#no telling how many people rely on kindness (and debt) of others to afford it though 🤷🏿‍♂️

[inkskinned]

oh you know it's all latestage capitalism but the thing is. how are you supposed to be a person inside of this. a person trying to be a better version of yourself.

oh, you started working young, which was kind of hard, but it's just the way stuff works sometimes. and it was 2008 and your family couldn't afford heat. but it's fine, you grow a spine and get used to the professional world and besides it was the suburbs we're talking about here, like, your life could have been actually hard, so what if your father lost his job and you can't afford to move or turn the lights back on. and once you start making money, it's good. you keep doing that. because now they're relying on you. so you have to do that.

oh you were in thousands of dollars of debt at 17 years old so that you could go to school, because you have to go to school if you want to get a "real" job. you even did it "right", you worked parttime and attended community college before you transferred to a public school. you were under so many merit scholarships.

which is fine. you pick yourself up and you say like, okay. i graduated college. i'm holding down a job. i'm doing the Adult Thing, which looks and acts like this, according to all the books i've read. you start with the shitty job and then you climb that corporate ladder.

but the shitty job doesn't cover rent and you stretch yourself too-thin so you get sick. good luck with that. the shitty job no longer pays for your meals. everyone asks why you don't just move, but there's nowhere to move to. and with what money are you going to be moving? and then the loans come back, because they were never going to forgive them, because you were 17 and trying to do the right thing, which was stupid. people are now saying you shouldn't have even gone to school.

which is fine. but because you have no other option, so you do the shitty job, and you apply every day for like 5 new ones, and despite the fact everyone says "there's no one who wants to work!" it's actually just that nobody is fucking hiring so you can either work for 13 dollars an hour in the shitty place you know (where at least you have a passingly friendly relationship with the manager) or you can start from scratch again with a different 13 dollars an hour without knowing how much abuse from the new job you'll be taking.

and if you quit you lose your insurance. if you quit you lose your housing. if you quit, you'll be another burnout kid. the lazy ones. these assholes, look at them!

and you come home to a family dinner and you hear from your father the same old thing. how he worked hard at his job and yes it sucked for a while but he was able to provide for the family and then the house and the dog and the rest of barbie's dream vacation. how the insurance did cover some of it. how you just really need to start speaking up more in manager conversations so they know you're a go-getter. you want to tell him - did you know we're actually doing more now hourly than any previous generation? - but you can't remember where you heard that statistic, and you're far too tired for the fucking argument. and then he starts in on his usual bit. where's the house? where's your kids? where's your ambition.

the same job the same money the same hours doesn't do it anymore. the same nose-to-the-grindstone now just shreds your face off. there's no such thing as upwards mobility, not really. and as far as you're aware, the money certainly is not trickling. you do the soulless stupid shit you signed up for because you fucking have to or else you literally risk your life (food, the apartment, the insurance), but it's not getting you anything. you download the stupid "save more" app and you budget and you do every right thing and then the price of eggs is 7 dollars and you say - oh great! another thing i have to fucking worry about now!

and you go to your stupid job and everyone in your father's generation just tells you to be better about being an adult. they have their homes and their savings account and their bailout and they say. well have you tried not drinking starbucks. well your generation just spends too much on clothing. well you might just be too addicted to travelling. and you - because you need the job - you bite your tongue and don't say i am being held prisoner and you're suggesting i stop pacing my cell if i don't like the scenery and you don't say what the fuck do you think i've been doing with my money and you don't say i haven't spent a cent on something nice in literally forever much less coffee you arrogant asshole. you open and close your bank app and check your loans and check your credit score and check fucking zillow and ziprecruiter and apartments.com just one time more. and still they give you that demeaning little grin and say - see, what you need is -

what you need is for your meds to stop being so fucking expensive. what you need is for the housing bubble to explode into dust. what you need is for billionaires to choke on their wealth. what you need is actual help. what you will get is more economic advice from people who are older-and-wiser.

and above you, almost in a glimmer, you can see the wedged smile of your debt getting toothier, wider.

[zenith-impact]

Riptide - Part Two

Read on AO3 Here!

[1]

It was quiet when you returned home a few days later, and all you could do was sigh as you pushed the door closed and leaned against it. The soft snores of your father echoed from the top floor and you could smell the remnants of dinner from the kitchen. You followed it, eager to eat for the first time that day, only to find that most of the soup had already been taken. Disappointment gnawed at your stomach. It seems your father had invited guests that you were unaware of. Again. You sighed as you searched for any leftovers, but there were none to be had. Frustrated, you grabbed your father’s pouch of Mora and fished out enough for a decent meal nearby. 

You hesitated by the front door. You hadn’t seen any Fatui since you met Childe aside from the ones that already roamed the streets, even though you’d never taken him up on his offer. But you couldn’t afford another fight, as you were still recovering your energy from summoning that sword.

Why had you done that anyway? You hadn’t used that sword in months. Not since your father last asked you to train with it. You were a catalyst user, and had been your entire life. But against Childe, you had felt it wasn’t quite good enough. But you were disappointed that you’d only managed to maintain it for a few minutes. Maybe you were worn down from the weeks of Fatui battles you’d been subjected to. Maybe you did need more practice, something your father had often hinted at over the last few years. You knew he was proud of you, but you also knew he wanted something more. He wanted you to take on the best of the best, whoever that was. 

You had a feeling you might have just found one of them. 

A Harbinger. 

What did he want with someone like you?

“You’re here.”

You looked up, surprised to see your elderly father standing at the bottom of the stairs. He smiled as he moved toward you, his wispy gray hair barely visible in the fading sunlight. You thought he looked more tired than usual, and his wrinkles seemed deeper as if he’d aged even more over a single night. He was wearing his pajamas, and you wondered why he had bothered to get out of bed. “What are you doing up?” 

“I have something for you,” He said, holding out a blue box. It fit comfortably in your hand and, when you opened it, you saw what looked like a hydro vision. There was a gentle, lighter blue swirl in the center, and it was surrounded by a ribbon made of gold, tied at the bottom with two long strands. You lifted it gently, frowning as you felt some kind of power from it. But that was impossible. You shouldn’t have felt anything from a second vision. And whose was it anyway? Your father had never been a vision holder unless he’d been hiding it from you all this time. Your mother had been a cryo user like yourself. But… a hydro one? 

“Where did you get this?”

“A friend.” Your father said, putting his hand over the vision. You saw it flicker under his touch, but nothing happened. “And I need you to take care of it.”

“Why not keep it yourself?” You asked, genuinely surprised. Your father had never asked something like this of you. He was usually a private man, and you’d known for years that he kept many secrets from you. You’d never bothered to ask, especially after your mother died and he retreated even further into himself. Conversations with him were usually short and to the point. 

“It will be safer with you.” Your father dropped his hand and took a step back. “Are the Fatui still bothering you?”

“Yes but…”

“But?”

You sighed. “I was asked to work with one of them in exchange for erasing whatever debt they have under my name.”

Your father’s eyes lit up. “That could solve all of our problems.”

“Problems?” You said. “What kind of problems?”

“If you work for this Fatui,” Your father said, his voice slow. “Then you’ll be protected, yes?”

“I don’t know,” You said. “He’s a Harbinger so…”

“A Harbinger!?”  Your father took your hand. “Accept his offer.”

“What? I’m not working with…”

“A Harbinger will fix everything.”

“What aren’t you telling me.”

With a long sigh, your father pulled away again. “I just need you to trust me.” 

“What is he protecting me from?”

But your father didn’t reply as he turned away and headed back toward the stairs. “Take all the money you need,” He said, his voice back to its normal, deadpanned tone. “And don’t lose that vision.”

Then he was gone, leaving you to tuck the vision away and head out into the night. 

Unfortunately, you didn’t get far. You realized very quickly that someone was following you from the moment you left the house. You saw this young-looking man everywhere you went, always hovering on the edge of the crowd or near the buildings. When you ordered food, he was right behind you, not even trying to hide. A scare tactic, then. Unfortunately, the guy’s confidence mixed with your father’s evasiveness meant it was working. You started to scan your surroundings, looking for anyone else that might be following you. You thought you saw a second man. Maybe a third. But you weren’t sure if it was your paranoia talking. 

Was he Fatui? He wasn’t wearing the typical colors, nor did he look like one of the men you’d fought. He was in all black, but his face was uncovered and you saw a pair of impossibly green eyes that seemed to glow in the dull light. There was an anemo vision on his hip, but something was off about it. Something you couldn’t quite place. But you didn’t look at him long enough to figure it out. All you knew is that you had to go somewhere, quickly. But where could you go? He clearly already knew where you lived. Was there somewhere else where you could hide out until he left? 

The funeral parlor. You had a friend there that could help. And if she wasn’t there, then the man working for her would probably still be willing to do something. You didn’t know him very well, but Hu Tao spoke pretty highly of him. The only problem was that the funeral parlor was on the opposite side of town, and there would be plenty of chances for the man to make a move before you got there. 

Northland Bank. 

You groaned, rubbing at your forehead as you carried your food away. That Fatui Harbinger would probably be there. You didn’t want to trust him, but you didn’t know where else to go. 

Dammit.

------------

While Childe spent the next few days reacclimating to life in Liyue and figuring out all the Fatui business that had been left behind in the absence of competent workers (Andrei excluded), a day didn’t go by that he didn’t think about you. It was mostly because he saw you almost every night, wandering the streets of Liyue with your newfound freedom that he wasn’t even sure you knew you had yet. He’d tracked down the debt holder, learned it was from a secondary client, and paid it in full. It was a trifling task really, and the debt itself wasn’t even that substantial. The other Fatui he talked to hadn’t even known how much it was. You owed something to someone and that was all that mattered. 

As to why he did all that… well… he had a certain interest in you that wasn’t going away. You may have lost to him, but you’d fought well. Very few people caught him off guard nowadays, and you’d managed to do it not once, but twice in the span of a few minutes. And he’d seen that look in your eyes; that battle-hardened gaze of someone who’d fought again and again. 

He sometimes wondered what kind of things you’d fought in your life. It was clear that you were proficient with your vision, so you probably had someone to teach you.  And you’d taken out over a dozen Fatui members with very little effort if that last fight was anything to go by. Clearly you knew what you were doing, and he kept thinking of what you could do if you were pushed just a little harder. He wanted to see what you’d do if dragged to your limits, as he knew that little scuffle you two had was nothing. 

You could do more. Of that he was certain. Now he wanted to see you in action. 

But first, he had to figure out how to approach you. A simple hello wouldn’t get him very far, and you had been adamant that he never talk to you again. He thought maybe he could rely on his charm and catch you off guard, though you might just walk away. He didn’t have the debt to hang over your head, though that wasn’t really his style anyway. He wanted to face you directly, with no outside forces getting in the way. A battle of wits was still a fight he could win. 

But when he did finally go out of his way to confront you, imagine his surprise when you showed up at Northland Bank. 

“Well that was quick,” He said with a grin. “And here I was expecting an argument.”

“I need… help,” You said with a long sigh.

“With?”

“Someone is following me.”

Childe raised an eyebrow. “Do you know who?”

“I didn’t recognize him, but he disappeared when I started climbing the stairs.” 

Childe grinned. “So you’re telling me… that someone suspicious was following you, and you decided to come to me?” He wiggled his eyebrows and you glared at him.  

“The funeral parlor was too far away.” 

“Have you considered my offer?” Childe said. 

Your glare turned to a scowl. “And what if I had?”

“I could protect you.”

“I don’t…” You trailed off, then sighed again. “Maybe I… do need it.”

“From?”

You paused. “I don’t… know.”

“You don’t know?”

“My father’s been adamant that I find someone who can ‘protect me’,” You said with accompanying air quotes. “And I never in my life thought I’d turn to a Fatui to do so but… I can’t just let go of this feeling that something’s wrong.” 

“Well I can certainly take care of you,” Childe said as he swiped through his hair and winked in your direction. 

You scowled at him. “Don’t get any ideas.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, girlie.”

“And stop calling me that.”

“No.” 

You glared at him but huffed as you looked away. You didn’t seem bashful. There was no blush on your cheeks or embarrassment in your eyes. You seemed more… lost. Thoughtful. Contemplative. He supposed that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, especially if your father was putting so much pressure on you for reasons you didn’t know. And clearly, you didn’t want to be having this conversation, yet here you were. 

“I’m assuming I have you to thank for the lack of Fatui presence in my life this week?”

“Yep,” Childe said. 

You sighed in frustration. “So now you think I owe you?”

“Nah,” He said with a shrug. “Let’s just call it some goodwill between friends.”

“Friends?” You echoed. 

“Comrades. Compatriots. Coworkers. Work buddies. Whatever you want to call it.” 

Your brows furrowed when you looked back up at him. “What’s a Harbinger like you doing with a simple Cryo user like me?”

Childe laughed. “So my reputation precedes me.” 

“My father’s eyes practically lit up when I told him.”

“I wonder why,” Childe said. “I’m not that special.” You snorted and he continued. “Okay, maybe I’m a little special.” 

“My point is,” you said very sternly. “I’m not exactly a Liyue superstar.”

“I’m interested in you,” Childe said as he took a step closer. You flinched, but stood your ground. Good. He liked that confidence, even if you seemed a little bit more deflated than the last time you met. “And if you do choose to work with me, then I hope you’re ready for weekly sparring sessions.”

“What?”

“I don’t like working with those who are weaker than me,” He said with a dramatic sigh. “So you’re just going to have to prove your worth.”

Your eyes narrowed. “You’re one of those people, aren’t you.”

“What do you mean?” 

“You get off on battles.”

Childe’s grin widened. “I wouldn’t quite say that but…”

“You enjoy the thrill of it.” You said. “That’s probably why you’re a Fatui at all.”

“I’d rather not live a dull and uninspired life.”

“Yet here you are,” You said. “Stuck in Liyue. Afraid we ran out of excitement six months ago.” 

“So you say,” Childe said. “But have you heard of the new gang that’s proclaimed itself the new ‘rulers of the back streets’?” You raised an eyebrow and he continued. “Andrei told me about them last night. They’re calling themselves Lapis.”

“You mean like… Rex Lapis?”

“I assume so.”

You shake your head. “He’s probably rolling over in his grave.”

Childe laughed again. He couldn’t help himself. If only you knew the truth. He wondered what you would say if you did. Would you believe him? Would you even care? He didn’t know you well enough to judge quite yet, nor was he interested in sharing that particular piece of information. “Apparently, the Qixing haven’t bothered to look into the matter, calling them a “waste of time and effort”.”

“But the Fatui care?”

“In a way,” Childe said with a shrug. “A rogue gang roaming the streets is bad for business.” 

“You’re more worried about your profits.” 

“I might try to track them down myself,” Childe said with another shrug. “Could be entertaining.”

“No more than beating up your own people,” You said with something akin to a smirk. 

“I’ve done that too.”

You looked perplexed. “Why?”

“Gotta teach the new recruits their place.”

“We are not fighting in this bank.” 

“I already fought you this week,” He said dismissively. “And you lost.”

“Don’t get used to it.” 

“So we have a deal?” Childe held out his hand. You glanced at it, then back up into his eyes. He had to admit that your gaze was rather stern. Some might even call it terrifying. Your eyes were strict. Your stare was unwavering. But Childe had no problems meeting such a gaze. It was just another battle, after all. 

“I get half of everything we make,” You said. 

“Sure.”

“And you’re going on commissions with me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And you’re willing to split that too?”

“They get done twice as fast with double the help.”

He couldn’t exactly argue with that. “You don’t need these commissions if…”

“I help the people of Liyue,” You said. “And I expect you to do the same, Fatui.”

“It’s Childe.”

“It’s whatever I want to call you.”

He grinned. “Whatever you say, girlie.”

You ignored him. “I’m not a member of the Fatui, nor will I interact with your colleagues as if I was.”

“Of course.” That made things easier for him. He didn’t care for most of the other members of this particular Fatui branch anyway. 

“And I get to take breaks if my father needs me.”

“Done.”

Your gaze flickered to his hand again, and he could see the gears turning. “Come on,” Childe said. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Everything,” You muttered. But you took his hand anyway, and Childe shook it.

“Welcome to the team.”

“Is it a team if it’s only two people?” You said. 

“Sure, why not?” 

“You are far too excited for this.”

“Or,” Childe said. “I’m just excited enough.”

You would be a fun challenge. One way or another.

[reading-writing-revolution]

Ron Howard

January 24 at 5:41 AM —

I'm a liberal, but that doesn't mean what a lot of you apparently think it does. Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines:

1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. PERIOD.

2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.

3. I believe education should be affordable. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.

4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.

5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, well, it's because I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.

6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion-dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live.

7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal). All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia law on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine.

8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.

9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally). I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).

10. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc. are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.

11. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I can’t get over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.

12. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc. -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.

13. I am not interested in coming after your blessed guns, nor is anyone serving in government. What I am interested in is the enforcement of present laws and enacting new, common sense gun regulations. Got another opinion? Put it on your page, not mine.

14. I believe in so-called political correctness. I prefer to think it’s social politeness. If I call you Chuck and you say you prefer to be called Charles I’ll call you Charles. It’s the polite thing to do. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person?

15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else.

16. I believe that women should not be treated as a separate class of human. They should be paid the same as men who do the same work, should have the same rights as men and should be free from abuse. Why on earth shouldn’t they be?

I think that about covers it. Bottom line is that I'm a liberal because I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved.

Copy & paste if you want.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Cyberpunk!HypMic

This is an extension of the cyberpunk outfits from this AU.

Originally, these outfits did not have their own universe to exist in - they were just made to fit a theme - but it just so happens HypMic already has a lot of the components required for cyberpunk...(but yikes, this is the densest AU - in terms of worldbuilding - I've had yet...)

TDD, MCD, Kuujaku Posse and NB existed in the past, but not in the context of the DRB - they were just groups of unlikely friends with differing reputations that retroactively came to be known under popular monikers and they ended up accepting those names over time. After WW3 and Chuohku's take over, technology rapidly advanced but society as a whole was wrecked.

As a reminder, the base outfit in this world is a silver body suit which only exposes the head, hands and feet, with black combat boots and a black belt.

In this world, this outfit is typically issued by Chuohku via people like Ramuda, although as you can tell by the outfits given in the magical boy AU, what you put on top of the base outfit can vary wildly. The boots and the belt can be swapped with something else without any trouble - the only thing that can get you into trouble with the authorities is ditching the suit. The body suit is able to purify polluted air within a short distance of itself, but only for the user.

All suit users have an accent colour, typically found on places like the top edge of the boots and on buttons, and the accents glow faintly in the dark. The colours have been adjusted slightly from the magical boy AU to create better glow effects.

...For the outfits that aren't specified, known from the magical boy AU or the same as canon in cases where the character does not rely on the suit, I'll leave them to your imagination, dear readers.

BB:

A team of brothers and odd jobs workers who navigate the digital and the real world to help those in need.

Ichiro: The owner of Odd Jobs Yamada. Prone to poking around with the latest in virtual reality, as well as illegal or semi-legal cybernetics. Resents Samatoki because he interferes with the Yamadas' business often enough to be a nuisance. Accent colour: Bright red.

Jiro: A delinquent and the more physical member of Odd Jobs Yamada (i.e. instead of trying to shut down bad guys using digital trickery, he's more likely to punch them instead). Was going to high school before circumstances shut schools down. Accent colour: Bright (royal) blue.

Saburo: A genius hacker. Was going to middle school before circumstances shut schools down. Accent colour: Bright yellow.

MTC:

An ad hoc crew who, in this world, have much weaker relationships than they do in canon.

Samatoki: A yakuza second-in-command, currently in possession of a strange black cybernetic glove which covers his right arm from the hand up to the elbow. The glove is able to control the air purification feature of the suits, so it's a particularly nasty bit of contraband. Resents Ichiro because Ichiro made a prototype of the glove and that was the last chance Samatoki had of convincing Nemu not to join Chuohku, but she joined them anyway. Also came into possession of an humanoid mecha, via Riou, which became the base of the new Yotsutsuji. Wears his TDD jacket over his shoulders. Accent colour: Indigo.

(Nemu: Currently with Chuohku to improve the world from within the government. Sent the completed glove to her brother because she knew he would keep it safe. Accent colour: Magenta (aka "Chuohku pink").)

Jyuto: A corrupt cop, currently investigating the glove in Samatoki's possession. More overworked than his canon counterpart...Even his trademark glasses have been digitised - they have a small antenna on the left side and can display information on the lenses when Jyuto gives them a mental signal (the display is in his accent colour). Accent colour: Maroon.

Riou: A former navyman who lives in nature, despite it being irreparably wrecked, and would rather not deal with the digital world, considering he's a cyborg (this is how he gets around not having the suit - he was experimented on in Chuohku's pursuit of creating a new supersoldier). Gave Samatoki an ancient industrial military-grade humanoid mecha which is about as tall as he (Samatoki) is.

FP:

Gentaro doesn't know Ramuda and Dice in this world.

Ramuda: A fashion designer who hands out government-mandated suits (for a small fee) while trying to ask out as many ladies as possible. Also sells other items to go with the suits, as would be expected of a typical fashion designer. His allegiance to Chuohku is a lot clearer in this world, but he's not a clone in this - just a normal human with hair dyed pink. Accent colour: Light orange (as per the magical boy AU).

Gentaro: A writer who makes his stories "real" via virtual reality and partnerships with others, such as Odd Jobs Yamada. Has material in some of his stories which he can use to blackmail Chuohku with. Hides his suit under traditional Japanese clothes. Accent colour: Bright purple.

Dice: Officially, he's a gambler who gambles with digital money and can't afford the suit. (Ramuda is not only something like a debt collector to him, he's also Dice's minder and enabler of sorts.) Unofficially, he's the son of Otome, the leader of Chuohku, who, when he was disowned by his family, lost access to the suits. As a result, he occasionally struggles to breathe and has to be helped by someone every so often. (Maybe if Hitoya or Jakurai met him in this world, Dice would be properly saved...?)

MTR:

Jakurai: A doctor, albeit one who prefers to use old-fashioned (that's "modern" to us) methods where possible. Chuohku believes gathering data from his brainwaves is necessary for the progress of developing new medical technology (or so they say...), so he wears a strange device which loops around the back half of his head and sits over his hair, attached to his head by two round (glowing) suction cups just above his ears. Wears his doctor's coat over the suit. Acts as Doppo and Hifumi's therapist and/or meditates in his spare time. Accent colour: Cyan.

Yotsutsuji: Currently in a coma after Chuohku's experiments for new supersoldiers. With the help of the former TDD, Jakurai has placed what could be salvaged of Yotsutsuji's consciousness into a humanoid mecha.

Hifumi: The no. 1 host of Fragrance. Uses virtual reality, projection mapping and other technologies to create entertainment for his clients. Afraid of women, but rather than his jacket, in this world he uses the same technology that aids him in his work to escape them. Accent colour: Neon green.

Doppo: A salaryman with appallingly low pay, no matter how hard he works, due to the fact technology is advanced enough in this world to give him a run for his money...He's lucky he has Jakurai and Hifumi to keep him sane... Accent colour: Teal.

DH:

Rei knows about Sasara and Rosho in this world, but they don't know about him.

Sasara: A comedian, currently under the heel of Chuohku. To this end, there are only certain kinds of jokes he's allowed to say while performing in public, although Sasara tries to get around this as much as he can when he can and secretly wishes to tear down the system with the former TDD + MCD so he can say what he likes again. Remotely communicates with Rosho via a visor and wears a leather jacket similar to Samatoki's TDD jacket in memory of MCD. Accent colour: Bright pink (as per the magical boy AU).

Rosho: A teacher, who lost his job when the school system broke down. He relies on Sasara to provide his basic necessities, but also takes occasional jobs to teach children in small groups or one-on-one, even teaching them comedy skills if he deems it necessary for them to survive in this wartorn world. Remotely communicates with Sasara via a display built into his glasses (which he otherwise wears purely for cosmetic reasons). Accent colour: Purple.

Rei: The creator of various technologies and creations prior to the war, most notably the ubiquitous suits. Currently gathering Jakurai's brainwave data for his own purposes. Has a strange relationship with the upper management of Chuohku, particularly Otome. Instead of sunglasses, he wears a (purely cosmetic) sniper's monocle over his left eye. Accent colour: Orange.

BAT:

Kuko: Back to being a delinquent, after people stopped believing in religion in exchange for technology. However, he still holds on to his beliefs, with the idea that one day, he can bring Buddhism back to a world that needs something to believe in. To this end, he uses virtual reality to recreate the pre-war world as he remembers it. Wears a teal happi coat over his suit and his prayer beads dangle out of his pocket. Accent colour: Mint green. Also known to commonly ditch the government-mandated suit for a particular respirator system created by Hitoya, which has a mess of wires going from the back of his head and going to either his neck or his shoulders (it looks similar to how the robot from the cover art of In My Mind's Axwell Mix has it) - this is due to the fact it looks intimidating and cool, yet it can be a pain to move around with at times.

Jyushi: A visual kei musician who enhances his shows with virtual reality, projection mapping and so on. People get confused when they involve Amanda "coming to life", but they roll with it anyway. Accent colour: Gold (essentially, a darker yellow than Saburo's).

Hitoya: A former lawyer, whose services are no longer needed now that the rules of society the law should operate in do not apply. This freed up his time to pursue his own interests, including creating portable respirator technology which Kuko and Jyushi try out for him (he does this with some help from some connections in the medical field, including Jakurai).

[the-lonelybarricade]

darling dearest, i am in need of some advice and you were the first person i thought to ask (your fanfics are so deep, you have unrivaled wisdom. also you are an adult, which is very useful right now)

so, acting means a lot to me. in fact, it means the world. one of my first coherent sentences as a baby was, "mommy, i want to be on tv," so of course i developed an interest in theater.

it's my first year of high school, and my first thespian convention, and it's 500 dollars. for some context here, my parents had their first kid in high school. my mom never graduated, my dad joined the army instead of going to college. and then they had four more. on top of that, my dad's retired so we're all around dirt fuckin poor hahah. in other words, no one in this family has 500 dollars to send me (except for my middle sister, but that really is too much to ask for).

except for me! i had the money! only, it's in my college fund (which is 660 right now, no one set up a college fund for me as a baby--i only started saving two years ago). like i said, we're dirt poor and no one has the money to put me through college. my sister is a lawyer and has been practicing for years, and is still 200,000 dollars in debt from student loans. i'm having to rely on being smart to apply for scholarships and grants, and if i'm really special, i can get into harvard for free. which is such a huge deal, and one i'm kind of counting on.

even if i don't go to college, i need the money for when i ditch my home state and live in the big city for my big shot at being a successful actress. i can't do this every year. i've already decided to drop cheerleading and adv math next year so i can get a job (i'm not allowed to get one until i can drive). but i don't know if 3yrs of work will even be enough if i want to do normal teenager things and still go to college. chances are, i'm not getting into harvard, much less for free. i'm not gifted like i was as a little girl, and i think the stress would be too much. my mom says she'd help but she's saving for her own house and already getting me my own car, and she doesn't have money either. i don't think i can ask her for that.

thank you for even bothering to read this, thank you times one thousand if you respond.

Goodness lovely, I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this. This is such a big burden to carry and I know it must be really intimidating to think your future is restricted because of money. But take a deep breath, we're going to talk about some things, okay? I'm still new to being an adult myself, I'm in my final year of uni and money is hard.

So first let's talk about this $500 for your Thespian Convention. First, if this is a school event, a lot of schools do wave or reduce fees like this for families that can't afford it. They also may offer scholarships. I would look into seeing if that's possible, but otherwise let's talk about covering that cost from your college fund. I'm assuming from your language that you're American, which means that if you're earning the federal minimum wage (7.25/hr) it will take 60 hours of working to pay that off. That could take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to work off if you're working part time, so you need to ask yourself if you feel like the thespian convention is worth a month of work that you could be putting towards your college fund. (Also, I know you said you can't get a job until you can drive, but maybe see if there's anything local you can do for extra money, like maybe tutoring or babysitting?). And if you can't go to this Thespian Convention, see if theres a less expensive alternative you can pursue.

Another important thing to consider is that, if acting is definitely what you want to do, you don't need to go to college to be a successful actor. Leonardo Dicaprio, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, there's plenty of major A-list actors that skipped college alltogether to pursue their careers. Here's a list. And if going to college is something you really, really want to do, you also don't have to go to college immediately after graduating high school.

This is something they didn't push a lot when I was in high school, and this would have been mind blowing for me when I was a freshman. In my high school going to college was like the expectation for families that could afford it. And they also offered great support for struggling families and first generation students. But I did something super unconventional for my town and I took a gap year. And that gap year changed my life. So my love, you don't need to worry about 3 years being enough time to do normal teenager things while working your butt off to pay for school. You can give yourself as many years as you need to get that money together, or to pursue your acting career or both. College is ready for you when you're ready for it. There's no set timeline. And I wish they told high schoolers that more often. I wish I was told that sooner.

But let's say that you really want to go to college and you really want to go as soon as you graduate high school. That's totally fine too! Let's talk about your options. Getting a full-ride scholarship is competitive and a lot of pressure to put on yourself. I say go for it! Go for as many as you can and apply for every scholarship available! But also give yourself the breathing space to think about other options. This is a list of no-loan colleges in the US. These are schools that will meet 100% of your financial need if you get accepted. Now the tricky thing is you still have to pay for your EFC (estimated family contribution) and sometimes your FAFSA (federal application for student aid) grossly overestimates how much your family can actually contribute. But it will definitlely eat a big chunk of that money away and there are still loan and scolarship options for that remaining sum. Also when applying for these schools a lot of them do offer an application fee waiver for families that can't afford it.

There are also loads of private scholarship available options from various companies. Talk to your high school counsellors, they *should* have great resources for finding this kind of stuff. I wish I could remember where I found all of my scholarship info, but it's been almost 5 years since I've done that research. I think maybe fastweb was something I found useful? And I also found this website and this website after a cursory google search just now. I'm sure you'll find good sources too! Freshman year is not too early to start applying to private scholarships. A lot of them are directed at seniors, but there are all kinds and sometimes they're just fun contests with small rewards, but it all adds up!f

You can also try killing two birds with one stone! See if there are any acting jobs available either in your local area or even just online! Maybe set up a fiverr and read scripts for people, or see if you can work as a counselor for a theater camp in the summer. My first job was as an acting job as a dancing penguin at a local summer festival when I was 14.

Okay and now I feel obligated to tell you something. You don't need to go to college in the US. This probably sounds outrageous as a freshman, it definitely would have to me. But I'm literally typing this from where I now live in the UK, after taking that gap year and realizing that american school is ridiculously expensive and way less cool than european schools? Do your research, there's lots of options available to you and the US is not your only one. I've saved loads of money going to school here and I'm happy as a clam. Here are some fun links.

Anyway my love, I know that was a lot of information and I'm sure none of it magically solved your problems or took that burden of your shoulders. But take a deep breath. Everything will happen in its own time and there will always be opportunities for you to pursue being an actor. There will also always be the option to decide to go to college at any point in your life. The biggest and most important thing is to just not give up. Focus on the here and now, focus on your grades, and the rest will follow. You got this, I know you do. And please, always feel free to come to me with any questions or even if you just need to rant in my inbox, I'm here <3

[southeastasianists]

The dormitories in which Singapore’s migrant workers live have, until recently, been almost hidden from view. The vast, steel buildings are mostly on the outskirts of town, tucked inside industrial estates, far away from the city-state’s glittering skyscrapers and luxury hotels.

Inside, the men who carry out backbreaking work to build Singapore’s infrastructure, sleep on bunk beds, crammed into rooms with as many as 20 people. The biggest dormitory complex houses up to 24,000 workers.

In recent weeks, as the coronavirus has ripped through the facilities, their unsanitary and overcrowded conditions have quickly become the subject of international attention. Singapore, recently lauded for its gold-standard approach to testing and tracing, now demonstrates both the dangers of neglecting marginalised communities, and the vulnerability of nations to a second wave of infections.

On Wednesday, the number of cases surpassed 10,000. This compares with just 200 infections recorded on 15 March, when its outbreak appeared to be nearly under control. Almost all new reports involve migrant workers.

Last week, the country extended a partial shutdown that was introduced at the start of April, with people told to stay indoors as much as possible. All migrant workers have been told not to leave their dorms, and are instead having food delivered by authorities.

“It feels like we’re in a prison. [It is] too difficult. [There is] too much heat in the room,” says A, who asked to remain anonymous, fearing that he might face repercussions for speaking to the media. Outside, the sound of ambulance sirens could be heard, he adds. None of the hundreds of people living on his floor has tested positive.

Activists say they raised concerns about the risks posed by the virus to migrant workers as early as February. In March, the campaign group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) said the risk of an outbreak among this community was “undeniable”.

When clusters began to emerge, the government moved 7,000 workers, mostly people who do essential jobs such as working on power plants, out of the buildings. About 293,000 remain housed in such facilities. Authorities say they will prioritise relocating older people. Cleaning services have been increased to improve hygiene, officials say, and meals are also being delivered to prevent workers needing to use communal kitchens.

The outbreak has brought to the surface the glaring inequality in Singapore, which relies heavily on a workforce of about a million migrant workers to build its famous skyscrapers, and clean its gleaming shopping malls. Most have travelled to the country from Bangladesh, India and other south Asian countries, in the hope of sending money back home. Their lifestyles are a stark contrast to the country’s wealthy elite and financial workers.

Kokila Annamalai, a local activist who supports migrant workers, fears that the spread of Covid-19 within the dormitories has fanned the flames of xenophobia and racism. She points to comments made online and in the media. “On top of [the view that] ‘it’s their fault for not being clean and for their eating habits’ and things like that, there is also this almost worse mindset of ‘they’re driving our numbers up and it makes us look bad on the world stage, and they should go home’,” she said.

While such remarks have been condemned by Singapore’s home affairs and law minister, Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam, campaigners say official messages have also been unhelpful. Workers have been urged to “be responsible”, wear face masks at all times, report symptoms to their dormitory operators and stay at least one metre from one another.

A recent study by Mohan Dutta, a professor at Massey University in New Zealand, suggests such guidance is often just impractical. The overwhelming majority of about 100 workers surveyed said they were unable to maintain such a distance at all times. More than half described their rooms as unhygienic.

Just last week, workers reported that they did not have enough soap to wash their hands.

Workers are generally reluctant to voice complaints. Most take out huge debts in order to work in Singapore, often to find on arrival that they will be paid less than promised. A typical salary is around S$500-750 (£285-£425) a month. They are required to hold temporary work permits, but these are tied to their employer, making them extremely vulnerable to exploitation.

B sold his family land and took loans so he could afford to pay an agency about S$7,000 to work in Singapore, where he hoped he would earn a high salary. As the eldest son, he is responsible for supporting his extended family, as well as his own wife and children. He knew that he would be required to work hard in Singapore, but his body was unprepared for the long hours of heavy lifting on construction sites. He did not expect that he would live, initially, in a container with eight others. “[I] had no idea that I would have to live like this and be in this much pain,” he said.

Now, about a decade later, he says he is at least lucky to share a dorm room with just 12 people – fewer than many of his peers, and a contrast to his previous room, which had virtually no natural light. A also shares a room with 12 others. The heat is so suffocating, that everyone sleeps on the floor, he says. He is afraid to use the communal toilets, which are unclean.

Many in Singapore are sympathetic towards the workers. “They deserve more. They deserve what every Singaporean deserves,” says William Lai, a photographer. “I don’t know what is going through the minds of these people [who blame workers] ... It is not their fault. They don’t want to be affected by this.”

In a speech this week, Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said migrant workers would be cared for in the same way as Singaporeans: “We will look after your health, your welfare and your livelihood.” Almost all the migrant workers infected have only mild symptoms, he added.

Dutta believes the crisis could present an opportunity to reform how migrant workers are treated, but he added that small tweaks would not be enough. “Substantive changes are needed in how Singapore looks at migrant workers, what rights migrant workers have, and how they are able to advocate for their own health and wellbeing,” says Dutta.

B says that, for a start, migrant worker dormitories should be more strictly controlled, with caps on the number of workers allowed per room and per bathroom facilities. “It is not like Singapore cannot regulate it.”

“This entire city is built on our labour and on our hard work,” he adds. “That tells you what you need to be told about the culture that we bring, and how our culture makes up the clean and sparkling facade of the city.”

Workers, he adds, do not expect special kindness, just their basic labour rights.

[klbmsw]

Ron HowardJanuary 24 at 5:41 AM

I'm a liberal, but that doesn't mean what a lot of you apparently think it does. Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines:

1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. PERIOD.

2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.

3. I believe education should be affordable. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.

4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.

5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, well, it's because I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.

6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion-dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live.

7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal). All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia law on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine.

8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.

9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally). I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).

10. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc. are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.

11. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I can’t get over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.

12. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc. -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.

13. I am not interested in coming after your blessed guns, nor is anyone serving in government. What I am interested in is the enforcement of present laws and enacting new, common sense gun regulations. Got another opinion? Put it on your page, not mine.

14. I believe in so-called political correctness. I prefer to think it’s social politeness. If I call you Chuck and you say you prefer to be called Charles I’ll call you Charles. It’s the polite thing to do. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person?

15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else.

16. I believe that women should not be treated as a separate class of human. They should be paid the same as men who do the same work, should have the same rights as men and should be free from abuse. Why on earth shouldn’t they be?I think that about covers it.

Bottom line is that I'm a liberal because I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved.

[raginggrannies]

From our friends at Radical Women

October 15, 2020 Radical Women statement   Another Supreme Court showdown: Feminists need united resistance and revolutionary change now!    Here we go again. Another hard-right Supreme Court nominee sits before Congress dodging questions that we know the answers to. Her record is crystal clear. Amy Coney Barrett follows in the conservative footsteps of Antonin Scalia (her mentor), John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh. And as the Democrats wage yet another ineffective attack, we can pretty much be assured of Barrett’s confirmation. Barrett opposes abortion and reproductive rights. She has routinely ruled in favor of corporations over individuals. According to the Alliance for Justice, Barrett’s business-focused actions on the federal bench have limited the enforcement of age-discrimination laws, restricted federal agencies’ power to punish companies that mislead consumers, and reduced people’s rights against predatory debt collectors. In August, Barrett ruled that GrubHub drivers were not a “class of workers” and therefore not able to file a class action lawsuit for unpaid overtime. Furthermore, she favors denying green cards to undocumented immigrants who have used the social safety net. She ruled against victims of sexual assault on campus and would take away hard-won victims’ rights. So, no, we don’t have to wonder what damage she can do to civil liberties and the rights of women, queers, workers, and immigrants as a Supreme Court judge. We know. Barrett is on record saying she believes in the Constitution as it is written not as justices would like it to be. But the reality is she and her cohorts will torture the Constitution if needed to make a ruling that lines up with their ultra-conservative beliefs. The personal is political Radical Women is appalled by Barrett’s attempts to pander her family to the television audience, showcasing her husband and seven children to prove she’s just a regular hard-working mom. She tells how she cried with her adopted Haitian daughter over George Floyd’s murder, but refuses to answer any questions of substance on the Affordable Care Act, civil liberties or a woman’s right to control her body. Barrett, and her Republican backers, argue that her religion and personal life are not at issue. Of course they are! Her personal and religious beliefs are the backbone of her political ideology. Barrett belongs to a hard-right, secretive Catholic group called “People of Praise” that believes in extreme gender roles and until recently called high-ranking women “handmaids.” They expel gay members. How is this not relevant? Barrett signed an open letter that opposed abortion, and believes life begins at fertilization of the egg. This makes many forms of birth control, including the pill and IUD, equal to murder. Furthermore, Barrett belongs to the right-wing Federalist Society, which grooms conservative lawyers and judges and has ties to the notorious Koch brothers. It’s opposed to “government intrusions” and believes in limiting laws affecting private property and businesses. Members of the society have rigorously gone after abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act. Of the federal judges Trump has put on the bench, the vast majority are current or former members of the society. Clearly, Barrett is more than willing to be a handmaid to Trump and his ilk. Building united resistance The Supreme Court upholds and promotes the priorities of the class in power — the capitalists. This partially explains the ineffectual showing of Democrats every time another rabid right-winger is put forward for the court. They serve the same fat cats and bosses as their Republican cohorts. Supreme Court justices are appointed for life — it’s completely undemocratic. As Howard Zinn so aptly stated in his 2005 article, “Don’t Despair About the Supreme Court”: “The courts have never been on the side of justice, only moving a few degrees one way or the other, unless pushed by the people.” Feminists and working people can’t rely on either party or the Supreme Court to protect our rights. We have to do it ourselves! Apply enough public outrage, and even conservative judges can make surprisingly good decisions — as evidenced by civil rights legislation, same-sex marriage and Roe. It’s not going to be easy; the court has taken a hard turn to the right in recent years. But one role of the court is to serve as a safety valve against rebellion of the populace. Exert enough pressure and the court will rule to let off some of that steam. Thanks to the leadership of Black and brown youth, especially young women, there is an active movement in the streets protesting against systemic racism, misogynistic white supremacists, killer cops and discrimination on the job. This is the kind of organizing that can influence the courts. Creating a united front is a good next step. An expansive movement with agreed-upon demands led by and including the issues of all those groups targeted by the right wing and religious fundamentalists — women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, youth, people with disabilities, elderly, immigrants, unemployed, underemployed, unionists, and students. But ultimately, what’s needed is ending this misogynist, racist, planet-killing, profit-driven economic system. Replacing it with a socialist society based on shared wealth would eliminate worrying about laws being made by those who oppress us. It is possible to provide access for all to quality education, childcare, health care, reproductive rights and employment along with clean air, water and land. We just have to get rid of the profit motive. Capitalism and its bought-and-paid-for politicians and judges can’t and won’t meet basic needs. It is our constitutional right to demand revolutionary change. The time is now! Don’t mourn, organize! Radical Women of all ages, races, and sexualities are leaders fighting for just this kind of powerful, multi-issue socialist feminist program. Get involved at RadicalWomen.org. 

[aegon]

I never understand when people say Bernie is some revolutionary. It’s usually non Americans that say that because of his very successful ad campaigns and loud supporters. He’s the definition of establishment. He’s worked in the government for soooo long and literally done nothing but rename a post office. That’s it. Why do people think he’d do anything as president, when he didn’t do anything when he was a politician with power for decades? Sucks that even the left obsess over mediocre men

I mean...Google is free. It literally took me half a minute to find a list of Bernie’s numerous accomplishments over his decades-long career but sure, let the non-American tell you what your own politicians are up to.

And because my own country fell a few days ago to the ignorance the masses, I even found other sources to back-up the facts of (some of) Bernie’s most remarkable feats:

Bernie is one of the hardest working politicians in the States, being dubbed “the amendment king” for passing more roll-call amendments than anyone else.

I like how you mentioned the post office naming and totally ignored the fact he introduced and passed a bill that increased veterans’ disability compensations

“The definition of establishment,” you say. When more than half of the States and most of your politicians wanted your army to invade Iraq, Bernie said no. He didn’t need to wait seventeen years and a million innocent casualties to make his mind up. Actually, Bernie’s been consistently anti-war throughout his life and again, that’s fucking impressive when more than half of America, at one point, wanted people like me to be blown up. A good egg.

“The definition of establishment,” you say. The American government has systematically supported the Israeli oppression of Palestinians from the very beginning. Anyone who dare say anything against it is deemed anti-Semitic. Bernie, a Jewish man, is one of the only politicians I’ve seen from your side that has enough of a spine to say something about it. Now you might not think it’s much, but an American politician that isn’t Netanyahu’s bitch should be celebrated. It’s that rare.

“The definition of establishment,” you say. Bernie’s been protesting for civil rights and standing up for justice for fifty goddamn years. Damn, what kind of rose-tinged glasses are you wearing that you think someone like that is the fucking establishment???

He couldn’t get nearly as much as he wanted done because you have such rotten shits in office. Like remember when he actively wanted to protect your privacy rights post-9/11 because he didn’t want your basic freedoms to be exploited by the NSA who wanted to read all your emails and listen to your calls without your consent? Wow what a mediocre shit wanting you to not be watched by the state like it’s 1984 lmao

The free credit report you’re entitled to every year? That was Bernie.

Actually reached across the aisle to work with Republican Charles Grassley to introduce the ‘Employ America act’ that stopped major firms firing American employees and hiring cheap foreign workers. That’s called bi-partisanship and y’all need that in your government. Mediocre men don’t negotiate with the opposition for the rights of people.

The first ever audit of the Federal Reserve that revealed how trillions were paid (with no interest) to big banks and businesses? Bernie.

He fought to get community health centres into the ACA

His very first bill that became law was the National Program of Cancer Registries that helps researchers gain valuable information in their fight against cancer. Called “the cancer weapon American needs most.”

Bernie also passed an amendment to prevent the Bush administration from working to overturn a federal district court ruling that IBM’s pension cuts violated age discrimination laws. This amendment helped 130,000 IBM workers regain $320 million in pension benefits that had been taken away from them.

In the late 1990s, dairy farmers were being forced to sell off their lands to big corporations. Due to an amendment by Bernie, a law passed that provided $350 million to help struggling dairy farmers survive.

Bernie’s tried passing so many climate change bills and sadly, most have been blocked by shit stains in your government but he did manage to pass an energy bill that secured $3.2 billion to fund the grants that reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The program to date has funded upgrades for more than 86,000 buildings, installed more than 9,500 solar energy systems and, in the process, created or saved thousands of good-paying jobs.

He has campaigned NON-STOP to give y’all the right not to die from student debt or to pay thousands for like breaking a finger, but ok yes not a revolutionary at all lmao

It’s nice of you to demean him to just naming a post office when he’s been fighting to save thousands of jobs in the postal service, despite the Republicans shutting him down whenever he tries.

So I could go on and on because it turns out, this Bernie fella has done a lot in his time as a politician. He’s introduced over 300 bills whose sole purpose is to help the average American like yourself. It’s so easy to sit on your sofa and call him mediocre when you haven’t fought a percent of the battles that he has to make your life easier.

You don’t have to like Bernie. You don’t have to support his policies. But to trivialise a man who has worked hard and dedicated his life to serving his people speaks volumes of your own ignorance.

Who becomes your President isn’t really my concern. Quite frankly, I’m not affected by whether you can afford to see a doctor or if you’re forcibly drafted into your next war.

However - you are. I suggest getting off your high-horse and spending more than half a minute to learn about who your politicians are and what they’ve been doing in their careers. You can’t always rely on a Brit across the pond to do your damn work for you.

[aleatoryalarmalligator]

People get tired of you when you are poor. So many people are poor, poorer than i could even imagine being, poor enough to not be able to eat for days and days or have shoes to wear. It upsets people. It's not exciting. It's economic. It drags people down and decreases their well being overall, but not in a way that people like to really engage in. So when i find myself feeling horrible about how poorly i am doing, I just feel really ungrateful and dumb in the grand spectrum of how life has always been for everyone, and how things are for so many people. I am not exactly living in the worst time in human history. I am also not living with the kind of fear that a bomb may drop on me, or that i will die of some disease. I don't even have any children relying on me. I have a roof over my head, i am not without the bare basics, albeit, the very most bare. But i am kind of falling apart trying to make ends meet, I'm enormously in debt to people who deserve to be paid back and need to be paid back at some point, and i am feeling this sick nauseous feeling constantly whenever i get something i enjoy for myself even if it's just like, a sandwich or a hair tye. I lose sleep over it, because honestly, doing something like that puts me in a financial hole, because truth be told, i absolutely cannot afford to be making those kinds of economic choices for myself. Things are that tight.

People don't understand why i eat so little, or why i don't go out to have drinks or lunch, or why i don't buy new shoes or don't leave my house or get a decent phone, or see a doctor, or just a number of basic things. Honestly, people don't know why i don't smile more often, and it's kind of because i have so few choices right now that i have to live the same day over and over perfectly, or else i won't have enough money to eat for days. Everyone I know makes a lot more money than i do, i watch friends gamble one hundred dollars a night, or drink cocktails or go out to eat or buy new stuff. I can't do those things. If i do, i have to force myself not to eat for a few days. I have to really really pay for that kind of thing later, so it's made it very unworthwhile for me. Telling them i am too poor almost alienates me further, because then they have to feel bad about the contrast of their lives versus mine, so i don't talk about how this poverty thing has been wearing on me. I try to just smile and stay positive, but I feel like i am kind of crumbling into a state of despair. Sometimes i kind of feel like i am choking and I lose touch of my surroundings. I don't talk to anyone about it. There's no use and there are people who are literally sleeping outside in the cold, so what am i even upset about?

I can't really do much to change my economic situation right now, though i do have a longtime plan ultimately. Basically, i worked two years for a company to eventually get into a position where i was able to make good money. It's like, a sought after position essentially. You work two years making very little money, and then you eventually get into a position where you walk out with well over one hundred dollars a night. I was three months into finally having that position and i was finally making good money. I moved out of the place i was living at, which wasn't too great as i was living without a bathroom and had to like, pee outside and stuff. I moved into a really nice place with nicer roommates and i finally had a decent bedroom and bathroom and a respectable living situation closer to where I worked.  And just as i was getting my life set up, the location of the place i worked for shut down suddenly and i was without work. I worked years and dealt with a lot of like, abuse in a way to get to that position, and suddenly it was gone, but i had just moved into a place i could now barely afford. I weighed my options and decided to work at this other location where they accepted me but on the terms i would take the lower position, but it put me in a situation where i was making less money than i had been before i even got the good position i had finally achieved. So, i was financially fucked, basically. Furthermore, it was around this time that all the standing i had been doing in order to get the job where i made that kind of money caught up with me, and i now have a permanent condition in my legs where they ache constantly, and i struggle to bend them. If i even move my leg in a bad position at night on accident, a shot of pain hits me. So i am always basically in some kind of pain, and it's kind of affecting my outlook on life. Not at first, but it's starting to wear on me. I am worried that the more i have to walk and stand a day, the worse it's going to get, but at the same time that's the only thing i can do to make money.

I also went through a break up around that time. It's not really over, but it kind of was there for a moment, and that feeling of your favorite person in the world just kind of dropping you is really horrible. I felt worthless, and trying to establish my self worth afterwards, with no real prospects has been really difficult. I can't even afford to be upset about friends or relationships, or more accurately, the lack there of. It's a money issue. Just an all around series of unfortunate things just hit me unexpectedly, and dragged me down after years of working my way up, and i try not to feel defeated by this, but i kind of do. My best friend is also extremely depressed, and if I talk about this, she doesn't really say much. She can't really be there for me right now, our schedules are opposite, such is adult life, and she's dealing with a bunch of stuff of her own, and there isn't even a lot of room for me to vent or anything at her.

If i get a second job it would help, i would be foregoing sleep because i am already working a full time job, and it would be hard to find a job that went well with the hours i have now. It's something i could do technically, but it would give me no time off, and essentially like 5 hours to sleep a night which i am afraid wouldn't be good for my mental health, and might ultimately be worse for me in the long run. I weigh it out quite often. I have an app on my phone that keeps track of all my money, so i am trying very hard to make sure that i cut every corner. I have everything regulated, down to the portion sizes I am allowed to eat and stay in line. It's about 800 calories a day. I feel hungry all the time. I grit my teeth a lot because there is always this tension of wanting to eat. I am kind of dieting, but if i wasn't dieting, this would be as much as i could afford to eat anyway. I kind of excuse it or make the best of it, because i am also kinda chubby, so technically, i rationalize that at least i am losing weight. I've lost about 25 pounds in the last few months. I can probably lose 30 more lbs before i become underweight. It's dumb, and i kinda have to laugh, but even my tummy fat has become some kind of aspect of my economic situation.

I am trying to stay positive. My longterm goal is ultimately to get the old position i had back, i think I am the next in line once an opening comes up, but that could be several several months from now. I don't know what is going to fuel me even having the will to continue. There is this little voice in the back of my head that just kind of wants to give up. I am tired of trying. I feel like it gets nowhere. I really want to stay positive, and not be bitter. But it is I have to admit, a little hard when my leg is always hurting and I am always hungry and can't really like, enjoy anything that doesn't cost anything. Once i am serving again, I will make more than enough money to pay back the money i owe, and also live a better life. Ugh, but i kind of messed up recently too. I spent days where i almost felt dizzy and distant from myself. I ended up spending money i didn't have, just impulsively. It was like i didn't care anymore about anything for just a few days. It's just like i snapped, and now three weeks later, i am stressing because i don't have enough for rent, it's going to have to be late, and I am scrambling and now having to rationalize that in the next coming month, i am going to have to eat even less, certain days i am just not going to be eating at all. It wasn't even a lot. I just bought stuff that a normal person wouldn't think twice about buying, like a new sweater, a pair of earrings, some socks, a few nice meals, but for me it was something i couldn't afford. I don't even have friends really, so i just listen to a ton of podcasts to fill that void. Which isn't friendship, but it keeps my brain busy i guess. I mean, I have a few pals. I have people i write online, but I just feel like it's disappointing to hear about how poor someone is. I don't want to bring other people down.

Lastly, all of this would be a lot better if i had food stamps or assistance, but i make like ten dollars too much for that. I had a SNAP card for a few months which was extremely nice, but they found out i made too much money and they took the benefits away.

So i guess i just decided to write about it here. I will try to stay positive, and make smart choices and all that. Gotta get ready for work. Thanks for reading my sad little economic blog post.

[ahoyhannaho]

Social media is a place we post all the highlights. Because of that, it makes it easy for us to compare our own lows with other people’s highs. We forget that other people are struggling too, just as much, if not more than we are. I just need to take a second to be real with you, friends. People in my life often mention something to me about how often I travel and they don’t understand how I afford it, how I have time to, and may compare their life to mine.. I just want you to know that I don’t live in a dream. I don’t have it all together. A lot of the traveling I’ve done is because I support raised for missions and the other I just worked my butt off to save up- and honestly I spent the last year of my life in debt struggling to stay afloat. So, please refrain from comparing your life with others. We are all blessed but we are all also struggling through all the tough stuff life throws at us. I just started back school after these many months of surviving Covid-19 and this first week of school has been t.o.u.g.h—— Here’s a low. I’ve been hurting. Insecurity has been hitting from all sides. Something I’ve learned over my lifetime is that we will spend the rest of our lives battling insecurities from time to time- physically or emotionally. They just hit sometimes, and sometimes it feels like all the time. And I’ve learned that our emotions are real, but they aren’t always reliable. So don’t rely on them. Don’t always trust them. And the truth is.. we think about ourselves too dang much. I’m tired of thinking of myself. I’m going to keep battling these insecurities. I want to think about others more. I want to think about eternity more. I want to think about Jesus more. I want to think less about my failures and more about serving. I just want to live life being honest and humble.. even if it means embarrassing myself. I want to encourage you- whoever you are.. I know it’s really freaking hard right now but just be real. Be honest. I know we are all having to wear masks right now.. but please take off the one you’ve been wearing all these years. Admit your failures. Say you’re sorry. Stop posting things with the intentions of boosting your own image. Be kind. Tell someone you’ve taken for granted how much you appreciate them. Lay down your pride. Surrender. Ask for help. More importantly, love God & love people. If you need to talk- I’m here. Much love ��️

[sworn-unbeliever]

23 - Shuffle

((Whew! Once again, a big huge thank you to @abeat for RPing as Jeremy since he’s her character in a way. Also, as a cartomancy fan, I jumped on the opportunity to write about such a thing. Although I didn’t write out the entire spread, I did do a proper reading. The spread in question is the Romany spread and is one of my favourites. The deck the nephew used is the Tarot of the Divine and I used the descriptions from the little white book there. Abeat and I will continue this storyline. If not on Sunday then probably after FFXIVWrite. Anyway!))

wc: 2,982

A gentle chime tingled in Teremy’s ears. Immediately, the miqo’te looked up from his bored daze. “Welcome to Fortunes & Fancies. Let me know if you need help with anything—”

Teremy cut his spiel short when he saw who entered the room.

A miqo’te seeker with Teremy’s exact same face.

“Jer?!” Teremy arched an eyebrow.

The aforementioned Jeremy waved. “Hi aniki!” he smiled cheerfully and looked around the store. A few seconds later, he did a double take. “W-wait, aniki?!”

Teremy switched from Common to his native Hingan. “Yes, little brother. What are you doing here of all places?”

Jeremy also switched back to Hingan. “I could ask you the same thing! I thought you were always busy exploring dungeons and hunting monsters and bad guys, but here you are working in a store...what happened? Are you in debt? Did you get caught up with bad people!? Did you murder someone and you’re on the run?”

Teremy closed his eyes and snorted, smiling. “A lot happened. No, yes-but-no, and yes, in that particular order, and I’m fine. Just taking up someone on their gracious offer to take things easy is all. Anyway, are you looking for anything in particular?”

Jeremy looked around. “This is what you call taking it easy? Isn’t this a furniture shop?”

“Trinkets, stuffed animals, a guildmate’s leatherworker merchandise over there,” Teremy gestured to the large leather backs on top of a couple of cute display carts, “or whatever commission you desire. Gears, accessories, primal weapons, you can afford it, we make it.”

Jeremy ran up to the counter. “Wait. Are you… Are you… crafting stuff?!”

Teremy shrugged. “More or less.”

“Crafting stuff… working behind a counter… helping customers…” Jeremy slammed his hands on the counter and growled. “Who are you?! What have you done with my brother?!”

“Ever the laughs-a-minute.” Teremy smirked and poked his brother on the forehead. “If you’re not gonna buy anything, get out.”

Jeremy pouted. “Awww, don’t be like that. Of course I’ll buy something at my aniki’s shop!”

“It’s not really my shop. I just happen to work here.”

Regardless if Jeremy had heard his brother or not, the younger twin’s tail swished playfully as he looked around the store. Normally to miqo’te such an action denounced irritation; however, Jeremy acted more canine than feline at times, and when Jeremy swished his tail like that, he showed his excitement and interest. Jeremy placed one hand on his hip, the other on his chin. “What do you recommend?”

“You’d know better than me what you’d need. Besides a life.”

Jeremy whirled around, his hands still on his hip and chin respectively, and grinned. “Now is that any way to speak to a potential customer? You should be polite and point out your most popular wares.”

Teremy exhaled. Jeremy was right. This was why Jeremy was better at dealing with customers back in the fish market days. “Well, this week only, the store is having a special on grimoires. Buy two, get one free. You can even get a left-handed book and fountain pen commissioned if you desire.”

The younger brother came back to the counter as Teremy pulled out a large portfolio-style album. Both miqo’te looked down at the assortment of cover images featuring various grimoires, codexes, and other such books.

“You don’t even need to be an arcanist to order these. We can make them just as a notebook itself for notebook’s sake.” Teremy added.

“Hmm.” Jeremy tilted his head back and forth as he leafed through the catalogue. “I could start keeping a journal. Sure, sign me up for the book and fountain pen. This one, this one, and that one. Although I was hoping to ask about… other services?”

Teremy paused and looked at Jeremy in the eyes. “Are you looking to the stars for guidance?”

“Maybe I am. I could use a little starry guidance right around now. If such services are available of course.”

Jeremy’s tail resumed wagging again. No doubt that he had heard of said services from an outside source and came all this way just to heckle his brother about it. Ignoring such a fact, Teremy pulled out a well-worn appointment book from underneath the counter and flipped to today’s page.

“How soon do you require such services?” Teremy asked.

“Preferably same day if possible,” said Jeremy.

Teremy skimmed through the planner book. Conveniently, the entire day had been booked up for Reonora, Rosemary, and Joey, like Nyemia herself had spun her own divine intervention. “Tell you what. Come back to the store after hours, which is—” Teremy looked at the nearby carbuncle chronometer, “18:00, and you’ll find someone that can help you.”

Jeremy grinned. “All right. Thanks, aniki! Exemplary customer service. I’ll come back later. Can I pay for the commission at the same time as the other service?”

“Of course. Thank you for your patronage.” Teremy performed an eastern bow to his brother.

* * *

After hours. Jeremy was nowhere to be seen.

Teremy leaned on the wall beside the currently locked door. Arms folded, he stared off into the horizon and gazed into the sunset. Since he started working at Fortunes & Fancies, he had many quiet moments like this—moments with no customers and nothing to do but listen to the carbuncle chronometer tick. Yet, those dull moments made him enjoy these poignant ones much more. He smiled softly as he gazed into the horizon, admiring the sunset. With Jeremy nowhere in sight, just for now, Teremy inhaled the evening breeze and let in the pleasure of tranquil silence.

“Hey aniki! Where’s this person that’s going to assist me?” blared his voice with the sound amplified times ten.

Teremy jumped, startled. His eyes widened and his tail shot up and frayed. He looked to the side to see Jeremy grinning, one hand on his hip and ears wiggling, completely pleased with himself. Of course. Some things never changed since childhood. Teremy took a long, deep breath to regain his composure. “You’re looking at him.”

Now it was Jeremy’s turn to recoil in shock. “What? You consult with the stars too?”

Teremy nodded. “The store owner has been showing me how to just in case I have to. I admit, this kind of thing isn’t really…” He didn’t continue the sentence lest he insult the deck in his satchel. “I’m still new to this, so be gentle.” Unlocking the door, Teremy held the door open for his brother.

“Man, is there anything you can’t actually do, aniki?” Jeremy asked as he walked inside the store.

“Hey, don’t sing my praises until we’re actually done. Then you can change your mind.”

Teremy entered behind his brother and locked the door behind him. He walked ahead of Jeremy, made a beckoning gesture, and hopped over the counter. Jeremy followed in suit and the two headed downstairs.

“I feel like we’re going into some super shady store dealings, like selling illegally poached hides or something.”

Teremy snorted. “You wish. Unfortunately, all that’s in here are a lot of lights and bohemian.” Teremy slid the oriental partition open and went inside, expecting Jeremy to follow.

And he did. The younger twin looked around at the variety of lamps, bookshelves, rugs and other objects. In the middle of the room laid two ronkan rocking chairs and a banquet style table with a square board in the middle. “Lots of… moogles. Very mystical looking.”

Teremy took a seat at the far end and gestured for Jer to sit across from him. Once Jeremy did so, Teremy pulled out his deck.

A tarot deck.

As he opened the box and tugged the ribbon to make the cards come out, Reonora’s words echoed in his mind.

“Cartomancy has many different systems. Perhaps you are familiar with the Sharlayan system? The method which attunes you to the stars and allows you to draw upon cards in battle? It stands to reason that cards also allow one to divinate as well. The future, secrets, and most commonly, advice. The method my mother had taught me is called Lenormand—a system that relies on creating phrases to decipher meaning. I have given Rosemary and Joey oracle decks, which rely on perhaps a single card or its own individual system. To you, I bequeath this deck. It is a system called Tarot. For this deck, simply put, each card has its own meaning. This is an old system where one can gain much insight. Perhaps I am speaking frankly, but in my opinion you seem like an old soul who thinks deeply. This may be the system for you.”

Teremy had no idea how true these words were. All he could do was shuffle the cards and have faith. As he shuffled, he felt vibrations in his hands as though the cards themselves emitted their own energies. Spirits? He thought to just focus on the task at hand. “What’s on your mind?”

Jeremy tilted his head from side to side. “I guess… What should I do now? Finding you was what drove auntie and I for so long. Now we’ve found you safe and sound, so I’m just wondering what to do with myself now I guess.”

“Like you have no purpose right now?”

“Yeah, that’s what it feels like.” Jeremy leaned his head on his hand. “Like I’m just ambling from one thing to the next now with no direction in mind.”

“Hmm.” Teremy shuffled the cards. ‘Jer’s lost his purpose in life. Can you give him some advice?’

He felt a tingling sensation in his hands—a sensation different than his usual qi. Like spiritual guidance. He felt as though the cards agreed to his request. As he continued to shuffle, Teremy looked up. “For what it’s worth, I’m grateful. I had no idea. Useless Tia said you and Auntie had left on a grand adventure without me. I didn’t know what to think. I feel stupid to have believed him. But what’s done is done. It… made me happy to know you guys were looking for me.” Teremy put the deck in the middle. “Here. You shuffle them and then hand the deck back to me after you’re done.”

“Yeah, typical of Useless Tia, failing to bring up the crucial details as to what our grand adventure was about.” Jeremy took the deck and shuffled in the same manner as his brother. Once finished, he placed the deck back in the middle. “I appreciate this, aniki. I’m really glad we found you safe and sound. I just want to find my own purpose just like you found yours.”

Teremy cut the cards into three separate stacks, then combined them again. With the deck thoroughly shuffled, Teremy now laid the cards in the spread that Reonora taught him.

Twenty one cards.

Three rows.

Seven columns.

The first row signified the past. The second spoke of the present. And the third laid out plans that had yet to happen.

Teremy glanced at the spread as a whole, then scanned the top line.

Wheel of Fortune. Three of Wands. The Magician. The Star. Four of Pentacles. Page of Pentacles. Five of Cups.

‘So far the reading has told him what Jer and I know already, but…’

His instincts couldn’t help but become bothered at one card in particular: the Four of Pentacles.

Hoarding. Possession.

“Hey, Jer, have you been… keeping something to yourself? A possession of some sort?”

Jeremy pressed his lips together. “Well...there is something, actually. I guess you really can read the stars.” He reached into his inventory and pulled out a gunblade, putting it on the table. “I found this awhile ago during my adventures with auntie. We were more focused on finding you so I never did anything with it, but I never told her I found it either. Some thugs we dealt with dropped it and I just hung onto it. I was debating trying to find out more about it but I didn’t want to turn my back on everything auntie’s taught me.”

“Thus in the past, while you were looking for me, you found this,” said Teremy. “And while you set your sights on your practical goals, you felt torn about this discovery. It was like this is a calling to you, yet you didn’t want to pursue, and you felt bad about it.”

Jeremy nodded. “Yeah. I mean I’m sure you or auntie could probably teach me about it if I asked, but I just never got around to asking. I mean I know it’s a gunblade and all but...I dunno.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure what to do. Explore my curiosity? Let it go and sell the thing to a merchant?”

‘Weird. Why would Jeremy want to suddenly sell something he’s been hoarding? Unless he needs the money for something.’ Teremy continued. “The present line doesn’t say anything you haven’t told me already. You put aside your feelings and donned your patience and, well, we’re together. But after that you lost your motivation…”

Teremy’s eyes locked onto the last card at the end of the second row.

The Five of Swords.

Surrender. Violence. Crime.

“Is there something you’re not telling me? Did you get involved with someone?” Teremy asked.

Jeremy folded his arms and closed his eyes. He may as well have just said yes. On the other hand, Jeremy didn’t exactly say any details, either. No wonder Jeremy’s words since he entered sounded so oddly specific.

Teremy scanned the bottom row—the line that read the future. “Did you get involved with bad people? Are you the one who owes money to someone?”

Jeremy looked to the side. He said nothing for a few moments. Then finally, he spoke. “Yeah. I do. I was buying information trying to find you. Eorzea is a huge place, I knew it’d take us forever to find you on our own. So I was basically buying information from a syndicate in Ul’Dah. The prices kept getting higher and higher and I ended up just making interest payments, but I actually owe a lot of money. I’ve still been paying interest, but now that we’ve found you, I guess I’m trying to think of a way to make a lot of money quickly to pay it off entirely. I never told auntie of course. I didn’t want her to know what I was doing.”

Teremy scanned the rest of the reading, but he didn’t have to say much more. His mind already started formulating ideas. Thinking. He did hear Rosemary say something along the lines of that a tarot deck may not answer a question directly, but could show the actual underlying problem. And right now, Teremy saw that example put to action.

“How much money do you owe them?”

“Eh… heh… Um…” Jeremy scratched the back of his head and muttered.

Nevermind. Teremy had heard enough. The elder brother slammed his hands on the table underneath the reading and rose to his full height. “You know what? Nevermind. Forget this. Let’s deal with them once and for all. Even the cards are backing me up on this.”

“W-w-w-whoa, aniki! You’re suggesting we take on a crime syndicate in Ul’Dah?” Jeremy stepped back, his eyes wide in shock. “Not even the Sultana wants to do that! It’s bad enough I owe them money, let’s not start a war with them! I mean it’s five million gil but it’s not impossible, and they haven’t done anything to auntie or I since I’ve been paying the interest on time—”

“I just see my brother in a bind and I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Tell me where they are. I’ll deal with them. And if you don’t tell me, I’ll find out.” In the blink of an eye, Teremy put away his star globe and pulled out a weapon he knew he could count on: his gunblade.

Jeremy stood frozen in his same shocked position. As much as he wanted to talk Teremy out of it, he knew there was no point arguing with his big brother when Teremy had his battle face on. Sighing, Jeremy stood straight and hung his head. “All right. All right. I know that face. The face that says ‘I’m doing this and no one is stopping me.’

“You know me like I know you. Tell me what happened.”

“I basically found people in Ul’Dah who were good at ‘finding’ people. So we started talking and I said I was looking for you, and essentially I asked them to put a bounty on your head. Of course I told them that I wanted you alive and unharmed! But I figured having a fleet of bounty hunters helping out would make things a bit faster.”

Teremy propped his gunblade on his back and looked down, holding a hand to his chin. ‘How did they not find me before? My Grand Company is even in Ul’dah. Invisibility really is a hidden privilege.’ He looked at Jeremy. “Finding your purpose can wait. We’ll deal with this first. I have a plan. It’s a reckless one, but here’s what we’ll do.”

The spread remained untouched on the table as Teremy deliberated his plan.

The fifth column of secret destiny: Four of Pentacles. Justice. Seven of Pentacles. Your days of scraping for money will be brought to justice and you’ll be rewarded for your investment—Justice being your selfsame brother.

The sixth column of immediate future: Page of Pentacles. The World. Page of Wands. Your goal will be brought to completion by enthusiastic rogue energy. Your brother’s plan is reckless but will give you that push you need to put an end to all this.

The seventh column of the far future about to come: Five of Cups. Five of Swords. Nine of Pentacles. Your stagnation and regret in life due to your involvement with the syndicate, you will soon gain your freedom and prosper.

[ibrahimkhalilof]

This is How I Made $40k In Passive Income By Age 26

I’m talking here about real passive income, not the kind where you spend years writing a book. There’s one caveat though and you need money to make money.

I started investing part of my income every month at age 23. Three years later, I had made $40k in profit tax-free and could put down a deposit on my first house. All with less than an hour of effort per year. $13k per hour of work doesn’t sound bad, does it?

It’s not sexy but I relied on getting a professional job and investing my excess income. Many in my position don’t do this and sacrifice future financial freedom. You can take the profits to start up your own business with less reliance on outside help. Self-funding the initial stages gives you more credibility when asking others for more money.

My Economics bachelors and central bank experience made me confident to invest responsibly. Yet the steps I took weren’t complex and here I break down what I did.

NOTE: Lucky factors went my way with exchange rates, freak performance, and government bonus schemes amongst others. Do not read this and think similar performance can be produced reliably in the future. This is a high-level overview and I do not go into blow-by-blow detail.

Surrendered my arrogance

One of the biggest mistakes I see is people thinking they are exceptional. Investment funds have whole teams of hyperqualified people and complex algorithms. Yet 85.1% of active funds have failed to beat the S&P 500 in the last 10 years. How can you honestly believe you can win?

I bought index and active funds from the major economies rather than individual stocks. This takes the decision making out of my hands. As I’m from the UK, I invested through an ISA (the equivalent of a superpowered Roth IRA) to earn tax-free.

I spread myself out geographically with stocks in the USA, UK, mainland Europe, and Asia. My risk was dramatically reduced as I owned shares in thousands of companies. By using index funds, my fees were far lower than buying individual stocks. When I wanted exposure and index funds were unavailable, I found funds by managers with long histories.

Invested first and spent afterward

Every month, the same amount left my account automatically. I never considered this as spending money so it never factored into my buying decisions. I could start the account with significant savings from 1.5 years of working that were sitting in a low-interest current account.

There are all kinds of apps to encourage people to invest their savings. One of the tricks I dislike is rounding up purchases to send to the pot. You buy a cookie for 20 cents and 80 cents goes straight into your fund. This takes control away from you and leaves your input reliant on chance events. The return is already based on chance so why make it even more uncertain!

Some portray compounding as a type of sorcery. Yet 7% return per year for ten years on ten dollars is $9.67 profit. On a thousand dollars it is $967. Don’t make the excuse of something is better than nothing when you can put away more. It takes time to build a portfolio to the point where it can make a difference in your life. I had a massive advantage by living with my parents.

If you truly want passive income, you need to examine your spending habits too and decide if anything is a luxury you are happy to be without.

Never invested if I couldn’t afford to lose 50%

I could invest more than I did but I always kept some in reserve. If anything happened to me, I could cope with losing half the value of my investments. The amount you’re willing to risk can change over time and change your plans in line with this.

The worst crashes in the S&P history have taken the value to around half but they have always bounced back. We still didn’t fall below this even when news of the pandemic hit or when the financial crisis of 2008 struck. You can be confident a developed country’s stock market won’t completely self-destruct. Only a massive event could do this and then you’d have bigger problems!

Individual stocks can go to zero but it is harder for a fund to do so. You must feel comfortable with the unlikely worst-case scenario for peace of mind. There’s always a chance of great losses and you can’t blame anyone else if you lose more than you can handle. It is possible to lose everything!

Examined my opportunity costs

Let’s not pretend it isn’t a privilege to invest. Not only must you cover your expenses but also your debts. I was fortunate to have student loan debt with an interest of less than 2%. As long as I believed I could beat this rate, it made sense to invest extra money rather than paying off debts early.

Yet I know others are not as lucky. The average stock market return in the long-run has been 7% for the S&P. If the interest on your debt is higher than this, pay it off first! You have to decide your willingness to take the risk if your interest is less than this. I cannot tell you how much. I took a risk by investing in emerging economies and those paid off.

For entrepreneurs, when starting a business you should believe you can beat this rate in the long run. At the time, I didn’t have a business idea I thought would be a better path. You should be confident in forecasting significantly more than this to make the extra effort worth it.

Allowed the money to do its thing

There’s a secret of investing many people seem to forget. Looking at the numbers doesn’t magically make them increase. Interfering too much will backfire.

I thought about taking my money out several times when it looked like the peak. I thought about adding more whenever it looked like the bottom. Every time I was wrong. I would have lost wealth if I had acted. Trying to perfectly time the market will leave you anxious and constantly checking the news. Not to mention the lost income by needing to pay fees for every trade.

What you need to take with you

Investing in the way I did gave me much greater financial freedom. I did it while working a 9–5 and fresh out of university. The hardest part is working to get the money to invest but once you have this, it’s about making the strategy as easy as possible. These are the steps I took and can help you too.

1. Surrendered my arrogance — I bought funds, not individual stocks.

2. Invested first then spent afterward — I could only spend what I hadn’t invested.

3. Never invested if I couldn’t afford to lose 50% — I didn’t put my security at risk.

4. Examined my opportunity costs — I was sure it was the best use of my money.

5. Allowed the money to do its thing — I didn’t obsessively check on it.

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day! Remember this is my story and you must examine the risks for yourself. I have intentionally not given the exact funds because they may not perform the same in the future.

Any actions taken are completely at your own risk, this should not be considered financial or legal advice. I am not a financial advisor. Please consult a financial professional before making major financial decisions.

[kevinbingham]

“Not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines”

https://www.facebook.com/thethinker42/posts/10155931022478700

Lori Gallagher Witt

January 7, 2018

An open letter to friends and family who are/were shocked to discover I'm a liberal...

This is going to be VERY long, so: TL;DR: I'm a liberal, I've always been a liberal, but that doesn't mean what a lot of you apparently think it does.

Some of you suspected. Some of you were shocked. Many of you have known me for years, even the majority of my life. We either steadfastly avoided political topics, or I carefully steered conversations away from the more incendiary subjects in the name of keeping the peace. "I'm a liberal" isn't really something you broadcast in social circles where "the liberals" can't be said without wrinkling one's nose.

But then the 2016 election happened, and staying quiet wasn't an option anymore. Since then, I've received no shortage of emails and comments from people who were shocked, horrified, disappointed, disgusted, or otherwise displeased to realize I am *wrinkles nose* a liberal. Yep. I'm one of those bleeding heart commies who hates anyone who's white, straight, or conservative, and who wants the government to dictate everything you do while taking your money and giving it to people who don't work.

Or am I?

Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: Not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines.

1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. Period.

2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.

3. I believe education should be affordable and accessible to everyone. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.

4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.

5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. I'm self-employed, so I already pay a shitload of taxes. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, that means increasing my already eye-watering tax bill. I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.

6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live.

7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal) All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine.

8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe we should have the *same* rights as you.

9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally.). I'm not opposed to deporting people who are here illegally, but I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).

10. I believe we should take in refugees, or at the very least not turn them away without due consideration. Turning thousands of people away because a terrorist might slip through is inhumane, especially when we consider what has happened historically to refugees who were turned away (see: MS St. Louis). If we're so opposed to taking in refugees, maybe we should consider not causing them to become refugees in the first place. Because we're fooling ourselves if we think that somewhere in the chain of events leading to these people becoming refugees, there isn't a line describing something the US did.

11. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.

12. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I'm butthurt over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.

13. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.

14. I believe in so-called political correctness. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person? Your refusal to adjust your vocabulary in the name of not being an asshole kind of makes YOU the snowflake.

15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else.

I think that about covers it. Bottom line is that I'm a liberal because I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved.

So, I'm a liberal.

(c) 2018 Lori Gallagher Witt. Feel free to share, but please give me credit, and if you add or change anything, please note accordingly.

[klbmsw]

I’m a Liberal....

I'm considered “liberal” since I’m against your president. But that doesn't mean what a lot of you apparently think it does. Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: Not every person against 45 is the same, though the majority, I know, think along roughly, these same lines:

1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. Period.

2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.

3. I believe education should be affordable. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.

4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.

5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, well, it's because I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.

6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion-dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live.

7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal). All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force others to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia law on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on others.Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on others.

8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.

9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally). I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).

10. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc. are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.

11. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I can’t get over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.

12. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc. -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.

13. I am not interested in coming after your blessed guns, nor is anyone serving in government. What I am interested in is the enforcement of present laws and enacting new, common sense gun regulations. Got another opinion? Put it on your page, not mine.

14. I believe in so-called political correctness. I prefer to think it’s social politeness. If I call you Chuck and you say you prefer to be called Charles I’ll call you Charles. It’s the polite thing to do. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person?

15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else.

16. I believe that women should not be treated as a separate class of human. They should be paid the same as men who do the same work, should have the same rights as men and should be free from abuse. Why on earth shouldn’t they be?

I think that about covers it. Bottom line, I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved.

[gingerwonderwild]

Setting the record straight

I am a liberal, but that doesn't mean what a lot of people think it does.

Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: Not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines:

1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected.

2. I believe we should all have access to healthcare. Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen. It also makes economic sense to me that having decent healthcare is cheaper than ER care.

3. I believe education should be affordable and accessible to everyone. It doesn't necessarily have to be free, but there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.

4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.

5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, well, it's because I'm fine with paying my fair share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.

6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion-dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live.

7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer.

8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.

9. I don't believe undocumented immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally). I'm not opposed to deporting people who are here illegally (and don't have a valid claim under VAWA or CAT or for a hardship waiver, etc), but I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc). And it takes a system not outsourcing to profiteers!!!

10. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, safe flights, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money will ensure their products/practices/etc. are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. Certainly not right now. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.

11. I believe our current administration is fascist! Not because I dislike them or because I can’t get over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.

12. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc. -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.

13. I am not interested in coming after your blessed guns, nor is anyone serving in government. What I am interested in is sensible policies, including background checks, that just MIGHT save one person’s, perhaps a toddler’s, life by the hand of someone who should not have a gun.

14. I believe in so-called political correctness. I prefer to think it’s social politeness. If I call you Chuck and you say you prefer to be called Charles I’ll call you Charles. It’s the polite thing to do. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person?

15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something with a better profit potential in the future.

16. I believe that women should not be treated as a separate class of human. They should be paid the same as men who do the same work, should have the same rights as men and should be free from abuse. Why on earth shouldn’t they be?

I think that about covers it. Bottom line is that I'm a liberal because I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved.

Copy & paste Or reblog if you want. I did! No pressure.Just wanted to set the record straight.Thanks for reading.