#for the amount of money they take from us

[phantomrose96]

Actually I have a post I want to make about Property Value.

Which is a topic that comes up a lot in discussions of rich people hoarding wealth, in NIMBY panics, and in the ever-increasing prices of homes. But I don't think we talk much about how the perniciousness of property value goes deeper and basically holds middle class people who own a home hostage.

So to set some context here: in 2025 the median US home sold for $416,000. Say you have a working class family who can't meet median, but who scraped and saved and penny-pinched their way to a $300,000 home.

Typically, when buying a first home, you pay 20% down directly, and take 80% out as a mortgage from the bank. For this family, that means $60,000 of their liquid money (and let's say it took them 10-15 years to save that amount), and a $240,000 loan from the bank.

That's $240,000 in debt the family is. Which will be repaid over 30 years, with interest, at a rate that usually means for the lifetime of the loan, they end up paying back double the original loan.

However this massive $240,000 debt is generally considered "okay" debt to have, because it's backed by the house. If things go truly sour, the bank can take the house (and what's a little homelessness between friends).

That $60,000 the family put down is considered equity, and equity is money you "have", but isn't accessible.

Scenario: Now let's say something happens. Someone in the family loses their job, and the only job they can find requires moving. Or a family member across the country can't care for themselves anymore and so this family needs to move to be closer to them. The family gets divorced. Someone in the family is allergic to material in the home. Someone in the family is being stalked or abused and needs to leave the town. Anything at all, which would require selling the home and moving.

Case 1: The family is able to sell it for exactly what they paid (same property value, no increase or decrease). You would think the math is clean. They are paid $300,000 for the house. $240,000 repays the bank loan. The remaining $60,000 of equity goes right back to them. And they can use it (which took 10+ years to save up) to move across the country and buy a different $300,000 house.

Except no, it does not work like that.

The seller of a home is on the hook to pay commission to their realtor and the buyer's realtor. This is usually ~6% of the home value. They have to pay legal costs. There are taxes. There are miscellaneous costs. It can easily be 6-9% of the selling price of the house.

The bank NEEDS its $240,000 back. So those costs come from the equity. This family is not getting their $60,000 back. They're getting $30,000-$45,000, and now no longer enough money for a downpayment in their move. They're back to renting. Back to penny pinching. They can get by, but homeownership is now out of their grasp once more. Maybe in another 5 years, they'll have enough (unless home prices have increased too much by then) then they'll maybe never be homeowners again.

Case 2: The property value has DECREASED... Family is only getting offers in the $260,000 range.

If the family accepts a $260,000 sale, well $240,000 goes to the bank. This is genuinely non-negotiable. And that leaves.... maybe not enough money to even close on the house. Not enough to pay the realtors and the fees.

That $60,000 is wiped out, and the family is incapable of moving. Never mind losing 10+ years of savings--they're below $0. They don't have the money to close. It's financially impossible to sell. They are stuck with the mortgage. They are stuck with the house. (Maybe they'll rent it, if they can. And now they're landlords by circumstance, which is often NOT profitable when you're not a trust fund baby renting out a totally-paid-for no-mortgage home.) But whatever the case, they cannot sell it. And if the reason for selling was a job loss... well, they can be homeless soon. And if the property value dropped below $240,000, they can be homeless AND owe a bank debt. A $60,000 nest egg wiped completely out, with a bank debt owed on top of that.

So how do people avoid financial destitution when moving?

The most sensible answer is building up equity by paying down the loan--but it's important to know that mortgages are super interest heavy in the early life of the loan. With a 5% interest rate (BETTER, btw, than current rates) this family would be paying $15,460 the first year, and only $3,540.88 is actually chipping at that $240,000 principle. The other $11,919.59 was pure interest to the bank.

So after 1 year, the family went from having $60,000 equity in the house to $63,540.88 equity in the house. This buys a little extra wiggle room when juggling closing costs. But not very much. Even after 3 years, the family has just a little over $70,000 of equity, and just under $230,000 still left on the loan. So if the family has to move for any reason (sickness! death! job loss!) in those 3 years, it's probably financially devastating.

But there is a second answer to avoiding financial ruin: and that is Property Value going up.

Any amount of property value increase is PURE equity. The bank only cares about the amount of money it gave you. If after 3 years, that house is now worth (and can sell for) $315,000 (which is appreciation of only 1.6% a year. Most home appreciation is closer to 3%), that's more equity increase than they got from 36 diligent months of mortgage payment.

If they can sell for $315,000, pay $230,000 of that to the bank, that leaves $85,000. $25,000 goes to paying the realtors and the closing costs and.... the family is back to their $60,000 downpayment. Not trapped. Able to sell. Able to buy a new $300,000 home in the place they moved. Able to just maintain homeownership status.

But wait, if their home appreciated to $315,000, didn't all the other homes do the same, so now $60,000 isn't enough

Smart eye, lad! You've identified why this is a TERRIBLE rat race for the people scraping money together to live, and is ONLY a profitable leisure activity for rich people who sell homes like collectables.

Now because the increase is pure equity, a similar family with decent property value increase can funnel that extra equity into affording to meet the new higher down payment (remember the downpayment is only 20%, so even if the new place is similarly higher in property value, you only need to match that increase 20% for the downpayment). Which gets their foot in the door. But now their new mortgage is higher than the old one. More expensive. More interest.

But there is a losing scenario here--if home property values increased everywhere else, but not where you live. Then this family is back to surrendering homeownership. Because even if they can sell their place, they can't buy the next home.

It forces them to care about their own Property Value increase because, if it doesn't increase while everywhere else does, it traps them.

So what do I mean by all this

If the value of all homes dropped 50% overnight, I assume most people here would celebrate. Affordable homes! Rich people upset and crying! So much to love.

But in reality, that 50% drop would likely continue to mean no home for most of us, because the people who could sell you the homes would be financially incapable.

For the family above with the $240,000 mortgage, that mortgage does not reach halfway-paid-off until year 20 of the 30 year mortgage (remember the interest frontloading). If a family still owes $230,000 in bank loans on a place that can only sell for $150,000, they can't sell it to you. That house is the bank's collateral securing the loan. Their mortgage is underwater. They're trapped. They cannot sell it. You cannot have it.

Something similar happened in the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, and the only people who got out okay were ones who could stay the course, keep making the mortgage payments, and wait it out long enough for property value to recover.

Those who couldn't got foreclosed on. Those who couldn't were left in financial devastation.

So in conclusion?

Banks profit off of mortgages. Rich people profit off of hoarding housing stock and selling it as the property value increases. Real estate companies profit off of home sales. And the regular people, who managed to achieve home ownership, are shackled to the price-go-up system to avoid financial ruin. They're forced to care about their property value because it is the singular determinant of whether they're trapped in place, whether they'll be okay if they lose their job, whether they could move due to an important life event.

It's a profit system for the rich where the cogs are middle class people who could achieve homeownership, running a machine where every single crank locks the poorer and younger generations out of home ownership forever.

[rawan-soso]

PLEASE READ IF THIS MADE YOU SMILE

This is a recent story about my sister Soso who is only four years old. We are a family of 10 barely surviving in northern Gaza amidst famine and bombardments. It might seem unbelievable, but the cost of a 25kg sack of flour has reached $1,000 in my area. We also have to pay almost the same amount every month to rent the single destroyed room we have been living in for months. If we’re kicked out, it will be a death sentence.

I’m so hungry, I’m so hungry, I swear I’m dizzy all day long as I try to study for university midterms I might not even be able to take because my connection is unstable.

I wish the money I’ve already received was enough, I wish more than anything that I could stop asking because I’m so embarrassed, but everything is so expensive, we’re a family of ten, and both Chuffed, PayPal and the bank take huge commissions from any amount I receive. Any food we can find is for my grandmother and my youngest sister and the rest of us survive on barely anything. We have to pay for vitamins due to the lack of food, for medicine for my mother and grandmother who are very sick, for treatment for my brother who got hurt in an accident, for phone data, for everything. I’m so tired.

Please help, I swear I’ll be thankful for anything. If you can’t afford to donate, then please at least share and I won’t ask more of you. Please.

✅Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #347 )✅

DONATE HERE

Please don’t let us starve 😭🙏

[sqgeism]

𐙚 𓏵𓏵𓏵 𐙚 let me hear you say ! | various hsr men x gender neutral reader

💌 — ; please ! let me hear you say ! pleaaaaaaaase ! even with the fact you and your boyfriend have been together for years now, he needs you like the air he breathes. and he is NOT afraid to let it be known.

love mail — sage loses the plot part 5 million 🤗.... whatever is going awn in this plot idek it came to me in a vision 👻 ! dont mass unfollow me if this is bad PLEAASEE PLEASE PLEASE 😞😞🙏🙏💔💔 (dramatic)

"must i recite you poetry written by the most romantic of poets? you know i want you here, you know i'll do anything to keep you, so don't leave. plea..— fuck, please." anaxa, the demised scholar, reduced to a pathetic plea. he's tugging on your sleeve to be 'cordial', but he quickly takes the hand it's inserted itself through to his cheek, kissing your palms as he wants his intentions of what he wants to happen tonight to be very clear.

"come on, sweetheart. one more, mmh—please? i promise you won't be late, just.. just let me have this. i promise it'll just be one" that's a lie and you know it. with the way mydei's face is flushed just the right amount of red, and the fact he's already leaning in, your chin being pulled back to him by his thumb and pointer finger.. all you have to do is say yes and he's all yours. (please, please say yes)

"come on, please? please— i need you. i'll let you do whatever you want, honey. and all i ask for is you to be here." phainon is a BEGGER. totally burying his head in your lap, vice like grip on the sides of your thighs as he pleads for just a little longer. just a bit more time with you—he whines.

"don't.. don't make me beg. because you know i will, and i won't stop. so stop acting like you want to leave, and stay." blade's trying to act nonchalant about it but he's looming over you and subtly running his hands down your back, to your waist, and settling at your hips. he needs this so very badly, he needs you to fix his aching heart.

"i need you. for once, i need something, someone. and by the aeon's i will let it be known rather than suffer in your absence. please- please. i'd rather you stay than be anywhere else." sunday's got you sat on his lap on a comfy lounge chair, practically trapped with the grip he has you in. and oh.. that bastard. to keep your attention on him, he leans in close and personal and uses his wings to block any view you may have from the sides. now you have no choice but to acknowledge the extent of his desperation for just a drop of your time.

"what do you want? new clothes, jewelry, a fancy dinner, money? name it all, and i'll have it arranged. just let me be yours tonight." jing yuan acts like he's courting you, making promises of riches and fortune that'll be yours as if he doesn't spoil you enough. he takes both your hands and brings them up to his chest, and despite his smirk, his eyes are desperate. very.. very desperate.

no copyright.. all urs....

[abbygailfox]

This is so, so important.

The amount of posts I have read – especially during the last few weeks – about how people think that she has always been this way and she wrote Harry Potter with the intention of pushing her agenda onto children from a very young age.

I truly, honestly think that that's incredibly dangerous. Because it operates under the believe that people's believes always stay the same. It stems from a black-and-white mindset in which people are – in the most simple of terms – either "good" or "bad" and they always stay that way. That is not the case. People are never unchanging in their views. They are made and influenced by things that happen to and around them. Constantly. And usually that is even a good thing. We measure the ability of critical thinking by observing how someone reacts to new information. If we give people information that they did not have before, we expect them to reconsider their stance. However that also means that we need to check ourselves again and again and again. And to do that tomorrow as well. And next week. And next year. And every day that comes after that again. It's a never ending process.

Because human beings never stop changing. And we are so easily influenced. Mainly because of two things:

1) All of us – every single one – want's to belong somewhere. Some of us may enjoy being alone, yes. But no-one ever wants to be lonely. And people have done and will do horrendous things to prevent being lonely.

2) If we have power, we don't want to let go of it. Especially if we know what it feels like not to have any. That doesn't mean that no-one ever does. There are good people in this world. But our first impulse is always to hold onto what makes us stronger and harder to hurt. And power does that.

Number 1) is what makes it so easy for people to get caught up in even the most ridiculous, dangerous or hateful cults and why it is so incredibly hard to leave them again. Because as soon as you can push a "we against them" agenda, you are a part of the "we". You're part of a group. You belong. No-one in their right mind would want to leave that. The situation – of yourself or someone you hold extremely dear – has to be incredibly dire for you to leave everything you know behind, leave your entire social circle, and subsequently be helpless, lost, potentially without means and confronted with people who don't understand why you joined in the first place. Who will potentially make fun of you and exclude you.

Number 2) is what happened to Rowling, I suppose. I don't know Rowling and at this point I don't care to. But she also probably didn't just wake up one day and said: "Actually I like all this money and power and the platform I have now quite a lot. But if I help marginalised groups to get more power, I might loose some of my own. So let's hate on them instead." No. It happens in increments. Maybe one day she was asked to give up more money than she was comfortable with for "some charity". And she decided the cause wasn't worth it, because after all, it was "just trans-people" and wait a minute what have "they" ever done for her? Or for women in general? In fact, couldn't their mere existence be a hinderance to the progression of women's rights? And after all it's her money. She worked hard for it. They could have done the same thing, but they didn't, did they? Or something else entirely, I can only speculate. (I don't support any of that, obviously. I'm trying to show how you slip into this kind of thinking.)

The point is, non of this is noticeable in the beginning. All these processes are gradual.

No cult just knocks on your door and goes: "We have the most insane conspiracy theories out there, science is a scam, we won't allow you to take modern medicine and we will drain all our your financial means to a point where you are helpless without us. By the way, do you have any LGBTQIA people in your social circle? We don't condone those. But hey, we can provide you with people who will act like they are your friends. You know, to substitute the ones that you will inevitably push away, if you join us. Heads up though, if you try to leave, we will blackmail you." No racist (or at least very few) will just come up to you and say: "I have this theory, that white people are better than people of colour. Let me convince you of it." (And frankly most people are not self-aware enough to realise when they are being racist.)

It will always start small. It will seem reasonable and harmless in the beginning. Some of the arguments you might even agree with. And suddenly you are in too deep, to get out.

This is NOT – and I cannot stress this enough – meant to be any sort of excuse for Rowling. I think the woman and the bullshit she spews is truly vile. This is also not meant to condemn all people in positions of power, because there are counterexamples – even if they get way to little attention. There are rich people who give money to science. Silently and without a self-serving agenda. Famous people who speak up for all kinds of marginalised groups. Powerful people that do invest in slowing climate change. There are powerful people giving a shit, just as much as there are people in marginalised groups that hate on everyone else and buy into a "we against them" agenda. (It's never black and white).

And please don't misunderstand me. You absolutely have every right to be angry at the bitch. You *should* be fucking angry. At anyone who tries to hurt and invalidate you. You should be livid. I am too. Oppose hatred wherever you find it. Oppose every vile word that comes out of Rowling's mouth, every anti-human rights bullshit you hear. Not just from her, but from everybody around you. Protect yourself and others. Do whatever you need to do to cope, especially if people don't just attack your believe in everyone being treated equally, but if they hit you on a more personal level. (Frankly, I personally get twitchy when people burn books – no matter which ones – mainly because I am German and pictures like those do not have great connotations in my world. But everyone copes differently.)

However the point is, the focus of this conversation has turned to "Harry Potter" way too much. (Yes, it makes her money, but we're not about to stop that, at this point. And I'll leave the decision, if the work can be separated from the author, enough to engage with content that does not make her money, for everyone to decide for themselves. The debate has been going on since before Roland Barthes discussed it [yes I know he mainly meant the level of influence the authors bibliography had on the text, it's still the same argument, but with a different aspect], using multiple prominent figures as examples. That is something every single person has to decide for themselves and we cannot push our decisions onto others.)

What I am really trying to make you understand is: We all like to think about ourselves, that we would use our power for good if we had any. That we would treat all people equally and would use our money to further the cause of all marginalised people in the world. End world hunger, end poverty, end the patriarchy, the list is endless. But we do not know if we would do that. Because we are not in the situation to do so. We do not know if – on the road to power – we would have kept the same three friends, that call us out on behaving like an asshole. We don't know if we could have kept a hold on our humility and our worldview and our ability to still see people in positions of less power and feel the urge to help.

What I am really, really trying to say in this rant (and I know it is endlessly long and I apologise) is this:

Nothing in life. EVER. Is black and white. You are not on the "good side", because you once made a selfless decision. Other people are not on the "bad side" because they have power or money. And the borders are not clear-cut. There are so many shades of grey. You can always ALWAYS slip. And you probably won't notice. EVERY SINGLE PERSON on this planet is corruptible. And this is not meant to discourage you. I don't mean to paint our world and our society as hopeless, because they are NOT. You are not condemned to become some soulless creature that does not care a lick about others, simply because you get to a place of greater power. This is in fact meant to encourage you. Encourage you to call others out. Especially encourage you to call yourself out. Encourage you to listen, truly listen, to people when they tell you, that you're being an ass about something. Maybe they are wrong. But maybe they are right. You can be influenced. But you can also influence how you yourself behave and how you treat people. How you view people. Not just groups, but individuals also. Have the courage to be kind. To everyone. And have the courage to question. Yourself and others. Check yourself and your thinking. Always. And if you think this could never happen to you and you could never harm people or mentally sort them into groups to be stigmatised and thusly easier pushed aside… Check yourself twice!

ok im going to #seriouspost for a second here. I don't think Harry Potter is a manifesto. I think it was a flawed passion project that millennials latched onto because of the fantasy of sticking it to their mean teachers and arbitrarily categorizing themselves (hogwarts houses; it's the thinking millennial's astrology). I think the fact that the series got popular when and how it did was very much a product of its time.

I don't think Harry Potter is the biggest symbol of JKR's bigotry. I think the most flagrant sign of that was how she responded to critics. I watched her become radicalized in real time. I watched how she doubled down on her racism when she was called out for the ways she promoted her tragically mid fantastic beasts movies. I watched her chase marginalized teenagers with a double digit follower count off of twitter for daring to criticize her thought process, and no one with any kind of power standing against her because she was the one who was paying them. This isn't to say Harry Potter is without flaws. This is to say she really didn't give a shit about that. Getting rich and powerful is a hell of a drug, and she had enough sycophants that she had no reason to care about what her critics were saying.

She was convinced that she was a martyr; a voice for the unheard; a leader for the ages, so of course her detractors were the bad guys. And I think we should take this to heart. We should see this as an example of how easy it is to get radicalized; if you think of yourself as a paragon of virtue, you are going to think that whatever you see as good and right is an objective fact. Most people don't know this, but the majority of terfs start out as trans allies. You are not immune to propaganda! You are not immune to falling into dangerous ideologies!!!

This is why the most important thing you can do as an activist is to listen. Do NOT think you're above being wrong; do NOT develop a god complex; do NOT form an identity out of being right all the time. Involve yourselves in the groups you claim to speak for. Listen to trans women; share resources that help trans women; familiarize yourself with the diversity of experiences that trans people have and the struggles they face.

No, none of you are as bad as JKR because you don't have her money or her power. You will likely never have the capacity for harm she does. But check yourselves. Do not affirm yourselves into thinking you always have the moral high ground. Watch yourselves; humble yourselves; check yourselves for signs of cult behavior and internalized prejudice. You are always learning. You will always be learning. Do not allow yourselves to get a power trip from brushing off marginalized voices.

[shaisuki]

I was possessed by demons thinking about your Yan!Zayne series and thought of two scenarios:

1. Someone (from the N109 Zone probably) thinks it’s a smart idea to kidnap Dr. Zayne’s wife for ransom money. You can choose if this is before or after we give birth. Mostly I just want to see Zayne act on his death threats.

2. I think it’d be fun if we met Dawnbreaker. Since he kills people to spare them from becoming Wanderers, would he approve of Zayne’s actions or be horrified? Would he help us get away from him?

❆ ₊⋆ content warnings. gore + abduction + non mc + established relationship + blood + violence + murder

❆ ₊⋆ notes. we are about to talk about dawnbreaker Zayne and is currently one of my wips. Let me finish the other ending for the yandere zayne fic.

“Close your eyes.”

Is what he said when he first entered the room. Smelling of rust and mold. The pad of his thumb finger gently brushing the apple of your cheek. You were sort of relieved when you saw him but the look in his eyes scares you even it wasn't directed to you. Glazed with intent for violence and lust for blood.

It started days ago. Zayne finds you missing before that anonymous message was sent. Demanding an astronomical amount of money in exchange for his wife. You wouldn't go missing under his watch for he knows your every move and you were occupied with taking care of the twins. They're still a month old. You weren't cruel to leave them alone if you were going to escape him.

The message glares at him and despite the same stoic expression — Zayne was raging inside. A thousand thoughts running on his mind on how to find you and that fool who dared to harm you.

It only took him a day. The ransom money was prepared and he already broke several rules to get you. Power is everything as Zayne would have it. Easy for a man like him to access everything and within a day, he was storming the base of where they hold you captive. He couldn't waste a minute while his wife and the mother of his children is endangered by the scums that surrounds you.

Your captors were kind enough not to bruise you enough aside from the abduction. You didn't fear for yourself, you worry for your children. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours and hours felt like days and seemingly to go on for eternity. You missed your children and your heart couldn't take it to be separated from them.

The screams outside from your room where they held you captive break you out from your stupor. Were you about to be caught in crossfire? But you didn't hear gunshots and only the ice singing from the outside were almost enough to send you into tears. Frost were creeping inside your room.

You stay close to yourself. Shielding yourself with your arms even Zayne did tell you to close your eyes, it didn't escape your ears of what sounds like bones crunching and the sound of flesh being pierced with ice. His ice Evol was harmless as it can be when creating those tiny figures of animals but when used with intent for harm, it was dangerous. Zayne feared using his Evol but now he was using it without restraints.

The screams died down and when you opened your eyes, you saw your husband being covered with frost, his breath coming in small puffs of icy wisps of air. Kneeling in front of you as he checked you for existing injuries.

“Zayne.” You whispered his name. Holding his frost covered wrists connecting to his hands that cups your round cheeks. “I'm fine.” Assuring him cause the look in his eyes tells you he was spiraling. He calms down before sweeping you off your feet as he carried you bridal style. Not minding his arms that must be numb from overusing his Evol.

He walks out of the room and what you encountered the next room where he had let his Evol lay waste, made you almost gag. The room was covered in frost mixed with blood. Large icicles contains each bodies of your captors being impaled. Blood were dripping from the ice that hardened before it can touch the floor. One of their eye sockets were pierced with a large icicle.

He did say to close your eyes but your eyes were wide enough to see his grotesque creation. He made you see the horror he's capable of. Kind enough not to let you witness the process but cruel enough to put you to see this kind of warning what will happen if someone were about to harm you again.

The fear creeps up to your spine and the soreness of your breasts from not being able to feed your children dawns on you. “Zayne, the babies?” You ask him to whisk you away from this cruelty even when they deserve it. He had already proven those words that haunts you when something happened like this. He's capable of saving lives as much as taking one.

Zayne began to walk away before looking down at you. “They missed you.” Is his only response. As you look from the disappearing building, the surgeon kept a tight grip on you, afraid that you'll disappear again. You dreaded it. This situation means one thing. You were going to be locked away in the confines of his home along with his children. Security will be tightened after this.

Your world keeps getting smaller and smaller.

[rebeccawangart]

The Evils of Generative AI

Posted this on my Instagram and thought I would share here too.

I know most of you follow me for the cute and colorful animal portraits, and I am not stopping creating art. But I am irate about the state of the world and will use my platform to discuss the uncomfortable realities that negatively affect me personally, and everyone I know. This is a topic I am passionate about, and I will not keep quiet about it; complacency and apathy are the death of creativity and of our livelihoods, so I will continue to educate about and fight against this.

Copyright Infringement

Generative AI takes the work of millions without permission, license, or compensation. All creative works are copyrighted the moment of their creation, and using them in this manner is unethical. GenAI would not even have content to produce if it wasn't stealing millions of copyrighted material.

2. Marginalized Groups

There is a significant overlap between artists and marginalized groups. LGBTQ, Bipoc, neurodivergent and those with disabilities are disproportionately affected.

3. Environmental Impacts

Generative AI uses a disproportionately large amount of electricity and water to generate content, and has a detrimental effect on the environment.

4. Loss of Jobs

Artists, musicians, writers, authors, photographers, comic creators, linguists, translators, actors, voice actors, animators, graphic artists, designers, and other creative professionals have lost or will lose their jobs because of generative AI. GenAI steals from these individuals and then creates content that undermine them and their careers.

5. Cognitive Decline

When you outsource critical thinking to a machine, you will lose the ability to think for yourself. Cognitive decline and loss of creative thinking skills is a serious side effect of AI.

6. Misinformation and Harm

Generative AI is prone to something called "hallucinations" where it will completely make up something false just so it can have something to output. This has resulted in misinformation in published AI books and articles, as well as weird artifacts in images. False information can have detrimental effects.

7. Loss of Humanity

Art is a human achievement. The purpose of art is to share your life experience, emotions, and ideas with others through your creations. Using GenAI to spit out material completely misses the point of creating art, it lacks the human touch. Art should never be commoditized. Art is not about making money fast as the expense of humanity.

[katiekatdragon27]

GUYS DO YOU REMEMBER I EXIST???? (I saw having not posted anything in a month sorry gang)

Anyway, the long awaited (lying) continuation of this post!

This is the rest of Boxten and Poppy's friend group. They make Boxten worry and Poppy worse.

Gigi is the youngest of the group and arguably the most chaotic. She is not the loudest in the room, but she is definitely not the one leaving empty-handed. Her kleptomaniac tendencies got her barred from a lot of jobs early-one, so why not open up her own shop? Gigi's resourcefulness in finding treasure out of trash, social media literacy, and money-savvy attitude has made her small business very successful. She also has a constant supply of support from her parents and aunt, along with her dad's friends who own the lot her store is in. What can she say? She has extremely good luck.

Flutter is a quiet and well-mannered butterfly with only a reasonable amount of chaos in her brain. She grew up in a poorer environment with a ton of siblings with only one (Flyte) that she is close to. She loves to write and create stories but took journalism as a more "practical" degree in order to get out of her family's house. She works as a barista to pay off her debts while also working on her debut novel, "Into the Pits of Ichor", and journalism job hunting. She also has two small pairs of arms under her cloths (as all butterflies do), but they are hardly useful. She and Gigi are also high-school besties and are seen hanging out all the time.

Razzle and Dazzle are conjoined twins living on their own. They grew up in foster-care with no knowledge of their family before and aged out once they were old enough. With their combined bodies, they can work longer hours (each taking breaks while the other works) and get double the pay, which allows them to pay off their one-person apartment with little issue. They do not butt heads often, but they do have things they disagree about. Razzle does yearn for more, wanting to leave this mall and state to make it big as an actor or Broadway performer (despite singing terribly). Dazzle, does not have large ambitions, being content enough with their situation and not wanting to put their livelihood in jeopardy for something that is not guaranteed.

Cosmo is a Swiss roll who works for his family's small business. And by small business, I mean there are a couple stores around the mall all run by his family. He is an only child but grew up alongside a lot of cousins, so he understands the sibling experience. He also a hard worker who is kind of a pushover, often taking more work for himself to give other people an easier time, to his detriment on occasion. Despite that, he grew up in the mall's kitchen and loved every second of it, even going to a trade school after high school to get a certification for it. One day, he wishes to leave the nest and build his own restaurant, but as for now he is content in the mall.

After Poppy and Boxten became friends, Poppy met Gigi while looking for decorations for Classic Records. They became fast friends, and the three of them became a mix-matched trio. In Galactic books, Boxten met Flutter while sitting in for one of Brightney's book club meetings. The two of them became aquainted, but they did not become friends until Gigi formally introduced Flutter to the group and they hung out. After a bit of being a group, they enter Ribbon Captures to take some photos together. Razzle and Dazzle are working that day, and some small talk and Dazzle being recognized from the book club roped the twins into the squad's photos.

Badda big badda boom ✨friendship✨

Later on, Cosmo enters the picture too, but he's more of an extra because he's usually too busy working to hang out. But that does not stop the gang from coming over and being annoying on their breaks~

More to come if this gets uhhhhhhhhhhm... 12 reblogs (I'm kidding btw I love this AU and I'ma post it regardless.)

Have a good one gang ✌️✌️

[microwavesaferat]

What's going on with the Bat?

My earlier post about how none of the batkids want the cowl got a surprising amount of notes, so I wanted to expand on it a bit.

To prove that none of them would be great at it, they all try the cowl for the night. This is the monthly rogue meeting:

Complete silence at Arkham as a good chunk of the local villains sit in a circle of chairs, waiting for the last one to be filled before beginning.

Riddler: Well he's clearly not showing, so I figured we might as well start this. So, riddle me this: The fuck is going on with the Bat the last week!?

Silence broken, all the people in the room start talking over one another.

Bane: Wait, I broke his back last week, you're saying he's up and running already???

Penguin: Well clearly you didn't break it well enough! The Bat damm near broke my nose on Tuesday! What's worse is he did it on the pole in the club! I had to watch the Batman slide down a fuckin' stripper pole to kick me in the face!!! (It was Dick's turn, he was having fun).

Riddler: I had a strange time with him on Monday, he didn't say a word. I know our dear Bat is hardly a man of eloquence, but he normally solves my riddles before catching me. This time, I was in the middle of a riddle about a fiddle when he just disappeared, next thing I know, he has me in a choke hold. (Cass was in a rush, so expedited the process).

Killer Croc: Bah! Yer all just weaklings! I've had no trouble from the Bat recently, in fact, I think he's getting soft in his old age. True, he did try to knife me, but then he stopped and started spouting some bull about how 'animals deserve rights' and that he refused to hurt me. Don't know what's gotten into him or where he got the fucking knife, but I'll take what I can get, y'all are just pussies. (Damian had a moral dilemma if Croc counted as an animal and whether he was still classed as vegan if he killed him).

Deadshot: I would have been happy if he just had a knife, on Thursday he interrupted my hit and just kept flash-banging me. By the end of it, I couldn't aim for shit, still can't see out my left eye! (Duke did not want to use his powers, just kind of panicked).

Black Mask: I didn't even get to fight the fucker, he just drained my bank account and left a note saying 'Batman wuz here'. Who does that to a guy? Some of that money wasn't even dirty!

Falcone: Sure it wasn't Sionis, just like how the bags of white powder in your basement was 'flour for cookies'. (Babs had fun with this, and, tbf to Black Mask, some of it was flour for cookies, he was hungry!).

Scarecrow: I dosed him and he started quoting my own thesis at me. He then listed my full address and social security number. I don't even know my own social security number, I don't know how he got it. He didn't even cry for his mummy and daddy like normal, just started listing what groceries I was out of. (He, once a stalker always a stalker, right Tim?).

Harley: I ain't seen the guy in a while, been leavin' me well alone. what about you Harv? Heard from tall, dark and gloomy recently?

Ivy: Harvey, you alright there?

Harvey is staring into the middle distance, eyes wide and hunched over.

Two-Face: He told me that my style was so last year and needed a new gimmick. He then asked if I was split all the way down. Then he said that I was a shit kisser and Oliver Queen was better. When did he kiss Oliver Queen? When did he kiss me? I... I don't-

Harvey trails off, maybe Stephanie was a bit brutal on the man.

Suddenly, the door slams open and shut, a purple and green shape panting and holding the door shut. The Joker is black and blue, and several wounds are bleeding heavily. They all turn to stare at him.

Joker: He's got a gun.

He collapses over, the remaining rogues run for their lives.

Jason is happy.

[grapejuicestyless]

I Am So Full Of Love

JJ Maybank x fem!reader

Summery: JJ Maybank never liked Kiara’s girlfriend, or so it seemed, she never expected him to care so much once she was gone, and he never expected her to miss him the same.(Mentions of coming to terms with sexuality and confusion and guilt.)

“I couldn’t do that to her.” Kiara explained as delicately as she could without being consumed by her own guilt.

But how can you gently explain to anyone how you’ve just lost the love of your life because you were too immature to be what she needed.

Y/n was a kind soul, deeply understanding and empathetic to everyone, no matter the background. While to others, the cut and figure eight were a clear divide between societies on the island, the rich, and the poor, the good and the great, she never once looked at the brand on her friends clothes or shamed someone for the amount of money in their pocket. She was simplicity, she was sweetness.

As good and pure as she was, she was also incredibly naive.

Naive, that was the word anyone would have used to describe her. Because she didn’t see the point of the divide between Kooks and Pogues, it also meant that Y/n fell for cruel peoples even crueler actions, and never once complained about the injustices that she faced.

Y/n never complained, and she took what she was given with a smile, even if what she was given was really nothing at all.

“I loved her, how could I not? She was everything I’d ever hoped for when I was younger. I spent every single math class watching the back of her head for years, praying that one day she would look back and just see me. It would be unfair for me to keep her away from a life she deserves simply because I love her.”

Kiara was right in the end, and everyone knew she was. She couldn’t offer anything to Y/n, and while her girlfriend readily gave, and gave, and gave, there was only so much to give before there was nothing left. Kiara recognized the signs of the burn out between them long ago, how Y/n seemed to scramble to find something more precious to give to her, how she devoted each part of herself to Kiara so willingly despite the risks, and Kiara watched as she ran out of love to spare, and her goals overtook her relationship. Her journey became more important than her heart, and she knew it would be unkind to string along someone whose heart was ten times too big for her chest.

“How did she take it?” Sarah asked quietly, leaning closer to the burning fire that everyone sat around. Kiara pulled her feet beneath her thighs, shifting in the old camping chair.

“She didn’t really say anything, actually. I mean, I wasn’t expecting a screaming match or crocodile tears, but, I thought she might have something to say to me. I did love her, I do love her, I did this for her. I at least deserved to hear some kind of goodbye.”

Kiara recalled her reluctant goodbye. One she never dreamed of saying. She used to swear on every star that if it were to end, it would be on her lovers terms. She never imagined she would be the one to cause her dearest Y/n to wander the county with a broken hearted gaze and an empty chest.

But thats the way life goes, and unfortunately for the couple, they were victims to unforeseen circumstances.

Kiara recalled how happy Y/n looked as she knocked on her front door, flowers in her hands, freshly picked on her way over simply because that’s who Y/n was, a girl who loved to give things to people just because she appreciated them. She was glowing, absolutely bursting with a vibrancy Kiara would always miss, but one that was no longer hers. Her knuckles that were stained green and the nails brushed with pollen. She was the sweetest spring after a nasty winter.

She remembered how Y/n wasn’t even the slightest bit skeptical or concerned when Kiara frowned and asked to speak to her. How Y/n sat and rubbed her back when she started to cry, her head laid in Y/n’s lap. In her lap. She cried and choked out apologies before killing her off, pulling away finally to end it and crush her girlfriend’s heart.

Her back was left cold as Y/n pulled away from her like she was poison, her touch distant and cold, and her eyes holding a thousand questions she would never ask.

“I’m sorry baby, I’m sorry. I love you, I’m sorry.” She swore, and the girl simply looked like she was still puzzling the pieces together.

“Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault.” She had assured Kiara, and in a sudden burst of emotion, wrapped her arms around her in a soul crushing hug. The sound of her lungs deflating and her heart cracking would haunt Kiara in her sleep for years, she knew it as soon as she let Y/n love her goodbye.

That was all that was shared between the pair before Y/n slipped away, the flowers still clasped tightly in her palms, the thorns stabbing into her skin at how tightly she began to grip them.

“At least someone got what they wanted though, right?” Kiara laughed bitterly and looked to JJ who sat across from her, seemingly processing the fact that this meant the bubbly girl wouldn’t be coming around anymore.

“Sorry?” He looked up from where his arms rested on his knees.

“Y/n won’t be coming around anymore. Isn’t that what you wanted?” Kiara laughed sadly, as if trying to find humor in her loss. Yet, even if Kiara seemed bitter, not even JJ could find any tears in her sad eyes.

“Why would I want that?” He didn’t find it amusing.

“You hated her, didn’t you?” Kiara’s smile faded slightly, as if part of her was hopeful that her friend would find some mean thing to say to make a poor situation better. As if he could find a flaw in her, Kiara could let her go easier.

JJ sat back and thought deeply, and then, when the idea was constructed and confirmed, he bit his tongue.

Sure, he had never been kind to Y/n, but it was never out of pure hatred. Well, maybe in a way it was, but not for the reasons everyone believed he had.

Kiara had been looking at the back of her head in math for years, tossing wads of paper at her to get her attention and writing thoughtful notes to her for her to receive before she even sat down. She slipped her words of affection in her locker, and offered her rides after school just to be closer to her.

Kiara chased what she wanted and got it, she had it. But what she failed to notice was how JJ’s eyes were glued to the same girls head from another side.

JJ had been watching her since they were kids. It wasn’t just because she was pretty, or kind, but because even in the darkest of times, she was always looking at the brightness of the future.

He’d been watching patiently from beside her in math class, always avoiding her watchful eyes and instead playing it off like he was looking out the window. Some days, when she was late to class, he would subtly scoot his desk closer to hers, and against his better judgment, he would silently hope Kiara wouldn’t come to class so he could partner with her.

But Kiara had her first, all because he had been too scared to get too close. Because in his mind, she was too good to be true, and he would rather live his life believing that than try and find out if he was wrong.

That’s why he hated her. Not because she was annoying, or naive, or too happy. But because every time he saw her, she reminded him of how much of a coward he was.

“Yeah, I guess I did.”

Days passed, and dust sat in silence while pollen gathered on rusted window sills. A mark from her jean shorts stained JJ’s window. The heart stitched into the back pocket rubbed against the worn down wood. From all the times she’d tried to mend something that was never broken. Now, he sat and wondered quietly if he had let her in and stopped searching for answers he wasn’t meant to find, if she would ever stop by again to say hi.

He missed her. He figured everyone did, but despite Kiara’s broken heart, he still selfishly believed he missed her the most.

At first he didn’t get it, the hollow feeling in his chest, the stuttering heartbeats and the shallow breathing. How he constantly found himself tossing and turning only to wake up in a cold sweat at the loss of her image in his dreams, how her nose was never quite right, how he forgot all the parts of her he swore he’d never forget, how everything was fucked over nothing at all. He never had her, she wasn’t his so it made no sense to him.

It got so bad, he took himself to the library. The fucking library. And he searched for answers he was desperate to find. The computers were boxy and dusty, but worked faster and didn’t store memory like the one at John B’s house. He looked over his shoulders, partially embarrassed by how driven he was by the loss of a girl he had just told everyone he hated. But JJ Maybank never knew when to stop, so he dug and dug and dug until there was nothing but molten lava that burnt his hands. And even then, he never learned to stop.

Grief.

The word that popped up onto his computer screen.

Deep sorrow; the experience of coping with loss.

Funny enough, he’d recognized it immediately. He didn’t need the definition. He’d known it all his life, and he’d heard it on her tongue. How she grieved their friendship that never was. He recalls the first of her many visits he took for granted.

He wishes he had reached out, held her hand, even if it wasn’t his to hold. He wanted to feel the softness of her skin against the roughness of his palms and feel the sickness lessen in his skin where it rotted.

He recalled her like the softest thing that ever was, a gentle reminder that when winter passed, spring has to come, that the bad is only temporary. And still he had grit his teeth and bit her neck like a scared dog whenever what he lost got to comfortable.

“I’m not…I’m not into girls.” She spoke softly, her knees tucked beneath her thighs, her jean shorts pressed against the old windowsill. Her voice was soft, scared, tender. The first of many confessions in an old bedroom that belonged to neither of them. The first of many attempts for her kindness to break through his resentment and dreams of a clandestine arrangement.

“That’s bullshit.” JJ snorted bitterly, but the sadness in her eyes made his sharp tongue bleed with how hard he bit down on it. His eyes softened, her node was red. She seemed torn.

“Or, maybe I don’t know. All I’ve ever wanted was a man. That’s all I’ve ever known…but then she kisses me, really kisses me and she touches me like she doesn’t just want what’s between my legs and I think maybe she’s all I’ve ever wanted.” She smiles, her vision unfocused and stuck to the carvings JJ engraved with the edge of his blade.

He wants to tell her he could touch her like that, because when he imagines their arrangement that be desires so bad, he doesn’t list after her like the others. He has no desire to place his hands down her thighs, but rather to lay his head between her breasts and listen to the gentle beat of her heart, to let his hair tickle her chin as they fall asleep entangled in their warm little affection.

But he doesn’t, because she���s scared, and Kiara’s the first to ever change her perspective. To make her wonder if theres more to her heart than just boys, and all he wants is to so badly brush her cheek and kiss away her phantom tears.

“You don’t have to know.” He surprises himself with the gentleness of his voice. Despite his jealousy, his dark disease that rots away under his skin, he masks his anger with a deeper sadness that reflects as numbness across his angry face.

Her eyes flicker up to meet his, and a smile spreads across her face. A smile he so dearly adores.

“What if I don’t ever know?” She asks like he would know, and he doesn’t. Not because he can’t wonder, but because all he’s ever known is her.

“You will.” He promises. His fingers twitch. He almost touches her. Almost. But fear stops him, and instead he lets his stomach twist up in a disgustingly deep grief, a feeling he was so familiar with when it came to losing her he forgot what it felt like because it was all he’d come to know.

“Will you look at me any differently?” She asks timidly. She reaches out to brush the blonde curl out of his face. Her skin is warm, and she rests her palm on his shoulder before sliding it down to interlock their fingers.

She’s like a deer. A shy, but beautiful little thing. Soft and sweet, but destructive when you hit it. He wants to touch her back, but he knows the destruction he would cause. He wants to tease her, but the tears in her eyes scare him, and instead he is forced to share the honesty that he wishes he never spoke.

“How could I ever?”

He thinks of her always, and his fingers twitch, yearning to close the distance between them. He wonders if he she wonders about his sickness too.

She does. Of course she does. She see’s him in everything she does. The waves at the beach, she swears he’s there beneath the barrel of the water, his blonde locks poking out as he crashes down towards the shore. The softness of his usually rough voice. The bitterness in his comments, how he teased her and yelled and tossed his arms around like he could ever scare her.

She looks at him in passing. Wishes math class was still a constant so she could keep scooting her chair closer to his. She wanted him so badly, yearned for his affection, even if it was in private, yet publicly Kiara has swept her away. So she kept her touch fleeting and her eyes wandering.

Everyday she prayed the sickness would be sucked out of her, the way her bones seemed to ache whenever he was away. How could she love someone so mean to her? Yet, she always had, and in their stolen math class glances, secretly she wishes he had asked her first, and instead of the fading scent of Kiara’s sweet perfume she’d grown fond of, it could be the clean scent of his deodorant smeared across her sheets as their limbs became a tender entanglement of sweat and laughter on a hot summer day.

She walks past the docks by the chateau, where the old fishing boat bobbed in the water on calm days like today, and fishing rods lean against rotting wood to dry. Water drips rhythmically, and her eyes catch the building puddle beneath a rusted bucket that rings with every droplet.

Her body hits something hard, a softness cushioning the collision and a soft grunt sounding in the air. She stumbles back, yet a pair of large, rough hands grip her hands so securely, she finds her footing easily.

“Still clumsy I see.” He taunts, and when their eyes lock, it’s the same teasing glance she had been missing so desperately.

“JJ.” She breathes like he’s an angel sent from heaven. Like suddenly the air was clearer.

“Surprised you still remember me, sunshine. Thought Kiara had shaken me out of you.” He grins like a dork, and though the mention of an ex-lover that had ripped out her heart should have hurt, especially with how hard and vulnerable she had loved Kiara, it didn’t. The sting was masked by the swelling in her chest that only ever came when he was around.

“You have a face I could never forget.” She smiles, and her wide eyes search the slope of his nose and the curve of his cheeks. Her sweetness that he cherished so deeply catches him off guard, the warmth from her lips a foreign language from how much time had been stolen from them.

He clears his throat in an attempt to pass the lump.

“You miss me so much you had to come stalk me?” He lifts a brow, and for the first time since she can recall, maybe even since Kiara had ripped her heart out and left nothing but numbness in her ribs, she lets out a laugh. A real, honest laugh. She can’t be surprised though, she can’t recall a time JJ hadn’t made her laugh.

“Maybe I was just reminiscing on our math days. Muscle memory to come bring you your homework I guess.” She smiled brightly, and for a moment, JJ let his act slip, and the teasing smirk became a soft grin.

There was a beat of silence, and then, a deep breath that escaped between her pink lips.

“It’s just nice to get out, you know? It’s been a long couple weeks and I just missed the area. It feels weirdly safe even knowing it doesn’t belong to me, but her.”

JJ thought it was an odd thought to have, how in just barely two weeks a person can completely commit to wiping away their sacred moments at the expense of another. How readily she accepted that she could no longer enjoy the same flowers he did because they were Kiara’s first, and in her mind, she would always let Kiara be happier than she was even if it wasn’t her fault.

He hummed, and his hand twitched the same way it used to when her jeans marked his windowsill. He sighed and looked out at the small boat and the fishing rod he had laid out for this afternoon.

JJ felt something pull at his chest, the way Y/n swayed on her feet like she would turn and leave with her tail between her legs the minute he raised his arm and pointed towards the dirt roads. But as much as he played the part, he would never be that guy, and he never could be.

“Why don’t you come with me today.” He suggested, though, it wasn’t really a question, more like he was telling Y/n she was coming with him.

She looked surprised, her thumb picking at her nails on her pinkies and her lip tugged beneath her teeth.

“JJ, if this is a sympathy thing, really I don’t need it I can just go home.” She began waving her arms around like a mad woman, pointing in directions that made no sense even to her in her flustered state.

JJ raised his pointer and pressed it against her pink lips. They were softer than he recalled from all the times he used to cup his palm over her mouth when her giggles became too bubbly and loud, and sometimes even infectious.

“No, I want you to come. So come.” He nodded, looking at her through his brows, his head tilted down as he pretended to roll his eyes. If only he could have felt the girlish excitement she felt at his sincere words.

“Okay, yeah, I’d like that.” She smiled, her voice softer than before.

For once, when his hand twitched he followed it, and his fingers wrapped around hers tightly, engulfing her palm in his hand. He was bigger than her in all ways, except maybe emotionally, and in some weird way, wanted nothing more than to help her despite feeling sorry for himself.

JJ stole glances as he led Y/n down the dock, his lovesick expression hidden by the way the breeze blew his beach blonde girls over his face. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and kiss her until all she knew were his lips, but that wasn’t fair to her, and he knew it was especially not fair to Kiara, who had been quieter with each passing day. So he pushed it down, and prayed it would go away for just a moment of clarity.

The boat rocked steadily on the water. JJ sat in the back behind the wheel while she sat by the front, the wind blowing her hair back like some cheesy romance movie. The sun hit her skin, sinking in against her freckles and speckling the highlights in her hair. She looked perfect, she looked different, like she carried a sadness so complex, for once JJ didn’t know how to dissect it.

He stopped the boat when he got so far out, nobody could hear them, as if for this very moment in time, they were just a distant memory on the shore.

She stared out at the waves with a thoughtful expression, and JJ wanted to know how to stick his fingers between the curves of her brain.

“Whats going on in that head of yours?” He asked softly, standing up to sit down across from her. Like always, she tucked her legs under her, and sat as small as she could despite the vast space around her she had to stretch out.

She stayed quiet for a moment, and then bit her lip. It was weird, JJ thought it was weird because he knew that look, she showed him her full hand of cards and she hadn’t even realized it because JJ knew that tick. He knew her throat was burning and he knew how badly she longed for the feeling of togetherness that had been missing since Kiara let her walk away.

“I’m just…I’m angry.” She confesses softly. “And I’m not sure if I have the right to be.”

Her eyes met JJ’s, and even now as shes beginning to come undone he swears she only gets more beautiful.

“It’s just so confusing sometimes. It took me so long to come to terms with the fact that I like girls the way I like boys and…I had nobody to tell me it was alright that I was scared. Kiara was already so sure of herself, and I couldn’t tell anyone else because nobody would understand. I felt like maybe I was sick or something. Like I was a problem because I should be proud of it, and everyone should know but I was just figuring it out myself and…maybe I wasn’t ready but I just loved her so damn much.” The truth came spilling out like hot lava, her fear, her acceptance and her pride for her sexuality, yet the loneliness of having not a single hand to hold and the all consuming feelings of utter affection for the woman that opened her eyes.

“Afraid?” JJ couldn’t help but ask. A sob ripped through her throat.

“All I’ve ever wanted was what I’ve been told. A nice house, a husband that loves me and children to care for. I want a real career with a fulfilling reward like a doctor or a scientist. But all of a sudden maybe I don’t because maybe my husband’s my wife and the children don’t exist because all I see is myself traveling the world with Kiara leading the way.” She talks nonsense, her eyes closed while the backs of her wrists work to keep the tears from slipping down her cheeks.

“And it terrifies me because at the same time, all I want is this stupid boy to look at me the way I look at him and I wonder if I really love Kiara or if I love the way she loves me. And I’m guilty all the time, and then just as I’m figuring everything out and spending my time picking flowers for the girl I love more than anyone in the world, she lays her head in my lap and tells me she doesn’t want me anymore.” Her rambling keeps going until it bubbles into desperate breaths and shaky hands. JJ can’t help but reach out for her and pull her in close.

“And the worst part is I’m not sure if I can even feel sorry for her because the whole time while I’m painting rainbows down my arms and finally loving who I love, I’ve been loving this boy too.” She breathes, and suddenly, the tears stop.

“Because as much as I loved her, I couldn’t stop thinking of you.”

JJ freezes, he thinks for a moment he hasn’t heard her right. The same sweet, gentle Y/n who cried about loving Kiara so deeply, who lived in confusion and fear over labeling things she wasn’t ready to label, the same girl who he sat next to every day in math class wishing her lips would be on his had just confessed six words he never thought he’d actually hear.

“What?” He nearly mouthed, all the air struck out of his lungs.

“I love you, JJ Maybank.” She says dejectedly, her shoulders slumping and her cheeks stained from her tears. “And I love Kiara Carrera too.”

They sat in silence for a moment, and then, JJ’s eyes met her.

“Do you remember when you asked me if I’d look at you differently when you first started figuring out you were into girls too?” JJ asked softly. Y/n nodded, wiping her face.

“I told you I wouldn’t, and I meant it. I love you more than anything in this world, as much as I give you shit. Who you love can never change that, because you are so alive and full of it, how could I even try to act differently towards you?” He meant every word.

Neither of them saw her love life as something to be ashamed of. But rather, just a different kind of love, a good different. Maybe JJ wasn’t like her in that sense, maybe he couldn’t like boys and girls like she could, but he knew Y/n and he knew Kiara and he knew just how special both of them were. The people they took to bed could never change his perception of them, and so to see Y/n struggle so deeply after losing the person who made her see who she truly was hurt his heart.

“I have loved you since before I knew what love even was. And I’ll keep loving you until I forget it too.” He confessed, his hands now cupping her jaw so tenderly, holding her together like she might break.

“You are perfect, and I’ve been grieving just the thought of you gone, I can’t imagine how you can’t see how perfect you are too.”

JJ wasn’t the sentimental type, he didn’t have a way with words or know what to say at the right time, but he always knew how to help her, he knew her, and he loved her just like she loved him, and just how she once loved Kiara.

Between heavy breaths, her lips connected with his, a soft, hesitant kiss that you rarely see in the movies, just testing out the waters like it might kill her to swim deeper. But he kissed her back, and pulled her in tightly until her body had to uncurl and wrap around him instead.

When they pulled apart, all he saw was her, and all she tasted was him.

“Will you look at me differently now?” Y/n asked, her voice timid just like it had been all those months ago.

JJ shook his head.

“No, because I’ve always looked at you this way.”

Authors Note: I don’t usually put authors notes at the end of these short writing but I felt this was very important. As someone who has very openly explored their sexuality and experienced periods of time where they felt scared or anxious about figuring it out, it’s okay to not know, and nobody will judge you for not putting a label on anything yet. It’s so important to remember that we all love the same, and it’s such a tender and vulnerable thing to experience. Don’t ever let anyone’s judgment dictate who you decide to love, there’s always someone out there who will support you, maybe you just haven’t met them yet! If anyone is struggling or needs someone to talk to, my inbox is always open and I am always so happy and willing to chat. :) Happy early pride month to all who celebrate!

[fulgrims-big-naturals]

I am genuinely confused at how this is a thing. Like. Do people not know how a bank makes a transaction? Did make accounts without an understanding of how your money is handled? Like, please, your bank will literally never ask you for money. The post office will never ask you for money. The post office will never ask you for your address. These are all things you are supposed to initiate. The only time the bank is every going to call you is to say “hey a bunch of money just left your account did someone steal your card?” The post office already knows your address if you placed an order. You don’t have to give it to them a second time if it gets lost. And for fucks sake don’t just click random popups on your computer. Unless the popup is from Notification Centre (you can tell because it will say “Notification Centre”) in the corner, and there’s a little blue shield icon with Windows Defender written next to it, you do not have a virus. You do not need to install any new programs to scan for or quarantine a virus. You do not update your computer from the browser. How do people not know this? Like seriously. I genuinely think people should have to take a small class about how to use computer or what the bank is before they’re allowed to push money around because the amount of things that aren’t common knowledge is crazy.

Hey guys let me tell you about advance fee scams

I hope y'all are familiar with these in this day and age, especially my artists out there, because they're incredibly common.

About half an hour ago I posted a drawing and tagged it #artists on tumblr, and very quickly received this comment.

My scam radar went off immediately, due to the generic blog name and lack of any emotion in the comment, but I decided it might be an entertaining venture so I dmed them. They asked for a drawing "of these", and sent me a random selfie. I got the details and told them it would be $15, and they promptly offered me $300. At this point I know it's a scam, but I play along for funsies and give them my paypal. Shortly, they send me this image for "confirmation" (I blocked out my email)

And they began to insist that I checked my email. I looked in my spam folder and found the following email.

This is fake. This is not a thing. And the "you're to refund the $200.00 back" is the scam. They send vaguely official-looking emails at you to "prove" that they sent you the money, then have you send them $200 (or however much the scam is for). Then, surprise surprise, you're out $200.

I continued to play along for a bit, and in the second email "Paypal" told me that I had to refund the $200 before they could "credit the $300 to my account", along with these lovely threats.

And yeah, it's silly. But it's not silly if you don't know and get scammed. So. Spread, please! And thank you very much to @mlaurel for the opportunity to get these screenshots.

[bebx]

Thinking about Inho whump with disordered eating as his unfortunate coping mechanism.

Inho being used to the feeling of hunger from a young age, when money was tight, he would always make his prime focus on getting food onto Malsoon and Junho’s plates first, his own plate always coming second. Skipping meals so Junho could eat.

This isn’t to say that he would purposefully starve himself, not at this point, anyway. He would eat what was necessary to be fit and healthy enough for the academy and training. But I think this unhealthy mindset of his went unchecked, because he was always the provider, never had time to stop, never ‘needed’ to be checked on. He can’t be a burden.

When he becomes the Frontman, I think this behaviour just gets worse. Perhaps, the dull ache of hunger in his stomach feels like a physical translation of the hollowness he feels down to his very core- in his soul, so that feeling being physical makes him feel more in control, and makes his emotional emptiness easier to handle.

Or maybe the constant reminders from the VIPs of the *true* amount of control that he possesses, little to none in the grand scheme of things, him ultimately being just another cog in the well-oiled machine, simple one with a prettier design. Inho is desperate for control in any way, even the seemingly smallest and meaningless ways, through controlling the amount he intakes, it comforts him.

That ache in his stomach being the one constant throughout his life, it brings him a twisted sense of familiarity and a semblance of the life he used to live, one where he could take care of those around him.

Maybe bearing the responsibility of a death game kills the little appetite he did have.

I think going into the games as Youngil was where this caught up to him, it’s one thing managing the games from a chair, just sitting and drinking, and another thing having to fight two people and constantly on the move.

Gihun trying to help Youngil despite not being much better in that regard.

Obviously this would deviate from Inho’s canon physique, but I think it’s an interesting idea to explore.

Inho post-game, living with Gihun and Junho, his habits gone unchecked for so long, mostly unnoticed by the other two, missing the meals dumped in the trash, listening to Inho’s excuses for not eating, until at some point they get a glimpse of Inho’s physical state somehow, and only then they realise how badly Inho’s been suffering alone and for god knows how long.

Inho thinks they must be disgusted by his ‘sickly’ appearance, that must be it, it’s the natural conclusion to reach in Inho’s mind. A dog gone starved for so long it’s better to just kill it so it’s wretched legs don’t tremble trying to hold itself up, because why would anyone bother trying to nurse back to health a wounded, starved mutt like that?

Inho needs to learn that he is more that what he can do for others. Needs to be the one taken care of for a change.

What are your thoughts on this?

I have nothing more to add to this because I feel like everything I could’ve, would’ve said had already been said by you, and it’s on point, it fits perfectly well with how I see In-ho’s character. Him being so used to being the one who cares, the one who provides, that he’s struggling being the one who’s being taken care of. And I think the idea of displaying his own vulnerability, even to the one he knows will never hurt him (aka Jun-ho), terrified him; obviously it’s not because he thinks Jun-ho will take advantage of his weakness, but because he believes he has to always be the strong one. For Jun-ho. It’s been this way their entire lives. In-ho providing, In-ho taking care of Jun-ho and their mom.

So when it becomes the other way around, In-ho fears that this means another failure in his life, especially when, in his belief, he’s already failed his wife and their child by not being able to save them. And now he’s failing Jun-ho, too.

And when confronted (about his eating disorder) by Jun-ho and Gi-hun, In-ho resorts to the only things he learns from years of running the game and witnessing the worst in human’s nature, he resorts to defensiveness and aggression. Anything to “survive”. Because in In-ho’s belief, it’s still about survival even though he’s not in the game anymore, even though he’s now safe with Jun-ho and Gi-hun and is no longer the game’s dog. Even though he can be vulnerable around Jun-ho and Gi-hun and let himself be taken care of.

Looks like I did have a little something to say after all lol. But yes, I love everything you say so much. Thank you for the In-ho whump! I always love it when In-ho’s the one who’s being looked after and taken care of by Jun-ho and Gi-hun

[hadleysmis]

Palestine and Les Misérables parallel, told by Shahd Safi

From We Are Not Numbers (WANN)

Firstly, to establish the context for the article we will discuss: WANN is a project started from 2015 which collated experience from Palestinians living in Gaza to a wide English speaking audience.

There is even a book which is under the same name that tells of fifty-nine Palestinian youth voices from Gaza.

You can read about the book (by reading it of course) but also from this article written quite recently at the end of April this year.

The specific article I will be primarily focusing on this post, however, dates to 2021 by Shahd Safi; an article from WANN titled, 'Les misérables of Gaza: If you [became] one of les misérables, would you give up the fight or revolt?'

The article begins with the very applicable quote from Victor Hugo about the necessity of the book, and that as long as misery, injustice, and inequality exist on Earth; books like Les Misérables cannot be useless.

The first parallel that is pointed out is the imprisonment of Jean Valjean for the enormous years-long sentencing for stealing a loaf of bread. This is not far from the truth for Gazans.

The author, Safi, had faced three wars in the first decade of her life, and found her childhood to be filled with tragedy and pessimism despite having been born with enthusiastic and energetic personality.

A story of poverty itself can easily be paralleled to the contemporary situation in Gaza, in which Safi provides a chart for the percentage of poverty (as of 2017) in Palestine:

Poverty Percentages among Individuals according estimation of consumption and poverty for localities (small area estimation) by Governorate in Palestine 2017. Source: Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics   

Relating to the theme of misery and depression, Palestine ranks among the top three most depressed countries in the Arab world, with numbers of 37% of the Palestinian population reported to be struggling with depression.

'Hopelessness is the point where death starts to occupy and control one’s thoughts; it is the bridge between depression and death. Since 2015, the number of suicides in Gaza has been rising at a frightening rate – as a sensible response to unlivable conditions. Despite the fact that suicide is a major taboo in our society and an unforgivable sin in Islam, it has become the only way out for many Gazans.'

In Safi's original conclusion of the article, she sums up her thoughts:

'Les Misérables and the Gazan story may well have different plots and perspectives, but they both share themes of pain and grief. For instance, I’m sure that every single Gazan has experienced a young child running up to their side, begging for money to buy cheap biscuits or tissues. This causes feelings of embarrassment and hopelessness, to realize that you can’t even help these little miserable children in the street. In addition, both Les misérables of nineteenth-century Paris and Les misérables of today’s Gaza experience social prejudices, arbitrary detentions, and failed revolts.

Yet we also have in common positive experiences: stories of love, success, hope, and most importantly, the will and deep desire to overcome our oppressive circumstances.

Reading has always been my escape, and while it was hard for me to run from the pain I live in to pain I can only imagine, I don’t regret reading this novel. It gives me a large amount of hope, especially through the character of Jean Valjean. He was able to change from a bad person to a very kind-hearted angel, and I hope that happens to politicians and people in charge in Gaza and everywhere else.'

She ends her article with a poem, which she used a line from it for the title of the article.

To revolt, is to believe

in the music angry spirits

play, to let your heart listen to their

pain, and most importantly to take action whenever

Safi returns back to speak on the current assault on Palestine by Israel. The date is not shown in her revision.

If you became one of the miserables, would you give up the fight

or take the responsibility to change and revolt?

'... the story of Les Misérables is even more relevant to what’s happening now, which reveals the racism in the mentality and mindset of the Israeli occupation.'

In her last paragraph, she reaches out to the audience:

'Let me take this chance to appreciate the solidarity we receive from those of you who truly believe in humanity and to assure you that your support on social media is totally meaningful and powerful. From my desk in my room here in Gaza, where I am so freaking afraid from the noises of war and the airstrikes — I’m reaching out to ask you to also please, please boycott Israel and help end our misery.'

You can read the rest of the article here:

You can also to donate to WANN here:

You can read more articles relating to the voices of young Palestinians from WANN here:

[can-we-die-now]

hell is other people

hell is a physics lab where you get a migraine squinting at tiny images on mirrors, stab yourself in the eye with a travelling microscope and have a one in ten chance of getting a working galvanometer or voltmeter

[stil-lindigo]

Bisan is calling for another global strike!

I saw some posts just outlining Jan 21st, and wanted to clarify that Bisan has called for a full seven days of action.

What a global strike would look like is:

calling in sick to work

purchasing bare essentials ahead of the week so you can observe the general boycott of goods / buying as little as you genuinely can

putting in a concerted effort to elevate Palestinian voices and make it clear that this strike is in support of a permanent ceasefire!

For those who will have to purchase necessary goods during this time, please observe the brands that the BDS movement is asking us to boycott!

♢♢♢

Right now is also a good time to mention some better uses for your money during this week.

Available e-sims in Gaza are running low!!

Mirna El Helbawi and her team are working round the clock to continue to connect Palestinians as Israel does its best to cut them off from the rest of the world.

You can learn how to purchase and send e-sims here, and below you’ll find a list of what is currently needed (the areas in brackets indicate what region you should select to buy e-sims in).

--

CareforGaza is an organisation that does verifiably good work, distributing supplies directly to Palestinian families.

They have a Gofundme set up at the moment, but because of Gofundme’s poor track record regarding refusing to transfer funds to Palestinians, I’d recommend continuing to donate directly to their PayPal here.

Good luck to all of you. Don't turn away from Palestine!

[pawberri]

Some ppl have brought up that they don't understand being mad because the output of the AI is not something that could be considered "theft" or copyright infringement. I think the best way I can explain it as an artist is that the output is not what I'm concerned with at all. I agree that AI can create works that are not infringing, etc, etc, and that copyright is a flawed system etc etc. But what bothers me is that a large company is taking people's works and using them to create a product which generates profit. The products cost a fee and are intended to make massive amounts of money. I'm not talking about any independent or non-profit-driven AI. So, my reaction is much the same as a large newspaper or something taking stock art without paying the licensing fee. You've made a thing that relies on working class artists' labor but taken the wages from them. Whatever the result is, it's the action prior that bothers me and many other people. That's why someone might be upset that one of their employers took their work without transparency or direct payment for use in a product, even if the products resulting output is not direct theft.

To compare it to non-AI stuff: sometimes small fashion designers will post that Shien or whatever clearly put their shit on a mood board and produced a legally distinct but extremely close copy of their work. Putting stuff on a mood board isn't copyright infringement, and I mostly think anyone should be able to be inspired by whatever. But if a giant fast fashion company with 100x the access to capital creates a version of a small artists work and sells it at a fraction of the price... while also exploiting more labor and hurting the environment more... I'll be like, wow. How shitty and capitalist and exploitative. Idk.

Also i don't consider saying "my stuff got stolen by a company" to be a euphemism for "my copyright was violated." I think it's just an average persons frustration at having their labor alienated by a large company. Most of these people are not pursuing copyright cases. Some of them might think copyright is Good because it's superficially the only thing in our economy protecting their labor, but I don't think this conversation is inherently about copyright.

I know that a lot of artists are stupid about labor and don't express their critiques of AI in a productive way but I really feel like it's odd that so many people defend large companies taking freelancers work without paying for it as if its the same as the average individual doing it. Like, when I say I think it's bad for Large Company OpenAI to take a bunch of art from middle-class artists who survive partly off of royalties in order to extract massive profit from it, I get replies like "so you think it's bad for me to make my own independent AI model?". I don't understand why there's this refusal to analyze the specific circumstance of a large, capitalist entity essentially stealing potential wages from workers. It's like. I hope someday we get rid of copyright and have a socialist utopia with equal wages, etc, but why should I pretend OpenAI is on the side of that dream? Like I just do not see why I need to apply the same logic to working class people violating copyright and appropriating work freely as I do giant companies. I think if giant companies are going to exist, they should be forced to pay the people whose labor they appropriate. I'm not advocating for copyright lawsuits or any other existing punishment in our system, I'm just objecting to it without planning any formal backlash. But if you even say this is exploitative, people who I generally find really compelling just dismiss you as a pro-copyright idiot.

It's like. I think that Lisafrank 420 by Macintosh Plus is an amazing work that is legally not transformative yet still deserves to exist. And even if it was bad, it would deserve to exist. But if it was made by Universal Music Group and they said they didn't have to pay Diana Ross for it, my opinion would differ. I would not be going "wow anyone who thinks this is shitty is clearly shilling for copyright law." Like UMG clearly knows and cares about copyright law when it benefits them, so their appropriation of her and her team's work clearly takes on a different meaning. Is that an insane take??

[eatanorange]

and if you’d like more evidence, (with the related anti-capitalist rant about corporatization of hospitals aside/deeply ingrained to this specific evidence) look no farther than corporate creating bullshit titles that Mean Nothing so that they can put an entire job description through nine circles of hell and 6 months of approval before they even post the job for people to apply. Under a guise of ‘We’re doing this for you!’

We are Always Understaffed if you’re staff and Never Hiring bc corporate decides who, when, and why to hire

Bc god forbid u hire a secretary to replace the one who retired and left the other one alone when we should have three. No, of course, Mr.Moneyballsack we should have a singular ‘Lab Coordinator’ instead who can maybe help in the office sometimes but is also going to oversee phlebotomy and micro and cytology and blood bank and the OR schedule and needs to be a certified pathologists assistant just in case. Yeah no our 75 y/o secretary who u have in a chokehold kept from quitting bc of her insurance needs really wants that instead of two normal secretaries. She wants you to sacrifice her wellbeing so that you save so much money. You’ll save so much money. You will. If the Cost is not Money it does not Count.

No no of course if they lose the cytotech upstairs (who they are underpaying w a lab assistant rate, bc the job post ‘said’ lab assistant) u should definitely evaluate if they even need the position at all! You should probably just get rid of that position actually. The supervisor enjoys talking to others too much and that keeps her from being Efficient, which deduces our imaginary profit predictions by 4%. Of course, we’d never say that. Instead we always approve PTO, you guys just don’t finish your work. The reasonable amount of work that we give you. Why aren’t you taking PTO? Someone else can learn your medical job how hard is it? Internally of course. We can NOT hire anybody new right now. Training is so hard :(

No definitely. Boss lady. Hand me, then, your part time lab assistant, the entire secretary training packet to “see how much I can learn” in my 4 hours present per day. That’s 76$. And give me deadlines to learn it by so that I do it in a week or two. That’s 760$. Just in case Secretary burns out again and is absent for a couple days! We wouldn’t want our big partner companies to know that we don’t have backup! That was -504$! Terrible Incident that. Before we ‘trained’ you of course. Should her Discrepancy of the Mind happen again and you are Perfect (required) it will only be -276$. See. Profit. From last time. Less loss. Could look at it as +228? To you? Do you want to work Extra Hours? We will give You. Chosen One. 456$ for the same time and job 🤗. 48 dollar profit 🤫 no benefits! You’re a part time worker. That’s what you signed up for.

I don’t even go down to the lab anymore btw. Bc they will Not hire a full time person to put anywhere unless that person signs up for 3 other embedded jobs at the same time and says workflow with a straight face. After the job description is approved of course.

At Hospital. Brought to you by Corporate. where Profit Saves Lives!!!!

We said saves lives. We said nothing of livelihood. You must not be able to read. Therefore we were unable to proceed with your application at this time. If you don’t hear from us in more than 30 days, assume we have moved on to other candidates that are a better fit for our institution.

Hot Take:

There is no labor shortage. There is no shortage of people who want / are able to work and either possess useful knowledge and skills or are willing to learn them.

What there IS a shortage of is business owners that are willing to spend resources on training, safety, benefits, PTO, proper staffing levels, and fair compensation.