#and like. he was correct. but that is not good logic to base your safety on!!

[bookwyrminspiration]

the trend of people being really open with information one should probably be more hesitant to share is also present in real life, which is terrifying. I met a kid the other day, 13, who started casually talking about various mental disorders and diagnoses he'd received after knowing me for less than an hour. with no prior mention or discussion to indicate my thoughts, because we'd been talking about other things. because we'd just met. I mean them no harm, but like, he is putting a lot of faith in me without further verifying my intentions. so please not only be careful with what you share online but what you share in person as well because you don't know who is safe

[audliminal]

It's Just a Game, Right? Pt 5

Masterpost

"It's a pun." Tim murmurs, staring at the notes he's supposed to be sharing with Bernard. "I can't believe I didn't notice that sooner."

"Wait what?"

"The off-key notes are the key to the Caeser ciphers."

"Oh my god." Bernard stares at Tim's notebook. Just like Tim said, each off note is exactly the same amount of steps away from correct as the corresponding number of steps to move down the Caesar cipher. "Okay that's, like, kind of insane? Do we need to be looking for puns now?"

"Potentially? Double meanings are the basis of riddles, which are basically just word-based logic puzzles, so you know... Depending on someone's motivations they might find them equally valuable."

"Huh." Bernard tilts his head considering the new information. "Wait, does that mean that like, the Riddler uses puns? Is that a thing?"

"All the time, actually."

"Dude, why do you just know that?" Tim freezes, remembering too late that most people don't have access to dossiers on every rogue. "No, nevermind I know you're like, weirdly knowledgeable about the bats and the rogues; I shouldn't be surprised."

"Well, maybe everyone should pay a little more attention to their MOs," Tim says pointedly. "They are generally considered to be the most serious safety threat in Gotham, after all.

"I mean, I know generally what their deals are, I just don't go all Genius-Mode about it." Bernard laughs, then gets a thoughtful look on his face. Oh no, Tim thinks. "Hey, maybe the bats should, like, commission your help to deal with the Riddler. I'd bet you'd work through his weird puzzles in like, ten minutes!"

"I feel like they're doing fine as is."

"Yeah, I guess, but like. What if they could do it even faster, right?"

"Maybe." Tim fiddles with his pen. "Do you want to know what else I found?"

"Wait, you found more?"

"Not much; it came to a dead-end pretty quickly, but the implications are- concerning."

"Oh?"

"I noticed that the length of time for each photo seemed randomized, which I thought might also be a choice based on the music, since they always shift in time with a note, but there wasn't any logical pattern I could find there."

"I mean, that doesn't seem like a dead-end, that just sounds like we're missing something."

"Exactly. So I made a list of the durations between each incorrect note, and I ran that through a code checker, and it turned out to be encoded in base 26." Tim points to the corresponding list of numbers, and then below it, to where he's written out the translation.

"Dude." Bernard stares at the notebook, looking back at Tim with wide eyes.

"Someone is begging for our help."

"This is so cool!" Bernard exclaims grabbing at Tim's shoulders and shaking him lightly. "How have I not dragged you into solving ARGs before this you're so good at it! Just wait till I tell everyone on the forum!"

Tim blinks, Bernard's sudden excitement in direct opposition to the words had written down. When he'd cracked it, all he had felt was a spike of adrenaline, the anticipation of knowing there's somebody that needs help. But there isn't, is there? This whole thing is just a game. And the people that wrote this, that made these videos, that encoded these messages - the real people, are just having fun.

Tim takes a deep breath and does his best to match Bernard's excitement. But the words on the page keep staring back at him.

Help us please help us

[sprites4ever]

Since I'm A Solution-Oriented Person, Instead Of Crying, Here's What I'll I Advise Every American And Everyone Else, Who Wants To Hear It

GET TOGETHER AND STAY TOGETHER

The Right and Fascists thrive on division of their opposition. Don't preocuppy yourself with infighting.

You never wanted politics to be a fight, but they've made it one. So remember who your enemies are, and what people can achieve when they have a common threat.

If you're in a red state and are fearing for the life and well-being of you and/or people you know, GET OUT NOW. You have a month until inauguration, so, if you can't leave the country, move to a blue state.

While it is, of course, no guarantee for safety against the MAGA cult, the comparatively limited power of the US federal government over citizens and state governments should buy you some time to prepare for a Trump Nazi Regime and/or WWIII or a second US Civil War.

DON'T DENY THE ELECTION RESULT

I know it's comfortable to think that most Americans wouldn't be so insane to re-elect Trump, but that's not true. The race was pretty much 50/50 and winning over the battleground states put Trump over the edge. There's also the fact that, while a ~65% voter turnout is pretty good for a democratic country, that still means that half of eligible American voters did not vote. So, whatever their ideals are, they did not participate in the choice that impacts them, every other American and, due to the US' status, the rest of the world.

Remember, Hitler too was democratically elected. None of the reasons with which Hitler and Trump convinced voters are real things, but still, those voters believed them and made their choice. May they shamefully rot in the worst pages of future history books, but they made their choice.

This is the inherent risk of democracy: That people can always choose to ruin it.

I'M NOT GOING TO MINCE WORDS:

CORRECTION: I previously claimed that the voter turnout was ~50%, when, in reality, it was around 65%. This is strong for a genuine democracy (fake democracies can obviously force people to vote at gunpoint, or just make up voter statistics), but this still means that a third of the country did not vote and that Trump was elected by a third of the country, not even 50% of the population. By that logic, any election with a voter turnout below 100% would not represent the genuine majority, but you get my point. The reality is that both a lot of American non-voters and Trump voters live in rural areas where the rest of the world, outside their community, might as well not exist. So, of course, they can, for example, take Trump's word on the LGBTQ+ community, because they know so little about the world that they can be told anything and also won't vote responsibly, as, if, for example, there's no LGBTQ+ person in their community, they have no way of knowing what these people, their issues and the threats they face actually are like. A lot of voters also don't care about politics and just vote for the guy everyone else is voting for, or the guy who's face they like better. (I'm not making this up, people from multiple countries have legitimately stated that they vote based on politician hotness.) It's strange, because this type of rural unknowingness is usually typical for countries that are undeveloped and autocratic, so one wouldn't expect it from the richest country where the elections define so much. I guess it's the US' federal system and libertarian economy that have led to this extreme compartmentalization of society, where communities are essentially as different from each other as Stone Age-villages.

WITH TRUMP RE-ELECTED, DEPENDING ON HIS CHOICES, THERE WILL BE WORLD WAR III OR A SECOND AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

I'm not paranoid for saying this, as former US Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Mark Milley, who served two years under Trump and Biden, has stated in an interview with The Atlantic that he and others had to stop Trump from launching nuclear missiles at North Korea multiple times in 2018.

ON A POTENTIAL WORLD WAR III

WWIII means a nuclear holocaust, meaning hundreds of millions of deaths around the entire world within half an hour of the war turning nuclear and billions of deaths in the years following, no way around it.

Cities and areas near government and military instalations in nuclear-armed countries (USA, russia, China, Israel, Iran, India, Pakistan, North Korea, United Kingdom and France) will be most affected, but that doesn't mean those will be the only places to be nuked or affected.

Decades of many nations' strategists' deliberations during the Cold War, the period of tension between the US-led NATO and Soviet russian-led Warsaw Pact after the end of WWII in 1945, which in and for itself ended with the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991, came to the same conclusion - If another World War occurs, it will be nuclear and it will be global. It can't even really be called a war, as the world's nuclear powers have had the capacity to annihilate each other's militaries and economies within half an hour ever since 1950.

Since then, WWIII hasn't happened due to powerful people being aware of this and due to multiple courageous individuals who chose right in close calls. For example, President Kennedy maintained a cool head during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, during which, for the uninitiated, NATO and the USSR got extremely close to a nuclear war, as they both deployed nuclear missiles right at each others' doorsteps. In that crisis, too, Soviet Naval Officer Vasili Arkhipov prevented his submarine from launching nuclear weapons at the US when the submarine lost contact with Moscow and other officers thought a nuclear war had started and Moscow had been destroyed. In 1983, when the Soviet Politburo had become so paranoid that they believed their own propaganda about an impending attack by NATO, their nuclear forces were on such high alert that a malfunctioning Soviet spy satellite sending a false alarm about an American nuclear launch nearly caused them to launch in what they thought would be retaliation. At that time, the Soviet Command Officer Stanislav Petrov however figured that the computer at his base, which displayed the warning and which had been installed just the day before, was malfunctioning and chose not to relay the alarm to the rest of Soviet command.

Now, much misinformation has been spread around atomic energy and nuclear weapons. Here's the reality about nukes:

Almost all of the aforementioned nuclear powers have the capacity to launch a nuke at any target in the world within minutes, as nuclear missiles, especially Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) can reach insane hypersonic speeds, faster than anything that could shoot them down before the nuclear warheads start the detonation sequence.

While we're talking about the US, the aforementioned decades of deliberation have concluded that is impossible for any country to fire a nuke without it soon turning into a war between all nuclear powers with their nukes. Nukes are just too destructive for decision-makers to not panic in that event.

The currently existing nukes are spread as follows:

USA: ~5500 nuclear warheads total, how many of those are ready-to-launch is classified, launch means are silo-launched Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles with Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) warheads (meaning one missile can drop nukes on multiple targets), Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs), Short-Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBMs), Ground-, Air- and Sea-launched Cruise Missiles, Air-dropped bombs, Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) with MIRV warheads

russia: ~6000 nuclear warheads total, readiness same as above, launch means are silo- and truck-launched ICBMs with MIRV warheads, IRBMs, SRBMs, Ground-, Air- and Sea-launched Cruise Missiles, Air-dropped bombs, SLBMs with MIRV warheads

China: ~250 nuclear warheads total, readiness same as above, launch means are ICBMs, cruise missiles and SLBMs

Israel: ~100 nuclear warheads total, readiness same as above, launch means are cruise missiles and SLBMs

India: ~100 nuclear warheads total, readiness same as above, launch means are ICBMs, cruise missiles and SLBMs

Pakistan: ~100 nuclear warheads total, readiness same as above, launch means unknown

United Kingdom: ~200 nuclear warheads total, readiness same as above, launch means are cruise missiles and SLBMs

France: ~100 nuclear warheads total, readiness same as above, launch means are cruise missiles and SLBMs

Iran: Does officially not have nuclear weapons, can factually assemble some nuclear warheads within weeks, launch means unknown

North Korea: Official number of nuclear warheads classified, most likely ~30, readiness unknown, launch means are ICBMs, IRBMs, SRBMs and cruise missiles

Nukes cause unrivaled destruction over tens of kilometers with their explosion, emit a flash of Gamma radiation in the moment of their explosion, cause massive shockwaves and fires, can blind people with the brightness of the flash of Gamma radiation and cause long-lasting contamination with dangerous radiation via fallout.

Gamma radiation caused by the initial nuclear fission of a nuke last extremely short. This radiation is quickly lethal, but so fast that is gone within milliseconds. Anyone too close to the source will, however, be hit by so much of said radiation, that they will get extreme Accute Radiation Syndrome (ARS), also known as radiation poisoning, and die within hours, as Gamma radiation is so strong that, in high enough concentration, it passes through the human body and rips out the electrons from the atoms which cellular tissue is made of, degrading them to Ions. (Hence the term 'Ionizing Radiation')

Ions, unlike atoms, are way less stable, meaning that cellular tissue that has been ionized can't uphold itself and falls apart.

The other type of ionizing radiation from nuclear bombs, Neutron radiation, works the same way, but lasts much longer than Gamma radiation. Unlike Gamma radiation, it sticks to most materials, causing them to give off Neutron radiation for years. This is the radiation hazard that comes from fallout. Fallout is the soot kicked up by the explosion, which originates from everything it pulverized. The immense heat causes it to first be carried upwards, forming the characteristic mushroom cloud, before the air cools and allows the now irradiated soot to fall out (hence the name) and back onto the ground. It is affected by wind and weather.

To avoid both types of radiation, the first factor is distance. Any amount of radiation still consists of individual particles that race through the cosmos, so the further away you are from the source, the less likely for its rays to hit you, as they travel in a straight line.

The second factor is cover. Like everything else, ionizing rays can get through certain things and can't get through others. Gamma rays get through everything with a lower density than multiple centimeters of lead and Neutron rays get through anything with a lower density than multiple meters of concrete. So, being underground or in the center of extremely thick buildings, as well as having resources necessary for survival, is key to surviving radiation after a nuke explodes.

The third factor is time. The human body can withstand different levels of radiation for different amounts of time. The easiest way to figure out how long you can stay exposed to how much, is with a dosimeter.

SO, YES, I AM TELLING YOU TO START DOOMSDAY PREPPING

The essentials, of which you should amass a stock that will last you multiple years in a secure location:

Non-perishable canned food

ABSURD amounts of drinking water

Distilled water for hygiene

Nonperishable Grain-based food

Long-lasting milk

Dried fruit and nuts

Eggs

Flour

Sugar

Honey

Salt

Black pepper (hurts like hell, but can be used as a coagulant to stop wounds from bleeding)

Paper towels

Trash bags

Hygiene gloves

Breathing masks

As much replacement clothing, especially outdoors and warm clothing, as you can get

Water treatment tools

Camping cooking equipment

Easily useable heat sources

Tools (Wrench, File, Screwdriver, Crowbar, Fire extinguisher, Knives, Compass, Hammer, Shovel, Pickaxe)

Physical maps

Hand crank-powered radio

Many spare batteries

Many spare rechargeable batteries

Battery charger

Means of power generation (hand crank, solar)

Flashlight

Radio phone

Backpacks

All the medicines you need

Bandages

Hygiene products

Antibiotics

Medicines against cold

Medicines against diarrhea

Disinfectant

Pastes against insect bites

Pastes against sunburn

Soap

Dosimeter

Geiger counter

Hazardous enviroments clothing

Helmets

Gloves

Cups

Buckets

Canisters for water

History books

Important works

A laptop

A smartphone

A camera (don't need it if you have a smartphone)

Print out important documents on put them in a folder

Analog data storage

Physical data storage (hard drives, flash drives, CDs, SD cards)

Devices to read data storage

Means for self-defense

Emergency plans with people you know

Similarly, a second American Civil War would also need Americans to prepare, in order to survive.

IF YOU LIVE ANYWHERE THAT'S NOT THE US, YOU WILL BE AFFECTED, TOO

Don't think the US are far enough away. Of course, the aforementioned nuclear war would affect you, but a second American Civil War and just Trump being re-elected will, too.

Even without WWIII or a second American Civil War, it's pretty clear that:

In Europe, this will invigorate the similar far-Right movements to bring about similar destructive changes as those Trump wants.

Trump will most likely abandon Ukraine like Afghanistan, meaning russia taking it over and attacking Western European countries afterward. Trump is completely on Putin's side and will also destroy NATO, meaning all of the US' allies, including those in Europe, will be abandoned. I live in Germany, which is seeing a rise in popularity by the far-Right AfD party, and which does not have the military means to defend itself against russian expansionism without the US.

With russia's war against Ukraine, China will feel invigorated to annex Taiwan, and just like with Ukraine, nationalist and authoritarian Trump will not do anything to stop it.

South Korea could be abandoned in the face of North Korea.

Trump will continue to support Israel in the Western Right's extremely hypocritical manner, most likely ordering more US military action in the Middle East.

ULTIMATELY, GIVE THEM THE FIGHT THEY WANT

I know that we liberals, progressives, people who don't care about politics and just want to build their own life and even former conservatives who deemed far-Righters like Trump too radical, never wanted a fight. We never wanted to fight for our values in Western society, against the values of those who demonize us. We were always ready to coexist with them, if only each side kept to themselves with living out its values and didn't impair the other.

But the far-Right fascists and religious zealots, with their leaders who don't mean a word of what they say and say anything they want to get power, have made this a fight. By electing a US President who promised to destroy democracy, eliminate women's and LGBTQ+ rights, oppress non-white ethnicities, censor media, give churches and capitalists unprecedented power and abandon all allied nations, the far-Right has declared war on everyone and everything that's true, moral or even just acceptable. Let's remember that they hate diversity, and that we are from many more groups and walks of life than them. Let's use this to our advantage and show to the fascists what happens when you give different people a common enemy.

[reallyromealone]

May i request a part to to the yamazawa family x cat reader?

Title: techno cats U.A adventure

Fandom: Mha

Pairing: cat! Reader x Yamazawa family

Warnings: male reader, fluff, cat reader, platonic

🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑

Nedzu smiled at the little kitten who trotted behind him, a rescue that Aizawa and Yamada got and was still very small "if I'm correct you're not supposed to be out of your dorm" Nedzu said lightly chastising the kitten who tilted his head "no one was home" the kittens voice was slightly echoed, childlike and innocent-- frankly a little unnerving. "So you went to go find your humans?" "Uh-huh!" Nedzu was fond of his fellow quirked friends, knowing they had a hard upbringing and was thankful (name) found a good home.

"Here you go little one" it wasn't tea, instead a saucer of milk that the void cat stretched to sniff before licking happily "my, don't you have a wonderful quirk" Nedzu was absolutely facinated with it, the possibilities of it "tell me little one, if you stretch to much do you get tired?"

"Huh?" The kits face covered in milk and thought "yeah! My body gets hurted after!"

"Your body hurts after?" Well he was moving like putty, maybe that was his limit...

"Well if you like, I would like to see just what you can do, would you be willing to do that little one?"

"I gotta ask my momma first"

"Your mother?"

Aizawa wasn't sure what to expect as Nedzu and his cat trotted, the kittens ghostly meows of excitement when he trotted to the other and Nedzu was giggling "so this is your mother?" The kitten made a little chirp sound as he let Aizawa lift him, the class looking at the void kitten curiously, his little blue and red eyes blinking curiously. "What?" Aizawa was confused at being called a mother "this little one thinks you're his mother!" Nedzu said happily, Aizawa was a bit embarrassed but it would be logical as he was the one to feed the kit every hour and tend to him.

"He needs your permission to have a quirk based test " at this point the three stepped out and Aizawa looked skeptical "what kind of test, he's a baby after all"

"Oh just simple flash cards and such! Maybe to see exactly what his quirk can do!" Nedzu wasn't a monster, he wasn't about to hurt the little mouse who looked at him so sweetly, he didn't care for human babies but animal babes? He was much softer towards. "We can arrange something, do you think you could take him back to the dorm? I don't want the little brat to get into stuff"

When Aizawa went back to class the students looked at him starry eyed "sir! Was that your pet?!" "What was that!" "Why did it look like that?!"

Aizawa activated his quirk, the students quieting down fast as he spoke "that is my kitten yes, he looks like that because he has a quirk that makes him what could best be described as a void-- bud body moves like putty"

"Can we meet him?!"

"Pass the test and sure"

"What test?"

"The one were doing right now"

(Name) was confused as he sat before Nedzu and his mamas "ok little mouse, we need you to wear something, it's for your safety alright?" Nedzu translated to the kitten who tilted his head at the collar "let me know if it's to tight little one" nedzu wasn't fond of collars, frankly he couldn't stand them but they couldn't exactly chip the little one and since he had a pension for wandering it was best to know where he was.

"You look so handsome!"

"Good job buddy!"

Encouraging words as the collar was placed on (name), the kitten confused as his little body stretched to look at what was around his neck, the stretch making the collar loose around his neck "we may need to work on something that works with his quirk... Normal dollars wouldn't be great"

"Well well, if it isn't the little adventurer" Yamada cooed at the kitten who was playing with a toy, little feet kicking it as he bit "went all around U.A before stumbling across Nedzu" Aizawa said as he set down his bag, Eri giggling at the kitten who accidentally hit his face, looking thoroughly startled as Yamada pet his head "such a handsome little man!" (Name)s fur(?) Rippled as he purred, the 3D glasses affect getting more vibrant as he stretched his legs out, stretching like taffee before slowly snapping back to their normal tiny size "good boy! I heard you think Sho is your mama! Wonder what you think I am~"

Also mama but (name) couldn't be understood.

Yamada was cooking dinner, Eri watching her cartoons post bath and Aizawa was grading papers as (name) stretched on his lap, spending the evening playing with Eri always pooped him out after all. Aizawa gently pet him, knowing the spots that made the kitten quite literally melt in his lap as his purrs looked waves against water.

Truly he was at his most relaxed.

Tonight he slept with Eri,sleeping on her pillow, not even denting it as they were cozy, the girl cuddling her toy giraffe without a worry.

[mixelation]

I think it’s fairly common for people to headcanon Naruto as good at stealth/infiltration/“blending in” but in general I personally find this largely incongruent with canon. Here’s why (disclaimer that ofc you may have your own opinion or prefer this headcanon; I am simply teasing out my own thoughts here):

I think the logic of this headcanon comes from three things. First, from the way a lot of people conceptualize how Naruto’s childhood isolation went. The idea is that he was forced to learn to keep his head down and blend in and maybe even sneak around in order to get people to sell him food and clothes, to avoid an ongoing threat of violence, etc. My thing is that I don’t feel this is what canon actually implied was happening: what we mostly see is Naruto being alone while people off in the distance whisper about him. There is no implication of violence or that he had a hard time obtaining things for himself, like food. Naruto is so desperate for attention, to not be ignored and forgotten, that he is as loud and in your face as possible because even negative attention is better than nothing. There is ofc room for a character to be both desperate for attention but need to have a stealth mode for their own health/safety, but this requires a lot of nuance and complexity of character that I find a lot of people just like. Forget? Or exploring this new headcanon and narrative of having to go to the grocery store in disguise is more important to them than preserving his canon motivation/personality. (Absolutely nothing wrong with that, btw, but I am the type of person who gets annoyed by the attitude a headcanon is based on canon/“correct” when it’s noooot really.)

The second basis for the headcanon comes from people wanting to explore Naruto’s sexy no jutsu as more than what it is in canon, where it is basically used entirely for the shock value (barring some filler shenanigans and that bizarre but with Jiraiya). And I do like playing with and fleshing out new uses for the jutsu, and also it’s a fun canon compliant way to do some Gendery Shenanigans. But people often want to have Naruto be like… a seduction shinobi? Because boobs, I guess? And I think my annoyance with this take is that I just… dont think Naruto has the personality. He is not subtle. His entire personality would probably be considered unflattering/gross/even bitchy by the types of marks generally imagined up by these scenarios, even with the boobs. Even for the non-sex seduction-type stuff (like chatting someone up at a bar for intel), it just doesn’t really work with like… his approach to life. Like I think older Naruto could be good at buddying up to certain types of personalities, but this is entirely unlinked to any specific propensity for seduction/undercover work/etc.

(Insert long aside here about how the fandom’s obsession with sex work as a kunoichi skill is really fucking weird, and also not even how people behave.)

Anyway the third idea is that Naruto has a lot of skills developed via pranking, particularly stealth. This also isn’t really canon, although I feel it’s a reasonable extrapolation because we DO see him successfully execute pranks that must have required these skills. My only thing is that, given his attitude toward ninja training in canon, I don’t think twelve year old Naruto ever like. Consciously made the connection that his prank skills would transfer to being a ninja. I think you would have to actually tell him “pretend this is a prank” or else do sone character work to get him to this epiphany.

Anyway, those are my thoughts! 💃🏻

[agentrouka-blog]

hey! you've got some great stark meta so i figured i'd ask a question. do you know why the asoiaf fandom seems to gloss over agot era arya seemingly not getting that the royal family is higher ranked. I've just been noticing her insulting myrcella and ignoring cersei and it seems like a huge faux pas she should notice.

Short answer: A lot of the fandom doesn't seem to be aware of how their class structure works and how it matters, and what violating it realistically means. GRRM is unfortunately very subtle about the points he makes there. But he absolutely is making points. And they are not "acknowledging someone's inferior social status is a thought crime!" It's more along the lines of owning your privilege and putting it to good use.

Long answer: Arya isn't properly aware, so they aren't aware of it because they don't look beyond her limited POV.

And it is very limited in this context.

I think it's not so much that she is not theoretically aware of the rank hierarchy. If quizzed on the subject, she could give correct answers about who is the boss of whom.

It's more that being at the absolute top of the food chain in a fairly relaxed household and castle like Winterfell, where the highborn children played and even swam naked with the lowborn in the godswood, it was always easy for her to ignore the reality of it.

She had lots of people socially below her that she could get underfoot with and it was well received - because a) cute and b) they literally can't do anything to her if they wanted to without facing punishment - and she had no higher ranking people above her to actually give her an experience of what it meant to cross boundaries the other way and not have it shrugged off. Ned may be very kind and open to "his people" but his status and power entirely derrive from their feudal class structure and not emphasizing it doesn't erase it. It just made Arya ignorant of it's true meaning, mostly for others.

She feels free to disregard the rules of courtesy and even basic politeness that govern the interactions of people in this highly stratified society, because it never had consequences for her before. Honestly, it's a failure of education, and it's a failure of proper supervision. She was not equipped to be "out in society" outside the safety of Winterfell.

Arya getting into a violent altercation with Joffrey has devastating consequences for exactly that reason. It's no longer a situation where Arya is protected by Ned having the highest rank in town and deciding on ultimate consequences based on a sense of justice she can logically follow, and suddenly people die. Lady is killed. Arya herself was in mortal danger without knowing it. Because it's about rank and power, not about justice.

She's a classic example of being class blind because she was never on the receiving end of classism. That forms part of her arc in ACOK and ASOS, especially with Gendry, but it's present and relevant from the beginning.

[doctorbrown]

best scene featuring your muse? (chapter, film, episode) (👏infodump infodump👏infodump👏infoduuump!!!)

Best scene featuring Doc hmmmm.....

Doc has so many good scenes in canon and even some more great ones in the comics, take it or leave it as for how 'canon' you want those to be but.

Since I can't decide on one of the best, I'll pick a couple, fight me.

I posted some screenshots from this comic scene before here and there's nothing really super crazy going on here, but it's just such a brilliant scene to me because it really shows that core part of Doc's personality—the fact that, for anyone he loves, he'll do anything.

Doc was willing to put himself in mortal danger not once but twice with a man in possession of a gun Doc had no way of knowing whether or not it was loaded and if he'd shoot, but without a second's hesitation, he's grabbing at the gun when someone points it at his beloved wife and jumping down into the fray to protect his dear boys.

Doc always puts the safety of his loved ones before his own and it shows that even he is willing to get physical and do things he wouldn't normally do in order to protect the people he cares about. His protective dad instincts are everything to me actually.

Another scene that really means a lot to me is the scene where Doc—1985 Doc—shows up for the first time in pt3. I know I've rambled about this too because I really do adore that film deeply but, to me, it's such a profound scene. Already, in just those few minutes—hell, by the way Doc just walks onto the scene and the absolute confidence he projects—we see that Doc has gone through some amazing character growth.

Doc's always been a very strong individual, but him stepping onto Courthouse Square in his long coat carrying his clearly home-modified steampunk-esque rifle shows a new kind of strength and confidence not present in the previous films. His eight months in the past have changed him for the better and even though he wouldn't have shot Buford—that was a bluff—it said it with such conviction that who would have dared to tempt fate? And this change ripples all the way throughout pt3.

It's like, he's always known himself, but he's finally found himself if that makes sense.

Another scene that is one of the best scenes for Doc, albeit his 1955 counterpart, is when he and Marty are in the cave in pt3 unearthing the stashed time machine and letter his future counterpart left for them. The conversation between them is so easy, so natural, you almost forget this isn't Doc and Marty in 1985, despite the fact that, technically, this iteration of Doc has known Marty all of about eight days since his original arrival in 1955, his departure, and then subsequent return. Marty fumbling on the word schematic and Doc correcting him so casually, not a hint of scorn or derision in his voice, speaks volumes to him as a person, him as a teacher, and his relationship with Marty and those bonds that transcend space-time.

Another scene—I know I can't stop I won't be stopped—that is such a great scene for Doc is, again, pt3 (you see the trend here when I talk about how much I love his growth in this film) when he and Marty are unloading the rail-modified DeLorean onto the tracks and Doc is having a crisis of conscience/self.

Doc prides himself on his scientific knowledge, his capacity for analytical, logical, and rational thinking. Whenever possible, he tries to think with his head and not his heart, but this is a scene that is so deeply rooted in the heart.

He has finally found that which he has been missing all these years—love, a partner who truly could understand him—and he wants more than anything to stay. It's a moment of very human weakness, a deviation from the norm where he'd usually be like, I'm above such base desires, and for this moment, you see that he genuinely wants this more than anything. To the point where he's saying, damn the timeline, I'll fix what may break as it comes.

And Marty, both selfishly and rightfully so (you cannot ignore the selfish aspects of all that on top of the genuine desire to want his best friend to live and his obvious jealousy/dislike towards Clara and how she distracts Doc from getting back) essentially tells him Doc, you can't do that. She's not going to understand, hell, I don't even understand and I'm in it with you. What about the timeline? And that reminds Doc of everything that has already been weighing on his mind, the great and small. You can see the change, so much so that when Marty even suggests okay fine, Doc, let's take her with us, Doc dies a little bit in that moment, resigning himself to the unfortunate, lonely existence that awaits—such is a time-traveller's fate. Too much has already been altered.

You've reminded me, Marty. I'm a scientist, so I must be scientific about this. I cautioned you about disruption of the continuum for your own personal benefit, therefore I must do no less.

And this, to me, is an exceptional, important scene, because you see how, despite everything, Doc subscribes to the belief that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few—or the one and that even though he'll be heartbroken over the loss, he cannot risk the potential unravelling of space-time for his own selfish desires.

I love this scene (and the ones immediately following it where he's actually telling Clara and she breaks his heart and the cut to him at Chester's place, grief-stricken) so very deeply because you can feel all the emotion behind it.

[banalityofambiguity]

Let’s go point by point here to demonstrate what you don’t understand:

1. Obama used his appointments, and the last one was stopped by Republicans in the Senate by utilizing a loophole which had previously never been used, and can’t actually be stopped without amending the process, something that requires control of the Senate to do.

2. While I disagree with the Democratic Party on tactics; they should certainly adopt more willingness to use Republican tricks against them, their reluctance is ideological and a core part of their platform which appeals to some parts of their base: “We are the normal party trying to make the system work” wins votes from centrists.

3. The fact that there is no left in the United States is the result of two things: the destruction of unions by Reaganism (not the Democrats) and the continual unwillingness of what exists of the American left to grasp the reality of their own unpopularity. A hard-left platform in this country would be annihilated electorally by a voter base that believes Barack Obama is a socialist. Figures like Sanders and AOC have the correct idea of working through the major party more aligned to them, and are succeeding at pulling voter opinions to the left, demonstrated by:

4. The shift leftwards in Democratic policy has been noticeable and important. The Affordable Care Act, to use the Obama example since he’s the beginning of this shift, was lifechanging for millions of people, including members of my own family. I agree that it does not go far enough, but pretending that helping millions of people is bad, actually, is not how you make progress. I do agree that Obama’s economic policies in handling the recession were too conservative. Luckily, however…

5. Joe Biden is the best President this side of Lyndon Johnson (who also made some awful foreign policy decisions). The massive fiscal policy spending in recovery from COVID has given the US the best economy of my lifetime. Real wages have grown tremendously for the lowest earning people in our society, and while this is not enough it is a massive shift leftwards. The Democratic Party is now accepting higher prices as the cost of higher wages, something which the left has been demanding from them for years. Infrastructure spending does not feel interesting, but again, in real terms programs like increased internet access and safety improvements, not to mention all the jobs created, change people’s lives for the better. And we also got the largest climate package in world history, which is not enough but is certainly progress in the correct direction. Student debt forgiveness is progressing, and again, while Republicans have managed to block some of it, Biden has still forgiven 144 billion dollars, and restructured the entire payment system to make it easier on borrowers to pay off what remains. I think it should all be forgiven, but again, this is meaningful progress. Biden has appointed pro-unionization officials to the National Board of Labor Relations and made it easier to unionize, he’s helped striking workers (including that railroad strike) get their demands met, and earned the enthusiastic endorsement of the country’s organized labor movement. He also, WITHDREW AMERICAN TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN, a demand of the anti-war left for two decades. If none of this is meaningful, your demands are impossible.

Your entire way of thinking about this is fundamentally conspiratorial, unwilling to engage with the reality of democracy. Like many people, you seem to believe that “democracy” isn’t “when the majority gets what they want”, but “when I get what I want”.

6. American imperialism continues because the American public often benefits from it, and usually supports it. The majority of Americans support both Ukraine (which is a good thing, America is doing the right thing) and Israel (which is very much not a case where America is good). This is because the empire, like the logic of capitalism that underpins it, is ultimately amoral, capable of both good and evil depending on incentives. Nearly everybody in the country benefits from the global system and America’s predominant position in it, and expecting to win competitive elections on the basis of “I will do things you will be horrified by and make your life worse” is not a winning strategy.

7. Bernie Sanders lost the election. He lost twice, actually, and presenting the choice of voters as “elite scheming” is anti-democratic. He learned from this and decided to cooperate to get some of what he wanted, because he realizes that you’re never going to win an election if your position is unpalatable to the vast majority of voters.

8. “Total systemic collapse” is really, really bad for everybody the left is supposed to care about. What rises out of that collapse is a far-right dictatorship in the United States which still possesses massive global power, and so it is the duty of everyone who actually believes in making the world a better place to prevent that outcome at all costs.

Finally, and most essentially, there exists no exemption from unfair truths for just causes: that is why they are unfair. Is is fair that this is the best we can do? No, of course not. But we have to play the hand given to us, not yell at the dealer for not giving us better cards. We are responsible for the consequences of our actions, both good and bad, no matter under what circumstances we made them. The way to victory for the left requires decades, but we can only make a better world if we’re willing to take this one seriously, with the full gravity of reality. It will never be perfect, it will never be fair that we must fight an uphill battle:

But complaining about our circumstances does not change them.

terrible take I keep seeing is "well, if trump is as big a threat to democracy as liberals/leftists say he is, you should be glad someone tried to kill him. that you condemn political violence is evidence he isn't really a threat, or you're a hypocrite."

absolutely moronic. assassinations make more political violence not only possible, but likely. they are inherently destabilizing to democracy! and an assassination of a single far-right leader would not make the sentiment that supported that leader vanish overnight--the idea that killing one right person can irrevocably alter the course of history in a positive direction is a fantasy for people who write time-travel stories, not a useful model of actual politics.

[ddarker-dreams]

Lunch Discussions. Team Bucciarati x F Reader🎀

[Scarlet Ribbons description]

Word count: 1.3k, somehow ?? Notes: this is probably the most lighthearted thing i’ve ever created. idk what’s happening here. it started as a silly idea in my head but I Could Not Stop. so here it is

“If you were stranded on a deserted island, who from this table would you want to be stuck with?” 

Mista’s question goes largely unnoticed. Fugo and Narancia are in a heated discussion on if classical or hip hop is better, Bucciarati and Giorno are speaking about business, and Abbacchio is trying to zone the chatter out. That leaves you to save Mista from the throes of embarrassment. Truth be told, this innocent question is an improvement from Mista’s usual discourse.

The gunslinger’s face lights up when you hum, considering the question. 

“So it’d just be the two of us? I can’t say I’d bring a radio or something?” You ask to clarify further. 

Mista shakes his head. “Nope, no bringing anything.” 

That means practicality is most vital here. You mull over what each of your teammates (and bosses), could bring to the table. It didn’t take too long to reach a definitive answer.

“For survival’s sake, I’d pick Giorno,” you decide, the aforementioned man’s attention going to you upon hearing his name. “Well, I guess it depends on whether or not the food Gold Experience makes is edible. If it is, we’d be able to survive a long time off of it. Say, Giorno, can you eat the stuff you make?” 

“I’ve… never tried, so I’m not sure. In theory, any life created by Gold Experience is the same down to the genetics of what it’s based on.” 

Narancia snorts and takes a bite of his salad. “It’s all fun and games until a coconut falls on Giorno’s head and he’s knocked out cold. Then all the sticks and sand he used to make the food would turn back in your stomach.” 

Huh. That makes for a grotesque mental image. 

Giorno tries to defend himself but Narancia is too busy readying his argument. “A coconut…?” 

“Clearly, I’m the best choice here,” Narancia decides, pointing his fork at you. Should that be considered a threat? “Aerosmith could get the attention of a nearby plane.” 

“Non-Stand users wouldn’t be able to see it, you dumbass. What are you going to do? Wait for a Stand user pilot to roll on by?” Fugo asks with a sigh, Narancia shooting him a nasty look. 

“You never know! I’m sure there’s one or two. Besides, why would anyone want to bring you along? Your Stand couldn’t even hunt for food, it’d turn everything into a big ol’ pile of mush.” 

Fugo clicks his tongue. “There’s more to survival than that. Food is a valuable resource, yes, but do you know how to purify water?” 

Narancia furrows his eyebrows together, considering the proposition. “You have to… purify water?” 

Now it’s Fugo’s turn to look at you.

“This idiot would give you dysentery on day one,” he states dryly. You hold back a laugh at the indignation on Narancia’s face. “I think my chances would be pretty good. At least I know what poisonous plants look like.” 

Mista’s simple question is turning into a complex cobweb of possibilities. He can’t help but notice the others seemed more willing to chime in the moment you entered the conversation. Silently, he tells himself not to take it personally. 

“Well, whatever. I’d pick [First]. She could make us a shelter and bridges to different areas. The rest of you guys can be boring and pick Giorno.” Narancia decides. You can’t help but feel a little honored that he’d pick you, a content smile on your face. His last comment makes you wonder if picking Giorno is the easy answer, due to the nature of his Stand’s abilities. Abbacchio, who none of you thought was paying attention, speaks up. 

“I wouldn’t pick Giorno,” Abbacchio places his headphones around his neck. “I wouldn’t pick any of you guys, actually. Aside from Bucciarati, you’d all be dead in a week, easily.”

Bucciarati clears his throat, realizing he’s now been roped into the conversation. “I’m glad you guys are having fun, but--” 

Mista is quick to rebuke Abbacchio’s claims. “I would not die in a week! I’d at the very least make it to two weeks.” 

“Like hell you would. Pistols would destroy your food supply on the first day.” Abbacchio counters. Hm, he’s got a point, you think. Pistols do have a notoriously ravenous appetite. Note to self, do not get stuck on an island with Mista. 

Mista puts a hand to his chin, contemplating. “Hm… actually, yeah, you’re right. Nevermind.” 

You blink, incredulous at Mista’s agreeable response. He gave up that fast?! 

“What if we kept it out of Pistol’s reach?” You tentatively speak up, trying to save Mista’s honor once more. He shudders at the thought.

“There is no such thing as food out of Pistols reach,” Mista sighs, to which his Stand cheers. “They will always find it.” 

An idea comes to mind. Clasping your hands together, you look at Narancia with a smile, who immediately returns it in full. “Oh, I know! What if we got on Aerosmith, and it flew us to safety?” 

Narancia likes the idea and nods his head vigorously. “That’s genius!” 

Fugo snorts, preparing a rebuttal in record time. “Yeah, it’d be genius until you both drop into the ocean.” 

“[First], did you forget what happened the last time you were on a plane with Narancia?” Abbacchio raises an eyebrow. Your blood runs cold as memories of Notorious B.I.G come flooding back. Actually, being on any form of transportation with these people seems to end poorly. Cars, boats, airplanes… 

“Come to think of it, you’re right about that,” you agree with a shiver. “Being stuck with Abbacchio might be interesting. Moody Blues could replay scenes from a movie to pass the time.” 

“It’d be a one-man show, but I guess it’s not impossible,” Abbacchio replies. Giorno, who had been silently watching the banter, decides to speak his piece.

“I agree with Narancia,” Giorno nods at you. “[First] would be able to treat my wounds, and I hers. We’d survive the longest.” 

“Oh, please. You guys just want to be stuck on an island with [First] because she’s c-” 

Abbacchio kicks Mista under the table, effectively silencing him. Beats getting stabbed with a fork, you muse. Bucciarati, who is doing his best to moderate the discussion, has remained noticeably absent. Not wanting to miss out on his input, you direct the question to him.

“What about you, Bucciarati? Who would you pick?” 

Your Capo thinks about it longer than the others. “Fugo’s plentiful knowledge of biodiversity would be useful. Though, if we’re taking Stands into account, [First]’s Scarlet Ribbons could make a net for fishing.” 

“Finally, a sensible answer.” Fugo sighs. 

“The real question is,” Mista takes a deep breath, placing his hands on the table. “Why is no one picking me? 

“I thought we already went over that,” Narancia replies.

“Aside from the little caveat Pistols presents, I’d still be a valuable asset. Did you guys forget that I survived prison?”

“Two weeks of prison, might I add,” Fugo corrects, to Mista’s dismay. “By that logic, Narancia would be the best choice.”

“Which I am--”

“You don’t even know how to make a fire, much less survive in the wild.” 

“If I shoot something long enough it’ll catch on fire.” Narancia shrugs. Fugo rubs his temple, fending off a headache that looms on the horizon. It looks like none of you are going to be reaching a conclusion anytime soon, talking circles around one another. Still, you feel as if this is the appeal of talking to them. You can expect it to be a thrilling adventure from start to finish. 

Everyone had been too drawn into the conversation to realize the waiter, who finally works up the courage to clear his throat, catching your attention. 

“The bill for today,” is all he has the courage to say. 

Mista, Narancia, and Abbacchio both motion to Giorno at the same time, who sighs and reaches for his wallet.

[liquidstar]

hi i saw your post bout pro ship going around and Im?? I mean you deleted it so I guess that means u changed ur mind (i also read ur other asks so I know ur not One of Those)

i just find it so weird that pro ship is associated with pedophilia bc like..I always thought it meant "idc if u ship stucky or stony go ship whatever u want"! but now this whole thing reminds me of steven universe fans making an artist depressed for drawing a character thinner or lighter and bc of that i find myself siding with Pro-ship rather than those... but I just wish people dont think pro ship meant oh! i support incest and lolicon ://

as someone in the spectrum this whole discourse is especially so difficult. i also dont want to get "cancelled" when i say Pro-ship (the one with the meaning i believe in) is good bc I really dont want drama at all, but the term that I thought that should he positive and drama free IS the drama itself. ugh. sorry for the rant.

but anyways that post you deleted about hitting people with car is :/ yikes. it just gives me Toxic Fandom vibes, death threats arent cool no matter who it is. im glad you deleted it! posts similar to that are the reason why I feel like "pro ship" looks less toxic tbh even if I dont have any problematic ships and I dont approve of them either.

sorry if this ask is long! I just type this way when im thinking of a lot of things!

anon.... i deleted the post bc i was sick of getting pedo apologists writing essays in my notes about why jacking off to child porn is actually ok and healthy and getting harassment from them. yeah, surprise surprise, the people who defend cp harass people and only use the "harassment" thing as a way to create a weird strawman character to gain the moral highground. but it was the "pro shippers" who just a few months back harassed a voice actor with images of cp because they said they were uncomfortable with it because of their trauma. clearly though theyre the good guys who want safety in fandom spaces, right anon?

i stand by everything i said 100% and if you cant understand why youre either ignorant or lack critical thinking completely based on the way you just assume that Obviously i must have come around to the "pro ship" way despite its links to pedo apologism. if the fine line between you and someone who jacks off to lolicon hentai is so thin you need to distinguish between it every time you talk about it theres a problem. there is no "good version" of it, its just a foot-in-the-door tactic to make you slowly become more OK with their batshit logic over time. its intentionally designed that way. of-fucking-course people associate "pro-ship" with pedophilic content, you yourself literally had to distinguish between those parts of the "community" and i feel like i need to remind you that the whole "pro-ship" thing came side-by-side with MAPs but was later watered down to seem more friendly and welcoming, to trick people into thinking its just a friendly fandom place.

as if you cant be against harassment or bad faith media criticism without being "pro ship". similarly you can be against pedophilic content w/o being an "anti" and i dont consider myself one bc thats a huge strawman caricature, even you yourself used phrasing in that regard lol, i guess im not "one of those" because im not someone with weird "us-vs-them" groupthink. but that being said im obviously against the community that welcomes people who blindly support cp based on an all-or-nothing mentality and borderline cultlike tactics built into it, ones that youre playing straight into. if you have good intent get the fuck out of there while you still can and start examining yourself more. and get the fuck out of your own head with this fear of being "canceled"

idk which post you read that you took that away that i "changed my mind" but go read these instead instead of projecting what you must think is the "correct opinion" onto me

[sou-ver-2-0]

Why calling it "logic versus emotion" makes sense

At the end of chapter 2 in Your Turn To Die, the player is forced to choose between killing Sou or Kanna. Kanna frames this as a choice between "logic" and "emotion," where saving Sou is the "logical" choice and saving Kanna is the "emotional" choice. 

Personally, I love the writing in this part. I think it's the strongest writing in the whole game. However, since joining the YTTD fandom, I've read various posts from fans who don't like calling this a simple choice between "logic" and "emotion." For them, it felt like an emotional choice to save Sou, while it was a logical choice to save Kanna. After seeing this argument so many times, I decided to unpack my feelings on it. I also wanted to write my own defense of why calling this a choice between "logic" and "emotion" makes sense, at least to me. For me, it all comes down to how it’s written as a choice between two opposing worldviews, and I don’t focus on the little technicalities. I’ll also argue that the game is using descriptive language, rather than prescriptive language.

But first, we have to deal with a strange irony about this choice:

For the genre-savvy player, yes, it IS "logical" to save Kanna and "emotional" to save Sou.

Before writing anything about this choice, I need to acknowledge that Sara and the Player are two different people. They're obviously connected, and they inform each other's feelings and choices, but they still exist in different worlds. Sara is actually trapped in a Death Game. The Player is vicariously experiencing what it would be like to be trapped in a Death Game through a fictional story.

I'm not going to argue that Sara necessarily likes Kanna more than she likes Sou, and thus it is more "emotional" for her to save Kanna. It's possible to play Sara as someone who isn't that affectionate of Kanna, and she can act generously towards Sou. That's not the main issue here.

The issue is that the Player expects the fictional story to go in certain directions based on the morality of their choices, while Sara has no such meta expectations. The Player can reasonably expect to be rewarded with a happy ending at the end of YTTD if they make the "correct" moral choices. Saving Kanna feels like the "morally correct" choice on a gut level because she's a child, while Sou is an adult. So the Player may choose to save Kanna purely for logical reasons. They're not trying to be selfless or wise; they just want a reward from a videogame. And...they're not wrong! Immediately after saving Kanna, the player is rewarded with a cathartic scene with Joe, cluing us in to the idea that choosing Kanna is the "good path." 

Meanwhile, if the Player saves Sou, they're saving him in spite of knowing that this could logically lead to a "dark path." You might save Sou because he's a fascinating character, or because you're curious what will happen, or simply because you think he's cute. These are all emotional reasons. Maybe you don't expect any "happy" rewards if you save Sou, but you still expect the story to be exciting with him around.  

Speaking for myself, I want to see both the Kanna and Sou routes for reasons that are both emotional and logical. I sympathize with both characters, and I want to analyze them as they continue their arcs. I just think they're great characters connected to fascinating themes about humanity.

In other words, the Player is going to have all sorts of feelings about this choice based on the safety of their separation from the Death Game. It's only a videogame to us. We're not actually killing a child or a young man. We still feel sad about the story, but it's a safe sadness, one we can control. You can make your choice based on which type of tragedy is more interesting to you in the moment.

So that's how the Player experiences the choice, but what about Sara? Does it still make sense to call it a decision between "logic" and "emotion" for her? I would argue, "yes." First of all...

"Logic" and "emotion" are descriptive terms for the argument styles of Kanna and Sou, respectively. 

Using "descriptive" terminology means that we attempt to classify language as it is actually being used. Using "prescriptive" terminology means that we dictate how we should be using language.

When Kanna calls this a choice between logic and emotion, you might have thought she was being prescriptive. You might have thought something like, "You can't tell me how I should feel about this." But I think Kanna was simply being descriptive of the language she and Sou were using. It's a fair assessment of their opposing argument styles.

Kanna argues that you should vote for her by appealing to your sense of logic. She eloquently makes the case that Sou has proven himself invaluable to the team with his computer hacking skills. He came extremely close to finding an escape route just before the second Main Game began. With more time, he could find another one. If he dies, there is no one else in their party with his valuable skill set. She also effectively weaponizes her own helplessness by arguing that she is a "useless" child. She states that dying for the greater good "is the only thing she can do." What I love about Kanna's argument is how she twists Sou's own words against him, since Sou has been using coldhearted logical arguments since the beginning. She shows how much she's learned from him, and she's even able to outsmart him.

Sou argues that you should vote for him by appealing to your emotions. He furiously makes the case that he is the most hated member of the team and that you should give into your hatred of him. He says that the choice ought to be obvious based on your feelings. He calls Kanna stupid. He keeps shouting "Stop!" and "No!" He waves his arms in despair. He resorts to threats and exclaims that he will never forgive anyone who votes for Kanna. Sou's argument is compelling because we have never seen him so vulnerable before. Even with his strong will to live, he has an even more desperate will to save the little girl he's grown to care for. It's devastating to watch such a man break down. After losing his previous eloquence, he is forced to bare his soul and pray that that is enough.

However, even with all that in mind, you could still argue on a technicality that some of Kanna's statements are emotional while some of Sou's statements are logical. For example, when Kanna says that she is useless, this reflects her emotional state since she has low self-esteem. And when Sou starts threatening people, it's logical to take his threats seriously. 

But there's something deeper at work here than technicalities. There's still something at the core of their arguments that makes the choice to save Sou "logical" and Kanna "emotional."

At its core, this debate is about how to measure a human life's worth. Do you measure a human life based on how "useful" they are? Or do you recognize a person's worth based on their humanity alone? 

This is a choice between two worldviews, which the story calls "logical" and "emotional." 

In the logical worldview, you prioritize a person's usefulness over their humanity for the greater good. Also, you must be willing to use people like tools for the greater good.

In the emotional worldview, you refuse to reject anyone's humanity, even if it threatens the greater good. Also, you must accept that some moral causes are more important than survival. 

If you vote to save Sou, then Sara prioritizes the greater good; theoretically, the group can use Sou to escape. But being willing to use Sou this way rejects Sou's humanity, because we would be using his talents against his will. For Sou, escape is not worth the cost of Kanna's life. Sara also rejects her own humanity by treating both Sou and Kanna as objects instead of people. Kanna is discarded as a useless object, while Sou is kept as a potentially useful one. This is why Sara guiltily calls this "the worst possible choice" when she makes it. And it's why Sou seems to care more about revenge than survival in this route; there is no meaning in a world where we must sacrifice children.

If you vote to save Kanna, Sara does so knowing it may be harder for the group to escape without Sou's skills. But she embraces Sou's humanity by allowing him to follow his heart. She also strengthens her own humanity by refusing to cross a moral line. This is why Sou actually keeps his will to live in this route and mounts a desperate escape before his death. Because there's still meaning in a world where Kanna is allowed to live. He still dies, but with peace and purpose, and having repaid Sara for freeing his true heart.

In any case, you may still disagree with the semantics of "logic" and "emotion" to describe these worldviews, though they work for me personally. I have one more point to address.

Is it really logical to save someone who threatens you?

At this point, I'd like to talk about the most logical member of the group, the character who immediately votes to kill Kanna: Keiji Shinogi.

You, the Player, may believe that Sou will get his revenge if he lives, because it would make a compelling story. And Sara, a high-school student, may be reasonably afraid of Sou's threats, because Sou has tried to hurt her before. Even though the text doesn't portray Sara as being afraid of Sou in this moment, I understand why the Player would fear for Sara's life. In other words, a logical reason to kill Sou is because you don't believe you can control him. How do you force an adult man to behave?

Enter Keiji Shinogi, who doesn't hesitate. Keiji is stronger than Sou, and he's wicked smart. He's confident in his own abilities. And he understands vengeance better than anyone. He doesn't underestimate Sou, who has outwitted him before, but he decides to accept the risk. Like Sou, Keiji has a ruthless will. I believe that one reason Keiji voted first was because he wanted to assure everyone that "your friendly policeman" would keep Sou in line. So even though Sara doesn't act afraid of Sou in this moment, Keiji is there to calm any hypothetical fears the Player has. 

And Keiji commits to this role! In the beginning of Chapter 3, in the route where Kanna dies, the first thing Sou does is disturb the group peace. He puts on his "tough" mask and pretends that he never really cared about Kanna. In response, as everyone else is fidgeting nervously, Keiji laughs and calls out Sou on his bullshit. He eviscerates Sou emotionally, effectively putting Sou in his place and forcing him to be submissive, for now. It's Keiji's way of reminding Sou that they already know how weak he is, and Sou isn't going to get away with any tricks under Keiji's watch. Even if Sou's only "trick" in this case is to pretend he has any pride left.

From a storytelling perspective, I'm sure that these two will keep playing their power games, and Sou is likely to regain the upper-hand eventually. But from an in-universe perspective, Keiji looks like he knows exactly what he's doing in this scene, and Sou looks like a fool who better do what he's told. That is, if he doesn't want Keiji to skewer his heart in front of everyone again.

So where am I going with this?

My most generous interpretation of Keiji's vote is that he decided that Sou's life had value inasmuch as he could use Sou. After all, it's not like Keiji spared Sou out of compassion. Keiji just said that he hated Sou more than anyone he's ever known--and Keiji already killed someone else he hated. The harsher interpretation of Keiji's vote is that he fully expects Sou to die later due to his zero percent survival rate, which would make Kanna's presence technically more of a "threat" to Keiji's own survival. However, I prefer to think that Keiji was swayed by Kanna's brilliant defense of Sou's usefulness. That's because Keiji isn't a simple monster; he's a complex man who still wants to "serve and protect" the group...in his own way.

To follow in Keiji's footsteps and vote with "logic" means that Sara decides to trust Keiji's judgment. We know that Keiji is one of the smartest and strongest characters, in addition to being Sara's reliable ally. This is why I think it's still "logical" for Sara to save Sou in spite of his threats. Because Keiji is still there. 

Conclusion

That's why framing the choice as one between "logic" and "emotion" works for me. I see it as a choice between two worldviews, one in which people are valued for their usefulness, and the other in which people are valued for their humanity. 

I understand that the Player is going to have their own thoughts and feelings about this choice. Believe me, I was heartbroken too! I really wanted Sou to redeem himself and live. And I think Sara even feels the same way, since she pleads "Don't kill our ally!" when Safalin threatens Sou. It's still possible that Sou could redeem himself in the route where he lives, but I imagine it will be more important that the Player faces consequences for killing Kanna. But no matter what happens in Chapter 3, it doesn't change the fact that it looked possible in Chapter 2 for Sou's skillset to save everyone, and everyone was operating under that mindset.

I think that the writing in this game is stellar so I wanted to defend the story's framing. It surprised me to see folks who had reacted to it differently, but that's all part of the fun. It got me thinking about how interesting it is that the Player and Sara view things differently. It also got me thinking that what seems like a logical choice in the moment could feel like the wrong decision in hindsight.

Thanks for reading!

[ffangirlingsince2001]

The Witcher and The Princess: Sparks

Geralt x Reader

Geralt of Rivia is not a babysitter, he is not a bodyguard, and he has no interest in transporting princesses across the continent. Until gold is offered and for the next 90 days he’s saddled with a chirpy, bubbly, princess, who is betrothed to the prince of Narok and has a desire to see everything before she’s trapped behind another set of walls.

Warnings: angst, a taste of smut, drinking

Geralt watched as she limped down the stairs, the first smile he had seen in days worn so comfortably it was a shame it had taken him so long to see it. She sat across from him without ordering breakfast.

“Sore?” he asked, and she shook her head, lying with ease.

“Where’s Jaskier? I want to thank him for his hospitality.”

“He left this morning, a party to attend I believe.”

“I think we should leave today too,” she announced, “There’s another town a few miles down the road. It’s on the coast and I have a good friend from back home who lives there.” She looked so hopeful that he found it difficult to even consider saying no.

“Okay,” he answered, and she practically leapt across the table to throw her arms around him. With soft lips, she planted a kiss on his cheek, dousing him in appreciation. She flew up the stairs, the limp almost nonexistent when she didn’t even give her feet time to touch the floor.

When she returned to his side, she wore a dress of pink cotton and the corset that made him imagine her in ways that even the innocence of pink cotton could not dissuade. She was glowing as she led the way out, beginning the walk towards the town limits with a skip in her step.

“Would you like to ride with me?” he asked before he knew what he was saying, and quickly tried to cover up the attempt for closeness with logic, “Because we left your horse behind.”

“As long as Roach doesn’t mind, she had a rough day yesterday too.” As Y/N brushed her hand down Roach’s muzzle, Geralt felt his insides grow warm, unable to bury his affection when someone showed his horse as much care as he did.

“She’ll be okay, and the faster we make it there, the faster she can rest.” That earned him another grin before she reached out a hand. It was a struggle to get his own hand to move, his mind trying to process the consequences of pulling her onto his horse.

Situating her behind him would press all the softest parts of her against him. Her hands would wrap around his torso, tightening with every jostle until he would be able to focus on nothing but the feeling of her body encompassing his.

Though he was sure placing her in front would be so much worse. She would reside directly beneath him. Her hair would brush against his nose, filling his senses with the intoxicating smell of roses and sugar. Every time he looked down her hemline would pose no longer protect him from the sight of soft flesh. He would have his arms wrapped around her, and when she inevitably relaxed against him it would be no different than cradling her within his bed chambers. And worst of all, she would in between his legs, jostling against him with every movement. And when he found himself unable to control certain animalistic tendencies there would be no hiding it.

She was to sit behind him, for both of their sakes.

He was right of course, about the challenges of her sitting behind him. Her arms wrapped around him and she leaned in close, still bouncing with the excitement of seeing her friend. He could feel every inch of her, but what he didn’t account for was the feeling of being between her legs. Sitting there, feeling them tighten against his hips took his mind to place that he did not dare to venture. He struggled to force the thoughts out of his mind, it was the incessant imagination that made him lash out at her. The frustration that he was unable to act on the vulgar images his mind conjured had caused all their problems previously and he was determined not to let it happen again. It was not her fault everything she did made his stomach do flips. It was not her fault that every time she spoke he could focus on nothing but her lips and the way they would feel wrapped around him. And it was definitely not her fault that he wanted to drag her from his horse and fuck her against the nearest tree until she was raw and limping for the rest of their journey. So, he did his best not to think of the princess riding behind him at all.

The town was not far, and just as she said the ocean crashed against the edge of the town in a way only poets could dream of. The moment they entered the town, she slid from his horse and he let out a mental sigh of relief. He watched as she ran down the street, slipping through merchants going about their daily business. She turned a corner and disappeared from sight, tugging him out of his catatonic state. Urging Roach forward he followed her and was greeted by the sight of her flinging herself into the arms of a young silversmith. She thew her arms around his neck and pulled him tight, laughing with glee as he did the same. He drew closer and he could hear their happy reunion.

“Y/N, how are you here?”

“I’m travelling to Narok, and I begged my escort to stop here. I couldn’t stand the way we parted being the last time we saw each other.”

“Why Narok?”

“Marriage,” she replied darkly, and then shook her head, “But that is the last thing I want to discuss. Come, meet my Witcher.” At the sound of his title, the silversmith’s eyes darted to him and the widened.

“Your escort is a Witcher? Why not your guards? Is he truly capable of protecting you?”

“Of course, he is!” she defended, slapping a playful hand against his chest. “I appreciate your concern, Adam, but he has gotten me this far without incident. I will not have you question his abilities, especially in my presence,” she defended, catching Geralt’s eye as she did so.

“Of course, I just want you to be safe.”

“I know, and that is why I wish to keep you around during our stay in your city. I wish to see everything before we are forced to continue our journey.”

“I would love nothing more than to be your guide,” Adam responded, and she jumped with glee before turning to Geralt with wide and pleading eyes. The plea was clear. ‘Let me experience the world without a shadow’ it screamed, and he nodded, warning her that for her safety it was best if she was back by dusk. She nodded and took Adam’s outstretched arm, allowing him to lead her away from the Witcher.

True to her word she returned as the sun was setting. She smelled of salt and fire when she did so, and explained that there had been a bonfire on the beach when he asked about the lingering smell of smoke. He gave her a brief once over, checking for any wounds as he tried to appear as apathetic as possible. When he was satisfied that she was safe he gave a silent nod. She grinned and kissed him on the cheek once more before allowing Adam to drag her to the center of the pub where people were dancing to the tune of a mandolin.

He had succeeded in appearing apathetic, but he was anything but. Worry had etched itself across his forehead every moment she was gone and as she reappeared, he had wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms. And now, as she danced with Adam anger was bubbling within him, waiting for the chance to pull the young silversmith limb from limb. His hands were all over her as they danced. They lingered at her hips and bunched the fabric of her skirt. As she twirled around Geralt knew the look Adam was sending her way. Longing for once was and a lusting for what rested in his hands now. She was laughing all while he did so, catching his hand and allowing him to spin her across the makeshift dance floor. Her fingers brushed away stray pieces of hair, lingering on his cheek and tracing his neck with remembrance of the past. The clear past between the two grew only more obvious when a slow tune came on and they held one another close with aching familiarity.

Geralt downed more liquor than he had in months as he watched them, until he could take no more and left to their room, hoping that sleep would ease the aggression coursing through his veins and the tightness in his pants. He laid in the dark, unable to sleep for half an hour when the door creaked open. A ray of light struck his face and he watched Y/N slip inside as quietly as she could. She was still panting from the dancing, chest heaving in the golden light of her candle.

“Geralt?” she whispered, and he grunted in response, “Are you alright?” He grunted again. She was always asking if he was okay, as if she had nothing to do with the agony he was forced to endure day in and day out. “Are you ill? I can call for a healer.”

“I’m fine.” She set the candle down and approached him, kneeling beside the bed.

“Are you sure?”

“How do you know Adam?” he asked, swiftly throwing the attention from himself.

“He used to work in the palace.”

“And what was your relation?” Geralt was sitting up now, looking down at the sight of her resting on her knees between his legs. He fought to rid the idea from his mind, but it seemed to have dug its claws in.

“I don’t quite understand what you mean,” she whispered, and he growled, pulling her to her feet and pushing her against the wall. She didn’t struggle as he had expected her to but looked at him with apt fascination.

“I mean how did you interact. How often did you sneak from your bed to meet him in the dark of night? How often did the innocent princess wed to another allow temptation to guide her? And what exactly did temptation bring?” he growled, and she froze, revealing that he was correct in his assumption.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered and he smirked, trapping her between his body and the wall as ale began to make decisions for him.

“Well, I know he didn’t truly ravish you based on the way his eyes were imagining it tonight, so I ask again. What did you allow the lowly silversmith do to you?” She struggled at his insult of the silversmith, but he held her far too tightly. “Did you let him kiss you?” he asked, leaning in until their lips were mere centimeters apart. When she did not answer he tutted softly. “Come on Princess, I need an answer.” She nodded, eyes wide and lips parted. “Where?” Silence again, but this time he took a different route in pulling the answers from her. He pressed his lips to hers with rough admiration and pulled away. She gasped at the removal of contact and he pressed his lips against her throat, sucking gently at the soft skin. “Did he kiss you here?” she nodded, and he moved to her shoulder, kissing her again. “Here?” She nodded once more, and he moved his lips to where the slopes of her breast began. “What about here?” She shook her head and he pulled away, surveying her as a predator does their pray. “What else did you let him do?”

“Nothing,” she replied, and he shook his in disappointment.

“No need to lie, Princess. Nothing bad will come from a little honestly, especially when you are so very wound up. So, tell me, what did he do to you?” She remained silent and gasped when he pulled her onto his lap, bunching her skirt at her hips and running his hands along her thighs. She was so soft beneath him, her hips rocking forward ever so slightly even as he did nothing but touch the outside of her thighs. He slipped a hand beneath her dress and cupped her center. She let out a soft moan, hands finding his hair as she rocked forward with more need. She was velvety in his hand, her core so wet it seemed it was melting at his very touch. Her breathing turned into needy whimpers, struggling to feel more friction between her core and his hand, but he was not done interrogating her.  “If you don’t want to tell me what he did, tell me instead why he was sent away.”

“Someone caught us,” she moaned, still caught in the high of his pleasure, and he froze, hands clenching against her flesh. She yelped and tried to pull her away, her core pulsing against him in protest, but he did not relent.

“And what were you doing when they caught you?” All of the sudden a smirk appeared on her face, any fear she had before dissipating in an instant, and she grabbed onto his shoulders pulling herself forward. She pressed against him and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“We were in an empty hall. And he had me pressed to wall, my legs wrapped around his waist,” she said and he growled, hoisting her into the position she had described. Her legs tightened around him and she pressed kisses against his neck. “And I was moaning so loud it was a wonder someone hadn’t caught us sooner. If they hadn’t caught us, I would have let him take me in that very hall.” Geralt growled and pressed his lips to hers. He was hard against her, straining against his pants as she rubbed against him. “But they sent him away and I was forced to endure hours of lecture, about the sanctity of remaining pure for one’s husband,” she whispered, grinding against him as she pressed kisses against his chest, but at the moment she mentioned ‘husband’ Geralt froze. What the hell was he doing? She was to be wed and he had her wrapped around him like a common minx.

He was supposed to keep her safe, but defiling her would do anything but, so with great effort he pulled away, unwrapping her from his body. And pulling away.

“What just happened?” she asked through pants of frustration.

“Your husband,” he growled, and she had the audacity to look bewildered. “I will not take you away from your husband. I apologize and assure you it will not happen again.” She looked like she wanted to scream, or worse cry, but she only nodded and stepped away from him, smoothing down her dress.

“Yes, my husband. I hope this will not make things uncomfortable.”

“It will not,” he assured her, and she nodded with an unexplained sadness and retired to her bed, allowing Geralt to do the same, and revel in the frustration he had created for himself.

Tags

@mallorydoesstuff @facelessfiction @aphadriel-fanfic @raspberrydreamclouds @thegreattodd @saint-hardy @ravenclawsstolemybunies @queenofmankind @britty443 @lonewolf471 @utterlyhopeful @persephonehemingway​

[delimeful]

to taste your beating heart  (3)

Ao3 Link | chapter 1 | chapter 2 |

warnings: blood, hypnosis, tragic backstories, tension, arguing

-

The oven’s beeping was what alerted him.

They’d installed a safety feature in the little panel of knobs and buttons that would chirp loudly if the oven was left on past an hour. It had been Virgil’s idea, after Patton’s forgetfulness caused one too many close calls. 

“I’d like our house to stay not burned down, thanks,” he’d said in that wry tone of his. Patton had been too busy delighting in the fact that he’d referred to them all as a unit, a team, to be offended about the jab at his absentminded nature.

Logan snapped the cover of the book he was holding shut, feeling hot irritation run through him as he forced the memory away. Did Patton really think it was appropriate to burn a batch of cookies now, of all times?

Of course, when he strode into the room and found the oven empty but for a tray of cooling cookies with a sticky note atop it, he changed his tune rather abruptly. 

Went to go feed V! Don’t panic, have a cookie! - Pat <3 

Logan muttered profanity under his breath as he retrieved one of his crossbows from the closet and hurried down the stairs. They had to be stuck down there, Virgil— the vampire likely free of the chair but locked in the room, now with the advantage of a hostage.

He got to the bottom of the stairs and stopped dead, staring at Patton sitting in the chair casually, no vampire in sight. 

Unless Patton hadn’t bothered to lock the door behind him, because of course he didn’t. Logan growled, checking once more to make sure Patton was the only one in the room before flinging the bolt free and the door open. 

“Patton, you cardigan-clad clod—”

He pulled up short at the haze in his partner’s eyes. The blood splattered on the floor. Thralled. 

Immediately, he stepped back, holding the crossbow in a guard position. He desperately didn't want to have to hurt Patton, but with the man’s already considerable strength enhanced by thrall magic, he’d have to use a weapon to stand a chance. 

Patton didn’t move, head tilted just slightly. “It’s... okay, Lo. M— he didn’t order me to attack you guys.” 

Logan carefully lowered his bow, remembering the vampire’s earlier facade, but… this was Patton. Of all of them, he was the most experienced with thralls, and the fact that he was speaking was a good sign. His mental strength was enough that if he was commanded to deceive them, he would simply stay silent instead. 

He rushed over, placing a hand on Patton’s shoulder to ground him. He floundered for words for a moment, throat clogged. Logically, he knew the vampire did not have Virgil’s memories and couldn’t have known. Illogically, his body still felt the betrayal like a physical blow.

“It’s okay, Lo,” Patton offered again, leaning his head into the hand on his shoulder. “It’s a really gentle one. I still feel… all-me. Promise.” 

The reassurance meant more than it would coming from any other vamp victim. When they had first met Patton, he’d been under thrall on and off for long enough that he had learned how to function almost-normally, enough that he was able to give them vital hints to the truth of the case they’d been working on.

He’d almost died for his disobedience, and it was only through severing the thrall bond that they were able to save him. Even then, the mental backlash had been severe. Patton had been dazed and blank for weeks afterwards, sometimes unable to function unless one of them was right there with him, guiding him step by step. 

Virgil had been so protective of him. And now…

Logan nodded, clearing his throat once, and then again. “Can you stand?” he asked when he was sure his voice wouldn’t do anything strange. 

“Mmmhm.” Patton kicked his feet out and hopped up from the chair, nearly falling over before Logan steadied him. He was still holding one hand over the other wrist tightly.

“Your artery—“ he started, alarmed.

“No veins, he only took a little bite of blood,” Patton reassured him, a pleased grin on his face at the pun. “Can’t move my hand… he said to pressurize it.” 

“Ah,” Logan said, a bit taken aback. “Very good. Not the pun, that was very bad. Follow me?” 

Patton paused at the threshold of the room, before stepping carefully over without any twitching or other indicators of pain. “Told me to stay first, buuut then he tried to summon me, so... it cancels out, I think.” 

Such circular logic was Patton’s main tool for subverting thrall orders. If the vamp had gotten out and then called Patton… Logan felt a bit smug. “The hawthorn must have caught him unawares.” 

Patton chuckled. “Silly.” 

Logan paused briefly to turn off the oven before cautiously making his way to the front door, sending Patton a curious glance. He screwed his face up in concentration for a moment, and then pointed a finger up towards the ceiling slightly to their left. The roof, then. 

Taking a deep breath, he strode out onto the lawn and did an about-face to scan the roof. Sure enough, he quickly spotted those eerie eyes glowing in the shadow of their chimney. 

Virgil— the vampire stiffened, body coiling like a spring set to snap before stilling at the sight of Patton trailing behind Logan. He glanced between the two of them incredulously, and then focused on Patton, jerking his head to where their lawn met the road purposefully. Issuing a mental command.

Logan’s worried gaze turned on Patton immediately, but all the man did was twist to look over at the hawthorn bushes and then back at the vampire with a pleading frown. His movements weren’t even stilted, a testament to how easily he had shaken off the command.

“I don’t wanna ruin all your hard work, kiddo!” he called up, making the vampire’s face twitch into an expression Logan only saw on Virgil when he was trying to calculate the tip or a woman hit on him: bewilderment. 

Attempting to distract the vampire from increasing the intensity of the order, he stepped forwards. “Get off the roof, Virgil.” 

A flash of pain on the vamp’s face, gone as soon as it appeared. “Not gonna happen,” he replied, the edge of a snarl in his voice. 

“Are you planning on taking up residence there, then?” Logan raised an eyebrow, glancing up at the grey sky. “I imagine that cloud cover won’t last forever.” 

“I imagine you’ll have fun watching your friend’s body burn to a crisp,” the vampire shot back mockingly, his clawed hands digging into the roof’s shingles. 

Before Logan could respond, the front door was slammed open with excessive force, the sound making the vampire flatten himself further against the roof. 

“Logan! The vamp’s out, have you seen—“ Roman cut off at the sight of Patton behind him, lowering his katana slightly. “Oh, thank the muses.” 

Logan resisted the urge to rub at his temples. Roman strode over, and then stopped dead at the sight of Patton’s half-glazed eyes, his expression instantly darkening. He gripped his sword handle, knuckles turning white as he spoke with false calm. “Where is he?”

“Roman—,” Logan tried, but he was already following Patton’s line of sight up to the blob of shadow on the roof. The vamp looked like he was attempting to merge with the tiles, though he bristled as soon as Roman met his eyes.

“How could you?” he shouted, fists clenched at his sides. “You know what he’s been through, you asshole!” 

The vampire drew himself up, and Logan opened his mouth to correct Roman, but Patton reached him first, bumping him gently from the side. 

“Easy, Ro,” he said, tilting his head to rest on his shoulder. “He doesn’t remember, and I’m okay. It’s a real soft one, doesn’t hurt a bite.” 

“Reusing puns, really?” Logan snipped, relief flooding through him at the way some tension eased from the air. Roman was looking at Patton with unguarded shock. 

Logan understood. There had been a few instances where Patton had been thralled again, seeing as he was their best close-range fighter, and each and every time he had been shaky, drained, and upset both during the thrall and after. To see him still maintaining his cheer now was surprising, to say the least. Perhaps Patton’s insistence that Virgil’s memories remained intact had some merit, if the thrall was this… ‘soft,’ as Patton put it. 

He glanced up at the vampire in question, noting the way he was watching Patton with his own barely-hidden shock. It vanished as soon as Roman turned back to him, a practiced mask of indifference settling on his face. 

“Release Patton from your thrall, bloodsucker,” Roman commanded, breathing deeply through his nose.

“... You’re going to shoot me off this roof if I do,” the vamp responded, which frankly was much better than another ‘not a chance’. Roman glowered harder, and Logan cleared his throat pointedly.

“Virgil—,” he started.

“It’s Anx,” the vamp and Patton corrected at the same time, in wildly different tones. They proceeded to look at each other with wildly different expressions. Roman whipped his head between them with indignation. Logan rolled his eyes.

“Anx, then. You cannot remain up there forever, and you cannot escape.” The vamp snorted derisively, and Logan remained unruffled. “I trust the security of our base greatly. Our friend was the one who reinforced it, and you’ll find there are very few more thorough than him.”

“Great, so he fucked himself over retroactively,” Anx muttered viciously. “As if I needed more reasons to hate myself.” 

“Mno, fight you…,” Patton mumbled absently on reflex. Roman slung an arm around him for support.

“Perhaps we could strike a deal,” Logan offered, seeing that his other teammates were going to be no help in convincing him. “You will release the thrall on Patton, and refrain from biting any of us or attempting to escape again. In exchange—“

“How about in exchange, we won’t shoot you off our roof,” Roman snapped, glaring at everyone but Patton indiscriminately. Logan glared back. 

“In exchange,” he repeated emphatically, “you will be fed and we will attempt more civil methods of negotiation rather than locking you up. Does that sound agreeable?” 

“How about instead, he digs up those stupid bushes and then I leave without bleeding any of you dry? Does that sound agreeable?” Anx snapped. He flicked his gaze back to Patton sharply, making them all stiffen in unison. 

However, it was the vampire who ended up clutching at his head and letting out a choked scream, not Patton. He staggered a few steps forward before collapsing bonelessly into a dead faint on the roof. 

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, Mockingbird.”

Based on a request I received in my asks for some fluff. I think you guys will like it, or at least I hope you do :) 

He couldn’t  remember much of the last few days. Everything was a blur of motion, pain and dizziness. He couldn't tell if he was staying up or lying down or running in circles or spinning inside an F-90 Darkfire going nine times faster than the speed of sound. It felt like he was constantly pulling almost 9-Gs staying awake was impossible, but at the same time, so was falling asleep.

He felt horrible, sick.

He thought he remembered throwing up a few times, but he could have been wrong.

However, he did remember the aching, a pain that throbbed through his body like he had a horrible flu. His muscles ached, his bones ached, his blood might as well have ached. Everything around him echoed, the lights pulsed in and out. 

He was nauseous and so very, very cold.

The shivering ache in his bones did nothing to help the horrible throbbing of his muscles, especially the muscles in his back.

He thought he heard voices a few times, mingling with the echoes and spinning with the lights over his head. The world began to spin to his left, and he tried controlling the nausea like he would in the cockpit of a jet, but for some reason all his normal tricks weren’t working. His stomach churned.

He fell in and out of consciousness.

His eyes opened and then closed. He was on his side, or at least he thought he was. The nausea wasn’t so bad anymore, but his mouth tasted horrible.

He closed his eyes against the spinning.

He was falling backwards now.

And he was so so tired. His head was resting against something soft, now something hard. More voices echoed.

He tried to make them out, but every time he did he only felt more horrible, more nausea building up on his insides.

“Anything.” The voice faded in and out plunging downward, deepening and stretching out for long minutes forcing him to miss the rest of the conversation. He tried to open his eyes, and was almost immediately blinded. The lights above his head warped and twisted stretching one way and then flattening in the other direction.

Then it doubled and they began to dance back and forth against each other.

“Adam.”

The sound echoed in his head as if it had been yelled into a narrow canyon.

He had trouble remembering what the sounds meant.

His head was throbbing.

More lights.

He flinched away squeezing his eyes shut and immediately fell back in. The nausea overcame him again followed by the dizziness and the vertigo until he couldn’t open his eyes.  He spun back and forth and back and forth his muscles aching, his body throbbing. The shivering got worse , and it wouldn’t have mattered if there were blankets or not. 

He just felt so horrible.

That could have gone on for an eternity as far as he knew. An eternity of spinning, bright lights and echoing voices  interspersed with uneasy moments of sleep characterized by horrific nightmares. Nightmares that contained faceless monsters, strange alien creatures and his own inevitable failure.

And then he fell asleep, finally.

It started off in small bouts of silent restfulness, a deep and soothing darkness that relaxed his body and calmed his mind. When he floated towards the surface, almost awake, he could hear voices, and thought that he could at least understand them.

“How is he today, doc?”

“He’s doing better, sleeping more. The drugs took a real toll on his system. I doubt the admiral was entirely correct about what exactly was in those drugs.”

“He’s lucky to have you. He wouldn’t have survived the overdose otherwise.”

And then he was gone again, sinking back down,

He would have had no way of knowing how long he was out, and when he woke up again, just a little clearer than last time, he heard.

“Why not a medically induced coma, at least then he wouldn’t be in pain.”

“I determined that this was the safer decision in the state he is in. Don’t worry, things are slowly getting easier. He’s sleeping hours at a time now.”

Another voice, “no more vomiting, though that may be just because he’s running on empty.”

He let himself sink away this time, finding that he was getting better at controlling it. He stayed longer this time, curled up in the safety of the darkness where it was warm, and pain free. However, this time he was woken up by a voice.

“Dr. Katie thinks you might be able to hear us. Says you sort of drift in and out.” Though the ache in his body was still there the familiarity of the voice eased his mind, “It was…. An honor to fight with you. I only wish it could have been under better circumstances..” A hand rested on his upper arm, “For a human, you make a pretty good Drev.” 

Something warm touched his hand, or at least he thought it was his hand. When it pulled away his hand was wet.

“Waffles misses you. We haven’t been able to move her without her getting really agitated.” Something soft caressed against his fingers, a soft whimpering pulsing through the air. Soft waves of air to caress his ears. 

He tried to open his eyes, but the dizziness hit him again and, suddenly, he could hardly function. He sunk away again occasionally aware of a furry, warm snout nudging his hand as he slept.

“Hey, Commander…. Adam. yeah anyway, Sunny thinks we should talk to you, so Mav and I are here….er Ramirez.”

“So eloquent.”

“Shut up it's not like he’s expecting a soliloquy, what do you want me to do compose shakespeare.”

“I’d Like to see that.”

“Shut up, anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted/, we are, the crew i mean, are all rooting for you, and we will be here when you’re ready to wake up. Also, please wake up, the spiderlings haven't stopped freaking out since you went under. I can’t exactly tell if they are crying or not but they are making some weird ass noises…. How about you Mav, you got anything to say?”

“Just if you don’t wake up in the next week, I am going to shake you awake and kick your bitch ass for making us wait so long. I am not a patient person.”

“As empathetic as always Mav.”

This time he felt as if he had been asleep for longer, feeling rather than hearing people pass through. He recognizes some return offenders, though some of them were there for a purpose.

“You know, Comm- I mean, Adam. Sometimes I blame you for making me more human. You took away one of the things that made my life easy, and then you gave me empathy. Now I, well having my friends gone hurts. It doesn’t make any logical sense from a proper Vrul standpoint .But you made me into…. Not much of a vrul anymore . You gave me empathy, and friends, and a social life…..” silence, “And I fucking hate it…. But at the same time I don’t. You hear that, I both hate it and don’t hate it at the same time like that is possible. I’m making as much sense as a human .”

More drawn silence.

“Look, I know what you said and how you acted in the suit weren’t you, but I just….. I need….. … I need you to wake up, so I know, so I know that everything is ok between us. The anticipation is killing me more than anything.”

He felt warm inside, and the shivering was dying down. He supposed that was a good thing, and following that moment he thought he might have slept the entire night through, though he could still tell that opening his eyes was going to be a problem. When he awoke, he awoke to a melody, someone signing quietly.

He recognized it, a distant memory from and even more distant childhood.

The song must have been thousands of years old, and for that reason it was….. Sweet.

“Still gets me today that a thousand years ago someone’s mother was singing their baby to sleep with that.”

A soft hand on his.

A gentle touch at the IV in his arm, “Hope you don't mind me singing to myself, or talking. I don’t usually do it when krill is around, he wouldn’t understand. Or maybe he would, but…. It feels weird. I was pretty weird you know, never really figured out why. Guess that’s what I get for wanting to be a librarian when I was little. Became a doctor instead, “ Dr Katie  laughed, “My how things change. Its honestly crazy to me you ended up with the exact job you wanted….. Bet you didn’t think it would be this hard ....” She trailed off, and there was silence for a long time before she began to sing to herself again.

Her voice wove patterns through his dreams

Hush little baby don’t say a word

Moma’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.

He spun slowly around and around in circles descending downward.

And if that mockingbird don’t sing 

The warmth grew back up around him, enfolding him from all sides like the embracing arms of a lover.

Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring.

He could have slept for days after that dreaming on and off barely knowing what was real and what was inside his head. The world didn’t spin anymore, and his body only ached slightly. The nausea was simply a general discomfort through his darkness, and he could ignore it easily enough.

“You better wake up soon. Seems like you have been in here long enough.”

Was that Conn? 

Couldn’t be.

“You dirty rat bastard.” Nope that was him alright, “I expect you get out here soon….. It is rather lonely in my head….”

Other hands, other voices, other confessions, some cold some warm, felt through his insides like each person was pouring liquid of different temperatures into his blood, pumping through his chest and heart. 

Eventually, the world stopped spinning completely, the echoes died away, and he was left alone in his own head finally with the ability to think consciously, as conscious as he was between bouts of sleep. The nausea was still there, but it might have been due to hunger more than anything else.

The next time he woke up, things were different. The last time it had been as if he was rising through dark water only to be separated from the surface by a pane of one way glass he couldn’t crack.

This time, the pane of glass was gone, and light and sounds poured in around him.

He first became aware of sound, the quiet muttering of conversation, the beeping of machines, and the clattering of tools. Someone was laughing distantly.

Secondly, he was aware of a weight pressed against his side. It was soft and warm, and as he lay there he felt it move. Something rested on his stomach, just under his chest. Whatever it was let off a long drawn out sigh and a yawn.

Lastly , there was light.

For a second he thought he had gone partially blind, but realized his eyes were still closed.

He stayed like that for a little bit, adjusting before.

Flexing his fingers.

And immediately noticed the absence of the steel eye armor.

The relief was incredible. 

His hands were stiff, and the joints ached a little, but slowly he was able to open his hand.

Moving was harder, and it brought back the muted ache from earlier.

His fingertips brushed over sheets as his hand moved up brushing fur, and the warm muscled body underneath.

He stroked a hand through Waffle’s fur.

The lifted her head in surprise, then, with a whimper scooted forward resting her head on his chest nosing him with her snout.

He lifted his hand to stroke her ears.

She licked once as his face catching him in the jaw with her warm slimy tongue.

There was a creaking noise just to his side, “Hey, Girl, everything alright?”

The dog whimpered.

Whoever it was stood.

“Krill.” 

He tried opening his eyes flooded with light before blinking. The dog whimpered again.

He turned his head from the lights trying to blink away the haze.

“Adam. Can you hear us?”

He blinked a few more times squinting against the light until the world around him slowly resolved, light fading backwards.

First, he saw the ceiling, and the overhead lights, curtain rods with the curtains pulled open, an IV bag, medical machines. Looking down he saw his own feet under blankets, and finally the warm worried eyes of his dog. The look she gave him was one of such sincere concern  that, for a moment, he was worried he might be dying. Upon making eye contact she scooted even further forward resting one paw on his chest  snuffling at his face and licking him across the cheek.

“Easy girl.” someone said 

He turned his head a little further brows still furrowed falling on a familiar spidery form floating to the side.

“Adam?” Krill said again.

It took him a few seconds to understand turning his head to the other side where a tall blue figure was standing her gold eyes struck with worry.

He turned his head back to Krill.

“We’re good.”

The dog continued to nuzzle at him rubbing her head against his shoulder trying to get his attention. Overhead the two aliens relaxed visibly, “What was that?”’ Krill asked leaning forward to look him over.

“You wanted to know….. If we were still good…..” Trying to talk past his dry nasty tasting mouth was unpleasant. He smacked his lips, “And I wanted to say that we are.”

The relief broke even further.

Krill was speechless.

Sunny laughed in relief, or at least the equivalent for a Drev.

Dr. Katie poked her head around from the right side curtain, “You’re awake!”

He had both hands up now patting the dog’s ears as she frantically nuzzled forward tail slapping against the bed railing. His right hand was taped up, the tube of an IV sticking into his hand.

He was still very fuzzy and tired.

“How are you feeling?” 

“Better than…. I was…. Before.” A light flicked from one eye to the other, and he squinted, “Hey…” Even his mechanical eye didn’t seem pleased.

“Just making sure your brain is in tact. 

“It never was.” He mumbled.

The dog had  her head resting on his shoulder now, “Surprised you…. Let her stay.”

“I was worried she might bite me.”

Sunny patted the dog’s back.

“Hey, Krill there are a few people at the door come to check in on the Commander.”

“Tell them to stay out. The commander needs his rest.”

Adam raised a hand, “Wait… no… it's ok.”

“You can barely string two words together.” Krill scolded

“Just five minutes and then....” His voice was slightly slurred, “And then I’ll do…. Whatever.”

“Fine, five minutes.”

He closed his eyes briefly listening as feet shuffled across the floor, and soft voices murmured up around him.

“Commander.”

He opened his eyes to see a huddle of marines standing at the end of his bed. Ramirez, Mav, CJ and a few others.

“You alright?”

“Terrific.”

“They must have you on some good drugs.”

“Actually no…. Due to the nature of his stay, he’s actually sober right now.”

The marines laughed, only to be silenced by Krill, “If that’s the case you definitely need sleep.” Ramirez patted his foot, “Don’t let us get in your way, rest, relax, do what you need to do.”  They were ushered out as quickly as they had come, he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. The dog’s breath was warm against his throat from where her head rested on his shoulder.

Off in the corner he watched a set of white ribbons gently waving in the subtle air currents of the ship.”

“Welcome back,” Said a voice, unbidden inside his head.

“Bitch.” he thought.

“Dumbass.” Came the reply 

He leaned his head back the pillow cool and soothing against his aching neck. He reached up a hand absently letting it hang in the air until something took it. Sunny’s skin was warm compared to his own.

His head lolled sideways.

And he was gone.

[primusdemoniccreatrix]

Why

(Had this in my drafts for over a year; enjoy) Miko, Jack and Raf sat in the back of Ratchet’s cab as he closed the door shut to silence the myriad of voices and machines outside. The mech had come to bring the kids to the base from school. 

The other bots were on missions, leaving only an injured Bee to man the groundbridge and Ratchet to come pick up the children. After all, Bee lost his T-cog (thank goodness nothing else was taken but still that is awful) so Ratchet had to collect the fleshy nuisances. And while shutting the back had closed off the noise, it concentrated the ones on the inside. 

For no reason whatsoever, the children had begun yelling and it was for some reason so ridiculously loud of an argument he wished that Arcee was right about his hearing. His hearing was so sharp it was a pain in circumstances like this. 

“-ou don’t even have enough money for chicken nuggets!” 

“What did you say, Miko?! No, what did you say?! Step the Hell up, Miko!” 

“Jack, you don’t even know how to read, like Jared!” 

....What in the Allspark was a ‘Jared’? A name or something?

“That’s why your shoes raggedy” came Miko’s voice. 

“That is not correct, Miko”, came the voice of Raf, who had stayed stayed suspiciously quiet for the first few seconds; “According to the Encyclopedia of-” and what in Primus’ name was that slurping noise- 

Primus, end my life now, prayed Ratchet, getting confused. 

He didn’t know why the children started yelling, and why they were shouting at each other, or why the frag he recognized it from somewhere, but this shouting match was too much. Far too much for his sleep-deprived brain. Ratchet turned on the street once more as the others continued shouting, with Raf’s and Jack’s giggling accompanying Miko’s shouting. Ratchet grumbled as he strained to follow the path back to the base with his sanity as intact as possible. 

The potholes and the shouting were grating on his nerves that it took every ounce of Ratchet’s remaining sanity to not explode. The non-sensical way they spoke was doing damage to his brain module, he just knew. He was losing IQ, he could feel knowledge leave his body.

Primus, Have mercy. 

Ratchet wasn’t very superstitious or religious, but if he died from implosion out of the sheer horrorfest in his own vehicle mode, he needed to pray because logic wouldn’t help. 

Before he knew it he was already inside the base. Thank fragging PRIMUS- 

He let the children out, turned down his audials, got back to work and called on Optimus to hurry. He needed a friend to stomach this. 

Optimus turned once more on the streets, hoping to get back to the base without incident. Agent Fowler needed his assistance to pick up files from some anonymous tip, and having collected it (while almost boiling alive in the Nevada sun for about 30 minutes before he remembered he had air conditioning in his vehicle mode to cool himself off he totally remembered and wasn’t embarrassed), Agent Fowler returned to Optimus’ vehicle mode and here they were, both of them on the way back to the base after that meeting. 

For some reason there were many construction signs on the rods, even on the only one leading to the base. Agent Fowler explained that the state was hoping to clean up the potholes in the area, so they needed to block off some routes. The Prime was glad to hear that the municipality was taking care of their roads (and not because he sunk into one too many on missions shhh) and was pleased to see things were going to be fixed. Only problem was, there were so many roads covered in pylons, especially the ones that were just barely big enough to allow him through by his sheer size. They had to search for a few roads, going back and forth between a few to try and find open roads to accommodate the bulk of the Prime. 

“Thanks for helping me, Prime. I really appreciate it, you know”

“It is no problem, Agent Fowler. I am glad to have assisted you” 

“These roads aren’t too nice” commented Fowler, trying to make small talk. 

“No, but I am glad they are being fixed. Your municipality is doing well to ensure the safety of vehicle-using citizens” Optimus complimented. If only he knew what the actual federal government was like Fowler joked to himself inwardly.

Finally, the last road on the edge of town appeared, the one directly in front of the base. Optimus drove up the road, the pylons squeezing the road but allowing him enough room thank Primus. He was almost home. 

Fowler tilted his head and looked into the street, reading the sign. 

“Road work ahead” murmured Agent Fowler, reading the sign aloud. 

Optimus must have thought it a question, for he replied: 

“It appears to be functional; I hope it does”. 

Optimus never would know why Agent Fowler suddenly laughed so much he barely breathed. 

[tinyshe]

Story at-a-glance

New York City is implementing vaccine passport rules to enter certain venues, thereby discriminating against minorities and people of color

As of August 2, 2021, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed 59% of Americans who had received at least one COVID injection were Caucasian, 16% were Hispanic, 10% Black, 6% Asian and only 1% were Native American or Alaska Native

When a vaccine, like the COVID shot, fails to fully prevent infection, it can promote the creation and transmission of more virulent pathogens

CDC has confirmed fully vaccinated individuals who contract the infection have as high a viral load as unvaccinated individuals who get infected, which proves there’s no difference between the two, in terms of being a transmission risk. If vaccinated individuals can be infected, carry the virus and cause it to mutate, and then transmit it to others, how does proof of vaccination promote public safety?

Would-be totalitarian rulers know how to use fear to induce mass psychosis, where people can no longer think rationally and act out of primal fear. They then offer to restore safety and order, but to do that, everyone must forfeit their personal freedom. The creation of safety through forfeiture of freedom is what vaccine passports are all about

The video above is a 15-minute outtake from Joe Rogan’s podcast episode #1693,1 in which he interviews Evan Hafer, a special forces veteran who founded Black Rifle Coffee Company and hosts the Free Range American podcast.

In this clip, Rogan lets his opinions rip on vaccine passports, COVID “vaccinations” and breakthrough cases. He points out the obvious irony of New York City’s new passport rules. While the democratic leadership claims to want to protect people of color and immigrants, these are the very groups that reject the COVID shots the most.

As of August 2, 2021, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data reported by the Kaiser Family Foundation2 showed 59% of Americans who had received at least one COVID injection were Caucasian, 10% were Black, 16% Hispanic, 6% Asian and only 1% were American Indian or Alaska Native.

So, now New York is actively discriminating against minorities in the name of public safety, and people are actually applauding this as a good thing. “It’s madness,” Rogan exclaims. Meanwhile, science shows us that everything our public health officials are doing is wrong.

Leaky Vaccines Drive Mutations

For example, Rogan cites 2015 research3 showing that nonsterilizing vaccination — meaning when a vaccine fails to fully prevent infection, also known as a leaky vaccine — can promote the creation and transmission of more virulent pathogens. As explained by the authors:4

“There is a theoretical expectation that some types of vaccines could prompt the evolution of more virulent (‘hotter’) pathogens. This idea follows from the notion that natural selection removes pathogen strains that are so ‘hot’ that they kill their hosts and, therefore, themselves.

Vaccines that let the hosts survive but do not prevent the spread of the pathogen relax this selection, allowing the evolution of hotter pathogens to occur. This type of vaccine is often called a leaky vaccine. When vaccines prevent transmission, as is the case for nearly all vaccines used in humans, this type of evolution towards increased virulence is blocked.

But when vaccines leak, allowing at least some pathogen transmission, they could create the ecological conditions that would allow hot strains to emerge and persist.

This theory proved highly controversial when it was first proposed over a decade ago, but here we report experiments with Marek’s disease virus in poultry that show that modern commercial leaky vaccines can have precisely this effect: they allow the onward transmission of strains otherwise too lethal to persist.

Thus, the use of leaky vaccines can facilitate the evolution of pathogen strains that put unvaccinated hosts at greater risk of severe disease.”

The COVID shots, which do not provide you with immune protection against the virus but, rather, only lessen symptoms of infection, are a perfect example of leaky vaccines that can allow the virus to mutate within the mildly ill host, who then transmits the mutated virus to others. In this way, the COVID shots can fuel a never-ending chain of outbreaks.

Vaccine Passports Cannot Protect Public Health

If vaccinated individuals can be infected, carry the virus and transmit it to others, what good is proof of vaccination? Vaccinated people obviously are no less likely to spread the infection than unvaccinated people, so why is the liberty to freely participate in society being removed from the unvaccinated? It’s completely irrational.

Since there is no medical logic behind their use, vaccine passports must have some other unspoken function, and indeed they do. They’re an essential part of a massive control mechanism. Right now, you can’t go places unless you’ve gotten your required one or two doses of COVID injection.

You can be sure that once a third dose is recommended, your passport will become invalid until or unless you get that third booster. This will be repeated once there’s a fourth booster, and a fifth, and anything that gets added after that.

The requirement you must fulfill in order to maintain a valid passport could be literally anything. We also know that these vaccine passports can serve as a platform for all sorts of other interconnected things, such as your personal identification, your medical records, financial records, government assistance, employment records and much more, so restricting your access to restaurants could eventually become the least of your problems.

You might not be able to access your bank account. You might not be let into your job. You might be denied medical attention or government assistance. So, Rogan is correct when he says the vaccine passport is one step away from dictatorship, and history has repeatedly shown that dictatorships cannot thrive. They breed misery and spoil both talent and opportunity.

Do Not Exchange Your Freedoms for a False Sense of Security

Only when people are free to do as they please, when they’re free to express their creativity, do you end up with a superpower and cultural phenomenon as the United States. We are now looking at the end of what was once the United States of America, unless enough people wake up to reality and push back.

An argument vaccine passport pushers like to use is that “spreading a lethal infection isn’t a human right,” therefore, proving you’ve been vaccinated is not an unreasonable request if you want to participate in society. Likewise, they insist that going to restaurants isn’t a human right, nor is airline travel, staying at hotels or going to gyms. CNN anchor Don Lemon doesn’t even think buying groceries falls within the scope of being a human right.

Freedom is the absence of necessity, coercion or constraint in choice or action; unrestricted use; the quality or state of being exempt from something onerous; privilege; liberation from restraint or from the power of another; independence.

The problem with those arguments is that a) COVID-19 isn’t a lethal infection for most people,5 b) it’s an infection that is just as easily spread by vaccinated people,6,7 so both groups confer the same risk, c) outbreaks occur in populations where everyone is fully vaccinated,8 d) there are effective treatments if you do contract the infection,9 e) it’s virtually impossible to eradicate human respiratory viruses that have animal reservoirs, no matter what you do,10 f) discriminating based on vaccination status is no different than discriminating based on other medical conditions, g) it violates the very definition of freedom upon which this Constitutional Republic was built.

What Is Freedom?

What is the definition of freedom? Freedom is “the absence of necessity, coercion or constraint in choice or action; unrestricted use; the quality or state of being exempt from something onerous; privilege; liberation from restraint or from the power of another; independence.”11

If you cannot enter a grocery store without being vaccinated, are you free? If you cannot travel, even if you have the means to do so, are you free? If you cannot eat a meal at a restaurant, even if you can pay for it, are you free?

Some try to sell vaccine passports as something that will grant you these “privileges.” In other words, something that will grant you freedom. But you cannot give freedom by first taking all freedom away.

Freedom is an absence of necessity or coercion. So, a vaccine passport can by definition not grant you freedom because in getting the passport you had to first relinquish the freedom you had originally.

Your whole life, you’ve probably been allowed to go to restaurants, gyms, concerts and grocery stores at will. Right? That was freedom. Now, they’re taking away that basic freedom, saying you can “get it back” if you get the shot and carry proof of vaccination. That’s coercion, which is the opposite of freedom. You cannot give people freedom by first coercing them into give up freedom.

Are We in a Pandemic of the Unvaccinated?

According to the official narrative, we’re now in a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” with 99% of COVID-19 deaths and 95% of COVID-related hospitalizations occurring among those who have not received the COVID jab. That, however, is absolute propaganda based on profoundly serious manipulation of old data.

To achieve those statistics, the CDC included hospitalization and mortality data from January through June 2021. It does not include more recent data or data related to the Delta variant, which is now the most prevalent strain in circulation. The problem is, the vast majority of the United States population was unvaccinated during that timeframe.

January 1, 2021, only 0.5% of the U.S. population had received a COVID shot. By mid-April, an estimated 31% had received one or more shots,12 and as of June 30, 46.9% were “fully vaccinated.”13 Keep in mind the CDC does not consider you “fully vaccinated” until two weeks after your second dose (in the case of Pfizer or Moderna), which is given six weeks after your first shot.

By using statistics from a time period when the U.S. as a whole was largely unvaccinated, the CDC is now claiming we’re in a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” in an effort to demonize those who still have not agreed to receive this experimental injection.

When you look at more recent and emerging data, you can see an opposite trend. In Israel, data show half of all COVID-19 infections are now among the fully vaccinated,14 85% to 90% of COVID-related hospitalizations are among the fully vaccinated and the fully vaccinated also account for 95% of severely ill COVID-19 patients.15

In Scotland, official data on hospitalizations and deaths show 87% of those who have died from COVID-19 in the third wave that began in early July 2021 were vaccinated,16 and in the U.S., a CDC investigation of an outbreak in Massachusetts between July 6 through July 25, 2021, revealed 80% of COVID-related hospitalizations were among the fully vaccinated.17,18

The CDC also confirmed that fully vaccinated individuals who contract the infection have as high a viral load in their nasal passages as unvaccinated individuals who get infected, which proves there’s no difference between the two, in terms of being a transmission risk.19

So, again, if vaccination status has no bearing on the potential risk you pose to others, what do we need the passports for? They’re useless, as passengers on Carnival cruise lines recently experienced. There was an outbreak of COVID-19 onboard despite every last person having been “vaccinated.”20 The same thing happened onboard the fully vaccinated HMS Queen Elizabeth, a British Navy flagship.21

Unify for Freedom Under a Banner of Sanity

A couple of days ago, I published an article about mass psychosis,22 an epidemic of madness that occurs when a large portion of society loses touch with reality and descends into delusions.

The psychogenic steps that lead to madness include a panic phase, where the individual is repeatedly frightened and confused by events they cannot explain, followed by a phase of “psychotic insight,” where the individual explains their abnormal experience of the world by inventing an illogical but magical way of seeing reality that eases the panic and gives meaning to the experience.

The technocrats who created and maintain the pandemic narrative, worldwide, know all about how to induce mass psychosis, and what we’re experiencing is by far the biggest psychological operation mankind has ever been put through. They’re using all the known tricks, and it’s working beautifully.

If you’ve been able to see through their machinations, congratulations. The onus is now on you to help others free their minds, which is not an easy task. It’s not even easy to stay sane yourself. Contradictory reports, nonsensical recommendations and blatant lies are deployed intentionally, as it heightens confusion.

The more confused a population is, the greater the state of anxiety, which reduces people’s psychological resilience. As the ability to cope wanes, the greater the chances a mass psychosis will develop. Add isolation to that equation, and the susceptibility of psychosis is further heightened, as people lose contact with positive examples — people who act as role models of rational thinking and behavior.

Once a society is firmly in the grip of mass psychosis — and I believe we’re halfway there already — totalitarians are then free to take the last, decisive step: They can offer a return to order and safety. The price? Your freedom.

You must cede control of all aspects of your life to the rulers, because unless they are granted total control, they won’t be able to create the order and safety everyone craves. Already, we’re hearing this narrative. The creation of safety through forfeiture of freedom is what vaccine passports are all about.

Help Heal the Mass Psychosis

The good news is you can reverse the effects of mass psychosis, but it takes time, effort and patience. First, center yourself and live in such a way as to provide inspiration for others to follow. Next, share and spread the truth — the counternarrative to the propaganda — as far and wide as possible.

Because truth is always more potent than lies, the success of propaganda relies on the censoring of truth. Right now, online censorship and propaganda is off the charts, so you may have to get creative. One tactic is to use humor and ridicule to delegitimize the lies.

At the same time, create parallel structures — businesses, organizations, technologies, movements or creative pursuits — based on sane and rational principles currently lacking in the world around us.

Last but not least, to prevent the descent into totalitarian madness, sane and rational action must be taken by as many people as possible. The ruling technocracy do not sit around hoping and wishing to increase their power and control. No. They are actively taking steps to augment their position. To defend against them, we must be just as active and resolute in our counter-push toward freedom.

from article titled Joe Rogan on Breakthrough Cases and Vaccine Passports

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola August 21, 2021

please note uncensored profanity!!