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[atlastiamborn2point0]

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[roseonthewindow]

Me: French Italian People: Assume family cam form France and Italy to America and comingled there. Where family really came form: Small French Italian island nation off the coast of SPAIN that was destroyed by Hitler!!!!

Go off on ya I spoke Spanish before any other language Raised in a straight up multilingual environment with strong traditionally values. You shitting on me based on your assumptions on what that is is something I low key snicker at. Learning to accept myself was important for my recovery so was learning to identify and understand Gaslighting. You can not tell me I am a terrible person when you go around advocating for Abuse to happen even if its in the Boxing ring that was still abuse even if man bitch was female that would have still been ABUSE. It was excessive even under minimum competition standards. With what happened you are either conceding that...

A: they were grotesquely mismatched, a sign of IOC's incomitance and complacency in endangering the competitors. B: a BIOLOGICAL man who's boxing style is dramatically different form that a a BIOLOGICAL woman to a degree where it IS UNFAIR to pair them up, a sign of IOC's incomitance and complacency in endangering the competitors. C: Political pandering form the IOC, a sign of IOC's incomitance and complacency in endangering the competitors. In conclusion no matter what road you take they are all a sign of IOC's incomitance and complacency in endangering the competitors. That's why I am telling you all you can not win this fight, because all you idiots are not fighting the right battle to win.

[guitarbomb]

Thomann Cyberweek 2023 - Up to 60% of for 10 Days

Thomann Cyberweek 2023 runs from 17 – 23 and offers discounts of up to 60% off on a huge range of products. This sale is way better than just a regular Black Friday deal and includes major brands like Fender, Gibson, and Neural DSP in the deals. Up to 60% Off The annual Thomann Cyberweek has just started today and runs for 10 days straight with up to 60% off on gear purchased on the site. If you…

[semperfeminas]

being loyal to ur local corner store smoke shop is good for many reasons politically socially etc. but i'm gonna be honest i mostly do it for the perks

[thyrinea]

Till - An Alien Stage analysis

Vivinos just dropped the teaser for Round 6. And after watching it a couple of times, I feel like I can finally understand why people were telling that this round is potentially the most emotional one yet. So here are my thought about Till as a character, and what we might expect from him in the upcoming Round. But before you go on and start reading, I want to make two quick disclaimers:

My native language is not english and sometimes I might make some mistakes, and I'm sorry for that. I'll try to make everything as cohesive as possible on this post so we don't have any miscommunication.

In the analysis, there will be a small mention of suicidal thoughts and a whole section on human experiments. If you're uncomfortable with those topics, please don't continue.

If you're ok with everything, thank you for continuing and I hope you have a good read! (Also, if you want to add something please feel free to chat with me! I love to see more theories and takes on everything)

Let's start this analysis from the very beginning, or at least the first event that we know of in regard of Till: his time at the adoption center.

(Timestamp: 00:22 - 00:24 - Teaser)

From what I gathered, this scene was first seen as a sneak peek from Vivinos' patreon and it's most likely one of, if not the very first time both of them - Till and Ivan - has seen each other. As a "troubled" kid, it's dificult to catch the eyes of someone and make them willing to have you, and seeing the discounts placed on his captivity window, we can only assume that he stayed in the adoption center for quite a while now. It's no wonder that Till is watching with awe as Ivan is being escorted away: he probably got adopted and is leaving the establishment to live somewhere else, leaving the rest only to hope to be the next chosen one. We all know that in reality, being adopted by the aliens is not a synonym to having a good life in this scenario. But for a child who has been locked in this tiny room for possibly weeks, still not knowing how society works for them, it's a dream to finally be able to get out and possibly be loved by their adopted "family". So imagine Till finally getting out of this place, after all he went through there - being rejected, seen as an unwanted individual - only to get trapped in an even worse scenario: Being used as a human experiment.

(Timestamp: 00:06, 00:11, 00:16, 00:19 - Teaser)

We can see those images are depicting something that happened after the adoption center because he's older now. We don't know how much time he had to experience those events, but if we go back to Round 2, there are some instances where he is far younger and can be seen with green stickers similar to the ones on his neck shown in the 4th image. Not only that, even on his performance on Round 2, we can see them on display. So there is a chance that he had to deal with all of this for years. Yes, he was not alone during everything, but we don't know what happened to everyone who was in this same scenario. All we know is that the faces seen on the panel during the teaser, was never once seen again.

(Timestamp: 00:19 - Teaser)

It even seems that one has perished in one of the images shown in the teaser. For all we know, everyone but Till might be dead by the time Alien Stage begins for the main cast... And living in fear not knowing if you're going to be the next one to die during an experiment is a really terrifying reality he probably had to face. And yet, during all that, he even had to go to Anakt garden to train to become a singer, and possibly go to Alien stage.

(Timestamp: 00:57 - Round 2)

At least, somewhere around his time on Anakt garden, he found something worth living for: Mizi. She became his beacon of light. We don't know what happened but knowing Mizi's character, she has probably shown him what happiness looks like, maybe became the first one to interact with him and show him he's someone. Not a product, not an experiment, but an individual. And he really wanted to continue having this feeling again. To be happy, just like her, with her. This admiration that flourished from him is most likely what made this crush Till has for her blossom. It's kind of an unhealthy dependancy if we put the spotlight on this relationship, he would even go as far as refuse to escape from everything with ivan - who is shown to be the only other person who interacts with him, that he considers a friend - and have freedom if she's not present. It's as if he doesn't know if he can truly be happy if she's not around. I'll make another analysis on Ivan and Till's relationship on the kindergarden once Round 6 goes live. Trust me, if I start talking about them here, I would literally not shut up and the analysis would have another 1000 words. But for now I really want to emphasize how both are seen as "weirdos", and started talking more because they really only had each other. Despite the differences and the bickering, Till holds Ivan close to him as well.

(Timestamp: 00:19 - Teaser)

And now, We're on Round 6: Where Till has nothing to fight for. His whole life was purely a tragedy - he had seen and experienced some of the worst things that a human could go through in this world, and despite trying his best to fight against all odds, he's back on square one. He's been defeated. Mizi is missing, and in his eyes, possibly dead. And now he is going against his childhood friend, literally the only person he has left, on a battle where he knows and only one will get out alive. I won't be surprised if in the beginning he'll be willing to sacrifice himself for Ivan to win and live. Through the whole teaser, the voice singing in the background is muffled. Till is so out of it that he's not able to realize what's going on, even the shots he's in is in pure black, as if nothing around him matters anymore to him. That is, until the voice in the end gets clearer and we can finally see the stage for the Round. Can't wait to see what we have in store on April 5th. My theory is that this might be a 2 pov video, and later we'll get to know more about Ivan's take on everything. Specially because finally he might be able to make Till see him for once. Who's going to die? I hope no one. But we're talking about Vivinos... We can expect anything on this project. All I know is that I might die if we get some parallel to the meteor shower scene shown in black sorrow.

[devildomwriter]

Some of the Wildest MC Options Vol Three

“I’m going to kill Mammon!” — to Asmodeus 41-4

“So, where exactly is the baby?” — to Mammon 41-4

“I’ve never met this person before in my life.” — about Mammon 43-5

“Don’t worry, Mammon’s going to fix this for you.” — to Simeon 43-12

“Sometimes you’re actually helpful, huh Mammon?” — to Mammon 43-15

“Okay, want to do the breakup thing right now?” — to Mammon 43-18

“You think I look like a human?” — to Belphegor 44-5

“Have fun with Diavolo. Make sure to be friendly.” — to Lucifer 44-15

*Kick down the door* — 44-A

“Pokey pokeyyy…” — poking Lucifer 45-9

“We could sure use some money, Your Majesty!” — 45-15

“A discount? No, you’ll give it to us for free!” — 45-16

“When you apologize, meow like a kitty-cat.” — to Lucifer 46-16 Hard

“Lucifer, STAY!” — to Lucifer 47-4

“Call the police!” — to the brothers 47-4

“Mammooon! You’re so hooot!” — to Mammon 47-14

“Crowe, how can I control Mammon?” — to Crowe 49-19

*Push and send Mammon flying away* — 50-13

“BAD DOGS! STAY!” — to Satan and Mammon 52-15

“All right, say goodbye to your tail, Belphie!” — to Belphegor 54-7

“Nnnnoooooookay, sure…” — to Asmodeus 54-C

“He’s a five-year-old in an adult’s body.” — about Diavolo 55-15

“I’m their master!” — to Butcher 57-9

“I want to bend demons to my will like Solomon!” — to Luke 58-C

“A vehicle for cats!” — to the brothers 59-1

“I guess we’ll just have to get married…” — to Leviathan 59-14

“I want to get married!” — to everyone 60-15

“Who else has such power? Maybe no one…” — to Luke 60-15

Last • Next

[fox-bright]

So my "The tax return came in, I get One Niceness" was going to be yarn. I'm not fancy about my crochet; I do mainly blankets, and they need to be washable, and they need to be cheap, so acrylic yarn it is. So I hied me to the Joann Fabrics website (which is just. Always so, so awful. Please fix your abomination of a website with some of that bankruptcy freedom, Joann, I would spend more money there if spending money there didn't piss me off every time) and I spent a lazy afternoon putting things into my cart and taking them out again.

This was a splurge, so I wasn't going to do the cheapest acrylic yarn; I looked for colorways that delighted me, and finally I decided on a bunch of Lion brand "Ferris Wheel" yarn. It was on a pretty good sale, so I picked out more than I usually might.

The MFH has a little online widget that gives him a percentage back on the things we buy, and another widget that looks for good coupons, so I sent him a screencap of my cart, and then went and sat in his lap and used the cap as a diagram to fill a cart under his login. Very pleased with how cheaply I'd managed to get things, I sat there while he attacked the cart with the various widgets.

There were twelve potential coupons and the widget ran through all of them one after another, seeing what would give the greatest discount. I watched, interested, as the price jumped up a little higher than what I had already, fell lower, went a bunch higher, hit the same number I had--and then fell much lower.

"What." I said, looking at a cart that was thirty dollars cheaper than it had been a moment before.

EMPLOYEE DISCOUNT, it said across the top. Something like 50% off.

"No way are they going to let us have this." I said. "Someone either put their store manager's employee number in there as a bit of revenge, or they quit and put their own up for everyone to use before it gets shut down. Joann's is gonna notice, and they're gonna cancel the sale. But let's try it anyway. And while we're at it...let me add some more, first?"

Anyway, so

my 57 skeins of yarn came in

[mariacallous]

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) is fond of responding to his detractors with a bit of advice: “Let your haters be your waiters when you sit down at the table of success.”

The Department of Justice now seems to have a few things to say about Adams’ success. In a 57-page, five-count indictment unsealed Thursday, federal prosecutors accused him of taking bribes from foreign nationals and doling out favors over a span of nearly a decade.

Others in his orbit have also been investigated by federal authorities, leading to several high-profile resignations this month — among them police commissioner Edward Caban and mayoral legal adviser Lisa Zornberg.

Adams said the charges were “entirely false” and “based on lies,” adding that he looks forward to defending himself.

“I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit,” he said.

Adams, a former captain with the New York Police Department, was elected mayor of the country’s largest city in 2021 on a pro-NYPD platform, and is seeking reelection in 2025.

The indictment paints a picture of a man who is comfortable accepting luxuries either for free or little cost, allegedly using fake paper trails and cash to conceal them, and performing various favors in return. It also accuses him of using a donation-matching program aimed at giving New Yorkers a stronger voice in local elections to steal some $10 million in public funds.

Here’s what we learned about the accusations:

Adams allegedly took a lot of money from Turkish nationals who believed he could be president someday.

Prosecutors say foreign nationals seeking favors from Adams funneled cash to his campaign through American citizens in a “straw man” setup.

A text exchange between a Turkish businessman and an aide to Adams provided insight into the deals:

“Fund Raising in Turkey is not legal, but I think I can raise money for your campaign off the record,” the businessman wrote. Asked how Adams would formally declare the funds as a campaign donation to comply with the law, the businessman responded: “He won’t declare it ... Or ... We’ll make the donation through an American citizen in the U.S .... A Turk ... I’ll give cash to him in Turkey ... Or I’ll send it to an American ... He will make a donation to you.”

The aide said Adams “wouldn’t get involved in such games” because it “might cause a big stink later on,” but promised to talk to Adams about it.

Adams’ texted his feelings about a different but similar proposal from another Turkish national.

“I don’t want his willing to help be waisted [sic],” Adams allegedly wrote.

At least one of the Turkish nationals believed Adams might be president of the United States one day, according to the indictment.

He was a frequent flier on a Turkish airline.

Adams either flew for free or for a heavily discounted rate on a Turkish airline owned in large part by the Turkish government, according to the indictment, which noted destinations included “France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary and Turkey itself.” He allegedly did so even when it was less convenient than other options, like transferring through Istanbul to get to France.

Prosecutors say the business class flights to India, taken with his partner in 2016, would have cost $15,000, but the couple paid less than $3,000 and accepted free upgrades. Another trip taken in 2017 with several companions would have cost $35,000 regularly.

An Adams staffer arranging flights for him in June 2021 told an employee of the airline to charge a price that was “somewhat real” because “we don’t want [the media] to say he is flying for free.”

Turkish nationals “further arranged for Adams and his companions to receive, among other things, free rooms at opulent hotels, free meals at high-end restaurants, and free luxurious entertainment while in Turkey,” the indictment stated.

Adams tried hiding his antics, but incriminating texts remained.

One exchange between Adams and a staffer stood out in the indictment. The pair were texting about another possible trip to Turkey in 2019.

“To be o[n the] safe side Please Delete all messages you send me,” the staffer texted Adams.

He texted back, “Always do.”

A staffer deleted texts during her FBI interview.

In November 2023, an Adams staffer submitted to a voluntary interview with the FBI. At one point, the indictment said, she “excused herself to a bathroom and, while there, deleted the encrypted messaging applications she had used to communicate” with Adams and his Turkish contacts.

Adams helped open a costly new skyscraper despite flaws.

Adams allegedly ensured that a 36-floor building that would serve as the new home of the Turkish consulate could open quickly, in time for a visit by the Turkish president in September 2021.

The New York Fire Department was concerned about dozens of defects with the building. But a top NYFD official wrote a “conditional letter of no objection” to the building, which he had never done before, and it opened in time.

He allegedly made other construction problems go away.

One of the straw donors, who was not a member of the city’s Turkish community, later texted Adams about a problem with the city’s Department of Buildings.

He is famous in Turkey, apparently.

One of the straw donors was a Turkish entrepreneur referred to in the indictment as “the Promoter,” who arranges events for wealthy and powerful people to meet one another. The indictment states that he was “hoping to leverage Adams’ considerable fame in Turkey to benefit the Promoter’s clients.”

Right after Adams won the 2021 mayoral election, the man suggested in a text message to another Turkish national that he intended “to go and talk to our elders in Ankara about how we can turn this into an advantage for our country’s lobby.”

According to prosecutors, Adams was living it up on his visits to the country. One trip included a stay at the Four Seasons, a yacht tour, a stay at a luxury beach resort, and a car and driver. He paid $720.

He ignored the Armenian genocide on its remembrance day.

As mayor, Adams did not make a statement on the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in 2022, allegedly on request from his Turkish contacts. Turkish nationalists continue to deny the systematic massacre that began in 1915.

A secretive 2025 Adams campaign event was allegedly filled with foreign nationals.

Prosecutors say Adams welcomed wealthy foreigners to a fundraising event in a Manhattan hotel which was billed as a climate-related event. A PowerPoint presentation was allegedly created to help hide the true purpose of the event, saying it was hosted by “International Sustainability Leaders” and had a ticket price of $5,000.

He told the FBI he forgot his phone password.

When the FBI executed a search warrant for Adams’ devices in November, they found his mobile phone to be locked. Adams claimed he’d recently changed the password from a four-digit number to a six-digit number — and forgotten it.

[ladykailitha]

Can Anybody See Me? Part 14

This part is longer than my usual so I hope it makes up for that evil cliffhanger from last time. Also, they were supposed to wait until the end of this thing to get together but they weren’t going to wait any longer.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

*

Eddie chewed on his nails as he waited in the van. He kept checking his watch every thirty seconds or so. He was starting to think that time was actively going backward. It shouldn’t be possible, but as he sat in the cold, looking up at the window, begging for it to come on, he was willing to believe anything was possible.

And then shouting started. He looked at his watch. It had only been eight minutes. He chewed on his lip. Steve had told him to wait fifteen minutes before storming the castle. But if he could hear the shouting from the streets, then the neighbors could probably hear it, too.

Eddie got out of his van and immediately discounted going straight up to Steve’s window. There weren’t any trellises or trees that he could climb in the front. He skirted around back and looked around. There was a glass enclosure that had a lower roof than the rest of the house. He of course tried the door first, but wasn’t surprised when he found it locked.

It wasn’t going to be that easy. He tried jumping up to see if he could catch the overhang on the “viewing room” or whatever the hell it was, but he couldn’t quite reach it.

He looked around and spotted a lounge chair. He dragged it over to the side of the house and climbed on it. Getting up on his tiptoes he was able to grabbed the roof and pull himself up.

Eddie checked his watch. It had been ten minutes since Steve entered the house, five minutes to go. The shouting wasn’t as loud from the back, but he could still hear it. It seemed to be only the one the voice. Mr Harrington’s.

He chewed his lip again and made his way back to the front of the house. He knew he should try the other windows, but figured that Steve’s would be the safest option, having been in it and he knew the layout.

Eddie tugged on the window and breathed a sigh of relief when it slid open. He jumped through and landed softly on his feet.

*

Steve took a deep breath and walked through that door, even though he wanted to run. He wanted to tell Eddie to take him home. Back to Forest Hills. Back to the trailer park. Back to Uncle Wayne. Back to safety.

But Steve wasn’t a coward. He had faced demogorgons, demodogs, and racist bastards. He itched to pull out the nail bat from the truck of his car. But going in as threat would only make his dad more riled up. He knew from experience that the best thing to do was to pretend to be as small as possible and hope he was ignored.

His dad came storming out of his office and he had been drinking.

Fuck.

It took every ounce of courage Steve had not to take a step back. Back to Eddie.

“Where have you been?” Mr Harrington snarled. “Do you have any idea what time it is, boy?!”

Steve gulped and knew looking at his watch would make things worse. “Before ten? I made sure to be home before curfew.” He actually had. Even though he didn’t know his parents were going to be home, he instinctively knew to be home before ten o’clock.

Mr Harrington looked at his watch and sneered. “Barely. It’s 9:57.”

Steve nodded, he bit down on his bottom lip to keep it from quivering.

“So where were you?” Mr Harrington asked again, tapping his foot impatiently.

“A couple of friends from my drama class has a band so I went to go see them,” Steve said. He forced his volume to be as normal as possible. Too loud and he was mouthing off, too low and he was being a sissy.

“Drama?” Mr Harrington growled. “Why the fuck are you in drama?”

Steve was starting to shake. “I told you. After that concussion I got pulled from the basketball and baseball teams...” He gulped as he watched his dad turn purple with rage.

“I thought that was some joke!” Mr Harrington said, his voice not quite to yelling, but loud.

“I wouldn’t joke about that, dad,” Steve said. “I got hurt really bad and had to quit. I’m still in swimming though. We both know that was the better sport. It’s where I got the most trophies.”

Mr Harrington took a step forward and hissed, spittle spraying from his mouth, “But basketball is where the scholarships are, you feckless moron.”

“I’m still working really hard,” Steve said, doing nothing about the slime that now decorated his face. He couldn’t move he was frozen to the spot.

“And now you gone thrown it all away!” Mr Harrington bellowed. “And for what? Do you know what the neighbors say?”

Steve shook his head, thinking of all the horrible things that the could have said. About Eddie. About Marty and Janice.

“You’ve been having parties out here every weekend!”

Steve’s head rocked back. He wasn’t sure the last time he had a party here. Well not one that the neighbors would notice.

“I–I haven’t,” he stammered. “I’ve had people come over for a movie once but that was weeks ago. I swear, Dad. I wouldn’t. You told me not. I haven’t.”

Mr Harrington got in his face. “You better not be lying to me, boy.”

“I wouldn’t!”

“I want you to drop this drama business right away,” Mr Harrington snarled. “Drama is for fags and queers. You fag or a queer, boy?!”

“I can’t,” Steve said, his whole body shaking. “Otherwise I won’t be able to graduate. Mrs Hall says that I need two electives to graduate. And she wouldn’t let me get out of pottery, so I doubt she’ll let me out drama.”

“What did you just say?” Mr Harrington shouted. “Did you just talk back to me? Did you!”

Steve shook his head. “I wouldn’t. I’m not. I’m just–”

“You’re just what?” Mr Harrington asked, grabbing Steve’s wrist. “Useless? Worthless? A disappointment?”

“Dad, please...” Steve pleaded. He didn’t know how long it had been since he walked in here, but he prayed to whatever god would listen to him that it had been fifteen minutes.

A movement above them caught his eye. The door to his bedroom creaked open and quickly shut. Steve’s breath caught in his chest. Eddie. Steve moved ever so subtly so that his dad’s back was to the stairs. Making sure his dad couldn’t see what was going on behind him.

“I’m not friends with Tommy and Carol anymore,” he blurted out when it looked as though his dad was about to turn around.

“What the hell did you just say?” Mr Harrington bellowed.

“Tommy started hanging out with this guy that transferred from California. Real trailer trash.” He sent a silent apology to Eddie. “He’s the one that gave me the concussion that caused me to be thrown off the team. He wanted the captain role for himself and did whatever it took to get it.”

Complete revisionist history. But nothing that wasn’t untrue.

“And you just let this fucker beat you?” Mr Harrington growled.

“Well, he’s three inches taller than I am and forty pounds heavier,” Steve said with a shrug. “It wasn’t from lack of trying.” Okay, it was from him trying not to kill Billy. Even if he privately thought the world would be better off without him.

Steve knew his strength. He knew he could tear Billy limb from limb. Quite literally. But demonic monsters from another dimension were different from human monsters. Less bodies to hide for a start.

“Get out of my sight!” Mr Harrington snarled after a moment.

Steve waited a beat to make sure his dad meant it before dashing up the stairs and into his room. He slammed the door shut and instantly Eddie’s arms were around him.

“Holy shit,” Eddie whispered. “I’m here, baby.”

Steve fell apart instantly, crying and shaking. Eddie led him over to the bed and laid him down, wrapping Steve up his embrace.

“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” he murmured, rubbing Steve’s back in small circles. And kept doing it until he could feel the other boy relax.

Once Steve had calmed down enough to stop crying. Eddie untangled himself.

“I’ll be right back, beautiful,” Eddie murmured. “I need to move my van, so you don’t get into more trouble, okay?”

Steve nodded.

It had only taken a couple of minutes to do just that but when he crawled back through the window, Steve was sound asleep. Eddie smiled down at him. He got under the covers and bullied Steve under them as well.

He was grateful that Wayne worked the night shift so that he wouldn’t worry when he didn’t come home.

And he drifted off to sleep, arms wrapped around the boy he loved.

*

Eddie had decided years ago that he hated alarm clocks. But no more so than he did today, because it forced Steve out of his grip to turn it off.

Steve turned back to snuggle in Eddie’s arms.

“Morning, baby,” Eddie murmured and kissed the top of Steve’s head.

“Why is it I sleep better when I’m with you?” Steve asked, honestly.

Eddie mock gasped in shock. “Are you calling me boring, Stevie?”

Steve laughed. “No, you are anything but that.”

Eddie pulled him closer and held tightly. “Honestly?” Steve nodded. “I think it’s because you feel like you’re safe with me.”

Steve sighed. “I think you’re right.” He was silent for a moment. “I decided to finish that comic I started. The one about my trauma?”

Eddie twisted his head to look down at him. “Yeah?”

Steve nodded. “I want you to read it when it’s done.”

Eddie kissed the top Steve’s head again. “I’d love to.”

“I love you.”

Eddie pulled back so that he could see into Steve’s eyes. They were shining with unshed tears, but the soft tender smile was like the sun coming out after a storm. He struggled to get his arms out to cup Steve’s cheeks. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”

He pulled Steve’s face to press their lips together. It was everything Eddie loved when kissing for the first time. Warm, gentle, sweet.

Steve sighed happily. This was the ending he had hoped for last night. He loved every second.

Finally they came up for breath, panting heavily as they pressed their foreheads together.

Steve looked over at his shoulder and cursed. “We’re going to be late for school!”

Eddie laughed but let Steve scramble to find something to wear. He did a sniff test a recoiled a bit. He usually showered after a show (well, practice really) because of how much he sweats when playing.

“Hey, Stevie,” he said, hopping off the bed with two bounces. “Can I take a quick shower? I smell awful.”

Steve nodded. “I don’t think I have anything you can wear, though.”

Eddie nodded back. “At least the sweat from my body will be gone.”

“Fair enough,” Steve said. “Feel free to use whatever you need in there.”

Eddie grinned and skipped into bathroom.

Steve got dressed quickly, not quite ready for Eddie to see him like that, yet. He then gathered his homework and shoved into his bag. He scratched his cheek as he thought for a moment. He grabbed the black sweater he had only worn for less than hour a couple days ago.

He stopped and frowned. Was it really only two days ago that Eddie came over to help him sleep? It seemed like a life time ago.

He shook his head and went to his closet. His mom had bought him a bunch of jeans completely forgetting that he had three sports where he used his legs. He couldn’t get the damn things over his thighs. But they might fit Eddie.

He chewed on his lip. He pulled out three of them and set them on his bed. They were all grey. Just varying shades. A light acid-washed pair, a grey untreated pair, and a pair like the ones he’d worn last night. Dark grey with black seams.

He knocked on the door to the bathroom. “Hey, Eds. I’m going to go see if my parents are still here. I’ll be right back. I left something for you on the bed.”

*

Eddie peaked his head of the bathroom, towel in his hair as he dried it. He looked at the bed and smiled softly. The options wouldn’t be too far out of his wheelhouse as far as clothing choices went. He tried on all three pairs but chose the acid-washed ones. He pulled on the sweater and held the collar up to his nose.

Steve cleared his throat from the doorway. Eddie looked up, blushing at having been caught out sniffing Steve’s clothes.

“I like seeing you in my things,” Steve admitted, walking into his room.

Eddie shoved hair in front of his face to hide the further embarrassment. “Are your parents home?”

Steve shook his head. “I saw a note on the counter from my mom telling me they were on their way to South Korea. But that she would call on their layover in France.”

Eddie came over and gave him a hug. “That was so intense, baby. I didn’t know if I should interrupt or not.”

“If things had gone on longer, I think you would have,” Steve said. “But finding out that Tommy was hanging out with actual degenerate instead of whatever he thinks of poor people, meant he had had lost and he knew it. You live in the trailer park, so does Max. Does that makes either of bad people? Not even fucking close, man.”

“You’re sweet, baby.”

Steve blushed, tucking his head into the space between Eddie’s shoulder and neck.  

“Let’s get to school before Mrs Hall throws another fit about us,” Eddie said, gently pulling away.

Steve nodded.

Part 15  Part 16  Part 17 Part 18  Part 19  Part 20  Part 21

Tag List: @shrimply-a-menace @strangersteddierthings @throwbackthrowaway @novelnovella @cursedfoxteeth @babyblender @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @swimmingbirdrunningrock @steve-the-hairrington @winterbuckwild @spectrum-spectre @matchingbatbites @garden-of-gay @anaibis @thing-a-ling @fandemonium-takes-its-toll @artiststarme @sundead  @nelotegreitic @gregre369 @butterflysandpeppermint @thedragonsaunt @kodaik97 @messrs-weasley @scarletzgo @deadlydodos @renaissan-vvitch @evix-syne666 @emly03 @justforthedead89 @ashwinmeird @huniibee @phantypurple @stevesbipanic @shucks-yuckyuck @awkwardgravity1 @bookbinderbitch @reportinglivefromsoda @chasinggeese @be-the-spark-bitch @jinxjinn @kohlraedirectioner @cr0w-culture @xjessicafaithx @whimsicalwitchm @jaywhohasthegay @dangdirtydemons @lovelyscot  @howincrediblysapphicofyou @the-redthread estrellami-1

[bumblebeeappletree]

In this video I take a look at one of the most popular villains from Batman Beyond, the stealthy assassin, Inque. I'll take a look at what inspired her creation, how she was used in Batman Beyond (the cartoon as well as the tie in comics) and look at how some viewers were deeply impacted by her episodes.

Thanks to We Print Miniatures for sponsoring this video. To get 10% off your first order or a recurring subscription head over to www.weprintminiatures.com/serumlake and make sure that the discount code "SERUMLAKE" is applied at the checkout.

#batman #batmanbeyond #inque

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:28 Sponsored Segment

00:51 The Creation of Inque

02:00 The Characters That Inspired Her

03:10 Black Out

04:30 Disappearing Inque

06:41 Batman Beyond Tie In Comics

08:36 Inqueling

10:01 The Call & Epilogue

10:43 Inque's Comic Book Origin

12:57 Other Comic Book Appearances

13:30 Conclusion

13:45 Self-Promotion

14:16 Next Time

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Julian Adorney and Mark Johnson

Published: Jun 10, 2024

There’s a sense that the liberal order is eroding.

What do we mean by that? By “liberal order” we mean three things: political liberalism, economic liberalism, and epistemic liberalism.

Politically, it’s tough to shake the sense that we’re drifting away from our liberal roots. Fringes on both sides are rejecting the liberal principle that all human beings are created equal and that our differences are dwarfed by our shared humanity. On the left, prominent activists are endorsing the idea that people with different immutable characteristics (race, gender, etc.) have different intrinsic worth. For instance, in 2021, Yale University’s Child Study Center hosted a psychiatrist who gave a speech titled, “The Psychopathic Problem of the White Mind,” where she compared white people to “a demented violent predator who thinks they are a saint or a superhero.” In response to Hamas’ brutal attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, Yale professor Zareena Grewal tweeted, “Settlers are not civilians. This is not hard.” Across the political aisle, Dilbert comic creator Scott Adams called black Americans a “hate group” whom white Americans should “get the hell away from.”

If a core component of political liberalism is that all human beings are created equal, then many prominent voices are pushing us rapidly toward an illiberal worldview where one’s worth is determined by immutable characteristics. 

Increasingly, members of both parties seek to change liberal institutions to lock the opposition out of power. Their apparent goal is to undermine a key outcome of political liberalism: a peaceful and regular transfer of power between large and well-represented factions. On the right, prominent Republicans have refused to concede Trump’s loss in 2020, and many are refusing to commit to certifying the 2024 election should Trump lose again. “At the end of the day, the 47th president of the United States will be President Donald Trump,” Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) said in response to repeated questions about whether or not he would accept the election results. On the left, prominent Democrats advocate for abolishing the Electoral College, partly on the grounds that it favors Republicans; and for splitting California into multiple states to gain more blue Senate seats. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tina Smith (D-MN), among others, have called for expanding the Supreme Court explicitly so they can pack it with Democrats.

This disdain for democratic norms isn’t limited to political elites on right or left; it is permeating the general populace. According to a 2023 poll, only 54 percent of young Americans (aged 18-29) agree with the statement, “Democracy is the greatest form of government.”

Economic liberalism is also under attack. In 2022, Pew found that only 57 percent of the public had a favorable view of capitalism. Those numbers are even worse among young Americans; only 40 percent among those aged 18-29 had a positive view of capitalism. By contrast, 44 percent of the same age group reported having a positive view of socialism. Faced with the choice of which system we should live under, it’s unclear whether young Americans would prefer economic liberalism over the command-and-control systems of socialism or communism. And while young people typically hold more left-of-center views and often become more conservative as they age, the intensity of young peoples’ opposition to capitalism should not be discounted. From 2010 to 2018, a separate Gallup poll found that the number of young Americans (aged 18-29) with a positive view of capitalism dropped by 23 percent. 

Epistemic liberalism is on the ropes too. As the Harper’s Letter warned, “The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted.” In recent years, even prominent intellectuals have been terrified of being canceled for daring to write outside of the lines set by a new and predominantly left-wing orthodoxy, adversely affecting out discourse. Again, this disdain for liberalism is more acute among young people: a 2019 survey found that 41 percent of young Americans didn’t believe that the First Amendment should protect hate speech. Furthermore, a full majority (51 percent) of college students considered it “sometimes” or “always acceptable” to “shout down speakers or try to prevent them from talking.”

As Jonathan Rauch argues in The Constitution of Knowledge, a necessary precondition of epistemic liberalism is that everyone should be allowed to speak freely, a precondition increasingly unmet in recent years.

In their book Is Everyone Really Equal?, Robin DiAngelo (of White Fragility fame) and Özlem Sensoy even challenge the foundation of epistemic liberalism itself: the scientific method. This method mandates that hypotheses be tested against reality before acceptance. “Critical Theory developed in part as a response to this presumed infallibility of scientific method,” they write “and raised questions about whose rationality and whose presumed objectivity underlies scientific methods.” Of course, once we jettison the principle that ideas should be tested by holding them up to reality, all we have left are mythologies and accusations. One of the great triumphs of the Enlightenment was giving us the scientific tools to more accurately understand the world, but those tools—like other facets of liberalism—are increasingly under attack.

So, what went wrong? Why do so many Americans, particularly young Americans, harbor such disdain for our liberal order? Why have we seen the rise of widespread social censorship, and why do books telling us that not all humans are created equal become mega-bestsellers? We believe a key reason is that too many proponents of the liberal order (ourselves included) have failed to defend our ideals vigorously. In the face of our complacency, a small but impassioned minority intent on dismantling the pillars of liberalism has been gaining ground, both within institutions and within the hearts and minds of the younger generation.

Why haven’t many of us stood up for our ideas? We posit two reasons. First, there is a sense of complacency: a lot of us look at illiberalism and think, “It can't happen here.” The United States was founded as an essentially liberal country. We were the first country to really seek to embody Enlightenment ideals (however imperfectly) from our birth. Throughout our 250-year history, despite fluctuating levels of government intervention in Americans' social and economic lives, we have never lost our political, economic, or epistemological liberal foundations. This long track record of resilience has led many of us to overlook the rising threat of illiberal ideals, assuming our liberal system is too robust to be torn down.

Adding to this complacency is the fact that many threats to our liberal social contract are largely invisible to those outside educational or academic circles. Cloaked in the guise of combating racism, Critical Race Theory takes aim at the liberal order; however, most people who haven’t been inside the halls of a university in the last 10 or so years may not be aware of this aspect. Critical Theory—including Critical Race Theory, Queer Theory, Post-Colonial Theory, and others—generally opposes Enlightenment thinking, but its arguments are wrapped in jargon and mostly live in academic papers. For example, the book Is Everyone Really Equal? criticizes political, economic, and epistemic liberalism, but it’s not a mainstream bestseller; instead, it’s a widely-used textbook for prospective teachers. What begins in the academy often seeps out into schools and eventually permeates the broader society, and many teachers and professors of these ideologies explicitly describe themselves as activists or as scholar-activists whose goal is to turn the next generation onto these ideas. The threat is real, but the more anti-liberal facets of these ideologies aren’t exactly being shouted by CNN, which makes it easy to miss.

Second, as humans, we often abandon our ideals in the face of social pressure. Consider an organization consisting of ten people: one progressive and nine moderates. In 2020, each member starts to hear about Black Lives Matter (BLM). The progressive enthusiastically supports BLM, and loudly encourages his colleagues to do the same. What happens next illustrates how prone we are to jettison our ideals if doing so brings social rewards.

The first moderate faces a choice. He could thoroughly research BLM by investigating police violence nationwide, examining the evidence of systemic racism or system-wide equality, exploring BLM’s proposed program and what they actually advocate for, and making an informed decision about whether or not he supports the organization. But that’s a lot of work for not a lot of return. After all, his job doesn’t require that he understand BLM; the only immediate consequence is his colleague’s opinion of him. Consequently, he engages in what Nobel Prize winning economist Daniel Kahneman calls “substitution.” As Kahneman explains in Thinking, Fast and Slow, “when faced with a difficult question, we often answer an easier one instead, usually without noticing the substitution.” For example, when participants were asked how much money Exxon should pay for nets to prevent birds from drowning in oil ponds, they did not perform an economic calculation. Instead, what drove their decision-making process was emotion: “the awful image of a helpless bird drowning, its feathers soaked in thick oil.”

Thus, the moderate engages in substitution. Instead of tackling the complex and difficult question “What do I think of BLM?” he asks himself an easier but more emotional question: “How much do I care about black people?” For any decent person, the answer is “quite a lot”—and so he signs on with his progressive colleague. The fact that he’s now supporting an illiberal ideology—one of BLM’s co-founders said in 2019 that “I believe we all have work to do to keep dismantling the organizing principle of this society"—never occurs to him.

When the next moderate is asked the same question about whether he supports BLM, he has the same incentive as his colleague to engage in substitution, but with added social pressure: now two of his nine coworkers support BLM, and he risks losing social capital if he does not. As humans, we are social animals. Sociologist Brooke Harrington explains that we often value others’ perception of us more than our own survival, as social ostracism in our distant past often meant death anyway. As she puts it, “social death is more frightening than physical death.” And so, motivated by the social rewards for supporting BLM and the fear of social punishment if he does not, one coworker after another agrees to support BLM.

Adding to our social calculus is the fact that we all want to be seen as (and, even more importantly, see ourselves as) empathetic. In the example of BLM, we don’t want to be perceived as racists. If this means going along with an organization that says that police “cannot [be] reform[ed]” because they were “born out of slave patrols,” then that’s a small price to pay. This same desire to be seen as empathetic (again, especially by ourselves) holds when we are called to cancel a professor for saying something insensitive, or to condemn cultural appropriation, or to read and praise books and articles claiming that liberalism has failed marginalized people and that a new, totalitarian system is necessary for their salvation.

But why shouldn’t we be complacent? Why shouldn’t we go along to get along, and let our values bend here and there so we can fit in with the new illiberal crowd? One reason is that the stakes are no longer trivial. There is nothing magical about the liberal order that guarantees it will always triumph. History shows us that liberalism can give way to totalitarianism, as it did in Nazi Germany; or to empire, as in ancient Rome. In England, new rules regulate what people are allowed to say, with citizens facing fines or imprisonment for saying something the political establishment does not like. In Canada, a new bill supported by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would criminalize speech that those in power consider hateful. The United States is not immune to these dangers. Our Constitution alone is not a sufficient defense, because laws are downstream from culture. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights can be interpreted by illiberal justices (and have been in the 20th century); and when this happens, our rights can erode very rapidly indeed. Our freedom is sustained not by our geography or even our founding documents, but by our willingness to fight for liberalism—to defend it in the court of public opinion.

If we’re going to preserve the freedoms we cherish, that is what it will take. We must find the courage to stand up for our ideals—to speak and act based on principle alone. We must be open to new evidence that might change our views, but at the same time resist having our minds changed for us. We must prioritize truth over popular opinion.

In essence, we must think and act more like August Landmesser.

[ Source: The Lone German Man Who Refused to Give Hitler the Nazi Salute (businessinsider.com) ]

--

About the Authors

Julian Adorney is the founder of Heal the West, a Substack movement dedicated to preserving our liberal social contract. He’s also a writer for the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR). Find him on X: @Julian_Liberty.

Mark Johnson is a trusted advisor and executive coach at Pioneering Leadership and a facilitator and coach at The Undaunted Man. He has over 25 years of experience optimizing people and companies—he writes at The Undaunted Man’s Substack and Universal Principles.

==

Whatever its flaws, every alternative to liberalism is a nightmare.

[mostbelovednjpwtournament]

Most Beloved WWE Wrestlers Tournament: Round 4 Statistics Dump

Followers: 266

Total Votes: 22,087 + 13,398 + 8,109 + 4,768 = 48,362

Number of times I had to force my dad to accept the fact that it's no longer the 80s and just because he enjoyed a wrestler's work during his childhood, it doesn't mean they're still the most beloved: 3, and he's still bitter

Beloved By Gender:

Our ratio is keeping pretty steady. There was a change of 2% between rounds 3 and 4 in favor of the female wrestlers.

Voting Trends:

Round 4 had a low vote count day of 534 and the highest count day of 747, making the average 636.9 votes per day (discounting final day), more than extra 80 votes per day beyond Round 3’s average of 550.8

(Keep in mind, number of brackets change on the final day)

Public Opinion:

There's fewer than 20 wrestlers left in this tournament who had successful WWE careers before the 2000s. This tournament would make Cornette's face melt off

Sports Illustrated’s 101 Best Wrestlers Of All Time (2016)

Ric Flair (18, lose)

Shawn Michaels (53 + 57 + 71 + 61, win)

Steve Austin (29 + 18, lose)

The Rock (23, lose)

The Undertaker (53 + 55 + 45 + 43, win)

Dusty Rhodes (46 + 42 + 43 + 49, win)

John Cena (47 + 51 + 50 + 47, win)

Hulk Hogan (10, lose)

Sting (51 + 53 + 61 + 56, win)

Andre The Giant (56 + 38 + 38 + 37, win)

Randy Savage (37 + 32 + 42 + 21, lose)

Roddy Piper (54 + 33 + 53 + 30, win)

Chris Jericho (27 + 31 + 32 + 23, lose)

Harley Race (17 + 18 + 10, lose)

Mick Foley (58 + 47 + 57 + 54, win)

Bret Hart (52 + 59 + 61 + 63, win)

Randy Orton (58 + 48 + 49 + 46, win)

Kurt Angle (45 + 36 + 37 + 42, win)

Antonio Inoki (28 + 38 + 23, lose)

Ricky Steamboat (28 + 47 + 16, lose)

Daniel Bryan (61 + 51 + 48 + 29, lose)

Triple H (31 + 12, lose)

Buddy Rogers (21 + 17 + 8, lose)

Edge (41 + 49 + 44 + 52, win)

Bob Backlund (26 + 22 + 11, lose)

Brock Lesnar (23, lose)

Stan Hansen (22, lose)

Bruno Sammartino (30 + 6, lose)

CM Punk (57 + 40, lose)

Ted DiBiase (27 + 26 + 27 + 24, win)

Bruiser Brody (33 + 31 + 22 + 11, lose)

Hideo Itami (34 + 35 + 7, lose)

Rey Mysterio (48 + 40 + 42 + 56, win)

Vader (32 + 17, lose)

Dory Funk Jr (17 + 17, lose)

Mr Perfect (37 + 25 + 28 + 29, win)

Eddie Guerrero (53 + 43 + 47 + 48, win)

Jake Roberts (32 + 29 + 31 + 29, lose)

Arn Anderson (25 + 30 + 15, lose)

The Sheik (31 + 30 + 11, lose)

AJ Styles (40 + 46 + 46 + 46, win)

Goldust (70 + 34 + 49 + 37, win)

Samoa Joe (61 + 84 + 60 + 63, win)

Terry Funk (27 + 37 + 32 + 26, lose)

Verne Gagne (14, lose)

Mil Mascaras (10, lose)

Rob Van Dam (43 + 45 + 50 + 25, lose)

Tatsumi Fujinami (25, lose)

Rick Rude (35 + 29 + 10, lose)

Owen Hart (56 + 41 + 53 + 51, win)

Jeff Hardy (52 + 32, lose)

Goldberg (23 + 22, lose)

Ivan Koloff (15, lose)

Chris Benoit (17, lose)

Larry Zbyszko (4, lose)

Ultimo Dragon (9, lose)

Scott Hall (44 + 40 + 44 + 50, win)

Trish Stratus (38 + 42 + 22, lose)

Dean Malenko (37 + 29 + 19, lose)

Ultimate Warrior (28 + 20, lose)

Fabulous Moolah (18, lose)

William Regal (62 + 45 + 50 + 59, win)

Gene Kiniski (14, lose)

Scott Steiner (44, lose)

Rick Steiner (26 + 9, lose)

Chyna (68 + 49 + 52 + 43, win)

Seth Rollins (55 + 54 + 66 + 45, win)

Kane (40 + 29 + 33 + 23, lose)

Jimmy Snuka (9, lose)

Davey Boy Smith (22 + 24 + 33 + 12, lose)

The Iron Sheik (49 + 40 + 32 + 20, lose)

Pedro Morales (20 + 9, lose)

Michael Hayes (10, lose)

Johnny Valentine (14 + 4, lose)

Shinsuke Nakamura (58 + 60 + 58 + 43, win)

Diesel (39 + 35 + 34 + 35, win)

Batista (53 + 54 + 35 + 32, lose)

Lita (46 + 65 + 37 + 27, lose)

Christian (56 + 47 + 67 + 29, lose)

Ron Simmons (25 + 33 + 31 + 30, lose)

Big Show (41 + 60 + 38 + 33, win)

JBL (10, lose)

Christopher Daniels (26 + 10, lose)

The Miz (34 + 30 + 39 + 20, lose)

PWI Wrestler Of The Year

Pedro Morales (20 + 9, lose)

Jack Brisco (17 + 13, lose)

Bruno Sammartino (30 + 6, lose)

Terry Funk (27 + 37 + 32 + 26, lose)

Dusty Rhodes (46 + 42 + 43 + 49, win)

Harley Race (17 + 18 + 10, lose)

Bob Backlund (26 + 22 + 11, lose)

Ric Flair (18, lose)

Hulk Hogan (10, lose)

Randy Savage (37 + 32 + 42 + 21, lose)

Sting (51 + 53 + 61 + 56, win)

Vader (32 + 17, lose)

Diesel (39 + 35 + 34 + 35, win)

Big Show (41 + 39 + 38 + 33, win)

Lex Luger (25 + 4, lose)

Steve Austin (29 + 18, lose)

The Rock (23, lose)

Brock Lesnar (23, lose)

Kurt Angle (45 + 36 + 37 + 42, win)

Chris Benoit (17, lose)

Batista (52 + 54 + 35 + 32, lose)

John Cena (47 + 51 + 50 + 47, win)

Triple H (31 + 12, lose)

Randy Orton (58 + 48 + 49 + 46, win)

CM Punk (57 + 40, lose)

Daniel Bryan (61 + 51 + 48 + 29, lose)

Seth Rollins (55 + 54 + 66 + 45, win)

AJ Styles (40 + 46 + 46 + 46, win)

Adam Cole (47 + 40 + 53 + 32, lose)

Dean Ambrose (58 + 54 + 42 + 59, win)

Roman Reigns (51 + 64 + 59 + 32, lose)

PWI Woman Of The Year

Joyce Grable (30 + 24 + 0, lose)

Susan Green (21 + 27 + 11, lose)

Stephanie McMahon (26 + 4, lose)

Lita (46 + 65 + 37 + 27, lose)

Trish Stratus (38 + 42 + 22, lose)

Victoria (27 + 23 + 17, lose)

Candice Michelle (24 + 39 + 13, lose)

Mickie James (47 + 46 + 47 + 44, win)

Michelle McCool (29 + 10, lose)

AJ Lee (48 + 46 + 39 + 39, win)

Sasha Banks (44 + 47 + 42 + 36, win)

Charlotte Flair (45 + 42 + 27 + 40, win)

Asuka (58 + 60 + 65 + 66, win)

Becky Lynch (58 + 53 + 58 + 47, win)

Bianca Belair (34 + 66 + 54 + 41, win)

Top 10 Voted Wrestlers Who’ve Already Been Eliminated:

Jey Uso (248 - round 4)

Finn Balor (209 - round 4)

Bayley/Roman Reigns (206 - round 4)

Christian (199 - round 4)

Daniel Bryan (189 - round 4)

Tazz (183 - round 4)

Lita (175 - round 4)

Batista (174 - round 4)

Adam Cole (172 - round 4)

Alexa Bliss (170 - round 4)

Top 10 Voted In Round 4:

Drew McIntyre (76)

Cody Rhodes (74)

Asuka (66)

Rhea Ripley (65)

Bret Hart/Samoa Joe (63)

Shawn Michaels (61)

Damian Priest/Dean Ambrose/William Regal/Bray Wyatt (59)

Jey Uso/Liv Morgan (57)

Rey Mysterio/Sting/Kevin Owens (56)

Xavier Woods (55)

Top 10 Voted Overall:

Naomi (322)

Damian Priest (285)

Billy Gunn (272)

Samoa Joe (268)

Rhea Ripley (258)

Sami Zayn (254)

Asuka (249)

Jey Uso (248)

Shawn Michaels (242)

Cody Rhodes (241)

The AJ Styles Phenomenon:

I don't know if this is just an incredible coincidence, but for the final 3 rounds, AJ Styles has earned exactly 46 votes. In Round 2, it was 46/50 against Raymond Rougeau. In Round 3, 46/56 against D'Lo Brown. In Round 4, 46/69 against Kane. Based on the data I've seen, he is the only wrestler this has happened to. A few have had the same number of votes twice in a row, but never thrice.

Which begs the question: are there exactly 46 tumblr users who are fans of AJ Styles?

[tales-of-asteria]

[Special Gacha] Sweet Season Duration: 1/30 (Mon) 16:00 ~ 2/17 (Fri) 15:59

Chance to get Bond Awakening enabled 5☆ Mint [Sweet Season], Rinwell [Sweet Season], Kratos [Sweet Season] and Emil [Sweet Season].

The already-running awakening partners Cress, Law, Lloyd and Richter can be used to awaken Mint, Rinwell, Kratos and Emil respectively.

✶ This gacha features a 5 Step Up gacha, where you pay a discounted rate to draw 10 characters and continuously raise your chances of pulling a 5☆. Steps will not be resetted even if you get a featured 5☆.

✶ You will also get rewards after a certain number of steps, and with the 15th you will be able to choose one of the featured characters (you need a total of 660 Asteria Stones to reach the 15th step).

In this gacha will also reappear other Bond Awakening enabled 5☆ characters. The rates of this gacha’s featured characters will be higher than other 5☆.

A special pick up event will be held, where one of the featured characters will have the summon rate higher than the others on certain days:

Mint: from 2/1 (Wed) 16:00 to 2/4 (Sat) 15:59

Rinwell: from 2/4 (Sat) 16:00 to 2/7 (Tue) 15:59

Kratos: from 2/7 (Tue) 16:00 to 2/10 (Fri) 15:59

Emil: from 2/10 (Fri) 16:00 to 2/13 (Mon) 15:59

For the event, the single daily pull will cost 3 Asteria Stones instead of 5.

There’s also the paid option to get a 5☆ character with a multi-roll.

(More on Awakening here, and on Bond Awakening here)

Characters artes and skills details:

Dark 5☆ Mint Adenade

Stats at LV80 HP: 23,000 | Power: 2,200 | Defense: 2,240

Mystic Arte: タイムストップ Time Stop Delays all enemies' turn by 1 | OL: 50

Arte1 - ナース Nurse Heals all by 30% | Activation: 30%

Arte2 - ピコピコハンマー Pow Pow Hammer Power: 300% (Target: All) | Hits: 6 | Activation: 50%

Arte3 - シャープネス Sharpness Dark attack +40% | Activation: 20%

Co-op skill: Magic Defense Boost 8 (defense type) Increases magic defense by 105%  for 180 seconds. (wait time 06:00)

Dark 6☆ Mint Adenade

Stats at LV80 HP: 26,600 | Power: 2,500 | Defense: 2,570

EX Skill: If a dark party member is on a recovery frame, it will recover an additional 40%, if it's on an Attack boost frame, the frame' s attack boost effect will be increased by 70%

Mystic Arte (OverLimit gauge at MAX): Time Stop Delays all enemies' turn by 1 | OL: 50 Bond Awakening Bonus: Heals (Self) by 50%

Mystic Arte (Awakened Mode OverLimit): タイムストップ Time Stop Party Heal: Delays all enemies' turn by 1, and 100% of the whole party hit counter will be carried over the next attack turn | OL: 75 (50+25) Bond Awakening Bonus: Dark members' attack 50% (1 turn)

Arte effects added by Bond Awakening:

Arte1 - ナース Nurse Heals (Self) by 30%

Arte2 - ピコピコハンマー Pow Pow Hammer Break gauge damage +50%

Arte3 - シャープネス Sharpness Own defense +80% (1 turn)

(Co-op skill is the same as the 5☆)

Wind 5☆ Rinwell

Stats at LV80 HP: 24,200 | Power: 2,060 | Defense: 2,260

Mystic Arte: 白薙・神鳴 Beatific Deus Roar Power: 300% (Target: Single) | Hits: 57 | OL: 20 (high hit & fast OL type)

Arte1 - マジックチャージ Magic Cancel Wind defese +40% | Activation: 40%

Arte2 - コンセントレートオール Concentrate All Wind attack +40% | Activation: 40%

Arte3 - シャープネスオール Sharpness All Wind member's critical rate +10% and critical damage +30% | Activation: 20%

Co-op skill: Fast Appeal Target 8 + Luck Heal (defense type) Slightly increases the chances to be targeted by the enemy. Also, there is a 25% chance of recovering 20% HP。 (wait time 00:21)

Wind 6☆ Rinwell

Stats at LV80 HP: 28,700 | Power: 2,340 | Defense: 2,530

EX Skill: At the beginning of the turn, adds 6 points to the wind members' OL gauge if their HP are at 100%

Mystic Arte (OverLimit gauge at MAX): 白薙・神鳴 Beatific Deus Roar Power: 300% (Target: Single) | Hits: 57 | OL: 20 (high hit & fast OL type) Bond Awakening Bonus: Hit count +8

Mystic Arte (Awakened Mode OverLimit): 白薙・神鳴 Beatific Deus Roar Power: 300% (Target: Single) | Hits: 125 | OL: 50 (20+30) (high hit type) Bond Awakening Bonus: Hit count +15

Arte effects added by Bond Awakening:

Arte1 - マジックチャージ Magic Cancel Heals the wind members by 30%

Arte2 - コンセントレートオール Concentrate All Heals the wind members by 30%

Arte3 - シャープネスオール Sharpness All Wind members' attack +80% (activated turn)

(Co-op skill is the same as the 5☆)

Water 5☆ Kratos Aurion

Stats at LV80 HP: 23,400 | Power: 2,060 | Defense: 2,340

Mystic Arte: シャイニング・バインド Holy Binds Power: 310% (Target: Single) | Hits: 84 | OL: 45 (high hit type)

Arte1 - 斬光時雨 Sword Rain: Beta Power: 210% (Target: Single) | Hits: 10 | Activation: 55%

Arte2 -  ヒールストリーム Healing Stream Recovers all members from abnormal statuses and heals by 30% | Activation: 30%

Arte3 - 驟雨双破斬 Raging Tiger Blade Power: 270% (Target: All) | Hits: 17 | Activation: 15%

Co-op skill: Physical Attack Boost 8 (attack type) Increases physical attack by 105%  for 180 seconds. (wait time 06:00)

Water 6☆ Kratos Aurion

Stats at LV80 HP: 27,200 | Power: 2,310 | Defense: 2,710

EX Skill: Increases the water members' defense by 2000, and has 70% chance to prevent paralysis

Mystic Arte (OverLimit gauge at MAX): シャイニング・バインド Holy Binds Power: 310% (Target: Single) | Hits: 84 | OL: 45 (high hit type) Bond Awakening Bonus: Own defense +100% (1 turn)

Mystic Arte (Awakened Mode OverLimit): シャイニング・バインド Holy Binds Power: 310% (Target: Single) | Hits: 150 | OL: 85 (45+40) (high hit type) Bond Awakening Bonus: Water members' attack +100% (activated turn)

Arte effects added by Bond Awakening:

Arte1 - 斬光時雨 Sword Rain: Beta Heals the water members by 15%

Arte2 - ヒールストリーム Healing Stream +10 points to own OL gauge

Arte3 - 驟雨双破斬 Raging Tiger Blade Inflicts poison to all enemies (3 turns)

(Co-op skill is the same as the 5☆)

Earth 5☆ Emil Castagnier

Stats at LV80 HP: 20,700 | Power: 2,430 | Defense: 2,240

Mystic Arte: 魔王獄炎波 Devil's Hellfire Power: 500% (Target: Single) | Hits: 7 | OL: 20 (fast OL charge type)

Arte1 - 虎乱蹴 Ravaging Tiger Power: 210% (Target: All) | Hits: 3 | Activation: 50%

Arte2 - 砕覇双撃衝 Dual Death Power: 280% (Target: All) | Hits: 4 | Activation: 30%

Arte3 - 襲爪岩斬破 Quake Assault Power: 340% (Target: Single) | Hits: 7 | Activation: 20%

Co-op skill: Fast Earth Attack 9 + Chain Plus (attack type) Performs an earth physical attack with 120% of power. Also, the chain counter number will increase by 10 (only if the chain is active). (wait time 00:15)

Earth 6☆ Emil Castagnier

Stats at LV80 HP: 23,700 | Power: 2,830 | Defense: 2,540

EX Skill: When an earth party member is on a frame with an Attack UP buff on it, the frame's boost effect will be increased by 80%, if it's on a OverLimit boost frame, the gauge will be powered with an addition of 4 (points)

Mystic Arte (OverLimit gauge at MAX): 魔王獄炎波 Devil's Hellfire Power: 500% (Target: Single) | Hits: 7 | OL: 20 (fast OL charge type) Bond Awakening Bonus: Arte power +60%

Mystic Arte (Awakened Mode OverLimit): 魔王獄炎波 Devil's Hellfire Power: 1100% (Target: Single) | Hits: 7 | OL: 70 (20+50) (finish type) Bond Awakening Bonus: +13 points to own OL gauge

Arte effects added by Bond Awakening:

Arte1 - 虎乱蹴 Ravaging Tiger Heals the earth members by 15%

Arte2 - 砕覇双撃衝 Dual Death +3 points to the earth members' OL gauge

Arte3 - 襲爪岩斬破 Quake Assault Earth members' attack +40% (2 turns)

(Co-op skill is the same as the 5☆)

[anotheraldin]

This is how We established Joseph in the land to settle wherever he pleased. We shower Our mercy on whoever We will, and We never discount the reward of the good-doers.

And the reward of the Hereafter is far better for those who are faithful and are mindful ˹of Allah˺.

-Surah Yusuf | 12:56-57.

[starsapphire]

2, 3 and 4!

2. The most recent comic you got

rus @gretahayes sent me these! which was so so nice. and also extremely evil for reasons which rus knows and should feel bad about

green lantern (1990) #57, poison ivy #10 (part of rus' campaign to make me read this series), and the snoopy comic from this year's free comic day bc my store didn't have it 🫶

3. The comic you spent the most for

do you know i don't think i own any single issues i paid more than like $8 for... i suppose the most i've spent is on newer tpbs and apparently the most expensive one i own is ms marvel: time and again which was $26 CAD before tax. evil?? anyway i also own the penguin marvel collection for lee/kirby fantastic four which costs $38 but was a gift so. i mean i didn't pay for it

4. The comic you got the biggest deal for

dc pride special 2024 because i got it on free comic book day when a bunch of stuff was on sale and the cashier at the comic book shop was like "technically ur supposed to pay full price for this but idgaf so u can have it with the sale discount for $4" #ally

[darkmaga-retard]

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/antiwarcom/

Phone bank for Defend the Guard: https://defendtheguard.us/phonebank

Chapters

00:00 - Intro 00:21 - Biden Claims He's Working for Mideast Peace 05:28 - Lebanon: Most of 558 Killed by Israel Were Civilians 07:59 - Israel Launches Strike in Beirut for Third Time Within One Week 10:14 - Israeli Bombing Kills 11 Members of One Lebanese Family 11:26 - Hezbollah 'Cannot Stand Alone' Against Israel: Iranian President 14:44 - Israel Kills 12 More Palestinians in the Gaza Strip 16:57 - Blinken Rejected Conclusion That Israel Deliberately Blocked Aid 22:07 - In US, Zelensky Pushes Long-Range Strikes 24:32 - Rep. Massie: US Purposely Blacking Out Ukraine Casualty Data 27:35 - Julian Assange To Speak Publicly Next Week 29:17 - US To Sanction Former Georgian PM Over NATO Stance 31:16 - Viewpoints/Outro