#WHOOP THERE IT IS

[whereifindsanity]

[winpeg]

follow up from this lil post i made a bit ago ehe

ummm ENJOY

[sammy8d257]

dear orange, we know a lot more than you think…

But forget it, you have nothing to worry about, no one is suffering, or unhappy, or trapped, or abandoned, or forgotten, or in the void.

everyone is fine, everyone is happy, you are happy, that's all that really matters!

"You're just a coward hiding behind a screen. Piss Off."

-

[A Ghost in the Machine 1 Year Ask Event]

[texaschainsawmascara]

[sin1039]

Dear talented (and cute) artist, which of your ocs snores the loudest?

Well, if you're asking about my OC's in the lmk fandom, on who snores the loudest. It would most definitely be between Li-mei's dad, Wang Lei and her son, Yáng, for sure...

[donald-trump-official]

*distant sounds of crab intensifies*

[jjmaybanks]

203 Prayers / 304 The Diary

[xaykwolf]

Voters who returned Donald Trump to the Oval Office in the hope that living costs would return to the halcyon days before the pandemic may be in for a shock. 

Arkansas-based Walmart, the world’s largest retailer that traditionally has catered to working and middle-class Americans, warned the President-elect’s plans to hike import duties across the board will be felt by everyday consumers.

“Tariffs are going to be inflationary, there’s no disputing that,” Walmart finance chief John David Rainey toldFox News on Thursday.

That’s not the message the Trump campaign took to the nation during the 2024 election race, however. During the campaign, the former president asked whether voters were better off than they were a little under five years ago, when the seeds of inflation were sown with the outbreak of the COVID virus. 

The resounding answer was no, as two-thirds of the population were dissatisfied with the state of the economy. Coast to coast, Americans felt a deep-seated resentment at spiraling prices on everything from gasoline to groceries and restaurant visits. 

Trump labels tariffs a ‘tax on foreign countries’ with no downside

In came the Trump campaign, which repeatedly portrayed tariffs as a panacea. They would fill the nation’s coffers, reduce the deficit, bring back manufacturing jobs—and might even eliminate the need for income taxes. And the costs? Well, those would be borne by others—chiefly U.S. strategic rival China, which could face duties as high as 60% on goods it exported. 

“A tariff is a tax on a foreign country, that’s the way it is whether you like it or not,” Trump promised supporters at an August rally in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania. “It’s a tax on a country that’s ripping us off and stealing our jobs.”

The National Retail Federation, however, begged to disagree. Unless exporters are both willing and able to drop their factory gate prices in order to maintain volumes, the costs will entirely be borne by Americans—either directly in the form of import duties, indirectly through higher prices passed on to the customer, or some mix thereof.

“A tariff is a tax paid by the U.S. importer, not a foreign country or the exporter,” NRF vice president Jonathan Gold said in a statement published one day prior to the November elections. 

Advantages and disadvantages of tariffs

Limited tariffs targeted at strategic economic sectors—those vital to national security for example—can be sensible and every country imposes duties in one form or other. Some can be through the back door by requiring certain regulations be met in order to protect domestic sectors such as farming and agriculture. 

And while economic incentives like tax breaks can encourage migratory manufacturers to move their factories back onshore, tariffs can be effective as well. 

Yet they can also cause businesses downstream of these producers to shrink as they must shoulder higher costs. As a result, they can inadvertently lead to a loss in American jobs when all effects are netted out. 

Even for those U.S. goods that might not require any foreign inputs, tariffs can also be inflationary since they are an invitation for domestic suppliers to hike prices simply to pad profits for shareholders. Finally they can trigger a retaliatory trade war if left unchecked.

Walmart warns ‘We’re not immune’—and costs will be passed on

That’s why most industrialized countries traditionally have followed economic orthodoxy by seeking to dismantle tariffs, instead specializing in goods and services where they enjoy a competitive advantage. 

The resulting era of highly efficient, globalized supply chains caused prices for many goods to decline, with flatscreen television sets being an often cited example.

This now could come to an abrupt end if Trump imposes a blanket tariff on all imported goods that could range anywhere from 10% to 20%. 

Walmart finance boss Rainey said the massive retailer would do its utmost to cushion the blow—but pain was inevitable.

“We’re going to work with our suppliers as well as our own private brand assortment to continue to try to bring down prices for customers,” he told Fox News. “But we’re not immune, and tariffs will be inflationary for customers.”

[qqueenofhades]

Republicans are basically people who want to preserve “these United States” by…undermining American laws, tearing apart American national infrastructure, sabotaging the American Constitution, getting American children killed, spreading baseless conspiracy theories about beloved American public figures, vandalising America’s historical landmarks, flying the flag of foreign powers that killed American citizens…

[normaltothemax]

@dramatisperscnae

The night was going well. Really well. They’d gotten takeout from Dick’s favorite Mediterranean place, had been joking and laughing basically the entire time, conversation flowing easily as usual. Clint was off for the next two weeks, and while Dick would have his patrols, they had lots of time to spend together. He was going to start getting ready for his patrol soon—Clint was well aware he had a ticking clock over his head, the ring a heavy weight in his pocket. And yet here he was, head in Dick’s lap while the other man carded a hand through his hair, Clint-didn’t-even-know-what playing on TV.

He should’ve planned a speech, should’ve come up with something to say, but every time he’d tried, it just never felt like him. Pulling out the ring, he kept it hidden in his hand, before flicking it up into the air in front of Dick’s face, fully expecting him to catch it. “Marry me,” he said once he did. Realizing a little belatedly he probably shouldn’t be laying down for this, Clint quickly got upright, pulling one leg up onto the couch to turn and face Dick properly.

“I love you, Dick. I love you more than I ever thought was possible to love someone. You’re just…you’re my person. Everything feels right, when I’m with you. I know I’m a fucking disaster, and half the time I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m not sure about a lot of things, but the one thing I’m always sure of is you. I want you. All of you. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you and I…” Fuck, he really should’ve come up with some kind of speech. With a self-deprecating smile and a laugh huffed out through his nose, he pushes a hand through his hair. “I know that was probably the world’s shittiest proposal. I should’ve…should’ve taken you out to a restaurant or something, but I couldn’t wait any longer. So…marry me?”

[theplottdump]

Dick: It's this lifestyle- our line of work. We live so fast; every day the world spins more and more rapidly, and by the time we remember to stop and look back, we fail to see the brick wall crashing towards us.

Sometimes it's a spectacular end; other times- we just go splat.

Dick: So I've been trying to look back a little more, while I still can. And I wanted to apologize to you, for my previous actions- Chad: You don't have to do that. Dick: No, I do. I want to. Please- just hear an Old Agent out.

Dick: Chad, your father and I were- well many many years ago we were close. Chad: How close exactly? Dick: A few vodka martinis, a few hands in places they shouldn't be, all while locked in a Selvadoradian Cartel bathroom close. Chad: You're fucking kidding me. Dick: I wish I was.

Dick: For a time I was so enamored with him, he could have told me to jump, and I'd do it in an instant- no parachute. It became this strong denial; he'd always pretend nothing had happened. Until we'd have a few drinks, and the cycle would repeat.

He hated that part of himself.

Chad: That's so fucked up. Dick: For years this cycle continued. He was my friend and mentor, and I was like an addict- thinking maybe this time, this time I'll break through, this time I'll be good enough. Chad: So he just gaslit you all that time?

Dick: Eventually Simone caught on to what was happening and had me transferred to a different office. I was able to snap back to reality, continue my career; I stopped falling for the act and moved on. But when I got transferred back to cover your probation… Chad: Don't-

Dick: Like I said, you deserve an apology.

[theladyofshalott1989]

Find out why the exchange below happens in the newest chapter of "You Cannot Put a Fire Out":

👀 👀 👀 

"Shit," Damien muttered, mirroring Sebastian's own thoughts.

[texaschainsawmascara]

[do-you-hear-that]

Libraries are the best.

[blackjackkent]

Wellp. Gale's secret finally popped. O.O

Hector gave him another magical artifact to consume - the third such so far...and, concerningly, Gale seems to be developing a tolerance.

Given that he seems to be struggling more and more with trying to feed whatever hunger is driving the need for these objects, he came to the decision to tell Hector and the group the full truth.

About time, Hector thinks wearily.

The story Gale tells is, in brief: he was such a prodigy at magic and so connected to the Weave that Mystra herself took him as a student and eventually as a lover. In his human arrogance, unsatisfied, he desired for her to show him the deep secrets of magic and the Weave that are beyond the capacity of mortals to understand and manipulate.

Needless to say, Mystra told him to chill out, but he didn't listen.

He tells the story of the power he sought instead. "Once upon a very long time ago, a mighty lord lived in a tower. A flying tower to be precise. I'll save his history for another time, but the gist of it is that he sought to usurp the goddess of magic so that he could become a god himself. He almost managed, but not quite, and his entire empire, Netheril, came crashing down around him as he turned to stone."

The destructive force of the energy released when this lord died shattered the Weave, and magic was lost to the realms until Mystra returned and reconstructed it. Gale learned of a lost shard of the Weave that she missed, sealed away in a Netherese tome.

"What if, I thought-- what if after all this time, I could return this lost part of herself to the goddess."

Hector can already see where this is going, but he answers as if by rote, "What was the answer to that question?"

"The answer was to try. The outcome was to fail. I was certain that this deed of raw power draped in romance would convince Mystra to take me by the hand and welcome me into her hitherto forbidden domains. I was mistaken. I obtained the fabled book and took it into my study. As for what happened next..."

He pauses, crouches down and reaches out a hand, his eyes fixed on Hector's. "Here. Please your hand over my heart. Let me show you."

It feels like a strange mockery of the moment a few nights ago, in which Gale offered to show him the magic of channeling the Weave, and the warm contentment that went with it. This is also an expression of welcome into a private experience - but darkened, twisted.

Hector leans forward, presses his palm over the other man's chest.

The light bursts around them, the power enveloping them both - no gentle cradling of the Weave this time but the harsh texture of the tadpole's connection. Pain stabs through Hector's temple and he fights to focus as the imagery begins to flood through him.

Narrator: You feel the tadpole quiver as you realize Gale is letting you in. Into the dark. You see through Gale's eyes, staring down the corridors of a dread memory. A book, bound, then suddenly opened.

Narrator: Inside there are no pages, only a swirling mass of blackest Weave that pounces. Its teeth, its claws - it's unstoppable as it digs through and becomes part of you. And gods, is it ever-hungry...

His palm feels fused against Gale's chest. His eyes are squeezed shut. He is conscious only of the vision of that encroaching, all-consuming darkness. For a moment, he has the panicky feeling that he cannot escape the memory, that he is trapped in it, bound into it...

Dimly he can hear Karlach shouting something. The alarm in her voice seems to jar something in him, and he wrenches his eyes open.

"How are you...still alive?" he gasps out weakly, struggling for breath, to regain his sense of himself from within that mass of the other man's memories.

Gale looks up at him, still clinging to his hand as if for support, the pale glow of the Weave illuminating the lines of fear and grief on his face. "Thankfully, the moment I absorbed the fragment wasn't enough to kill me outright. It was only the beginning. This Netherese blight, this orb for lack of a better word, is balled up inside my chest. And it needs to be fed. As long as I absorb traces of the Weave from potent enough sources, it remains quiet. Were it ever to fully destabilize, however..."

With an effort, Hector steps back, pulls his hand away, breaks the connection between them. "Go on," he says, though he does not want to hear the answer.

Gale looks away. "I will...erupt. I don't know the exact magnitute of the eruption, but given my studies of Netheres magic, I'd say even a fragment as small as the one I carry..." A long, pregnant silence. "It'd level a city the size of Waterdeep."

Hector stares at him. Selune protect us...

Gale is a walking bomb.

"I trusted you," he says, his voice not so much reproachful as tired, full of this new worry and how it will add to all the others. "You should have told me."

Gale stands up slowly, not meeting his eyes. "I know. All of this - it must feel like a betrayal. Say the word, and we'll part ways."

Hector doesn't say anything for a long few moments. Of course this latest revelation is terrifying. But so was Astarion's. So was Wyll's. So, even, was Karlach's chest full of flame or Shadowheart's loyalty to Shar.

And with each of these, ultimately the answer has been clear. They are in this together, for better or for worse. And it is certainly not better for Gale to be traveling on his own than to have help in preventing this cataclysm.

And...Hector knows him a little by now. He knows in spite of this catastrophic error in judgment...he is a good man.

"We've come this far together, and we'll continue on together. That is how it will be."

He glances at the others. Karlach is nodding; her eyes reflect her own anxiety but she does not for a moment question the decision. Shadowheart looks a little more skeptical, arms crossed, watching Gale intently - but she does not interfere.

Gale's eyes widen, and then a smile breaks across his face, relief and gratitude intermixed. "That is a great relief. Oh, a great relief indeed!" He hesitates, then reaches out and takes one of Hector's hands in both of his, clutching it tightly for a moment. "You truly are a soul that steels my own. From all my new-rallied heart I thank you." He looks past Hector to their other companions. "I thank you all. I understand if you stand against me. I'm humbled if you stand with me. Either way, I will do my best not to let you down. I stand at a precipice, but if you do not give up hope, neither shall I. I'll fight. I'll resist, as long as I can."

He lets Hector's hand fall, and his smile fades, replaced by a look of determination. "Now - even I am tired of the sound of my own voice. Let us venture forth."

[jamiesfootball]

Update: the bit that was in the wrong tense has now been fixed