#anti farm family

[odinsblog]

The Duchess of Sussex, who has said she avoids social media for “my own self-preservation,” has been the subject of a coordinated hate and misinformation campaign on Twitter, according to a new report.

Both she and Prince Harry, who are advocates for healthier social media, have been targeted on the platform, with Meghan receiving about 80% of the abuse, according to the Twitter analytics provider Bot Sentinel.

It analysed 114,000 tweets relating to the couple, and identified 83 accounts that it alleged were behind 70% of the more virulent anti-Sussex tweets.

“Our analysis allowed us to isolate 55 single-purpose accounts we identified as the primary hate accounts and 28 secondary hate accounts that mainly amplified the primary accounts,” the report said. With the accounts having a total of 187,631 followers, using analytic tools Bot Sentinel estimated “a combined unique potential reach of 17 million users”.

Some tweets used coded racist language. The pattern of how the accounts interacted with one another was not “organic”, the report said, suggesting a coordinated effort to amplify harassment of the couple. Most appeared to be generated by humans, Christopher Bouzy, Bot Sentinel’s chief executive, said.

(continue reading)

[holycrimin]

my personal interpretation of Anti-Waddles

[carlocarrasco]

I Love Israel: Israel approves plan to bring in 92,000 foreign workers

As some of you are already aware, I fully stand with Israel which is very connected with my uncompromising faith in the Lord. I keep on praying to Him for Israel to overwhelm its enemies, rescue the hostages and recover from the effects of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks committed by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. I can assure all of you that nobody from the evil Islamo-Leftist mob,…

[beemovieerotica]

No wonder “gender identity,” understood by well-meaning LGBTQ+ advocates as an abstract feeling, has done such a poor job of justifying sex change. If biological sex is part of a material structure of value, then society has a concrete interest in any potential gains or losses that may result, feelings be damned.

Gill-Peterson tells the story of Robert Stonestreet, a 10-year-old boy who was brought to the Johns Hopkins Hospital for a rare urethral defect in 1915. When the doctors informed his father that the boy had ovaries and should be reassigned as a girl, the man refused, explaining that he already had six girls at home and his son was a great help around the family farm. Of course, Stonestreet was prepubescent. Whatever biological advantage he had over his sisters was the natural spoils of working daily on a farm. The point is that his father’s social validation of his gender was the basically incidental result of an economic calculation about his sex. Twenty-one years later, Stonestreet asked the same doctors to certify him as male so he could wed his fiancée. They refused — one suspects because a marriage with no reproductive potential struck them as dead in the water, especially with the national birth rate at an all-time low. Three days later, Stonestreet committed suicide — the victim of a society that could not make up its mind on how best to make sense of his gender while also extracting value from his sex.

This is the larger historical reason why the anti-trans movement does not want transgender people to receive sex-altering care. It is not clear how, if at all, such people will fit into the division of sex in America.

-Andrea Long Chu

[boopjuice]

Okay, I have A Thought.

So I've seen around a few times that Danny's heart stops and freaks out people with superhearing, particularly Superman and his family. Que the freaking out because this child's heart has stopped and they haven't even seemed to notice.

But what if Danny keeping his heart beating takes effort? He has to focus on it at least a little all the time to seem more human. But if he's relaxed because he's, say, gaming over at Tucker's, he stops paying attention to if his heart is beating or not, and it stops. Sort of like how if you're walking around in a place you don't know in the middle of the night, you're tense and worried, but once you make it to a little area or a place you know better you stop being so nervous.

All that to say, having a beating heart is a stress response for halfas. And, like any other stress response, having it be constantly active can have long term negative effects. This was discovered by Frostbite shortly before Danny told his parents about being a halfa, and in fact influenced that decision. It turned out well, and Danny's heart began to stop more and more frequently while at home, to the point that it rarely ever beats at home now.

So que Phantom joining the League through some shenanigan or another, and together they're working to dismantle the Anti-Ecto Acts. The League knows he's powerful, but he's paranoid enough that he hasn't told them about the whole "half dead" thing. He's wandering around the Watchtower, chatting with Superman as they walk past a window that looks out into space. Danny's chatting about his weekend plans with Sam and Tuck, Superman's chatting about his upcoming visit to Ma and Pa's farm, and suddenly the kid's heart just stops.

And Superman freaks out. Because there is a child right next to him having a heart attack and seemingly not knowing.

He rushes Phantom to the medbay, only for his heart to be beating again? And the kid looks really freaked out and confused now. So he apologizes, explains what he heard, or rather didn't hear, and asks if it's an arrhythmia or something.

And now Danny, poor, socially awkward, barely a sophomore in high school Danny, gets to explain that sometimes, if he's really happy and content and feels safe, his heart stops and it is actually a good thing.

[acti-veg]

I’ve been admiring the success of animal agriculture industry shills on this platform for a while now, so I’d like to share my own price list for any potential interested parties:

£5: I will pretend that I own a leather coat passed down in my family since WWI.

£12: I will forget that any other materials exist besides leather, wool and plastic. For an extra £2, I’ll also shame some poor people who can’t afford to buy animal fabrics in the process.

£15: I will (with a straight face) claim that I only eat cheeseburgers because some indigenous people have to hunt to survive. Alternatively, I can claim that food deserts are the reason I eat meat, despite me not living anywhere near one.

£20: I will weaponise whatever social justice issue is in vogue at the time. I can pretend I believe quinoa is picked by child slaves, vegans eating soy is responsible for deforestation, or that the mere suggestion that animals should have rights is racist or ableist. Enough people who also secretly feel bad about not being vegan will share it uncritically that it’ll drown out anyone offering a sensible rebuttal.

£30: While professing to be a leftist, I will abandon all of my existing anti-capitalist values as soon as animal agriculture is mentioned, and argue for a level of trust in corporate entities that would make a Republican blush. When questioned about this inconsistency, I’ll silence my critics up by asking them if they’ve ever worked on a farm. The fact that I haven’t either will hopefully never come up.

£50: I will make a series of claims about how vegans are destroying the environment. I will make sure these posts appear in the vegan tag, then react with shock and fury when vegans respond to it. I will not be asked for a source, but if I am, I will respond with a 1989 study published in Big Beef Magazine, while insisting on an impossible burden of proof for anyone trying to disprove my claims. No one will question this.

£100: I’ll pretend that I think that veganism is only for rich, white, able-bodied people. When people who don’t fit that stereotype tell me I’m erasing them, I will ignore and/or block them. I’ll have to also pretend that I think beef is less expensive than rice, beans or lentils. When someone calls me out on this, I’ll just move goal the goalposts and start ranting about how not everyone has time to cook. I’ll need another £5 to forget how to read every time someone quotes the Vegan Society definition at me.

Anyway please get back to me if you’re interested; we’ve started pretending fur is sustainable now too so I’ve got my eye on a humane (lmao) mink coat. Chat soon my problematic faves, as a huge lover of leather it would be a genuine pleasure to lick your boot.

[needanaccount2readarcaneposts]

every time i read a post about how, "silco kept fighting relentlessly for a free zaun because it's what fELiCiA wOuLd hAvE wAnTed," i add another name to my kill list (in minecraft).

we'll never fucking undo the damage s2 has done to his characterisation.

let people believe in things bigger than themselves without needing some secret twist reason. let people fight for something because they observed an injustice in the world and decided to fucking do something about it, without needing a personal motivation tied to a tragic dead friend/family member/lover/whatever.

it is one thing for s1 to acknowledge that, while silco was always a true believer, his trauma at vander's hands is responsible for informing his view on the need for unflinching ruthlessness; for excising weakness. but s2 is now vander-ifying silco and fandom is eating it right up; making him 'more sympathetic' by suggesting that his determination to keep fighting in the first place was in some way tied to a lost loved one. because in a liberal media framework that serves the interest of capital, it is dangerous to suggest that someone can be motivated by purely ideological reasons and still be sympathetic. can still be right to want what they want, or do what they do.

i'm gonna make Outlaw Kings & Rebellion Chic required reading for everyone, and have included more extracts under the cut, but in summary:

Violence that does not proceed from personal injury requires no such breakdown. This kind of primarily ideological violence can be directed against a perfectly functional system - functional, at least, for the perpetrator - simply because it appears the ‘just’ thing to do. No wonder, then, that in our mass media, the characters practising ideological violence are cast as morally unsound. If normality is not self-evident but a site of contention, then it problematises easy narratives of rebels vs tyrants. And if dispute over the political system is enough to justify force, then that implies violence against the modern Western state, even its violent overthrow, could be justifiable. This is understandably concerning for many writers, who tend to come from backgrounds closer to the Lannisters than the ‘smallfolk’.

If a person can commit violence simply because they believe it’s right, without any hidden ambition, then nothing stops us from acting to change the world.

Separately, there is in screenwriting a kind of uncodified rule: villains act, heroes react. The hero, according to traditional Hollywood structure, can’t fulfil their destiny until an extraordinary event drags them out of the world they know. More often than not, that event begins with the villain. Harry Potter is only the Chosen One because Lord Voldemort killed his parents. Luke Skywalker would have stayed on Tatooine dreaming of adventure, until Darth Vader’s attack on a rebel ship sends a secret message to his farm. Frodo would be safe and happy in Hobbiton if not for Sauron. Heroes rarely set out to change the world. Villains want change, and heroes run to keep up. [...] Many of these characters live with occupation, oppression, and state brutality as part of their daily lives, but they don’t turn to violent resistance until their families are directly threatened or killed. When heroes commit political violence, it must be to avenge a personal injury. This is supposed to be substantively different from political violence committed for ideological reasons, which receives a much less sympathetic treatment. [...] When we see violent characters who kill for primarily political reasons, they are often anti-heroes at best, outright villains at worst. The idea of the full circle revolution - of the secret dictator hiding in the throat of every rebel leader, waiting to leap out and betray the non-ideological hero - is utterly pervasive. It appears in videogames, where good old-fashioned all-American heroes like Jim Raynor of Starcraft or Booker DeWitt of Bioshock Infinite are betrayed by villainous revolutionaries Arcturus Mengsk and Daisy Fitzroy (and after all they’ve done for them!). It is common in films, from supervillains like Magneto and Killmonger, liberationists written as would-be conquerors, to the rebels of The Hunger Games, who vote to continue the games as soon as they’re in power, except with the children of the dethroned elite rather than the children of the poor. The same reversal is mentioned in A Song of Ice and Fire, where rebel slaves, once liberated, enslave their former masters; in the TV version, an evil fundamentalist visits the kind of cruelty on the King’s Landing nobility that they visited on others. In all these examples we see an echo of the primal fear of every oppressive class, the nightmare at the heart of modern white supremacy: what if someone did to us what we’ve done to them? Liberation is re-imagined as the world turned not so much upside-down but mirrored. [...]

Rensin attributes the hatred of the High Sparrow to his hypocrisy, but I don’t think that’s quite right. What is terrible about the High Sparrow is that he has no personal grievance. He didn’t see his father killed by the ‘good guys’, like Killmonger. His family weren’t murdered by his oppressors, like Magneto. By his own account the High Sparrow was a cobbler who became disillusioned, found religion, and now, thanks to the vagaries of a civil war among the elite, finds himself in a position to overturn the social order. The feudal system of Westeros never injured him personally. He simply came to believe it should be torn down, and acted accordingly.

We seem to find this faintly repellent. We are so used to looking for an ulterior motive that, when we can’t find one, we grow uncomfortable. If a good person can commit violence simply because they believe it’s right, without any hidden ambition, then nothing stops us from acting to change the world. [...] Violence that does not proceed from personal injury requires no such breakdown. This kind of primarily ideological violence can be directed against a perfectly functional system - functional, at least, for the perpetrator - simply because it appears the ‘just’ thing to do. No wonder, then, that in our mass media, the characters practising ideological violence are cast as morally unsound. If normality is not self-evident but a site of contention, then it problematises easy narratives of rebels vs tyrants. And if dispute over the political system is enough to justify force, then that implies violence against the modern Western state, even its violent overthrow, could be justifiable. This is understandably concerning for many writers, who tend to come from backgrounds closer to the Lannisters than the ‘smallfolk’.

[afreakingdork]

Writing Request: Reader x Donnie's V-Card 💜

Hey, guess what?! I do these anonymously too!

This one goes out to a lovely anon! Thank you for your support!

From now until the poll closes if you can prove to me that you voted hassan/mikey in this poll then I will write any short 100-400 word request like below or draw you a doodle of your chosing!

ᴰᶦˢᶜˡᵃᶦᵐᵉʳ: ᴵ ᵃᵐ ⁿᵒᵗ ᶦⁿ ᵃⁿʸʷᵃʸ ᵃˢˢᵒᶜᶦᵃᵗᵉᵈ ᵒʳ ᵉⁿᵈᵒʳˢᵉᵈ ᵇʸ ᵗʰᵉ ᶜᵒᵐᵖᵉᵗᶦᵗᶦᵒⁿ ᵒʳ ᶦᵗˢ ᶜᵒⁿᵗᵉˢᵗᵃⁿᵗˢ.

Under the cut for spice, but it's not explicit!

Donnie had meant to do this so sweetly. He had a plan. He was going to do exactly what you were supposed to. Despite his proclivity otherwise, he was going to lay out rose petals. He was going to set the mood with lighting that made up for that garish red and avoided the danger and smell of scented candles. He had four different playlists prepared and an algorithm ready to switch based on what tempo best suited the night. He had a multitude of condoms in their different texture and make-ups because there should be a choice and he definitely didn't get overwhelmed looking at the yokai selection. he had lubes of the same, but that had thankfully been an easier choice.

So why were you sinking down his length in the bathroom while he sat on the toilet of all things?

Family.

He wasn't thinking of them.

Friends.

They were the furthest things on his mind.

What wasn't was the start of this intimacy. The romantic plan had gone as discussed. You were both ready to take the next step. You inaugurated the evening with a date. There was light dinner that was walked off in cozy arm and arm. There were the lights of the city and a few breath taking jumps to get your heart rate elevated. Though he had taken you to see the city from above, there was a new connotation as New York sparkled in your eyes.

The moment you turned to share the sight with him, you saw his vision and that was it.

You kissed.

It grew a little hotter.

You whispered against him to take you home.

it was another shot of adrenaline as he carried you straight down the closest underground entrance that led to the lair. You whimpered in his arms as he shot you amorous looks throughout. You mewling thing were all the more ready and he equally so even if there was a certain clamminess to his hands.

You got to his room.

He locked up the door tight.

The roses.

The light.

The playlist.

The assortment of choice.

You were thankful in your saunter and plied him with kisses. It made all the agonizing and embarrassing preparation worth it. Those cheek pecks once again drew heat from his core. His heart swelled. It was his turn for the flood of endorphins and you steering the pair of you to bed was your confirmation that you were game. You wanted him. You chose him.

What sweet validation.

As you teetered on the bed, it began. First Leo, who portalled straight in because only the lab had that kind of anti-mystic protection. You squeaked knowing your misdeed, but to the outsider, you looked like you were doing nothing more than making out. Donnie raged at the interruption, but Leo brushed him off saying he needed back-up in dinner choice. Donnie oh, so kindly reminded him that he had already ate and the date was long logged in the family calendar. Leo not so hopelessly stared at him and second guessed the decision before he was run out. Donnie was left fuming at the door as he added a 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign.

"It's alright."

Your voice was sweet nectar.

It beckoned and soothed.

He floated back to you and never reached your lips when the pounding came.

Michelangelo in a tizzy because he'd dropped his ant farm. His latest hobby and the colony has somehow unionized. He spoke of how they were taking over the room with domain expansion ready for the kitchen provision and Donnie screamed over his shoulder for Mikey's to just ready for once in his life. There was a popped syllable and bashful apology before the air hung heavy. The littlest made his review of the three words as loud as possible before he cited comparatively non-nonchalant apologies and annouced to Raph that they were going to war as peace talks fell through.

The oldest brother groaned somewhere not too far away.

A little close for comfort as you shudder where you were beneath your boyfriend.

"I'm starting to realize the others are... right there..."

The first signs of uncertainty flared in his mind, but he could fix this. He enacted sound proofing. He set his entire room to do not disturb. This measure was typically saved for crashing on particularly hard nights, but it was worth it. This was his fault for not remembering how tenacious his family was. He was the one making the best nest for you and his folly had been in placement. Once again secure, you reviewed his preparations with some meter of affection.

There was still a chance.

A kiss.

Shy and sweet that simmered as the burner was on. The heat percolated in bubbling pops of lips leaving for air and little soft moans. They lead further down with your hands shaping his plastron and his at your sensitive sides. Down until your back hit the bed and you pulled him with. His knee slotted between your legs and your heads dipped to share a little more than oxygen.

"PURPLE!"

Splinter's voice was a bucket of ice water in some old time challenge and Donnie could only turn his head before all his carefully constructed provisions were broken through in a second. Mystic prison hadn't been able to hold his father; the man was too powerful for his own lazy right. Especially when he demanded his remote be fixed after the ant army had taken its batteries to power their remote controlled tanks.

Donnie was starting to think he may have to help that endeavor as he marched over to get his dad two triple A's.

You.

You with your kindness.

You with your patience for him.

You talked to his father in the meantime.

Yes, the date was wonderful.

Me and Donnie were planning to spend more time together tonight.

No, we won't be eating dinner with you.

I hope you get the clam chowder you're craving.

When Donnie returned, you looked a little to comfortable on his bed. No longer were you ready to be splayed, but you were sat ready on the edge. A sight of someone in the midst of changed plans, Donnie relegated the union of your love to another night. You would go now and have at it on the battlefield before your war torn bodies enjoyed whatever dinner option Leo presumably wanted instead.

That would be nice.

Be it laying beside you with a sheen of sweat from coupling or conflict, you would look just as radiant.

You finally stood, your face determined, and took his hand to go.

He was putty in your fingertips and only sort of noticed your detour to his table of choice.

Then you were in the hallway where the distant sounds of the fray leaked out.

You didn't go that way.

You turned, presumably ready to get suited up in his lab.

You led him right into the bathroom.

He had been stunned, but you continued to move him.

The door locked.

You worked his fly.

He took a cold seat with a bare thighs on porcelain.

You stripped only the necessary bottom layers.

You prepared yourself.

You prepared him.

Back at where his mind had left him, you had descended upon him with little force. Only the angle was a tricky one, but you were certainly managing. A slow up and down that spread your love out from its fluttering wing beats in his heart to between his legs. The steadily increasing moisture of the right whipping filled the air before you caught him. You shared his distraction with a hopeless smile. You accepted him in all parts, family included and you were his beating heart. It was his pleasure to watch your reassurance slip into little breathy moans and he left behind his place as bystander. In one twitch of his thighs and his hands to your hips, his angle improved and you draped over him to share in the sweetness.

The story for old would include the bed.

it would include the petals.

The gorgeous lit neon.

Playlist number three.

You had full say in the memory he'd print, but this, you framed with the shower curtain in the background, working yourself as hard as you could for him, whispering his name like a plea and your salvation, that part he would leave in for your future generations and he leaned in to make sure you'd agree to it the same way.

[marypsue]

Just got a nasty scam comment on one of my 10k+ note posts, and thought I should give all of you a heads up. If anybody online tells you they can help you recover money you've been scammed out of, that is also a scam.

This empty tumblr (which I blocked and reported before I thought to take screenshots, unfortunately) left a reply on this post of mine going on and on about how they'd been scammed and lost all of their retirement savings. Once it got the sob story out of the way, it went into the pitch - oh, but then by luck I was listening to an article on the BBC and they said that there are scam recovery experts out there! Here's a link to the one I used! Contact them on this messenger app (contact and messenger app name in a non-standard font so that bot detection software won't catch it and nuke me from orbit)! You only need to pay a small upfront fee!

First of all, this comment didn't make any sense on this post. (The post had nothing to do with either scams or retirement savings, not even tangentially. It did, however, mention the 1980s, and it is being actively passed around. Don't know which of those things may have caught the bot's attention.) However, this is a longstanding method of tumblr bots: liking a post creates a link to their blog in the notes on your post. The more posts they like, the more legitimate tumblr pages link to their blog. And the more legitimate website pages link to your website, the more trustworthy search engines think that your website is.

So, for the decade and change that tumblr's been around, bot farms have been planting 'likes' on real posts, so that the bot blogs that like those posts look legit to, say, Google. Then, they have all the bot blogs post links to the shady website that they really want to direct people to. Because the bot blogs now look legitimate to Google, all of them linking to stealyourcreditcard.org.nx now makes stealyourcreditcard.org.nx look legit. And tumblr users may be too wise to click the link on the obvious bot blog, but non-tumblr user Joe Schmoe may not be wise enough to not click the link that's first in the Google search results.

This looks like a variation on that business. This long-winded reply had nothing to do with my post, but putting it under my post, which has a lot of genuine, legitimate interaction, means that if someone searches for 'scammed out of retirement savings' or 'scam recovery', this long-ass comment may show up in the search results - or even snuck into a bullshit generative summary of results - looking like it was posted on a legitimate blog.

Second of all, here's the secret: once scammers have successfully gotten money out of you once, they don't stop. Either they'll come back to double-dip, or they'll sell your name and contact information along to another scammer. The logic is that someone who falls for it once is more likely to fall for it again. And one of the ways that they try to double-dip is by contacting victims and claiming they can help get back the money that the victim lost.

This is a scam. It's always a scam. The people who might be able to help you get money back from a scam are not going to contact you. You would have to make a report, to the police or to an organisation like the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (sorry rest of the world, I don't know what resources you have available to you, but that information should be available on government websites), and they might be able to find some of the money you lost. If somebody calls or messages you out of the blue, that's scammers again.

But it sounds like the scammers are getting wise to this piece of advice. So instead, now they're fishing for people who've heard (possibly from friends or family who've themselves been scammed) that there are 'recovery specialists' out there, or for people who are simply desperate and scared and looking for help, who're trying to find information and assistance on the internet.

And they're trying to use your tumblr blog to do it.

Anyway. If you see this shit happening on your posts, block, report, sow the earth with salt. And, as always, if you're new to tumblr and your blog is blank with a default icon and you're wondering why everybody keeps blocking you - do something to prove you're human.

[obsessive-valentine]

Does Yandere!farmer have any family? Or is he all alone???

🚨 Family trauma dump 🚨 -lets give this man some depth and explanation for why he’s the way he is

His father died at a pretty young age making him prematurely inherit the farm, he had help from his fathers close friend for a while but him being a troubled young adult with strong opinions, they bumped heads a lot so he basically threw him and then the rest of the workers off the farm to downsize and work alone instead. His mother died soon after, and had no other immediate family. He has distant family about and some probably in the town nearest to his farm but he nor they make and effort to reach out because both sides know he’s beyond help and is best if he’s alone.

...

He was a bit bugged when his father died (he didn’t like his father) due to the huge responsibility of the farm. But when his mother died, it was devastating for him, her being his only real emotional connection. See, despite having a picturesque early childhood and described as a sweet and well-mannered boy taking after his sweet mother, he was quickly put to work on the farm while still a child; his father justifying it as a way to toughen him up and make him a man. The jobs only got more gruelling as he grew, physically but also far too emotionally heavy for a young boy (like slaughtering animals)’. He eventually gave in and was quite a anti-social teenager being worked to the bone.

He didn’t attend school therefore had no friends and not socialised. Instead his mother would homeschool him and try save him from his chores for a bit of time to play, many times did his mother argue with his father about how hard he was being on her child. It seemed that she was the only one on his side, the only one he could trust and would frequently travel into town to visit her (he was a devoted mommas boy). So when she died it was the straw that broke the camels back.

The social alienation, burnout, emotional neglect and understanding, toxic masculinity, all instilled in him from just a kid along with the developed sociopathic tendency’s in his late teens and then the death of his only support and emotional attachment he didn’t know how to deal with it so he did the only thing he knew and worked, worked so he didn’t have to think about it. And still has yet to process the loss of his mother. He doesn’t connect with people in the slightest but does with his animals and appreciates being alone, finding people to be infuriating and incompetent (aside from his darling ofc).

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

One thing I’ve grown to appreciate about the “Red Dead Redemption” series now that I’m older is that you can tell Rockstar approached this project as an anti-western. It lures you in with the promise of Wild West, yeehaw goodness, but when you actually play the games, you get hit with the brutal reality of this world.

Examples of what I mean:

1) The Mexican Revolution arc isn’t romanticized. At first, you think it’s a simple tale of the evil fascist government fighting against the heroic rebellion. But then you meet the rebel leader and he turns out to be just as bad as the government. It’s a true “both sides are in the wrong” situation and, unfortunately, the ones who truly suffer are the peasants (such as Luisa Fortuna).

2) Frontier life isn’t just shooting and action. It was also watching over animals, building farms and ranches, and trading with towns. The games really make you feel the monotony of doing chores and yard work, especially when John was in his Jim Milton phase.

3) Outlaw life isn’t romanticized either. Although you start off as a happy family, it eventually devolved into backstabbing, despair, and self-destruction. Even before then, your group aren’t the greatest of people, especially with the whole robbing people at gunpoint and shooting up towns.

4) Good guys don’t always get a happy ending. Also, every action has a consequence. John Marston had to learn that the hard way.

5) The racism. I feel like a lot of Western-themed media tries to skirt around this issue, or even avoid the topic (such as the 2016 remake of Magnificent Seven, which had a diverse group of fighters). Red Dead doesn’t pull back its punches. You have the Ivy League professor who treated Native Americans as subjects for his racist research. Abraham Reyes straight up calls Chinese people an inferior race. Then there’s the Blackwater short film playfully talking about the massacre of Native American tribes.

6) Along the same lines as point 5, the sexism. For example, there was the propaganda short film about opposing the women’s suffrage movement. And, of course, Sadie Adler not wanting to be relegated to cooking for the group since she can shoot.

7) This is more for RDR2. You actually have to pay attention to the maintenance of the horses and the guns. I’ve never seen this in a Wild West movie/TV show, and yet it’s integral to someone whose life revolves around horseback riding and shooting people!

8) Not skirting around the issue of disease, especially when healthcare wasn’t as advanced as it is nowadays. You can see that especially with Arthur and Abigail.

[lotties-ashwagandha]

YELLOWJACKETS & HALLOWEEN (headcanons)

i did headcanons like this last year but i don’t know where they went so im making them again! this is for adult yellowjackets and is sfw. i did not take writing these seriously.

SHAUNA

horror movie queen. halloween is the one night of the year where she can let out her inner freak without getting judged for it and she takes full advantage

she wants to watch slasher movies. she wants to binge watch scream and halloween and also weird supernatural horror and then she wants to have in-depth discussions about what the two of you thought was good and bad and meaningful and not meaningful afterwards

i think halloween for her was very different when callie was little though, she obviously couldn’t spend the night with a six year old having a scream marathon. i can see her really loving the halloween nights when she would take callie around trick or treating and handing out candy, it was something pure and fun to celebrate every year and it was refreshing to her.

now listen to me though. i feel like she would be anti pumpkin spice fight me on it but she would say it tastes like chemicals. she won't be going near it.

LOTTIE

“carving this pumpkin will heal my inner child spiritually” she says the day before halloween and then she cuts her hand, gets pissed, and her night is ruined

but listen. i know this woman pulls out all her orange, black, purple type caftans in the fall. she WILL be color coordinating with the seasons like pinterest’s number one freak

decorating for halloween with her would be such an intricate practice too, you obviously wouldn’t do it on halloween but going and getting some new decor for the house every year and discussing the aesthetics and what theme you want around the wellness center for fall and halloween would be so much fun

dare i say pumpkin spice latte queen? except she can’t handle leaving hippie wellness center so she learns to make everything at home and she builds a starbucks equivalent in your kitchen

in general I think she would try to stay away from horror films or anything like that on halloween, she's especially not watching any supernatural horror because it fucks with her now after all of the things she’s seen that were “supernatural” in the wilderness but she would love more stereotypical cute halloween movies like hocus pocus or even practical magic. you have themed movie dates and drinks and watch them together. 😋

TAISSA

she doesn't hand out candy she hands out dirt and sits in her favorite tree

just kidding i guess

i think she would love halloween though in general, especially celebrating it with her son. when he was really little she definitely had matching costumes or at least costumes that went together with sammy, like how families will dress up as the incredibles with their kids or as the addams family

she would do something with her political campaign when it comes to halloween, too. i don't know what it would be, maybe some weird costume contest online or idfk but she goes halloween crazy and every part of her life is going to be involved in it

she's also the queen of pumpkin carving because she would get so intense about it. no one can bother her during pumpkin carving or they're getting their ass lit up like a jack-o-lantern candle

like shauna, she is on the anti pumpkin spice team.

VAN

van thrives during halloween season. put her in front of the television with some old horror films and you wont hear from her for a month

she loves going to pumpkin patches and corn mazes too. she's probably who got taissa into carving pumpkins. she would love those giant pumpkin patches and farms where you can go apple picking and pet goats and shit. her profile picture on every social media platform is an awkward selfie of her feeding a goat

van is also an apple cider fiend in my opinion, and those funky apple cider and pumpkin donuts

like lottie she is on the pro pumpkin spice team, she loves it.

NATALIE

young natalie would have loved halloween, but i feel like adult timeline natalie would be relatively over it unless she had a partner that really loved halloween. if you can get her back into the vibe she'll be so into it, but she probably wouldn't do much if just living alone

if she's handing out candy she's going to try to scare as many children as possible. it becomes a mission that only the bravest children will leave with candy after trick or treating at her place. she'll jump out at them with masks or have some of those animatronic decorations that scream at people in the yard once the motion censors are triggered.

she has a bomb as fuck fall playlist too but it's not spooky scary skeletons and that shit it's old rock music

she's relatively neutral when it comes to pumpkin spice, not particularly passionate about it either way.

MISTY

if there is any holiday that screams misty quigley, it's halloween

oh she has so much fun

she will find a way to get a costume custom made for caligula each year and then she'll post pictures of him in all of the bird-related reddit communities she's in.

she hyperfixates on the history of halloween and will info dump to you about it

also loves scaring children but loves scaring adults even more

might try to break into your house at night as a halloween prank because she doesn't know how far is too far

pro pumpkin spice.

[mariacallous]

Today, the US Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against farming equipment manufacturer Deere & Company—makers of the iconic green John Deere tractors, harvesters, and mowers—citing its longtime reluctance to keep its customers from fixing their own machines.

“Farmers rely on their agricultural equipment to earn a living and feed their families,” FTC chair Lina Khan wrote in a statement alongside the full complaint. “Unfair repair restrictions can mean farmers face unnecessary delays during tight planting and harvest windows.”

The FTC’s main complaint here centers around a software problem. Deere places limitations on its operational software, meaning certain features and calibrations on its tractors can only be unlocked by mechanics who have the right digital key. Deere only licenses those keys to its authorized dealers, meaning farmers often can’t take their tractors to more convenient third-party mechanics or just fix a problem themselves. The suit would require John Deere to stop the practice of limiting what repair features its customers can use and make them available to those outside official dealerships.

Kyle Wiens is the CEO of the repair advocacy retailer iFixit and an occasional WIRED contributor who first wrote about John Deere’s repair-averse tactics in 2015. In an interview today, he noted how frustrated farmers get when they try to fix something that has gone wrong, only to run into Deere's policy.

“When you have a thing that doesn’t work, if you’re 10 minutes from the store, it’s not a big deal,” Wiens says. “If the store is three hours away, which it is for farmers in most of the country, it’s a huge problem.”

The other difficulty is that US copyright protections prevent anyone but John Deere from making software that counteracts the restrictions the company has put on its platform. Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 makes it so people can’t legally counteract technological measures that fall under its protections. John Deere’s equipment falls under that copyright policy.

“Not only are they being anti-competitive, it's literally illegal to compete with them,” Wiens says.

Deere in the Headlights

Wiens says that even though there has been a decade of pushback against John Deere from farmers and repairability advocates, the customers using the company’s machines have not seen much benefit from all that discourse.

“Things really have not gotten better for farmers,” Wiens says. “Even with all of the noise around a right to repair over the years, nothing has materially changed for farmers on the ground yet.”

This suit against Deere, he thinks, will be different.

“This has to be the thing that does it,” Wiens says. “The FTC is not going to settle until John Deere makes the software available. This is a step in the right direction.”

Deere’s reluctance to make its products more accessible has angered many of its customers, and even garnered generally bipartisan congressional support for reparability in the agricultural space. The FTC alleges John Deere also violated legislation passed by the Colorado state government in 2023 that requires farm equipment sold in the state to make operational software accessible to users.

“Deere’s unlawful business practices have inflated farmers’ repair costs and degraded farmers’ ability to obtain timely repairs,” the suit reads.

Deere & Company did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Instead, the company forwarded its statement about the FTC's lawsuit. The statement reads, in part: “Deere remains fully committed to ensuring that customers have the highest quality equipment, reliable customer service and that they, along with independent repair technicians, have access to tools and resources that can help diagnose, maintain and repair our customers’ machines. Deere’s commitment to these ideals will not waiver even as it fights against the FTC’s meritless claims.”

Elsewhere in the statement, Deere accused the FTC of "brazen partisanship" filed on the "eve of a change in administration" from chair Lina Khan to FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson. The company also pointed to an announcement, made yesterday, about an expansion to its repairability program that lets independent technicians reprogram the electronic controllers on Deere equipment.

Nathan Proctor, senior director for the Campaign for the Right to Repair at the advocacy group US PIRG, wrote a statement lauding the FTC’s decision. He thinks this case, no matter how it turns out, will be a positive step for the right to repair movement more broadly.

“I think this discovery process will paint a picture that will make it very clear that their equipment is programmed to monopolize certain repair functions,” Proctor tells WIRED. “And I expect that Deere will either fix the problem or pay the price. I don’t know how long that is going to take. But this is such an important milestone, because once the genie’s out of the bottle, there’s no getting it back in.”

[matramancer]

🌸KIKORU THE WINGMAN | Narumi Gen x Mitsuri! reader

Synopsis: As much as she admires her two mentors, seeing the two of you pine over each other was INFURIATING. Perhaps it was time to take matters into her own hands. Unfortunately.

part 1 | Mitsuri! reader Masterlist

Tags: fem! reader, HCs w scenarios, Narumi x reader, Kikoru and Mitsuri!reader found family ft. Narumi, JEALOUS NARUMI, Narumi Gen is an idiot, fluff, mutual pining, Kikoru the wingman

By the time Kikoru’s batch rolls in, she’s already gotten word about several of the unique heavy hitters in the force. She wasn’t her father’s daughter for nothing–an extensive knowledge of the Defense Force is a part of keeping yourself up in the game.

She knew about the infamous First Division—home of Japan’s Strongest Anti-Kaiju Combatant, and the more recent officer who made a name for herself as the Pillar of Love.

However, it still didn’t prepare her for the rather… lousy introduction her supposed new captain and mentor gave her. And the chronic gaming addiction. And the Yamazon addiction. And everything else in between.

When she thought things couldn’t get any rowdier, she was very bombastically introduced to you. 

“Captain Narumi! You wanted to see me?” The blonde turns at the new voice entering her ears, your figure standing by the doorway. At a glance, she was taken aback at the mountain of sakura mochi on a tray in your hands, your expression an immediate stark contrast to all the officers she’s ever seen in the force.

As she locked eyes with you, your smile only widened, and Kikoru wondered if it was possible for a human to emit their own light source. 

Nothing however prepared her for your figure to zero in on her in a flash,  your movements so abrupt she had to take a few steps back to process them. “HELLOOO! YOU’RE SO CUTE! Do you want some sakura mochi? Though I only have a little.” A little?! You were holding a MOUNTAIN!

“Platoon leader (L/N)! Great timing!” Hasegawa keeps his grip strong on Narumi, even as he wriggles about. The man then proceeded to point at his BS5, which the other officers in the room were trying to fit into a trash bag. “HELP ME FARM A DUNGEON! IF WE START NOW WE CAN 100% IT TONIGHT!”

The room is silent as Kikoru watches on, mortified. Hasegawa is seconds away from bloody murder. You were still holding onto your plate of sakura mochi.

“…I’ll just leave these here.” you set down the plate and slowly try to make your escape— “COME BACK HERE PLATOON LEADER!”

If it weren't for the kaiju attack that happened soon after, Narumi’s image would’ve been permanently tarnished in Kikoru’s eyes.

And not only that, she actually also caught a glimpse of you in battle—that was when you really made an impression on her. She solidified her choice by then. She was going to get stronger, with your help.

Although Kikoru was mainly Narumi’s disciple, it soon became clear that the responsibility had also fallen to you. If Narumi wasn’t training her, you were.

It was really based on two things. One, you already spent lots of time training with Narumi, and second, Kikoru had approached you herself.

“You want to train together?” You blinked owlishly as Kikoru stood before you.

“Yes. I saw how you fought–” Kikoru starts. Truth to be told, she couldn’t keep her eyes off of you. She was assigned to your platoon, which gave her front row seats to you on the battlefield. “--Those maneuvers you did, your consistent energy distribution…”

She recounts the battle she witnessed, finding herself staring in awe as you finished off a group of yoju with your machine gun, before strapping said weapon to your back and immediately winding through the street with fast maneuvers. Even with the suit, your speed paired with such strength belonged to no one in the low combat power bracket. Then, the next thing she heard was your unwavering voice, commencing that the neutralization in your zone was complete. 

She was absolutely flabbergasted. She hadn’t even registered the weird shape of your sword before you sprung forward, flooring her even more with your superhuman strength. She was a bearer of a heavy weapon herself, but seeing you jump so cleanly with all the weight of your weaponry was on another level. Not to mention how precise each and every move you did was. Anyone with a lower level of skill would’ve cut themselves with that sword!

On the other side of the comms, she hears Narumi send her a taunting chuckle. “You seeing this, newbie? You’re going to have to go on par with that.”

Back to the training grounds, she holds a determined expression on her face, surprising you with a bow, even. “...It would be an honor for you to train me, Platoon Leader.”

“Eh–EH?!?!?!?!?” Kikoru looks up from her bow to see your nervous stupor, a complete 180 from what she saw a mere two hours ago. “ME?!?!?!?!!?” Yes, you. 

(Kikoru does not know if she made the right choice).

Usually, you’d be correcting Kikoru’s form and giving her pointers, then holding a sparring session to demonstrate how your techniques flowed. In particular instances where you both used your weapons, you’d move to the specialized training areas.

Narumi in all of his glory would be stuck to his console before you unceremoniously plucked him away from his lawn chair and forced him to participate.

During her training, there was one particular day that stuck out for her. The day she watched you and Narumi spar for the first time.

For once, Narumi had a look that was indescribably amused hidden under his normal demeanor. Excited even. He was the one that initiated it, after all.

“Kikoru, watch.” He says, a lazy smile curling on his lips as he gets into position. A hand to hand spar .No weapons, no gear.

“--I wanted to say that!” You sulked a bit in your mind, biting your lip.

Whenever the two of you sparred, it was always a spectacle. That much was evident on Kikoru’s expression as the two of you went at it, the lighthearted banter from prior completely abandoned as Narumi went on the full offensive.

He was ruthless, not sparing a single punch even as you took a defensive note in your steps. Even if you were dodging his blows, you did so very narrowly.

And then, you flew. An elegant figure belonging to the one deserving of the title “Love Pillar”. Your body twists and contorts with not only polished skill but extreme calculation. If you were even a centimeter off base, Narumi would finish you. It was like you knew where to dodge, and Narumi knew where to hit.

Every single one of your moves had so much thought put into them, which made sense given your weapon of choice. Similarly, Narumi was a master at switching stances, knowing when exactly to go on the defensive before he’s sending another strike to your hazy figure.

It was then that Kikoru realized that she wasn’t just watching any fight–but a culmination of efforts and hardwork that brought the two of you together in this ring. An undoubted match up of strength that solidified your places in the force. That solidified your positions next to each other in battle.

Yeah, she’s never gonna doubt you guys again (or at least, your strengths) as she watches the fight come to a close, courtesy of an announcement by the megaspeakers.

Narumi curses as he hears news of the 3rd Division’s arrival, already muttering not so clean words at the mere thought of their vice captain (you on the other hand were the total opposite, excited at the prospect of seeing some long distance friends).

“We’re going to crush them!” Narumi grunted, cracking his knuckles with the biggest stink eye while you happily tugged Kikoru along, not interested in hampering the mood. “I wonder if we can catch the captain and vice captain! You must miss them, right Kikoru?”

“Haah?! Don’t you DARE even mention Hoshina’s name!” Your captain’s rage immediately intensifies, like a man out for murder. Something Kikoru wanted no part of. 

Unfortunately for poor Kikoru, out of pure bad luck and personal circumstance, she had unintentionally gotten herself caught in the front view seats of her captain slash mentor’s unexpected dilemma.

You ignored Narumi’s blatant hostility, smiling ear to ear. You couldn’t wait to catch up with your friends. “Just in time for lunch too! I wonder what’s on the menu…”

Narumi zeroes in on this, already knowing the answer. In fact, he’d even request the chefs to make today’s portions extra bountiful, under the guise of the 3rd Division’s visit.

He cleared his throat, “casually” mentioning your favorite food, and your reaction after is expectedly, a surge of excitement.

Having spent lots of time with you already, Kikoru thought nothing of it–your attitude with a superior present was certainly a bit unrestrained, sure, but after seeing your bond with Narumi, she chalked it up to you guys just having mutual respect and friendship. 

Yeah, friendship. Her eyes drift a bit to Narumi, seeing his side profile. Surely, with Narumi being super nonchalant about all this, he was…

wait. 

She sees it. Bared witness to it. Lays eyes on it.

A TINT of red on his cheeks. And the aversion of his eyes soon after.

Oh no. Oh no no no. OH NO.

She refuses to get involved, not in the lives of her superiors and DEFINITELY not in the sad lack of love life that belonged to loser master Narumi.

Okay, it was a bit impossible not to. Not when it was one of those things that you’d definitely always notice after realizing it once. And she was spending hours every day with these people.

In Narumi’s defense, he didn’t know how or when it happened. He didn’t even really take note of you until around the time where you earned his acknowledgement, as harshly as that sounded. 

His principles, his life revolved around results. Around skills. Around the Defense Force. As far as he was concerned (and hilariously mortified at), you suddenly carving your presence in his psyche and imprinting your being into his heart was not part of any life plans he had in particular. 

Sure you got more and more involved with him, sure you just became a regular part of his day, sure you were the number one person he’s most comfortable fighting side by side with, but as anticlimactic as it was, there was nothing spectacular involved. He just noticed it one day.

He especially realizes that something about you in him has changed when he barges in on two officers (nobodies, he didn’t even bother to remember their faces) throwing jabs at how air-headed you seemed. Without even thinking, his brows had furrowed and a scowl was already forming from his face, and when he came to, the officers had already scurried.

At first, he thought it was just acknowledgement and respect for your strength. But thinking about anyone–or anything badmouthing you, calling you names or underestimating you for just being yourself absolutely had him seething.

He got more particular about you all of a sudden as the feelings hit him. He thinks about it all–Your already bright smile that widened just a bit more when you saw him. How you lit up, whether it was from a good day of training with him, or when he would surprise you with a meal. How he has your face memorized by then. He especially loved when you were enjoying a good lunch by his side, when you won a game together, and–

Huh, that’s particular… Did he always notice all of that stuff from you?

Kikoru knew it was over for him when you gathered in the mess hall, and although Narumi had his console in hand, she saw him sneak more than a few glances to your ever joyous figure, your 5th bowl in hand as you excitedly chatted with Captain Ashiro.

And his eyes were full of love.

Hell, he was still quipping with Hoshina, but that’s exactly the thing. The four of you were sitting on the same table in close proximity. Rivalries aside, you were quite good friends with Mina and Hoshina and were always one for conversation, but he and the Vice Captain were usually at each other’s throats. Why was Narumi willingly sitting through this? CALMLY, no less.

These people (you two) were driving her NUTS. Crazy even. It was tolerable at first, hell, things were smooth sailing when she was none the wiser. But now? His lingering gazes, how he lights up when he gets texts from you, how he’s been pushing for your presence more and more often…

 Don’t get her started on the special treatment. Did he think he was being smooth?! Kikoru was LOSING it! 

Kafka, oh poor Kafka, got dragged into this mess too, via Kikoru finally spilling the beans in a frustrated burst of emotions.

“I can’t take it. It’s disgusting,” she feels like tearing her twintails out, airing out her grievances to Kafka. “The Captain is bad enough as he is.”

The older man just scratches his head with an awkward laugh. The situation reminds him a bit of his high school days. “Well, sometimes the best way to make it stop is to let it happen. Sorry, Kikoru. Young love calls.”

Kikoru groans. “Nevermind that. I don’t know what’s worse. How hard he’s trying–”

Their gazes land on the training grounds where you were chatting with Mina again, before Narumi’s figure emerges from your side as he offers your favorite grilled onigiri nonchalantly. As you thank him with a smile, you‘re completely clueless over how even Mina notices the way his hand brushed against yours for a tad bit too long. How he’s so clearly not doing this for just anyone.

“--Or how oblivious she is.”

So begins the adventures of Kikoru the unwilling wingman.

As much as she’s unwillingly involved in… whatever this was, she joined the Defense Force for a clear reason. She’s not going to toil on this and let it hinder the progress of her training, for her life’s mission.

But there are times where she throws in a gentle push. Not directly getting involved in things by the slightest, but you were quite the talker. What better way than to plant the idea in your head and handle your obliviousness this way?

She ended up learning a few things–one, you were obviously super comfortable with Narumi. Two–you amassed a great deal of respect for him, and was gracious over the opportunity you had to get close with him. REALLY close. Receiving surprise gifts and playing games together in secret during the night type of close. Three–despite all that, you had no idea about the obvious truth.

“You better pay me back for this, idiot master.” Kikoru thinks to herself sometimes.

Don’t mention how you were so good at love advice (love pillar and all, it’s in the name), having been a good ear and cupid for the 1st Division when clearly the one who needed that the most was you. It only frustrates Kikoru more.

So how does Kikoru function as a wingman despite her total unwillingness? Well, she does it through the most unconventional methods… Which is to steal you away from her idiot master instead!It’s a win-win, because she gets to one up her captain and not suffer any consequences–lest he upsets YOU.

On the occasions where Narumi wants to train one on one with you? Nope–Kikoru booked a slot first. You’ve got Friday off? Whoops, girl’s day out with Kikoru and she made you promise. 

It was peak “I’m just a girl”. A concept you loved and could heavily indulge in with Kikoru. You’re not sidelining the things you love doing with Narumi, you’re moreover doing things that were more up to you and Kikoru’s forte.

How could you not? Kikoru was an absolute sweetheart, and you’d taken to her like a mother duck. Not only did she see you as a mentor now, but also as a sister figure.

 When she started to call you nee-san, you were absolutely ecstatic.

Narumi was understanding. At first. But when even your gaming sessions, which was a sacred bonding time for the both of you, had been slowly taken over by Kikoru’s rendezvouses, that was when the seeds of jealousy started to plow through his skull.

“Ah, Kikoru-chan wants to go shopping.” “Can’t, sorry Narugen! I got tickets with Kikoru and Rin…” “No way! That’s OUR Gossip Girl rewatch marathon and you’re not allowed in.”

And oh does it work. It DEFINITELY started a reaction in him. Narumi has upgraded her status from idiot disciple to menace. 

All of a sudden, a new competition rolled in town, and the First Division had a new point of interest to watch.

The rivalry of Isao’s brightest disciple vs his rising star daughter for the attention of the Love Pillar. (Coming to a division near you!)

Both are now vying for your compliments, and sometimes the comms get so loud with their bickering that the operations room has to work overtime over the noise pollution.

Narumi is seething because it seems like Kikoru always wins, your attention so doting on her, your favor clearly present as you never fail to praise her. Hell, the little brat was now on HUGGING terms with you! You even braid her hair the way you did yours some nights. It was driving him crazy.

Kafka’s also always at the scene in the worst timing possible. At more than one instance, he’d walk into the training grounds just as Kikoru successfully stole you away again, and he was forced to endure his daily training under an unmerciless Narumi Gen in a bitter mood.

What made him grumble at the same time was as much as he hated how Kikoru was monopolizing you, you looked absolutely joyous enjoying things with her–and he just couldn’t take that happiness away from you. No, he absolutely won’t allow it.

He wouldn’t ever reveal it so lightly at this point in time, but you meant so much to him.

And as he grows more and more obvious with the shift in his demeanor, how much he’s wagging his tail, even Hoshina had noticed and sent his tips to the betting pool.

If it weren’t for Kikoru’s sleight of hand however, the slow burn you had with Gen would’ve probably lasted longer than the existence of kaiju itself.

When he’s FINALLY able to steal you away from Kikoru, he’s taken aback by how vigorously he was vying for your time in the first place. How he felt so victorious over catching that empty spot in your schedule before his menace of a mentee dragged you away from him.

And when he finally catches himself unable to hold back a grin as he sees you all dressed up pretty on the train with him, it hits him deeply with the realization that you had made yourself home in his consciousness. That he values the many moments he gets to spend with you so much. 

Maybe that was okay. Maybe he wants to treasure the little moments he has with you. Maybe… maybe this normalcy the two of you fostered together was alright.

You made him feel normal. Like the two of you were just young adults given a glimpse of a life outside of the Defense Force, where he could imagine days like this with you to come. Like he was just a boy, no captain or anything. And you saw him as just that.

That was what went through his mind on a nice afternoon out in the city, Narumi insisting he be the first to bring you to this new restaurant that served your favorite kind of dishes.

Equipped with disguise gear of great caliber (a mask, sunglasses, and two hats you had lying around), the two of you comb through the crane games and rhythm machines in the arcade, working up an appetite an hour before your reservation. 

His eyes couldn’t stop glancing at your excited figure at the small plushies in the crane games. He chose your favorite songs on maimai. He made sure to reserve seats in the restaurant beforehand and nearly even used his name card to guarantee them.

And later on, when Kikoru’s eyes scanned the photostrip you were showing her taken at a purikura booth you and Narumi tried, she nearly fell down over how loving his gaze was on the last pic.

When it was finally time to enjoy your meal, you were beaming in absolute delight as you finished bowl after bowl, plate after plate, offering Narumi a share of everything. 

He gladly accepted, absolutely reveling in how you spoiled him. Especially with how there was no Hasegawa around to hold you back. He was practically on your lap, figuratively.

Yapper gf x listener bf to the max as he sat beside you with an expression so soft in comparison to the rest of his unruly personality, being absolutely glued to everything about you.

Well, that was when he was facing you. Narumi had secretly turned away and glared at any other patrons who dared to even attempt to send a nasty look your way from “how much you were eating” . 

“You got a problem with that? Do you want me to shove the rest of the food down your throat instead, huh?” Was what Narumi’s intense glare communicated, immediately causing the aforementioned judgemental patrons to look away in embarrassment.

Then, he’d immediately whip his head back when you addressed him, completely at your mercy. 

As you finished the last of your food, you were completely obvious to Narumi’s sudden change of demeanor, a wave of nervousness washing over him as he fidgets with the inside of his pocket.

He hopes you’ll like this gift of his.

[restaurant scenario - coming soon]

“I had lots of fun today!” You gushed with your usual cheerful demeanor, sinking into the bathwater next to Rin and Kikoru. You were recounting the eventful afternoon you had to them. “I have so many new plushies now, and there’s so many new stores in that shopping district that just reopened. Let’s go there together next time!”

Kikoru huffed a bit, hearing about your day. She was both lightly covetous over how Narumi somehow managed to steal a slot of your time before her, having grown very attached to you and your attention, yet at the same time, she was absolutely floored at just how smitten her idiot mentor was for you from all the pictures, videos, and stories you showed her when practice finished. If anyone who didn’t know any better saw these, they’d IMMEDIATELY assume it was a date. Hell, that was what Rin thought when she joined the conversation!

You in your Sunday best? Taking you to a specialty restaurant that had your favorite food? Sharing bites? Winning you all those plushies? And…

She recalls just how eye catching the subtle change of your appearance was to her when you returned to the base with him. When you didn’t take off the new item you acquired until you hit the showers.

“Gen got me this today,” as you finally removed the accessory from your hair, you eagerly showed Kikoru and Rin the gift Narumi got you, barely noticing the other two girls’ wide-eyed, open mouthed stare at three things. One, how you addressed your superior, THE Narumi Gen by his first name so lightly. Second, THE Narumi Gen being thoughtful and paying attention to your tastes. He knew you loved cute things. Third, how your cheeks were glowing just a bit more radiant, how your tone had a slight change to it. How…

The love in your eyes was so evident.

“You’re so dense,” Rin’s comment brings Kikoru back to the present, the former crossing her arms and furrowing her brows. “Are we not seeing the same things here?” She continues, recalling all the times he’d been so partial to you. He’s still mean to you, yes, but there’s such an obvious touch of softness and mutual standing there that everything just speaks for itself.

You blink. “What things?”

Rin sighs, more than familiar with your disposition. “You’re going to kill me.”

The blonde watches as you haphazardly rise up from the water in a frenzy, Rin screaming as you dart towards her direction, arms reaching out to catch her. Water spills in every direction as you wrestle each other in the tub, you bleating pathetically for answers while Rin attempts to fight you off.

“SPILLLLLLL!” The other woman shrieks as you push into her body, a comedic expression on your face as you tackle her sides.

Immediately trying to regain her balance, Rin lets out a chorus of strangled noises as your body pressed against hers, desperately trying to squeeze out an answer. She attempts to steady both of your bodies as she feels you move around way too frantically. “HOLY SHIT– Your breasts are going to spill out BE CAREFUL–OI!”

“TELL ME RIN!!” You cry out again.

“IT’S LITERALLY SPELLED OUT IN FRONT OF YOU, YOU DUMMY!”

“WHAT IF I CAN’T READ?!”

Amidst all the banter, Kikoru finds herself lost to her thoughts, drifting back to her thoughts of you and Narumi. She couldn’t wrap her head around it at first, but something felt so familiar…

Then, it hits her, recalling the stories between her own parents during their youth in the Defense Force. How Hikari Shinomiya was quite the spunky, passionate youth akin to her namesake, and how Isao Shinomiya was the much mellower, passive homebody, yet had loved her with so much passion all the same. 

History seemed to repeat itself.

At the sound of the water splashing, you watch in surprise as the top of Kikoru’s head dives down into the tub, seeing air bubbles form on the top. You quickly call out to her in concern. “Kikoru-chan?!”

“I didn’t expect it to work too well…”

--

i cant wait to write out what went down in that restaurant... here's the expression that Gen remembers the most, and the face he fell in love with. waaaaa

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

I don't have a comics "take" to offer up necessarily--but I want to see a Superman run where Clark Kent is essentially J. Jonah Jameson. Constantly finding reasons to just shit on Superman and belittle all of his efforts. Superman is of course just as heroic as usual, but I want to see him having fun writing a bunch of tabloid bullshit about himself.

He is the single least popular editor the Daily Planet has ever had, but it's the age of clickbait and engagement farming, so he's also the most successful. His most famous editorial rant is the one where he claims that Superman must have destroyed Krypton himself, since it's veeeeeery suspicious that somehow a baby just happened to survive while no one else did. Very suspicious indeed. And all these Kryptonian expats that keep coming to Earth to fight Superman must be looking for revenge for their murdered homeworld. If the forces of Earth would just stand back and let these freedom fighters take the filthy alien off their hands, it would save countless lives. They might even stop trying to conquer Earth. No more precious human lives lost on account of an alien!

(Lois reads this in utter disbelief. "Clark...are you appealing to racism to keep people from getting hurt during your fights?"

"Why not? Nothing else has worked. And the term is super xenophobia.")

Aside from Lois, who hates what Clark is doing but loves the free reign he gives her to investigate any story she wants, and Ma, who doesn't read the paper anyway, the only non-hero who knows what Clark's doing is Lex Luthor. He sussed it out the first time he tried taunting Superman with a Kent editorial and Superman merely floated there looking pleased with himself. It took Lex about three seconds to really look at Kent's byline photo and realize he was Superman all this time! Lex is pissed, of course. How dare this alien take over humanity's free press and use it to spread his false propaganda! Compromised newspapers pushing a biased agenda? That's just unamerican! Lex immediately buys the failing Huffington Post, renames it the Lexington Times, makes himself Editor in Chief, and turns the editorial section into a daily rebuttal of every article Clark Kent posts. Lex's elegant arguments against Kent's "shortsighted xenophobia" and "reckless crusade against Superman" garner national acclaim. LexCorp stock is breaking records daily. And Superman's reputation has never polled so high! Lex isn't exactly pleased with the latter, but when you add the former to the fact that he's finally succeeding in thwarting Superman's schemes, he decides that he's come out ahead anyway. All is right in Lexworld-- no, in Lextopia!

Two weeks later he's named the Grand Marshall of Metropolis's annual Superman Day Parade and he realizes that he might have fucked up. Superman and Lex Luthor are linked so tightly in the public consciousness that not only can he never risk attacking the alien again lest his stock plummet, but shareholders are actually expecting him to support Superman. Overtly! His own board won't shut up about destroying their Kryptonite stockpiles and dismantling the anti-alien missiles. Even worse, they want R&D to start working on anti-Kryptonite armor that will make the damned alien even more powerful! Lex never should have bought the Lexington Times. No! He never should have went public! Worst mistake he ever made. LexCorp should have stayed a family company.

He is, of course, placed right next to Superman during the mayor's Superman Day commencement speech. The entire time he's standing there, a rictus smile on his face, he's muttering "I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you" under his breath while he and Superman link arms and wave to the crowd.

Lois gets a great shot of Superman giving a surprised and bright red Lex Luthor a grateful hug, the American flag proudly flying high above their heads.

It wins her her first Pulitzer Prize for Featured Photography.

[solar-sunnyside-up]

Community gardens-

Community gardens are a piece of land gardened or cultivated by a group of people, which you can do individually or collectively. So they can be done on private or public land. 

Community gardens are not only a testament to community care and mutual aid, it's also almost a radical act of protest and activism. You're combining and sharing resources, which is inherently anti-capitalist, and you're actively protesting climate change by cultivating the land and bringing back native plants. They exist in various forms, it can be located in the proximity of neighborhoods or on balconies and rooftops. They are far from a one size fits all, they are built to meet the needs of the people cultivating them.

History-

this is gunna be a long one yall--

1890s-- Rapid urbanization in Europe and North America lead to community ran gardens to supplement food stocks that the city couldn't maintain causing an obscene cost of food. Thus lead to cities across the world attempting in their own ways to handle the problem-

1893 - Detroit Mayor Hazen S. Pingree took office with citizens even calling for “bread or blood”. In the mist of this crisis the city establishes a program that required vacant lots to be used as gardens and farms for the unemployed citizens have access to food. The deal the city basically makes is 'we will provide the land for you to farm, you feed yourself by farming it!' Later called "Potato Patches" would convert thousands of acres of vacant and idle land in the city for subsistence gardens, then cultivated by the unemployed in order to ensure citizens access to food regardless of the employment or economic status. At its peak, 1563 families participating over 430 acres of donated or City land. This would become so successful that later other cities like Boston and Buffalo would later adopt similar programs.

In England, “allotment” gardens were created to improve working-class people’s food provision, living conditions, and overall health of people living in suddenly crowded city centers.

Marseille in 1896, “les jardins d’ouvriers”, or ‘the workers’ gardens’, were created by a clergyman, with the purpose of reducing the misery of the working class and improving living condition.

1917- The War Gardens Commission was established to call on citizens to become, "Soldiers of the soil," planting gardens to meet some of their own domestic need for food as well as solider rations. (talk about abandoning your citizens for the sake of war >.>) Providing booklets, cartoons, and plenty of propaganda to teach everyone able to grow and preserve their own food supplies. War and Victory Gardens running well through the 1920s into the 50s. Often communties would have a vacant lot or shared spaces to also fullfill any need that wouldnt fit on private land. By 1944, between 18 to 20 million families with victory gardens were providing up to 40% of the vegetables in America.

1970s - In major cities that were fighting both economic crisis and urban decay as a result of white flight to the suburbs. Bringing rise to community groups like The Green Guerillas-  built of horticulturalists, gardeners, botanists, and planners who work to turn abandoned or empty spaces in New York City into gardens. The group threw "seed grenades" into derelict lots and developed community gardens, often without going through official channels. It became especially popular after the concerted redevelopment of a dangerous, trash-filled space at the corner of Houston Street and Bowery in Manhattan.  That first and now oldest recognized community garden in New York City on a street corner, grew to be over an acre and remains active as of 2023 now named the Liz Christy Garden after its founder who wanted a safe space and good food for children in her community.

2010-Current

Millions of community gardens spanning across the entire world have been reestablished. Particularly over the course of 2012 on wards in order to get back to connecting with the soil and feeding low income housing. Many of the gardens today also hold other community functions like yoga and woodworking classes, socializing centers, holding events, and act as a 3rd space where there are so few these days. Becoming more like a community hub over just a simple source of food.

How do I join or create a community garden?

Join an existing garden- look up one in your area here

To create your own, you will need to do your own research on your city or towns bylaws but generally you'll need a few things-

Gather friends/group to garden with

Secure a place to garden, as well as access to water

Gardening Equipment

Happy Gardening!!

Also @solarpunkani this is for you!!!