#THEY NEVER ACTUALLY PROVE HIS INNOCENCE HE COULD STILL FUCKING BE ON DEATH ROW CAUSE THEY DIDN'T TELL ANYBODY ABOYUT THE FUCKING DEMON

[fawkesthefox]

i love prime defenders but jesus fucking christ slow down and give me some fucking filler and fluff and lighthearted character interactions

I get there's fucking demons but i need you to go talk to your fucking dad right now or i will explode

[fireemblems24]

AM Chapter 18

Spoilers below for FE:3H Chapter 18.

Pre-Battle:

I checked!! I do have Linhardt recruited!!!! Thank God. I really didn't want to kill him (had to see after realizing he was on the VW map)

I'm excited guys, this is the first time I'll see Dimitri leading the group.

Is AM the only route where it calls Grondor a victory? I know in SS they don't participate, and CF doesn't have it, and even though I just played VW, I can't remember since I did some stat boosting distributing.

AM really just decided to not follow the other routes anymore. Kinda relieved.

Fhirdiad wants Dimitri back (who wouldn't want Cornelia gone). OMG, does this mean I get to kill Cornelia???!!! Finally.

This is so much more hype than the other routes because it's so personal compared to them. Even in SS facing Edelgard is just a giant shrug since the plot doesn't seem to care all that much, but you feel the emotions here after everything.

Fuck Cornelia.

Other routes: we're playing dress up and taking over a fort. AM: Dimitri is returning to his people, who've been suffering under Cornelia's tyranny. That last time he was there, he had to kill his own guards to escape death, believing Dedue died rescuing him from imprisonment and pending execution and sent him even spiraling further into darkness. Like, holy shit, why didn't the other routes get this kind of writing?

They really don't mince here like they do elsewhere. Dimitri talking about stealing weapons from corpses is just . . . time for more Chamomile after all of this.

It's really sad that Dimitri wanting to SURVIVE a battle is an improvement.

It's so nice to see Dimitri leading. I worried he'd just default to Byleth like other routes do, but seeing Dimitri actually get to play his role and Byleth stay in a role that makes sense makes me like her a whole lot more here.

We're really taking back the Kingdom 😭😭😭😭

Fuck Cornelia.

Aw, yeah, the city hates her as much as I do. They know Dimitri's coming.

This fucking jerkass out here killing citizens. Why the fuck did Edelgard give her soldiers?

Not going to lie, hearing Dimitri called "that little princeling" does things to me.

I just love how much Dimitri fucks with her plans though lol.

Battle:

It's nice to actually play a different map and not the same one three times in a row.

Oh, Dimitri's gravely voice is back. And he's calling for smashed heads again. But it's Cornelia's so, who the fuck cares.

This is going to be the best chapter yes. Because I get to kill Cornelia. Tempted to use Dimitri to do it because that's how it should be, but she'd die way too fast almost.

LAMO. So I pulled the lever for the magical items, and Dimitri's like "now we can land a hit on those things!" As if Dedue didn't solo one already.

Dedue is so funny. He punches someone once, and they die. OMG I love having him back and using him.

Cornelia wasn't even worth any real experience points. Seems right though.

Dimitri sounds unhinged talking to her, don't blame him though.

Oh, more Patricia. She caused Duscur and sacrificed Dimitri and everyone else so she could see Edelgard?

It runs in the family. I kid. Slightly.

So did Patricia cause Duscur? Because Cornelia tweaked her?

Poor Dimitri. So his mother figure never really loved him. Can these writers just stop already?

Post-Battle:

Ok, Dimitri sounds all good again.

The Empire really treated Fareghus like shit 😭😭 but their king is back 😭😭😭

We gonna prove Duscur's innocence now 😭😭😭

Dimitri doesn't want to face his people. After Cornelia and the Empire, I'm sure he's (literally) a god-send.

OMG he's King Dimitri now 😭😭😭

And they're all cheering for him 😭😭😭😭😭😭

"Do I really have the right to stand here? Will they accept me as their king?" 😭😭😭😭😭

I got Dimitri to BLUSH - telling him not to cry, that this is a happy time. He's crying, omg. 😭😭😭😭

God this story is so emotional compared to the other ones.

"I am finally home again . . ." 😭😭😭😭😭"Faerghus, how I missed you." They missed either other.

OMG, I'm tearing up right now. They wanted him back so badly.

Dimitri is skipping out on his own party lamo.

Dimitri's afraid of the graveyard 😭 Not because ghosts, but because so many people he loves are there I'll bet.

OMG, lamo, Byleth made a funny. The silly answers she can guess what Dimitri taught him. That was actually some personality from Byleth.

Dimitri's seen VW and SS too lol, knowing he dies there in other routes 😭😭

Dimitri still doesn't think he deserves to be happy 😭😭😭

So Dimitri's bolstering his army AND kicking the Empire to the curb. He's a champ.

Dimitri nailed Edelgard's motivations. Wants to get rid of the church, wants to revolutionize the world, but he thinks the cost is too high (I agree).

"I wish to end this war through acceptance, not annihilation." So . . . is he going to attempt to talk Edelgard out of attacking?

Really curious to see if Dimitri actually attempts to reconcile with Edelgard or not.

Would be really nice if he could talk her down from needing to unite the world and could reach some kind of peace deal (but I seriously doubt they'll let everyone live through a single route, so . . . .)

And what about Claude? He didn't die in Grondor, right?

Ohhhhhh here we go. The Alliance sent someone.

So are we gonna fight Claude now or . . . I hope not. It only barely made sense in Grondor, it would make no sense now.

CLAUDE ASKED FOR OUR HELP!!!!???? ARE WE REALLY GOING TO TEAM UP WITH CLAUDE????!!!

OMG - I didn't think they'd let two lords actually work together, but are we really going to help Claude out? This isn't a trap thing?

OFC the Empire is invading the Alliance. I bet they're freaking out right now with Dimitri taking the Kingdom back under his control and out of theirs.

And Dimitri's not even hesitating to save Claude 😭😭😭

Who's Lord Volkhard von Arunedl?? It's not the Death Knight leading the invasion??

Oh, so he's behind the tragedy too. Is this that dude Dimitri researched in part 1?

LAMO Annette is "devious" for suggesting a "sneak attack."

"far more importantly, they need us. We cannot turn our backs on them." 😭😭😭😭 Just Dimitri things.

[buzzworddotie]

The 8th Amendment Referendum in Ireland

And how history is being rewritten one step at a time

It's been a long time coming but on May 25th 2018 the people of Ireland were asked if they would like to amend the Constitution to decriminalise abortion in Ireland.

What's it all about?

Up until now, an Irish women who seeked out an abortion for personal reasons or medical ones was a criminal under Irish law. A woman would have to either travel to the UK or attempt to dangerously take abortion pills acquired illegally at home under zero medical supervision.

Or the alternative, for years, decades, Ireland and the stronghold held over her by the Catholic Church, would force girls and women into homes to have the baby. Often these babies wound up dead, buried away, hidden. Bones have been found in septic tanks.

Girls and women were treated brutally.

Secret pregnancies were also a thing, who knows how many women and girls suffered in silence?

Right up until May 25th 2018.

That's when we finally got to be heard.

Enough is Enough

I can't take a single piece of credit for getting this vote to happen but there are countless women who can. Women who have been banging on doors, demanding bodily autonomy, demanding rights, demanding choice. Finally the demand was heard, finally the government agreed to allow the people to make a decision.

The Campaigns

As soon as the vote was announced, I knew this was not going to be a particularly nice campaign. That's putting it lightly. In 2015 Ireland held the Marriage Referendum. An opportunity to change the Constitution to recognise and allow same sex marriage in Ireland. It passed, of course, but the campaign was filled with some uneducated, hateful rhetoric fuelled by the Catholic Church. Regardless of how much they wanted to deny it, hardcore religious groups and their followers were against that law with vigor and venom.

And I knew that hate would amplify for this one. I already knew what way I wanted to vote, I didn't need anyone to convince me either way, much like the Marriage Ref. But unlike then when I did tune into radio debates and absorbed the arguments, this time I made the conscious decision to avoid it as much as possible.

Marketing

Despite that it was tough to avoid, every pole, every surface available was covered with Yes and No posters. The Yes posters usually said something like "Yes for choice" "Together for Yes" or a simple "Repeal"...

Murals went up by artists like Maser, badges were made, Repeal jumpers and through the help of crowd sourcing the Yes campaign managed to gain more support for their message.

Our message.

On the No side there were an abundance of posters, I have seen images of feotus in the womb telling me babies will be murdered. Billboards across towns, rural and otherwise.

The whole thing turned into a massive marketing campaign. To a degree, on both sides. Paid ads on social media, Google and streaming services, posters... So... Many... Posters.

Social media attacks, hashags... I just didn't want to hear it. I know burying your head in the sand isn't a solution but I personally don't believe that an issue as important as this should boil down to who has the most money to promote a post or buy a billboard.

One thing I will say is that, at least where I have travelled, there was far more "No" campaign imagery than "Yes". Those were the ones with the billboards, the video ads that interrupted my viewing and I had to wonder, where was all this money coming from?

In the end Google and Facebook to the best of my knowledge pulled paid advertising on their platforms but there were other means.

Attacks on People, places and things

Another side of the campaign was the inevitable attacks. Digital rows blazed up as the concept of reasoned debate flew out the window. Some of the words I have witnessed being used against women on social media were beyond appalling, disgusting, shameful.

Were there bot accounts? Yes, there were. It doesn't take too much probing to see that and that minor exercise in investigation proved that really the "No" side was in the minority. It was clear but you could never be certain.

And by no means would I ever suggest the "Yes" side were entirely innocent, I just didn't catch the trolling by them.

"No" campaigners also attacked places, apparently in one constituency very graphic posters were hung very close to a school, causing uproar.

They also stood outside maternity hospitals.

Let me reiterate that, MATERNITY HOSPITALS.

They stood outside them holding graphic posters, other establishments too, but that one made me sick to my stomach.

Then on the stunning Benbulben, in my home county, a place I adore, they stuck a massive "NO" sign. For some reason this triggered me. Using the landscape of this country, which throughout history has been defined with feminine pronouns, to announce that women's rights were not of value was disgusting.

Photo: https://garethwray.com/product/classiebawn-benbulben-sligos-iconic-duo/

Not more disgusting than standing outside a hospital or plastering graphic and insensitive imagery around a school but a different kind of insult. As if they were claiming this land shared their voice.

What was even weirder was the fact the people who did it were practically a parody of themselves, announcing on radio that the men had put up the sign as the women made them tea and sanwiches.

This had to be a joke, right?

It's not funny

Truthfully though, this issue wasn't a joke, not to me or to anyone involved. This vote could actually be the difference between life and death for so many women.

By night, reports were coming out saying that the turnout to vote had been exceptional, people had been travelling back home from all around the country to take part.

Many popular Irish female voices had been so loud in their messages to push this cause, many Irish men got involved too stressing the importance of men getting behind women, taking a stand with them, recognising this is their issue too. Women should not be alone in this.

Soon we began to hear the results from the Exit Polls. First the Irish Times showing a landslide in favour of Repealing. It was something like 68% in favour, an insane number.

RTE Uses Us

The "main" Irish broadcaster, the state owned one, decided to announce their Exit Polls on what I think is supposed to be a late night chat show, The Late Late Show.

I found this disgusting and I didn't watch, because I never watch, because it's utter fucking drivel. But what RTE did was decide to use this campaign for their own ratings gain. They knew people would tune in and so they decided to, as far as I know, discuss how "Toxic Masculinity is a Myth", very fucking timely decision lads. As well as this they had some gobshite on NATIONAL TV talking about how she speaks to fairies.

Because heaven forbid we take a step forward as a nation.

Now, I don't know at what stage they announced the results but I do know that it wasn't before any of that other shite. Again, that was a calculated move and they will point to those viewing figures to justify the ridiculous wages that we fund for that show and it's (wooden) presenter. I'll pause that one right there.

History is Rewritten

In a move that has the potential to shock anyone not clued into who most modern Irish people actually are, the "Yes" side achieved a mammoth victory with over 1.4 million people deciding to Vote Yes, over 66% of voters.

And the 8th Amendment has been Repealed. I am so proud of all of us.

Photo: Maser, https://deandublin.ie/events/maser-exhibition/

What Now?

So where do we go from here?

I can never shake a Bell X1 lyric from my head in times like this. Fitting, given they are an Irish band:

"...History is written by the winners. And I want my say."

If we want to continue to create an Ireland that is just, inclusive, fair and reasonable we have to keep banding together and becoming the winners. The people on the reasoned side do not always need to feel like they are being walked all over.

That's how things have felt for so long, I won't even say in the past because it is still happening. This moment was monumental and something that, just like the Marriage Referendum, should be really allowed to sink into the minds of every single person who voted, the real power of what was achieved this day is epic.

We didn't just pop an X next to a box. We have literally changed the Constitution of this nation twice. We have asked to please get a chance to update this nation to reflect who we are and not to be bound to the decisions of the past, which maybe were the right decisions back then or maybe the alternative was too alternative. We had to crawl for a while, but we started to walk and now we have the chance to run.

I don't want our interest in matters like this to start and stop with things that are so clearly emotive. There is so much more to do to keep pushing forward.

And the further we move ahead the more resistance will be out against us but we can't turn a blind eye.

OK the 8th is Repealed, what can we put in place now to ensure any womelan who require ls a clinic is not harassed with hate on entry and exit as is the case in other countries?

And there are more issues outside of this.

We need to really strive to separate Church from state, the stranglehold the Church has over schools is poisonous. There are laws that exist that people are not even aware of, did you know that if you work as a teacher in one of the many, many Church affiliated schools and you do something outside of the Catholic ethos like sleep with someone outside of marraige, they can fire you?! Can you believe this shit!?

Then there are the other social issues including housing, homelessness, classism which are still very active and we need to fight back against those structures too.

We have to keep saying when enough is enough.

We have to keep looking out for each other, from all walks of life.

Sure, An Taoisach gave some really character defining moments during this debate but he and his party need to be just as active in helping people out elsewhere. Maybe it won't get them as much PR but it should and if they make the best decisions it will.

Simon Harris has been charming people during these debates. Is that enough? Is that all it takes? He is Minister for Health of a system that is simply disasterous. A system where hospitals are under funded, where women are being improperly diagnosed with ceverical cancer, where patients are left on trolleys, where I don't know if my own father is getting the best treatment he can be getting right now because I simply do not trust the HSE.

The rich are getting richer, you can barely afford a basic, single bedroom roof over your head. People, families are homeless. Maybe the few are doing well but I'd argue the majority are struggling still.

Prospects are few and far between.

Really heinous crimes have been committed, some very recently, against women and girls. A lot of them. These are issues too that need to be examined, there is an underlying problem to this that needs to be addressed.

Mental Health needs to be treated as a real issue with real, available and affordable treatment. People should be able to get counselling or therapy as easily as they can get the flu shot.

That barely scratches the surface.

Yes, we achieved something outstanding and worth celebrating but this should be the fire in our belly to ignite us to realise we can do so much more.

We don't have to sit back and take our lot. We need to keep demanding better from our leaders and our services from the extreme examples to the basics of decent roads, schools and water.

The water in my own home been undrinkable for nearly 6 months that we are aware of. And it could have been longer.

Honestly the Irish rail service Iarnrod Eireann's slogan sums us up perfectly, "We're not there yet. But we're getting there."

This country is moving forward but we can't stop demanding true equality, for everyone.

A chairde, comhghairdeas, rinneamar stair le chéile. Ligeann an treocht seo a choinneáil.

Is féidir linn é a dhéanamh.

[miracleofdespair]

Overthinking | Johnny | RE: Memory discussion

Johnny's crossed his arms, looking around the group as more ideas start coming up. Why's this taking so long? What's the problem?

God, people are fucking stupid. What is it with all of them and their weird....bullshit ways of going about this.

He sighs, and runs a hand through his hair, visibly irritated. This is starting to really piss him off.

'What the fuck's the matter with y'all, do I gotta lay it out for ya?'

He really, really wishes his back would allow him to lean forward, but it just doesn't, so he stays standing straight, putting his hand on his hip and gesturing lazily along to his words.

'Aight, I will. Say ya check Crypt's memory. Best thing ya gonna get is some clear proof that I left, somehow, worst thing y'ain't gonna get nothin at all. Only thing that they wanna say right bout now is that I never fuckin did that, by the way. More likely, ya not gonna get a whole lot at all. So it's nothin, or useless shit, and even in the best case scenario for y'all, me leavin would only prove I left, not that I murdered anyone. Not that y'all would care.

Now, let's say ya check Glasses' memories: If she ain't the killer, that's somethin entirely wasted. And even if she is somewhat involved, so long as ya don't get a nice clear sight of her stabbin Takumi to death ya don't got shit on her either. But more important here- what if she ain't the killer, ya don't got shit, and ya already know it ain't Crypt since they ain't moved the whole time with that wound of theirs? Who's that leave? Just me. Only suspect. Ya ain't got any more proof for me murderin than before, but I'd be found guilty just because she ain't. And yanno what? I ain't done SHIT, so I'm really not feelin that one either. I know y'all don't give a shit bout killin an innocent so long as ya don't like him, but I ain't gonna play with givin up my life just cause ya couldn't be arsed to let me confirm my own fuckin alibi TWICE in a row.

Now, what do ya get outta viewin MY memory? Well, worst case, not a whole lot. Maybe some glimpses of the room, yeah? Would be enough to show I wasn't involved. Or, if I am involved, ya could at least estimate to what level, and whether I did kill him or not. BEST case of course ya gonn get a nice clean shot if it turns out I remember the whole thing perfectly well actually, cause y'all know I ain't ever lied before bout anythin in my life and ya gotta absolutely believe that I ain't rememberin nothin, right? I'm the main suspect. If either of the others aren't incredibly guilty in what memory they choose to show y'all, then some bitch is gonna have gotten away entirely with framin me. And yanno, I ain't gonna just sit back and die cause y'all can't think straight for two fuckin minutes! ALSO!'

He holds up one finger, and makes a momentary dramatic pause, the first since he started his explanations.

'My job ain't sellin secrets! I do that as a side thing. Just to clear that shit right up.'

And with that, he seems done, and still more than annoyed at how long this is taking.