#but we don't need that. this is... 75. i think 75 is enough

[azeutreciathewicked]

I highly recommend reading up on books on persuasion, especially political persuasion. And this starts with getting them to disarm and feel safe enough to speak honestly. Hold out past the initial word salad and bumper sticker statements (that we all fall prey to), and nudge them to explain *why*. Usually, when we dig down, it's about fear, unfamiliarity, or some other emotional foundation that can be disarmed with reassurance and facts. But we need to build trust to get to that point so we can help remove that thorn. The Persuaders, by Anand Giridharadas, is excellent. A big takeaway is that we have to engage with people differently based on how much they align with us: 90%, 75%, 50%. Most importantly: do not shut out the 90% over the 10% you disagree on. Build the coalition on that 90% so you're both stronger.

Also, think of starting book clubs that include progressive nonfiction books as well as fiction by diverse authors. These can be great ways to start engaging people. Don't be discouraged if they balk the first time they're exposed. It takes multiple exposures to new ideas, accompanied by encouragement and support (not scolding) for someone to start coming around.

White progressive women, we've got to talk about our sisters and cousins and nieces and mothers and daughters and aunts.

White women overwhelmingly voted for Trump. Again.

I understand that for some people communicating with their family puts them in danger. I'm not talking about those people. I am talking about the white women in your life that still send you stupid fucking MLM invitations on Facebook and almost never talk about politics and because they are not obviously and vocally espousing hate, you let it go and you let them continue to go unconfronted. They post little Jesus memes that make you ever so slightly uncomfortable but you're not sure so you don't want to ruin their day.

You really don't want to ruin your own day. And I get it, I'm not telling you to become endlessly confrontational 100% of the time, but you've got to stop pretending that it's polite to not talk about politics. You got to get them to go mask off and make it clear what they believe in. No more it's just politics, don't bring it into the book club. There's got to be consequences to some of the shit they do.

No more of that shit. Do not let the smile and the soft focus photograph distract you. You have got to talk to them. We have got to start collecting our own as much as we can. If you feel like you don't know how to even start that conversation, there are tons of resources out there about deprogramming and de-escalating. This is work we are uniquely suited to do. We've got to start doing it.

[itwoodbeprefect]

WIP Game! ✨

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it.

-

i was tagged by @luredin (thank you!) and i’ll tag @redgoldblue, @spaceradars, @logicgunn, and you, the person reading this, to either do this tag game, not do it, or do it six months from now (or anywhere between now and then) - whichever works for you.

-

and then, hm. the thing about how i write fic is that technically speaking it’s, uh, deeply inefficient, in the sense that i’ll start a hundred things (more literally than you might think) and bounce around between them until something gets close enough to being finished that it just needs a final little push (which only happens for about half the things i start, but that’s okay, because the other half is also an invaluable part of the process).

point being, the list of WIPs is long. curated version (with any projects i’d consider abondoned/barely started filtered out) below the cut. send me a title or fandom + number!

-

Starsky & Hutch (practically all of this is Starsky/Hutch)

Our girlfriend who lives in Canada

All your ducks in a row

Starsky gets politically involved

Starsky decides Hutch’s mustache is gay

On blond blintzes, and how to sweeten them: easy 5-step recipe!

Starsky interrupts Hutch’s date with a guy

Gold dust woman // Take your silver spoon (Dig your grave)

Hutch has a new neighbor

Peter Whitelaw meets Starsky for dinner

Someone overhears them

Starsky’s brother visits

Hutch gets himself a beard

Not even a good kisser (Death in a different place tag)

Everything goes wrong / They were jinxed

Hutch kisses Starsky

Hutch would pick Paul Newman

Starsky’s painted nails

Love you to love me

Sleep together sometimes

Fire metaphors - And a freight train running through the middle of my head

Starsky dates a married woman

Here be dragons (Cowboy on the white horse)

Hutch is the utterly oblivious one, Starsky is confused

Greg is a four letter word

Cuddling only happens when they’re dying

Huggy brings a housewarming gift

Arranged Marriage AU

The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pet Rock

Hutch vs. glasses

Twilight

Personalized embroidered towels

-

Hawaii Five-0 (everything here is Steve/Danny)

It might sound cheesy

The opposite of purple prose (isn’t this)

Counting the days (and the hours, minutes, seconds, and maybe a microsecond or two)

The fic where Steve thinks Danny is dating the botanist neighbor

Arguments over spice racks

Five people who don’t get why Danny couldn’t just tell Steve that he’s in love with him (and one person who does)

Steve sees rainbows everywhere

Danny loses track of the line between friendship and romance

Five things Nahele learned from Steve (plus one)

They try to find a term for each other

Ace soulmate AU

The bunk beds fic

Steve and Danny buy a house together

Five times Steve is not going to be emotional about moving

They have Lou and Renee over for dinner!!!

The hyphenation of life

I love you sounds different if you’re saying it to a guy you’re sleeping with

I spy, with my little bi

Multimedia fic?

The soap opera fix

Deus ex machina (the one with dolphin God)

Danny has someone else

Steve’s becomes… themed

They watch Top Gun

Danny Williams and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Neighborhood Barbecue

Danny undercover needs to ward off advances

Danny tries to get Steve’s phone because he sent Stella a gay crisis text

Superheroes at a museum

A flip-flop state of mind (the half-posted multichapter fic already up on ao3)

-

Stargate Atlantis (John/Rodney except for that last one, where it’s &)

The Brightest Light in Atlantis

Universe where X

Some kind of DADT repeal fic

John tells Rodney he likes him and they try to figure it out together

Aro Ace John

-

due South (RayK/Fraser, and for #2 also RayV/Stella)

Oral hygiene fic

Fraser and both Rays and Stella have dinner together

The Guy Thing

-

Other

Homophobia? (Sports Night, Dan/Casey)

Leapfrog (911, Buck/Eddie)

Jolene/Diane (from the songs. so I guess songfic)

Johnny comes out (and he and Daniel keep going to that bar) fic (Cobra Kai, Johnny/Daniel)

Our Dear Mr. Wilson’s Guide To Becoming A Successful Contributing Member Of A Team Of Internationally Renowned High-Tech Do-Gooder Criminals (Leverage Redemption, gen with background OT3)

MASH marriage fic (MASH, Hawkeye/Trapper)

BJ figures out Hawkeye is not very heterosexual (MASH, gen)

[teddypines]

Fleep

------------------------------------------------------------

sumary: Y/N wanted something, she didn't have enough money, Jason being a sweetheart and buying it for Y/N.

Note: I really wanted this fleep, i don't have the money for a fleep, so we write about Y/N getting a fleep.

All credits for the fleep and bumble corn plushies go to Meg's Mashables. The picture above is their's too.

------------------------------------------------------------------

A little while back Y/N saw a tiktok of a fleep plushie, a sheep flamingo hybrid. Damian let her his phone to entertain her a bit. And the moment she saw it, she wanted it. She didn't know it was expensive. She thought she could use her pocket money from her piggy bank.

So finally after begging everyone for weeks to look up the fleep plushie. Jason finally helped her look it up, also because Damian was complaining about the constant fleep videos on his fyp. They looked and Y/N saw the price, looked at her money and cried. She couldn't get the fleep plushie.

Jason didn't think the plush would be this expensive. He hated seeing Y/N’s so upset. The 35 dollars plus shipping didn't seem like a lot to Jason, but to Y/N with a mere 13 dollars and 75 cents to her name, it was a lot. She understood she couldn't get it and just put her money away and sadly left Jason and his room. 

On impulse Jason bought the fleep plushie the moment Y/N left his room. He even bought the double pack with a bumble corn in it and stickers. He just couldn't see his baby sister so sad.

During dinner everyone knew and saw how upset Y/N over not being able to get the plushie she wanted. She did cry about it a bit more before bed, Bruce needing to hold her a bit longer then normal to calm her down. She did fell asleep after a while and lots of crying. Bruce hated this and quickly, but quietly left her room.

“We really need to do something about this, I hate seeing my princess like this” Bruce said as he made his Way to the living room. “No need, I already bought the plushie, and extra's” Jason said as he pulled up the order conversation. 

“When did you do that?” Tim asked as he looked at the bright pink plushie and the other blueish one. “Right after she left my room. I couldn't deal with those sad eyes. I need to see her happy again and if that means spending almost a 100 dollars and so be it.” Jason explained.

Dick rolled his eyes, but he knew he would have done the same for Y/N. Bruce sighed and sat on the couch with his boy's. “That is very sweet of you Jason, I was going to say we could let her do some chores, give her some extra money so she could buy it herself.” 

“That would have been the reasonable option, yes. But this is better” Jason answered, he was rather proud of his actions.

“We could also just have bought it and saved it until her birthday” Damian said out of nowhere. He looked up from his phone. “There were a lot of options, demon spawn, but I chose this option!” Jason hissed at his younger brother. He would have done the same for Damian if it ever were to happen, but he didn’t need to know that.

<---------------------------------------------------------------->

A few days went by with Y/N being sad, but it got better with time. Jason's order was still on the way and would probably still take a while. Steph saw the order Jason placed when Dick was explaining the story to Duke and the girls. Steph was the most proud of Jason, and thought Jason said he disliked the praise he secretly liked the praise. 

Damian on the other hand was still getting fleep tiktok videos on his fyp. It's been more than a month and they still showed up. They were hunting him and he hated it.

<-------------------------------------------------------->

Finally the day arrived that Alfred carried a big package into the living room. “For the young misses” Alfred said, already knowing what would be in the packages. Y/N was surprised as she looked at the big box. Both Dick and Duke were smiling as Y/N tried to open the package on her own.

“Why is it so big and hard to open!!” Y/N yelled out of frustration. She ripped some of the tape and the box was now open. “Ow… that was easy…” 

Y/N looked inside and froze before giggling in excitement. She grabbed the fleep first and then the bumble corn. Holding both plushies up to Dick and Duke while jumping in the air. “It's fleepy!! And the unibee!!”

“DADDY!!” Y/N yelled as she ran up the stairs towards Bruce's study. “Daddy! Look!” Y/N yelled as she bursted through the door. Scaring both Bruce and Tim as they were discussing bat business. “I fleep make with the Alfred mail!!” Y/N yelled as she waddled up to Bruce and Tim. She quickly settled onto Bruce's lap with the plushies In her arms. 

“Wow Princess, that is amazing. Did you order those yourself?” Bruce asked Y/N as Tim tried to hold back his laughter. Y/N froze for a moment and then got off Bruce's lap and ran towards Jason's room.

“JAY!!!” Y/N screamed at the top of her lungs. Jason quickly opened his door as Y/N crashed into his legs. Hugging him with both the plushies. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!” she kept saying over and over again. Jason smiled down at his baby sister and picked her up. “Anything for you Princess. Did you see the stickers and coloring books that came with it?” Y/N gasped and shook her head. “Well, let's go check those out.” Jason said as he carried a very happy Y/N down the stairs.

[thethief1996]

For the past 100 days, Israel has been waging a genocide campaign in Gaza without any sort of reprieve from western countries. Palestinians are suffering from a human-made famine, surpassing the scale and speed of any other famine enforced in the past 75 years. Healthcare professionals are being cornered into Rafah by constant airstrikes, sniper attacks and bombardments at hospitals, forced to leave patients and medical supplies behind. Unmaned quadcopters opened fire on the maternity and ICU unities of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital and killed 8 civilians. Yesterday, the hospital ran out of fuel and the babies in incubators might die anytime soon. Only 127 aid trucks are being allowed into Gaza of the 500 allowed before the war, under "normal" blockade conditions. The distribution of food and water is made basically impossible by the destruction of communications and the looming threat of executions against people gathered to receive it. Just today snipers killed 3 people in line to receive food in Gaza City and Israel officials have the gall to say the problem is that humanitarian organizations, whose volunteers are being executed at unprecedent rates, aren't putting in enough effort. The IDF drops leaflets telling desperate refugees to flee and then station tanks on the roads or bombs the safe zones.

Ever since I read South Africa's submission to the ICJ I can't stop thinking about how they label it as the demication of Gaza and its people. On every sphere of the government, there are statements calling for the anihilation of the people of Gaza (pages 59 to 67). The Prime Minister has directly adressed the army telling them to wipe off the amalekites (page 60), and South Africa showed tiktoks of the soldiers repeating his speech word for word before committing massacres. And yet they have the gall to come to the world and say they haven't targeted hospitals, they haven't withheld aid and that the statements are "random assertions." To prove that Netanyahu isn't a blood thirsty pig, they pasted a statement he made ONE DAY before the hearing started, which is frankly ridiculous we're supposed to believe isn't a PR stunt (page 34).

No western outlet streamed the highest stake court hearing in the 21st century, but you can rest assured they streamed Israel's pathetic defense. And Canada, Germany, the UK and the US, countries which have in no way reckoned with their own genocidal pasts, have come forward in defense of Israel like they have any moral high ground to patronize the world about genocide.

Take action, for their sake. Motaz has said "Don't call yourself a free person if you can't make changes. If you can't stop a genocide that is still ongoing". We need to fight in any way we can to stop their massacre.

Keep yourself updated and share Palestinian voices. Muna El-Kurd said every tweet is like a treasure to them, because their voices are repressed on social media and even on this very app. Make it your action item to share something about the Palestinian plight everyday. Here are some resources:

Al Jazeera, Anadolu Agency, Mondoweiss

Boycott Divest Sanction Movement

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing protests and direct action against weapons factories across the US

Mohammed El-Kurd (twitter / instagram)

Muhammad Shehada (twitter)

Motaz Azaiza (instagram) - reporting directly from Gaza.

Hind Khudary - reporting directly from Gaza. Her husband and daughter moved South to run from the tanks but she stayed behind to record the genocide. The least we can do is not let her calls fall on deaf ears.

You can participate in boycotts wherever you are in the world, through BDS guidelines. Don't be overwhelmed by gigantic boycott lists. BDS explicitly targets only a few brands which have bigger impact. Right now, they are focusing on boycotting the following:

Carrefour, HP, Puma, Sabra, Sodastream, Ahava cosmetics, McDonalds, Disney and Israeli fruits and vegetables

Push for a cultural boycott - pressure your favorite artist to speak out on Palestine and cancel any upcoming performances on occupied territory (Lorde cancelled her gig in Israel because of this. It works.)

If you can, participate in direct action or donate.

Palestine Action works to shut down Israeli weapons factories in the UK and USA, and have successfully shut down one of their firms in London.Some of the activists are going on trial and are calling for mobilizing on court.

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing direct actions to stop the shipping of wars to Israel. Follow them.

Educate yourself. Read into Palestinian history and the occupation. You can't common sense people out of decades of propaganda. If your arguments crumble when a zionist brings up the "disengagement of Gaza", you have to learn more.

Read Decolonize Palestine. They have 15 minute reads that concisely explain the occupation (and its colonial roots) and debunk popular myths, including pinkwashing.

Read on Palestine. Here's an amazing masterpost.

Verso Book Club is giving out free books on Palestine (I personally downloaded Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe. If you still believe in the two states solution, this book by an Israeli professor debunks it).

Call your representatives. The Labour Party in the UK had an emergency meeting after several councilors threatened to resign if they didn't condemn Israeli war crimes. Calling to show your complaints works, even more if you live in a country that funds genocide.

FOR PEOPLE IN THE USA: USCPR has developed this toolkit for calls, here's a document that autosends emails to your representatives and here's a toolkit by Ceasefire in Gaza NOW!

FOR PEOPLE IN EUROPE: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace targeting the European Parliament and one specific for almost all countries in Europe, including Germany, Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Finland, Austria, Belgium Romania and Ukraine

FOR PEOPLE IN THE UK: Friends of Al-Aqsa UK and Palestine Solidarity UK have made toolkits for calls and emails

FOR PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA: Here's a toolkit by Stand With Palestine

FOR PEOPLE IN CANADA: Here's a toolkit by Indepent Jewish Voices for Canada

Join a protest. Here's a constantly updating list of protests:

Global calendar

Another global calendar (go to the instragram of the organizers to confirm your protest)

USA calendar

Australia calendar

Feel free to add more.

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Drabble List #9

75 prompts to write drabbles or longer stories.

"This is just pointless."

"Fine, I'll just do it myself."

"Don't make me jealous."

"Want to watch a movie with me?"

"Much ado about nothing, right?"

"Keep me in your memories."

"I will miss you, I guess."

"Wow. You're phenomenal!"

"That is actually not comforting to hear."

"I want to show you what I can do."

"You guys are toxic for each other."

"Let's live in a cottage far away from everyone."

"Can you please just shut up for once?"

"I would rather not talk about it."

"No worry, you weren't that obvious."

"Do you want me to hit you?"

"I should really stop being a coward."

"Who did you ask?"

"Let's go on a walk."

"You're the one in control here."

"It's enough for now."

"Single, definitely not ready to mingle."

"Could you please repeat that?"

"I've got a very important question for you."

"We're all getting older."

"Did you drink anything today?"

"Not a single thought was put into this."

"Don't be so pessimistic."

"I think we've done all we can."

"Let's call the number and see who answers."

"Well, what's plan B?"

"A funny story actually..."

"I'm officially out of ideas."

"What a mess you made."

"You will not believe it!"

"I feel like I already lost."

"Care to explain all of this?"

"But I didn't do anything!"

"How can I help you today?"

"Please, get away from there."

"No, you didn't connect anything."

"Yeah, I'm okay, thank you."

"Don't shh me!"

"Hey, a little help please?"

"It's a sad sad world."

"Oh no, we're not going there!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Can you please call my mom?"

"If you want to be an idiot, be an idiot."

"That's how it's going to be, I'm afraid."

"Why do you need my approval?"

"Check mate, my mate!"

"I'm not going to jail for this."

"Such a sweet, innocent angel."

"Don't risk your life for me."

"Oh, I like a challenge."

"Not bad, but also not very good."

"Fine, I'll play along."

"It's not in my job description."

"A good question that I don't want to answer."

"Not going to say, 'cause I ain't a snitch."

"Stop this nonsense right now!"

"Think about me however you want."

"I'm not leaving so get used to me."

"Oh, the consequences for bad decisions."

"Just saying, but I'm much better for you."

"How are you holding up?"

"All the love to you, my man."

"Not my fault at all."

"I may have made a tiny little mistake."

"That is way above my pay grade."

"How the hell would I know?"

"I'm not exactly a fighter."

"So sweet of you, you're an angel."

"Thank you for bringing me home."

Drabble Masterlist

Have fun creating and writing!

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

[twst-hottest-takes]

Tweel Anatomy discussion!

Part 1.

(Ask and ye shall recieve! This will be split up into a couple of parts because this could get long and it's easy enough to break up into pieces. [I definitely wasn't putting this off until the cards officially released.])

For starters I have to say again that I just love the twins and their merforms are so cool. I just want an excuse to gush about them. A lot of this discussiom will involve headcanons and hypotheticals and estimations, so there is your warning to not take anything in this post as law. This post, like pretty much all the others is very opinionated. Some of the fun bits about contemplating the anatomy of a fantasy creature involves drawing the imaginary lines between where the fish parts end and the human parts begin, and where the two become a blur and turn into something completely new. I like to think I strike a balance with my hypotheses, but perhaps others might not feel the same way. This is a post meant to start a discussion, not a fight. So let's see how far down the rabbit hole we can go . . .

Starting with a classic: How big are these guys?

Let's answer Ace's question. (While laughing like middle-schoolers about how that question was phrased.)

Now there is no canon answer to my knowledge so I can only give my best estimation. (Corrections welcome!) I firmly believe that they do not change "size" between their land and sea forms. For all intents and purposes, the twins are being treated as though their heads, arms, torsoes, and pelvic regions are the same size between human and merforms.

BECAUSE EVEN WITHOUT CHANGING SIZE THESE GUYS ARE ABSOLUTE MONSTERS IN THEIR MERFORMS.

I have no real proof of my theory. I simply compared the sprites and scaled the chibis until they had the same head size. Forgive me for not having a better method of measurement. I am not going to try and unravel the live 2D mermodels and I think trying to measure their shadows from their intro scene would be even less reliable. The length of the tail is approximately 75% the length of the rest of the body after where his feet theoretically end.

I didn't do the same with Floyd because I feel that it's safe to assume that he's probably a few cm longer (3-5 cm max) due to his 1 cm height difference when they are in human form. I hazard a guess that only the two of them actually care about that difference in length.

332 cm. (Or around 11 ft for those of us stateside.)

We know they're huge, but tying a number to the length REALLY puts things into perspective. Like it's actually a little scary.

Next: Gill placement.

I am a big fan of the gill slits being around the ribs! Not only do they look cool, but I like that it can be read as a combination of human and eel anatomy in their merforms.

Since they have a humanoid chest cavity, it makes sense that even though they don't have lungs, they may have a muscular structure similar to a diaphragm. By having a muscular system that works passively/sympathetically they could have a "breathing" motion similar to humans; but, instead of taking air in, it simply keeps water moving across the gills to maintain gas exchange.

Benefits of this system include: Being able to sleep (as I would assume merfolk do), and being able to stay in one place (most fish need to be moving constantly to keep their gills working). The ability to be stationary isn't necessary for fish, but for merfolk who have social conventions, even being able to sit still to have a conversation is a boon (unless the world of mermen is built around the idea that no one ever sits still, but I feel like the photograph from Book 3 proves otherwise).

Furthermore, having the gills on the ribs as opposed to somewhere farther up--for example, on the neck--the twins can reasonably stick their heads out of the water without fear of limiting their breathing ability. Though these new card illustrations show that they don't seem to have any problem with having their gills exposed to the air (at least as far as being photogenic is concerned), I can see it being convenient for merfolk to be able to poke their head and shoulders above the water and still be able to breath regularly (which definitely doesn't have anything to do with luring unwary travelers to their deaths. . .nope. . .not at all).

I have seen people say they don't like the choice and that the gills should be on their necks. If that's coming from a place of personal preference and is purely aesthetic I guess I can see it. But if anyone tries to tell me that it's not "eel-like" enough and they need to have the gills closer to the mouth, I will fight you. From a design and functionality standpoint the rib gills are fantastic!

For the last bit of this entry, let's talk about the elephant in the room: THE EEL ABS!

I'd say "don't get me started on this one" but I'm already here and we're already too deep in, so here we go.

Things are about to get spicy!

~They're fine.

Like, as a choice, the inclusion of these muscles is likely just for fanservice points, but it's not an anatomically strange thing.

Come here and I will explain to you a thing:

MERFOLK DO NOT SWIM WITH THE SAME MUSCLE GROUPS AS HUMANS DO!

Once upon a time, (this is going somewhere, just stick with me!) people complained that Ariel, the Little Mermaid herself, was too skinny and not built like a swimmer. People insisted that she not have such a tiny waist and her arms should be bigger. Now I, here and now, should not have to tell the reader why this is so ridiculous to say, but I'm going to anyway~ ARIEL DOES NOT USE HER ARMS TO SWIM! Those who have watched the movie may have observed that she swims like an aquatic mammal. All of her momentum comes from the verticle motion of her tail, and to some extent her abdomen, not her arms. When she turns human, Ariel does not even know how she can use her arms to help her swim upwards and out of the ocean. She struggled without her tail so much Sebastian and Flounder basically carried her to the surface.

In this way, merfolk do not need to have the same type of body as a human swimmer because they are functionally different and some people seem to get stuck on that.

Now returning to Jade and Floyd, again, their arms are not "built like a swimmer's." Once again THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE. There is nothing in all of Twisted Wonderland that suggests they swim with their arms at all. These boys have 5 foot long tails that are probably primarily muscle to propel themselves through the water. The arms are not for propulsion. The tails do the grand majority of the work, but this conversation was started about abdominal muscles so we'll circle back to that now. Unlike other merfolk (as exemplified by Ariel) who swim with verticle motions of their tails, eel-based mermen would swim by making horizontal motions, also primarily with their tails. I do say primarily because the idea occurs to me that there may be situations where the limits of their ability to move might be tested. If a merman built like this wanted to go significantly faster than whatever is "normal" for them, muscle groups higher in the body would get used. Essentially, given Jade and Floyd as characters, I don't find it hard to believe that, at the speeds they swim, they would be using their very human-shaped abdomens to increase their speed. That's a workout, especially for the obliques.

So, in conclusion, I don't think the abs are weird. Gratuitous? Absolutely. But they aren't the anatomical monstrosity some people seem to think they are.

Let me say once more, if you simply don't like how it looks, or the fish abs squick you out and you like to headcanon they don't exist--that's fine. But don't argue with me on the basis that it's not realistic. Mermaids are, after all, fictional creatures and depictions of them tend to be fanciful. The tough conversation comes about when we choose to draw the lines with how realistic we actually want them to be, HENCE THIS ENTIRE POST!

(Laughs like a maniac before signing off.)

Thank you for coming to the first part of my rambling. What should I talk about in the next part?

Other than the throat teeth. We've got a miniature essay about the throat teeth just about ready to go.

Also, apologies if there aren't enough visual guides. I really wanted to get this posted, so if anyone wants me to I can doodle up some more stuff to help with things like the image of the breathing aparatus and swimming motions. I have just not had much time this week.

(Going to fall asleep thinking about how sparkly these boys are.)

[archtroop]

Sometimes I need to remind myself that tumblr is a fringe social network, and is by far not the average. What it is though, is a good sampler of the more extreme, I would say, ideologically swayed. A bit.

The more comments and notes I read from the Free Palestine crowd, the more it gets obvious that these are incapable, useful idiots. Literally, spoonfed couchpotatos at best. Starbucks Boycoyters at worst.

It's like the 00's insecure attention seeking posers, with an amoral, ignorant twist to them.

And they are entirely, ABSOLUTELY useless people.

Some morally rotten such individual wrote me that "Israel deserves what's coming for them, you deserve to die" etc. And it really made me think. What's coming? WHO'S coming? You? You, an unemployed tumblrina? You and what army?

What are you gonna do? Try to kill us all? What's the WORST you can do that wasn't, hasn't been tried already?

Truth is, no one is coming.

You read about this pompous, self indulgent "Palestinian Activism Solidarity ". What the FUCK are you talking about? Where is it? What, SA under IRI at the ICJ?.... Watermelon emojis...? ...Slogans?

The most "affective" actions FreePalestine Movement "achieved" was a few shootings/stabbings/rammings here and there, a hostage situation in Turkey in the name of Palestine (the man was executed on the spot after some negotiations. Turkey, yeah). A few burnt synagogues around the world and a whole lot of terrorized Jews in the Diaspora. Not a single Palestinian benefited. Not in Gaza anyway. To sum it up, what exactly are you gonna do? Blow yourself up in a subway in the name of Palestine? How incredibly unoriginal and unhelpful. Although expected and unsurprisingly fitting to the roots of the movement, I'll give you all that.

No one is coming. A lot of pakapaka from Nassrallah and Co. and a radio silence from the Arab world.

Iran pulled the Houthies out of their boydem only for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan to reluctantly push the button to down Houthie ammo flying towards Israel. Houthies "asked" of Saudi Arabia to "let them cross over to fight the Zionists", and not only this is a joke, a caravan of sandals-wearing, AK-47 totting, Houthie caravan crossing Saudia to do what exactly? Bite Israeli ankles in Eilat Port? Rather It's an insult, to show that "here see we tried", since Saudis are fighting the Houthies FOR YEARS, it was never an actual option to begin with.

Are you blind? No. One. Is. Coming.

After 75 years of trying to erase Israel from the map, the 7th of October unleashed what could only have happened after Israel had its last straw broken.

Congratulations, you've managed at dehumanizing Israelis to the point that you managed to rob us from one aspect of humanity, even if temporarily: our symphaty.

Not forever, but for a period. And when you did so, you WERE LUCKY, for US were here WITHIN MINUTES, being smart enough to talk Israel out from attacking on the freaking spot. Instead, Israel waited 3 damn weeks. For 3 weeks, Israel called for the evacuation of Gazans from the northern side of Gaza.

Symphaty has an expiration date. The 7th of October 2023 was that date. You backed Israel to a wall, and no slogan will suffice against a nation that KNOWS that its very existence was threatened in a very real, visceral, inhumane, and depraved way.

No one is coming. Not for us, not for the Gazans. The Arab world is waiting to see, when will they wake up with one Iranian proxy less on the map. The truth is, aside from the pakapaka all round the clock, Isrsel was left with "do what you do, we wait" kind of global attitude.

Arab nations don't care about Palestinians. They don't care for the Palestinian Cause. Never had. It was always for show, as a pawn. A distraction. And we know it, very well.

The Palestinians are, and always were, used. They were used to carry on this idea that Israel would disappear from the map. If not by force, then by proxy warfare and terrorism, with time. If not by proxies, then by mass protest and public opinion. But the thing is, reality is a material thing. You need TO DO a thing for it TO HAPPEN. And public opinion rarely holds. And for how it's loud, the Free Palestine Movement is nothing but that: Loud.

As for the undoing of Israel and Bney Israel, well. Many have tried.

And oh boy, did the Arab nations TRIED.

They PAYED for trying.

But that's in the past, largely. Now, the annihilation of Israel and the creation of a Palestine is just a cruel pipe dream, with human prisoners, and an international cheering squad. After all, you can't free something that never existed and couldn't form one coherent ideology that makes sense and strives towards a positive, creation-adjacent activity in 75 years of its yappery. It's just not there. If the ideology surrounds destruction, it can not create. It can only destroy.

You may shout your lungs out and make up all kinds of delusional narratives. In the end, they are just that: empty words to make the righteous self of the woke crowd feel better, to feel active. To be a part.

To be USED.

It says a lot about the sad reality of this mass of people. The yearning for purpose, this loneliness. The rootlessness. Loss of identity. Identities so fractured, so incohesive. Loss of trust in the institution. The shallow knowledge. The practically non-existent reading comprehension.

All are easily diverted to create this cult like behavior.

People cry their eyes out over something that not only they have zero way of affecting but oftentimes is inflated, twisted, and presented as something completely false, or fake or what have you, instead of looking around them and doing something about their own realities. Pouring their hearts out over an unreality, fruitless.

This is either willful ignorance or escapism. Can't even say which one is worse.

This mass is being used. It creates a pool of despair, mysery. Feelings of "not enough", of unachievment. Those masses are breeding grounds for terrorism activity recruitment.

One party, one goal.

Free Palestine is a magic combination of words. You would ask, what is it? And they would sell you, ah, it's this magical place over the rainbow far, far away, and you can be the savior of those people. What a beautiful fantasy. Except you can't save those who did all their best to commit a slow, painstaking suicide, over 75 years. It's unrealistic, whatever this so-called "movement" is yapping about. There are no outlines, no strategy. It's just empty, big, bombastic words, to rile up emotionally as many people as possible, who look for a meaning.

I keep remembering the movie The Wave (2008). It's amazing how word by word, scene by scene, the story is playing out right now with worrying accuracy.

I don't know where this will lead Europe, UK, US, Canada... Australia... you all should be on high alert internally. But one thing is pretty clear.

No one is coming. As for Israel... You did your worst already. You have left Israel with nothing to be afraid of.

BDS biggest achievement was the eventual unemployment of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank. UN is a joke. Red Cross is a joke. UNRWA exposed, visibly and undeniably. Abraham Accords are proceeding, even if slower, yet still they do. HAMAS gets mopped the floor with. And Lebanon has to do the impossible: drag Hezbollah away from the Isrseli border. Otherwise, there won't be much of a Lebanon to speak about in a very short amount of time. And that's not even a threat. It's reality. As government officials in Lebanon plead with Hezbollah to halt, Israel is ready on the border for 80,000 Israelis are internally displaced within Isrsel itself because of the war with HAMAS, but mainly away from the northern border because of constant shelling by Hezbollah.

And it won't hold forever.

And no one is coming.

Because who will? You and what army?

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/764898476268158976/someone-tried-to-tell-me-that-a-character-with?source=share

Funnily enough, when I was first exploring the idea that I might be non-24*, the idea that I already had enough cool edgy rare things going on was actually a real reason I considered (for like a day) that I probably wasn't non-24. I've already got enough labels to make Mary Sue blush, surely if I pile on any more it'll just be for the aesthetic and nothing else. Except the world doesn't work that way, Nature isn't checking if the list of unusual things is long enough already before deciding to give you a weird body clock, these things just happen.

*I am absolutely non-24 and much healthier, both emotionally and physically, now that I've accepted that and just let myself get the sleep I need when I need it, cultural expectations be damned

--

One of you guys on here commented at some point that it's often not actually 5 different rare conditions in a trench coat: it's one condition we don't understand yet. Not for the "Black and queer?!?!?!" type nonsense where some dick just thinks that aspects of identity have a default setting, but for medical shit, mental illness, and neurodivergence... Like... how many people have an undiagnosed auto immune thing with 75 presentations? Or their sleep is fucked and, surprise, not getting sleep makes you ill. Shocker.

[macgyvermedical]

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

Did you know that almost 50% of people over the age of 18 have blood pressure higher than the currently recommended 130/80?

Did you know that by the age of 60, that number rises to 75%?

I used to believe this was because we had over-pathologized blood pressure. Surely something that 75% of people will experience in their lifetime is... just normal. Surely we could set the cutoff higher to more accurately capture truly pathological high blood pressures, decreasing the need for doctor visits and drugs.

But having thought about it, I think we actually may have found a cheat code instead of a pathology. Because I think the data is right- lower blood pressures put people at lower risk for heart disease and stroke.

But the numbers would indicate most of us don't naturally have low enough blood pressures to get this effect.

And today we have really decent drugs that can artificially lower blood pressure, thus conferring that added protection.

So I think if we marketed it as a cheat code instead of a treatment for disease, a lot more people would be willing to use it.

Just a thought.

[didyoulookforme]

hi friends 👋

i just wanted to stop by to share some of the fics which i always return to and are now like comfort food for me. all of these awesome writers also inspired me to start posting here back in march so thank you. i appreciate you more than i could ever say 🤍

------

be my mistake by @alovesreading

probably one of the first 75 fics i ever read once i got back on tumblr late last year. it is heartbreaking but i cannot stop myself from re-reading it every once in a while. a is such a sweet and talented person with so many amazing fics that you should check out if you haven't. another one of my faves by her is quarter past midnight, for all of the ross girlies out there.

body piercer!matty by @sugar-coat-it

i mean, there's not much i can say about our favourite mohawked punk boy. my dearest belle killed it with this au and he's become one of my go-to matty's in this world. i'd kill for a night with him lol. ilysm belle and whenever i see your handle pop up on my feed i cannot help but smile.

truth serum by @imagine-that-100

this fic is so freaking sweet and i love it so much. again, this is another one which i found soon after i came back to tumblr. if you even need a little pick-me-up, reading this will do the trick. matty taking care of you will always be a fave trope of mine. @imagine-that-100 has also created other beautiful au's and if you are ever looking for some alex turner x reader fic, will we talk? is beyond.

costumes by @toomuchracket

roleplay with matty in his lab coat? sign. me. up. this fic fucked with my mind in the best way possible. i think it was my first introduction to birthday party!matty. needless to say, i was instantly hooked. mads is an incredible writer and all of her au's are :chef's kiss:

playing on my mind by @ughgoaway

if you for some reason haven't read any of ace's teacher au, please do it tonight. you won't regret it. they've done an amazing job at building such a beautiful, cozy world that makes you feel like you're part of it. ace, i'll never be able to thank you enough for this.

truth or dare by @abiiors

brother's best friend daniel my beloved. a first time fic will always get me and this one stuck in my mind since the first time i read it. the amount of time i've spent reading vee's work should be alarming, but i don't care. i cannot get enough of it.

the dress by @kennedy-brooke

i'm usually a matty girl (surprise to no one here) but this george fic is amazing. the text exchange between george and matty is golden, and the smut is just... yeah. another one i've read way too many times but will never get tired of it. thank you so much @kennedy-brooke for this piece of gold.

-----

if you have the time, make sure to check out their work if you haven't already. i assure you won't be disappointed.

there are so many other amazing writers in this community so i'll have to do a part 2 of this so it doesn't get too long.

thank you for reading!

[blakbonnet]

AUTHOR OF THE WEEK: @darcylindbergh (@forpiratereasons)

Ever since the cancellation (and the second cancellation, thx max 🙃) I've found comfort in going back to fics that started it all for me - the OG fics that remind me of a happier time when the fandom was buzzing with activity, when it was all about meta and discussions and the love of the characters - and the first author I go back to to relive that is Darcy, without fail. I don't think you can read their work and be unaffected by it. Every single person I know has a favourite fic by them. Beyond lovely, lyrical prose, and brilliant plot - Darcy just gets them ✨ Read on to know a bit more about their writing process:

What's your writing process like? Do you start with the beginning or the end? Do you write in order or as the scenes come to you? 

Depends a little bit on how I came to the idea - was it an idea born from having a scene leap into my mind and now I’m just building the rest of the fic around it, or do I have a prompt, or do I have a goal I need to meet? So I start with whatever’s driving me to write the thing and I write the elevator pitch which is usually about 50 words of “what is this about.” Then I write a 500 word outline. Then I write a 1000 word outline. Then I start from the beginning and fill in to the end. I don’t usually write out of order, but I will if something really takes hold. 

Favourite trope or headcanon you like to explore while writing? 

Hurt/Comfort as a general trope. I like to write about finding the people who see you for who you are, the insecurity of disbelieving people could really love you, and the realization that it’s true, it’s really true: they do love you, not just as much as they say but so so so much more than they could put into words.

Whose voice is easier to write - Ed or Stede? Why? 

I think Ed is easier to write because his mind is very like mine (it’s definitely the untreated ADHD), but Stede is very fun to write because I think his sense of humor is quite like mine (it’s definitely the pretentious bitch /affectionate). They’re both so fantastically complex, I love being in both their heads. 

Your personal favourite thing you've written that you'd like more people to read 

Oh man this is a hard question. I will say I’m especially proud of “Bedtime Stories” which was a bit of an experiment and I’m so happy with how it turned out (@lindie-kninjaknitter did a great podfic too!) - and “Tenderly the Light” which I literally cried trying to write because I wanted it to work so bad and I trusted it so little, but with some distance I think it turned out really nice.

What is the one word that you think you use a lot? 

Not a word necessarily, but I like to write emotions as being felt in the inside of the elbows. I come back to that description a lot. 

Do you have a beta reader? Have they made you a better writer? 

I have a betaing cheerleader in @mintly who keeps me sane on the day to day. She reads about 75% of what I post in advance - the other 25% I’m just winging it really. Yeah, she’s absolutely made me a better writer, not just by helping me hone the story but by helping me trust myself too. 

Why OFMD 🥹

Gosh okay, the big question. For me OFMD is about - we spend a lot of our lives being put into little boxes ‘cause it’s tidy. It’s easy. And for a lot of our lives, we stick to our boxes because it’s easy for us too. We let it happen because there are expectations and we have responsibilities and obligations and these boxes keep us pinned in place, and it’s so easy to just stay where we’re put. 

But OFMD is about opening the lid to the box. It’s about seeing the light. It’s about how it’s never too late to open that lid. It’s about how if you just trust yourself enough and you trust the people around you, you can reach for a hand to lift you up and you can find one in the dark to help pull you out. You can find people, and you can find joy, and you can get out of that box and there’s so much room out there. And I know it’s hard. It’s so fucking hard. It’s okay if it’s hard. OFMD is about how it’s hard and scary and you will definitely fuck up and you will definitely have some scary moments wondering if you’re going to lose your balance and fall back in, but just hang on a little longer. Let that trust in yourself grow a little stronger. It’s better to stand unsteadily than to let yourself be made small again. 

And yeah, there will always be someone who wants to put you back in the box because it was easier for them, but you find your people and your joy and you hang on fucking tight and that’s stronger than easy. Our joy and our song and our communities and our hope will always be stronger than their commitment to easy. 

Rhys Darby’s legs don’t hurt either. 

Please head over to @ofmdlovelyletters (who also made the header) and send your love to all your favourite authors (and authors of the week 😈 watch that blog for some special letters coming your way)

[remidyal]

You know, at the time I had kind of assumed that Ruben was a high enough level that he had enough HP to not be taken to 0 from Grix's disintegrate even if he failed the save. For those who aren't aware, disintegrate is a fairly rare spell by 5e standards in that saving isn't for half but instead entirely prevents the damage; this is because if you ARE taken to 0 by its 40+10d6 damage then your body gets destroyed completed, taking everything short of a Wish or a True Resurrection off the table for bringing you back. It's a nasty one for a DM to use, but by the time you're really fighting creatures that can cast it you generally have enough hp that you would need to be softened up a little with damage before a cast of it would be threatening.

(Kristen, now, is at a level where she has access to normal Resurrection which can raise someone who's been dead for up to a century, but you do need a body - she's likely one of a small number of clerics in the setting who CAN raise Lucy even past a year, though there are major downsides to raising someone who's been dead more than a year for the caster. She's still a full three levels short of True Resurrection.)

Ruben's HP pool from what we see in the final fight is most likely somewhere between 53 and 75 - Brennan talks as though the Fireball save would have saved him, at least; he had already taken 30 from Adaine's Synaptic Static - which even at the upper end leaves it entirely possible but not guaranteed that a disintegrate would kill him from full. (Average damage on 40+10d6 is exactly 75.) It wasn't a guarantee that Adaine would try to counterspell, and it absolutely wasn't a guarantee that she would be successful in it; I don't think Brennan would have fudged the dice on damage or save, either, so was there actually a version of the season where the Ratgrinders go down a bard not even halfway through the year? I don't think Ruben living there was actually required for any part of Porter's plan, but it certainly is the stuff of fun AUs.

[lovelyatomicpeace]

List of prompt:

1. "I can't do it without you."

2. "Why did you lie to me?"

3. "I need to talk to you."

4. "It's not what it seems."

5. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

6. "That place is dangerous."

7. "I miss you, you know?"

8. "Promise you'll come back."

9. "I thought you were different."

10. "It was a mistake, I know."

11. "We are stronger together."

12. "I can't let you go."

13. "Please be careful."

14. "I've missed you."

15. "Can I help you with something?"

16. "What would you do in my place?"

17. "Life is short, live it."

18. "We are destined to be together."

19. "There is something you need to know."

20. "I wish you were here with me."

21. "The truth may hurt, but it is necessary."

22. "Don't let the past define you."

23. "I trust you this time."

24. "When will I see you again?"

25. "I have a plan, listen to me."

26. "I cannot imagine my life without you."

27. "Please listen to me."

28. "I will always respect you."

29. "Maybe one day you will understand that."

30. "I wish it was always so."

31. "You can count on me."

32. "I love you, you know."

33. "I don't want everything to end like this."

34. "I hope you will forgive me."

35. "I'm here to stay."

36. "There are things you can't understand."

37. "I don't need an apology, just the truth."

38. "The fear of losing him was greater than the joy of becoming a mother."

39. "The positive test had changed her life in an instant."

40. "She was not ready for this responsibility, but fate had other plans."

41. "How would he react? This question haunted her every night."

42. "The fear of telling him was paralyzing, but she knew she could not wait any longer."

43. "Every smile she gave him hid a world of worry."

44. "She couldn't stand his arrogance, but she couldn't help thinking about him."

45. "Every clash between them was a spark that ignited something more."

46. "The hatred she felt for him was slowly turning into something different."

47. "Each squabble was a step toward a deeper feeling."

48. "She could not believe that her heart beat faster every time she saw him."

49. "Hatred was just a mask to hide the real feelings."

50. "Every time they fought, he felt his heart beat faster."

51. "Every sharp word hid an unmentionable desire."

52. "She could no longer deny the attraction she felt for him."

53. "She never thought she could love someone she detested so much."

54. "Every night, the nightmares came back to haunt her."

55. "The darkness brought with it her worst fears."

56. "She could not escape the nightmares that haunted her."

57. "Every dream turned into an endless nightmare."

58. "Fear kept her awake, fearing the next nightmare."

59. "She hid her feelings behind a smile."

60. "The love she felt for him was a secret she could not reveal."

61. "Every unspoken word was a burden on her heart."

62. "She could not confess her love, for fear of losing him."

63. "Every glance was a reminder of his unmentionable love."

64. "Every day she struggled with the desire to tell him the truth."

65. "She could not reveal her feelings, for fear of ruining everything."

66. "Don't you understand how much you make me suffer?"

67. "I love you, even though you drive me crazy!"

68. "Why can't you see how much I care for you?"

69. "Why can't you see how much you mean to me?"

70. "Why can't you see how much you hurt me?"

71. "Why didn't you choose me?"

72. "Every time I see him with someone else, my heart breaks."

73. "Can't you see how much you hurt me?"

74. "It hurts me to see you with someone else."

75. "Why am I never enough for you?"

76. "Why can't you understand how much I love you?"

77. "I can't believe you chose her instead of me."

78. "Her hands were delicate, as if she was afraid of breaking me."

79. "Our hearts beat in unison in the rain."

80. "Her gaze was full of sweetness and desire."

81. "We approached each other slowly, as if time had stopped."

82. "His lips were soft and warm against mine."

83. "Each caress was a whisper of love."

84. "The world around us disappeared, it was just the two of us."

85. "His embrace was my safe haven."

86. "Her breath was a sweet song in my ears."

87. "Her smile was all I needed."

88. "I can't find peace with them."

89. "Why do they never understand me?"

90. "Their words hurt me deeply."

91. "Through the window of his car, he saw her sitting alone and offered her an alternative evening"

92. "She did not have a date, but he kept her company in the parking lot, under the full moon"

93. "While everyone was dancing, he found her alone and asked her to spend the evening together, away from the crowd"

94. "I can't go on with this marriage. I need a way out."

95. "I'm not ready for this life. Take me away from here, please."

96. "I can't marry him. Help me find another way."

97. "I need to get away from all this. Can you help me?"

98. "I can't do that. I need someone to take me far away."

99. "I can't continue with this marriage. Take me away, please."

100. "I can't marry him. I need to escape, and you are the only one who can help me."

[lightasthesun]

Dialogue Prompts (Taylor's Version)

1♪ “You are the best thing that's ever been mine.”

2♪ “I will never leave you alone.”

3♪ “I'm captivated by you, like a fireworks show.”

4♪ “How's life? Tell me how's your family?”

5♪ “I'm sorry for that night.”

6♪ “Run away now.”

7♪ “Run as fast as you can.”

8♪ “They are the lucky ones.”

9♪ “Have we met?”

10♪ “Who do you love?”

11♪ “Remember this moment?”

12♪ “Remember this feeling.”

13♪ “Life makes love look hard.”

14♪ “I love you. I loved you from the very first day.”

15♪ “Meet me tonight.”

16♪ “You are not the exception.”

17♪ “I can't stop thinking about you and I.”

18♪ “I'm setting you free.”

19♪ “It's gonna be alright.”

20♪ “It's in the past.”

21♪ “Heaven can't help me now.”

22♪ “No one has to know what we do.”

23♪ “Are you insane?”

24♪ “It's been a long six months.”

25♪ “You're my best friend.”

26♪ “It might blow up in your pretty face.”

27♪ “Come here.”

28♪ “I said 'I love you', you say nothing back.”

29♪ “I knew it all along.”

30♪ “How'd we end up on the floor anyway?”

31♪ “She's laughing up at us from hell.”

32♪ “I don't remember.”

33♪ “The end is coming.”

34♪ “You should be doing more.”

35♪ “You have to trust more freely.”

35♪ “Love is a lie.”

36♪ “It's time now, let go.”

37♪ “This is it. I've had enough.”

38♪ “I swear I'm gonna change.”

39♪ “I still love you.”

40♪ “It's been you all along.”

41♪ “I need you.”

42♪ “Look at you, worrying so much about things you can't change.”

43♪ “I'm sorry, too.”

44♪ “Don't get attached.”

45♪ “Everybody knows that.”

46♪ “Why?!”

47♪ “Go out and have some fun.”

48♪ “Why did you let her go?”

49♪ “It's not just a phase I'm in.”

50♪ “Believe in one thing, I won't go away.”

51♪ “I'll wait for you.”

52♪ “Do you know how much I miss you.”

53♪ “All's well that ends well.”

54♪ “Fuck the Patriarchy.”

55♪ “It's supposed to be fun turning 21.”

56♪ “I keep waiting for you but you never come.”

57♪ “I don't know what to think.”

58♪ “You look beautiful tonight.”

59♪ “Forever and always.”

60♪ “I'm in love with you.”

61♪ “There's nothing you can say.”

62♪ “Too late.”

63♪ “Did you ever think of me?”

64♪ “We're still friends.”

65♪ “Take my hand.”

66♪ “I think he did it.”

67♪ “They all want to be you.”

68♪ “What's a lifetime of achievement if I pushed you to the edge and you were too polite to leave me?”

69♪ “Dancing is a dangerous game.”

70♪ “I survived.”

71♪ “What a sad sight.”

72♪ “Yes.”

73♪ “Who knows what could've been.”

74♪ “Are you sure?”

75♪ “This is me trying.”

76♪ “Fuck you forever.”

77♪ “Sir, I think he's bleeding out.”

78♪ “Doc, I think she's crashing out.”

79♪ “Get in, let's drive.”

80♪ “I'd die for you in secret.”

81♪ “Give me a reason.”

82♪ “Im fine.”

83♪ “I love you (ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?)”

84♪ “Where we gonna go?”

85♪ “I rent a place on Cornelia Street.”

86♪ “I don't know.”

87♪ “I'd die for you.”

88♪ “Damn, it's 7am.”

89♪ “Are you ready for it?”

90♪ “Don't thrown away a good thing.”

91♪ “You're gorgeous.”

92♪ “Go, go, go!”

93♪ “That's a lie.”

94♪ “Does he know?”

95♪ “Get your shit together.”

96♪ “Nothing is gonna change.”

97♪ “You made us proud.”

98♪ “Don't leave me here alone.”

99♪ “I know you don't.”

100♪ “We always walked a very thin line.”

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

Just a Little Something about how long Zane was dead for in Ninjago between Season 3 and 4

In Ninjago Decoded Zane said that he downloaded all 74 episodes plus the holiday special of Jay's game show, 'The Ultimate Ninja Challenge' (a.k.a 75 episodes)

Taking in the schedules for American Ninja Warrior and Wipeout, which appear to be the inspiration for Jay's game show.

American Ninja Warrior is a half hour long show that airs four episodes in a day and another four the following week as a full season (at least when it first came out, IDK about now).

Wipeout is an hour long show (with commercials) that airs a new episode, once a week.

Understanding these two details:

At Most - eight episodes per season, at one season per year with 75 episodes total equals a little more then 9 years (to be precise, 9 complete seasons with 3 episodes of the tenth being aired)

At Least - one episode per week with 75 episodes total equals almost 18 months a.k.a. a year and a half (to be precise, 1 year, 5 months and 3 weeks)

In Compromise for the two shows with a leaning towards the Wipeout influence: Let's say, two episodes per week with 75 episodes total equals 9 months and 2 weeks (this is on the idea of Jay leaving before the filming of the 76th episode).

~

So obviously we don't get a ten year time skip between Seasons 3 and 4 and I clearly haven't factored in how long it took to set up Jay's game show in the first place, however, I don't think it's that far outside the realm of possibility that the time skip was at least somewhere between 9 and a half months and 18 months. This certainly gives enough time for moss to grow on Zane's statue and for angst among the Ninja Team (<- Including Nya, Pixal and Skylor).

Enough time for Jay to get his own game show.

Enough time for Nya to gather what she needs to fix the Bounty.

Enough time for Cole to get a job without people knowing who he is.

Enough time for Lloyd to be with his father before Garmadon's Season 4 self-sacrifice.

Enough time for Zane to rebuild himself only to be kidnapped by Ronin and sold to Master Chen.

Enough time for Pixal to be kidnapped as well and held in Chen's dungeon where the Mechanic pried her open and took her apart piece by piece.

Enough time where Skylor's training was put into overdrive as she had to watch her father put every last detail into place for the Elemental Masters, like a spider preparing its web for the flys.

Enough time for Kai to get his own apartment where he exists alone with thoughts that are far to loud and condemning for a protector who lost his brother, to craft a place for himself in an underground fighting ring that won't ask questions, where he can fight and forget, only to be constantly plagued by his every waking moment asking, 'why wasn't it me', and thinking, 'it should have been me'.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

By Jackie Fortier

Nearly 90% of babies who had to be hospitalized for COVID-19 had mothers who didn’t get the vaccine during pregnancy, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Babies too young to be vaccinated had the highest COVID hospitalization rate of any age group except people over 75.

Infants can’t get vaccinated against COVID until they are at least six months old. That leaves a “huge window” when infants are most vulnerable, said Dr. Neil Silverman, director of the Infectious Disease in Pregnancy program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

The only effective protection for babies during those six months comes from vaccinating pregnant women, so they pass the antibodies on to their newborns. Vaccination during pregnancy also protects pregnant people from contracting severe disease.

The study underscores the critical importance of vaccinating pregnant people. It also echoes what physicians have anecdotally reported for more than three years – people are still skeptical of COVID vaccines due to persistent misinformation.

The study drew upon medical data in 12 states, collected between October 2022 and April 2024. The findings appear in the agency publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Of the 1,470 infants sick enough to be hospitalized due to COVID, severe outcomes occurred “frequently” according to the report.

Excluding newborns hospitalized at birth, about 1 in 5 infants hospitalized with COVID required intensive care, and nearly one in 20 required a ventilator.

“These aren't necessarily high-risk, ill newborns,” said UCLA’s Silverman. “These are full term, healthy newborn kids who happen to get COVID and wind up on a ventilator in the hospital.”

Many pregnant patients are still hesitant, despite the risks But persistent vaccine misinformation online has led to skepticism among his pregnant patients.

“The most frustrating response that I get from folks is that they need to do more research before they think about getting the COVID vaccine,” Silverman said. “We have dozens and dozens of studies showing the safety of the MRNA vaccine. I don't know how much more research we can provide to skeptics.”

Among the 1,000 babies hospitalized with COVID, the median age was just 2 months old, according to the report. Nine of the infants died.

South Carolina pediatrician Deborah Greenhouse said she plans to share the study with families she cares for. “There absolutely is a proportion of the population who will look at this and say, wow, I should get that vaccine. It could protect my baby,” she said.

“I think that it might help to convince some parents when you can actually show them hospitalization numbers, and you can show them intensive care numbers, and you can show them mechanical ventilation numbers, those things are a big deal,” Greenhouse said.

Doctors should stock the shots, and talk about it Often, Greenhouse waits to confirm that a parent in her office is pregnant, before discussing the updated COVID shot. Now she’s rethinking that strategy, and may try talking about vaccination with all parents, when they bring their kids to appointments.

“We have an opportunity to intervene and to do some education and make them understand how important this is,” she said.

Physicians can encourage vaccination by making it as easy and simple as possible, Silverman said. He encouraged fellow doctors to offer the shots in their offices, rather than sending patients out to pharmacies or other health care providers.

“We lose probably 30 to 40% of vaccination opportunities once someone has to leave the office to get a vaccine,” Silverman said.

But offering COVID shots in their clinics may force some doctors to undertake a difficult calculation.

If doctors overestimate how many patients will be interested in the vaccine, they may not be able to return all their excess doses, and could lose money. On the other hand, they want enough doses on hand to vaccinate all the vulnerable patients who want the shot.

Study link: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7338a1.htm?s_cid=mm7338a1_w