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westwingwolf · 6 months ago

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Why the Chenford Break Up Era Needs to Come to a Close Sooner Rather than Later on The Rookie...

I've expressed my opinion on the Chenford break over several long posts in the Chenford Discord. I'm sure I've annoyed them plenty with my thoughts, but I needed a place to vent so thank you for being patient with me and letting me rant. I swear I am trying to do better, but maybe getting all of my thoughts out in once place will finally calm the beast inside me enough to hold back any further ranting. This post will focus on what should come next after the break up, and not my opinions on whether the break up should have happened at all. It's over. It's done. We're here now, and I have to accept that so I can move on to enjoy what comes next.

Anyways, I thought I would collect all my thoughts here for those of you who are not in the discord. Whether you agree or disagree with me, that's fine. I'm making this public so I know I am opening myself up to disagreements. Just know I'm likely to respond if I can, and I'm less likely to give up discussing my opinion until long after it is necessary. So fair warning, everyone should proceed with caution.

On the highly unlikely chance that someone involved with the show sees this and it makes them think about what stories the show wants to tell, then feel free to share.

I foresee this getting long as the introduction is already this long, so proceed behind the cut if you dare... (Spoiler alert: it is very long.)

First off in most typical break up storylines on television (Because keep in mind I am strictly talking about how these storylines are portrayed in fiction for maximum dramatic effect. Real life is a totally different thing.) , there are certain elements that play out in a break up that is always meant to be temporary. And make no mistake, I do believe this break up is temporary. I refuse to believe otherwise. It's just a matter of how temporary will it be. I must also commend the writers for hitting these elements in a quicker fashion than I expected. (Whether that turns out to be a good thing or not depends on what comes next, but for now I like it.)

Avoiding each other and thereby avoiding fixing the issues that caused the break up. This element is the biggest key in determining how long the break up can last. The longer the characters avoid talking to each other, the longer the break up can go on without being resolved. As we saw in 607 Crushed, Tim didn't want to talk about it while Lucy did. This set the stage for avoiding the issue. This could have gone on longer with Tim digging his heals in to avoid addressing the issue by first refusing to admit to it, but Tim actually did the adult thing and sought out help. Because he had been thinking about needing help all day and because Lucy gave him that final push to get it when he still wanted to avoid talking to her about their issues. That dramatically cuts into the waiting time of couples getting to the point where they can talk about their problems.

Pining for each other. I will admit I thought 608 and 609 were going to be episodes where Tim and Lucy avoided each other entirely to prolong more of this break up by not having them interact at all, but I was pleasantly surprised and glad to be proven wrong. They had their nice pining and awkward moment in Grey's office in 608 Punch Card. Tim spends time thinking about Lucy and being reminded of her birthday. That leads to the very sweet Kojo Birthday Card moment which leads to an even bigger moment of pining for each other in the hall.

Putting aside the relationship problems to help each other and be vulnerable with each other. In 609 The Squeeze even though Lucy is still hurt by the break up, she knows Tim is going through a lot, and so she does what she can to comfort him. Thereby showing that Lucy is still the one who brings out the most vulnerable side of Tim. He put on brave face for Grey and Angela and everyone else, but that moment of melting into Lucy's arms and answering that he is okay now that she's holding him showed just how much he was trying to hold it all in. And he immediately goes back to his brave front once the elevator doors open. Tim has always been his most vulnerable with Lucy and that doesn't change whether they are together or not. Like the Kojo Birthday Card moment, this shows that they still care about one another and they don't let anger from/resentment of/shame about the break up stop them from showing that they care.

Working together in spite of the break up. I was surprised by how quickly they had them working together after their break up. I knew thanks to spoilers that they would have scenes together in 610 Escape Plan, but I expected group scenes. I didn't expect the car scene. Talking about Tim's therapy. Joking about their sex life. They seemed more at ease together after a break up than I thought they would be. Which makes it hard to believe they can go back to any of the major awkwardness from before. A scene like where they can barely speak to each other in Grey's office coming after this kind of moment won't make much sense. Therefore they have to be out of the awkward post break up phase. Again something that significantly cuts down the timeline in delaying getting back together.

Having the talk about their issues or at least getting close to the talk. Now, Tim and Lucy haven't had the full discussion about the breakdown of their relationship and all of Tim's issues. But they are closer to having it 610 then they were back in 607. With Tim going to therapy, with the sense that he wants to continue therapy despite having a psychotic blackmailing therapist, and with the apology he gave Lucy in the elevator along with his promise to repay her kindness in whatever small doses she'll allow; all of that indicates that he is finally in a place to have the necessary discussion about why they broke up. And Lucy wanted to have this talk back in 607 so there no longer seems to be a reason to delay it.

So now with all the steps that The Rookie has already shown through the Chenford break up, it's time to think about what comes next. Typically once the characters finally have the talk about why they broke up, they tend to talk about if they can get back together. We know the show is going to have do a little bit of time jump. A couple of weeks at most. If they want the audience to see this discussion, they'll have to come up with a reason for why they delayed it instead having it almost immediately when the door was open for them to have it at least the next day after that elevation conversation. Which I will allow if only because I really want to see it. If you remember when Wopez broke up in season one; they indicated they needed to talk about their relationship, then the talk they had was off screen and the next time we saw them they were back together. Great for them, but after the emphasis on how important is is that Chenford needs to talk to each other about why Tim broke up with Lucy, I want to see it. So I'm willing to go along with Lucy needed a couple of weeks to wrap her head around the idea and gather her thoughts to confront Tim.

What I will not understand is if Lucy or Tim decide to delay this talk for a long period of time. Lucy wanted to have the talk from the beginning. Tim wasn't ready but there is clear indication that his ready now. In order for Lucy to have agency in this situation and regain the balance that she lost when Tim unilaterally decided to break them up, I do think Lucy needs to be the one to say she wants to talk about their relationship. I don't want it to be like Tim saying "I'm ready to talk about our relationship" and Lucy to respond with "Oh, now you're ready?!" Because she would have a right to be mad. And if Tim is being true about letting Lucy take the lead by accepting his proving how much he appreciates her in however she will allow, then he has to wait for her to make that decision. I can't see Lucy delaying for whatever reason for too long. Even if she is still hurt by his actions, her curiosity about the cause of the break up is too much for her to let it go indefinitely. Think about how she was in 607 where she was desperate to know why. Think about her behavior after Emmett broke up with her, and this is Tim. She cares about Tim way more than she ever cared about Emmett. If nothing else, that need to know why is strong in her.

Having the discussion about the break up has a huge impact on whether or not the break up storyline can continued to be prolonged or not. As long as they avoid having the discussion, the longer they can delay the characters getting back together. But Chenford has already reached the logical point where they should have the discussion. As I've shown above it doesn't make sense for Tim or Lucy to want to delay it, so it cannot work for character reasons. It also doesn't make much sense for storyline reasons because they've already done everything else they can possibly do during a typical break up storyline as I explained above. This is literally the last step. Any delay would strictly be done to drive the viewers crazy, and when your writing becomes so obvious as to manipulate an emotional response from the audience it veers into bad writing territory. Always try to keep the writing more subtle so that it works for a character or a storyline, and not so you can see the pipe laid out easily for the viewer.

Now that I've explained why they have to have the discussion right away, I will talk about how I think it should be handled and what I would like to happen because of it. And when I say right away, I mean season 7 premiere. I'll give them until 702 if they have a lot going on action wise, but no more wasting time after that.

As I said, I want Lucy to have agency. That means she decides when they have this discussion. That also means giving her a lot more control in what happens because of the discussion. I understand her heart is broken. Her trust in Tim is broken. However, I do not believe the answer in fixing any of that is by her deciding not to give Tim another chance right away. Her agency isn't going to be affected by her deciding to stay broken up with Tim. She doesn't somehow get more power or power back because she decides they can't be together right now. I also don't see Lucy punishing herself or Tim because she is hurt and angry. That's Tim behavior, not Lucy behavior. If she loves him, if she wants to be with him, then she will want to fight for them. Also she has a psychology background, is she really going to let Tim suffer because he was going through an identity crisis? Is that at all true the nature of one of the most empathetic characters on the show? Lucy's agency comes in guiding the story and taking control. If anything delaying getting back together, only keeps her level of agency in the relationship/break up at where it was before. If she chooses not to get back together with Tim now, then what will drive her to make that choice later? Something he does to change her mind? Some unknown time when she suddenly feels "ready"? Neither of those options show me she has control. True agency in her relationship is her saying "I want to be with you, but things in our relationship have to change for the better, and this is how I want to make those changes happen."

Which leads to the what I hope comes next. I want to see Tim and Lucy actually working on their relationship. I don't want them going the route of "Everything is better now that we had that break up and got back together so we never have to discuss the problems that led to our break up again." Like what was essentially done to Wopez. Or how every now and then Nolan kind of snarkily brings back up the fact that Bailey hid the truth about Jason from him, and when he does she looks like she wants to beat him over the head with a bat. Actually working on fixing the relationship is more interesting a storyline that prolonging a break up as long as possible only to pretend like everything is okay afterwards because getting back together somehow miraculously solved all their problems. The writers and actors told us the importance of this storyline was to show them as a real couple with real problems. Well, a real couple that wants to be together is going to work on their problems if they have any hope of staying together so show me Chenford working on their problems.

One way to show me Chenford working on their problems is through couple's therapy. I think watching Tim and Lucy in couple's therapy would be funny, heartwarming, and dramatically tension filled with angst when necessary. And there doesn't have to be a lot of sessions. At least not a lot shown. Alexi mentioned not wanting to do the static, almost repetitive nature of Tim in therapy even though theoretically he does want to show ways that Tim has continued therapy. So really all that is needed is one episode of Tim and Lucy in therapy. Bookend the scenes of the episode with the first meeting is them being funny and awkward about it. And the final scene has the more raw and emotional moments that are tough to watch but get them understanding each other better. Then the rest of the episodes all they have to do is talk about what they learned or discussed in therapy or trying some exorcises to improve communication and intimacy.

No matter what Tim and Lucy do to fix their relationship, one thing that is absolutely necessary is to show Tim's growth. He started showing this in the elevator scene in 610 by willingly be more emotionally vulnerable with Lucy. It's never been about that Tim can't be emotionally vulnerable with her. He's more vulnerable with her than anyone. It's about Tim willing to put himself out there without Lucy having to ask or work to pull his feelings out of him. He pushes his feelings down so much that he doesn't ask for help when he needs. He needs to learn to ask for help. And he needs to learn to accept that help when it is offered. I would like to see Tim have another personal crisis, but this time instead of hiding and ghosting Lucy, he tells her about it immediately. She doesn't even have to ask or notice that something is off about him, he just tells her that he has problem and he wants her help in whatever way she can help him. That shows that Tim has grown and that he trusts Lucy to allow her to see the messy parts of himself. We know Lucy has seen plenty of the messy side of Tim and still loves him, but there is a part of Tim who is still afraid Lucy will walk away if he causes too much trouble. That's part of the reason he broke up with her. As much as he wanted to protect her, he also wanted to protect himself by not having her walking away from him. In his mind he lost Isabel because he didn't do enough and she said that living up to his standards was too much for her. He lost Rachel because he couldn't move for her job, and she couldn't give up that opportunity either. He lost Ashley because he couldn't give up being a cop, and she couldn't deal with that kind of life for him. Time and again has shown him that he isn't enough for people all the way back to probably feeling like is some kind of disappoint to his dad. And anyone who stays with him is going to be dragged down by him. The sad irony in that Lucy feels the same way in how her parents treat her. Lucy is the person who can understand Tim the most and love him for all of it. So an opportunity for Tim to willingly put himself out there for Lucy would be a great turning point in their relationship to show it has changed for the better.

Now you are thinking, well once everything is fine between Tim and Lucy isn't that going to make things boring again and put us right back to where we were before? I would argue that things were never boring, but if you are asking if it is not better to prolong the break up so that at least Tim and Lucy have a storyline filled with tension rather than things going back to being good between them again, I say no for these reasons:

Because the working through their problems storyline is filled with tension and needs to happen. It is still wrought with tension of whether or not it will work out. Arguably more so than just waiting to see if they will change their minds about getting back together. Working on their issues means putting all those problems right back in the forefront. It means talking about them instead of avoiding them. It's raw and messy and potentially shows all the cracks in the relationship that has to be repaired.

A longer delay in getting back together means we are less likely to see them actually work on their problems. If God forbid, they take a whole season for Tim and Lucy to decide to get back together, then we don't get any of that. If we manage to get a season 8, and Tim and Lucy don't get back together until the season 7 finale, then what is likely to happen is we come back to season 8 with them saying they worked it all, are fine, and will go on happily with their lives. Which is great, but I'm still going to be pissed that I had to endure a season and a half of a break up and I didn't even get to see the effort of them working on their problems. And if we don't get a season 8, if the writers find out near the end of this season that it is their last and they spent so much time on this break up, then what we get is a rushed getting back together to leave us satisfied that they are together but not particularly happy in the execution of it.

Once they are back together, and even if they are happy, they still have other issues that could cause them problems. One is Lucy wants to work undercover. The other is the chain of command issue. These problems only have significance to Tim and Lucy's relationship if they are together. If Lucy goes undercover while her and Tim are broken up, Tim is probably still worried about her, but there isn't much he can do about it. If they are broken up, Lucy not being around because of UC is no different than Lucy not being around because they are broken up. It doesn't really capitalize on all the problems between them if they aren't together to make it an issue. Same with the chain of command problem. Doesn't really matter if they aren't together. Neither of these issues can be tackled to their full extent by the writers is Chenford is not back together first. And if these problems are solved before Chenford get back together, then it's taking away a potential storyline when Chenford inevitably gets back together. Becomes a little too easy for them if Lucy get a job out of being under Tim's chain of command and decides she doesn't want to do UC anymore before she gets back together with Tim. So get them back together sooner, and they can address the storyline sooner.

Now here we are at what storylines can Tim and Lucy have after they are back together, have worked out their problems, and seem to be in a good place.

1.) The chain of command issue: I get that it was a whole thing in 5B and eventually led to Metro Tim. Sadly, because I think the writers really do want to put focus on either Patrol or Detectives, that means no more Metro Tim. If we are all honest with ourselves, as much as we love Metro Tim, the show wasn't really do enough with him in Metro. They spent just as many storylines, if not more, figuring out how to get Tim back on Patrol and/or working with Lucy as they did doing his own Metro thing. For this reason, I think Tim is going to remain on Patrol until the end or when they promote/retire Grey so Tim becomes Watch Commander (which I hope also isn't until the end if they decide to retire Grey.) They came up with a storyline that still doesn't make any sense to me to keep Lucy from getting promoted to Detective in order to keep her on Patrol so I assume that means they want her to remain on Patrol for as long as possible too. (Seriously, Primm, you got promoted and presumably a position you wanted because of Lucy so take your male ego and shove it up your ass.) So that means Tim and Lucy both on Patrol for the foreseeable future. As mentioned above this isn't an issue for them until they get back together so it's not an issue the writers need to address until they get back together. And no point in fixing it prior to that if they want to have the storyline. But how to fix it?

Simple answer: Sergeant Grey says it is okay for them to date. Yeah, that seems to fly in the face of making it an issue the first time around. But Grey was also there for that time. He saw what Tim and Lucy were willing to sacrifice to be together. He saw what those sacrifices ultimately led to. He paired them to work together even when they were dating and knows they can still work together well. They weren't too terrible even during the adjustment period of their break up so he didn't have to say anything more than once about making it work. If he sees them working just as well together as they are broken up, and none of it causes problems, then he can make the call to let them date. Chain of command issue be damned if he says it is not a problem. Especially if he doesn't want to lose one or two of his best officers. At this point, Chenford has been through enough so who is really going to care? Are the fans going to put up a big fuss if it means if we get to see Tim and Lucy not only dating but also working together? If the writers insist they have to remain on Patrol, then this is a concession they have to give us to make it work.

More complicated answer: Promotions As unlikely as it seems, I say just give everyone the necessary promotions. That starts with promoting Grey to captain. (Shh. I don't care about Lieutenant. ) Grey has been treated like the show's captain since Captain Andersen died. He is always in charge for the big events. Angela and Nyla go to Grey to talk about cases even though he isn't their boss anymore because they work in the Detective department. When Tim got promoted and worked in Metro, he was the same rank as Grey and answered to Pine, and yet somehow he usually answered to Grey anyway. The LAPD is currently going through a big shake up; some higher ups were probably compromised with this whole blackmail scandal. I'm sure one or two captains could have lost their jobs/rank. Promoting Grey wouldn't really change anything storywise in terms of what he does, but it would make more sense. Once Grey is promoted, Tim becomes Watch Commander. During this time Lucy takes the sergeant exam and passes easily. Grey creates a position in which Lucy is now his aide. She becomes his right hand woman when crisis mode. She can work on Patrol as sort of a liason role like Tim had in Metro so she can keep doing Patrol storylines. And if Grey is okay with it, she can even do some undercover work when necessary. It keeps Lucy available for all potential storylines while also giving her a well deserved promotion. And she will officially be under Grey's chain of command only and not Tim's.

2.) Tim and Lucy moving in together storyline. Once Tim and Lucy are back together, things get awkward for Celina as she now takes over Tamara's role of constantly catching Tim and Lucy in the middle of kissing. And maybe other things. Only a thousands time worse for everyone because Tim is Celina's boss and they all work together. Celina doesn't want to know that much about her boss/coworker's sex life, and they wouldn't like her knowing about it either. So after some very humorous and awkward moments, Tim and Lucy discuss moving in together. Are they prepared for this? Are in they in a good place after their break up? (Which is another reason they should get back together soon rather than later so there is more time between being in a good place and moving in together so it makes more sense.) Do they want to move in together to a place they already have or find a new place all together that is all their own? If they find a new place, they don't have to worry about Tim's home looking different yet again. That's at least two or three episodes. Build up the awkwardness with Celina, have the discussion about moving in, finding a place and moving in.

3.) Lucy getting a longterm undercover assignment opportunity. This storyline would ideally happen just as Tim and Lucy feel happy and secure in their relationship and have taken a big step like moving in together. They finally have to discuss what this means for them and if they truly can handle it. I think Lucy will have to take it and they will be able to make it work because they've put in all the effort that came before with working on repairing their relationship to make it stronger. If the show gets an 8th season, I can see this as a cliffhanger so that they can use the break between seasons to be a time jump so Lucy can be UC for months without having to isolate her for too long from the rest of the characters. Come back in the season 8 premiere with the end of the assignment winding down to an big action packed finish worthy of a premiere. And then Lucy decides she hates the isolation of longterm UC because she is a social person who needs to be around the people she loves. So she never does longterm UC again, and it is no longer an issue for Tim and Lucy. If this is the final season, then same storyline and outcome but sped up over a few episodes with an even more dramatic conclusion of Tim & Lucy hating being apart so they decide to get married.

And finally, I present you with the additional benefits of getting Tim and Lucy back together sooner rather later:

Secret Dating Era Redux: Tim and Lucy hiding their relationship once again, but this time it's more difficult and potentially more funny. Tim sneaking out of Lucy's apartment early in the morning without getting caught by Celina. Tim and Lucy having to act sad about being broken up even though they are back together. Other people trying to set them up in front of each other, and having to come up with excuses to say no. All coming to the ultimate conclusion where everyone finds out they are dating again. Just want the fans wanted: the everyone finds out reveal. I say Nolan should still be the last to know.

Tim finds out out Lucy dated Nolan: Maybe it comes up in their therapy sessions. Maybe Lucy mentions it when she talks about the issue with dating a cop. Whatever the way it happens, it's best if Tim and Lucy are together when he finds outs to really milk it for a potential issue. Also great to see Tim finding ways to take out his annoyance about it on Nolan. Bonus points if it if happens during the secret dating era redux so Nolan has no idea why Tim is mad at him.

Tim and Lucy having fun arguments again: Comparing their first date to their second first date or whether it's their second second first date. What counts as their anniversary? When they started dating? When they started dating again? Do they have two anniversaries? Does Lucy only want two anniversaries because she wants twice as many presents? The list goes on and on for how they can try to put humor into the idea of the break up once they know they are going to be okay after getting back together.

So there you have all my reasons for why and how Tim and Lucy should get back together sooner rather than later. I know we all want them pining for each other. I get it, but ask yourself how much time do you really want to wait to see them get back together. After the initial break up, there was a three week break of no new episodes, then four episodes where they are broken up, and now we wait 8 months just to see season 7. So that's 10 months of dealing with this break up already, and we don’t even know how much longer it will take. Do you want to wait even longer or do you want to see Tim and Lucy fix their relationship as soon as possible?

As a treat for those who suffered through this long ass rambling of my thoughts, I present you with a snippet of my new multichapter fic which I hope to finish soon so I can begin posting it in July. It's a Chenford fic based on the Once Upon A Time tv series concept. Basically if fairy tale characters were in the real world.

After they finish their meals, Lucy brings Tamara a pillow and a blanket for the night. When Tim sees that she has brought a second pillow and blanket for herself, he asks, “What do you think you are doing?”

“Staying the night with Tamara,” Lucy answers plainly like that should be obvious.

“This isn’t a slumber party. She is still our prisoner. You actually have to guard her,” Tim insists.

Lucy scoffs in disbelief. “You don’t trust me to do my job?”

“I trust you implicitly. I don’t trust her,” he points at Tamara, “not to give you some sob story that tugs at your heartstrings and has you handing over the keys.”

“You know what? Fine.” Lucy takes said keys and opens the cell. Stepping inside she throws down her pillow and blanket on the other bed. She then reaches her arm through the bars to lock the door from the inside before tossing the keys back to Tim. “You can let me out in the morning, and not have to worry about our prisoner escaping in the middle of the night.”

“And what are you going to do if there is a fire or an earthquake?” Tim asks smugly, thinking he has the upper hand.

Lucy shrugs as she challenges him on that unlikely scenario. “I guess I’ll have to trust that you can race back here quickly enough to let us out before the building crashes down on us.”

Tim doesn’t respond. Instead he leaves, and Tamara thinks he is admitting defeat and going home. But he quickly returns with his own pillow. “Just how many pillows does Smitty keep in this place?”

“Enough to build a fort,” Lucy answers as she sets up her bed. Not surprised at all that Tim is choosing to stay.

“Figures,” Tim responds as he puts his feet up on the desk while situating his pillow between his head and his chair. “Don’t stay up too late gossiping. We have a trial to attend in the morning.”

Lucy shakes her head, but fondly tells him, “Goodnight, sir.”

Tim answers with a grunt and nothing more.

Lucy seems less interested in gossiping and more interested in telling ghost stories. “Have you ever heard the one about Gracey Manor? It’s a local legend about the mansion that rests on the highest hill at the edge of town.”

Tamara and Lucy spend the next couple of hours talking and playing with a deck of cards Lucy brought with her. When they finally do go to sleep, Tim’s eyes are still closed, but Tamara has the sneaking suspicion that he is only resting his eyes. That if any trouble were to happen in the middle of the night, he would awake alert and ready to perform his duties. She knows her own experiences have kept her mindful of never allowing herself to fall too deep into sleep, but she can only wonder why Sheriff Bradford would learn such behavior.

#chenford #the rookie #tim bradford #lucy chen #lucy x tim #speculation #a whole lot of speculation #long post #really long post

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aparrotandaqrow · 5 months ago

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A lot of folks, especially in the Jewish community, have mixed feelings about Harris picking Walz as her VP over Shapiro. Some wanted Shapiro for the Jewish representation, especially a Jew who is Zionist and yet decries Netanyahu and expresses the desire for peace that so many of us have. Some worried that having two Jews in the White House would provoke yet more antisemitism and possibly even sink the ticket, given the massive surge in leftist antisemitism recently.

Many of us were frustrated and angered by seeing leftists campaign for Walz being the pick over Shapiro more or less entirely because Shapiro is Jewish—and felt a sense of dismay that perhaps Harris had caved to the antisemites.

I'm a Jew but I'm also a Minnesotan. I was glad to see the Walz pick for many reasons unrelated to my Jewish identity or Israel. But I want to also submit that Walz, uniquely among the politicians Harris could have picked, brings something to the table that is desperately important both to the nation more broadly and our community more specifically.

I present as Exhibit A, this archived NYT profile of Walz from back in 2008:

The teacher, Tim Walz, was determined that even in this isolated place, perhaps especially in this isolated place, this county seat of 9,000 that was hours away from any city in any direction, the students should learn how and why a society can descend into mass murder.

...

“The Holocaust is taught too often purely as a historical event, an anomaly, a moment in time,” Mr. Walz said in a recent interview, recalling his approach. “Students understood what had happened and that it was terrible and that the people who did this were monsters. “The problem is,” he continued, “that relieves us of responsibility. Obviously, the mastermind was sociopathic, but on the scale for it to happen, there had to be a lot of people in the country who chose to go down that path. You have to make the intellectual leap to figure out the reasons why.”

My ancestors immigrated to the US around the turn of the century from Mariampol, Lithuania and Luboml, Ukraine. When the Nazis arrived in those towns some 40 years later, the Jews there (many of whom would have been my ancestors' relatives) were massacred not by Nazi soldiers, but by their neighbors, who welcomed the Nazis with open arms. You cannot truly help protect the Jewish community from antisemitism if you don't understand this crucial detail about how the Holocaust happened.

So Mr. Walz took his students [...] and assigned them to study the conditions associated with mass murder. What factors, he asked them to determine, had been present when Germans slaughtered Jews, Turks murdered Armenians, the Khmer Rouge ravaged their Cambodian countrymen?

...

They read about civil war, colonialism and totalitarian ideology. They worked with reference books and scholarly reports, long before conducting research took place instantly online.

...

When the students finished with the past, Mr. Walz gave a final exam of sorts. He listed about a dozen current nations — Yugoslavia, Congo, some former Soviet republics among them — and asked the class as a whole to decide which was at the greatest risk of sliding into genocide. Their answer was: Rwanda. The evidence was the ethnic divide between Hutus and Tutsis, the favoritism toward Tutsis shown by the Belgian colonial regime, and the previous outbreaks of tribal violence. Mr. Walz awarded high marks. The next April, in 1994, Mr. Walz heard news reports of a plane carrying the Rwandan president, Juvenal Habyarimana, being shot down. [...] Mr. Walz’s students, now juniors, saw their prophecy made into flesh and blood.

...

“You have to understand what caused genocide to happen,” Mr. Walz said, with those grim anniversaries in mind. “Or it will happen again.”

Y'all, Tim Walz is not Jewish. He's a white guy who grew up in Nebraska and then lived in one of Minnesota's smaller cities, up until going to Congress and then the Governor's mansion. No, he does not provide us with representation, nor will he ever truly understand what it feels like to be Jewish in America in 2024.

But he gets it. He understands not just academic history but people, and understands that "Never Again" is only feasible if we look at root causes, and strive to nip the factors that lead to genocide in the bud. We have all understood that allyship for Jews is only meaningful if you're here defending us before it gets violent.

Governor Walz represents an opportunity to have someone in the White House, on the national stage, who understands the big picture and the history well enough to actually be able to navigate incredibly complex and painful issues like the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, like the regional conflicts within the Arab world, like the experience of progressive Jews in the US who would have found ourselves ostracized and alienated from increasingly hostile leftist movements. I cannot begin to explain how rare it is to have a politician at this level who also carries an experienced teacher's grasp of both history and empathy.

Maybe Josh Shapiro would have also brought that. But honestly, I'm not so sure. Walz may not be Jewish. But I think we're going to find that he'll be an ally, and a deeply learned and wise one at that. And I think we really need that right now.

#jumblr #tim walz #harris 2024 #us politics

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toons-and-doom · 5 months ago

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Dandy’s DreamWorld

I came up with this like last night when I was very tired so everything is subject to change or not make sense

So when you sleep, you enter this dream realm where all your woes and worries can disappear for awhile! The whole realm is maintained by the postive emotions of the residents, so the general goal is to stamp out nightmares and negative emotions for the time being until they wake up!

It’s controlled by four (5?) main entities who sorta spawned into existence at the same time(sprout MAY be added later when he comes out-).

Dandy, the leader, some sort of sun themeing; the leader of the gang! He’s sorta nightmare control. He either tries to make nightmares less scary by reminding folks of things or wakes them up and ejects them from the dream realm.

Astro is the most powerful, considering he has influence of the dream worlds the vistors inhabit for their brief stays. He shapes the realms to make them as comfortable as they can be.

Shelly manages memories! She kinda happens in the background organizes your memories for the next day! She can suppress a memory if it’s bothering you in the dream world. She also extracts the happiness of the memories to feed the dream world (don’t worry, you don’t lose the memories or the joy they bring you)

Vee is sorta the watcher. Observes the realm and notifies the others of any problems! I’d imagine she literally has eyes everywhere.

Pebbles makes sure dreamers don’t accidentally interact in dreams, as this often causes confusion- not what they’re looking for!

Things were good for awhile! But uh, dandy got curious about the nature of nightmares, and uh, he learned nightmares are produced by this substance called nightmares fuel.

He decides to collect it from realms which means letting nightmares fester, brining negative emotions to the realm. Dandy keeps all the nightmare fuel in a giant glass reserve, he experiments with it sometimes. This causes a overal decrease in stability of the dream world, and eventually the others find out and confront dandy.

This leads to a massive argument! And uh oh! The reserve accidentally gets broken and nightmare fuel floods the entire dream realm!

In the process, dandy, Vee, Shelly, and pebble kiiiiinnnddddaaaa get fucked up and corrupted by the substance. Astro fortunately is able to resist his corruption, and in a panic, seals them off into the deepest part of the dream realm, far under everything else.

Then it occurs him now his job is now a lot harder as the sole guardian of the dream realm now.He isn’t sure how to deal with the nightmare fuel which has spread across the realm, infecting the realms and HEAVILY tipping the overal happiness in the realm.

Not wanting the realm to fall apart + concerned with how such an influx of nightmare fuel will affect someone when they wake up. Astro does the VERY logical thing (sarcastic. But In his defense tho he just lost his friend and stressed out) and puts the dream realm on lockdown. Nothing can get in, but nobody can get out. This means the folks who were dreaming at the time cannot wake up (aka, our dear toons)

Astro proceeds to surpress the nightmare fuel inside the realms. To prevent homesickness and prevent further negative emotions he surpresses the memories the toons have of the real world. The toons just sorta think this is how life has always been. Their days are blissful at least.

Boom some time passes, Astro is trying and failing to get everything together, and the toons are blissfully unaware of their situation. The condition of the dream realm slowly crumbles. So does Astro as the stress and nightmare fuel he was exposed to begin to get to him.

…

Things begin to slip through, memories, horrors. . . The seals are beginning to break.

Suddenly the toons are remembering things and realizing their realms aren’t real. Plus, these nightmarish versions of themselves are beginning to hunt them.

Basically the toons main goals are

- get out of their respective realms

- Avoid these nightmare (‘twisted’ versions of themselves)

- Find fellow dreamers

- Find out WHY they can’t wake you up

- GTFO.

- (Later they decide to try and restore the dream realm)

~~~~~

Other notes I wasn’t sure how to explain

- The twisted are those corrupted/created by nightmare fuel. Its defeat able but it requires one to face their fears. The nightmares feast on fear.

- ^ the twisted versions of the toons are built of their forgotten memories and fears. They want to trap their ‘copies’ and feed of their fear forever! (I’d imagine each is based on a phobia or a fear.)

- The ‘realms’ toons inhabit are separate from one another. Their only exists are these doors which appear in random locations.

- ^ each realm is inspired by liminal space!

- All the toons sorta have a pastel pj theme going on- but I’d imagine their colors become more saturated once they realize they’re dreaming.

- Astro is barely holding it together man his ass is tweaking 💔

If you have questions I love to yap so feel free

Sorry if it doesn’t make sense-

#dandy’s world #dandys world #dandy’s dreamworld

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laylawatermelon · 7 months ago

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Y'all i just cracked the davinci code and idk if you're gonna like it.

As a Buddie fan devastated obviously, as a 9-1-1 fan devastated obviously and as a writer absolutely blown away by the finessing they just graced us with.

They literally found a way to make Eddie straight and by God they've done it successfully.

Lemme explain.

I was locked in when he was having the speech with Shannon and didn't get to deep in the emotions (heinous ik but I wanted to hear what he was feeling).

I did get some water wobbles in my chest but that's neither here nor there. I did scream horrifically at the cliffhanger of the show.

Guess the nun did scare the life out of her (and me!) after all! Heeh should've seen that coming honestly but I didn't think they'd go there.

So there's two things I think is gonna happen, one Eddie's gonna go on more straight woman dates (yay 😮‍💨) and Chris is leaving.

Now the second one I'll address first and don't bash me if it's not trueee.

I'll get the Chris one over with. First Gavin, Chris' actor, family moved. Since he's become a main he's had little to no screentime in the show.

What I think has happened in real life it's that Gavin will step away from the show. They have him main to show his importance in the cast and storyline (i can also guess pay raise but I'm not saying that's unreasonable really) before his send off.

Realistically he's a disabled person, a child/minor at that, who i assume has a lot of equipment and things he has to travel with. I can imagine it's not that easy to consistently travel across states with equipment, doctor's appointments, schoolwork etc.

So this is probably his last season for a while.

The birthday party (which can also double as a send off or until next time message) and the promotion/upgrade in role despite not being written as such or having storyline outside of the adults.

(off topic but I'd love a mini 118 hijinks b story with all the kids or a low stakes disaster where they all team up until the 118 get there)

He's been hypocritical to him about cheating and even tarnished his mom's legacy by bringing a fake version of her in his house.

The reason i can say the story can effectively write him off for the first half of next season is that Chris will go with his other family because he feels betrayed by his dad.

He doesn't feel safe anymore (😞😭 I'm making myself sad) so he opts to leave until his dad gets better.

The hospital scene is Eddie realizing what his kid needs isn't a new mom but to trust in his parents and that's now shattered (ooh this starting to feel personal be gone trauma!).

So he'll throw a tantrum (a rightfully deserved one that's my boy😤) and say in anger he doesn't want to be with his dad.

Buck will obviously be there cause yeah Eddie (delusional hubby) clearly needs help in his hour of need and so does Chris.

Eddie will do self isolation. Buck will be there for him (Tommy probably staying too but I'm neutral for this post) but with everything Eddie going through he's gonna be wrecked.

And because Eddie's a (good? Eh so so right now) dad he'll let Chris decide when he wants to return.

Hence the heartbreak.

Boom it solves the Gavin problem where he can probably stay during the summer so maybe mid season 8 or limited role like how they did this season and his family can focus on him/life.

Now the Straight Eddie!

By God he's done it!

You've pulled a real good one. Tim I salute you truly.

Idk how you made a straight man out of him but by his you've done it!

(so did you Ryan I'm watching you!)

Since buddie isn't on the table this season the platonic hasn't been more platonic-er since season 7 episode 1.

The way he did it was so easy and smooth I'm in awe.

This is how he kept and can probably enforce straight Eddie.

This is also how he can not enforce straight Eddie (haha got you).

The line you were the love of my life but I'm living it without you now stuck out to me.

That means he's going to find himself and what he really likes without a partner. Therapy, hobbies all that good ish. Maybe a few dates but def church.

Here's why.

Church has been something he drift away and let's be honest American tv and society is still founded in Christianity and all of its adjacent branches.

You must have God somewhere in there for the older audience to tune in/connect with of it's getting a lil secular (aka the bundle of lgbt characters. They're probably saying at least one of em knows God😮‍💨😮‍💨) /hj

The book of prayers symbolizes him going back to God to find answers about himself.

Anyways for the straight Eddie he can get closer to himself better in his faith and get a nice Christian girl who he matches with and (maybe) even has a kid/ similar background.

Since he's been to therapy and he's let go of the love of his life he's now free to find love in someone else. A new woman. (And truly this time)

(or a man, or they/them)

Yes my queer Eddie agenda rises!

Go FORTH!

BE ONE WITH THE SKITTLES SQUAD!

But seriously though the other way it can go is that he's discovering stuff about himself away from romance. He becomes more comfortable with religion but when confusing feelings (attraction to the same gender anyone for $10?) arise then he'll maybe start to fight his Catholic guilt about it since he's gotten closer to it.

Then he'll have to ask for for forgiveness but not permission for the live he wants to live.

(with buck in a house on the waves! Let me be delusional! I've kept it under wraps this long!)

But anyways they've truly dodged the lgbt fruity storyline.

They've also shown us that yes, Buddie was NOT platonic because I've never felt more friends energy in my life this season.

And what the AuDHD brain says is canon/not canon I vibe accordingly.

The vibes were low. Like a suspiciously low.

Dare I say subtextually low.

That's not happened in the history of buddie this is a code red!

CODE RED!

Okay I'm done btw hate me or whatever! /big J

#911 abc #evan buckley #eddie diaz #christopher diaz #buckley diaz family #911 fox #911thursdaytakeover #911 meta #911 speculation #buddie #oliver stark #ryan guzman #long post #911 spoilers #911 season 7 #911 season 8 speculation

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trash-tzar · 27 days ago

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27, 29 and 30 for both your Rooks!

Oh man you have given me a great set of questions to simply Never Shut Up about so prep for some paragraphs

27: What was their life like before the events of Veilguard?

Shayne Mercar was a slave in Ventus, and spent a lot of her childhood getting trained in like Classical Magical Technique and higher level magic theory so she could be the Best Magical Weapon Ever. She really only had her sister Camilia who escaped out to the east (and became my Ingelvar!) When she was 7, and Shayne escaped out west and changed her name from Servilia to Shayne when she was like 15. I like to pretend Dorian scooped her up and helped her to Minrathous on his way back from Skyhold and helped the SD's find her a family (the Mercars) and a cover story (the backstory a Mercar very quickly and over complicatedly explains to Tarquin) Then she busted heads for the Shadow Dragons until Veilguard :)

Lucille de Riva is a Real Genuine De Riva. Her mom was some Orlesian courtier who rolled up to Antiva when Lucy was like? 3ish? And said "hey I don't want this its your problem now" and the king was like "ugh I don't want to pay for another Bastard In Exile and she can't exactly make a choice so. Actually it's Viago's problem now! Off to the Crows!" So Viago raised her for awhile (he was Bad At It godbless) until she started Crow training and she doesn't really. Remember that much from before training. So Viago has decided she's safer thinking she's an Honorary de Riva and she was holding a grudge cause he wouldn't train her but it's just cause he's a softie :)

29: If you could choose a different faction for your Rook, which one would they have joined and why?

Shayne's is interesting because. My first instinct is Mourn Watch. Cause I got really into Nevarra while reading Tevinter Nights and thought about tweaking her backstory so she escaped out there, but I ended up making her a sister to do that since I was so attached to Shayne's og backstory. She probably almost got sold off to the Crows a few times since we know magisters will dump talented but worthless to them slaves on the Crows for Lots Of Money, so I guess the Crows because she's talented but almost completely unmanageable. Made the altus' life as difficult as possible.

Lucille......... Lucy what would u be up to........... maybe the Lords of Fortune? Shes an adrenaline junkie so that might have been her thing if her mom didn't dump her in Antiva. I could also see her getting a little too cocky and ending up getting Blighted and Viago goes "absolutely not you are getting Warden-ed no dying on me" and she conscripts and has to get it together a little. Yeah I think definitely the Warden one she would HATE it but it would be narratively fulfilling.

30: What's your favorite thing about your Rook?

Shayne is an extremely talented and classically well educated mage. She simply chooses to use unrefined raw magic with an orb and dagger stance for fun. She defaults to physical violence and must be coerced into using the fancy shit. If She Went To Hogwarts She Would Use Physical Violence. Also after Dorian helped her get to Minrathous and they got found family-ed their favorite gag is Dorian bringing Shayne important places (both as a magister and the archon) and introducing this scrappy elf woman as his niece. They never offer any explanation the other important people's reaction is too funny.

Lucy is VERY much Viago's sister. They have the same dry humor and judgemental tsk tsk attitude and some crazy emotional constipation. Teia makes fun of them cause when they stand next to each other they have the same stance. The main difference is that Lucille loves causing problems on purpose. Sets fires just cause it'll piss Viago off etc. It's incredibly fortuitous that the demon sharing her boyfriend's body is Spite they get along so well. That's her boyfriend AND her best friend.

#dragon age #dragon age veilguard #rook #rook mercar #mercar #de riva #rook de riva #dav #datv

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proxylynn · 3 months ago

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Blorbo: Fat Tony (very underrated character on this blog)

{That he is. *summons him from the dead*}

[Don Marion Anthony D'Amico, better known as Fat Tony, is one of the best characters on the show and his lore is, for whatever reason, the most well-maintained in the show. Or it was till they fucking killed him off but then replaced him with his identical cousin then proceeded to treat him as if he was the real Tony. THAT'S BULLSHIT! This is the tale of two Skinners all over again. But I'll leave my venomous rant for the end. I want to gush over this sweet man first.

Unlike Sideshow Bob, the show brings in Fat Tony a lot but not too much so that he gets stale (his celebrity VA is expensive but loves the character so much he always is happy to do episodes). Tony is a guy who had humble dreams and then one thing led to another, next thing he knew he was henching with the mob before doing so well he climbed the ranks to become the boss himself. While cliché is tough guys can't show weakness, Tony was a good man when it came to his crew and his eventual family, which brought him respect...except from The Calebresis but they ain't a problem no more. A faithful husband, loving father, and caring boss, Tony held loyalty all around him. His only negatives were of course his business dealings. And while some are often silly (such as putting cotton balls on ferrets to pass off as toy poodles or selling rat milk to schools), others are very very bad. Like, wow I didn't notice this as a kid but holy shit kind of bad.

Some examples are the following...Illegal fireworks, bootleg merchandise, gambling, sabotage, illegal trafficking (tobacco & alcohol), organized crime, bribery, smuggling, extortion, money laundering, murder, prostitution, loansharking, kidnapping, counterfeiting, highway robbery, faulty construction, numbers, smuggling heroin, arson, and forging legal documentation such as birth certificates and passports.

Still, as bad as all that is, he hardly ever suffered from consciousness. But when he did, man, they hit hard. His wife dies "whacked by natural causes" (it's questionable but plausible". He gets shot to hell and put in a coma. And the worst one, the betrayal of someone he considered his best friend which is too much for his overworked heart...he dies of a heart attack and joins his wife with his grave beside hers. This would have been an ok send-off...But they fucked it!

Fit Tony, then later Fit-Fat Tony, and now known as the New and Improved Fat Tony (<- big fucking lie!) pisses me off to no end 'cause while I like more Tony lore, I hate how he's portrayed while carrying Tony's name. (They literally named this guy Marion Anthony Paul D'Amico...WTF?!) This faker holds none of real Tony's charm.

OG Tony was monogamous and died a widower/single father.

FitFake Tony is married but is a bigamist, having no issue with having mistresses. (He's implied to have a daughter but that's in the noncanon comics)

OG Tony cared about his crew, he showed them respect, and he was held with such regards that none but the stupid would dare stand to him.

FitFake Tony sees the crew as tools, he comes across as really too soft and not all that intimidating, and the members of the crew have turned on him multiple times.

The real kicker is this guy lives in his dead cousin's home, now lives his life, and is raising his son. I can't imagine the mental shit Michael has to deal with as an 8-year-old in a mob family who had to go through his mom dying, then his dad also kicks the bucket, but suddenly a look-a-like is now in his home but acts completely different. My child needs some therapy.

I can only hope that in the new season, there's some fixing done. I want to still enjoy Tony, I really do. But please, stop dragging his name through the mud. They used him in a Jersey Shore parody for fuck's sake! *groans* Look how they massacred my boy.]

#to op #fat tony d'amico #fat tony #the simpsons #the Simpsons fat tony #springfield mafia #springfield mob #OP loving her blorbo

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amiserableseriesofevents · 3 months ago

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Hi! So, about that last ficlet you posted with John and his dad. Why????

I'm such a fan of things just not getting resolved a lot of the time because that's how real life works. But does John's mum or his sisters ever give his dad what's coming to him for how he treats John? What a painful, jarring family dynamic, and it's wonderful to read - but just wondered!

Hi!! Sorry for the late response 😅

So, the Egan women have always known about the strained relationship between John and his dad but they all thought, mostly Mrs Egan, that it would resolve somehow naturally. They've all been supportive of John's career since the beginning so they figured Mr Egan would also come to term with it sooner or later, especially now that things are finally going well — which as also what John was thinking before the ficlet.

In the period immediately after the fight John doesn't tell anyone in his family what happened because he doesn't really want to think about it, and also because his intention is not driving a wedge between his father and his mother and sisters; it all comes down when he refuses to come home for the holidays, maybe he avoids Thanksgiving with an excuse but when Christmas is approaching his mom starts asking him when he's gonna come, if he's gonna bring Gale with him, and so the inevitable confession happens. And oh, the Egan women are pissed.

They try to reason with Mr Egan, who of course tells them he never meant for John not to come home ever again, he was just trying to help him make a reasonable choice; he tries to pin it on John, saying it's him who doesn't want to see the family, that his penchant for drama has always been the problem and stuff like that. Mrs Egan tries to mediate between the two men but the girls immediately know that it's a lost cause and take John's side, organizing an alternative Christmas (maybe a dinner on the 24th whereas the family has always celebrated on the 25th) so they can see John (and Gale of course) without him having to meet the dad. Mrs Egan also joins them for this alternative Christmas and still tries to convince John to come for lunch the next day but he refuses.

John's sisters are still going to see their father, but less and less as the years go by; they come home for the holidays but if there's a choice between spending time with their dad or with John, they're always gonna choose John. They also keep supporting him and showing their support of him in front of their dad, loudly and enthusiastically like only an Egan can.

John's mum feels more caught in between because the man is her husband after all, they've raised three biological kids together and fostered countless others so she doesn't really understand what happened to him to make him act like that towards John. She still hopes things are gonna change, especially when John's career really takes off and his name starts appearing in national news, he gets casted in more important productions, etc. but when she understands that her husband is not gonna budge she gives up. She stays with him but feels very disappointed, she blames him for the wedge that has separated their family — and family has always been the most important thing for her.

She also keeps supporting John, goes to every premiere he has, she doesn't quite parade around her support for her son in front of her husband like the girls do but she's always there when it matters — and she cuts out all the articles about John and puts them on the fridge because she's more passive-aggressive than her children.

Eventually — and I'm talking many years after the end of Such Stuff, when John is already married (his father wasn't invited/was invited but decided not to go, I still have to think about it) and he's won some important awards like a freaking Tony — Mr Egan comes to terms with his son's choice and tries to reconnect with him.

He mostly does it because he realized having a son who's a famous actor, whose name is in the papers, who people often congratulate him about, is actually something good for his own image; John knows this is his main motivation, and he's not exactly thrilled about it, but after discussing it with Gale he decides to allow a bit more contact. He'll go home for Christmas lunches (the Christmas dinners on the 24th with his sisters and eventually their husbands continue, of course, it's the new tradition) and chat politely with his dad but he'll never invite him to a show again, not even when the man tries to feign interest in it.

Their relationship is gonna remain cold and formal, with his sisters on his side and his mum more in the middle but still fucking pissed at her husband.

Also, fun fact: his dad actually likes Gale a lot, especially because he has a reasonable career, so Gale enjoys it very much when the first time they meet he tells him that yeah, he's a teacher and he likes his job, but he also loves acting and it's thanks to John that he went back to it. Take that, Mr Egan.

Sorry if I rambled too much but I really love writing their family dynamic so yeah, you got me monologuing! 🥰🥰

#clegan theatre au #such stuff verse #Mr Egan knows he's made a mistake the first time he hears about his son having a fan page #john egan #Ginia writes

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michellemisfit · 1 year ago

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Weekly Tag Wednesday

Thanks for the tag @deedala @darlingian @suchagallabitch @energievie @creepkinginc @lingy910y @gembu-tortuesouscafeine @mickeysgaymom

1. if you could switch bodies with anybody for only one hour who would it be and what would you do?

Hmmmm. If it was ‘anything’ I’d switch with something with wings. But if it has to be a person then I guess the next best thing? Like a Circe du Soleil arial performer? Yeah, I think that’d be cool, but also after an hour I’d be kinda done. Perfect.

2. whats your most trivial / dumbest hot take?

I don’t have baths after dark. No one should. The nighttime monsters are gonna get you, if you’re wet after sundown. I don’t make the rules 🤷🏽‍♂️

3. If you had to teach a college course what would it be in?

Something animal related. Or problem solving and problem prevention. Like, I always say you can’t teach common sense but… maybe I could try?? Cause I think I’d be pretty good at it! Maybe not college. Get them earlier. While they’re malleable. Teach them how to spot shit that’s about to hit the fan. And what they can do to prevent it! Teach them how to walk into a room and register the 13 things that need to be addressed / fixed / saved / cleaned before they walk back out of the room. Yeah. I’d be good at that.

4. season 12 of shameless is suddenly happening and you’ve been put in charge! what plot point(s) are you gonna make happen?

I want them all to be settled and happy. I don’t need life to be perfect. But just…

I like Lip being into the building and decorating, but he’s soon gonna miss using his brain, so I’d like him to move into either the architecture side of things or the business management and franchising side of things.

I love Ian & Mickey being happily married forever and ever, and they’ve gone through so much shit, they should just get to be happy, but! I hate that all mentions of Ian’s bipolar were cut from season 11. This doesn’t just go away. Show me how well they deal with it now, but also how it’s still hard, and how it touches a part of Mickey’s hurt and trauma that he doesn’t want to achonowledge, and how sometimes it makes Ian self-loathing and mean and Mickey scared and angry, and when they get like this they lash out at each other. And then show me how, even when things are hard, they continue to fight for each other and choose each others, because they will ALWAYS choose each other.

Sandy is going to come back and Debbie and her are gonna make a real go of it.

Carl is going to buy and run The Alibi and it’s going to be awesome.

5. who would be your godly parent? (can be any mythology).

The Black Rabbit of Inlé.

Oh, there's no more to fear in death than in the changing of the seasons.

You all know how some rabbits seem just to throw their lives away between two jokes and a theft: but the truth is that their foolishness comes from the Black Rabbit, for it is by his will that they do not smell the dog or see the gun…But the truth is — or so they taught me — that he, too, serves Lord Frith and does no more than his appointed task — to bring about what must be. We come into the world and we have to go: but we do not go merely to serve the turn of one enemy or another. We go by the will of the Black Rabbit of Inle and only by his will. And though that will seem hard and bitter to us all, yet in his way he is our protector.

6. what’s something you love about yourself?

I’m funny, kind, competent, hard working, and creative. I hate myself a lot, but I’m also pretty fucking awesome. Two things can be true at the same time. I contain multitudes. 🤷🏽‍♂️

7. describe your day in 5 emojis:

😭🥓🍳🥲🛍️

8. what shameless character do you think you could beat in a fight?

Jimmy-Steve, Liam, and Fiona. Tommy, Kermit, and Kate. Iggy and Walter Milkovich (if they’re high, which they will be). Also Karen, Ned, and Kash.

9. tell us 2 truths and a lie, we’ll try to guess the lie!

10. do you have a pet(s). if so how did they get their name?

Mouse was named after Michael ‘Mouse’ Tolliver (Tales of the City) by Ruth and after Mouse the Temple Dog from Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files by me. Full Name: Mouse McFeathers.

Howard was named after the foreman in charge of a big building project at the farm, at the time when we rescued him as a kitten. Howard Alan Crisp, giving his name to our three kittens Howard, Alan, and Crispy. Full Name: Howard ‘Bonk Bonk’ Bambino.

Wiggins was named after the cyclist Bradley Wiggins, because he was big at the time, and it was better than Froome, which was the other name on the table, and closest to Arthur, which is what I wanted to call him. In the end we let Mouse choose by writing all the names on pieces of paper, folding them up, and picking the one she swiped off the table. Full Name: Wiggins Dangerbean.

11. show us a meme (or picture) that captures your essence

12. whats your typical coffee / tea / beverage order?

Chai Latte

I would like to tag @suzy-queued @vintagelacerosette @sam-loves-seb @lupeloto @shameless-notashamed @transmickey @heymrspatel @gallawitchxx @francesrose3 @jademickian @sickness-health-all-that-shit @metalheadmickey @gardenerian @callivich @celestialmickey @look-i-love-u @rutherinahobbit @palepinkgoat @whatthebodygraspsnot @depressedstressedlemonzest @rereadanon @the-rat-wins @tsuga-of-mars @too-schoolforcool or just hand you a flower and let you pet a puppy 🐶

#tag game #weekly tag wednesday #Mys stuff #why are my tag games always 7 times as long as anyone else’s???#🤦🤦🤦#tag you’re it

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stickstone · 1 year ago

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ok so! my predictions for thunder based on the preview (spoilers under cut of course)

starting off with the prologue. my first thought reading it was that it might be hinting at her being eventually being the leader of riverclan, heavily emphasizing this idea of destiny. i also feel like it’s pretty much confirmed at this point that frostpaw really doesn’t have the special starclan connection, which is honestly a really fun little twist on the usual warrior cats formula and ALSO further makes me wonder about curlfeather and what she was up to

that brings me to the frostpaw chapter, obviously. i love how urgent everything feels here. you can really feel frostpaw’s panic and distrust in this chapter, it’s great. also her decision to make sure only whistlepaw knows she’s still alive is actually very smart. if her attacker thinks she’s dead that means she’ll be able to figure things out and come up with a plan without worrying about being attacked again. i can already foresee some problems it will cause though and i’m Very excited for that

next up nightheart chapter. no secret that he’s my least favorite of the protagonists this arc lol, but this chapter was pretty good. or maybe i was just giddy about squirrelstar (yes i know it’s still up in the air. but look. i really really want it to be real. ok.) im not really sure why squirrelflight decided she wanted nightheart specifically there but i understand that he kinda has to be there for the plot to progress, cause obviously he’s going to end up running into frostpaw. he seems like he might be more tolerable this book, mostly because all of the female characters around him aren’t being portrayed as evil harpies sent to kill him

and finally! sunbeam. i’ll be honest i think she’s my favorite this arc. i love her interactions with some of the thunderclan cats, and am VERY glad that the erins didn’t make sparkpelt and finchlight evil xenophobes who vehemently hate nightheart’s girlfriend. berryheart is such a fun antagonist and the way that she’s actually able to get sunbeam to doubt herself and her relationship with nightheart is so good. especially because she has a point! nightheart has continually put himself before sunbeam and placed her in bad positions, this is not at all a stable situation sunbeam’s in

based on these chapters, i can pretty easily guess where things are going. nightheart meets frostpaw and, for whatever reason, she needs him to help her on her quest (which makes sense considering she is severely injured). because nobody can know that frostpaw’s alive, nightheart either won’t be able to tell sunbeam that he’s leaving OR will be able to speak to her briefly. either way, he’s leaving her alone. again. which is pretty much a confirmation of sunbeam’s worst fears, and sort of proves berryheart right. because of this sunbeam is going to really struggle, not just with her trials, but with the fact that she’s made a massive life change for someone who might not even like her back. Looking Forward To This

last thing! i wasn’t really sold on ivypool as deputy initially but now that i think about it there’s a lot of potential. i really liked her in sunbeam’s chapter, and i’m honestly very eager to see how her opinions on cross clan relationships and clan switching have changed after bristlefrost’s death. there could be a lot of fun stuff to explore there, and also idk. maybe she’ll finally apologize to dovewing. that would be great.

but uh yeah. genuinely looking forward to this book, i’m very excited.

#warrior cats #wc #a starless clan #asc thunder #frostpaw #nightheart #wc sunbeam #berryheart

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mercurytrinemoon · 10 months ago

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How do you rectify a chart? I can’t figure out if I’m Leo, Capricorn or Virgo ascendant

It's kind of a complex thing to do and a lot of explanation so I'll try to give some of the most crucial tips:

First important thing in rectification is to use a wole sign house system. If you're a Leo rising at 29 degrees, it doesn't matter. The whole Leo is your 1st house and so on

Also REALLY think of what makes the most sense to you. So you say Leo or Virgo or Capricorn. Now I'm assuming you have approximate time frame for Leo/Virgo cause they're next to each other but where does the Cap possibility come from? Is it an am/pm debate or what?

Look at each possible rising sign through whole sign houses and try to REALLY be objective when it comes to your planetary positions and what planets rule what houses. Look at the ascendant ruler. Where would each ascendant ruler fall? WHAT planet is your ascendant ruler? Being Saturn-ruled will be SO much different than being Sun or Mercury-ruled.

Ask people around how they view you. Think of what you value the most about everything. Think of what approach in life you have.

That will be your basis but the real rectification starts with looking at transits and progressions:

Prepare a list of dates of important events in your life, it can be anything that stands out in your memory (injuries, heartbreak, starting/ending a relationship, getting a job, moving, travelling, starting a hobby, weird coincidences etc).Use profections to see what planet was active during a given year to see what planet will be the most prominent during that year.

Look back at transits regarding those events. If you have 3 options with your rising sign, you need to mix and match and see what makes sense in terms of planets transiting your houses/planets.

For example: in 2017 I went through a 3rd house profection year ruled by Mars. So Mars was my time lord. Almost immediately after birthday I started getting ill and having various acute health problems pretty much throughout the entire year. So I could already tell the energy for that year was very martian: inflammatory and sudden and just malefic in general.

Another example: my sister is a Pisces rising and during one of her 1st house profection years she got married. Her 1st house profection would of course be ruled by a benefic Jupiter, which can indicate a good year, especially for someone with a day chart (Sun above the asc-dsc axis). That year transiting Jupiter entered Cancer - her 5th house where she has her natal Moon. That year during the transit she also happily got pregnant. So she got a double blessing from Jupiter cause it was her time lord and it also coincided with a good transit to her chart.

Look at planetary cycles. For example, Venus is retrograding every 8 years in the same sign. Last summer it was rx in Leo. How did that affect you?

Think of your Saturn transits. What heppened when Saturn was in Leo vs Virgo vs Capricorn? When Saturn transits the 1st house, we often take solid care of our health and bodies, start work out routines, often times because health issues pop up etc. Sometimes Saturn through the 12th can bring health issues (usually chronic or ones that are hard to diagnose) as well tho so keep that in mind.

You need to really sit down and do a bunch of notes and draw conclusions.

Let's take an example of my exhibit Gemini rising: his ascendant ruler is Mercury. During his 1st house profection year (which already indicates there can be stuff happening to the body), he injured himself. So his time lord for the year was Mercury - this will be a planet that is more sensitive that year. Now looking at his transits, his injury occured when transiting Mars was squaring his Mercury. On top of that, that Mars was also opposing his ascendant, which can also lead to accidents.

Generally also look at the state of your potential ascendant ruler: is it in a good or bad house, is it well or badly aspected and is it exalted/fallen/whatever etc.

Secondary progressions can also be useful. Look at progressed benefics and malefics and if they went over your potential axis. Now it's hard to rectify an exact degree of the ascendant but let's say you have your natal Mars in Cancer and it progressed into Leo at some point: if you're a Leo rising, it would progress into your 1st house and so maybe you started being more accident-prone or started having anger issues or suddenly found interest in sports. Now I don't know the rest of your chart so that's just a hypothetical example.

Generally it's a tedious thing to rectify a chart but you either REALLY sit down for a few days or weeks and do it yourself or you can pay a ton of $$$ for someone else to do it for you. Also once you feel like you did the job, still keep an eye out for transits and how they affect you, just to have a confirmation.

Hope that helps

#ask #astrology 101 #mercurytrinemoon #astrology #rectification

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bigsoftmarshmallow · 5 months ago

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Okay, so I'm pretty sure you liked one of the posts that partially talks about their backstory, but I don't think you've read anything about Karina specifically.

h/t/t/p/s://www.tumblr.com/aikoiya/721484702337351680/loz-karina-goddess-of-love-passion?source=share

This is pretty important to her as a character, but so it this:

h/t/t/p/s://www.tumblr.com/aikoiya/727413120124993536/loz-gerudo-pantheon?source=share

The thing about a lot of those scenes is that they would mostly only happen before Demise became Demise. Afterwards, he'd be more likely to actively try & r*pe her.

Like, yes. I always wanna give characters a chance, but the problem is that unless a character wants to change, then they won't.

Do not pass go & do not collect $200. The buck stops with you.

Yes, he could reform, but he doesn't want to. I see him as the type whose addicted to the chaos & the hate & the bloodshed & the carnage.

In some ways, he reminds me of the Joker. "Some people wanna watch the world burn."

As Demise, he is too far gone. However, Ganondorf, to me, acts like his Sword of Damocles.

Yes, Ganondorf is Demise's hatred reborn, his Ara Mitama, but that isn't all he is. He's also human. Meaning that he can change given the right influences.

Which means that Ganondorf is both Demise's hatred upon the world & Demise's best chance at any form of salvation.

In all honesty, I tend to take a degree of influence from Shintoism & Buddhism with him. While I don't believe in such philosophies IRL, they do give me new & interesting angles to look at characters from.

And my depiction of Demise takes a degree of influence from Susano-o. And, he's known for having been cast out of the heavens to live as a mortal (though, with the things he could pull, he must've been a mortal sorcerer).

But, the thing is, there is a shitton of evidence to suggest that the actual curse that Demise placed upon Link & Zelda isn't reincarnation. Because reincarnation already existed within their world &, according to Shinto & Buddhist philosophy, every living thing is subject to reincarnation.

It is only further proven by Demise's own words, he uses a very specific term in the original Japanese. Rin'ne, which is the Japanese term for the Hindu word Samsāra, which is the neverending cycle of life, death, & rebirth.

Now, in the English, he said was that, "my hatred will follow."

"Follow." You can't exactly follow something if it's not already in motion.

What I think is that, Demise isn't causing Link & Zelda to reincarnate. I think that that was already going to happen regardless.

I believe that Demise's actual curse isn't so much forcing them to reincarnate (which, how would he even do that; he was never stated to have power over souls), rather I believe he's attached his own hatred to their souls & essentially piggybacking off of a natural phenomenon that takes place on their earth. His curse makes it so that, whenever they are reborn, they'll experience misery in some form or fashion.

Which brings me to my next point. I think that Hylia gave up a whole lot more than what a bunch of fans believe she did.

Thing is, in a world where reincarnation is real, the only way to escape it is the give up on all worldly attachments. Which, I don't think even most deities can boast about themselves.

Especially not Hylia. She is VERY attached. So, when she became mortal, she sort of became subject to Rin'ne like any other mortal. Whether she knew or she didn't, that's a different story, but I still think it to be true.

Anyway, tangent, my bad. I see Ganondorf as being parallel to Susano-o time as a mortal.

And, you know what? He eventually makes amends. But he's only able to through living as a mortal. Or at least, that's the angle I'm going with.

And, in a way, Karina sort of represents Demise's, or Gàlondo's Kushinada-hime. Susano-o's eventual wife. (But only represent her. If she actually was Kushinada, then she'd be transformed into a comb most of the story. XD)

But, bottom line is that, according to Buddhism, it's actually not

Another interesting thing is that, while yes, the Triforce bears a surface-level resemblance to the concept of the Holy Trinity, I think it has more in common with the 3 Confucian Virtues.

And, do you know what those virtues are?

Courage

Wisdom

Benevolence.

And, do you know what Conficius believed of benevolence? It is humaneness. Or love for others.

That it starts at the home, but shouldn't stop there.

One could even argue that it is an extension of Aristole's idea that one's relationship with others reflects the relationship that we have with ourselves. In other words, how you view or treat yourself can affects how you view or treat others.

Which makes self-compassion (philautia) rather than narcissism (narcissis) very important. Because arrogance is often times a sign of someone who is secretly insecure.

And, interestingly enough, Karina is a goddess of all types of love & of healthy relationships (among other things), meaning she likely knows what she's talking about.

Anyway, back to where I was. Confucian benevolence is described as a moral sense that begins with one's own family & that strong foundation allows for such feelings to flow outward to one's community & beyond.

So, what happens when one's family or home is not strong. If the filial love isn't allowed to flourish?

Now, that by no means indicates that one can't be benevolent without a good home life or relationship with one's family. But just like how one can still learn how to read later in life, if it's nurtured early in life, it's comes easier.

But yeah, that's my logic.

Sorry for the infodumping.

Is Demise a terrible being? Yes. Do I love him?

... yes...

I really wish I could like me a hero for once. Alas, my heart is forever tormented by villains and antiheroes!

I am always here for your Universe's lore, my dear. You have incredible storytelling and information to give on WHY something should be the way it is in your version of Hyrule! I cannot wait to see more about it!

I actually have all the links you give me saved on my notes app to be able to pull them up whenever I am able to read... AKA when my brain lets me actually sit down to read.

#mallowresponse #legend of zelda #skyward sword #demise #oc lore

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mtgc858 · 22 days ago

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Okay oc lore for the Trolls :]

(mostly about how they turned and some backstory)

This is gonna be a long post btw

Part 1/?

Tw for Fire,Alcohol,Under age drinking, Blood,Death(Not permanent obviously), Suicide mention,Child Abuse, neglect,poisoning and mentions of vomit(In Twisters part), and Injuries including fata

A lot of warnings sorry about that!

Raven: Raven escaped the orphanage and was homeless for years, untill a drunk man(like Heavily drunk) found her and attacked her (which he regretted later) and while Raven tried to defend herself he slammed her head into the brick wall, cracking her skull and where she lost her life.

She did have a cat companion (Based on my real cat Murky) and cause of her friendship with that little fellow and the fact she would run away like a skittish cat(a play on words) she turned into the Raven we know(we don't know how she became the way she is btw especially cause of how different she is.

Sales: I'm changing his backstory to where he didn't find Raven being killed, Sales was a business worker and often left last after the nightshift and he usually walked past the alleyway that Raven stayed, he often would visit her and other food but couldn't get close cause of her hiding behind something and refusing to get close.

He did want to help and bring her home to give her shelter but she always refused (Note she never had a home or a family(besides Charlie before he went missing and Danger leaving the orphanage/He also was there too). And to make it worse, the one day he was gonna take her home and help her, he arrived to a "group" of "armed men" taking a body into a truck and left before he rushed seeing the alleyway was empty and...blood.

Sales of course gotten very depressed for the fact he couldn't save her (he thought she was killed or kidnapped obviously) and returned home with this new guilt for someone he wanted to help. He then fell into debt and was gonna lose his apartment and basically everything he had, his depression getting worse and cold stature got more colder(if that's possible-) which the loss of money and him now about to lose his job, The pressure and guilt got too much that he went to a bar to try and forget it with alcohol, but before he could even take a break, a bar fight broke out and in the heat of the moment, someone tried shooting someone else but missed and what you know...It killed Sales instantly, his loss of everything made him when he turned (he was infected by a co-worker and had no idea) and the whole money issue, he could get what he wanted now.

Infinite ability to spawn cash at will and his powers to lift things bigger than him and to reverse damage to a object that where turned to dust where at his hands. He then found out about Raven and honestly felt the biggest sigh of relief of his life and after awhile he officially adopted her(note I forgot to mention is that before her, he met Pyro,Gabe and Twister and seeing there loss of family's and how close they were he adopted them also and Raven was the last, now having a full on family.

Okay that was just a big lore drop LMAO-

Next!

Pyro + Gabe: Gabe is the older brother of Pyro by a few years and they lived a average home life with good parent("s"), untill that day.

One day there house caught fire and all four, Pyro,Gabe and there parents escaped as they were devastated... except Pyro, Pyro was fascinated by it and loved seeing the flames burn, not crying over the loss of everything but enjoyed the "show".

That caused the break in his life as his mother(who was already a bad mother towards Pyro) blamed him for the fire he didn't caused and used his pyromaniac tendencies as a excuse to lock him in the attic. Gabe always took care of him and fed him when their mother did not as he basically raised his little brother and got close to him, however cause he was the "favorite" child and "Mama's little boy" it made a tear in Pyros thoughts on his big brother.

Pyro would then sneak out to drink away his problems which he wasn't of age and drifted from his problems, one day Pyro gotten drunk and managed to get out of the attic and found matches which this time he caused as he lit the match and everything around him burned...including himself.

Gabe and his parents returned to find their new house gone and Pyro was gone, Gabe then blamed himself for the lost of his brother as after a heated argument he left his parent's and found a place to stay. He later got a gf and they were close, unfortunately he realized that his gf was a cheating gold digger. He then was framed by her for attacking him as he ran away out of fear which lead to him being in a alleyway and trapped before he was found by a Trollge. The Trollge made a deal to help him escape for a cost which Gabe in the heat in the moment agreed, but the deal was for his life as the Trollge mauled him to bits. After Gabe was turned he was found and taken to TCF and there he reunited with Pyro.

Twister: We know him, he was a famous dancer for a theater and was well known by many. However they had no idea that his boss and gf where not great people, he often was scammed with his pays and his safety was neglected. At one point he pulled something in his back and made him paralyzed for weeks but his absence was worded by his boss that he didn't care for the show and audience.

After he recovered he demanded to be paid for his medical bills but was given less then half percent then was needed as he had to pay for it himself anyway. His gf also kept asking for money which was annoying cause she was the Bosses daughter and she could get it from him anyway but would basically steal his pay.

Then later on live performance, he did a move that when he landed he shattered his ankle and couldn't perform, but the boss again refused to paw medical bills when he was done. That was the last straw as he began to pack his things to leave and break up with his gf. Untill a Trollge then entered and had a talk with him, asking how he was doing before offering a drink to him, which without knowing, he was poisoned and began to vomit and cough up blood as he then passed.

Later he was found and his death was deamed a suicide which wasn't true but everyone thought about it, Twister then turned before he was found and taken to TCF. His abuse about his hobby lead him to be super protective and would snap at anyone that would watch him dance without permission.

#my oc #Oc: Raven #oc: Salesman #oc: Pyro #oc: Gabe #oc: Twister #Oc lore #A LOT OF TRIGGER WARNINGS

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orange-orchard-system · 10 months ago

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I brought up my experience with botched surgery in a previous post, so let's talk about the topic. What's the deal with botched surgeries?

A botched surgery is, essentially, any surgery in which something went wrong – a medical fuck-up, if you will. This can include a lot of things depending on the surgery, ranging from potentially deadly to "whoops, let me fix that real quick", and so everyone who's had one will only have experience dealing with their specific problem. I'm saying this as a disclaimer that my advice is going to be colored by my experience with a botched surgery, and also to let you know that a botched surgery does not necessarily mean the mistake was a big one. Small mistakes can cause a botched surgery, too.

Surgery is often fearmongered by people throwing around the vague idea or only specific examples of a botched surgery, especially when it comes to gender-affirming surgeries, or surgeries done to restore an intersex person's natural body. Hearing so many horror stories about surgeries that went wrong, you may be discouraged from getting your own, even if it would improve your life.

Now, some people would just point to how low the risks of something going wrong are, and say that's why you shouldn't listen to these arguments. Personally, I find this method unhelpful, because it doesn't actually confront the source of people's anxieties, so let's confront reality with all its risks. What can you do if you're having a surgery and are scared about it being botched?

Pick a surgeon that you trust. If you get the opportunity to select who will be doing your surgery, ask for recommendations from your doctor, look up patient reviews, and go for whomever you have the most trust in to do it right. Steer clear of anyone who has a reputation for botching their work. [PT: Pick a surgeon that you trust. / end PT]

Ask what the expected recovery timeline will look like for you. Surgeons will be able to give you a rough estimate of how your recovery will go and how long it will take, as well as any problems you might want to look out for. I find this is especially important for more complex surgeries, as something that may seem like a problem at first may in fact be normal and expected. [PT: Ask what the expected recovery timeline will look like for you. / end PT]

Bring a trusted person to your appointment. Some surgeries/clinics may not allow anyone aside from the doctors and patient in the room, but others will be fine with it, and it can make you feel a lot better to have someone there with you as you go under, or just knowing they'll be waiting outside for you when you're done. They can also help if there's something specific you want to ask about but are scared to do it yourself, or if you feel you may need someone there to advocate for you. [PT: Bring a trusted person to your appointment. / end PT]

Request or schedule a check-up during your recovery. Even if you don't suspect anything has gone wrong, a doctor may be able to help you check for any issues you have missed. [PT: Request or schedule a check-up during your recovery. / end PT]

Listen to other people's recovery stories. You are not alone in being scared or going through surgery, and there are plenty out there who will be able to tell you what it was like for them going into the surgery, recovering from the surgery, and months or years down the life after the surgery. Carry their stories with you for courage, community, and solidarity. [PT: Listen to other people's recovery stories. / end PT]

Contact your doctor if you suspect something has gone wrong. If you're feeling unusual levels of discomfort, noticing signs of infection, or anything else that would normally tell you something is wrong, tell your doctor as soon as you can. They'll be able to help you choose your next steps and get your recovery back on track, even if it has to take a detour. [PT: Contact your doctor if you suspect something has gone wrong. / end PT]

If you fear something has gone seriously wrong, don't panic, but treat it like you would any other emergency. Go to the urgent care, go to the emergency room; skate on the safe side. Sometimes things happen and sometimes bad doctors get licenses – so if you think there's a problem that needs emergency treatment, go get that emergency treatment. You are being responsible by making sure everything is okay, so don't panic, remain hopeful but cautious, and go get it checked out as soon as you can.

If a problem is discovered and your surgery was botched, the steps you'll be offered will likely depend on your issue and the surgery you went through. After initial treatment to get my recovery back on track (it mainly consisted of cleaning out the area that was operated on and taking notes about what to watch out for going forward), I was offered either a second surgery to correct the issue or medication to prevent infection and discomfort, and I chose the latter. Sometimes problems may require more complicated treatment, but I find treatment often comes down to either of these solutions or a combination thereof. If you choose a second surgery but do not feel comfortable having your original surgeon do it, speak with your clinic/doctor about other surgeons who could do it for you – they'll almost certainly understand. If you've had to go to the emergency room to have emergency surgery, speak with your nurse or the doctor working on your case about what to do next, and then follow-up with your regular doctor once you've been discharged.

Having a botched surgery does not mean you are a bad person. It does not mean you are unlovable, repulsive, scum, or any other insult people throw out to discourage surgery. Even if things go horribly wrong, you can go on to live a fine life with moments of joy, things you enjoy, and people who like to be around you; even if a surgery makes you "ugly" or leaves you worse off than you were before, that does not mean you are worthless or deserve to be hated. No matter what, you deserve kindness, respect, and a good life. Your surgery going wrong is not a reflection of your worth.

Some reminders about surgery to close out this post:

If you're getting surgery on your chest/top surgery, it's possible you may wish to have a revision (second, smaller surgery to improve the results of the first) down the line. This does not necessarily mean your initial surgery was botched; it may simply mean the results were not exactly as desired. This is common and can help you feel more comfortable with your body/surgery.

Regardless of the type of surgery, you will feel weird and out of sorts for a while afterwards. This does not necessarily mean having that surgery was the wrong choice to make or that you regret it. Your brain is still adjusting to the change to its flesh prison; give it some time, and you'll likely find your mood improving as your recovery progresses.

Prepare in advance for your recovery period; do not leave things to the last minute! Supplies I recommend and often see recommended include: neck pillow, very long charger cord, soft and/or simple foods (even if your surgery has nothing to do with the mouth or throat; don't throw too much at your body while it's recovering), soft and loose clothes, and simple activities you will be able to do while recovering.

On that note, don't deny yourself certain things because you're scared of being "cliche", "childish", or whatever else. "Oh, but I don't need ice cream –" but would ice cream make your recovery period better? Then get the ice cream. "Oh, but I don't want to seem weak by using so many pillows –" your body is recovering from being cut open and things moved around. You're not weak for using multiple pillows to sit up or otherwise help your body as you recover. "Oh, but what if I look childish for bringing a stuffed animal into my appointment –" is that stuffed animal giving you the courage to face your surgery/check-up? Bring the stuffed animal with you and use it to sock anyone who gives you shit for it.

You will want the pain pills, by the way. If you have the okay to take pain pills, take the damn pain pills. You are not cool or strong for making yourself suffer. Take the pain pills and let your body rest without feeling the need to send alarm signals to your brain about pain all the time.

Surgery is exhausting. Do not be surprised when you are exhausted, and do not force yourself to do too much too soon. Milk the time off for what it's worth and lift not a finger you don't truly feel the need to.

Even if it's a complicated surgery, there is work being done all the time to improve results and reduce risks. Make sure the information you're researching is up-to-date and accounts for modern advances in the surgery you want.

TLDR: If you're scared of having a botched surgery, communicate with your doctors and whoever will be helping you through your recovery period. Remember that most surgical problems can be handled with proper treatment, and even if things go horribly wrong, you are not doomed to a terrible life without any happiness or good spots in it. Keep your chin up! Coming from someone who cashed in bad luck on the risks of surgery, it'll be alright even if you do have a botched surgery. Don't let the horror stories* scare you out of improving your life.

* There's probably something to be said here about how my existence is reduced to just a horror story used by people fearmongering surgery, but I won't get into that today. If you need inspiration, just look at me for it! I'm doing just fine despite the continued problems from my botched surgery, even though I've had to adjust my life to account for them, and you can too.

#séan.txt #trans #intersex #surgery #queer #long post #health

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