#in the United States . good for her …. good for her………

[formulawolff]

“my favorite driver!” - t.w.

pairing: fem driver!reader x toto wolff

word count: 1.9k

warnings: cursing, mostly fluffy content, jack being a little shit (unintentionally), some tension between an ex-wife and the new girlfriend, mentions of divorce, toto being clueless, yadayadayada

a/n: well, well, well. here we are. a busy day of karting complete with jack, toto, golden girl, & susie! lemme know if you guys enjoyed this one! <3

⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺

"are you ready?"

exhaling, you adjust your cap, praying that it will somehow keep your identity protected. after all, you wanted nothing more than to keep a low profile today.

"as ready as i'll ever be."

⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺

"be careful, schatzi," he rolls his eyes, "if you sound any more ecstatic you may burst like a little bubble."

"oh yeah," you scoff, lingering in the passenger seat. your hand hovers above the handle of the door, palms clammy as your fingers wrap around the cool surface, "i'm filled to the brim with excitement."

"hey," fingers grasp your chin, forcing you to maintain eye contact, "it is not going as terrible as you think."

"it sounds like it's going to be an absolute shit show," you cringe internally as a whine escapes from lips, "i have to sit next to your ex-wife all weekend! we both know that i am the last person she wants be seen with."

toto tuts, shaking his head, "can you at least push through? for me? for jack? he's been chattering about this all week. you have no idea how much this means to him."

"i'll try my best," shame ripples within you, cheeks burning as toto nods, shooting you a wink.

"that's my girl. now, let's get going. he starts in about an hour."

the illustrious team principal slips out of the car, shutting the driver's side door. before you know it, he's on the other side of the coupe, a breeze rolling through as he opens the passenger door, prompting you to come on out. swallowing the lump in your throat, you oblige, ensuring that your bag and sunglasses aren't forgotten.

keeping your head low, your heart skips a beat as you feel his fingers find yours, intertwining them together. he squeezes tenderly, a signal that he was there for you, no matter what.

with that anxious sensation growing in the pit of your stomach, you couldn't be more grateful for his reassurance.

since there was a brief break in your schedule, you agreed to accompany toto to a weekend of karting. well, mostly because of jack. the little one was constantly buzzing about you, often inquiring when he was going to meet you. due to the nature of both of your bustling lives, toto conferred with susie on what a good time would be.

the two ended up settling on a weekend between singapore and austin, a couple of weeks before the united states grand prix.

it was a simple outing, really. hanging out with your boyfriend on a beautiful autumn day. you would be introducing yourself to his kid, a little one who absolutely adored you. yet, there was one factor that weighed heavy on your mind.

susie.

the f1 academy founder and racing mogul would be in attendance today in support of her son.

and god, did the thought of facing her for the first time since the news broke have you absolutely reeling.

what would she say? would she be kind? or rather, would it be a sickeningly sweet sort of niceness? would it all be a facade? would she even acknowledge you? would she let you meet jack?

no matter how much toto told you that she was over it, there was still that anxious feeling. it was ever-present, gnawing away at you.

and now, as you approach the garages, hand-in-hand with toto, that anxiety heightened, almost paralyzing you with fear. with every step, it felt as if you feet were concrete, barely moving at all.

"it's okay baby," a voice, his voice, floods your ear. it's barely a whisper, almost inaudible as you grow closer to the throng of parents and children, "i love you."

chewing on your lower lip, you manage to croak out a response, "i love you too."

you hadn't even spoken with susie yet and you were already bristling with fear. only five minutes had passed since you got out of the car and your palms were slick with sweat, armpits damp as well.

fuck, was this going to be torture.

you could manage to get behind the wheel of a vehicle that topped speeds of over two hundred miles an hour but meeting an ex-wife and former acquaintance was almost too much.

how fucked was that?

for a moment, you couldn't but admire toto's initiative to keep your nerves at bay. how he had pulled you closer, looping your arm through his. how his thumb traced soothing circles into your skin, his mercedes cap situated on your head.

he was doing everything in his power to keep you calm. and god, did you love him for that.

the team principal comes a halt, your heart thudding as scans the garage. he pauses, eyes forming slits as he searches for susie. after all, with her blonde bob and striking smile, she was pretty distinguishable.

you couldn't forget a stunning face like susie's.

"ah," toto sucks in a breath, "guten morgen!"

your head swivels in the direction of his voice, picking out a blonde. the woman turns, lips pulling into a grin as she recognizes toto.

"good morning!"

your hand trembles, knees almost buckling as she strolls towards you, little one in tow. for a moment, you squeeze your eyes shut, hoping that maybe this was some sort of a dream. praying that you would simply wake up, wrapped up in your lover's arms.

yet, his hand breaking away from yours reminds you that is real. very real.

you remain still as toto's arm envelop susie's frame, bringing her in for a warm embrace. he pecks her cheeks, the words indistinguishable. you recognize them as german, cursing yourself slightly for not keeping up with your courses.

"and good morning to you," susie bears a bright smile as she turns to you, opening her arms up for a hug. you return the gesture, awkwardly placing two kisses on either cheek.

"it's nice to see you again."

"papa!" a voice squeals, bursting with joy, "she's here! my favorite driver is here!"

at that, you notice susie's right eye twitch. toto kneels, scooping jack up. he hoists the little one into the air so that he was at your level. at the interaction, you feel your lips curl, forming a quaint smile.

"guten morgen, jack! i can't believe i'm finally meeting my favorite kart racer. i think i'm a little starstruck."

jack's eyes widen, his cheeks tinged a rosy pink. his hands fly to his face, shielding his shyness. toto leans in, whispering something in his ear. in turn, jack peeks out, stars glistening in his gaze as he peers at you.

"did you come to watch me race today?"

"i did," you nod, "i figured i would give your dad some company today."

"mama says that you keep my dad company too much and-"

"let's not worry about what mommy thinks," susie cuts in, "let's just worry about racing today, okay?"

toto arches a brow, yet holds his composure, "let's go check out the kart and let the women gossip, yeah? what do you think about that?"

jack nods enthusiastically as toto sets him down. taking his father's hand, he leads him to the other end of the garage, buzzing about a mile a minute. for a moment, there's a beat of silence, susie inhaling a sharp breath.

"i am so sorry."

"about?" your brow furrows, "ms. wolff, you have nothing to be-"

"it's stoddart now," susie's lips form a tight line, her eyes squeezing shut, "did toto not inform you? the divorce was finalized."

"i-" you stammer, swaying slightly, "i-i had no idea."

the blonde rolls her eyes, bringing a hand to her temple, "he has a knack for forgetting important events like that. i apologize for putting you on the spot. i hope you know that i have no ill-will or grudge toward you. it's just... different, you know? he is so different now that he has you."

"what do you mean by that?"

susie motions her head, pointing in the direction of toto and jack, "just look at him. i have never seen him so loving or careful with anyone until you came into the picture. i have never seen him so proactive in jack's life. you have changed him. you truly are his golden girl."

in that moment, your heart swells, bliss rippling all throughout as you watch toto and jack. the little one's hand was wrapped around toto's finger, the child showcasing all of the new modifications to his kart. toto couldn't look any more proud, his gaze brimmed with affection, dimples apparent as jack toted him along.

"susie," you begin, attempting to form some sort of response that would truly express your gratitude, "thank you, for that. you really have no-"

"don't thank me," a chuckle bubbles up in her throat, the blonde resting a hand on your shoulder, "just stick around, yeah? i don't know if i can handle anymore drab and depressed toto. also, i wouldn't mind if you wanted to stop by the academy sometime. we miss you around there."

"i could probably fit that in sometime," you beam, "there isn't much more of the season left. i would love to come by and see how things are progressing."

"don't feel like you have to just because of me," susie sticks outs a hand, "i know you're fairly busy at brackley in your free time."

after her statement, she winks, heat billowing into your cheeks the moment you realize what she meant.

so she had heard the rumors.

"well," the blonde clears her throat, fishing her phone out of her pocket, "my partner is going to be here any minute now. i need to go meet up with her so she doesn't get lost. you think you can keep the boys out of trouble?"

"i sure can," a giggle flows from your lips, "i'll go see what they're up to. isn't the first lap going to start here soon?"

"yes," susie responds, spinning on her heel, "if i can't find you two around here, will you text me from toto's phone?"

"of course!" you chirp, flashing her a thumbs up, "we'll meet up with you soon!"

"great," susie flashes you a grin, waving at the boys one last time.

as she disappears among the growing crowd of parents, children, and family, you make your way towards toto and jack. the moment jack spots you, he waves you over, "i need help!"

"what is it?" you fold your arms across your chest.

"will you give me some tips?" the little one cocks his head as toto zips up his racing suit.

"what sort of tips?" there's a cozy sensation blooming in your chest as you kneel to the ground.

"racing tips, duh!"

"i'll tell you what," carefully, you place your hands on his shoulders, maintaining eye contact.

"the most important thing i can tell you to do is to believe in yourself. if you can do that, then you can do anything."

"anything?" jack's lip purse, toto hovering with his helmet in his grasp.

dipping your head, you take the helmet, placing it on the child's head, "anything. no go kick ass out there. i know you'll do great!"

at your words, you can't help but notice the way jack brightens. his mouth forms a radiant smile. for a minute, he's a spitting-image of his father, the sight tugging at your heart.

"okay! i'll go kick some ass! only cause you said i can!"

as toto helps him into the kart, you rise to your feet, a singular thought buzzing in your mind.

maybe one day a little toto wouldn't be so bad.

just maybe.

[shiphappen-s]

Ok so like brace yourself bc I haven't read the brick and I'm playing fast and loose w canon here but you know that line in Bring Him Home where Valjean is looking at Marius and is like "he's like the son I might have known, if God had granted me a son"

What if Marius and Cosette swapped places. Marius was always a sensitive boy and he always had his quirks and such (personally I HC him as autistic / on the spectrum but like again fully fanon/musical based pls don't come for me). And where those more vulnerable sides of him would have been mostly squashed under the care of his grandfather, valjean nurtures them. And Marius just looks at valjean like he hung the stars in the sky, he's everything Marius wants to be when he grows up. A man who can protect himself and his family while still being kind and generous and sometimes nervous just like he always is. This guts Valjean because he feels so unworthy of this love and innocent childlike devotion. Marius should want to be so much more than a convict on the run from the law, which actually results in him telling Marius about his past early on in an effort to quell this thing but only ends up making Marius love and respect him more lol. Anyway I'm getting off topic

Cosette who was never taken from the Thenardiers, who grew up hungry and cold and right next to Eponine. They had a vicious rivalry until their early teens but once Eponine stopped getting daughter privileges and started getting punished the same if not more than cosette they formed a quick alliance. Eventually they became thick as thieves, often dreaming about the day that Fantine would come for her child and cosette would convince her to take them both out of this hell. Eponine is eventually the one to find out what happened to Fantine. Learning that her mother died alone and cold and abused because of the thenardiers simultaneously broke and forged something in Cosettes soul. Eponine became more and more bitter about life and the world but Cosette could not watch idle as the thenardiers continued to ruin people's life. She starts stealing from them and distributing it to the poor, purposely botching their jobs under the guise of being clumsy/stupid, subtly taking their attention so that Eponine or gavroche could nick food or medicine or whatever they needed. This eventually puts her on the path to bump into the Les amis and she quickly joins them and rises in the ranks. Her and Enjolras, though from completely opposite upbringings, are a United front when it comes to ideals. She is merged into the inner circle and becomes close with all of the boys, becoming a mix of big sister and little sister to all the students in attendance. Grantaire gets on her nerves a bit but he's so similar to Eponine that she can't stay mad at him. Especially bc he's never cruel and she can see his point most of the time, it's just annoying to be interrupted all the time lol

Cosette would fall immediately for the shy well read rich boy who spends his days giving to the poor and helping the needy as best he can. Marius would fall instantly for the girl with fire in her eyes and bruises on her knuckles who speaks passionately about equality and freedom for all.

(There would also be no love triangle with Eponine here bc she's had her eyes on the good looking intellectual man who serves as the right hand of Enjolras. He helped her in a tight spot once and he didn't flinch at her state or even ask for any kind of repayment. She doesn't know his name yet as she hasn't crossed paths with her sisters group all that often but the people in that group sometimes call him the guide. She usually keeps her cards close to her chest on this kind of stuff but she's planning on tagging along to the next meeting of his so she can see this man in his element and determine if his kindness was a fluke or not)

[creatingblackcharacters]

I've been dabbling in some young adult series, and Bree Matthews from the Legendborn Cycle is one of the best protagonists I've had the pleasure of experiencing. (She's also so beautiful on the cover art. I love the red and blue lights reflecting off her curls and the detail given to her hairline.)

When it comes to YA, I tend to be really picky about main characters. They make or break the experience since the plot hinges on how believable/compelling the MC is. Bree is a joy to follow; she's clever, sincere, and level-headed (despite ALWAYS going through it; she's at that age where everything is turbulent. There are many scenes where my heart hurt for her). She's a good example of a young adult character who grapples with loss and grief, who sometimes behaves selfishly with good intentions, and whose charm comes from being authentic and likable.

She is attending early college classes when she uncovers a secret society and the existence of magic. She learns that her late mother was somehow involved with this secret society, and wants to infiltrate them in order to uncover the truth behind her death. The book plays heavily in the sort of 'alter ego' space of Bree living a double life while also discovering her mother's secrets.

But as with all history, magic didn't exist in a vacuum in the southern United States. As Bree learns more about her mother, she learns about how Black people had interacted with magic and how it's different from the secret society's culture. She's also a Black girl in academia, so she finds herself often in competition with privileged white men or their sons benefiting from nepotism. Her journey as an 'underdog turned victorious hero' character was very satisfying. (I highly recommend the audiobook too: Joniece Abbott-Pratt does an amazing job emoting along with Bree in a way that captures the senses.)

🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 this all makes me happy, especially the last paragraph. Exploring Blackness and how even within magic societies it's different? YES. I wish I'd had this during my YA days. OH don't get me started on the experience of watching a mediocre White man (person in general really) get treated better than you despite you knowing more in your field.

And yes, this cover? 🤌🏾🔥 The way lighting and colors are so beautiful and dynamic on Black skin needs to be appreciated more. It's why I get so annoyed and upset when we're drawn ashy and matte. Light LOVES melanin. Color LOVES melanin.

[adventuresofalgy]

From time to time, although admittedly not very often, the weather in the wild west Highlands of Scotland "bowls a googly".

It was true that the weather bird had forecast a few days of warm, clear, sunny weather, but Algy had long ago learned not to trust the weather bird, for it was well known that such birds were of uncertain temperament with a regrettable tendency to tell lies, or at the very least to make promises which they were unable to keep.

However, it seemed that on this occasion the weather bird had been right, even if more by luck than judgement, and when Algy woke up in the morning it was to a truly glorious day. Of course it was not exactly warm by the standards of some of his friends in faraway places: 18 degrees Celsius or thereby, and that with a brisk and decidedly cool sea breeze which ruffled Algy's feathers.

But to a fluffy bird it felt very comfortable indeed, so Algy lost no time in flying down to the seashore for a nice quiet day beside the ocean, while the September sun was still able to supply a wee bit of heat to remove the accumulated dampness from his feathers.

When he reached his own special beach, Algy was delighted to find that he had landed inside a perfect picture postcard, complete with all the enticing sounds and smells of the sea. As he leaned back on the sun-warmed rock and relaxed, he reflected that the weather in the wild west Highlands was just like the character in a nursery rhyme he had learned long ago, when he was just a fluffy wee chick:

There was a little girl, Who had a little curl, Right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good She was very very good, And when she was bad she was horrid.

[Algy is quoting the first verse of the old rhyme There was a little girl. According to that authoritative reference work The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, there is still doubt about the authorship of this rhyme. It is often attributed to the American 19th century poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, but the first attribtution was after his death, when he could neither confirm nor deny it, and some very early versions of the rhyme contain verses with British English vocabulary which would not have been used in the United States. It seems likely that it had more or less entered the public domain by the late 19th century, to become a widely known but often modified nursery rhyme.]

[luuxxart]

leaks from the anime post bnha 430……. #REAL #NOTFAKE

[alluralater]

it’s pretty horrifying to know that however this genocide ends, the united states government- my government, will take no accountability for it’s war crimes, the global destabilization, the cultural impact of casually assisting in the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. the media outlets will pretend they were non bias and still have journalistic integrity as if they told the truth to the core population. history textbooks will be published with fake reasons this ‘war’ began and how america was somehow heroic in involvement. politicians will use their involvement as a stepping stone to even more power. it literally turns my fucking stomach thinking about the future because i know what the past has been. indigenous people being removed from their lands, brutally murdered and/or tortured for one reason only. greed. however it ends, we cannot just forget and move on. palestinians deserve our fucking support. ‘to the victor goes the spoils’ how about no. how about we take this as the turning point in history that it is and stop pretending things will magically get better if we avert our eyes from the subject. barbaric acts of senseless murder should be met with extreme vocal condemnation by those who are left standing to talk about it. there is no world in which this is justified. however it ends— do not forget that this has set a precedent for governments to begin globally murdering indigenous people en masse and get away with it. the past will always be the future until we decide to change it.

[destielmemenews]

source 1

source 2

source 3

[canichangemyblogname]

Y’all are so far removed from the reality of US politics on the ground, so stuck in your online echo chamber that you think the reason the American public will have an issue with Harris’ record as a prosecutor is because she wasn’t progressive enough??? Please. The main-stream conversation is about how Harris is “too far left” and “too progressive” for the average swing voter and that she’s going to have a hard time convincing the “American Public” that she’s going to be “effective” at “battling crime” in a country with RECORD LOW CRIME RATES.

I don’t think *you* understand the will and desire of the majority of the general public. Nor do I think you are aware of how the Overton window has shifted.

The majority of American voters are most concerned with 1.) inflation— despite the fact it’s gone from 9% to 3%, and 2.) border crossings and “immigrant crime”— despite the fact that immigrants commit crimes at far lower rates than citizens. They’re afraid of boogeymen.

Maybe talk to someone outside your internet circle, yeah?

[sci-fi-disney-prince]

Round Four of the Garrett Hedlund Tournament

Let me know who you chose by reblogging and writing your choice in the tags, or comment with your choice. Or if anything, you can keep it a mystery as you wait a week to see the results.

For context click on "Keep Reading"

He played Ron Weddington in the first four episodes of the audio drama, Supreme: The Battle for Roe.

Before this, he played Harry J. Anslinger in the movie, The United States vs. Billy Holiday.

I recommend using JustWatch.com to find where to watch and/or purchase the movie in your region. Below is the direct link for the page.

[nehswritesstuffs]

For the "500 words or less" director's cut prompt, which I missed because of the holiday: this 409-word bit of TTOU chapter 31 that surprisingly does not include Nicola, as much as I love her, but does include my favorite confused and well-meaning alien blorbo.

“Walsh’s sister is in government and her brother-in-law was private-sector for a long time,” Fajr explained from the front passenger seat. Gordon was driving, leaving her free to talk without the fear of distraction. “I don’t remember precisely what either did, since I’m not well-versed in those parts of Human society, but it’s been able to help them afford this neighborhood without an issue.” “No one needs to be that well-versed in Human society,” Malcolm assured her. “Her sister’s probably a high-ranked civil servant, impossible to get rid of no matter the government, and he’s probably some energy-sector or banking fuck. I met so many back in my former life that they all blended together after a while. You don’t need to worry about them.” “I might, but that would all depend on what happens during the debriefing.” The satnav instructed Gordon to turn and he did so, pulling into the drive of a house more grand than what was likely all four of their salaries put together. Once the car was parked, they got out and went to the front door as a group, where they were greeted by Walsh herself. “Thank you for coming on such short notice,” she said, ushering them in. Looking over her shoulder, she then shouted into the house, “They’re here, Nick! Four of them!” An unintelligible shout answered her and Walsh brought the guests into an elaborate sitting room, where tea was already laid out. “Sorry about the pretenses, Kate. Nick’s place isn’t exactly what most people would call humble.” “You’ve been able to recoup here—that’s what counts,” Kate replied. “Oh, you remember Fajr Bismuth? She’s now our Head of Security and Surveillance.” “I thought Frank still had a few years left on his contract,” Walsh said, pouring tea. “What’d you do to convince him to step down?” “He didn’t,” Fajr said. She tried to keep eye contact with Walsh, but couldn’t. “Frank Hughes was one of the first people the insurgents killed upon capturing Mainframe UK. I… I couldn’t save him.” “You saved others though, from what I’ve heard, and we can’t fault you for doing all you could,” Walsh said. “He’d be proud to know you’re his successor.” “You think so?” Gordon asked, relief in his voice. “There are some people who are upset that it’s not me.” “Do you want the position?” Walsh asked. “Not yet; eventually, but Fajr was next in line.” “Then let it be Ms. Bismuth.”

AAAHHHHH YEAH THIS BIT more about this bit under the cut.

Have a fic excerpt you want me to break down? Go ahead and let me know!

Okay, so, this bit! I wanted to keep the possibility of Nicola and Walsh being not-related while also teasing it for as long as possible, which brings us to Bismuth being the one who is giving the infodump. If Malcolm did any sort of looking-into Walsh's sister's background then he'd know instantly what was going on, but for now it's just this posh as fuck neighborhood with Walsh going "yeah sorry my sister's place is kinda extra".

'Cause here's the thing: Nicola Murray is rich. She and her husband both have high-paying jobs, can send multiple children to private school, and she seems to have just the right amount of reality disconnect in relation to others while still caring about people to insinuate that she's always been on the wealthier end of things. Shit, it's implied that her husband makes enough that she doesn't have to work, but does anyhow for both self-fulfillment and because she loves helping people. It also wouldn't surprise me if she and/or Mr. Nicola came from money to start, since this is also the UK we're talking about. So yeah. Posh as fuck.

And then Walsh is there! Doing some more misdirection bc Beck and Nick being nicknames for ladies in male-dominated jobs isn't anything, nooooo. I found it really important to me that we expressly lay out Walsh and Gordon's acceptance of Bismuth as the successor to the Security Head's role for a lot of reasons. Here's what we know of Fajr Bismuth thus far:

She is a Zygon.

Her grasp on Human culture is... strained at best.

They just are recovering from the Zygon Insurgency, where Bonnie and Company murdered a bunch of UNIT people including the man Fajr is replacing. The amount of symbolism there is intentional.

She is supposed to be the new Head of Security. So, being in charge of preventing something like that happening again. Everything depends on her loyalty to the Tripartite, which is not exactly something in good standing at that moment.

Her name is awesome but it's also very specifically non-English. It's a feminine Arabic name that means "dawn, beginning", and is a time for observant Muslims to pray during the morning twilight (fajr and four other daily prayers are part of the Five Pillars/Ten Practices of the Religion in Sunni/Shia Islam). Her having a name that can be a Briton's, but is not considered British is symbolic of her status as someone who is stuck between worlds and cultures as someone who might actually be named Fajr would. It is just as intentional. Bismuth just was also an element near [Themba] Astatine on the periodic table that I thought sounded cool with Fajr, since I like giving Zygons elemental names.

So now you've got all of that, and we're in this posh as fuck house, having a conversation with someone who very well could lobby to scuttle the concept of Bismuth having such an amount of power, especially with the resistance that has been seen within the other Departmental Heads. Like, if anyone can make or break this position for Bismuth from within Mainframe UK, it's Walsh. It was her command that was obliterated. She's the one with potentially the biggest stake in that game when it comes to whether another Human heads Security or a member of the extraterrestrial species that caused the entire mess to begin with... and... she... just... accepts once she has all the pieces she needs. You have to remember that Walsh is on a mental sabbatical--once things were over she had a fucking breakdown. Her approval means a lot.

...and Gordon's a good boy he's not gonna fuck this up for Bismuth he knows better than that.

[herargentinaoficial]

H.E.R. esta noche en los premios #NFLHonors 2023

[ziracona]

Yeah, they really made an absolute dogs breakfast of the writing in Inquisition? It's so abysmal that I don't know if it'll ever recover, much less if the writers would even WANT to. In all honesty, I know the previous two games were far from perfect but at least the writing was more or less consistent, can't say the same for DA:I unfortunately...

Yeah. I kept hoping the end would somehow fix stuff but the end was worse than most of the game. O_O I could have written a god-tier game with the concept and basic outline for Inquisition, but alas I am not head BioWare staff. And we sure as hell did not get a god tier game. Tbh I have no interest in DW unless I hear they’ve like, wildly changed the game/writing course of their development. And I don’t exactly have high hopes, because they seem to have mostly staff from Inquisition on it. But I in good conscience can’t keep forking over piles of money for a tripple A game and DLCs when they U-turn from lauding me for massacring a bannon for what they did to my husband, Alienage, and friend, and even Lady agreeing that while she wants the descendants free, the original humans the Keeper went after absolutely deserved their fate, with a little DLC that talks about the cultural appropriation of indigenous people in the world and the loss of their own history to their invaders to the point a circle mage can read and speak more elvish than the Dalish companion, and how terrible it is, to a game where they refuse to take any stance really, finally to a game where they frame Briala & Celine together as cute & sweet with no tell to player who hasn’t read TME on their own what that woman did, retcon the godhood of every culture they based (often not just visibly but explicitly Word of God as well) on minority cultures until the only not retconned god is Fantasy Catholic God, so the only paths forward are Fantasy Catholic (traditional white Europeans are right & all other cultures wrong) or Atheism (modern white European ideology is right and all other cultures wrong), both terrible, and are so allergic to a minority rights narrative they retcon the entire elven history of the franchise to make it Opulent Suddenly European And Slaver Society back in its glory days, and kneecap the game’s second best character by making his sudden face heel end game goal Racial Supremacist Genocide to go back to Opulent Suddenly European Styled Culture for Elves?? And-ah forget it this would go on for a while day. Just. Yeah. It had wild potential as a game and I loved scenes and characters, and am retreating to DAO->DA2 with the things I liked in the divorce, and I could have made SUCH a DAI. But as it stands, I just. Both don’t and can’t really care going forward. I love the games I played and characters and that won’t change, but I have no faith they’ll not just keep getting worse (personally), and I’m not Paying to see that. But yeah, the others ain’t perfect, but they’re fun and solid enough. Even though I think DAO is easily the most well made, DA2 has such a fun cast and interesting concept and story, and such moments, it was my favorite. And he’ll, Nothing is perfect. That’s normal and expected. But there’s a big difference between ‘I don’t like these aspects but I like the whole enough’ and like

[gonzodangerfeels]

Look everyone!

A host of mimes have arrived

*they turn red and become strategically placed for a chain EMP*

Ah, I wanted a balloon animal though

[dumortain-adam]

customers are so fucking annoying man. if you don't cooperate and keep on cursing at the customer service agent handling your concerns, how can you understand what's being explained to you and do what's needed to be done????

[heritageposts]

Harris has been a staunch supporter of Israel for years. In 2017 she addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual conference and reminded attendees that the first resolution she co-sponsored as a senator was aimed at combating “anti-Israel bias” at the United Nations. “Let me be clear about what I believe. I stand with Israel because of our shared values, which are so fundamental to the founding of both our nations,” she told the crowd. In 2018 she gave an off-the-record speech to the organization, but eventually released her comments. In that speech she claimed that she raised money for the Jewish National Fund as a Girl Scout. “Having grown up in the Bay area, I fondly remember those Jewish National Fund boxes that we would use to collect donations to plant trees for Israel,” she told the audience. “Years later, when I visited Israel for the first time, I saw the fruits of that effort and the Israeli ingenuity that has truly made a desert bloom.”

For those unfamiliar with the Jewish National Fund (JNF), they're a Zionist organization that has been instrumental in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

See Stop the JNF for more information on their history, the way they operate, and their decades-long campaign of greenwashing (i.e. destroying native plants, crops, and agriculture under the banner of 'making the desert bloom').

Continuing, the Mondoweiss article goes:

“The vast majority of people understand the importance of the State of Israel,” she added later. “Both in terms of its history and its present in terms of being a source of inspiration on so many issues, which I hope we will talk about, and also what it means in terms of the values of the United States and those values that are shared values with Israel, and the importance of fighting to make sure that we protect and respect a friend, one of the best friends we could possibly have.” While running for President in 2019, Harris was praised by the lobbying group Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) for running to the right of Obama on the Iran deal. On the campaign trail Harris told Kat Wellman, a voter affiliated with DMFI, that she would reenter the agreement but “strengthen it” by “extending the sunset provisions, including ballistic missile testing, and also increasing oversight.” “I was very impressed with her. I thought she gave an excellent speech, she gave a very detailed, responsive answer to my question,” Wellman told a local paper after the exchange. “I’m pro-Israel, so I was I was very concerned and all about making sure we limit nuclear missiles in any country that could possibly destroy us all. I thought her answer was very good.” Harris has condemned the BDS movement and claimed that is “based on the mistaken assumption that Israel is solely to blame for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” However, she voted against an anti-BDS bill in 2019 citing First Amendment concerns.

For the full article, which includes Kamala's response to Israel post Al-Aqsa Flood, see Mondoweiss (July 22, 2024)

[beardedhandstoadshark]

Any ghost stories or accidentally struck upon one?

Only ghost story I ever heard in my life was the rumor that my grade schools was haunted. And that was less treated like a ghost story and more like a " yea we know who cares“

So for context, that school is old, having turned 200 years old when I still went there, and is made up of 2 buildings- the new one that houses most of the rooms and all the important logistical stuff, and the original school. The rumor came from the weird way that old building was used.

It was made up of three floors, and the first floor acted just like your regular school floor. Stickers on windows, two bright classrooms with lots of colors, heck, they even had pcs. That was back when Windows XP was still the go-to, so quite modern all things considered.

The second floor held an equally colorful extension of the after-school care in one room, and a third classroom in the other. That’s where things got slightly weird - the daycare extension was originally an unused classroom, while this one was still in use - but only for a single week each year.

You see, in our school, 4th graders had an extra school "subject". It was more of an event week though still mostly just school, with its defining feature being that it wouldn’t happen in their regular classrooms like all the other subjects but specifically in that otherwise unused first-floor classroom of the old building. We all just thought it was a way to celebrate the schools history, as it did involve historic stuff, even though the years didn’t really match.

And then there was the third floor. The attic.

The only thing anyone knew was that, it was, for a long time had been, and to my knowledge still is after all these years, completely and utterly abandoned. No one was allowed to go there, and even despite being the place that needed it the most, it wasn’t even so much as touched when they renovated.

And if you tried to go out the room while in care, you’d obviously be stopped- not because you could accidentally fall down the stairs, but you might try to climb them up.

Aside from that, we also had a tree nicknamed the climbing tree because it was genuinely amazing to climb on, having lots of sturdy branches that started from the ground up to wind in all directions. If you ever saw kids climbing on the climbing frame that was right beside it, it was because there was no space on the tree left. Not only was it bigger and better, the tree also had quite the stories to it!

For one, it was rumored to be 100 (not 200) years old. If it’s still standing today, I could honestly see it, given just how sturdy, branched-out, but also marked the tree was. You also had that it was magic or smth because of a weird hole in the middle and the way some branches grew, or that if bark was peeling away somewhere you should rip it all off and slap some dirt from the ground on there so it can heal properly. There were…quite a few rumors about all the trees on that school yard, actually?

Anyways, of the lesser known rumors was actually an add-on to that first one about the tree‘s age. This one stated not only was the it really a century old, but the reason it’s there on the actual schoolyard and not on the side like the others was that it was specifically planted for a kid that died in the old building after

falling down

the

stairs.

Do you want to know what the theme of that event week I told you about was, anon? The one with the years that don’t match the schools‘ age?

It was "Reenacting school 100 years ago".