#but at a certain point its just like. ok one of these groups is saying 'hi please acknowledge i exist' and one of them is saying

[gibbearish]

discourse protip: if you made an entire blog dedicated to telling a group of people they either don't exist or don't actually experience oppression, you're probs on the wrong side of things. just by and large

[deadsnakey]

𝐒𝐋𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍 𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐆 —> 𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏

GENRE —> FLUFF

characters; Mattheo Riddle, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise zabini, Lorenzo Berkshire, Draco Malfoy.

You've been accepted into the friend group, the longer you're with everyone the more you build bonds with each one.

Inspired by @girllblogging777

✩ You and mattheo are definitely best friends and are the closest out of the whole group.

✩ Lorenzo sees you as a little sister and you see him as an older brother, but mattheo and you radiate the most sibling energy; you both have curly hair probably, bonus if it's also brown.

✩ You and blaise study together since the rest aren't helpful or they're just a distraction…mattheo and draco specifically. At least theo isn't too distracting even if he’s bored.

✩ chaotic, certain duos or trios are worse then others.

✩ Pansy and you always do girls night together every friday or Saturday depending if someone busy or not. masks, doing nails, crafts, make up on each other, trying products out theatre weird, movie marathon with snacks, etc. its a blast and the boys always complain because that seems so fun omg????

✩ the boys love teasing the shit out of you because they think its entertaining but will back off if they realize they're taking it too far

✩ you probably teach most of them how to correctly treat a women and things not/to say and not/to do, etc. give them a little reward for becoming gentlemen to keep motivating them. (they're dogs.)

✩ they listen to you most of the time

✩ tbh if you're studying or sum that needs a lot of focus and is serious to you, they will let you work and help as much as they can if you ask for it.

✩ they are probably really protective over you.

✩ most to lease? Mattheo, Draco, Pansy, Theodore, Lorenzo, Blaise.

✩ mattheo, Draco and Pansy is the worst of it, will fight for you.

✩ Theodore and Lorenzo are more verbally abusing someone and Blaise has a sharp tongue when he wants too, he is not afraid to be an ass to someone when it comes down to it.

✩ Lorenzo and Blaise are the nicest in the group not including you. They are still assholes but more toned down.

✩ Pansy and you team up on them allllll the time and they sometimes hate it, so they do it back to you cause they're petty little shits.

✩ when you're throwing up, they'll rush over to get your hair out of your way as quickly as possible.

✩ will try their best to comfort you if they find you crying or upset or sum. Theo and Mattheo are ones who immediately pull you into their chest to protect you; holding you firmly.

✩ they all give really good hugs, but Lorenzo's are probably the best.

✩ they make sure you're eating enough, drinking enough water, not over exhausting yourself and overall just watching over you to make sure you're taking care of yourself.

✩ if they find out you're not taking care of yourself like you should be, they will constantly be on you about it to the point it starts getting annoying.

✩ anytime y'all have classes with one another they will be pestering you asking if you drunk water today and if not, "ok, here's some water now drink, love.", like they will shove food down your throat so please just take care of yourself, its not worth the annoyance and hassle.

✩ crackheads, always getting into some shit and dragging you into it unless you don't wanna be apart of it. (though they'll beg you to agree lol.)

[alphajocklover]

This is me currently and I’d absolutely love to be turned into the straightest, douchiest, big and beefiest jock you got! Thank you for the stories ���🏻.

So you want to be a straight, beefy, douchebag jock, right? Actually, scratch that, if I remember correctly you want to be the straightest, beefiest, douchiest jock possible? You aren’t content to be just a jock. You want to be the biggest, best jock around. A real alpha male. That's a good start. All jocks need to be ambitious, especially alpha bro douchebags. I can definitely help you. Well, more accurately, the Douchebag Revolution can help you. I checked a couple of things and I’m absolutely certain that you’re a victim of SAD, a douchebag jock that was turned into a gay nerd using time travel. I’ve talked about both SAD, the Society Against Douchebags, and the Douchebag Revolution before. The revolution are the people who gave me my time machine after all. So this is going to be less about turning you into a douchebag jock, and more about turning you back into the douchebag jock you were always meant to be. Now, there are a few different methods that the Douchebag Revolution uses to help those changed by SAD. One I showed in an earlier post is a serum that combats the effects of the nanobot SAD injected you with. It also includes a pretty strong dose of testosterone and some steroids from the future, so even if you weren’t already supposed to be a douchebag before this will definitely make you into one. Not that someone who doesn’t have those nanobots inside then should use the serum though, that could mess you up. Another is, of course, the time machine. This one is very complicated, because while using the time machine would mean they’d get the chance to stop SAD from changing you at all, if SAD noticed them your entire life would be transformed into a battle between the two groups, and trust me when I say that that can get messy. Time travel is already complicated enough without starting a time war, so usually they avoid that method. The final method would probably be best for you. It’s called Douchebag Rehabilitation. It’s not an instant fix like the others. It’s sort of a… program.  How it works is that the Revolution takes you to a secret facility somewhere in the far future. They use a mix of drugs, specialized training, and seminars that could turn the nerdiest gay guy into a raging douchebag. It usually takes about a week or two, a month at most, and with time travel it’ll appear instant to anyone watching from the outside. They’ll take you away, and five minutes later, the new you will be back and ready to have some fucking fun. This method does take longer, but from what I’ve heard it's actually really fun. You get to spend a whole month working out, meeting fellow douchebags, and banging hot bimbo volunteers. So, let's get you on your way! If this is what you want there isn’t any point in putting it off. I hope you have fun at Douche Rehab!

Ok. Yeah you… definitely had fun, didn’t you. I can tell from the cocky smirk on your face, and your now massive muscles, that the program definitely did its job. How long did you stay there, a month? You’re big even compared to most douchebags! I wonder how many girls you fucked. I hear most fuck at least 20 girls during their stay but I bet a stud like you got up to 40 or something. I’m glad I was able to help you become your true self. I kind of wish you and the other douchebags would stop referring to me as ‘that fag reporter’ though.

[djevelbl]

Alright! So! Kaboodle has been haunting my head like a cool little ghost roomie for a wee bit now /pos and I just,,,, look my blog is alllll about incoherently screaming into the void that is the internet about whatever is haunting my head this time, it was inevitable that bnuuy girliepop would get her own post ok? If nothing else, then it's surprising it hasn't happened before--

(like with Branzy's post from a while back, this is a character analysis of, y'know, THE CHARACTER??? so yeah! This is about the bunny girl killing ppl on LifeSteal and not whoever the hell talks behind the mic! I don't feel like I should have to say this, but I've seen ppl be dumbasses over LS!Kab AND actual Kaboodle too. so. don't be an idiot over this — you're encouraged to scroll on if you don't care to read it! This applies to any other names I throw around, like always — happy reading!)

So to preface whatever word vomit I'm about to commit, lemme bring it all out already: my knowledge of LifeSteal Season Six (the one that features Kaboodle) is basically One (1) whole recent stream, and maybe three videos all set on the very beginning of the season — don't expect this to be accurate, but I'll do my very best based on what I've got on hand.

With that out of the way, I'll proceed to yank bnuuy girliepop by the hair and into my microscope:

It's no secret that Kaboodle has a bit of a problem with trusting people, even to the point where she called whatever happened with ash "betrayal," when most of us wouldn't consider it that — she was taken advantage of (from what I understand of her POV to the situation), sure, but they were never teammates, they were never friends in the server; she's been having a big problem with trust and how she uses it, mostly because she's very extroverted and people-oriented — less in the sense that she knows how to read people and the little signs within their voices, and more in the sense that she thrives around people. She's insecure over her own survival abilities and her PVP prowess, and as such has taken to leaning on others to cover up her blindspots — she's been leaning on those surrounding her like her life depends on it because, to a certain extent, it does: if you don't know how to fight, you find someone who does and attach yourself to them, learn their tactics, grow alongside them so you can stand on your own; Kaboodle is still not yet there, she's just now realizing she has to stop trusting people just because they were chill with her once.

But she thrives within a group, she's extroverted and is fed energy through chatter and socializing — that type of person will intrinsically have it harder to detach their feelings from being projected onto other people (reason why she considers the ashswag incident a betrayal, even though I'm pretty sure there wasn't any precedent for trust to be placed on him) and as such will simply have it harder to keep to themselves; we can see this so clearly in how she interacts with others: she doesn't move even an inch, no flinch and no instinct to run away even as Clown launches into the air and he fakes an attack on her with the Mace. She follows ManePear around as they sneak close to PrinceZam and baconnwaffles0 to eavesdrop on their conversation, and barely fights back as she gets killed a half hour or so after with no indication of why he would do that. She calls Zam her "frenemy" and while that word includes enemy in its spelling, it also includes friend.

She still hasn't quite let go of Squiddo's betrayal, and while I'm not informed on what that situation is, I can say one thing about it: Squiddo learned from last season that they shouldn't blindly trust whoever she calls a friend outside of LifeSteal, I'm sure (the temporary ban they got for helping Wemmbu with... I think it was his orbital cannon??? Plus his support of the 4Cvit and Reddoons team-up over his support of Squiddo; these things would do that to you), so she doesn't — they allow herself to be friends and have teammates, allies, so on, but they're not above taking sides if that means she gets out on top (their betrayal of 4Cvit leaves this being very clear to the audience — she's done playing around, they're here to survive and win it; as much as one wins LifeSteal, of course) and this is a lesson all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed new LifeStealers have to learn if they want to come back next season: whatever you and someone else had outside of LifeSteal stays outside of LifeSteal — once you're inside, your relationships are inherently different. There's no way about it.

Clown understands this — he's willing to partner up with friends and foes so long as it benefits him, and he's not above getting dirty if that's what it takes; he trusts people as far as he can throw them, and he fucking hates knockback on his weapons. Kaboodle is not exempt from this rule, regardless of whatever relationship they shared before LifeSteal Season Six — she can't quite wrap her head around this notion, especially obvious on her video about her first experience on the server: one of the first things she did in that thing was showing the audience a chart she made on how much she trusts people on the server, and in that chart she singled out Clown by saying that there's nothing that would make her distrust him because they're friends! They know each other! She knows him better than most do!

But he's not the guy she knows — he's most of that man, sure, but she's never experienced first hand how Clown is on the server.

What I find interesting, is that one stream I watched — technically I watched two: Kaboodle's Confrontation stream from the 5th, and Clown's POV of the same conversation; I didn't watch the whole Clown VOD, but it got pointed out to me (everyone thank clownscasino for this) that Clown was scared — to me he seemed more nervous than scared, but the point still stands on this whole thing: Clown was uneasy over meeting Kaboodle to discuss... Whatever it is she wanted to speak about; he wasn't indifferent, curious, bored — he was specifically uneasy over the concept. The conversation hung over his head like a thunderstorm cloud, never leaving and never lessening — he was affected by the idea and sure, it was because he thought she would try to kill him, but doesn't that say a lot about him?

He cares. In the absence of somebody to stay by his side, he's come to care for a familiar face.

... Did you know Branzy had been Clown's teammate consistently for three seasons in a row? (more or less — I'm new to this thing, cut me some slack) that's an incredible number, considering how polarizing and dividing LifeSteal can easily become for its players — they've all bounced around teams and allies like a twink at a fraternity party, yet Branzy had always remained by Clown's side; similarly, Clown stuck by Branzy's. They didn't help each other frequently — mostly because by the end of their runtime Branzy wasn't logging in all that much — but they sure as all hell stayed loyal to one another; there's a reason their duo is so popular, regardless of whether you wanna mash their character together like two Barbies or not: even within the massacre and bloodshed of LifeSteal, the violence and backstabbing and betrayal, the Funhouse Duo/Clownzy have always stood by each other.

Season Six is the first time that Clown doesn't have his bestie of all besties/his work bf around to lean back on — he's left on his own, and while he can certainly survive and even thrive on his own, it just isn't the same; there's no more friendly face he can pick out from the crowd, no more loving person to care for and fret over. He's always been alone, at the end of the day, but it hasn't stung half as much as it does now.

All of this is to say: Clown is an introvert telling Kaboodle to just "not trust people", while Kabs is an extrovert who can't help how she gets attached to people — they're an interesting duo to watch as they discuss, because while Kaboodle says that she's gonna start being more careful around people, not trusting others etc. etc., she still stays put as she watches Clown come down on her, Mace in hand. She still tells him that she trusts him as he's telling her "well you shouldn't!" She still follows ManePear around and gives him iron when she's asked, based on the momentary truce they held, a precarious thing entirely dictated by his hand and not hers.

I get what Clown is saying when he tells her to "not trust anyone — not even me", as he's the veteran between them and the one who has the most knowledge, he understands how the server operates and what the point of it all is, the atmosphere bred within its code and how it spreads like a disease amongst its players, yet it just circles back to being annoying — it reminds me of that conversation Woogie (I think) and Kaboodle had on her video about her first day(s?), where Woogie was undermining her experience, ideas and beliefs, and the only difference is the amount of misplaced loyalty Kaboodle has for (LS!)Clown; she trusts him without him having to do anything, and that's something that goes down wrong with him, obviously: he advises her to keep her cards to her chest, where somebody with less mercy (less love for her, less unwilling care, less desire to see her thrive on her own terms and by her own merit) would've let her get herself killed with that big heart of hers that's in need of affection and attention.

She's so excited as she recounts her last week to a listening Clown, immediately sighing with great relief as he explains he wasn't helping ManePear when he was hunting her, she says "I love Batman" as Clown exclaims he would be Batman and while I don't think cc!Kabs is quick-on-the-uptake enough to have a surface vs deeper meaning line thrown in the middle of Killerbunnies banter that's not necessarily fully in character, I reserve the right to believe whatever the fuck I wish, actually.

He humours her, lets her ramble and asks about what happened to her eye, he follows along with her DC comparisons and takes the time to explain to her what actually happened between him and ManePear.

He says he doesn't trust anyone, but doesn't love require some trust? What a hypocritical Clown, you turned out to be. I hope, if it comes down to it, you show her she matters more to you than those self imposed rules of yours, as I'm sure she'll show you you matter more to her then those rules you try to teach her

[canmom]

social mechanics in RPGs

not a metaphor this time

so. a comment prompted by seeing this float by the dash.

some TTRPG mechanics are designed to abstract over something. you don't want to intricately simulate climbing a wall so you make a mechanic that says 'roll your Climbing Up Shit number and see if you get up the wall in time' (or whatever the stakes may be). any time you need to climb a wall, you just roll one die, and done. maybe offer a little description.

some TTRPG mechanics are designed to draw the game towards the thing they're simulating and make it a focus. these rules might be elaborate, intricate subsystems - the combat rules in D&D being the archetypal example. particularly in later editions, D&D is really interested in combat, it wants to have an elaborate tactical sim where you're juggling different resources to gain an advantage, it wants combat to take up a lot of game time.

in D&D the combat rules are largely self-referential (i.e. game constructs interacting with game constructs) and don't leave a lot of room to determine things by pure narrative logic, so the system needs to have enough depth to carry that. some systems, such as The King Is Dead, structure nearly every interaction.

other TTRPG systems leave more to player improv. there are various frameworks to account for the interface between the fuzzy narrative game world and the hard, procedural, mechanical one. PbtA has its 'moves', which trigger based on conditions to push the narrative in a certain direction. OSR games like to say 'rulings over rules', where the rulebook is silent on a subject and the GM makes a call on the spot based on the narrative situation. exactly what qualifies as 'going aggro', or whether your gambit is feasible and what dice you should role, is a judgement call.

exactly what should be precisely litigated by a rulebook and what should be left to the improvisation of the players, shaped by various vague prompts, is a huge part of the art of TTRPG design. it depends a lot on the group as well.

I think when it comes to social situations in RPGs, it is easy to get lost in these ambiguities. 5e D&D has three numbers on your character sheet called Deception, Persuasion and Intimidation. (in 3.5e the first two were instead called Diplomacy and Bluff). exactly when you should roll these numbers, and how it interacts with the fiction, is left to the discretion of the group.

the stereotypical "I roll to seduce" could be one approach, an approach where the dice system completely abstracts over social encounters - pretty boring. but equally there is the approach where you roleplay a conversation, and after a certain amount of back and forth, the DM declares 'OK, role me a Deception check' and evolves the fiction accordingly - now you're using it a lot more like a PbtA move, pushing the course of events down bifurcating paths at specific moments, and otherwise pursuing free improvised roleplay. however, from the numbers-and-dice side of things, this looks exactly the same.

some games like Burning Wheel offer a conversation system of comparable complexity to its battle system, designed for tense debate-like confrontations. it has something like a dozen actions - e.g. you can make a Point, Obfuscate, or make a verbal Feint, just as in combat you can Attack, Push or Disarm. Is this to Burning Wheel's advantage? it worked pretty well the one time I played it like 10+ years ago, but I also had a very talented GM who could probably have staged a very convincing debate scene regardless. however, the system provided structure, and prompts (how do I make a point? how do I obfuscate?), so it would surely have played out differently without it. it certainly led to a very intense and fun moment of roleplaying where I had to step out onto the 'stage', which has honestly informed me in TTRPGs ever since.

that said, a lot of the time, the best system for adjudicating social situations is literally just to roleplay it out and make a decision - 'what is this character feeling', 'what that character would say'. no mechanical abstraction can beat the human mind when it comes to simulating human beings. that is the unique advantage of TTRPGs as a medium, which no computer or board game can match! don't throw it away lightly.

the problem for a lot of discussions of RPG design is that how the group handles social situations at the table - what they say and when, when they call for dice - is something that depends a lot on the specific group dynamic, rather than something that can effectively be engineered by a rulebook. like many aspects of RPG practice it is something you learn by doing it and watching other players, not by reading about it in a book. you can try pretty hard - Apocalypse World and cousins are statements of a paradigm as much as anything, most trad games have pages and pages of GM advice - but that's not the same thing.

what makes D&D D&D, what makes indie story games indie story games, are their various play cultures, their habits and traditions - and the book is only part of it.

some players might find the prompts given by the notional buttons that say 'persuade', 'deceive' and 'intimidate' (or equally 'go aggro', 'seduce or manipulate' etc.) to be useful pushes in the right direction to play a highly social character, especially if they feel shy or awkward in life. others might find these limited options constraining, or simply irrelevant. or they might find a way to make them fit the rhythms of their group.

thing is, though, it's highly contextual and you aren't going to solve it forever by turning it into an argument about which is the best book-product-tribe to belong to.

[charbies]

I love your coloring style! I struggle so much with painting color, do you have any advice for cohesive color schemes, or how you go about picking what colors and values to use? Do you always use references?

Yes!!! Ok so for a long time I struggled with color too, I would get stuck and give up on whatever I was working on because color just didn't make any sense

truth is, I don't think you can get very far with figuring out color without first figuring out VALUES

So when we color first and then desaturate the left pic, we get a very boring, flat pic, limited values. Middle pic and right pic are 2 examples of grouping values by foreground, midground, and background to create more contast & dynamic layouts.

Case in point; contrast shows our eyes where to go. Our eyeballs like having clear focal points, it makes a good drawing that much more satisfying to look at within its borders.

2 layouts for values that I personally like are dark foreground on light background, and light/dark foreground on midtone background.

once I have a value study I like, I start laying color in by applying a gradient map. Drawing programs will have presets, but I highly recommend learning to build your own gradient maps. From there I'll tweak the hue around until I find undertones I like (more on that later)

NOW LETS TALK LOCAL COLOR. I define local color, aka "flats" as the color your character is "made out of." Basically ask yourself what colors are your character, if your character was sucked into a vacuum where there was no organic source of light/shadow/sun/etc that would influence the local colors.

Once I have local colors, I use a new layer set to overlay and "lay" the local colors over the gradient. Local colors we want + gradient undertones + dynamic values = cohesive colorssssss

Now one thing I want to mention about color in general is, when I started doing digital art, my brain would "icon-ify" colors and pick colors based on an object's "information" (e.g. frogs are green). As a result, I'd pick a lot of saturated colors in the upper right quad of my color picker, and this would limit my color pallets quite a bit.

Now that I'm more well-versed with values, I've intuitively gotten better at picking local colors in other quads and on parts of the color wheel that go against object "info." In general, I like picking local colors that are warm & earthy.

Additionally, you can always use overlay to create cohesion if you're trying to go for a certain look/feel that's tricky to manually pick out on the color wheel!

Last 2 things I'll mention are I avoid using a large amount of default digital "white" in artwork. This white literally does not exist in nature, it's like a vacuum to the point where these "clouds" just look like holes in the pictures here. I highly recommend looking at examples of traditional underpainting & using undertones, this was a gamechanger for me since I learned how to carry a traditional technique into digital art and it greatly improved my digital art

References I always use references, for 2 reasons: 1) I have a tough time conceptualizing whole ideas in my head and can't draw most things from memory (womp womp). 2) I legit do not practice anything ever, oops, I am usually learning at least 1 new thing every time I draw, so basically it'll be like "ok time to learn how wolves work" and this requires references lol. I'll use photos or hostages (ie my partner lol) for anatomy & poses, pinterest & posemaniacs are fantastic for this.

Anyway that's every silly little thing I could think of to say lol. I've done digital art for 10ish years, I'm fully self-taught, take that as you will lol. Thanks for asking this, hope it was helpful! :+)

[angelxxx444]

Senses - Sid Jenkins x Reader (Oneshot)

“Sid, pass me the spliff” You beg, as your words fall on deaf ears. It feels like minutes fly by before you try again. .

“Sid!” You shout again, an urgency in your voice as you snap your fingers in his face a couple of times to redirect his attention to you. 

“Oh, yeah, here,” he says, his eyes flickering to you for one moment as he carelessly hands it over to you before redirecting his attention elsewhere again. You roll your eyes at him (it's not like he's paying enough attention to notice anyway).

“Are you ogling at Michelle again?” You sneer at him, slight jealousy laced in your voice. 

“I'm not googling; it's not like that,” he defends, yet he still does not turn his gaze towards you. 

You give him a swift punch to his shoulder before getting up from the bar stool you were previously lounged on.

“I'm going to dance; you're welcome to come or continue your staring,” you say, the last part being merely a whisper. You place the spliff on the table and are quick to join the others on the dancefloor, not even sparing Sid another glance. 

You soon forget all about the previous interaction as you dance around the room, bumping and grinding with whoever is closest to you, occasionally stealing sips of people's drinks (and praying this wouldn't give you Mono). Eventually, you were tipsy enough to the point that everything was starting to become pixelated. All you could feel was your body swaying with the music as all senses were collapsing around you. 

“Hey, maybe you should take a break for a little” You knocked back into reality as Sid grabs a hold of your forearm, causing you to stop your dancing.

“Oh so now you're paying attention to me?” You questioned, rolling your eyes at him (which this time he noticed. 

“I'm just trying to be your friend here” He argues back.

“Well, have you considered that maybe that's not what I want?” You reply sharply before turning away from him again and making your way over to the smaller group of Chris, Anwar, Maxxie, and Jal. 

“Can one of you please just dance with me so I can pretend that didn't just happen?” You hurriedly ask, trying to avoid looking back at Sid.

“Hey, no problem by me Y/N,” Chris says with a wink as he quickly places both hands on your lower back (one being slightly closer to your as than the other). You lock your arms behind his neck as the both of you begin to just sway and grind onto each other. The music blares in your ears as you look around the room, searching for a certain someone. Your eyes meet the prize as Sid is in the corner sipping a beer, staring as you dance with Chris. You smirk at him before conjuring up your little plan ‘If I couldn't before, this might finally get your attention’. As the music changes you swiftly turn your back to Chris as you began to grind your ass into him, hearing him give a loud wolf whistle before running his hands all over your body. You throw your head back as he continues, locking eyes with Sid again, this time, you know you've caught his attention. He throws his beer can off to the side before he makes his way over to the both of you. You are whisked away as he takes you by the arm and pulls you apart from Chris.

“Hey! What gives?” Chris yells over the music, sending a glare towards Sid.

“I just need to borrow her” Sid replies before dragging you away from the rest of the group to where he previously resided. 

“Ok, so you got my attention, now what?” He questions you, clearly frustrated. 

“Oh sorry, I didn't realize you had stopped ogling Michelle?” You innocently reply, a slight smirk finding its way to your face.

“What is your problem?” He asks with an exasperated sigh, both hands gripping your shoulders.

“My problem is that you are so oblivious it hurts!” You shout at him, holding your head in your hands with anger.

“Well I'm sorry I just don't understand women,” he shrugs.

“That's not the point Sid” You reply with a sigh. “I just wanted you to pay attention to someone other than Michelle for once”

He opens his mouth to reply but then quickly stops himself, he looks down and sighs before returning his gaze to you with his stupid puppy dog eyes.

“I'm sorry, Y/N. I really am. With the whole situation between Tony and Michelle breaking up again, I've just been sort of occupied.” He responds, taking your hands in his.

“Look Sid, I'm not mad, it's just hard when the only person's attention I truly want is giving it to someone who won't even look their way” You regard, taking a slight dig at Sid (definitely deserved).

“How about we get out of here then? Go do something, just the two of us?” He (awkwardly) inquires, a shy smile spread across his face, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

“I'd rather enjoy that” You reply, a deeper blush spreading across your own. He drags you out of the bar, neither of you even sparing a glance back to anyone else. The rest of the night is filled with delight as the two of you roam the streets, hand in hand. Eventually, the two of you end up sitting on a random park bench, chatting idly with each other. 

“I'm truly sorry again Y/N, i know my attention earlier tonight was elsewhere, but now looking back on it, I regret every second” He states, before turning towards you, making direct eye contact with you.

“I know now where my true attention should have been” He affirms while giving you a shy smile. You gently cup his face with your hand as you draw him in closer, all you can feel is his breath across your face as you both lean in. Your lips meet in a tender and compassionate kiss, mouths moving against each other with pure passion before eventually coming to a halt.

“I'm really glad you came to your senses” You affirm, a smile spreading across both your faces as you share a laugh. Wishing this night would never come to an end.

[watercolor-freckles]

hi i know this isnt a question but if its ok id like to talk about my intersex experience, i just discovered i have pcos and i am someone who has taken testosterone in the past, just as i was becoming an adult. i know i have pcos but i still have imposter syndrome cause i cant remember exactly how masc i was as a kid, though im certain of a lot of unusual masc traits i had back then (including no period). idk im just feeling like a faker and it sucks lol, hope this wasnt an inappropriate ask

I think a lot of us intersex people experience imposter syndrome, even those of us with very clearly atypical genitalia or chromosomes. I believe the biggest reason for this is because perisex (non-intersex) society does everything they can to make it seem like we do not exist or that we theoretically exist in extremely tiny numbers. When they are forced to confront the fact that we exist, they make sure to label us as “disordered freaks” who have to fit a very specific mold to be their idea of intersex. If we don’t fit that mold (very few, if any, intersex people do), then you just “don’t count” to them.

On the other hand, a lot of people also try to say that intersex people don’t exist, that we’re just “disordered females” and “disordered males”. They stand on the idea that we’re all perisex, just disordered freak versions of one or the other.

Society does whatever they can to convince everyone- including ourselves- that we aren’t real. It can be hard to break away from that mindset, even if you know you’re an intersex individual. I knew for a long time, but it wasn’t until recently that I actually started embracing it. Growing up, I was convinced that I must still be biologically female but just the absolute worst, edge-case version of “female” one could be- because that’s what I was told.

I could honestly write a whole essay about the relationship between the PCOS diagnosis and the prevalent societal ideas I just talked about (and I actually plan on making a YouTube video about this in the coming months!). In my opinion, PCOS is kind of a meaningless diagnosis at this point, especially since it’s usually diagnosed on symptoms alone- symptoms that can be very different from the next person with the same diagnosis. It’s often the only diagnosis you’ll get as a woman experiencing pelvic pain (because women’s gynecology healthcare sucks) OR it’s the label they immediately give you if you’re an AFAB person showing signs of intersex characteristics (such as a lack of periods, facial hair, deepened voice, ambiguous genitalia, etc). It’s the one of the easiest ways to push that idea that intersex people are an extremely tiny group and have very specific traits (“if you are diagnosed with PCOS, you must just be a woman with a disorder, right?”) as well as the easiest way to get AFAB intersex people on feminizing hormones to make them appear as perisex (female) as possible. It’s one of the main tools of intersex erasure and suppression used today.

I apologize for rambling, just know that you’re not alone and the intersex community is often very open to talking about and sharing struggles like this. It took me a long time, but I now love the fact that I’m intersex and fully embrace it. I hope you’re able to get there and experience that love for yourself and your intersex identity, too. 💛💜

Thank you for sharing!

[tht0nesimp]

Yandere Losers Club Headcanons

tw; kidnapping but like...less organized and only mentioned a little bit, manipulation, violence, drugging, hypochondria, forced religion,

-he is much to his dismay like his mom

-He's like a constant nurse, even when you promise your fine! Hitting your knee on a rock hurt for sure, but its not like your going to die..well hopefully not, maybe he's right? thoughts like those will become common as he worms his worries into your mind

-He's willing to share, but only with the club, he continues to promise that its what's best for you when he gives you a prescription of Cyclobenzaprine, just enough to not give you too much serotonin syndrome, but a little extra joy is normal! Not being able to get up just means he needs to get you another prescription or eight! You trust him, dont you?

-Eventually when you try to distance yourself, all the drugs hes been giving you, all the prescriptions you now dont take will come crashing down on you. Hes not going to necessarily mock you when the kidnapping happens and you go through extreme stress and withdrawl...but this wouldn't have happened if you!-

-He gets along best with stan and mike, since all three want what's best for you

-He has his problems with, surprisingly, bev. She got you hurt once and he still hasn't completely forgiven her though he will back her up when you try and vent to him about her manipulating you

-Your overreacting! hes hurt you think she would ever spread rumors about you when she was bullied herself. shame, shame, shame on you

-Manipulation to the max, she will make you want to spend time with her. There is no other option

-She's one of the more patient of the group though, when you finally start to distance yourself she will calmly help create a plan to help bring you home. You will inevitably be back after all whether its due to drug dependency or the loser club knocking you out on your way back from a party, is up to the universe

-She wouldnt hurt you to a certain point, if she believes its for the greater good then your tough out of luck. But she prefers to just make you feel guilty and dependent

-she gets along best with stan and ben, as the other two are too scared to stop her

-Hes...trying

-Its not that he doesnt want you to not be a tad scared of him, but you make it so difficult! I mean, hes the worst at hiding his tendencies about you

-He doesnt fully get why you get bothered when he curses out your crush? What could possibly be wrong?

-Dont worry, he would never hurt you EVER. Well, not on purpose, a few scrapes on an adventure is different!

-He gets along best with mike and bill, as they both enjoy going on adventures with you as well

-Eddie and him clash sometimes, mainly just because of eddies naturally overprotective nature around you getting hurt

-Mike is a bit more gentle, hes one of the few who feels guilt about what hes doing

-Hes also very jealous of the others at times, and although hed never take it out on you..sometimes he gets clingy when he thinks you might be prefering the others over him in any capacity of the sense

-It goes without saying that he wouldn't hurt you, but he cant bring himself to rat on the others when the kidnapping happens. He locks the guilt even further back in his mind at that point and refuses to acknowledge when you call them crazy

-He gets along best with eddie and bill, all three are deeply concerned for your safety just about constantly

-Pomegranate??? When he's especially feeling in debt to god for giving you to him, he encourages you to pray! before bed...when you wake up...before eating....whenever you feel like leaving him...yknow when you should be grateful for things!

-If your not super religious he's...ok with that. Sometimes he may wish you were willing to engage with that stuff but he tries not to bring it up too much

-Besides that, hes somewhat tame. But he doesn't feel guilty

-He goes with the vibe of the group so if you do something wrong or when the kidnapping comes around and they feel you need repercussions he's not going to stand up for you but he wont be cruel to you

-He gets along well with bill and mike, theyre all pretty chill with you

-You wont know hes a yandere unless they kidnap you, he's a scrawny little guy with a stutter who is barely keeping on after georgie's death...do your really think hed ever do stuff like that?!

-You help him with his stutter, your one of the big reason he tries to overcome it when hes a bit older

-Theres not much he does besides a bit of manipulation about him feeling guilty for what happened to his brother, after all, who wouldn't feel bad for this poor guy!

-He gets along best with bev, they both like each other...and you so it works out for them to share you

[wickjump]

ok saying it here separately cuz the other one is so godawfully long but please dont tag me in posts like that (warning posts over trolls having planned 'attacks' on certain fandoms). message me it if its that important but dont tag me in those. thats, like, putting me on a hitlist. while i dont gaf what some weird ass trolls do in their free time id much rather have been separate from it altogether.

unfortunately now my blog's name and a link to my blog directly has been added to that post by like 10 different people tagging me. if they are a threat, which i don't consider them, i've kind of got an led sign over my head pointing directly at me now if they find that warning post. trolls like that want a reaction and they want fear. i couldnt care less about what they do to me and never will, turning my inbox off over this wont do anything because i wont bother to suffocate my tumblr experience for some weird ass edgy teenagers online to not potentially send gorey shit to me (i dont think they will! not en masse!! they're fearmongering and using scared people as a proxy for it!!). they want people to be scared over their edgy ass group and i literally could not care less. i just reallyyyyy dont want to have to go through any hassle over this

anyway back to inactivity and occasional lurking/reblogs :3 love u guys im not upset i promise

[hero-israel]

The lies and mistruths that Jews "invaded" and "colonized" Palestine, coupled with the lies and mistruths that everyone lived together in harmony with no violence, combine to say that therefore any Jewish anxiety about a post Zionist landscape where there's a very real possibility of Jews being a minority is illegitimate. It is indistinguishable from white Boers fearing retribution, or Americans discomfort with the idea of indigenous sovereignty.

But when you whitewash your own history and gaslight Jews from dawn till dusk, of course you can make them look like whiny entitled brats who just don't want accountability and are fearing "war crime tribunals" (ok girl). But Jews are unique. This would be the one time where the "colonizer" actually has a basis to fear being the minority. There's historical precedent for it, not just from Europe. It's undeniable.

And yes, Israel's Arab neighbors probably have no intentions of wiping it off the map (Iran is a different story), and Hamas is not powerful enough to massacre all Jewish people in Israel no matter how hard they try. The West Bank is not nearly as violent as it used to be. The situation is not hopeless, and regardless Israel can mobilize millions of well trained well armed reservists with state of the art weapons the backing of most Western powers and of course nukes.

Israel is safe... but even with the knowledge that Israel is safe it doesn't matter if we're talking about a peaceful negotiated Right of Return for Palestinians and they are the majority without a single bullet being fired. And also, think of the Jewish People like abuse survivors. Someone can be physically safe, but they still do not feel safe. They need constant outside assurance that what they're experiencing is real and that they have support. Trauma takes time to heal, a long ass time on an individual scale and who knows how long on a societal scale.

It's not "centering ourselves" or being whiny or duplicitous or crying antisemitism when Jews request over and over and over again that Palestinians and their allies do the simplest fucking task of calling the murder of Jewish civilians the atrocity that it is. They can't even do that, let alone say they embrace having Jewish neighbors, that they see Jews as equals, that they would protect Jews, that they view the Jewish People as their cousins who should share the land and all its abundance with them.

They never stop and think about why these are not really concerns for 8 millionth generation German Americans, and why they are for Jewish people of all colors and backgrounds. If they're not putting in that barest baseline of work then at a certain point we can say we tried and we're going to prioritize our safety at all costs.

Excellent comment. Thank you.

I would just say that it absolutely is about centering ourselves, that centering ourselves is a wonderful thing and we should do it more, there's a reason why "The Giving Tree" is sad and disturbing.

Probably the most tragic element of this awful October is that it was all based purely on psychology, not on politics. Hamas is not actually going to destroy Israel. It was meant to trigger Israeli Jews (and I deliberately use a word that has been eroded to snotty meaninglessness by Internet trolls, since that is the mentality of these ISIS-style groups; the cruelty is the point) and shatter their sense of safety, and then put them into a position where they had to respond with overwhelming force so as not to look weak in a rough neighborhood. It will gain nothing real, nothing tangible, for Hamas, for Palestinians, for anti-Israel dead-enders; it was an act of pure spite. And the West's Useful Idiots for death and racism sign onto it eagerly, because of their psychological need to see Jews get taken down a notch (via lots and lots of dead Arabs).

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/750157841851203584/httpswwwtumblrcomolderthannetfic749685852364?source=share

i'm sorry i slipped up on the pronouns, i've been having trouble following this, but given that others also slipped up in replies like, does it make my points moot?

i also think people are missing the point about "being descended from an aristocrat who lost their head" i'm well aware that many other people in france lost their lives in the reign of terror, that it cut a broad swathe of society and included a lot of non-aristocrats and people who were in favor of the initial revolution as its victims, including, eventually, ringleader robespierre himself.

i don't know what exactly happened and if they're stanning robespierre that shows a poor undestanding of the revolution regardless. but it's not "because the people who are calling them out are french" that is the issue. it's "because the people who are calling them out know their history and xjz is being offensively wrong about it" that's the issue. like, if xjz WERE french, would their robespierre fandom somehow be ok?

i just think we need to think more critically about why certain historical events are considered to "belong" to particular countries over others, or why being part of a culture is considered a form of expertise on a historical event sometimes and not other times. an event that is out of living memory, though, and where there's no documented psychological history of generational trauma (which generally only happens with a genocide that wiped out the majority of a particular population, or a centuries/generations-spanning event - which apply to the holocaust and american slavery respectively, which have evidence of generational trauma, but neither of which apply to the french revolution. also the holocaust remains within living memory, and at the very least people who personally directly knew holocaust victims will continue to be alive for some time, but that is not true of the french revolution)

and i mean, even referring to these previous events.... i've seen jewish people say obviously wrong things about the holocaust and black people say obviously wrong things about US slavery and seen people who weren't those groups correct them, and (on tumblr, of course) had the first people try to claim they can't be wrong because of X identity group. don't we agree that's kind of goofy?

at the end of the day, while certian events are more sensitive to some groups than others, you're right about history because you KNOW HISTORY and not because of your ethnicity or nationality. and i'm going to reiterate: french people in 2024 have no particular personal connection to the french revolution, at hte very least that wouldn't apply to lots of people in other countries who are also descended from or related to its victims lol. but you know maybe after a certain point, just being related to someone who was persecuted there doesn't give you some special magic blood connection. maybe it's meaningful if that was a big part of your personal family history, but that's a case by case basis and can't be "decided" just by knowing some fact about it. i have a friend who is related to marie antoinette and she found this out by searching her family name on wikipedia and finding out they were aristocrats in her country of origin and one of the married into the hapsburg family. i don't think that is a particularly meaningful connection.

and i also just think we need to be more critical as progressives whenever people get overly touchy on blood/nationality/ethnicity as the ultimate marker of anything, for reasons that hopefully should be obvious

--

[akgaereporter]

꩜ briizes: seunghan/wonbin/taro main dancer discourse 🤕

tldr: an ot7 account made a big thread on why seunghan is vital to riize's lineup, talents and visuals wise. they explain why his dancing is needed to balance the team but some taro/wonbin stans took it as shade towards their biases dance skills and ended up seeming lowkey ot6..

so everything started with this ot7 user posting a thread in korean about how seunghan is vital and unreplaceable within riize. they mentioned things like how his visuals and proportions blend the group properly, how he’s the mood maker and has good sense in variety and comedy contents, etc. very well written thread btw, here’s the link to read it if u havent already !

anyways, the issue started bc of the part where nomad talked about seunghan’s dance position within riize. they praised him for his flexible movements in contrast to shotaro and wonbin’s “rough street dancing and standard styles.” they also said that after watching the member’s fancams, seunghan is the member best at “using his upper body” and “highlighting the details of the choreography.”

here is the whole translated paragraph transcribed from the ss:

“Additionally, in order to widen the range of performance types that a group can handle, it is best if the specialized styles of each dance member do not overlap too much. While Shotaro and Wonbin's characteristics are rough street dancing and standard styles, respectively, Seunghan's style, in contrast, is very flexible and allows him to control the strength and weakness well. Also, by analyzing the members' fancams, we can conclude that the member in Rise who uses his upper body the best is Seunghan, and more importantly, Seunghan is the member who is the best at highlighting the details of the choreography among the members. In this way, the three dance line members are already the best combination, complementing each other's shortcomings, so if even one of them is missing, the quality of the performance will inevitably decline.”

this thread sparked a lot of seunghan praise:

now idk abt yall but after reading all these, the first thing on my mind isnt “ok but what about x member..”. this is clearly about seunghan, how he affects the performance/stage/vocal dynamic of the group, and what they lose without him. this is for seunghan and about seunghan, RELATIVE to the other members, not comparative. but some people clearly have other things in mind..

things got kinda messy from here🤕

and some people just straight up revealed they dgaf about him fr☠️

and youll never guess whats in shawty's bio..??

like hmm?? if 2+2 is 4.. how can you support an ot7 riize if you think he doesn't bring anything to the group? that hes not vital in anything? that they're doing fine w/o him? like im genuinely curious but anyways..

some people clocked how weird these reactions were but the damage has lwk already been done bc this is such a strange discourse to have at all🤕

☆ my opinion

again i just think its crazy how u can call urself ot7 when u dont believe he’s indispensable to the group? the whole point of nomad’s thread was to showcase what seunghan brought to riize, and why this ot6 body isn’t bringing out their full potential as vocal&performance artists. there are so many things to take into account here:

because one member is good at a certain aspect of a skill doesn’t make another members’ any less than..

the thread was to show seunghan’s unique differences from any other member, and highlight what the group loses by not having him. not to say “hes better at x than y member,” but to say “this is how seungan’s skill contrasts any other member and creates a better result.”

riize is a team, teams have members, members are going to have distinct styles that they execute best. shotaro is obviously the main dancer as he's very versatile and can cover a wide range of movement, but that doesn't change the fact there are details & aspects of seunghan’s dancing that he makes most noticeable, & that differ and contrast shotaro’s in a good way. those differences make them look better as a group. like yes taro is a pro dancer, but he has a more "x" style while seunghan accentuates more "y" movements, and "x" and "y" work together perfectly with the rest of the members on stage. its not about who is better, it’s about how they look together as one.

i feel like some taro/wonbin stans are referring to individual skills, which explains why they're bringing up taro's past as a dancer. individual skill is a whole different story, and again, that wasn't the purpose of the thread, it was to show what riize loses as a group by not having seunghan.

the “better at moving his upper body” part is one of those details seunghan highlights, but that comment is an opinion on nomad’s part, so ofc u can disagree with it. however the undeniable fact is that seunghan is very talented at dancing with his upper body, and whether x member is better than him or not isnt the point - it was included to show how he and only he executes it differently than others to create an enhanced look on stage. i think its funny how theres literally a part of the thread where wonbin is agreeing that seunghan has the most flexible upper body in an interview but some milkteas were still acting like nomad saying that is a snub to taro??😭

getting mad at a seunghan praise tweet for praising seunghan is odd behavior. u can of course have preferences, but to call it “discrediting” shotaro is a huge stretch. no one is downplaying shotaro’s skills as a dancer, in fact nomad’s thread is one of the only threads ive seen actually articulating and placing focus on seunghan’s dancing, so to say it was “objectively untrue” is crazy and i think we should just let hongjjangus have nice things. if u disagree, and think taro is better at something, gone ahead and make ur own thread like this user did (maybe with a less shady caption🤕) instead of creating a space for people to feel comfortable demeaning seunghan's skills comparatively to other members.

like who was speaking on him??😭😭 some people have definitely lost the plot but at least its a minority.. unrelated to these screenshots but theres srsly an epidemic of briizes who are lowkey moving ot6 but claiming its in the name of supporting riize's active members so be careful who u call oomf & stay strapped in these streets😕🙏🏽 seunghan WILL be home soon trust me ladies.. im psychic

[c l o s e t a b ?] ◀ ⇨ akgaepop.com

[ausetkmt]

When Donald Trump talks about undocumented immigrants, he often brings up genetics.

Immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country,” he said at a rally last year.

“Many of them murdered far more than one person, and they’re now happily living in the United States,” he said earlier this month. “You know, now a murderer, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now.” 

The former president’s language underscores a larger trend, experts tell STAT. The eugenics movement is once again taking center stage in the U.S. — both in the immigration policies and rhetoric promoted by Trump, and through a rise in race science in academic literature.

Eugenics — the pseudoscientific idea of fixing social problems through genetics and heredity via policies ranging from selective breeding to forced sterilization and genocide — was popular at the turn of the 20th century, before the devastation of the Holocaust quelled public support for it. The reasons for its resurgence include an increase in funding of race science from private donors, as well as proponents of scientific racism and white nationalists manipulating the push to make science more public. 

Even well-intentioned scientists have fed into this shift by promoting genetic determinism — the idea that genes are the primary driver of traits and behaviors — and by platforming problematic work in the name of academic freedom. 

“I wasn’t surprised that people are being demagogic about this stuff, but I am a little surprised that they’re so clearly not even hiding [it],” said Paul Lombardo, a professor of law at Georgia State University who has done extensive work on the legacy of eugenics. “This is not just saying the quiet part out loud. This is coming up with quotations in which, instead of using quotation marks, you’ve got swastikas at each end of the sentence.”

‘Bad genes’ and the birth of eugenics

Trump is frequently accused of racism, but the fact that he is embracing eugenic thinking has not drawn sufficient attention, according to Shannon O’Brien, a political scientist at the University of Texas, Austin, who has written a book on eugenics in American politics. 

While racists harbor hatred for others because of their ethnicity or the color of their skin, eugenicists take it a step further and “like to legislate people out of existence,” O’Brien said. “They are OK with sterilization. They’re okay with extermination, and they believe that certain groups are superior and it’s OK to enact things that make it difficult for other ones to exist. I find that far scarier than racism.” 

Asked about Trump’s rhetoric and the eugenics movement and his remarks about “bad genes,” Karoline Leavitt, the campaign’s press secretary, told STAT, “President Trump was clearly referring to murderers, not migrants.’’

The former president also has a history of statements suggesting that certain people are genetically superior. A 2016 documentary pointed out Trump’s father, Fred, introduced him to “racehorse theory” as a child — the idea that “that if you put together the genes of a superior woman and a superior man, you get superior offspring.” He’s used this idea to promote his own intelligence as well. “I had an uncle who went to MIT who is a top professor, Dr. John Trump. A genius. It’s in my blood. I’m smart,” he told CNN in 2020. 

This way of talking about genetics is rooted in a long history that begins with the English anthropologist Francis Galton, who took his cousin Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and applied it to humans, first using the term eugenics in 1883. The nascent field of eugenics matured into a full-fledged field of study in the United States. Much later, in the 1990s, the sequencing of the human genome inadvertently created a new surge in eugenics — emboldened by the idea that scientists could isolate genes responsible for complex behaviors, like poverty, crime and intelligence. 

How companies like 23andMe bolstered genetic determinism  

Those affiliated with the Human Genome Project hoped sequencing the genome would end notions that genetics created significant differences in different groups — “that it would lead us to this post-racial world,” said Aaron Panofsky, the director of the Institute for Society and Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles. 

“But it turns out that both scientists and the public spend all their interest in the 0.1% of genetic variation that makes us different, not the 99.9% that makes us the same.”

In promoting their research to the public and getting research funding from the government, geneticists often hyped up the role genes play in people’s lives. The Human Genome Project “was a huge public undertaking,” said Emily Merchant, a historian of science at the University of California, Davis. “It was almost $3 billion and took more than a decade to complete. So it needed a lot of popular support. The scientists who were trying to generate that popular support did it by promoting genetic determinism.”

This sentiment persisted in ensuing years because of popular genetic testing companies like 23andMe and Ancestry.com, which marketed its products with the premise that an understanding of genetics held the secret to good health and could quantify people’s sense of belonging to racial or ethnic groups. 

In the early 2010s, there was another shift in how mainstream academic circles discussed ideas that intelligence was genetic or that race had a biological basis. Richard Lynn, a psychologist who claimed that people from certain countries had lower IQs, promoted a biased dataset on IQ differences between countries that became increasingly widespread in academia. Another theory, called “differential K theory,” began to circulate around this time, stating that Black people have lower IQs and are more aggressive. 

“The national IQ database, differential K theory, they should have died the death bad science deserves to die. They have no scientific merit,” said Rebecca Sear, an evolutionary behavioral scientist at Brunel University who has documented the resurgence in eugenics in demography. “They’ve both been extensively critiqued. They are both currently thriving in the academic literature.”

While controversial among the scientific community, ideas like Lynn’s continued to spread in academia, in part because of the ethos of academic freedom — the idea that scholars should be able to research and debate any issues in their field, and that rejecting a paper based on problematic findings is tantamount to censorship.  

“That’s a very, very problematic argument, but I think it is quite widespread,” Sear said. “Academic freedom isn’t the freedom to say literally anything in an academic forum. It’s the freedom to say anything with a sound methodological basis.” 

While these ideas lacked scientific rigor, Sear explained, they were often not intended for other scientists. “Scientific racism really is not aimed at academia. It’s aimed at the outside world. And this, I think, is why it’s so often such bad science,” Sear said.

The appropriation of open science 

The open science movement around this time also proved to boost the spread of flawed research on race, ethnicity, and genetics. Academic journals increasingly were publishing papers without paywalls, so anyone could access them, and often requiring the data underpinning research to be available. 

Some scientists had also begun posting early drafts of their work, called “preprints,” on public forums. By doing science in the public square this way, people with explicit political agendas could access, manipulate, and reinterpret published research in a way that sometimes took academics by surprise.  

Online, white nationalists used popular genetic testing websites to prove how white they were, and reanalyzed scientific data with a bent to affirming biological differences between races. They also seized on uncertainty among biologists about how to discuss race in the academic literature. Discussion forums on the subject might lean on anti-science conspiracy theories, but users could sometimes make sophisticated arguments about statistical uncertainties or the distinction between correlation and causation.

“They read both against and with the scientific literature, and that’s the way in which it becomes a very complicated dance that they sometimes make,” said Panofsky, who has studied the ways that far-right movements weaponize genetics. 

The solution to the weaponization of genetics isn’t gatekeeping research, experts studying the issue agree. But, they say that academia hasn’t confronted the ways science can be used to embolden bigotry. 

“We have basically a metric for how much Nazis like your research,” said Jedidiah Carlson, a population geneticist at Macalester College who led an analysis of how preprints circulate among right-wing extremists online. But it’s not a feature many are interested in. He wants to see researchers more attuned to the long-term impact of their work. 

Incentive structures in research are also responsible for the continued popularity of research on topics like the links between genetics and intelligence or educational attainment, Carlson said. It’s “easy to get money for it, because you can say this has immediate policy implications for education and immigration policy … It’s just treated as this generic ‘apolitical’ research when it never has been.”

Challenging the idea that genes are ‘in the driver’s seat’

The failure to deeply engage with the dark history of eugenics and the way it’s informed a number of academic fields is linked to current political hostility directed toward immigrants, according to Marielena Hincapié, an immigration scholar and lawyer at Cornell University who hosted a symposium on the 100-year legacy of eugenics and the Immigration Act of 1924. 

She points to recent attacks on immigrant communities carried out by people that believe in the Great Replacement Theory, a conspiracy that posits there is a concerted effort to diminish the power and influence of white people in the United States. The gunman behind one such attack, in Buffalo, New York, directly cited genetics research in his thinking.

The incident sparked some soul searching within the genetics community, which has also pushed back on problematic use of its research. In one case, a genetics consortium challenged the use of its data by a private company to screen embryos. On another occasion, a now-defunct app claimed it could test users on whether they had genes associated with same-sex sexual orientation, drawing on a paper published in Science. That prompted a protest petition signed by more than 1,600 scientists. 

There’s also growing interest in the scientific community in how social determinants, such as economic policies, racism, and climate change, shape people’s health, and in the field of epigenetics, which studies how the environment affects gene expression. These paradigms open up an understanding that “genes are not necessarily in the driver’s seat, but they’re in an interactive relationship with a whole bunch of other factors,” said Panofsky. “They seem to open a door to a post-deterministic biology and genetics.” 

Even so, the field has yet to truly rethink its buy-in of the idea that genes play a central role in people’s abilities and behaviors, Panofsky said. That thinking can inadvertently support the kind of problematic rhetoric Trump has applied to immigrants. While much of the U.S. has moved on and forgotten about its eugenic past, the country hasn’t done the work to refute the ideas it made so popular. 

“We presume that we’ve done the work of rooting these matters out of our society,” said Michele Goodwin, a professor of constitutional law and global health at Georgetown Law. “But that presumption is proving to be quite thin and weak in these times.”

Just over 100 years ago, eugenicist Harry Laughlin testified before the U.S. House of Representatives that “The character of our civilization will be modified by the ‘blood’ or the natural hereditary qualities which the sexually fertile immigrant brings to our shores.” His argument wouldn’t be out of place today.

[partyanimal167]

Hi! I heard you wanted ideas to write for Law!

I have one! Terribly specific hope thats ok!

How about something along the line of a extreme fluff ? Like Reader helps to nurse the crew back to health after loosing the ship and perhaps during a separation moment ( reader stays behind to fight the marines or something? Up to you!) And then at some point the following exchange happens:

Reader: " its not goodbye, I still want to see the submarine again! "

Law, being carried away by Bepo: " I ... I will find you! I will get you back!"

Reader:" I will be back, for as long as you want me to!"

Maybe a few tears here and there?

Thanks! Hope this helps!

Hi! I appreciate your request. I'm not the best at fluffly moments, but I will try my best. Thank you so much for the details. I'll see what I can do~

See You Later- Law x GN!Reader

CW: fluff, soft moments, comfort, non-graphic action

I'lll be right back okay! Just keep going ahead!

Law would say he was confident in his ability to keep adapting as situations called for it. You have to be when dealing with the Strawhats, of course. However losing your ship, getting ambushed by Marines, and knowing your lover is fighting can cloud one's mind.

It really wasn't supposed to go this way. In a rare spur of luck, the Marines were able to track down the Polar Tang when the crew needed to restock, and the news didn't travel fast enough. Law made the ambitious call to the guys on watch to go out to sea while the rest would wait it out and call for escape when appropriate.

Everyone had been running around with their respective mini groups trying to hide in the shadows and find ways to not draw attention. Things were going well for the first two days, but then more naval reinforcements came. The group was meeting in an abandoned warehouse when the ambush occured.

You wiped a bit of blood from the corner of your lip before putting up your fists again. You scanned the building again--ready for more opponents.

"Captain! I think we're safe for now." Bepo announced aloud.

The group seemed to collectively let out a breath as they saw either knocked out soldiers on the ground or a few retreat in a haste.

Law sheathed his sword. "We need to be cautious. There's no telling when-," the man then sunk onto a knee before going into a coughing fit.

You looked over at him before gasping at the sight of blood on his shirt. "Law, your wound is reopening. We need to get you back to the ship."

Though a knowledgeable doctor, Law was still a stubborn man. He wouldn't leave without being certain that everything would be okay. "I'm fine. We just need to find a new place to hide, and-"

"There's no need to find a place to hide. We need to escape before more Marines come. We're near their base. We'll be safer at sea." you argued.

"But there's no way we're all going to make it out right now. There's too many of us." Law groaned. There was a more reasonable solution, but he wasn't going to consider it.

You, however, weren't going to allow things to drag on. You shook your head. "Some of us can stay while you go on ahead. There's enough of us to hold off our enemies while the others escape to safety."

"I'm not leaving you. As captain, I"

"As a nonmember of the Heart Pirates, I do not care what their captain has to say." you rebutted sternly. It had been one of the things you two talked about in the past. There was always the possibility of a conflict of interest with you onboard. With your life as a outlaw before joining, you knew what to expect. Yet, you couldn't let go of all your freedoms. You didn't really need a reason to bring it up before, but Law needed a reminder. You were not an underling who needed protecting. Moreso, you were looking out even for his greater good.

"Bepo," you stated while giving a strong look.

He seemed to understand what you meant and saluted. "Aye!" he paused and looked at Law, "Sorry Captain!" Law was thrown over the shoulder of his friend which shocked him before arguing.

"Wait! No! Y/n, I'm not leaving you. I'll-," Bepo started running away while a few other members followed.

You smiled gently and waved. "This isn't goodbye at all. I'll see the Tang again."

"I... I will find you! I will get you back! All of you!"

"I'll be back, for as long as you want me to!" You beamed before running out the warehouse in the opposite direction along with Shachi and the others. "Let's keep Law and the crew safe for now."

~~~

You quietly hummed a tune while wringing out a towel. You dampened it fresh hot water before placing it on your patient's forehead.

"...I'm still mad at you."

You chuckled. "I'm sure you are." you continued to redress Law's bandages. "Too bad though, I get to play nurse."

"You shouldn't have done something so reckless."

"I think you forget which one of us had a bigger bounty when we met." you teased.

"I can't lose you." you paused after hearing that confession.

It had been a stressful couple days for Law after separating from you. His group was able to get back on the Tang, but by the time they tried to reach for you, your lot was already engaged in another battle. It took awhile and periods of no communication before it was safe for you to steal a boat and meet the crew out at sea. Law was quick to get the submarine to surface and you all onboard. You were safe with minimal injuries, but it seems you underestimated how much Law worried.

You caressed his cheek and smiled. "That stress is going to put you in a grave before any battle will." you paused and sighed. "You can't get rid of me so easily, Law."

The man scoffed before closing his eyes and enjoying your touch. "You're too stubborn to give up." he joked weakly.

You chuckled, "Precisely why you love me." You then kissed his cheek. "I love you too. I won't let anything go between us."

~~~

Thank you for requesting! I liked how this turned out--simple and sweet. Please share your thoughts. I appreciate you reading this

[nhi-theuserof-this]

Noir hcs!! (+punknoir!)

These are based on BS and nobody can stop me because I’m the author >:)

Ok so this list also doubles as self promotion but we aren’t talking about that right now ✌️

Also content warnings! I’m keeping it light but like general warning for noir having poor mental health, nothing terrible or explicit brought up and hcs end on a light note

-he’s recruited to the spider society specifically due to basically his entire life getting shaken around like those little glitter water jars

-the events of itsv changing his mentality ->therefore changing how certain events were supposed to go

-he near exclusively shows up to use their infirmary

-he doesn’t get sent on missions due to not having a no-killing rule

-he primarily starts going by ben at first(not only as a differentiator for author) because he’s quite detached from his own identity as a person and needed a fresh slate so to speak

-now he just likes going by ben since hobie is the one that started it

-he goes to therapy with spider therapist. The bill goes straight to miguel

-he’s aroace, he has no fucking clue what the terminology actually is, just knows he’s got no romantic intention when kissing and holding hands

-punknoir. Need I say more?

(yes I need to say more.)

-he and hobie getting together is simultaneously a gradual thing and also just absolutely random. They get closer as time passes but there’s absolutely no beating around the bush when it comes to saying their feelings to each other

-he starts growing a pot of flowers shortly after they get together and is going to gift them to hobie when they start to bloom so they can plant them in his(hobies) universe

-hex codes. Something about them

-there’s a group in the spider society that write a newsletter about what he gets up to because people were interested and a little worried about him when he joined

-he does not know there’s a newsletter about him. There’s probably a subplot about that going on its merry way right about now

-he’s trans he’s so trans literally the most trans of trans look at him and his misery and tell me he isn’t trans

-on that topic he does not like his face

-he also loves hearing his own voice, he’s not gonna go out of his way to talk all the time but he’s really proud of the general control he has to get it that way. I’d be proud too actually

-continuing, he just passes so well when I think about it. Deep ass voice, pretty tall, and whatever his build may look like, he’s got a fire ass fit with that coat and hat and stuff

-speaking of the hat, he’s quite fond of it and has had it for a while, he likes to personify it for bits and quips sometimes

The post is getting a bit long so I think I’ll make another part at some point, if you enjoyed any of these I greatly recommend reading my series!! [Link] I put my heart into it and I want you all to love it too! Things are getting a bit busy but I’m working on another main work as well as outsiders pov with more of the newsteam

Take care all! <3