#is a scourge in our society

[internalriot]

cringe culture makes me so Sad and upset. why r u taking a picture of a random gnc and/or fat person in a walmart to make fun of them online. doing that is a lot weirder than the gnc/fat person i can tell u that much. why r u making fun of people for saying shit like ‘Hm i think minorities should have basic rights and also u shouldnt say slurs.’ why is caring about other people and not conforming to gender norms cringe. ppl will b like ‘hahaha hey look at this freak that has interests that dont align with what i think is cool and fun. haha look at this annoying loser that deserves to die for not speaking with a tone that i find acceptable or normal.’ and not see an issue with it

[nctjpeg]

i think a lot of men think too highly of themselves and that needs to be corrected

for example: simone biles’ husband

[tjbanni]

Make media classes mandatory for school children YESTERDAY!!!

Please don’t pay for his music.

[kiefbowl]

plastic surgery is such a scourge on our society. you've got 21 year olds getting bbls. I want those surgeons to die so bad

[mostlysignssomeportents]

They were warned

Picks and Shovels is a new, standalone technothriller starring Marty Hench, my two-fisted, hard-fighting, tech-scam-busting forensic accountant. You can pre-order it on my latest Kickstarter, which features a brilliant audiobook read by Wil Wheaton.

Truth is provisional! Sometimes, the things we understand to be true about the world change, and stuff we've "always done" has to change, too. There comes a day when the evidence against using radium suppositories is overwhelming, and then you really must dig that radium out of your colon and safely dispose of it:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/19/just-stop-putting-that-up-your-ass/#harm-reduction

So it's natural and right that in the world, there will be people who want to revisit the received wisdom and best practices for how we live our lives, regulate our economy, and organize our society. But not a license to simply throw out the systems we rely on. Sure, maybe they're outdated or unnecessary, but maybe not. That's where "Chesterton's Fence" comes in:

Let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, "I don't see the use of this; let us clear it away." To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: "If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton#Chesterton's_fence

In other words, it's not enough to say, "This principle gets in the way of something I want to do, so let's throw it out because I'm pretty sure the inconvenience I'm experiencing is worse than the consequences of doing away with this principle." You need to have a theory of how you will prevent the harms the principle protects us from once you tear it down. That theory can be "the harms are imaginary" so it doesn't matter. Like, if you get rid of all the measures that defend us from hexes placed by evil witches, it's OK to say, "This is safe because evil witches aren't real and neither are hexes."

But you'd better be sure! After all, some preventative measures work so well that no living person has experienced the harms they guard us against. It's easy to mistake these for imaginary or exaggerated. Think of the antivaxers who are ideologically committed to a world in which human beings do not have a shared destiny, meaning that no one has a moral claim over the choices you make. Motivated reasoning lets those people rationalize their way into imagining that measles – a deadly and ferociously contagious disease that was a scourge for millennia until we all but extinguished it – was no big deal:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measles:_A_Dangerous_Illness

There's nothing wrong with asking whether longstanding health measures need to be carried on, or whether they can be sunset. But antivaxers' sloppy, reckless reasoning about contagious disease is inexcusable. They were warned, repeatedly, about the mass death and widespread lifelong disability that would follow from their pursuit of an ideological commitment to living as though their decisions have no effect on others. They pressed ahead anyway, inventing ever-more fanciful reasons why health is a purely private matter, and why "public health" was either a myth or a Communist conspiracy:

https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/brief-vinay-prasad-pick-me-campaign

When RFK Jr kills your kids with measles or permanently disables them with polio, he doesn't get to say "I was just inquiring as to the efficacy of a longstanding measure, as is right and proper." He was told why the vaccine fence was there, and he came up with objectively very stupid reasons why that didn't matter, and then he killed your kids. He was warned.

Fuck that guy.

Or take Bill Clinton. From 1933 until 1999, American banks were regulated under the Glass-Steagall Act, which "structurally separated" them. Under structural separation, a "retail bank" – the bank that holds your savings and mortgage and provides you with a checkbook – could not be "investment bank." That meant it couldn't own or invest in businesses that competed with the businesses its depositors and borrowers ran. It couldn't get into other lines of business, either, like insurance underwriting.

Glass-Steagall was a fence that stood between retail banks and the casino economy. It was there for a fucking great reason: the failure to structurally separate banks allowed them to act like casinos, inflating a giant market bubble that popped on Black Friday in October 1929, kicking off the Great Depression. Congress built the structural separation fence to keep banks from doing it again.

In the 1990s, Bill Clinton agitated for getting rid of Glass-Steagall. He argued that new economic controls would allow the government to prevent another giant bubble and crash. This time, the banks would behave themselves. After all, hadn't they demonstrated their prudence for seven decades?

In fact, they hadn't. Every time banks figured out how to slip out of regulatory constraints they inflated another huge bubble, leading to another massive crash that made the rich obscenely richer and destroyed ordinary savers' lives. Clinton took office just as one of these finance-sector bombs – the S&L Crisis – was detonating. Clinton had no basis – apart from wishful thinking – to believe that deregulating banks would lead to anything but another gigantic crash.

But Clinton let his self interest – in presiding over a sugar-high economic expansion driven by deregulation – overrule his prudence (about the crash that would follow). Sure enough, in the last months of Clinton's presidency, the stock market imploded with the March 2000 dot-bomb. And because Congress learned nothing from the dot-com crash and declined to restore the Glass-Steagall fence, the crash led to another bubble, this time in subprime mortgages, and then, inevitably, we suffered the Great Financial Crisis.

Look: there's no virtue in having bank regulations for the sake of having them. It is conceptually possible for bank regulations to be useless or even harmful. There's nothing wrong with investigating whether the 70-year old Glass-Steagall Act was still needed in 1999. But Clinton was provided with a mountain of evidence about why Glass-Steagall was the only thing standing between Americans and economic chaos, including the evidence of the S&L Crisis, which was still underway when he took office, and he ignored all of them. If you lost everything – your home, your savings, your pension – in the dot-bomb or the Great Financial Crisis, Bill Clinton is to blame. He was warned. he ignored the warnings.

Fuck that guy.

No, seriously, fuck Bill Clinton. Deregulating banks wasn't Clinton's only passion. He also wanted to ban working cryptography. The cornerstone of Clinton's tech policy was the "Clipper Chip," a backdoored encryption chip that, by law, every technology was supposed to use. If Clipper had gone into effect, then cops, spooks, and anyone who could suborn, bribe, or trick a cop or a spook could break into any computer, server, mobile device, or embedded system in America.

When Clinton was told – over and over, in small, easy-to-understand words – that there was no way to make a security system that only worked when "bad guys" tried to break into it, but collapsed immediately if a "good guy" wanted to bypass it. We explained to him – oh, how we explained to him! – that working encryption would be all that stood between your pacemaker's firmware and a malicious update that killed you where you stood; all that stood between your antilock brakes' firmware and a malicious update that sent you careening off a cliff; all that stood between businesses and corporate espionage, all that stood between America and foreign state adversaries wanting to learn its secrets.

In response, Clinton said the same thing that all of his successors in the Crypto Wars have said: NERD HARDER! Just figure it out. Cops need to look at bad guys' phones, so you need to figure out how to make encryption that keeps teenagers safe from sextortionists, but melts away the second a cop tries to unlock a suspect's phone. Take Malcolm Turnbull, the former Australian Prime Minister. When he was told that the laws of mathematics dictated that it was impossible to build selectively effective encryption of the sort he was demanding, he replied, "The laws of mathematics are very commendable but the only law that applies in Australia is the law of Australia":

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/07/australian-pm-calls-end-end-encryption-ban-says-laws-mathematics-dont-apply-down

Fuck that guy. Fuck Bill Clinton. Fuck a succession of UK Prime Ministers who have repeatedly attempted to ban working encryption. Fuck 'em all. The stakes here are obscenely high. They have been warned, and all they say in response is "NERD HARDER!"

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/05/theyre-still-trying-to-ban-cryptography/

Now, of course, "crypto means cryptography," but the other crypto – cryptocurrency – deserves a look-in here. Cryptocurrency proponents advocate for a system of deregulated money creation, AKA "wildcat currencies." They say, variously, that central banks are no longer needed; or that we never needed central banks to regulate the money supply. Let's take away that fence. Why not? It's not fit for purpose today, and maybe it never was.

Why do we have central banks? The Fed – which is far from a perfect institution and could use substantial reform or even replacement – was created because the age of wildcat currencies was a nightmare. Wildcat currencies created wild economic swings, massive booms and even bigger busts. Wildcat currencies are the reason that abandoned haunted mansions feature so heavily in the American imagination: American towns and cities were dotted with giant mansions built by financiers who'd grown rich as bubbles expanded, then lost it all after the crash.

Prudent management of the money supply didn't end those booms and busts, but it substantially dampened them, ending the so-called "business cycle" that once terrorized Americans, destroying their towns and livelihoods and wiping out their savings.

It shouldn't surprise us that a new wildcat money sector, flogging "decentralized" cryptocurrencies (that they are nevertheless weirdly anxious to swap for your gross, boring old "fiat" money) has created a series of massive booms and busts, with insiders getting richer and richer, and retail investors losing everything.

If there was ever any doubt about whether wildcat currencies could be made safe by putting them on a blockchain, it is gone. Wildcat currencies are as dangerous today as they were in the 18th and 19th century – only moreso, since this new bad paper relies on the endless consumption of whole rainforests' worth of carbon, endangering not just our economy, but also the habitability of the planet Earth.

And nevertheless, the Trump administration is promising a new crypto golden age (or, ahem, a Gilded Age). And there are plenty of Democrats who continue to throw in with the rotten, corrupt crypto industry, which flushed billions into the 2024 election to bring Trump to office. The result is absolutely going to be more massive bubbles and life-destroying implosions. Fuck those guys. They were warned, and they did it anyway.

Speaking of the climate emergency: greetings from smoky Los Angeles! My city's on fire. This was not an unforeseeable disaster. Malibu is the most on-fire place in the world:

https://longreads.com/2018/12/04/the-case-for-letting-malibu-burn/

Since 1919, the region has been managed on the basis of "total fire suppression." This policy continued long after science showed that this creates "fire debt" in the form of accumulated fuel. The longer you go between fires, the hotter and more destructive those fires become, and the relationship is nonlinear. A 50-year fire isn't 250% more intense than a 20-year fire: it's 50,000% more intense.

Despite this, California has invested peanuts in regular controlled burns, which has created biennial uncontrolled burns – wildfires that cost thousands of times more than any controlled burn.

Speaking of underinvestment: PG&E has spent decades extracting dividends for its investors and bonuses for its execs, while engaging in near-total neglect of maintenance of its high-voltage transmission lines. Even with normal winds, these lines routinely fall down and start blazes.

But we don't have normal winds. The climate emergency has been steadily worsening for decades. LA is just the latest place to be on fire, or under water, or under ice, or baking in wet bulb temperatures. Last week in southern California, we were warned to expect gusts of 120mph.

They were warned. #ExxonKnew: in the early 1970s, Exxon's own scientists warned them that fossil fuel consumption would kick off climate change so drastic that it would endanger human civilzation. Exxon responded by burying the reports and investing in climate denial:

https://exxonknew.org/

They were warned! Warned about fire debt. Warned about transmission lines. Warned about climate change. And specific, named people, who individually had the power to heed these warnings and stave off disaster, ignored the warnings. They didn't make honest mistakes, either: they ignored the warnings because doing so made them extraordinarily, disgustingly rich. They used this money to create dynastic fortunes, and have created entire lineages of ultra-wealthy princelings in $900,000 watches who owe it all to our suffering and impending dooml

Fuck those guys. Fuck 'em all.

We've had so many missed opportunities, chances to make good policy or at least not make bad policy. The enshitternet didn't happen on its own. It was the foreseeable result of choices – again, choices made by named individuals who became very wealthy by ignoring the warnings all around them.

Let's go back to Bill Clinton, because more than anyone else, Clinton presided over some terrible technology regulations. In 1998, Clinton signed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a bill championed by Barney Frank (fuck that guy, too). Under Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it's a felony, punishable by a five year prison sentence, and a $500,000 fine, to tamper with a "digital lock."

That means that if HP uses a digital lock to prevent you from using third-party ink, it's a literal crime to bypass that lock. Which is why HP ink now costs $10,000/gallon, and why you print your shopping lists with colored water that costs more, ounce for ounce, than the sperm of a Kentucky Derby winner:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/09/30/life-finds-a-way/#ink-stained-wretches

Clinton was warned that DMCA 1201 would soon metastasize into every kind of device – not just the games consoles and DVD players where it was first used, but medical implants, tractors, cars, home appliances – anything you could put a microchip into (Jay Freeman calls this "felony contempt of business-model"):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

He ignored those warnings and signed the DMCA anyway (fuck that guy). Then, under Bush (fuck that guy), the US Trade Representative went all around the world demanding that America's trading partners adopt versions of this law (fuck that guy). In 2001, the European Parliament capitulated, enacting the EU Copyright Directive, whose Article 6 is a copy-paste of DMCA 1201 (fuck all those people).

Fast forward 20 years, and boy is there a lot of shit with microchips that can be boobytrapped with rent-extracting logic bombs that are illegal to research, describe, or disable.

Like choo-choo trains.

Last year, the Polish hacking group Dragon Sector was contacted by a public sector train company whose Newag trains kept going out of service. The operator suspected that Newag had boobytrapped the trains to punish the train company for getting its maintenance from a third-party contractor. When Dragon Sector investigated, they discovered that Newag had indeed riddled the trains' firmware with boobytraps. Trains that were taken to locations known to have third-party maintenance workshops were immediately bricked (hilariously, this bomb would detonate if trains just passed through stations near to these workshops, which is why another train company had to remove all the GPSes from its trains – they kept slamming to a halt when they approached a station near a third-party workshop). But Newag's logic bombs would brick trains for all kinds of reasons – merely keeping a train stationary for too many days would result in its being bricked. Installing a third-party component in a locomotive would also trigger a bomb, bricking the train.

In their talk at last year's Chaos Communications Congress, the Dragon Sector folks describe how they have been legally terrorized by Newag, which has repeatedly sued them for violating its "intellectual property" by revealing its sleazy, corrupt business practices. They also note that Newag continues to sell lots of trains in Poland, despite the widespread knowledge of its dirty business model, because public train operators are bound by procurement rules, and as long as Newag is the cheapest bidder, they get the contract:

https://media.ccc.de/v/38c3-we-ve-not-been-trained-for-this-life-after-the-newag-drm-disclosure

The laws that let Newag make millions off a nakedly corrupt enterprise – and put the individuals who blew the whistle on it at risk of losing everything – were passed by Members of the European Parliament who were warned that this would happen, and they ignored those warnings, and now it's happening. Fuck those people, every one of 'em.

It's not just European parliamentarians who ignored warnings and did the bidding of the US Trade Representative, enacting laws that banned tampering with digital locks. In 2010, two Canadian Conservative Party ministers in the Stephen Harper government brought forward similar legislation. These ministers, Tony Clement (now a disgraced sex-pest and PPE grifter) and James Moore (today, a sleazeball white-shoe corporate lawyer), held a consultation on this proposal.

6, 138 people wrote in to say, "Don't do this, it will be hugely destructive." 54 respondents wrote in support of it. Clement and Moore threw out the 6,138 opposing comments. Moore explained why: these were the "babyish" responses of "radical extremists." The law passed in 2012.

Last year, the Canadian Parliament passed bills guaranteeing Canadians the Right to Repair and the right to interoperability. But Canadians can't act on either of these laws, because they would have to tamper with a digital lock to do so, and that's illegal, thanks to Tony Clement and James Moore. Who were warned. And who ignored those warnings. Fuck those guys:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/15/radical-extremists/#sex-pest

Back in the 1990s, Bill Clinton had a ton of proposals for regulating the internet, but nowhere among those proposals will you find a consumer privacy law. The last time an American president signed a consumer privacy law was 1988, when Reagan signed the Video Privacy Protection Act and ensured that Americans would never have to worry that video-store clerks where telling the newspapers what VHS cassettes they took home.

In the years since, Congress has enacted exactly zero consumer privacy laws. None. This has allowed the out-of-control, unregulated data broker sector to metastasize into a cancer on the American people. This is an industry that fuels stalkers, discriminatory financial and hiring algorithms, and an ad-tech sector that lets advertisers target categories like "teenagers with depression," "seniors with dementia" and "armed service personnel with gambling addictions."

When the people cry out for privacy protections, Congress – and the surveillance industry shills that fund them – say we don't need a privacy law. The market will solve this problem. People are selling their privacy willingly, and it would be an "undue interference in the market" if we took away your "freedom to contract" by barring companies from spying on you after you clicked the "I agree" button.

These people have been repeatedly warned about the severe dangers to the American public – as workers, as citizens, as community members, and as consumers – from the national privacy free-for-all, and have done nothing. Fuck them, every one:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/06/privacy-first/#but-not-just-privacy

Now, even a stopped clock is right twice a day, and not every one of Bill Clinton's internet policies was terrible. He had exactly one great policy, and, ironically, that's the one there's the most energy for dismantling. That policy is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (a law that was otherwise such a dumpster fire that the courts struck it down). Chances are, you have been systematically misled about the history, use, and language of Section 230, which is wild, because it's exactly 26 words long and fits in a single tweet:

No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.

Section 230 was passed because when companies were held liable for their users' speech, they "solved" this problem by just blocking every controversial thing a user said. Without Section 230, there would be no Black Lives Matter, no #MeToo – no online spaces where the powerful were held to account. Meanwhile, rich and powerful people would continue to enjoy online platforms where they and their bootlickers could pump out the most grotesque nonsense imaginable, either because they owned those platforms (ahem, Twitter and Truth Social) or because rich and powerful people can afford the professional advice needed to navigate the content-moderation bureaucracies of large systems.

We know exactly what the internet looks like when platforms are civilly liable for their users' speech: it's an internet where marginalized and powerless people are silenced, and where the people who've got a boot on their throats are the only voices you can hear:

https://www.techdirt.com/2020/06/23/hello-youve-been-referred-here-because-youre-wrong-about-section-230-communications-decency-act/

The evidence for this isn't limited to the era of AOL and Prodigy. In 2018, Trump signed SESTA/FOSTA, a law that held platforms liable for "sex trafficking." Advocates for this law – like Ashton Kutcher, who campaigns against sexual assault unless it involves one of his friends, in which case he petitions the judge for leniency – were warned that it would be used to shut down all consensual sex work online, making sex workers's lives much more dangerous. This warnings were immediately borne out, and they have been repeatedly borne out every month since. Killing CDA 230 for sex work brought back pimping, exposed sex workers to grave threats to their personal safety, and made them much poorer:

https://decriminalizesex.work/advocacy/sesta-fosta/what-is-sesta-fosta/

It also pushed sex trafficking and other nonconsensual sex into privateforums that are much harder for law enforcement to monitor and intervene in, making it that much harder to catch sex traffickers:

https://cdt.org/insights/its-all-downsides-hybrid-fosta-sesta-hinders-law-enforcement-hurts-victims-and-speakers/

This is exactly what SESTA/FOSTA's advocates were warned of. They were warned. They did it anyway. Fuck those people.

Maybe you have a theory about how platforms can be held civilly liable for their users' speech without harming marginalized people in exactly the way that SESTA/FOSTA, it had better amount to more than "platforms are evil monopolists and CDA 230 makes their lives easier." Yes, they're evil monopolists. Yes, 230 makes their lives easier. But without 230, small forums – private message boards, Mastodon servers, Bluesky, etc – couldn't possibly operate.

There's a reason Mark Zuckerberg wants to kill CDA 230, and it's not because he wants to send Facebook to the digital graveyard. Zuck knows that FB can operate in a post-230 world by automating the deletion of all controversial speech, and he knows that small services that might "disrupt" Facebook's hegemony would be immediately extinguished by eliminating 230:

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/zuckerberg-calls-changes-techs-section-230-protections-rcna486

It's depressing to see so many comrades in the fight against Big Tech getting suckered into carrying water for Zuck, demanding the eradication of CDA 230. Please, I beg you: look at the evidence for what happens when you remove that fence. Heed the warnings. Don't be like Bill Clinton, or California fire suppression officials, or James Moore and Tony Clement, or the European Parliament, or the US Trade Rep, or cryptocurrency freaks, or Malcolm Turnbull.

Or Ashton fucking Kutcher.

Because, you know, fuck those guys.

Check out my Kickstarter to pre-order copies of my next novel, Picks and Shovels!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/13/wanting-it-badly/#is-not-enough

[the-owl-tree]

The final acts of Fallen Stars, an AU where Firestar gets the shit kicked out of him and is forced to flee the Clans with Sandstorm and Graystripe. Figured I'd just messily write out the frantic ramblings in my master doc once and for all lol

Very quick overviews ahead, just plot rather than details:

The story would've been split between three key povs and their respective groups: Firestar (graystripe, princess, and sandstorm), Cinderpelt (longtail and tawnypaw), and Cloudtail (brightheart, mistyfoot, stormpaw, and feathertail (stonefur would not live here) and each covering a different plot:

Firestar: The BloodClan plot (obviously).

Cinderpelt: Eyes into TigerClan when ThunderClan is eventually absorbed.

Cloudtail: Escaping TigerClan and our eyes into WindClan.

skipping a lot of the little details, this is just plot overview time

Firestar's Journey (The A Plot)

You can read act 1, the intermission, and act 2 here! I really enjoyed running the blog, but ultimately it was a story that involved way more work than an art and ask blog could get in a timely manner, especially while I was working and doing school.

Anyways, Act 2 ends with Princess being caught up and promising to take them to Vivi, who we learn is Violet - Barley's sister! Violet is essentially the exposition dump character for giving the reader insight into how BloodClan has changed for this AU.

They are not family hating Godless heathens, they are a functioning if rough society within the city that promises cats protection in exchange for payment (material, food, land, etc.). Violet and Barley left because they couldn't pay for the protection and Violet warns them that Firestar and his group will most likely be turned away if they offer nothing in exchange for help.

The group opts to make the journey anyways with Violet leading them to the city to meet Scourge.

Here we introduce more AU and lore elements with Firestar receiving strange cryptic dreams from passed loved ones, warning him of the Sun Star and seeing a massive cat made of dark storm clouds.

They make it to BloodClan and a lot of time is spent establishing BloodClan, their ways of life, some of the key cats in it like Bone, Brick, and Fury, and giving Firestar and co a chance to see life outside of the Clans.

They spend a few days there because Firestar keeps trying to appeal to Scourge through the lens of the Clans, citing honor and glory of battle and yada yada before eventually he realizes he needs to speak to Scourge on his terms.

I want a detail where Princess actually intervenes when Firestar accidentally offends them, showing she's got some knowledge of BloodClan etiquette.

Firestar eventually strikes a deal, promising materials and other goods in exchange for their help.

Scourge and Firestar have bonding time as Firestar starts recognizing how much of himself he had rejected to assimilate. Cue development here yada yada.

Firestar dreams of two brothers locked in battle, one who's face is obscured by storm and the other who's face is blindingly bright.

Cinderpelt's Clan (Plot B)

Cinderpelt is our view into ThunderClan who is reeling after Firestar's thorough thrashing. She and Whitestorm are acting as the defacto leaders with Whitestorm trying to corral the panicked Clan.

She would note how heavy it's been raining since the duel and also establish that ThunderClan is divided into three groups:

Waiting for the return of Firestar: Whitestorm (tentatively), Cinderpelt, Brackenfur, Frostfur, Brightheart Whitestorm hurry up and get your lives squad: Mousefur, Dustpelt, Goldenflower, Thornpaw, Smallear, One-Eye Undecided: Longtail, Bramblepaw, Fernpaw, Ashpaw, Willowpelt, Speckletail, Dappletail "Oh god what did i just witness": Tawnypaw

The Clan is split if the storm is because of Tigerstar killing Firestar or Firestar running from a duel.

Brightheart and Cloudtail have gone missing and Cinderpelt wonders if the two went to find Firestar, Sandstorm, and Graystripe.

During this period, Tigerstar and his lackies have been pressuring them to make the decision to join TigerClan and using their numbers to slowly dwindle ThunderClan territory as they struggle.

This is where I needed to plan more but eventually Whitestorm goes to talk it out with Tigerstar and uuuuhh dies! He gets got. Cinderpelt finds his body with his throat torn and Tigerstar tells a story of a fox, Runningnose wondering if its an omen as Whitestorm died similarly to how Firestar's throat was torn out (weak but you get what I'm going for, right?)

Eventually ThunderClan does get assimilated and we learn that Brightheart and Cloudtail were rounded up and imprisoned along with Mistyfoot, Stonefur, Featherpaw, and Stormfur.

I think this is the weakest plot line as I hadn't fudged the details entirely before starting. which is a very bad idea don't do that.

But essentially ThunderClan is outnumbered and a few members are actually into what Tigestar has to offer, Thornclaw in particular.

Very fuzzy here, just some build up for the execution. Stonefur still dies and Tigerstar calls upon Thornclaw to finish off Cloudtail, Brightheart intervenes but the two are outnumbered as Blackfoot and Darkstripe move to separate them.

Very fuzzy here but I want Brackenfur to intervene and he and Thornclaw die via mutually delivered wounds.

The prisoners escape!

At some point there would be the reveal that Tigerstar and Leopardstar had been working together for a while with the reveal that Leopardstar had poisoned Crookedstar to claim leadership. I had an idea of Brackenpaw being the one to see this in a flashback but too scared to speak up, hence why he wanted to intervene now in guilt for not saying anything before. But eh, weak.

Bramblepaw also grows closer to his father during this, setting up why he returns to train with him in TNP. Tawnypaw is waaaayy to freaked by seeing what her father did to even consider it lol

This whole section is weak and I'm not too attached to it? Too jumbled, needed more time to bake. It reeks of first draft.

The rest of this story would be Cinderpelt and Longtail working to gain allies within the captured Clans of TigerClan and turning the tide from within.

Cloudtail's Escape (Plot C)

The shortest of the stories. The prisoners escape and eventually head to the moors where WindClan takes them in.

We learn that Tallstar is critically wounded and hasn't woken up, Mudclaw has been assuming control along with the help of Onewhisker.

General chill time before wuh-oh the scheduled TigerClan attack.

Prisoners are forced to escape and make their way to the barn where Barley tells them of BloodClan, though says he can't promise they'll help them.

Cloudtail and co go where they eventually meet Sasha, who has escaped the forest as well. She guides them to BloodClan where Cloudtail and Firestar's group reunite.

The Big Battle

So by this time Firestar has established allies with BloodClan, Cinderpelt and Longtail are turning the tides in TigerClan, and Cloudtail's caught Firestar up to speed on what's going on.

They aim for the next gathering to strike.

Firestar has another dream...this one less cryptic.

This would've been set up before, obviously, but Firestar would remember the story told to him by Bluestar of an angry spirit made of storm clouds. The reason that fighting was forbidden was because the spirit was summoned by violence at fourtrees, because in the past it had tried to destroy the Clans there. It was the Sky Star that destroyed the spirit and preserved the Clans for moons to come, now watching them with his eye in the sky to ensure the Clans lived on for generations.

In his dream he meets the massive spirit of storm who slowly shrinks and shrinks until he is face to face with a cat much like him: Gray Wing the Fool, a cat who thought he could stop the growing violence of the Clans and became the Dark Forest itself as punishment.

Firestar realizes the cat he saw stealing the moon that gathering was Gray Wing and the two talk. Firestar sees a cat who wanted to fight for peace and lost tremendously, with a warped legacy that painted him as a villain eternally throughout Clan history.

Gray Wing warns him that if Firestar continues down this path, swerving from the Clan's culture of violence and honor in battle, that the stars will not look kindly on him and his generations again.

Firestar, having gone through The Journey and seeing the impact the raids on the cats of the twolegplace had on BloodClan, the way his nephew was nearly executed, but also the way the Clan cats and BloodClan have begun to get along, already knows his answer.

cue artsy foreshadowing to the trial, to lives of difficulty,

Gray Wing nods, promising him that even if the stars aren't with him, there are the spirits of cats all around him that will aid in his fight for change. Cue the appearance of cats who fought and died to try and change things: Ryewhisker and Cloudberry, Morningstar, the rebels that fought with Gray Wing, yada yada.

Firestar wakes up, feeling heavier than before but knowing he made the right choice.

Battle time.

BloodClan ambushes TigerClan, shifting the battle in their favor immediately. The TigerClan rebels turn against their Clanmates immediately, with Longtail and Cinderpelt spearheading the heel turn.

Firestar and Tigerstar meet in battle once again, the moon clear in the sky. It's an echo of their first battle, but Firestar has changed, stronger and now knowing this isn't a battle he has to face alone.

As Tigerstar rears back to strike, Cloudtail and Brightheart pull him back and Firestar crouches to give Scourge a leaping start, sending the small cat into the air and giving him the opportunity to slice Tigerstar's belly open, killing the scarred tabby in the same spectacular fashion as he did in the books.

Battle aftermath, Firestar reaffirming his deal with Scourge, the Clans returning to their own four homes. Princess is invited to come to ThunderClan but she says no, wishing them well.

Epilogue that shows the Clans getting along more, Firestar still struggles with managing his pain from the severe injuries he sustained at the gathering, but is surrounded by loved ones.

Corny sunset ending here.

Looking over it now, Fallen Stars was half-baked and probably wasn't going to make it off the ground anyways. I remember wishing I had kept it as an open project akin to Better Bones, but what's done is done! It's an AU I'm still very fond of and still like to think on, even if looking at my notes, it's clear I hadn't done the planning to fully commit.

Story wise...it's messy, very messy, hence the note about lack of planning. I think sitting down and doing a few more drafts would've benefited it, you can tell I had a lot of ideas and very little focus. I knew I wanted the story to be about change, I just wanted to do waaaayy too much with many characters and many different plotlines. It was ambitious for a first project but it was a fun one to work on anyways.

I still would love to talk about it, make up ideas and think it over, it's not one I want to trash in the bin just yet. Also, Wait For Me from Hadestown was my go to inspiration song for working on it, so the big theater cheese vibes all make sense.

Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone who supported the original blog!

[thewertsearch]

ERIDAN: for all that trainin you did ERIDAN: i wwouldnt be the incredible holy wwizard i am noww wwithout your help […] KANAYA: I Hope You Use Your Magnificent Powers Of Light And Hope For Goodness And Purity And Lets Not Forget Science

At this point. Kanaya is Human Sarcasming better than most actual humans.

ERIDAN: dont wworry im all ovver that shit you dont evven knoww KANAYA: Uh Oh I Hope That Didnt Come Off As Too Sarcastic […] KANAYA: Please Dont Take Too Much Offense ERIDAN: haha damn kan if thats your idea of offense bein made then i honestly gotta fuckin wworry for you ERIDAN: tell you wwhat ill givve you some lessons in dealin out the dark umbrage to repay you for your tutelage in the wwhite science

I think Dave taught Kanaya more about the art of trolling in a single conversation than Eridan could in an entire lifetime.

That guy can troll better than most actual trolls.

ERIDAN: wwhats that thing there KANAYA: The Matriorb KANAYA: I Was About To Go Hatch It In The Core To Restore Our Race ERIDAN: that sounds ERIDAN: hopeful […] ERIDAN: if theres goin to be any sort a hope for our race as the prince of hope i demand to be invvolvved ERIDAN: so dont go anywwhere wwithout me got it […] KANAYA: Fine

I’m all for the construction of neo-Alternia, but I really don't think Eridan should be on the planning committee, unless we also want a neo-hemospectrum.

Honestly, the only trolls I'd really trust to rebuild their society are the bottom half of the hemospectrum, and possibly Gamzee. The other highbloods can go sit in the corner.

ERIDAN: its not magic wwe talked about this kar KARKAT: RIGHT, IT'S POWERED BY SCIENCE, I FORGOT. KARKAT: OR HOPE. WHATEVER THE FUCK THAT MEANS

I don’t see how Hope translates to a robot-exploding beam, though.

If it was wizards he was blowing up, I’d understand, because it would be consistent with my theory that he's weaponizing his hatred of FRAUDULENT MAGIC. If anything, his Science Wand should strengthen a robot, since it's a product of the TRUEST SCIENCES.

ERIDAN: i had a harder time than anybody wwith this game ERIDAN: it wwas really fuckin unfair wwhat challenges i got saddled wwith ERIDAN: i wwoulda fuckin MURDERED for a land full of a lot a harmless brains and fire ERIDAN: but no ERIDAN: it wwas so lonely ERIDAN: hey guys anybody wwant to come hang out wwith me in the land a wwrath and angels

That sounds cool, though. Angels, I assume, are how Hope is represented in his Land, and I’m sure Eridan synergized well with its wrath. I wonder what physical form it took?

ERIDAN: anybody at all i knoww it isnt anythin like one of your flippin land picnics ERIDAN: anybody please ill evven settle for the kittycat shipper cavve girl

You can't complain about loneliness and then insult your ‘friend’ in the same breath. That's not how any of this works, and the fact that you're unaware of this should tell you everything you need to know about why you're lonely.

So Karkat does know about Nepeta’s little crush. He is a relationship aficionado, after all.

Poor Nepeta.

I sort of figured Karkat didn't reciprocate her feelings. He's preoccupied with plenty of other redrom prospects, and he basically never mentions her.

Karkat’s honestly a little too nice to Eridan. He’s being such a bro here, but what Eridan actually needs is to be brought down to size a little.

Granted, I think Eridan needs a bigger shock to the system than an angry tirade from Karkat. I feel like Terezi could tear him to pieces - but since it's unfair to expect her to put up with him alone, I'd put both the Scourge Sisters on this assignment. >:)

What Karkat is aptly demonstrating here is that there’s a difference between an Eridan kind of asshole and a Karkat kind of asshole.

Let's be real, here - Karkat's a dick. But he's a dick who holds no true malice, knows when he's crossed a line, and is willing to sincerely apologize for his past actions, and make amends.

Eridan possesses none of these qualities, which is why he sat alone in his house for a month while Karkat befriended the entire cast.

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Dogs

Hildur Knutsdottir: submitted for the approval of the midnight society, i call this the tale of the night guest Knutsdottir: its about a woman who gets a full night's sleep so you would think she would be well rested (she's not) Knutsdottir: it's almost like something is possessing her while she sleeps (something is)

Knutsdottir: this possession Knutsdottir: you might think it's the yule lads (it's not the yule lads) Knutsdottir: or maybe grylla (its not grylla) Knutsdottir: perhaps its the hidden people (its not the hidden people)

Knutsdottir: now this woman also has a dead sister Knutsdottir: so you would think maybe the ghost of her dead sister is possessing her King: Poe: Lovecraft: Koontz: Barker: King: um King: was there supposed to be a parenthetical there Knutsdottir: not saying

Knutsdottir: now of course when this woman has weird sleep problems, you would of course take advantage of our socialized medical system to see a doctor (she does this) Knutsdottir: but even socialized medicine is not free from the scourge of sexism (there's a lot of it) Angela Carter: yes yes this scans

Knutsdottir: anyway that's the Icelandic socialized medicine system for you Dan Simmons: why do you have to bring politics into this? Simmons: i just want a nice apolitical scary story Knutsdottir: ok i'll fast forward to the cat murders Lovecraft: WHAT

Knutsdottir: yeah someone's been killing cats (it's her) which you wouldn't expect (she loves cats) Lovecraft: i can't listen to this! Lovecraft: i can tolerate rac- Barker: we know howard you say that everytime Lovecraft: it's my catch phrase! Barker: no it's not!

Knutsdottir: every night she walks across the city (to the harbor) Knutsdottir: now you think she might be visiting Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (but she's not) Cynthia Pelayo: aw that hot dog ain't no good! King: what? hot dog? Knutsdottir: you're entitled to your opinion (it's actually the best in the city)

Pelayo: what dya even put on a hot dog over there? King: why are we talking about hot dogs? Knutsdottir: með öllu Pelayo: pfft! með öllu indeed! Pelayo: ya don't even know what you're getting!

Pelayo: i tell you, you want a hot dog, you get it CHICAGO STYLE Pelayo: mustard, chopped onion, pickle spears, sport peppers Pelayo: YEAH! CHICAGO STRONG, BABY!!! Pelayo: GO BEARS OR MAYBE WHITE SOX!!!

Knutsdottir: no no see a hot dog should have remolaði sauce (and apple ketchup) Pelayo: wtf! the only sauce that goes on a dog is mustard Knutsdottir: WHAT?! like the infidel bill Clinton?! (he ordered with only mustard during his 2004 visit) Knutsdottir: NEVER!!! Knutsdottir: it's með öllu!!! always með öllu!!!

Lovecraft: now i prefer my sausages providence style Barker: no you don't Barker: that's not even a thing Lovecraft: no it is! its when you put a Vienna sausage on a slice of white bread Barker: howard, we all know you don't eat ethnic food

Pelayo: who's ready for mouth watering hot dogs?? Lovecraft: ah sausages! Pelayo: Hebrew national hot dogs! Lovecraft: Lovecraft: [sweats]

[dcdreamblog]

So I’m a little confused about the hero(?) called vigilante, he seems to be both a cowboy themed crime fighter and a violent psychopath in a power rangers suit. Are they different guys? Do they have any connection outside of the name?

They most certainly do not, the connection between Golden Age hero Greg Saunders and ANY of the murderers and sociopaths who have taken the name Vigilante after him is nonexistent and, in fact, any attempts to claim legitimacy from him are strongly condemned by Saunders.

(The portrait of Saunders currently on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN)

By now everyone on this blog should know Saunders. The son of a Wyoming lawman killed by criminal elements he took up the tools of the cowboy's trade and became a scourge to criminals from the Mississippi to the coast. He served with the 7 Soldiers of Victory and the All Star Squadron before being lost to time just after WWII, only recovered by an early case of the JLA. He has since mostly retired, married and settled down to a quiet life running a chain of western restaurants and serving as elected sheriff of a small town on the Mexican border.

(A photograph of Adrian Chase as Vigilante, firing back at pursuing police officers during an on foot chase) The man I believe you are referring to is disgraced former Manhattan judge and district attorney Adrian Chase. Originally a popular opponent to the city's organized crime he suffered a nervous breakdown after the death of his wife and children in a mob hit. Adopting the masked identity of the Vigilante he sought to mete out his own brand of justice across the big apple. He was a murderer. A mass murderer at that. A serial killer in every name but publicity. His body count stands at at least 300, most likely more, including at least two police officers. 35% of his victims had never been convicted of any crime. 15% had never been held in suspicion of one. Some people call Adrian Chase a controversial figure. I don't. Whether you like it or not, here is the unquestionable truth: Chase's actions did not eradicate the mafia in New York City. His activities made no significant statistical difference in crime rates. The guilt or innocence of many of his victims cannot be conclusively proven and less than 20% of his victims were ever under suspicion of a capital crime in the first place. Leaving ASIDE the fact that New York is a state with no death penalty by the will of its own population. The men he killed were criminals, people insist. I am educated and empathetic enough to know that crime, and organized crime in particular, are born out of poverty. Men and women from impoverished neighborhoods finding the only way out from under the system's boot. It is not a dragon you can slay, it's a side effect of a broken system. There is a REASON superheroes don't kill, even back to literal Nazi saboteurs in WWII. Because as of now we do not live in a society where we are meant to CHEER men in masks deciding who is allowed to live and who is supposed to die behind some condemned building in the dark. And I will never consent to living in a society where that is the case, especially when the victims of this kind of top down self righteousness on the part of a man who was meant to uphold and respect the rule of our laws and the rights of its accused will ALWAYS target those who are poor, marginalized or unwell above ANYONE else. My only regret in the life of Adrian Chase is that he managed to commit suicide before he could be publically arrested. Chase has been directly responsible as inspiration for at least 7 copycat killers, 2 following directly in the wake of his persona, 2 who are tied to the infamous mercenary hitman Deathstroke by the FBI, one in Metropolis, one in Gotham and one who is still currently at large in Los Angeles. I pray only that he is caught, unmasked and convicted before a jury of his peers. And that the families of those who any of these serial killers passed their "judgement" upon might someday find peace.

[chihoshisai]

Double Arrangement

Sabo x Reader

cw : royalty au, strangers to lovers, arranged/political engagement, reader is royalty, sabo is cold (but will warm up over time in other chapters) // wc : 3.851 words

Part 1

“What a happy day, isn't it? For our families to have settled on this union.”

“Yes mama,”  you inclined your head towards your mother in an acquiescing manner — a tall astute woman known for her stern character hidden behind a kind smile. Seeing the faint smile blooming on your lips, one that had been forged through years of etiquette lessons, she turned her radiance towards the guests seated opposite the two of you. In turn you did as such, your eyes landing first and foremost on the man who had just been appointed as your fiance but not without stretching your lips further as decorum would have it.  

Much in contrast to proper manners, your betrothed far from spared you the necessity of giving you a smile, rather keeping a pointed expression that soon found interest elsewhere from your profile. His aversion made it easier for you to scourge his features — named Sabo, blond haired, round eyed, an ailment on his left eye that was enough to incite scorn as scars were the same as losing one's standing in society. Even if the decoloration of his affliction far from bothered you, society wouldn't be as kind behind closed doors. Nevertheless, he sat looking attractive in his blue colored garments, leaving your heart to delay its flutter only once enough time would be given to get acquainted.

But for now, you had bigger worries for a forced engagement had been casted upon your shoulders, as the second child but first born daughter of your family. Your prospects were either to marry high nobility of your land or board a boat overseas. Following an unconventional past experience with the world beyond your borders it rendered you fearful of the unknown as someone thrown out of her element like a freshwater fish thrown into the ocean; you mused it wise to keep a higher authority, acquaintances and your family closer to your grasp in your homeland. 

Love stories were a luxury of fiction, a sweet temptation to divert the mind and the heart from reality. A reality which sat before you in all its grandeur, as the chatter of your soon to be family in law echoed in your mind. Perhaps other members of society were accorded the pleasantry of seeking love matches. Even if you seeked the answer to this question, envied them for it, the reality remained that you were constricted to the coffins of your rank. Suffocating as it sometimes were, your gender additionned with your birth number made for a more breathable world. And now, as your bottom rested on a rather comfortable sofa, the invisible entrapment of a promised marriage came to suffocate your reality. In a rather swift and decisive way too, as just only a week ago the notion of marriage remained as a simple afterthought in your mind.  

“I trust this union will make you see us as a part of your family. Of course we don't dream of ever replacing your parents, but that we will forge a similar bond over time dear,” the interpellation of the women sitting opposite you stirred you away from your musing.

Another polite smile. “Of course, Mrs. Didit,” you stared at the woman while hiding away the wretchedness she aroused in you through her pamperous and obscene behavior. Additionally, the father too, Outlook III, shared a common tinge of character as his wife, making the pair far from agreeable let alone likable. Despite their play at convincing your family, your heart far from agreed to entertain the false promises of accepting them as your kin. 

“I believe it is time we let our children get acquainted with one another,” your mother raised aloud,  stirring another round of stiff smiles and chuckles as last pleasantries were given. 

With the emptying of the room, you finally felt like you had space to breathe — nevertheless you kept your posture, back straight and hands resting on your lap, as your position demanded it. You gave a quick glance at your bothered who had yet to say much on the occasion with the adults present. Under normal circumstances, it would be considered rude to not so much as partake in the conversation. Was it an attempt at silently rebelling the mariage? Or was he simply the shy type? In any case you could only hope he wasn't the tied tongued type.

“They all seem over the moon, as if they're marrying themselves,” you gave a stark chuckle to lighten up the atmosphere. 

Sabo looked at you with a blank indecipherable expression. “Wish they would tone it down a bit but they'll probably be at it until the actual ceremony happens.” His voice was low, steady and devoid of any feelings.

A part of you rejoiced at his response — at least your days wouldn't be spent in total quietude. “And after that they'll fill our ears with talk of babies,” you added, hoping to bond on a shared enemy.

However your claims were met with an iron wall. “Are you opposed to this mariage?” Sabo asked, sending such an inquiring gaze to pierce through yours it took you aback.

“Should I be?” The bridge between your eyebrows furrowed itself.

“I always thought princesses like you dreamed of grand mariages and promises of love.” 

The incredulous statement made you spill out an offended scoff. To hear an unfiltered opinion of the masses made you realize just how absurd your gilded world must sound to others outside the walls.

“Am I wrong?” Sabo pressed further, raising an eyebrow as he kept his unreadable composure.

“Well,” you began, shifting over your sitting cushion. “I did in fact dream of love and all its promises once upon a time ago.” You fiddled with your fingers, blinking as a diversion to avert your eyes.

“I feel there is a but coming, feel free to speak freely,” Sabo gave a respectably nod.

You thinned your lips, feeling guilty of pointing out an obvious reality. “We're strangers,” you curtly said. “Even with a flashing ceremony, what love is there to be found with someone I know less of than my own personal staff?” You explained. 

Sabo hummed and nodded in approval. “Glad we agree on that. I wasn't planning on seeing this through either way.”

It was with utter unsettlement that you tilted your head to the side, bewildered at his announcement. “Excuse me?” 

“I do not wish to marry you,” Sabo frankly repeated, keeping his uptight sitting position and fists clenched on his legs.

“Surely you will not do me the humiliation of not seeing this through?” Your voice took on a breathy note while your core started feeling the restraints of your corset.

“Someone of your rank will recover from this,” his sharp words seemed to cut past the layers of lessons and facades built into you.

Your breathing quickened. “Surely not after such an affront, I will be sent abroad!” You slowly shook your head, mostly for yourself than to make him realize your desperation.

“Oh what a bad thing,” Sabo sarcastically said, and at the spiteful glare you  gave him he quickly added. “You will be fine, I'm sure.” 

“No. I agreed to this marriage, to avoid such a fate. We must work this out, find a common ground, something, please!”   

Sabo kept his walls, only allowing himself a slight disapproval shake of the head. “I'm afraid there is nothing for us to negotiate on.” 

“Then what is your reason for refusing? Responsibility? You will have none for my brother is king. Being a Duke shouldn't be far off your alley,” you rather harshly spat, feeling the rumbling of an unsure future elevate the rhythm of your breathing. 

“My circumstances are not for you to know,” Sabo dryly responded.

Your palms clenched into fists as a boiling down your stomach raged. Nevertheless your upbringing prevented you from spewing profanities at the man before you. “Then, if I may, how will you waltz your way through this engagement? Or am I not entitled to know?”

Sabo mustered your gaze for a few moments. “Well, as you are a part of this, you should be made aware that I intend to keep it up for appearance's sake and once…” he trailed off, furrowing his eyebrows not from anger but from discontent. “Once my affairs are in order, I shall disappear without pinning no blame on you whatsoever.” 

“And how long will this charade last?” The polished nails from your fingertips clawed at your skin unconsciously.

“Say two to five weeks at most.” 

You took in a deep breath, feeling the straightness of your back starting to burn in discomfort. “I thank you for your honesty. Had you been sincere from the start, we would have both greatly benefited from not having to be in one another's company for such a short time,” all traces of counterfeited courtesy left your face seeing as there was no need to keep up a facade with a deceitful stranger. 

“I had no intention of proceeding with this engagement. Things went haywire which led to this unfortunately,” Sabo tried to plead but you paid him no mind, receiving it instead with a dry scoff.

On this note you stood up, feeling betrayed and reluctant to stare a second longer into his emotionless blank eyes. “Oh what a bad thing to happen,” you sarcastically spoke in turn, scarcely refusing to accord him a curtsey before your brisk heels stomped the carpet and carried you elsewhere. 

----

Love never came easy to all. This you knew and were ready to make the necessary work towards achieving this desired necessity for a smooth mariage. But instead, you found yourself entrapped with a mixture of anxiety, fear and despise towards someone you were ready to move mountains for. Someone who had spoken their mind freely and truly, sparing you the hollows from darkness of the unknown by confiding in you rather than lie or keep secrets. Someone who had expressed their wishes, which you had, in retrospect, poorly reacted to. If your mind wasn't in such a frenzy as to what fate awaited you at the end of the month, you would instead be wallowing in self-deprecation for your poor display of understanding, let alone empathy.  

You had no knowledge of the whereabouts of your mother, nor the guests she entertained for that matter, therefore your pace led you to a secluded place, bolting in a respectable way between the hard workers of the castle. Climbing a flight of stairs, hands treading up the hem of your skirts, you ignored all until you reached the royal infirmary. 

There your body found comfort, basking in the sunlight that seeped through the open curtains, the transparency of the uniform white color that inhabited the room, leaping along in a similar way on the sheets from the single bed with rows of pharmaceutics surrounding it, the vague smell of antiseptics and the sight of the nurse. A kindhearted woman with purple hair, named Kobato and sporting glasses who had been accorded the privilege of nursing not only you but your family line as well, while the physician busied himself through other household summons. 

“Are you ill, your highness?” The woman asked, scrambling to stand from her desk to bend in a curtsey, her eyes luring over your form.

In fact, through your rush in coming here your cheeks had shot red in color and your breathing had increased in a ragged mess since leaving the sitting room. The nurse's concern was well placed.

“I'm fine,” you breathed and went to lie on the bed. Its plush, silk texture soothed the exterior of your predicament as the nurse went to stand nearby.  

“Would you like a glass of water?” She asked, taking notice of your breathless behavior.

You nodded. “That would be appreciated, yes.” 

As she busied herself, you slumped further into the pillow, staring at the pristine ceiling that, unlike the many other rooms lacked in lavish decorations, which often than not prevented your eyes from feeling overwhelmed. Your mind followed suit, sinking in the news you received the day before that you were to be engaged, plus meet with his family the next day. How, despite having the knowledge that no pleas or arguing would help your case, you gritted your teeth and welcomed an obscene couple into your home, played at false pretenses during a brunch and finally as private time had been bestowed onto the pair like a reward, you faced the soon to be news that it would all fall apart. 

“There you go miss,” the nurse handed you the glass. You propped yourself into a sitting position, eyes lingering in the past while you uttered a faint appreciation of her gesture before drinking. 

Soon the glass was freed from your person and you laid back down, propping your hand on your core like a corpse as you felt your rapid rise of the chest quell down. 

“Is royalty unlovable?” You asked the nurse, fully expecting a certain answer.

Her honeyed voice filtered through your ears like butter. “Of course not! It would be everyone's greatest honor to marry into the royal family,” she assured you. 

A silence occurred in which you focused only on your breathing. 

“Is this about your recent engagement?” Her tone carried uncertainty as she felt dubious whether her question was appropriate.

“I'm afraid I am not to marry,” you dryly said.

“What terrible news, how so?”

Your eyes maintained their focus on the white ceiling. “He has other obligations inquiring him to run away and which he does not wish to share with me.” Seeing as the nurse had returned to her desk, you failed to witness the compassionate gaze she bore. “What am I to do? I do not wish to leave everything I've ever known behind to marry another elsewhere,” you murmured in a low voice. Your heart clenched while your knuckles turned white. Such a display would grant you a lecture from your mother, but thankfully the nurse was one of the few discreet, tight lipped individuals of the palace.

“Your highness could accompany him into his business if she doesn't wish to end the engagement,” the nurse spoke after a moment of musing. 

You bit your lower lip, feeling she had a point for as -if- the marriage would come to pass, both of you would be thrown out of your respective residence to start anew in a new one. “Is that my only option?” You asked. Begging your family to betroth you to another at this stage would not only be folly, but a complete affront they would never be compelled to face. 

“Or you could give him a reason to stay. Convince him that the pros of your alliance far outweighs those of his obligation.”

You shifted over the bed covers, turning towards the nurse to glimpse at the truest smile one could find here. There were no traces of malice from her face or words of advice. The history that had settled over the years compelled you to trust in her words as you gave her a hopeful smile. 

“Thank you, I'll try,” you sat up as she nodded. At the end of the day, you were also a member of the royal bloodline — if your brother and mother were too proud to marry you off to another member of society, then why let the man in question fly his wings elsewhere? Why, after knowing of his intentions, would you sit by and let it happen? What good would come off it but your own loss of face? Like many, you had your own pride too. Plus arranged marriages weren't uncommon, and God forbids you let it dissolve without a common ground of understanding. 

It was with this resolution that you bid farewell to the nurse, thanking her for the advice and time she spared you and headed down the halls once more. You marched, once again sparing few notice at the constant buzzing of the staff amidst the castle, instead forging a rough plan following the guidance you had received. 

After having a general idea to propose, you confidently turned the doorknob of the room you previously sat in only to be met with absolute desolation from the lack of living being. A pout rounded your lips — of course Sabo wouldn't have stayed alone in the same room for so long. You closed the door behind you, thinking of the places a guest might take interest in from the palace but resorted to asking the working personnel for any sightings of your fiance until you found the answer.  

“Sabo, there you are,” you walked upon the grass and further into the garden; flowers of all kinds lounged the side, and lush wisteria trees descended like an accomplice to partly hide the height of your betrothed. 

Hearing his name, he perked his head up in your direction, giving a look, again far from decipherable. “Are we to return to our parents?” 

You shook your head, stopping once you had entered the coffins under the tree to stand before him. “Not at all.”

“Then what is it?” His tone was rather impatient, which didn't come as a surprise.

The scent of the flowers blooming into one aroma prevented you from losing your cool. “May I ask, are you refusing to marry because you love another? Will you wed someone else?”

“Far from that actually. Though you could say there are others whom I love outside of this life,” his reply sounded disinterested, almost as though he owed you that much for the sake of your inner peace. 

Good. Then it meant there is place for negotiations. You ignored his innuendo, pressing further with your plan. “I'm aware you previously refused all forms of negotiations, but will you hear me out?” 

“Anything for her highness,” he sarcastically said, his eyes visibly fighting an eye roll.

Once again, you brushed aside his rudeness. “You are, as I imagine, planning on leading a life outside of your noble status, correct?” 

He nodded. “So?”

“Have you considered the cons such a life would provide?  Think, if you, or those you briefly fondly spoke of, were to fall ill how will you pay for the medical bill? I may not know which part of town you wish to live in but how will you seek refuge if a plague were to break out? How will you eat if a famine occurs?”

It was enough to compel him to roll his eyes properly. “Discomfort is of no concern to me. If nobles weren't living such a life, maybe the issues you spoke of wouldn't be a problem.”   

“Perhaps not, but the reality remains that it is. They exist, and you, who have been sheltered under the roof of said nobles, have made your body acclimated to such a life.”

“Which I refuse to lead any longer,” he darkly said.

“Then perhaps you could consider the benefits of a double life?” He raised an eyebrow which internally left you gleeful to have aroused his interest. “Look, political engagement like ours isn't only for couples to get to know one another while our respective parties benefit from it. We can also both get something out of it.” You took in a deep breath. “We marry, apart from your required presence at certain events, you lead a life free from the responsibilities of a Duke, which I shall assume instead while you maintain the financial security and aid the title provides.” Now that the cat was out of the bag, your heart raced in anticipation while awaiting his answer.

Sabo scoffed, baffled at your statement. “And how is it, your highness, that you can utter such words with confidence? Have you ever done paperwork?”    

Your expression twisted, offended. “Do not assume my capabilities based on my title. I'll have you know that as the second in line, I received an education, perhaps not as precise as my brother, but nonetheless fit enough to rule the kingdom if his life was to slip away! Managing a mere dukedom is like child's play!” You reeled in his face, even if the hidden truth remained you sometimes indulged more in dilly dallying than work.

“Apologies,” and for once he spoke of sincerity, for the fire in your chest quelled at his words. “Say we proceed with your plan, what is there for you in this? Surely not love?”

You briefly exhaled through your nose. “Love?” You brushed aside the preposterous idea with the wave of your hand. “What love is there to be found while trying to make a common agreement? I desire nothing more than to avoid being sent abroad.”

To your relief, Sabo didn't pry further in your reasoning, inclining his interest elsewhere. “How will you be so sure no one will pry into our business?”

“We could consider moving to the countryside. None will take interest in a couple that moves so far away from the town and it's gossip.” Finally, you felt seen, as the look he casted on you wasn't so devoid of emotions but one with keen interest. “Furthermore, if you do not desire this path, I am willing to sacrifice my privilege to be your companion on your journey.” With hesitancy, you wrapped your fingers around his hands, at first delicately for it was the first time you physically interacted with a man outside of your family. “Our worlds collided today, but it doesn't mean we can't make the most of it.” Your fingertips that now found ease on the warmth of Sabo's hands gave a slight squeeze to emphasize your point.

Sabo's eyebrows furrowed. “No,” he abruptly pulled his hands away from your grasp, showing no remorse from the abrupt shock on your face. “You speak without knowing of my plans. It may all sound grand to you, but I do not wish to carry dead weight with me.” 

“I am not dead weight!”

“But have you ever walked down commoner’s streets?” His eyebrows drew closer together and his voice had raised an inch, the reality of his location preventing him from properly shouting.

Ashamed to answer aloud, you bit your lower lip while averting your gaze.

“There is no telling whether the life I want for myself will be suitable for you. I can't let you accompany me.” He firmly said.

His tone was final, however you longed to plead your case further. Therefore you parted your lips, but before the sound of your resistance came forth, the voice of your mother came to interrupt instead.

“Ah, finally. We were beginning to wonder where you both had wandered off to.” Yet you spared none of your attention towards her voice, keeping instead a disappointed but hopeful look on Sabo.

Feeling more hurt than you'd like to admit, you watched as Sabo walked past you, his ignoring the following of your gaze along himself to rejoin the group of adults. It was also with reluctance that you stiffened your features, squared your shoulders with a straight back and followed in his tracks.

--------

Part 2

[cavalierzee]

Gaza's Trail Of Tears

What Americans are witnessing in Gaza is a reiteration of our own history in real-time:

Dispossess indigenous people, violently crush their resistance, blame any retaliatory “massacres” as an excuse to use overwhelming military power to wipe out their entire populations, confine the survivors to “reservations” on marginal sites, then invade even that land when gold, timber, oil or water is found, justifying the theft by citing your own stature as a superior society, which will put the looted land and resources to the highest use possible…

The Scourging of Gaza: Diary of a Genocidal War

Jeffrey St. Clair

CounterPunch

November 11, 2023

[heliphantie]

"Leap of Faith", ep. 20(85) of season 4 (March 29, 2014).

“Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic is Granny Smith tested and Applejack approved! Granny Smith drinks it, why shouldn’t you?”

“Leap of Faith” may be my favorite Applejack episode, favorite S4 episode and one of the top favorite episodes in entire FiM! Applejack-focused episodes in particular are interesting in that, rather than having her learned to be true to her Element, they’re often about testing her faithfulness to it, making her putting her sense of justice in question and having to decide when she ought to follow her moral compass without risk to bring harm with it instead of benefits.

Flim & Flam, in that regard, make pretty good antagonists for her. Two families have quite a few similar priorities: like Apples, Bros are pragmatic, seeking profit from their actions, and work perfectly in sinch for common goal, but their ethics are diametrically different, and as it happens, Applejack sometimes even prone to fall into temptation to use rather similar tactics (take decision to rationalize technology in lieu of traditional work, or use invitation to gala for /pretty sure, illegal in these circumstances/ selling apple products here to rich attendees – wouldn’t she just ask Celestia for financial aid to the national hero’s family instead? – and don’t we forget her alliance with Filthy Rich without Granny’s consent) before it backfires on her as well. So, she has valid reasons for having disdain for methods of Bros, because she’s been here as well and reaped the bitter fruits of blindly following such policies.

Brothers, in particular, make formidable kind of antagonists on the show: for representing most realistic, mundane, everyday sort of evil, which can’t be redeemed or obliterated unlike any other foe our heroes had to stand against. The evil of commerce and material greed! Moreso, they even can be amicable and work together with heroes without having to change their ways, if that means any mutual benefits. (And basically cemented as allies of Mane 6 in the end of the series.) For, as it turns, money is at once the major drive and major scourge of society, be it mankind or ponies.

Anyway, the moral of this particular story is, one crazy old lady is enough to put the crushing end to your successful scam operation. Fatal flaw of these sleek guys appears to be not thinking their schemes far enough to prevent coming close to any possible source of damage. Other than that, they’re pretty fine, aren’t they? They’re, essentially, an embodiment of the main reason for the franchise itself – product promotion, no wonder they’re more frenemies than foes in the end of day.

[technofeudalism]

when the party of drone striking hospitals starts shedding crocodile tears today as our neighbors wait in fear of potentially being thrown in the back of an ICE van, remember that this was the Democratic nominee for president's answer on October 23rd, 2024 in response to the following question:

Q: "Regarding the rapid increase in the migrant population how will you ensure that every immigrant is integrated into American society safely what benefits and subsidies will you provide them with and how long will these benefits and subsidies last for an individual most importantly will the American citizens taxes pay for these benefits and subsidies and if so how much money how much money will be allocated?"

HARRIS: Well, thank you, Jaxon. Let's start with this. America's immigration system is broken and it needs to be fixed. And it's been broken for a long time. And part of what we need to do is always prioritize what we need to do to strengthen our border. I will tell you, I'm the only person in this race among the two choices that voters have, I've personally prosecuted transnational criminal organizations in the trafficking of guns, drugs, and human beings. I have spent a significant part of my career making sure that our border is secure and that we do not allow criminals in, and we don't allow that kind of trafficking to happen and come into our country. And as the -- as my opponent has proven himself, he would prefer to run on the problem, instead of fix the problem. You may know there were some of the most conservative members of the United States Congress working with others that came up with a border security bill that would have put 1,500 more border agents at the border. Those border agents are overwhelmed. They need the support. They need the backup. It would have allowed us to have more resources to stem the flow of fentanyl. I don't need to tell this state and people around the country what is happening in terms of the scourge of fentanyl and how it is literally killing Americans. It would have put resources into stemming the flow. It would have given more resources to prosecute -- to investigate and prosecute transnational criminal organizations. It would have done a lot of good. Donald Trump got wind of the bill and told them, don't put it forward. He killed the bill because he preferred to run on a problem, instead of fixing a problem. We have to have a secure border and we have to have a comprehensive pathway for citizenship.

wow. what a magic job of humanizing immigrants. i can't believe that this didn't do anything to change the minds of millions of people who have been convinced that immigrants are flooding the country with fentanyl and human trafficking and guns. i mean sure, she didn't mention the fact that immigrants commit less crime per capita than US citizens. and yes, she didn't mention how there is basically only one gun store in the entire country of Mexico where you can legally buy one or that they literally get all of their guns from US trafficking at the rate of 80,000 per year. but what a great defense otherwise!

at least we have one thing: Trump wants to build the wall! Democrats are against that! Kamala should be able to capitalize on that, right? let's see what she said about that:

COOPER: Well, let's talk about this compromise bill you -- that you want to pass if you're elected. You said that's going to be a priority. It includes $650 million in funding for the border wall. That's something Republicans wanted. That was part of the compromise. Under Donald Trump, you criticized the wall more than 50 times. You called it stupid, useless, and a medieval vanity project. Is a border wall stupid? HARRIS: Well, let's talk about Donald Trump and that border wall. HARRIS: So, remember, Donald Trump said Mexico would pay for it? Come on. They didn't. How much of that wall did he build? I think the last number I saw was about 2 percent. And then when it came time for him to do a photo-op, you know where he did it? In the part of the wall that President Obama built. So, come on. COOPER: But you're agreeing to a bill that would earmark $650 million to continue building that wall. HARRIS: We -- I pledge that I am going to bring forward that bipartisan bill to further strengthen and secure our border. Yes, I am. And I'm going to work across the aisle to pass a comprehensive bill that deals with a broken immigration system. I think Jackson's question, part of it was to acknowledge that America has always had migration, but there needs to be a legal process for it. People have to earn it. And that's the point that I think is the most important point that can be made, which is we need a president who is grounded in common sense and practical outcomes. Like let's just fix this thing. Let's just fix it. Why is there any ideological perspective on it? Let's just fix the problem. COOPER: To fix the problem, you're doing this compromise bill. It does call for $650 million that was earmarked under Trump to actually still go to build the wall. HARRIS: I'm not afraid of good ideas where they occur, Anderson. COOPER: You heard me say, you don't think it's stupid anymore? HARRIS: I think what he did and how he did it did -- was did not make much sense because he actually didn't do much of anything. I just talked about that wall, right? We just talked about it. He didn't actually do much of anything. COOPER: But you do want to build some wall? HARRIS: I want to strengthen our border.

everyone on this website will scream and scream about Trump being a Nazi and how he is evil incarnate. well. the person you said would be best to fight off fascism failed to even raise her fist. she didn't dispel any xenophobic notions, she embraced them for her own potential personal gain. just like Democrats do every single time.

[theghostofloganroy]

I also understand that some of you may be appalled at the general lack of sympathy in regards to the death of five uber wealthy individuals but just consider this for a moment. In the last century or so billionaires have created an environment that is so financially hostile towards the lower and middle classes that we have to scrutinize every penny we spend just on the basic necessities often having to go without just to stay solvent, while they profit off of our blood sweat and tears.

The truth of the matter is that while you are crying on the bathroom floor having to make the choice between feeding yourself and going without just to pay the rent they would not give a flying fuck about you.

If anyone is to weep about this situation than it may be for Sulemen Dawood, a nineteen year old boy who didn't want to be there in the first place but went to make his father happy. And yes there is a solid argument to be made that he too benefited from the profits of our labour but he was nineteen years old he could of had the opportunity to make a difference in a positive sense, he could have had a lifetime to make right and perhaps he wouldn't have, we shall never know now.

Billionaires have so much power in their hands that they could make a real positive change for the good of all if they simply stopped exploiting us and that starts by them not hoarding the majority of the worlds wealth and for them to do that would mean they stop being billionaires.

There is so much unwarranted vitriol towards those on benefits many people believing that they are cheating the system and seeing them as as a scourge on society. When the ones who are truly cheating the system and are the real scourge society are the 1% with their tax loop holes and tax havens.

Remember Capitalism has always been and will always be a poison on humanity.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Zoë Richards and Caroline Kenny at NBC News:

The Trump administration is ordering all federal employees in diversity, equity and inclusion roles placed on paid leave by Wednesday evening, according to a new memo from the Office of Personnel Management. The memo, issued Tuesday to heads of departments and agencies, sets a deadline of no later than 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to inform the employees that they will be put on paid administrative leave as the agencies prepare to close all DEI-related offices and programs and to remove all websites and social media accounts for such offices. It also asks federal agencies to submit a written plan by Jan. 31 for dismissing the employees. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday ending “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity and inclusion programs in federal agencies, with DEI offices and programs being ordered to shut down. “President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of DEI from our federal government and returning America to a merit based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the color of their skin,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Tuesday night. “This is another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds. Promises made, promises kept.” It was not clear how many employees would be affected. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Trump Regime orders all federal DEI employees placed on paid leave, beginning later today. This is all part of plans to close DEI programs and harm marginalized communities.

See Also:

AP, via HuffPost: Trump Orders All Federal DEI Staff Put On Leave, With Plans To Fire Them

NPR: Trump administration puts federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff on leave

[blimbo-buddy]

I still reel back over the fact that FireStar not only feels bad for TigerStar after he’s killed, but actively wishes that they had his strength in the battle against Bloodclan, who he now sees as a worse enemy, viewing Scourge in a even more deplorable light than Tigerclan and TigerStar

let me repeat that: FireStar feels bad for Tiger-“I can finally enact my plan of executing half clan cats in order to purify my new and improved Tigerclan and in the process, I will make an empty promise to this group of foreigners and take advantage of their desperation for food and a better life”-Star when he’s dead because of how he died at the hands of a non-clan cat. Now setting his fucking sights on destroying a foreigner group that’s introduced at the last second in an attempt by the writers to diverge attention away from the fact that the most dangerous villain - who actively wants to execute cats based on their lineage and “impure blood” so that a perfect clan can be made -that has been a looming threat throughout the entire series up to this point is a fucking clan cat.

Because god forbid we have the good guys defeat a horrible cat from their own society, because that would imply that something is wrong and needs to be fixed about this society! And we just can’t have that, no no no! We gotta shove a “scary murderous group of foreigners who are loyal to a cat who hates families” into the story! Because remember what FireStar says kids: Foreigners are the real enemy and our superior society never ever breeds any horrible individuals ever! Also our religion makes us better!

And by the way this is after he entirely, actively acknowledges TigerStar’s crimes against humanity through giving this big ass speech to everybody. This series has always been awful, The Prophecies Begin has shit writing, always has and always will