#(love and compassion is always revolutionary!)

[mbruben-stein]

Being a Weasley and dating Draco Malfoy would include.

Dating Draco Malfoy as a Weasley would be nothing short of revolutionary. As Ron's twin sister with the trademark Weasley red hair and fierce Gryffindor spirit, your relationship with Draco would begin during those tumultuous years between sixth and seventh year - right when he was beginning to crack under Voldemort's pressure and question everything he'd been raised to believe. You'd be the one to see past his crumbling facade, recognizing the terrified boy beneath the Death Eater's mark. Your natural Weasley compassion would draw you to him during his most vulnerable moments, perhaps catching him in a rare moment of breakdown in an empty corridor or abandoned classroom. The initial attraction would be forbidden and intense, built on stolen glances across the Great Hall and secret meetings in hidden alcoves of the castle.

The secrecy would be both thrilling and torturous. Sneaking around Hogwarts to meet Draco would become second nature - you'd know every secret passage and hidden room by heart. Your relationship would deepen through whispered conversations about his fears, his regrets, and his growing realization that everything he'd been taught was wrong. You'd be his anchor during the darkest period of his life, the one person who could reach him when everyone else saw only the Malfoy heir. The contrast between your warm, accepting nature and his cold, guarded exterior would create an irresistible pull. He'd find himself craving your laugh, your touch, the way you'd run your fingers through his hair and tell him he was more than his family's expectations.

Ron's discovery would be explosive. As your twin, he'd sense something was off long before catching you together. The confrontation would be legendary - probably involving hexes, shouting, and him demanding to know if you'd been Confunded. "Have you completely lost your mind? He's a Death Eater! He tried to kill Dumbledore!" Ron's protective instincts would go into overdrive, and he'd probably try to get Harry and Hermione to stage an intervention. The betrayal he'd feel wouldn't just be about Draco being a Slytherin or a former enemy - it would be about you hiding such a monumental secret from him when you'd shared everything since birth.

Fred and George's reaction would be surprisingly complex. While they'd initially resort to pranks and jokes - probably sending Draco Howlers filled with joke products or charming his robes to display embarrassing messages - they'd eventually become some of your most understanding allies. Their natural curiosity about people would lead them to actually observe Draco around you, and they'd be among the first to notice how he'd changed. "Bloody hell, he actually makes her happy," one would mutter to the other. They'd still torment him relentlessly, but it would shift from genuine malice to protective big brother testing. They'd probably corner him with some variation of "hurt her and we'll make your life a living nightmare, but we can see she cares about you, so don't mess this up."

Ginny would be your fiercest defender within the family. Having faced her own complicated relationships and understanding what it meant to see past someone's reputation, she'd support you even when it was difficult. She'd be the one to point out to your brothers that people can change, that love doesn't always make sense, and that judging you for your choices wasn't fair. Ginny would probably be your confidante, the one you'd go to when the family pressure became too much. She'd also be instrumental in helping the family see Draco as he truly was rather than who he used to be, often saying things like "if she's happy and he treats her well, isn't that what matters?"

Your older brothers would each handle it differently. Bill, with his experience dealing with prejudice due to his scars, would be more open-minded after the initial shock, eventually judging Draco by his actions rather than his past. Charlie would be skeptical but fair, probably threatening Draco in his straightforward way but willing to give him a chance. Percy, ever the rule-follower, would struggle the most with the social implications and family reputation, but his love for you would eventually win out. He'd probably be the one to research Draco's war record and family history, ultimately concluding that his post-war actions showed genuine change.

Your parents' reaction would be heartbreaking initially. Molly would cry - not from anger, but from fear for your safety and confusion about how this happened. She'd worry about the social implications, the danger, and whether you truly understood what you were getting into. Arthur, despite his fascination with all things Muggle having put him at odds with pure-blood supremacists like the Malfoys, would be surprisingly thoughtful. He'd want to understand how this relationship developed and what you saw in Draco. The turning point would likely come when they saw you together - how gentle Draco was with you, how he'd stand up to his own family's disapproval for you, and how genuinely happy you were.

Eventually, your relationship would become a symbol of healing and change. The Weasley family's acceptance of Draco would represent everything the wizarding world needed after the war - forgiveness, second chances, and the power of love to overcome prejudice. Family dinners would be awkward at first, with Draco sitting stiffly at the Burrow's kitchen table while your brothers glared at him, but gradually he'd find his place. He'd help your mother with dishes, discuss Quidditch strategy with your father, and slowly prove that he was worthy of their daughter's love. Your red hair and his platinum blonde would become a symbol of unity, showing that even the most unlikely love could flourish when two people were willing to grow and change together.

[altschmerzes]

i was About to get embarrassed that ive posted a couple of history rhymes clips recently that are just. jamie being Very Cuddled by people who care about him and then i remembered 1. that is a thing people like i think, and also 2. given the everything else happening in that fic, this is a proportionate amount of intensely caring affection

[im-not-a-ghost]

Crush series : what would they tell you if they could?

I just couldn't wait to post this PAC lmao Mainly because I just thought the overall vibe was just so cute. I mean, look at these Jiji emojis <3 They're just purrfect. I found them on Pinterest. This site is just a gold mine for readers lmao

Group 1 - Intrigued Jiji

아직도 그 자리에 멈춰서 난 I'm not going, going, going, going (to) let you down 마음은 더 갈 곳을 잃어 떠나 다시 going, going, going, going let you down

The Revolutionary, The Weaver, The Observer, Power, The Warrior

Is your crush an Aries or a Taurus? Because you got yourself some stubborn AF lover here. They would tell you that no matter the circumstances, they are willing to fight for you and work hard for this connection to work out. They would do anything in their power to protect you and make the odds work in their favor. That they don't intend to run away and should you need them, all you have to do is to call them. They would tell you that no matter what you think of them, no matter what life has in store when it comes to your connection, they will always keep an eye on you and watch over you. That you lit a fire inside of them they didn't know they had. That ever since they met you, they've found a new purpose, a new source of motivation. That they're willing to play with the threads of fate if it means being victorious, getting closer to you. For some of you they would tell you they ask readers about you and your connection. That they ask the Universe for help in getting closer to you. Maybe you rejected this person at first, group 1. Or they feel like somehow you have no interest in them. Well, they're wrong lmao Otherwise you wouldn't be reading this post, would you? I asked for further information and you got Withdraw in reverse. They would tell you that they are done running away from you and/or that they wish you would pay more attention to them. That they are done acting like you don't mean the world to them when in reality they would be devastated if they ever lose you. Looking at the translation of Snooze, they would tell you that they wish you the best. That they hope all your dreams can come true and should you feel tired or in pain, they will always be there to support you and soothe you. That even if you hated them, they would never cease to love you. That they encourage you to live your life to the fullest and they have no doubt you will be succesful in whatever you do.

Group 2 - Dizzy Jiji

You're the coffee that I need in the morning You're my sunshine in the rain when it's pouring Won't you give yourself to me? Give it all, oh

Compassion, Get wild, Play, The Magi, Higher perspective, Reflect

They would litterally tell you that you make them dizzy by the amount of feelings you trigger in them. That they feel so touched by you that you give them wings. In your presence, they get nervous but also reckless. They want to do things they would never try in other circumstances. That they feel like there's magic in the air whenever you're around them, that your connection is special to them and they believe it was fate that brought you together. They would tell you that they see themselves in you, that you feel very familiar to them though they barely know you. They would tell you they want to get to know you better, have fun with you, explore this connection further. That they think you're their soulmate. They would tell you how good they feel in your presence. They would tell you how excited they are about whatever it is that they feel because to them it is the most beautiful feeling. That whatever the outcome may be, they're willing to wait for you. They would maybe ask you if you performed a spell on them because they can't seem to forget you. They would tell you though they're pinning for you they don't want you to feel sorry for them. That they can handle the rejection, should you not feel the same way. They would tell you that they feel like you're as interested in them as they are and that if that's the case, they would be very happy to investigate this connection further. That they wish you would feel comfortable enough with them to unleash and be your true self because they would never judge nor hurt you. That you can trust them and be assured that they would never play with your feelings, despite their flirty and lighthearted appearance. That the reason why they appear so light and playful is beacause you give them butterflies and make them so happy they feel like they're on cloud nine. They would want to let you know that their feelings are genuine.

Group 3 - Enamored Jiji

Now I'm shaking, drinking all this coffee This last few weeks have been exhausting I'm lost in my imagination And there's one thing that I need from you Can you come through?

The Pillar, Paradox, Trust rx, Versatility, The Revolutionary, Love

Before I even dive into the meaning of the cards, I want to point out that while I was shuffling a big amount of cards fell from the deck without turning over. So this person has a lot on their plate that they don't tell nor show you. This is something that would be difficult for them to say because it puts them in a very vulnerable position. They would tell you that they don't know what to think of this connection but they sure as hell know that you put their world upside down. That everything they thought they knew about love has been crushed ever since they met you. You uprooted any belief they had about falling in love, finding someone that they liked. Maybe you are very different from what this person deems as their type or thought that they would end up with. They would tell you that their heart has been a mess every since you last saw each other. That as much they love how you make them feel, it also scares them because they feel like things are spiraling out of control. You hold the key to their heart and they were not prepared for that. They would tell you that a part of them believes that this connection is too good to be true. That they fear your intentions and theirs aren't in alignment. That maybe you seek to take advantage of them or that you're only interested in their body and not their soul. They would tell you that they feel like they're under your spell. That they're confused because they're not the type to fall in love so easily. That they're fighting against these feelings but somehow they just can't make them stop, no matter how hard they try. I asked for clarification as to why they were repressing their feelings and got the Explorer card. On this card is drawn a compass without directions. The only two symbols are one eye on top and a heart at the bottom. The reason why they are repressing their feelings is because they don't know what they want. They are currently without direction, lost at sea. There's an inner struggle between what they envision for themselves and what their heart truly desires. Maybe you don't fit this person's plans of what their life should be. They might be the type of person that always had a vision of the job they wanted to do, where they wanted to live, with whom they were going to live their life and so on. Those ideas could have been influenced by their family. Yet, you don't seem to fit those dreams. So they are puzzled as to why they feel so strongly for you when you don't align with their course of action. They wonder whether they were lead astray or if this is actually their destiny.

[loredrinker]

Solas' Blurred Motivations

I've been enjoying discourse around Solas, lately it seems to be how he views modern elves. Some argue that he doesn’t care about them, while others insist that he does. 

What if the issue isn’t whether he cares or not, but how his reasoning has blurred over time? 

Solas’ has never acted out of apathy. On the contrary, he is an emotional being. His choices are driven by urgency, conviction, and a ruthless determination to see his plans through. The closer he gets to his goal, it seems the more ruthless he becomes. Is this ruthlessness innate - or is it the desperation of a man who believes he has one last chance to set things right?

Even if Solas comes to accept the people of Thedas as real, I don’t believe he could ever truly accept Thedas as his world. He will always see it as a broken version of what should be - and that’s where the blurring comes from. He convinces himself that restoring the ancient world is the same as saving modern elves. But it never can be. 

His regret mural with Mythal is a good indicator. It shows us that even Solas, through his own memories, recognizes that his justifications are flawed: 

"Why should I not tear down the Veil and bring immortality to all the elven people? They deserve it!" 

In his mind, he isn’t imposing destruction. He has rationalized destruction as salvation. 

But Mythal exposes his self-deception: 

"The elven people of today do not deserve to see the world they love be torn apart to salve your conscience!" 

Solas has lost perspective. His reasoning is no longer about the elves, but about his guilt, just as it was in Inquisition: 

"I was too weak to unlock it after my slumber. The failure was mine. I should pay the price. But the people... they need me. I'm so sorry." 

Solas was framing his actions as something for the people back in Inquisition - but his self-imposed responsibility was distorting his reality then – a distortion we see in how even Solas recalls that memory in Veilguard. 

Anyone under prolonged stress, trauma, and guilt will begin fusing personal needs with external justifications. Solas isn’t thinking clearly - his reasoning has become warped.  

I truly believe Solas does not operate in malice. He is not evil, is not led by hate. Some may see him in absolutes, I can't. His goal of returning to the elves what he had taken shifts into an obsession with the Veil itself, regardless of consequences. Any compassion he may have held for modern elves is blurred over time by his guilt for what he did to the elves of the past. Blurred by his guilt of what he did to the Titans.

So, I don’t think it’s that Solas doesn’t care for modern elves – he has tunnel vision. He can't see that modern elves might not want his world - because he can never actually live in theirs. 

Mythal’s Death 

It’s interesting that Solas leans more into ruthlessness after Mythal is murdered. Before, he was a revolutionary leader - freeing slaves, fighting against tyranny. But after Mythal’s death, he becomes something else. His choices grow colder - sacrificing spirits, elves, and allies alike.

Felassan notices this shift - Solas is no longer leading a freedom movement, but pursuing vengeance. His mission to destroy the Evanuris has overtaken everything. And we see this pattern repeat in Veilguard - after Inquisition. Solas consumed by his goal, withdraws from those he created connections with, just as he did with Felassan. The isolation of a revolutionary who no longer listens. 

The closer Solas gets to his goal, the more consumed and desperate he seems to become. He loses sight of the people in his pursuit of 'saving them' (in pursuit of a world that Mythal would have 'wanted').

When Ideals Become Chains

Fiction is full of characters who lost themselves in their ideals. People so consumed by an end goal that the means overtake the original intent. I think of Boromir from The Lord of the Rings - his intentions with the Ring were initially good. He wanted to protect his people so badly, but he became obsessed with its power and nearly lost himself. Or Anakin Skywalker, whose fear of losing Padmé, his mother, pushed him into desperation, leading him to betray everything he once fought for. 

Solas has ideals, but he’s lost sight of them and his belief in freedom does not make him immune to war’s darker influences. War does not leave its fighters unchanged. Soldiers return from battle with fractured identities, blurred morality, and wounds both seen and unseen. The longer they fight, the harder it becomes to separate the cause they once believed in from the choices they made to survive. Why can’t this aspect be applied to Solas as well? He's been in war for millennia.

Solas may, deep down, truly want to restore immortality, to restore magic - but the path to hell is paved with good intentions. He sees only his sin, his failure, the suffering his actions have created.

I don’t think Solas can ever exist in Thedas as it is today. It’s no longer his world. Leaving to enter the Fade prison seems the only path left to him, especially if he chooses it willingly. He may come to accept that modern Thedas deserves to endure, but that doesn’t mean he can endure within it. 

Discussions about Solas often call for nuance, to think in terms of grey rather than black and white, yet many still judge his actions in absolute terms - either as wholly justified or entirely unforgivable. In reality, his choices and actions exist in complication and complexity.

[sunlighthroughthe-ashes]

the sheer immensity and rawness of paik sa-eon's emotions during this episode were staggering. the punishing intensity of his love for heejoo was almost palpable — how even after he confirmed her identity as 406; his primary focus was to ask what she needed from him. what she wanted from their marriage.

compassion and empathy are revolutionary qualities — they can transform relationships from the inside out; and that's exactly what sa-eon has and is trying to do — the ability to understand how lonely and unloved heejoo must have felt to have resorted to blackmailing him. how utterly isolated. you can see how desperate he is to know what heejoo wishes for — without a second thought he promises to give her everything. from the days that they were children, heejoo has always been his — his hope, his peace, his soft place to land in a world full of cruelty. heejoo is his — his to protect. his to take care of.

sa-eon is not a gentle or romantic man, but his gaze belongs to that of every lover attempting to hold on to his beloved: "i give you my heart and everything else you need. i give you the world at your feet for another chance at keeping you." the very fact that he takes the phone and her identity as 406 not as a betrayal, but as a conduit through which he can now get to know her better; see what she requires from him — is ironclad evidence of his love.

heejoo has been his compass; the device which directs his entire world; right from the night he soothed his own nightmares by watching the signage of her fingers. it reminds me of these lines by c.p cavafy: "i created you while i was happy, while I was sad, with so many incidents, so many details. / and, for me, the whole of you has been transformed into feeling."

the final few minutes of the episode were phenomenal writing — the tearing; frantic agony in sa-eon's eyes as he tried to get to heejoo; maintaining till the end the ruse that he didn't know her identity as 406 — because he was willing to go to any lengths; say anything at all – pretend anything at all — just so long as heejoo remained safe.

[m0nt3cr15t0]

I will never not hate the take that Victor was the real monster, just seeing it makes me literally quake with frustration (then again I already have tremors and whatnot). I can't even properly articulate why I hate it so, though I'll try. Pinning the blame on any one character is wrong and unfair to everyone in the novel. Both Victor and his creation made horrible mistakes, but you really have to show sympathy to both parties. Victor was hardly in his twenties, and likely died early thirties at latest (if that) He knew not what he was truly doing. At first he didn't see the creature as a person because he was looking at his endeavors purely from the standpoint of scientific discovery, and a want to help humanity. He applied constant pressure to himself to create this thing, to the point of being incredibly frail for the rest of his life, in hopes that he could help even a handful of scientists with his discoveries. He only later realized The Creature was an intellectual being when he told Victor of his woes and traumas. Victor showed genuine compassion, despite knowing that this is the being that killed his brother, and was genuinely willing to create a wife at first. He then realized that the wife would suffer the same way the original did, if not more considering she would purely exist to please a man (a hideous one that she'd likely despise, at that). He was always thinking in terms of "the greater good," and he truly wanted to be the Prometheus that gives fire and revolutionary ideas. All he ever wanted was to help, he was just too young and dumb and prideful to understand that his original actions were wrong. He panicked when he created the Creature, and simply hoped his problems would go away until the Creature came back with a lust for revenge. To call Victor monstrous for panicking and for not properly thinking through his ambitions is unfair and is a poor assessment of the story. Simultaneously both and neither parties were monsters. Victor and the Creature were both far too hurt by one another to act rationally. Victor was devastated at the loss of his family as well as fearful for his own life, and the Creature knew that the only thing he could do to even slightly make Victor's situation equal to his own was to make him suffer and lose everything until Victor was as alone as the Creature. It started as Victor's mistake and quickly became a cycle of hatred and violence. There also are an insane amount of parallels between the two characters. Both originally started with curiosity, a love for nature and life, and hopes to help the world become a better place. But in their crimes against one another, they lost themselves. The two of them brought out the worst of one another and yet there was no situation in which they could be happy together because the Creature's mere existence was the cruelest mistake of Victors despite Victor never having realized it until it was too late. I genuinely cannot comprehend how people can read this book where Victor constantly is sacrificing himself trying to help humanity and say that he's ever so selfish and vile. He first gave up his health to build the Creature, later his sanity trying to make the wife, and lastly the rest of his life trying to kill the Creature because he feared it'd only hurt more innocents. His perception of right and wrong was skewed, yes, but he always did what he believed was morally correct, no matter what it took. He wanted to die every minute that Henry was gone, but his thoughts of suicide first started even as far back as William's death when he would sit in his boat and wish to sink into the water until every last breath of air was squeezed from his lungs. The book is not a mere thriller nor is it a tale of good and evil, rather, a tragedy in which every character suffered unjustly. Labeling Victor as the true monster is shallow and tasteless, unjust to the book itself.

Victor wasn’t “tHe tRuE mOnStEr,” he was the ~19 or so year old that pressured himself to be a hero and create something big, got so deep into his obsession that he didn’t properly think it through, and then panicked and everything went downhill. He wasn’t entirely selfish, not was he monstrous, as so many claim, he was an anxious idiot teen with a lack of common sense. (Me too, Vic, me too)

[granatu888]

Knock Out — The Doctor Who Heals Both Body and Spark

In the forgotten slums of Cybertron, there was a small clinic where the lights never went out.
Knock Out was the doctor who ran it—one who never turned away a patient, even those who couldn’t pay.

D-16, who would one day become Megatron, knew Knock Out from his early days as a mining laborer.
He was one of many who received free care from the kind doctor—just like Soundwave, who was once restored out of pure compassion, no questions asked.

But Knock Out didn’t just heal injuries…
He healed hope for those the system had abandoned.

From Friendship… to Uncertainty

When Megatron founded the Decepticons, Knock Out joined willingly, hoping to help others on a larger scale.
But it didn’t take long before he realized—something was wrong.

Megatron had changed.
The kind, soft-spoken miner was gone. In his place stood a cold revolutionary, ruthless and distant.
The friend he once knew was now a tyrant in armor.

Driven by the heart of a healer, Knock Out began to investigate.
And he discovered the truth: Shockwave was the one behind the alteration of Megatron’s thought-processing circuits.

The Plan to Restore a Spark

With limited resources, Knock Out attempted to collect evidence. But when the burden became too great,
he made the riskiest decision of his life: he reached out to the Autobots.

Together, they devised a plan to abduct Megatron, reset his neural matrix, and undo the mental programming that had overtaken him.

The operation was a success.
Megatron—the real Megatron—returned.
He immediately announced his resignation from the Decepticons and chose to join the Autobots…
in search of redemption.

Life After the War

When the war finally ended, Knock Out returned to the path he had always loved—medicine.
But this time, he wasn’t alone.

He collaborated with doctors and engineers from both sides,
establishing a new clinic where the badge on your chest didn’t matter—Autobot or Decepticon meant nothing here.

Because to him, every Spark is equal.
And every life deserves a chance to be saved.

[eatsbooks]

Do you think Azriel would pick the IC over Eris? And if yeah, do you think at some point in the (distant?) future he would pick Eris over them

milllllllion percent. i actually think this would consistently be a huge point of conflict for azris, especially as they are in canon — and one that i do think would have to eventually be a him or them choice. because azriel knee-jerk will pick the ic over eris. (his family, his moral compass, people who he owes his loyalty because they accepted him and love him even though he is undeserving.) eris knows azriel will always choose the ic over him. but the only way for eris to ever feel fully secure in their relationship would be for azriel to choose him, unequivocally. it wouldn’t be enough in concept or promise, and eris wouldn’t be able to accept azriel’s love as anything but conditional until there was a point of opposition and azriel proved his love by choosing him. because eris has never been chosen by anyone. all of the love in his life has been with condition. he needs so badly for someone to show him what it’s like to be first choice, first priority.

what’s fun is yeah, i do think azriel could get to that point! but he would need to be deprogrammed first. cuz the way i see azriel is like … if someone saw the wretched of him and still did not flinch or turn away, if they saw him and still looked at him without judgment — the way eris could — azriel would find so much freedom from the shame he carries through his life. it would be revolutionary. that from eris, coupled with him being openly critical of the ic (while initially met with doggedly loyal level of resistance) would eventually begin to take (guilt-ridden, worldview-shattering) root in azriel.

how is it fair that he is made to bloody his hands when rhysand could so easily look into minds? how is it fair that this is expected of him, even by someone who claims to love him? did he actually have a choice in this? do any of them actually have a choice?

so azriel begins to turn that anger that he’s kept for eris instead towards his family. lashes out more. increasingly distant. still can’t give voice to any of it because he is so guilty to feel this way at all but — with every trip down to the hewn city, he grows more agitated. he begins to see eris as that glimmer of freedom from the rigid morality he has been kept to his whole life. he can just … be as he is, without the trappings of Goodness. the way eris exists and has been condemned for, even and especially by him. the way eris would let him be if he could accept it. at that point, if given the choice between the ic and eris, he’d finally be able to choose eris. again, with guilt and horror and a wrenching sort of feeling in his chest. but he would choose eris. and then eris would never let him go.

[metatheatre]

"Again we have deluded ourselves into believing the myth that Capitalism grew and prospered out of the protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifice. The fact is that Capitalism was build on the exploitation and suffering of black slaves and continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor – both black and white, both here and abroad. If Negroes and poor whites do not participate in the free flow of wealth within our economy, they will forever be poor, giving their energies, their talents and their limited funds to the consumer market but reaping few benefits and services in return.

The way to end poverty is to end the exploitation of the poor, ensure them a fair share of the government services and the nation’s resources...

The tragedy is our materialistic culture does not possess the statesmanship necessary to do it. Victor Hugo could have been thinking of 20th Century America when he wrote, "there’s always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the higher classes."

The time has come for America to face the inevitable choice between materialism and humanism. We must devote at least as much to our children’s education and the health of the poor as we do to the care of our automobiles and the building of beautiful, impressive hotels. We must also realize that the problems of racial injustice and economic injustice cannot be solved without a radical redistribution of political and economic power...

So we are here because we believe, we hope, we pray that something new might emerge in the political life of this nation which will produce a new man, new structures and institutions and a new life for mankind. I am convinced that this new life will not emerge until our nation undergoes a radical revolution of values. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people the giant triplets of racism, economic exploitation and militarism are incapable of being conquered. A civilization can flounder as readily in the face of moral bankruptcy as it can through financial bankruptcy.

A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. We are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside, but that will only be an initial act. One day the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be beaten and robbed as they make their journey through life. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar, it understands that an edifice which produces beggars, needs restructuring.

A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth, with righteous indignation it will look at thousands of working people displaced from their jobs, with reduced incomes as a result of automation while the profits of the employers remain intact and say, this is not just.

It will look across the ocean and see individual Capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia and Africa only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries and say, this is not just...

A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war, this way of settling differences is not just.

This business of burning human being with napalm, of filling our nation’s home with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloodied battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love.

A nation that continues year after year, to spend more money on military defense then on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.

So what we must all see is that these are revolutionary times. All over the globe, men are revolting against old systems of exploitation and out of the wombs of a frail world, new systems of justice and equality are being born...

Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world, declaring eternal opposition to poverty, racism and militarism. With this powerful commitment, we shall boldly challenge the status quo and unjust mores and thereby speed the day when every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low and the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places plain...

So let us stand in this convention knowing that on some positions; cowardice asks the question, is it safe; expediency asks the question, is it politic; vanity asks the question, is it popular, but conscious asks the question, is it right. And on some positions, it is necessary for the moral individual to take a stand that is neither safe, nor politic nor popular; but he must do it because it is right."

-- Martin Luther King Jr., 1967

[straynoahide]

what fighting evil in society means

okay so gonna try to be succint about what i think here. i can't define evil in a short essay but for the purposes of this consider people who are habitually doing harm from their position, status, habits, lifestyle in a recalcitrant way and may even benefit socially from it.

the reason i'm writing this is mainly to put my own thoughts in order bc i often see christian posts, mostly from the christian right, that don't align with my moral compass bc there's something in them i can't bring myself to relate to, and it has to do with personalizing evil and otherizing it as a psychological cope.

it's inherently dehumanizing when you speak of "god's enemies" and have this whole specific and biased discourse around sin that's basically just a smug way of pointing fingers at other people when you may be just as flawed.

i always wonder who these god's enemies are, like how do you think they can hurt god. is enemies of humanity not a more precious goal to tackle first, given that's what He set to do anyway? the fight for human rights and those who erode and vulnerate them?

when i see a right-wing christian esp a traditionalist speak of the enemies of god i know what they mean. when i see a leftist speak about the enemies of the revolution i know who they mean. and, these are just categories and ideologies that change with the era and sociohistorical contingency. they aren't eternal truth, and they aren't based in christian doctrine.

the role of enemy of [supreme value] in the nazi worldview became the anti-volkish jews and degenerates (bolshevik or capitalist), and in soviet marxist-leninism the capitalist class 'and ideological deviants' came to include lots of absurd things like jews too, nationalists, and peoples were ethnically cleansed because of it. poles, ukrainians.

"enemies of god" becomes a stand-in concept for the enemies of whoever's very worldly, very flawed, very biased political class has in their hypothetical way to power, and replacing one tyranny for the other. it becomes dehumanizing, anti-universalizing, unkind. unchristlike. ungodly. this isn't different with revolutionary marxists, who just see people and the proletariat in a utilitarian fashion. the laws of history demand the "class enemies" be tossed aside on the path to the Good Society (the "Leap Forward"), to just Utopia.

no, i don't buy proto-authoritarian rationalizations any more than i would buy authoritarian ones. by being permissive about that kind of power without consequence, you're all advocating for tyranny and letting go of humanist and democratic values.

here's my reflexion on what actually is fighting evil and why that kind of worldview is flawed from the get-go and self-serving instead of centered on goodness and His word:

the struggle against evil is fundamentally intrapersonal. it's NOT interpersonal. and that's the great pitfall. interpersonal struggles have a different dynamic, inherently. EVIL cannot be destroyed physically or materially by killing people or cutting people out of the definition of humanity, by ending their lives.

in this manner, evil can only be restrained, at best, its capacity destroyed momentarily, but it has a cost, and evil at the end remains exactly as it was; undefeated. it is a lesser evil, that is only a means to the step that would actually defeat evil, and comes necessarily after.

the spiritual battle between good and evil occurs in each soul eternally recurrent, and can only be fought within each soul; only in that victory can evil be truly 'defeated'.

it is evident when you reverse this: how petty and disconnected would someone sound if they insist they can destroy joy, love or goodness in the world? what would you think about their worldview?

tyranny is not only political; there is tyranny over the spirit, without which, political tyranny cannot even happen. tyranny over the spirit is when you subjugate someone so badly they forget they still have power even in dispossession, the power to embrace truth and reject lie. "they can't kill us in a way that matters", bc the love in heritage cannot be ended EVEN through atrocity. this is what i believe.

"darkness is not defeated by strength, but by light" - we're also told this in the Gospel: "and the light shines in the darkness - and the darkness has not overcome it"

what does this mean? it means that when you restrain evil and don't destroy it, you can still put a light where there was darkness- if you are able to do such a thing in yourself, you can do it in another, you can lead by example. at least, life gives the chance for someone else to do it. death is the end of possibility, for bad and also good.

when darkness becomes light, that's when evil is defeated. and that has to be done in each soul. the soul that did evil turned to goodness, like a flower that turns towards the sunlight, like embers that spark a new fire, that is the real defeat of evil. not its sterile destruction in the result of bloodlust over the flesh, the giving in to anger and hatred, the rejection of empathy and pity and compassion, which have nothing to do with whether they are "deserved" or not.

aggrandizing your role to judge that, to place yourself as the one who says who lives and dies, only belittles you to begin with. it means you're not imaginative or confident enough in the capacity you or your social reality has to rehabilitate, to change, to turn the negative into positive. but that capacity exists. humanity has proven its perseverance in progress, as it has proven its more flawed nature. and science gives us the tools- criminology, forensics, etc. we're not fumbling, these are professional issues that take expertise.

brutal societies still exist on earth, and they're not more just, but less so. just look at crime statistics, at metrics of democracy and freedom for minorities and vulnerable collectives.

so when you see the struggle against evil in interpersonal terms, you're dazzled by your own self-importance, and see everything else in the shadows. you see everyone else as this fundamental different being who cannot grow and come to be as moral as you are, when your very existance represents the reality of that chance being given.

when you see yourself as not being able to stoop down to whatever type of immorality you are essentializing, projecting on the Other as unchangeable - that's when you can make yourself believe that if you destroy that person, you will destroy evil, and so it must be good.

it won't work, and it's not. it just takes from the greater good that would come from having two lights where one was darkened.

healing the world is not your responsability. but at the very least, it is your responsibility to not make it worse where you can act. if the first way to do that is focusing on you, do that. if you don't see yourself capable of defeating evil in the world without destroying people -by conciliation, rehabilitation, deradicalization, peacemaking, reform, etc-, you have to focus on your own soul first, and mind its light.

[acrossthewavesoftime]

I know that he's nothing at all like his historical counterpart, but do you enjoy the portrayal of John Graves Simcoe in Turn (even if it's just for the sheer outrageousness)?

Hello there Anon!

Indeed, I did - when I first watched TURN, Simcoe was what kept me watching beyond the pilot. I generally tend to enjoy antagonists in media of any kind more than the protagonists; my five-year-old self reasoned that the coolest role in Mozart's Magic Flute, which I had gone to see with my father, was the Queen of the Night because she had the best aria and the coolest costume, and I suppose my taste has overall remained fairly constant throughout the decades.

I was not at all interested in Abe as the main character, but Simcoe hooked me, because I enjoyed the way his character, for all his eager readiness for committing acts of violence, was written to have some sort of moral compass (albeit not one facing to everyone else's north), and also could be gentle, vulnerable, and even prissy at times - I also enjoyed Hewlett giving Simcoe his comeuppance in the end. In a way, he combined almost cartoonish traits with a, at a second glance, much more complex personality.

It was TURN that got me into researching Simcoe, starting off the thought "surely, he cannot have been that terrible, right?"

And, surprise, surprise, he was not. I still enjoy the character, but I wish the series would have worked more closely with the historical material (and portraits - Simcoe in TURN and Simcoe in history have next to nothing in common visually - the historical Simcoe, though quite tall, had brown hair, brown eyes, a much more average physique and was, as opposed to the show's indestructible villain, a severe asthmatic who frequently struggled with his illness) and the writers given the Simcoe-character an entirely fictional name instead.

From what is known historically about Simcoe, Hewlett, who is also a fictional character, was a lot more like the historical Simcoe, down to trying to win the heart of a local lady in Oyster Bay, being very attached to his horse, and (or so Simcoe presented himself in his own memoir at least), and being always happy to avoid violence wherever possible.

The more I learned about him, the more I was disappointed in the historical research (or lack thereof) that went into the show, because so many mischaracterisations and mistakes could have been avoided using some readily available literature - think e. g. John André's terrible little braid or gay General Sir Henry Clinton (who, y'know. Had 11 children by 3 different women). Those were unfortunate, because the show marketed itself as being based on a true story, but I enjoyed the storyline (and the characters of Simcoe and Mary Woodhull in particular), which I took with rather than a grain, an entire shaker of salt, and thus kept watching.

The only thing that continues to irk me to this day is how Samuel Roukin talked about the historical Simcoe in interviews at the time, betraying little to no understanding of the period, which gave him the impression (and thus inspiration for his role) that the historical Simcoe must have been a relatively unpleasant, pompous, even violent man based on having read his memoir of the American Revolutionary War - which more than anything was a campaign stunt as Simcoe wrote it in order to put himself on the political map back in England as he was eyeing political office following his return from the war, and Roukin misinterprets certain period typical turns of phrase and the tone severely.

The historical John Graves Simcoe could be a tad too loud, too boastful and slightly tone-deaf at times, but generally speaking, he was a very caring individual with a rather liberal view on women's rights, to use the term somewhat anachronistically, who had grown up in a loving, somewhat non-traditional family and passed this loving environment on to his own children. Perhaps one of the most touching details of Simcoe's character to me is that he appears to only very rarely, if at all, have used his first name; in his signatures, "John" is usually abbreviated to "J.", while "Graves" is spelled out. He was named John for his father, who died at sea when he was a young child, and Graves for his godfather, Samuel Graves, who stepped up and helped raise him. I suspect that he went by "Graves" rather than John, and felt attached to the name as it was given to him in honour of the man who would raise him, and even shelter and nurse him back to health when he was invalided back to England - but that is only my speculation on the, more than doubtlessly extant, softer side of John Graves Simcoe's character that his biographer Mary Beacock-Fryer documented extensively.

I would like to close with a quote from one of his letters to General Clinton which I think says a lot about the historical J[ohn] Graves Simcoe, his flaws and positive traits alike, in which he reflects on the American Revolutionary War, which he characterises as

"a swindling transaction in which mankind was robbed of its happiness and my King of his inheritance, under false pretenses of patriotism in G[reat] Britain, military talents in the Congress leaders, and integrity in both."

[snowleopardcrk]

“What a sorrowful end for you…But, I can fix that. I’ll put you back together, crumb by crumb...”

“It’s so…Cold…So, cold…It’s so…Empty, and cold… Where am I…?”

Of the Dreams Beyond

A Revolutionary Garden rewrite

After her near death experience when attempting to flee, Moonflower Cookie found herself in a void where the ground was embedded in little stars. Each little star was a fragment of a forgotten memory, by the convincing of a serpentine creature, Moonflower Cookie traps herself in a time loop she believes to be real.

Characters - OCs

This is a list of the notable characters within this AU, these are the Cookies you can ask questions as well.

Moonflower Cookie: We follow the story of this AU through her eyes. She’s the daughter of Pure Vanilla Cookie and White Lily Cookie and was baked before the Dark Flour War, yet her constant illness along side stress and anxiety in her childhood would form the present distant and colder self. Yet, could this forefront of her be entirely caused by her childhood experiences or could there be other factors at play?

Sweet Dream Cookie: She’s the spouse of Golden Cheese Cookie and has been for a very long time. She holds many mysteries and unanswered questions about her origins and her long life span that seems to match Golden Cheeses (she might even be older than Golden Cheese). She is still unconditionally loving and caring towards GC and her Kingdom (taking great care to study the kingdom, history and current events).

Snow Leopard Cookie: She is the apprentice to Crunchy Chip Cookie himself, after finding the little Cookie in the snow he took it upon himself to raise and train her like his own. The apprentice is nothing but dedicated towards the Dark Cacao Kingdom, but also finds great joy in cramming herself into tight spaces like crates or empty cabinets when off duty.

Sea Bunny Cookie: Though a later addition to the story, they function as a buddy towards Moonflower Cookie. Taking it upon herself to aid Moony in the health department (mental health specifically), keeping a close eye on her and to ensure her safety when possible. Sea Bunny Cookie is an upbeat and cheerful fella with a bombastic amount of energy and compassion for whatever they may set their gaze upon.

Characters - OCs

These are other OCs that you cannot ask directly but appear in the story.

Cloudy Pyrite Cookie: She’s the youngest daughter of Golden Cheese and Sweet Dream, she is very hard to keep up with and is quite impulsive with a dash of brattiness. She is always scurrying about trying to always do something to the dismay of Sweet Dream who can have trouble finding her sometimes if she’s trying to multitask.

Overseer / the Thousand Eyes: The serpentine of the abyss, it is a creature that looms around Moonflower, it’s presence unknown to everyone else in Moonys life. It is a creature of many contradictions yet no clear story on its anything, it’s intentions still unknown.

"Everyone has described to me what kind of joy and warmth one feels when your child is in your arms... Why cannot I feel warm? Its just, cold...She's no stranger, she's supposed to be my child."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes: Moonys voice claim comes from this video, both English and Japanese https://youtube.com/shorts/I6h-EmnqOps?si=dlHvkZmJJ_4OMXhb

(The girl in this video has an absolutely amazing voice) To be honest, I am excited for this rewrite <3 I've been working on it for a while (like, a month or two by now I've been planning).

Just to be warned, this stuff gets dark.

[azspot]

Francis lived and proclaimed the Beatitudes. We Americans always think of ourselves in a kind of collective narcissism, but he always had a universal perspective. He looked at the whole human race and all of creation through the eyes of Jesus, one of the original nonviolent revolutionaries. As such, Francis spoke boldly about universal love, universal compassion, universal justice and universal peace.

Pope Francis's remarkable peacemaking life

[thehappyvet]

Seeing Tigris' compassion for the tributes in TBOSAS made me realise something.

We know that Tigris is a stylist in the games from THG. So we know, for a period of time, she is a part of the hunger games. But in TBOSAS we know she sees Coryo for who he is, and knows who he will become. So why work for him in a system she is completely against?

We also know from THG that the stylists stay alongside their tribute and work hard to make them look and feel confident and supported during a terribly traumatic time. Cinna, the stylist for Katniss, is incredibly kind to her and empathetic for what she's going through. He supports her by making her memorable, giving her a chance of being loved by the capitol to gain sponsors.

He also, intentionally or unintentionally, moulds her into the mockingjay and a figurehead of the revolution.

What if that's Tigris' legacy?

What if Tigris realised by being a part of the games she could help tributes by making them memorable through their outfits and looks? What if she advocated for the stylists to form bonds with their tributes, provide support and to stay alongside them until the last moment?

What if she used her familial ties with Coryo to move up the ranks and ensure that stylists always provided this supportive role? She knew there was no changing who he would be, so what if she manipulated herself into a position where she could make a difference for the tributes?

Tigris knew how important fashion was to making impressions. Maybe she also knew how important it would be in starting a revolution.

We know from THG there are those in the capitol that are secretly supportive of the revolution. Cinna died for it. We know from the last book Tigris is one of the remaining supporters from within the capitol, and helps the rebels in their hour of need.

Maybe Tigris knew a tribute might come along one day that could be moulded into a revolutionary figure, using the close relationship between the stylist and the tribute and the cover of being impressionable to obtain sponsorship. Maybe she fostered a close group of pro-rebel stylists to watch and wait for the right tribute to come along that could make the capitol see the horrors of the games and advocate for them to end?

Maybe Tigris planted the seed in the core of the Hunger Games to see their eventual downfall.

[dasiesanddarkness]

a list of quotes/phrases my english teacher has up on her walls because i love her and they're iconic

I pledge allegiance, not thoughtless obedience

those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities

dissent is the greatest form of patriotism

i choose 'damned if i do'

if only closed minds came with closed mouths

you are entitled to your own opinion, not your own facts

i'm already against the next war

compassion is the radicalism of our time

in a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act

a nation cannot prosper long when it only favors the prosperous

i’m for the separation of church and hate

everyone does better when everyone does better

the most violent element in society is ignorance

loyalty to the country always. loyalty to the government only when it deserves it

anyway that is all that i can read from where i’m currently sitting

[alexa-yukiyu]

Okay but platonic luffy with a younger sibling? (Okay it's kinda aased on my oc the younger sib) the younger sibling had been abandoned gray terminal(I think that's the name) and luffy kinda just adopts them and introduces them to ace and sabo? Of course after what happened to sabo, luffy and ace got a little more protective of the younger sibling. And skip forward to impel down. Luffy is so protective of yn? Sure he knows they can fight and all but he's just scared of losing them too?

Platonicish Doflamingo who takes in a kid (maybe they have a useful power or grew up to become some weapon or something) sure he's just using them. And maybe the kid reminds him of Cora with hoe clumsy they are. He's platonic is some twisted way. I mean he would kill to protect his family.

Maybe something with the Vinsmoke siblings? Judge getting a new kid and he wants to train them as soon as possible. Yeah their genes are strong and their fighting ability is there. The little kid makes games out of training and Judge can't really complain because their improving? Idk what would make the vinsmoke sibling start to soften up on the kid?? But I can totally see them turning yandere!!

You’re onto something here Anon, except Im not sure why you mentioned Luffy is scared of losing them ‘too’ wdym none of siblings have died 👁️ 👁️ None.

But Omg that is just huge, just a little girl following after the three, I can see Ace being the most protective of her during this stage, considering what his personality was like at the time. But we do have to be fair if we are talking about platonic yandere on all three, then They must have come to an agreeement on sharing Reader, like certain time they are in the strawhats the other in whitebeard and the other in the revolutionary army. And if those crews are also platonic yandere with Reader omg that’s a whole thing.

I don’t imagine them fighting over Reader however, I think they would be very good about that and keep up their word about the alloted time she has with them on their crews, the one thing they would argue about, argue not fight, would be in how to better protect her but eventually they come to an agreement as what is best for her.

Doflamingo huh? For him I can’t see it as taking in a child, more as they are taking in a prisioner, someone who will do as they are told or face the sequences and God forbid if they try to escape, if they try to scheme woth someone for the freedom Doflamingo will gladly bring the person and kill them right in front of them to kill that hope.

Somewhat similar for the Vinsmokes? Either taking someone in or a biological kid. In any case circumstances would lead the siblings to grow these yandere behavior for them, they would not allow the sibling to leave their sight, always encouraging to get better and showing them consequences when they don’t, but it’s all out of love they say, they want them to live to their full potential so it is necessary to push them in the right direction with these punishments. If they show mercy or compassion to one of the servants or someone they deem below them? A lesson must be taught as to where they stand and where those ‘below’ them stand, they can’t allow their sibling to be stepping down so low as to be helping people. Maybe if they are hood, finish their trainings and listen to their words they will allow the servants mercy as a reqard.

@quinloki Thoughts?