#I hate to say it but I hate politics but it’s also fascinating that’s why I study it

[petri808]

That post you reblogged with the nuclear weapons interview, the man being interviewed is Ashley. The interviewer is a comedian portraying the character of Philomena Cunk, she does bits like this of just being wildly misinformed for comedic value.

Well that’s great to hear lol I didn’t think anyone could be that obtuse, but considering things going on in this world that’s sadly no longer so far fetched.

Using some psychological profiling to question whether a country with nuclear weapons would actually use it, the likelihood is slim to none— at least in the main powers save for North Korea who’s difficult to get a good read on with limited information. The threat of use itself is more of a “hail Mary,” meaning no one will use it because it also assures their own death, and while even though Putin is sociopathic, he’s not suicidal as far as I can read into. That said, of course, it’s impossible to say for absolute certainty because sociopaths & psychopaths actually do have suicidal tendencies when they feel like they’ve completely lost but refuse to admit it even to themselves. It’s a trait of narcissism. The worst of them historically have not committed suicide.

Anyway, so far this threat has been successfully believed by the public. Whether or not international politicos realize it’s a Hail Mary, I don’t know. If people DID realize it is a Hail Mary, then the super powers (minus N. Korea) loose their only true Trump card and the rest of the world might actually… kick them off their high horses like in the fantasy movie A Bugs Life lol.

[autogyne-redacted]

Let's Talk About Security Culture: Why Keeping Secrets is Cool and Sexy

It's a natural impulse -- if you love crime -- to want to talk about how great it is. And if you hate America, it's only natural to want to share your dreams for its future with the rest of tumblr dot com. It can feel brave and transgressive. And there is a drive to share your soul with the world at the heart of social media. Surely I should be posting the most concrete implications of my politics, right? This is the poster's curse.

Security Culture refers to a set of "best practices" developed over the past several decades, largely (in a US context) coming out of radical environmental groups as they faced intense state repression, infiltration and entrapment. If you're not familiar, there's some fascinating crimethinc write ups to give you a window into that world:

Much of it boils down to: don't talk about crimes, past or forthcoming with people who don't need to know about them, and be mindful of the possibility of surveillance and infiltration. And, we can support each other as a community in minimizing risks, with an eye towards enabling bold action rather than getting bogged down in fears and anxieties. The guidelines that make sense for AG-based trouble-makers are different from the guidelines that make sense for posters, but plenty of common principles apply. To speak briefly to our position here as posters:

First, it bears saying that long term anonymity is nearly impossible to maintain. Unless you've never accessed Tumblr without a vpn, and avoided connections with other ppl who can be associated with you/your location, and never shared pictures without scrubbing metadata, and a bunch of other 100% consistent steps, it's trivial for the state to know who you are.

Second, just because something isn't actively being prosecuted now doesn't mean it can't be prosecuted later. The priorities of the state change and a shift in power towards the right or a growth in radical action from the left can suddenly make it a priority to destroy anarchist networks or just find a few ppl to prosecute as examples (who probably weren't that plugged into larger networks before getting arrested). Advocating for specific anti-government crimes or declarations of intent to commit such crimes are likely prosecutable, and even if charges don't stick, they're an easy vector for legal harassment.

Third, it's worth thinking about heat as separate from prosecutability. There are modes of engagement that may not be directly criminalized but signal that you are someone worth watching. Some people choose to be public in ways that make heat unavoidable. But it's worth noting that heat isn't strictly individualized, that it persists over time but also is going to shrink over time.

It's easy on here, ime, to see yourself as a proud member of the crime fandom but not much of a content creator. And it's easy to feel like you've generated an amount of heat where you're locked into that role. But heat you generated 10 years ago is probably pretty well gone. Heat you generated 5 years ago has faded substantially. It's worth thinking about how the world might shift in the coming years and what doors you want to keep open.

The non-individualized nature of heat also means that leaning into the spiciest of anti-state positions will make it a bad idea for people who are acting out those positions end up tied to you. Loudly talking about how "more people should be doing [X/Y/Z]" unfortunately sets you up to remain distant from people who might be doing or thinking about doing such things.

Which brings me back to: keeping secrets is sexy. Not spelling everything out builds intrigue. You can lay out a theoretical position and leave working out the practical implications of that as an exercise for the reader. There's value in opacity. The poster's curse and the drive to confess are extremely convenient for the state, but we can resist them. We can hold dreams in our hearts that we refuse to offer up to the posting spectacle.

[qqueenofhades]

I love your essays; they are fascinating. Thank you for sharing your perspective! I have a follow up question, if you have the time or energy: in your last, you said, “It's a blueprint for a tiny group of extreme right-wing theocrats and fascists to get their way regardless of what the broader public says about it…”. Who ARE the tiny group of extreme right wing theocrats and fascists? Is it the politicians whom we see all over the news, like Vance and Boebert ands Haley and DeSantis? Or are they puppets whose strings are being pulled by donors behind the scenes, like…I don’t know, the Koch brothers and the Uleins (sp?)? I feel like whoever it is must have mind boggling amounts of money, to overcome the sheer number of people who don’t think like that, even people nominally republican who believe in traditional low taxes and small government, but are not completely bananapants. Or maybe that’s why they tagged trump, bc no one before him was willing to act like enough of an outright gangster to seriously move the needle…? How much more rich than disgustingly rich do they need to be?

Perhaps surprisingly, it's fairly easy to identify the Hall of Shame who are busily trying to end American democracy, not least because they have become increasingly open about it. Their motives are diverse but all terrible. The quick rundown is as follows:

First, the alt-right billionaires club such as Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Harlan Crow, and Leonard Leo (the last two are some of the chief funnelers of dark money to SCOTUS; Crow is Clarence Thomas's sugar daddy). They have reasons ranging from grandiose delusions about "remaking" the world in their preferred image (not at all terrifying) to attaching themselves to fascist politics in order to defeat workers' rights and labor unions, who they view as a threat to their mega-wealth. Thiel is the primary sponsor of JD Vance and the alt-right cryptobros clubs that draw the young right-wing white men who also primarily form the membership of neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups. They want to end democracy in order to punish women, minorities, LGBTQ+ people, and anyone else who Nazis always hate. Crow and Leo have lavishly funded the corrupt SCOTUS in order to influence their preferred right-wing rulings, and there are undoubtedly more who we don't even know about. This is just the tip of the iceberg and I have no doubt that it's far, far worse than anything that has been publicly reported.

Next are the extremist right-wing interest groups that have cohered around and advocated for Project 2025, which is basically just the conservative-extremist wet dream put in one place and written down. They include the Heritage Foundation (the primary Project 2025 author) the Federalist Society and the John Birch Society of right-wing judges and policymakers, and Opus Dei, the secretive Catholic right-wing influence group who are straight out of a Dan Brown novel but are in fact some of the most consequential and powerful players in MAGA World. Their name means "work of God" in Latin, which is very much what they see themselves as doing, and their reach in DC is vast, particularly in the far-right evangelical and fundamentalist Christian groups that have attached themselves to Trump as a vehicle to push through their regressive-reactionary social and cultural politics, especially on abortion, women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and other things that they view as "unholy." These are the diehard true believers who really, truly think that it's better for the US to be a fascist theocracy espousing "Right and Moral" religious views than a flawed, pluralist, and secular democracy. Hard Yikes.

Thirdly we have the useful idiots, such as Vance, Ron DeSantis, Boebert, Greene, basically pick-a-Republican-politician-here, who are pursuing fascist politics out of careerism, opportunism, some amount of genuine belief, and exploiting the age-old fissures of American racism, nativism, xenophobia, and other original sins that have dogged the country since its founding. Of course, Trump himself is chief among these useful idiots, because he's completely willing to end American democracy and install himself as Dictator-for-Life if it exempts him from having to face the consequences for all the crimes he did last time (and frankly, his entire life, which is now catching up with him). I don't think Trump has an actual consistent or coherent policy bone in his body; witness how quickly he was willing to flip-flop on the Florida abortion issue depending on what he thought was useful (and then after the backlash he received from his base). He's a malignant narcissistic sociopath who is incapable of complex reasoning and long-term planning. His only and overriding interest is himself, he will do absolutely whatever he has to in order to save himself, and as long as he has his death grip on the GOP, everyone who wants to succeed in the party or even have a future in it has to slavishly kiss Don Corleone Trump's ring. That is why many lifelong Republicans have been breaking ranks to say they will vote for Harris, because "being a Republican's" one and only qualification is now "being utterly loyal to Trump." That's it.

These are all actors based more or less in the US, but we also can't forget the fact that basically the entire Republican Party is in deep, deep hock to Vladimir Putin and other foreign autocrats (but most especially and dangerously Putin). We just had the DOJ indictment of MAGA influencers who were taking Russian black cash by the bucketload in order to spread damaging lies about Biden/Harris and pump for Trump, and this is consistent with Russia's pattern of extensive interference in American elections going back to at least 2016. It is hard to overstate how much Putin hankers to end American democracy for many reasons. He is a former KGB agent trained in the black-and-white us-and-them logic of the Cold War where the US was the USSR's archenemy, his constant mourning for the USSR's collapse has been well documented, and it would be the absolute defining and singular achievement of all of post-imperial Russian history for Putin to effectively end American democracy with a second Trump term.

This is for the simple reason that Trump is utterly in thrall to Putin and will do whatever he asks, whether it's cutting off aid to Ukraine and forcing them to accept annexation by Russia, pulling America out of NATO and letting Putin set his invasion sights on Poland and the Baltic states, and anything else. That is genuinely terrifying but very likely if Trump was re-elected, aside from the end of American democracy and the worldwide ramifications it would have to empower fascist authoritarians everywhere. Putin is trying to achieve this through a combination of good old-fashioned Soviet-style dezinformatsiya, paying off MAGA influencers, putting the entire resources of the Russian state into defaming Harris-Walz, and recruiting useful idiots like his asset Jill Stein, who has extensive Russian ties and only pops up every four years for idiot leftists to spoil their vote and ruin Democratic electoral prospects. So. Again. Hard yikes.

So that's the quick rundown of the people who are vested in Trump and Project 2025's success and why, and as you can see, while they're all different, they're all terrible. But yes: that really is a very, very small group of people, relatively speaking. And a vote for anyone except Kamala Harris and Tim Walz is a vote to empower them and also to ensure that you will never have the chance to vote again, due to living in an authoritarian fascist regime. Choose wisely.

[prospectingnightnovel]

Spoilers ahead:

So, as it is commonly accepted, and talked about in the manga: Laios prefers monsters to humans.

Laios does not care for the complexities of humanity - this is probably due to his autism, and his lack of ability to read people. From a child, he didn't understand why everyone hated his sister. In adulthood, he faced issue with Toshirou, because he didn't realize his "fake" politeness. Later on, he doesn't pick up on Kabru's desire to be friends until they pointedly say it.

This brings me to my next point... Why monsters? Why did Laios not become introverted? He could have easily left the army and started a bakery. He could have lived through others in a merch shop. Why was his fascination with the fantastical consume him? (Note: to a point him and falin did, if daydream hour is considered canon, Laios did join a travelling caravan and lived a "normal" life.)

INTRODUCE MY MAIN POINT!!!!!

LAIOS AND HIS CHILDHOOD DOGS!!!!!!

Even to his parents, Laios never felt like he could properly confide in them, thus he turned to the farm life he grew up with. Things that don't talk back, but listen attentively. His father, who was the town mayor, and his mother, who was pregnant at the time, possibly had little time to tend to him. It could also be due to his lack of socialization, which we don't know much about at this age, but we can later see that he never quite fit in with the town's children.

However, Laios doesn't continue to treat these animals as "inanimate objects", things that will listen to him without any response. Soon, animals become "people".

A boy who was rejected socially found family in dogs; thus they taught him much of what he knew. His behaviourisms make a lot more sense, I feel like, if you look at it this way. Dogs are blunt creatures - when they're mad, they bare their teeth. When they're in a good mood, they wag their tail and show their belly. Compared to humans, who you have to deeply analyse their smallest twitch of a brow, it's outright confusing.

But, in the end, Laios cannot hate humanity because he loves his friends. This group he's collected are all people he cares for, equally as much as his sister. Even in the perfect world - a world consumed by the dungeon - Laios does not have a desire to see his friends harmed.... because they are "simple" people.

Chilchuck is outspoken. He's not afraid to growl and snap his teeth, though he struggles with the secrets of his life, and is tight with his affections.

Senshi? He's one of the few who actively support Laios' interest in monsters. He offers advice without cruelty, and anything he says is always genuine and with the best intentions.

I think that Marcille is easily understood by both the Touden siblings due to this. She shows her distaste easily, and her emotions seem to pour out of her. You always know what Marcille is feeling. I think Marcille reciprocates that feeling: As confusing as his desires for monsters might be, she knows Laios will always be there for her. They are a pack. I found it interesting out of all the desires he might feel, he wanted Marcille to be safe and happy. And I would argue it wasn't simply due to the string of the manga, having Marcille as the previous dungeon master. It's a long build-up of their friendship: From the succubus scene to curing Marcille's nightmares.

[geekgirles]

I'm actually quite proud of Armand right now. Openly admitting to Amalia the reason their relationship was always strained was because he'd always been jealous of her and her relationship with their father is such a great character moment for him.

One thing season 4 is definitely delivering is some much needed depth and exploration of the Sadida Royal family. And I find myself fascinated (not only because Amalia is my favourite character and I have a soft spot for her people).

Personally, Armand is a character I have a lot of trouble having a clear stance on. I don't hate him, and it's true his motives become clear and even understandable once you give them some thought, it's just that Ankama does a wonderful job at making him both outwardly dislikable given his abrasive personality and some of his most questionable actions.

For example, season 3 Armand and season 4 Armand are almost like night and day. Maybe it is indeed that his new role as king has forced him to be more responsible and emotionally mature, but the vibes between L'assamblée and Falling Down are completely different.

In season 3 he just oozed contempt for his sister, and his actions towards her reeked of ulterior motives. The fact that Aurora has been described as manipulative (even her hairstyle is meant to hint at her true nature) and was purposely placed in between the two siblings as a visual nod to how she's keeping them apart doesn't help matters.

Which is another factor to take into account: Aurora's character and the role she plays in the siblings' deteriorating bond.

Even if so far she seems to genuinely love Armand, I really can't bring myself to trust Aurora. Not only because of all the behind-the-scenes facts I already mentioned, but because her actions are just sketchy and clearly veered to the betterment of the Osamodas rather than the Sadida.

First of all, her contempt for Amalia is genuine and she legitimately seems to be planning to send her away to keep her from interfering with her plans. After all, this is literally what she had to say about her sister-in-law:

"Ne vous en faîtes pas mon prince, nous finirons bien par redresser cette mauvaise herbe."

Translation: "Don't worry, my prince, we'll get this weed straightened out in the end."

(I haven't watched the English dub, so my apologies if the translation doesn't match the official version).

There's also the fact that, despite being the new Sadida Queen, her intentions in season 3 clearly laid in the benefit of her own kingdom, the Osamodas. Such is reflected in her choice of suitors for Amalia:

She intended for Amalia to marry Ashdur, her own cousin, thus, strengthening the Osamodas' hold over Sadida politics. In fact, it becomes quite clear Aurora's choice in suitors, only supported by Amalia implying back then her sister-in-law had already tried the same thing with her brothers, was much less about the future of the Sadida Kingdom and more about the Osamodas' sake.

After all, while arranged marriages between royal families isn't anything new, usually the sensible and even most strategic thing to do is for rulers to"spread" their children and marry them into different families around the world. That is exactly what Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabela of Castile did with their own children, they married them off to the royal families of England, Portugal, and Austria.

With that in mind, having both Sheran Sharm children marry Osamodas royalty just seems dumb, doesn't it? It all comes to show Aurora is more concerned over solidifying her power over the Sadida Kingdom than its actual well-being.

Which is why I'm still going to keep my guard up regarding her character until the season ends. After all, we still have 9 more episodes where everything can go up in flames.

But going back to Armand, even though he is in love with his wife, his treatment of Amalia in L'assamblée is leagues better than it was in season 3. Unlike most of his appearances and his interactions with his sister, where he kept treating her like a child who didn't know any better (what she just so happened to accuse him of when presented with Ashtur, as a matter of fact), here not only does he finally open up to his sister about his insecurities and his reasoning for his behaviour towards her, but he offers her support in the wake of their father's passing and even invites her to attend the assembly with him.

He is entrusting her with responsibilities befitting a queen, not a child.

Their relationship is finally healing.

As I said earlier, despite the undeniable depth behind his character, it's difficult to really side with Armand in plenty of occasions. Not only because of his difficult personality and flaws, but because it is so much easier to sympathise with Amalia.

And I'm not talking exclusively about the fact that, as one of the main characters, we've been by her side throughout everything, witnessing her true selfless, responsible, and brave self, but the fact that her position within her own family certainly tugs at our heartstrings.

Amalia is the youngest sibling, the princess. For all the sheltering and privileges that can get her, it also became her gilded cage. And for the most part, not even her family was a safe haven.

Queen Sheran Sharm died when Amalia was probably still a kid, whereas Armand was most likely already a teenager. As King Oakheart revealed back when he explained to Amalia it had been Armand who insisted they let her go, the queen's death shook their entire family, making the king and prince unintentionally turn their backs on Amalia during a time she needed as much affection as possible. And so, her royal duties became stifling, her royal upbringing unbearable. Thus is the reason for her wanderlust.

And then we have Armand's reason for not always being fair to her: jealousy. He resented her for being Oakheart's favourite, despite constantly going off to adventures while he remained in the kingdom by his side. Now, as I said, this was a great character moment for Armand, one that also belies his character development. However, it doesn't change the fact that, while easier to relate and sympathise with him, we still sympathise with Amalia more or have been doing so for far longer because we knew the effect this had had on her.

We all have been someone's scapegoat to their frustrations with a third person, we have all been treated unfairly by someone who, for whatever reason, couldn't solve their own issues with the person they had problems with in the first place and took it out on us. This is the crux of Armand and Amalia's strained relationship: for years, Armand took his frustrations and insecurities out on Amalia instead of having an honest conversation with their father.

That's why it's easier to sympathise with Amalia, because we know that, deep down, for all her flaws, she was never at fault for how their relationship turned out. Because we can understand her frustration and pain when, even with their dying father, Armand still chose to listen to his wife over her and try to marry her off instead of being there for each other when they both needed most. As Amalia called him out for before leaving with Yugo, he still chose politics over family. Everything involving Armand and Aurora is about politics.

But now that they are at least beginning to rebuild their relationship, I sincerely hope things get better for them. Unless their original intentions back in 2017 have changed, I seriously fear Ankama will still use Aurora to complicate things further between these two.

Please, Ankama, I'm literally begging you. They're all the family they each have left, don't let their relationship be ruined forever.

[cosmicstarlatte]

Trip to Waffle House (Obey Me!)

━━━━━━━━━━ ✦ ━━━━━━━━━━ You take the brothers to Waffle House for some breakfast. You pull up and there's already gunshots ringing through the lot. "It's ok, c'mon c'mon...ignore the cook punching that customer."

»Characters: Demon bros + Dateables »Tags: Shitpost/Humor, Bulleted Style fic, Gender Neutral, Regret

Lucifer:

Refuses to order anything

"This is not a dining establishment."

Thinks this makes the Devildom look like the Celestial Realm

He now understands why you're built strong

"Where's the manager? He's dead?"

ENOUGH

Got fed up and stopped the chaos

For once there was a little bit of peace in a waffle house if only for a few minutes

Mammon:

"Aw fuck yeah cheap food!"

Is unbothered by the chaos, ignores it.

Until he gets hit with food

Starts a brawl with the other patrons

Ended up going viral online

Levi:

"In Ruri we trust" He prays

Was anxious the entire time

Made sure to sit between Lucifer and Beel for safety

Thought the food was good but

Please don't ever make him go there again

Satan:

Found it entertaining

"Waffle House Weather Index? Fascinating!"

"Is that a cat giving birth in the corner?"

Thought food was okay

Still a fan though and would like to come back again with you

Also loves that Lucifer hates it

Asmo:

Took some convincing to get him to step foot inside but the gunshots helped

Didn't bother to eat either

He swears he saw something move on Mammon's plate

"This is so not going on Devilgram."

Never again

Beel:

"Mm..mmph!!!"

Was excited to try something new

Dinner and a show!

Took over for the cook so they could go on break

No complaints, he would come back again

Enjoyed it the most out of everyone

Belphie:

"This...this is great."

Enjoyed the chaos, found it hilarious

Could comfortably nap to everyone's screaming, it was comforting

Lucifer hates it and Beel loves it so what's not to love?

Food was ok

Would come back again

━━━━━━━━━━ ✦ ━━━━━━━━━━

You guys went on a trip to the human world and Dia wanted to stop somewhere for breakfast. He liked the name Waffle House and decided to stop there. You tried to dissuade him but he refused. Even pulling up and hearing gunshots he wasn't deterred. Barbatos couldn't stop him.

Barbatos:

Slammed a glock on the table as soon as they sat

Politely declined to eat

Found the place interesting by how unregulated it was but he wouldn't come back again

Diavolo:

Was a little disappointed it actually wasn't made to look like a house of waffles

Fascinated by the vibe though

"Do you fight to the death here?"

"I see."

Orders waffles of course

Thinks they're just okay

Yeah he doesn't want to come back again

Simeon:

Sweats

Says a prayer in the car

Blacks out once inside

Would rather turn into a demon than step foot in there again

Luke:

Gets tossed around

Poor Simeon blacked out and couldn't help

"Is that blood on the wall!?"

"Why is the soda salty?"

Needed therapy for a while

Solomon:

"Aw yiss mf waffle house"

unbothered king

Thinks its the best place in the world

It's a lawless land after all

Would take someone on a date there

⬦You might also like: Coconut︱Devil-Mart⭐︱Mexican Restaurant︱You ARE The Father

[queenofallimagines]

Satan if you were a satanist before you arrived in the devildom

A/n: listennnn in between getting dragged by the Lucifer chat bots, writing two really long fics and having brain worms about this Au I’ve had so many thoughts and Satan has landed in my radar☺️ asmo and Simon are NEXT bc guardian angels are a whole DIFFERENT can of worms

I’m gunna use like ACTUAL satanic lore mixed in w the game lore

Satan:

- okay so boom

- Right off the bat he can tell you are different

- Sitting back waiting to see how you react to everyone

- Takes note you’re much more respectful to him than the rest

- Thought you were walking on eggshells because you were terrified of him but you ain’t scared at all

- You see through all his pranks

- “He’ll probably see that coming a mile away. Try moving it over here Lucifer don’t check there.”

- Color him impressed

- Does see you don’t really freak out like his brothers when he goes into one of his little rage fits

- When he offered to make the pact with you to piss Lucifer off you were really caught at a pass

- Like for one you technically already have a soft pact with him being a devotee

- But also you don’t want to disrespect him by saying no

- Choosing to not get on Lucifer’s bad side because you still do have a mission to do in that attic, soyou politely decline

- “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to make a pact with you that isn’t built on a mutual trust and understanding”

- He’s always told you to sniff out a trap and you were NOT falling for it

- Blinded by rage for not getting his way, that’s when he lashes out

- He feels something weird in his chest when he looks at you in that moment but he can’t quite understand it. Like a tugging feeling at the back of his head trying to tell him something

- When you get caught I. The middle of the whole “they’re the same person thing” you just roll your eyes

- “No shit they’re not the same person🙄😒 Satan and Lucifer couldn’t be more different, Lucifer is the morning star and Satan is more tricker than anything :/ crazy how yall don’t do research”

- Ngl he almost fell for you right then and there

- He cannot STAND that especially when humans call anything and everything Satan and refer to him and Lucifer like they’re the same person.

- Looks at you with star eyes for a second before sticking to you like glue. He’s very fascinated with you and wants to study you under a microscope

- Ask you if you’re like Solomon and have been studying for years

- Did you manage to get your hands on some devildom textbook somehow?

- Maybe even some texts form the celestial realm

- “Not really but that would be super cool to read.”

- He himself hates misinformation so you be correcting all the demon brothers with the quickness

- Lucifer is very annoyed and Satan is elated

- Notices you looking at him a lot, like you’re analyzing him

- Ofc he’s blunt and isn’t gunna beat around the bush he asks you what you’re doing starring at him like that

- “It’s really nice to see what you actually look like… if you’re shape shifting all the time and this is the form you stay in full time it’s… nice to see you face to face”

- Confused for a second because he doesn’t often make trips directly to the human world even for a summoning

- “Well I mean, in the human world we don’t actually know what you look like. The only book that has a description of what you looked like and are has the pages mysteriously ripped out and have never been found. I assume that was your doing?”

- Shocked pikachu bc he fr forgot he did that in his younger years

- His mischievous tendencies have been delegated directly to Lucifer, he understands the value of books now

- “Ah,,, I do recall doing that. It would make sense why you’re starring at me so hard.”

- Blushes when you call him a pretty boy

- Like he’s in his room kicking his feet giggling

- You bring him his offerings directly

- He won’t even realize you’re doing deity work with him and is just excited to spend time with you

- Whenever you come back home from class or whatever you give him little things you got in your way back or snacks he likes

- Nobody has ever seen satan smile this much

- Lucifer peeps when it’s your turn to cook dinner you just so happen to favor foods Satan likes and uses ingredients he does to cook too

- Will be very suspicious of you mirroring his behavior

- Satan is none the wiser truly he’s assure at familiar feeling is like some star crossed lovers stuff and you were meant to meet by fates hands

- Has so many cute cat themed things in his room from you

- Lucifer is not liking how you seem to be trying to gain his trust for your own reasons but he can’t sense anything malicious.

- He can’t pinpoint any alternate motive for this behavior

- Satan will not notice until someone points it out to him

- Lucy straight up asks you why you’re getting so friendly with him

- Mammon also chimes in that you seem like you’re sucking up to him, and Satan feels conflicted be he doesn’t like how they’re accusing you but also the fact that you might be just being nice to him because you want something is setting his nerves on fire

- Rolling your eyes you shoot back at Lucifer that you’re just worshiping Satan like you usually do

- The old man is takes aback and Satan is like…. I beg your pardon?😀

- “Satan has been my patron for years now, the only thing that’s different is that I can give him my offerings and ask him for help directly”

- Mammon is chewing the carpet he’s supposed to be your first man!

- Satan is flabbergasted and is searching his memory for this information

- Before he remembers

- “How did I not notice??”

- “I thought you knew??”

- “NO???”

- Dinner is wild bc now asmo asking for embarrassing memories of you

- Rip bc Satan gon tell it ALL😭

- I feel like he’d be the type to keep a log so he might not remember every single face and name because he does fuck with some people who summon him

- Grabs your notebook from his room and starts reciting shit BAR FOR BAR

- “Oh yeah i remember this! You were quite a rowdy child picking fights with everyone. Your temper was awful”

- “YOU DO NOT GET TO FUCKING SAY THAY TO ME!!”

- laughing because he’s taking a stroll down memory lane and he’s dragging you along

- Can feel your anger a mile away, he’s in your ear now more than EVER going “don’t you want to go apeshit?”

- Constantly encouraging you to loose your temper on Lucifer

- He feeds off your rage and it feels almost euphoric to him, because he’s an instigator if anything😭

- “Where the fuck is your rage?? Lucifer was definitely disrespecting you👀👀”

- Exhausting

- Lucifer will get on him about having you up for hours on end reading and studying when you need to sleep

- You will NOT fail any class not on his fucking watch! He’s gunna make sure you excel in this exchange program academically

- Even if he’s not who you ask for things he’s helping you

- “Do NOT as belphie for help with dream interpretation I’ll help you!!”

- Very proud to show you off

- “Y’all see MY human?”

- Mammon is trying not to start problems on purpose

- He will probably bend you over Lucifer’s desk bestie it’s inevitable

- If you’re intimate before he knows he’s really gentle and makes sure to take his time with you

- If it’s after he will be rough and mean

- He definitely cares about you and loves you but he will pretend he’s using you as a toy

- As if he’s your god and you’re nothing but a lowly mortal designed to be used and filled up by him

- Choking you out and breeding you for hours on end

- Will be so incredibly gentle with aftercare it’s almost like he’s a different person

- “Look at you drooling and can’t even keep your eyes focused. Pathetic. You’re too stupid to think of anything other than how I’m ruining you”

- Makes you struggle to walk every time

- Gets carried away and marks you everywhere like diavolo asking you why there’s a hickey on your ankle😭

- Almost buys you a collar if Lucifer didn’t stop him

- Wants you to know you belong to him and you’re his little follower

- Tells you how good you are for him and gives you a nice reward

- “You’re so good for me, so eager to please and make me happy. My human deserves a reward hm?”

- Cocky asf for no reason PLEASE humble his ass!!

- Gets off on it when you pin him down and call him pathetic

- “The great avatar of wrath Satan himself bouncing on my lap like a whore desperate to get off.”

- He’s literally turning to mush for you

- Whimpering and looking at you with teary eyes

- “P-please I need to cum I’ll do anything”

- Bites back a moan when you coo at him that he’s so pathetic needing a mortal to get off

- He can feel how mean you are and your anger through your pact and it’s making his body buzz with excitement

- Panting and wiggling his hips he’s begging you to fill him up

- Call him a good kitty and he probably won’t be able to last

- Likes when you punish him like best his ass fr leave bruises make his ass bright red!!

- He’s really just attached to you and will cause a big issue when you have to leave the devildom at the end of the year😅

[drbased]

Seeing people with this attitude is genuinely fascinating to me. I wrote a post a while back talking about the dangers of talking about 'bigots' as if they're uniquely maladjusted, and I think this is a good example of that. Like, I can't think of anything more normal than referring to people by their observed sex. That is, after all, what we invented the words 'man' and 'woman' for. These people want to have their cake and eat it too: they want 'accepting someone's gender' to be the normal person thing, but also for transphobia to be a widespread bigotry under a powerful cisheteropatriarchy.

I've noticed this as a problem with a lot of people on the left: despite the supposed desire for class analysis, where we acknowledge that people in positions of privilege have a motivation to preserve said privilege, the more liberal-leaning people like to believe in a world where everyone is just bumbling along and simply misinformed: they believe that the average person wants to be good, and so these 'normal people', despite whatever privileges they have, will always choose kindness over preserving said privilege, and simply need to unlearn implicit biases. So then we have a large group of people who pay lip service to the concepts of class analysis, privilege and oppression, but when it comes down it still cannot conceptalise people outside the boxes of 'good' and 'bad' - and the 'good' people are always the normal, healthy, well-adjusted ones, struggling against a system that has been corrupted by those evil bigoted goblins who infect others with their hate speech. It's this childish and incredibly palatable idea that sticks around because it means that all you have to do is play the part, and hang around with other people who seem to play the part, and then you get to be one of the 'good' ones.

This is why transgenderism has been so useful in easing political anxieties - it's the fastest and most concrete way you can signal to others and yourself that you're one of the good ones. Sure, you can accept gay people, you can drink your 'respect women' juice. But there's a unique statement being made every time someone says 'trans women are women'; a unique 'fuck you' to some imagined status quo - that, in its irony, is so easy to do precisely because it's not really a fuck you to said status quo, or at least not in the way these people want. Instead it's a necessary signal that they're willing to do the extreme mental gymnastics needed in order to play the part - and said part is of feeling normal, feeling well adjusted, feeling safe.

This argument keeps getting used time and time again against radfems - that we're chronically online, that we have brainrot, that we're 'obsessed' with trans people. And it's so patently false that it's absurd. But absurdity is built into this whole thing.

[thisnameisnotspokenfor]

Because some of you are far faster than I anticipated....

Here are the first few pages of next chapter/scrapped pages of the last chapter

WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ CHAPTER 37. I AM SERIOUS >:(

ETA: I did add a little extra onto the snippet as a 'sorry' for some of you ToT

She nodded and silently listened as the star gestured to the surrounding glowing trees. “When the order had been finally established, a primordial star decided to give up her spot in the sky, opting instead to stay on earth to guide the order and firmly cement its placement as the bridge between our worlds. It was a move that impressed the other stars, and to show their support for the newly found order, they made the Asterius that you saw in the market. One created and cultivated from the power of each court to symbolize its unity within the order.”

“Was there any particular reason why they chose a tree of all things as a symbol?” she asked, as she stared at the glowing trees, gently swaying in the night breeze.

“Yeah…but what’s with your tone? Trees are cool!” he frowned, almost sounding offended.

“They’re alright…but I mean why do stars take such interest in them if they’re practically everywhere? Surely you guys must have cooler things than just…trees!”

“We do but…Have you ever noticed that no matter how far into the heavens a tree can ascend it must always stay rooted to the earth to survive? It never forgets its origins, no matter how far or great it grows…” he smiled thoughtfully as his foot scuffed against the ground. “Isn’t that something?”

Asha slowly nodded, and turned her eyes upwards “Hmm I guess it does sound a bit more…fascinating when you describe it like that…but why do yours glow?”

The star hummed thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin, “Well, the short scientific and aesthetic answer would be bioluminescence to attract nocturnal pollinators. Plus you can always appreciate their beauty no matter what time of day. It makes the forests nicer, doesn’t it?”

She nodded in agreement, “It does. But what’s the long answer?”

“Well,” he started as he straightened himself. “I don’t know the details exactly but I think it’s also because of their connection to some greater network of energy both with each other and the world around them. One of my nannies would always tell me about it when I was little and couldn’t stop climbing them but it’s pretty convoluted if I’m being honest.”

“A network of energy…” she whispered as her eyes trailed the trees’ glowing roots. “Like your energy?”

“Something like that,” he shrugged before thoughtfully staring at the sky. “I mean they sort of come from our world…so I guess it only makes sense that they would act like that…”

“You know before you told me all of this, I never would’ve thought that something as simple as a tree could hold so much meaning in the grand scheme of things,” she confessed. “Sure there was the wishing tree, but that felt more like a relic than anything else…not some political  cosmic display of diplomacy…”

“You’d be surprised…there’s a reason why most Asterius made today are no longer created by all four courts…”

“They aren’t?” she asked, a bit taken aback as the star shook his head.

“No not anymore, not since Deneb’s asterius came into the picture…”

“Deneb has an asterius?”

“Most members of the royal star families and high-ranking nobles do…but few have a tree as controversial as hers….” he hesitated as if mentally debating over something before he eventually nodded and turned to her. “Asha” he stated suddenly as she straightened herself in sudden preparation. “You remember how when we were in the forest you told me that you knew that the crimson court hated Deneb because of your father’s writings, right?”

“Right,” she nodded, trying not to shift uncomfortably. Somewhere in the depths of her mind, she could hear the king’s voice whispering to her. She couldn’t make out what he was saying but she was too afraid to find out.

“Did your father ever state why?” The star asked, thankfully silencing the king’s muffled voice as she shook her head. 

“No…his master had been vague about the situation…but from what I could tell, it seemed as if the bad blood between the two parties was a little more extensive than just the courts…it seemed like it involved the council too…”

“It did,” Cepheus carefully nodded. “But did he say anything else?”

“Well…he theorized that it was the result of some act of defiance she did a few years ago that involved her children…you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“I do,” he confessed. “I don’t know if you’ll like the story but I suppose for you to understand anything I’ll need to give you a few details…”

He gestured for her to follow as they slowly began to near the forest. “I’m not sure if I’ve told you this explicitly,” he started as the glowing trees and shrubbery began to surround them.   “but the crimson court and cerulean court have always had a mutual hatred of each other. They’ve led countless wars and battles against each other long before the order,  Deneb, and her children ever entered the picture.”

“Why?” She asked as she ducked beneath a low-hanging branch. “Was it differing philosophies? Scandalous love?” She asked the star who’d somehow managed to put a rather large walking distance between them. “Cultural differences? Why did they hate each other?”

He paused as if listening out for something before she finally made her way to his side, “Differing philosophies and a bloodthirsty competitiveness to conquer the galaxies,” the star frowned and abruptly looked away. Had…had he been ashamed of his court’s past? She wondered before he quietly continued, “Nevertheless it all seemed to come to a head when during one of these battles…the council, being as senile as they were, had grown both tired and indifferent to the constant fighting. So they decided to exercise their powers to ensure peace would prevail, one that, unlike their past attempts, could not be so easily dismissed…” The star sighed, slowly moving his hand as the air around his fingers began to glow a soft misty blue.

Slowly the world around them began to ripple, and blur.

She blinked, trying to rub the uneasiness from her eyes as her surroundings slowly began to come into focus as she looked around. They were still in a forest, that much she could be sure of as the familiar sight of large, thick glowing forestry greeted her.

But where the distant town of Banquo had once stood was gone, and in its place was a seemingly endless glowing body of water. 

Were they…at the beach? No this couldn’t have been the beach, at least not one she’d been familiar with. Her eyes traced along the light blue shoreline as she took one hesitant step forward before rubbing her eyes in disbelief.

The beach was glowing. Real beaches didn’t glow. But the feel of the calm sea breeze passing through her braids had nearly convinced her otherwise.

“Wait…” she started, looking around. “Is this another illusion like what you did with the scrolls?”

“Something of the sort,” the star smiled as he spoke from behind her. “Are you enjoying the view?”

She nodded, before looking around again, “Yeah! It’s…beautiful -,” her voice trailed off as she took in the sight of the star who’s skin was now a beautiful shade of cyan, while his hair was nearly white. 

Was this what a blue star looked like? She wondered, as she looked him over and over again.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring, but it was enough to earn herself an all too knowing grin as the star arrogantly extended a sapphire colored wing. “I was talking about the sea, but if you think I’m beautiful as well, and wish to stare,” he chuckled as another wing revealed itself. “then by all means, my dear-,” 

“What?!” She scoffed, before waving her hands dismissively as she looked away. Thank God her blushes weren’t visible. “Ha! No! No way! I was talking about the beach! Not you! It’s the beach that’s beautiful, see?! You’re just…blue!” 

“Mmhmm.” He hummed teasingly as his now gray colored iris seemed bright with laughter. “Well either way I hope you enjoy either view you choose to partake in….although I must admit asha…. That the sea, is unfortunately not located where your eyes are currently focused.” 

“I know that!” She snapped and sharply turned to face the body of water, hoping to enjoy any semblance of peace that she could get.

[soft-pine]

spn20rewatch: the thing about supernatural season 1 episode 13 route 666 is that cassie robinson is the most beautiful woman i have ever seen.

she is also a truly phenomenal, compelling, dynamic character and it sucks she's only in one episode!

but what an episode it is. i think similarly to bugs, route 666 gets a lot of hate. and, again, i'm not going to defend it against people who do experience it negatively. but the way route 666 simply lays out the truth of the racial violence black people experience is pretty straightforward and uncompromising. it's important the way it just says: white people controlled the town, the police, the paper, the violence, the courts. and that's so bad. it's important the way it reaffirms so so many times that none of that was very long ago at all. it's important the why it says that that violence and injustice was so extreme that it haunts and stalks the present and still has the power to kill.

i hope i'm saying this in a way that makes sense. but i love the way both bugs and route 666 clearly name historical injustices and thematically show how the ramifications of that injustice and violence are still deeply present today. supernatural doesn't often handle politicized things head on and it is kind of fascinating to me that the two episodes with some of strongest politics happen in season 1.

i have a few other stray thoughts about this episode... 1. as a tractor operator it kills me that that little kubota is able to pull a water-logged truck out of a lake with its tires that deep in mud (i can't actually make out the model of the tractor (just the loader arm attachment) but, affectionately, no way).

2. it is always so special to me that dean's first on-screen romance is with his long-term ex. commitment boy i love you.

3. "i'm still really involved with my dad's work." spams the spiral-eyes emoji

4. i love that dean told cassie the truth about his life and hunting. i love that he didn't want to lie to her! it's kinda crazy that sam yells at him for it because sam never told jess. like dude no one was stopping you?

5. why did they make the racist truck look so much like john's gmc? like okay i know this is kinda a stretch (there's lots of kinds of big black trucks) maybe but it always reminds me of the grand sierra...

6. okay again we see dean just decide to play the role of bait to give sam time to work out a plan. but the plan sam works out is for dean to play even riskier bait (without communicating that!!). dean's shocked, pitched-up voice and stressed-out slamming his hands on the steering wheel, ough oof ow owie yeoch.

[voiice-of-the-soul]

finally sharing my own personal headcanons for medic. keep in mind this is just my own interpretation of him.

-the story about him yoinking a guy's skeleton is one of the many he tells when someone asks him why he lost his license. he changes it up to a different one every single time and no one really knows which one is true.

-he is an excellent storyteller. he's good with words, has an endless array of things he could speak about and the obvious one, he loves to talk. though most of the stories are pretty morbid and his dark humour does not appeal to most people.

-he has other qualifications besides medicine and science. there was a brief period of time when he worked as a mortician and would harvest the organs of corpses for experiments. shockingly enough, he's also a licensed psychiatrist. nobody believes him though.

-i feel like he would be a good artist. he does very detailed anatomy studies but he also has many little sketches of his doves. it calms his nerves when he gets manic.

-i also think he'd be a big fan of junji ito's work. they have a similiar jovial and goofy nature while simultaneously creating the most horrifying shit.

-he and spy go way back before either of them were hired by mann co. they both fought in wwll as members of a resistance group, which medic joined after fleeing from germany.

-he has low affective empathy but pretty good cognitive empathy. he often words things wrong when attempting to comfort someone but if you brought it to his attention, he'd be like "oh, i never thought of it that way! i apologize!"

-he is generally polite to people as long as they don't undermine him or his work. treat him with respect and he'll extend the same courtesy to you. that being said, he is absolutely not a pushover, as we've seen multiple times. he knows his worth and when someone steps on his tail like cheavy did, he will retaliate tenfold.

-alot of people say he hates children which i do not agree with at all. i think he has a soft spot for them and he secretly always wanted to be a father. his paternal side occassionally comes out when he's interacting with his birds. if he ever had a kid of his own, he would pamper them and carry them around in his arms everywhere.

-another unpopular opinion but i think he is more understanding than people give him credit for. he would try to reassure someone if they were scared to undergo surgery for whatever reason and make jokes in an attempt to ease the tension. he's not always particularly successful at it but it's the thought that counts.

-he is very passionate and feels all of his emotions strongly with little to no inbetween. it's either extreme love or extreme spite.

-he is quite observant and endlessly fascinated by human behaviour. he enjoys interacting with people so he gets to dissect (often quite literally) and pick their brains. though his observations come across as very clinical which unnerves most people.

-i think he is more gentle with women than he is with men. i mean, just look at how he talks to miss pauling.

-he plays up his evilness so people will think he's just a one track mind lunatic. he enjoys catching people by surprise when he gets serious.

-while i personally don't think he would outright hate any animal, i think he gets nervous if a cat is in the vicinity of his birds.

[nodulemodule]

I made more fankids…

And a rival and best friend for Artie…

More info under the cut

Y’all already know my Shadamy kids but Sunny is now a former G.U.N. agent. She quit. The reason why is a mystery.

We got some Knuxouge kids! Mirage, Warden, and Prickle. Mirage was meant to become the next guardian of the master emerald, but ended up passing it down to her little brother Warden who wanted it way more than her and became an actual G.U.N. agent like her mother. She takes after her mother in that way. She’s ultra tall and Warden is mad cause she was already taller than him at one year younger. Also she’s trans. Good for her. Warden is the “serious” one who is really dedicated to being the next guardian. He’s got the braincell of the three and is a short king. Prickle hates everyone and likes to be alone in nature. Despite Warden being the next guardian, Prickle is the most in tune with the emerald and angel island in general and often communicates with Tikal’s spirit. But nobody else can see, so for example, Rouge sees him talk to himself and is like “who tf is he talking to”

Tailsream kids! Lars, Specs, and Posy. L.A.R.S. stands for Laboratory Assistive Remedial Software. He is an ai that Tails made shortly before Specs was born to help him in the lab that turned out to be sentient. After specs was born, Lars dedicated himself to protecting her and being the perfect big brother. So Tails was like “Welp, I guess I have two children now.” and adopted him. They say he’s “15” just because that’s how he looks and acts. Specs is best girl. She’s very safety-minded and polite and she carries around a seemingly bottomless backpack full of anything you could ever possibly need. She’s called Specs after her glasses but also for how she would help Tails in his workshop and list of software “specs” for him. Posy is a little monster who revels in creating chaos, but she’s cute so she gets away with it. Also, she likes to drag Prickle around to act as her Guinea pig and he lets her because he’s too nice to say no.

The Silvaze Twins! They both live with their mother in the palace since they never know when the future will go to shit again, and Silver is usually there with them acting as Royal consort. Ember was born a few minutes before her brother, making her heir to the throne, which both are 100% fine with. Ember strives to be the best heir possible and takes her job very seriously. She loves to study and also practices fencing as neither she nor her brother inherited their parents psychic or pyrokinetic abilities. Her brother, Cinder, on the other hand, hates being in the palace and prefers to goof off most of the time. He’ll often try to cause trouble around the castle, which Ember will usually try to stop, except when he occasionally convinces her to join in. While Ember enjoys more classical studies, Cinder is fascinated by dimensional science and time travel and longs to explore all the countless dimensions out there.

Finally, some neighborhood kids. While Sunny’s main group is Mirage and Ember, Artie has these two weirdos. There’s his best friend Peppy, a reckless, energetic mouse who loves going on misadventures around town but is often betrayed by her own clumsiness. She and Artie are constantly arguing over who is the other’s sidekick and often have to save each other’s butts, but one thing’s for sure is these two idiots are inseparable. Spot, on the other hand, is the local delinquent and Artie’s official rival. Why? Idk, it doesn’t really matter. After all “all heroes have a rival” although this rivalry is often forgotten in favor of teaming up to get the job done or just to hang out. However, they still definitely hate each other and don’t like each other at all. They totally don’t enjoy the bantering or have a crush on the other at all. Pure rivals

Also, Sonic doesn’t have kids, he’s just the cool pseudo-uncle who visits a lot and babysits. And they all definitely have big family get-togethers and family dinners all the time. Because found family is the most important family of all. Anyway, thanks for reading imma go nap.

[prac-ticalproblems]

suggestion based off your post asking for suggestions: what do you think all their favorite albums would be. mind you they’re in the late 1960s so like it would be an album they liked so much they would save up and buy the record. lord knows music was an arm and a leg for 10 tracks. I’m thinkin engie might be into Johnny Cash, definitely bein into At Folsom Prison and probably also Townes Van Zandts self titled album when they came out in 1969. Scout would probably be a Chuck berry fan. I can also see him knowing how to dance to 40s big band music because his ma used to dance with him in his brothers in the living room as kids but he would be embarrassed about that one. Soldier would HATE the Beatles. and I have no idea about everyone else.

You. You get it. I’m gonna squeeze you. /pos

I love this ask so much I am going to do 60’s AND make it regional and Historical! Because we are syncing brain waves rn. (With a little bit of karaoke headcanonz)

1960’s music w the mercs

Medic - I believe that Medic is a very chaotic music lover. He has a background of classical in some way, with his fascination for it in the game and it’s bled outward into loving loud booms and the thrill of it speeding up.

So maybe some early forms of rock? Especially if it’s Peggy Peter’s. He sings like shit though.

Heavy - I’m not going to lie, this immediately came to me. Heavy loves pop. Heavy loves a bouncy little jig that he can play while cleaning Sasha. He probably got it from his sisters. I also believe that he has a very strong sense of political beliefs about his country so pop that has a message.

Definitely Edita Piekha. 100%. Lovely vocals from the gods. A little rattling, but He is a perfect bass.

Scout - HE WOULD LOVE CHUCK BERRY. That man hums ‘My Ding-a-ling’ as he showers. Absolutely.

He has Sex Bomb tattooed, but I’m sure his favorite Tom Jones song is actually It’s Not Unusual. He screeches when he sings instead of singing higher.

Demo - I see him being into much older songs for his age (he’s like nearly 30) just because of the way his mother raised him. I think he’s got an older soul than he thinks. So 1940’s swing and soul. Strong believer that he has more than a few albums that he cherishes, but most of them are from his mom.

He cries every time he puts it on though, just to let the feelings out. When he’s drunk, he sings terribly, when he’s sober? Probably still a little bad but he doesn’t know his range and doesn’t care if he’s tone deaf.

Pyro - I have personal ideas about Pyro that makes me think he is a huge Jimi Hendrix fan. I refuse to explain or elaborate as I will be here all day.

All Along the Watchtower. He bounces whenever it’s played.

Sniper - Jazz. I know it’s an easy answer, but it’s also THE RIGHT ONE. I think he’s very much a “nod his head and listen” type of music lover as a posed to “can’t stop moving” sort of guy.

He also probably prefers wordless music, for focus, and lyrics in music when he’s alone. (He is dancing in his room when no one’s around.)

Soldier - FUCKING HATES THE BEATLES. I’m almost tempted to say the only thing he listens to is music about WAR. But he’s probably into punk music. But I’m sure he fucks up and listens to anti war songs instead of actual war songs. So he’s accidentally listening to ‘hippie music’. No one has the will to explain it to him.

His favorite song is probably Gene Stridel - What do you win when you win a war. But only when he’s more self aware, more aware of his situation. It comes and goes. Soldier refuses to sing the song, ever. But it’s close to his heart, even if he sometimes doesn’t know why.

Spy - secretly a hippie. Definitely into Yé-yé, a type of french-ized version of British pop/exotica (like THE BEATLES.) He shows Soldier his music taste and it sends him into a rage. I think he takes pleasure in it.

Especially Baroque Yé-yé. Very Spy feely. Also Scout’s mom has probably shown him some Josephine Baker, and he likes it. Sings in a snooty little voice but it sounds pleasant enough. He thinks he’s the best singer in the team. (it’s heavy)

Engineer - GOD, you’re so right. Johnny Cash is the most fitting for him. I feel like he’s definitely a music sharer and taker. He carries songs from the people who he loves around with him. I think his mom loves Tammy Wynette and it’s crossed over to him.

Rip, you stupid fuck, you would have loved Poor Man’s Poison. He probably does that thing where they end off words in country with like a howl, instead of just ending the sentence.

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Actually, the Arateph Rapunzel retelling might be salvageable if I kill my very favorite darling.

Buckle up, rubber ducks!

This retelling is set just after the revolution. Zemma is a scholar--an astronomer--who's been living in an isolated tower working on a major project for years. She's been sheltered from the revolution--why should she care about politics when she has an entire universe of stars to explore?--and has continued her work relatively uninterrupted, thanks to the help of her mentor who stops by periodically to take care of the daily life details like making sure she eats.

One night while 's Zemma's working, a young man--Camreth--climbs through an open window in her tower. She eventually learns that he's a fugitive nobleman on the run from revolutionary authorities (not quite sure how long it takes her to figure this out, which is just one of the problems with the outline). Since she has no political opinions, she sees no reason not to provide him food and shelter and a bit of first aid.

Camreth is a cheerful soul who's running from some major survivor's guilt--he managed to escape when rebels seized his family's manor, and he hates himself for running instead of helping his family escape execution. He's also desperate for companionship, so when he finds this beautiful, fascinating scholar who's willing to help him, he finds himself returning again and again to her tower. Camreth brings Zemma presents and stories that remind her there's a world beyond her tower and her work, and that she can't just bury herself in the stars and forget about the people around her. Zemma helps Camreth to see there's a world beyond the darkness and sorrows of the revolution, reminding him of the beauty of the universe and giving him hope that he could have a future worth having. And they fall in love.

The plan was for Zemma to suggest marrying him--giving him her name to give him an identity to replace his noble status. (Not sure how they'd finangle the legality/logistics of this to keep people from finding out his original identity. Find a sympathetic backcountry official who's willing to marry them and not ask too many questions?) After a period of happiness, Zemma's mentor finds out about Camreth, does start asking questions, and turns him into the authorities, who capture him at Zemma's tower.

It turns out that Camreth isn't just a nobleman--he's the son of one of the queen's sisters, a first cousin to Prince Auren, and thus a high-priority target. Zemma's also pregnant with his twins, who, because of their noble blood, are deemed worthy of death. Camreth sacrifices himself so Zemma and their unborn children can escape.

Now for The Darling.

After his capture, Camreth is put through torture to make him reveal the whereabouts of other escaped nobles. Camreth knows nothing. Then a Big Name Official shows up and stops the torture to demand the answer to one question: Where is Prince Auren?

Camreth was relatively close with his cousin, so the question seems like another form of torture. He knows that Auren's dead. The rebels released footage of the spindle strike. Do they just want to make him say it out loud--to admit that all hope is lost and he's about to suffer the same fate?

Then it hits him--this is a genuine question. They don't know! Which means that Auren escaped! Alive, because there's no reason they'd go through this much trouble for a corpse. The crown prince is still out there and the revolution is in danger from him!

This knowledge makes him a bit giddy, and he starts to laugh triumphantly. "You marked him for death with his very name, and yet he lives!"

Which enrages his captors and they stab his eyes out.

Camreth is saved at the brink of death by the timely arrival of some counter-revolutionaries. When he's recovered, he tries to reveal Auren's survival to them, but none of them are interested in it--they're too interested in seizing power for themselves to want to chase a wild rumor that, on the slim chance it's true, would put the crown prince on the throne.

So he manages to go off on his own (probably with the help of some sympathetic friend) and wander until he finds his way back to Zemma and their children. And he's got this new family that gives him hope that the world goes on, and the knowledge that Auren is alive that gives him hope that the world could get better, and this hope gives us a sense of happily-ever-after.

Except that Auren doesn't have any relevance to the earlier parts of the story, so this discovery doesn't advance the character arcs or themes of this story. And we know that they don't find Auren for a hundred years, which undercuts the idea that this is a happy ending. It leans very heavily on the earlier story for its impact, when I'd like this to stand relatively alone.

So if I cut the connection to Auren and that torture scene, those difficulties go away. The happy resolution of the story is then focused on Camreth finding new hope in the future he has--a wife and children--rather than in political plots that won't be successful.

Then--how/why is he blinded? This could happen off-screen, and be explained as the outcome of torture. Maybe it could be a torture method that's meant to be temporary, so Zemma can help undo it in the end. Maybe he's not blinded at all, which makes his eventual escape and finding Zemma again much more logistically probable.

But we also have the problem that Zemma disappears for the third act of the story. In a romance, I want to make sure both characters have something to do. If she's pregnant with twins, her taking direct action to help with a rescue attempt is difficult and extremely reckless--she'd endanger two innocent lives for Camreth's sake, which is the exact opposite of what he wanted her to do. If it's only herself, it's much more justifiable.

We could even skip over the marriage--which is already logistically shaky--and make that the traditional happy ending of the fairy tale. Perhaps they were planning to get married, which makes the mentor suspicious of the man who's taking her charge away from important work, and the authorities arrive before it can happen. So then after their escape they can find someone to marry them way out in the middle of nowhere and then settle into a happy life of obscurity. That does cut away a lot of difficulties and nicely streamlines the story.

But then in this case--is it too slim of a story to matter? I could make it rather short--maybe aim more for a novelette than a novella. Which could then let me focus on more substantial stories.

Anyone who's interested--does it sound worth writing? Any thoughts on solutions?

[notyouraryang0dd3ss]

Hi, sorry for suddenly sending another ask after a long ask. It's the anon complaining about her music and I just wanted to say. I realized after I send the ask that I was kinda going soft because I was in a "need to hold back or swifties will kill me" mode. And you know what? I don't need to hold back.

Taylor Swift is literally the female equivalent of the "white man with guitar" that people have shit on like Ed Sheeran or Shawn Mendes. But somehow she gets to praised as the greatest songwriter of our generation despite mediocrity and inconsistent lyricism. She's not a vocalist, she's not a performer, her songwriting isn't anything interesting. She's literally only popular because she's so "inoffensive" to the demographic of white cishet people. I also fucking hate how she weaponizes her white woman tears to stay on top. Even worse is her jumping on trends to look appealing without meaning it. Literally this woman only started supporting gay rights and feminism because it was safer now to talk about it than not.

I don't think she's even an interesting artist. I see swifties say her lore makes her music interesting but it's just literal celeb drama. Who fucking cares? There are artists who are singing about more fascinating issues and have messages to say to the world but somehow she gets all the praise for profound lyricism. Folklore/evermore are two albums I never got the "it's so different" praise for because they're. still. love songs. She just can't write about something that's not her and that's why her song topics are so redundant and repetitive every album.

You can see that with her so-called political songs! This woman keeps centering herself on issues it's ridiculous. She also has such shallow takes on it, it almost feels like parody. I remember not getting why so many fellow queer people loved YNTCD so much because it was so fake to me.

Taylor Swift isn't an interesting artist. She's not that diverse in her discography. She talks about the same topics, reuses the same metaphors, and her genre range is not as experimental as swifties make it sound to be. She isn't influencing new genres and sounds, she's following trends. How can she be the generational songwriter when she can't even write about the current issues in her generation? She's so. damn. boring.

It's fine if people just accepted she made pop songs for the radio to be catchy or whatever. But why do I have to sit here and pretend her discography is some musical masterpiece? Why do I have to sit here with swifties telling me I'm so dumb because I didn't understand super simple metaphors??? I'm not a native english speaker and I get what she means, it's not rocket science.

God, I just. Hate her music and the way swifties talk about it. They're so damn obnoxious. Just go listen to other artists, and maybe broaden your scopes before spouting some bullshit.

(2/2)

[stromuprisahat]

"I didn’t know whether to laugh or scream."

Siege and Storm- Chapter 15

Oh nein! Mal has issues! With consequences of his actions he should be grateful for, and his girl not sharing every waking thought with him, when her worst worries spring from his most hated topics- the Darkling and her role in politics.

And Alina once again feels responsible for his feelings.

Yeah, this would have a bit more weight, if Alina didn't do it only for appearances' sake. Or if she granted the position due to merit, not random pick of what she views as the lowest low. Or if she didn't continue speaking as if she were a narrator of wildlife documentary, describing a new species of animal that just appeared.

Not necessarily, but it's one of Alina's less far-fetched deductions.

Aleksander could've been aware of David's fascination with Morozova's work. He could've picked the most skilled in bonework or the one most experienced in forging amplifiers- they're supposed to be rare, so not many Fabricators will have that.

*mumbles* And somehow we're to believe this pragmatic man chose to follow Alina, because... ? She's the good one, or whatever?!

*chants* Double agent Kaminsky, double agent Kaminsky!

Alina: Why would you want to kill this man! How horrible! At least question him first!

She would make a delightful morally flexible character, if she were acknowledged as such, and embracing that quality.

Says who? Zoya?

He KeEpS mE So BuSy!

Saints, Alina, you can't believe everything people say about themselves!

Alina: I'm not sure my three months of training are enough, but I can do like two things with my powers, so let's focus on increasing them further AND on the mythical forbidden art that created my goal no. 1 in the first place. I bet nothing can go wrong...

Only signing? Not reading to get into picture? And who prepares them?!

Bureaucracy, baby!

Welcome to responsibility!

I would sympathize with Alina much more, if she showed genuine interest in those she doesn't know. If her motivation weren't merely "Do the opposite of (what I think) the Darkling did". I she truly believed in her own philosophy.

Shocking!

People forced to sit next to half-strangers they're not used to interact with, create unpleasant atmosphere!

My work experience considered- you're lucky there's no visible enmity- you could've made the wrong people sit next to each other and tableware could've ended up in wrong bodyparts.

Also: How is Nadia sitting next to Marie? I thought breaking up already existing friend groups was a point of this whole exercise.

They're not gifts, Nikolai. They're just your father's property, but let's remember the Darkling didn't wait for the Queen to request a specific one's service, and turned it into a gesture of his own thoughtfulness. Fuck his strategems!

Alina's misplaced sensibilities are incredibly frustrating.

She wants to lead Second Army, but not order them, not assign them tasks directly, because that would somehow make her a bad person, instead of efficient leader.

What if no one will volunteer? What if weak, incompetent Squallers will? You don't look at special assignment and think- Yeah, whoever wants to do it... You PICK the most capable person with both sufficient skills AND suitable personality.

Awwww!

Poor granny deserves an Oscar!