#injustice has a cure

[clarejgold]

Stuff

Here are the Tests

I don’t want this to sound like a complaint, but people could not stop telling us about their stuff. Every lab tech and pharmacist. Every community and social worker. I am not a medical professional and half of these things were just words that I didn’t understand, but my goodness were they happy about the stuff they’ve got. 

One way to look at that is to assume it’s because people wanted to let me know that donor money is well spent. There are probably donors out there who need and want that reassurance, perhaps because they’ve had bad experiences in the past or their unconscious bias is telling them they need to check up on any resources shared with poor people.

There is however one form of stuff that I was and remain interested in and that’s the multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) tests and the machine that uses them. Some readers of this will be well aware of the #TimeFor5 campaign to get the cost of these tests reduced to $5 per test from $15 per test, which is, depending on whom you ask, somewhere between a 300%-500% profit . 

These tests are the difference between following a treatment plan that will cure your TB and one that can ravage your body while the TB you have is still killing you. Over a million and half people needlessly die from TB every year solely because of lack of access to the right tests and medication. By ‘access’ I don’t mean transportation or the ability of a medical facility to handle the tests nor do I mean that not enough tests exist. The resources physically exist. They simply aren’t available to everyone who needs them because a pharmaceutical company decided that the poor people of the world were the right folks to squeeze knowing they don't have many voices to fight for them.

If you don’t know about it, it’s because most of your exposure, no pun intended, to TB as an illness probably comes from historical fiction and you, like many, think of TB as a disease of the past and/or something that affects only a small handful of people in tiny, isolated places. Let me point out that a ‘population’ of 1.6 million dead is far from small and that the vast majority of cases occur within a day’s transport of an international airport. 

The most recent successes in getting test and drug prices reduced have come from social pressure in the form of tweets, letters to representatives, and direct contact with the companies themselves to let them know that gross profiteering off the lives of vulnerable people is unacceptable. See the TBFighters for more information or look to Doctors without Borders or PIH .

[vilnan]

mad that dai doesn't let maud become truly as unhinged as they could be 😔

[hyperfixationstation1]

Enjoltaire is waaaayyyyyy too interesting a dynamic to be boiled down to one guy is politically determined and has autism and the other guy is sad, drunk, and has ADHD and then they kiss.

Like, Enjolras does not love Grantaire. Or, at least, no more than he loves Bahorel or Mabeuf or Claqesous.

And, hell, I’ll go further to say Grantaire doesn’t truly love Enjolras. No more than Cosette loved Catherine the doll she couldn’t have before she received her.

Because neither is a complex person to the other.

But I also think, that out of all of Les Amis, Grantaire best represents “the people,” those that Enjolras romanticizes in his pursuit to cure the illness that is injustice in his Patria.

Grantaire exemplifies the city of Paris. His winding prose mimic the narrow streets with back alleys and grotesque buildings, both beautiful and hideous. His dedication to his friends mimics s dedication to the Parisian identity, taking it as it is. He’s the ugliness, messiness, and drama of the city, but the jovial nature of a community of people who occupy a shared identity.

But Enjolras doesn’t love Paris. Or he doesn’t love Paris in its contemporary state. He loves an idea of France as an beacon of democracy. He loves the future and it’s untouched possibilities for equality that he vows to make unmanipulatable.

The two are inherently a battle between the present and the future. The beauty of them dying hand in hand is due, in part, to them never coexisting well while living.

[natjennie]

my favorite part of tlou so far has to be ellie's viciousness. her rage. her fury. a 14 year old girl with no one. with no future. with no prospects. except for the fact that the universe randomly decided to spare her instead of millions of others. the grief of that. the indignation of that. when you're born and raised and trained to kill infected that were once, are still ostensibly, people. to kill fireflies, who are wholly people. who are your best friend. your first love. when you expect to die again and again and have to live. are punished with living. "no one who's infected fights this hard to stay alive." she's stark raving bullshit mad from the beginning. fighting against her chains. count to ten slowly and clearly. flinging herself at joel with her knife raised at the slightest provocation. stab the guard in the neck before he can raise alarm. slice the cheek of an infected to watch the strands of fungus open the wound. shoot a boy not much older than you before you have to watch someone else you care about die. carve your own palm open because your blood is medicine. scream and destroy the room with a bat at the injustice. rip apart a kitchen for a cure. raise your rifle high and scowl down the barrel before they can reach for theirs. bite and claw and kick and break his finger and give them a cleaver to the neck, the face. burn the building down. refuse to let this be the best it gets. fight and rip and scream and howl at the audacity of the universe to fuck you like this. put your head down and keep walking because fuck no is this not gonna be how it ends.

[bringthekaos]

Alrighty, here we go. Act III.

Mostly Jayce and Viktor centric, but with some wider thoughts as a whole thrown in. As usual, this is all my opinion, you’re free to disagree with me. Just don’t be a dick.

I am torn. I’m appreciative of the visuals and the JayVik crumbs (even though Christian Linke’s comments post-show have soured it to queerbait for me). But mostly I am disappointed. And I so badly didn’t want to be. I had such high hopes (and that’s probably my fault. I expected too much). They completely massacred Viktor’s character. There was such beautiful setup in season one of his background as a Zaunite living in Piltover. So much of his lived experience came from that—the oppression, the inequality, the xenophobia, the inaccessibility. It formed his opinions and his values, and that’s why he was so adamantly anti-weapon making. That’s why his number one goal was always to help the people in need down in Zaun. They showed us that he was a tinkerer and a builder, that he valued the ingenuity in machinery. They gave us that cute little boat from his childhood and the fucking Hexclaw.

Viktor was supposed to be a Zaunite champion. He was supposed to embrace Techmaturgy as a direct opposition to magic/Hextech. He was supposed to undergo his transformation into the Machine Herald of his own volition, with his own agency and bodily autonomy (yes I know it also stemmed from severe depression and one could argue that it messed with his decision-making, but still… he did that shit on his own). And there were so many opportunities to go this route in Arcane, and it would have worked!! If Viktor augmented his hand and his leg, but it cost Sky her life, he could realize the cost of magic, and turn to Tech. He could have been exiled back to Zaun, where he was supposed to be, and then the shitshow really could have unfolded—having one of Hextech’s creators now working for the other side.

And I know they had to change it so that he could be a bigger part of the overall narrative, as his original lore was rather disconnected. But there were much cleaner ways to go about it than disrespecting his entire character arc by turning him into a grimdark edgelord ethereal magic Jesus who no longer notices or even seems to care about the oppression and class warfare going on in his birthplace. Like. I’m sorry, him “curing” Salo? OG Viktor would have taken one look at a representative of the very oppression he stood against and blown him to kingdom come. (And yes, I also realize that he did it in Arcane because he was “under the influence” of the Hexcore, which only wanted to “infect more people.” But that’s another problem I have. This was never really made all that clear. And watching him go from “we will not be building weapons, that’s not why we invented Hextech/there is always a choice/we were meant to improve lives, not to take them” to making him turn human beings into weapons?? I don’t care that they tried to salvage his character by suggesting he wasn’t in control, it still undermines everything about him. And GOD, original League Vik had so much DEPTH. He was a hypocrite, he was still partly human and so he retained pieces/parts of all the things he preached against, which made him a wonderful contradiction. And he had a sense of humor and whimsy too! He enjoyed sweet milk, he cracked dry jokes and was sarcastic as fuck. He had a personality! And now he’s just… empty space man blinded by forced apathy.

And I think all of this is part of a larger problem—they wanted to use Arcane as a stepping stone to future shows, and as such, the class warfare and systemic oppression plot from season one was completely abandoned. They tried to solve it with “well they have to band together to face a bigger enemy.” Which in my personal opinion is a cheap cop out. There are always bigger fish, that doesn’t change the fact that Zaun has been living in Piltover’s filth with Piltover’s boot on their neck for generations. They’ve suffered injustices most of us can’t even comprehend. And then suddenly we’re supposed to believe they all band together to face this threat, stand side by side with their oppressors because Jayce made one speech about it? With no proof? And then all they get from the deal is one Zaunite seat on the council? And they’re okay with that? I never expected the show to solve systemic oppression, but I also didn’t expect them to abandon it this spectacularly.

The Noxus/Black Rose plot was clearly thrown in to set up future shows, and to show Netflix/investors/whoever that this massive financial investment has a future. And it destroyed the Piltover/Zaun story. I think this could have been a totally isolated story just about Piltover and Zaun, and been completely successful. In fact, I would have definitely watched future projects despite them not taking place in the setting of Arcane. And I’m not at all saying I don’t like Ambessa and Mel. I was very intrigued by the story of a warmonger like Ambessa facing her comeuppance, not just for her warmongering but for her affair with a damn MAGE. And her daughter trying desperately to break the mold her mother has set for her, while also struggling with who she is and these new, incredible powers she has. That shit is juicy as hell, and honestly should have been its own show. But throwing it into Arcane in season 2 with absolutely no hint of the Black Rose or its impending approach (beyond “the people who killed your brother don’t think the score is settled”) in season one, it just felt like the aforementioned cop out to get Piltover and Zaun to get along. And in doing so, they steamrolled Viktor to make him a bigger player in the narrative.

Did I like the final astral plane scene with Jayce and Viktor? God, yes. Is it one of the most beautiful confessions of love and eternal devotion I think I’ve ever fucking seen? Also yes. But it kinda feels like a bandaid on a bullet wound. I got the love I always knew remained between Jayce and Viktor, but I paid for it with Viktor’s entire character. Not to mention Christian Linke keeps pouring salt in the fucking wound, denouncing JayVik and “bromancing” them, and then also suggesting in one interview that Jayce and Viktor are actually fucking dead, and in another that Viktor will be back in future projects (with no mention of Jayce, which suggests that they’re turning him into Sky 2.0 and that he’s dead but Viktor isn’t). And that completely undermines the entire ending of season 2’s “intrinsically entwined/always you/in every universe.” And I know, I shouldn’t listen to this dude’s opinion on the matter, he’s not the only one making this thing, and honestly it was the easiest unfollow/mute of my life. But how hard is it to just shut the fuck up and let people enjoy things? To not comment one way or the other, let people think what they want, and rake in your millions in the process? Haven’t you ever heard of rainbow capitalism, my guy?

Ugh. I’m very sorry for being so negative, I didn’t want to be. I still love the show, and I’d still like to keep writing JayVik, even though it’s just been made near-impossible (I’m actually really glad that I never finished Oasis now, cuz I can go back to that and expand it well beyond what I originally planned cuz… it’s all I have left). I’m just mourning my cyborg wife, and the fact that goddamn SMEECH had what Viktor was supposed to. Hopefully the more time goes on, I can reconcile these changes and embrace them, cuz I love this fandom, I love this ship, and I don’t wanna lose it.

Anyway, I will still be sharing art and memes and posting analyses, because you can like a piece of media and still be critical of it.

[greenyvertekins]

The JP script has Gerald state that these thoughts scare him and he even pleads for someone to stop him. I think personally that Gerald is the most tragic character in the series. He was given the go-ahead to research immortality even though initially it violated his ethics, yearned to cure his beloved grandaughter of her terminal illness, was persecuted by a military gone rogue and all of his work was for naught when she was murdered, his colleagues were killed en-masse and the prototype and ARK sealed. And he was the scapegoat for it all.

He goes from treating Shadow like his own son to ruthlessly manipulating him by altering his memories. He went from intending Shadow to be able to say no as a weapon to turning him into his own weapon, personal choice be damned. I'm still honestly still creeped-out to this day by his speech here. This was a great and talented man who wanted to use his genius for good and morphed into a bitter and hateful person who couldn't bear the imagined guilt that his research led to all of this, causing his descent. When you think about it, it's likely that Shadow was also immensely troubled by Gerald's downfall and fate. I wouldn't be surprised if that was a factor in his misanthropy, the way his father figure was subject to such injustices.

[asha-mage]

Okay I have about eighty billion things I want to say about Metaphor re: Fantazio, but what I most want to say is this-

The question the game keeps coming back to, again and again is 'What is the value of fantasy? Is it something can move hearts and minds, inspire people to make a better world? Or is it just a comforting escape, a way to make the anxieties and fears of our world bearable?'

And the answer it comes too is well, that depends on you. You the player, the reader, the listener, the person gazing at this piece of art. Every fantasy artist hopes deep down that they are creating something of meaning and value. But it's the viewer that decides, every day that value.

Do you take the lessons and the ideas and the questions of this piece of fiction with you into your day? Do you keep walking towards a better world because of that hope? Or do you cast it all aside to live in delusions?

That's the difference between Luis and Will ultimately. Luis has given up- he believes the world will never live up to his ideals, that he will never be able to prevent the injustices and cruelty he suffered from being repeated, that the only cure for the world is to tear it all down. The game doesn't dismiss that belief, and that pain. He's not a nihilist, he doesn't believe that nothing matters. If Luis didn't care, down to the marrow of his bones, he wouldn't have gone to the lengths he did. But despite all that care, despite all his strength and all his convictions, he can not believe in a better world. He can not believe in fantasy. And so with only cruel reality to behold and imprison him, and no hope of escape- he decides to destroy it all.

Will on the other hand, never gives up. He never stops believing in a better world. He lets the fantasy inspire him, drive him, motivate him. When Brigitta is sobbing with rage and sorrow on the floor of her shop it's More's book he reaches for, in an effort to comfort her. When the problems of the world seem insurmountable he retreats to read his book and refocus. And he shares that fantasy with others- almost like a right of passage in their party- in the hope it will do the same for them, and it does- providing inspiration or clarity or a moment's respite when his friends need it. More then that no matter who comes to him with what problem, he never turns them away- even though he has every reason to do so. And that's because he wants to help everyone, because like Luis he cares but unlike Luis he believes that things can get better, that the world can keep moving forward, and so their is a point to helping others, to making their lives better.

What is the value of fantasy? What we choose to make of it. It may seem silly or futile or naive in a world full of inequality and bitterness and injustice, but if we can not dream of a better world- no matter how much we might care, no matter what power we might have, or how smart we are, or what we might do- we will never be able to make one.

[scotianostra]

December 12th 1902 saw the birth of Nan Mackinnon or, to give her her Gaelic patronymic, Nan Eachainn Fhionnlaigh, at Kentangaval, Isle Of Barra.

Nan was a tradition-bearer, whose remarkable memory, enthusiasm, and love of the Gaelic oral tradition has ensured that her wealth of knowledge has been preserved and shared with future generations. She became known as Nan of Vatersay, or Nan of the songs.

Nan was the youngest of seven children. Her father, Hector (Eachann Fhionnlaigh), was also born and raised in Kentangaval, and was descended from the MacKinnons of Strath, Skye – the historic grazing constables to the MacNeils of Barra until the 19th century. Nan's mother Mary was from Mingulay, and had strong connections with the MacPhee family, who – according to local tradition – came to settle in Barra in the 14th century. Nan grew up in what was a politically tumultuous time in the Highlands, and this influenced her early life greatly. Despite having won security of tenure twenty years before Nan was born, there remained a strong sense of injustice at the uneven distribution of land in the Highlands. Having spent her early years in Barra, in 1907 Nan's father was part of the 'Vatersay Raiders' – landless cottars from Barra and Mingulay who carried out a land raid on Vatersay, establishing crofts on the neglected land. Despite the eventual failure of the Land Raid, Nan's family were eventually given a croft in Baile, Vatersay following the purchase of land on the island by the Congested Districts Board.

Nan's repertoire was among some of the most extensive and varied of her generation, and this is reflected in the recordings of her featured on the Tobar an Dualchais website. She came from a rich musical tradition, and was said to know around 400 songs by heart, most of which she learned from her mother. After receiving her schooling on the island, Nan left home when she was seventeen and – as was common for women of her age at the time – spent a number of years in service for a variety of people in Argyll. She also worked at the herring for a time, in both Shetland and Yarmouth before going to Glasgow. One of her sisters died suddenly in 1940, leaving four young children and a husband who was away at sea for long periods. Nan returned home to Vatersay to raise the children and remained there for the rest of her life.

Nan McKinnon had a great fondness for the stories and songs she knew, and she was convinced of the importance of the oral tradition to Gaelic communities. Growing up she would spend hours practising them until she knew them in their entirety. As Nan herself commented: "[Each story] tells the ways of the people that lived in those days. The waulking songs kept news alive from generation to generation. There were no newspapers, whereas today we read it in the papers and forget about it tomorrow. But the songs kept it alive. Those happenings that happened centuries ago are still to be told in song and story. It's wonderful." Over and above her repertoire of songs, Nan was also well known for her tales and legends – often of a supernatural nature – and her captivating story style. She also had a deep knowledge of the traditions of Uist and Barra, and was recording speaking about a variety of subjects from cures to feast days, to interpretations of omens and dreams. Her knowledge of the material culture of her native island was also extensive, and her recordings include discussions about traditional diet, including about what would be eaten when food was scarce.

There are almost 1,000 recordings of Nan on the Tobar an Dualchais website, the earliest dating back to 1953 when she was recorded by Donald MacPherson for the Canna Collection, several other visited her and recorded her over the years, she must have been quite the wee celebrity on Vatersay

James Ross summed up her significance as a tradition-bearer by saying: "Nan is the type of person that the folklore and folk-song collectors dream about. There is absolutely no trace of 'memory effect' as she responds to queries … Her answers are always a direct affirmative or negative, usually … the former. She never has to search her mind, and this, together with her unstinting co-operation, endless patience and subtle sense of humour, made the work of collecting a joy."

At the link below you can listen to Nan singing Griogal Cridhe, (literally "Gregor of the Heart", or "Beloved Gregor". It is a traditional Scottish lament and lullaby that was composed in Gaelic by Mór Chaimbeul ("Marion Campbell"), the widow of Griogair Ruadh Mac Griogair ("Gregor the Red MacGregor") (1541–1570), the chief of the Clan MacGregor of Glen Strae, who was executed at Taymouth Castle, Perthshire, on April 7th, 1570. There are many versions of the lyrics

Griogal Cridhe

Chorus;

Òbhan, òbhan, òbhan i ri

Òbhan i ri ò

Òbhan, òbhan, òbhan i ri

'S mòr, mo mhulad, 's mòr.

'S iomadh oidhche fhliuch is thioram,

Sìde nan seachd sian,

Gheibheadh Griogal dhomhsa creagan

Ris an gabhainn dìon.

Eudail mhòir, a shluagh an Domhain,

Dhòirt iad t'fhuil o'n dè,

'S chuir iad do cheann air stob daraich

Tacan beag bho d'chrè.

B' annsa bhi le Griogal cridhe

Teàrnadh chruidh le gleann,

Na le Baran mòr na Dalach,

Sìoda geal mu m' cheann.

Chan eil ùbhlan idir agam,

'S ùbhlan uil' aig càch,

'S ann tha m'ùbhlan-s' cùbhr' ri caineal

'S cùl a chinn ri làr.

'Nuair a bhios mnàthan òg a'bhaile,

'Nochd nan cadal sèimh,

'S ann bhios mis' air bruaich do lice,

'Bualadh mo dhà làimh.

Many a night, wet or dry

weather of the seven elements

Gregor would get me a rocky shelter

Against the storm

Greatest treasure in all the world

They spilt your blood yesterday

And they put your head on a post of oak

A little way from your body

Would that I were with beloved Gregor

Herding cattle in the glen

Than with the great Baron of the Dale

White silk around my head

I have no apples at all

Others have all the apples

My apple with the fragrance of cinnamon

The back of his head to the ground

When the young women of the village will be

Tonight sleeping soundly

I will be at your graveside

Beating my two hands

With the above being a lament I thought I would post another song from Nan, Haoi Ho Nach Dannsadh Sibh E is a much more upbeat song, according to the notes Nan’s mother heard this song from Lewis women at the fishing. Another source tells me that this is the only variant of that song, so without t the work of the likes of Donald MacPherson, and indeed Margaret Fay Shaw, some of these songs would have been lost to the world, they are an integral, very important part of our Gaelic roots. This song is a light vocal dance tune with a love theme. The song is of the type common among the women who worked as herring gutters.

https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/track/108438?l=en

[evilbihan]

Bi-Han x former!Umgadi reader

Here are some headcanons for Bi-Han with a former!Umgadi reader because I thought it would be an interesting dynamic and because I'm sick and tired of how reader always has this "I can fix him" attitude towards Bi-Han in most headcanons/fics. He doesn't need fixing, he deserves a supportive partner.

(Be warned, I've never written reader insert headcanons before and English is not my first language. I'm new to this, so feedback is appreciated.)

ALL YOUR LIFE YOU HAVE LOYALLY SERVED Outworld's royal family as part of the UMGADI, the royal guard made up of warrior priestesses. You live for DUTY, it's the only life you know, the purpose Delia and Argus have bestowed upon you, and you never dared to question it. To be chosen to protect Outworld's Emperor and Empress is an honor. Your Umgadi sisters are your family. You don't know your parents, your grandparents or siblings. You've never met them. As the eldest daughter, you were separated from them the day you were born. No Umgadi ever speaks of her family, you're well aware that it's forbidden and yet there's nothing you want more than to one day be reunited with your birth family.

AS THE TARKAT OUTREAK starts claiming the lives of many Outworld citizens, your unwavering faith in the gods and the royal family slowly begins to crumble. You helplessly stand by and watch as more and more infected people are banished from Sun Do each day. Infuriated by the INJUSTICE you witness, you start to wonder if the royal family really deserves your loyatly.

AT THE RISK OF BEING CAST OUT of the order, you begin to secretly search for your family, despite knowing that it goes against everything the Umgadi believe in. It means betraying your order and the royal family. More than that, it means going against the will of the gods. Nonetheless, you're determined. With no cure for the desease in sight, you fear for the worst: that your search for your family will be cut short, should they be among those who have contracted the illness.

ONE DAY YOU DECIDE TO secretly follow Tanya, the head of your order, after noticing that she often disappears with no explanation. You find out about Mileena's infection with Tarkat and that a cure exists, but is only made available to the royal family. Although you keep what you've seen to yourself, your faith is shaken and you wish more than ever that you could leave your life as Umgadi behind. You continue your duties, but deep inside your frustrations grow more and more each day.

YOU MEET BI-HAN IN LEI CHEN, during his attempt to free Shao from captivity. At first, you try to stop him and the two of you fight. You're evenly matched in strength and skill and the fight ends without a winner. You don't know why, but as Bi-Han tries to reason with you, you decide to hear him out. You don't know who this mysterious man is, but there's something about him that intrigues you and you can tell he's equally impressed by you and your fighting skills.

AS YOU LEARN MORE ABOUT HIM, you begin to realize that you and Bi-Han are KINDRED SPIRITS. Looking at him is like looking at a reflection of yourself. Both of you are driven by the same FRUSTRATION, the same DESIRE for freedom and the wish to be the architect of your own destiny. Both of you were forced to sacrifice so much of yourselves to serve a bigger purpose, only to be disappointed by those you had put your faith into. Bi-Han shares his visions for the Lin Kuei's future with you and you admire his AMBITION, his COURAGE, the courage to stand up to a GOD and shape his own destiny, something you'd always dreamed of doing, but were too afraid to do. You admire Bi-Han's LOYALTY and DEVOTION to his clan, that he's not afraid to risk his own life to give the Lin Kuei a better future and you realize that he's nothing like the royal family of Outworld. He's a leader you would happily die for.

YOU HELP BI-HAN to free Shao. It's your own little act of vengeance against the royal family for all that was stolen from you and in return, Bi-Han offers you a place with the Lin Kuei. Finally, after all those years of wishing you could be free, you leave the Umgadi behind and follow Bi-Han to your new home, Arktica.

HAVING SPENT YOUR WHOLE LIFE in Outworld, you know very little about Earthrealm, but to your surprise, Bi-Han doesn't seem to mind answering your questions, nor does he mind bringing you fur coats to protect you from the harsh cold that your body isn't used to. When you somehow end up falling ill with a cold regardless, you stubbornly ignore it at first. You're a warrior and warriors don't get sick. However, Bi-Han insists that you're put on bedrest. He brings you medicine and makes you tea and you can't help but wonder why he, the grandmaster, is personally looking after you, instead of tasking some servant with it. Though he came off as cold and ruthless when you first met him, you're starting to see that there's a CARING, AFFECTIONATE side to Bi-Han, one that he rarely shows around anyone else but you.

THE MORE TIME YOU TWO SPEND TOGETHER, the more you feel drawn to each other. Your respect and admiration for Bi-Han grows into something much stronger. LOVE. In you, Bi-Han has finally found someone who understands him, and supports him, a SOULMATE to confide in. You two have made many enemies and you know that every day you spend together could be your last, so you make your time together count. Despite the constant danger, being a wanted woman in Outworld and being at war with the Shirai Ryu, you have never been HAPPIER, you have never felt more ALIVE and FREE. Bi-Han encourages you to be yourself, he supports you in every way he can, he aids you in your search for your family and he's doing everything he can to make Arktica feel like home for you.

AMIDST THE CHAOS, you and Bi-Han have found SAFETY and COMFORT in each other. He is your home and you are his family. He understands you like no one else ever did. You would follow him to the ends of the earth and he would do the same for you.

YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE who knows how much Bi-Han truly misses his brothers and how much their betrayal pains him. You wish that you could help them reconcil somehow, but you've met Kuai Liang on a few occasions and you know he can't be reasoned with. However, a part of you is still holding on to hope that at least Tomas will come around one day. All your life, you have missed the family you never had the chance to meet and you understand how much it hurt Bi-Han to lose his brothers. It makes you all the more determined to help the Lin Kuei in their fight against the Shirai Ryu.

DESPITE BOTH YOUR PAST and the lives of violence you both live, the moments you share with Bi-Han are peaceful, tender and sweet. An unbreakable bond has formed between the two of you and although you had to cut ties with former allies and friends, you never once regret your choice to join the Lin Kuei. Few can understand why you turned your back on the Umgadi and your old life, some call you a traitor, but their opinions matter little to you. It is you and Bi-Han against the world, against realms and gods and you don't mind that at all.

[maniacwatchestheworld]

Another DPxDC story idea/prompt sorta thing (#3)

I don't know that all you all DPxDC peeps fully realize what you've done with deciding to make ectoplasm basically the same material what's in Ra's Al Ghul's Lazarus Pits... Because basically, what you've all done is turn the Lazarus waters from a resource that is INCREDIBLY rare and limited, that a singular man controls and keeps a secret from the rest of the world, and made it accessible to anyone with the gumption and ability to attack and hunt ghosts. In other words... You've all made a CURE for ANY and ALL terminal conditions readily accessable via harassing any ghost and have therefore given everyone a very justifiable motivation to hunt ghosts and juice them for as much ectoplasm as possible!

Let me say it again. Lazarus Water is a cure for ANY terminal issue! Terminal brain cancer? Cured! Got shot and are bleeding out? Cured! Did a backflip off of a cliff and landed on your neck? There's no cure for stupid, but that whole dying thing can be CURED! And only at the cost of temporary insanity! (Or sanity if you were already insane. :p ) As long as you are about to die or were brought in just after dying, you can be cured of whatever would have killed you!

Of course Ra's would want to control this resource as much as possible once these properties are discovered, as I've discussed before. But after Ra's has been dealt with... Wouldn't it be quite callous and cruel to keep this a secret...? If you harvested a bit of ectoplasm from some ghosts... No child would ever have to die of a terminal illness ever again... Babies born in precarious situations could be healed with very little risk. Loving parents would never have to worry about dying and leaving their children behind with no one to care for them... Certainly Batman could not allow such injustices to continue when there could be such an easily replicable cure!

So here's a thought... After Ra's Great Ghost Juicening (tm), Jack and Maddie start an ethical ghost catch and release program. They capture invasive ghosts that are living in the human realm, capture, and release them back into the Ghost Zone, but before releasing them back into the ghost zone, they are given a health check-up, and are given the option of donating ectoplasm for terminally ill humans! (It would basically be the ghost equivalent of donating blood.) Maddie and Jack are more than happy to give the ghosts passing through fair compensation, of course! But since money largely doesn't mean anything to ghosts, it would have to come in the form of like... Objects they like or tasks that they want done for them. So Jack and Maddie might give the Box Ghost a palette of unbuilt boxes! Or they might give Technus whatever old technology is sitting around the house that isn't being used! Danny can be rewarded for donating with his favorite meal. If Vlad is behaving and donating, they can reward him with kisses.

[rachelbethhines]

10 Ways to Fix Cassandra's Arc

From Closest to Canon to Complete Re-Write

Cassandra Wants to be the Hero - It's literally all set up right there in the text. Cass doesn't think Rapunzel is mature enough to solve the problem of the rocks, and therefore she steals the moonstone in order to stop them herself. Only to find she can't control the rocks/moonstone either. Of course this route would require the rocks remaining an active threat throughout season two and the narrative being willing to call out both Rapunzel's and Cassandra's toxic traits.

Make Cassandra's Injury Relevant - In the original show Cassandra's burnt hand is all but forgotten by season three and barely has any real impact on her during season two. Just make the injury an actual problem that she can't overcome through simple training, or since it's magic, make it a curse that could slowly kill her over time. Now the moonstone becomes a 'cure' with a high price to pay for using it. Simple.

Have Zhan Tiri Actually Lie - Zhan Tiri's 'manipulation' in the series proper is a whole lot of nothing because she just tells the truth, which the audience is suppose to take at face value, and doesn't really offer anything to Cassandra that she would logically want. Have her lie about Gothel. Have her present half-truths about the royals. Have her promise something of actual worth to Cass, like fixing her hand or making her the hero.

Have Cassandra Agree with the Other Villains - Forget Zhan Tiri altogether and have Cassandra team up with Varian and/or Lady Caine. Have her come to realize that Corona's government is flawed and not the right and just system she was raised to believe in. Of course this requires criticizing King Frederic and Corona's class system.

Have Cassandra Save Rapunzel While Hiding Her Past - Keep the Gothel twist, but make Cassandra ashamed of it. She's not after mommy's love, but she is trying to prevent Rapunzel from dying by trying to fuse with the moonstone. So what if the world burns? Her sister is safe. Besides, she can keep the moonstone under control... right?

Possessed Cassandra - I think this was the original plan until the last minute re-writes with Varian. But have either the moonstone or Zhan Tiri brainwash Cass and force her to do their bidding. This does take agency away from her but makes her less culpable of her actions. That's why everyone is insistent on 'saving her'.

Make Cassandra and Rapunzel Actual Sisters - Instead of being adopted by Cap, have Cassandra be adopted by the royals. Have her be the child trained to be queen someday all her life, only to have Rapunzel thrust into that position due to birthright despite not really wanting it. Now suddenly all of their pissing contests with each other makes sense. Cassandra may or may not really want to be queen, but she feels she's being replaced by this sister shes never known. Now throw in the Gothel twist and things get even more complicated.

Cassandra is the True Heir to the Dark Kingdom - It's now Cass's duty to protect the moonstone from Rapunzel. It's her heritage and birthright to wear it. You can either keep Eugene as her brother, or drop that aspect of his arc altogether.

Saporian Cassandra - Somewhat playing into Cass's 'wants to be a hero' aspect, only her motives are now about calling out the injustice that Corona's royalty has inflicted on her people. Of course this requires criticizing King Frederic and Corona's class system.

Don't Make Cassandra the Villain At All - Don't have her steal the moonstone. Don't have her betray Rapunzel. Don't try to force them to be 'sisters'. Let her just be the cool best friend that remains by Raps side and finds her own self-worth through service to others instead of seeking glory and praise all the time.

[clarejgold]

Same - Giving Tuesday

My journey home to England began on an overnight flight to Paris and after a busy week, I went to sleep quickly if not for very long. When I woke up, various parts of my body had fallen asleep and were painfully reminding me to lean the other way in my seat. I shifted and let my mind drift. 

I’m one of those people who thinks a lot in images, like a movie running in my head. I wanted to remind myself of what I’d seen at the MCOE site so I could solidify it and be able to report to the wider Nerdfighter community as well as my friends and family who've become regular donors (and vocal supporters even if they lack the funds). I recalled walking into the South Ward and seeing the nearly complete nurses station in the center of the first room. At that moment, I gasped because I could see the virtual fly-through that Build Health International had shared two years ago lay itself over to blend with the reality in front of me. On the plane, in my semi-dreaming state, that image became more real. I could see the room complete with beds and those plastic sided baby cots. Then I could see Sierra Leonean people and babies in those beds with nurses moving around them. 

Suddenly, I started to cry, something I had not done all week during any facility visit despite thinking I would. I was crying because it looked the same as the ward my sons and I were on in America. It looked the same as the ones where I visited my sister-in-law in England. The same. It should look the same. The women of Kono, of greater Sierra Leone, of every place in the world regardless of poverty, deserve no less. 

Dr Barrie told us, and we heard it from others too, that Dr Paul Farmer wanted this same-ness. He wanted the hospitals serving the poor to be beautiful because why should the poor be in a stark, barren or ugly environment just because they are poor. He wanted the staff and the stuff, particularly the medicines and treatments, to be the same. Everyone at Partners in Health wants the systems and the social supports to be the same, and in some cases better when you compare them to a for-profit system. People in poverty do not deserve less because they are poor. No one deserves less than total access to the human right of full and complete medical care. 

I want to return to the MCOE at some point, either when it’s complete or not long thereafter, so I can see my vision from the plane in reality. They better have some tissues handy.

If you've made it this far, thanks. If you'd like to donate to PIH today, on Giving Tuesday, I'll match your donation of any amount. Just message me with a pic of your gift! If you want to give specifically to the MCOE/Maternal Centre of Excellence, here's the link to do that.

[ultrameganicolaokay]

JSA #4 by Jeff Lemire and Joey Vazquez. Variant covers by (1) Dale Eaglesham, (2) Riley Rossmo and (3) Ryan Benjamin. Out in February 2025.

"Beth Chapel has searched for answers on what is keeping Jakeem Thunder in his coma but has come up with only more questions. But will her quest for a cure lead her into the lion’s den of the Injustice Society itself?!"

[javier-pena]

i didn't have as much time to read as i would've liked this past month but i finished my novel so that's something 😅 still, i read some really really wonderful fics and i'm so excited to share them with you all!!

as always, please check the warnings on the stories before reading them and please please let the authors know that you loved their work!!

i’m also always looking for fic recommendations, so feel free to send me your favorites!

dieter bravo (the bubble) + din djarin (the mandalorian)

this protector by @perotovar

dieter and his bodyguard, din, get the wrong hotel room. i wonder what happens…

ezra (prospect)

drabble by @danidrabbles

ezra has to shut up for once in his life

logan howlett (x-men)

cardinal by @danidrabbles

at the edge of the world, someone from another keeps you from stepping off.

i could play the doctor (i can cure your disease) by @sceletaflores

it’s been another six months, and logan needs your help…

oberyn martell (game of thrones)

strawberry sugar by @guiltyasdave

your boyfriend spoils you on your birthday morning. in some... unexpected ways. :)

joel miller (the last of us)

every breath you take by @freelancearsonist

your dad is getting married to his soulmate and you have every intention of making it the perfect day. the only kink in your plan is your unexpected feelings for your soon-to-be stepdad’s best man.

lost cause by @joelalorian

joel thinks you shouldn’t waste your time on him. you disagree.

nothing left to prove by @covetyou

some risks are worth taking.

sweet treat by @sanarsi

you came to your family home for a vacation. the obsession that is born in joel pushes him to do very bad things.

joel miller + tommy miller (the last of us)

he knows by @psychedelic-ink

joel knows you have a little thing for his younger brother so decides to indulge you for your birthday.

frankie morales (triple frontier)

drabble by @danidrabbles

based on the song dancing with our hands tied by taylor swift

javier peña (narcos)

west side by @gothcsz 

a lot of firsts with javi.

my own fic from november :)

the duel (din djarin)

when a grave injustice is done to you, there is only one man who will defend your honor.

[ratlesshonret]

Okay so. Limbus Theory Time. But I'd be lame if I did a theory about the soon-to-release (hopefully) Canto VI, so instead I'm doing Don Quixote Theory Hours.

Okay so, let me lay out my thought process. In the latest released piece of content for the main game, "Risk Levels and Classifications" I believe it's called, Don Quixote seems to recognize the name Moses. To me, this implies that she has either met or been in proximity to Moses in the past.

Furthermore, in Canto IV, Don is basically the first person to realize Dongrang is Distorting, and says something about it before even Faust can. This says to me that she has been involved in cases of Distortion in the past, since she recognizes the signs before anyone else. Before this point, supposedly none of the Sinners have seen someone Distort. There was Papa Bongy in Canto 3.5, but the group only arrived after he had Distorted.

If Don Quixote really has been involved in a Distortion case, then it'd make sense that she either knows of, or my theory, has met Moses, the Distortion Detective.

Going even further back, to Canto III, Don beats the shit out of Sinclair when he stabs a dead inquisitor repeatedly, and says that her friends had done similar to her in the past when she had been "overtaken by fervor."

What has, to this point in the game, been the most effective method of "curing" the Distortion? What method has worked on Papa Bongy, Dongrang, and Distorted Bamboo-Hatted Kim?

Beating them up.

It is my theory that, in the past, Don Quixote has Distorted. And she was saved from her Distortion by her old friends "beating some sense" into her.

Past this point is stuff I don't really have much evidence for, but want to talk about anyway. So here's your warning that we're going from "mildly substantiated speculation" to "complete spitballing."

I think that Don Quixote has not only Distorted once in the past, but potentially multiple times. The way Don speaks about when she's been beaten by her friends says to me that it has happened multiple times before. So I don't think this Distortion is juts a one-off thing. She either has Distorted, or been on the verge of Distorting, multiple times before.

Furthermore, I want to look at exactly when Don notices Dongrang's imminent Distortion.

Don notices that Dongrang is about to Distort when he begins talking to somebody who isn't present. As we've seen in every Distortion victim and potential Distortion victim, from Philip, to Yan, to Xiao, to Vergilius, to Dongrang, they all speak with Carmen before they Distort. It's well-established at this point that Carmen is the one who causes people to Distort.

My theory is that Don has spoken with Carmen, perhaps many times, due to her past Distortion. This is why she recognized Dongrang's imminent Distortion, due to the context she knew he was speaking with Carmen. Don isn't stupid, she's been shown to be able to deduce things quite easily as long as she has the background knowledge to do so.

Not only has Don Distorted before, and not only has she spoken with Carmen in the course of it, and not only has she Distorted multiple times in the past, but I think she has some kind of "Recurring Distortion" caused by Carmen not being willing to let up on Don. And I also think that she is still at risk of Distorting, even as she rides on the bus with all of the other Sinners.

Don Quixote always acts like a hero of justice, a valiant knight who respects those who keep the peace and fights to stop injustice and villains all over the City. And yet, we know she doesn't really believe this delusion of grandeur she has. As far back as Canto II, in the scene with the mariachi gang, we've been able to see a side of Don that's much more grounded in reality. The gang even brought up the idea that Don is insincere.

I believe the reason for Don's personality is that she's constantly battling Carmen. If Carmen is really trying to get Don to Distort, she may be attacking Don's sense of justice. Something along the lines of, "You can't really help people, injustice can't be eliminated by just one person." Possibly even telling Don that if she Distorts and accepts this fact, she can do more to combat injustice than she can right now.

I don't think Don's love of justice and hatred of villains is a lie, but I do think her old-timey speak and her sheer dedication aren't sincere. The sheer amount of trouble Don causes when she sees an injustice, and her lack of ability to restrain herself, I don't think can be put up to an act. So what is it?

As I said before, I think she's battling Carmen. Whether she's trying to prove she can serve justice all on her own, without Carmen's help, or whether she's trying to delude herself so hard that Carmen can't get in anymore, I don't know. But I think her act is all an attempt to stop her "Recurring Distortion" phenomenon.

If Limbus knows about her past Distorting, there's a chance they've had her talk with the LCD. If this is true, then it's another potential avenue through which Don has learned of Moses, if Moses and Don didn't meet in Moses' Distortion Detection.

If Don is also at constant risk of Distorting, then this could be involved with the "deal" that she's made with Vergilius. It's possible he sees her deranged behavior as a warning sign of Distortion.

It's possible that Don saw an "injustice" and attempted to right it when she joined Limbus Company, and her being unable to do so caused her to Distort. The "deal" could have been that she wouldn't put herself at risk of Distorting. But this is all just wild speculation.

In short, I think Don is a constant Distortion risk. Carmen saw her emotional instability and intense desire for justice, and decided she could use that to get Don to Distort. Because she is a prime candidate for Distortion.

But there's one more thing I haven't brought up, and that's Don's "friends." The people who stopped her from fully Distorting in the past by beating sense into her. Who were these people?

I don't know. Not conclusively anyway. But I have an idea.

The Udjats.

To be transparent, I did not come up with this theory. But I think it makes at least a little sense. The Udjats, and their leader Dias, seem to be quite invested in Distortions. They would know what to do in the case of one of their own beginning to Distort. It's possible that Don joined the Udjats because she thought they were just, or through some other reason entirely. Again, I have no real evidence of this.

If Don was an Udjat at some point, or knew them in some way, then that'd be another potential route she knew Moses. Moses was once a relatively high rank in the Udjats, and continued being under Dias' thumb long afterwards, as shown by her still having to do work for Dias during the time of Distortion Detective.

All together, this is a bunch of barely-substantiated theories, but I think they make just enough sense to be put out there. "Don has Distorted in the past" is the one I'm most confident in, while, "Don was an Udjat at some point" is one I'm very much not super confident in. But I think it's food for thought.

[codenamesazanka]

the interconnectedness of various injustices of Hero Society!!!

The Himura resented the upheaval of the pre-quirk social order that caused them to drop in status. They hated the ‘mixing of blood’ - they hated the idea of being tainted with heteromorphs.

Which is the same belief that led to Shoji being attacked for daring to touch someone. The people of his village would rather a child die then be saved by a heteromorph.

All this started because when quirks started appearing, people could not accept this change. They clung to a narrow definition of ‘humanity’ and rejected all those they viewed as not fitting into the standards.

Rejected and considered them inhuman.

And this concept continues to exists, whether as a yakuza looking to ‘cure’ people of these supernatural abilities so he can return humanity to ‘normal’,

or as prison guards looking at their ‘wild beasts’ of inmates with utter disgust.

It’s been more than a century after the emergence of quirks, though, and the definition of humanity has been expanded to include quirks, including even heteromorphic quirks.

However, this also means that to set apart what isn’t ‘human’, new standards had to be created. New lines had to be created…

…and enforced.

There is, of course, logic to why and how and where lines are drawn! That’s just what civilization is. That’s how society functions.

Heroes defend the lines from villains that violate it.

But to the people who don’t make the cut, who are on the other side of the lines for whatever reason, they feel this rejection deeply and sharply.

And so we end up where we are right now.

As Dabi says, “Behold, the limitations of superpowered society.”