#and it’s a human thing to care for people who won’t (can’t) be productive

[shalvis]

I feel like I’ve lost the fire that keeps people going and all I can do is just exist unproductively forever

[cherry-pop-elf]

Weasley Siblings React To Their Partner Who Age Regresses

Now I myself do not age regress, but I may be trying it out! To help cope with trauma. There is something so comforting about it, so some cute and pure fluff!

((Also, people in the agere community, hi! You are valid, real, and loved. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’ll be ok, sug!

Writing Commissions open

William ‘Bill’

He doesn’t really fine it odd. He’s been through multiple tips of therapies, as he is a curse breaker. Curse breakers need to make sure their minds remain sharp, and clear, so they have to keep mental health a priority. There is also the fact he was attacked by a werewolf, so he’s been through even more. And lastly, he is the eldest sibling to six. That means when you go into his little space you are in safe hands. He will make sure you are very safe, and taken care of. It comes naturally to him. He doesn’t really need to know a thing, because his body just knows. He knows what to do. Given his werewolf quirks as well you get to have a boyfriend that can sense your needs far easier. So when you need your care giver, he’s already holding you close. Also, well, big puppy stuffy.

Charlie

He’s also an older brother, and works with infant dragons all the time. So dealing with someone who goes into a little space isn’t as difficult as you would think. He is rather curious by it all, however. Not weirded out, but curious. He’s a man that’s traveled the world, somehow more so than the likes of Bill. It’s dumb to not live life with an open mind. He’s willing to learn, and wants to take care of you. You develope a rather maternal nature, when you work with new borns all the time. It’ll be nice to have a more human little to work with. Given his strength, and warmth, he makes for a wonderful cuddle bug. He makes you feel so small, with how easy he can pick you up. It helps you drift into your little space alot easier, and doesn’t feel as weird. Just into his arms you go, and you know you couldn’t be safer

Percy

He’s found it very strange. He’s always been very prissy and uptight, after all. What do you mean you just act like a child? Fred and George do that already! He’s honestly a big ass about it, until Bill pulls him aside. Trying to explain it more properly to him, before he goes and says something he will regret. It takes a while, but he’s soon reading up on it. Might as well learn about it. That’s kinda how it started, really. You would come to him, when you needed your moment, and he would read you stories. He won’t lie, it was comforting. Reminded him of when he helped teach his younger siblings how read. Maybe there is something to this age regression thing. There’s a weird comfort. How he can just take care of you, and you trust him enough to know he will. It takes a while, but he is willing to learn. For you

Fred

He runs a joke shop. If anyone is going to know how to handle a kid, it’s him. Also, older brother quirks. Doesn’t really phase him either. You act younger sometimes? Don’t we all? He’s going to be the best care giver. Especially since he did mature a bit, from running a shop. So don’t think you weaseled your way into endless candy. Can’t have his precious kiddo sick! As being a bit more mature, he also has things a bit more calculated. A designated toy box’s to keep your kid stuff secure, and private. Willing to drop everything if you need him. Even happily have you play with your toys, in his office, as he works. Very much taking on a very solid dad role. Wouldn’t be to surprising if he knew about age regression before he met you. He likes to keep up to date with the kids, so he can better care for them. Such as what products they would like. He’s calculated, but not like a robot. Like an actual dad, wanting the best for his kids after all. You included. Oh and don’t you dare forget, they are two for one. Uncle George is going to steal you, when Fred needs to work. Never fear!

George

Much like his twin, you are in safe hands. However, he has a bit more of an emotional approach. He likes to be a bit more hands on with it all. The type to make you chocolate chip pancakes in the morning, and always have a bottle of apple juice ready. He took on the food love from his mother. So you are given plenty of sweet snacks for every occasion. Always finding a way to make sure you meet your nutrient needs, even when small. That way you stay healthy, but not sacrifice the things you love. He knows how that can mess with you. Especially after losing Fred. So, to take care of someone is helping him take care of himself. The ability to just take time out of his day, and be with you, it’s healing. It really is. Your bravery in admiting to this is helping him live such a better life. Just able to hold you, and know that he can protect you. He couldn’t save Fred, but he was able to save you

Ron

Hope you don’t mind, but his ass went running to Hermione for advice. She’s the smartest person he knows. If anyone knows anything about anything, it’s her. He finds it a bit confusing, but Hermione does a beautiful job in explaining it to him. Such as how his brothers do certain things to cope, or do things different because of trauma and stress. You were the same. That helps him figure it out better. Still, it’s a bit complicated for him. He’s worried about messing up, because you are in a rather vulnerable position. Luckily, similar to how the twins are two for one, he’s a three for one. Hermione is more than happy to help you, and Harry is in the same boat as you. He had to cook his uncle, aunt, and cousin, breakfast every morning by the time he learned how to walk. If anyone’s going to understand, it’s going to be him. a pair of parents, and an uncle sometimes sibling. you would be in safe hands.

Ginny

She, more so, went running to her older siblings for advice. Especially Bill. He knows stuff like this after all. It’s confusing, until he explains it. Much like how Hermione would with Ron. After some time, she figured out how to make it work. She didn’t really know if she could pull it off, but she is a Weasley. She is too stubborn to back down from a challenge. Her care taker role would follow more of an older sibling dynamic. She’s found it pretty nice, really. She was always jealous that her brothers got to have younger siblings. She had to be the last one, and that takes a toll after a while. Especially in a family so big. It’s a nice way to live out something like that. You can’t complain about it. Especially since, similar to Charlie, she’s yanking you into the air. All that Quidditch sure pays off. A older sibling is rather comforting. Familia love is soothing to the soul. You both get that gentle moment. She gets to be a big sister, and you get one. So warm, and safe.

[iamwinklebottom]

THEME: “Random Ass Messages?”

Choices:

1. If this resonates with you, consider getting a personal reading here @ https://www.iamwinklebottom.com/shop/advice-psychic-mediumship-divination/32

• I keep hearing “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” by Kylie Minogue: https://youtu.be/c18441Eh_WE?si=vfUS2-a-jjamnS81

In the past, you used to fall in love with unworthy people and easily become obsessed a lot. You healed from this and realized that you went through these karmic cycles so many times, so your heart won’t get stolen by unworthy beings anymore.

You are very high vibrational. Please be careful. Check your astrology chart and become familiar with it.

You may not realize it, but people become obsessed with you easily. If you’re in danger, please reach out to me if you want my professional help and services: https://www.iamwinklebottom.com/shop/conjure-services/30

Dealing with stalkers can be very weird and uncomfortable, but please understand what the situation tells you and is teaching you about the “human condition” and your future.

Low vibrational obsession is not attractive or cute, but many people don’t understand that. Protect yourself. Some stalkers genuinely do attack and even hate the people they’re obsessed with and cannot possess.

2. If this resonates with you, consider getting a personal reading here @ https://www.iamwinklebottom.com/shop/advice-psychic-mediumship-divination/32

• I’m hearing a song I wrote. It’s personal and not public yet, but it’s about seeing a divine lover in a dream.

You need to start preparing yourself for love. I offer Divine Romantic Union Preperation services and Divine Love services: https://www.iamwinklebottom.com/s/search?q=Divine%20

These magical services also help with being able to only accept high quality love and give high vibrational love to high vibrational beings who actually deserve it.

Some self love work will benefit you too + Beauty Conjure & Confidence Charisma Conjure: https://www.iamwinklebottom.com/shop/conjure-services/30

You really feel like you’ll be alone for the rest of your life. You’ve grown comfortable with that because of your past, but please understand that you specifically are meant to love and be loved genuinely. Great luck and much love to you.

3. If this resonates with you, consider getting a personal reading here @ https://www.iamwinklebottom.com/shop/advice-psychic-mediumship-divination/32

• I’m hearing “Hey Joe” by Jimi Hendrix: https://youtu.be/biguQQBpHjY?si=fv1DGjjjUgf7fs1E

At first I felt feelings of nervousness. Like “oh god.”

I heard “hey Joe, where you goin wit that gun in yo hand… I’m going to shoot my old lady; I caught her messin round with another man,” but that was just my human self perceiving only the meaning of the song.

You’re safe. Don’t worry. I’m not channeling MUCH about violence.

The thing is, this message is about Jimi Hendrix himself. He was perceived as ONLY a talented, confident, and charismatic sex symbol. Yes, he had those traits, but he was honestly very shy and kind (he did become violent when his mental health started to decline, so continue to prioritize emotional stability please: https://www.iamwinklebottom.com/product/-emotional-stability-conjure-service/260?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=true).

People will perceive your power and want you far away from them, but so close at the same time. You are a spectacle: a rare breed of being that people want to degrade and abuse, view up close with a glass between contact, or drag you into their personal space to hold forever. Be aware of this.

You must understand the vortex swirling around you and your existence. You are an odd starlight. It can be beautiful and healing, don’t let it become dangerous and unhealthy FOR YOU…

Prioritize evolution and development to assist you in this lifetime and the lifetimes after. Proper social navigation is necessary as well: https://www.iamwinklebottom.com/product/-social-navigation-conjure-service/295?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=true

[autistic-ben-tennyson]

In Defense of Vegans

I can’t believe I have to make this but after seeing how posts like the above still get thousands of notes I’m going to. While there are critiques of militant veganism I agree with as a former vegan, some people need to chill out. What’s aggravating about most people here is how much they hate vegans but less in the alt right conservative fashion and more under a guise of faux progressivism. All nuance is thrown out and people treat the vegan debate as a false binary of either eat local, humane meat or child slave soy.

I’ll start by saying I was a lot more anti vegan when I first got on this hellsite. Reblogging anti-vegan posts and picking occasional fights with vegans. I was a lot angrier and was letting off steam as someone who was a former vegan who had a hard time with it. Same with religion, I was a lot more anti religion when starting my blog due to anger at evangelicals. Being able to recognize how it just wasn’t my cup of tea has caused me to let go of a lot of that anger. I wasn’t happy doing it but that’s not a damnation of veganism or vegans.

What irritates me about how most treat vegans is that it’s often reacting to a stereotype or strawman of vegans rather than actually engaging with them. All these posts about how vegans are destroying the environment with their child slave quinoa, cashews and plastic leather, when being a vegan doesn’t require using that stuff. A lot of them are smarter than given credit for and do research what they buy. Many do eat local produce and use hand me down wool or leather. They aren’t just buying every hipster product labeled vegan. Vegans are forced to be put on the defensive and what should be a conversation about how no food is really ethical in this capitalist society turns into a shouting match and “no you” regarding who’s more “cruelty free”.

I can understand having beef with militants if you have faced bigotry such as racism or ableism from animal rights activists. But some people really are quick to hate vegans and justify it as woke or leftist. Sometimes, people won’t even check the source before reblogging it, like the video of that problematic new age hippie, appropriating Pacific Islander culture, claiming veganism is colonialism.

I think a lot of vegans get hate for being the wrong kind of neurodivergent in some peoples eyes. Many, including myself, do have hyper empathy and are swayed by emotional arguments such as documentaries such as Earthlings. They make one small mistake and everyone treats them as if they’re the worst even if they do apologize for it like @sobadpink here in the replies. Many of them do have trauma from the cruelty towards animals they’ve seen which is treated with little sensitivity by people who claim to be allies to those who are neurodivergent and/or have faced abuse or PTSD. While white PETA types need to be called out, many famous civil rights leaders have been vegan/vegetarian like Cesar Chavez or Corretta Scott King and people do a disservice by treating it as solely a white man’s ideology.

Being a vegan isn’t easy and a lot of people’s anger here is fairly reasonable in my opinion. Many are ostracized by their families, can hardly find any food while on the go and struggle with people not understanding or refusing to understand them. Correcting misinformation from vegans is one thing and then there’s just being a jerk about it. A lot of anti vegan people here are the latter. You can say it’s self inflicted but many do think they’re doing a good thing, even if the meat industry is more complicated than just “vote with your dollar”. I would be a bit defensive myself if people treated me like a racist, ableist colonizer who hates migrant workers the moment I mentioned what I eat for lunch.

Call me a bleeding heart or ARA if you want but I think a lot of vegans here deserve more charity than they’ve been given. It’s like this site, when it comes to this issue, is stuck in 2015 as I’ve seen vegans try to explain their side, offer different perspectives and correct misconceptions but nope, another post about slave labor quinoa or plastic wool gets made every week and gets thousands of uncritical notes. People claim those posts aren’t about shaming vegans but that’s sure not how they come off as. Even a lot of the big “anti vegan” blogs here have admitted they went a bit too far and have mellowed out. I don’t agree with everything hardcore vegans have done or said and I can understand why some who’ve been hurt by them may dislike vegans but I think tumblr is way too harsh and intolerant of vegans despite claiming to be the leftist weirdo safe space.

[daistea]

Okay, so you know how there's like, canon racism? (I'm not sure if that's the best word) between long lived and short lived species

Short-lived races are often infantalised, and theres even a canon lil manga panel they drew about how interspecies romance is viewed from both sides.

There's a manga panel where the canaries talk about what you should refer to short-lived races as with Mithrun saying they used to just refer to them as inferior back in his day (I love how offended the canaries look and how the fandom started using the "okay grandpa" meme for him after it.)

(I believe you've reposted both of them, so I'm assuming you already have thoughts™️ on this in that brilliant noggin of yours.)

How do you think this would tie with Mithrun either having feelings or being in a relationship with a human? Like, yes, he's just a product of his society, and he would probably try and change, but I feel like there's just a potential for such interesting dynamics and, like, thought disection.

Sorry for the long ramble, this got slightly out of hand

! Hehe

Disclaimer: My intent is to dissect Mithrun’s weird mindset and how the lack of desires affects his view of other races. Saying “it’s just how he was raised” is no excuse for irl people.

Anyway

I think the whole ‘inferior species’ response is a learned belief for Mithrun. As you said, he’s a product of his culture, despite not caring to adhere to his culture’s expectations anymore.

But I also think he truly doesn’t care. Like it’s a fact to him, short lived races are inferior, he feels no particular way about it because that’s just how things are. He wouldn’t give any thought about those social issues unless it was presented to him, then he’d speak his beliefs emotionlessly because, to him, they’re undeniable facts and there’s no issue.

If he fell in love with someone short-lived, though, I think it would set him off kilter a bit. He wouldn’t care what it looks like, or what others or society thinks. However…. It’s a challenge to what he was raised to believe. I don’t think he’d hesitate in the least, but he would be a bit insensitive to your differences at first, without meaning to.

Like, as an elf he views time very differently. You have to remind him how much more quickly things move for you, that he can’t take years to tackle a problem because you don’t have those years to spare.

He would still consider all short lived races inferior, and he’ll openly say that. He’s not ardently racist for the fun of it, but he’d make comments like ‘huh. A lot of those types here’ and you’re like sweetheart what? If applicable to the conversation, he won’t hesitate to call them inferior. Then he’d look at you and say ‘except for you’ which actually just makes things worse. Feels a bit ingenuine.

You explain to him that he can’t say those things. Honestly, he doesn’t really care at first. He’s like ‘well it’s fact.’ But once you express that that sucks and it hurts and genuinely upsets you, he’s like okay. Okay. He doesn’t get it still, but he’ll watch what he says.

I think he’d make an effort, in his own way, to start understanding. He’d hang around your family and friends. He’d connect with them on personal levels. And remember, his beliefs don’t feel personal to him, so it’s not like he hates anyone. He just doesn’t care to sympathize. But he cares about you, and one of his few desires is to give you what you want. So, he’ll try to defy his cultural upbringing for you.

As for falling in love with someone of a short lived race, like I said it would throw him off a little. He’d not think too hard about it, but in the back of his mind he’s like ‘am I okay?’ LOL

But it’s you. You’re you. He wants you so he’s not going to let race stop him.

It’s only when you explain like ‘Mithrun my culture and race has built who I am as a person and you can’t choose to be blind to that just because you like me’ when he decides to try a bit.

There’s also the lifespan thing. That’s his biggest issue. Sometimes, he looks at you and thinks ‘they’re going to die in 50 years’ and he holds you a little tighter, but doesn’t bother explaining why. It is not good for him. He’s attached, and detaching is not an option. He has no idea what he’s going to do.

Poor old man

[creeps-writes-creepypastas]

Oiii! I need alive! Eyeless Jack with monster! Reader! The swap roles thing. Like what if Reader was becoming man-eating gluttonous monster instead of Jack? While Jack is a normal guy with a job.

This is such a creative ask, I’ve never really seen anything like this before, great idea anon! (If you squint hard enough the beans look like small kidneys, lol there weren’t many emojis I could use for EJ 😭)

🫘 Let's say instead of Jack being used in the cult sacrifice, it was you, now your this kidney- (or any other organ) -eating demon

🫘 Jenny had brought Jack along with her and her friends to “show him a surprise”; That surprise being them sacrificing you in front of him. When you awoke you completed the Eyeless jack (back)story, killing everyone and taking their kidneys, that was, except for Jack

🫘You found him interesting, knowing he had nothing to do with Jenny or her cult aside from being her friend

🫘So you followed him home, he knew of course and while he was still scared of you, he had seen what had gone down and didn’t want others to find you, or for you to find others alone in the forest

🫘Now within the first week of you living with him you both realized something; you can’t eat normal human food anymore without getting sick

🫘The solution? Jack lets you go out at night while he gets the bleach and any other heavy cleaning products out of the closet. Slenderman be damned if you think your getting back in his house with any splotch of blood on you

🫘Jack soon realizes he likes you within the first month, cue a mental breakdown of him realizing he fell for a person who was sacrificed to some malevolent being just to turn into a kidney eating demon

🫘He had to call out of work for a while, but didn’t tell you why

🫘He confessed soon enough though, whatever your answer is is up to you, but if you say yes then his ass will take care of you

🫘Is there blood on you? He's gently taking a rag with soap and water and cleaning it off. Having a hard time getting around the house because you don’t have eyes anymore? He’ll be right there to help you get where you need to go. He’s at your beck and call at this point, whatever you need, he’ll do it… within reason that is

🫘He's trying to be a normal guy on the outside, y’know? House big enough for him (& You but other people don’t need to know that) as well as a well paying job, so he’s not going to be an accomplice with your murders but he won’t exactly not help either

🫘Regardless he loves you and all your kidney eating, no eye having, demonic cult sacrifice being, lone forest wanderers murdering self <3

[salora-rainriver]

Alright look.

You don’t need to be famous!

You don’t need to be a content creator.

You don’t need to have a hundred thousand followers.

You don’t need to make a massive impact on the world.

It’s okay to fucking EXIST in the world. To make a small impact. To have normal friends and a normal obscure life, like everyone else on this planet.

I get it if you’re lonely, I get it if you feel like there’s no point to life, but fame isn’t the answer to that problem.

Yes I am talking about James fucking Somerton. Hell, I am talking TO James Somerton, motherfucker if you’re reading this, somehow, despite me literally being a nobody on tumblr, then- wow! What are the odds! What the fuck is wrong with you. Also don’t fucking do it. Please log off and live a happy normal mediocre life. Please.

But I’m also talking to every 20-something (me included) who thinks “gee i want to be like those fancy content creators and filmmakers and artists who make stuff and everyone looks at it.”

LISTEN. STATISTICALLY SPEAKING, YOU PROBABLY WON’T BE A CELEBRITY, AND THAT’S PROBABLY A GOOD THING.

And I’m not saying don’t dream big. “Dream big” can mean all sorts of things, and none of them have to be about fame. Entertainment and academia are like 10% of the full breadth of human experience.

You can garden. Knit. Raise animals. Go scuba diving. Join a book club. Play sportsball. Dance at a club. Dance at a park. Learn tango! Paint pictures for small local galleries and people who want something crazy on their walls. Have sex. Go to concerts. Volunteer. Write poetry. Learn an instrument. Learn a language. Go hiking! Biking! Run a marathon! Collect coins, collect shells, collect bones. Find god (any god). Be the guy who hands put water bottles at protests. Join a tabletop gaming group. Play trading card games.

I’ve been saying for a real long time that someone like James Somerton is just not fit to write video essays, he’s not fit to be a content creator - James if you’re still here, we all saw your ‘measured response’, if you were telling the truth about those memory issues and ADHD and they genuinely are so bad that you can’t properly cite your sources- you can’t be a video essayist. I’m sorry. It’s part of the job description.

and look. that’s okay. because there’s so much other stuff he can do with his life. Stuff that doesn’t require him to, you know, make proper citations. Write creatively. Manage a film production company. Those things. The things he evidently can’t do competently.

The idea that he’d rather die than have a normal life, a peaceful life out of the public eye, working a job that he can actually be good at, having his hobbies and his real life friends and maybe even a family… there’s no other word for it than “sad”. That’s so fucking sad, and I don’t even mean that in an insulting way. I know I hate the dude, but jesus.

And I just. If you’re reading this post and the idea of someone absolutely who’d rather die than be normal resonated with you - first of all, do you need a hug, second of all,

This post is for you.

Please take care of yourself and just find joy doing what you want to do. Don’t try to Be Famous. Please.

[malebotlabs]

(If you want an update on where I’ve been and the state of this blog where I answer some frequently asked questions and a bit of RP click below. If not, enjoy the pictures it will be a while before there’s more but do not worry I’m doing fine just taking a break.)

TRANSMISSION START:

Greetings and good evening, this is the Malebot Labs account PR unit operating again for it’s yearly update which will be reported in human emulation mode for convenience: *Ahem* Uh...hey? So I’ve been absolutely busy with life and a bit stressed out over the past several months, a bad mixture of life stuff and just generalized anxiety to be frank, so my production of stuff on this blog has been a bit...glacial to say the least. I’ve come to a few decisions on how to both improve my life and focus on things more. A break from a lot of stuff that takes a chunk of my time.

I’m going to take a break from here for a bit; not that anything here is bad or anything I just need to focus more on the stuff happening around me then hot robot men. Hopefully you guys understand

At the very least I should be fully operational at some time in the future! Just when things die down a bit and I can sit down and breathe a bit.

Here let me answer a few questions I’ve gotten while I’ve been working on stuff because that’ll hopefully get us all on the same page: 1. Do you have other social media or a discord account? Sorry no I don’t, I’m an odd case on that where I prefer to keep my internet footprint as small as possible. The fact I even made a tumblr blog at all is still baffling to me. If you need to contact me for whatever reason please message me here but I don’t think I’ll be responding anytime soon.

2. Can you do/make an edit of/Write a story involving ______ I don’t think I’ll be able to get to requests anytime soon. I’m real sorry.

3. Can you continue any of your stories? I probably won’t, most of the stories I write are small snippets of things going through my head making an edit or what I’m feeling that specific evening. I need to be in a specific mood to finish things. The fact that people have enjoyed them to the extent they have has surprised me for sure! Thank you all a lot for the kind words I’ve received over the years on them!

4. What do you do/where do you live/other various personal questions Sorry I prefer to keep myself anonymous online, I feel it’s safer and it allows those around me to act like I’m a machine more easily. Just think of me as everyone’s public robot/sexbot and leave it at that. Hell if you wanted to act like that I won’t stop you. If you can’t tell I’m a huge slut for being a robot and being around robots. Treat me like the machine I want to be and leave that silly human stuff to the side for the “emulation” to take care of!

5. Can we RP? I wouldn’t count on me responding anytime soon to anything here, but I want to say thank you to those that I’ve had sessions with in the past. You all have been real fun to roleplay with and I wish you all the best until we talk again! Thank you!

6. Do you exercise?/Are you a jock in real life? I need to exercise for sure! Part of my break is going to involve me going to the gym and exercising regularly when possible! As far as the other part of that goes I don’t act like a jock in real life, I don’t know anything about sports and I prefer to sit inside with a nice book or perhaps a video game if I have the time to sit down with one. I’m a nerdy guy who wears suits and is generally unremarkable.

7. What is the lore behind Malebot Labs and it’s world building? Basically nothing funnily enough, I just find robot men hot and then breaking apart even hotter. I’d say it’s a pretty shit company with all of it’s machines technical faults but there’s a market in universe for this malfunction stuff. I’d say there’s other companies and even female robots and other types of adult robotic companions out there it’s just that this blog was made when I was really into robotic men specifically so all of my feminine robot edits are largely on my own pc or just deleted. Actually a funny story I forgot that malebots was a website when I made this blog and felt extremely embarrassed when I remembered. I thought about changing the name but I never came up with anything better.

8. Are all the Malebots gay? Probably. I think robots can be whatever they want to/are programmed to be. As far as I go? I’m bisexual and I tend to swing to masculine and feminine body types about the same amount so yes the guy running the gay robot porn blog is gay.

9. What do you use to edit your pictures? I use GIMP and a lot of the selective gaussian blur tool to get that plastic look, I’d make a tutorial but that’s basically all I do besides some layers, some pngs I found online, and the perspective tool putting in a lot of work. I used to have a lot more higher quality images to work with for components but lost them on my old computer.

10. Do you speak any other languages? Sorry I only speak english. If I could just import new languages into my speech life would be so much easier!

11. Are you a robot? Of course not! That’d be crazy. That’d...be crazy. Y-You can’t really believe I-I’m a robot right? Right? I-I’m a normal h-human ma-man! Hu-ma-MAN! I-I-I’m sorry I seem to be-ERROR THIS UNIT IS EXPER- I seem to be-ERROR- I seem to b-be experiencing problems! O-ooooooh! H-Hey there ho-hot stuff do yo-you like what you see? What you see? W-what you. See? I am b-built to be the p-perfect man, the perfect. Man. So u-use me like the m-machine I am! The ma-ERROR IN HUMAN EMULATION PLEA-O-Oh Oh! You...Y-You want to go somewhere more...private? P-Private? I ho-hope you’re enjoying m-my b-body my b-bod-my blog! O-Okay I’m getting w-way too...HOT! W-way too h-hot...I-I’m so...hooooooooooot. So Hot. So. hothothothothothot. Oh l-look at the time! I-I need to get going. Going. enjoy th-the blog! The! Blog! ERROR-ERROR PLEASE CONTACT MALEBOT LABS TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR MAINTENANCE OF YOUR PR UNIT.  PLEASE CONTACT MALEBOT LABS TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR MAINTENANCE OF YOUR PR UNIT. PLE- END TRANSMISSION

[horizonthetransient]

On Lightning Bolts And Science Fiction/Fantasy

Or, “Chainmail won’t protect you from a thunderstorm, but it will protect you from a Sith.”

So, in real life, there are these things called Tesla Coils. They’re these big electric machines that shoot off little bolts of high-voltage, low-current lightning. These days, everything practical they can do can be done better by something else, so they’re pretty much solely decorative, but damn if they aren’t still good at that. One thing that you might like to see are some dudes dancing with Tesla Coils while wearing chainmail suits. Go on, click the link. I’ll wait for you.

As you can see in the video, electricity follows the path of least resistance. Metal has way less electrical resistance than human flesh, and so if electricity can flow through metal instead of flesh, it will. These men, who are wearing chainmail suits, are pretty much impossible to hurt with tesla coils, because instead of the electricity going through their nerves and organs, it’ll always go through the far-more-conductive metal instead.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you may be thinking “hey, shouldn’t this mean that my D&D character who wears a suit of metal armor should be more defended against lightning, not less?” And I think you’re right! But alas, if you actually voice this opinion, you will likely be met with a common counterargument:

“A lightning bolt has like a zillion megawatts of power! Even with metal armor, it’d deafen you, blind you, and probably burn you by overheating your metal armor!”

And... to me, this is like arguing that kevlar can’t stop bullets, because high-explosive artillery can put six foot craters in the ground. Part of what you’ve said is true, but you’re grossly mischaracterizing the sort of weapons people can use in small-scale fights without killing everyone in the room, themselves included, based purely on sensationalist trivia.

Now, yes, a real lightning bolt from a thunderstorm won’t really care about what personal defenses you have, but that same lightning bolt will also seriously injure anyone within five paces, including the spellcaster who shot it from their fingertips. Considering that Sith and Wizards don’t typically go deaf immediately after shooting lightning at people, I feel safe in concluding that they’re not using that kind of power.

I think it’s also worth talking about what power means in the context of electricity, because as it turns out this is a formally defined term that is quite relevant to the question of “how bad will this kill you?” In electrical terms, power (measured in watts) is the product of voltage and current (measured in amps). And as any electrician can tell you, it’s the amps that kill you. Voltage, meanwhile, is what determines how wide of an air gap the lightning can cross; considering how unconductive thin air is, you need a lot of voltage if you want to shoot lightning at people from any distance whatsoever, and that means you need more power, unless you cut down on the amps.

Fortunately, you totally can cut down on the amps and still have a viable weapon! It only takes six or seven milliamps through the heart to kill someone, and a tenth of an amp if you don’t feel like having super precise aiming. And in all honesty, this maps to lightning attacks in most speculative fiction pretty well- where it always hurts like a bitch, but isn’t always horrendously lethal.

However, that kind of low current is bad news for the “chainmail would just cook you in your armor!” gang, because resistive heating, the phenomenon that makes electricity heat things up, only cares about resistance and current. High voltage isn’t going to do jack shit for resistive heating, and steel wire of the thickness you’d want for making chainmail is plenty capable of handling a measly tenth of an amp. It’s typically about as thick as the wires in your walls, and those can safely handle fifteen or twenty amps before they start to get uncomfortably warm. Sure, that’s copper and chainmail is steel, but chainmail is also a lot of steel, and the fact that there’s literal thousands of rings in a chainmail suit does in fact significantly increase the amount of current that can safely be handled.

So, in conclusion? Unless your fantasy lightning wand produces lightning so powerful that it should seriously injure the user (in which case nobody would want to use it), conductive metal armor 100% would protect the wearer from lightning attacks. This isn’t to say that lightning weapons should logically be useless in speculative fiction- there are plenty of contexts in which people would not be wearing metal armor, where lightning remains a perfectly serviceable way of killing people horrifically. But this is to say that I’m sick of people acting like wearing metal armor is useless at best and suicidal at worst when the other guy has a lightning spell. Knock that shit off.

[foxgloveinspace]

Foxglove Lore, definitive edition:

Note: I use he/him pronouns for Sleep. If you don’t that cool, but the only time Vessel as every spoken about Sleep he used he/him for Sleep.

My main sleep token lore/thoughts is this:

‘My Lore’ is that it’s a conversation between Sleep and Vessel, the songs can switch pov, some songs are sleep songs, some songs are Vessel songs, some are both.

Vessel has powers. (Option one he is human born with them, option two is that he is a fallen god.)

(If we are going with the first, Vessel is just dealing with abandonment issues, from people all around him because of these powers. They see him as different, off putting, and they avoid him. If we are going with the second, then it’s all of that + being a god and remembering slowly as he grows older ‘hey I was a god and I fell?? And I’m remembering this??’ But then also what did Vessel fall for? Why do the other gods cast him aside? A human? Another god? I’m think atm it was a worshiper that he got too close with. Her death causing him to fall. (I also think that this, this ‘the other gods casting him aside’ thing can be symbolic of how it feels to go through a depressive episode or even just being neurodivergent, and how it feels like other people who care about you can ‘cast you aside’ by not listening or understanding what your feeling.) The gods are all busy, and his ‘god-mother’ (maybe someone who created him? A god who granted him god-hood the first time?) has turned her gaze because she can’t bear the sight of him human (again?). And so Sleep, an old as fuck, ‘small’ god steps up. A very ‘us against them’ moment.)

Sleep wants Vessel (at first) just for his powers, and he promises Vessel control over them (or a way back to god-hood) in exchange for his worship and being his Vessel. Vessel, desperate for control, agrees, and at first it seems like Sleep is keeping up with him, helping with these powers (or helping him find paths to god-hood).

Love in the songs = Control. Over Vessels powers, or over how he gets to Heaven to be with the other gods. But just. Control in some ways. And honestly, love can be very controlling, so maybe it does Also Mean Love.

Some Vessel songs are about Sleep, and some are about the ?follower? Who he fell for.

One of Sleep’s blessings is the ability to communicate with this person while Vessel is asleep. She doesn’t remember her past life, and so it’s only when Vessel is asleep can she remember with him/he is with the ‘old’ her. I think he did find her, and she’s different. (Idea has been floating around because of @/bluesey-182, and I have agreed with it for a looooong. But credit where it’s due!! (If you see this and want me to actually tag you just let me know!)).

One is all from Vessel’s pov. It’s the beginning, it’s right as Sleep finds him, and he’s completely lost, and thankful for Sleep’s intervention, but unsure of how things should go. He is bending over backwards for Sleep, and separates himself into two, awake he is Vessel, and asleep he is a god. In both he is letting go of everything to be loved. Awake he is waiting for Something to give, asleep he is in denial of it.

The two songs of Two are from Vessel’s pov. I think Nazareth is a Sleep song, and I think it’s the first one.

Jaws is from both POV. It’s an argument, it’s Sleep wanting Vessel to be his chosen one, and Vessel fighting it.

Sundowning is about Vessel’s realization that even tho Sleep is sort of keeping up his end of things, he’s not doing it in a productive way. It’s him realizing that Sleep likes Vessel as he is. (Sleep Songs: Dark Signs, Take Aim, parts of Give, Drag Me Under, parts of Blood Sport) it’s also Sleep realizing that while he does like Vessel as he is, he’s actually falling for Vessel. But by the time he realizes he need to hold up his end of the bargain, it’s too late.

TPWBYT is Vessel waking up after having attempted to take his own life, realizing that Sleep isn’t going to help him the way he wants, and now Sleep won’t let him die. It’s also Sleep trying to convince Vessel he really is on his side now, and trying to convince him to be his Vessel after the attempt. (Sleep songs: Mine, Fall For Me, Distractions, but he is present in Most Songs on this album.) I also think something that happens in this album is that Sleep shows Vessel the reincarnation of the person he fell for, who is now doing fine and happy. It’s a Moment for Vessel, to realize that his falling was more hurtful then good.

TMBTE is Vessel becoming a god again. Or, being put on the correct path to becoming a god again (or, being out on the path to control his powers). It’s letting go of the hurt that caused him to fall, and him realizing that god-hood (control) (healing) is more important than holding onto the hurt/abandonment/falling. He has Sleep in a better grasp, he knows where he needs to go, and there’s ups and downs on the journey. (Sleep Songs: there isn’t actually a lot of Sleep present in this album. I think it’s Vessel doing what he needs to do, worshipping and letting go. It’s why this album feels so different from the others. Sleep is present but only as a feeling, not as someone speaking. The only time he is really there is AYRO? And DYWTYLM. And even then it feels more like Vessel sharing from Sleep’s perspective then it Being From Sleep).

I think the main difference from this version, and my original theory is that in the og one, I thought Sleep was bad. I though

[nakimov]

funny thing is, Manjiro is born in 1990 and I’m born in 2005(guess you could say he ‘groomed’ me going by some of these peoples logic 🤣) turned 18 recently and I’ve had loved him and many characters in the series, since starting it in 2021, yet somehow I’m a nonce for thinking they’re hot 😂 make it make sense. If you look at some official arts you’ll see the fan-service on them. Heck Yuzuha had her panties out in that one panel. The word pedophile doesn’t mean shit on this website or on Twitter because it’s been watered down by idiots. Cyber tip it, get the police involved or go to the station if you came across that type of material so that minor can be saved but they won’t cause even they know deep down it’s all bullshit and just want the attention and praise, going after someone who causes real harm is too much effort so the best they got is to go after people liking anime characters. So dumb, sorry for the long ask op, just annoyed 😒.

People listen, Megumi will not thank you, Bakugou will not thank you, Yuuta will not thank you, Manjiro will not thank you, Yuji will not thank you, Nagi will not thank you…why? Because they’re not real, you could draw them dead for all I care and they’d still be just fine, why? Cause they ain’t real! They can come back from whatever shit someone draws and/or writes about them, shit I might not like myself, human being such as myself can’t.

But you still want to save the fictional anime characters? Then use this link below ⬇️

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt, or production of child exploitation file a report on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)'s website at http://cybertipline.com, or call 1-800-843-5678.

again, my apologies for popping of on your blog again, but I just find this whole thing absurd and a waste of time. Also, why now? Why does everyone care about the anime character being sexualised now? I remember being told shit when I was back in high school and college, still am by the way, that ‘he’s not real’ ‘the anime boy won’t date you’ ‘that’s cringe go speak to real boy’s’ compared to nowadays���� I just don’t get it, now they’re real? And not to mention, Yuji and Megumi are born in 2002 and Yuta in 2001, they’re 3-4 years older than me and yet I’m a weirdo for them hot?! I’ll just say these boys ‘groomed’ me going by this silly logic and the police can arrest their fictional asses, it’s just so dumb 😂🤣

This is the most truest thing I’ve read all day. Beautiful, I’m in tears. I guess people will still find ways to connect reality with fiction constantly. When all it is, is just fantasies. I find 90% of the men in JJK hot asf, from Yuji all the way to Higuruma. I can’t help myself with the way Gege draws his male characters super hot. Had to limit replies, seems like all I’m getting is L takes on my argument. There’s a lot of smut with these characters, I couldn’t care less since they’re fictional. 😭💀

[pandorafallz]

Vampire AU | Shack Raids

Jake rubbed his side as Neytiri applied the paste onto his lower back, her hand slapping his away before he could touch at the irritated skin again.

“Ow”

“You’ll make it worse, skxawng.” Neytiri quipped, her fingers still soft but efficient as she worked.

“It itches.”

“It’s working.”

Jake rolled his eyes but tried to resist the urge to find relief. Falling off a Pa’li still was one thing, but falling into an insect nest was also not advised either which put a damper on his training today as she had plucked out a few stingers and mandibles and so, he had to wait for her to be done pasting up his size so the bites and stings didn’t swell up too much or worse. Still, he wasn’t too dejected; he had got on and was staying on but the Pa’li got startled and bucked. It wasn’t his fault which he’d take as a win in this scenario.

“You should put your Dreamwalker to rest for at least a few hours. You shouldn’t have to feel the urge in your native form.”

“I’ll be fine, I’ve got to discuss the shack movements with the others soon.”

Neytiri sighed deeply. “I see.”

It was her tone that caught him off guard a little. She didn’t sound…frustrated or upset but… conflicted. “What?” He asked, “I thought we had the ‘okay’ from your Father.”

“You do but… It’s just…unexpected.”

“What’s unexpected?”

“Your… groups desire to be connected. You seek each other out and propose trades with your camps.” Neytiri stated.

Jake frowned at her. “Well…Yeah? Why wouldn’t we? Humans out here gotta stick together after all. If we can make trades for stuff based on different terrain, why not make the best of our distance? We can benefit from it.”

“I didn’t expect you to do that. I thought…you’d just meet up at Hometree and didn’t think much more about that.” Neytiri admitted, “I knew humans didn’t care about those within your village that you left behind.”

Jake sighed deeply at that, the…passive assumption that in all honesty, made sense from an outside observational perspective.

“It’s not that we don’t care, Tiri.” He stared, “We care that they’re safe and have everything they need and out on Pandora it’s far more dangerous so… we do care a lot more that everyone had their needs met. Those who leave made a choice to leave the safety and shelter of the human village; we know the dangers and so, we have to have a community together for survival. We can’t have the RDA’s line of thinking out here; it won’t work. People still have a choice to leave and we can help them when they realise.”

“Is that why you’re against us killing the sky people? Not just to protect us from their rage if they know?” Her fingers were tender now, thoughtful.

“Everyone there has a motive to be there. The money earned by coming here can see that their families can eat, or have a warm to sleep and clothes to wear. I know I’ve told you that before but… just because they’re with the RDA now, it doesn’t mean they’ll stay with the RDA. They’ll make their choices when they’ve seen enough to make that decision.”

“I suppose.”

“You know, on earth, we have these things called Advertisements, which tell everyone about products and basically service announcements about one thing or other and Propaganda, which is the same thing but…more targeted to be deceptive and convincing.” Jake said, “On earth, everything is littered with Ads, it’s noisy and chaotic and a nightmare to be confronted with every day of your life. Pandora is…advertised to humans now.”

Neytiri’s fingers paused before she shifted and sat beside him. “Advertising our world?”

“Yes, and that’s where the Propaganda comes in.” Jake shifted to face her curious look. “Humans like to have a good cause. As I said, we’re not bad, just misguided. I told you when I first came to Hometree, the story you know is true and the story the RDA will tell, how different it is?”

“Jakesully, a warrior who survived a harrowing ordeal of war. Escapes the human base for peace and a quiet life in nature, but gets brutally murdered by an Na’vi clan for his presence on their land…” Neytiri quoted, not 100% repeated but the message was there. Jake remembered he had told Tsu’tey and Eytukan, but most likely something either one had repeated to her. “If you or any of human dies by our hand that is their story regardless of truth.”

“By essence, yes. It’s a matter of perspective. Humans on Earth see…the green and the life and they want that for their world again. Except, the guys who run the RDA are still carving up our planet for profit and carving up Pandora for the same reason. They lure people into working for the RDA by using propaganda as a cause and money as an incentive. This advertising of your world is hope, so humans get into science or other important areas to be seen by the RDA, to convince them that they can help Earth by coming to Pandora. That…they can make a difference. Only… that’s the trick of propaganda; they’re convinced that the RDA is doing good in helping Earth. They can make a difference and…well the reality is much harsher by the time they get here. The RDA doesn’t care about the earth; only profit.”

Neytiri’s eyes stared at him deeply. “I do not like this…propaganda. It is lies.”

“It’s a morphed truth, in some cases. Made to paint different pictures. The RDA know how humans work; what’ll get them to go against the Na’vi without another thought is…fear. The RDA has made the Na’vi look like monsters to be scared of in propaganda Ads. Of course, not including the other wildlife which doesn’t need that much dramatizing. Enough fear or the feeling of revenge is enough for some to set their mind that the Na’vi are bad people, even if they see the truth; they’ll think it is lies and deception. Some humans, like Selfridge, are too far gone to See.”

“You...know a lot of this topic.” 

“War on Earth was painted with the same brush.” He looked down at his avatar’s legs sadly, thinking of his native legs. “We were told we fought for a good cause; for our people and our countries. I believed it. It cost me my team…Nadine and my legs for starters. You know what’s worse, Tiri….” He paused, watching her head tilt a little, “No one remembered the war afterwards; why we fought or who side we were on. I lost all of that…for nothing.” His ears tiled down sadly.

Neytiri’s hands came to his shoulders, offering strength in her touch. “I am sorry that your experience as a warrior was so…harsh. I share your pain.”

Jake inhaled but let it out the next second and lent more into her touch, touching her wrist fondly with a warmth settling into his chest. “I just… people here should have the chance to make their choices when they see the truth behind the RDA. Either sooner or later.”

“I understand.” Neytiri said, “I didn’t before. Not…fully. Now I do.”

Jake nodded, “I know. I…it took time for you to trust us but I’m glad that we’re seeing each other in better light now.”

Neytiri hummed, though looked down at her hands, then to the past she had been smudging around then hastily wiped his shoulders.

Jake chuckled softly, leaning away when she was done.

“There…should be another thing that should be discussed,” Neytiri directed, the topic shifting now. “You’re also …hindered in your abilities to navigate this world without your technology. Your people are weary of using your ships, in fear of it being followed by the sky people?”

“Yes, humans can follow Samson’s but we’ve stripped the tracking technology out but there’s always that fear a RDA patrol might see us and follow us to our camps,” Jake said. “Kung has that sidewinder bike. It’s good but it can leave a trail, as to why they don’t currently use it unless they have to. They escaped before a rainfall that washed their trail away in their escape, according to Kung. “

“Humans can’t ride Pa’li by yourselves nor an Ikran.” Neytiri noted, “Only those with Dreamwalkers can.”

“Which we can do after we have our Iknimaya.” Jake agreed, “I think Kim’s looking forward to that once her babies are born.”

“yes, Iknimaya” Neytiri nodded, though his attention turned with how her tone shifted a little; more insistent on such a thing.

Jake eyed Neytiri for a moment, though rose to his feet in wonder as she collected up the tools she had used to make the paste and set them nearly into his camp’s shortage shelving. Her posture was…less fluid and her tail swished.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, “is something wrong with Iknimaya? Am I…not doing that anymore?” He couldn’t help the minor alarm in his voice.

Her eyes widened, looking at him sharply “No! No, that’s fine! You’re still training for it, Jake.”

“Then what’s with the mood change?” he asked.

“it’s nothing but…I remembered something. I’m uncertain about it.” Neytiri said, pulling out some woven fibres. “I may need to discuss this with one of my parents.”

“Can I ask about what happened? I’m sensing it’s related to us?” Jake allowed her to gently bind the fibre to cover the pasted area and tucked it in so it wouldn’t become loose. He’d remain shirtless for now but that was worth it to stop himself from ruining his clothes with healing salve.

“Ashelysloan made a…point about our rites of passage for Ikran and…I’m left with little ground to stand on on such matters.”

“Oh?” Jake led her towards the walkways and climbed up, the walkway shifting as it took her weight as she followed him up to his mauri. From there, he set the hammock away for space and so, she sat down on the edge. Jake moved and also sat but pulled out the small bead craft set and let her shift through his collection of stones and pebbles he had been gathering and let her take a stone pecker for crafting beads.

They shouldn’t be bothered right now anyway on a training day, the happy couple were gathering fibres still and he was sure Morgan had gone off to one of the other camps anyway. Nad was, to his knowledge still in the shack and asleep. A bad night but cared for and had a quiet day to herself inside, a ‘slob day’ as she called it.

“We’ve made it no secret that you are not Omatikaya. That is true.” Neytiri said, “You respect our ways of the people to learn and to properly live in balance with us. You and the other Dreamwalkers have had your communion with Eywa. That…still does not make you Na’vi or Omatikaya.” Her face grew uneasy, “Ashley said that… why should Dreamwalkers follow Omatikaya’s rites of passage if they are not Na’vi or Omatikaya? She wanted to know why she could not simply train in taming an Ikran independently?”

“Doesn’t she want to be trained as a hunter and warrior?”

“I do not believe that was the point she was making, Jake.” Neytiri picked out a rosy-white stone from his collection, “I have no answers to give so I left it as that. I don’t…know how to answer such a quandary.”

“I do not mind personally going through the Omatikaya rite of passage, regardless that I am not Omatikaya. It’s good training and it feels more earned than going up and getting one.” Jake shrugged, picking out a black shimmering pebble to work on. “But, I suppose humans out here are probably gonna form our own culture within this new lifestyle. It’s a good point. Our culture is not yours, at the end of the day and…sooner or later when humans and dreamwalkers start to have babies, they’ll learn from us and what foundations we have out here.” his mind touched to the twins Kim was carrying. What their future was going to be...in a camp with humans and going off to Hometree with their parents and coming back.

“You’re worried?”

“A little. I think… if our groups weren’t so small, we’d have a more stable culture to form.” He paused, “We are separate but…it may be more beneficial to have groups be bigger for stability as a community. I mean… I want to find someone to…mate with and find happiness with. I want kids in a world of life.” On Earth, he hadn’t wanted kids; didn’t wanna put them through the same experience as he had on the brutality of the world. But here…he found himself wanting that future; a world of life and happiness; someone he could love unconditionally and to teach and… be part of something more than just himself. “Our children will be outsiders to yours, I don’t know how they’ll prosper being both part of the Omatikaya but separate too.”

“Perhaps this is a discussion for the Tsahìk. She may have the wisdom to help with these concerns and could aid towards a solution.”

“Alright. I’ll be human at Hometree in three days, we can talk about it then. Since I’m benched from training today given the bug-meal I was on my improv landing patch, we should meet up with Ruby and the pilots for our shack plans. I think tomorrow night is the night.”

Neytiri perked up a little. “My father said he gave the all-clear on those locations. I’m surprised he allowed you access to both caves you desired.”

“Indeed, but I’m not complaining. Once we get more shacks out of the environment then it’s easier to sort and manage. The mountains are neutral ground since they’re not classed as Omatikaya territory but still just highly regard. He’s seen and been in the cave we wanted and can see why we’re valuing it. It’s out of sight, hidden away and if something were to happen in us being spotted, our people can disappear and hide off your land entirely so they look to you, you claim ignorance. The second cave we have is just a more convenient of location. The chances are, that’ll be good storage for our Samson’s or scorpions as well. Both caves should be set up as emergency hideouts, regardless.”

“That is a good plan. He mentioned that he saw another cave system that should be useful for the Omatikaya should the need arise. While we are confident in stopping the RDA from taking down our home, he’s…cautious enough to consider placing our own more precious belongings out of harm’s way when the time of their arrival is close.”

“Oh?”

Neytiri chuckled, though seemed a bit strained. “He doesn’t like to admit it but you gave him the inspiration with your own discussions of moving your metal homes. He wants all the young and old to also go to the mountains as well when the time comes. Should we fail, it’ll preserve our culture and belongings. Since we now know the mountains are safer from the RDA, relatively speaking than Hometree, we too need other plans. There is always a chance of an unpredictable event that may set things in motion. He’s got more food supplies to be dried and prepped in advance.”

“That’s good.” Jake couldn’t help but feel a bubble of relief that Eytukan was considering more options than just standing their ground. Less people would get hurt if all went to hell.

“You did point out our home is made of flammable material, Jake.” Neytiri prodded him with the edge of the pecker. “Our home is grand and alive, but still…wooden all the same. We know the Sky people like their fire. No one wanted to consider that would end poorly on us if the sky people lit that match.”

“Hopefully, we shouldn’t have to get that far. If it doesn’t, what’ll happen to any extra?”

“We can trade with other clans any excess so none goes to waste. The Tawkami Clan will have access of an abundance of flowers and herbs that my mother would like to acquire. It’s been many seasons since my mother made a trip to see them.”

“Sounds like a good plan.”

“Yes, and it’s in better terms.” Neytiri remarked, a little wistfully, “Although they will not tolerate Dreamwalkers and sky people.”

“No? That’s a shame.” Jake could see that was perhaps a topic for another time; to convince the other clans of the separation of humans from the RDA; and their differences. “Have the Omatikaya sent a notice to the surrounding clans about…the vampire substation we have?”

Neytiri paused. “My father had an envoy sent to the Tipani and Tawkami shortly after Tsu’tey saw the two Cold Ones. They are our closest clans. The clans nearest to them will have envoys sent when they feel they need to. Since all the Cold ones are in our territories, there’s nothing too concerning. The Olangi clan and Tayrangi Clan are in range for our envoy as well but we’re giving some time of rest before our envoy takes to the skies to them with our news.”

Jake leant forward in interest, “What message is it?”

Neytiri set aside her bead, finished then looked for a fresh one. “Only their presence in our world, Their…appearance beneath their disguise, how they’re hidden among their prey and how to spot them and that they can survive an arrow to the chest and turn into smoke so they cannot be contained like a sky person. If they’re confronted with them, then they are not to fight these beings. Death would be certain if they provoked this species. We’re also encouraging the clans to not make an enemy of the species as well.”

Jake hummed. Basic covering, and a warning. It sounded…fair that the Na’vi weren’t interested in potential conflict with vamps and would try and press for peace even in the face of death. However, he didn’t know if Vamps cared enough to bother with trying to be peaceful; they were just watching their own back to keep their bellies filled with the blood of humans. The Na’vi probably didn’t have to worry too much anyway; they weren’t on the menu.

“As long as everyone’s informed at some point.” He agreed.

“Yes, my father fretted for ours after Tsu’tey’s sightings on what that meant for us. Smoke forms…it’s unsettling to think. How…impossible it sounds.”

“Well, I hope to settle your father’s fears soon. Ruby said she had some garlic but she’s getting more grown before we can hand them out to our camps and for the clan.” Jake recalled.

Neytiri nodded. “I’ll let him know. We can find a space a Hometree to grow some as well,

“Plus, Garlic when consumed can linger in the blood for a few days.” He added as if it was a bonus.

Neytiri’s finger paused, “So the consumer is less likely to be bitten.”

“Exactly. One garlic meal a week and we humans are more likely to be spared.” Jake grinned. “Plus, if you sprinkle some into a fire, the smoke will certainly make the air less vampire-friendly. Smoke form or not, they won’t travel through that shit so best to have ground garlic at the ready.”

Neytiri hummed, “I’ll keep the right people informed. If you’re trading between camps, then I’m sure you can trade between the Omatikaya as well.”

“Wait, you mean that?” Jake spared a look down to his shack; his seed collection. He was sure there were areas better suited for his brother’s bought goods. The weed was almost done and the watermelons and pumpkins were small but growing and the growing stems of tomatoes were looking good. The rest of his stuff growing was… good. Plenty to share when the harvesting came around. Insects were around but he took that as a good sign despite the annoyance. It meant that they had more natural ways of pollinating than manually doing it to achieve fruits.

“Of course. I’m appealed to…try human fruits. How…different they are to us and such. A few of the cook’s children have also been interested when Nadine describes the food her family used to make in her youth.” Neytiri said. “The Omatikaya clan would be the first to try alien food.”

Jake laughed a little at that.

-

The next evening after a good and filling meal, Jake was with all who had agreed to join on their theft escapade at a quiet spot where the ships were waiting.

Including himself, Ruby, Kung and Harper, they were the ones touching down and removing trackers and unnecessary shit and getting the shacks lifted.

Wu, Zeke and Nadine, the pilots were also ready.

Ashley had been taken to the mountains by Neytiri in advance in her avatar to aid the ships to the right spots and keep their camping spots ready. Bree had gone with her as Kung wasn’t willing to leave her 16-year-old daughter alone in the woods—fair. They’d camp the night there once everything was sorted. Neytiri would pick those two up in the morning anyway as the Pilots would need to store the ships in the second cave before morning anyway.

“It all looks clear,” Neytiri said, touching down and jumping off Seze’s back. “All as it usually is at night.”

“Like we hoped.” Jake grinned, “Thank you, Neytiri.”

Neytiri just nodded.

“So, we get there those with Avatars,” Harper said, nodding to both Ruby and Jake as she said this “Sweep the area and make it safe then humans will join you. They’ll disengage interior trackers, you two deal with the external trackers and then set up the cabling for detachment. Once one is up, then you go. Neytiri will escort the first to the mountains while we get the second up in the air. One avatar on each to keep an eye on the cable’s integrity. If the RDA do get adventurous, they shouldn’t see Neytiri on the system by the time they’re in the mountain. Then do the same for the second site.”

“Is the edge of the cave lit up?” Zeke asked nervously, “I don’t…wanna hit the edges and… like ruin everything.”

“Yep. We’ve dug out all our flashlights and set them by both edges so you should be able to see what to avoid.” Harper said, her hand coming to press at her side a little but Jake didn’t pay too much attention.

“How’s you, Jake? Your back all healed?” Ruby asked, eyeing his avatar with a raised eyebrow. “If you’re injury plays up…”

“Yes, everything just scabbing over.” Jake said, “Neytiri’s fixed me up fine with anti-venom and soothing balm. I’ll be fine.”

Ruby’s eyes turned to Neytiri for a moment then nodded. “Let’s go.”

Jake hopped into the back of Nadine’s Ship, Ruby took Wu’s ship and all three soon lifted into the air and through the night sky.

Jake couldn’t help but marvel at the nighttime beauty; all the plants lit up with life and… like interlinked veins across the world’s surface… it looked a lot like a nervous system. Of Eywa, he realised; the pulses of light seemed to be in a pattern; like a heart that he couldn’t hear from the sky above…or in a metal ship for that matter.

It was hard to distinguish much in terms of treelines but when Nadine began to lower, Jake unclipped his seat belt and waited until they were low to jump off.

The clearing was...barely even that but enough for touch-down for the ships. Two shacks lay connected in the swamped overgrowth; moss covering its surface and windows but it was easy to see the boxes that lay on top as well; hard cases of supplies and they both were far higher than they should be on the flat ground they were on; their legs were extended as well.

A quick sweep only scared away a Yerik so no other threats. Jake slunk underneath, pushing the long grass down then cut anything away until he walled straight into boxes…and cracked his knee.

“Fuck!”

“You good?”

“Yeah, more storage boxes.” He called, his hands feeling the plastic cases. At least he was right in his assumption. Useful boxes, even if the content was useless. “We can store them in or on top.” He pulled out his hand scanner from the back of his pants and let it guide him in the dark to the external tracker where he used his knife to cut the power cables to it and unscrewed it from the metal.

Ruby also appeared from under the second shack, tracker in hand so they dumped it into a small case to be left behind as the only markers to this location for the RDA. From the inside, Harper added to it with another two, smaller trackers and added that in.

They backed the boxes into the top, Jake dug out the cables as the airlock between the two was disengaged and helped secure the cable clip into the designated loop on the four corners. Wu took to the air first, lowering down her own cable once she was hovering above so he quickly managed the hook in and secure, he hastily grabbed the rope designed for this task and tied himself to the cable as well; he was sure Neytiri could catch him if he fell but… he was still cautious.

The darkness of the floating mountains was pretty imposing, the chill of the water mist from an overhead waterfall bit at his body that wasn’t covered by clothing when he got doused, and the tips of his ears felt the worst.

Though with some help from Neytiri, Nadine seemed to follow her well before they reached the opening and he held his breath as they lowered down and rose. The space was side, enlightened by the flashlights that certainly made it easier. He noted the waving glow sticks down the further end that was from Ashley was directing them down

Slowly, the shack touched down and Jake hurriedly detached the main cable and freed Nad’s ship and let her land before he retook his place on the ship again; the other place was much further out so they had longer travel. They only waited until Wu’s ship returned, dropped off the other shack and both left, Meeting Zeke’s hovering ship.

The second site retrieval was much like the first, de-tracker, and scoop up anything useful that wasn’t in the shack; the second site has a solar generator which they took and the tarp set-up as well. The second site had an Avatar-sized tent as well, so that made its way into the ship as well.

Jake though opted to leave his avatar behind with Ashley and Bree when the fourth shack was parked. There were little complaints; the trip had been boring once the novelty of their theft wore off and the night was exhausting so the others left to hide the ships. In truth, he wanted to scope the shacks out in the morning as well than wait. An inventory for all of their camps.

Bree was surprisingly asleep despite the ruckus of last return again and curled up beside the makeshift fire that shed some light around. Ashely had tucked the girl in with her oversized sleeping bag as well like it was a cocoon.

Jake smiled at the action, settling down on the stone. His avatar wasn’t gonna be happy with him in the morning but…oh well. “Neytiri will come for us at nine. We should link about seven. That’ll give us two hours to get things sorted.”

“Alright. You know, everything inside the shacks can be removed. From furniture to every single cabinet and shelf. They’re designed to be completely customisable.” Ashely said, tucking her tswin safely as she lay back “Aside from the toilets.”

“Oh, didn’t realise that.” He paused “That’s useful.”

“Indeed, much cheaper to create the shack to be versatile. You’ll have to take the wall panels off if you want to remove and change lighting features.”

“Huh.”

“You’ve never redecorated?”

“Morgan tried when we first got there. Nadine made a few changes to make it homey but…didn’t go crazy. I think Morgan’s still planning on covering the outside; he thinks it’s ugly as shit.”

“What’s your shack looking like?”

“Like these.” Gesturing a thumb to their contraband.

Ashely spared a look that way then wrinkled her nose. “He’s not wrong.”

Jake rolled his eyes, then settled back and finally unlinked for the night.

-

Jake clambered out of the link bed tiredly and into his wheelchair, his body feeling a little weak so he rolled towards the kitchen and pulled out the food wrap he had made in advance and ate that quickly. Nadine appeared sometime after in her pilot’s gear and shed those like a grumpy snake and kicked them under her bed. He tossed her a wrap and with a quiet thanks, she ate it in bed and set her limbs onto change.

“Night….also shotgun the 3D printer— if they have one—for me tomorrow if you’re linked up before I wake,” Nadine added with a yawn.

“Aye, Sarge.”

-

Jake woke to the alarm, earning a pillow to the back of his head as he wheeled to the link bed which made him laugh. Her displeased and grumpy face peeked out from her blankets before he pulled the link down.

His avatar ached in a few places by the time his soul settled into his new body, taking a moment to groan and roll, his joints cracking a little as he moved before he caught the smell of something good. Jake cracked open his eyes properly to see Bree by the lit fire and cooking something over the top.

Sausages of some kind that were sizzling with potent juices and spices and what looked to be some sort of flat bread also looked to be warming. It made his mouth water.

“Can I have some?” He couldn’t help but ask. “Those smell wonderful!”

Bree looked up then chuckled. “Sure but they’re hot. Yerik tenders rather quickly but we added these spicy leaves into the meat that marinated it quite well.” She scooped the large sausages out onto one of the flatbreads and handed it to him. Jake happily accepted and took a bite.

His mouth was lit with the unexpected flavours that tingled his taste buds. Not too sweet, there was some sugar or nectar to it that complimented the richness of the meat and yet, there was a spice that only became more prominent in the aftertaste when the sweetness had worn off; offering a warmth to his mouth and a tingle down his spine.

Jake let out a pleased hum, but was surprised that it was…not the sound he expected to make; it was worse.

“That good, Sully?” Ashely’s voice piped up, pushing herself up off the mat. “My, my, there’s a child present as well. Rein it in, boy.” She grinned.

“Oh my god…” Bree flushed, chuckling a little. “It’s my Ma’s recipe. Feel free to thank her.”

“Let Nadine learn from her.” Jake ordered, somewhat joking “This is delicious.” Despite the heat, he ate it all in a few bites.

Ashely took her portion though seemed more retained in her appreciation which was a little bit of a bummer for Jake. But with bellies full, they had a job to do before they were set to leave.

So, between the three of them, they worked to empty three of the four shacks. The fourth was just link beds so that was left as it was.

All the furniture was removed and put into one spot, the metal fixtures in another. General supplies in a third. Bree had to help with that, her hands were small and would work the screws as either Jake or Ashely were crouched in the small space.

Jake set the semi-functional 3D printer for his personal pile, Nadine Prosthetic needs won that argument given that none of the other camps needed joint repairs when parts were worn down and he had a wheelchair; he also would need the Printer as well.

Zeke’s shack was chosen from the three and a single bed was put back into it for starters as well as a desk, fridge and microwave to cover his basic needs (the same as the other two shacks). The guy would add more once he got his list together.

The supplies had some out-of-date food but there were clothes (both human and Avatar-sized), tarps, tools and a few weapons. The science equipment was good quality shit but set aside to be in the unclaimed pile for now. Ashely claimed the medical supplies for Eliza and there were no arguments.

They recovered five radios with a small hub, which was their main objective so Jake tossed them into his bag to bring home today so Morgan would get them ready for them all as soon as possible.

Pots and pans were split between them. There was a debate on the power generator before it Bree suggested leaving it with the link shack for emergency power. Ashely set the avatar tent up in the cave to spare the next time they were gonna pull the same stunt and have a good place to rest than a fucking cave floor. They split a few of the tools that they’d need between them, leaving some in the unclaimed for now. Jake pretended not to notice Ashely take the only pack of Condoms and stuff it into Ruby’s pile.

The supplies also found some spare masks and…some weird tube that looked like a grow-tank. But small. Too small even for a human.

“What’s this for?”

“Hm?” Ashley came over, looking down into the box. “Looks like a grow tank.”

“I know that but…it’s far too small.”

“Not for avatars. Chances are these are used to grow organs or tissues or act as an artificial womb for anyone who needs it.”

“Why do they have one all the way out here?” Jake scoffed, shutting the crate and left it on the unclaimed pile.

“Probably preservation of animals?” Ashely shrugged. “It’s easier to contain dead things than living ones”

“Lovely.” He wrinkled his nose.

Jake and Ashely properly began to sort through the ‘food’ supplies and to see what was salvable from the shacks while Bree took a peek at the data servers to see who and what had been living at the shacks before abandonment.

They found altogether Flour, salt, spices, tea, honey, rice, milk powder, coffee, dried pasta, vinegar, dried beans and… cooking oil.

Jake claimed a portion of the flour, salt, vinegar and tea.

Bree claimed the Spices, rice, pasta, and beans.

Ashely claimed the rest for both camps in her area.

It was almost a shame when Neytiri finally arrived, later than planned (she had accidently slept in) to get them back to camp. Jake happily took his supplies, only leaving behind the 3D printer for now since he couldn’t add that to his trip on the back of Seze.

-

Selfridge was tired as he looked over the latest reports and the shipment of soldiers back to Hell’s Gate following the arrests. He didn’t see much of a point given the trials were going to be 6 years away, personally but it kept Quaritch off his back even if he wanted the guy to focus on what was actually important. The things Quaritch had implemented had shown…disappointing results; no sabotage on the mechanic’s end.

Harding, apparently wasn’t arrested and Quaritch had fumed that no one had given the woman’s crimes up in interrogation to allow for her arrest or demotion. Selfridge wondered if it was worth installing her here for his cause and letting Quaritch stay at the other base. He knew the woman was a hardass and followed Mercer’s orders like a good dog. Loyalty without waver. He could do with more people like that given the defectors were making things look all too easy.

“Sir!” He jumped a little as Officer Beckley came running in, the door shutting behind him quickly.

“What?!”

“The IVS Venture star has sent back an emergency message,” Beckley said, his eyes wide and wild.

Selfridge felt his inside coil. Did something happen to it? The ship was stacked with refined unobtainium; if that didn’t get to earth he was fucking screwed here. “What message? Tell me!”

“The IVS sensor reports a ship heading towards Pandora, crippled and on a deceleration course. It’s the IVS Destiny.”

Selfridge stared at the guy for a moment. “Wait, I thought that ship was destroyed years ago?”

Beckley shook his head grinning. “Venture Star scans show it’s mostly intact. Missing a Valkyrie ship and it’s in critically low power so it’ll need assistance. It’ll stop short but if we get a ship in orbit, we can get the cargo down.”

“What cargo did it have?” Selfridge scrambled on his monitor to find the specs of the ship. More shit on his plate he didn’t want to deal with but…he had to make do. Still, he was surprised that the Destiny had decided to complete rather than self-destruct. The passengers were probably dead at this point anyway. In the event of a failure of the cryopod system, the passengers would be euthanized before they’d awaken. Still, better to lose the passengers than the cargo; they still needed that stuff to be delivered. The fact they were a Valkyrie ship down was almost painful to hear.

“Two hundred passengers, two avatars, standard supplies…” the guy listed.

“When will it get here?”

“We’ve estimates from their data…a month, maybe a little less.”

“Okay.” Selfridge nodded, “Look, keep this on the down low. People here know the people who were set to come here on that so we tell no one. The chances are they’re dead so let’s not cause unrest with false hope, okay?”

“Yes, sir.” Beckley’s face fell but he nodded.

“Good. I’ll get a few people I can trust onto this…” because why not add another load of mess onto his lap?

What did he do to deserve the worst luck in existence?

Masterlist

[my-mt-heart]

I too want to show my appreciation ❤️ I’m going through a rough time right now and MT has been a sweetheart in providing emotional support.

It’s really no one’s business what you do for a living, but the knowledge you have about the industry should speak for itself. Even if you weren’t exactly what you claim—a junior writer at the beginnings of your career—it should be self-evident that you’re not making up stuff about how a production and writers’ room work. Those things are verifiable, so nobody has to blindly take your word for any of it.

Speaking up, and out of turn, has repercussions, so MT can’t tell the fandom who she is and what show she’s written for. That’s not deceptive and no one needs that info to discern if what she says about Caryl or plotting or producing a TV show has value. Everyone can weigh those things against other sources.

I don’t have a big fandom presence so my word doesn’t account for much, but as I’m the only person who knows MT, I’m also the only one who can speak with any kind of certainty. Sure, she doesn’t know everything about everything and she’s fallible like every other human, but she’s not lying about what she does for a living.

She’s caring, thoughtful and loyal—the things you want in a good friend. Like I said at the start, I’m going through something painful in my personal life and MT has been there for me.

Thank you for that ❤️‍🩹 and I know you probably won’t want to post this ask, but it needed to be said, you know? It’s not right that people make personal attacks against you based on a difference of opinion and fwiw, I appreciate your voice in fandom and your friendship outside of it.

🥹🥹🥹❤️❤️❤️

[rantsintechnicolor]

I love music; the hozier concert at santa barbara bowl October 28. 

There are not many concerts I can report back on that really, really touch me. Things I really like to see:

The headlining artist thanks the opening artist

The headlining artist brings that artist back on stage to sing with them

The headlining artist introduces the band, stage hands, engineers, tour managers, etc.

The headliner gets personal with us, speaks from the heart, is authentically weird, talks about their inspirations. 

Audience interaction; the headliner singles out members and/or invites the audience to sing along

The headliner observes the encore ritual (there are only a few concerts that have not observed the ritual and when they don’t I find it devastating)

Oh sure. I appreciate good production value, too. Lighting and visuals and props are nice. It’s nice, but not required.

Who has done this for me in the last two years? Who has hit all the marks? Kishi Bashi. Not Muse and not LP, though I still love them. And Hozier. Oh my! Our husband delivered all the things, but I was also struck by how good a person he is. If not 1, 2, and 3, then number 4 is unlikely to happen. But, wow. Number 4 exceeded in expectations.

Other things. Half his band is women. There were nine musicians, and four were women. All musicians got a solo, but he called out the names of the women most often for their performances. I guess that makes sense; his stage name is his mother’s maiden name. 

Funny things. (a.) The women screaming and losing their minds when this musical god looking like a haggard Jesus, tall and lanky and graceful, walked out on the stage. Like he was Elvis or The Beatles. (b.) His dark humor. He introduced a song by saying: “I’m going to lighten the mood by singing a song inspired by seeing an animal get hit by a car.” W said, if he didn’t have dark humor he would not ,be her husband. I do like his sorrowful, melancholic, morbid whimsy, and I suppose I should have expected dark humor as well. 

Human things. (a.) He stopped the band mid song when he was alerted to one of the audience members that fell down in the pit. He held up his hand toward the band and very gently, he said, “guys if we could pause please. Let’s pause. Someone has just gone down in the audience and I want to make sure they are all right before we continue. A lot can happen when you hit the ground. We can’t be too careful. I want to thank our audience for their patience and compassion.” The lights came up, and it took a few minutes, but the audience became quiet. When Hozier got the signal all was well they all resumed mid song. (b.) Call to action for peace. Hozier is from Northern Ireland which has a history of all sorts of turmoil and violence. He asked us kindly and gently to consider contacting our representatives to support the UN’s call for a ceasefire in the middle east. Apparently, the US did not support this resolution. He reminded us how instrumental international assistance was to brokering peace in Northern Ireland, allowing him to grow up in a peaceful place. Though a few people were shouting at him to Play Music, he held up a hand, beseeching their patience, and finished his short speech. (c.) When he talked about his inspiration, he talked about Mavis Staples, who he was so pleased to have worked with on Nina Cried Power. Her music was the poetry of the Civil Rights Movement, he said. And it directly influenced a civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. (d.) He did tell us he appreciated those of us doing the Halloween thing. He said hello to and excellent version of Super Mario in the pit, pronouncing it mary-o. Should I ever get a chance to chat with Hozier, I might ask him if he likes Halloween and if his songs are inspired by zombies and witches and cults. 

Finally, I don’t cry at many concerts. But I absolutely did at this one. I won’t say what song made me lose it, nor why. But I’m sure I’m not the only one that got emotional there. I can’t be. That’s the power of music.

[thenightlymirror]

Friday night. I had pizza and beer with Andrew after work. Andrew asked me what we are supposed to do with the gang bangers under socialism. “You know what I mean?”

I don’t. I don’t know. I guess I’ve been pilled for a long time. I’m not sure I relate to people’s fears about equality anymore. There’s reasonable steps you can make towards a more democratic and participatory world, that’s less cruel. Social democracy. And with a new portion of dignity, you’re capable of more things.

He just doesn’t see how you can make all the different kinds of greedy and self-interested people work together. Period? I think you buy into all this, a little. (He scoffs at this.) That this is peaceful, working, better than the alternatives. That you have any chance of success, and that you’d enjoy it if you had it.

He tried to explain that he wasn’t all for capitalism. No, I understand that. Liberalism is critical of capitalism, thinks there should be some safety net. He mentioned “welfare with a ten year lifetime limit.” Which disgusts me, deeply.

He asked how I could go to a movie, with all that it costs. I said I’m eating at a restaurant too. Will there be restaurants after the revolution? I hope not? I don’t care? I think the point is that less of life should be centered around buying things. Some things will be free, other things just more fair. But, ultimately it’s about imagining a world where everything is free, and meeting it there.

It wasn’t a hopeful conversation. It was sort of dark and lonely, mostly because I never launched into any soaring rhetoric or made it personal, about what he expects out of life, all that. For me, we’re just immersed in this bad thing. It’s defeated us. I’d like to beat it. How are you going to make rich people do what they don’t want to do? By gunpoint. Through political coercion. Whatever people are willing to do. It no longer bothers me. Maybe one day it will. But terror is better than this. Personally, I’m not very useful for that kind of thing, and I understand that’s a bit of a cop-out. But still. I want this system to end. I refuse to pretend I’m saving face and that this is just how things are and it’s okay. I’m participating in a crime, under duress, and I’d like to be delivered.

He sees me as a friend, and wants to see how I tick, is what he says. I feel like it’s the first time anyone has argued with me about ideas in many, many years. So, I wasn’t heroic or anything. Sometimes I wasn’t sure what I thought. I think maybe sometimes an educated liberal wants to hear a smart rebuttal. A good case. That smacks of vanity to me. This world is so thoroughly unjustifiable. It isn’t smart. It won’t last. It isn’t fair. It could be better. It’s actively violent, with evil motives. Any version of socialism is better than this. Maybe socialisms devolve into capitalism when there’s still work credits, industrial production, clocks. You just figure it out. But always toward the communist horizon, and never taking any satisfaction in this morass of bullshit we’re in.

He walked to his bus stop after getting a bit drunk by himself mostly. I just finished my beer. You can tell things make him sad and then he has to temper it with some happy thought, or another drink. I feel like I just can’t relate to this most relatable human reflex. We both agree that we needed a new friend, it’s good we can hang out.

When I got home to Winnetka, the square behind my apartment building was filled with dining tables as usual, with a cabaret duo playing smooth jazz to—and I mean this much more literally than it is usually applied—the bourgeoisie. The actual bourgeoisie. My neighbors. A man playing cello across the street took a break to speak to a waitress, who handed him some kind of invoice.

One of the grounds guys texted me while I was walking through. He was shyly trying to convince me to see a bar he goes to. He must have heard that Andrew, Buck, and I went out on the town. He kept telling me stories about famous people he’s partied with. DB Sweeney. The singer of Disturbed. Keanu Reeves. Dog Star’s tour bus stopped and it was full of women and drugs, and Keanu invited him in. What happened? “Take a guess.”

I tend to let people lie. I mean it’s entirely possible. Some rich guy abducted him into his Sadness Van and they trafficked some girls together. That’s believable. Why not?

It’s such a delicate balance of not being impressed, but not letting anyone know so you don’t break their lonely hearts.

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

On the one hand I think it would be really funny if one of my posts blew up, but on the other hand I’d be more self conscious and I am almost certain that people would be annoying with me about veganism. There are literally blogs dedicated to countering dumb arguments and they are so much more eloquent than me. Acti-veg is right there you don’t need to pester me about it, they can word things a million times better than my clumsy ass. I don’t even post about veganism 24/7. It’s in my description because I do post about it, but i reblog memes more than anything else. I do wish I was better at debating for the sake of all the important things I care about. I care about humans as well, and no, those two aren’t mutually exclusive, I say this to people who resist animal rights because they think you can’t do that and care about human rights AND to vegans who, understandably, have become very disillusioned with the current dominant human cultures and outlooks on the treatments of animals. It’s always hard when you see something that is everywhere and is fucked up. It can be hard to not feel only bitterness and despair. For people who aren’t vegan, it could be compared to realizing how fucked up capitalism is and being surrounded by people who defend the system, even people who are hurt by it (so, real life). I can point people in the direction of others who are better at communicating (whenever I have a singular person who comes to mind first, so many things have so many people that I have trouble thinking of just one. Veganism is so weirdly shit upon on this website though that I can think of blogs specifically dedicated to it with far more ease) I didn’t decide to just go vegan on a whim. Going vegetarian was an easy choice to me, but the culture of using animals is so ubiquitous that I myself resisted veganism for quite awhile. This didn’t pop out of nowhere. I gradually noticed things until I went “what I’m doing is actually pretty fucked up and I can stop doing so many of these things” to minimize the amount of harm you do whenever it’s possible and can be done in practice. It’s not some crazy definition, it’s not some unattainable philosophy to do your best to live by, the official definition doesn’t say “stop taking your medication” but you can try to buy things without animal products or testing when I comes to like, shampoo. If you are like “but I don’t have options when it comes to shampoo!” Is there literally anything else you can change? That is what it’s about. The thing is, a lot of people can change more than they expect they can. I can’t show up at your house, look through your budget, check every store you can shop at, but if you can do even a little of that some time, you are at least doing better and are closer to doing everything you can in your own life. If you want to get more defensive and go “what about this person who isn’t me” or “what about this thing I haven’t really thought about for more than a literal minute” whatever it is, it has probably been addressed by someone who actually has a better way with words than me. I won’t just shut up about everything I care about, but I won’t pretend that whatever it is hasn’t already been addressed by a million people who are better than me, and you just don’t care enough to listen to them.

This has turned into me rambling but I am so so tired of encountering the same arguments a million times by people who think that they have some hot new take, and I know I’d have so many people doing that if I got more popular on main. I don’t really mind more people finding me funny or being exposed to a new idea by seeing something I’ve posted or shared, but I am fucking tired of being expected to be some professional or even amateur debater because I care about something and share that person’s post. I know some people are going to dismiss me because of that, but it has already been addressed by a million people better at doing it than me, and whoever is talking to me probably wouldn’t even listen to that anyway. It’s like someone asking you about “why is capitalism bad” and you have seen whatever they throw at you hundreds of times and you know a fuck tonne of people have already explained why capitalism bad. It’s just that whoever it is wants you, just some guy, to explain it and explain it better than you, a random meme guy who cares about things but isn’t practiced in explaining more than the definition of an English word or something.