#But they ARE there and what will we do with this information.... does it truly genuinely matter to me

[harunayuuka2060]

Maleficia: ...

Baul: You… Why are you here?

*He eyed the figure of MC warily as they stood before him, gripping the hilt of his sword, ready to defend the Queen if they made any move to attack.*

Maleficia: ...

Maleficia: What is the purpose of your visit?

Baul: Your Majesty—

MC: My purpose here is to inform you that MC is dead.

Baul: !!!

Baul: Impossible! You wouldn’t be here if the real one had died!

Maleficia: ...

Maleficia: Is this truly what happened?

MC: *nods*

Baul: Your Majesty, this entity is not to be trusted!

MC: I don't need you to. I've already fulfilled my purpose, and I'm here to ask: Do you really think waiting for three days is wise?

Maleficia: ...

Maleficia: *smiles* You came close to impressing me, but your deception is apparent.

MC: *tilts their head*

Maleficia: Time flows differently in his realm. Why the haste?

MC: ...

MC: I guess I tried. *then disappears*

Baul: ...

Baul: What was that about...?

Maleficia: It appears things have been disrupted. Though I find it irresponsible of them to send a reflection that cares for nothing. *chuckles*

Floyd: What are you looking at, Sea Lion~?

Leona: *noticed that something was amiss*

Leona: ...

Leona: Red young master, Floyd—you're up next.

Riddle: ...Wait. Just the two of us? And with Floyd??

Cater: You can add me to the group, Leona-kun—

Leona: Yes. Just you two.

Riddle: Absolutely not! Leona-senpai, I refuse this pairing—I'll work with literally anyone else!

Floyd: Hehe~ Are you intimidated by me, Goldfishy~?

Riddle: No! Nothing good will come from us working together!

Leona: That's exactly the point.

Riddle: Huh?

Cater: What does that mean, Leona-kun?

Leona: I'm not sure yet, but with Floyd's mood swings and Riddle's short temper, it should be enough to create a disaster.

Floyd and Riddle: ...

Floyd: Hehehe~!

Riddle: *is clearly not happy about it*

*Riddle and Floyd entered the next portal, awestruck by what greeted them: a vast room with glimmering chandeliers overhead and a floor littered with gems and diamonds.*

Floyd: Are we inside a castle~? Everything's sparkling~.

Riddle: Floyd, don't forget we're here on a mission.

Floyd: Hehe~ Why the need to be serious~?

Riddle: We're here to save the Prefect.

Floyd: *his face turned serious* I know that. *then smiles* But no one says we can't have fun.

"I couldn't agree more!"

*A familiar yet enthusiastic voice echoed through the room, accompanied by the light-heavy clatter of heels against the floor. MC stepped forward—their appearance strikingly different from what the others remembered. This was a female version of them, perhaps in her early twenties, radiating regal elegance while carrying a mischievous glint in her eyes.*

MC: *chuckles* Welcome.

Riddle and Floyd: ...

MC: Lord Astaroth never forbade you from having fun—that’s why I’ve been wondering why you’re all being so serious.

Riddle: You were watching us...?

MC: *smiles* Yes. And I'm well aware Leona is the one serving as a strategist.

Floyd: Oh~? Then I guess the other Shrimpy was right~

Floyd: We need to kill you.

MC: *chuckles*

MC: Do you think it would be that easy?

*Leona and the others felt the ground tremble beneath them.*

Trey: ...

Trey: Something happened to Riddle.

*MC strung up Riddle and Floyd by a thread, leaving them hanging over the abyss.*

Riddle: Prefect! Why are you doing this?!

Floyd: I didn't expect you to have a cruel side on you, Shrimpy.

MC: *chuckles* Cruel?

MC: No—*smiles*—this is simply the face of power.

*With a flick of their blade, they severed the thread, sending the two plummeting—*

[tarotchariotpickyourcard]

Should You Move On? PAC

Not sure if something’s worth sticking it out with or not? We’ll see what your guides and the cards have to say about this situation.

This could be about a project, job, even a hobby. For anything else, see if it makes sense for you.

(lil disclaimer: This is for entertainment purposes only. If you have any decisions to make relating to abuse, health issues and other difficult things, please do seek professional help and signposting)

4 groups. From left to right, please pick the object that you feel most drawn to. Let yourself relax and breathe, and see which group evokes the strongest emotion or physical sensation for you. That will be your group.

GROUP 1 - BATGIRL

Right, pile one.

So we have:

3 of pentacles (r) - two of cups - TRUST - GMI - SPIRITUAL TEACHER

Instant off the bat response is to give this time. Looks like you need more information to come to a natural conclusion or understanding about what this truly entails for you and how you will benefit.

This isn’t an outright yes/no - it’s a “we know it doesn’t seem to be working, and while you may choose to leave in the end it would likely be because of more information heading your way”. It looks like you deserve to be clear about something in this.

Someone here can be experiencing a relationship that they don’t think is working out, or maybe you aren’t gelling together or working as a team as you had hoped. With trust, this could hint to trust issues. (On a personal note if this is the case, I always think “if I can’t trust them, they’ll show me. But until then, I’ll trust them.” Ya gotta have faith to see it out! Whatever it is.

Someone here might be asking about s spiritual pursuit, and regardless of the outcome here it’s showing that your involvement is so beneficial for you learning and growing as a human being. It’s the typical thing of “No matter how it figures, I have become who I am and I’m proud of that.”

Regardless of whether this is a hobby, project, relationship, whatever - there’s a spiritual undertone to this which shows its importance for you right now. This strikes me as a developmental moment. Can you trust that however it works out - it is for the best?

I know, I know. 3 of pentacles reversed really makes it seem like you’re not being met halfway with your effort, especially if this is regarding another person or group. However, you really deserve to see how this works out. To see if you were right,  to see how you really feel and what you really think.

With spiritual teacher and GMI, I’m getting the idea that if this is a religious or spiritual pursuit, this is more on the side of take classes, learn a bit more and you can decide for yourself. 

You just have to give it what you’ve got, as long as you have a desire to - and you deserve to see if you truly get something back.

You might be wondering what does this look like. It could look like staying with someone to see a misunderstanding through. There could be a point where you realise they are different than you thought. There could be a moment where they prove once and for all that yes, they are a jack***.

Same with jobs. They will prove, categorically to you, that they don’t value you, or you won’t get what you want. 

But make sure you try, make sure you ask, make sure you see. And then you can move on with light shoulders knowing in your mind and heart.

(Ps. If you are in an abusive situation do not listen to this at all. This is not applicable to that type of situation. The answer for that will always be to seek help and strategically try to leave to a safe place)

GROUP 2 - blossom

Group 2, my partner has helped out with this one. Thank them for the million cards you have lol.

There are distractions here so that has me thinking you have a lot going on aside from this to consider, and other things calling you.

Wowwwww

Ok

We’ve got

Q of wands (r) - 9 of swords (r) - 2 of swords - 10 of wands - LET GO - YOTRP - WRITING

Right. Let Go says it all. However. All is not lost.

The cards are saying you’re on the right track. The particular thing you’re asking about seems like it’s causing you a lot of burden, stress, or indecision. There’s been a lot of back and forth on this matter to the point it’s just gotten confusing and has you wondering about your abilities.

There may have been a moment of crises, there may have been a moment that you just lost your confidence with this. Thinking, maybe it’s not for you because you’re not good at it.

Maybe this is just that while you care about whatever this is, it’s still a burden on you or more work than you deserve or can handle right now. This isn’t a reflection on how smart/good you are or aren’t. It’s just not right for you and what you need for yourself right now. 

Writing could be literal. What you do could be creating written content of any kind, online, in a book, in a magazine, anything.

This isn’t what it’s saying to leave in itself.

The thing is, this particular job/role/project might not be it for you, but you’re on the right TRACK. Or, in the right SUBJECT.

So if you do something that requires writing, say, maybe you need to do a different genre.

Maybe instead of writing magazine bits, you’re called to do a novel.

It could be as simple as writing about or teaching the subject, instead of working within it in sub-roles.

Maybe instead of being an actor, you become a producer. (Like I say, the same TYPE of thing involved). Instead of photography, illustration.

It looks like you need an adjustment. It looks like you’re good at something, and you’re being guided to a more serious form of expression for it. I feel that the current thing you are enquiring about isn’t the most effective way of sharing your gift, qualities or skillset.

With 10 of wands I see you expect so much of yourself, but what do you expect of this subject?

If this is about a relationship (It seems more work oriented here but just in case) there could be things about this that has decreased your self esteem, made you feel bad about yourself or put more responsibility on you than you deserve. This is suggesting to write it all out (and burn or delete if need be) the things that you really want in a relationship. Put it next to what is actually happening. Do they match? If not, let go of the burden of holding up a relationship that doesn’t allow you to flourish and feel confident in yourself.

I think if you let this particular thing go you will experience a bit of a release, and a lot of weight off your shoulders. But remember, you have other options, and you would be good at them too!

If you’ve thought about writing, this is your sign.

GROUP 3 - JOKER

Group 3, I heard the lyrics “My mind’s telling me noooooo. But My bodyyyy - MY BODDYYYY.” lol.

So your cards are:

7 of wands - 10 of cups - CREATIVE EXPRESSION - REMAIN POSITIVE

Stick to it! Unless you reaaalllyyy don’t wanna lol.

7 of wands is endurance, defending what you’ve got and not giving your position up. 10 of cups is genuine enjoyment of the subject matter here. Remain positive suggests that you will be glad you stayed with this, there are positive feelings from you in the future. I’m getting the idea of being proud of what you do.

This seems like something you really care about, and it’s so important for your soul to be able to do this unapologetically.

Creative expression can relate to anything in the arts such a painting, writing, illustrating, making music, doodling, sharing unique ideas, photography, clay making, you name it, it’s creative. If you think it and put it out, it’s creative.

This is natural, it’s like it’s home to you. You’re not being yourself if you don’t take part in something like this. If this is a connection with a person, there’s a feeling of being home with them. If you are having interpersonal troubles, there seems like there are going to be improvements and you’re allowed to be open minded.

I honestly don’t have too much to say with this one. There are instinctual, deeper feelings to do with whatever the subject here is, and it’s important for you to take part in this or be present in the situation.

If you are finding that you have to put up a fight right now, or defend yourself, don’t despair, you will be glad and proud of who you are, or what you do.

GROUP 4 - CAT

Group 4, your cards literally flew out, you seem to have a very clear answer.

Your cards:

6 of cups - the world - TSWI - FREEDOM - CRYSTALS

You could legit work with crystals, reiki, or be interested in that.

You don’t have to move on if you don’t want to. The situation will improve, however, you honestly have the freedom to do what you want. You can have so much more, or something so different, if this isn’t fulfilling for you.

You aren’t necessarily being guided either way right now, this is kind of like a “fun zone” in your life. You are absolutely the judge in this situation, you don’t have a guide here saying “you fool, you aren’t going like I told you to”.

You really can pick and choose, the girl looks like she’s picking dolphins that pop up like picking experiences. Now is the time to just try and see how the fit is for you.

The world can hint to subjects like travel, holidays, being online, and potentially being stubborn too. Don’t let yourself stay stubborn just because you think you have an obligation to stick it out. The only obligation you have is to yourself and your well being!.

Right now the time is to have fun. You really are the master of your own experience, and you can improve things immediately by moving on (lol).

The focus is really on making your world bigger, more expansive, and experiencing new things. Think the teenager that has only known their little home town, and now they’re off to college.

(If you’re literally asking about college and the like, then maybe this is a hint to stay, as you will experience and grow very much as a person).

Just… Whatever expands your world, your life, will contribute you to developing as a person - that’s what’s most important.

I suppose that’s the answer in itself.

So, should you move on?

Literally only if you wanna. There’s no right or wrong answer, it ain’t an exam. There doesn’t seem to be high stakes attached to this particular thing. But you might wanna give it a think if you feel this is your comfort zone.

Everything is for fun and to grow.

Ummmm thanks for reading if you did, hope it helped you in your decision making.

[maidenvault]

I’m sure Andor will be remembered for a long time as unequivocally justifying the more morally gray rebels’ methods but it’s really more complicated than that because of what we learn about Kleya. All that Luthen did may not have given the rebellion the win at Yavin if he truly sacrificed having any kind of human connection and didn’t have this one person who loved him, believed in him, and stuck with him to the bitter end after he’d alienated so many.

It’s just great, you’d expect Luthen’s backstory might tell us that he did have children, that he lost a whole family or something, but his primary motivation, his heart, has always been hiding in plain sight and it’s Kleya. They try not to have that kind of relationship because it could get in the way of what they have to do but she’s been with him since the very beginning of his fight when he saved her, and it’s kind of always been about her. It makes a big contrast between him and Saw, who abandoned Jyn and is so comfortable making enemies he can’t trust that anyone is on his side anymore. Kleya is his daughter, she is the future he’s fighting for, and he couldn’t have done it all without her.

Luthen’s willingness to sacrifice anything for the cause does give him a significant weakness because it means no one can trust him. Mon has no real reason to believe he’ll safely extract her after her Senate speech. Because he’s continued operating in total isolation on Coruscant after that, the rebellion can’t be sure they can trust his information about the Death Star.

It doesn’t mean his contributions to the rebellion should be forgotten and his memory disrespected. But in the end his work paying off hinges on Kleya, who knew him better than anyone, and Cassian, who knows he’s not as unlike Luthen as he’d like to think, being able to trust him when it matters most. The rebelllion could never be sustainable without everyone being able to come together knowing they’re safer that way than with the Empire.

And Luthen surely knew that. He never went to Yavin because he knew there would be no place for him in what he helped build and that was a good thing. But that’s a sacrifice he made out of love and he couldn’t have known how important that is, that it worked because he was more than Axis, he was a father to Kleya. She was his reason as much as Bix is Cassian’s. And it’s just really touching that there are people who won’t let what he did be forgotten when he clearly never counted on it.

[do-you-have-a-flag]

just read that article from new york magazine, "Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College - ChatGPT has unraveled the entire academic project."

didn't reveal anything new to me about the use and functioning of the plagiarism-grown, glorified auto-predict, language models that were rolled out so irresponsibly it means now anyone can waste water instead of their own time and effort. but was still fascinating to read, in a bleak way.

it's so interesting because cheating and corner cutting will always exist in education, whether out of desperation or laziness, it will always be there. but by university it truly is wild how many people are not actually there to learn, because at that point if you have a program do all your work for you you are fully not there to learn so why waste your time and money playing pretend at a degree. a degree you aren't qualified for because you did not do enough.

we aren't in a post-capitalist universal basic income world where the idea of a few individuals lightly supervising automation is feasible. the technology is not there and the culture and economic stability is not there. so when a professor in the article reasons to students “you’re not actually anything different than a human assistant to an artificial-intelligence engine, and that makes you very easily replaceable. Why would anyone keep you around?” that is not hypothetical. and in terms of the degrees just because the on paper grade says you passed doesn't mean you passed it means you curated automated responses that pass with no actual guarantee of comprehension or retention of information on your part.

and there are tools and templates and minor automations that can be used to supplement your own efforts! they take longer but not that significantly, and more importantly they are less likely to impede the actual practice of learning to implementation.

that's what a lot of people who cheat or use these tools in this way seem to miss.

let me pull out three paraphrased statements of possible justifications from this article:

The education system is flawed

These exercises are irrelevant

I'm bad at organisation

these are all experientially true to my experience of education at various points. and the first point exacerbates issues with 2 and 3 to where students can feel overwhelmed or underprepared or frustrated for various reasons. however where i differ personally from the choice making of these students, is that while i never had access to such a powerful tool i still never chose to cheat or cut corners with things like chapter summaries instead of reading a book, or getting someone else to write for me, or any other obvious forms of cheating/plagiarism.

and the reason for this is not lack of frustration or feelings of antagonism towards the system or confusion over content or lack of organisation skills (all issues i had). it's that throughout my education, i am talking back to primary school, i always tried to figure out WHY we were doing the work assigned to us. what in our studies is it trying to get us to engage with, what methods does it force us to put into use to communicate that knowledge, and how much of the information have we comprehended and retained. some assignments are bad at the execution of these goals but if you can see what the goals are you can still benefit from attempting to achieve them while meeting the requirements enough to pass. IMPORTANTLY the process of doing this frustrating and often inefficient process helps not just critical thinking skills but also is how you actually learn things.

no one else can know stuff for you. it makes sense to outsource a basic sum to a calculator app on your phone, but this means you are not a mathematician. if you use a chapter by chapter summary to write a book report you have not read that book. if you read the wikipedia article for a movie you have not watched that movie. all of these are more verifiable sources of information than language models.

if you get a transcript of a lecture you did not attend and use a chatbot to make notes for you then you did not attend that class- if you read the transcript and take notes and then use the chatbot and compare the difference at least then you used your capacity for thought to process the information and assess it through comparison.... but it would be better to find a classmate and compare notes with a peer so you both have the opportunity to not only check how well you understood the lecture/refresh the information covered, but also a much lower stakes chance to try out communication skills than the group assignments and oral presentations often assigned for this purpose. and on top of that you get to socialise and network with someone in your field of study in a way that benefits both of you.

i'm not even against the use of machine learning models generally, i think they are useful in a repetitive task automation and data scanning context. but why are we delegating things like Knowing Stuff and Human Connection to the 1 and 0 machine that might as easily sell our info as have it leaked to hackers. what kind of cyberpunk surveillance dystopia are we shrugging lazily into? you do not have to pay all that money to pretend to be a competent professional. and if that sounds harsh it's because it is. there are enough scammers and barely qualified people succeeding in this world.

you do not have to dedicate your life to labours that you are not capable of, at the very least be honest with yourself of your own capacity for thought and action. genuinely try to figure out if you are using this technology because of a 'can't' or a 'won't'

it's not a tool if it knows more than you- it's a tool if you could do the job without it.

[aclockworkreader]

what is your current ranking of the hunger games books? loved your sotr vlog 🫶

i think my ranking might be controversial?? but as of now it’s:

1. mockingjay

2. catching fire

3. the hunger games

4. ballad of songbirds and snakes

5. sunrise on the reaping

some explanations loll:

the original trilogy is hard for me to rank because it really depends on which one i’m reading, and i always binge read them so they kinda blend into one lol. catching fire used to be my favorite (and sometimes it still is) but i do think each book is better than the last, and mockingjay is the perfect conclusion to the story. also the last chapter and epilogue alone automatically make that one my favorite.

between ballad and sunrise, although i much prefer reading from haymitch’s perspective and i LOVE how much character development it provides and how many dots it connects, i think ballad is an overall better book. the themes ballad explores were entirely new to the series and it provided the necessary context for us to better understand the history and politics of panem and the hunger games. that book does so much world building that it feels essential to the original series in a way that sotr doesn’t. that’s not to say i’m not glad we have sotr because now that we know haymitch’s story, i can’t imagine not having it. but we didn’t NEED it to understand how the hunger games work, or that the reapings are rigged, or how vindictive and cruel snow is, or anything else about the world because all of that was information we’d already gotten (or could at least infer) from previous books. everything new that we learn is about how haymitch’s story in particular is manipulated. which is great for character developments sake but not entirely necessary for world building or expanding the political themes of the narrative.

i said this in my video too, but i think the themes explored in sotr get a little heavy handed at times and occasionally don’t feel fully fleshed out. it’s a very straightforward book (thematically speaking) which isn’t inherently a problem, but i prefer how complex, uncomfortable, and intricate ballad feels in comparison. sotr is mostly a book about character while tbosas, i think, blends character, plot, and politics perfectly.

so while sotr is definitely the more emotional and heartbreaking of the two, i truly believe ballad is some of her best (but also her most misunderstood) work all around.

[biblically-accurate-dca]

KILL!!!!!!!!!

[puhpandas]

Hii Percy!! I'm curious- what would be your ideal fnaf game after SOTM releases?

HI CHIP!! of course theres so many things I want to see after waiting so long but honestly I think a ggy game is what I'm expecting next. honest to god anything ranging from vanny!cassie to ggy and all the (human and not Cassies dad) characters in between I would be very happy with. it's why I'm so excited for sotm to finally release and end the mimic incorporation era. literally everything else it has left to cover are things that I would love

but yeah I think a ggy game would be absolutely hype and is actually very likely because of the THREE references/easter eggs weve gotten for him in a row!! I'm very excited to see what they're doing for him because damn ggy for Gregory's backstory has gone untouched for so long

I would love to see it explored in a campaign scenario of Gregory himself finding out about it but tbh I'm honestly expecting some prequel game about it that mostly just confirms it exists and expands upon content we dont know about from ggy like Rabs design and how he interacts with vanny. campaign would obviously be so much better for everyone involved but any ggy content is a win in my book

[redgoldblue]

for the drabble spotify wrapped game, if you want: i rolled my rainbow d10 twice and we have a 75 🌈

❤️ 🌈

75: America's Sweetheart by Elle King

uh. I don't know where this came from. i apologise, my partner-in-fluff 🫡

Also I am obviously not abiding by the technical 100-word definition of drabble here, but instead the much looser 'short piece of writing'.

spotify wrapped drabbles!

Steve doesn't know when he stopped caring about killing people. It didn't bother him until he started caring again.

It's not anyone unusual, is the thing that gets him. It's a nameless, almost-faceless drug smuggler that he didn't even mean to kill, but he shot with intent to disable and a little too much carelessness in a rush to stop the ship they came in on, and when he finally loops back around there's a pool of blood and a corpse with a busted femoral artery.

He's kneeling down, checking a pulse even though it's clearly absent, removing weapons even though he'll clearly have no use for them, when his fingers brush against a thin edge in the inside pocket of the off-the-rack grey suit jacket the guy's wearing.

When he pulls it out, it's a photo. He has to look down to check that it's the same guy in it, partially because death rictus changes a face, especially when your comparison is smiling and happy, and partially because he just hasn't looked at his face properly. It's the same guy, his arm around a similarly smiling woman shoulder-height to him and so close in features she has to be his sister, with a chubby-cheeked frizzy-haired kid straddling his shoulders and holding onto the woman's hand.

One of the first things the military teaches you, explicitly or not, is to erase personhood. Your own, and your enemy's. Numbers, statistics, body parts and targets and usefulness.

He puts the photo back into the dead man's jacket and moves away. A tech comes at some point, body-bags him, and Duke is there and the rest of his team have it well in hand, so he goes back to where their cars are parked, boosts himself onto the hood of the truck, and waits.

Kono walks past at some point, but they're still in the midst of cleanup and HPD handover, so even though she does slow and ask, "You okay, boss?", when he replies in the affirmative she nods and keeps moving.

He remembers himself before. He remembers when it would never would have occurred to him not to think that every person with a bullet in them is a person with a family. A person with a life, at least before they were a person with a death.

He doesn't bother trying to count. The impulse washes over him, but it would take hours with military records and Five-0 reports to calculate anything even close to accuracy.

Himself before was decades ago, but also not that long ago. It was target practice at the Academy and work behind computers in Military Intelligence and crawling through mud with a similarly young Freddie by his side.

Himself after, apparently, is sitting on his own truck at the edge of his own city watching his family and his family's family and his friends and his friends' friends move efficiently through shipping containers and body bags.

Eventually, Danny finds him. He takes one look at Steve's face; he doesn't say anything, just leans against the hood next to Steve and waits.

Eventually, Steve finds the words. "I don't think the military would like me anymore, Danny."

It's not all that new a state of affairs; he got driven by revenge and tattoos in non-regulation places and too many personal attachments and he remembered how to have fun in quiet spaces and how to love in loud ones. He started caring again.

"Good," Danny says, harsh and definite, and Steve realises with a start that the things that would debase him in the eyes of his country are probably exactly the same reasons Danny - not just Danny, his whole family - would cite for loving him. Except the tattoos, maybe.

He can't bring himself to be upset about it in the face of that.

[indigodawns]

.

[bywandandsword]

I've talked about it before, but my grandpa was a Crosgrove, which is an anglicisation of O'Coscraigh (descendant of Coscraigh). But, you see, according to family history, the Coscraigh in question is Cúscraid Mend Macha, son of Conchubar Mac Nessa

The reason I bring it up again is because I realized that, if the family history is to be believed, that means my ancestor was first cousins with Cú Chulainn, and also his father was probably responsible for the Curse of Macha

[volfoss]

The fact I'm 20% through this book and like maybe 3 things have happened at most... We are SO back in Anne Rice exposition dump hell forever and ever

[shadesofmauve]

I want to step away from the art-vs-artist side of the Gaiman issue for a bit, and talk about, well, the rest of it. Because those emotions you're feeling would be the same without the art; the art just adds another layer.

Source: I worked with a guy who turned out to be heavily involved in an international, multi-state sex-slavery/trafficking ring.

He was really nice.

Yeah.

It hits like a dumptruck of shit. You don't feel stable in your world anymore. How could someone you interacted with, liked, also be a truly horrible person? How could your judgement be that bad? How can real people, not stylized cartoon bogeymen, be actually doing this shit?

You have to sit with the fact that you couldn't, or probably couldn't, have known. You should have no guilt as part of this horror — but guilt is almost certainly part of that mess you're feeling, because our brains do this associative thing, and somehow "I liked [the version of] the guy [that I knew]", or his creations, becomes "I made a horrible mistake and should feel guilty."

You didn't, loves, you didn't.

We're human, and we can only go by the information we have. And the information we have is only the smallest glimpse into someone else's life.

I didn't work closely with the guy I knew at work, but we chatted. He wasn't just nice; he was one of the only people outside my tiny department who seemed genuinely nice in a workplace that was rapidly becoming incredibly toxic. He loaned me a bike trainer. Occasionally he'd see me at the bus stop and give me a lift home.

Yup. I was a young woman in my twenties and rode in this guy's car. More than once.

When I tell this story that part usually makes people gasp. "You must feel so scared about what could have happened to you!" "You're so lucky nothing happened!"

No, that's not how it worked. I was never in danger. This guy targeted Korean women with little-to-no English who were coerced and powerless. A white, fluent, US citizen coworker wasn't a potential victim. I got to be a person, not prey.

Y'know that little warning bell that goes off, when you're around someone who might be a danger to you? That animal sense that says "Something is off here, watch out"?

Yeah, that doesn't ping if the preferred prey isn't around.

That's what rattled me the most about this. I liked to think of myself as willing to stand up for people with less power than me. I worked with Japanese exchange students in college and put myself bodily between them and creeps, and I sure as hell got that little alarm when some asian-schoolgirl fetishist schmoozed on them. But we were all there.

I had to learn that the alarm won't go off when the hunter isn't hunting. That it's not the solid indicator I might've thought it was. That sometimes this is what the privilege of not being prey does; it completely masks your ability to detect the horrors that are going on.

A lot of people point out that 'people like that' have amazing charisma and ability to lie and manipulate, and that's true. Anyone who's gotten away with this shit for decades is going to be way smoother than the pathetic little hangers-on I dealt with in university. But it's not just that. I seriously, deeply believe that he saw me as a person, and he did not extend personhood to his victims. We didn't have a fake coworker relationship. We had a real one. And just like I don't know the ins-and-outs of most of my coworkers lives, I had no idea that what he did on his down time was perpetrate horrors.

I know this is getting off the topic, but it's so very important. Especially as a message to cis guys: please understand that you won't recognize a creep the way you might think you will. If you're not the preferred prey, the hind-brain alarm won't go off. You have to listen to victims, not your gut feeling that the person seems perfectly nice and normal. It doesn't mean there's never a false accusation, but face the fact that it's usually real, and you don't have enough information to say otherwise.

So, yeah. It fucking sucks. Writing about this twists my insides into tense knots, and it was almost a decade ago. I was never in danger. No one I knew was hurt!

Just countless, powerless women, horrifically abused by someone who was nice to me.

You don't trust your own judgement quite the same way, after. And as utterly shitty as it is, as twisted up and unstead-in-the-world as I felt the day I found out — I don't actually think that's a bad thing.

I think we all need to question our own judgement. It makes us better people.

I don't see villains around every corner just because I knew one, once. But I do own the fact that I can't know, really know, about anyone except those closest to me. They have their own full lives. They'll go from the pinnacles of kindness to the depths of depravity — and I won't know.

It's not a failing. It's just being human. Something to remember before you slap labels on people, before you condemn them or idolize them. Think about how much you can't know, and how flawed our judgement always is.

Grieve for victims, and the feeling of betrayal. But maybe let yourself off the hook, and be a bit slower to skewer others on it.

[bilbao-song]

Do you have a particular example ? I swear this also happened to me this week and then I get frustrated with myself about how much I care lol.

.............tbh i do not have an example that i am willing to use to out myself as Unhinged about objectively unimportant things lmao. but i relate 1000000% like!!!! why does it even matter. tbh i think it really bothers me most whenever it's a situation where it feels like that person is going around repeating something that is not even true and then OTHER people are going to possibly just never know otherwise!!!!! which sucks obviously but like. combatting that would be an uphill battle especially when a) it's genuinely such a trivial thing in the first place b) Internet Large and c) idk probably 99.999999% of these people don't even care that much lmao. but it just annoys me despite all logic

[chronicbitchsyndrome]

i have been in community with profoundly developmentally disabled peers and peers with brain damage my whole life, bc i had a childhood diagnosis. i have also been leftist my whole life; my mother was a marxist and raised me that way, and while their politics were absolute dogshit, they were lefty dogshit.

my entire life, i have seen leftist educators throw mentally disabled people away as "lost causes" because they couldn't engage with the material the way it was being presented. leftist outreach and education does, genuinely, have a massive lack of accessible material. to be blunt, people are not interested in retrofitting their leftist outreach to be accessible to people who learn best through episodes of sesame street.

as in, i have repeatedly faced outright laughter and cruelty over the idea that this could be a priority. or even something that we consider doing at all.

"people who are that mentally disabled don't need to know about these things," the kindest interpretation goes. ("people who are that mentally disabled don't interact with the world, anyway, they're all in institutions or monitored 24/7 by their parents," the uncharitable underlying assumptions go. "they wouldn't be a worker who needs a union. or a library attendee. or a member of the community garden. or a volunteer at the food bank. or or or")

the people i have seen this hurt the worst, over and over again, are profoundly mentally disabled people of color whose lack of access to accessible antiracist education is causing real danger in their lives. institutionalized disabled people of color who have learned racist ideology and behaviors from white authority, whether they were adopted by white families or incarcerated in care institutions run by white staff. who are treated lower than garbage by leftist educators, who view them as "lost causes," as unworthy of time and effort and attention, as deserving of their abuses because they... what... internalized the abuses that make up every aspect of their lives since birth?

i see people saying things in this conversation like "disability isn't an excuse for racism or transphobia or whatever, people have the obligation to improve themselves." oh, believe me, i have seen again and again how many privileged disabled people utilize their disabilities to punch down on others, try to escape accountability for their punching down by citing disability. but individual weaponization of identity is just that: weaponization of identity.

the power structures at play are what they are. it is a noble and admirable goal to want leftist outreach and education to be more accessible to all. if that is truly your goal, you must eventually reckon with the existence of people who do, actually, really need it presented in a picture book. or an episode of bluey. or a conversation where you only use examples of people they know in real life, using things that happened to them personally. the existence of people who cannot grasp forms of abstract reasoning, who need information presented as rules, or as guidelines, or as categories. the idea that yes, fully grown adults who need daniel tiger to explain racism to them are human beings who not only deserve access to that very thing, but who also deserve to be a part of leftist spaces and benefit from leftist organizing. are people for whom it might be INTEGRAL they get to be a part of leftism. are victims of racism themselves and suffering without access to antiracist spaces and community and support.

and you will need to reckon with the abject cruelty of your peers who laugh and mock the very idea of this. you need to reckon with the fact that a lot of people you respect, a lot of leftists doing genuinely good work, will respond to this by making fun of the people you're serving, even outright telling you their violent fantasies about these people. that is the experience of organizing in leftist spaces for profoundly disabled people. that is why so many of us burn out so fast. there IS a structural problem with mentally disabled people being seen as disposable and not a part of community. and it is EXTREMELY present in leftist organizing and outreach efforts.

[saritawolff]

Phew. This one took, uh… a bit longer than expected due to other projects both irl and art-wise, but it’s finally here. The long-awaited domestic animal infographic! Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough space to cover every single domestic animal (I’m so sorry, reindeer and koi, my beloveds) but I tried to include as many of the “major ones” as possible.

I made this chart in response to a lot of the misunderstandings I hear concerning domestic animals, so I hope it’s helpful!

Further information I didn’t have any room to add or expand on:

🐈 “Breed” and “species” are not synonyms! Breeds are specific to domesticated animals. A Bengal Tiger is a species of tiger. A Siamese is a breed of domestic cat.

🐀 Different colors are also not what makes a breed. A breed is determined by having genetics that are unique to that breed. So a “bluenose pitbull” is not a different breed from a “rednose pitbull”, but an American Pitbull Terrier is a different breed from an American Bully! Animals that have been domesticated for longer tend to have more seperate breeds as these differing genetics have had time to develop.

🐕 It takes hundreds of generations for an animal to become domesticated. While the “domesticated fox experiment” had interesting results, there were not enough generations involved for the foxes to become truly domesticated and their differences from wild foxes were more due to epigenetics (heritable traits that do not change the DNA sequence but rather activate or deactivate parts of it; owed to the specific circumstances of its parents’ behavior and environment.)

🐎 Wild animals that are raised in human care are not domesticated, but they can be considered “tamed.” This means that they still have all their wild instincts, but are less inclined to attack or be frightened of humans. A wild animal that lives in the wild but near human settlements and is less afraid of humans is considered “habituated.” Tamed and habituated animals are not any less dangerous than wild animals, and should still be treated with the same respect. Foxes, otters, raccoons, servals, caracals, bush babies, opossums, owls, monkeys, alligators, and other wild animals can be tamed or habituated, but they have not undergone hundreds of generations of domestication, so they are not domesticated animals.

🐄 Also, as seen above, these animals have all been domesticated for a reason, be it food, transport, pest control, or otherwise, at a time when less practical options existed. There is no benefit to domesticating other species in the modern day, so if you’ve got a hankering for keeping a wild animal as a pet, instead try to find the domestic equivalent of that wild animal! There are several dog breeds that look and behave like wolves or foxes, pigeons and chickens can make great pet birds and have hundreds of colorful fancy breeds, rats can be just as intelligent and social as a small monkey (and less expensive and dangerous to boot,) and ferrets are pretty darn close to minks and otters! There’s no need to keep a wolf in a house when our ancestors have already spent 20,000+ years to make them house-compatible.

🐖 This was stated in the infographic, but I feel like I must again reiterate that domestic animals do not belong in the wild, and often become invasive when feral. Their genetics have been specifically altered in such a way that they depend on humans for optimal health. We are their habitat. This is why you only really see feral pigeons in cities, and feral cats around settlements. They are specifically adapted to live with humans, so they stay even when unwanted. However, this does not mean they should live in a way that doesn’t put their health and comfort as a top priority! If we are their world, it is our duty to make it as good as possible. Please research any pet you get before bringing them home!

[afloweroutofstone]

The Trump administration accidentally included the conservative editor of The Atlantic in a group chat where they were discussing, in great detail, the US bombing campaign in Yemen

In all, 18 individuals were listed as members of this group, including various National Security Council officials; Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East and Ukraine negotiator; Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff; and someone identified only as “S M,” which I took to stand for Stephen Miller. I appeared on my own screen only as “JG.”

...I had very strong doubts that this text group was real, because I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans. I also could not believe that the national security adviser to the president would be so reckless as to include the editor in chief of The Atlantic in such discussions with senior U.S. officials, up to and including the vice president...

At this point, a fascinating policy discussion commenced. The account labeled “JD Vance” responded at 8:16: “Team, I am out for the day doing an economic event in Michigan. But I think we are making a mistake.” (Vance was indeed in Michigan that day.) The Vance account goes on to state, “3 percent of US trade runs through the suez. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message.”

The Vance account then goes on to make a noteworthy statement, considering that the vice president has not deviated publicly from Trump’s position on virtually any issue. “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”...

At 8:27, a message arrived from the “Pete Hegseth” account. “VP: I understand your concerns ��� and fully support you raising w/ POTUS. Important considerations, most of which are tough to know how they play out (economy, Ukraine peace, Gaza, etc). I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded.”

The Hegseth message goes on to state, “Waiting a few weeks or a month does not fundamentally change the calculus. 2 immediate risks on waiting: 1) this leaks, and we look indecisive; 2) Israel takes an action first – or Gaza cease fire falls apart – and we don’t get to start this on our own terms. We can manage both. We are prepared to execute, and if I had final go or no go vote, I believe we should. This [is] not about the Houthis. I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablish deterrence, which Biden cratered. But, we can easily pause. And if we do, I will do all we can to enforce 100% OPSEC”—operations security. “I welcome other thoughts.”...

The account identified as “JD Vance” addressed a message at 8:45 to @Pete Hegseth: “if you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.” (The administration has argued that America’s European allies benefit economically from the U.S. Navy’s protection of international shipping lanes.)

It was the next morning, Saturday, March 15, when this story became truly bizarre.

At 11:44 a.m., the account labeled “Pete Hegseth” posted in Signal a “TEAM UPDATE.” I will not quote from this update, or from certain other subsequent texts. The information contained in them, if they had been read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel, particularly in the broader Middle East, Central Command’s area of responsibility. What I will say, in order to illustrate the shocking recklessness of this Signal conversation, is that the Hegseth post contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.

The only person to reply to the update from Hegseth was the person identified as the vice president. “I will say a prayer for victory,” Vance wrote. (Two other users subsequently added prayer emoji.)

According to the lengthy Hegseth text, the first detonations in Yemen would be felt two hours hence, at 1:45 p.m. eastern time. So I waited in my car in a supermarket parking lot. If this Signal chat was real, I reasoned, Houthi targets would soon be bombed. At about 1:55, I checked X and searched Yemen. Explosions were then being heard across Sanaa, the capital city.