#and would like to comply with whatever policy they have

[ionomycin]

Hi ! I would like to buy a poster of your Kingdom come piece. Are you planning to add it on your shop ?

I love your art style so much,

Thank you! I'm always a bit wary about adding fanart prints since every studio and creator has different policies about selling fanmade merch. I would love to, but will have to see.

[threadmonster]

"but what do I, the business major, know," I say to myself as I decipher company policies that need updated to comply with new wording in the contract.

[superbat-lmao]

How fucking funny would it be if Damian was one of Dr. House’s fellows.

Like, there’s Chase, Cameron, Foreman, and also Damian.

I think House would have immediately taken Damian, he’s smart, quick, good in a crisis, and also rude. Kid’s got a chip on his shoulder that House would have fun picking at and needling.

If this is the House Universe, look, the early 2000s was rife with a lot of jokes that were not acceptable. The specific brand of unacceptable House would go with would be the same kind of racism he leveled at Foreman. But oddly, also the same type of criticism he leveled at Cameron for caring, because the kid never wants to operate on animals and is staunchly against animal testing. He’s also got a complicated relationship with his family, who I think would constantly drop by to see him, get hurt and need medical attention, or could even serve as one of their cases, so he covers some of Chase’s narrative too because of family complications. Also both Damian and House are well traveled from missions and being moved around respectively.

I think Wilson and Dick would somehow meet and trade tips and tricks over expressing emotions in healthy ways, it’s okay to be vulnerable/empathetic, that kind of thing.

I think House would take one look at Bruce and decide even if it’s Daddy’s money, if it’s getting him away from whatever other plans the guy has for him, it’s enough. Either he’s an absolute airhead or House actually catches the guy during his stoic/silent routine. I also think Bruce is the type of overprotective that would buy the hospital (if he doesn’t already own it) and instead of acting like Vogler, wouldn’t care if House didn’t comply with a lot of standards/policies. Or if he figured out the guy was an addict like Tritter/before Tritter, Bruce would sit his ass down and have a talk* about House’s options.

I think it would be difficult to fully capture the feel of House M.D. without the problematic parts of the show, but that Damian would oddly fit right into the chaos.

*More like loose threats about things House is going to pick from that involve him getting clean in some capacity and almost any caveats House would agree to because this is all for Damian and Bruce would do anything for his kids.

(Even if it is letting their new mentor have in-home rehab that’s run by a different doctor whose specialty is cancer and a couple of hookers Jason knows from Crime Alley.)

[nohoney]

Bakugou would listen to you rant all about work. Even though he’s the one out on the streets with more exciting stories to tell, one of his favorite things is to hear you talk about your own work. He follows and nods along with whatever work story you have for him for the day, always attentive but never telling you what you should do to handle it (as he had learned from a prior relationship).

“I can tell he fuckin’ hates me, you know?” You continue on about your current work events as you sit on the countertop and watch Bakugou cut vegetables, “He keeps on bringing up my old manager as if she has anything to do with it now. Like, no motherfucker! You answer to me now and I’m saying pay your stupid invoice!”

The vegetables for dinner are set aside while the oven is still preheating. Two pieces of pork chop are taken from the fridge and is set aside on a clean plate as Bakugou looks for spices to rub into the meat. “So what happened baby? Did he pay? Y’said you were dealing with this for almost two weeks.” He asks you, genuinely curious if your annoying client is actually complying with you. The thought in his head is wondering how you handled it.

“I have to read you this email that I wrote. I gotta say the professional ways of dissing someone in email is something I finally understand now.” You laugh as you pull up your work email on your phone. Word for word you read out your well thought out response to your difficult client, not backing down and upholding work policy as you are expected to. Bakugou had never really bothered with any type of skill of being professional through communication in his job; it’s what his team is for while he gets the really privilege to cuss as he pleases and have his team handle it for the public. “Here is how I signed off, I think it’s probably my most eloquent and business-like ‘fuck you’ I’ve written so far.”

You clear your throat first before reading aloud, “‘I hope that the explanations of how to navigate your account has cleared up any confusion you may have and that you are able to move forward in compliance with our company policy, if you have any further questions then please let me know.’ God I know he’s going to hate me as soon as he reads it!”

He chuckles, happy that you know how to stand your ground in such a manner that Bakugou knows he struggles in. “You tell him, baby.”

“I fucking did Katsuki!” You boast with a proud little smile as you hop off the countertop and go to his side as he heats oil in a pan. “Sorry, I’ve been going on about this annoying client for a while. I wanna hear about your work today Tsuki.”

Bakugou shakes his head though and urges you to talk about what else happened at your work. The meat sizzles as he presses it into the pan, crackling and sizzling in a way that’s reminiscent of his quirk but to a much lower degree. The oven beeps to indicate that preheating is finished and you move to put all the vegetables into the glass pan and stick it in for him, already setting a timer before he can even ask. “What about that other guy? The one who keeps on saying that he’s getting investors so he wants to make you wait a little longer?” He asks you when he recalls another client you complained of a few days ago.

You excitedly pop off about your work again, unknowing how you calm Bakugou down with your own work stories. Your series of responsibilities that he wouldn’t know the first clue how to handle are interesting to him to hear how you handle yourself. It’s simple compared to what he does but in no way is it easy either. To see you struggle sometimes with your own career wasn’t easy for him but you were also strong enough to handle it all the same.

And he liked to think that he made it easy for you to handle because he wanted to hear anything and everything about your job that’s so different from his. “Tell me about the parking permits, did that get solved yet?” He asks as he starts to set food on the plates.

“No! I’m on week three of dealing with it and it’s ridiculous! I sent everything in so early and they deal with it so late!!”

Bakugou listens with a happy heart to hear you talk, never wanting you to apologize over the things that frustrate you. And by the end of your rants, even he feels a little lighter as he readies to get in bed with you.

And the next day as he’s just about to enter a meeting in his agency, Bakugou gets a text from you.

[1:57 pm] omg i need to tell you what this mofo emailed me when we’re home

He looks forward to it, letting a little smile come onto his face. He can see you all cute and puffed up and mad, and he can’t wait to hear about it.

[1:58 pm] can’t wait baby. love you.

You text him back within seconds.

[1:58 pm] love you!!!

Bakugou can’t wait to be home and listen to you.

[juliesque04]

Radfem and gender critical in the sense that I understand that within a society that has created a concept of gender, it IS understandable to "feel like a man/woman" because we subconsciously associate certain traits/behaviors/activities with male and female, however also being reasonable enough to conclude that these vague definitions of gender are social constructs, and complying with them harms everyone because it leads to perpetuating stereotypes associated with both sexes.

I'll use myself as an example. I identified with men/'nonbinary' people for multiple years because I did not "feel like a woman," and I was raised mainly by my father (who for whatever great reason lacks any sense of conservatism and raised me identically to my brother) and have very few female relatives, so I naturally shared more in common with men. Like, literally, I was raised with the stereotypical "crying is weak" father, except he extended that policy to both his children and didn't exempt me from it because he thought I was inherently weak due to being female.

I'm assertive, i'm ambitious, I'm competitive, i'm driven, i'm very literal and down to earth, I like working with my hands and am very physical, I dislike being given princess treatment and enjoy much more giving said treatment and serving others, i'm highly independent, i often struggle with reactive aggression and am very out of tune with any other emotions, and I often get along well with men before they discover i'm female.

I've also never experienced key markers of what society deems "womanhood." I have never worn makeup in my entire life. I still don't know how to do it, nor do I have a desire to. I've never regularly shaven, only my armpits. Ive worn "boy" clothes since childhood because I like their practicality. I've known I was sapphic since I was 10, and lesbian specifically since 14, and because much of what we deem "womanhood" revolves around men, I lack that aspect of "femininity." I've never had an emotional connection with children nor particularly maternal instincts; I feel the urge to protect children physically and keep them safe, but not much else. I've never felt particularly connected to other women besides our physical bodies.

It makes sense why I thought I was born as the wrong sex; internally, I am very similar to many men and cannot relate with what society deems "womanhood" to be. So obviously I fell for the idea that I wasn't a woman. I'd make a great man in the context of what society deems to be masculine.

But this only lasted until I was, like, 15 and realized that what society considers feminine and masculine is extremely culturally specific. There was nothing inherently masculine about me. I'm only "masculine" in the context of the society I live in. There is no objective definition of masculinity or femininity; they're merely the traits a given society associates with and expects out of males and females, but they're not inherent or sex-specific.

This can also be extended to gender in general. We've come to a point where "man" and "woman" have been stripped of their literal definitions and reduced to vague and ambiguous senses of identity that are extremely specific to every person, but generally follow the pattern of sex stereotypes that exist within the given society. When you comply with these stereotypes and identify as a different sex because of your traits not aligning with what society deems feminine/masculine, you are implying that these traits are inherent to male/female people (also known as bioessentialism.) If i were to identify as a man/male because of my traits and say i was "born the wrong sex," that would imply that these traits cannot be found in female people. That's obviously a ridiculous idea since I am myself a female person who has these traits, and every transmasc is also a female person who naturally has these traits. The ideology is inherently harmful because you continue to perpetuate the idea that certain behaviors/traits are inherent to females, and others to males.

Additionally, not my main point but worth mentioning, having to separate the use of men/women from "male human" and "female human" is linguistically a pain in the ass; we no longer have words to describe male and female humans because we can no longer correlate femaleness and maleness to the words due to the idea of gender. Man and woman (literally) are like stallion and mare: they tell you absolutely nothing about the individual besides their sex.

So yes, I am a woman, but not for any reason aside from my biological sex. I do not "identify" with being a woman, it is not a personality trait nor sense of self, it is merely a descriptor of my physical body. I do not feel discomfort being female, I feel discomfort with a misogynistic society. Gender isn't real.

However, this is also the reason I am not particularly hostile towards trans people. I do not think most trans people identify as such out of malice- their actions don't exist in a vacuum. It is perfectly logical to believe you're the other sex when you have traits that society continually tells you are inherent to the other sex. But to deny physical reality is delusional.

[kalinara]

(From X-Men #1, I did cut a couple of panels in between)

I really like this bit because I feel like it illustrates one of my favorite Cyclopsian traits, which is that he's generally willing to be held accountable for his mistakes and failures. And he tends to specifically seek out people for his teams that will call him out on them.

This this really obnoxious bit in AvX, which I'm not going to dig out, where Logan tells Bobby that he's not Cyclops and that he welcomes criticism of his decisions.

LOGAN says this. And I'm sorry, but if Scott had an issue with someone criticizing his decisions, Logan would have been out on his adamantium ass the FIRST time Xavier skipped out to go fuck a space bird empress.

But yeah, I really do like this bit. Especially since Idie's issues are primarily with Krakoa proper. And given how the vast majority of mutants in every line are in understandable mourning for what Krakoa was and represented to them, I really do like that they're showcasing a character who Krakoa genuinely failed.

Idie wasn't Sabretooth, a shameless, remorseless recidivist who had no plans of ever complying with Krakoa's rules. She wasn't even Curse, a child who cheered on destruction and death pretty shamelessly for a while. She used deadly force to protect Krakoa and became a victim of their zero-tolerance, no trial, and then no oversight policy.

I really like that Idie gets to openly express the position that Krakoa wasn't paradise for everyone, and not everyone is in mourning for it. I like that Scott doesn't try to dodge responsibility for it either. He wasn't on the Council, but he'd done a coup before, and the Pit would certainly have been worthy of one. Scott accepts his role, and Krakoa's role, and wants to do better.

It does fit a little oddly with the end to Raid on Graymalkin. My own fanwanked* explanation as to why they didn't just take Ellis out right then and there is that they probably realized that even if she wasn't able to exercise whatever death weapon she had, some underling was probably there at the switch. But I wish that had been a little clearer. I do appreciate Scott being the one to say they'll find away to help everyone left behind.

(* I love the term "fanwank" and resent that it fell out of usage as a term meaning fans providing their own explanations for perceived inconsistencies, mostly in a self-congratulatory way. I will continue to use it forever.)

Anyway, I really like the way Adjectiveless is tackling Scott's post Krakoa characterization, and I'm looking forward to seeing what develops once we get the requisite crossovers out of the way.

[seokjinsonlyone]

who in bts would you be coworkers with

imma start by saying that hobi would be number 1 on the list of people i would NOT be coworkers with like i got nothing but love for him fr but he would get on my nerves sooo bad bc he’d be a huge stickler for the rules and would be kissing upper management butt the majority of the time handing out constructive criticism that no one asked for yuck!!! and like imagine coming into work at 7-8am and mr company policy come around giggling acting like y’all friends when in reality he got you written up last week the only consolation is he’d probably treat the department to coffee/snacks/lunch biweekly and he can wear the hell out of a sweater vest

number 2 on the list of pls don’t make me work with him is taehyung bc he’s so pretty he would 100% be the type to use other people to do his work he would go around with that himbo act he like to put on asking people dumb questions until they’re just like you know what nvm i got it or he’d get the easiest assignments and then spend his free time distracting you and he’d be the type to steal your lunch out the fridge!!!!

number 3 is namjoon not necessarily bc i think he’d be a bad worker (unless it was a service job of sorts then he’ll nah) but bc i just feel like he’d be sooooo moody like bro is such an expressive person with such a large presence everyday it’d be like okay let’s see what mood namjoon is in is he gonna kill the vibe of the department or what and lord pls don’t let something not go right bc we know he has a temper and is easily frustrated like of course he’s a total sweetheart and on his good days they’d be great for everyone but his bad days would be everyone’s problem and that’s annoying LOL

number 4 is jimin and like i wouldn’t have a problem working with him per say it’s just that he’s a huge people person and im more of the clock in and clock out variety and i just know he’d be friends with everyone talking to everyone which would be nice when you wanna goof off a bit and it is nice when people are interested in you but he’s a gossip queen so you’d have to be careful about what you tell him however you’d always know where to go to get the company tea and also he’d be head of the party planning committee always planning something in and outside of work which can be a lot if you’re like me when you just wanna work your shift and then go home but ya know it’s manageable to deal with

number 5 is jungkook. i think i’d quite like working with him. a nice sturdy good looking boy. don’t talk too much. competent. good at following directions. he’d have his moments when he’d goof off but would probably be solid at buckling down when there’s deadlines needed to be met. quarterly there would be a day where 4 hours are wasted bc he decided to try something new for the sake of becoming more efficient and it would actually ruin whatever flow that was going on he’d probably be late 3/5 days bc he slept past his alarm clock and would call out twice a month but again a small price to pay for a nice reliable piece of eye candy.

NOW we’re getting into the nitty gritty fr. number 6 is yoongi. yoongi would 100% be my work bestie. he’d be the one I go to annoy when i feel like slacking off but he’d love it. there would be daily debates about everything bc we both like arguing just for the sake of it which would probably drive everyone around us insane but that’s not my problem. there’d be a mutual disdain for any and all authority figures just based off principle but he’d be the first to comply with all their rules and standards. lowkey would be good at rallying everyone together and increasing productivity bc he’d create a spirit of healthy competition. you’d call him out on his fake anarchy.

and finally!!! seokjin <33333 the perfect coworker <333 he’d quite literally just come to work do his job and then go home and what more can you ask for in a coworker??? but i mean in between he’d be super polite and helpful if you were ever stuck on a task he’d always restock the supplies when they were low he’d share his snacks with you if you ever felt peckish i mean he’s literally the total package good at problem solving delightfully awkward so there’s no air of superiority generous and handsome so you’d love to see him go and watch him leave

[themildestofwriters]

The ending to the Sith Inquisitor storyline where the Inquisitor keeps the spirits bound to themselves is objectively the best ending if they're going to continue being Dark Lord of the Sith.

It just makes sense in every conceivable way.

You're now Darth [Nox, Imperius, Occulus], Dark Lord of the Sith, and Most Honourable Councillor Sphere of Ancient Knowledge of the Council of Dark Lords. It's known that membership to the Dark Council can sometimes last months if not days. Regardless of your wants, you are now in a very dangerous position, because you've got any ambitious Sith Lord within your own sphere (who undoubtedly has had more experience than you) looking to bring you down: more if your policies are distinctly unpopular.

Meanwhile, as a Sith Lord, you've only had three years, minimum, worth of experience. We can fudge the numbers a bit for the sake of headcanon. I personally think time at the Sith Academy lasts up to three years, so my 'Quisitor would have six years worth of Sith-ly training under their belt.

I don't know about you, but having just bound several spirits of Sith Lords long since passed, granting me a possible form of immortality, on top of whatever enhancements the Mother Machine and the Forbidden Gormak Ritual entailed, sounds like a good idea to just... keep them.

Also, also, you now have several Sith Lords bound to you: you know, experienced Sith who could logically give you advice about how to act as a Dark Lord and Councillor of the Dark Council? Sure, they might not have any direct experience, and depending on your relationship with them, it might prove difficult to get the advice in the first place, but it's still invaluable knowledge to covet. Also, you might just be able to force the spirits to comply?

[postingonanon]

Hey Everybody, you need to get ready.

I've seen a LOT of posts floating around left-leaning spaces lately about "I'm not voting for Biden next year." And... I get it. I'm not going to even attempt to argue over strategic voting or whatever, because it rings hollow and it's pointless - there are a LOT of people saying this, and whatever reach this tiny scream into the void may have it won't shift those numbers.

So I'm going to be straight - get ready for a second Trump administration. It's obvious that he's going to be the Republican nominee in 2024, and the literal only determiner of whether the Republicans win is Democratic voting turn-out. Biden won because Trump was awful, but Trump won in the first place because people didn't vote for Hillary. That's looking like it's going to repeat itself.

I'm not saying this to shame anybody - you don't want to vote for someone complicit in genocide, I get it. But there isn't going to be a leftist alternative that wins the 2024 American election. There isn't one even running in the major two parties that the system is designed to accommodate.

I'm saying this because you need to get ready now. All that online leftist talk about community self-support, community policing, organizing with like-minded people? If you're just talking about it, you need to stop talking and put it into actions. As soon as you can. BEFORE TRUMP TAKES OFFICE AGAIN. You may not have the MEANS to organize afterwards. The major platforms online are all held by right-wingers who imagine themselves American oligarchs. They WILL turn over your identities upon request by a Trump administration. Even this one.

The Republicans have gone mask-off fascist since 2016, and they weren't meaningfully punished. Project 2025 is a direct, published by conservatives statement that they plan to end democracy and install direct autocratic rule. Even if they don't succeed at that, expect Texas and Florida to be the model of the federal government with targeted persecution of oppressed classes as a direct, OVERT point of policy. Expect direct, OVERT support for genocide of "undesirable" populations in the global south, Palestine, and pretty much everywhere else - including in 'Western' nations. Expect the defunding, privatization, and asset-stripping of all government funded social-support networks. Expect an exponential increase in violence across all right-wing political apparatuses, from the informal (militias and organized hate groups) to the local (police) to the national (military). However bad Trump was through 2020, keep in mind that he's going to be on a revenge tour and will - one way or the other - never have to be worried about getting reelected again. I mean this clearly and with as much seriousness as I can convey: people are going to DIE. People are going to be KILLED.

If you're in the United States, you need to organize resistance NOW. Whatever you're doing in support of Palestine, whoever you're talking to, whatever you're doing to build a community to protest or slow the progress of the decimation of Gaza - you need to keep it going, and prepare to need to apply those same techniques to protect indigenous/oppressed people in the United States in just over a year. Because the left looks like it isn't going to vote for Biden again, but the right is sure as shit going to vote for Trump again. And the United States, as it is today, will not survive another Trump presidency intact. You need to prepare for it like you would a natural disaster. You need to prepare for it like you would an army you know is marching in your direction.

Most people are going to pull a 1930s Germany and hunker down, comply with the demands for brutality, and hope to make it through. That means they will not act to save you, or anyone else, out of fear of being targeted. If you expect to survive without doing so, you're going to have to organize a critical mass of resistance EARLY so that you aren't relying on people to spontaneously organize while staring gun barrels in the face. The 2020 George Floyd BLM protests only happened because people had time due to the COVID shut-downs and the military officials refused Trump's orders to deploy on American soil to "bust heads." The Republican party is currently trying to hold up as many military promotions as possible so that the next Republican president gets to fill them all, to prevent a repeat of that scenario. They LEARNED from that, and will act to keep it from happening again in that way. They're going after mutual aid groups using RICO right now.

I'm serious. Get ready. Start getting ready now. If you don't wind up needing it, it will still help you to have a local organization for support. I hope that you will not need to rely upon this to save your life or the lives of those near you. But I expect this will be necessary.

GET READY.

[lets-talk-about-the-dreaming]

For all the time since my Chrysalis I've been contemplating the Seelie and Unseelie courts, more from a moral perspective than anything else. Today I've come to an unusual thought, regarding Seelie Code as I know it. I'll be using this part of C:tD as reference, so if you don't see the Seelie as it is described in C:tD universe, you might as well not read this post to minimize the misunderstanding! If you do feel comfortable with me referencing to it, or if you are just curious to take a glance on my point of view, then feel free to continue.

(TW: this text will be referring to such themes as religion, hate, banality, discrimination and revenge.)

Now, I've been thinking about one particular "tenet" — "Never forget a debt". My human side, raised in human morality and somewhat close to Christian concept of forgiveness, never sitted right with this tenet. It was protesting, saying that a debt is a choice, a contract that can expire and sometimes even be neglected. That we aren't obligated to hate the hateful and harm the harming.

And, well, it resonated. I have thought of it as a problem, not as a conflict of natures. How do one incorporate forgiveness into the "eye for an eye" policy? It hit me only today, so that's the reason I'm writing this post.

Let's start from the far, almost as far as we can. Trust me, we'll need a deep dive here. What is a fairy? A being (I think, just hoping you'll be on it with me) born of creativity and Glamour, a dream incarnate. The very nature of a fairy depends upon powers of belief, of emotions and fantasies. True be the word that our existence may predate this of a human, and may even precede the wery Earth we live on. Yet the times changed, and now the vast majority of beings populating this planet are not-so-firmly connected to the Dreaming; moreover, most of them even see the concept as something hard to grasp, let alone accept. This, by all means, does not mean that they are to blame — after all, there was, and maybe still are reasons why humankind at large rejected the wondrous and embraced the mundane, dividing those concepts. But it presents us with the harsh reality. Denizens of Dreaming retreated deeper, and those who remained assumed guises.

But... Why did we persist on staying here? What made us stop at the golden gates of Arcadia and turn our gazes towards the world that we inhabit to this very day, despite all the dangers and hardships? I think I might have an answer, deep in my heart, and if this answer is right, then it might as well be in yours.

We stayed because we are needed.

Every being is needed in some way. I can't say why exactly we are needed, but there may be a mission given to us by Tuatha, or, perhaps, just a long-forgotten oath. Whatever it is, it makes our presence here meaningful. And to me, the meaning is in preservation of the Dreaming itself. Why else would we leave Arcadia's reaches? It definitely has a room for everyone, it is not confined by "space" and "time", the very act of exiting it is ridiculous due to what you miss by doing so! And yet we were here and not there even before the Banality was a thing. I am sure there are someone somewhere who can say that they left Arcadia after the Banality influx, purely out of spite. Purely to fight it off.

So, what is the deal with the "Never forget a debt" thing?

Banality is hate. Banality is refusal of accepting and understanding. It is a following of the main lane, where only vibrant colors are traffic lights and store signs at best. Banality is a distillate dogma, the mundane, the faith in all that opposes opportunity and discriminates the unique.

Hate itself is a good fuel to it. Banality feeds off hatred and intolerance, of despair and compliance. And when you lash out on some deeply lost person that tries to spread the hate — you comply to the rules of force they serve. Mind you, not their rules. They don't make the rules, they abide by them, like an appendage abides the command of a brain. Trying to fight the appendage is like trying to cut the head of a hydra — you'll only summon more hate and oppression upon yourself.

So, here's the solution: teach. Think of a hateful person as if they weren't taught to operate their empathy and emotions, as if they were never taught on how to hold a spoon or what are names of things around them. Imagine what would happen to the force they serve if they were to understand what they are doing? It's as if the appendage rises against its body, separates itself and becomes something more than a part of system. Every head cut like that is cauterized, it won't grow back.

I know, it's tempting to just mark people as half-wits and oafs, but it would bear no fruit at best. Retreating to think about a fitting and explanatory answer to a hateful (and therefore false, inherently contestible) statement is never bad; separating yourself is making their task of segregation and opression easier.

What is for an "eye for an eye", then? Oh, well, just think about how they would feel if they truly understand what they've done and what they have been doing. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and the remorse is ice-cold indeed. Just make sure to offer a chance to repent and some warm guidance afterwards; I beg of you not to leave anyone freezing in this harsh Autumn World.

[zahroreadsthings]

A conversation...

Question: Do you ask Lex to stay?

Response: Yes. This affects them too.

Check notes for previous instalments

'Do you mind staying? You might need to hear this too.'

Lex looks from you to the door and back again. They sigh. 'Yeah, I should.'

You try to act natural. It doesn't work, so you sit on the floor with Reginald in your lap.

Deema opens the door. She looks up in surprise when she sees the fire and narrows her eyes when she spots you and Lex.

'I didn't think you would get sick of it there so quickly.'

'I... got kicked out for punching someone.' She'll find out sooner or later.

Her expression goes from disbelief to annoyance to acceptance almost faster than you can follow.

'Whoever pulled you back could have stepped in sooner so it couldn't have been that bad,' Lex says.

'Ruby? Her job must get boring, I don't blame her.' After you speak you realise Lex was trying to downplay the situation.

Deema holds up her hand. 'Why did you punch someone?' She seats herself in the closest chair.

You cringe. 'Someone was shit talking you. And actually, I wanted to talk about that. And... whatever you're doing to the weather. And how that's gonna affect Lex and I later on.'

'What have you gathered so far?' Deema starts to look agitated, the same way she did when you asked about the heat sigils in the tidepools.

'First, I can't speak for Lex but I'm not leaving.'

'Yeah, me neither,' Lex says.

You continue, 'The other witches said the weather here doesn't get too extreme. And when I met Isla they said there haven't been any big storms here since you took over. That only makes sense if you're doing something on a larger scale than an ordinary witch. So... are you?'

Deema doesn't look like she wants to admit to anything. 'Yes,' she says miserably.

You clap. You don't feel great. 'Great! Next thing: I don't want to learn as I go when you retire, but I also don't want to study under anyone else.' You notice her shoulders sag in relief. 'So if we could... figure something out there?'

Deema closes her eyes and rests her head against the back of her chair. 'I've had a lot of years to think about it. I think I know a way to make it work. If you want to. Lex, wait outside for a bit, please.'

They gladly comply.

[chargetheintruder]

My apologies but this is being deliberately obtuse on your part. I'll explain why. This isn't about "no means no" or setting boundaries. If it were people would NOT, on Tumblr, use DEACTIVATED accounts so SO often to post their "post your AGE in your BIO" diatribes. The use of deactivated accounts makes these reblogged comments beyond report or comment: it makes them impossible to deal with. People do that because they KNOW that there is no such thing as a "Bio" feature on Tumblr. A "Bio" feature literally DOES NOT EXIST--what they CALL a Bio is literally the TITLE of your Blog right under the Blog Name. So why aren't people CLEAR about that in the first place? Because some folks don't WANT people to comply. For some, this is a troll. For some this is a way for DNI Cliques to attack those outside of Clique. Seriously, if this were honest boundary setting, people wouldn't use Deactivated Accounts here and they wouldn't use misleading and deceptive language, that Tumblr ITSELF never uses, and only that. People honestly setting a boundary are already protected under Tumblr's own generous Blocking policies. They wouldn't need to actually post from unreachable deleted accounts or use deceptive language and ONLY that. Doing that is literal passive-aggression, and to whom?

"Strange men" or those identified as such, a.k.a. people outside of clique, due to age, gender, preference or whatever. Seriously, just call a spade a spade, say that all "men as men" or those suspected of being such are rejected sight unseen as policy and get it done. Just do that. And own it. And get blocked into oblivion for it, in return for your behavior maybe? Maybe.

Full disclosure: I was born with the boy parts, have never been comfortable with the gender, am probably way more non-binary than you think, but nooo, I get punished for having hetero impulses. It's a joke really, but not the funny kind. And there are LOTS of cliques and Karens here who just plain attack people sight unseen because they can. There's no sense in either saying they don't, or in joining them in the gaslighting they do, by saying things like "rejection-sensitive or not" because at this point, it's not on us, the behavior is on them.

Rejection-sensitive or not, you have to accept when people say “no” and realize that people’s “no” is not about you. A boundary is never about you, it’s about that person’s sense of security. Do not make people’s personal limits a matter of targeted offence.

[notwiselybuttoowell]

Excerpt from transcript:

AMY GOODMAN: Now, explain what the OMB does, the Office of Management and Budget, why it’s such a powerful position.

MOLLY REDDEN: It’s such a powerful position because, first of all, it oversees all of the regulations that the administration puts out. So, Congress can write a check for — you heard him in those videos talk about defunding the EPA and making sure regulators don’t have what they need. So, even if Congress appropriates money for clean water regulation, you know, scrubbing pollution from the atmosphere, Vought can — Vought and his agency can oversee how rules get technically written so that that money can dry up. That’s just one example. You know, they really get into the details of how you spend money. And that’s just so incredibly powerful, because that’s really where the rubber meets the road for any policy in any administration.

AMY GOODMAN: And talk more about how he would — why being in that position would matter when it comes to his support for deploying the military at home, on the streets of the United States.

MOLLY REDDEN: That has a little bit more to do with the work that Vought did between the two Trump administrations. So, he founded a think tank called the Center for Renewing America. And what that think tank did is, in between the two administrations, sort of in that interim, it played host to a number of people who had been in high-up positions of the Trump administration, and they incubated and drafted a lot of ideas for what a second Trump administration could do to execute its agenda more effectively.

And I think we all remember from the first Trump administration, he, the president, cycled through a lot of appointments who came from more traditional Republican institutional backgrounds. And a lot of them stood in the way, sort of acted as a bulwark against some of the more aggressive and, you know, history-defined things that Trump wanted to do. Deploying the military against protesters during the summer of 2020 George Floyd protests is a really good example of this.

And so, you know, that’s over in the second Trump administration, right? You can see from his appointments, whether they’re people who have defended his agenda really aggressively on Fox News or people like Russ Vought, who have been thinking for four years about how to build a legal framework and staff an administration that will do whatever Trump wants, that they are really focused on making sure that they have an administration that is loyal to Trump, rather than, you know, focused on what existing law says you can do.

So, at the Center for Renewing America, one of the things that Vought spoke about in those videos, they are preparing legal doctrines, basically, that will rationalize Trump’s domestic deployment of the military. Another thing that Vought has been a really big proponent of is, your viewers might be familiar with, Schedule F, which is basically a way to reclassify government civil servants so that they’re all political appointees and easier to fire if they don’t comply with what the administration wants them to do.

AMY GOODMAN: Molly, I wanted to go back to August, when we reported on an undercover video that showed Russell Vought bragging about his ties to Trump, even as Trump was trying to distance himself from Project 2025. It shows Vought meeting at a five-star Washington, D.C., hotel with two men who he thought were relatives of a wealthy conservative donor. He was actually talking to two undercover reporters with the Center for Climate Reporting, an independent British news outlet. They were secretly recording him. This is part of the video accompanying their investigation called “Undercover in Project 2025: The secretive 'second phase' and the radical policies set for rollout on day one":

NARRATOR: We want to meet the man writing the game plan for Trump’s second administration. Vought believes that in his first term Trump’s agenda was frustrated by what he calls the “deep state.” So Vought is planning a radical centralization of government power under the president, firing civil servants and ending the independence of agencies like the FBI and DOJ.

RUSSELL VOUGHT: Eighty percent of my time is working on the plans of what’s necessary to take control of these bureaucracies. And we are working doggedly on that, whether it’s destroying their — an agency’s notion of independence, that they’re independent from the president.

[rankconsultancy]

From Idea to Reality: Rank’s Comprehensive Business Setup Service in Dubai

The United Arab Emirates’s jewel in the crown, Dubai has become a sprawling hotbed of entrepreneurship. With a buoyant economy, an ideal business location, and a progressive economic climate, it has to be the starting place for the enterprise, with your dreams. There are more than a few tricks to open a company in Dubai, unknown to many foreign entrepreneurs who only have a superficial knowledge of the local laws and rules.

That’s where Rank Accounting and Consultancy comes in. With our leading Business Setup Service in Dubai, we know the challenges you’re confronting and are ready to accompany you at every step in designing your business, whether it’s from a casual brainstorming session to the moment of official launch.

Our Holistic Approach to Business Setup Service in Dubai:

A more comprehensive understanding of business creation should be fundamental to Rank. It’s not just about the paperwork; we are your partners, giving expert advice, and don’t disappear as soon as the process finishes. Comprehensive service takes in:

Initial Consultation: Interviewing you to find out your business vision, goals, and budget. This allows us to prepare a customized plan tailored to your exact needs and budget.

Company Structure Selection: We would recommend the most suitable legal structure for your business–a sole proprietorship, limited liability company (LLC), branch office, etc. We weigh factors such as liability protection, tax consequences, and ease of organization.

Trade License Acquisition: Itbooths can handle the entire process of obtaining the necessary business licenses from the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai. We take care of all the paperwork to ensure that AHEAD is up-to-date with current rules and regulations on business.

Visa and Immigration Assistance: We can assist you and your Employees in applying for the necessary visas for work within the city. We keep abreast of all new immigration policies. Where possible people make use of these opportunities as well whatever procedures are required to make it happen.

Accounting and Financial Services: We can take care of all your bookkeeping and accounting needs. Our Accountant team is comprised of professionals with extensive experience in the field ensuring that this all complies with UAE tax laws. In addition, we are also ready to offer financial advice on other business issues when needed.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance: We help you implement robust AML procedures and controls to comply with UAE regulations and protect your business from financial crime.

Why Would You Choose Rank for Business Setup Service in Dubai?

If you partner with Rank, our professional capabilities will ensure your business setup is in good hands. The advantages of choosing us are as follows:

Extensive Expertise: Our team understands intimately the Dubai business environment, as well as the latest regulations. No matter being small or big in any of the world’s industry branch classifications, we have both successfully helped many firms.

Streamlined Process: By streamlining our processes, we make sure your business setup is completed with efficiency and with little interruption. And you can take care of business as they say, while we handle the other stuff.

Cost-Effective Solutions: You can rest easy shopping with us; we are competitive on pricing. As a result, your business setup is likely to lead to lower costs.

Personalized Attention: We choose to build strong relationships with our clients. You will be given a specialist who takes care of everything for you.

Multilingual Support: A multilingual team means clear communication with no language barriers.

Additional Services You Need to Develop Your Business:

We at Rank provide not just the basic stuff: we have a wide variety of other services to warm up your business in Dubai. For instance:

Corporate Tax Consulting: Rank’s tax consultants are experts in the field of tax planning and compliance to assist you both in minimizing your tax liability and meeting UAE tax regulations.

UAE Golden Visa: We will help you get a long-term residency visa in the United Arab Emirates, which offers entrepreneur immigrant benefits.

Ready to Turn Your Dubai Business Dream into Reality?

When you begin your business life in Dubai, don’t think that a whole room of lights will go on for you. Rank Consultancy is your faithful stage manager pulling the ropes behind the scenes. We will take you from a newly germinated seed to a fully developed skyscraper. The Business Setup Service is not just paperwork for Dubai; it’s an intricately woven tapestry of expertise, personalized care, and an unbreakable commitment to your success.

Others may struggle through the visa & license-laden labyrinth, but Rank is the keen-eyed guide who will ensure a clear path for you. Our financial professionals understand the finesse of UAE tax laws. Weer constructed a tax shelter under your company for you.

Please contact Rank Consultancy today for assistance in setting up a company in Dubai. We strongly believe that we can turn your dream into reality because we offer complete services, professionalism, and our full dedication.

Tagged Business Setup Service Dubai

[ailtrahq]

Google also expects that all advertisers comply with the local laws of whatever region they intend to target with their ads. Non-fungible token (NFT) gaming is about to receive a major boost after Google revealed plans to update its ads policy. In a blog post, the tech giant confirms that the update, which takes effect on September 15, will now allow NFT gaming advertisements. However, Google also attached a condition that such advertisements would only be allowed if they do not in any way encourage gambling or closely related services. Citing the types of games included in its policy, Google’s post reads: “NFT games that allow players to purchase in-game items, like virtual apparel for a player’s characters, weaponry, or armour with better stats, consumed or used in a game to enhance a user’s experience or aid users in advancing the game.” Google Continues to Ease Stance on Crypto-Related Ads With the new policy, it is interesting to see that Google may now be soft-pedaling as it concerns its earlier approach toward Crypto-related adverts. Recall that, in March 2018, the tech outfit placed an outright ban on all Crypto-linked adverts across all its platforms. At the time, the firm qualified its extremely cautious approach as ‘necessary’ after seeing enough consumer harm and the potential for more such harm. Google soon began easing the ban though. As Coinspeaker reported in June 2021, it did start allowing some firms to advertise on its platform. But that was on the condition that they are duly registered with the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. In its latest ads policy, however, Google will uphold its ban on advertisements for games that encourage players to wager their NFTs. That is whether they do so against other players or simply for prizes such as NFTs or Crypto. Similarly, Google will also maintain its ban on social casino games, such as poker and roulette, that compensate players with real-world prizes for staking their NFTs. The firm has now announced that anyone willing to run ads that promote gambling-related content that involves NFTs must first “comply with the Gambling and games policy and receive the proper Google Ads certification.” After this, Google also expects that all advertisers comply with the local laws of whatever region they intend to target with their ads.  In conclusion, the firm shared that the new policy will apply to all its global users. Thank you! You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

[lured-into-wonderland]

Her name said in that odd way. A long faded memory from the past. Nunnally blinked a few times before realizing she was still standing in the corridor with her fiancé. With Hibiya, who seemed (again) to be disappointed with her behaviour. She wanted to tell herself that she didn’t care, but that was not the truth. Nunnally still cared that things would work for them, but the more time she had spent here and with him, she had less and less hopes it could actually work. It seemed the future king wanted a wife she would never become. That Hibiya wanted a kind, sweet, blushing wife that would find joy in social events, enjoying her life in the palace between high aristocracy, going from one party to another. An arm candy more than a wife or a partner, although she was well aware they would have to give kingdom the heir.

And she simply could not accept that. Well, she probably had not much choice as she wasn’t able to force him into considering her a partner, a co-ruler, a person. But she might stop trying aiming for unreachable (but was it really so unreachable!? Perhaps she's just doing it in a wrong way?), and just try to build her own cosy world without much of Hibiya in it. They were royals. It wouldn’t be that uncommon if they lived their lives separately and meet only during formal occasions and in the…bedroom. It wasn’t what she wanted, but perhaps that was what she’d be getting?

( “Tad more patience!” )

As if she wasn’t patient with him. With him constantly pushing her away. But perhaps it wasn’t that only ‘H E’ was the only one to blame? Perhaps she wanted too much and too quickly? It seemed slow (extremely slow for her), but perhaps she was moving (and pushing him) too much? Perhaps she should offer him some more patience (as he requested), and some more room…if he needed that.

“Yes, of course.” – she agreed with a smile; though she was distracted. Almost absent-minded. Nunnally didn’t know herself how genuine she was about it – “If that is what you need, I’ll comply.” – no matter what her real intentions were (or rather what her final decision would be), she wanted Hibiya to feel a little bit more…relaxed? …safe around her? She couldn’t find the right words.

“I…I apologize if I was insisting too much. It was not my intention to make you uncomfortable.” – her previous statements might have been said out of courtesy or because it was expected from her, her apologies were more sincere. She never wanted to make him feel bad, but she always had that feeling that, somehow, she ended up in the wrong place with Hibiya. Perhaps they were just incompatible. Or perhaps there was something about their cultures being too different.

Nunnally was ready to give up. To leave. To actually give him that space he wanted. But it was then Hibiya who didn’t allow her. It only proved that even if he was trying, he didn’t understand her at all. Yes, Nunnally was aware he was trying to fulfil her wishes, to perhaps even please her? But why did it feel that he was insulting her? Red crept on her cheeks. She was trying to convince herself she shouldn’t feel like that, but well, it was difficult. And yet, surprisingly to herself, she didn’t want to dismiss him, but rather to show that she appreciated his offer.

“Whatever is most comfortable for you will be a great start.” – she truly attempted to appear exciting. Or grateful – “Or wherever you think my skills might be most useful.” – she wasn’t going to choose; she would let him choose. If Nunnally were to choose, she’d probably cross his boundaries again. And she decided to be patient. Whatever that meant. But she knew whatever Hibiya was to choose, it wouldn't be what she wanted. Education. Public services? No! She wanted something meaningful. Internal affairs. Foreign policy. Military. And yes, finances.

“But please take your time to decide. You are right. We don’t have to start today. Or even tomorrow. There might be more important things to address first.” – like our wedding; her head started to ache – “Perhaps then a walk in the gardens?”

Then she noticed someone in the far end of the corridor… Was it a messenger Hibiya was expecting?  

The quick agreement to go back to his office threw him off, still walking when she stopped. "Oh-- no, we don't have to, I'm sorry. I was just," he started explaining with a gentle shake of his head, but realized how admitting to being sassy would come off. Because he obviously expected to get away with a snide comment. Her joy felt out of place, almost like she was outright ignoring what was said, dismissing it without a second thought. "Nunnally." He spoke up but stopped for some reason, allowing her to attempt to draw them back again.

She was so damn pushy. Could she not be satisfied with how things were for a single day? Hibiya tried to bear it without question as much as he could, but it was becoming all too difficult to ignore reality anymore: she was a god awful headache. He had been waiting for it to pay off, some kind of acknowledgment or gratification, or a small thank you at the least. "Did you even--" listen to him?

Hibiya swallowed the rest of the words that tried to force themselves out. He felt his defenses rising higher each time they talked about something that was more than just light chatter. Everything he didn't want, or said, had to be pushed against. The boy wanted to walk away and leave it at that, cool off and organize his thoughts so they would sound better than what he was thinking now. But he somehow knew Nunnally wouldn't allow that and only find it as another reason to scold him in the passive way that she did. Hibiya took a breath, not nearly as deep as she should have been to do anything. "I apologize, but I think I require a tad more patience from you."

"I'm becoming stretched quite thin bending over for whatever it is you want me to be that week. I understand this relationship requires openness and vulnerability and whatever else, but unfortunately for the both of us, that requires time. I've been told I can be very malleable, believe it or not, and I'm willing to become whatever type of husband it is you want, but you need to allow me to try and get there first before you keep egregiously pushing me."

His tone shifted by the end of it, from defensive, to desperation. He didn't raise his voice, he wasn't animated or particularly willing to say anything he was going off about. It maybe wasn't the best way, but he was getting out his honest thoughts finally, releasing some of that built up tension Hibiya had been ignoring. He too, wanted this to work, yet was no longer able to pretend he was the only part of the problem.

There was only silence between them for a few moments, the prince finally catching those few deep breaths. Calm, easy now. "What is it you would like to focus on with work? Dividing it by topic I was thinking is the easiest way to not step on each other's toes too much. Education? Um, public services? Whatever you'd like." No, that was giving her far too much to play with. It was already proven that if she could, Nunnally would take more than she was given. "Just not finances, I feel least comfortable with giving that up."