#and just to see how removed they are from politics etc

[rainingincale]

.

[redeemed-wren]

Classic Who explores ideas, New Who explores morals

classic who is like 'i see this trend, lets explore what might happen if that trend continues and let the audience figure out what it's talking about and come to their own conclusions.'

new who is like 'this trend is BAD and i'm going to PREACH A SPEECH about why it's going to RUIN EVERYTHING' and it's so much more exhausting

[iamnotlookingidonotseeit]

when you feel like you're fine in isolation but as soon as you interact with nice people who seem to like you you're like oh maybe I'm not perfectly well adjusted actually

[cavegirlpoems]

Further thoughts.

There is a tendency to write settings - particularly for interactive media like ttrpgs, larps, etc - that are essentially gender-blind, where you can create whoever you want without that having an effect on the game. The decision to be gay, or a woman, or trans, or a gay trans woman with pink hair is an aesthetic choice that will not give you a meaningfully different experience in the game.

This rather kneecap's the setting's ability to tell queer stories, imho. If we take it as read that queerness refers to gender- and sexuality-based identities and behaviours that fall outside of the societal norms, then the experience of falling outside those societal norms is (rather tautologically) a key element of queerness.

So, in a completely gender-blind setting, one can't - tautologically - be gender-nonconforming. There is no expectation to conform to. The experience of queerness, of being outside of societal norms, becomes null and void. Such a setting will feature homosexuality, but it won't feature gay pride, and nor will it need to as none of the societal forces that led to the pride movement exist.

This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, a world where one is not oppressed for one's identity is an enjoyable world to explore for what should be obvious reasons. On the other hand, it becomes impossible to tell (say) a coming-out story in a world where there's no closet to be in to begin with.

There is also the element that whilst a setting may say its gender-blind, it's still written and played in by people from the real world, who still subconsciously inherit real-world biases, and this can be reflected in the world.

While (say) women might have just as much right to political power as men, if in practice the people with political power are disproportionately men, that sexism is still present. Far from removing it, the gender-blindness of the setting simply obfuscates it, and often actively proves an obstacle to addressing it; one cannot call somebody out in character for sexism in a setting where sexism doesn't exist, no matter how sexist they're being.

(Similar biases around sexuality, transness, polyamory, kink, aceness, etc also creep in).

(In many cases, this can also apply to other axes of marginalisation, such as race, etc. However, in a lot of settings this doesn't apply the same way. Many fantasy settings are deeply opinionated about a character's ancestry; see the D&D skull-callipers explaining that elves are just more intelligent and agile than everybody else, and this being a mechanically enforced fact in the world.)

My point, anyway, is that in these cases efforts towards inclusivity can paradoxically erase that which they seek to include. One cannot represent the lived experience of a marginalised identity in a setting that totally denies the existence of that marginalisation.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

BORIS JOHNSON RESIGNS AS MP. Thoughts? The people howl for a new update to the Big Dog the Clown saga.

Yes this was not on my personal bingo card; my most recent Big Dog event was that a friend of mine works for air traffic control and recently had to delay BoJo's holiday flight by four hours, and on being told that this particular plane had to be prioritised for a runway slot because it contained an Important Clown promptly pushed it to the bottom of the priority list. Lol. And then all this! What larks.

Okay not a lot of detail yet still but LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE EVENTS OF 9TH JUNE, 2023 and you know what? It's been a while. Let's do it properly.

7.15am

Another day dawns in the reign of evil Grand Vizier-turned-PM Rishi Sunak. He's a very boring flavour of evil, tbh. Say what you will about Johnson, but at least there was spectacle and showmanship to his clownshow. Something for the children to boo and hiss. An animate ham in a villain's wig, something to really enjoy as you sit back, relax, and savour a tall, cool glass of schadenfreude.

By contrast Rishi just gets sycophants - who are no less ridiculous, but far more grey and boring - who pretend he's a tech bro because "he understands AI" and they think that will make him a visionary and a man of the future and maybe some sort of Elon Musk figure, because that's obviously a smashing template to be copied in a leader of a country.

This briefing was presumably drafted using ChatGPT.

Anyway, this is what we thought the day would be: another dreary overcast washout, livened up by Downing Street's latest attempt at making Sunak seem like a good idea to stave off the hulking spectre of Labour's inevitable GE win next year. How trite. How tedious. How mediocre.

What a shame it would be if... something were to liven it up.

8.39 am

Fun fact!

When a PM's term ends, as their last act in office, they get to present an Honours List. This means they write a list of all the people they reckon have been Jolly Good Sorts who have done Good Clowning and Supported The Community, and nominate those people for honours. Honours here can be anything from an MBE/OBE etc, to a Damehood/Knighthood, all the way up to entering the Peerage i.e. becoming a Lord. Traditionally, people have been fairly reasonable with these lists. Apart from anything else, the outgoing PM can only write the list - the new Prime Minister has to sign off on it, and it's usually the case, of course, that PMs are deposed by the opposition party.

Why am I mentioning this? Well: Boris, you see, has now presented his list to Sunak to validate. You may be unsurprised to learn that it contains quite a lot of clowns.

Another fun fact!

If a sitting MP is given a Peerage, they cannot continue to be an MP. MPs are elected. Lords are not. So an MP offered a lordship right now would have to stand down if they accepted, triggering a by-election in their seat that... well. That anyone could win, couldn't they? Ordinarily. Except Labour's shadow is growing, isn't it? I don't suppose Sunak would be all that happy about losing, for example, any Tory MPs nominated for a peerage right now.

What fun facts.

At 8.39am, Politics UK reveals an as-yet-unverified report that Nadine Dorries and Alok Sharma have been removed from Boris Johnson's honours list, and will go back to vetting.

(They also reveal that Big Dog's dad has been removed from the list, because nominating your dad for a Peerage is "inappropriate". Sorry, Bigger Dog. Apparently even corrupt ghoul Rishi Sunak has a limit to what open corruption he will allow, which is news to us all, most of all Rishi.)

10.41am

Nadine Dorries decides she will play to her strengths, and appear on TV to do some Public Speaking, which always goes well for her of course.

Nothing, let's remember, has been confirmed yet at all. But she's here to put people's minds at ease! No power-hungry status-chasing pink maniac, she! She is very clear in her aims.

“The last thing I would want to do would be to cause a by-election in my constituency.”

Quite right, Nadine. That would be disastrous.

11.20am

Oh, it’s Tory think tank NRG’s conference in Doncaster today.  Gideon George Osborne, pig-stupid former Grand Vizier and idiot fail-heir to David "pig-fucker" Cameron, gives a speech.  Let's see some quotes!

On the Tories’ choices of chancellors since he personally fell on his sword over Brexit left the role:

“You can see when the partnership doesn’t work. The government's paralysed and the politics is terrible.”

Fair, but also you are a government, George.

On Tories who attack the civil service:

“We’re in charge of our country’s destiny. We should stop blaming others if we don’t get things right." 

... right. But you just... Uh.

On Tory culture warriors:

“It’s really important that the Conservative Party is excited about the country we aspire to lead… and doesn’t get in to ‘we’re against all these groups of people’. We’re the inclusive people.”

Well, points for clearing that absurdly low bar, I guess. Christ, I cannot BELIEVE Suella Braverman is making George fucking Osborne look good-by-comparison.

1pm

Ooh. Nadine's attempts to put minds at ease have inexplicably not worked, can't think why not. She's such a reassuring and charismatic speaker normally.

But the rumour is now FLYING about that Nadine has indeed been dropped from the honours list, and specifically because Sunak wants to avoid a by-election that will lose him more seats at a time when he is desperate for even a mat on the floor as long as it's blue.

Sorry, Nads. Still; this morning you were very clear that the constituency comes first, so I suppose that's okay. The priority now is that she MUST stay in position, so the Tories can keep their numbers steady. It is VITAL she remains an MP. Let's remember her exact words!

“The last thing I would want to do would be to cause a by-election in my constituency.”

3.45pm

Nadine Dorries tweets her resignation.

The last thing she does as an MP is indeed to cause a by-election in her constituency.

3.50pm

Except this is Nadine Dorries we're talking about. She's found some flashy balls to juggle, look, and a boy to pour custard down her trousers.

Not five minutes after dropping the bombshell, she deletes the last tweet announcing her resignation, and tweets a new one.

The new tweet says, “it is now time for another to take the reins” as the MP for Mid-Bedfordshire.

The original tweet said, “it is now time for someone younger to take the reins.”

*

On Talk TV, Dorries says that "something significant did happen to change my mind", but doesn’t elaborate.

3.56pm

The whispers are whispering. The rumours are rumouring. The knives are sharpening.

Nadine's now-former seat is Mid-Bedfordshire, and has been Tory since 1929; a safe seat, which certainly explains how Nadine fucking Dorries managed to hold it for as long as she did.

An MP on the right of the Tory party says that if the Tories lose the Mid Bedfordshire by-election, it’ll open questions about Rishi Sunak's leadership CLOWNFALL 3: REVENGE OF BIG DOG LET'S GOOOOOO

3.57pm

Nadine Dorries is removed from the WhatsApp group.

I would love to know who leaked that image. I really should not have that image. Ah well. Now you do too.

4.12pm

Good tweet alert!

5.08pm

Phew! What a day. Let's see how Rishi's getting on.

He approves the rest of BoJo's honours list. Shall we take a look at our newly-honoured citizens? Shall we see what familiar names crop up?

Honours for staff at centre of Partygate Jack Doyle, Rosie Bate-Williams and Shelly Williams-Walker (and a lot of other terrible and disgraced people who were loyal to Johnson, and some of Carrie Antoinette’s friends).

Damehoods for Andrea Jenkyns and Priti Patel.

Knighthoods for Jacob Rees-Mogg, Conor Burns, and Michael Fabricant.

An OBE for Kelly Jo Dodge, Parliamentary hairdresser.

Also honours for Ben Houchen, currently at the heart of a media storm about dodgy property deals.  His huge regeneration project in Teesside is subject to a government investigation regarding the governance, finance and value for money.

*

(Interesting point – Tory MPs Allister Jack and Nigel Adams were offered peerages, but decided to wait, since accepting now would trigger by-elections.

Why were they offered at all, do you think?)

*

So … this means Michael Fabricant is now Sir Michael Fabricant.  Like, actually.  Genuinely.

Nice one, Rishi. Thank goodness you understand AIs.

5.44pm

The Guardian’s Pippa Crerar - journalist who brought down Big Dog one Partygate reveal at a time - tweets her guide to he honours list:

Martin Reynolds, former PPS, invited 200 officials to drinks in Downing St garden.  He told officials to "bring your own booze", later adding: "We seem to have got away with it".

Shelley Williams-Walker, getting a Damehood, was No 10 head of opps & now runs his office.  At No 10 party the night before Prince Philip's funeral she was dubbed "DJ SWW" for her banger playlist.

Jack Doyle & Rosie Bate-Williams, who get OBEs, were press spox who repeatedly denied the parties happened

Dan Rosenfield, who gets a peerage, quit in mass exodus of senior No 10 staff as anger over Partygate grew.  Former chief of staff faced reports he was among senior Downing Street officials who attended a Christmas quiz when restrictions were in place.

Shaun Bailey, who ran unsuccessfully for London mayor, gets a peerage, and Ben Mallett, a close friend of Carrie Antoinette's who ran Zac Goldsmith’s disastrous mayoral campaign, gets an OBE. Both are in this picture of a lockdown-flouting party at CCHQ:

What a sea of punchable faces.

7.58pm

But we've been so focused on Nadine! She's fucked up her juggling, look, but she's sliding around on the rollerskates, ever so distracting. But here's the thing, Tumblrs, here's the thing:

Among all of this, what's the Chief Clown doing?

The Privilege Committee reveals in their draft report that Boris Johnson misled Parliament, and recommends a sanction of more than 10 days.

Does that sound too little? Are you wishing it were smething more meaningful? Let me help put it in context.

This sanction would be enough to trigger a by-election in Johnson’s seat.

8.02pm

Boris Johnson

QUITS

as an MP

The committee said Johson had “impugned the integrity” of the House of Commons. Fascinating! I didn't know its honour had ever been pugned.

He accuses the inquiry of trying to “drive me out”!!!!

"It is very sad to be leaving parliament - at least for now - but above all I am bewildered and appalled that I can be forced out, anti-democratically, by a committee chaired and managed, by Harriet Harman, with such egregious bias".

Worth noting that the committee has a Conservative majority, mind. But you mustn't let things like facts get in the way of your feelings, BlowJo. You never have as a politician. Nor as a journalist, come to that.

(Also SIDE NOTE – “at least for now”??  What are you planning, Big Dog??  I suppose Nadine is leaving an empty seat...)

8.41pm

Christopher Hope of the Daily Telegraph reports he’s heard rumours of a THIRD Tory MP potentially resigning – and another Johnson loyalist at that. Lol. Trololol. Lmao, even. Perhaps rofl.

11.43pm

And finally, the day is wrapped up with the Guardian revealing their front cover for the following day:

Big Dog is OUT, hot trans bloke is IN.

Not a bad finish.

[captainjonnitkessler]

I understand if you want to stay out of it but I’m curious as to you’re thoughts on this discourse

https://www.tumblr.com/dappercat123/737173649266737152/your-arguments-sum-to-in-my-perfect-world-there

Anon, I'm going to be entirely honest with you. I have been waiting for an excuse to put my thoughts about this down. Forewarning that this is going to be long and take a dim view of organized religion.

TL;DR: I think everyone in that thread is maliciously misinterpreting evilsoup's point, which is basically that they think Gene Roddenberry was right about what a post-utopian society would look like re: religion. And you can agree or disagree about whether a post-religious utopia is likely or desirable, but to say that anyone who thinks it is is actively calling for and encouraging genocide is a gross misuse of the term (especially coming from at least one person that I'm pretty sure is currently denying an actively ongoing actual fucking genocide).

@evilsoup can correct me if I'm misinterpreting their points, but as far as I see it there are two main points being made:

A) In a perfect utopia with absolutely no source of oppression, marginalization, or disparity, religion would naturally whither away with no outside pressure being applied.

B) This would be a good or at least a neutral thing.

As far as A) goes - a lot of the responses evilsoup got were basically "well *I* would never choose to be nonreligious, so therefore the only way to create that world would be by force, and therefore you are calling for literal genocide". But aside from the fact that evilsoup was very, very clear that they thought this would be a *natural* event and that trying to force people to be nonreligious would be evil - we're not talking about (general) you. You can be as religious as you want but you don't get to make that choice for your grandkids, or your great-great-great grandkids, or your great-great-great-great-great-etc. grandkids. Just because religion is an integral part of your identity doesn't mean it's something you can pass down, and if you're not comfortable with the idea that your kids might choose to leave your religion, you shouldn't have kids.

I personally don't foresee religion disappearing entirely, but it is pretty consistent that as a country becomes happier, healthier, and wealthier, it also becomes less religious. Religiosity is inversely correlated with progressive values. And the more democratic and secular a nation is, the less powerful religious authorities become - In the 1600s blasphemy and atheism were punishable by death* in Massachusetts and today I can call the Pope a cunt to his face** on Twitter with no repercussions whatsoever. Political secularism is an absolute necessity for true democracy and it necessitates removing power from religious authorities, which has and will likely continue to lead to a decline in religiosity - not just a decline in how many people identify as religious, but also a decline in how religious the remaining people are.

*Blasphemy laws and death penalties for blasphemers/apostates are still VERY much a thing in many places. It's hard to see a path where those places become more democratic but don't become more secular and repeal those laws.

**Well, to the face of whoever runs his Twitter account, but the point remains.

I also believe that many religious communities have been held together for so long via coercion - either internal coercion like blasphemy and apostasy laws, shunning, and threats of hell or other supernatural punishment, or external coercion like oppression from the majority religious group or ethnic cleansings. In a perfect utopia, neither form of coercion would exist and I don't think it's crazy to think that religiosity would drop severely and become a much less important part of people's identities, in the way I think the queer community would not exist in a world where queerphobia didn't exist.

ANYWAY, all this is actually kind of moot. It could happen, it could not, nobody is calling for it to be forced so we'll just have to wait and see. The real point of disagreement is on B).

I'm gonna be honest - I think a lot of the responders are rank hypocrites and are really hung up on the idea of cultural purity, which is something I'm wildly uncomfortable with.

First of all, the idea that a deeply-held religious belief could be diluted until it's just a cultural thing that nobody really remembers the origins of isn't some evil mastermind plot evilsoup is trying to concoct, it's just how cultures work. There's tons of stuff about American culture that are vaguely rooted in what were once deeply-held beliefs and are now entertainment. Halloween is rooted in sacred tradition and now it's a day to dress up and get candy. Christmas is one of the most sacred holidays in Christianity but nobody bats an eye if a non-Christian puts up some lights or decorates a tree just because it's fun. I have no doubt that every culture on Earth has traditions that used to be deeply sacred but are now just fun family traditions. People in Japan use Christian symbology as an "exotic, mythical" aesthetic the exact same way people in the West use Eastern symbology. And if you're okay with it happening to Christianity, why wouldn't you be okay with it happening to any other religion in the absence of oppression?

And there's the idea that if a culture fails to get passed down *exactly* as it is now, it's a terrible loss and the result of malicious outside influence. But . . . cultures change over time. No culture is the same now as it was two or five or eight hundred years ago and I don't believe that change is inherently loss. The things that are sacred to you may or may not be sacred to the people of your culture in the future. That's just the way things work, and I don't think it's inherently good or bad.

And finally, people keep accusing evilsoup of "just wanting everyone to assimilate to your culture", but it absolutely does not follow that a lack of religion means a lack of diversity. Different nonreligious cultures are every bit as capable of being diverse as different religious cultures, so it's weird to insist that evilsoup wants there to only be one culture when they never said anything to indicate that.

[thetinyblossom]

Agere community we need to talk.

[Text ID: Agere community we need to talk. End ID]

I have noticed a huge rise in UNCREDITED and STOLEN works; it being art, edits, collages etc

Specially reposts on Tumblr and Pinterest

Examples:

*Original artists that had their work stolen: @regressionworldz and @cutiecorner

This post is a guide about internet etiquette and crediting

[Text ID: This post is a guide about internet etiquette and crediting. End ID]

1. How to NOT steal stuff!

Any work with the tag “Free to use” (also known as “F2U”) means that they are allowed to be reposted, used in collages, edits etc. Just check if credits are needed!

*Important addition (that I can’t believe I had to add):

* “Why does this matter?” “Can’t you just ask where they got it from?”

It’s a question of politeness and fairness, yes, someone can ask where that piece is from but it’s not a guaranteed answer, people can lie and people can forget!

Also, people might see it and take it at face value, think the post belongs to that person when it doesn’t

Adding to that, there’s folks that do not want their work reposted for many reasons!

To top it off, heres the issue of the original creators not getting the attention they deserve, imagine that you spent hours on a piece just for it to be stolen and that post getting more attention then your own original post, that one you worked hours for it to, to be just the way you wanted it to be, that would upset you wouldn’t it?

Overall, crediting and asking to repost is just the polite thing to do

For Artworks:

Your first need to check if the artist allows reposting of their work or the use of them for collages, if they allow, then you link to their original post and state who drew the pics of art

For GIF’s + non-product photos:

Credit to the original post! Or at least as far back as you can find it!

Usually photos of products such as toys, plushies, accessories etc made by big brands are easy to spot and know where they came from (ex: blogs that post PNG’s usually don’t need to credit all their sources), but, small business/hand crafted works should always be credited!

Reposting moodboards:

Similar to artworks, first ask permission to repost, if allowed link to the original creator!

“But they said “no”!”:

Then don’t do it! Even with credits! Don’t do it! Is as simple as that! Respect others right to say no!

2. How do I identify stolen work?

There are many giveaways of stolen posts, such as:

• Low photo quality

• Watermarks that don’t match

• Lack of information about what was made (for who it was etc)

• Unable to answer simple questions such as what brush they used or long it took

Examples:

3. What do i do if my work was stolen?

1. Inform the person that it’s your work and to either remove it or credit them

2. If it’s still not credited or taken down, report their post

3. If the report didn’t go anywhere or if the account is still doing it to yours and others content, please make an awareness post about it. Strength comes in numbers after all!

4. Overall…

Let’s stop with this unpleasant and rude act of stealing others work!

I really hate to see that on our community, please, inform more people about it and report any acc that profits of others uncredited/stolen content!

[phoenixcatch7]

Okay so I saw this post about dark percy (really him reaching his Limit and fighting full strength with everything he had) and I was imagining the potential fallout of that. Pretty bad, as you can guess.

The thing is a lot of percys strongest moments happen out of view of the olympians, especially in hoo. The hurricane atop the glacier in alaska, the poison scene in tartarus, bending the depression river and the one in the palace of nyx.

Stuff like the St Helens eruption got him washed up on an inescapable island literally removed from reality until calypso gave him the OK, the achillies curse he got tricked into losing by hera. Smaller moments, the minotaur, fighting ares, the stolen pirate ship, walking on water vs hyperion, freshwater sources, him knowing both Latin and Greek, they're more easily brushed off or at least mostly due to cunning, sword skills and sheer luck and grit.

But basically the olympians don't actually know the full extent of percys strength and divine power. They have hints - percy standing on the throne, winning against ares, his many victories - but what they aren't willing to brush aside in the heat of (an important) battle there have been pretty strong consequences for.

Heck, just look at Frank, he's no prodigy with weapons, he's polite and respectful, but his distant relation to two olympians letting him inherit shapeshifting earned him direct divine meddling and his life force tied to a hunk of half toasted firewood. Man is a honey bear with lactose intolerance and he was punished with a mythical death curse for being too strong.

If Percy's true strength came out, he would risk losing everything. His freedom, most certainly. If he wasn't straight up executed he might wind up in a Greek myth style imprisonment, the way of atlas, prometheus, calypso, or something like the myriad of ways Greek heroes met their end. Good scenario he survives a dozen curses and gets on with life with a dozen new disabilities, best case scenario he's stripped of every inch of divine power and dropped back to the mortal world, not even clear sighted. Total separation from the Greeks and Romans. Oh, annabeth would marry him either way, and his friends would hardly abandon him despite the gods wishes, but they'd hardly be able to see him, and no long range contact without the ability to IM him or vice versa.

All of that to say Percy is hiding his true strength from the gods themselves - maybe not consciously, and it's not even power he particularly wants - but if they ever find out?

It's game over.

But why is he so strong? I don't know. What I do know is that the half bloods of the books are so much stronger than the ones of myth. Used to be that divine blood would get you divine favour and a great fate whether you liked it or not. Maybe some cunning and bow skills. A spot of spell casting if you were really lucky. Achillies got his curse after he was born, Perseus had a dozen magic artifacts, orpheus had something going on but hercules is to my knowledge an outlier. Now? Everyone in camp has some special power. Flight, fire, necromancy, hypnotism, dream walking etc. However it's happening, half bloods are slowly but surely getting a lot, lot stronger every century that passes. Meta? I mean I guess. But.

What no one has done before is something that their godly parent couldn't.

Except.

Except Percy.

Except Percy, in tartarus, at his mental, emotional and physical limit, controlling poison with his mind, overpowering the goddess of poison in her home, making misery choke on misery. Feeling something in his chest crack. Doing something poseidon could not, and doing it better than the person who could.

Down there, hidden away from the gods, he evolved. For that brief moment, he did something, was something new.

And that was how the gods overthrew the titans.

And that's why they must never find out.

[slut4chriss]

𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐌𝐄

pairing: chris sturniolo x virgin fem!reader.

summary: you and chris are best friends but what happens when you guys play 21 questions and he finds out you’re a virgin?

warnings: high school chris au, smut, softdom!chris, p in v, little fingering, aftercare, use of y/n, use of petnames (sweetheart, sweet girl, baby, etc.)

a/n: orange text = chris speaking, pink text = y/n speaking. sorry if this is bad, it’s my first time writing. please give me tips :). proofread

word count: 1,438

you and chris sit on his bed, playing “life”. after the first 20 minutes you were both bored. chris had been thinking for a while and finally came up with an idea. “let’s play 21 question!” he says enthusiastically. you nod, “you go first.”

he thinks for a minute then finally comes up with a question. “what was your worst sex experience?” he asks innocently. your stomach starts feeling queasy and you look down at your feet. how are you supposed to tell your best friend you’re a virgin?! you may only be 17 but in somerville high school, 17 was way too late to lose your virginity. he notices something’s wrong and he looks at you puzzled. “what’s wrong, y/n? i’m sorry if that was too personal,” he looks genuinely apologetic and it makes you feel bad.

you shake your head and look back into his eyes, your face flush, “i- i’m a virgin.” his eyes widen slight and he grabs your hand. “you mean you’ve never done anything?” your stomach does a flip as he grabs your hand and you shake your head with shame. he squeeze your hand and speaks softly, “let me teach you.” your eyes widen, “w- what?” he nods. “i’ll be gentle, just let me teach you, okay?” you swallow harshly and nod. “o- okay.” he scoots closer to you, hovering over you and gently pressing his lips to yours. you guys share a gently, emotion filled kiss. after a few seconds he pulls away with a smile.

“im gonna get nick and matt out of the house, okay? i’m gonna make this experience perfect for you.” you nod and he walks to the door.

he sees nick and matt sitting on the couch and he smiles, sitting beside them. “hey guys. y/n isn’t feeling too well and was wondering if you guys could run to cvs to get her some medicine? the medicine is only in the cvs 30 minutes from here though. i’m sorry.” nick nods and looks at matt who also nods. “what medicine does she need?” matt asks. “could you just get her some dayquil and nyquil, please?” chris smiles softly and matt nods. matt and nick leave and once chris hears the car pull out of the drive way he walks back into his room, where you’re waiting for him.

he walks back over to his bed, sitting next to you. “i want you to come sit in my lap, okay?” you nod, getting up and sitting in his lap, facing him. “good girl. now, close your eyes.” you feel butterflies as he calls you a good girl. you do as he says, closing your eyes. he lift your chin slightly and kisses you passionately. his hands rome all over your body, caressing your sides and hip bone.

he pulls away from the kiss, wiping the excess saliva off your lip. “lay down, sweet girl. i need to stretch you out a little bit.” you nod and lay down, spreading your legs slightly. chris kisses your neck softly and you let out little whimpers. you feel the heat growing between your legs and you need chris, now. he kisses down your chest and to the waistband of your sweatpants. “can i take these off, sweetheart?” he asked politely but you could hear the lust in his voice. you nod, “please.” he slowly removes your sweatpants, he sees the wetness of your panties and he smirks.

he runs his fingers over your wet panties, “this all for me?” you whimper and nod, “y- yes, all for you.” he smirks more and dips his fingers into your panties. “let me remove these?” you nod. “words, baby, use your words,” he says a bit more sternly. you gulp, “you can remove them. please remove them.” he removes your panties in one swift motion. “such a pretty pussy. all for me, hm?” you whimper as he starts running his fingers through your wet folds. “a- all for you,” you choke out behind a moan.

he licks his fingers and sticks them inside your throbbing cunt. you moan loudly and he starts stretching you out. this only makes you moan louder. he smirks and curls his fingers up, hitting that spongy spot. you jolt forward and whimper, “c- chris.. please.” he looks up into your eyes’ “hm? what do you want, sweet girl?” you look down at him and choke out, “p- please.. fuck me.” he kisses your hip bone softly, removing his fingers.

he starts to unzip his jeans and take off his boxers all in one go. his huge, hard cock springs out, hitting his stomach. your eyes widen, “t- that’s not gonna fit, chris.” he puts his finger over your mouth to shush you, “shh, baby, we’ll make it fit.” you gulp and nod.

he grabs your hands and lines himself up with your entrance. “squeeze my hands if it hurts, okay? and if you need me to stop tell me and i will. we’re gonna start with only the tip.” he starts putting his tip in you and you wince slightly. “there you go baby, you took the tip. good girl.” you feel a little sweat drip down your face, a small smile forming as he praises you. “i did it.” he nod and smiles, “you did, now let’s try half, okay?” you nod, “okay.”

he start pushing more in, he gets half way and it’s starting to really hurt, he can tell my your face. “you’re doing good, baby. that’s half way, you’re almost there!” you wince, “only half? it hurts” he sighs and nods, “i know, baby, just breath.” he smile and bring you into a passionate kiss. you guys are kissing so passionately that you didn’t even notice he bottomed out as you kissed. he pulls away with a stupid smirk, you look at him confused. “what?” “i bottomed out and you didn’t even know.” you gasp and look down between you two, you see him completely buried inside you. “i did it!” he smiles “you did it! good job, my love.” he kisses your forehead softly.

“tell me when you’re ready for me to move okay?” you nod. after a minute you’re ready. “i’m ready, please move.” he grabs both your hands and starts slowly thrusting into you. you moan softly and he hovers over you, whispering praises into your ear. “look at my good girl. taking me like a champ!”

you moan a bit louder, “f- faster.. please” he smirks and start thrusting a bit faster into you. his tip kissing your g spot with every thrust. you whimper and nod “y- yes! right there.” he thrusts a bit faster and you feel a familiar knot in your stomach. you’re embarrassed that you can’t last too long but it doesn’t bother chris, considering he can’t either because of how tight you are.

he starts thrusting a bit faster and you moan louder, “i- i’m so close.” he groans and nods, “i know, baby, i am too. hold on for one more second, okay? i want you to cum with me.” you nod and he groans loudly, “cum for me, sweetheart.” and just like that, you moan loudly and cum all over his cock. he groans and follows shortly behind you, cumming in your pussy.

he plops down next to you, slowly pulling out. you wince slightly and he pulls you into his arms, kissing your forehead. “you did so amazing, sweetheart. i’m beyond proud of you.” my face flushes. he’s proud of me? god, he makes my heart skip beats. “t- thanks you for everything.” he nods and smiles, “don’t thank me. now, let’s get you cleaned up, okay?” you nod, “okay.”

he gets up, walking to the bathroom and wetting a wash cloth with warm water. he come back and cleans your thighs and a bit of the cum spilling out of you. he kisses your thigh softly then throws the wash cloth in the hamper. he grabs you a pair of his sweatpants and one his hoodies. he helps it on you then pulls you on his chest to rest.

“tomorrow we’re gonna go get you a plan b, okay? and i’m paying.” your face flushes softly and you nod. “thank you.” he chuckles and rubs your back, “don’t thank me, that’s the least i could do. now, close your eyes and rest. i’m right here, baby.” you nod and close your eyes.

“goodnight, chris. i love you.” he smiles and closes his eyes as well. “goodnight, sweetheart. i love you too.”

you both fall asleep peacefully. you feel so safe and loved in his arms.

a/n: hope yall liked it! this is my first fic so im sorry if its bad. have a good day! <33

[lizbethborden]

I'll go ahead and reveal some ignorance. Hopefully it doesn't make anyone lose respect. I understand why people aren't going to vote for Biden, but generally speaking I don't see people talking about a practical alternative? People who vote independent are going to split the Dem vote. People who don't vote are just not voting. Okay, you guys do your thing, I understand the principles behind your actions. That said, it is most likely that under those circumstances, just like in 2016, Trump will be elected. If Trump is re-elected, Project 2025 will probably be initiated in some flavor, the goal of which is to reshape American politics after Trump's re-election in order to establish Christian nationalism in law, roll back measures that protect the climate, expand presidential powers, remove protections for gender and sexual minorities, etc. Trump already took many actions while in office to advance goals like these. So, I'm not going to go up to anyone and castigate them for not voting for Biden. I understand why they are not voting for Biden. But what is the thing that follows from that? What's the next step? What's the alternative? What are our options for preventing this initiative from taking place? How do we act following the election?

[peachiieu]

Heyy, I really like your writting. You're really talented making these fanfictions/headcanons (or I don't don't know how to call them). Can you make "the ninja with sensitive reader". How would they deal with and treat them? Thank you for reading it! Have a nice day<33

the ninja with sensitive!reader

pairings: main 6 x reader (separate, ninjago)

warnings: insecurity, cussing, slight mention of violence

authors note: yayy first request!! sorry i haven’t gotten to this request quickly. thank youu, i’m trying to get good at writing and i love doing it :) i hope u enjoy, sorry this is so short 💗

word count: 1.1k

COLE BROOKSTONE

cole is probably one of the most understanding people when it comes to emotions

he’s somewhat a nurturing person and is proud to validate you and many people’s feelings

he tells you feeling more than others do is a gift although you don’t think it is, others are too apathetic and selfish

gives you ways to deal with disrespectful people in situations, walking away personally helps him and telling someone what they said made him upset so they can resolve it, apologies are shared

if someone offends you on purpose and it’s obvious, they insult you and continue doing it then he’ll confront them

“dude, what’s your problem?”

if you crave touch when you’re upset, he’ll cuddle with you in bed so you’re warm and feel loved in his arms, under the soft and fuzzy blankets

JAY WALKER

jay’s sensitive too, often becoming jealous and upset when you talk to other guys without him

it’s not that he doesn’t trust you, he just gets insecure sometimes

he can get a bit frustrated if you become worried about him talking to other girls, not romantically of course, but understands where you come from

if someone says something degrading to you, he’s immediately standing up for you and even starts talking crap about them and insulting them right in their face

constantly voices his love for you, shows it through every possible way you can imagine; touch, words, acts, time, etc

because he rants and talks quickly, most of the time he doesn’t realize he’s said something to hurt you until you start sniffling or your eyes are visibly red

immediately apologizes and feels bad, reassuring that you’re perfect and the only person he could ever truly love

KAI SMITH

kai gets nervous when he upsets you, if he says something rude he’ll apologize while stuttering, unusual of him

“wh— what, no, that’s not what i meant… sorry babe…”

he gets overprotective if anyone dares to say something slightly offensive about or towards you

right after someone disrespects you, his eyebrows furrow as he turns to them, a cold look on his face as he tries to intimidate them

“you wanna repeat that again?”

he’ll gladly beat that persons face in if you ask him to, only wanting you to feel confident in yourself and to have good self-esteem

mostly reassures you by telling you everything will be okay and that not all people in your life will be respectful, that some will be asses and there’s nothing you can do about it besides remove them from your life

in attempts to make you laugh, he insults the one who made you feel bad and kisses your cheek, rubbing your shoulder in a comforting way

LLOYD GARMADON

lloyd can be sensitive too because he gets insecure about things, so he understands exactly how you feel

he gets awkward when you’re in need of words of affirmation and reassurance but tries his best, he didn’t have much love when he was younger so he doesn’t have much experience with comforting others or being comforted

when someone’s rude to you, he’ll try to calmly talk to that person and tell them to knock it off but he’s secretly upset about it

the only reasons why he attempts to be as polite as he can with that person is because he believes in second chances and doesn’t want you to see him in a bad mood

he realizes when he’s said something to upset you and apologizes for it, says he won’t say it again and feels ashamed

helps you write things down and voice your emotions, tells you not to take what people say or do personally because they’re probably just having a bad day, it doesn’t validate their actions but lets you know they don’t necessarily have something against you

NYA SMITH

nya’s a bit sensitive but is good at hiding it, she doesn’t want others to worry about her and believes she’s fully capable of taking care of herself

she’s extremely protective of you and like her brother, won’t hesitate to go after anyone who disrespects you

although she gets impatient easily when things don’t go her way, she won’t back down until the disrespectful person apologizes and admits their wrongs

reassures you whenever you feel bad about being sensitive, tells you people are dickheads but you can’t control what they say or do

gives you hugs and kisses on your temples, saying she understands why you’re upset and that it’s okay

she’s such a loving person and cares so much, that makes her an amazing person but she doesn’t always know how to comfort you

what she knows how to do well is just be in your presence, not talking unless you want her to or if you want her touch

ZANE JULIEN

zane always tells you it’s okay to feel how you feel, you can’t control it, and you should be proud of being able to have feelings because there will be ups and downs in life

whenever you get particularly upset about something, he’ll make you your favorite comfort food and drink while you talk about your feelings

as he knows some people prefer emotional validation over logical ways to deal with emotions and scenarios and vice versa, he gives you both

helps you learn to walk away from situations if you don’t feel good about a conversation or how someone’s acting

if someone says or acts disrespectfully to you, he’ll either walk away with you or have a full-on argument with the person, depending on how upset you are about it

he thinks about what he says before he goes through and says it, sometimes not fully thinking it through and accidentally hurting your feelings

when he realizes he upset you, he apologizes and says he’ll do better not to hurt you next time the two of you talk

he’s overall really sweet to you if you’re upset, is surprisingly understanding with emotions, and always lets you know your feelings are valid

what he will criticize you about is how you act based on how you’re feeling, for example, if you’re sad and lash out at someone, he’ll talk to you so you can comprehend the full extent of your actions

[corporatecoinings]

DRAGONQUEER/DRAGONPUNK

Emojicode : 🐲🌈🔥/ 🐉🌈🔥

LINK TO THE OFFICIAL DRAGONQUEER/DRAGONPUNK CARRD

A new label! Dragonqueer/dragonpunk (either name works, same thing!) is a queer stance about not being afraid to show how prideful you are about yourself, not being afraid to show yourself, or at least have a desire to want to express how you TRULY are and give the bird to the societal norm standards and those that hate you, existing to spite them; dragonqueer/dragonpunk beings can still live in caves (be closeted) too, however. A major aspect to dragonqueer/dragonpunk is also hoarding a shit ton of labels that describe yourself! Dragons love their hoards :) 

Due to history of dragons, they are seen as either evil and terrifying or benevolent and kind. Dragonqueer/dragonpunk aims to be both; be punk, be scary, be yourself, be unforgiving for who you are while also being a kind-hearted and loving being. There are dragons of all kind; western, easter, wyverns, wyrms, hydras, and so there is too in queer communities. Whichever kind of dragon you are is completely up to you, and you alone; you decide who you are. 

Dragonqueer/dragonpunk supports/believes…

LGBTQ+, MOGAI, LIOM, etc.

Xenogenders, neopronouns, etc.

Neoagabs/xenoagabs

Good-faith labels

Systems of all origins

Arissomei, desirdae, chronosians, aldernic, aldersex, allions, vesil, vior, xenonatured, eiment, etc.

Otherkin, therians, non-humans, alterhumans, etc.

Neurodivergent, mentally ill, disabled beings

Beings with munchausen's syndrome, factitious disorders, etc.

Hypersexuals 

Gender hoarders / gender collectors 

Multigender / polygender / etc.

Safe and anti-contact paraphiles (not acting on illegal shit??? This should make sense.. If its harmful. Dont act on it.)

Microlabels

Atypical dysphoria

PLUR

M-spec lesboys, turigirls, etc.

Contradictory labels

Systemarchy 

Pluralpunk/systempunk

Furries

Age/pet regressors

MAD pride

Reclaiming labels you can reclaim (queer, dyke, fag, freak, etc.)

Anti-psychiatry

Being endogenic/willogenic is not the same thing as being “transplural”

Educated self-diagnosis

Fiction affects reality

You can be trans without dysphoria

You can be a system without trauma

OC x canon is epic as long as its legal

Objectum and robosexuals

Supporting ex-cops, ex-gov, ex-military, ex-radqueers, ex-transids, etc. that have left their community and wish to recover

Abortion rights, womens rights, animal rights, etc.

Atheism

Kink at pride (when there are no bodily minors)

BDSM (as long as everyone consents and there are no bodily minors)

recovering/ex-religious beings

Consentual recovery for those that want it 

Supporting victims 

Dragonqueer/dragonpunk does NOT support/believe...

Harmful and pro-contact / neu-contact zoophiles, pedophiles, necrophiles, etc. (yet again if its harmful dont fucking do it)

Minors in nsfw communities, minors in kink, or having public kink where minors are around

That “all men should die” or “all women should die”

Harassing innocent cishets

Active radqueers and transids/transx

Terf, radfem, transmed, sysmed, etc. views

Harmful religion

Demonizing or stigmatizing disorders

Singlets in syscourse

“Superstraight”

Heavy political views, such as conservative and liberal

Proshippers, comshippers, darkshippers, etc. (how hard is it to say no illegal, abusive, etc. ships holy shit)

Lolitas and shotas

Racism or prejudice of ANY kind

Ableism

Forced recovery

Mental asylums

Exclusionists

Bigots

Dragonqueer/dragonpunk is neutral on...

Religion in general (dragonqueer/dragonpunk is inherently atheist)

catqueer

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL DRAGONQUEER/DRAGONPUNK. PEOPLE THAT WANT TO "RECLAIM" THIS LABEL WILL BE FACED WITH FIRE !!!

@ghosting-plural-userboxes thought you'd wanna see this, just comment if you want us to remove your tag from this post ^-^

[riiwrites]

boyfriend!atsushi who…

a/n : requested by @heartsfourdazai HEHEHE i loveatsushism also tysm for 300 followers!! I’m so grateful for all of you beauties <3

a/n : ps, if you are already on my taglist but wish to be removed from it please tell me. i feel like im bothering you guys too much with my works so please just tell me if you want to be removed because i don’t want to flood you guys with unnecessary content you guys don’t want to see </3

dazais version | chuuyas version

masterlist | taglist | main page

dividers belong to @/benkeibear

pre-boyfriend!atsushi who first meets you through dazai, finding out you were a trainee for their local cafe.

pre-boyfriend!atsushi who becomes star struck the moment he sees you, thinking you’re just so beautiful.

The bell chiming as the two men walked in signalled their arrival, also signalling you to turn around in instinct and to see your only loyal customer, Dazai Osamu with a boy who seemed to look younger than him. You turn around with a smile.

“Dazai-san.” You smile gently at the man, then your gaze falls on the slightly shorter boy - who’s eyes were wide and his bottom lip was trembling slightly.

“Ahhh, My favourite server!~” Dazai chimes rather loudly, grabbing the boy by the shoulder and pulling him infront of you. “I wanted to introduce you to somebody! This here is our newest member, Atsushi! I’ll let you two get acquainted~” He says with a devilish smirk as he walks over to the seating booth.

You look at the paleish boy with the tinted cheeks which were now heating up due to staring at you..and up so close too, he truly thought you were the most beautiful thing he ever saw.

“Oh my..are you alright?” You ask kindly, a look of concern painting your features as you reach the back of your hand out and press it against his cheek gently. “You’re burning up.”

He could only stand there with his lip trembling as he swallows a lump in his throat he didn’t even know existed until he acknowledged it. He looks off to the side to see Dazai giving him a little smirk as he then turns back to you.

“Y-yes, I’m..quite alright, thank you. Y-you’re really..pretty.” He admits, slapping his hand over his mouth as his eyes go wide once again before stammering.

“I-i mean- the place is pretty, the place you work at is pretty..!”

You can’t help but giggle at his corrections, nodding as you take his order and he goes to sit down.

Little does he know though, you knew what he had meant, and decided to take action.

pre-boyfriend!atsushi who goes back to Dazai with a grimace on his face, disappointed by how he made his first impression.

pre-boyfriend!atsushi who then notices a little sticky note on the bottom of his plate when he’s about to eat.

pre-boyfriend!atsushi whos face lights up in an instant when he sees your number on the post it, asking if he wants to meet sometime soon.

boyfriend!atsushi who uses emoticons and kaomojis when texting you, specifically the tiger and cat related ones. ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

boyfriend!atsushi who always ends his text messages off with a little heart <3 at the end because otherwise he’ll think he’s coming off too dry.

boyfriend!atsushi who asks how your day was at the end of the day and when you ask him he likes to give you a detailed description of what went down at his day at the agency.

boyfriend!atsushi who will ask you politely for pictures of your outfits, always saying “it’s fine if not!” but ofc you send them anyway <3

boyfriend!atsushi who compliments you consistently, but not the compliments like ‘hot’ or ‘sexy’ - the compliments like “cute” “pretty” “gorgeous” “beautiful” etc.

boyfriend!atsushi who saves every photo of you that you send him, saving his favourite one as his and other favourite as his homescreen.

boyfriend!atsushi who has too many favourite photos of you that he made a collage of all of them and now has it at his lock-screen <3

boyfriend!atsushi who finds things outside or in the agency and thinks of you, sending you a photo and message saying “this made me think of you :)”

boyfriend!atsushi who doesn’t actually go to dazai for dating advice, but goes to yosano.

boyfriend!atsushi who buys you plushies that remind him of you, in which you now have a whole collection.

boyfriend!atsushi who takes you out on dates such as walks around the park and streets, sight seeing and even the beach.

boyfriend!atsushi who lets kyouka come to the beach and on your walks at times and smiles when he sees you two smiling and walking together, you taking care of her bringing a smile to his face.

boyfriend!atsushi who let kyouka meet you first out of all the agency members except dazai, who you had already known for a while beforehand - and when kyouka tugs atsushis sleeve as they watch you leave after a long day together and she says she thinks you’re really pretty and she likes you alot, his heart warms and he smiles brightly.

boyfriend!atsushi who buries his face into your chest or shoulder whenever he’s upset or anxious, finding your scent and warmth calming to him.

boyfriend!atsushi who always apologises for every minor inconvenience, even though it’s not his fault.

boyfriend!atsushi who feels at ease when you stroke his hair and tell him nothing is his fault at all

boyfriend!atsushi who matches outfits with you

boyfriend!atsushi who gets anxious when you’re out at night alone, him then calling you to make sure you’re okay.

boyfriend!atsushi who fidgets with his fingers when you’re around because he still gets all nervous when he sees you. <3

boyfriend!atsushi who fiddles with your own fingers when you’re sitting on his lap

boyfriend!atsushi who lets you sit beside him and accompany him when he’s working.

boyfriend!atsushi who gets all nervous & blushy when somebody from the agency asks him how you two are doing, specifically ranpo or dazai because they tease him the most.

boyfriend!atsushi who gets angry when somebody bad mouths you or talks down on you like you’re some piece of dirt and stands up for you even if you’re not around.

boyfriend!atsushi who’s too scared to initiate or start any kind of pda or physical affection as he doesn’t wanna startle you or annoy you.

boyfriend!atsushi who you can read like an open book and give him what he secretly wants.

When Atsushi wants something from you, he doesn’t ask normally. Sure, when he’s asking you politely to send him pictures of yourself on text is easy, but that’s different, this is real life. You two were seated next to each-other during the agencies dinner party they had hosted in celebration of a tough case they had cracked in a matter of time, they all were excited to talk to you more as they had only briefly met you a few times during your business in the cafe but they could never properly greet you, so now was a great opportunity.

Not only that, but it was a great opportunity for Atsushi to show some PDA and affection for you, but every-time he gets to think of it, he gets queasy and has to look away from your sweet face for a moment.

Even though you hadn’t seen Atsushis facial expressions, you noticed it all too well. You noticed his fidgety hands he gets when he’s all nervous around you and especially his little glances at your hand which was placed on the table as you spoke to Yosano and Naomi about some unrelated topic over Kunikida scolding Dazai for flirting with the waitress that had came to their table.

When he was looking away, you smile at him as he turns back to see you staring right back at him. He smiles anxiously at you before asking. “Are you alright..? I know they can be a bit much..I-I’m sorry if it’s making you uncomfortable..-“

You cut him off short, leaning forward and speaking to him gently with a kind smile graced on your lips. “Take my hand.” You place your hand infront of him on the table, your palm facing upward as he looks at it, the heat returning once again to his cheeks as he looks back at you, bewildered as if you had actually read his mind.

“W-wha..?”

“Take my hand, love. It’s okay I promise.” You reassure him, to which his shaky lips then turn into a smile, taking your hand softly and placing them both in the middle of you two on the table. Nobody truly noticed except Kyouka until Ranpo had pointed it out rather loudly to everyone in the damn place, sighing dramatically before saying..

“Fiiiinally! Took you guys a while to take the hint and move onto phase two of the relationship! Phew, I truly do feel like the third wheel of this relationship when I can practically see Atsushi-kun sweating through his suit..” He rests his cheek on his palm as he says this as he turns to you two from afar, the table erupting into little giggles and laughs as they watch you giggle with them and Atsushi literally blossom into a red ripe tomato and he laughs nervously as he brings your hand up to his mouth, kissing it gently but also using it as protection to hide his face from everyone’s gaze and teasing.

boyfriend!atsushi who sometimes feels insecure about himself and his relationship with you, but you reassure him with your hands on his cheeks and pepper chaste kisses all over his face.

boyfriend!atsushi who has gained alot more confidence ever since he’s been with you, finding you to be one of the greatest prizes he’s ever won.

boyfriend!atsushi who finds peace with you, finding solace in your arms and comfort within your kind heart <3

TAGLIST : @hauntedsol @hopefulpain @forgotten-blues @ruru-kiss @texas-bitch-yee @lvstyangel @abyssinspace @is-therelife-onmars @atlasnessie @101strawberries101 @reesesnieces @suzurans-world @mackereland-slug @heartsfourdazai @iratherowan @onlinewhisper14 @nomnomventi @silverbladexyz @inojuuy @boarcide @poedostoevsky11 @kissesmellow21 @star-light18464 @aliyahgracedrawing @chuuyathehatrack @boredwithwrath @akutagawasimp87 @rainy-dazie @lone-ray @ishqan @fun-cats @wefureko-blog @hoicacti @endy917 @dazaiiiosamuu @seikkoh @famousfoxkingdom @morrie-rose @underscoredaniii @skk-lover

white = unable to be tagged :(

@/riiwrites reblogs are always appreciated ❤︎︎

[max1461]

This has mostly disappeared from my corner of the internet over the last few years, but it used to be the case that every once in a while some story would go around about a corporation or a government doing some fucked up shit in pursuit of their self-interest, and people in the comments and reblogs would act utterly aghast that said government or corporation would do such a thing.

This was always baffling to me, and I have only ever been able to interpret it as a sign of profound naivety. Of course, I too think it is awful, sad, and unjust when people are exploited, killed, abused or so on by the institutions of our society. But "aghastness" is not synonymous with these things, to be aghast is to be (or present yourself as) in some sense surprised. And surprise is wholly unwarranted here.

I suppose this is part of my worldview that feels very fundamental, it feels deeply obvious, and I struggle to figure out how to talk productively with people who did not get the memo: exploitation and abuse of others in pursuit of self-interest is in some sense the natural behavior of agents in any kind of competitive context. It requires a lot of effort and coordination to mitigate this behavior. We do not feel "aghast" when someone is bitten by a dog. Dogs bite people, idiot! And corporations exploit their workers, lie, cheat, and steal, unless you work very hard to prevent them from doing so. And governments exploit and neglect their citizens, and go to war and kill and maim, unless you work very hard to prevent them from doing so. Individual humans, as members of a social species for which cooperation is paramount to survival, have quite a lot of specific programming whose purpose seems to be to discourage us from doing these things (empathy, loyalty, etc. etc.), and yet very often we still do them!

I have relatives who have a hard time believing in US atrocities abroad, on the grounds that "Americans are the good guys, and the US just wouldn't do that". This is very stupid! Do you think the US got where it is today without cracking some eggs? Bullshit. There's never been a government or a military in the history of humanity that "just wouldn't do that". I sometimes see posts on here from tankies, defending Chinese or Soviet atrocities on the grounds that these things must be Western propaganda, a socialist government just wouldn't do that. Again, I find this so obviously false as to be essentially beneath engaging with. We don't live in a just world! Often, a very effective strategy for achieving whatever it is you're trying to achieve will involve treating people like shit. It is what it is.

I'm not trying to play defense for injustice here. Obviously I think we should do as much as we can to prevent these abuses. But I think that doing so must start with basic recognition of the following: it is the nature of institutions—being as competition between them is essentially unavoidable, and being as their decision processes are unavoidably removed from the face-to-face social context which is so load-bearing in motivating respectful treatment between individual humans—to abuse people in pursuit of their (perceived) self-interest. This behavior is mundane and expected. It can be mitigated in various ways, ideological and structural, but it will probably always be with us to some degree. To look at it and express shock in any capacity suggests a completely misguided understanding of how the world works.

This is the first and most important thing I ever learned about politics or society.

[yuurei20]

Dialogue Comparison: Stitch Event

At the very start of the event Stitch rolls into a ball and yells "Rock 'n roll!' as he rolls across the screen, in a line that was changed into laughter on EN.

(A later "rock 'n roll" line was preserved.)

Stitch yelling "yay!" at Gantu was also changed to laughter on EN.

In his "thanks!" on JP the word is written (incorrectly) in katakana, in order to portray how Stitch is still learning how to properly pronounce words.

This was changed to "Yaaaay! Thank you!" on EN.

Stitch's original line is "大好き！" which is close to liking something a lot, or to love something.

Removed from EN, it was changed to "*HUG*."

When Stitch says o-hana at the start and end of the game Floyd responds with 花? Which means "flower" and is pronounced "hana."

In the Japanese language there are nouns you can add an "o" in front of to be more polite (o-sushi, o-cha, etc.), and "hana" is one of them, so to Japanese-language speakers the "o-hana" from Lilo and Stitch sounds like people politely saying the word flower.

This is what Floyd is referencing in the original game, but as he does not use polite speech he drops the preceding "o" to just say "hana," instead, asking why Stitch is talking about flowers.

A character trait of Jack's that is not reaching EN due to language restrictions is that he struggles with adding "-senpai" to Azul's name, often saying it only after a significant pause, as though he is torn between not being able to be rude to an upperclassman but also not wanting to be polite to Azul.

The Stitch event is possibly the first time we see him apply this reluctance to Floyd as well (though he has dropped the honorific from Floyd's name entirely in the past--more here: Jack and Honorifics).

Stitch will sometimes communicate just in exclamation marks, question marks or musical notes, which EN often changed.

Dialogue added to Stitch on EN that he did not say includes "Stitch wants to surf but cannot swim" and "Stitch is strong."

[transmutationisms]

Hi Caden don’t know if you listen to Ethel Cain but was wondering what u think abt her subverting the Americana aesthetic since I think she’s often compared to Lana, at least online. I do think she’s doing something different & to me more compelling than Lana, but I don’t really know how to articulate it.

yep i like ethel cain. i agree she and lana are doing very different things. like, i said before that lana uses american nationalism because she's playing off the fact that it makes/has an erotic appeal, and she places herself as the object of desire in that paradigm—tell me i'm your national anthem, etc. my read on ethel is that she's interested in the rural americana 'trad' aesthetic from a very different angle, where she's trying to connect the homestead and american rural social structures to the perpetuation of violence. there's some overlap here in the sense that lana is definitely also interested in sexual violence and sexuality-as-violence, but in her work the violent or abusive man is generally a specific figure who's aberrant from the norm, and a lot of the artistic interest for lana comes (i think) from her interrogating what it is about this man that's appealing to her and how she sees herself through his eyes. with ethel, on the other hand, she portrays violence as coming through the infrastructure of normal and normative social structures, like the family and the church, with abuse understood to be a feature of these and not a bug. family, church, etc are in turn understood to be part of the infrastructure of american rural communities, casting the critique she's making through the ethel character onto this entire social apparatus (& there is some implication here of how this is all a part of westward colonial settlement—which is a potentially fruitful direction to go in, the idea of expansion into the 'frontier' as a narrative of, or narrative prerequisite to, violence).

so for example this is partly why, for ethel, incest specifically is a mode of sexuality & violence that she continually uses and interrogates: she's invoking it as an intensification of the 'normal functioning' of the family, which means the whole family structure gets pretty ruthlessly questioned through the character of ethel and the violence she faces. she invokes the trad aesthetic and the idyllic family homestead, then shows you the brutality that creates and is created by them. for lana, the family is not a concern in this way and is not something she's questioning or challenging the way ethel does (the daddy/girl thing in lana's work is p far removed from even a pseudo-incestuous reading most of the time, even in her lolita references). there's a similar distinction with how ethel examines protestant theology and practice with the explicit goal of pointing out inherently violent aspects of it, whereas for lana, invoking god or christian imagery is generally more on the level of playing off the way that american nationalism resembles and uses rituals of religious worship. lana takes political phenomena like the appeal of nationalism, and expresses them through the erotic configuration of these relationships with older, dominant men. with ethel it's more that she looks at social structures and practices signified by the rural americana aesthetic, and pokes and prods at these structures until the violence inherent to them is glaringly obvious to listeners through the ethel character's story. it's a way of problematising these institutions and practices, not letting them hide in plain sight by presenting themselves as benevolent.

so yeah i can understand why people might want to compare these two artists, but i think they're actually doing very different things. i would probably not say either of them 'subverts' americana or signifiers of nationalism, which is not a criticism, i just think that concept is often poorly defined and less frequently applicable to art than people sometimes think lol. ethel uses her character's story to deconstruct and question the american aesthetics and institutions her work invokes; lana translates these aesthetics and institutions into explicitly erotic discourses and dissects them through the allegorical figures of the people and relationships in her songs. (this is not to discount the importance of erotics in ethel's work as well obvi but this post is already long :P)