#if i don't believe in humanity and our own capacity for kindness and care then the world is too bleak for me

[marvelandponder]

I'm gonna speak from my experience and it's probably going to be different than OP's and that's okay

I had super bad social anxiety from about 10th grade through most of university. I straight up believed that if I didn't have anything "worthwhile" to say, it was a burden to say anything at all, because then you'd be subjecting people to a painfully awkward social interaction they didn't want

So basically everything I had to say wasn't "worth it" and I felt like I was failing every social interaction, or cowarding out by hiding myself away when it became too exhausting

I think over the course of those years I had about 4 or 5 therapists?

Each was helpful for different reasons but the one that was the most helpful was a guy who had me write out what I believed about socializing. And we picked them apart until we got to the underlying truth

The one that really stuck out to me was we basically got to a point where he was like "so you believe human beings are inherently judgemental"

That didn't feel right. Like, yeah, we have automatic passing thoughts, but most people don't really care about what's weird with others for more than few seconds. Then they're focused on themselves again

So that stuck out to me as a belief I could revise. Where were examples of when people didn't care about me being awkward or not knowing how to socialize?

We devised a plan to test the new theory

I was in university at the time, and there were scheduled meet ups in our LGBTQA+ centre's on campus. That seemed like a pretty safe place to try things- I had even been there before

So I went. I went a few times. It was still tough sometimes but I started to feel more safe saying things, contributing to set discussion topics, or just being quiet when I didn't have anything to add (and not beating myself up for having nothing to add)

That built a little bit of confidence, then I had a few job experiences that helped too. At first those sucked - I would have panic attacks sometimes. But then around the time I was doing this therapy, I got one where I could tell my managers first thing, hey, I've got anxiety, this is what it might look like if I have a panic attack. And I didn't have a single one that term, or the term after.

I built up confidence just by reinforcing my new beliefs that people really weren't as hyperfocused as I was. I became more social - I had a cubicle of three other students around me, so I joined in on their discussions and even had a good time

Fast forward a few years, I'm now more comfortable and confident in any social situation than ever. I call with friends every week, I go out with my partner and do all sorts of stuff together, I have this huge community of people around me in all kinds of capacities!

I'm not you, and what worked for me isn't gonna be what works for you. Also? It's valid as fuck to not be in a place where you can at all comfortably socialize with any human beings at all, and to be there for so long that you just straight give up. Or maybe it's all you've ever known

That's fucking valid and you don't need to feel ashamed for it. And also, in my personal experience as someone who couldn't socialize without anxiety for several very formative years, people can become social

Doesn't mean you have to, or that one is better than the other. I'm just saying I was in a big doomer place before about my own ability to socialize and if I was talking to my past self, she'd be so fucking relieved to hear that things get better and she doesn't have panic attacks about talking to people anymore. She actually likes it

people are way way too generous in assuming that you can just “learn to be social” and everyone will welcome you with open arms and forgive you forever for all the years you spent not talking to people. sorry no. if you don’t start out social you never get the opportunity to become social. people assume that’s just how you are and treat you accordingly, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy

[holy-rarepairs-batman]

.

[weecherylita]

Thoughts on the Neil Gaiman Allegations

I followed Neil Gaiman on tumblr not because I'm a massive fan of his work (I've read two of his books, and one of those he co-wrote with someone else) but because it was interesting to get behind-the-scenes info about Good Omens.

Because he seemed, for the most part, to be a pretty affable and interesting person.

Because it was nice to see someone so prominent be willing to assert the rights and dignity of lgbt people, and most especially trans people in this era where they are being consistently vilified and used as a political punching bag in my own country and elsewhere.

Because his writing advice was decent, and he seemed to value and support artistic endeavour in all its forms.

Because the stories from readers talking about what his work had meant to them were a consistent reminder of the power of art to connect us all and transform our lives.

Because he consistently advocated kindness.

(I know some people have been saying he couldn't handle criticism and he bad-mouthed other public figures, but I think I must have missed those incidents - my impression was that he was very often complimenting and defending people).

It was a horrible shock to learn that (yet again) a creator I respected fell so far short of embodying the values he spoke up for. When things like that happen it can make you question human decency itself, especially when it just seems to keep happening again and again; public figures who seem so progressive turn out to be abusers. Is human goodness just a story we tell ourselves? Is genuine progress even possible, when those who speak up for it prove themselves to be so incapable of living by those ideals?

I don't know how much of Gaiman's public persona was genuine and how much was just a front for some consciously manipulative and predatory behaviour. To be honest, I'm not sure I care if we ever find out how much of what we saw was real. He's lost our respect - most likely forever, and he shouldn't be put in a position where he can abuse people's trust again.

I'm sorry for the people he hurt, and I hope they get time to heal.

And I think those values that I saw in him are all still true, even if he is false.

Kindness and decency is still something to live by, even and especially in times of darkness.

Art still has the power to move, connect and transform us, whether you want to keep reading Gaiman's works or not (and if you're finding it tough because you've lost that enjoyment and connection to stories that meant a lot to you, know that there WILL be other works out there that can make you feel it again).

Creative endeavour IS still inherently valuable.

Transgender lives and identities still matter. Transgender people are still deserving of dignity and respect. There may be plenty of transphobic people out there who feel emboldened by this, and I'm not gonna pretend to understand exactly how scary and horrible that must feel. All I can say is that there are other people out there who still believe in you, and still want to support you.

Human decency is not a lie. I guess we need to be wary of public figures who come across as too good to be true and remember that everyone has capacity for both good and bad, but not everyone fails as badly as him. Not everyone succumbs to their worst instincts. Not everyone is an abuser. Human goodness is still alive, and something to strive toward and take comfort in.

[froschli96]

You know what, fuck it, I have to speak my truth! (this is gonna be a rant, so anyone who actually likes assassin's creed revelations and/or the secret crusade, be warned or maybe don't read this at all)

remember how altaïr talks to king richard at the end of ac1, and richard is like "[humans] come into the world kicking and screaming, violent and unstable. it is what we are. we cannot help ourselves."? and how altaïr answers "no. we are what we choose to be." and how that ACTUALLY has meaning bc he himself was "violent and unstable" at the beginning of the game but he has learned and is now CHOOSING to be a better person who cares about others and humanity at large? remember how his calmness and gentleness was something that he ACQUIRED over the course of the story?

and remember how in revelations they then suddenly had a PRE-AC1 altaïr say about the first of his targets "no man should pass from this world without knowing some kindness." and be all wise and calm and collected during a nice little chat with al mualim, who suddenly acts all fatherly? (like, this is suddenly supposed to be a positive relationship? what??)

also, during the confession the target says to altair: "you put too much faith in the hearts of men, altaïr. [...] humans are weak, base, and petty." and altaïr answers: "no. our creed is evidence to the contrary." KJASJFJDKL???? like, it’s almost insulting how close this exchange is to the one with richard. you know, the one that was actually earned after a whole game of character development. like WTF??? cool congrats now that development means nothing. like, apparently that was just altaïr reverting BACK to being the exemplary assassin who understands and believes in the creed that he was apparently just born as. (i also hate how having a young inexperienced altaïr saying this implies that altaïr's faith in humanity is a sign of naivete instead of a sign of the wisdom he has gained after being confronted with counter arguments for a whole game, and also something that distinguishes the assassins from the templars who use humanity's supposed wickedness to justify controlling them like in AC1, but whatever)

altaïr’s development in AC1 mattered BECAUSE he is not NATURALLY a good person, it actually said something about humanity's capacity for both bad AND good and how humans don't have to be forced to be good through mind control bc they can by their own free will choose to be better when taught how and when allowed the freedom to grow. but no. apparently altaïr has just always been calm, wise and gentle. and he just sort of forgot about that during AC1 bc…. ? bc of adha?? bc of abbas???

oh don’t get me started on the whole abbas thing. (it doesnt even make sense that abbas is so hung up about his father and "his family’s honor", like what about the whole point of al mualim not allowing parents to be close to their children bc it would make them weak? like, my dude, you’re not supposed to HAVE any family aside from the brotherhood)

they used the throwaway character that had like 5 lines and made him into altaïr’s main antagonist in revelations… like, abbas wasn’t supposed to be this ONE dude who had personal beef with altaïr, he was just supposed to show how while altaïr’s revered by many, a lot of his brothers also hate him, bc 1) altaïr is a shitty person at this point and 2) bc there’s no real feeling of community and family in this version of the brotherhood, but just a pervasive sense of competition and jealousy — these assassins don’t care about their goal of safeguarding humanity bc they’re too hung up on petty squabbles and divided by rivalries (you know, the things that made malik hate altaïr even before solomon’s temple and that he overcomes in the end which enables him to forgive and to reconcile with altaïr so they can work together and stop al mualim? (you ever just think about "we are one. as we share the glory of our victories, so too should we share the pain of our defeat. in this way we grow closer. we grow stronger." and cry? bc i do. all the time. malik, the man that you are))

and now abbas is altaïr’s childhood best friend turned lifelong enemy?? like, bowden bent over backwards to come up with an explanation for why altaïr is an arrogant ass at the beginning of AC1, when the explanation is right there: he was raised to kill without asking questions and was constantly praised for how good he is at murder, which resulted in him becoming arrogant and disregarding human life. like, it doesn’t have to be some shakespearean family feud type shit. and guess what, this "simple" explanation actually plays into the story’s themes, who’da thunk!

(like, abbas might not have been a "fleshed out" character in AC1, but he had a specific function and now that function is gone. mr bowden, mr mcdevitt, you know characters are allowed to simply exist to tell us something about their worlds and the systems they live in and sometimes that’s more important and also more interesting than having every single character have a detailed backstory to explain all their behaviors, right?)

with all of this revelations loses all nuance in regards to the levantine brotherhood and also the creed in general. like, altaïr being a master assassin at the beginning despite being a terrible person and not actually understanding the creed is a criticism of the brotherhood and the creed itself. like, it said something about the order that someone like altaïr was able to get that high in rank, simply bc he's good at killing, which also tells us what is considered important in the al mualim era assassin order. when you make altaïr’s arrogance the result of his personal conflicts instead of how we was raised by a brotherhood that only valued one's ability to kill, you lose that characterization of the assassin order itself!

and by suddenly making al mualim a semi good "father figure" you also downplay his manipulation of not only altaïr but all those under his care. (altaïr says something about al mualim being "as a father" to him exactly twice in the codex, but he doesn’t mean by that that he WAS a father to him, what he means is that he was the CLOSEST THING he had bc HE DID NOT HAVE PARENTS, not because his mother died in childbirth and his father was executed when he was young btw, BUT BECAUSE IT WASN’T ALLOWED, like his parents actually lived but weren’t allowed to be close to him, he says he came to view al mualim’s "weak and dishonest" love as enough and even better BECAUSE HE HAD NOTHING ELSE, BECAUSE AL MUALIM ISOLATED HIS ASSASSINS FROM THEIR FAMILIES. al mualim "loved" him bc he was good at killing people for him! hm, i wonder if this could be trying to say anything about cults and indoctrination and the inherent contradiction in fighting for peace and free will by taking children away from their parents and raising them to become killers?? like, altaïr wasn't ~the special orphan boy~ taken in by al mualim bc his father died a hero's death, it was "the way of the order" to have al mualim be the closest thing to a parental figure for everyone to ensure absolute loyalty! altaïr saying al mualim was like his father is not supposed to make you go "oh, he must have actually been a good guy for altaïr to consider him a father", it should make you go "oh that's kinda fucked up that he considers the dude who made him into a killing machine and who manipulated him a sort of father figure"!)

and then in revelations they suddenly portray that relationship as positive and healthy??? like, it would be one thing to give it some nuance by delving into the psychology behind al mualim’s "love" and maybe showing how al mualim did care about altair in a complicated, fraught sort of way (like, you know, there’s a lot of interesting things you could say about al mualim at several points addressing altaïr as "my child" in AC1 and how that parallels Garnier referring to the people he drugged and abused as his "children", and what that says about how the templars view the people who they say they want to save and in whose best interests they supposedly act (in any case, al mualim doesn’t use that phrase because he has any real parental feelings but rather to patronize and to invalidate any objections, like in a "mother knows best" way))

but they even fucking DARE to parallel that relationship with that of altaïr and darim in revelations, by having the reflection in the puddle of darim hugging altaïr showing altaïr hugging al mualim…. like their relationship wasn’t inherently abusive but just tragically cut short because al mualim was just "corrupted by the apple"… like WHAT???? so it’s not the very real problems like grooming, manipulation and indoctrination and the hierarchical structure of the brotherhood itself (all of which are antithetical to the assassin ideology), it was just the evil apple all along. great. that’s DEFINITELY a lot more interesting.

god im sorry i really dont want to spread negativity but this is driving me INSANE. like, somebody please tell me im not crazy bc i feel like somehow most of the fandom is in agreement that revelations and the secret crusade have better storytelling and characterization than ac1.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, can we talk about how, even IF we completely ignore AC1 and treat revelations altaïr as his own character…. the narrative still doesn’t really work?

basically, the whole point of his story in rev is that "he gave his whole life to the brotherhood", this obsession led to him not using his time with his family which has him ending up dying alone in a dark library and this in turn makes ezio reevaluate his life choices…. except. he doesn’t? neglect? his family? or whatever? like, his devotion to the assassins is sort of painted as this tragic flaw that leads to a lonely death bc it supposedly comes at the cost of his family, but… his wife has joined the assassins, (at least) one of his sons is in the brotherhood and even when he goes to protect the assassins against the mongols, he takes his family with him (except for the son who stays behind bc he has a family of his own and who, ironically, ends up dying bc of that)… like, you can’t describe altaïr as a good husband and father in the database and have his son tell him that "everything that is good in me began with you, father" when they say goodbye, and then want to make us believe that he put his family behind the brotherhood and that that is a character flaw that leads to his tragedy.

because you HAVE to have a character’s tragedy be the result of a character flaw. like. that is how tragedies work. otherwise it just becomes tragedy for the sake of tragedy which is… boring bc it has no purpose. and we know it is SUPPOSED to have purpose bc ezIO FUCKING QUITS BEING AN ASSASSIN AFTER WITNESSING IT!

it’s like they want to have their cake and eat it, too — they didn’t want to actually make altaïr a bad husband/father, but still wanted to make his life a tragedy where he loses his family which is why instead they outsource all responsibility to abbas who now has to be the reason for ALL the deaths.

like, they try to make at least maria’s death kind of sort of the result of altaïr’s rashness or whatever but like… these guys KILLED THEIR SON and TOLD HIM THAT ALTAÏR HAD ORDERED HIS DEATH. like, altaïr losing it in response to that is not rash, it’s fucking logical and justified! if anything the scene made me angry at maria for trying to stop him. like, GIRL, he was YOUR son too??? but god forbid we give female characters actual real emotions, she has to fill the role of "voice of reason who dies for altaïr’s man pain" i fucking guess.

like, it’s this weird mix where his tragedy is simultaneously painted as his own fault but also not really bc abbas is the one responsible for all the shit that happens. it just… it just doesn’t really go together.

the only way to make his story make sense narratively and to give it actual purpose is by looking at it in the context of ezio’s story, bc the things he sees in altaïr’s memories are supposed to be a revelation (ha!) to ezio specifically. and i guess that’s maybe the crux of it all — altaïr’s story in revelations was conceived of first and foremost to support ezio’s story and development. which is probably also why many people maybe don’t notice bc, having skipped ac1 and started with ac2, the majority of people mostly care only about ezio and only really appreciate altaïr’s story in as far as it serves to push ezio forward. (tho i’ve also seen a few people say that ezio is also written kind of weird in rev, but i’ve never really been an ezio girly myself so i can’t speak to the truth of that)

like, altaïr dying alone in the library doesn’t really have to make sense for his character, i guess, bc it’s only really supposed to be a cautionary tale for ezio.

so, i guess, for once, they actually had a MAN dying for another man’s character development, which is pretty woke actually. ubisoft, i take everything back jksdsfjhgdsahfhsdhfghfdsgjhsdgjh

[paragonrobits]

on a whim i looked up the Templin Institute (a worldbuilding-focused youtube channel I dropped because I was horrified at a video they made where they claimed that the Men of Tolkien's Legendarium aren't REALLY human because they're not vicious enough, cruel enough, or obsessed with war) and I was miffed to see that apparently since I dropped them they made a video arguing that everyone in the MCU should be living in constant fear and that it would be better to live in the universe of The Boys (because the super serum is qunaitifable) and Warhammer 40k (since in that one, everyone is a zealot who believes that the God-Emperor protects them and thinks that all aliens are inherently evil)

and it sort of illustrates a thing that... I don't think sci fi fandom or writing IN GENERAL is like, but it is enough of a common element to bother me, and its when people treat cruelty, systemic brutality or man's capacity for evil as an inherently positive aspect.

This ties into the video that caused me to drop them; the channel made the claim that the Rohirrim would have been doing better if they had been genocidal and brutally attacked anything different enough from them (in the sense of "maybe if they had killed all orcs on sight for being nonhuman, Rohan would be doing better"). and its like... why?

I honestly can't fathom why anyone would consider that a good thing, or even think that it SHOULD be expected to hate and fear anything different from you, and to got to the extreme that NOT being xenophobic by default is some kind of failing, or imply that not wanting to kill all other forms of life makes you different from humans, or that being more bloodthirsty or willing to hurt others is an advantage.

What, I can't help but wonder, is the appeal in lionizing the worst parts of ourselves?

You see a lot of this in sci fi, and i think its because a lot of those look at the factions involved as characters in their own right, so they don't really feel much when stuff like 'by performign x social policy, the Human Dominion allowed 42 percent of its people to starve to death on purpose' is considered a fairly neutral detail.

Mindless fanaticism is often prized in these settings, to the point where the most common fandom memes is numbing stuff like 'FOR THE EMPEROR' and 'PURGE THE XENOS'. quite literally stuff all about turning your brain off and being happy about being a murderous garbage-animal that acts like a walking personification of the 'maybe the people who say all humans are inherently evil animals and that it will be a blessing when we all die and no longer poison the universe with our cancerous capacity for evil' idea.

i find it really, REALLY fucking creepy when this stuff gets popular, and more to the point, when the idea of 'humans are naturally warriors/soldiers' becomes so prevalent that you have people hating the idea of some universe where we don't automatically try to kill things for not being like us. its just exhausting, and tedious and...

I don't know, but it doesn't really sound right with archaelogical evidence for us.

I'm thinking about how ancient graves from our own ancestors and our neanderthal cousins both have many signs of caring for the ill, the elderly and infirm. the remains of children with severe Down's syndrome who survived until at least five years old, well cared for by others. Lots and lots of bodies with healed fractures and broken legs, which means someone took care of them; a running animal, and a hunter, with a broken leg is a dead animal. A healed leg is someone who was taken care of.

I think about how on the island of Cyprus, they found an truly ancient burial. In it, they found the body of a long-dead human, and beside them, the body of a cat, laid to rest with ceremony and by all signs, love.

The burial is around 9,500 years old; almost ten thousand years ago.

This predates the first confirmed use of writing by at least 3000 years or so. 3000 years before the epic of gilgamesh became one of our first stories (a story, I note, about a king who grieves the death of a friend and desperately tries to find the secret to immortality, and in time makes peace with the inevitability of death, and becoming a story we still know today).

War goes back a long way; there's no mistake about that. But I think about how friendships and love for animals that loved us too, and long-dead people still showing the signs that people cared enough about them to keep them alive as long as possible, is probably much more integral to the concept of being human, or perhaps what it means to be a thinking entity at all, more than our capacity to hurt each other.

[synergysilhouette]

Brainstorming my own idea for "Kingdom of the Sun"

Originally conceived as an epic musical on par with "The Lion King" before becoming the buddy comedy "The Emperor's New Groove," KOTS suffered a lot of story issues that prevented the film from being made with the original intentions--though with my own details.

Our protagonists: Emperor Manco and the peasant Capac, heteropaternal fraternal twins, which is a pretty way of saying they're twins with different fathers--plus they were born 10 days apart. Yes, it's possible, and in order for them to look alike, they both take traits from their mother, who plays a role in this. Manco was raised by the temperamental and emotional Emperor Sayri (think King Triton), and after his wife died, he found it difficult to look at Kuzco, who looked so much like her, instead leaving his care in his advisor, Amaru. As such, Manco grows up spoiled by his people, though develops Amaru's warped view of power, especially after Sayri's death, which also leaves a hole in Manco's heart that he's desperate to fill, making it easy for his mother figure to manipulate him. Capac, on the other hand, is raised by his kind and caring father and kind stepmother, and is much more humble and insecure in contrast, being shy and ventures to the capitol in order to appeal to the cold-hearted emperor about helping his people, who he's been neglecting for the most part. He can also talk to animals, supposedly because of his pure heart, as well as being physically stronger than Manco (though Manco is smarter and more acrobatic); I don't see either of them as scrawny like Kuzco. When they meet, Manco is amused by him, and they trade places, but this turns sour when Manco realizes that Capac is much happier than he is. He inadvertently makes people upset with him due to his entitled and bratty attitude, making him more insecure and believing his father never really loved him. This embitters him to decidedly ruin Capac's life so they can both be miserable, though when Capac's family embraces Manco anyway, it makes him break down. I also like the idea that Manco's aesthetics are reds/oranges while Capac's are blues/greens.

2. Our Antagonist--Amaru, the royal advisor. She's lived for a LONG time, something that Manco (despite his arrogance) has noticed, accurately deducing that she takes advantage of the fact that no one knows much about her life by "dying" every few decades and returning as her own daughter. However, he sees this as an "old woman's game" and leaves her to it, deciding he could always fire her if she became too senile. Amaru grew up with a power-hungry mother and a royal magician for a father, so her destiny was sealed as she learned the magical dark arts, as well as the human dark arts of manipulation, breaking Manco's spirit to make him her puppet. When he and Capac switch places, she quickly realizes the change in him and blackmails Capac by threatening to out him as a sorceror who killed Manco and took his form. She's able to summon shadow monsters that can take human form, and could easily make it look like he actually did kill Manco. Once again in control, she vows to plunge the world into eternal night in order to restore her youth, which she says was wrongfully taken from her due to her ambitious family, and that she will rule the empire. She also plans to do this by inciting a civil war against "Manco" and replace him as head of the empire. I'm thinking "Queen Raveena" energy here (if you've seen "Snow White and the Huntsman): scary, cold, and calculating, though she does have fleeting moments of sympathy. Part of me imagines she has a lover--maybe a silver fox like King Magnifico with a bubbly personality like Wiggums. He supports her thirst for power, though often maneuvers things so that people are imprisoned (or banished) rather than killed.

3. The love interests--I really enjoyed Malina as Kuzco's love interest/foil in TENS, so I imagine Capac has someone like that in his corner when he becomes temporary emperor. Named Cavillace, she's a studious noble in the emperor's court who became disillusioned with Manco's cruelty, but begins to fall for "him" when the kingdom begins to take a positive turn. She doesn't trust Amaru whatsoever, but Capac's innocence and Manco's disregard of Amaru makes Cavillace believe that perhaps her feelings are misguided, and Amaru manipulates her by guit-tripping her and saying that Cavillace doesn't like her because she wants her job (and to be with "Manco"). At the end of the film, Capac and Manco decide to keep their lives switched, with only those close to them knowing, and Capac and Cavillace get married. Along with Malina, I think she'd be a mix of Princess Jasmine and Belle.

Manco's love interest, on the other hand, is a bit more vibrant. Similar to how intimate John Smith and Pocahontas were, Manco is a bit more intimate with his love interest (Chasca). She's, beautiful, sassy, clever and very self-involved, which makes Manco fall head-over-heels in love with him. Chasca reciprocates his interest, though she's taken off-guard with how emotionally fragile he is. Eventually she comes to love his dual nature, and helps him overthrow Amaru without exposing his own identity. When Manco retires to life as a peasant, Chasca does not; she convinces Capac to send them money to live off of, and while Manco rejects (most of) it, he has no issue letting Chasca keep it to further her desire for luxury. They end the movie in a boyfriend-girlfriend position. I imagine her a lot like Chel from "The Road to El Dorado" since i kinda ship her and Kuzco.

4. The resolution--I imagine the twins have a sort of "Twitches" thing going on; Manco is active during the day while Capac works best at night, plus it's a neat characterization to have the schemer a day person and the nice guy a night person. When Amaru thinks she has defeated them, she uses their innate magical powers to cause a permanent solar eclipse, strengthening the shadows while preventing the sun from escaping. When the brothers break free, they team up with their loves to defeat her, using their magic to reverse the eclipse and wither the beautiful Amaru to dust (I was thinking of turning her to stone to prevent a copy of Mother Gothel, but I wasn't sure how to implement that). If she does have a lover in this, he's banished, and her family is stripped of their status (I like the idea that she comes from a big family like Yzma did).

5. The songs. What classic Disney film would be complete without them? Okay, a few, but you get my point. Anyway, I imagine that either the Anderson-Lopez team or Lin-Manuel Miranda would do the music, as I love their work with Disney. I wasn't really impressed with what I heard from the OG tracks. Let's keep "Snuff Out the Light," though. (And BTW, if Manco and Capac had different VAs, I imagine they're both strong singers, though perhaps one is better than the other.)

The Sun King--Half-creation story, half-intro to Manco's life, I imagine this cover the legacy of the empire as well as his own mixed bag of a past, with him trying to hide any pain he feels via an upbeat number.

Moonlight--Essentially an Inca version of "Go the Distance," I see Capac singing this song as he travels to the capitol in hopes of seeing the emperor and helping his family.

The Last Night--When Manco and Capac decide to trade places, they tell themselves (and each other) that this is the last night they're unsatisfied, the last night they feel powerless and/or bored, the last night when they look in the mirror and can't see their full reflection--the last night of not having a brother. It's tender and powerful, maybe with some "Prince of Egypt" vibes in there.

I'm Better--Manco is feeling rather hurt and put off by the fact that no one really likes him when he pretends to be Capac, finding that the Capac is much more selfless, albeit sometimes at his own expense. Manco deides early on not to mimic his twin's behavior, and instead decides to be himself--and ruin Capac's own happiness.

Beguiled--A longer romantic song made of two parts: Manco and Chasca's upbeat song, something in the vein of "Rhythm of the Tambourine" and Capac and Cavillache's sweeter, cuter song, akin to "Something There."

Snuff out the Light--Essentially the same as it was originally, with the main exception being that Cavillache sees her singing this song and is abruptly captured, and this song is present-tense, happening as Amaru sings it rather than her just plotting things out.

Part of Me--Again, a longer song in my mind, a Broadway-esque song on par with "For Good" and "Let It Go (Reprise)." Manco and Capac use their powers to defeat Supai and the eclipse, erasing Amaru's shadows and turning her to dust. The brothers reflect on how different their lives are, and resolve to stay swapped for a while, if not forever.

These are just my ideas for now, subject to change! Lemme know if you have any questions or concerns about my idea

[aerospas]

Hello! :) I've really enjoyed all your posts so far. It feels like you understand these characters on an incredibly intimate level, and so many of your headcanons and characterizations hit the spot for me. Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful things you create with us! Looking through your writing brightens up my day every time.

If possible, I'd like to request a Star Trek matchup. I've only watched TOS, AOS and a bit of DS9 and TNG, but I'm completely open to any character that comes to mind regardless of series and gender.

I'm a transmasc enby and lean towards masc or androgynous presentation. I have dark brown eyes and wavy hair. I have a bit of grey hair from stress and a single dimple that shows when I smile or purse my lips. My height and build are on the lower end of average and I've been told I have fairly broad shoulders.

My MBTI is INFP. I'm reasonably sure my enneagram is 4w5, but I could be wrong. I'm neurodivergent and that factors into a lot of my personality and worldview. I'm an old soul. I have a variable social battery, but I am always there for people when it matters the most. I feel things quite deeply, but I strongly believe that emotions and logic go hand in hand, and as a result have a pretty high EQ.

I'm very easygoing and approachable, and like to make lots of friendly acquaintances in my daily life. I try to connect a bit with everyone I can strike up a conversation with regardless of age. I care a lot about people and I think people would generally consider me sweet or easy to get along with. With my closer friends, I'm maybe the dad friend counterpart to our other mom friend. I'll be silly with them but am usually the first to go no-nonsense when they need a voice of reason. My brand of humor is quite deadpan, but I laugh a lot at my friends' antics. I will only sass or give a ribbing to people I consider fairly good friends, but make sure to avoid any sore spots.

I'm passionate but not really competitive and thrive in environments where everyone really loves what they do. I have no problem taking on leadership roles or otherwise. I generally serve as a mediator for conflicts, and don't mind speaking up for other people's needs. Otherwise, I'm somewhat easily embarrassed and prefer to deal with problems myself instead of asking people to go out of their way to help me.

I gravitate towards creative mediums like art, reading and writing, music and theatre, but also have a soft spot for anthropology and biology. I really like talking to and connecting with other people. It is pretty easy for me to find beauty in all sorts of places and people and things, and one of my favorite things to do is to take things slow and focus on the little things for a while.

I'm demisexual, sex-positive, and probably ambiamorous. My love language is words of affirmation then physical touch, in that order. Gender doesn't really factor into my attraction for someone and I find people attractive because of who they are as a person, not how they present. I'm most drawn to people who are fundamentally kind but are unafraid to push me to think about things from more perspectives. I feel like the basis for my attraction is first and foremost the capacity for a strong bond built around trust and communication.

-🪁

from the original series, i'd pair you with, spock!

with your introspective and empathetic nature, spock would find himself drawn to your depth of understanding and your unique perspective on life. initially intrigued by your combination of logic and emotion, he would appreciate the way you balance your feelings with rationality, much like he does himself. your gentle demeanour and quiet strength would complement spock's reserved nature. your capacity for understanding others' emotions, despite your own occasional struggles with vulnerability, would resonate with spock's own internal conflict between logic and emotion; he would admire your ability to navigate the complexities of human interaction with grace and compassion.

from deep space nine, i'd pair you with, kira nerys!

kira would admire your courage and resilience, seeing in you someone who understands the importance of fighting for justice in the face of adversity. initially, she might be cautious around your easygoing nature, unsure of how to reconcile it with your deep sense of purpose, but she would come to trust your sincerity and reliability. your willingness to mediate conflicts and support those in need would resonate strongly with kira, who shares your dedication to protecting others.

[helluvanaro]

I once thought that humans were inherently good, that humanity could be fixed. To me words like "good" and "evil" and "cruel" have always seemed too simplistic to be used to describe the most complex beings on earth.

But how is genocide anything but evil? How is the ruling class being willfully oblivious of global warming anything but evil? How is humanity's hate for anything that's different not cruel?

I watched the Aaron Bushnell video, and I openly sobbed, because that's when it hit me. Humans ARE cruel and evil, the good ones are so few and far between.

And I don't understand how people aren't rioting, how they aren't laying in bed and never getting up, because Hind is dead, because Sidra is dead, because Aaron is dead, and people still say that this is warranted.

How can people be so horrible without being inherently cruel, inherently evil.

I have watched a genocide from behind a screen, and no matter how loudly I scream it seems like it's never loud enough, so as I go to bed in my nice bed, in my nice home, a child is going to bed and fearing that they'll never wake up.

We have all been screaming, but our begging and pleading and fighting and protesting, it falls on deaf ears, and day by day more people die.

How have we as a society condemned the genocide of the past but revered the genocide of today? We should have moved past this, we're supposed to be better than we were before. We're supposed to care, God-damnit.

We like to believe that we are better than we once were, that we aren't still barbaric and cruel; this is painfully untrue. It keeps me up at night, knowing that I whine about fucking school and a Palestinian child begs for their parents to not be dead.

I'm so privileged to live the life I'm living, yet I take it for granted so often.

We read books like "Night" By Ellie Wiesel and "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl, and we see these atrocities that were committed, we condemn those who performed them, and those who didn't speak up, but we watch genocide today and we do nothing.

It is a wonderfully heartbreaking hypocrisy that we refuse to acknowledge.

Will Palestine ever be free? Will Congo? Will all of us be forever trapped? How is this okay, how do we stand by idle as innocents are murdered. It seems like we're all slaves to our own fear, to our leaders, to our governments.

Race, and gender, and sexuality, and birthplace seem to be the only things that determine a person's worth. How is that fair? How is that okay?

I've always had hope that humans were good, that they were kind in at least some capacity, I now see how naive that is, how simplistic. Sometimes the simplest words are the answers to the most complex questions.

It hurts, you aren't supposed to realize how fucked up the world is until you're ready, and I'm not. I'm not ready, I don't want to know. I want to go back in time and believe that we can still fix this, but I can't.

How can we live in a world where the people in the right are the people who kill innocent civilians? How can the people in the right be the ones who steal dead women's lingerie to "prove that Palestinian women are slutty"? How can the people in the right be the ones who made fucking snuff of them committing their horrendous acts?

How does war equate to genocide?

If people aren't inherently good then I don't know what to do, because we have to be. We have to have something we can hold onto some sort of hope that this isn't how things will stay.

How am I supposed to have hope for the future if I know that I and so many others won't be welcome in it?

[sburbian-sage]

oh, i see. you ARE THE ONE WHO ADVISED MY tumor.

when SOMETHING CHANGED, i thought IT WAS SOMETHING INTERNAL TO THE SESSION. he MUST HAVE USED rage COMMANDS TO TURN THE OTHERS AGAINST ME. but NO, AFTER GOING THROUGH THE LIST OF WORTHLESS SLOP HE BUSIES HIMSELF WITH ON THE REPLAYERNET, i find THE SOURCE: you. GIVING IRRESPONSIBLE ADVICE ABOUT A SITUATION YOU KNOW nothing OF, AFTER HEARING ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE STORY.

as THE witch OF hope, IT WAS CLEAR TO ME THAT HE WAS MY FAMILIAR. a BEAST TO BE TAMED. i do NOT CARE THAT witch FAMILIAR THEORY IS DEBATED, i do NOT CARE IF YOU BELIEVE IT, AND i certainly DO NOT CARE THAT IT WAS NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE MENTIONED IN THAT sburb glitch faq THAT HE ALWAYS RAMBLES ABOUT AND YOU AND THE REST OF THE REPLAYERNET SEEM TO TAKE AS GOSPEL. i could FEEL IT. controlling HIM WAS MY ONLY "hope", AFTER ALL, AND WAS MY REWARD FOR MAKING IT THROUGH MY FIRST SESSION WITH HIM.

and IN YOU COME, TOSSING WRENCHES INTO MY PERFECTLY OILED MACHINE. THAT SESSION WAS hell FOR ME AFTER YOU GAVE HIM THE UNEARNED CONFIDENCE TO SPEAK HIS EVIL WORDS, AS HAS BEEN EACH ONE SINCE.

i sacrifice SO MUCH, EVERY SESSION, ALL FOR THE SAKE OF MY COPLAYERS. what DOES HE SACRIFICE? nothing. because HE IS A SELFISH, ENTITLED, destructive LITTLE brat, AND YOU HAVE ENABLED HIM THINKING THAT HE HAS A PLACE AMONG OUR IGNORANT INNOCENT HUMAN AND TROLL COPLAYERS WHO DON'T KNOW ANY BETTER.

but OF COURSE, YOU TOO ARE A HUMAN. your EMOTIONS AND CAPACITY FOR LOVE AND COMPASSION WILL ALWAYS BE GREATER THAN A CHERUB'S (THIS IS NOT RACISM AGAINST MY OWN KIND, IT IS fact), SO IT'S EASY TO SEE HOW YOU WERE SO EASILY MANIPULATED. i shall FORGIVE YOU THIS ONCE. but YOU MUST MAKE UP FOR YOUR MISTAKE AND tell me HOW TO FIX THIS, AND PUT HIM BACK IN HIS PROPER PLACE.

Have you considered a hobby? There's all sorts of content out there on the replayernet not relating to SBURB. Having something to do on your downtime can really help you level out and get away from the stress of the game.

Maybe knitting is a good one. I know you and your brother share a body, so maybe a sweater that has little designs that both you and he like? Or if it wouldn't flow well, something double-sided so you can just turn it around/inside out and it looks completely different. I think that would be cute.

[cazort]

lol do you want a prize for knowing bi people aka people who are attracted to both sexes exist? they're the only ones with the capacity to be sexually 'fluid' and care about 'gender' in their attraction. gay and straight people are exclusively attracted to the same/ opposite sex respectively, no matter what ephemeral gender someone id-s as. my country doesn't have gendered pronouns and guess what none of that idiotic non-binary ideology here lol, everyone's a they! people are just masculine and feminine yet understand that as a sexually dimorphic species we can never detach ourselves from our sex and our bodies. you just believe in some esoteric regressively heterosexist mind-body dualism at this point. ofc people have preferences for masculinity or femininity, but are ultimately attracted to sex as every scientific source will confirm, including those that are trans-inclusive. het aka female-attracted transwomen have neurologically identical brain phenotypes to regular het males, and it's the same with female heteros who id as trans (study by Manzouri & Savic, 2018) meanwhile gay people share the same brain patterns, trans-identified or not. this proves both that sexuality is solely based on sex and that 'transness' or I suppose the mental illness if gender dysphoria isn't neurologically innate as homosexuality evidently is. either objective science which already tried and failed to justify trans innateness is 'transphobic' or trans rhetoric is just anti-scientific and homophobic.

This is such a trash perspective that I almost wanted to just delete it without mention because on some level I think it's not really worth engaging with.

But then I had second thoughts because I realized (a) there is value in letting my followers know that people out there send this kind of stuff in asks (b) I'm confident enough not to let comments like this get to me, but I know that a lot of LGBTQ people are not as confident. So I thought, hey, maybe I could let people know why I think this sort of ask is bullshit.

The one tip-off about this ask is that it has a condescending tone from the start. It's not worth engaging with people who insult you or show contempt, as this ask does. Which is why I'm not talking to the ask, I'm talking to you, my followers. This ask is from someone I don't want to engage with, and don't think it's worth engaging with. If they were a person I knew in person, I would block them or cut them out of my life.

It's important to have diversity of perspectives, and it is valuable to listen to people with different viewpoints from your own, but in our world, with all the people and perspectives out there, there is no need to ever listen to someone who approaches you in a disrespectful or condescending way as this ask does. What makes this ask so condescending? It isn't trying to listen to me or understand me, it's just telling me I'm wrong. Take note, and don't do it, people. Don't treat other this way, and when people treat you this way, don't interact with them.

As for the perspective itself, it's deep in flawed binary reasoning. I know human sex is not a binary because I have close friends who are intersex. I also know science, I have a pretty strong background myself. I read articles like this 2015 one in Nature, which explain the growing scientific consensus that human sex is not a binary.

On top of this, the perspective equates trans identity and experience with mental illness, which is a common right-wing anti-trans talking point, but is not backed by evidence, and which is being rejected by a growing consensus of medical professionals. This is why the DSM has moved away from diagnosing trans identity as a disorder or mental illness, and instead treated gender dysphoria as the disorder or condition, independently of trans identity. For an explanation of the reasoning behind this, check out this 2017 article in Scientific American.

This ask goes even farther though in its nutcase level of reasoning, in a way that makes it look like a bad-faith argument, and this is that it is trying to spin non-binaristic and trans-inclusive or pro-trans viewpoints as "homophobic". This is a play or strategy to try to elicit sympathy and/or guilt-trip people into listening to or caring about the perspective. Like the idea is, because of the solidarity between LGBTQ people with different identities (such as gay and trans), and the strong negative connotation on homophobia in progressive culture, people are sometimes able to bully or guilt-trip people into submission by accusing them as being homophobic by holding whatever view they do. This person is trying to get me to think I'm being homophobic by virtue of acknowledging nonbinary identity or trans identities more broadly, or even the fluidity of sexuality.

A lot of the reasoning in the ask is focusing on things that to me seem largely irrelevant. For example the ask seems to be obsessed with the idea of whether or not sexual orientation or trans identity is "innate", whatever that means, and it seems to assume that sexuality is "innate" but gender identity is not. Not only does this perspective not mesh with the wide range of scientific research I've read on this topic, but it also seems largely irrelevant. Whether or not something is innate vs. learned or culturally influenced or socially constructed, does not say anything about whether or not it is real, nor about whether or not it is easy to change. There are a lot of things that are not innate but rather, I learned from my environment, like my accent and mannerisms when speaking, that are pretty much impossible for me to change (unless I'm learning a new accent to do as an imitation, I can never do it as a native speaker could.) Even if someone proved that trans identity and gender identity were culturally constructed, they wouldn't be any less real, nor would sexuality if someone showed that it was culturally constructed. But also, these viewpoints seem wrong, particularly, the way the ask frames this as a strictly binary thing, like they are either "innate" or not. It seems obvious to me that both sexuality and gender identity are influenced by multiple factors, and that for some people, they may be largely or mostly innate, whereas for others they may be more culturally influenced or socially constructed, and that for most people, there are going to be influences of both. This nuance would be obvious to any mentally healthy person who had lived in the world a sufficient amount of time and just observed people, listened, and learned. And this is one of many reasons I think the ask here is putting forth a trash perspective that isn't worth engaging with.

Lastly, this ask also seems to be really deep in a specific strawman argument that is quite bizarre. Like the premise of the ask seems to be that I somehow believe that gay or straight people are attracted to people on the basis of non-observed "gender identity" of others, which they may or may not be expressing openly. This is silly. I have never made such a claim, and I never would. I'm well aware that gay and straight people tend to be attracted to physical sex characteristics and that these don't necessarily correspond to a person's gender identity. I've never gotten into stupid arguments with people about whether or not someone qualifies as "gay" or "straight" if they are attracted to a non-transitioned, closeted trans person who presents as their birth gender.

And on top of that the post also references mind-body dualism, which is something else I reject.

I don't know what is going on here. Perhaps the person behind this ask wrongly assumed that I must hold some sort of unreasonable viewpoints, just because I am trans and nonbinary and have a more complex or fluid view of gender and sexuality. Or perhaps the person didn't assume that but is just writing the ask in bad faith, trying to use this argument to make me look bad or unreasonable, or trying to appeal to things that it's obvious I care about or believe in, in an attempt to guilt-trip me or make my own views seem unreasonable or flawed. Who knows? I don't know, and I don't need to know, nor do you.

Just know that people out there send asks like this, and that they're bullshit, and educate yourself so that you don't let them get to you at all. And if any of you followers want to talk about any of this stuff, please feel free to message me. I am friendly and I am always here to chat, I love talking about gender identity and sexuality and I love answering questions that are written respectfully and in good faith, and I love supporting people, even people who may hold views different from my own.

I care about all people and I especially care about any LGBTQ people who get asks like this and may feel self-doubt in response to them. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you need a sense of perspective on this stuff and you want someone who will listen to you and help you to sort through the bad logic and negativity and clarify what you really believe about this stuff.

[mr-crawleigh]

And someone you care about has hurt you?

I mean, besides the physical injuries. Losing your wings must have been very painful on many levels, though, I'm sure.

I suppose it's easy for me to care about humans, but I've rarely been emotionally hurt by one. Annoyed, offended, even upset by a particularly upsetting situation, but it's hard to take much of it personally any more than I take a stray kitten scratching me across the hand of I pet it personally. My job doesn't usually put me in contact with humans at their best, and I've got to take this into account.

But then, I travel for business so much that I don't get into the habit of forming attachments very easily. It's easy to care a great deal for the well-being of a stray cat you come across on a trip without knowing much about it or its life. The heart of many an animal lover has known such a situation.

As for the "Indistrustial Revolution" (that's quite apt, and I am going to propagate it), it's perhaps a little embarrassing to some in Heaven that the humans have actually provided the Other Realms with many of our tools when it started the other way around, but it's true.

Angels and demons have... I won't say no imagination, but it's limited by the constraints of our individual natures and our nature as a species. We can't really think beyond our capacity without a great deal of effort and strain, and most never even bother to think about trying. Many do and immediately dismiss the possibility as unpleasant or boring.

(Some of us can imagine a great many things, but have a different reaction to the products of their own imagination than humans do, which can restrain them in other ways.)

Are the Fae like that? It seems that you can certainly change what you believe to be your core nature, or at least act against it, without even intending to. That certainly takes imagination of a kind, doesn't it?

@mr-crawleigh If you look under the passenger seat of your car, there’s a tin of cookies for Puck. Remember to be cautious with the fae, and polite.

After all, I could not save you if it became necessary.

[anamericangirl]

This is the anon deeply saddened by my generation At the risk of being piled on by pro-abort extremists on here--

We as humanity and as an American society have more scientific fact and truth about human life inside the womb and when it begins, than ever before in human history, ready at our fingertips. We have photos of lives torn apart by abortion. Do you ever think that people see the truth of that and don't care--they just *want* abortion, they just want it? Do you ever feel angry about it?

I'm almost ashamed to admit that over the last couple years, my anger over that seems to have appeared out of nowhere and only grown. I worked in a pro-life pregnancy medical clinic for almost 3 yrs in Cali before moving in 2020. I've met with women who were lost and just needed a kind ear and compassion and reassurance, and I have literally been the one to provide that active compassion and reassurance. I have been moved to compassion by that many times, and it was a pricelessly rewarding experience for me. I have had deep compassion and love for women in that position.

Perhaps it's been too long since I was actively serving in that capacity and I need to reawaken that compassion. Or perhaps the compassion is still there, but is recently being overshadowed by anger in me that I hadn't felt so starkly before. Sadly I can't imagine that I'm in a good place, at least rn, to be of service in that same way in a pro-life preg clinic at this time.

I have seen pictures of aborted baby remains and have chosen to not turn a blind eye to the horrific tragedies of their lives actively, physically crushed and ended. I have deep fears whether I'll ever be able to have any of my own precious children. I can't relate to women wanting abortion anymore. There's also the many, many ways the abortion industry has been exposed and proven to have corruptly and illegally betrayed women, men, families, and children.

I guess I'm just wondering if I'm the only one feeling this anger over our society and my generation actively choosing and clinging to abortion despite ample access to fact and truth. Sometimes I'm close to crying I'm so angry. Humans who choose that in the face of truth will not have an excuse for it before the Lord.

You are definitely not the only one feeling that anger and I think this is an anger that is good to feel in some capacity. It's a righteous anger at a very real and terrible injustice and the things you are saying are absolutely true and need to be said.

Like you mentioned, we have more scientific proof than ever before that proves life begins at conception. The evidence is so abundant no real scientist can honestly say life doesn't begin at conception or that the unborn are not human beings at conception. There's no debate about it in science and technology has advanced so far that we can even see and monitor babies in the womb. Yet the people who claim to be the party of science turn a blind eye to these indisputable scientific facts. And I often wonder how people can just blatantly ignore these realities or even be completely unaware of them. But I think that's because people who are pro-choice aren't actually looking at or following the science. They're listening to Planned Parenthood and counting on them to convey the science to them. They're listening to abortion providers and mainstream media, their professors, favorite celebrities, etc. and they are hearing the unborn being referred to as "pregnancy tissue" "the pregnancy" "the fetus" "a clump of cells" and more dehumanizing terms and when you get fed that day after day, especially when it's your only source for abortion information, you're going to accept it. They hear it, they repeat it, and they believe it.

The abortion industry needs the fact that human life starts at conception not to be true so they are going to do what they can to cover up and explain away the truth and so far they have done so very effectively. Abortion is also extremely harmful to women but they've also duped people into believing that it's safer than childbirth. They lie constantly and are not being held accountable.

And it's maddening. Especially when you try to show the truth with pictures or actual scientific sources and get accused of spreading propaganda.

We really are fighting a war for the unborn. We win some and we lose some. We feel the losses, the wounds, and the despair very strongly.

You should be proud of the work you have done in the clinic and for pregnant women. I know it's discouraging when our society doesn't seem to be changing its mind on this issue, but if even one woman chooses life when considering abortion, and one child's life is saved, that makes it all worth it to me and a lot of lives have been saved by your work and the work of others in the movement.

I'm sorry you are feeling so disheartened, but don't be ashamed of your anger. Everyone should be angry about this. If you're not feeling up to serving in the same way you did before then I wouldn't force yourself to. It's perfectly ok and healthy to take time and deal with the emotions you're experiencing. It's a heavy subject and it can take a toll on you.

It is very frustrating and angering when so many people don't even seem to care what the truth is. Like I've even heard some people state that even if the unborn were people you should still be allowed to kill them and that really gets to me because how can anyone be perfectly ok and unbothered at the idea of killing a baby? It is beyond me.

Some people really have just been misinformed about the truth, some are willfully ignorant, and some just flat out don't care. I am always dumbfounded at how biologically illiterate so many pro-choicers are. Even with it being a long known scientific fact that human life starts at conception it’s shocking how many of them think a fetus is a word for something non-human. And I don't think anger is in an inappropriate reaction, as long as your anger isn't detrimental to your mental health.

Sorry I feel like I got a little ranty but this is an important issue to me and I've been feeling more passionate about it lately than usual and you brought up some good points. If you want to discuss this further or even just want to vent feel free to reach out anytime.

[inconveniently-discorporated]

US human rights/politics ahead.

Senator Lindsey Graham today introduced legislation that would ban abortion nationwide if passed. Now, it's unlikely it will get passed as the house presently sits, but that could change with future legislation depending on how elections go.

Here's some things you can do to help fight for your rights:

Reach out to candidates in the upcoming November election from both sides of the aisle and get their opinion in writing. Make a neutral request for more information -- would they vote to support legislation like this if elected? Compare answers. Is one candidate squirrelly on a straight answer, and the other willing to be explicitly against? Show that to people you know. Show them the stakes, from the candidates' own mouths.

Reach out to your representatives, even if you know they're voting against this. Ask them not to just vote against it, but be vocal and do outreach and educate people on the dangers of removing avenues of healthcare. Ask if they have suggestions for resources you can look into for fighting against this sort of legislation.

Be explicit with people you know, ESPECIALLY if they're not likely to vote or they're not sure. This legislation hurts and kills living, breathing people who have hopes and dreams and families and even existing children who depend on them. USA already has a shameful rate of preventable maternal death, especially for the BIPOC community. This legislation makes it worse, and puts even happily expecting parents at risk if they face complications and are not able to access suitable care. If you are not voting for people who will stand up for these rights, you are allowing them to be taken away.

Offer to help people you know with voting accessibility if you can. Make it a night out if you have to go to the polls, make it a night in if you have mail in voting (e.g. offer fun pens & potluck where people can come only if they've voted or will bring their ballot to privately fill out and drop in a secure mailbox). You could offer childcare, rides, body doubling (let's vote together, or, let's sit down and do this paperwork together). Accessibility includes physical, mental, socioeconomical factors.

"Yes, and" -- I know. People who talk the talk but don't walk the walk are incredibly frustrating. We don't just need words, we need action! I submit to you that I would rather see people talk about it than not at all, and talking about it is an accessible way to get involved, especially if you're facing other challenges that prevent people from participating. Also, I believe that a lot of people WANT TO be more involved, but it can be overwhelming figure out how and where. I've been using "yes, and" successfully -- "Yes! This is great to see you talk about -- and you can help by (donating/writing in/joining me for this protest/volunteering). I see that you care a lot about this, let me know if you have any questions or need any ideas!"

We still have a voice and we can all work together. YOU STILL MATTER and YOUR VOICE STILL MATTERS even if you can't get out and take certain kinds of action.

I'm all about making civic duty as accessible as possible, because I feel like sometimes people make it all or nothing. You have to go out and be involved in all of these things or else your contribution is worthless. It's not worthless. Taking action can happen in any capacity.

Yes -- this sort of stuff deserves us to act to the fullest capacity we have. This does NOT end here, and MANY communities are at risk of having their rights trampled, from various kinds of healthcare, to marriage protection, and possibly much, much more. It deserves our full attention. But, capacity looks different for everyone. I urge you to work towards yours, and help people where you can so that they can participate in our democracy in effective ways that protect their rights.

[fairycosmos]

tbh after covid i started remembering how shitty the world can rlly be and seeing everyone seemingly stop caring about the lives of others and realizing that we truly are the same human beings that have done torture and world wars and stuff and i feel like its really hard to keep trying to find the goodness in people. but reading ur blog gives me hope that there are still people out there who are gentle and kind or at least well meaning. idk ik that sounds privileged but i think this was my first personal experience w mass tragedy and i didn't realize that you dont rly genuinely know what it's like until you experience it

honestly i don't blame you at all LOL like i basically had the same experience and i think a lot of ppl did, esp young ppl. it was just like idk. the suspicion we had our whole lives that we're surrounded and governed by unempathetic assholes at best and downright heartless lunatics at worst was confirmed in 24K for 2+ yrs straight while the death toll climbed and that was that. it was and is really disillusioning. of course it's privileged to say that, but it's also simply the truth for many. there are tons of nuance-adding factors to covid and the way ppl responded to it but a lot of the behaviour has been straight up fucking unhinged, and just so beyond ignorant lmfao in such a universal way too. nobody has any conception of anyone or anything mattering outside of their own bubble, including me to an extent obviously. it's just jarring as fuck to think we live in that every single day, so cognitively dissociated from it to get by. it's awful, and i agree that it echoes the cruelty of the past in a really uncomfortable way :( the capacity for human maliciousness is truly something else.

anyway, all that to say, it definitely doesn't mean there isn't kindness out there, and in abundance too, it's just a difficult and weird world at the same time. so many conflicting realities all occurring at once, sense is bound to be scarce. thank u lovely!! <3 im beyond glad my blog can give you a bit of comfort while we're living through what seems to be an increasingly ridiculous joke. it does the same for me tbh half the reason i believe in Anything is because of random girl bloggers online. anyway it might be like getting blood out of a stone LOL but i genuinely believe in u. and i think the people we come across are sometimes well meaning, we're just all kind of alienated from one and other too. and i think u can and will find the support system you deserve with time, for real. maybe it's just more of a weeding out the bad sort of process, rather than being able to trust and believe in everyone and everything with freedom, sadly. sending u a lot of love! i know it's hard. don't doom scroll/stay stuck watching the news if you can help it, it just makes things feel heavier for no material change in return for that pain. mwah x

[cryopathiic-a]

A distant concept that, friendship. He has many entities he calls a friend. And by that, the second moon primarily means someone he won't immediately try to screw over. At a later date, however, when the opportunity shows itself, all is fair game, isn't it? Because they are demons. And a demon cannot be loyal.

Hungry dogs aren't loyal.

And now comes Dōma's least favorite part of them all. Clarifying the terms of the deal. Because that's all a friendship is, isn't it? A pact. And he prefers to keep what is expected of him unclear, on his end, so he can always fall back on his word. Because it's easier that way, when you're as non-committal as this creature. To commit equals stagnancy, equals death. If Muzan-sama can understand that aspect of Upper Two's eccentricity, why is it that the first moon is so insistent on naming things that are forbidden?

— And why is the supposed pious one not trying to stop that blasphemy from taking part in this here sacred ground.

Because he was stunted. By those words.

The real you.

For a moment he is underwater. The room is still, the cushions soak in his skin and suck him deeper into their confines. It's just him and Kokushibo; and they are sitting outside of time and space. He can envision — no, he can see the starry sky spreading around the crimson painted tufts adorning his friend's head and the sneaky clouds shifting under the cover of night. And of course, Kokushibo's unyielding glare stands at the center of it all. As the centerpiece. The guiding moon. It's beautiful, he concurs.

But then he thinks about tucking his chin inward to look at himself — and that's when his eyes widen. And his body stills. And he draws a deep breath before facing the other.

The room is normal again.

What did Kokushibo see? The question that will haunt his days forevermore; and if he had the capacity for it, he would truly loathe the first moon for forcing him to look inwards like that. But Dōma only sighs. And his tone is just as tempered while they continue. Not because he was untouched. Exactly, because he was touched.

❝ That 'well crafted story' has salvaged many lives, you know. Don't underestimate the power of faith. ❞ A nail comes to rest upon his own forehead as he sits up, withdrawing his touch in light of the mood drop. Gosh, what a downer Upper One can be! Someone more empathetic would be surely drained at that point. Maybe that's how he sustains himself so well in spite of eating so little; he just drains their energy with his mopping. ❝ For humans, their reality is what they choose to believe it is, after all. And for us, it's what we choose to make them believe. But have you ever thought that us, demons, we still count time and years and everything based on the human calendar? ❞

That was because their Master did not care for any other calendar, wasn't it. Oh, he should probably watch his tongue and carefully tread that topic.

❝ Because their time in the world is limited; so they need to count it. And to make every moment of it count. But our time is unlimited, on the other hand; so, for a demon, nothing can be finite. Nothing can have an end, when you're endless, and without an end there's no beginning so... ❞ His hand motioned a few circles in the air before settling back down on his thigh. He'd turned to his side, resting one hand behind his head now, in a more lax position. ❝ —see my point? Pft. ❞ And they're making puns now, too. Getting all the more brash by the minute, as per usual.

❝ Listen, if you want my take, I just think you're going about this the wrong way. Like, there's a whole infinity ahead of us. And humans, God bless them, are going to keep progressing and, hopefully, make things entertaining for us. Isn't that why we're allowing them to exist? It's by our mercy that they even breathe. You know, it's kind of funny, because I always thought if Gods existed, they'd be at least a little depressed watching the little world they've made go to shit like that. ❞ He pushes himself up on one elbow, reaching for the incense and ticking the cover off with two fingers, to release more fragrant steam.

❝ Hey! Rude. ❞ A mock scandalized gasp compliments the palm that comes to rest over his chest with that comment. But his confidence did not seem to be swayed; mostly because, well, it was sourced inwards. Justified or otherwise, that remained to be seen. ❝ Well, for your information, you didn't exactly inspire the best performance from me. For someone with five times my years you're hardly engaging. Let alone... seriously, the dirty talk needs work. ❞ He wags a finger at him; and it's somewhat playful.

An abrupt motion has the younger sit up and pull all the garments with him as well. It's a bit too intimate, and certainly uncomfortable to be sitting here in this human form as he would have been so long ago with another... friend? lover? The people he brought to his chamber back then... he could hardly remember their faces.

❝ Besides, you know what, even if my previous argument didn't do it for you, I'll tell you this; you haven't done everything, yet. Because you've never showed me what your face was like. ❞

[jimkirkachu]

So... in 90-something-degree (F) weather with a hundred-something-degree heat index, there's a group of about 15 people Running. from, like... point A to point B all the way across town to raise money for X/Y/Z charity. (Led by a slow-moving ambulance which is ostensibly there as an escort but which I REALLY hope is equipped to help in case any of the runners pass out from heat stroke, sun stroke, exhaustion, dehydration, etc.)

Yet all I can think as they pass by is, "Why in the world is This the way we humans raise money for charities??" These people are out RUNNING in one of the most lethal heat waves in recorded human history?? And that's really the best way to get other people to either contribute to a cause or become aware of a cause??

(I mean, mad respect to these folks for Caring that much about something. And yes, I do know about crowdfunding. And I think it's great, although I hate that it's gotten to be—in the US, anyway—essentially an emergency support-network substitute for health insurance/social security for so many people because our healthcare system is so f***ed up, but I digress.)

I just... *keysmash* I'm a cynic through and through, I consider myself to be professionally depressed—but even I refuse to believe that a dozen people putting their health and possibly their lives on the scorching pavement like this is truly the most efficient means of fundraising or spreading awareness for a charity, because honestly... how broken is our society that this is what charitable organizations have come to? It just seems like utter brutality to me.

(Disclaimer: I fully understand that I could be 100% wrong. I don't lead or work for a 501(c)3, I'm not an athlete, and I'm definitely not a runner, so maybe these folks actually derive some kind of enjoyment out of these charity runs. 🤷 But... in this kind of heat?? I don't buy it.)

Isn't there some way to fundraise for Good Causes that would be actually conscientious toward all parties involved? Like... I don't know. Have people pledge 50 cents for every piece of litter you pick up on a charity walk, and all the walkers go through a different neighborhood in town, and on their own time, when it's not dangerous to their health or safety to do so (aka not exerting their bodies to the maximum capacity at high noon on a sunny over-100-degree day). Or raise five dollars for every row of soil you till or seed in a community garden or something.

No clue what my point is here, but having a gaggle of already toxically-thinspo-looking people try to jog down the road on one of the hottest days of the year while sweating out what I can only imagine is every possible nutrient left in their bodies just doesn't feel like "the answer." 🤔