the impression that she's the warmer one between her and Vel (especially if you forget Skeen's line about her being "stone cold and fearless" while you're screeching about the blanket line (guilty as charged)). But everything turns on its head at the beginning of episode 6, when Skeen drops another lore bomb: her whole family was slaughtered by stormtroopers. Everything you thought about Cinta before that suddenly takes on a new meaning. You realize she's quiet and distant and cold because it hurts less to lose people when you don't know them. You realize she seems fearless because what else does one have to fear when everyone they loved has already been killed?

At the same time, though, I think she's actually someone who's very much driven by her fear, especially after the Adhani job. I think despite her intentions and her caution, she got attached to that team, and losing them all except for Vel was a reminder that getting close to people is dangerous. She's scared to lose any more, scared of how it will feel to lose Vel to the Empire too, so she tries to act cold and push her away. She tries, but I appreciate that she can't fully do it!! If she was really doing it, really pushing her away and putting up the barrier, she'd never take Vel's hand in the cafe. She'd never steal a glance at her when she's not looking. She'd never come away from the window. You can feel the conflict in her at all those points, can feel her trying to tell herself to stay focused on the fight, but ultimately she can't fully push it all down because, as people somehow just don't get, SHE REALLY REALLY LOVES HER!!! You can see it, if you're paying attention. She may love honor more, but there's no actual way to deny she loves Vel IF YOU'RE PAYING ATTENTION.

Something else I appreciate, perhaps more than anything, is that her name means love. I don't believe that was done unintentionally, and I really hope it's a sign that she's going to come around and realize that she can't run from love forever. It's literally part of her.

I appreciate Cinta because, to me, she is a cautionary tale. Because at the same time she's showing Vel what she needs to see -- that the Empire doesn't stop to catch its breath, so the struggle must always come first -- she's showing us the potential cost of living that way. Thankfully her other half is on top of that, and I'll get to that in a couple weeks.

I could keep going on and on about them together, but that's not fully in the realm of this prompt so I'll wrap it up. But I'd be remiss if I didn't end this by saying how much I appreciate Varada for playing Cinta. An actual human ray of sunshine playing a character who slips closer and closer to darkness. I love her work and I love how proud she is to be Cinta, to be an incredible example of representation and give us a canonically queer character of color in such a huge and important show. I'll forever be thankful for her, and I am so happy she's becoming the star she deserves to be.

Even after all this talking I know I'm leaving things out, so I hope many of the rest of you chime in with what you appreciate about Cinta. She's one of the most special characters that has ever been put to screen for me, no caveats, no asterisks.

Cinta Kaz. A survivor. A rebel. A lover. I'll cherish her always.

Character Appreciation Friday - Cinta Kaz

Name: Cinta Kaz Played by: Varada Sethu Appearances: Aldhani, The Axe Forgets, The Eye, Announcement, Narkina 5, One Way Out, Daughter of Ferrix, Rix Road

Happy Friday, gang! I'll keep this brief for now because I will definitely not be keeping it brief for her in my actual response (and also because if I look at this draft and that picture too long I'll actually break down in tears).

It's Cinta day. Appreciate her. She deserves it. You know the drill: reblog, comment, or ask!

Next week: Karis Nemik

[medicinemane]

Mike johnson has so god damn much blood on his hands, obviously Ukrainian blood, but also plenty of American blood

Refusing to renew something that helps vets exposed to atomic blast and Americans who were downwind of the fall out... it's just sick. I can't fucking stand mike johnson, he's one of the worst scum to ever be in congress, and that's fucking saying something

"Johnson refused to allow House members to vote on bipartisan legislation to renew and improve the program"

Fucking quivering little pimple seems to have a real MO for just wringing his hands while insisting it's not his fault, he just can't do the one fucking part of his job of putting shit up to a vote... oh boo hoo, so sad, he'll just have to unilaterally let funding expire on things instead of literally just putting it up to our elected representatives to see if they want to vote yay or nay

Single handedly make the choices but it's not his fault when they work out how they do

Murderer

[arionaleilani]

1. it’s my 24th birthday today, so my goal of being published by the time i’m 25 is now a one year looming monster, but i never specified what kind of published and am currently looking in various literary magazines that are recommended for writers who have yet to be published, so i’m surprisingly confident that i can make it work? and tbh even if whatever i write isn’t officially published before my 25th birthday, if i have someone in the process of being published then i’ll be happy!! no matter what though, i’m gonna try to be proud of myself for at least giving it my best shot!!

2. i honestly love that my birthday is on the ides of march because the ides of march meme shitposting is only a thing on tumblr but it also being my birthday makes it easier to like. be excited about the ides of march outside of tumblr. like even in person i can be like “it’s my birthday! i’m an ides of march babe (:” and if someone is like oh what’s that? or if they say something along the lines of oh like julius caesar? i can be like yep!! and even if it’s a small thing outside of tumblr it brings me immense enjoyment and amusement being able to bring it up off of tumblr

3. transportation situation has been very rough since june 2023 when i totalled my car, my gap insurance are being assholes and i ended up putting my foot down on the phone with them yesterday which i’m pretty proud of because i am NOT a confrontational person (something i’ve been working on this past year, so seeing some improvement with my ability to hold my ground and not be a pushover yesterday was very cool!!) i was told i’d get a response from them by friday next week no matter what, and if i don’t then friday of next week i will continue to wreak havoc upon them. but my moms car which i’ve been using since my accident broke down yesterday, hopefully it’s fixable but my parents were saying it might be done for, so trying to think of how i’m gonna get to work next week is kind of stressing me out lmao, but for now i’m just gonna focus on enjoying my birthday the best i can because i don’t want to start off being 24 with an overwhelming anxiety for something that won’t be a potential issue until monday. plus i already messaged my boss today to let her know that i’m going to do everything i can to make it work out but just so she’s in the loop and knows of the potential of me not being able to make my morning shifts (one of my coworkers said she’s more than happy to give me a ride for our afternoon shifts which does help relieve some of the stress!) and i told her i’d let her know for sure sunday so that if necessary she can have time to figure out someone to fill in for me in the mornings!

overall: life is weird and i ended being 23 yesterday with a shitty situation but a positive outlook and i am going to enjoy my first day of being 24 no matter what because honestly i fucking earned it. happy friday everyone, i hope it’s a good day for you and me both!

[ddesertmoon]

Fuck guys… the urge to write a fic that puts Anakin in a situation where he has to examine his flaws critically and question whether his actions are a proper reflection of his true morals is soooo strong… but am I the man for the job… that is the question