#law of negators

[tokiro07]

Power to turn Negators into Power Users! Law of Fandom Negators Reverse!

Andy, power to turn body parts into weapons - upon taking damage, Andy can turn the parts of his body that are removed into weapons; typically this will only apply to his blood turning into bullets or blades, as he does not have a healing factor to recover what is lost; Level 2: instantaneous healing - allows Andy to heal from any damage, even fatal, so long as he is able to activate his base power first; so long as he is not knocked unconscious (thus losing his power), he can recover indefinitely; Talents - close combat, skill acquisition, stunts; Goal - talent to raise a family (wants to live a fulfilling life surrounded by a loving family)

Fuuko, power to turn good luck into bad - by touching a target, Fuuko afflicts them with bad luck dependent on how long she was in contact with them; as in canon, Fuuko can set up what the bad luck will entail through careful planning; Level 2: future sight; Fuuko is able to see into the future to determine how the bad luck will play out; Talents - dodging, friendship, drawing; Goal - talent for romance (wants a relationship straight out of a shoujo manga)

Billy, power to turn others’ powers into his own - by spending time with a target and learning how their abilities work, Billy is able to copy their powers; as in LoU canon, Billy must spend at least 24 consecutive hours with his target; Level 2: use the target’s Level 2 without mastery; Talents - sharpshooting, hearing, baking; Goal - talent for fairness (wants to bring balance to the world as a whole)

Juiz, power to turn morals into opposing actions - upon understanding a target’s moral compass and sense of justice, Juiz can force an action she perceives as upholding that justice into its opposite, such as attacking a friend when one is fighting to protect their friends; Level 2: mind reading; by reading the target’s mind, Juiz is able understand their sense of justice without needing to spend time analyzing the target’s actions; Talents - fencing, leadership, popularity with girls; Goal - talent for joy (wants to be able to make her loved ones happy)

Nico, power to turn memories into the present - allows Nico to reenact actions that he has performed or witnessed, such as allowing him to perform martial arts techniques that he’s seen others use, though he cannot use the powers of Power Users; Level 2 - memory ghosts; Nico can create a “ghost” of others so as to be able to recreate multiple memories simultaneously or to have access to powers he otherwise wouldn’t; Talents - eidetic memory, invention, studying; Goal - talent for knowledge (wants to know and understand all aspects of science)

Gina, power to turn fluids into solids - allows Gina to create constructs from fluids such as water or air so long as she is in contact with the fluid; though air is more readily available, the fact that it’s invisible makes it more difficult to work with; Level 2 - thermal vision; helps Gina to see the flow of the air or water that she solidifies, making her power easier to use; Talents - makeup, art, fashion; Goal - power to remain (wants to be able to maintain the life and relationships that she has)

Shen, power to turn intentions into their opposite - so long as Shen is looking at a target, he can force them to behave in the opposite of how they intend, such as moving backward instead of forward, kicking with their left instead of right leg, or lying instead of telling the truth; Level 2 - eye tracking; allows Shen to maintain a visual on his target at all times, even if there is something that would otherwise obscure his vision such as a smokescreen; Talents - kung fu, habit identification; Goal - talent for victory (wants to be able to defeat any opponent he faces)

Tatiana, power to turn clothes into a barrier - turns her clothes into an impassable, spherical barrier that Tatiana can adjust the size of; unlike in LoU canon, this does render Tatiana naked while using this power instead of making her clothes themselves impassable; Level 2 - barrier reshaping; allows Tatiana to change the shape from a sphere into whatever she pleases, such as making it cylindrical or bringing it to a point; Talents - self-censorship (hiding her body with her hair), multitasking, plushie collecting; Goal - talent for togetherness (wants to stay with her loved ones forever)

Top, power to turn slowness into speed - when Top would try to slow down or something would try to slow him down such as air resistance, Top’s speed increases; Level 2 - armor manifestation; because moving at high speeds is physically dangerous for Top’s body, he is able to create armor to reduce the strain on his body and further decrease drag; Talents - running, jumping, pain tolerance; Goal - talent for raising money (wants to provide for his loved ones)

Isshin, power to turn objects into shields - hardens objects to the point of invincibility, but only those actually made by Isshin; Level 2 - assimilation; allows Isshin to integrate disparate objects together, allowing her to make new objects on the fly rather than needing to take time to forge objects; Talents - metallurgy, crafting, calligraphy; Goal - talent for confidence (wants to be able to believe in herself)

Chikara, power to turn motion into stillness - makes anything he is looking at with both eyes come to a complete stop so long as he is also still; Level 2 - focusing vision; allows Chikara to focus his vision on specific targets rather than generically on everything in his field of view; Talents - comedy, reflexes; Goal - talent for bravery (wants to stop being a coward)

Void, power to turn avoidance into paralysis - when Void attacks, any attempt by his opponent to avoid the attack causes them to become paralyzed; Level 2 - fist empowerment; makes Void’s punches more powerful; Talents - boxing, showmanship; Goal - talent to belong (wants to feel accepted wherever he is)

Ichico, power to turn exhaustion into energy - lets Ichico remain conscious at all times (unless knocked unconscious), though she will still feel tired or exhausted; Level 2 - astral projection; allows her body to rest so as not to overtax herself outside of battle; Talents - research, inspiration, neurology; Goal - talent for cleanliness (wants her work space to stay clean without needing to take time out of her research)

We don’t know enough about Phil yet for me to make an entry for him, but we should in the next few weeks hopefully. I might also do Under later, but for now, the Union will suffice

It was surprisingly easy to justify all of these as “turning A into B,” but it is kind of sad that nearly all of them by necessity are conceptual powers rather than being transfigurative. They’d fit in, but there’s a reason that conceptual powers are few and far between in LoU

The real fun part was coming up with the Level 2s and the Talents, since those required a little more thought beyond just recontextualizing the powers that the cast already has

[fayevalcntine]

The whole framing of Lestat as the sole symbol of patriarchy that fandom is so desperate to put him in doesn't work unless you deliberately ignore how he was also a victim of rape and abuse before he was turned. People want him to be fit into this strict role of "father figure/violent husband/perpetrator" that is only that and not even a whole person, and in doing so they need to push aside the fact that despite being his family's provider, he was also pushed into that role when his father forbid him from joining a monastery or gaining an education that he wanted. Lestat wanted to run away with a theater group as a kid, and actually managed to do so once Gabrielle gave him her blessing and monetary support in order to go to Paris. He didn't always want to be the provider, he was forced into that role and became despondent when he thought he would never get a chance to leave his home.

His new life prior to being turned is pretty much the antithesis to the whole "Lestat is a manly man who would sooner throw up than be compared to a woman" spiel: he lived with another man in Paris while also being an actor, having left his family and "responsibility" to them. The only family member he was ever close to was his mother, all the other male members shunned or ridiculed him. Add onto that the fact that his turning firmly placed him within the role of the damsel/victim: he's kidnapped from his bed by a stranger, taken into a tower and left to rot while being fed on for a week, before then being raped and violently turned all while never even being asked if he would consent to it in any normal circumstance. But you of course have to ignore all of this if you want him to only represent the aggressor/patriarch while Louis is the helpless unhappy matriarch of the family.

My issue isn't that I think Louis isn't a victim, it's that it's not unrealistic for Lestat to be an aggressor/abuser while also displaying traits that aren't regularly assigned to stereotypical depictions of male characters. He's abusive to Claudia while also having been a victim of abuse from his own family. He's not a good maker/teacher, but he also didn't even have one when he was turned. He's the provider/attempted protector of the family and seemed to like being that, while also having run away from his own family prior to this to act in a theater in Paris. He's a rich white man while also being obviously effeminate in public spaces, even to Tom's own bigoted humor.

Like Louis' own complicated story with being his family's benefactor and provider, you can't firmly place Lestat as being one thing or another in terms of gender ideals without deliberately ignoring parts about him that don't fit this. And I don't think it's an absolute necessity, when even in Louis' own story, Lestat isn't stripped of his effeminate mannerisms or behavior while also being the abusive maker/father/lover.

[thekimspoblog]

The FYLSE is coming up again and I'm really starting to stress out.

I will never get used to the fact that "I wasn't stealing it; I was borrowing it" is somehow a real defense in common law.

[nerdyenby]

Shout out to my comfort shows: ducktales for when I’m depressed and milo murphy’s law for when I’m anxious. These silly lil cartoons soothe something in me, it’s absurd how at ease they make me feel

[yohankang]

one of my exams today was so horrible i started crying lmao

[sapphia]

USA please listen to me: the price of “teaching them a lesson” is too high. take it from New Zealand, who voted our Labour government out in the last election because they weren’t doing exactly what we wanted and got facism instead.

Trans rights are being attacked, public transport has been defunded, tax cuts issued for the wealthy, they've mass-defunded public services, cut and attacked the disability funding model, cut benefits, diverted transport funding to roads, cut all recent public transport subsidies, cancelled massive important infrastructure projects like damns and ferries (we are three ISLANDS), fast tracked mining, oil, and other massive environmentally detrimental projects and gave the power the to approve these projects singularly to three ministers who have been wined and dined by lobbyists of the companies that have put the bids in to approve them while one of the main minister infers he will not prioritise the protection of endangered species like the archeys frog over mining projects that do massive environmental harm. They have attacked indigenous rights in an attempt to negate the Treaty of Waitangi by “redefining it”; as a backup, they are also trying to remove all mentions of the treaty from legislation starting with our Child Protection laws no longer requiring social workers to consider the importance of Maori children’s culture when placing those children; when the Waitangi Tribunal who oversees indigenous matters sought to enquire about this, the Minister for Children blocked their enquiry in a breach of comity that was condemned in a ruling — too late to do anything — by our Supreme Court. They have repealed labour protections around pay and 90 day trials, reversed our smoking ban, cancelled our EV subsidy, cancelled our water infrastructure scheme that would have given Maori iwi a say in water asset management, cancelled our biggest city’s fuel tax, made our treasury and inland revenue departments less accountable, dispensed of our Productivity Commission, begun work on charter schools and military boot camps in an obvious push towards privatisation, cancelled grants for first home buyers, reduced access to emergency housing, allowed no cause evictions, cancelled our Maori health system that would have given Maori control over their own public medical care and funding, cut funding of services like budgeting advice and food banks, cancelled the consumer advocacy council, cancelled our medicine regulations, repealed free prescriptions, deferred multiple hospital builds, failed to deliver on pre-election medical promises, reversed a gun ban created in response to the mosque shootings, brought back three strikes = life sentence policy, increased minimum wage by half the recommended amount, cancelled fair pay for disabled workers, reduced wheelchair services, reversed our oil and gas exploration ban, cancelled our climate emergency fund, cut science research funding including climate research, removed limits on killing sea lions, cut funding for the climate change commission, weakened our methane targets, cancelled Significant National Areas protections, have begun reversing our ban on live exports. Much of this was passed under urgency.

It’s been six months.

[fiercynn]

okay, if you have ever made or reblogged a “hold your nose and vote for biden” post, this is for you.

here’s the fucking thing about these kinds of posts. i've been seeing them since i first returned to tumblr in, I think, late 2022? they've certainly increased in frequency since october 7, but they were there before too, ready to counter any kind of opposition to biden that has cropped up. many of them are not just trying to educate people about what positive things biden has done, which, like, at least I can understand the motivation behind those ones? but so many of them are directly in response to people criticizing biden, and their only real point is “sure you’re upset at this thing biden did, but have you considered the election?” starting YEARS before the next presidential election, mind you.

and october 7 only made that clearer. i don’t think it had been a week before i saw these posts cropping up. can you not see how fucking ghoulish that is? to look at the rightful pain and anger of those whose relatives and communities are being slaughtered with active american support, to respond to one of the few pieces of agency most americans have in influencing what their governments do – their vote – by saying “yes but trump would be worse.” as if the primary people you’re lecturing – palestinians, muslims, arabs, black people, indigenous people, disabled people, other marginalized people – don’t remember exactly how bad it was under trump!

and even if you think not voting is an empty gesture – something i, who studied political science at a mainstream american lib college, who has worked as a field organizer on a previous democratic presidential campaign and for several policy campaigns, who currently works in public policy in america, used to believe, but have absolutely changed my mind on – what is in no way an empty gesture is saying publicly that you will not vote for someone. the arguments people usually have about why simply not voting is bad are that you can’t tell why someone is not voting, so it is as likely to be apathy or disenfranchisement as it is a political statement. but saying publicly that you will not vote for someone, and why you will not vote for them, absolutely is a political statement, and potentially a powerful one! but you choose to negate and/or ignore that by trotting out the “lesser of two evils” bullshit.

and then there’s the whole “yes but people will DIE under trump”. PEOPLE ARE DYING NOW. even if you’re fucking racist and have decided that palestinian lives don’t count, have you forgotten biden’s ongoing covid minimalism and dismantling of the CDC’s covid research and prevention infrastructure? have you forgotten his increase in spending for law enforcement scant years after the murder of george floyd and his administration's surveillance of protesters, including cop city protesters? have you forgotten his recent ramp-up in deportations of undocumented immigrants, including the active continuation of many trump-era policies?

maybe you have forgotten all those things and do purport to care about palestinians, but you just think that biden is doing his best to influence netanyahu and is getting nowhere! but then you must have forgotten all of the things that biden and his administration themselves have done to further this fucking genocide, including:

continuing to send arms to israel

putting together a military task force within days of yemen’s red sea blockade and attacking yemeni ships

bombing yemen

bombing syria

bombing iraq

vetoing three ceasefire resolutions at the united nations

testifying to defend israel and its genocide and occupation at the international court of justice

refusing to rescue palestinian-americans stuck in gaza

halting funding to the united nations relief and works agency for palestinian refugees (UNRWA) based on israeli claims that 12 of UNRWA’s over 30,000 staff were hamas agents, even though u.s. intelligence has not been able to independently verify this

lying that he’s personally seen photos of babies beheaded by hamas when he hadn’t because they didn’t exist (and even when his own staff cautioned him that reports of beheaded babies may not be credible)

questioning the number of palestinian deaths reported by the gaza ministry of health (when even israel has not questioned them, since they are in fact proud of those numbers)

perpetuating lies about hamas having committed the attack on al-aqsa hospital

questioning united nations reports of adults and children raped by israeli soldiers while claiming to have proof (that no one else has seen) of hamas doing the same

honestly so many more things that i can’t remember them all but others feel free to add

or maybe you haven’t forgotten any of that, and think that you’re still justified in lecturing people about why they should vote for biden, because you genuinely believe trump would still be worse. if that is the case, you have still failed to see that by saying you will vote for biden no matter what, you are part of the problem of biden continuing to act like this. because biden is counting on fear of trump to win him this next election no matter what else he does. despite his appalling polling numbers, despite the knowledge that he is losing the palestinian-american vote, the arab-american vote, the muslim-american vote, the black american vote, the youth vote – despite all of that, he is secure in the idea that he will still win because he is better than trump. can you not see how that allows him to act without impunity? how it becomes increasingly impossible for his base to influence what he’s doing if he thinks that they will be with him no matter what? this is how you make yourself complicit to biden’s actions, by not affording anyone even the slightest power to hold him accountable for anything.

and in most cases, the “hold your nose and vote for biden” thing is the response of people who aren’t even being instructed by others not to vote for biden. it is their response to people saying they themselves are choosing not to vote for biden. fucking ghoulish.

[thebibliosphere]

Hi, me being white and Scottish does not negate the fact that I am a disabled immigrant living in America.

I have restrictions on my income, restrictions on how I can travel, and whether or not I can vote, and I am almost entirely reliant on my spouse for everything. If I am forced to leave him, as I have been made to do so in the past due to immigration red tape, my care will decline, I will lose access to healthcare, and there's a very real chance I will die.

I was, in fact, dying before he was able to move me here and take care of me full-time.

Nowhere did I say I know what it's like to be a person of color. Nowhere did I claim to know what it's like to come to this country in the worst of circumstances, unable to speak the language or deal with the horrendous, vile human rights violations that happen at the borders of this country to anyone who cannot afford to come in legally.

I was stating a fact because whenever I say I cannot vote, people scream at me to register, and I have to explain to them time and time again that as an immigrant without citizenship, I can't vote.

"Well you're husband can just go to Scotland--"

HAHAHA tell me you know NOTHING about UK politics without telling me.

As a disabled person, I do not meet the UK income requirements to sponsor my husband into the UK. I barely earned enough before my disability made me unable to work full-time. The laws changed six weeks before our wedding and we had to pivot our life plans on a dime.

If I go home, I go home alone. And again, I cannot do that. I am not being romantic when I say I'll die without him. I am being factual.

The NHS is gutted. My parents are elderly and caring for my adult brother with brain damage and can barely pay their electric bills. My friends are all barely making rent. What safety net do you think I can leave for?

Yes, my skin color keeps me safer than so many other people who deal with far, far worse. I am not and will never deny that. But that doesn't negate that I cannot vote in a country I am living in. And it makes me feel so profoundly helpless when I see people saying voting doesn't matter because it does. Voting matters. If it didn't, people wouldn't be working so hard to take it away from you.

[tiredguyswag]

It's my birthday today, and I am lucky to be able to celebrate it in the comfort of my home! Some, however are not so lucky.

It would mean the world to me if you could give at least a small donation of $5 to the fundraiser I've linked below. Please reblog as well after donating, or even if you can't donate, so that it may reach others who are capable of donating.

I can vouch for the legibility of this fundraiser! Here's a post by @gothhabiba explaining the same. He is the brother-in-law of @ma7moudgaza2, so you can rest assured that the money is going to a good cause.

Ahmed (@ilovelifetbh) has two small children. One is three years old while the other, Anas, is only one. He was born in the beginning of the days of the genocide and has known nothing but death and destruction his whole life! Can you imagine! Please put yourself in his shoes for a second, and be compassionate. As fellow human beings, help restore hope to him and his wife after the tragedy of the destruction of his house. The money will help him rebuild his house and provide for his children.

It is not an exaggeration to say your contribution could save lives! Ahmed currently only has $226 on his fundraiser! That's extremely low, it's not even enough to cover costs of the absolute basic necessities of life in Gaza, what with the soaring prices!

I am willing to make you a fully coloured drawing of anything you'd like for the first five people who make a donation of more than $50. Just reply to this post and I will reach out to you with details on what I can do (provided you have proof of donation).

The first ten donations of more than $10 will get smaller doodles depending on the amount donated (again, provided you have proof of donation)

Here are some examples of my art:

Apologies for the tag:

@victoriawhimsey @jewishdainix @timetravellingkitty @jackie-shitposts

 @oorevitcejda @yellowwperil @sandersgrey @ofide @rukafais

@officialpenisenvy @theonpilled @fleurrice @tetrafelino @think-queer

@timothylawrence @roakkaliha @lostacelonnie @huzni @laurajameskinney

@gamb0fficial @vincentspork @teabisexual @officialscud @evilponds

@dinodamage @yurischolar @lune-tic @lipid @newporters

@witticismz @dovv @capricornpropaganda @charlott2n @determinate-negation

@parsleyrosemarybotch @tadpoledyke @userpeggycarter @thedigitalbard @melon-colli

@demilypyro @lesbocrocker @kahin @chososhairbuns

@zamanassad @wayneradiotv @jihaad @evillesbianvillain 

@stuckinapril @goldenspirits @scarletlich @rongzhi @marxistcomedy

[victoriawhimsey]

🤍 Let’s support my friend Bessan 🤍

I am creating this post on behalf of my friend Bessan Qudaih @besanqdeh12 Bessan is a 22 year old law student who lives in Gaza. She was unable to finish her education due to the total destruction of her university. Bessan has a total of 5 family members and they are currently displaced, living in a tent altogether. Their home was destroyed and they have lost everything as well. Bessan’s sister had a baby 9 months ago while displaced, leaving her and her small baby the most vulnerable to disease caused by harsh living conditions due to displacement.

It has been very difficult for Bessan & her family to find food, water, shelter, medical care & all basic necessities. Due to all of these circumstances, Bessan has decided to fundraise for her family so they can evacuate Gaza. Please help Support Bessan by donating any amount you are able to, and please help share her campaign so more people can help Bessan.

⚡️Please support Bessan by donating & sharing her campaign⚡️

*** Bessan’s campaign has been vetted by me through pali Pals on Insta. Every campaign post created & vetted by me will have the Pali Pals logo to show that has been vetted, verified, & that it can be trusted ***

🌸You can donate to Bessan @besanqdeh12 using the link below:🌸

$175 / $20,000 on August 31

⭐️You can also donate to Bessan using this QR code below:⭐️

@turtletoria @pcktknife @postanagramgenerator @khanger @neptunerings @thedailydescent @dlxxv-vetted-donations @northgazaupdates2 @90-ghost @el-shab-hussein @gaza-evacuation-funds @mushroomjar @mothblossoms @legallybrunettedotcom @rhubarbspring @appsa @malcriada @transmutationisms @just-browsing1222 @retvolution @devilofthepit @ana-bananya @buttercuparry @deepspaceboytoy @deathlonging @lesbiandardevil @socalgal @pomodoko @pollackpatrol @wellwaterhysteria @foodforthot @jezior0 @fiqrr @determinate-negation @girlinafairytale @lovewontfindherwayhome @vetted-gaza-funds @sayruq @magnus-rhymes-with-swagness @blackgoliath @xinakwans @stuckinapril @heliopixels @laurapalmerss @sleevesareforlosers @death2germany @chilewithcarnage @monsterbutch

[silversoulstardust]

love how even with the sea stone cuff off law is still willingly getting dragged around by luffy's ability, this time with luffy's arm around his shoulders bc roomed uses too much power.

sure, all for the sake of energy conservation

law complaining about the lack of space on farul (cavedish's horse) compared to moocy (luffy's bull companion from colosseum) as they race to the palace will never not be funny to me

like. i'm sorry the bull's down and the horse's not good enough for you princess do you prefer getting carried around like a damsel in distress on luffy's shoulder instead

[tokiro07]

Law of Ueki jumpscare! Law of Fandom Negators!

Ueki, Unwaste - negates wastefulness by allowing Ueki to turn anything he conceptualizes as trash into plant-life; later on, Ueki changes his concept of waste to refer to things that are lost in the course of a process, allowing him to revert targets or victims of transformation back to their original state

Mori, Unchaste - negates a target’s chastity by making them obsessed with a particular focus; ordinarily, this would make the target obsessed with the user, but because of Mori’s interpretation of Unchaste, the target develops a glasses fetish, to the point that they can be manipulated by threatening to destroy a pair of glasses

Sano, Unsoft - negates the softness of objects by making them hard; specifically, he hardens soft towels into hard iron, shaping the towels into weapons before transforming them

Rinko, Unstable - negates the stability of an object, making it explosive; because they’re cheap and easy to use, Rinko tends to use beads as ammunition for her ability

Hideyoshi, Unsilent - negates silence by creating an echo of a sound that Hideyoshi has recently heard; because of his interpretation that a sound must come from a source, a crude portrait of the sound is created to replay the sound, either on a loop or when triggered by certain stimuli

Robert, Unflawed - negates the flaws of a target object, making them into their ideal form; for example, Robert’s tea cup will never spill, projectiles always hit, shield’s never break, etc.

Li Ho, Unvulnerable  - negates vulnerability by allowing Li Ho to turn parts of his body into weapons; however, as a martial artist, Li Ho refuses and is ironically unable to actually use this ability, as his ability to defend himself through technique means that he already isn’t vulnerable in a traditional sense

Anon, Unfair - negates the fairness of competition by allowing him to take on the powers of others; unlike Billy’s version in canon, Anon takes his target’s power by eating them in whole or in part, based on the idea of “you are what you eat;” because of this interpretation, Anon’s true ability is to more or less absorb his target, integrating them into himself rather than actually killing them, thus allowing him to regurgitate them later if needed

Tenko, Artifact Apocalypse - self explanatory, Tenko is there instead of Apocalypse

[sirfrogsworth]

Early voting to beat the lines... the best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.

So... yesterday was quite the day.

After being stuck in bed for the past 6 weeks with some mystery slump, I was finally feeling better. So I decided I would try to cram as many errands into my day as possible. That works better for me when I drive out into the world because I end up only having to do one big recovery instead of a bunch of little recoveries.

My to-do list...

Go to the doctor

Vote early

Return oxygen machine to FedEx store for scammy eBay guy

Return Amazon package to the UPS store

Get gasoline for my whip

Go to Discount Tire to get my tires filled for free

Drop a check off for my lawn guy

Mail a secret package to Katrina at the US Post Office

It would have been nice if I could have gone to just one shipping place instead of all three, but the universe has a sense of humor and likes to do shit like that to me on a regular basis.

So, I get my checkup, it goes quick, no long wait, I'm feeling good.

As I get in my car, it starts to rain. It was an ugly day and it actually has not stopped raining to this very moment a day later. Just gray, windy, chilly, and wet. I look up the voting place and start the GPS.

Wipers and music on full blast, it's time to get my vote on.

When I reach my destination, I realize early voting is at some kind of private golf club. And at the center is a recreation center—which is a public building.

So it's like this private/public turducken situation.

I was expecting this errand to take 20 minutes. Because early voting always seemed like a way to get in before the crowds of election day for a more convenient voting experience.

But the parking lot was packed and I feared my expectations were about to be subverted.

As I walk through the parking lot I see a bunch of signs in the ground.

And a particular one caught my eye.

This is bullshit.

Like, just a straight up lie. No truth to it whatsoever.

Amendment 3 in Missouri basically restores abortion rights in the state. And Republicans have taken issue with the following language...

"The Government shall not deny or infringe upon a person's fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which is the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive health care, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions."

They claim the phrasing "but not limited to" means you can give an 8-year-old kid "sex change surgery."

This is how their online flyer puts it...

It could also include a free puppy.

Or a zillion bucks.

Or a clown will come to your house after the abortion and honk your nose.

It's ridiculous and desperate. I honestly don't know how it is legal for them to put a lie like that outside of a polling location, but here we are.

The organization "Missouri Stands with Women" is run by... a man.

It was set up by a lawyer named "Edward Greim" on behalf of the Federalist Society.

His law firm has a lovely biography about him. And a bunch of publicly available contact information. I say that for no reason whatsoever.

The Federalist Society funds all kinds of shit like this. Their main thing is installing conservative judges all over the country who will reinterpret or negate legislation. And they do it all to "stand with women" by taking away their reproductive rights.

Here is the board of directors of the Federalist Society.

Ya know, before I looked this up, I said to myself, "I bet it's going to be a sausage fest." I am psychic.

I think it would be more accurate to say they stand with A woman.

Just one.

And she sucks.

Nicole is a law professor at Notre Dame. She chose her Catholicism over her right to choose. The Catholic Church will fuck your rights and your children and Nicole will help them do it.

Anyway... back to my quick and easy voting experience...

So as I'm walking in to vote I keep passing a ton of these awful signs. I notice an older woman standing next to the aforementioned "child sex change" sign and she says, "Can I talk to you about Amendment 3?"

At this point, I'm pretty angry. I look her dead in the eyes and say with my most assholish tone, "NO." as I walk past her.

And then she finishes her sentence...

"...to protect the reproductive rights of women."

Ah, dammit.

I thought she was an old Karen but she was cool as heck. Standing out in the rain telling people the sign is bullshit. I wanted to turn around and apologize but I was stuck in full social anxiety mode so I just kept walking.

If that old lady happens to have a Tumblr and follows me and is willing to read this giant story... I just want to say I am sorry. I thought you were awful and I should have let you finish your sentence. You're super cool and I'm happy there are folks like you fighting for what is right.

I get inside and a young woman greets me. She tells me the line is in the next room and points. I still wasn't quite sure what the situation was. The parking lot being full gave me pause, but I was still hopeful I could have a swift early voting experience.

But I walk through the doors and into a huge gymnasium and my heart sinks.

It's hard to represent in pictures how long this line is.

It goes all the way to the end of the gym, loops around, and comes back. At first I was not too discouraged, because there was a nice gentle ramp at the start of the line.

But then I notice several sets of stairs at different stages of the line. And I'm just thinking how hard it would be to stand in this line and then also having to go up and down several sets of stairs.

So I go back to the young woman working there and ask what their accessible voting options are. And she told me I could do curbside voting and points outside. I then notice a line of cars wrapped around the parking lot. I don't know how I didn't see them walking in, but I guess I was too busy being a jerk to elderly progressive women.

My biggest concern was time.

The longer this takes, the more energy I use up, the longer my eventual recovery will be.

They tell me the car option is the slowest. And I could be in line for 2 to 3 hours. And then an old man who seemed to be in charge walks over and tells me the fastest option is to stand in line.

So I walk back out to my car and grab my cane and decide to try the long serpentine gynasium line.

I start walking up the ramp and some of the other folks see how slow and labored I'm walking and they start encouraging me. "You can do it! You got this!" Which I suppose was meant to be a positive helpful thing. But I found it to be embarrassing.

I get to the end of the line and notice most of the line has bleachers directly next to it. So I decide to sit down and rest and figure out how I am going to survive this experience.

It took me a while to recover from the long walk to this spot. I watched a bunch of people pass me by and the line was actually getting much longer as I rested. I was not really sure what to do. I was trying to problem-solve this situation but the answer that kept popping up in my mind was just... "go home."

But I felt this was too important and that wasn't really an option.

My best idea was to ask someone if they would hold my spot in line. Perhaps I could just sit in the bleachers and follow them around in the line, staying as close to them as I could. But my social anxiety was set to maximum and I was not finding the courage to ask someone.

After about 10 minutes of sitting, resting, and thinking, I basically say, "Fuck it, I'll try to stand in line."

I get up and start walking to the end of the line.

Then I hear a voice yell out to me.

"Hey, man! Come over here! This is your spot!"

A young man was waving at me. He was accompanied by his wife. Both of them were dressed in black and they had a sort of goth skater aesthetic going on. He had a competitively bushy beard, but with less gray. And she had very vivid purple hair.

I was a little confused and still processing what was happening. Then they both started waving at me to join them in line. They remembered I got there just before and told me I should be in front of them. I walk over and thank them. Then he suggests...

"Hey, why don't you just sit in the bleachers and follow us around the line."

He suggested my idea!

Without me asking!

I felt like he read my mind or something.

Can bearded people read each others' minds? Was this some beard skill I was unaware of?

"I got you, man. You just sit and we'll keep your place."

And his violet hair'd significant other agreed. "Yeah, we got you."

The kindness of strangers was more accessible than my polling place and I was just so thankful in that moment.

So I sat in the bleachers and watched them traverse the line. In the middle of the gym there were some teenagers playing basketball. And so I just rested and watched them play.

That young man in the red pants was like a goddamn Harlem Globetrotter. He was just embarrassing the others. He was bouncing the ball behind his back and through his legs and then he just danced around his opponents like a figure skater. It was such an unbalanced matchup. He might as well have been playing 4th graders. Not only was he significantly faster and more maneuverable, but he was consistently hitting 3-pointers.

And then during a break, he ran towards the hoop, jumped from the free throw line, flew all the way to the net, grabbed onto the rim, and proceeded to do several pull ups as if they were the easiest thing in the world. I don't think I've seen anyone jump that far and that high in real life and it was just a bonkers display of athleticism.

I spent the entire wait watching him humiliate the others—hoping he would get a full ride scholarship to some prestigious university.

And I hoped the other boys paid attention in school and got straight As, because basketball was not going to work out for them.

As my new goth skater friends progressed through the line, I would make sure to keep sight of them. Every once in a while I'd give them a head nod to acknowledge we were in this together. After an hour and a half they were at the final segment of the line, so I sat next to the wheelchair folks.

I probably could have argued to sit with them in the first place. But I really did not feel like making the case that I was just as disabled as them and needed that level of consideration. The old man running things seemed quite stressed and was putting out 8 fires at once. And my anxiety wasn't really cooperating enough to be assertive in my needs.

But it worked out in the end, so I'm not going to dwell on the lack of accommodation for people who weren't *visually* disabled.

My new bearded friend neared the end and waved me over. I thanked him and his wife profusely.

I joked, "Thank you for adopting a voter."

They seemed confused by my joke.

"No problem, man. Happy to help."

I told him and his wife they truly saved me. "I honestly don't think I would have made it through the line." And then I looked back...

I said, "As crazy as this is, I do find this kind of turnout encouraging." His wife agreed and said, "We were saying the same thing!" And then I thought, "Can the wives of bearded people absorb the mind reading ability? I hope she can't read my mind right now. Although, I'm mostly thinking that her hair is a really cool shade of purple, so she'd probably find that complimentary."

As I waited to get my ballot I could hear the happy couple behind me. They were very cute. They were making fun of each other in a very lovey-dovey fashion. I had high hopes they were going to grow old and gray and purple together based on their chemistry. And I was just so thankful they were able to recognize that I needed help without me asking. Because I probably would have just caved to my anxiety and not asked for help otherwise.

I got my ballot and sat down to fill in all of the appropriate squares. Thankfully I had prepared a cheat sheet on my phone.

It was an exact replica so I was able to copy it and finish quite rapidly.

Then I fed my votes into the vote-eating monster and they gave me a sticker.

My quick 20 minute adventure to vote early only took 2.5 hours!

And because I didn't want to buck tradition, I stood outside in the wind and the rain and took a voting selfie.

Yep, that seems about right.

Ah, crap... that was only the second thing on my to-do list.

Let's speedrun the rest of this story, shall we?

I drove to FedEx. I hauled a 40 pound box inside. I plopped it on the counter and said, "Man, this thing is heavy!" as I tried to catch my breath. The 20 year old working there then lifted it like it was a feather and I felt great about that.

I drove to the gas station because I was nearly on empty—that is both a metaphor and not a metaphor. I filled my ride with go juice.

I noticed I was a mile from the tire store and they fill up tires for free. So I did that and the guy was super nice and complimented my tires. I felt both weird and proud about having my tires complimented. Like, I had nothing to do with my tires being nice. But I accepted the praise on their behalf.

I drove to the UPS store. The last time I was there I made a scene. They refused to box up a return and I got upset and wasn't feeling well and they had to find a chair for me to sit in because I was going to faint. So I was hoping the same woman wasn't there, but she was. She didn't recognize me, so it was fine.

I drove to my lawn guy's house. He wasn't home. I dropped a check in his mailbox. My checks have corgis on them. My checks are cute.

I drove to the post office. I sent a secret package to my bestie, Katrina. I'd tell you what is in it, but it is an inside joke and you wouldn't get it. The woman noticed my voting sticker and I couldn't help thinking about what I just accomplished to get that sticker.

On my way out I noticed a miracle.

2 of the 4 doors were fixed!

I mean, I don't know why they couldn't fix all 4, but now the employees won't freeze in the winter. So I take that as a win. It only took a year and a half to accomplish and I'm sure all of my phone calls and emails did not help at all. But I'm going to pretend I saved the day regardless.

And then... I drove home.

5 hours of errands.

I was so fucking tired. My back was on fire with pain. I immediately collapsed into my bed. I passed out. And I slept for 14 hours.

The End

[shehzadi]

waqf amendment bill 2024

the indian government is trying to introduce a new bill called the waqf amendment bill which seeks to remove power over waqf properties from decentralised muslim councils and transfer greater control to the government. this jeopardises the future of waqf properties and infringes on minority rights.

“waqf” refers to the permanent dedication of movable or immovable property for religious, social or charitable purposes and the person who designates a property as such gives ownership of it up to the whole community. once a property is designated as “waqf” it cannot be sold, transferred, or inherited.

the new amendment bill proposes changing the very definition of “waqf” to one that does not fit islamic law. by changing this definition, the bill poses risk of negating the status of certain waqf properties and taking them away from the community. you can read more about the potential negative consequences and contradictions of the bill here.

the joint parliamentary committee are meant to be meeting on september 18-20 in new delhi to further discuss the waqf amendment bill. they have opened up discussion to the public and indian muslim and hindu citizens alike have been sharing email templates online addressed to the committee, calling for the rejection of the waqf bill, while right-wingers are encouraging people to send emails in favour of the bill. more: x, x.

the date for sending in these rejection emails has now passed (as of september 13th) but in the event that the deadline is extended, the templates can be found here, here and here. (note: some sources are giving slightly different times for end of email submissions)

if you’re not indian/indian citizen, i would still appreciate you sharing this post to spread awareness. thank you ❤️

[bluebxlle-writer]

Writing Villain Organizations

masterlist. main navigation.

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1. Goal & motivation

To pose a threat to your main characters, your villains need a clear goal — preferably one that directly negates your MC’s goal. But that’s not enough — they also need a clear motivation to justify their goal.

Now, which one should you flesh out first? Goal or motivation?

The answer is : it’s up to you. You can start by giving your villain organization a clear goal before brainstorming possible motivations that would support this goal; or you can come up with a backstory which narrates their motivation then set up a goal that aligns with said motivation.

2. Influence

To be memorable, your villain organization must have some sort of influence on your main characters and the general public.

An underground criminal organization that brings annoyance to your main characters because they wreak havoc everywhere they go and are impossible to catch as they have their ways to evade law.

A supernatural cult that brings fear to the public because they have the most powerful people on their side who won’t hesitate to kill anyone who stands in their way.

A cryptic society that brings a sense of uneasiness to the MCs because they’re unpredictable and have actions that don’t seem to make sense, yet always results in casualties.

3. Leader

Behind every villain organization is a leader who can control all the worst and most evil people in your story. This should be something frightening, so make sure to clearly establish how they obtained their power as a leader.

Expertise — they have expertise on a certain skill that’s deemed important, such as mastery of a deadly spell.

Charm — they can sway and manipulate people as they please.

Cruelty— they’re evil and ruthless, striking fear within the group and coaxing everyone to listen to them.

Ambitions — they have a strong goal and plan, convincing the entire organization that he’s the best man to achieve that goal.

Savior — they “saved” several villains from a gruesome end and played the role of “savior”, earning gratitude and awe.

4. Disputes

Selfish and goal-driven villains are bound to trigger disputes within the organization. Here are a few conflicts that could trigger disputes :

Factions — the organization is split into two factions ; one that supports the current leader, and one that support someone who promises to bring a “real” change if he were to become leader.

Betrayal — when one villain betrays the organization and the leader finds out, this may trigger an all-out dispute ; some members defending the betrayer and the rest wanting to kill them.

Absense of a leader — When the leader dies or is incapable of issuing orders, members of the villain organization may fight for the leader’s seat as they want to use the position to reach their personal goals.

5. Parallel

If your main characters are also part of an organization, a villain group can serve as a parallel to your MC’s organization.

While the villains operate under personal goals and are only bounded by fear to their leader, your MCs have a common goal and are willing to work together to reach it.

While the villains don’t care about public safety and only ensure the smooth operation of their missions, your MCs always put civilians first.

While the villain strictly prohibit emotional relationships; let alone romantic relationships, your MCs are free to be with whoever they want.

[julienbakerstreet]

i’m never not thinking about sherlock holmes and aj raffles as narrative mirrors

holmes is a bohemian, an unconventional man who is shown to struggle with mental health and addiction. he is fairly explicitly neurodivergent despite being written before that concept existed. in many ways, he doesn’t live up to the standard of a victorian gentleman; he’s a perpetual bachelor who is uncomfortable in many social situations and is described by watson as having a sensitive nature. his relationship with scotland yard and the law is often uneasy; early in his career the police frequently belittle him and his methods. he has to work to overcome the fact that he is perceived as a deeply odd person. scotland yard puts up with him because he gets results until he eventually earns their respect.

raffles, on the other hand, is a criminal who hides behind his respectability and social standing. he’s charming, handsome, and charismatic. he dresses in full gentleman’s evening wear to commit crime, allowing him to pass by policemen without arousing suspicion. he’s a well known cricketer from a privileged public school background who excels at playing the role of a society gentleman. this allows him to avoid suspicion despite being very unsubtle. the biggest advantage raffles and bunny have is a social position that shields them from suspicion.

although holmes is a gentleman from a similarly privileged background, when he’s in situations with men of comparable social standing this privilege is somewhat negated by how at odds his personality is with societal convention. while holmes is certainly a good enough actor to mask his quirks- and thus receive kinder treatment and more respect- he chooses not to.

the quality of holmes' work compensates for his eccentricity, whereas raffles relies on being perceived as a model of respectable society to conceal the criminal nature of his work.

a queer reading of holmes and raffles reinforces this dichotomy: a queer holmes who refuses to so much as put on a pretense of victorian heterosexual masculinity, openly proclaims a disinterest in women, and leads a bohemian lifestyle would have been at more risk of suspicion than a queer raffles, who- while also a bachelor- has a public persona that is enmeshed with hetero-masculine institutions like athletics and clubs. his bachelorhood lends itself to a society playboy interpretation in a way that holmes’ does not.

reading holmes as queer makes his very nature criminal, even as he works as a detective. he is only able to atone socially for his perceived aberrance by acting as an agent of the law that condemns people like him. raffles is able to embrace crime and the criminal aspect of his own nature because on the surface he fits so well into social norms in a way that holmes doesn’t. there’s just such a rich contrast in the way holmes and raffles each engage in respectability politics and how it impacts the way they’re perceived.