#i'm going to the uk next year. i'm doing it. it's HAPPENING. i'm not giving up on my dreams anymore!

[moinsbienquekaworu]

To counterbalance the sadness of that post I reblogged here's some positivity that hit me this evening: like someone said in the notes, I get to decide who I am now, and I get to do what I want and chase my dreams. And that's cool

[potofsoup]

Happy July 4th, everyone, and good luck to the UK voters out there!

Wow it's Year 11 of doing these!! Here's the AO3 link to the past 10 years, and here's the tumblr link.

Reminder that this is a long game -- some of the judges making decisions were appointed back in the 80s. Many of the cases that were decided this round were from Trump's term. So it's going to take long-term, consistent voting over a decade to start tipping things in the other direction. (Which I talked about in 2018 re: Trump shenanigans and 2022 re: Dobbs).

A lot has been done by the Biden administration (I'm assuming most folks have seen this post by boreal-sea with their very helpful sources), and much of that will be overturned by Trump, especially if he gets the Senate, and especially now that he would have a blank check for anything "official". So let's make sure that doesn't happen.

And even if Trump does get elected, your decisions down-ballot might effect control of the House or Senate, or might make it easier to vote next time, plus the whole plethora of state and local issues. It's Republican state attorney generals who are challenging climate regulations, for example.

Plus, when you really get down to it, only one of the candidates plans on pardoning himself and all his friends if he wins, and attacking the government if he loses. Maybe that guy shouldn't be the President.

If you're new to voting, remember to check voter registration deadlines! I'm a permanent vote-by-mail voter and it's so nice. :)

Transcript under the readmore

Page 1: Sam and Bucky meet up with Steve for a picnic. Steve: Thought you guys were still in Sudan? Bucky: I’m forcing Sam to take a break.

Sam collapses onto the picnic blanket. Sam: Oof, it just never stops, does it? Steve: Nope.

Bucky hands Sam an orange popsicle. Bucky: Eat and relax for a bit, Sam. Sam: Thanks.

Page 2: Bucky asks Steve: How are things state-side? Steve responds: HORRIBLE. Bucky: I thought you’ve been tentatively hopeful about what Biden has been able to achieve? Steve: I was! Student loans, child care, climate regulations, infrastructure, labor, trans rights … he’s quietly done a lot through regulatory improvements and congress bills. But now all people will talk about is how he’s OLD. And then there’s the Supreme Court’s decisions … Chevron and immunity… Steve puts his head in his hands, while Sam and Bucky look on with some concern.

Page 3: Bucky hands Steve a blue/raspberry popsicle: Steve, take a deep breath, and a popsicle. Sam: Sounds like we missed a lot. What’s going on? How bad is it? Steve: Pretty bad. The Supreme Court has made some decisions that give the Court and the President A LOT of discretionary power. Sam: Yikes, that doesn’t sound good. Steve: Well, the Chevron thing means that judges with life-term appointments can override policies made by government agencies. And now it’ll be harder to hold a President accountable because he will have immunity for any “official” actions.

Page 4: Sam: So if the President tries to, say, overturn a democratic election result, he’ll be allowed to as long as it’s in his job description? Steve: I don’t think threatening state electors is “official” business, but that will be decided by federal judges. Who get their jobs by approval from both the President and the Senate. Bucky: Yeesh. No wonder you’re stressed. Any good news? Steve: Well, thanks the Biden and the razor-thin Senate majority, the newer bills don’t rely on the Chevron deference. Still not great but not catastrophic. Sam, squirting ketchup on his hot dog: So what I’m hearing is that it’s now more important than ever to have a President and a Senate who you can trust to appoint fair judges, pass bills, and not commit crimes.

Page 5: Steve: Plus all of the state level offices, now that more and more deciding power has been thrown back to the states — abortion, LGBTQ rights, voting access… Bucky: Hey, at least this is a big election year so we can actually do something! Steve, with his arms crossed, looking surly: Except that all people want to talk about is how Biden is “too old” and “not doing enough,” as if that is on par with Trump’s desire to dismantle basic rights! As if the candidate who doesn’t embody ALL their ideals is not worth voting for! Bucky interrupts with a smart and a loud “PFFT.”

Page 6: Bucky: Um, Steve. YOU were like that in 1940. Sam, nudging Bucky: “Oh, this I gotta hear. Spill, Barnes.” In sepia, Steve is pacing around their apartment while Bucky is sitting and reading a newspaper. Steve: I can’t believe he’s running for a 3rd term! we need a fresh candidate to vote for! This is hardly a choice at all! AND he refuses to engage in Europe! All of Europe under fascist control and we’re just twiddling our thumbs? He’s letting millions die through his inaction! Bucky: Most people don’t want another war, Steve. If he came out for it, he would lose. Steve, indignant: But Buck, it’s your Polish relative who are in danger! Bucky, closing his newspaper and looking at Steve: Yeah, and between FDR and Willkes, I trust FDR to help if he could.

Page 7: Steve, in sepia, looking away: Should he be encouraged to do more? Maybe I should vote for Browder. The Communists have historically be Anti-Fascist.

Sam interrupts off-screen: Waitaminute! STEVE was going to PROTEST-VOTE? Steve: We were in a Blue State, Sam! Sam: But what about the down ballot races?! Steve: RELAX, I did my due diligence down-ballot. I wanted a senate that’s more progressive than the President.Voted LaGuardia for Mayor, too. Steve hesitates: Then, when I got to the President… I realized that the Best case scenario would be that my vote did nothing, versus if it actually spoiled the election. And when I asked myself who I could trust to work with my Senator… well, FDR had a good record with Labor. (sepia shot of young Steve voting) Bucky interrupts: Hold on, Steve.

Page 8: Bucky, eating a cookie, arching an eyebrow: You didn’t vote for Browder? Why didn’t you tell me? Steve: And have you say “I told you so” for the next century? Bucky: Heh.

Steve, with hand on his chin: What’s weird was that, despite everything, I still felt HORRIBLE when I ticked that box. Sam: Sounds like you built up the meaning of that vote far too much in your head. Logically, we know that a single box can’t represent all of the complexity of a whole system, but the desperately WANT it to. Just look at how people have built up so much around the term “Zionis” that it’s made productive conversations difficult.

Page 9: Sam and Steve speak in the background while Bucky reaches into the cooler and pulls out a box. Steve: Sigh. And that’s something that goes beyond the election. Sam: Which is why we need to vote, AND do other things. Bucky, looking at Steve and Sam: Like how Steve works to push organizations on the local level? Or like all the work you do as Captain America? Sam: Exactly. Vote AND.

Sam looks at Bucky fondly: Like how you vote AND make me and Steve take breaks. Bucky, looking stern because he can’t handle compliments: Shush, Sam.

Bucky holds up a cake that has the number “107” on it: It’s time for cake. Happy Birthday, Steve.

[theabigailthorn]

Hey I’ve been a fan for a little while now, and I just wanted to say that you’ve been an inspiration for me, a younger transfemme. But I do wanna also ask: what’s it like being a trans woman with her life together? I’m 19 (as of sending), been on hrt for almost 5 months, and have been trans for a year and change. But I’m scared. So, I guess, I wanted to ask: does being trans ever become the norm, my baseline? What’s it like after 2-3 years? And does it get any less confusing or scary?

I think there are a few things going on here.

I don't have my life together as much as it might seem; I just don't show you all the ways it's not. I don't talk publicly about the auditions I don't get, or the things I try and fail at, or the insecurities in my own head that hold me back sometimes, or the handful of decisions I've made that were bad calls and which still keep me up occasionally. I've talked about trauma and mental illness in the past, but I only ever discuss stuff I'm comfortably over - when I'm overwhelmed or in the middle of a crisis I don't post about it. I don't set out to deceive you by presenting myself that way, I just keep my most private stuff private. Everybody has failures and regrets and insecurities: "it's a sign of having lived," as my friend Phoebe told me today. But you see a curated version of me that appears not only more together than the real person, but more together than any real person.

Also, if you're 19 a lot of your life hasn't been in your control until pretty recently and a lot of it still might not be. I'd say it's okay to not feel like you have it all together. You just transitioned, which I think is one of the hardest things a human being can do: you can give yourself credit for that even if you feel like you're not settled into it yet. Congratulations!

As for it becoming the baseline, I mean yeah? Kinda? At least for me. Sometimes I forget. I had a moment today in the gym where I saw a man and I was like "Oh yeah, I used to be one of them, sortof? Weird!" The first year is the hardest, or so they say. I wouldn't say I get less confused or scared now, just scared and confused in different ways. I worry less about getting attacked in the street than I did in my first year, for example. (I'm lucky and privileged in that regard.) But I worry a lot more about other people. I struggle a lot with survivor's guilt, which is something only people who survive get! Anyone who's had a drink with me in the last six months has heard me beat myself up because the night of The Prince premiere in New York was the night of Brianna Taylor's vigil in the UK. That wasn't a deliberate decision - the premiere was booked and paid for months before she was even killed - but I've become a lot more sensitive to those sorts of feelings precisely because I spend less time worrying about myself. I'm more aware now of what my transness means for other people. Like, I made an ironic joke when I came out that I'd become The Transgender Princess of TERF Island, and it's kindof haunted me since - I didn't set out to become "a famous trans person" but it's happened a little bit and it's going to happen a lot more next year. That comes with serious responsibilities and a few mild drawbacks, as well as perks, obviously. So I guess that's a longwinded way of saying I might be a weird person to ask this question because, at least for right now, my transness, my whole self, doesn't just belong to me.

Oh also, some great advice I got from my friends: Paris: "Only change the things that bother you on your good days," and Mattie: "Don't believe anything you think about your life after 9pm."

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

A BIG IF DIVORCE... What do you think was the finally straw that broke the camels back so to speak, for him to say: I'm out of this marriage! After everything he's been through with her?

ooh, that's a good question...and a hard one. There's so much we don't know about the Sussex relationship/marriage and their day-to-day that I don't know we can pinpoint any one thing specifically as the final straw. It could be a bunch of little things adding up over the years. It could be one single act or transgression or event.

So going only by what we know publicly (which is all the PR, the interviews, the book, and the public record of events), my guess is it started with The Queen's passing and Harry's 40th birthday was the final death blow.

Putting aside the consequences of Megxit and generally speaking, Harry was - pretty much - on the same level as William before Her Late Majesty passed. They were both HRH dukes. They had royal estates residences. They had multimillion dollar portfolios. They (and their wives) had similar humanitarian interests. They were loved by the public and the public preferred them over most other members of the royal family. They each had military honors. They both served, Harry in the military and William with search and rescue. They and their families went on glamorous Foreign Office tours. They were besties with David Beckham. They were both personal aide-de-camps to The Queen. Sure, William had a little bit extra (the Order of the Garter, a Westminster Abbey wedding, and the 2012 LP for his children) to denote him as future heir, but for the most part, on paper, they were pretty similar.

Then The Queen passed. William's life/lifestle was upgraded in a huge way, like "double it and give it to the next person" kind of upgrade, while Harry got a shoutout in the new King's first speech. No new titles. No new honors. No new patronages. His HRH was in abeyance. He couldn't wear his military uniform. No aide-de-camp role for the new King. He'd been evicted from his royal property. No glamorous tours. The public tolerates his existence; they certainly don't prefer him over the rest of the family anymore. Fast forward eight months and he was, for the third consecutive time (and first without his wife), sidelined to the "extended family" section of the royal pews instead of directly next to his brother. Not included in official photographs and balcony appearance. Not invited to the diplomatic reception, the celebratory walkabout, the Big Lunch.

Now fast forward again 16 months, to September 2024. Harry's big 40th birthday, and he knows that the BRF celebrates milestone birthdays with commissioned articles, new portraits, new honors, title upgrades, and/or lavish parties. So he was wanted something and ended up getting...just a social media shoutout.

We know that something happened when The Queen died that made things shift for Harry. There's been credible gossip, a few leaks, plus Harry's own behavior/comments that The Queen's passing made him start waking up.

And then now consider the timing of everything that's been happening. First there was about 2-3 weeks of Harry's 40th Birthday PR where he was essentially negotiating with Meghan and the BRF about what he wantedfor his birthday, and he had to kept lowering his goal. It started with spending his birthday and the month in the UK, and he had to keep downgrading what he wanted. And he didn't even get that! He got to spend his birthday at someone else's birthday party and go to a charity tennis tournament (and he's not even a tennis guy!). He seemed miserable in those photos - the pap photos from the Tyler Perry party and the PR photos from the tennis tournament. I don't think he got much of anything that he wanted. Sure, it was nice that Charles and KP wished him a happy birthday on social media, but considering everything William got for his 40th birthday, plus everything William got when The Queen passed, Harry's inadequacy really had to be rearing up its ugly ol' head (and going by Spare and some comments made about how he was available to work for the BRF after Charles's and Kate's diagnoses were announced, I feel like there really was some jealousy or envy happening).

It was right after Harry's birthday is when the PR started about his big trip to New York, which turned into a trip to London, which turned into a trip to Lesotho, which turned into a trip to South Africa, which turned into "oh, I'll just stay here for a couple extra days to hang with family and friends" which turned into divorce watch...so I think something happened there with or around his birthday, and that may have been what led Harry to need, and get, some time away from Meghan

[redbreastedbird]

The Guardian has confirmed the ban on puberty blockers in the UK for minors...

As a queer reader who's really desperate and who's getting through this with your books giving them hope, could I maybe get a hug? Or some words of support/encouragement? I'm so scared.

(https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/dec/11/puberty-blockers-to-be-banned-indefinitely-for-under-18s-across-uk)

I am so very sorry, and sad, and angry. You do not deserve this - it is not an evidence based ban, it is a purely political move to appease right-wing voters. Trans kids have been caught in the political crossfire, and it is not fair or right.

It is scary, but it is not the end. That’s the thing I really want every queer and trans kid to hear right now: it is not the end. There have always been trans people, and there are so many ways to be trans. James Barry, Christine Jorgensen, Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P Johnson, the Public Universal Friend, Claude Cahun - history keeps me hopeful, because history tells me that you simply can’t stop trans people from living incredible, meaningful, interesting lives. Transphobes’ goal is for trans people as a group to simply not exist, and I know they will fail, because I know that is not possible.

This is hard, and you should not have to endure it, but I know you can. Remember that to maintain the energy you need to keep on fighting, you need to rest too - that’s what books and TV and friends and hobbies are for. Give yourself time to remember that life is fun and interesting and worthwhile, because it is.

One thing that I’ve realised over the years is that you really don’t know what is going to happen next. There is a whole industry dedicated to guessing what is going to happen, and they are usually wrong. So don’t pre-load your worries. Take the days one day at a time and don’t let the world overwhelm you. There are a lot of people on your side, and a lot of people who love you. Don’t forget that. You are not alone, ever. And things will not be this way for ever.

[vitaminseetarot]

PAC Pick a Ride: Your Next Big Adventure 🌌🌠🌃

Thank you for voting in my latest poll! I'm surprised and glad to see that Next Big Adventure won by a landslide! Seeing as we have the New Moon in Sagittarius on the 12th, it makes sense that we are collectively interested in seeing what the next chapter has in store. Please note that some of these other topics mentioned in my polls may appear in future pick a card readings, so stay tuned.

So without further ado, let's get into our piles! Pretend as though you are a Knight from your favorite tarot deck about to embark on your next journey. Please choose your mode of transportation:

1 - Plane 2 - Ship 3 - Motorbike 4 - Train

Pile 1 - Plane

Cards: Re-Evaluate, Pencil Sketch, The Pilgrim, Ceres - Nurture, Patience, 26. Protection - Finding What's Important; I Magician, 10 of Pentacles, 4 of Pentacles, XIX The Sun Channeled Locations: Canada, Singapore, Morocco, Ukraine, Australia, Philippines, UK, New Zealand, NYC, South Korea

Hi pile 1, you've chosen to travel by air, bypassing all the long troublesome routes. After all, the sky's the limit! Isn't it nice to measure your distance by how the crow flies sometimes? You're ready to catapult yourself into the next big adventure; I can tell there's a lot of excitement to see what's ahead here. You'd rather get to the next phase of your life instantly yet with ease. This is likely the pile with big career goals, especially if moving or actual traveling will be in the big picture. Maybe you're dreaming of traveling by plane as part of your future dream job? You don't just want to get there, as great as that is--it has to be done with intention.

You're in the process of drawing out what your next life would look like. The future seems full of creative possibilities, but with Pencil Sketch next to Re-evaluate, you're being asked to pay attention to the details. How do you want things to go one month from now, and one year from now? As great as it would be to have an entire decade mapped out, it's unrealistic, but it doesn't mean you can't draft some concepts. You should have something in mind, though, instead of setting out with a knapsack and praying for the best. If your next career or long term project could be anything you wanted, are you going to hop into something for 10 years that doesn't end up panning out in your favor, or would you rather delicately test something for a year before diving in? Moving forward can be exciting, but if you're going by plane, you will need some coordinates.

I think your reading is super straightforward, pile 1. You've got a lucky edge going for you with the tarot cards here. Whatever kind of career goal you have in mind, you may have a chance to "make it big" at some point. That won't come without a lot of foresight and careful investment, however. Don't try to rush into any big decisions right off the bat. I occasionally see the Magician card as the one signifying "read between the lines". If any contracts get involved, be very careful and read thoroughly. Don't be afraid to ask questions or seek clarification. The ones giving you the contact would rather see you jump in it blind, but you've got the crafty Magician energy to help you out during this retrograde period.

As eager as you are to begin your next journey, you're being asked to consider what you want to grow over the long term. This reading wants to shift the focus away from the end goal, even if there's a message here about acting with intention. Setting intention doesn't mean straying away from the present moment to only consider what happens in the end. Part of paying attention to detail means being aware and present in what's happening around you. The present moment is a crucial aspect of your growth period, and it wants you to gently guard after and care for your goal as though it were a plant. You know the fruit of the plant will be ready to eat when it's there and fully ripened, but in the meantime you can enjoy its flowers and fresh budding leaves.

Enjoy the gentle growth process, because once you do start to take off, you may be shocked by how high you'll find yourself in mere seconds. The initial lift of the plane as it begins to run with the sky can give you a wonky feeling like your whole world is shifting and moving with you. Your sense of time can change, requiring adjustment. If you're unprepared, the change could feel overwhelming. Make sure that by the time you're ready for that big takeoff in your work or projects, you will have built up a solid foundation to ground you once you're ready to come back down to earth. That's how you'll build lasting success in your life's next adventure. Stay optimistic, because that positive shift could come sooner than you think!

Pile 2 - Ship

Cards: Limitless, Calla, The Alchemist, 10. Capricorn - Achieve, Express Love, 11. Invention - Burning with Passion; X Wheel of Fortune, 4 of Wands, VII Chariot, 10 of Swords Channeled Locations: India, Greece, Ethiopia, Thailand, Spain, Iceland, Turkey, Croatia, South Africa

The seas are calling you, pile 2, calmly asking you to take only what's truly needed with you. The water's may be choppy, but out in the expansive blue seas, you can feel connected to the coasts of the entire world. With a firm grasp of the ship's wheel, you designate yourself captain as you adjust your sails and set your sights for the hidden treasure that lies ahead--or perhaps beneath your anchor. You're entering your next big adventure lit up with grand ideas for what to do all laid out on your map. Over the vast horizon, anything could happen, and you could find yourself shaking hands with anybody new. This pile may be seeking proposals or offers of some kind, ones that will let you dream bigger than you have before. This pile likely has a good idea of where to go next, or at least some interesting things written down.

These cards ask you to make peace with some aspect of your past. It could be that whatever you had planned before didn't entirely work out in your favor. As much as the online community talks about how rejection is divine protection, sometimes having plans fall apart is not going to feel good, even when you're just glad it's over with. The worst thing can be the feeling of not knowing what to expect after a fall. But your next chapter is showing a lot of promise in things to come, so don't let your past be the omen of your future. The tides are turning right now, and if you can focus on what you'd like to accomplish next, you'll be able to shift those tides in your favor. The first step is to see that you've survived the bad times, and that in itself makes you a victor. With that, you can move ahead with more confidence than before.

That's the thing about Capricorn energy: it thrives in conditions that others would consider too harsh or demanding. It's the drive to take the roughest materials and make diamonds from them. Once you can decide to make peace with what you've gone through, you can take the nuggets of wisdom you've garnered to make a beautiful new path for yourself. You dissolve the worst of your experiences and bring them together to make it better, as the Alchemist card suggests. The difficult times and failed attempts were not for waste; you've gained a lot of valuable growth that will provide a smoother current toward success in your next endeavor. This could be the pile that wants to start a business. Please know that simply starting a business, or even taking the first steps to plan one, takes a lot of guts already. If you've managed to go that far, congratulations! It takes a lot of hard work for a new business to be survive the long haul. So celebrate your milestones, no matter how small they seem.

Part of what makes this next chapter so fortuitous for you is how the energy is transiting through. You could be hit with a wave of inspiration from out of nowhere. If you've been stuck in one place without any wind to carry you through the fog, be prepared for that big splash! All hiccups set aside, you're still brimming with a lot of zeal for your next idea. You may even receive a cascade of insight, so be sure to write these things down as they come. You never know if something silly and small could end up helping you out later on. Your next big adventure is going to put the spark back in you, with a feeling of having a second chance at life, as Calla lilies represent rebirth. Don't be afraid to get excited over what's to come, pile 2. Your faith that things will work out for the better is contagious, as is your gratitude for the accomplishments you've made so far.

Pile 3 - Motorbike

Cards: Breathe, Snowboard, The Heir (Rx), 5. Leo - Shine, Balance, 21. Resilience - Finding Your Limits; 6 of Cups, Queen of Cups, Page of Wands, XIII Death Channeled Locations: Mexico, Italy, Midwest US, France, Norway, Egypt, Chile, Brazil

Your pile is like the fiery passion of the wands suit. Independent and bold, you chose to take open road for your next adventure, blazing a new path in front of your very eyes. You have an eagerness to take the world by storm, going wherever your first impulse wishes to carry you. This pile has a lot of drive to move forward to the next chapter with as much speed as possible, optimistic to find that next golden opportunity. And you're not afraid of a little showboating along the way. You even have the Snowboard palette card, which is a sport involving nothing but speeding down slopes and catching incredible air. This pile is the most excited for their next adventure.

Except actually, pile 3, you're being asked to slow down a little bit. And I get it! I get that this message can be so frustrating when you see what looks to be an endless highway yet the speed limit says 55. That might be a good pace for many folks, but for this pile it's not nearly enough! The thing to keep in mind is that this process of moderating your pace is for your overall benefit. See, you have the only reversed archetype card in all the piles. The card speaks of untapped potential, which is still there. It's simply saying that whatever you're seeking to do next, you're not totally ready because there is too much you're still carrying with you. To go with the motorbike analogy again, any leftover baggage from your past is going to weigh you down so it's in your benefit to review what you have before you can move forward. The more you let it go, the faster you'll be able to pick up the pace.

You have a lot to be proud of with how far you've come already. This pile likely thrives on challenges and sees overcoming them as a big part of spiritual development. Which can be true in many cases, and you demonstrate clearly that you're not afraid of what's to come next. It may come as a shock to you that your next chapter might be a little more quiet than expected. This is likely because, if you've gone through a lot of growth in your last chapter, it makes sense to have some downtime to balance things out. The Queen of Cups can be introverted energy, but she knows how to use her alone time to replenish her soul with art and meditation. You may have more time to spend by yourself steeped in creative drive rather than trying to accomplish too many things in the outer world.

This is one of the more spiritually oriented piles; over this next big phase in your life, your creative skills may flourish and evolve to another level. Maybe for a while you've been inclined towards artistic pursuits, but feel a desire to expand upon what you're already doing. With this energy, you're in alignment to have more time and energy to devote towards passions like painting, sports, or music. In this way, you can take that immense enthusiastic drive from the Page of Wands and channel it into something constructive or purposeful, even if you don't intend to monetize it.

Your next big adventure is tackling the speed limits that exist within you: the self imposed beliefs that tell you how fast you can go or where you're allowed to proceed. Thing is, in your inner world, you have a lot more freedom than you would on any highway. You can choose for yourself how you wish to manifest your passions into the world, and you can decide how much or how little passion you put into your work. Things like imposter syndrome can be their own mountains to climb, and this time around you're more geared up than ever to take it on. Once the spiritual mountains have been overcome, you'll be able to top anything the next chapter in life brings you.

Pile 4 - Train

Cards: Nucleus, Billiard Green, The Gambler, 44. Sixth House - Sustainability, Trust, 1. Vision - Contemplating the Future; XVIII The Moon, 10 of Wands, 3 Cups, XV The Devil Channeled Locations: West US, Sweden, Japan, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Slovenia, China, Germany, Switzerland

You've picked the solid, earthy pile of moving forward to your next adventure by train. Locomotion is slow but it's steady and reliable with time. Fully embodying the principles of inertia, once it moves it keeps moving, but it takes a lot of initial effort to get things going. Something you've worked on is slow going, but you're close or nearing the finish line. Once this is accomplished, things will move much more smoothly for you without so much push. Your next chapter will be steady, but it will be easier than before because it's already in motion.

I find this pile intriguing, y'all. You have Gambler above the Billiard card, and the Devil card shows a casino as well. It's almost bringing to mind old train heist movies. There's action, adventure, mystery, and a lot of fun here in this pile. Your next big adventure could involve having more chances to go out and have fun with friends. You could meet new friends around this time who will have a lot of extra pep in their step. They'll get you out of your shell if you've been in one for a while. Alternatively, if you see yourself as a party loving daredevil already, this new friendship may slow you down and protect you a little, in a good sense. They'll either be the head to your heart, or the heart to your head.

This pile is definitely more inclined to go with the flow in the next chapter. I almost typed 'glow' on accident, so perhaps you'll also experience basking in a 'glow' of some kind. You could be overcoming a huge obstacle at this time and look forward to more unstructured down time. You're encouraged to take time to enjoy yourself before moving to the next phase, but to also balance it out by taking moments to see where you'd rather go next. It's easy, after a huge achievement, to lose pace once the "now what?" sign is reached on your path. Go-with-the-flow doesn't necessarily mean 'fuck around and see what happens', lol. Try to find a middle ground here between playing and planning.

Your work-life balance will likely have some kind of pressure valve released like steam. You've had to really push for what you wanted this year. When opportunities looked scant, you had to tap in to your own power and immense resources to pull through. You've done so in flying colors. So your desire for freedom and thrills after a hard chapter is totally understandable. If you're not finished with something, there's almost a temptation here to run from it now and deal with it later. This isn't recommended; push through to the end because soon you will find yourself on the other side basking in the glow, and relaxing will be so much easier once you're fully done.

There's also advice to not get too carried away with material desires here. Your next chapter may have your finances fluctuating up and down, so try to stay steady with investments. If a windfall comes in, don't spend it all in a day. The Trust card here is talking about how you trust yourself with your resources and energy. When you're able to carry a greater amount with more responsibility, more will be added to you in due time. You're being asked to make small and consistent investments with wherever you're putting your value and resources into. Nothing wrong with wanting to splurge on something nice of course, especially if you've been working hard and you want to reward yourself. This is more to do with long term investments over the next few years.

This reading has not been evaluated by the FDA to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or infection. Please ask your physician before going online.

2023, @VitaminseeTarot ™

Decks Used: Tarotwave, Starcodes Astro Oracle, Citadel Oracle, StarDragons, Opal Oracle, Starlight Messages, Color Palette cards

[screamingfromuz]

People have tried a few approaches to get through to you. I'm going to try another. Why do you think this attack was such a surprise in Israel but not to anyone else on earth? When I ask people I know IRL (In the UK) about this, they say, "I'm shocked by what Hamas are doing but what did Israel expect to happen?" Outside Israel it's clear to everyone that the Gaza Strip situation was going to lead to something like this. You've known about Gaza your whole life, you've know that situation was festering for decades, so why the surprise? How did you think this would end?

i'm emotional, so you won't get a good well researched and structured answer, but an emotional ramble. but you don't want a well researched and organized answer, you want me to cave in call israel a monster colonizer and praise the "brave palestinian freedom fighters". fuck you. or say something you can use to prove how bad all israelis are and how good all palestinians are.

do you know what happened back in the 90s when the news of peace talk broke? the amount of attacks against Israelis grew, the death toll grew. in the four years after the accords the death doll doubled. Palestinian authorities celebrated that "israel gave so much without getting back like fools" and "the only good thing that came out of the accords was the intifada".

so I turn the fucking question to you? what is Israel supposed to do? who are we to talk to to reach peace? or should it dissolve? turn power on my life to people who stated they would like to kill or expel all the Jews? give more resources to a terrorist group? you saw where they put the money they get.

why the fuck do you think Israel exist? because we learned that we can never be free nor safe to be ourselves under the control of others. do you know that between 1948-1951 about 300000 MENA Jews became refugees? and the only reason nobody cares is because Israel took them in, while the whole arab world was happy to leave the Palestinians to rot. do you want a fucking list of every atrocity that was made during this conflict? because both sides have a very long one and the big difference is that Israel fucking won the 1948 war!

and of-fucking-coarse we knew something big was gonna happen! it was in the news for months! people have been screaming at the assholes in charge for so long! it doesn't make it less horrifying! it doesn't matter that we knew that Hamas are stealing all the recourse to make missiles and are going to take advantage of the chaos in israel, it doesn't matter that our extremists are feeding their extremists, cause IT DOESN'T MAKE IT FUCKING RIGHT! we knew Hamas will do some horrid war crime but didn't want to think that people will take whole cities hostage and kidnap and murder hundreds! nobody wanted it to become a fucking war you piece of condescending shit!

we wanted the sane people of both sides to take over and work together! we were hoping to use the near municipal elections to get people who support cooperative living in to the city councils so we can change stuff for the better and fight the anti peace movements of both sides! and maybe gain enough power so in the next parliamentarian elections we will get some decent people that would kickstart the peace process and support palestinian communities into the cabinet! do you know how hard we worked to support Israeli-Palestinian lists for the municipal races? how much effort is put by people to try and make things better?

so i'm gonna ask you again, what was Israel supposed to fucking do?

and If you say "to stop existing" I want you to know that you just exposed yourself as a supporter of genocide.

[bon2bonn]

Change of winds

22!F1!grid X female!driver!reader

Words count : 3.2k .

* I'm so sorry for the long delay 🙏🏻 💔 . 💀🤦🏻‍♀️Life is shit in general and I can't finish any of my WIP list , so this might be the last update for a while until I could make/find the time to breathe and get some proper writing done .

2.october

Stretching after a long dreadful meeting was the first thing she did once everyone dismissed themselves out of the room , suppressing a yawn by covering her mouth as she leaned back in her chair in exhaustion . Today was a full schedule and that means back to back meetings along with legal and audit reviews of months worth of work , not to mention the preparations for upcoming events and gala's due to end of year celebrations back in headquarters .

To say her schedule was packed would be an understatement, but she made sure to not overwhelm herself and made time to check on the guys . she hated how they all got distracted by their busy schedules and lives in general, now they barely got a chance to meet eachother at their Spare time, and that was hard on all of them , the transition of going from spending most of their time working together even spending their off time close by to separate across the globe with them traveling constantly and her tucked away from one meeting to another not to mention the different timezones far away from their reach .

They still made the effort to call and leave voice messages daily, keeping her up with what's happening on the grid, and she in return left them all with voice messages and calls before every race , wishing them luck and a safe drive , religiously tuning in to every quali and race despite the time gaps and the work load , even indulging her now employees to enjoy the sport too , unknown to them how she herself used to race not long ago , some even recognized her but kept quiet out of respect to not get her unwanted attention, so she made most of the time to distract herself from the pit of uneasiness growing in her chest , and her almost overflowing schedule helped in that aspect.

A light knock snapped her out, followed by her assistant Lauren who peeked her head in , giving her an apologetic look making her sigh deeply before ushering her in " what now? " Lauren winced as she briefed her on the situation " you remember Mr Solly ? , head of the Australian branch is outside waiting on for an urgent meeting, something to do with the recent changes regarding the finance and marketing department " she tilted her head at the name " he came all the way to France to complain?" Lauren just nod not knowing what to say, making her huff a laugh " that's dedication, I'll give him that " taking a quick glance at her watch she then decided "Alright, I have 20 minutes before the next meeting so send him in , and please make sure to send out the Japanese deadline notice before we head to Montreal " Lauren nods as she typed on her pad then handed her the next meeting files " this will be our final meeting for the French branch , tomorrow will be field day and you have an appearance at Paris d'or gala , then you're free till Wednesday night , we'll be heading to Spain for the launch then we'll fly to Montreal form there before heading to New York on the 13th " she slumped over the desk dramatically , Groaning as she grumbled " and I thought my media duties were torturous " making Lauren remember " by the way the new Media team are going to attend the event tomorrow evening and will accompany us through the rest of the way back to UK " she snapped her head at the news " what!? , no no no " Lauren nod at her miserable face " yes, be grateful they're not following you everyday" , she straightened her posture and nods " if they try to get on my nerves I'm ditching them for good " Lauren nods in agreement " fair enough " then she made way to the door , letting Mr Solly in before closing it behind her .

The man walked in confidently with a certain look in his eyes, one she saw too many times to recognise with ease, he was sizing her and at the same time giving off the illusion of power , of having the upper hand over the situation, and she wanted to see the show he was trying to put up to it's end so she held her tongue as she greeted him " Mr Solly, you're a long way from Australia" he nods stoically " Ms L/N, I apologize for the inconvenience , I know how demanding your schedule is these days " she gave him a bored look " good to see we both think of it the same way " , her statement made him clench his hands but he kept his cool and proceeded " well , it's about the financial arrangements you installed previously and we see that they're a bit , extreme " she leveled him with a raised eyebrow " and may I ask who is we? " He cleared his throat " well the .... The directors and ..." She didn't waste time listening to his lame excuses " if my memory serves me right , and it does. The 'arrangements' as you called them were approved by the board members along with the department manager himself and the shareholders " his breath hitched and she didn't stop there " these arrangements came in time with various complaints from within the department about missing numbers from the accounts and they're not just small undetected numbers, they're big Mr Solly, too big to get swiped aside as human error or collateral casualty, so I'm asking you directly Mr Solly, do you have something to say? " , he clenched his jaw before he gritted out " what are you insinuating? " She leaned back on her chair with a wide grin " I'm not insinuating anything Mr Solly, I'm just asking obvious questions? But you seems to already know the answers " , He straightened his back and dropped his fake smile " you have no idea how things work, this is bigger than you , you think you can just come in and run around as you please just cause you're sitting on that chair? It's only a matter of time before everything crumbles because of your ignorance , you won't be smiling then " , she feigned surprise " are you threatening me Mr Solly? " He seemed satisfied with her reaction as he smugly answered " no , I'm simply enlightening you " she shook her head in boredom, staking her files and intertwined her hands on top of the stak giving him a wide smile unfazed by his falling apart façade " then let me enlight you in return , in two weeks time will be the next evaluation, I'll expect one of two things when I turn up by then , either your full report along with the missing accounts and data or your resignation letter, it's up to you to choose which one I'll be receiving first " .

She stood with a silent huff , not giving him space to react or answer back to the accusations and collected her files " now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be , I'm sure you know your way out " she made her way to the door and left like nothing happened.

The man was at the point beyond seething, he screamed at the empty chair, slamming his hands on the desk and proceeded to kick at chair before him . She stood by Lauren's desk, not bothering to glance at the closed door where the shouts of anger radiates off " charge him if he damaged anything and be sure to have at least one of the security to..... help him out if needed , and let me know if Martin call back or send the files I asked about " with a final nod she made her way to the next meeting .

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Posted Tuesday , 4.oct .2022

The L/N official

📍Paris, France 🇫🇷

Liked by Lewishamilton , Pierregasly, Redbullracing , and 2,274,119 others

TheL/Nofficial . light mode ☀️, night mode 🌑✨ , First official post with our lovely boss @Y/nsworld, we kicked off our journey with Paris 🗼 enchanting glamour, thank you France for the hospitality and we can't wait to return for more 🇫🇷♥️ .

View all 38k comments............

Username excuse me!?!! Miss Y/N what are you doing here!?!??!

Username holy shit she's alive!!!! and she's on fireeeeeee🔥🔥🔥🔥!!!!!!!!

Username oh my fucking God!

Username mother!?!? Is that you !?!????

Username 🧎🏻‍♀️we all kneel in the presence of our Queen 🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️

Username Mo...Moth..... Mommy?

Username not the type of surprise I expect but okaaaaaay?!!!!!!🔥

Username she's glowing ✨

Username miss Mam you can't just choke us like this !?!!! I mean..... You can ! But ?????

Username I need context!!!! asap !!?!!

Username admin's first post and they already got us on a choke hold 🙌🏻🥵

└TheL/Nofficial 😉glad to be at service.

Username CEO!!Y/N! That's it she can do it all !

Username another fantasy of mine just came true on a huuuuuge scale so excuse me as I scream my lungs out 🤠

Username L/N????? Hold the fuck up what did I miss??????

Redbullracing as gorgeous as always 😍🙌🏻

Scudriaferrari principessa ✨ 👑

└Redbullracing excuse you ! 🤨 I was here first ?

└scudriaferrari and ?

└TheL/Nofficial ladies, No need to fight! There's enough room for every admirer 😌

Username not redbulls fighting with Ferrari 💀

Aston Martin F1 Team ✨🧎🏻‍♀️♥️

Username admin deserve a raise for gracing us with updates! 🥺

└ TheL/Nofficial I know right!! @y/nsworld ????

└y/nsworld you started 2 days ago ??

└TheL/Nofficial I'm just shooting my shot 🤷🏻‍♀️

Username all hail the Queen 🔥🥵

Username admin I love you💍🧎🏻‍♀️

└TheL/Nofficial 🙈oh, stop it !

Username F1 who I only know CEO! Y/N 💼🏧🧎🏻‍♀️

Pierregasly I knew I shouldn't have miss it!

└TheL/Nofficial you snooze you lose !

└pierregasly @Y/nsworld excuse me, your admin is bullying me !!

└Y/nsworld I don't know what you're talking about 🤷🏻‍♀️

└TheL/Nofficial Boss said it's ok 👍🏻 so suck it !!!

Username admin is brutal 😭and I love it ✨

Kilyanmbappe ♥️ 👑

└Y/nsworld 💙 🐢

Username a lot of things are happening at the same time and I'm beyond losing my shit !!!! Send help !!!!!

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

4.october 2022

Letting a chuckled at her frowning face , then shared an amused grin over her head with Sergio who extended his arm out for her to hold into " I thought you'd be more hungover than this " , she gave him a hard glare reaching blindly to smack him as she replied emphasizing with each smack " and I thought you'd be nicer " he dodged the last one groaning as he held his wounded shoulder from her assault " you ditched me for months!! and when you show up you hit me !? " She shrugged " I'm suffering and you're the one responsible for it so you have to suffer too " she turned to Sergio who was now laughing at their fight while kylian scoffed at her "it's not my fault you drink like a bottomless pit ! I told you to slow down !" She turned her head back to scowl at him " I was nervous!! and you dared me to drink half of what we had!" He looked away at her accusations finding interest in the ceiling , away from her glaring eyes .

She rolled her eyes and asked " where's Leo ? He's my favourite anyway, and he's for sure nicer than you " he pouted and made his way behind her to wrap his arms around in a tight hug, swaying them from side to side as he whined " I thought I was your favourite?! " She held his arms with one of her hands while she used the other to reach back to give him a hard pinch on his side " not when you're amplifying my headache " making him yelp in pain and flinch away holding his side " fuck! " , she ignored him and turned to Sergio who was holding back his laugh and raised an eyebrow at him with her eyes narrowed " you want one ? " He backed away raising his hands in fear " no thank you" she nods and made her way towards the rest of the team waiting for the tour guide to lead them further into the newly built facility .

Her father's company has been one of the main investors which made the responsibility to attend on a short notice to attend the tour either along with the other investors from other companies or with the team itself, and since she was barely conscious that morning when Lauren flooded her phone with SOS messages to drag her not even 15 minutes later to attend with the team their first tour on the newly built facility .

So here she is , willing her tired self to push through the day in favour of sleeping her killer hangover away , not to mention her little shit of a best friend who is making hard for her to not throw him in one of the construction containers to serve him for poking fun at her .

°°°°°°°°°°°

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

5.october

Tom made his way to the stairs, avoiding the crowded lift in order to clear his mind a bit , a little exercise with some music won't do him any harm , so with his headphones on loud he took the first two floors before contemplating his choice as his legs started to shake , and it didn't take long for him to deem his choice a shitty one and used the exit door to find the lift in the third floor .

He leaning on the wall to support his weight as he waited to catch his lost breaths , and when it finally arrived it was way less crowded than he expected, with only one lady standing on the side with her hands clapped before her in an elegant way , he adjusted his hoodie and greeted her in a polite " hello " receiving a nod back before taking the other side further from her after pressing the top floor, focusing his eyes on his phone to pass the time , after a moment she asked after noticing where he's heading " you're going for a meeting too ? " He looked at her then shrugged " you can say that " she hummed in thought then pointed at what he was wearing , a hoodie along with jeans and his hair a mess , and gave a disapproving face " I don't think you have an appropriate attire for such place " even shaking her head with disdain " kids these days " he gave her a side glance , huffing a laugh under his breath before speaking aloud " well , it's a good thing i didn't ask for your opinion nor approval on that , seeing it's none of your business " leaving her with her mouth shut and hands clenched into fists , and made his exit when they reached the floor , rolling his eyes at her then turned round the corner and out of her sight.

He came face to face with Eddie who looked ready to head to a meeting, giving him a glare as he stood his ground with his arms crossed making Eddie clap his hands in a pleading manner " it's a last minute meeting, I wouldn't go if it wasn't urgent, it's only half hour consultation " when he didn't receive any answer he went for bribery " I'll get you a brand new set " Tommy gave him an unimpressed look " Bibi already did send me one from France " Eddie rolled his eyes with a mumble of " of course she did " before huffing at his youngest brother and asked " what do you want ? " Tommy extended his hand with his palm up " I'm driving back , and for the next week " he glared back at him and Searched his pockets before throwing his key at Tommy's waiting hand pointing at him in warning " just this time " and hurried down the hall to the meeting room , he swung the keys around his finger as he made his way to Carlton , his brother's longtime assistant who sat behind his desk as usual , making the later look up when he made his way over , smiling up at him as he leaned on the desk " look what Van Gogh dragged in " Tommy's smile widened , with his dimples on full display as he peeked his head over the screen that Carlton was working on minutes ago , " oh , no need for insults , you could just say you missed me " Carlton raised an eyebrow at him and scoffed " yeah sure , I do miss you missing up my files and distracting me half of the time you're here , and the other half you spend whining up and down about being board " Tommy kept his grin and teased with his eyes squinted " so you do miss me ! " Carlton rolled his eyes and sighed going back to his work " sit your ass down, I got work to do " he saluted and made his way over to set of plush chair across from the desk and made himself comfortable then started working on one of his sketches , moments later he heard his name being called, and when he looked up he was greeted by a slightly medium sized bag aimed at his face but he caught it before any damage could happen, and before jumping to send it back at Carlton he looked at the bag and his smile returned at the sight of his favourite candy , and called out in a sweet voice " ooooh , so you did, did missed me !? " making the other mumble under his breath " sometimes I regret doing so " making Tommy ask loudly " what was that ? " , " nothing! , if you don't want it give it back ! " The call made Tommy hug the bag and lean away "ok! I want it ! And thank you for thinking of me ! " making Carlton groan and burry his blushing face on his hands almost regretting his action , almost , but the sound of Tommy's loud humming made him take it back , " huummmn , sweet , but not as sweet as you~ " , yup he definitely regrets it now .

Back to Edward who was making his way to his urgent consultation after handing over his car keys, taking a breath before unlocking the door and stepping in , about to greet the Clint who turned out to be a woman standing by the window overlooking the skyline of London with her back facing him , but his words died in his throat when she turned around to face him , a smile made it's way upon her lips and she didn't hesitate to greet him , taking notice of his stunned face and stiff shoulders " hello Edward , it's been a long time " , he couldn't grasp if it's real or if he was having a cruel dream , no a nightmare . but it took him a moment to find his voice again and ask in disbelief " Mom ? " .

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

[elizabebabe]

𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 ೀ 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨

𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡: you're scouted for love island and you and your manager think of it as a business opportunity but what happens when you actually want to find love?, you're in for the summer of your life.

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: 2

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: use of y/n!

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 4.5k!

𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: moments in this cringe me out but it isn't love island without cringe is it? Still introduction vibes so i'm sure it'll get smoother as we go on, basing the structure off love island uk s5 since it's my fav, but they are american!

“say hello to cade!” 

you all cheer trying to give him a solid entrance, he walks around the corner shouting “what’s up girls?!”, you feel yourself cringe, you couldn’t tell if it was because of him or the environment you're in.

he walked down from the double doors and stood next to ariana. he was taller than her, had blonde hair, black trunks, and a few tattoos on his right arm, i mean you thought he was attractive sure, but you quickly realize it’s going to take a lot for you to step forward.

you're so used to getting to know someone before putting your cards on the table so a “what’s up.” isn’t going to do him justice. 

he stood confidently with his hands on his hips, observing you all one by one.

“how are you feeling today?” ariana asks, looking up at him.

“i'm good. this is cool! you guys are all so beautiful. this is like a dream.” he quickly replies, you turn to look at the other end of the hearts, noticing abby’s excitement you can tell she quite likes him.

“so cade, "love island" is all about finding your perfect match. it all starts right here with a decision about who you want to couple-up with, but first it’s up to the girls to decide if they're interested in you.”

ariana looks at the girls then back up to him, “nerve wracking huh?”

“a little bit.” he replies nervously.

“girls, if you like what you see, please step forward.” there is a long pause, a moment of silence before abby steps off her heart and moves forward.

ariana cheers, “abby, why did you step forward?”

abby squeals, “oh my god!!, for one i really liked how he came in with lots of energy, he seems like a talker which i looove, and he’s like….really hot.” 

“okay, cade you can choose to couple up with abby orr, you can couple up with any of the four girls that didn’t step forward, what will it be?”

he takes a little time to think, redoing what he did when he first walked in, analyzing all of the girls.

“abby, i want to couple up with abby.” he says proudly, abby almost jumps up and down with excitement.

she cheers in response, “yay!!” 

you all clap as cade walks over to abby’s heart, they share a hug and he stands next to her.

“so we have our first love island couple of the year…cade and abby.”

“abby, how are you feeling?, ariana adds.

“eee!, so happy, he's definitely my type so i’m excited!” she says looking back and forth between the two, he smiles from her comments, his cheeks turning a red hue, he seems to feel comfortable enough to slither his hand onto her waist.

ariana smiles, “good, cade?”

“i’m feeling good.” he squeezes her side, “she's beautiful and seems really cool so yeah, excited.”

“clair, why didn’t you step forward?” ariana questions, projecting her voice, making eye contact, you appreciated her hosting “abilities”. 

“i need someone chill, and he also gives me the vibe he would break my heart.” she giggles delivering the last bit of her sentence. she looks over to you, maybe wanting to feel validated for feeling that way off first glance. you nod at her, giving her a smile.

“damn..” he says, putting his hand on his heart dramatically, then putting it back on abby’s waist.

“well kaia, leah, you both like heartbreakers, what happened?”

they both look at eachother, “he's cute but i just like someone more mysterious, quieter…you know?” leah softly responds.

“kaia?”

“i think i have to agree with leah, he has a lot of energy, which is great just not for me.” kaia hesitates, not trying to sound like an ass.

“it seems like you guys have really similar types..” ariana says ominously. they both laugh and look at each other. 

“alright, are we ready for the next boy?”

you all cheer, “alright everyone, please meet romeo.”

he walked out the big brown doors, the first thing you noticed was his green shorts on his tanned skin, he was a brunette and his hair was shaggy. you definitely felt a tiny butterfly.

“this place is sick,” he says softly.

he walks over to ariana, a smirk present on his face.

you fiddled with your bikini, he caught stolen glances from you every once in a while.

“romeo, welcome to love island.” 

“look at these gorgeous women in front of you.” she kindly adds.

“they are all beautiful.” he says trying his best to project his voice. 

“as you can see, we already have one couple, cade and abby, then these four single ladies.” 

“leah, kaia, clair and y/n.” she continued.

“you can couple up with any of these ladies, including abby who is already in a couple.”

you notice abby shaking her head then looking up towards cade. 

“but before we give you that choice,  let’s see if any of the girls are interested enough to step forward.” he silently nods.

“okay ladies, if any of you are interested in romeo, please step forward.”

there is another pause, you all anticipating eachothers moves, you were definitely interested but this would be a bold move from you.

your taking too long is all you can think in your head when you notice leah stepping forward, seconds later kaia. you step forward, your legs taking over and moving without your brain's permission.

he looks shocked, “wow, three gorgeous women have stepped forward for you, what are you thinking?”

“i’m speechless, really, i don’t, i don’t know.” he stutters 

“that is pretty shocking, let's go in order here, leah, why did you step forward?”

“i think he’s super cute and i've felt him eyeing me up so i would assume it's mutual.”  she says it in a “rubbing it in your face” tone. causing your eyes to discreetly roll.

“kaia”?”

“me and leah really do have the same type.”  she giggles “ he seems quite quiet but he also has that “bad boy”  aesthetic going on.”

“are you a bad boy romeo?” 

“i don’t think so..” he says bashfully.

“lastly, y/n? i noticed your hesitation, what's that about?”

you scoff, “well i thought he was attractive, i was just a bit nervous.”

"make sense,

alright, romeo, who would you like to couple up with?”

“i think y/n intrigues me quite a bit.” he says quickly, your heart feels like it bumped out of your chest. you look down to get a look at leah, she looks pissed.

“okay, go get her!” he walks closer to you, you open your arms for a embrace, you almost stick together from the sweat beads on both of your chests, 

he puts his arm around you making your stomach flip.

“you guys look great together.” 

“thank you!” you both say at the same time making you and him giggle.

“you alright leah?”

“just fine ariana, thank you.”

ariana quickly moves on, “kaia?”.

“all good here.” she smiles

“great.”

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

the coupling went on for a while, a guy named robert came out next, immediately snatching clair up, she seemed really happy about the coupling.

cyrus ran out next, he had a lot of energy but he seemed to wear it better than cade having kaia and leah stepping forward, he ended up picking leah, which seemed to be a bit of a let down for kaia but she quickly let it go remembering there is still one boy left.

aidan being the last guy to come out, he seemed more mature than the other guys, whether it was his mannerisms or the way he spoke, he ended up stealing leah, having cyrus couple up with kaia. 

“congratulations, we now have our five couples,”

you all clap and cheer,  “these couples you just made will decide how long you stay in the villa.” you look at romeo, he smiles at you.

“in your couples, you’ll spend time getting to know each other, taking on challenges together, living together and even sharing a bed together.”

“in eight weeks time, the public will be voting for their favorite couple. that couple stands to win a massive $50,000 cash prize and be crowned the winners of  ‘love island’ 2024.

but don’t forget this is love island, and the path to true love is never that simple. there may be a few surprises around every corner, and the first surprise might be sooner than you think.”

you all laugh nervously, sharing smiles with the person next to you.

“i will see you very soon.” ariana says ominously,

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

the rest of the islanders greet each other, but you and romeo seem to be in your own bubble. 

“how are you?”

you wipe your arm, “sweaty.” 

he scoffs, “me too.”

“i didn’t expect you to pick me.” you scoff.

“why not.”

“i don’t know.” you say awkwardly.

“so, i “intrigue” you?” you mock his tone from earlier, he puts his hand behind his head, “pretty much.”

robert comes up to hug you, followed by the rest of the guys you never properly interacted with, you were able to greet them with a few words before romeo interrupted, hoping to have a more private conversation with you.

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

you both laid on a day bed overlooking the pool, some of your fellow islanders were already dipping their feet into the pool while having conversation.

ironically “it’s so pretty.” were the first words to leave his mouth, you both admire the villa while enjoying a moment of comfortable silence.

“you know what i hate?” he says rolling his head back to get a better look at you, you can’t help but smile.

a quiet “what?” is the only thing that can leave your lips when he is staring into your eyes, he adjusts himself making the bed squeak, “small talk.”.

“me too!!” you exclaim.

he chuckles, “okay lets play a game then, rapid fire.”

“okay…, i'm assuming you’re gonna quickly ask me questions..?”

“pretty much, how old are you?”

“i’m 21.” you answer quickly, “you?”

“23, job go.” 

“i own my own business." you hesitate, "sell my own designs, it's whatever.” 

“are you kidding? that’s sick.” 

“thank you.” you shyly reply, “what about you.?”, you change your position on the bed from laying down to sitting upright.

“i work with a bunch of animals, my dad has owned a pet store since i was a kid so i kinda just grew up around them.”

hearing about his job excites you, you like someone that can be passionate about their career. 

“that’s really cu–” you attempt to reply but you’re interrupted by the sound of heels coming up from behind you, it was leah.

“do you mind if i pull romeo?”

“it’s not up to me.” you quickly respond.

he starts sitting up, leaning in to give you a hug, you hesitantly reciprocate.

“i’ll see you later, okay?” he says whispering into your ear, he pulls back from the hug fully standing up leaving you on the day bed.

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

shortly after your interrupted conversation, abby and clair asked you to join them exploring the villa. you obviously say yes and get off the day bed, quickly following them inside.

to the left of the ‘backyard’ doors is a living space, followed by a pull down bed with a neon “dog house” sign. you all laugh when you first notice it, abby throws around jokes, “where cade will be sleeping if he pisses me off.” making you and clair giggle.

you turned around going to the door on the other side of the room, inside were seven beds lined up against the wall, “holy shit!” abby says from behind you, she walks ahead of you touching the first bed in the room, then looking at its bench to notice “abby.” and “cade” signs at the end of it, she jumps on it.

“clair, you'll probably be down here next to me.” you say excitedly, she chuckles. you and clair walk down to the fourth and fifth bed noticing your names, you both sit on your assigned beds.

“can you believe life right now?” abby says, even from “far away” her voice is still easily heard.

“not at all.” clair comments, looking at you, “do you think the other girls are done with their chats?” abby comments. “why?” you respond, “we need to have a girl chat.” you look at clair and she looks at you with an unreadable expression on her face.

“about our couples?, duh.” abby continues.

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

you and the rest of the girls decided to head upstairs to find a place to have ‘girl chat’.  you walked behind clair, right up the stairs are the showers, bathrooms but most importantly the makeup room, you all piled in taking a seat at a vanity.

“this place is so fucking beautiful.” abby states, starting the conversation as usual.

“so how was everyone's chats? me and cade got surprisingly deep?” she adds, almost saying her last few words like a question.

“i mean that's good, does he match your energy like you wanted?” kaia chimes in curiously.

“oh 1000%, i already feel lucky to have already met someone that ticks so many of my damn boxes.”

“don’t forget it’s day one, you have to get to know everyone else.” clair states, taking leah and abby by surprise.

“damn, didn’t know you were like that.” leah says, flicking her hair behind her head.

“i mean she's right.” you add.

“clair, how is your sitch.” kaia questions her.

“it’s good, we only had a quick chat but he seems chill, i'm just not sure yet.” “why?” abby expresses genuine confusion, “you guys seem like a good match.”

“yes on paper.” she rebuttals, “but i don’t know him yet, i’m typically a grower so it'll take me some time.”

you all nod at her comment.

“so.., kaia, leah, hows your ‘sticky’ situation.” abby asks nonchalantly.

“well, my convo with cyrus went well,

obviously we're attracted to the same guy so i'm not going to hold it against her when she inevitably talks to him.” kaia quickly but carefully responds.

“wait..you haven't talked to cyrus yet leah?” abby asks, trying to get more information.

“he was talking to kaia so i just let it be, was able to pull romeo earlier though.”

abby and clair quickly look at you with those ‘sad’, ‘puppy’ eyes, you gave them a sarcastically confused look in return.

“how did it go?” kaia asks her genuinely. 

“it was good, we have some things in common, i’ll definitely talk to him again, maybe later tonight?”

“don’t forget to talk to cyrus later, i want to see how he’ll move.” kaia persists. 

“how was your chat y/n?” abby quickly takes back the conversation. hearing your name quickly snaps you out of your zone out.

“it was good, we didn’t get to talk much before he was pulled.” you say awkwardly, the whole room going silent for a bit.

“you know who needs to talk tonight?” abby quickly says, breaking the silence.

“you two.” she says pointing at leah and you.

you both look at each other, “the tension is obvious and i'm not having my new girl friends hate each other,

especially over a man.” abby continues.

“i don’t hate her.” you say quickly after hearing abby, you fidgeted with your bikini, suddenly it felt hotter than it already did.

“annnyyyway..” abby drags out the word, trying to get rid of the awkwardness, “leah, how's aidan?”

her face scrunches up and you can already tell what she’s gonna say, “he isn’t for me, too serious, and lowkey boring..” 

“yikes.” abby responds.

“but he expressed interest in clair, so maybe..?” clair’s head immediately snaps up, 

“seriously?”

“oooooo.” you say teasingly, abby joins in with you.

“stop it.”, you notice her flusteredness. 

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

you were called to the beach hut for your first confessional, you were nervous to be in front of a camera again, 

yes there were cameras all around you but at least they were hidden.

you walked in and immediately plopped down in the chair, the lighting looked a bit harsh, you wondered if it was flattering or not, 

all you had to do was answer a few questions from the producers, easy. 

“how are you feeling in your couple?” a deep voice from behind the camera questions.

“uhm.” you took time to think about what you wanted to say, 

“good, he makes me feel nervous, which i think is a good sign?”

“how do you feel about sharing a bed in your couple?”

“i haven’t shared a bed with a man in a while so i'm a little nervous, but it’ll be fine.” you quickly respond, trying not to sound like a moron on national television.

you adjust your bikini as the next question is dished out to you.

“how do you feel about leah?”

you awkwardly smile, “she seems nice, we obviously got off on the wrong foot earlier so that's unfortunate. but i'll talk to her, one on one, later, hopefully clear the air.”

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

after answering a few beach hut questions it was time to unpack your suitcase, you walk up the stairs and down the hall to find you and all the girls' suitcases lined up against some closets.

you find the one with the big “y/n” on it, grabbing it and crouching on the floor to open it up. that’s when you remember why you’re here, your designs, not for romeo or the friends you were making, 

but to show off your designs.

you think about what rhia would be saying right now, “bitch, get it together, this is work.”, it makes you giggle, 

now you’re sitting on the floor reminiscing, missing rhia and your family. that's when the rest of the girls pile in, interrupting your thoughts, you now think about how many times you’ve been interrupted today.

“unpacking time whoo!” abby exclaims, hyping the rest of the girls up.

clair comes next to you, seeming to notice your somber expression, “you okay?” 

“i’m great, thank you.” you smile at her and she reciprocates it. now it’s chaos, suitcases being thrown open, clothes being snagged onto hangars. 

“what are you guys sleeping in tonight?” kaia asks.

the girls talk over each other at once, “a t-shirt.” is what you reply with, “that's it?”

“no, oh my god.” you quickly say with a giggle.

“i was about to say.” she chuckles over her words.

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

evening meant it was time to get ready again, which meant getting out of those bikinis and into something else, you didn’t realize how much your feet hurt until you peeled your wedges off. 

you were sweaty and sticky all day so you decided you needed to shower before changing into something clean. 

you had a quick, soapy, rinse, since you felt awkward, the shower door was clear except for the part that just barely covered your bits.

you quickly put your towel on, deciding to lotion up in the makeup room where the rest of the girls were. minus the tension from this morning you felt really comfortable with them all.

you lotioned up and put on a pair of undies and a bra, the dressing room and the makeup room were connected causing girls to walk back and forth while having conversation, you heard laughter, the sounds of zippers, heels, for some reason it made you really happy, you chose to sit next to clair at the vanities,

just like earlier. she was appreciative. 

you did your hair and makeup at the vanity, the lighting was really nice making you feel extra confident, you decided to wear one of your favorite designs, the girls in the room hyping you up bringing a smile to your face, you adjusted yourself in the outfit making sure everything sat perfectly, grabbing some heels that complimented the rest of your outfit and slipping them on.

you walked in front of a wall length mirror, posing a little,

you looked gorgeous.

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

you all walked outside, this was the first time you saw it at night and it was beautiful, a little chilly but the fairy lights above the villa made up for it, they were even in the trees!

the kitchen was tucked in a corner between when you first walk out and the day beds, everybody slowly picked off, abby and cade going for a convo first, followed by clair pulling aidan for a chat, you gave her a thumbs up as she walked off with him, six of you still stood in the kitchen, you decided it was time to take leah off for a conversation.

you grabbed a glass off the counter that was filled with champagne and walked over to her, “wanna have our chat?”

“sure.” she replied taking a sip out of her glass, you both walk over to the fire pit a bit away from the kitchen.

“how are you?” you start.

“good.” she replies back

“you look nice.” you compliment her, she was wearing a silver glittery dress with her hair in a bun, 

she really did look nice.

“thanks, you too.” you nod your head appreciatively,  not sure if you should bring up the tension from this morning or ask her to forget about it, you both sit in silence not sure what the other will say.

“sorry..” she says quietly

you snap your head to her, “what was that?” you ask genuinely.

“i’m sorry.” she states it this time.

“why?” you quickly ask.

“i was a sour puss about romeo picking you over me, i shouldn’t have.”

you look at her, then at romeo who was chatting in the kitchen.

“sour puss?” you giggle, you’ve heard the phrase but never heard it come out of someone's mouth before.

“yeah.” she chuckles.

“it’s fine, really, i don’t want us to have any tension or anything, the energy has been so good between us girls.”

“i agree.” she stands up, you follow suit bringing her into a hug. you hear cheering from somewhere, pulling out of the hug, you look around noticing abby and cade, sitting on bean bags that were arranged a little away from the pool.

it makes you and leah laugh. 

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

a little after your conversation with leah, 

you, abby and kaia were chatting at a swing placed on the right hand side of the villa. you and the girls didn’t even notice romeo approaching you, “can i steal you?” 

you look over at him, he was wearing a black dress shirt, and gray pants, he looked nice.

“mhm.” you replied, getting ready to stand up but the girls did it before you. “we’ll go, you stay.” abby says, walking away with kaia as they continue the conversation you were just having. 

“you good?” he questions, sitting on the ‘couch’ swing, it moves when he adjusts himself to face you.

“i’m great, feeling less shy, i guess?”

“i noticed you’re talking a lot more, i'm glad you’re comfortable.”

“me too, i was worried it would take a lot longer.” you go back to forth with him as you notice him observing you.

“you look really nice.”

“thank you..” you say shyly.

“so, how was your chat with leah?” you question, you remember leah telling you “it was good.” so you wondered how he would reply.

“it was nice, she's chill, we have a few things in common.”

“that’s cool.” you comment, not really knowing what to say next.

“how do you feel about sleeping later tonight?” he changes the subject.

“i’m fine with it, i’m actually already really tired.”

“it has been a long day to be fair.”

⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

you all gathered at the fire pit to play a game of truth or dare, the rules were simple, abby was at the head of the fire pit so she would start first, asking anyone ‘truth or dare’, when they finish their dare or their truth next they can pick any islander to continue the game.

you all sat comfortably around the fire, you sat opposite of abby, next to romeo and of course, clair.

“cade, truth or dare.” abby starts.

he laughs, “of course.” he says knowing she was gonna pick him.

“dare.” he says confidently.

“i dare you to give a lap dance to an islander of your choice.” she winks at him. 

you all laugh and cheer after hearing the dare, he gets up putting his glass on the floor, he stands over abby, moving his hips back and forth, putting his leg behind her and gyrating in her face, you couldn’t stop laughing and you could tell everyone around you felt the same.

he stopped, sitting back down next to her, smirk on his face, grabbing his cup off the ground and taking a sip.

abby was shocked, you could tell because her mouth was basically on the floor, “that was too quick.” she complains.

once cade stops laughing, he looks around, not knowing who to choose, “my guy robert, truth or dare?”

robert scoffs, “truth.”.

“boooringgg.” cade shouts, “have you ever had a threesum?” 

robert chokes a little on his wine, “yes..” he says shamefully, for some reason that shocks everyone.

“damn, my man!” cade exclaims, getting up to dap him up, abby playfully hits him on the arm, making him laugh and sit back down.

the laughter is interrupted by a ring, all of your faces slowly drop, nerves quickly setting in.

“was that you?” robert questions clair.

“i think it was.” she responds.

“i got a text!” clair shouts, “islanders, it’s time for the real games to begin, please welcome your new arrival.” she reads it out ominously, making all you look around at each other frantically. 

your heart goes to your stomach, your mind racing with questions. you adjust your outfit and take another sip out of your glass.

clair continues, “#one out of three.”

“what does that even mean? abby asks, clearly confused.

seconds of silence later a brunette comes from behind the corner, “hi!” he says cheerily

clair looks at you knowingly, you quietly snicker.

everyone slowly stands up to greet him, you take your time adjusting yourself and taking a few more sips before having the courage to walk closer, he daps up the guys and hugs the ladies that have already come up to him, you notice his eyes, they look brown in the night light, his hair, his jawline, you feel flustered.

in your zoning out he already made his way through everyone, you were the only one left to greet, you smiled at him and he smiled back. your mic raised against your chest, rising with each deep and heavy breath.

he put his arms out, you did the same, sliding your manicured hands around his torso, making for a cuddly hug, 

weirdly it felt just right.

who is this new islander?, find out next time on love island.

hope you enjoyed!

[bitletsanddrabbles]

Stolen Child: A Much Needed Screaming Fit

Okay, so, as I said earlier - I'm fine. The story's fine. I'm not angry at anyone about anything or shouting at or accusing anyone of anything or any of that sort of thing that I might come across as somehow because I'm shouting and only sort of semi-coherently. I'm just shouting because I need to shout.

Basically, I've been feeling increasingly just…tired and tense? The temperature spike this weekend did not help at all, since I am not a heat person and it narfs my sleep. And my brain finally phrased last month as "I didn't have a single day off in August because every time I wasn't at work I was some stripe of not-feeling-well", at which point the rest of my mind and body went "YES EXACTLY!" and doubled down on the exhaustion and anxiety. I also have another routine medical appointment next Tuesday and something going on with my hand that looks kinda like ringworm, but doesn't act like ringworm (and how would I have picked up ringworm there?), which I will need to make another appointment for. Which means I really need to have a good, old fashioned, overstimulated three-year-old level melt down about something I care about, but that is not ultimately important to the universe and then go…I dunno. Maybe eat some ice cream and take a nap. Definitely with the napping.

Since Stolen Child is kinda the Big Craft Community Craft Thing right now and ranting about it could, conceivably, generate some useful dialogue which always results in Happy Brain Chemicals (useful right now!), we're going with that one. So if you feel like reading through the flailing mental health fail rant and giving advice, observations, feedback, or just patting me on the head and saying "Don't forget to breathe, dear. Air is important", go right on ahead. If you don't, eh. Not your job. Feel free to keep scrolling.

And now! Here we go! Ready, set - MELT DOWN!

This right here? Is a great comment. It's a lovely comment. I love informative comments like this! There's only one problem with it:

I SERIOUSLY NEEDED THIS INFO BACK WHEN I WAS PLANNING THE ORIGINAL STORY!

See, back in 2017, when I was first plotting this whole thing, my plan was to have him wind up…not heir. I seriously think he'd be happier doing like Tom and Henry and living at Downton, but running a clock shop somewhere and letting Mary run the estate and George be the heir. Thing is, I didn't know that was possible just like that. I hadn't made any of my UK fan-friends at the time (heck, I don't think I had this account yet?). As I have mentioned a million times, I fail at research, although I have been slowly getting a bit better with help. So at the time I thought that an Earl's son became the heir, no questions asked, and no options unless they abdicated which was fully what I intended on having Thomas do after a bit of trying and getting a headache and having him and Mary both unintentionally-but-avoidably stomp all over each other's toes. Then I started rewatching (didn't make it through season one because I have officially hit the 'can't really watch things on my own' stage) and was immediately reminded that Matthew didn't have a choice but to be heir. Oh! Oops! Guess Thomas can't abdicate! Which is how we wound up with the current draft.

And this comment.

Now, I have no reason to disbelieve the statement that they don't need to recognize Thomas, but I can't think of why my UK friends wouldn't have pointed it out at some point, except that I did always call it the Thomas-as-Heir fic which could have lead to the concept that heir was my desired end game. Or perhaps it was one of those things that just didn't get questioned because subconsciously they thought it was my desired end game. Or maybe something else perfectly logical! I mean, there are reasons it could have happened, but my brain is not braining good right now, so. Point being, I didn't know and I'm still not sure and this firmly falls outside of my 'things I can comfortably research'. If it were modern, sure! But history?

Seriously, my researching lessons in school extended to 'go to the library and read a book' and stopped. There was nothing about how to gauge how trustworthy the book was, or if there was, I didn't learn it because I moved through three school districts (five if you count college and uni) and wasn't in the right district at the right time. Given how obvious it is that there are a lot of history books out there that straight up lie (and I don't just mean the school texts. I've tried to teach myself history in recent years and wound up straight up calling bull shit on several books), this leads to massive trust issues. I asked at my local library if they had a research librarian on staff and bless his heart, the fellow I was talking to didn't even know what that was. There's another library nearby that is bigger, but I keep forgetting that it's part of our library system now and honestly I don't even know how to drive there and don't like driving in that area anyway and I'm not even sure the busses will take me there in a reasonable manner given public transport in this area. I know I've heard of a couple other tricks over the years that I've carefully noted down in places I've forgotten about so that I could reference them later.

…yeah.

And if it is true (which I have every reason to believe it is), what then? I've already set up the entire story to have Thomas be recognized as heir! I mean, I could put it on hold and rewrite the ending. There are a couple of scenes that would be easy, but others would be straight up impossible. I'd also have to lose at least three scenes that I've been looking forward to sharing and that people would love, and I don't know what I'd replace them with, and I'd have to rewrite the dinner scene (*straight up cries at the thought*), and I am a slow writer, so I have no idea when it would be done! I kinda hate the idea of telling everyone "We're going to be a chapter a week!" and then three chapters later going "Haha, just kidding! Indefinite hiatus while I fix the entire plot!" Especially since right now reader comments are definitely my primary 'happy chemical' source and I need that! On the other hand, I really, really love the idea of this being a one shot and not having to figure out what happens next! But it might not get done for another ten years if I try that!

If I do stick with him as heir, it seems like people would know that not recognizing him was an option, so I'd still need to do some rewriting to explain why he winds up heir! And why would he? The only thing I can come up with given my current setting is Cora pitching an ever loving (dignified, restrained) fit over the idea of not acknowledging him and he and Robert just going "OKAY OKAY WE YIELD!" which will still take some rewriting, but a lot less (I think I can keep the rewrites ahead of the posting schedule for the most part maybe?), and will still leave me figuring out where we go from here, but might work as a decent compromise?

Either way, I have to figure out what I'm doing before I post next week's chapter! And all my brain wants to do is melt into a puddle of goo for a month! The idea of trying to research or plot or anything like that just makes me want to sit in the shower and cry! I WANT A MONTH'S VACATION FROM LIFE, DAMN IT ALL!

Edit: I now have an appointment to have my hand looked at this Wednesday.

[messrsrarchives]

hi robyn 🫶🏽 i hope youre ok and this is ok to ask but i just went through the pdf thank you! i had no idea hogwarts legacy was bad too but it seems obvious really so thank you for that but i had a question about the 70k thing my question is... actually all of it, what does it mean and what was the money for? i can google if you dont want to answer but i thought id try here first and say thank you as well 🫶🏽

HI HELLO !! this is always okay to ask 🫂 i'm really glad it was helpful and yeah hogwarts legacy is always a bit of a controversial one because people love the game but yes, her IP. but anyway !! politics time (p.s i'm not an expert, just a sad trans politics student)

For Women Scotland is a transphobic pressure group who, like many politicians and public figures like jkr, hide behind the guise of "protecting women" to be transphobic but do very little to actually protect women outside of going "trans people are bad" (noting here too that the LGB Alliance - anti-trans queer organisation - were in support of this, and JKR has donated to them and spoken at their conferences)

in 2018 there was a proposed amendment to the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act:

essentially, it would have changed the legal definition of a woman from "a female of any age" to also include "a person who has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment"

in simple normal human words - trans women who has a gender recognition certificate would be legally recognised as women.

there was actually more before this where the original amendment said that having a GRC would mean trans women are treated like "real" women, FWS fought against this and won this case, so the scottish government changed the amendment to say the above instead so that trans women were simply classified as women.

FWS obviously were still very against this and said it would "erode women's rights in law", claiming that including trans women was "unlawful" - scotland is still under england's power for certain matters and FWS said that this was a matter for westminster to decide, not scotland, because it goes against the UK equality act of 2010. (see also: Gender Recognition Act 2023, scotland proposed a bill that would give better protections for trans people, Westminster blocked it.)

a judge from scotland's supreme court set up a hearing, FWS lost this.

on feb 16th this year, FWS got permission to appeal this to the UK supreme court and started a crowdfunding campaign to cover the legal costs

shortly after this, JKR donated £70,000 to the campaign. FWS confirmed that the "JK" that donated was her, and the comment left on the donation was "You know how proud I am to know you. Thank you for all your hard work and perseverance. This is truly a historic case."

the case was heard november 26th and 27th, but supreme court cases take a LONGGGG time and it's incredibly unlikely that we actually hear the final verdict until hmmm i wanna say as early as march of next year, but JKR donated to the crowdfunding campaign to get this case appealed, and has long-standing, close connections with organisations that are on FWS side.

but because i love yapping, let's say FWS win, what happens:

scottish government amends the act so that trans women are not a part of this

potential rewrite of the guidance around gender recognition certificates - as much as i hate to say it, jkr is infact right, this is a historic case and the ECHR are involved,,, could lead to big backlash against getting these certificates (which already has backlash in the uk)

many organisations (including Sex Matters, very transphobic) want to take this further to ensure a distinct separation between "real women" and "trans women" in alll areas all the way down to public funding

adding here! amnesty international intervened as a third-party with their own points that you can read here

also gonna note here: jkr recently spoke out about trans police officers performing searches and Sex Matters as well as FWS have said that no matter the outcome of this case, this is their next priority. not gonna yap too much about this here because it's a different thing but jkr has close ties to this whole thing and is very clearly on the side of many transphobic organisations.

sorry omg this is so long but that's, shockingly, a short overview of the case and what the £70,000 donation from JKR was spent on. there's a handful of lesbian organisation involved on the FWS side, a lot of third-partty interventions and i was going to add some articles from people who were at the hearing but i can only find incredibly transphobic ones that call this "the darkest day for women since the first world war" and i would love to know if they have a hobby in their free time. maybe knitting. perhaps reading a history book. or like,,, current news regarding women's rights worldwide,,, america. poland. afghanistan. congo. palestine. sudan. the list goes on really. violence against women has been declared a national emergency in the uk and i'm no expert but i think it's safe to say that this hearing that affects the 0.01% of the UK population that actually have GRC certificates is not the darkest day for women since the first world war.

and jkr should really get a hobby. maybe attend a writing class.

[bbrissonn]

𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐮 - 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐫 𝐳𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐬 (𝟔)

╰┈➤ a week after her album released, lanny has a special surprise for her fans

╰┈➤ pairing: trevor zegras x ex!singer!girlfriend

╰┈➤ social media + real life

╰┈➤ disclaimer: i made a shitty ass graphic for the special surprise, ik it's ass, but it's the best it's gonna get so no judging pls

╰┈➤ masterlist

༊*·˚

-OCTOBER 20TH, 2023-

༊*·˚

: ̗̀➛ alannaoregon has posted on instagram

alannaoregon

liked by jackhughes and 1.9M others

alannaoregon i guess i suck at keeping things a secret cause like all of twitter knew... BUT IM GOING ON TOUR LOVES !!!

i seriously cannot put into words how thankful for all the love and support you've shown my album in the last week, and just to me in general for the past four years.

all the sweet words and messages truly mean everything to me. some of you are a little crazy if i say so on tiktok, BUT I LOVE IT !!!

anyways, i can't wait to spend my nights yelling with all of you and interact with you !!!

love, lanny 🩵

view all 16,926 comments

becky.rivera can't wait to travel the world with you girl

alannaoregon @/becky.rivera who said you're coming? becky.rivera @/alannaoregon GIRL alannaoregon @/becky.rivera we're finally gonna go visit that one mamma mia spot becky.rivera @/alannaoregon SHUT UP IM SO EXCITED

_alexturcotte ok miss worldwide

colecaufield dont forget about us lan

alannaoregon @/colecaufield never coley

user72 girl six shows in the uk, but none in france??

user829 @/user72 no seriously, there's only one in italy !! alannaoregon @/user829 i can promise you that more dates are to come in the near future. this is only the first part of my first tour, and it certainly won't be my last :)

jackhughes can i get free tickets pls

alannaoregon @/jackhughes clean my room for the next five summers and i'll think about it jackhughes @/alannaoregon I'LL DO ANYTHING PLS IM BROKE trevorzegras @/jackhughes sure ya are bud, you got the biggest contract of all of us alannaoregon @/jackhughes YAH WHAT ZEBRA SAID, PAY FOR IT MISTER IT GIVES ME MONEY

user6290 OMG MOTHER AND FATHER INTERECTING IN THE COMMENTS

user0247 @/user6290 SO GLAD IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO SAW IT

jamie.drysdale ur putting me in a though spot rn lanny

alannaoregon @/jamie.drysdale WHAT DID I DO??? jamie.drysdale @/alannaoregon HOW DO I DECIDE WHICH SHOW TO GO TO??? alannaoregon @/jamie.drysdale why pick when you can go to both jamie.drysdale @/alannaoregon and third wheel during the summer too?!?! im staying in toronto thanks alannaoregon @/jamie.drysdale fake fan user278 @/jamie.drysdale THIRD WHEEL IN ANAHEIM???

user9291 lanny please don't make these tickets cost me a liver

load more...

༊*·˚

-REAL LIFE, ANAHEIM-

༊*·˚

"I'm so proud of you, Lana." Trevor whispered as his thumb rubbed the same patch of skin bellow the girl's eye. Her eyes were looking at him like he had hung the moon, while he stared at her with such admiration in his eyes.

"'M proud of you, too, Trevs." She answered, her voice low, making the boy chuckle slightly.

"Don't make this about you, love. You're going on a world tour." He breathed out, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Oh, now you don't wanna talk about you, huh?" She teased him. Trev let out a dry chuckle before bringing the girl close to his chest. The two were currently laying in Trevor's bed in hid new house. The boy finally decided he didn't need a roommate, meaning the two could now have alone time whenever they wanted. Well, Trevor likes to put it that way, but they both know it's because none of his teammate wanted to live with him anymore.

"This wouldn't be happening without you, T." She whispered against his chest, making the boy tense up slightly.

"In a bad way, or in a good way?"

"Good way. If I had never met you, I wouldn't have released my first album, and my career probably wouldn't be where it is right now. You're the best thing that's ever been mine." She whispered.

"You did not just quote Taylor Swift-"

"I did!" The girl giggled. Her boyfriend rolled his eyes before lifting her head and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Say it back."

"You are the most wonderful and amazing thing that's ever been mine, sweetheart." The Ducks player mumbled before pressing a hard kiss to his girlfriend's lips. The singer couldn't help but smile at his words.

This was the happiest she had been in a long time, and nothing was going to ruin it.

༊*·˚

taglist <3 @lxnceclercs @aliaology

[evaskjew]

HL headcanon : life in the 19th century

I was doing some historical research in order to make a family tree (for an OC for a fanfiction in the Hogwarts Legacy universe) because I'm a stickler for historical detail (It's not at all because I'm a history professor) and I thought it might be nice to share this for anyone who's interested.

Social transformations of the 19th century

HL takes place at the end of the Victorian era in UK, a historical period marked by the Industrial Revolution. Thanks to this revolution, many transformations appeared and developed in Europe:

The railway network in UK in the 1840s (at the time of HL, the Hogwarts Express was still something new and must have caused a scandal among the purebloods, who were no doubt scandalised that one of the latest Muggle technical innovations was being used to take students to the castle).

The gradual disappearance of proto-industry and the decline of workshops, particularly in the textile industry, which were replaced by the emergence of factories (spinning mills) in the towns. In addition to economic and social upheaval (emergence of a new social class: the working class), the Industrial Revolution was marked by a major rural exodus. People left the countryside to go to the cities to find work.

Cities then grow by welcoming a whole new population (whole families leave the countryside for the city). To meet this demographic challenge, we note the emergence of working-class neighborhoods that are developing in large cities. These neighborhoods are usually located next to factories.

The living conditions in his neighborhoods were not the greatest luxury (insalubrity, pollution of factories, poverty wages, etc.). It is enough to read some social surveys carried out at the time (such as that of Villermé in 1840 for France) to realize that living in the nineteenth century marked by this industrial revolution was not necessarily the best. In fact, the city of London was so polluted that a permanent fog hung over the city. In 1858, The Great Stink took place, which was the origin of the installation of sewage systems throughout the city (here again it can be assumed that in HL, the system of pipes to evacuate waste water from toilets and toilets is almost a novelty (toilets having become standard from 1840)). 

In short, all the transformations linked to the Industrial Revolution during the 19th century suggest that life expectancy at that time must not have been very high.

Life expectancy

For my OC, I chose to make her a member of the French wizarding family Rosier. And then being French myself, that’s it.

The situation in France in 1891 was essentially the same as in England (the Industrial Revolution having spread throughout Europe, what happened in England was observed elsewhere).

I managed to find graphs showing the evolution of life expectancy in France. I guess it was more or less the same for the UK.

Graph showing life expectancy at birth in Switzerland, France, Germany and Austria. In the 19th century, life expectancy was around 43 years.

Source : Swiss Life, La révolution de la longévité, 29 mars 2016.

Graph showing life expectancy in France from 1720 to 2020. The blue curve shows the life expectancy of men and the orange curve that of women. Here too the average is around 43 years.

Source: INED (French national institute for demographic studies)

Motherhood in the 19th century

To create the family tree, I had to look up the average age at which women gave birth. As life expectancy is low, women give birth at higher rates. In addition, the infant mortality rate was high at the time (medicine wasn't really that good, plus questionable hygiene standards).

Table showing the average age of childbirth among single women. We note that during the second half of the 19th century, women gave birth most at ages 20 and 24.

Women in the 1830s had their first child at age 23 (compared to around 24 in 1870), their second at 26 (compared to 27 in 1870). We also note that in 1830, women had more children than women in the 1870s/1880s (10% of women had a 3rd child in 1830 compared to 6% in 1870; 6% of women in 1830 had a 4th child compared to 1% in 1870).

Source : BRUNET Guy, « Célibataires et mères de nombreux enfants. Parcours de femmes à Lyon au xixe siècle », Annales de démographie historique, 2010/1 (n° 119), p. 95-114. URL : https://www.cairn.info/revue-annales-de-demographie-historique-2010-1-page-95.htm 

Sorry if the documents are in French, but I am French and I am used to doing my research in French university databases.

I hope this could have been useful for those who write fiction in the HL universe and who want to remain consistent with the society of the time. (Well then I think that wizard families lived longer because magic had to help with health problems linked to pollution or other. Thanks to Wiggenweld potions)

I hope my English is clear, I mostly use a translator.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

About Harold and P.Diddy

The pictures in the DM story are definitely from the Diana concert in 2007. If you look innthe background of them, you see Prince William and then CH press secretary Paddy Haverson (2003 - 2012). 

The pictures were widely circulated in UK media at the time. Harold looked super chuffed to be hanginb out with Kanye and P.Diddy and other musicians while William floated about in the background though i think he also took a picture with Kanye and P.Diddy.

As for when P.Diddy's parties started.....i was a teen in the 90s. Just as there were stories about R. Kelly and Aliyah and shoddy behaviour, so were stories about P.Diddy.

Though at the time there was this wierd criminal gangs thing going on with East coast rappers ( led by Biggie Smalks and P.Diddy) vs West coast rappers led by Suge Knight. The entire thing seemed dangerous as hell because you heard about Dr Dre and Vanilla Ice being bodily threatened into signing away the rights to their records and or being pressed into signing with the record company he ran. East vs West feud culminated in Tupac and Biggie being shot. 

Somehow, P.Diddy made his image over witn that Police song tribute to Biggie and then started dating JLO whilst pretending to be a reformed man at best or the innocent victim of that East vs West coast feud with fingers pointing at Suge Knight who didn't help matters by being a genuinely scary guy. 

Then on a night out to a club, soneone either got shot or there was a drive by, and the guns were discovered in the car that P.Diddy and JLO was travelling in. 

JLO dropped and ran away from P.Diddy the minute she was released from the police station and she's never looked back. 

P.Diddy started throwing these huge public parties - His White parties became legendary. Even featured on an episode of Sex and the City except they substituted P.Diddy for Richard. 

However, you'd hear all this other stuff going on at the same time. Different parties. JayZ was mentioned at these other parties. As Wendy Williams says,' the streets were talking...'

You heard about the s3xual grooming of young stars in the R& B/ Hip Hop world especially male stars was merely whispered eg then 14yr old Usher, Little Bow Wow, Tevin Campbell. All alleged to have been groomed by P.Diddy. These days Usher gives interviews in which he admits to attending wild private parties with P.Diddy when he lived with him for a year. Everyone glosses over his age when he was doing this.

And that girlband, Danity Kane that he created in 2005 were already accusing him of sordid behaviour and abuse though everyone dismissed them as sour grapes because they didn't become stars on the level of an Usher / Tevin Campbell / Little Bow Wow. 

By the time 2010 rolled around, the streets were talking louder, but everyone ignored it because P.Diddy wasn't as much in our faces. 

I honestly think that if Cassie his ex-girlfriend hadn't sued him and he settled that suit less than 24hrs after it was filed to the tune of $30M, i think he'd have gotten away with this. 

But trust me when i say that P.Diddy's misdeeds are as sordid as R. Kelly and possibly worse if the whispers of what he did in that West vs East coast feud are true. 

The only shocker about all this is T.D. Jakes who was outed as a frequent attendee at these other parties. 

I'm so tired of reverred preachers having rotten, margot filled feet of clay. 

*****

All of this. 💯.

I was going to reblog one of my posts from last week where I said “there’s nothing happening. Wait till the next celeb scandal breaks and then worry if KP is still in the news” (because the new celeb scandal is here) and decided not to dredge up old feelings since Kate’s Friday Statement quelled a lot of it.

But I still want to say what I was going to say and anon, you’ve submitted the PERFECT post.

This P. Diddy lawsuit, especially the RICO part and yesterday’s raid, is huge. The ripple effects are going to be significant.

Just look at all the people mentioned in anon’s post. They mentioned everyone I was writing about - Jennifer Lopez, R. Kelly, Aaliyah, Suge Knight, East Coast vs West Coast.

The rap industry is quaking in their boots. It’s going to get messy.

And also, Jennifer Lopez is having a mini-PR crisis of her own. It’s not as bad as what KP has been going through, but it has the potential to be - people are calling out her ego and bad behavior (she consistently ranks in top 10 worst celebs to meet) and her new film bombed. If she wants to stop all the bad press she’s getting, she’s going to roll on P. Diddy in a tell-all couch confession about how horrific life was with him and now she can finally speak out.

But there’s one guy having a good time with this:

50 Cent has been telling about P. Diddy for YEARS.

His victory lap on Twitter is most deserved.

[esta-elavaris]

Okay I made 2342984 incoherent posts about it yesterday but BASICALLY what is happening is that one of the biggest publishing houses in the UK is currently running a thing aimed at writers from underprivileged/marginalised backgrounds - and I meet their requirements in terms of class status, the fact that I come from a dirt poor background, the fact that I'm ace and therefore part of the LGBTQIA community, and the fact that I have anxiety/depression. They ask for a wee paragraph explaining how you meet the quota and I explained this and was like "I was also homeless for 8 months a couple of years ago lol but I worked on this manuscript a lot during that time and it really helped lift my spirits x" because I didn't want to sound like that one fish from spongebob

In addition, they ask for a synopsis of your manuscript, and the first thousand words of it. So I did that, and submitted it all.

I won't find out if I've been longlisted until early July, but like, the smallest thing you can get out of it (if you pass the first stage) is one meeting with one of their editors to get advice. If you're shortlisted, you'll get a series of meetings to help you work on your manuscript a little bit longer-term.

The best case, insane "it's not likely and you can't expect it, but it is possible" is that they have tucked away in the T&Cs that if they really, really like your manuscript, they'll give you a fckn publishing deal.

L I K E

Can you imagine.

So I'm trying not to get too excited, but the fact that everything they might want (1k words for the first submission - done, 5k for the next if longlisted, which would be the first chapter of my novel which is fckn ready to go, and then 40k if you're shortlisted, which I can also absolutely do) are things I already have means like? I lose nothing by just sending them it.

And I mean, even if the best unrealistic amazing case scenario doesn't happen, I could still get actual advice on my actual novel from an actual editor. Along with confirmation that what I'm working on is good enough that they'd even offer me that, which is the part of this project that I struggle with the most.

And the fact that? The very things that make me eligible are the really difficult things I've been through throughout my life? God, that would just be poetic justice.

So I mean, I'm not getting too excited just in case, but it is exciting!!!!

I'm cautiously optimistic. The things I sent them are actually chapters that my uni creative writing teachers fckn loved, and they were published authors, so I know it's good shit, it's just a matter of whether it's what they're looking for, and whether it holds up against whatever else they're being sent. But they do specifically want sci-fi and fantasy and it's fantasy so like !!!

You miss all the shots you don't take, what's for you won't go by you and all that, and if it doesn't work out that's not gonna stop me, but god. Imagine if it does work out!!!!

[anxiouslyfred]

Sweepshakes

Summary: Thomas gets an old british game on holiday that causes some headaches when the sides play it. All because of a dice shaker.

Author's Note: I have no clue if Gambler was released in other countries. I do know it's no longer made in the UK as my brother tried to get one this year and it was second hand... and could've saved that money as the one we know about the game from is waiting for one of us to claim. So many fond afternoons at Grandad's playing this game. I'm going to miss them.

My Idea for this fic: Remus would love playing Gambler. The issue is getting him to put the shaker down, ever, at all, not just when there's a sweepstakes or lottery. That man would always be shaking it until Roman or Virgil are starting a fight just to get it off him. Janus is calmly avoiding calling sweepstakes by always trying to roll doubles again until everyone just wants them to move around the board

/\/\

It was an old British game that Thomas had come across on a holiday. Remus had been obsessed when he’d seen it in the shop and Janus was pretty intrigued too. The other sides weren’t as thrilled to see a game called Gambler, but with Logan mentioning that it could have been a game to help people stop gambling and Virgil hoping that would mean Remus might stop trying to convince Thomas to gamble it was brought home.

Logan’s theory was soon disproven but that didn’t matter to the other sides when they now had a new game to play together, even if only four of them could play at a time.

One thing Virgil regretted however was his part in getting the game brought. He still believed that playing Gambler occasionally would reduce Remus’s desires to actually gamble, but didn’t think that was worth the headaches, never ending headaches, that came every time the game was played.

See one thing about Gambler is that for the sweepstakes and the lotteries there was a dice shaker specifically made and it got loud. When it came up in the game that was fine, a moments shake, place it down on the board and everyone can carry on getting their prizes or not and taking their turns.

The rest of the time Remus had a tool left right in front of him that could make a lot of noise, get a lot of annoyed reactions, without him needing to say or do anything besides pick it up and shake.

“Janus, are you having your go?” Logan asked, frowning and clearing having just checked everyone’s positions after the shakers noise got too loud.

Janus shook their head, smug, “Oh I already have. I rolled a double and decided to try rolling a second.”

“Couldn’t give us that moment of peace, could you?” Virgil hissed out, trying not to get Remus’s attention as he rolled. “A horse race. Remus put that down and put money in the pot.” He snapped aloud after moving.

“Oh, Why?” Remus leant over the board looking at everyone’s pieces curiously to see what was happening.

The card was dealt in front of him before anyone explained, Logan, Janus and Virgil already having put their entry fees in already. “We’re betting on the races.” Janus smirked, “And I’m going to-”

Virgil rolling the die cut them off.

“That appears to be my number, Janus, so I believe you lost.” Logan stated, taking the winnings as it had dubbed itself banker for the game.

“And Remus’s go before you reach for that infernal thing.” Virgil forced the dice into Remus’s hand before it could be picked up.

He took that as a challenge to roll two uncontained dice as noisily as he was shaking the five.

“Kiddo’s will your game take too much longer? I’ve almost finished dinner.” Patton asked, looking through from the kitchen.

“Two rounds max.” Janus replied confidently.

“The chances of you rolling four doubles over your next two rolls is 0.00077160370370444. We should be done shortly, Patton. I think at least two of us are halfway to completing the game.” Logan corrected, looking back at the board at Virgil’s snicker.

With a smirk Virgil turned the fortune card Remus had passed him to Janus. “Pay up.”

The hiss they replied with was drowned out by the shaker starting up again.

“The game is over now!” Roman declared, popping up in the room, sword already in hand. “I will slay you for that infernal racket.”

“You’ll never stop me shaking my thing.” Remus screamed in return, leaping onto the game board to twerk while still rattling the shaker

“Yes I shall!”

Logan straightened his glasses, having dodged Roman’s charge. “I suppose Roman was right. We can’t really continue with one of our players leaving and taking an important game device with them.”