#it’s been such a taxing process for no reason

[hythlodaes]

x.x

[miekrowave]

i think taxes should be higher and it should all go towards helping people and none of it should go to the military

[perma-dead]

guys help i made an au on tuesday and i’ve written over 4k in terms of character info/lore + actual story. i haven’t plotted out the whole thing yet but i have enough info for a first chapter and then some so when (if) i finish it i will post it with the disclaimer that it might not get written for a while </3 but i do think you all might like it

[icedteaandoldlace]

Had a loooooooooooooong conversation with tech support at work today because one of our registers decided to try something new, and it took a lot of finagling for him to get it up and running right again. He made a Robin Hood Men In Tights reference at one point, and I didn't remember the scene, but I said that I had seen the movie and enjoyed it. Which led to him recommending Young Frankenstein, and I was like "oh my god, I LOVE Young Frankenstein!" And then he told me I needed to see Blazing Saddles, which I have not seen, but my parents saw it in the hospital after my mom's gallbladder surgery ages ago, and they had to turn it off because she was laughing too hard. That was honestly the highlight of my day, 'cause we got some extra Not Smart customers today.

[astralazuli]

[vibrates angrily]

I stg if I had any tolerance for dealing with the general public, I would be telling all those asshole W/atcher fans about how even if they paid their employees the BARE MINIMUM to meet their needs (& I'm talking just needs, just barely, no savings, no retirement, no anything unnecessary literally ever, all meals cooked from scratch at home as cheap as possible), they'd currently be spending AT LEAST $117k on payroll every month. & that's like everyone involved working full time, nothing more, including the three founders.

& guess what y'all? Workers' rights don't just go out the window because you want your shows for free.

These people still deserve a living wage. In fact, they deserve a bit more than that, imo. People deserve to not have to live on bare minimum.

& you don't get to be angry as a fan because creators prioritized keeping & paying their workers over you not having to pay anything for the art/content they make.

They are holding themselves accountable to the people whose lives depend on them. Screaming about how they aren't just abandoning their employees because you're mad just makes you look like an ass.

[mariacallous]

President Biden has signed a presidential pardon for his son Hunter Biden, a reversal from previous statements he would grant him neither a pardon nor commutation.

Why it matters: Presidents regularly sign pardons at the end of their terms. They rarely involve cases where their own family members are in the middle of the legal process. Hunter was set to appear at sentencing hearings on Dec. 12 and Dec. 16, NBC News reported.

"No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong," Biden said in a statement on Sunday.

"There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they've tried to break me – and there's no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."

Zoom in: Hunter Biden was the first child of a sitting president to face criminal charges. He was convicted on felony gun charges this summer, and pleaded guilty on felony tax charges.

The pardon issued Sunday covers all acts between Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2024.

[black-fist-order]

This gentleman was a college professor in political science. He gives some intriguing insights here...

"Friends,

A political disaster such as what occurred Tuesday gains significance not simply by virtue of who won or lost, but through how the election is interpreted.

This is known as The Lesson of the election.

The Lesson explains what happened and why. It deciphers the public’s mood, values, and thoughts. It attributes credit and blame.

And therein lies its power. When The Lesson of the election becomes accepted wisdom — when most of the politicians, pundits, and politicians come to believe it — it shapes the future. It determines how parties, candidates, political operatives, and journalists approach future elections.

There are many reasons for what occurred on Tuesday and for what the outcome should teach America — about where the nation is and about what Democrats should do in the future.

Yet inevitably, one Lesson predominates.

Today, I want to share with you six conventional “lessons” you will hear for Tuesday’s outcome. None is or should be considered The Lesson of the 2024 election.

Then I’ll give you what I consider the real Lesson of the election.

None of these are The Lesson of the 2024 election:

1. "It was a total repudiation of the Democratic Party, a major realignment."

Rubbish. Harris would have won had there been a small, less than 1 percent vote shift in the three main battleground states. The biggest shift from 2020 and 2016 was among Latino men. We don’t know yet whether Latino men will return to the Democrats; if they don’t, they will contribute to a small realignment.

But the fact is America elected Trump in 2016, almost reelected him in 2020, and elected him again in 2024. We haven't changed much, at least in terms of whom we vote for.

2. "If the Dems want to win in the future, they have to move to the right. They should stop talking about 'democracy,' forget 'multiculturalism,' and end their focus on women’s rights, transgender rights, immigrants’ rights, voting rights, civil rights, and America’s shameful history of racism and genocide. Instead, push to strengthen families, cut taxes, allow school choice and prayer in public schools, reduce immigration, minimize our obligations abroad, and put America and Americans first."

Wrong. Democrats shouldn’t move to the right if that means giving up on democracy, social justice, civil rights, and equal voting rights. While Democrats might reconsider their use of “identity” politics (in which people are viewed primarily through the lenses of race, ethnicity, or gender), Democrats must not lose the moral ideals at the heart of the Party and at the core of America.

3. "Republicans won because of misinformation and right-wing propaganda. They won over young men because of a vicious alliance between Trump and a vast network of online influencers and podcasts appealing to them. The answer is for Democrats to cultivate an equivalent media ecosystem that rivals what the right has built."

Partly true. Misinformation and right-wing propaganda did play a role, particularly in reaching young men. But this hardly means progressives and Democrats should fill the information ecosystem with misinformation or left-wing propaganda. Better messaging, yes. Lies and bigotry, no.

We should use our power as consumers to boycott X and all advertisers on X and on Fox News, mount defamation and other lawsuits against platforms that foment hate, and push for regulations (at least at the state level for now) requiring that all platforms achieve minimum standards of moderation and decency.

4. "Republicans cheated. Trump, Putin, and election deniers at county and precinct levels engaged in a vast conspiracy to suppress votes."

I doubt it. Putin tried, but so far there’s no sign that the Kremlin affected any voting process. There is little or no evidence of widespread cheating by Republicans. Dems should not feed further conspiracy theories about fraudulent voting or tallying. For the most part, the system worked smoothly, and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to election workers and state officials in charge of the process.

5. "Harris ran a lousy campaign. She wasn’t a good communicator. She fudged and shifted her positions on issues. She was weighed down by Biden and didn’t sufficiently separate herself from him."

Untrue. Harris ran a good campaign, but she had only a little over three months to do it. She had to introduce herself to the nation (typically a vice president is almost invisible within an administration) at the same time Trump’s antics sucked most of the oxygen out of the political air. She could have been clearer about her proposals and policies and embraced economic populism (see below on the real lesson), but her debate with Trump was the best debate performance I’ve ever witnessed, and her speeches were pitch perfect. Biden may have weighed her down a bit, but his decision to step down was gracious and selfless.

6. "Racism and misogyny. Voters were simply not prepared to elect a Black female president."

Partly true. Surely racism and misogyny played a role, but bigotry can’t offer a full explanation.

--

Here’s the real Lesson of the 2024 election:

On Tuesday, according to exit polls, Americans voted mainly on the economy — and their votes reflected their class and level of education.

While the economy has improved over the last two years according to standard economic measures, most Americans without college degrees — that’s the majority — have not felt it.

In fact, most Americans without college degrees have not felt much economic improvement for four decades, and their jobs have grown less secure. The real median wage of the bottom 90 percent is stuck nearly where it was in the early 1990s, even though the economy is more than twice as large.

Most of the economy’s gains have gone to the top.

This has caused many Americans to feel frustrated and angry. Trump gave voice to that anger. Harris did not.

The real lesson of the 2024 election is that Democrats must not just give voice to the anger but also explain how record inequality has corrupted our system, and pledge to limit the political power of big corporations and the super-rich.

The basic bargain used to be that if you worked hard and played by the rules, you’d do better and your children would do even better than you.

But since 1980, that bargain has become a sham. The middle class has shrunk.

Why? While Republicans steadily cut taxes on the wealthy, Democrats abandoned the working class.

Democrats embraced NAFTA and lowered tariffs on Chinese goods. They deregulated finance and allowed Wall Street to become a high-stakes gambling casino. They let big corporations gain enough market power to keep prices (and profit margins) high.

They let corporations bust unions (with negligible penalties) and slash payrolls. They bailed out Wall Street when its gambling addiction threatened to blow up the entire economy but never bailed out homeowners who lost everything.

They welcomed big money into their campaigns — and delivered quid pro quos that rigged the market in favor of big corporations and the wealthy.

Joe Biden redirected the Democratic Party back toward its working-class roots, but many of the changes he catalyzed — more vigorous antitrust enforcement, stronger enforcement of labor laws, and major investments in manufacturing, infrastructure, semiconductors, and non-fossil fuels — wouldn’t be evident for years, and he could not communicate effectively about them.

The Republican Party says it’s on the side of working people, but its policies will hurt ordinary workers even more. Trump’s tariffs will drive up prices. His expected retreat from vigorous antitrust enforcement will allow giant corporations to drive up prices further.

If Republicans gain control over the House as well as the Senate, as looks likely, they will extend Trump’s 2017 tax law and add additional tax cuts. As in 2017, these lower taxes will benefit mainly the wealthy and enlarge the national debt, which will give Republicans an excuse to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — their objectives for decades.

Democrats must no longer do the bidding of big corporations and the wealthy. They must instead focus on winning back the working class.

They should demand paid family leave, Medicare for all, free public higher education, stronger unions, higher taxes on great wealth, and housing credits that will generate the biggest boom in residential home construction since World War II.

They should also demand that corporations share their profits with their workers. They should call for limits on CEO pay, eliminate all stock buybacks (as was the SEC rule before 1982), and reject corporate welfare (subsidies and tax credit to particular companies and industries unrelated to the common good).

Democrats need to tell Americans why their pay has been lousy for decades and their jobs less secure: not because of immigrants, liberals, people of color, the “deep state,” or any other Trump Republican bogeyman, but because of the power of large corporations and the rich to rig the market and siphon off most of the economy’s gains.

In doing this, Democrats need not turn their backs on democracy. Democracy goes hand-in-hand with a fair economy. Only by reducing the power of big money in our politics can America grow the middle class, reward hard work, and reaffirm the basic bargain at the heart of our system.

If the Trump Republicans gain control of the House, as seems likely, they will have complete control of the federal government. That means they will own whatever happens to the economy and will be responsible for whatever happens to America. Notwithstanding all their anti-establishment populist rhetoric, they will become the establishment.

The Democratic Party should use this inflection point to shift ground — from being the party of well-off college graduates, big corporations, “never-Tumpers” like Dick Cheney, and vacuous “centrism” — to an anti-establishment party ready to shake up the system on behalf of the vast majority of Americans.

This is and should be The Lesson of the 2024 election.

What do you think...?"

Robert Reich...

[redsrooftopprincess]

When do you think Raph makes love to you and when does he give it to you rough and make you whimper with your tongue out?

Hope this is okay, sorry it took so long. Asks are going sloooooowwwww.... 😅

Hot Blood

AFAB Fem Reader x Raphael

Warnings: Violence, Smut, Property Damage 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Raphael is a creature of extremes.

He's the biggest and the strongest on the street, and the softest when he hangs up his gear. He'll push you to the limit in the weight room like a god damn drill instructor, and then praise you and kiss away all your soreness the next morning.

When the two of you finally figure your shit out ("two years, we could have been doing this for TWO YEARS 😫"), you discover pretty quickly that that particular personality trait also extends to the bedroom.

There's is very little middle ground with him. Either he's worshipping you, or he's fucking you into the mattress, and there is no in between. "Casual sex" is something he's heard about, but he doesn't really understand. Like taxes. He gets that it's a thing that happens to other people, but he's pretty sure he's happier not knowing any more about it.

You certainly are.

In the beginning he treated you like you were made of glass. You pretty much had to do all the work until he was comfortable enough with the whole process, and more importantly, until he could be sure he wasn't going to hurt you.

Calloused hands, sliding rough against your soft abdomen, pulling shivers from your skin that you can feel within your fingertips. That same hand between your legs, pressing you against him as he moves in you. Giving as much to you as he is taking.

The quiet strength and precision reminding you, even in the moment, of the dichotomy that these same hands are capable of terrible things.

He had one rule about bringing work home: "Don't." He was never rough with you because he never wanted you to see that side of him. It's the same reason that, no matter how many times you begged, he wouldn't take you out on patrol.

Then you were mugged. We're not going to talk about what happened to the muggers, but it did involve an argument over how many bodies could fit in a trash compactor. It was decided after that you needed to at least learn how to defend yourself.

You'd started training and eventually became skilled enough that you convinced the boys to let you come out on patrol with them.

It had been a slow night, and the lot of you were just about ready to head back to the lair, much to Raphael's relief. He really didn't want you out here in the first place, but everyone else has been helping with your training, and they all seemed to think you were ready. He did too, he just wished you weren't so damn excited about it.

You were just looping back around towards the garage when an alert pinged on Donnie's watch.

"We've got Foot activity. Twelve blocks south."

You brightened up while Raph's stomach twisted. You spun and looked up at Leo.

"Can we go?" You asked excitedly.

He was hesitant, "Street thugs are one thing, (Y/N), but the Foot..."

"Please?"

He cringes, inhaling through his teeth.

Fine. We'll do this the hard way.

"Please? Please can we go? Please? Please Leo? Please? Please can we go? Please? Please? Please? Not gonna stop till you say yes. Please Leo? Please? Please? Plea-"

"OKAY FINE! "

"Yay!" You clap your hands and bounce like a five-year-old. Raph tenses as you make for the Southern edge of the rooftop.

Leo turns to Casey. "Is this what it's like having a little sister?"

"Yes." Casey replies deadpan, not looking at Leo, as he exhaustedly watches his sister parkour her way to the adjacent rooftop.

That was the night Raphael got a taste of how much you could take. There were a few sticky moments, but creativity and quick thinking got you out of them without issue.

At one point he stopped fighting entirely just to watch you, agape.

After the fight was over, and all the way back home, he was quiet. Not silent, he wasn't rude or off-putting, but he gripped your hand tightly, and said very little. You assumed he was upset about the fact that you were in the fight at all.

That night, after you were both cleaned up, you were sitting on the bathroom counter with him treating your split lip. He was still quiet.

He dabbed at your mouth with antiseptic, not meeting your eyes. You reached up and wrapped a small hand around his wrist to still his movements.

"Are you upset with me?" You asked. You were worried about this, that he would have a problem with you being out there. He never wanted you involved in this part of his life.

He twisted his hand to take your wrist and kissed it, still not looking at you. "No," he'd said softly, before returning the hand to your lap and finishing his work.

Five and a half minutes later, you were walking into your bedroom and he was closing the door behind you.

Once the lock engaged, he placed a hand on the seam between the door and the wall and remained with his back to you. You could see his deep breathing in the rise and fall of his carapace, and the muscles in his shoulders flexed with tension.

"Raph...?" You ventured, hesitantly.

He doesn't move.

"Listen, I know you said you're not upset, but I really feel like maybe we should talk about... oh."

He turned to face you, dark eyes almost flashing in the dim light, and he said nothing, but you could feel the seismic churr in your feet.

A smile tugged at the corner of your mouth, "So... you're not mad, then."

"No..." he said, with his own hidden smile, tossing his towel in the corner without taking his eyes off of you, "not mad..."

This was new, the way he looked at you. Like you were an opponent he was sizing up. You felt his eyes scan over every inch of you. When you shifted your weight, his hands twitched, and you could almost feel them gripping your skin.

The way you fight is so unlike he and his brothers, even though they were the ones who taught you. They have the benefit of strength and size over many of their opponents, but you're fast, and you're clever.

He watched you lead three guys in a dance of such spectacular violence that they ended up bloody without you having to hand a single blow. And when you finally did connect, a smirk turned his lip at the memory and heat flooded his veins, that guy hit the ground hard.

Then you got hit, and he'd immediately taken a fist to the jaw as everything in his mind came to a screeching halt. You hit the ground almost in slow motion and he could smell the blood from your split lip.

Before he could even react, you'd swept that fucker's legs out from under him, and jumped on him, breaking his nose and slamming his head back onto the concrete twice.

Every breath was a bellows as he replayed the fight, watching you dance, and he could feel the blood in his veins boiling.

You didn't stop. You were brutal. Like a tiny whirlwind tearing through the alley. Once it was all over, you looked around, seeming almost disappointed that there were none left. And when you turned your eyes to him with that smug look of self satisfaction...

Fucking hell.

He strode the four steps to you, and you stood your ground, holding his gaze as he grabbed you by the ass and hoisted you up so that your legs were around his waist. He didn't brake stride as you were slammed against the wall and kissed hard.

Picture frames rattled against the wall, and you were vaguely aware of the sound of something shattering below you. His large hands gripped your thighs as he growled and ground himself into you. The realization that there would most likely be bruises later sent white fire spreading through your core.

You pushed off of the wall in a way he wasn't expecting and he stumbled back, falling into the bed and pulling you with him. You straddled his waist and kissed him back just as hard before looking down at him with a wicked smirk at catching him off guard.

A shiver shot down your spine as his eyes narrowed. Before you could react, he hooked his hand under your leg and flipped you on to your stomach, the violent action sending something on the bedside table crashing to the floor. It almost knocked the wind out of you and you clenched around nothing as you landed with a loud grunt.

Reaching up to the waistband of your already soaked pajama shorts, he removed them in one fluid motion before lifting your ass up and pressing his tongue against your folds.

You gasped loudly as his churr reverberated through you. His tongue was relentless. This wasn't foreplay, you'd already done that bit in the alley, this was quick and dirty preparation and nothing more. You could feel his impatience in the way he rutted into the mattress, gripping you hard.

You nearly collapsed as your orgasm crashed over you, his bruising grip being the only thing holding you up.

Giving you no time to recover, he flipped you over, and ripped the drawer from the nightstand, grabbing a spare pocket knife as the drawer crashed somewhere out of sight. A flick of his wrist and your tank top was sliced open and torn from your body. He stopped for just a moment to look down at you, eyes on fire as he drank you in.

But it was just a moment. Lining himself up at your entrance, he buried himself inside you with a groan, before pumping in and out slowly a few times, until your body relaxed around him.

Once he felt you relax, the wicked smirk he gave you made you shiver. Hooking a leg over his hip, he began driving into you so hard the bedframe slammed against the wall. There was another shattering sound and the room was bathed in darkness as the lamp crashed to the ground.

You grabbed hold of the top lip of his plastron and hooked your other leg around his waist, before lifting yourself off the bed and riding him until he rolled both of you over so that you were on top.

Wrapping his hands around your waist, he held you aloft and fucked into you, and the sharp cries of pleasure that he ripped from you only spurred him on. You made a note to find a way to make patrol a regular thing, but that was your last conscious thought before he hit a spot so deep inside you you swear you saw stars being born.

You became a being of pure sensation, every powerful thrust sending you screaming further and faster toward your second release.

Head tipped back and veins in his neck bulging, he growled through clenched teeth. It rumbled through him like an earthquake, sending tremors through you that sent you into the stratosphere.

You didn't even have the presence of mind to warn him before liquid fire shot down your spine. You cried out as it tore through you, and you swear it felt like you were the star being born.

His grip tightened as you clenched around him and he followed suit, your name tearing from his throat in a roar as you milked him dry.

When you came down, you were both breathing hard, and gripping each other tightly. You remained in his lap and he pressed his forehead to yours, "You okay...?" He asked, nervously, "I didn't hurt you did I?"

You shook your head and couldn't help the soft laughter that escaped you, "No..." As you lifted your head and gazed up at him, the glare of early morning light against shattered glass caught your attention and you looked around. "Oh... Oh dear..."

You both took a moment to survey the carnage. It looked like a bomb went off. Shattered glass, ceramic, and splintered wood littered the carpet, there was a hole in the wall behind the bedframe, which was now crooked and probably fully broken, and there were no framed pictures left on the wall.

You met his eyes and he seemed afraid you were going to be mad. But how could you be mad? If this wasn't the best fucking metaphor for your relationship you'd ever come across.

He'd ruined your life completely, in the best possible ways.

You couldn't help it. You started laughing. And you couldn't stop. And then he joined in and you were both laughing with tears streaming down your faces and you kissed him. You kissed him like he's the last person you will ever kiss, and if you have your way he will be.

But that was a *later* conversation. Still is.

For now, your happy enough to just continue to let him be the best of both worlds.

....

You turn your back, you're a broken man

You come around and just dying to shake your hand

I don't expect you to understand

Just keep telling yourself there's no shame

They don't know 'bout who we are

They don't know 'bout you and I

They ain't know 'bout the stars of your eyes

Oh hot blood love is gonna get ya

You wanna prove you're the better man

You wanna reach for the things that nobody can

Oh all you need is to break away, yeah

Just keep telling yourself there's no shame

They don't know 'bout who we are

They don't know 'bout you and I

They ain't know 'bout the stars of your eyes

Oh hot blood love is gonna get ya

Hot Blood, Kaleo

...

Tag list:

@thelaundrybitch @the-cauldron-witch @fyreball66 @ninnosaurus @tmntngl @thegirlwiththeninjaturtletattoos @zagreustomb @ramielll @silverwatergalaxy @gornackeaterofworlds @footninja

[mysticheathenn]

Messages From Your Mental Prison

Hi, Hexlings!

This pick-a-card reading is about your mental health and the state of how you view the world and everything that is going on in your life. This could be about your depression, Anxiety, or even suicidal thoughts. Read with caution as this reading may have triggers.

This is a general reading, remember to take what resonates and leave what does not. This reading does not supplement your need to seek professional help. Tarot should be used as entertainment and not a for sure answer to your problems but as a guide, a sense of hope, and amusement.

Take your time when choosing your pile. Ask yourself the question and choose the picture that you can’t stop looking at. Listen to your intuition.

MasterList

Patreon Link

TW Ahead Read With Caution

Pile l:

Messages From Your Mental Prison. Tarot: 8 of Pentacles (Reversed), 9 of Swords, 4 of Swords (reversed), 10 of Cups (reversed), Justice

This reminds me of the TikTok clip of the voice screaming "It's not fair. It's not fair." reminding me of how many people have probably told you that you handle stress and everyday life so well but little do they know your mental state is literally one inconvenience away from having a mental breakdown. Stress and anxiety practically camp out in your mind on a daily basis pile l. You can't seem to escape it, it's all you have known for quite a while and you're tired. There is a saying that "There is no sleep for the wicked" Well in your case "There is no sleep for the poor or those who lack the resources to pull themselves up in their life." All you want in life is enough to pay your bills and a little extra for savings and be able to do something with your life like try a new hobby without feeling guilty for spending money that isn't on "important" things like survival. You probably have been in survival mode for quite some time now and wondering when will you see a breakthrough. You're tired of being tired. You're tired of practically playing Russian roulette with your bills of which one can you not pay for this month. One thing I will say pile l is even though things may seem bleak please don't give up, I sense things will get better financially for you. Sometimes in life you just need to find your footing for things to take off.

Extra Messages: Tea Tree Leaf Oracle: Seek out information that will help you out, A Journey either physical or mental, unsettled times. Need to plan ahead, Announcement, Get back to the basics.

Pile l your extra message oracles make me believe that you feel lost, maybe even stuck for some of you with no clue in the world of how to better your situation or go about life. You have the get back to the basics card which sticks out to me like a sore thumb letting the game know that I sense you may be the type who always tries to do those get-rich-and-quick schemes like drop shipping or anything else you see that pops up on your social media feed and it never works out for whatever reason. You want to know why....it's because you aren't supposed to be doing that. That's not your path to riches. You have the 8 of Pentacles and 10 of Cups card but it's reversed meaning you are meant to have emotional and financial fulfillment you just need to stop and get back to the basics. What basics mystic? What is it that has been drawing or calling you in? What is something you keep putting off or not doing because you believe based on society and family it won't make you any money? For most of you, this is what you need to be doing. For others of you, you will be going on a journey where you need to find this out. Figure out what feeds your soul that you would do for free and do that but add tax. You are meant to freelance and be your own boss, not working for other people. Overall this is a journey process for you pile l. You will deal with more hard times as you figure this out but remember this journey is temporary to where you want to be, so keep pushing. An answer if it hasn't already will come to you.

Pile ll:

Messages From Your Mental Prison. Tarot: The Hermit, Page of Swords (reversed), Queen of Cups, 10 of Wands, 10 of Swords (reversed)

When was the last time you nurtured yourself or spent time alone and really tried to heal and nurture yourself with positive thoughts pile ll. It's a never-ending cycle of you constantly bombarding yourself with cruel words that aren't true. This reminds me slightly of the reading I posted titled Mystery pt. ll. But overall this feeling of yours feels more so as if the world has its weight on your shoulders and you feel as if you are a burden to those around you. You may live at home, with roommates, or feel that you constantly are asking anyone and everyone around you for help as if you can't do anything for yourself and you're tired. You're ready to be able to be independent without having to rely on others. Maybe others have made you feel bad as well for asking for help when you are down on your luck to where you just feel crushed, stuck, unable to move in a direction because one way people will make you feel bad for your predicament and the other hand you will make yourself feel bad because you feel whatever this is you should be able to do by yourself but can't because life is tough right now. As I mentioned in pile l you need to get back to the basics. Get back to the basics of life and take things one step at a time. You are doing the best you can with what you have and don't let anyone make you feel bad about that.

Extra Messages: Tea Tree Leaf Oracle: Position of authority, August, Someone you know is undependable and insincere, Slowly but surely getting ahead. Pay attention to your work, Good Fortune.

As mentioned your life while it maybe chaotic at the moment everything is a journey and slowly but surely things will get better and you will get ahead eventually. With the Position of authority I am seeing this in two ways some of you should pay attention to your work as there may be a position available for you in management where you can make more money this may happen around or sometime in August. If not within the company you work maybe this is an invitation to be your own boss or look elsewhere for higher positions especially if you have more than enough qualifications. For others of you, this position of authority is letting you know that you are the boss of your own life and have complete control of what goes on and who is in it. Never let people who claim to be friends or family make you feel bad for being on hard times. They aren't who they say they are and you should move accordingly with that information. Overall Good Fortune is in your cards by the end of this rough patch. You just need to focus and hone in on ways you can do more within your life with the resources of which you have. Again this could be moving up in the company or going elsewhere, where advancement is an option.

Pile lll:

Messages From Your Mental Prison. Tarot: The Star, The Sun, Ace of Pentacles (reversed), The Fool (reversed), Awakening

Pile lll, my babies, it's time to allow yourself to be seen by the world. It's time to stop hiding in the shadows allowing life to pass you by. You can't keep yourself in the mental prison of feelings of imposter syndrome, fear of judgment, etc. Life wants to give you financial blessings, especially with the Ace of Pentacles in Reversed but you are blocking them because you aren't doing what needs to be done. This could be you starting a YouTube channel, being a content creator on social media, writing a book or screenplay/ maybe even fanfiction for some of you, others this might just be you hiding from a promotion that you deeply desire but feel you lack experience, knowledge, etc. Whatever this is for you, you have to release the thoughts that plague your mind and go for the thing that puts you in front of everyone. Yes at first you may make mistakes or look cringe or whatever the issue may be but that's how everything is when you first jump deep into something. You make mistakes and people will talk...but you want to know something life moves on and the world doesn't end. Seriously do the thing, it's time. You will beat yourself up if others take the things that you want for yourself and you want to know something you have no one to blame but yourself because you decided to not do what needs to be done. Write the book. Film yourself. Apply for better jobs even if you think you are not qualified. Have you heard of the girl who applied to jobs she had no business doing and ended up getting hired making $100k a year...that could be you right now but you are stuck listening to self-doubt and the thoughts of what others will say. Storytime: I knew that I didn't want to continue working at whatever job I was working at back in 2015 so when my friend and I figured out that employers don't check a lot of your information we applied for positions that would pay us well and you want to know something the resume I lied on got me so far in life to where I was Assistant GM of hotels at one point. All because I believed I could do what others were doing in the hotel industry even without a lick of experience. Did I mess up in the beginning, yes. Did I care...no because I was doing more good than harm so no one really questioned if I lied or not. You have to take the jump. Do the thing.

Extra Messages: Tea Tree Leaf Oracle: Short Journey, Back to Basics, Work achievement & success, TIME TO ACT, Someone is extremely stubborn and unwilling to change, Protected from negative forces beyond your control, Solid foundation success with effort, waiting for news package or letter, A meeting with a strange could be important.

Pile lll do you see the amount of synchronicities in your oracle reading. Spirit is coming through loud and clear that you need to get out of your stubbornness and began acting on your dreams, goals, and desires. You are protected from anything that could try and take what this is away from you. Even with a solid foundation success with effort is telling you "Hey if you do the thing you will not fail because you are protected." Now this goes without saying that you won't deal with some challenges because that's life what it is saying is you will come out on top and the journey for you won't be a long one if you just do the effort that it takes. Spirit will do the rest if you just do what needs to be done.

Pile lV:

Messages From Your Mental Prison. Tarot: The Empress, Queen of Pentacles, 5 of Swords (reversed), 8 of Swords (reversed), 6 of Wands

You are victorious pile lV your only problem is that you don't believe you are worth a pot to piss in a lot of the time. Even with the Empress and Queen of Pentacles card here letting me know how nurturing, giving, empathetic, and even resourceful you are you don't see any good things about yourself. You remind me of people who speak negatively about themselves not knowing that their actions speak the opposite. You can't say you don't care but your actions speak another language. You can't put yourself down but then be upset when life mirrors your thoughts. Deep down you know how amazing you are and the many great things that you can do, but for some strange reason you recently for some of you while others of you this has been going on for a while where you constantly hold yourself to such a low standard and critic everything that you do. Why is that? Where did it begin? How can you remove this person or thing that made you feel this way? For some of you, this may have been a relationship (platonic, romantic, or familial) that made you feel self-critical of yourself because they felt something about themselves. You must remember that when people speak unkind things to you that it's a reflection of themselves and not you. You don't have to take what others think of you and run with it as if they are true because they are not. A scene that comes to mind is when the mom in Black Swan says "What happened to my little girl?" What happened to you that made you feel and think these thoughts to yourself and how can you get back to the Empress and Queen of Pentacle energy.

Extra Messages: Manifestation Oracle Cards: Wellbeing, Empowerment, Strength

How can you today give yourself the love that you deserve? Is it a DIY spa day? A trip to a therapist or talk with a trusted friend? How can you show up for yourself in ways that you haven't before that will make you see the person you are? Have the strength and courage to stand up to anyone who makes you feel any less than what and who you are. For a few of you, you may be a part of the LBGTQ+ community and others around you have made you feel different, a "freak" or whatever insecurity that you question your existence. There is a quote by Elenor Roosevelt that says "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission." Please don't let assholes who were raised by baboons let you lower yourself or feel anything less than amazing, beautiful, and authentically you. Regardless of how you feel about yourself find something in your life, day, or something as small as a freckle on your face that you love and keep bringing more of that energy in for you and keep your head up. This feeling is only temporary, things will get better.

Thank you for liking and reblogging my readings. I always appreciate you guys on here and on Patreon.

Stay safe and be blessed

[nayatarot777]

Lilith in Scorpio/8th house

this is intuitive astrology. meaning that i’m making these notes based on what i intuitively pick up about this astrological point being merged with these signs. take it with a grain of salt and understand that you might not relate to everything that i get from your placement 🖤

Astrology Masterlist

scorpio/8th house themes are always surrounding the taboo areas of life: death + birth/rebirth, trauma, debt + taxes, other people’s assets that they give to you (like an inheritance, for example), conscious secrets and fears (not secrets and fears like what you find in pisces/12th house - you don’t realise exist. 8th house secrets and fears are those that you consciously know about but don’t talk about), intimacy, sexuality, shared resources, and power and control.

the first thing that i think of when i see this placement is people shaming you for your traumas. the people who literally get victim blamed for the ways that they’ve been abused, shamed, and oppressed.

you could’ve experienced shame towards the way that you grieve too. towards someone’s death or your own trauma. for some reason, people love to shame you out of purging very real and very valid emotions during the grieving process.

your lilith energy is potent in scorpio/8th house. since this sign and house is the area of taboos, people could literally treat you like you’re a taboo yourself. as if you’re a topic of conversation that shouldn’t be touched on.

this placement could make a lot of people fear you as taboos and the unknown are usually feared - therefore avoided.

^ that’s another point. you’ve probably experienced people avoiding you like the plague. simply because your energy seems ‘dangerous’ or scary in some way.

an obsession with the taboos of society - sex, death, murder - anything that you can think of that society would look at you like you’re crazy for freely talking about.

also indicates a lot of obsession with anything occult. occultism could be where you find your personal power. where you channel your rage from all of the times that you were scapegoated, oppressed, and abused. for example: someone who send dark and baneful magic to those who’ve fucked with them.

you guys have the most potent energy of a man-eater if you’re a woman. this isn’t like lilith in the 1st house/aries in which men will see you as their opponent to challenge. you’re literally seen by them as woman who are threats. threats that they can’t fight or dominate because they wouldn’t even know how to oppose you.

^ again, your feminine energy is one big taboo. and taboos are never ventured into. it’s like trying to fight the darkness. or a ghost. something that you know of but don’t understand and don’t want to. men could never.

if you find yourself suppressing this energy, then you’ll find yourself meeting people and falling victim to people (especially men) who are the worst human beings that you could imagine. murderous-type people. the people who could cause you serious harm. and these are usually men who you end up merging with heavily in relationships (as this is the sign/house of intimacy).

you could face a double dose of shame from yourself for the secrets that you know you carry. especially if they’re sexual secrets.

your sexuality could be very taboo too. i said this in the lilith in taurus/2nd house observations - lilith in scorpio/8th house is a placement that could indicate prostitution. actually having sex with clients in exchange for money, and not just using sex appeal or the image of sex to make money.

^ but random, but if you have lilith in gemini in the 8th house, or your lilith placement just has aspects to 3rd house planets/mercury, you could lead a double life that involves you selling sexual content online. and nobody knows about this.

this placement is also a placement that makes me think of people who marry rich people for the sake of gaining that inheritance money after their spouse dies. you know the young women who marry old men who are knocking at death’s door? yeah 😂

you find a lot of shame from others for your sexuality but a lot of power too. could be into power dynamics in your relationships/deep sexual relationships - like BDSM dynamics.

you have the power to manipulate people into giving you their money/possessions and assets through your sexuality. doesn’t even have to be through sex itself because your sexual energy is POTENT. you hold power over other people’s shit.

you could fear showing femininity in a way. just because you know that - considering the world we live in - femininity is not viewed as something powerful by men. and lilith in scorpio/8th house is all about holding onto power. therefore, you may keep your feminine side a secret to yourself.

could’ve experienced the most shame in long term relationships, after marriage, etc. after you gain a certain level of intimacy with someone, that person turns around and shames you.

and that’s why lilith here is a very prominent placement for experiencing extremely heavy-hitting betrayals. therefore gaining a huge fear of intimacy and being betrayed again.

your sexuality could be very dark. adding onto the sexual secrets, you could have secret kinks and fetishes that you feel like the average person would shame you and demonise you heavily for.

[cy-cyborg]

Big vent about Centrelink and Australia’s welfare system ahead.

I’ve known for a long time how cold and uncaring Australia’s welfare system is, especially Centrelink, but I don’t think it really clicked until today.

Im on the disability support pension meaning the government acknowledges I can not work full time. A few years ago, I messed up on some forms and never declared to them that my partner and I were in a relationship. I had meant to, but had a moment and forgot to hand them in. By the time I realised my mistake it was years later. Just before Christmas I went in to fix it and to get help with the forms because I always panic when I do Centrelink forms, I always miss something or misunderstand, I always do something wrong, so this time I went in for help with it. My partner and my support worker came with me to help make sure I was understanding everything, and to make sure I remember what they told me, because I tend to forget more when stressed.

Because my partner is an immigrant and self employed but not earning much, the process actually ended up being a bit more complicated so we’ve had to go in to do the forms over multiple appointments with the last one being last Thursday.

I was informed that because I didn’t declare the relationship right away, I’ve been overpaid and I’ll have to give that overpay amount back because, fun fact, just being in a relationship is enough for them to cut your payments here - not being married, just in a relationship. I knew that though and was prepared for it. At the last appointment I was finally given an estimate of how much I need to pay back.

It’s over $20,000.

I’m not entirely sure how they got that number, I’m going to ask for a break down of it once the amount is confirmed, but you want to know what sucks? I was relieved to hear that amount. I was mentally prepared for it to be double or triple that, and it would have been if the worker at the office didn’t pull me up and inform me I’d misunderstood some of the questions (so yeah, going in for help was a good call). Thankfully, because the disability support pension is already below the poverty line even before the cuts they made, I don’t have to pay it back at once, they’ll take a percentage of my pension out every fortnight to pay it back. Unfortunately, because I’m already below the poverty line, reducing my pension even further means I can’t afford rent anymore, even in a place that is already way, WAY below the current rental market value, so I can’t really afford rent…anywhere. Not even in remote and regional areas (I checked). Not a single private rental in the country is low enough for us to afford now. The only ones that were close weren’t wheelchair accessible. The pension will also go down if my partner earns anything, and it limits his hours (though I don’t know how that’s supposed to work if he’s self employed since pay isn’t really based on hours like typical jobs, I’m going to ask about that at the next appointment). Thankfully we had already planned for that and we’re planning to move in with my mum, but that means basically being cut off from the internet since her place is very rural and signal doesn’t really reach their place consistently.

But the shittyness doesn’t end there, oh no.

Today, I woke up to the dreaded “you have a myGov message” text. Only to open it and for them to tell me that they’re cutting my whole disability pension, it was just canceled. No ifs or buts, it was just gone. A few days before rent and all my bills are due. What was the reason you ask? Because one of the fields (asking for my partner’s tax info) on the form wasn’t filled out… the form I got the Centrelink office to check over before handing it in, that was definitely filled in. I know it was. There wasn’t even any “we’re missing information, you have x amount of time to fix this or your payment will be cancelled” warning, it was just, you didn’t fill out this one field that could be easily fixed so your pension is canceled, and you have to pay us that $20,000 out of pocket now, bye!

Obviously rattled and confused, I went back to the office (which is only a few minutes from where I live) and asked what the hell happened, the lady who helped us last time even vouched for us and said she knows we filled that out and gave it to them, she was there, only for them to go into my file and realise the way the file had been scanned cut off part of the field, so the automated systems didn’t see it and auto-cancelled my whole pension over it. So we had to wait an additional half and hour for the office staff to argue with whoever was in charge of that decision, to let them fix it because as far as Centrelink was concerned the issue wasn’t negotiable. It did eventually get sorted, so I’m at least not loosing my pension and being forced to pay back the dept out of pocket.

My partner, before coming to Australia was in the US military, he describes his experience with them as being treated like “numbered cannon fodder” and his dealings with the VA as being treated like “a piece of dog shit on their shoes”. He fought with the Australian immigration department for years to be allowed to stay here, the department that openly and proudly discriminated against him and me for our disabilities, that insisted he jump through countless hoops for the most ridiculous of reasons to prove he “wouldn’t be a burden on the system”. But today he just sat in the car after all this and stared off into space, saying this is the worst treatment from a government agency he’s ever seen. They didn’t see us as people, we were numbers. That automated cancellation over an automated mistake would have put us on the street if my mother wasn’t in the picture and paying off $20,000 of dept out-of-pocket. And they just didn’t care. We made a mistake, yes, but it was a mistake that is in-line with the diagnostic criteria of one of my disabilities (forgetfulness from a brain injury) and we did everything we were supposed to do to make it right once I noticed. we fessed up and did what we needed to fix it, we got help from multiple staff members to ensure we did everything we were supposed to, but a machine made a mistake and nearly ruined our lives anyway.

Im not saying any of this to ask for money btw, I couldn’t accept it even if I wanted to because I’m pretty sure that would count as income too and would mean my pension would go down even more or just be cut (again) entirely. We’re safe and as stable as we could be in this situation for now. I just wanted to vent a bit and explain where I’ve been. I’m probably not going to be back online again for a bit while we get the rest of this situation sorted, and once I move to mum’s, so the messages and ask box are staying closed for a bit longer.

[mayakern]

upcoming store stuff & why we're doing a super sale

omg hiiii it's devin again, and this time i'm bringing store news

the short version: we're moving ourselves back to minnesota, and we're moving order fulfillment to a fulfillment center

wow, that's big news! maya and i are so so so excited to be closer to our minnesota friends (and also my family lol). i'm hoping to be back in northeast minneapolis, but let's be real we're probably gonna get priced out and into the suburbs

in addition to that, due to a variety of reasons i'll explain in more detail below, we're transitioning from in-house fulfillment to working with a fulfillment center (or 3pl, short for third-party logistics). we're at an awkward size that makes staffing difficult and have had issues with extended processing time. the 3pl should be set up by september, and we're working on the back end to have fulfillment centers in australia, canada, the UK, and eventually the EU. if tax authorities work with us we should have all that ready by december 2024!

to prepare for that we're doing a super sale. ash told me not to call it liquidation but she said that like 30 seconds after i hit send on the marketing email, sorry about that. items that we don't want to pay to move to the 3pl are discounted by 25-70%, with some of them priced at cost. under no circumstances will anything ever be 70% off again

if you're nosy you can read the q&a i made up in my head while eating pigs in a blanket:

how are the labor protections at the 3pl?

pretty good! we were shocked to find anything even halfway decent in the US; we went looking for a fulfillment center in the EU to handle all international fulfillment, and the one we found just so happened to have bought a US location two years ago.

they're located in ohio, pay $19/hr, and provide health insurance and 401k matching. that seemed too good to be true so we dug through employee reviews on places like glassdoor, and while there were some bad reviews those were all dated prior to when the facility was purchased by this new company. they also have a very low turnover rate which is a HUGE green flag

why are you transferring to a 3pl?

the serious

sometimes we have a high volume of sales, and it makes sense to have two full-time employees plus a part timer! but usually we have a low-to-medium volume of sales. we can float by on that, but it gets risky, and the economy is in a bad enough state that we're concerned about the longevity

related, the 2023 holiday sale showed us some major flaws in our fulfillment process. if the same issues were to happen this year the business probably wouldn't survive

we're moving cross-country in early 2025 and would've had to close this location anyway

the dumb:

i'm sick of dealing with commercial landlords and if i have one more wall leak i'm going to throw it into the river brick by brick

what about your staff?

unfortunately we will have to say goodbye to our office staff. they have been given 3.5 months notice and no-questions-asked PTO for interviews with a small severance

why are you moving back to minnesota?

troy was always meant to be a temporary move. initially the plan was to move to vermont or massachusetts, but after being out here for 7 years we just kinda want to go home. the weather in troy is perfect for us, we love the mountains, and we have some great friends here, but for some goddamn reason we want our eyelashes to freeze together.

will you be returning to midwest cons?

if we return to cons at all it will be with ariel and/or ash running the booth, maya will not be involved. this would likely be in california and/or in the northeast US.

my friends are begging me to go to CONvergence as an attendee so ig you might see me there? maya has pledged death before crowded venues tho

will you do any local events in minnesota?

we might do sample sales. honestly idk what we're gonna do with the samples we have in troy, most of them are terrible. do you want samples of the strangest low rise bell bottom pants ever created? please take them from me. my bush hangs out

also my kid brother has gotten really into library events and if he asks nice enough we might do some of those

is there anything else?

i mean probably, but i started this last week and i haven't had any other ideas on what to include

[learnastrowallura]

💜The 8th House in Astrology💜

The source if this information is The Astrology Podcast (Chris Brennan) on Youtube and from the book The Twelve Houses: Exploring the Houses of the Horoscope by Howard Sasportas and I will add a personal example as well

8th house: the occult, loss, taxes, loans, debt, inheritance, banking, accounting, investment expertise, others' finances, others's values, shared assets/values, merging, sexual intimacy, transformation, regeneration, the hidden, the unconscious, mediums, spirits, ancestral work, shadow work, trauma, fear, death, giving things, succedent

What we inherit (money, knowledge, family heirlooms, businesses, assets etc), our relationship with other people's money, how well off financially or in terms of value systems are our partners, how we set boundaries in terms of intimate relationships, our sexual nature, the themes that trigger transformations in our lifetime and how we handle that type of chaos and regenerative process, how we process and handle our fears particularly relating to loss, what kind of destructive thoughts/behaviors we might have or face sometimes, our relationship with our shadow self etc

Personal example: Gemini in an empty 8th house

I have an empty 8th house so it seems that the topics mentioned at the start are not so significant for me, however I am a Scorpio rising so my whole life is "transformative" lol it is just less emphasized like this I suppose

As for Gemini in my 8th house for me, it could indicate an innate ability to advise people on what to do with their money? This was purely an intuitive interpretation tho and since there is no emphasis on my natal 8th house I will let it go for now

What I have witnessed in the past as well is that I've always had a talent for helping people have breakthroughs; however with my Sagittarius energy and Mercury conjunct Pluto I may have come accross as too blunt and intense, and so this has only worked in situations in which the person knew me kind of well/trusted me and/or for some reason was not fazed by my intense energy and demeanor (Note: I have an Aries moon too lol)

With introspection and communicating my thoughts to others I can trigger transformative phases in my life whether good or bad but the main point is my relationships dictate a lot whether it is a start, end, break etc it always affects me and somehow feels like a shedding of my old self which very much aligns with the concept of death and rebirth in my opinion

Another thing to note is that the conjunction between my Mercury (8th house ruler) and Pluto (my chart ruler) takes place in my 2nd house of finances which makes me think that this theme in particular is quite important for me

Oh and rn I'm 19 so I am in my 8th house profection year and I'm healing from past connections that kept me stuck in life as well holding myself accountable for everything which has been cool like lots of ups and downs for sure but I do feel reborn and close friends have noticed and have been talking to me about the transformation as well haha I am receiving a lot of recognition, affection and praise <3

I might make a post resuming profection years in my own style/perspective soon but @lilacstro has posted about in detail already so check that out here x

Thank you for reading <3

Masterlist

Paid readings available

x

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.

The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room — with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.

No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.

For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice — and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”

👏👏👏

[sgiandubh]

Thank you for the detailed explanation of the financial and administrative situation and the investors' shares, Caitriona.

But is it normal for the role of her personal assistant to extend to her commercial investments?

Outlander is over, what is the explanation for Tony joining a new company in October?

Do you have a deeper vision for this madness that has been going on since the appearance of the so-called Tony in Caitriona and Sam's lives?

Dear Detailed Explanation Anon,

I am sorry, honey, but I am certainly not C, nor (to be honest) would I ever want to be. I am perfectly happy with my own life and adventures. I will answer your questions in order, rather quickly.

Yes, it is perfectly normal and legal, once you know and understand some easy UK company law ropes I discussed in my answer to @bat-cat-reader's Director Anon, yesterday evening. As long as C remains the sole PSC in that company, he has no legal means to pretend to anything she owns in her own right. One more time, his position can be easily revoked anytime and I do think that the only reason he is present there, in that capacity, is because he needs to have a modicum of dignity/status, in the process. Please note that 'Director' seems to be the favorite 'occupation' he likes to mention in almost all of his business/company documents (and I even think on that Marriage Certificate, too, if I am not mistaken). This is what he wants to look like, this is his jam. What do I think about it? I think it is a bit childish, it's a bit like putting 'Expert' on my own business card (expert in what exactly? climate change? mixology? late Mycenean pottery?), which of course I don't. If anything, Anon, it is harmless enough and vague enough. Count your blessings and remember that before thinking marriage or relationship, the first thing that comes to mind is perhaps 'arrangement', when it comes to these people. A mutually profitable (and also very lucrative for one of them) one, at that. Mark me. I am ready to die on that hill.

T joining a new company in October? You should have your eyes checked, Anon. Byron Benirras is anything but new, in my book. It's been around for ever and it is her dedicated, visible and traceable money stash. Her credit score, her taxes, her revenue are based on its accounts. Why is he there now? I already answered that part in my 'Two Questions Anon' and nope, sorry my dear, I will not budge. Use your critical thinking skills - I think you might know why, you just need validation. Consider it done, darling.

Do I have a deeper vision? The answer is the same as ever, Anon and sorry if it displeases you. In fact, I do have a deeper, wider vision. Will I further discuss it here? Nope. Not for all the tea in China. Why? Because this is not my call. I am not 12 and I am not a fool.

[atwas-gaming]

People who complain that Sonic's character is "static" must have never played Unleashed or Black Knight. Or they did, but they didn't understand them.

I think one of the reasons why Unleashed and Black Knight are such fan favorites and stick in our memory so well is because the entire theme of both games is about taking Sonic out of his element, taking away things that he has relied on for so long- speed, jumping, spindashing, boosting, homing attacks- taking all those things away from him, and seeing how he does.

And he still shines. Even without all the abilities that he has relied on throughout his entire life, he still manages to beat the Big Bad.

(Please note that I haven't finished either game yet and I'm just drawing from what I've been spoiled on.)

As the werehog, Sonic is not able to curl into a ball at all (we're ignoring the mobile games for this post), and his greater height and weight, probably due to a larger bone structure, as well as heavier, thicker fur, keeps him from being able to run as fast or jump as high as he's used to. He now how to resort to fighting styles he has never used before, including several forms of martial arts (aided by his Dark Gaia-powered stretch abilities). Perhaps the most unusual of all is how he has to get down on all fours to run.

In addition, Sonic describes his werehog form as "pretty ugly." Sonic thinks of himself as good-looking, and this is a part of his personal identity, which is part of why he was upset that Amy didn't recognize him (no matter what feelings he may or may not have for her). The werehog form also seems to be physically uncomfortable and taxing on Sonic's body due to the heavier weight, as the werehog idle animations include Sonic stretching in an exaggerated way and forcibly rotating his shoulders (motions I, myself, have learned to use after years at a desk job that has ruined my neck and upper back). Sonic's idle animations also include him being jumpy and looking around every few seconds- basically, the werehog never fully relaxes.

All in all, Sonic is very uncomfortable as a werehog, and prefers not to be seen in this form. But the reason why is not fully evident until he thanks Chip for protecting him and keeping him from turning evil. To this, Chip replies, "I haven't done anything, Sonic. You're too strong to lose yourself."

On top of this, Amy doesn't have a problem with Sonic's appearance. She still loves him. Tails also doesn't care what Sonic looks like. Neither does Professor Pickle. Neither does ANYONE. Even if they're startled by the werehog's appearance at first, they all seem to go, "Oh, it's just Sonic. This is just what he's like at night."

The entire story of Unleashed was about Sonic coming to realize that he is not who he is because of what he looks like or how he is built.

Black Knight takes this a step further. In Unleashed, Sonic wasn't able to run, but he was still able to use his body as a weapon. In Black Knight, Sonic can run again, but nowhere near as fast as his normal speed. All of Sonic's abilities to fight with his body are stripped from him, and he is forced to use an actual weapon, instead. And Sonic hates this. He even says it: "I wish I didn't have to use this dang sword!"

Sonic has never used a weapon before in the games (as far as I am aware, anyway). His weapon has always been his own body: his feet, his fists, his whole body via spindash and homing attack. Now he's having to train himself to fight with something outside of his own body. This requires not only the creation of new muscle memory, but also a complete shift in the way his brain processes information to fight. He always has the option to just crumble and say, "I can't do this, it's not what I'm used to, I give up." He never does that. He complains a bit at first, but eventually rises to the occasion and excels at swordfighting.

Please bear in mind that I haven't ever gotten past the King Arthur battle. I presume Sonic is forced to kill him, and then I believe there's another half a game after that. But so far, it seems that Sonic's character arc in Black Knight is about him learning that he is not who he is just because of what he can do.

What makes Sonic Sonic is not what he looks like or what he is able to do, but about who he is inside. Sonic is someone who cares, someone who is strong, someone who doesn't give up, someone who sees a difficult situation and, no matter how much of an inconvenience it may be, turns it around and finds a way through.