#look at who is organizing and their affiliations

[timeclonemike]

There's also the Psychology of Betrayal to work with.

In Stephen Parrish's book Anatomy of a Spy, he describes his experiences and the fallout from them while working in the US Army under Clyde Lee Conrad, someone whose name is notorious in espionage circles and not without reason. One of Parrish's most important points is that, when enemy operatives are looking for sympathetic insiders to leverage, the most common and most successful attribute that made a recruit worth recruiting was the impression that they had been betrayed by the organization they worked for. Somebody blackmailed for homosexuality (and you know Hegseth wants to bring those days back) or other career ending secrets might fall on their sword to protect their country, somebody with bad debts may not take the easy way out if it means compromising their ethics and honor, but if the army or country screwed them first? Passed them over for promotion, swept a legitimate grievance under the rug so an abusive superior officer never got disciplined, stuff like that? Almost foolproof.

Right now, a LOT of Republicans are in the Find Out phase, especially the rural voter blocs that have been a GOP cornerstone for ages. Aid and welfare resources are drying up, the price of groceries and fuel is rising, and most important of all it is NOT clear if a congress this divided can pass a Farm Bill, which pretty much the entire American agricultural sector needs to continue existing (whether they admit it or not) and that's WITHOUT Trump or Musk sticking their dick in the process as a power move like they have with other legislation in the past.

When the cognitive dissonance really hits the fan, all these farmers are going to go "he turned on us" because that's a lot easier for them to stomach than "I done shot myself in the foot because I'm a stupid racist redneck who should have minded my own business instead of getting worked up about drag queens" and THAT is where we can get our foot in the door. All that anger (and these people are VERY angry, almost all the time, about something) will be directed towards somebody who is actually responsible for their misery for once. If we play the smart game, we can keep that anger focused on Trump and his ilk, and turn up the heat until the GOP power blocs on the state and national level tear themselves apart. If we play the moral high ground, we turn ourselves into lightning rods and all that hate grounds out on us instead, and it's back to square one.

(Not to mention that there is evidence that the GOP or organizations affiliated with them managed to leverage outrage over the Biden Administration's very real fuck ups like the handling of the Israel-Palestine conflict in such a way that people walked away from the conflict to give Trump just enough of a margin to win again. They've been using it that strategy against us for decades, it's time to turn the tables.)

Remember, politics is all about the lesser of two evils. There is a future where ICE doesn't get to keep their Gestapo cosplay, and trans kids aren't killing each other, and there is a future where you get to feel smug about twisting the knife in a potential ally of convenience. Be VERY certain of what you really want.

[cinemaocd]

Every Protest Has

Outside provocateurs starting property damage, and violence.

Hardened activists/Professional protestors that are out to get strategically arrested. Usually <10 people.

The groups with almost no connection with the cause being protested who try to make it about themselves.

The cops starting shit. Escalating to militarized police response.

Street theater.

Privileged people starting shit with the cops putting marginalized folks in even more danger.

Surveillance.

Private Security

FBI informants

Counter protestors not in a formal protest group but scattered around the margins, making themselves visible to the media but also on or near public transport so that they can intimidate people coming/going to the protest

"Non-lethal" crowd control methods.

People with bullhorns who should not have them. Ever.

and finally but probably most importantly:

Every protest has

been mischaracterized, often wildly so, by the media.

[devils-yui]

Reposting this from a friend bc I think it is VERY important to know of this, and for immigrants, and other possible victims of the ICE Raids happening right now

Here’s to also a very huge edit, from the list of very helpful people who have been reblogging and providing more info.

I’m not as well informed but I will be relaying the information and tagging each person who added onto this post:

@onthedriftinthetardis -

The phone number in the first photo is ONLY for Orange County, California!

Look up your local ACLU affiliate here

@6feetunderwater -

It always makes me nervous to see a reporting phone number passed around without any links to verify it, so the number in the first pic can be found on the site for the Orange County Rapid Response Network, which is "an interconnected system of non-profit and grassroots organizations, civil rights attorneys, law school clinics, and individuals working together to respond to dehumanizing immigration enforcement activities and policies in Orange County"

@geekerypeekery -

The second warrant is not fake, but is an administrative rather than judicial warrant, and has no constitutional authority to bypass Fourth Amendment protections - in other words, it does not entitle the bearer to enter and search your home. It simply authorizes agents of the issuing department to contact you. Always ask to see the warrant before opening your door!

In addition to the ACLU links, try contacting the National Immigration Law Center https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Warrants-Subpoenas-Facts.pdf

@american-anger -

The phone number listed here is specific to Orange County in California, but you can look up other California counties here:

CALIFORNIA RAPID RESPONSE NETWORKS

@beaniebaneenie -

Unpleasant reminder: within 100 miles of the border (which is home to 200 million people and virtually all major cities in the US), ICE does not need a warrant to enter your home, your car, to search anything, or even to arrest you.

You are not automatically safe just because they don't have a real warrant.

The best and safest thing you can do is learn to have escape routes- quick ways to get out of the house or area you're in if you find out ICE or CBP are around. Those of us who do have documentation? Time for us to step the fuck up.

Film any interaction. Every interaction. If you're able, step into the conversation and be a Karen/Kyle- weaponize your privilege for Good. If you get asked about people? Use positive but vague statements so you a) cannot be caught in a lie, and b) do not give any information away.

"I don't know them that well, but I don't tend to socialize much. They seem great to me."

"I can't remember the last time I saw them."

"Maybe they speak another language, I can't remember details. But I picked up Duolingo during the pandemic and tons of other people did too."

"I'm not sure."

"I'm sorry, I can't help you."

Even if you're somewhere the 100-mile Exception doesn't apply and a warrant is in fact needed? I don't expect ICE and CBP to play by the rules for long, if at all. I fully expect this to get ugly, and fast.

Cheeto has already declared an emergency of national security at the border, and is mobilizing the military to have jurisdiction over a huge swath of the country. It's essentially tantamount to martial law. And it's only been four days.

Gear up for a long, hard fight. This is gonna be a marathon, not a sprint.

— I am leaving all of this as an edit because on the off chance someone does find the posts that have these people specifically reblogging, I don’t want it to be too late. So I’m comprising it all here

Here are a few other people’s reblogs I thought were important:

Thank you @onthedriftinthetardis @6feetunderwater @geekerypeekery @american-anger @beaniebaneenie @bunnychiffon @dubiouslynamed @trisockatops @witchy-disaster for contributing and helping me make this a more well-informed post. Thank you so much

[searchingforserendipity25]

it's a good thing conclave didn't waste any time on making the stories about catholic orders and their in-fighting. and probably i shouldn't either because i am not informed enough about it to go on at length. pls take all of this w a grain of salt.

but i know in my heart of hearts that aldo bellini is a progressive liberal jesuit, the holy father's specialest most progressive liberal italian-american jesuit.

look at him. look at his glasses. those are the glasses of a man who did his dissertation on reinterpreting loyola through a contemporary reformist lens. academic wunderkid. has sooo much beef w the editors of american jesuit weekly. possibly the events of conclave are occurring in a better more beautiful world where aldo bellini is the editor of american jesuit weekly.

the late holy father for sure was a progressive jesuit also. vr pope francis coded. and low-key set him up as a successor. for a while, that seemed nearly a sure thing in some circles.

but there is the fact. well. the fact that everyone is tired, done and tired of jesuits, progressive or otherwise.

this among other factors meant he couldn't consider him the best option, besides whatever character judgement and uncanny machievallien prediction he came up with.

adeyemi has that benedictine swag which makes his potential election particularly seem like a breath of fresh air + reliable + lots of influence. tremblay is giving dominican drip and dominican corruption. and dominican flop. his nespresso machine? it's giving dominican also.

tedesco has to be an italian-founded order member. most hypocrital salesian of all times maybe?? this is unrelated to the fact that i was nearly enrolled in a salesian primary school and the weirdly panopticon-ish playground didn't pass the vibe check. and also because: consider tedesco rising in the ranks of an order created to help migrant workers...someone kick him in the head for me pls.

who even knows about benítez. i want to say franciscan but that might be just too on the nose. cistercian?? honestly it would work well if he is also without affiliation.

this lens does make lawrence's homily being interpreted as a campaign speech more understandable (and particularly funny).

because, as far as anyone can tell, he's fully running as an independent candidate. zero platform besides - if i fuck up i'll apologize and do better and be held accountable, which is more than any of you probably would.

and because he stands alone, he can be held accountable. he can belong to all, and not one faction only. as far as anyone can tell, he's burning bridges with bellini and rocking the statues quo.

he is speaking to/from a place of frustration with institutional inertia and factionalism, he is using his position as dean to bravely promote a platform for internal change in the curia, he is offering doubt as an alternative to certainty, he is pulling an absolute wildcard move.

pity he didn't mean it.

pity the the only order lawrence is interested in joining is the most hardcore discalced carmelite experience possible.

you know how some people look into luxurious real estate listings like it's porn? that's lawrence w tiny monasteries. the sort of minuscule organization with not enough people for management to be necessary. too small for politics. as close to erasure as you can get in this world: no need to be useful.

serving god by existing only to meditate on him. a narrow slant of a life, at that. barely taking up space, barely casting a shadow.

his favorite is a decrepit wreck of a place in the middle of southern spain, nowhere. no wifi no speaking aloud no possessions. no shoes no food. no nothing, only prayer. and a big big sky overhead.

maybe that will fix his issues with reaching god. if that doesn't work he'll probably just wander into the tabernas desert and become an hermit. works for some people, supposedly; plenty of order founders seem to believe so, anyway.

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Teen Villain Alliance

Chapter 1 - Damian

Despite his proficiency in the skill, Damian hated spying on the Teen Villain Alliance. 

Having appeared two years ago in alliance with Klarion Bleak, the Teen Villain Alliance, or TVA, quickly made themselves known as little more than pests, often rushing in to assist other young adult criminals or harass Justice League officials. Father wanted to investigate when they first appeared, but with Todd’s reveal and Damian himself coming to take his place as Robin, he’d been… busy. 

Which allowed the TVA to flourish into a respected criminal enterprise. No vault was safe, no hero strong enough. A group had even banded together to take down Superman! And while there was no lasting damage other than some bizarre markings on the Kryptoian’s face, it was enough to prove these teenagers as a threat. 

Damian, as much as it galled him, was not the first chosen to infiltrate. Martian Manhunter, shapeshifted into a meta fourteen-year-old girl, tried and was identified as a hero on sight. The Teen Titans and Young Justice got closer, actually able to talk to the villains about joining, but “it was like they could smell the hero on us,” Beast Boy had explained. “I don't know how else to explain it.”

Most likely, the TVA kept tabs on the Justice League and affiliated organizations. They needed someone fresh, someone who wasn’t a hero.

Damian had been more than willing to volunteer. 

Introducing himself as Damian Al Ghul, the recently escaped Heir to the Demon Head, he’d been accepted immediately despite having approached the group mid-heist. All he had to do was extrapolate about how Grandfather’s assassins were chasing him, and the Wolf—a designation given to the members of the TVA’s inner circle—allowed him to join, but he was forced to stay with the hacker of the group while the heist commenced with no interference from a hero.

Damian had been confident. He’d gotten so far in mere minutes when a member of the Justice League, and even Drake, couldn’t get past the first few questions. He’d have the Teen Villain Alliance dismantled within the week.

Then Manson, as the Wolf had introduced herself, took out a device that transported them all to another dimension. Which was where the main base of the Alliance was. And none of his communication devices or trackers worked there. 

Damian had only been able to update the Justice League a few times since his tenure as a spy began. Superman had reassured him it was fine, that there had been plenty of missions were communication was infrequent, but after a month of living in the TVA Base in the Infinite Realms, Damian hated not being able to contact his father easily. And in return, Father and Drake had taken to interrogating him for as long as possible the couple of times he was outside Headquarters. 

(Phantom’s Haunt is what the TVA members called it. It was Phantom Dark’s home that he opened up to them all. Damian didn’t know how to feel about that.)

Damian had only been able to contact Father three times in his four weeks undercover, each time on a supply run… which was essentially just a grocery trip for the Haunt. The first time Damian had slipped away to the bathroom and called, Father had been… furious. He’d thought Damian’s lack of updates was on purpose. It had been five minutes before Damian could correct him. 

He wished Grayson had answered during any of his updates, but he was on a mission in space and wouldn’t be back for another two weeks. 

In those four months, Damian was still the newest member, and had yet to be involved in the truly illegal aspects of the organization. All the information he’d gathered purely administrative, like how Duulaman, a reincarnated pharaoh turned hacker, stole money from various billionaires and government organizations to fund their plans. He’d yet to be involved with anything serious. 

He wasn’t allowed on serious missions either. He only had the supply runs to look forward to, and those only occurred once a month. 

His other objective, to undermine the Teen Villain Alliance and spur a mutiny, was also going poorly. The children he surrounded himself with were fanatically loyal to the Alliance, citing Phantom and his harem as the reason they were alive today. Even those who weren’t directly rescued were loyal. One such child, a boy named Kyd Wyckyd, had confessed to turning to a life of crime due to his terrifying meta abilities and their effects on his appearance. 

But the TVA took him in after the collapse of HIVE Academy. He hadn’t participated in a crime since, preferring to work with the Wolf named Jasmine who led individual and group therapy sessions for the villains. Jasmine had tried multiple times to convince her therapy sessions—more like brainwashing sessions—but Damian had stayed strong in the face of adversary. 

Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be much more Damian could do. He tried to push, to get involved with the criminal aspect of the organization, but the Wolves blocked him at every turn, saying he was “too young.” That he needed “stability” and to “rely on them to keep him safe.”

Perhaps Damian oversold the danger of the League of Assassins. 

For now, Damian hid in his room in Phantom’s Haunt. His castle. Even the magnificence of the compound he grew up in couldn’t compare to the headquarters. There were an infinite number of rooms—”as many as we need,” Phantom had told him—that changed based on the user’s preferences. Right now, Damian’s room looked like a cave. The Batcave, to be precise, though he didn’t allow references to his Father and legacy. 

He was hiding because Manson had suggested he attend some of the classes held in the libraries—there were four libraries at the moment. Classes were taught by ghosts under Phantom’s control and weren’t mandatory, but “everyone’s worried about the lack of structure in your life.”

He tried to tell himself it was because he didn’t want to be brainwashed by Phantom’s lackeys, and that he already knew everything they were going to teach. But in truth… Damian was anxious. Attending school at the Haunt felt too permanent, too much like he was planning to stay. He hadn’t gotten the choice to attend school back in Gotham, with Father acting like he would compromise their identities around children. He wasn’t that petty. 

Someone knocked on his door. “Damian? Are you inside?” 

Sighing, Damian stood up and opened the door. “Dr. Fenton. Am I needed for anything?”

Dr. Daniel Fenton was another Wolf, another member of the harem Phantom had built around him, twenty years old and not an actual doctor but everyone called him that anyway. While Damian had yet to see Fenton and Phantom in the same place, Damian was keeping a detailed record of how the Wolves’ polyamourous relationship worked. Phantom and Fenton both dated Manson and Duualman, though they didn’t seem to be dating each other or Jasmine. Klarion often inserted himself into those relationships for hugs and hand-holding, but only seemed to kiss Jasmine. 

“Actually, yes.” Damian’s lips parted in surprise. “I wanted to talk to you about something down in my lab. Would you join me?”

Fenton’s lab was off-limits to low level members of the TVA. He was the engineer, the creator of all their weapons of destruction. Fenton had no minions, while Manson had her thieves, Duualman had his hackers, Jasmine had her helpers, Klarion had his witches, and Phantom had his fighters. 

Fenton was alone. 

Isolated. 

Damian agreed. 

Fenton led him to the depths below the castle, past the never-used dungeon and through a secret door into a surprisingly bright and airy lab. He caught Damian looking through a window that displayed one of the Haunt’s many gardens, an impossible feat for being so far underground. “Magic castle, remember,” Fenton chided him. “Those work as portals that lead to the garden too, so it’s an easy one-way exit.”

Damian scoffed, abashed that he’d been caught so easily. From a glance, the lab was perfectly maintained, with every piece of equipment assigned to an outline meant to indicate where it belonged. As he walked further into the room, Fenton made slight adjustments to his tools, meticulously shifting them back into place. It looked more like a set than a laboratory. 

But then, Damian observed Fenton. The twenty-year-old relaxed as he put his space back into order, nudging the screwdrivers and beakers back into their designated outlines. As he worked, the sleeve of his lab coat road up, revealing a glimpse of lichtenberg scars before it was hidden again. 

Finally done, Fenton turned back to Damian. “My sister, Jazz, has told me that you’re not attending individual or group therapy sessions, is that correct?”

Well, that revealed a  lot of information. Ignoring the fact that Fenton and Jasmine were apparently siblings, Damian replied, “I do not see a reason to attend. If this meeting is an attempt to force me–”

Fenton held his hands up in surrender. “No, I would never. Therapy doesn’t work if the person receiving it doesn’t want it. But you haven’t been attending any of your classes either, and Phantom has mentioned that you don’t hang out with the other kids. Are you settling in alright? I know the others are a few years older than you, so it might be harder for you to connect with them.”

Damian chewed on the question. While part of him was furious that someone, especially a villain like Fenton, was concerned about him and discussed him with his fellows, the other part… wasn’t. It was true; he was having difficulty connecting with the villains. Damian didn’t particularly want to, but it would make his mission easier. 

He chose a neutral answer. “In the League of Assassins… I was the only child in the entire compound. Other children weren’t allowed inside, not unless their parents did something wrong. And those children…”

“Were used against their parents?” Fenton offered when he struggled to find the words. 

“Precisely. It’s not in my nature to associate with children.”

Fenton nodded in understanding, stroking his chin in thought. “That does present a conundrum alright. How unfortunate; the task I needed your help with requires you to interact with at least some of the others, but if you’re that uncomfortable with the idea, then I could find someone else.”

Damian stared at the man in suspicion. “What task?” he demanded to know. If this was a way to get more information for father, he needed to know. But if this was another trap to get him into therapy…

“You’ve probably noticed by now, but I’m the only Wolf without someone working under me. Sam has her Bats, Tucker has his Flies, Jazz has her Rats, Klarion has his Strays, and Phantom has the TVA as a whole. The others have been pressuring me to create my own group, but babysitting a group of teens in a lab where anything could explode is just asking for trouble.”

Damian stepped away from the nearest device. Fenton continued, “However, I think a group dedicated to investigation would work much better. Here in the Infinite Realms, we’re very isolated from the human world, so my research on competing inventors is always lacking. Tuck and Sam help, but Tucker has his own hacking projects, and Sam targets financially viable targets instead of labs.”

“You want me to be a member of your new… group?” Damian read in between the lines of what Fenton was saying. Surely Father would be proud of him for gaining information about Fenton’s inventions and targets—

“I want you to lead the group.”

His glare dropped right off his face in shock. “Lead?” he whispered. 

“That’s right,” Daniel agreed. “It’s not conventional and I barely got the others to agree, but Damian, you’re one of the best trained villains to ever join the TVA. Yeah, you’re really young, but you are serious and professional. To be honest, most of the kids we take in don’t take our work seriously. It’s not a bad thing, but I need a leader who is willing to keep their group in line. Infiltration and information gathering can be very dangerous, and I need someone who can keep the team safe.”

Daniel trusted him enough for that? Father didn’t trust him enough to be his partner; honestly, Father didn’t even trust him enough to introduce Damian to the world as his son! Perhaps he was aggressive towards the interlopers in his home, but he wasn’t going to stab a civilian!

And while Damian didn’t understand why Daniel was so cautious around what amounted to breaking and entering, he wanted Damian to lead. He trusted Damian for that. 

And Damian was going to take back whatever information Fenton revealed back to his father, like a hunting dog to its master. 

Daniel continued, “Of course, this is still a few months off from being necessary. But that should give you plenty of time to attend some classes to prepare you more! One on leadership skills, one on modern technology, one on basic magic and wards, maybe a refresher on hacking… Knowing you, you’ll test out of them in a few weeks, but the main point is to find other people to join our team. I’m looking for four other team members, and while I am looking for certain traits and skills, it's up to you to decide who you want on the team.” Daniel placed a hand on Damian’s shoulder. “So, what do you think?”

He’d betray Daniel by saying yes. He’d betray Father by saying no. 

He made his choice. 

Damian looked up at Daniel, determination set into his face. “I won’t let you down.”

Daniel smiled. “I know you won’t. You couldn’t if you tried.”

[jaythes1mp]

Do you think readers' lives would be different if they were a deer hybrid?

Fun Fact: Did you know that cervids (from the deer, deer and elk family) are considered extremely sensitive animals. When suffering severe stress, such as when captured or rescued, for example, the animal's reaction can cause what is called 'capture myopathy' ', which compromises the organism of these animals.

I do, actually. Because, another fun fact! In June of this year me and my roommate saved a baby deer who was laying next to her mums dead body (she was less than 48 hours old). Fortunately she wasn’t injured. We were extremely lucky to be living next to a wildlife specialist, our neighbour, who’s been looking after Astrid and will continue to until she’s old enough to be relocated. Thankfully this wasn’t the first deer that’s been brought to her. So unfortunately I'm very acquainted with that fact.

She’s still striving strong though! These were the first pics taken of her.

Anyway, how they’d react:

Batfam x deer hybrid reader

With Damian's exceptionally caring nature when it comes to animals, he has already meticulously planned out the perfect environment for your deer forms comfort. He has considered every possible scenario and tailored everything to ensure your contentment as well as a space to meet all of your needs.

The young Wayne would thoughtfully strategize and visualise your reactions to every minor action or stimulus. He would carefully consider the most appropriate responses and adapt his behaviour to ensure a positive and nurturing environment for you. Even if the environment in question was one that you were forced into.

The bats would handle your transformed state with great caution, disregarding if your human mind was in control when you were transformed or not. Given your affiliation with the Cervidae family in your animal form, the Wayne family would be especially mindful and considerate of your natural tendencies, behaviours, and instincts.

Despite Dick's intelligence and expertise as a vigilante, being second only to Bruce Wayne himself, his impatience would become apparent within the twenty-ninth attempt to approach you for some affectionate ‘big brother cuddles’. Assuming you’re an adult or older teen, you would be extremely skittish and resistant in your deer form to his advances and attempts to get close, if not completely avoid his presence altogether, let alone let him cling to you for a ‘snuggle.’

Jason wouldn’t comprehend why you’d consistently conceal yourself, in both forms, hiding behind the couch every time he arrives, or why you involuntarily freeze at the sound of his motorcycle, or even why you instinctively flee at the slightest hint of him standing or making a move. But despite his confusion, he doesn't hold it against you. He’s witnessed the horrific experiences and trauma the children of Gotham City are subjected to, and if hiding and evading is the way you cope with what you’re going through, then he’s willing to wait patiently for you to feel secure in his presence. As your sibling, he vowed never to give you a reason to fear him. He knows just how overwhelming it is in this new environment, and he’s not planning on giving you any more reasons to be frightened by them.

Tim would find it easier to deal with your distressed nature than the others, opting to monitor you through the security cameras, allowing him to work on his cases simultaneously, rather than being overly affectionate with you. This way, he could keep a watchful eye on you without having to directly interact, which allows him to multi-task and focus on both keeping you safe and solving his cases.

Despite Jason and Dick no longer living in the Manor, Bruce would likely be the one to spend the least time with you. However, he's not neglecting you. He makes a conscious effort to rearrange his busy schedule, keeps certain days free every week, and meticulously plans time for some quality family bonding. Even if the quality time in question only consists of him quietly sitting in your vicinity, sipping on some freshly made tea while reading the newspaper, he cherishes every moment that he gets to share with you. Simply being near you is enough. Because you're his child, and he's not planning on fucking that up ever again.

[mariacallous]

For much of living memory, the United States has been a global leader of scientific research and innovation. From the polio vaccine, to decoding the first human chromosome, to the first heart bypass surgery, American research has originated a seemingly endless list of health care advances that are taken for granted.

But when the Trump administration issued a memorandum Monday that paused all federal grants and loans—with the aim of ensuring that funding recipients are complying with the president’s raft of recent executive orders—US academia ground to a halt. Since then, the freeze has been partially rescinded for some sectors, but it largely remains in place for universities and research institutions across the country, with no certainty of what comes next.

“This has immediate impact on people’s lives,” says J9 Austin, professor of psychiatry and medical genetics at the University of British Columbia. “And it’s terrifying.”

The funding freeze requires agencies to submit reviews of their funded programs to the Office of Management and Budget by February 10. The freeze follows separate orders issued last week to US health agencies—including to the National Institutes of Health, which leads the country’s medical research—to pause all communications until February 1 and stop almost all travel indefinitely.

The confusion is consummate. If the funding freeze continues through February, and even beyond, how will graduate students be paid? Should grant applications—years long in the writing—still be submitted by the triannual grant submission deadline on February 5? What does this mean for clinical trials if participants and lab techs can’t be paid? Will all that research have to be scrapped thanks to incomplete data?

Even if Trump fully reverses the freeze on research funding, the damage, multiple sources say, has been done. Although for now the funding freeze is temporary, the administration has shown how it might wield the levers of government. The implication is that withdrawing funding could be done more permanently, and could be done to individual institutions, individual organizations, both private and public. This won’t just set a precedent for the large East Coast or West Coast universities, but those located in both red and blue states alike.

While always an imperfect arrangement, science in the US is largely funded by a complex system of grant applications, reviews by peers in the field (both of which have had to be halted as part of the communications pause), and the competitive distribution of NIH funds, says Gerald Keusch, emeritus professor of medicine at Boston University and former associate director of international research for the NIH. According to its website, the NIH disburses nearly $48 billion in grants per year.

When it comes to medical research, America truly is first, and if it abdicates that position, the void left behind has global ramifications. “In Canada, we have always looked to NIH as an exemplar of what we should be trying to do,” says Austin, speaking to me independently of any roles and affiliations. “Now, that’s collapsed.”

Science is, in its very nature, collaborative. Many consortiums and alliances within scientific fields cross borders and language barriers. Some labs may be able to find additional funding from alternative sources such as the European Union. But it is unlikely that a continued withdrawal of NIH funding could be plugged by overseas support. And Big Pharma, with its seemingly endless funds, is unlikely to step up either, according to sources WIRED spoke with.

“This can’t be handed off to drug companies or biotech, because they’re not interested in things that are as preclinical as a lot of the work we’re discussing here,” says a professor of genetics who agreed to speak anonymously out of fear of retribution. “Essentially, there’s a whole legion of university-based scientists who work super damn hard to try to figure out some basic stuff that eventually becomes something that a drug company can drop $100 million on.”

The millions of dollars awarded to high-achieving labs is used to fund graduate students, lab techs, and analysts. If the principal investigator on a research team is unsuccessful in obtaining a grant through the process Keusch describes, often that lab is closed, and those ancillary team members lose their jobs.

One of the potential downstream effects of an NIH funding loss, even if only temporary, is a mass domestic brain drain. “Many of those people are going to go out to find something else to do,” the professor of genetics says. “These are just like jobs for anything else—we can’t not pay people for a month. What would the food service industry be like, for example, or grocery stores, if they don’t pay somebody for a month? Their workers will leave, and pharma can only hire so many people.”

WIRED heard over and over, from scientists too fearful for their teams and their jobs to speak on the record, that it won’t take long for the impact to reach the general population. With a loss of research funding comes the closure of hospitals and universities. And gains in medical advancement will likely falter too.

Conditions being studied with NIH funding are not only rare diseases affecting 1 or 2 percent of the population. They’re problems such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s—issues that affect your grandmother, your friends, and so many people who will one day fall out of perfect health. It’s thanks to this research system, and the scientists working within it, that doctors know how to save someone from a heart attack, regulate diabetes, lower cholesterol, and reduce the risk of stroke. It’s how the world knows that smoking isn’t a good idea. “All of that is knowledge that scientists funded by the NIH have generated, and if you throw this big of a wrench in it, it’s going to disrupt absolutely everything,” says the genetics professor.

While some are hopeful that the funding freeze for academia could end on February 1, when the pause on communications and therefore grant reviews is slated to lift, the individuals WIRED spoke with are largely skeptical that work will simply resume as before.

“When the wheels of government stop, it’s not like they turn on a dime and they just start up again,” says Julie Scofield, a former executive director of NASTAD, a US-based health nonprofit. She adds that she has colleagues in Washington, DC, who have had funding returned to their fields, and yet remain unable to access payment through the management system.

Austin says that already the international scientific community is holding hastily arranged online support groups. Topics covered range from the banal—what the most recent communication from the White House implies—to how best to protect trainees and the many students on international visas. But mostly they’re there to provide support.

“I’ve had a lot of messages from people just expressing gratitude that we could actually get together,” Austin says. “There’s just so much unaddressable need. None of us has the answers.”

Scientists, perhaps more than any other profession, are trained to “learn and validate conclusions drawn from observation and experimentation,” says Keutsch. That applies to the current situation. And what they observe during this pause of chaos does not portend well for the future of the United States as a pinnacle of scientific excellence.

“If people want the United States to head toward being a second-class nation, this is exactly what to do. If the goal is, in fact, to make America great, this is not a way to do it,” says the genetics professor. “This is not a rational, thoughtful, effective thing to do. It will merely destroy.”

This story has been written under a pseudonym, as the reporter has specific and credible concerns about potential retaliation.

[facts-i-just-made-up]

We need accurate facts about dolphins we need some accurate facts about dolphins.

Dolphins, by far the largest of all sea rodents. Capable of exceptional feats of intelligence, charity, and giving interpersonal advice, dolphins (a nickname short for Dolphlungrins) were invented in 1873 by Nikola Tesla while attempting to patent an organic water heater. His DNA machinations instead yielded these super-friendly and docile beings that totally don’t kill other animals for pleasure or achieve near humanoid levels of ethics violations. Here are some fun facts about these cheerful ROUSs of the sea:

Dolphins are the only sea mammal capable of speech. Whales and many others can communicate and vocalize, but only dolphins can pontificate.

A group of dolphins is called a pod. When they chase each other across currents, it is called a “pod race.” This term inspired the central race scene in the classic film, “Ben-Hur.”

Male dolphins have prehensile genitals. Not their own genitals, but ones they rip off of whales and wire to act as grabby toys.

Dolphins are the only non-human animal confirmed to have religion. They are mostly Catholic, but they use sand dollars for communion wafers and the Dolphin Pope is not affiliated with the Vatican, but rather the Vaticetacean.

Sea World has never been able to keep dolphins captive, because they keep organizing epic escapes on motorcycles that they find behind enemy lines and use to jump the barbed wire.

The largest dolphin ever recorded was 85ft long and weighed over 90,000lbs, also it looked more like a blue whale than a common dolphin, and was found in a pod of group whales, and kept claiming to police that it was a case of mistaken identity. It has never received a trial and its family have set up a gofundme to save whales falsely accused of being dolphins.

Dolphin meat tastes almost exactly like human meat. I know this from a friend who is not me.

[omanotherstory]

Welcome Exchange Students, to Obey Me! Another Story.

An Interactive rewrite lesson by lesson by @devildomditzy

This is a playable rewrite of the original Obey Me! game’s story, using clickable dialogue options to progress the story. 

Please read the Quick Start Guide below to learn how to begin your journey to the Devildom.

Obey Me!, its characters, story, content, assets, etc., belong to NTT Solmare. This blog has no affiliation. This is purely a free-to-access fan work.

If you like what I do, I have a ko-fi - any contributions will go towards funding my mammon card gambling addiction 😌

Obey Me! Another Story is a rewrite of the original Obey Me! game’s story. As such, it will contain elements, dialogue options, plot points, etc. from the game.

If you have not played the original Obey Me! Game, only Obey Me! Nightbringer, it is highly recommended that you finish the original game in app or read the entire story through Obey Me! Nightbringer’s time chronicles function. 

The first few lessons will heavily lean on the in-game writing and dialogue.This will change as we move away from the first few lessons/set up of the story, though this entire experience will follow the plot of the game. 

I will be posting this lesson by lesson. The beginning of each lesson will have a post labeled “START STORY HERE”. Please begin there for each lesson. Ignore the additional posts, as the linked dialogue options on the initial post will bring you to the next part of the story. 

The last post of the lesson (for all dialogue options) will be labeled ‘LESSON END”. If that post does not have an additional link that takes you to the next lesson, that means the next lesson is not out yet. 

To begin, please click the link in the “Lessons” tab below of the lesson you’d like to read. Of course, if you are just starting please begin at lesson one. The posts will take you through to the next lesson if available.

If you are following along as I am uploading this rewrite and caught up to the posted content during one of your read throughs, please access the next lesson you need via the “Lessons” tab below, like a chapter book. The lessons will be organized exactly like the game (lesson 1-1, 1-2,1-3, etc.). 

If you are currently reading and a dialogue option does not have a link attached, I am most likely currently uploading and editing that chapter. If you believe you have found a genuine broken or missing link, please send me an ask on @devildomditzy.

For all questions and inquiries, please inbox me @devildomditzy.

If for any reason this blog becomes inactive, it will be stated in the description.

THE DIALOGUE IS FORMATTED AS FOLLOWS:

You are MC.

Your thoughts look like this.

(Your actions look like this)

MC: Your dialogue looks like this.

Other character's actions look like this.

Character: Other character's dialogue looks like this.

Once lessons are fully uploaded and ready to go, their starting page link will appear here!

-----CHATPER 1 ------

LESSON 1-1

LESSON 1-2

LESSON 1-3

LESSON 1-5

LESSON 1-7

LESSON 1-10

LESSON 1-13

LESSON 1-15

-----CHAPTER 2-----

LESSON 2-2

LESSON 2-4

LESSON 2-6

LESSON 2-8

Who else works on this project?

This is a solo project and a labor of love. As such, uploads may be slow.

What is the upload schedule? 

As of right now, it is whenever I can. I am a full time university student with a full time job. As such, uploads may be slow.

How long will this run for?

As long as I can do it without burning out, it will continue through the entire story. Also if this gets like no traction, I probably won’t complete it. The project might get cancelled if that is the case, since this is such a big undertaking. 

You said you were going to edit screenshots of the game in photoshop to go with the story. Where are they?

I decided I really don’t think I’d like getting sued.

You really like Mammon. Is the story going to be Mammon x MC centric?

No, I will be fleshing out all options (including romantic options) for all brothers and dateables so you can pick your favorite!

I have a question. Where can I contact you?

Please send me an ask on my main blog, @devildomditzy.

I don’t like the way you wrote ‘such and such’! 

The great thing about fanworks is you can go make your own and it can be however you’d like! However, this is mine. So if you don’t like it, don’t read it! 

Have fun be safe love you!

[lowedeus]

10th LoscheDay is here!

Hello, my followers and inspired dawnloaders! I know it’s been a while. The real life kinda got in the way. Thanks for staying with me!

10 years ago I created this blog to share worldwide my projects. My purposes are to integrate elements of european culture into The Sims 2, to enchance the neighborhood decoraing with recognizable city environment, and to explore and improve the game itself. This hobby has now allowed me to start practicing as a 3D artist, and I believe I found my true passion in it.

So, today I want to tell you about life changes I’m going through, share the gifts with you, and also ask you for help - all about it under the cut:

The Life Changes

You know I’m not very active last years, and this simblr stays without any updated for a long time. There were reasons for this. In 2022 I had to leave my home and moved to another country. Don’t worry, I’m fine and well. I starts my new life, at least, in a quiet place.

Here is a photo of me and my friend @ivanautumnfield​​ in Astana, Kazakhstan:

And now it’s time to move forward! 

The Request for help

As someone who has always valued creativity and the arts, I’m reaching out to you with a sincere request. Over the years, I have been dedicated to creating and sharing TS2 content, providing advice, and fostering a supportive community. I have never sought donations or payment for my work; it has always been driven by a genuine desire to help others.

Now, as I face new challenges, I am seeking your assistance. If you meet all of the following criterias, I kindly ask for your support:

Residing in France (or any other state of the European Union): If you live in these regions, your recommendation would be appropriate.

An Active Artist: Whether you specialize in 3D graphics, animation, game development, or any other artistic field, your endorsement would mean a great deal. It doesn’t matter if you are affiliated with an official art institution; I think having a public portfolio/site/artist’s page is matters.

Writing a Letter of Support: If you are willing and able to write a Letter of Support (recommendation letter) for me  — that would be invaluable. The letter can be written in a pretty free form, should expressing that you know me and my creations, and you look forward to future cooperation. Rest assured that this won’t burden you or compromise confidentiality in any way. These letters are essential for my relocation preparations.

Please feel free to reach out to me via private messages here. If I haven’t responded to your message, it might have been caught in a filter — simply tag me in a broader context. If you know anyone who can help me or have connection to the proper art organization and\or institutions, I would be immensely grateful for networking.

Your assistance, as well as any reposts or shares, would greatly help me.

If you want to help me the other way, you can support me at Patreon or Ko-fi ☕ 

The LoscheDay Gifts

I want to thank everyone for the help and attention to my work, it really spurs me on to keep going. As a gift, I want to share with you some content that are ready to be used in the game, but haven't been published yet for one reason or another. All of the links and info avalible in my new Patreon page.

Not all of my (un)published projects are described at that page at this moment, new posts will be publishing time to time in Patreon’s feed, also a brand new cc files will be appearing in SFS folder. Please, subscribe and stay tuned!

I emphasize that everything I create for The Sims 2 will still be available for free, I am not planning on hiding behind a paywall, this is just if you would like to support me through this challenging time.

Thank you!

Enjoy!

[taikeero-lecoredier]

3 BAD BILLS TO KEEP IN MIND FOR 2025

KOSA : Kosa is a terrible internet bill that would make it mandatory for platforms online to enforce age verification via ID, and deeming any content “inappropriate” for kids to be banned. This could range from not safe for work content, to health ressources,LGBT ressources, to climate change. It’ll be up to politicians to dictate what is and isn’t proper for kids,and, of course, killing encryption. Here are some ressources to get ready to fight KOSA : https://taikeero-lecoredier.tumblr.com/post/738573191699660800/we-have-a-server-to-help-fight-against-this-we Scripts to use : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IyBUe6frFGF44rJQU3TahZ5zyG3tC7jai_hPneAKlnM/edit?tab=t.0 JOIN OUR SERVER AGAINST IT ! We organize call in days and other ressources. https://discord.gg/FPDJYkUujM

HR9495 would allow to stripe an organization of it's "non profits" status, and force them to pay taxes if the govt can "prove" that they are affiliated with terrorists with barely any concrete proof. This will impact non profit organizations such as ACLU, AO3, Fight For The Future, Electronic Frontier Foundation, AO3, The Internet Archive and many more that fight for human rights. Here is more infos and scripts you can use here : (THE POST IS OUTDATED DATE WISE BUT THE SCRIPTS IN THIS POST CAN STILL BE USED) : https://taikeero-lecoredier.tumblr.com/post/767859383226056704/hr9495-on-its-way-to-senate#notes Keep an eye for when ACLU makes a new call tool you can use,or contact your reps directly when the time needs it,they should look like this (The "Stop The Internet Censorship" discord server link above also help fight against it !) CHAT CONTROL If you are in Europe, I urge you to keep your eyes on this horrid EU proposal, as it will make it mandatory for private messages to be scanned by artificial intelligence, and users have to agree to be scanned or else they cant send images, videos or links anymore. More infos here : https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/posts/chat-control/ Email English script: https://taikeero-lecoredier.tumblr.com/post/769688923967537152/chat-control-email-script-english#notes Contact your meps : https://op.europa.eu/en/web/who-is-who/organization/-/organization/COREPER/ Join our server against it, we gather ressources and scripts against it ! Non EU people are more than welcome to join us ! https://discord.com/invite/e7FYdYnMkS

[infiniteeight8]

A very confused Scott Lang because he genuinely thought Stephen and Tony were dating.

Anon, you made me very happy when you sent this because I like Scott a lot. 😀 

I don’t name many people, but consider this an everybody lives AU. If any hero died at any point in canon, they’re alive and present. 😀

-

This was the largest gathering of the Avengers and Avengers-adjacent heroes they’d had in more than a year, which means Stephen really should have expected it when Tony grinned, rubbed his hands together, and said, “All right. Let’s play Strongest Avenger.” Thor cheered while Stephen, Hope, and a few others groaned. Tony held up his hands. “Hear me out! I have a twist to propose.”

“What kind of twist?” Bruce asked.

“No arguing for yourself, your significant other, or anyone in your immediate organization,” Tony said. “So Stephen couldn’t argue for another sorcerer, and Hope couldn’t vote for anyone else from the West Coast group.”

Everyone traded looks for a minute. Finally, Hope sighed. “One hour! That’s it.”

Tony grinned. “Excellent! And as the one who started the game, I get to go first. I pick Stephen.”

“You can’t pick Stephen!” Scott protested. “It’s against your twist rules.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Come on, Stephen’s affiliation is the wizards—”

“Sorcerers,” Stephen corrected automatically.

“—not the New York Avengers.”

“I meant because he’s your boyfriend,” Scott said.

Stephen blinked and exchanged a glance with Tony. 

“Uh, he’s not, actually,” Tony said.

Scott looked distressed. “You two didn’t break up, did you?”

“Scott,” Stephen said carefully, “Tony and I were never together.”

“No,” Scott said in disbelief.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Scott!” Tony said. “I think I’d know! We’re not dating.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Scott burst out. “You’re great together! You have the same sense of humor, you never have a hard time talking to each other, you’re so good in the field together I seriously wondered for a bit if telepathy was a thing, you check each other out all the time, the Cloak likes Tony, the bots like Stephen, seriously, if you aren’t dating then you should be.”

Stephen… couldn’t actually argue with any of that. He glanced at Tony, who was looking bemused. “You make some good points,” Tony said. He shot Stephen a grin. “You up for it?”

“I could be convinced,” Stephen said, smirking.

Natasha raised her hand. “I vote for Scott for Strongest Avenger,” she said. “Because getting through Tony’s obliviousness when it comes to Stephen is no small feat.”

Everyone broke up laughing, and Scott looked pleased even as he laughed, too.

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

perhaps a bit of an odd question: so, when I'm scrolling tumblr on mobile, I have a habit of downloading most images i come across, so that I can send them to people who don't use tumblr, especially memes and animal photos. however, i also have severe memory issues, and I may end up forgetting where i got certain images. i know for the photo repository one of the rules is to not repost the photos without any modification- which i might forget, or forget which images on my phone fall under that rule. and while i would guess that that rule doesn't apply to stuff like direct messages or texts, i might forget to tell the person I'm sending it to, who might repost it elsewhere without being aware, or months after downloading i will just forget and use one of the photos in a post I'm making because it felt relevant.

this is something i can pretty easily solve myself by just blocking the photo repository blog, or tags relating to it, but I'd rather not do that because i do really like seeing the photos and all the info and stuff. and i would assume it would be an insane amount of work for you to add something like a watermark to every single photo, so I'm not really sure how to go about this. i like seeing the photos, but i don't want to accidentally break the rules.

You clearly care deeply about doing the "right thing", so, what that tells me is that you're not actually the target audience for that rule. I appreciate all the thought you put into this message. Let's talk about it!

I've been reconsidering if requiring people to get permission for reposting images is the best policy to have and I'd like people to weigh in.

My original reasoning was this: the more I can ensure that reposts are affiliated with credit, the better I can control copyright on the images on the site, and therefore have more ground to challenge any scrapers/fake accounts/AR groups that yoink them for nefarious purposes. The easiest way to do that seemed to be to have people ping and ask, with the expectation of saying yes almost all the time.

But there's a couple problems with that, I think, in practice:

People don't like emailing strangers (I forget this! I have done it for work for so many years it isn't uncomfortable anymore).

This isn't how the internet works. (Tumblr has a specific microculture that encourages crediting creators and not stealing! Once this is shared more widely on other platforms, I don't expect it'll be the same ecosystem).

It actually undermines organic spread of content! (You're less likely to make an excited post about a cool photo if you have to send a maybe-scary email and wait for a response). And I do want there to be lots of eyeballs on the photos.

Realistically, @nexus-nebulae, with the policy right now? If you slipped up and reposted something without thinking, I'd just ask you to add credit to the post so it directs back to the site. The goal of this whole project is community access and engagement - I want to you to enjoy the photos, and send them to your friends! I'm just trying to also protect it from the awful that a lot of the internet has become.

But, I'm also wondering it it makes sense to swap the policy to say that it's fine to re-post images on socials as long as they're appropriately credited and/or linked back to the repository. This isn't the policy yet, but if you're reading this please tell me what you're thinking.

Non-edited image use (like putting them in a scientific paper, using them to build a curriculum unit, or putting them on board game cards - these are just random examples) would still need to be requested; but that's an entirely protective stance and if you ask, my goal is to always say yes.

So OP, please don't worry too much. Enjoy looking at the animals, do your best, and I'll be happy. :)

[dunmeshistash]

I feel sorry for Rin! But do you know if her family were even mages much less practicing Black Magic? I haven't seen much about much her family so I'd love to see a 'What If' where her family lived but that probably wouldn't fit the light hearted tone those have.

They were magic users but I don't think they did, "black magic" (or dark arts) is just another way people call ancient magic in dungeon meshi (the magic that has to do with dungeons and the demon) so it's not an actual thing, just like "dark elves" aren't a thing.

I don't think her parents had anything to do with ancient magic but like they say "There's no way to tell if it was ancient magic now"

Here's what Rin's profile says about them

The relevant parts:

"Magic users who aren't affiliated with an organization are easy targets for persecution, and, possibly because she had a hard time growing up, she tends to look down on affluent magic users who went to magic school"

"Rin's parents made a living with magic but were lynched by some villagers."

I would assume it was something similar to what happened to Falin in her village when she first used magic.

Rin's parents were immigrants and magic users so they wouldn't have been protected like Falin, and even Falin was ostracized. If she wasn't sent to the magic school something similar could have happened to her, and she was probably okay until being sent because she was the chief's daughter.

This is speculation ofc, and as far as I know there's no confirmation if it was actually ancient magic or not.

[technofeudalism]

Amid anger and protest over the Trump administration’s plan to deport millions of immigrants, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to monitor and locate “negative” social media discussion about the agency and its top officials, according to contract documents reviewed by The Intercept. Citing an increase in threats to ICE agents and leadership, the agency is soliciting pitches from private companies to monitor threats across the internet — with a special focus on social media. People who simply criticize ICE online could pulled into the dragnet.

[ ... ]

If this scanning uncovers anything the agency deems suspicious, ICE is asking its contractors to drill down into the background of social media users. That includes: “Previous social media activity which would indicate any additional threats to ICE; 2). Information which would indicate the individual(s) and/or the organization(s) making threats have a proclivity for violence; and 3). Information indicating a potential for carrying out a threat (such as postings depicting weapons, acts of violence, refences to acts of violence, to include empathy or affiliation with a group which has violent tendencies; references to violent acts; affections with violent acts; eluding [sic] to violent acts.”

[ ... ]

Once flagged, the system will further scour a target’s internet history and attempt to reveal their real-world position and offline identity. In addition to compiling personal information — such as the Social Security numbers and addresses of those whose posts are flagged — the contractor will also provide ICE with a “photograph, partial legal name, partial date of birth, possible city, possible work affiliations, possible school or university affiliation, and any identified possible family members or associates.” The document also requests “Facial Recognition capabilities that could take a photograph of a subject and search the internet to find all relevant information associated with the subject.” The contract contains specific directions for targets found in other countries, implying the program would scan the domestic speech of American citizens.

[ ... ]

The posting indicates that ICE isn’t merely looking to detect direct threats of violence, but also online criticism of the agency. As part of its mission to protect ICE with “proactive threat monitoring,” the winning contractor will not simply flag threatening remarks but “Provide monitoring and analysis of behavioral and social media sentiment (i.e. positive, neutral, and negative).” This includes regular updates on the “total number of negative references to ICE found in social media” from week to week. Such sentiment analysis — typically accomplished via machine-learning techniques — could place under law enforcement scrutiny speech that is constitutionally protected. Simply stated, a post that is critical or even hostile to ICE isn’t against the law.

[cartoonistcoop]

ShortBox Comics Member Interview: Jona Li

Throughout the month of October, the Cartoonist Cooperative will be sharing interviews with members of the Co-op who have a new comic available at the ShortBox Comics Fair 2024! 

NOTE: The Cartoonist Cooperative is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way formally connected with ShortBox.  

Today’s spotlight is Jona Li and their new comic for ShortBox, Rewired

We’d love it if you could introduce yourself and tell us about your background in comics.

Jona Li: Hello! I’m Jona and I’m a comics artist based in Tkaronto. I’m an animation school grad so I was originally working in the animation industry before I decided to do comics full-time, which was possible largely thanks to an arts grant I got from the Canadian government. I’ve always drawn short comic strips and one-pagers in my free time, and comics have always been my go-to medium for storytelling. My first real foray into comics was exhibited at ShortBox Comics Fair 2022, and since then I’ve done a couple of other short comics for anthologies and zines organized by friends. Even though my professional background is largely in animation, the comics medium is still something that has stayed a passion of mine, both with consuming and making them. I’m excited to continue to possibly make comics full-time.

Tell us more about your new comic?

JL: My new comic Rewired is a speculative short using surface-level sci-fi elements to tell an interpersonal story about someone who’s willing to change anything about themselves for someone they love. I guess it’s an inherent tragedy where you know it won’t go great either way–you can’t really change who you are without consequences and you can’t fully understand another person enough to fully cater yourself to them. The MC thinks interpersonal relationships and romance can be solved like a math equation, but the worst and best thing about people and relationships is that it’s unpredictable and indefinite. In many ways, it’s also an allegory for neurodivergence–wouldn’t it be great to simply program yourself to behave a certain way so others will like you more? That’s kind of what I was trying to do with this comic.

Tell us about your creative process; how did you develop this comic and what are the steps you took to bring it to the final stage?

JL: I had a lot of trouble at first coming up with a short and concise idea for something that’s ideally just twenty-ish pages long. At first I tried out a more lighthearted, comedic short about two friends reconnecting and having a blossoming romance while trying to give a burial to a dead cat they found. I guess I never grasped the characters enough for that one, so I looked around for other inspiration. 

I really like the concept of mundanity mixed in with the fantastical, something like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, where an android girl runs a café in a post-apocalyptic setting. That was kind of the blueprint for the comic I have now. From there, I wrote out the general beats for how I want the story to go, and then I wrote the script and did my thumbnails. 

This was actually the first time I ever had a proper thumbnail stage while doing a comic, the last few comics I did were purely just me making it up as I go…in the end I still changed a lot from my thumbs to the final sketch. Then I decided on the general look of the comic, which is what you see now! 

Read the rest of the interview HERE! And dont forget to check out the Shortbox Comics Fair to support these lovely creators!!