#if the people want it I shall give it

[kaiju-krew]

growing the gijinka army✨

[to-be-a-dreamer]

Okay so I'm from the Newsies fandom which means I know how to make character backstories out of literally nothing and I'm done with my "This makes no sense what were the writers thinking?" stage of grief after the BuckTommy breakup and it's time to go to work and start asking "What could have happened to make this make sense?".

Because regardless of what you think about Tommy, it's very clear that the writers have characterized him (in the current stage of his life) as someone who has put in a lot of work to become a better person, is a very steady figure, and feels very confident in himself and his identity. We've also been told and shown that he and Buck care for each other a lot and neither of them wanted this relationship to end. So the question is, what happened in Tommy's past that could have caused this very confident, mature person to realize he's falling in love with his partner and then choose to leave?

"I'm your first, not your last."

How many times has Tommy been someone's first? How many times has he shown another man this new side of himself, taught them what it means to be queer and how to love yourself for it, and been left behind once they figured themselves out? How many times has he been someone's first and had a whirlwind romance, only to be left brokenhearted because his partners had a whole new world opened up to them only to realize they didn't want Tommy to be a part of that world?

Does Tommy think of himself as the guy people have fun with, not the guy they want to marry? Does Tommy think there's something wrong with him, that there's a reason no one ever sees a future with him? Do you think he's always told himself that he would keep trying, that it's worth the potential heartbreak to find out if this next guy might be the one who stays?

Did the way Buck was talking about their relationship being transformative for him just sound too familiar? Did he think Buck liked him because he was showing him something new, not because he could ever actually love someone like Tommy? Do you think he could never imagine Buck liking him anywhere near as much as Tommy liked him?

Do you think he realized he was falling in love with Buck, and the idea of losing him like all the others was just too much? Do you think he knew the potential heartbreak of someone as incredible as Buck deciding he didn't want Tommy in his future wasn't worth it this time? Do you think he was afraid of falling in love with Buck, of falling so deeply in love that he wouldn't be able to recover when Buck left him like all the others? Do you think he decided it was better to break things off with Buck before he could finish falling in love with him?

Do you think they could come back from this? That maybe, just maybe, if Tommy told Buck about all of his fears that he could convince Tommy that it is worth it to find out if they could make it?

"I'm not the guy people decide to spend their life with. They- you'll finish figuring yourself out and realize you don't want a future with me. And that's okay, I just... I don't want to let myself finish falling in love with you first because I won't survive losing you after that."

"Do you think that little of me? That I'm just using you for my own personal gain and that I'll leave you in the dust as soon as I get what I want?"

"I... No. No, I don't think you would do that."

"Then give us a chance. Let me show you that this is more than just an awakening for me. Let me prove that I want to finish falling in love with you too."

Because I think that's what Tommy's afraid of. He's a person who's spent a lot of time self-reflecting and he knows himself so well, especially his faults. I think he’s afraid of Buck seeing all of those faults and realizing he doesn’t love Tommy as much as he thought he did. Loving someone means you see every part of them and want to be with them anyways.

I think Tommy is terrified of falling in love with someone because he can't imagine anyone loving him back.

[beastblade69]

well that's fucking awesome. all of the damage russians have done to our electric infrastructure can be repaired in one year minimum. IT'S GONNA TAKE MORE TAHN ONE YEAR TO REPAIR ALL OF THE ELECTRIC STATIONS RUSSIANS HIT WITH THEIR MISSILES. AND WE AIN'T EVEN TALKING ABOUT CIVILIAN OR ANY OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE. ONLY ELECTRIC ONE. MORE THAN ONE YEAR. AND WE ARE STILL NOT STRUGGLING ENOUGH IN ONLINE PEOPLE'S OPINION. FUCK OFF

[sp00pypumpkins]

I am finally better from being sick a few days ago B] and finished the ref for Zero in the sweet home AU by @asamary (sorry for the tag)

Now I can freely do silly lil comics about it HAHA

[debble-from-deltarun]

they are besties :3

[eebie]

whats your discord?

[ongreenergrasses]

So do you not think that the sex industry creates a demand for trafficking? You don't see how trafficking rates increase in countries with full decriminalization? I support the Nordic model which only punishes Johns and not the prostitutes. I think that prostitutes should not be shamed for being in that position. They should not be told it is their fault or that there is anything wrong with them. The stigma should not be on them. It's the johns' fault for creating the demand and exploiting them.

I’m really glad that you support the Nordic model because it is one of the more progressive models out there and definitely a step in the right direction…it is an undebatable fact that traffickers need to face consequences for the harm they inflict on people, but those consequences can and should be charged as separate and distinct crimes from the crime of engaging, either as a client or sex worker, in the sex industry. decriminalizing sex work itself would not remove criminal penalties for traffickers, because at least in my country, trafficking is a separate crime that is treated far more seriously and because of the nature of trafficking, there’s also several things classified as crimes that are involved and a trafficker can be charged with.

but the good news is, we are in agreement on the most important issue. the stigma should not be on the survivors and they need extensive support. what’s continuously left out of this conversation is a) the voices and experiences of survivors, who of course will not all agree but all need to be considered, and b) an examination and broader understanding of the realities of trafficking and abuse and how that factors into penalizing trafficking criminally. in such situations, people are living in a constant state of fear. the idea of being charged with a crime because they’re a sex worker is a tool that traffickers use to keep power and control over people. the Nordic model helps with this, but as long as sex work is criminalized in some fashion, that is something that traffickers can use to keep people in fear. one of the reasons trafficking rates seem to increase when there’s full decriminalization is most likely because people feel safer coming forward and disclosing about it.

the concept of trafficking also remains similar no matter what industry it occurs in. vacant jobs and higher demands for various goods and services, while they may be a contributing factor, do not cause labor trafficking. this is also true for sex work. higher demand for sex workers, while it is a factor, is not what causes sex trafficking.

[humanmorph]

"They found each other in the wreckage of optimism, and it took them a decade to decide that hope was not enough to save the Golden Branch from itself. It was in a library, not an armoury, where the Apostolosian became the sword and shield of Integrity, a Divine who’d lost its Candidate. Some climb into their Divines, others deploy them across the battlefield, or fight under the blanket of their shadows. But Integrity demands intimacy. It digs into the flesh of the willing, all metal and promises and penetralia, desperate to create an unbreakable unity. It is afraid, and wounded, and it cannot know the power it gives without seeing it first in the reflection of a Candidate's eyes: the loft, the velocity, the violence. And for the first time in centuries, Integrity doesn’t fear its Candidate. It moves with confidence, in muscle and ambition. It believes in Sokrates Nikon Artemisios." (COUNTER/Weight 22: A Broken Branch)

Great episode to get to after recent palisade happenings. I obviously remember the "Integrity demands intimacy" but there's so much other great stuff here.... "They found each other in the wreckage of optimism" is just incredible.

Edit: Noting the wording of " [...] the Apostolosian became the sword and shield of Integrity" because Integrity literally is both those things - they are the armor Sokrates wears and the weapon they wield - but it positions them here both as a protector of Integrity and someone Integrity acts through (divines & candidates!).

And I love that this gives Integrity pre-Sokrates interiority I had honestly completely forgotten about. "For the first time in centuries, Integrity doesn't fear it's candidate" A divine afraid(!) of what it can do together with it's candidate, the power it gives. And then what Austin describes in pal29 comes to mind, which is like, "if there was a time when Integrity was like, you know, 'Finally someone has come to help me get out of this situation.' That is not what's happening here." It's interesting because that phrasing of if not the current but a past state("that time has come and gone ")... it still sounds like fear a little bit. And that obviously isn't the case anymore (I don't feel like typing out this Austin quote but he said something about the notion of immortality & change that made me real happy. I love that shit) & I'm curious to learn more about this hopefully.

I love Integrity & while I don't think of it as "the good one", it's fate is important to me because is still one of the sickest divines (which is really saying a lot with like, Perennial and Motion et al. around).

[salsedinepicta]

I may have thought too much about my Surana with longer hair, maybe.

[chiropteracupola]

puella adiuva my class-readings are getting in my fic-writing again...

[punkrockisafulltimejob]

For those who are unsure of whether or not they really have the "sensitivity to cold" symptom of fibromyalgia, because you think that it's just you not being able to handle colder temperatures like other people, that's one way of putting it. The other way is, when it's winter and the temperatures start dropping, do you feel your pain more intensely? Do you feel like you have more problems with your joints? Is your partner always commenting how cold your fingers and toes are, but it somehow gets more frequent in winter? Those are other ways to consider being sensitive to the cold.

[allgremlinart]

"are u rly gonna be watching the atla live action" do u have any idea how long its been since we've gotten any book 1 content.. like yeah.. im barely gonna post about it its gonna be my dirty little shame secret but.. yeah..

[yallemagne]

Seward is the type of babygirl who would wear a sweater on a sweater, maybe even a scarf on top of everything

... why do people keep casting me as Seward? I am offended!!

Is this a historically accurate outfit? Well, I used Victorian reference photos, but no Victorian man would wear a sweater jacket completely unbuttoned like that, so he looks completely modern.

[csuszka]

im also increasingly sure that im autistic but we'll never ever confirm that </3

[feralnumberfive]

TUA S4 is coming out in 2024

[the-hwaelweg]

My colleagues right now: "Hey can you stop putting out that active fire and enter this info into the database right now. Yeah I need it so I can get this contract going for a picture book that's due in 3 years that I'll inevitably ask you to delay anyway because the author had a life event crop up and somehow missing that deadline, which is a public facing one, is fine but missing this arbitrary one that no one outside of contracts and production knows about will bring about the dissolution of the company. What do you mean if you stop trying to put the fire out it'll burn the whole office down? I don't see why that matters when I'm about to miss this arbitrarily set deadline!"