#U.S. Games Systems

[card-a-day]

Today's Card

WPride Tarot: A Collaborative Deck published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Designed by Paula Palmer Edited by Lynn Araujo and Jennifer Kaplan

Six of Cups by Lynyrd-Jym Narciso

"Children do not discriminate between genders, race, or social class."

Lynyrd-Jym Narciso, Pride Tarot: A Collaborative Deck

Innocence, purity, simplicity, and honesty are the meanings behind the six of Cups. Inspired by the Raider-Waite-Smith Six of Cups, Lynyrd-Jym chose to depict a sorberto (a Filipino ice cream man) serving, a little girl, believing ice cream in the summer is a symbol of simple childhood joys that transcends gender, race, an social class.

[cidnangarlond]

wanting to write a story out of a dream I had but it's really just american "battle royale"

[thestarlightforge]

Sometimes I like to pretend that most villains were good kids, once, and systemic oppression failed them almost as much as it did the protagonists

what's the most cancelable shit y'all do when ur not online

[z2z-gaming-and-random-art-ai]

Console Sports Games of 1994 - Championship Hockey

Championship Hockey is an International based Ice Hockey which features 22 international teams to choose from. Championship Hockey was released in 1994 for the Game Gear and on Console for the Sega Master System.

Championship Hockey was developed by Electronic Arts and published by U.S. Gold and released across Europe. Championship Hockey features three game modes Regular Season, Playoff, and Best Of 7. Playoff is a knock out tournament with the last team standing the winner, Best of 7 has 16 teams playing with the first team to achieve 4 victories the winner.

1. Intro 00:00 2. Gameplay 00:15 3. Outro 03:40

Don't forget to like or dislike and share all are very helpful and subscribe for more Video Game and AI art-related videos.

You can also follow me on Twitter for Video Games and AI Art Twitter (Gaming & AI Art) https://twitter.com/zero2zedGaming

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For more sports game videos check out the playlists below

Console Sports Games of 1993 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJOZYl1h1CEhIf6hohng9T2IPLCpzn7o

Console Sports Games of 1994 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJOZYl1h1CGSF_AK734XDflipeUo8Dr9

[gamesthatwerent]

The Godfather - a Lost SEGA Master System game from 1992

Did you know The Godfather almost hit the #SEGA #MasterSystem in 1992? Sadly, it vanished after a rough first cut that wasn't up to scratch. Building on searches in the community last year, #GTW takes a look and makes some initial breakthroughs:

https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2024/06/the-godfather/

Edited video clip of game running courtesy of Kjell (https://www.youtube.com/@kjell6291) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7g9f9c2gTc

Screens from various magazine scans and disks photos courtesy of Mr. Talida.

[g4zdtechtv]

THE PILE PRESENTS: AOTS! - Flying Spaghetti Monster Energy | 11/2/06

Cheaters who don’t work at G4 never win.

(4GTV - 24/7. LIVE. NOW.)

[asxgard]

Semper Fi | [1/8]

Dr. Jack Abbot x f!doctor!reader

| Next

Summary: You’re the ray of sunshine to Jack’s rain cloud. What do they say about opposites attracting?

[ Series Masterlist ]

Note: dipping my toes into writing for jack. i kinda love him and his dynamic with this reader, so that’s why there’s a question mark referencing the number of parts this will have. will likely be writing more for them.

(Semper Fi from the Latin “Semper Fidelis” meaning always faithful, which is the motto for the U.S. Marine Corps, but I also feel like it perfectly encapsulates his character)

starts roughly two years before The Pitt, making Ellis a PGY2 and Shen a PGY3 (also Langdon & Collins a PGY2, Mohan a PGY1/intern, and McKay & Mel would still be in med school, MS4). I also refer to the year by R#, meaning Resident Year#.

Word Count: 1.6k

Most of my works are 18+ due to adult language and content

Warnings: age gap (it feeds me/reader is late 20s, Jack is late 40s), foul language, people being bad at dealing with their feelings (…Jack), trauma, hospital setting, medical inaccuracies, sunshine/grumpy dynamic, angst, mild gore relating to patients, death mentions, mild suicide ideation/jokes

not beta read

You rolled in from out of town like a spring day, warm and sweet. Jack Abbot really had no idea what to think of you at the start, assessing you silently — it had to be youthful optimism. It had to be. You were likely closer to half his age and only had a few years as an attending under your belt, with a persona that oozed family medicine or pediatrics.

How the hell did you end up in emergency medicine? He knew that whatever hospital you had come from, the Pitt would beat the cheery right out of you.

Just one shift and all your sweet smiles and doe eyes would sour.

It rattled him that you did not. Not even after your first week. Not even when your gloves and gown were soaked in the blood of a car crash victim, or when the trauma room was loud with a little girl screaming, or when you told the parents of a ten year-old-boy that he was dying. You walked out of Trauma-1 with a long sigh and then continued on about your day — like exiting back into the main area had reset something inside you.

Give it a few years, he thought bitterly.

Hearing your laugh echo through the halls of the ED sent alarm bells ringing throughout his system — how the hell were you laughing? What were you even laughing at?

Aside from the handful of conversations you had had together regarding patient care, you had not said much to him. Perhaps one of the nurses had advised you to steer clear of him, worried his no-nonsense, rigid exterior would rub off on you. It was clear as day to see most of the staff enjoyed having you on nights with them.

You moved with purpose throughout the ED, checking on several of your patients before moving to the charge desk to do charting, or scribble notes. He had to hand it to you, you were efficient, despite your soft edges.

The charge nurse on nights, Bridget, was talking to you quietly when he walked by, glancing up at the board. The lull was rare, like the quiet before the storm, and he found it interesting that you took time to enjoy it. He was brutal efficiency, checking crash carts and restocking, never letting himself grow idle.

He looked back at you, “Gonna chit-chat all day?”

Your eyes found his and you only blinked, unfazed by his tone. “Everything alright, Dr. Abbot?”

He frowned before gesturing to the board, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Don’t mind him, he’s always like that.” Said Bridget, with a simple shrug.

You only smiled at him before turning your attention back to Bridget. You picked up a tablet, focused more on that than on Bridget, but you nodded along as she told you about her son’s most recent football game, still clearly engaged.

He minded his tone when he directed you to the ambulance bay to help with a GSW victim being wheeled in. You assessed the man quickly, moving alongside the gurney into Trauma 1. You made quick work of it, paging surgery and ordering a handful of tests, before putting your hands to work.

Jack nearly sighed in relief, knowing he would not have to hand hold — the last thing he needed was an attending who he needed to keep an eye on. He knew he would do it anyway — perhaps it was the military in him, constantly taking in input of his surroundings, never allowing himself to miss anything.

How you guided Dr. Shen with an echocardiogram to show pericardial effusion and allowed him to drain the fluid. Or how you handed tough cases to Dr. Ellis to help her learn while you stood ever vigilant by her side. Or when you sat with the intern, Sullivan, through losing his first patient. He didn’t hear the advice you offered, but he noticed that Sullivan got back to work shortly thereafter, looking less miserable.

He realized that he still didn’t fully believe that you were a perfect fit for the ED, but you were a sound teacher.

—

Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, or the Pitt as you had come to learn, was a welcomed change in your life. You had completed your residency and two years as an attending at New York-Presbyterian. You hadn’t fully intended to leave New York entirely, you just needed to get out of there — there was hardly any thought as to where you would end up.

Administration had needed you mostly on nights, which had not been your preference, but you didn’t argue. You took in your new workplace quickly, engaging with your new co-workers and trying to put your best foot forward whenever you clocked in.

While the Pitt was no less chaotic than the ED in New York, there was a particular restlessness you had begun to notice as the weeks ticked on. A never ending stream of patients, short-staffing and bad coffee seemed to weigh heavily on the ED, like it could never quite catch its breath.

The chief attending on your shifts, Dr. Abbot, took some adjusting to. He was nothing like the asshole at your last ED, but he usually had an stony, unreadable look on his face. You had never seen him crack a smile, and his gaze was more intimidating than you had expected. He had a habit of staring — not inappropriately, just assessing, just watching. Constantly observing the ED, patients, the board, you. It was not unkind, per se, but his eyes frequently held a heaviness that most backed away from — but instead of intimidating you, something instead took root in your gut.

You never took his demeanor to heart — he had been in the ED a long time, and with his calculated and calm practiced ease in which he operated, you suspected military training. The way he held himself, the way he moved, the way he demanded attention as soon as he stepped into a room did little to deter that thought.

The annoying little flutter made itself known every time you met his gaze in the weeks that followed, or when his hand met yours over a patient. It was frankly elementary, a stupid work crush — he was so much older, and he was your chief attending. Hardly appropriate. You still barely knew him, so it was easy enough to shove the feeling aside and work.

After one of the longer shifts where you had stayed an extra hour due to a hard to stabilize trauma, you wandered up to the roof. You had just intended to catch some air before returning to your apartment.

Just have a moment of solace to clear your clouded mind.

You were surprised to find you were not alone, looking across the roof to see Dr. Abbot. He was beyond the safety railing, overlooking the city, and a worry invaded your insides. Like in most things, he was just quietly looking over the city with a detached look in his eyes — not quite serious, but not entirely healthy.

You supposed this was how he dealt with a particularly gruesome shift. The topic of your own mortality was never a light one, but you could see how one might find comfort in the reminder of it. You liked to look at the sky, be reminded that life continues on, the world keeps spinning.

“So, you come here often?” You asked, startling him.

He turned to look at you, his eyes hard, “Do you?”

You shrugged with a smile, “I like to watch the sunrise.”

Abbot’s narrowed eyes held on you for several moments, before he turned back to the city, “Just spent the last hour and a half coding that kid…”

“I was there,” you said, stepping closer to the bars while still giving him ample space. “We did everything we could.”

His eyes were on you again. Sharp. Intimidating. “How do you do that?”

You raised an eyebrow at him, “What?”

He sighed, putting his hands back into his pockets like he was removing as much of himself as he could. “I don’t even know why I do this anymore. This job.”

“Because it matters.” You told him, looking over to the sun rising on the horizon. “Because we’re good at it. Because they need us. Because we need it.” You shrugged lightly even though he wasn’t looking at you. “The little things keep me going, mostly.”

Silence encased you. Most of your mentors had called that nativity.

“You know, a little girl tried to give me her stuffed bear today.” You said, glancing at him. “Her mother was coding and she wanted to give the bear to me, for luck.”

A simple smile came over your features. The mother and daughter in question had been hit by a drunk driver earlier in your shift — the mother had come in critical, while the daughter had come out of it with only a few minor scrapes and bruises.

“And those little moments? They’re enough.”

You breathed in all the horrors you had seen before exhaling them, giving them to the wind. Your mind would always be haunted by the things you saw, but you did always try to focus on the good, on the things you could control.

You both stood there together for several minutes. His outlook was not likely to change, not over some pretty words when he had spent his entire career pushing it down, and you weren’t looking to change it. But the quiet now resting between you? It was warm. It was something that was seen, like a shred of light trickling through the darkness.

He came back from the edge and moved under the railing. You moved off the roof together, a quiet understanding finally settling between you.

[ Next ]

Solely inspired by this post/picture that I saw last week

I have a similar idea planned for Robby as well whoops

(still figuring jack out so please forgive this && this will not be as frequent/consistent as some of my other stuff while i learn to write for him lol)

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #16

April 26-May 3 2024

President Biden announced $3 billion to help replace lead pipes in the drinking water system. Millions of Americans get their drinking water through lead pipes, which are toxic, no level of lead exposure is safe. This problem disproportionately affects people of color and low income communities. This first investment of a planned $15 billion will replace 1.7 million lead pipe lines. The Biden Administration plans to replace all lead pipes in the country by the end of the decade.

President Biden canceled the student debt of 317,000 former students of a fraudulent for-profit college system. The Art Institutes was a for-profit system of dozens of schools offering degrees in video-game design and other arts. After years of legal troubles around misleading students and falsifying data the last AI schools closed abruptly without warning in September last year. This adds to the $29 billion in debt for 1.7 borrowers who wee mislead and defrauded by their schools which the Biden Administration has done, and a total debt relief for 4.6 million borrowers so far under Biden.

President Biden expanded two California national monuments protecting thousands of acres of land. The two national monuments are the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, which are being expanded by 120,000 acres. The new protections cover lands of cultural and religious importance to a number of California based native communities. This expansion was first proposed by then Senator Kamala Harris in 2018 as part of a wide ranging plan to expand and protect public land in California. This expansion is part of the Administration's goals to protect, conserve, and restore at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.

The Department of Transportation announced new rules that will require car manufacturers to install automatic braking systems in new cars. Starting in 2029 all new cars will be required to have systems to detect pedestrians and automatically apply the breaks in an emergency. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration projects this new rule will save 360 lives every year and prevent at least 24,000 injuries annually.

The IRS announced plans to ramp up audits on the wealthiest Americans. The IRS plans on increasing its audit rate on taxpayers who make over $10 million a year. After decades of Republicans in Congress cutting IRS funding to protect wealthy tax cheats the Biden Administration passed $80 billion for tougher enforcement on the wealthy. The IRS has been able to collect just in one year $500 Million in undisputed but unpaid back taxes from wealthy households, and shows a rise of $31 billion from audits in the 2023 tax year. The IRS also announced its free direct file pilot program was a smashing success. The program allowed tax payers across 12 states to file directly for free with the IRS over the internet. The IRS announced that 140,000 tax payers were able to use it over their target of 100,000, they estimated it saved $5.6 million in tax prep fees, over 90% of users were happy with the webpage and reported it quicker and easier than companies like H&R Block. the IRS plans to bring direct file nationwide next year.

The Department of Interior announced plans for new off shore wind power. The two new sites, off the coast of Oregon and in the Gulf of Maine, would together generate 18 gigawatts of totally clean energy, enough to power 6 million homes.

The Biden Administration announced new rules to finally allow DACA recipients to be covered by Obamacare. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an Obama era policy that allows people brought to the United States as children without legal status to remain and to legally work. However for years DACA recipients have not been able to get health coverage through the Obamacare Health Care Marketplace. This rule change will bring health coverage to at least 100,000 uninsured people.

The Department of Health and Human Services finalized rules that require LGBTQ+ and Intersex minors in the foster care system be placed in supportive and affirming homes.

The Senate confirmed Georgia Alexakis to a life time federal judgeship in Illinois. This brings the total number of federal judges appointed by President Biden to 194. For the first time in history the majority of a President's nominees to the federal bench have not been white men.

[mariacallous]

WASHINGTON ― More than 5,000 people got their jobs back at the U.S. Department of Agriculture this month after a government employee oversight board concluded they had been illegally fired by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

The decision by that panel, the Merit Systems Protection Board, came after it restored the jobs of six other federal employees who had been similarly fired by DOGE.

Meanwhile, this month, a federal judge blocked DOGE from firing the president of a small federal agency, the U.S. African Development Foundation, in a lawsuit that provides the clearest details yet on how DOGE operates and how it may be routinely breaking the law.

All of these legal challenges came from the same group, a well-funded progressive legal organization, Democracy Forward.

At a time when the flood of litigation against President Donald Trump’s early actions is nearly impossible to keep up with ― his administration has already been hit with more than 130 legal challenges in the span of two months ― Democracy Forward has emerged as a leading legal organization that’s been slowing, if not stopping, some of Trump’s recklessness through the courts.

The group doesn’t just stand out for the number of lawsuits it’s been filing, which include more than 28 legal actions and 67 investigations since Trump was sworn in. Democracy Forward has shown it can move quickly to step in amid Trump’s chaotic, and often illegal, efforts to dismantle entire agencies, freeze federal spending, and fire thousands of federal employees. It has intervened on behalf of individual people, unions, nonprofit groups, health care professionals, educators, veterans groups and religious groups.

And importantly, it’s been winning.

On Saturday, Democracy Forward and the American Civil Liberties Union challenged Trump’s expansion of war time powers to deport immigrants using the centuries-old Alien Enemies Act. Within hours, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing Trump from removing some people through this act ― and later that day, broadened the scope of his order to cover all immigrants in danger of removal under the act.

In another case brought by Democracy Forward, a federal judge last week reaffirmed the court’s nationwide preliminary injunction (i.e., a temporary court order to preserve the status quo) that halted Trump’s efforts to arbitrarily terminate federal grants relating to diversity, equity and inclusion, and accessibility programs. The judge reaffirmed that not only can Trump not do that, but that this temporary halt applies to all agencies in the executive branch.

The group also secured the first and only nationwide order preventing Trump from imposing a sweeping freeze on trillions of dollars in federal spending, blocked a Trump administration policy enabling immigration enforcement officers to indiscriminately raid houses of worship, and this week prompted a federal judge to slam the Trump administration’s defense of DOGE and grant a request by labor and economic organizations to get more details about the Elon Musk-led entity unlawfully accessing sensitive data at federal agencies.

The evidence the Trump administration put forward to avoid more transparency into DOGE’s operations “is not the panacea they hoped it would be,” this judge concluded.

A big reason this organization has been so adept at countering Trump in court is because it spent the last 18 months gaming out legal strategies for responding to countless policy plans laid out in Project 2025, the far-right policy blueprint that the Heritage Foundation put together in preparation for a second Trump presidency.

Democracy Forward staff indexed the entire 900-page policy playbook, broke it down into different categories, put it in a spreadsheet and meticulously laid out what legal actions they should prepare to take based on how the Trump administration was likely to proceed with various policies, whether it be through executive orders, statutes or regulations.

They also coordinated with more than 450 civil society groups and state attorneys general to prepare for different scenarios where certain groups would be impacted by Project 2025 policies, and figured out when they should team up to defend the rule of law.

Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025 on the campaign trail because lots of its plans are extreme and unpopular. But the policy guidebook was put together by former Trump administration officials and staunch allies, so it’s not surprising to see the president now moving aggressively to enact some of its proposals, like purging tens of thousands of federal workers for political reasons or abolishing the Department of Education.

In fact, late Thursday, Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the education department. Minutes later, Democracy Forward announced it would see him in court.

“Trump’s playbook is a known playbook,” Skye Perryman, Democracy Forward’s president and CEO, told HuffPost in an interview. “The Heritage Foundation wrote it down: Project 2025. We never believed it was a talking point or hyperbole. It is the greatest threat to democracy since the Civil War.”

Democracy Forward also prepared for a second Trump presidency by gathering materials from his first administration to review what legal actions and litigation he previously pursued, whether they be related to his executive orders, immigration cases, impoundment or challenges to executive orders issued by former President Joe Biden.

The president has done some unexpected things in his second term, like tapping Musk to oversee DOGE and letting him gain access to millions of Americans’ personal data. But Perryman said her organization was primed to respond to something chaotic, and in the case of DOGE, they sued on day one.

“This is like basic stuff,” she said.

“They do not play within the rules. There is opportunity in their lawlessness,” Perryman said. “They make a lot of legal foibles.”

Democracy Forward currently represents the American Federation of Teachers in two lawsuits, one that aims to halt DOGE’s seizure of millions of people’s sensitive data from the Social Security Administration, and another challenging a new Department of Education policy threatening to withhold federal money from schools teaching accurate history about slavery and diversity.

AFT, which has more than 1.8 million members, had been preparing to fight Trump’s executive order to dissolve the Department of Education when the department unexpectedly announced a new policy of stripping federal funds from schools that support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, said Daniel McNeil, general counsel at AFT. So the teachers’ group asked Democracy Forward if they wanted to team up to fight that, too.

“They already had something ready to go,” McNeil said. “It took working through the entire weekend to get it done, but they weren’t fazed at all by the fact that something else happened.”

AFT is working with other legal groups suing the Trump administration, he said, and they’re also doing good work. What’s unique about Democracy Forward’s model, though, is that they have their own attorneys doing the litigating versus hiring outside firms, and they have experts on staff, like someone who previously worked in the general counsel’s office at the Department of Education. They’ve also just been anticipating specific legal fights, he said.

“Of all the groups that were warning about Project 2025, they were systematically planning for the legal fight in the event that Trump were elected,” said McNeil. “For months in advance, they were thinking in a way that was like, ‘How do we challenge an executive order that does X? Who is the right party to challenge if Y happens?’ I think that’s what makes them different.”

Democracy Forward first launched in 2017, in response to what it described as the first Trump administration’s “unprecedented” threats to democracy and the rule of law. By 2019, it had sued his administration more than 100 times and chalked up several wins, including forcing the administration to collect pay data from employers based on race, gender and ethnicity, and forcing the FDA to regulate e-cigarettes.

Both Democracy Forward and its nonprofit counterpart, Democracy Forward Foundation, are chaired by Marc Elias, who served as general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. The nonprofit is funded entirely by individual donors and philanthropic institutions. Its major donors include the Sandler Foundation, which gave $16 million from 2018 to 2023, and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which gave $5.6 million from 2021 to 2023.

Democracy Forward was operating with a budget of about $12.4 million in 2023, the most recent year its tax filings are available.

The organization has been hiring up for Trump’s second term. Last month, it brought on more litigators, public affairs specialists and operations personnel ― several of whom are seasoned former federal staffers from agencies that Democracy Forward will likely be seeing in court amid its lawsuits against the Trump administration, including the Justice Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Interior Department.

One of its newest hires, Joel McElvain, was the acting deputy general counsel at HHS, where he was responsible for legal advice on all matters relating to Medicare and Medicaid statutes and the Affordable Care Act. Another recent hire, Michael Waldman, was special counsel at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he advised the secretary on oversight matters and managed the department’s responses to congressional inquiries.

Shawn Phetteplace of Main Street Alliance, a network of roughly 30,000 small business owners that support left-of-center policies, has worked with Democracy Forward for years and is currently represented by them in three cases against the Trump administration. One case relates to the Office of Management and Budget’s freeze on billions of dollars on Jan. 27 in congressional approved federal grants being disbursed.

This funding freeze resulted in multiple small business owners having their money cut off, to the point where they weren’t sure if they could continue to operate, said Phetteplace. Within hours of OMB announcing its new directive, Democracy Forward requested a temporary restraining order in federal court. A judge granted that order on Feb. 3, and by Feb. 25, the judge granted a preliminary injunction, blocking the nationwide freeze from taking effect, for now.

“They keep winning,” Phetteplace said of Democracy Forward. “For our members, this isn’t theoretical. This is whether or not they stay in business.”

He chalks up some of the group’s success to the public-facing push it makes on the cases it’s fighting. He gave the example of Main Street Alliance members reaching out to the group to talk about how their businesses were hurt by Trump’s policies, and then how litigation has helped them. Democracy Forward has been incorporating those stories into its public statements as it moves forward with various lawsuits.

“They understand that it is really important to shape the public narrative around the issue and educate the public about the stakes,” he said. “That helps them make a stronger case.”

To be sure, Democracy Forward has faced setbacks in stemming Trump’s chaos, and that’s due to at least some of its victories being temporary. Last month, it filed emergency litigation in response to Trump’s plans to unilaterally defund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a financial watchdog agency. Their quick legal action resulted in the administration backing off its plans, instead agreeing to wait until a related case was heard in court.

A federal judge has since heard that case ― and this week denied the plaintiffs’ request to halt the administration’s plans for CFPB.

Temporary wins are still wins. When a judge issues a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction, it immediately blocks an action and buys time. Preliminary injunctions in particular can drag on for a long time. Democracy Forward and other groups have already demonstrated that collectively taking these legal steps has a real effect on slowing Trump’s unlawful, everywhere-all-at-once approach to dismantling the federal government.

Democracy Forward chalked up another temporary, but significant, victory in one of its cases late on Thursday: A federal judge blocked DOGE workers from accessing Social Security systems, calling the Musk-led efforts at this agency a “fishing expedition.”

“This is a major win for working people and retirees across the country,” said Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, one of the plaintiffs in the case. “This decision will not only force them to delete any data they have currently saved, but it will also block them from further sharing, accessing or disclosing our Social Security information.”

Some Trump allies are mad at the success that Democracy Forward and other groups have found in the courts, particularly in cases where judges have issued nationwide injunctions halting some of the president’s actions. In a nonsensical show of fealty to Trump, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on Thursday vowed to introduce legislation to prevent U.S. district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions ― something that is, in fact, their jobs.

“That is not a power that I think district courts have,” Hawley, a Yale Law School alum who knows better, claimed on The Charlie Kirk Show, a far-right podcast. “Either the Supreme Court needs to intervene and make clear there’s only one court that can issue rules for the whole country … and/or, if they won’t do that, Congress needs to legislate and make clear that district courts do not have the ability to issue these kinds of injunctions.”

For her part, Perryman said one reason it’s important to slow things down in the courts is because it creates transparency on what Trump is actually doing. Doing so gives Americans a better understanding of the illegality of his actions, she said, and forces his administration to keep answering for what it’s doing.

“Understand that chaos is part of the strategy,” she said.

“Every day in litigation, what we see in this administration is they back off,” Perryman added. “Because really, the purpose is to see what they can do quickly. They don’t hold great conviction. There is opportunity in that.”

[hyperlexichypatia]

The thing about "lack of third spaces in the U.S." that doesn't get mentioned enough is that it's not just "Capitalists and corporations bought up the commons, privatized public resources, and made people pay to access them."

That's a big part of it. But it's not the only part.

The other part is that middle-class people -- particularly middle-class white, abled people -- willingly forked over money to set up private spaces rather than share public spaces with people of color, disabled people, neurodivergent people, poor people, religious minorities, and other "undesirable" people.

When you look at any article or picture from some point in the 20th century about third spaces that are less common now, consider that depending on exactly where and when in the 20th century U.S. this was, people of color might have been banned from that space by either law or threat of violence or both (or, at minimum, made to feel unwelcome). Physically disabled people probably could not access those spaces (or were institutionalized or kept at home). Visibly non-passing neurodivergent people probably could not access those spaces, because they were institutionalized or kept at home. Two women kissing, a man in a dress, any type of visibly queer or gender nonconforming person would not have been tolerated in that space.

And my point is, these things are not unrelated. The decline of third spaces is not unrelated to civil rights gains.

I'm not saying "Stop talking about the good things of the mid-20th century, don't you know that era also had racism and sexism and ableism and queerphobia?"

I'm saying they're not unrelated -- it's not "This time period was better in some ways, like more third spaces, but worse in some ways, like more racism and ableism." It's "Those good things, those third spaces, those labor unions, those safe neighborhoods, that sense of community, relied upon the systemic exclusion of a dehumanized underclass, and as soon as any civil rights pressure was put on that systemic exclusion, the sense of community crumbled."

The pattern is clear and recurring: Privileged people build a public space for "the community", marginalized people start using it (sometimes after a court case or two), the public place gets a reputation for being "full of" marginalized people, privileged people build a private space they can exclude people from, privileged people abandon the public space, the public space gets neglected and deprioritized because "nobody (who matters) uses it anymore," the public place goes to shit from neglect and possibly closes, the private space gets expensive, privileged people lament the loss of the public space.

Privileged people killed public pools rather than share them with Black people. Mortally wounded public schools rather than share them with people of color and religious minorities. Are trying to kill public libraries rather than share them with queer people and unhoused people and neurodivergent people. Can't revive public transportation for fear of sitting next to poor people. It's white flight all the way down.

The whole "Social democracy is the left wing of fascism" claim is tankie ridiculousness, but like most tankie ridiculousness, there's an underlying grain of truth. In this case, the underlying grain of truth is that widespread support for public services is a much easier sell when people don't think they'll have to share resources or public space with people they consider inferior. It's not a coincidence that some of the countries that provide the highest quality of life for their abled citizens are some of the worst to noncitizens and disabled people.

And it's not like Weird Queer Left-Leaning Types have a great track record of sharing public space with people different from yourselves, either. Y'all can't be normal about someone wearing a yarmulke at Pride. Y'all can't be normal about adults playing board games with kids. There's no way you'd be okay with unsupervised, uncontrolled, unmedicated-by-choice schizophrenic people hanging out and talking to themselves. You cannot handle public third spaces.

Yes, blame corporations and advertisers for privatizing public spaces, but also blame the social prejudice that willingly forks over money to avoid sharing public space with Those People.

[card-a-day]

Pride Tarot: A Collaborative Deck published by U.S. Games Systems‚ Inc. Designed by Paula Palmer Edited by Lynn Araujo and Jennifer Kaplan

Reversed: Five of Cups by Steven Bright

Five of cups reversed signifies that you have reached the final stage of grief acceptance. Perhaps you needed to forgive yourself or someone else for this to happen, either way the healing process has now begun.

Illustration based on Jonathan Hamilt, co-founder of Drag Queen Story Hour.

[suppermariobroth]

Cover of an official Japanese guide for "Golf: U.S. Course", a Japan-only 1987 Mario Golf game for the Famicom Disk System with very similar gameplay to the later internationally released NES Open Tournament Golf.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source

[leilakisakabiri]

Jealousy, Jealousy (Gavi)

Summary: You realize that Gavi never gets jealous when other guys are around you and it makes you question if he still likes you. 

Warning(s): None

A/N: Hey! I had some inspiration to write so here I am! I’m trying to release shorter fics while I work on my longer ones. Requests are open!

Word Count: 2.5k+

Masterlist

The first time it happened, you felt relieved that Gavi had decided not to make a scene and instead chose to calmly defuse the situation.

The two of you had been at a club late one night, the high from Barcelona winning hours before pumping through your veins. He had his arms wrapped around you as you both danced to whatever Spanish song the DJ was mixing.

You laughed as he spun you around before pulling you closer, leaning down to whisper in your ear as he moved a strand of hair out of your face. 

"I'm going to grab another drink. Want to come?"

His breath was hot against your ear, and even though it felt like a million degrees in the club, and you were sweating through your dress, you still shivered, his voice sending shockwaves through your system no matter how many times you heard it.

You looked up, locking eyes, "I'm good, I'll save our spot."

He kissed the top of your head before letting go, "Ok I'll be back in a second. Try and find the others if you can."

You gave him an awkward thumbs up as he walked away and he chuckled before disappearing into the crowd.

The two of you had been dating for just shy of three weeks.

You had been friends for months before dating, with you initially being introduced to him through his hometown friends. Then there was a three-month period where you both liked each other but were too scared to admit it and ruin the friendship. Finally, Gavi caved after spending two weeks away from you without contact while he playing in the U.S.

Since he admitted his feelings for you that night on the steps of your shitty college house, he had jumped straight into the relationship, inviting you to his games, to hang out with his friends, and private dinners. You on the other hand still felt like an awkward pre-teen girl every time you were with him, he just made you feel giddy inside, and you reacted to things he said so intensely that the only way to cover it up was with strange humor and stupid jokes.

That led you to now. Sometimes being around him was so overwhelming because you were always scared you would say something to embarrass yourself, and although he never made you feel any less worthy you couldn't help but feel like he could be with someone much better than you.

As you stood there contemplating, you felt a body collide with yours, effectively pulling you out of your thoughts.

You stumbled, feeling hands come up to grip your elbows, stabilizing you.

"Shit- my bad."

You looked up seeing the guy holding you sporting a white button-down and an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, those guys just pushed me. Some friends." He said referring to the group of five or so extremely drunk boys behind you.

You shook your head, "No worries, I wasn't paying attention either."

He smiled, leaning a bit closer, hands still on your elbows, "Hey do I know you? You look really familiar.”

You squinted your eyes as you gazed at him, trying to figure out if you knew him.

"Eh I go to Universitat de Barcelona if that helps."

His eyes lit up at your words, and he nodded, "Yeah, that's totally how I know you. I think you're in my biology class."

You groaned, "No way the one at 8 a.m.?", he nodded, "I'm barely awake for that lecture." you muttered.

"Mean either but it's hard not to notice you."

You only heard half his sentence and looked at him confused, "Sorry what?"

His lips tugged up in a smile as he bent down, shifting closer to you, "I said it's hard not to notice you."

You felt your breath stop as you realized what you had gotten yourself into. You made a move to shy away when you heard Gavi call your name.

You lifted your head seeing him approaching as he carried your drink, "Hey who's this?"

You went to interject and tell him it was no one but the guy next to you interrupted, "Hey man, I got to school with her.”

Gavi nodded, accepting his answer as he handed you your drink, "Oh class friend?"

You went to speak but were again cut off by the guy next to you, who had still to let go of your elbow.

"Something like that."

You saw Gavi's posture slightly straighten at his words but he relaxed a second later, "Alright."

The guy turned to you saying something about seeing you in class and then proceeded to give you a hug, his arms wrapping around your lower back.

You noticed Gavi watching the exchange but he made no comment.

You approached him timidly, unsure of if he was going to say anything about the situation, but he paid it no mind, going back to casual conversation with you.

At the time you let out a breath, thankful that he seemed intent on letting you handle your own situation.

That thankfulness soon turned to annoyance and then confusion when similar situations happened time and time again and he made no effort to speak up.

You supposed it was good he never got jealous because you knew it could get very overbearing very fast, and yet, you couldn't help the twinge of defeat you felt every time someone tried to make a move on you and he did nothing to stop them or even show a ounce of emotion.

Slowly it was making you start to question your relationship with Gavi.

Why did he not get jealous? Was it because he didn't see others as a threat? Or didn't feel the need to because you weren't as pretty as the other girls he was seen with? Maybe he simply didn't care? Or perhaps he wasn't the type?

You knew the last one couldn't possibly be true because he was absolutely the type. His entire career was based on his passion, determination, and aggression to get where he wanted. His aggression is what made him so competitive and a loyal player. So if he was so driven and passionate on the field, why was that not carrying over into your relationship?

It wasn't until almost two months later that things came to a boiling point.

It was the last game of the pre-season for Barcelona and spirits were high, everyone hoping they could seal off a great season, and enter a new one, with a win.

The stadium was filled to the brim with fans and reporters. The family section was also full with player's partners and families coming to support them in the final game of the summer.

You were sitting next to Anna, the two of you talking about school, work, and life.

Eventually, the game started and you went into full-on fan mode - cheering along when Barca made impressive plays and booing when they were tackled.

The stadium was abuzz with energy, and you basked in everyone's excitement.

You gripped Anna's hand as you saw Gavi running up the sidelines towards the other team's defense, Joao running parallel to him.

You saw him sidestep, dodging the defender, and suddenly the ball was soaring, perfectly landing at Joao's feet as he placed it into the back of the net.

The two of you jumped up, cheering along with the rest of the crowd. It seemed like Barcelona would have its victory after all.

After the game, you stayed in the family section for a while chatting with Pedri's parents as you waited for the players to make a re-emerge.

You bid goodbye to them when you got a text from Gavi telling you to come down.

You made your way down to the field, waiting behind the barricades for him to appear.

The other team's players appeared first, signing fans t-shirts and taking photos.

"Need something signed?"

You saw a player from the other team approach you, waving a sharpie in his hand.

You pointed at your jersey playfully, "No thanks. I'm a Barca girl if you couldn't tell."

He grinned, "Ahh c'mon what will it take for me to convince you?"

You shrugged your shoulders, "Ride or die sorry."

He clutched his hand to his heart in mock offense, "Ouch. I'm hurt, but I'm not giving up."

You gave him a smile, remaining polite, as you looked over his shoulder for Gavi.

"Oh I know!" he exclaimed, directing your attention back to him.

He wiggled his eyebrows before taking off his shirt, "Here, new jersey for you."

He held it out to you, and you gave him an unimpressed look.

He rolled his eyes playfully, "Alright fine. I'll sign it, but only cause you asked so nicely."

You watched amused as he signed the jersey before offering it to you.

You squinted your eyes at him.

He dangled the jersey in his hands, "C'mon take it. You know a lot of people would pay good money for this."

You reached out to grab it, "Fine, but only because I'm going to sell it later."

He held up his hands in surrender, "It's yours now. Do whatever."

You thought the conversation would end there but he made no effort to leave, "Who are you here with anyway? Someone in Barca?"

You opened your mouth to respond but were cut off.

"Me."

You whipped your head to see that Gavi had silently approached the two of you.

Besides yourself, you felt a tiny part of you waiting with bated breath for him to do something, to finally dig his boots in the ground and say something, but he remained impassive.

"Hey."

"Hey, you ready to go?" Gavi asked.

You nodded your head, unsure of how to leave the situation.

"I can lift you over the barricade if you need." The other player spoke up, and your eyes immediately flitted over to Gavi's to gauge his reaction.

His eyebrows furrowed but he didn't say anything.

You debated for a second, just to get Gavi to react, but quickly decided against it, opting to just walk around the barricade.

You approached the two of them quickly and with a hasty goodbye followed Gavi as he left the pitch. You heard the other player shout a 'see you around', and you waved in response.

You broke the silence first as you walked the empty tunnel, "Great game baby. You did amazing."

"Thanks."

His reply was clipped.

He went to hold your hand and you shifted the jersey last second to your other hand, catching his attention.

"What's that?"

"Oh, that guy gave me his jersey. I'm going to sell it." You explained, telling him how you were expecting to make hundreds.

He listened along till you finished.

"Can I see the jersey?"

You nodded handing it to him.

You swung your joint hands as you walked, talking to him about the game as he examined the jersey.

Abruptly he dropped your hand, mouth set in a firm line.

Your eyebrows stitched together, "What's wrong?"

He cleared his throat before handing you the jersey.

"I think there's something for you on it."

"I forgot something in the locker room, I'll be right back." He continued.

You looked down confused, eyes scanning the text before it clicked.

The jersey had the player's phone number on it.

You lifted your head seeing him already walking away, "Gavi wait. Can you stop for a minute?"

He turned around but continued moving, "Yeah what?"

"Stop moving!” You exclaimed, your frustration building as he continued to not express any interest in the situation.

He finally halted and you closed the distance between the two of you.

"Is there something wrong with me? Do you not like me anymore or something?"

He seemed taken aback by your words and several emotions flitted across his face, "What are you talking about?"

You took a breath, it was now or never.

"I'm not trying to sound conceited, but I'm pretty sure that guy was hitting on me-"

"He was." Gavi confirmed.

You continued, "So then why don't you care? I'm your girlfriend, so why aren't you getting jealous when other guys hit on me?"

"You want me to get jealous?" He asked incredulously.

"I mean I don't want you to become super overprotective or anything, but it would be nice if you at least acknowledged when someone is trying to get with me right in front of you. I know I would get jealous if someone was saying that to you."

"You don't think I get jealous?" His voice had a hard edge to it, and suddenly you felt like you might have read between the lines wrong.

You shrugged your shoulders, unsure, "I mean you don't show it."

"Of course I'm going to notice when some guy is eye fucking my girl one foot away from me, I'm not fucking blind."

"Then why don't you say anything?" You pressed.

“Shit y/n that's cause I don't want to scare you away!"

His admission only confused you further, and you lowered your voice acutely aware that your shouts were probably carrying far in the quiet tunnel,

"Scare me away? Why would that scare me?"

He shook his head, "The press is always making me out to be this bad guy. This kid that doesn't know how to get his temper in check and - mierda y/n - I don't want to get into this right now."

You relented, unwilling to give in, biting the bullet, "Alright so next time someone asks to lift me up, their just being friendly right? Trying to be helpful?"

His eyes blazed, "That's not what I meant and you know it."

You lifted your hands in frustration, "No Gavi actually I don't know that. You act like you don't even care."

"I care! Trust me y/n I care!" He argued.

"Then show me."

His lips were on yours before you had even finished processing what you were saying. His skin felt hot against yours as his fingers sank into your hipbone, crowding you against the wall.

You lost your train of thought as you got lost in the sensation he provided you. One hand went to tangle in his hair, as the other draped around his neck bringing him impossibly closer.

One of his hands slipped under your shirt, as he kissed you senseless. You finally pulled away for a breath but he didn't stop, moving to lay a trail of kisses from the sweet spot behind your ear, down your neck, and onto your collarbone.

You left out a soft moan underneath him, the feeling causing tingles in your spine, and a fluttery feeling in your stomach.

"We should really sto- fuck gavi - so-someone could walk in any moment." You reminded him.

"Just gotta leave a mark." He replied.

You nodded before his words caught up to you and you pushed him off, "What? No marks! I have to meet your parents tonight." You whined.

He grinned, not looking the least bit apologetic, "At least people will know you're mine now."

[the-swaggy]

I FINALLY POST ABOUT MY DELTARUNE AU

(Fun Gang/$%&! Squad/Lancer Fanclub + Noelle refsheets & more info in desc)

(Read desc for infodump about my au if you wanna 😭)

The faded headshots next to each colored pic is their past selves from when the game took place

part 2: main & secret bosses Uh anyways au yap sesh starts below:

It's called Lost Pieces, and basically it's a deltarune au where Kris and Susie forgot about the prophecy and stopped going to Castletown & exploring dark worlds after they came back from the cyberworld— and then remember about it later when they are all Asriel's age & in college and stuff, and have to reinstill hope in everyone and reform the Fun Gang/@$%& Squad/Lancer Fanclub (in this au, it's called the Lancer fanclub).

Other info that I may or may not have briefly mentioned in the ref sheets/other random info:

(TW: mental health stuff, familial issues, charecter death, child abuse)

General: 

This au takes place after a true route (not a wierd route/snowgrave route, Noelle nor the others killed anyone.. exempt Spamton but like that was on accident 😭) (he is still technically around guys dw)

In Lost Pieces, Kris and Susie discovered the darkworld while they were in middleschool (they were 12-13yrs), Ralsei was around their age as well, and Lancer was two years younger than the three (10yrs). 

The lighteners first arrived in 2018, since that's when Deltarune came out. The events of chapter one took place on 12/11/18 and chapter two on 12/12/18. That was the last day Kris was in the darkworld— however Susie's last visit was in 2020. She didn't visit super often, but would try for once a month.

Worldbuilding-specific stuff:

The town that Kris and Susie live in is in the northern midwest of the U.S.

In Lost Pieces, the darkworld have different names— The darkworld that contains 'Card Kingdom' is called Kaardarke (pronounced "card-ar-kay-"), The Cyberworld is technically called 'Cybertopia', but nobody really calls it that anymore.

Each darkworld had their own offical language before The Knight showed up— after that, they all switched over to the language that the knight spoke. That's the only reason that Kris and Susie were even able to understand the darkeners.

Each darkener species is bound to the world they came from (EX: Maises to the Cyberworld, Hathy to Kaardarke), but before the knight created each world's respective fountains, they could crossover into eachother's worlds using The Pure-Fountain in the then-empty Castletown as a portal (This was because the spare classroom used to have a small computer lab). Only after the fountains in each world were created, they couldn't crossover anymore due to the energy from the opposite portals turning visiters to stone. Eventually the computer lab was removed from the spare classroom and all of the old supplies were moved to the library. Darkeners who have one parent from each of the two darkworlds are bound to the world that they spend the most time in, which is why Lancer was bound to Kaardarke rather than Cybertopia.

While The Cyberworld uses a lot of more-lightworldish concepts, such as the months being January-December like they are in english-speaking countries & understanding social refrences (like how Queen understands lightener internet humor, and how Addisons understand how buisness works, like how a lightener would)— Kaardarke is a lot less connected to the lightworld. They had some vague connections through back when Cybertopians could travel there, but lost a lot of them during the time since then. They have their own calender system, social pyramid and their society functions very differently than Cybertopia's, or the lightworlds'.

Darkener species list time!

First up is Kaardarke:

Hathy

Rudinn

Clobbes (pronounced "claw-bes")— the clubs, basically think of Clover 

Tribril (pronounced "trib-rill")— the spades, basically think of King and Lancer

Bloxers

Jigsawra— the puzzle piece lookin' dudes, basically think of the tutorial masters & jigsawry

Rabbick

Chescheckes (pronounced "chez-check-ees")— the checkers guys (C-Rounds & K-Rounds) and Mr. Elegance/Mr. Society

Starwalkers— the starwalker birds .......and of course nobody could forget about my guy The Original   Starwalker

Species list for Cybertopia:

Tasques

Swatchlings

Pluggids— plugboy, werewires, werewerewire technically

Maises

Poppups

Addisons

Ambyu-Lancers

ViroViroKuna

Musiks— basically, think of Sweet, Cap'n & K_k of whatever their names are 😭

Mascottics— everyone else, (basically the thing about Mascottics is that they are all unique)— think Nubert or sum idk

Okay no more species lists, back to notes.

The knight-made fountains can cause darkeners to have vivid nightmares and visions if exposed to them closely for a long period of time. It can influence their behavior too (canon).

The knight showed up in Kaardarke at some point in the late 90s, and in Cybertopia in 2008

Kris: 

The player stopped controling Kris after they came back from the Cyberworld, and seemed to fade out of existance. Kris was left being unable to make desisions for themselves for awhile afterward, since they were so used to the player doing it for them. They also had memory issues after the player left, and barely remembered anything about the darkworld.

Now that they are older, they have learned how to live again, but still feels like something's missing. That's when the player makes it's return, which leads Kris to remember about the prophecy and about their freinds that they accidentaly abandoned.

Susie:

Susie remembered about her freindgroup in the darkworld better than Kris did, and went back many times before she graduated 8th grade and went on to highschool, which was in a different building. She stopped visiting by that time, since she couldn't just walk over there anytime anymore. Eventually she forgot about it too. But, she still remembers Lancer somewhat, since she viewed him as a younger brother who understood her struggle with her family, he was her favorite out of him and Ralsei.

Susie's parents were not kind to her— or to eachother. They fought all of the time, and physically abused eachother. They did not respect Susie at all, and they hated Noelle when Susie finally told them about her. When Susie graduated, she moved out as quickly as she could.

She has two tattoos— one on each shoulder. They aren't super visable on this ref sheet but one of them is a spade and the other is a heart with Noelle's name in it. Yadda yadda they are lesbians..!

Ralsei:

Ralsei hated being alone, and would spend as much time with Lancer as possible when the lighteners weren't around in order to distract himself from thinking about whether or not they had abandoned him. As a result, Lancer and him became good friends and Lancer hired him as the new royal magician of Castletown. Ralsei did his duties the best he could, until he eventually let it hit him that Kris hadn't been around for a year now.

Since Ralsei was basically made for the prophecy, and only existed so that it could be furfilled, he was very terrified of everything falling apart— as kris was the only one who could seal the fountains.

Ralsei vanished after Susie visited for the final time, and ran off. He is still registered as the royal magician, but hasn't been in Castletown for five years now.

Lancer:

As I mentioned in his ref sheet, Lancer is Queen's biological son in this au— which causes some issues for Lancer. For starters, he overheats very easily since his mechanical parts are already warmed from his bodyheat (he does not do well in hot weather, which is part of the reason he was so socially isolated when Kris and Susie met him.

Kaardarke has a relatively warmer climate, (the school forgot to close the heating vent in the spare classroom 😭) which makes it hard for Lancer to leave the castle.

The other reason was that most kaardarkeners hated him because he would cause disturbances frequently when he was out and about. 

Lancer also can't tolerate water very well, King understood this and still made him shower excessively whenever he cursed (that last part is canon I swear I am not making this all up)

Lancer had no idea why he was so different from all of the other Tribril, but after the lighteners brought Queen and the Cybertopians to Castletown, Queen told him the truth.

Lancer nowadays is kind of untrusting of Rouxls and Queen, since both kind of coddle him and are kind of helicopter-parents— but then sgain, it's a huge jump from how neglectful King was towards him.

King would often forget to feed Lancer, which would often lead to Rouxls feeding him worms (also canon). King, if he did remember, would give him very.. for lack of a better term, insane dishes that you could barely even consider a full meal.

An example from canon being how Lancer thought that three glasses of milk was a normal dinner (poor Lancer).

King would also harshly punish Lancer over very small issues, like how I mentioned the cursing thing earlier.

King's treatment of Lancer worsened when King had a darkfountain-induced vision/nightmare that lighteners were going to return, and sent Lancer to 'dispose of them', seemingly ignoring the fact that Lancer was ten and by himself. 

While Lancer knows that King is more stable now, he cannot forgive him for how he treated him when he was younger.

He is desperate to stop himself from becoming as narrow-minded & hateful as King, but in doing-so, he is adopting some of his mannerisms & has picked up his opinions on lighteners.

You can probably tell who my favorite deltarune charecter is by now...!

Also I should mention that Lancer's full name is Lancer II, his dad's Lancer I.

Noelle: 

She still thinks the Cyberworld was a dream, and doesn't think any of it actually happened due to what Susie told her when they were there.

Meanwhile, her father passed away when she was a sophomore, and since then she has dedicated herself to learning medacine. She feels like she can/should help save others, since she couldn't save Rudy.

CONGRATS, YOU REACHED THE END!

I will make more posts about this au, secret bosses next since I already have ref sheets for them too.  Then the actual bosses and other canon charecters. Maybe I might introduce some of my other little guys by then too. (I made some enemy ocs 🤯🤯) (theres a lot of them too) (and by 'enemy' I don't mean they are antagonists, I mean they are like, species of enemies in the game.. like rudinn and stuff)

if there are any spelling issues then my bad, I wrote this up very quickly 😭

and suselle is canon in this au, rahhh lesbian apocalypse (they are so me)

i tried to make this as adhd friendly as possible as someone w/ adhd, but it might still be hard to read just cus there so much text 💔

[card-a-day]

Pride Tarot: A Collaborative Deck published by U.S. Games Systems‚ Inc. Designed by Paula Palmer Edited by Lynn Araujo and Jennifer Kaplan

King of Swords by Sabina Espinet

Sabrina depicts Sir Ian McKellen, the actor for Gandalf, as the king of swords. The king of swords represents strong, compassionate leadership in the time of darkness, which Sabina believes both Sir Ian McKellen and Gandalf represent.

[astra-ravana]

Dealing With Hostile Christians

Walking an alternative spiritual path—whether as a Satanist, pagan, witch, or something in between—can sometimes lead to uncomfortable encounters with aggressive or judgmental Christians. While some Christians are kind and respectful, some others may feel entitled to challenge or even attack your beliefs. So, here's some advice on handling these situations with confidence, humor, and self-respect.

Know Your Rights

First and foremost, you have the legal right to practice your beliefs. In most countries, including the U.S., freedom of religion is protected. That means:

• You don’t have to engage in religious discussions if you don’t want to.

• You don’t have to justify or defend your spiritual path.

• You do have the right to privacy, including not disclosing your beliefs in workplaces, schools, or public spaces.

If someone is harassing you at work or in a public setting, calmly remind them, “I respect your beliefs, and I expect the same in return.” If necessary, escalate to HR or local authorities.

The Art of Non-Engagement

Sometimes, the best response is no response at all. If someone is pushing their religious views aggressively, consider:

• The Blank Stare: Look at them silently until they become uncomfortable.

• The Polite Walk-Away: Say, “I’m not interested in this conversation,” and leave.

• The ‘Bless Your Heart’ Method: A classic Southern deflection. When they say, “You’re going to hell,” just smile and say, “Bless your heart.”

You don’t owe anyone your energy. Preserve it for more meaningful interactions.

Humor as a Shield

Humor can defuse tension and keep you from getting emotionally drained. Some examples:

• Christian: “I’ll pray for you.”

You: “Thanks! I’ll light a black candle for you!”

• Christian: “You worship the devil!”

You: “I can barely keep up with my video-game addiction. Worshipping a deity full-time? Too much work.”

A lighthearted response can keep the situation from escalating while making it clear that you’re unbothered.

Setting Boundaries Like a Pro

Not everyone deserves access to your personal beliefs. If someone is intrusive, you can:

• Use the Broken Record Technique: “I’m not discussing my religion/beliefs.” (Repeat as needed.)

• Redirect: “Let’s talk about something we both enjoy—seen any good memes lately?”

• Be Firm: “I respect your beliefs. Please respect mine.”

If they persist, cut the conversation short and disengage.

Dealing with Family Pressure

Family gatherings can be tricky when you’re the token “black sheep.” To manage the drama:

• Set expectations beforehand. “I’d love to visit, but I won’t be discussing religion.”

• Use humor to deflect. “Grandma, if I summon demons at the dinner table, I promise they’ll be well-mannered.”

• Keep it simple. If asked about your beliefs, say, “I follow my own spiritual path.” If they push, change the subject.

Your family’s love shouldn’t be conditional on their approval of your beliefs. If they become toxic, setting stronger boundaries (or limiting contact) may be necessary.

Handling Public Confrontations

If a stranger starts preaching at you:

• Stay calm. They want a reaction—don’t give them one.

• Give a neutral response. “I respect your beliefs, but I’m not interested.”

• Walk away. You don’t have to engage just because someone demands your attention.

If the situation escalates into harassment, remove yourself and seek help if needed.

Finding Your Support System

Being surrounded by like-minded people can make all the difference. Look for:

• Local pagan, Satanist, or witchcraft groups.

• Online communities where you can vent and get advice.

• Friends and family (even non-magickal ones) who respect your beliefs.

Having a support system reminds you that you’re not alone—and that there’s nothing wrong with being different.

Remember: Their Fear Is Not Your Problem

Many people react with hostility because they don’t understand what you believe. Some are genuinely afraid due to misinformation. That’s their issue, not yours.

You don’t need to educate or debate unless you want to. You are not a walking religious FAQ. Live your truth unapologetically.

Being a Satanist, pagan, witch, or any other alternative spiritual practitioner in a predominantly Christian society comes with its  challenges, but you are not obligated to shrink yourself to make others comfortable. Use humor, set firm boundaries, find your community, and remember: your spiritual path is yours alone.

And if all else fails—light a candle, take a deep breath, and let their judgment roll off like water on a well-worn stone.