#or at least humanities ability to communicate their feelings and take responsibility for them

[druckkugelschreiber]

Me watching Grey's Anatomy is an experiment at how often it can make me think: I hate people

Results: I have lost count actually

[shininas-ideals]

KUNICHUU RAHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS IF I CAN ASK . THEY MAKE ME SKITTER AROUND IN MY ENCLOSURE I NEED MORE CONTENTTTTTTT I need to draw them too but ehhh BUT GAH. KUNICHUU SWEEP

Kunichuu makes me so angry because THERE'S LITTLE TO NO CANON INTERACTIONS LIKE WHAT. THEY WOULD HAVE SO MUCH CHEMISTRY. THEY WOULD BE UNSTOPPABLE.

Okay, where should I start

Kunikida would start having a very low opinion on Chuuya since he's an Executive of the Port Mafia, y'know, an organization that kills, tortures, practices extortion among other very illegal activities; but then he would slowly realize that Chuuya, believe it or not, has a strong moral code, that he doesn't see his subordinates as numbers, that he would only kill for the job and doesn't actually enjoy the act of taking a life, and he would at least respect his humanity (and respect the fact that he could stand Dazai for three whole years)

Chuuya, on the other hand, would see Kunikida as a naive, idealistic "hero" wannabe, someone weak that doesn't realize how horrible the world is and tries to be all high and mighty towards any criminal; his view changes a bit when he sees how much of himself he's ready to give up for his partners, and that Doppo doesn't ignore the horrible realty he lives in but instead tries to FIGHT against it, aiming for being the best person he can be even IN SPITE of the world working against his morals and ideas

As a duo, they're both incredibly proficient physical fighters, even without abilities; they tend to have a more nonsense attitude that their piers, making them both some of the more responsible in their respective jobs; they're both surprisingly very in touch with their emotions, feeling free to cry, to scream, to laugh; they wear their heart on their sleeve, and have eyes that burn with passion and vitality, which would make communication between them very easy, and they could find understanding in the others company

Dazai contrasts and complements them both, but Doppo and Chuuya multiply each other strengths, and I think that's a beautiful dynamic that we should se more of

This was supposed to be a short answer since I'm really bad at expressing myself with words, but alas I had more to say than I realized lol

Thanks for the ask!

[changbunnies]

Crave, Part 2 (18+)

♡ Pairing: Romantic Demon!Hyunjin x Human Fem!Reader

♡ Genre: supernatural au, demon au, age gap relationship typical in monster fucker fics, coworkers to lovers and love triangle vibes :')

♡ Word Count: 6.5k

♡ Summary: "The more a thing is perfect, the more it feels pleasure and pain." - Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy. In which Hyunjin, a demon from the nine circles of hell, finds himself impossibly infatuated with the very human he once set upon himself to destroy.

♡ Warnings: this is a part 2! read part 1 here, more immoral behavior and thoughts + ideas from hyunjin ofc, supernatural abilities, themes of possesiveness and jealousy, more talks of sinful acts / feelings from the perspective of a demon, reader's age is not specified but it is implied to be at least mid twenties.

♡ Notes: sorry ya'll it took longer for this to come out than i intended, i wasn't feeling well so i was resting ;v; and tbh i still don't feel well but i really wanted to keep writing so i powered thru to get this done!! this part is story focused but dw, explicit smut is coming next <3 the focus here is building up their relationship so that the smut feels like a natural development and they aren't just instantly in love lol i hope you enjoy it!

♡ Disclaimer: please read responsibly, and remember that this work is fiction and meant strictly for imaginative fun. the idols used in fics are more accurately faceclaims and personality outlines for imaginary characters, and should not be interpreted as factual representations of existing people.

How do you make a human fall in love? A question that is perhaps simple in theory, but Hyunjin hasn't wooed a human in centuries, and much has changed since he last blended in with society. In the modern age of technology, sin is at the most rampant it's ever been. The common man can access all manner of sin from the palm of his hand with a single device, and it has made the act of integrating into human society an unnecessary practice for demons. 

There's a plethora of human sin to feed from at any given moment, and obsolete is the need for a demon to blend in with the humans that walk the earth, no longer required to be a snake in the community garden just waiting for their moment to strike and consume. Though an outdated method to obtain their wants, integration with humans can still be done, if only the demon in question wishes to do so- and as Hyunjin has come to realize, he does if he wants to win over the object of his desire. 

Despite how long it's been since Hyunjin walked among them, he wasn't ignorant of modern human culture; he still had to be well-informed if he wanted to be effective and efficient in sowing the seeds of sin in feeble minds, after all- his work in the second circle required such knowledge, and it was also a benefit when it came to deciding which soul he would drink from to sustain himself. 

He knew perfectly well how to use most modern technology, knew how to dress in a manner that was unique to his own tastes but suited the trends of the era, and whatever "pop culture" knowledge he lacked, as it was called by humans, he could blame it on things such as "preferring to stay off social media," or "not watching much tv or playing much games," and most would take it as a fair, reasonable enough excuse, even if the person asking questions of him could not relate to his answer. 

In the last century especially, most of Hyunjin's public outings were limited to a few hours at most, spending that entire time scoping out who'd sustain his cravings the most. Nightclubs in particular were an easy place for Hyunjin to get a quick fix of the lust he needed, sustaining him well enough when his preferred love-drenched lust was still being built to its peak. 

Despite all his experience in human matters, there was something that posed a problem for him initially. Since moving into your lavish suite, you worked from home- a luxury Hyunjin assumes you have from a high ranking position within whatever company you work for (especially if this is the kind of place you can afford to live in on a single salary.) But if you only ever left the house long enough to run errands, how was he supposed to meet you organically? And further still, how does he meet you in such a way that makes contact with you consistent, that makes you want to talk with him and be in his presence? 

He could, theoretically, stage a meeting, pretend to be a neighbor entering the building at the same time or "accidentally" bump into you while shopping for something he has absolutely no use for, only to then charm you the moment your eyes lock with his. The problem with that approach is that charming you defeats the purpose of what he wants; for you to have genuine, real love for him, and only him. And asking you out after meeting you just once, in a situation where you have no reason to connect with him further, could be uncomfortable or off-putting in the eyes of women. What woman likes to be hit on by a stranger while she's grocery shopping? 

Hyunjin's human form is attractive, sure, but looks can only carry him so far when it comes to making a woman fall for him. His appearance is useful for one night stands, but he needs to show you more substance than that if he wants you to desire him beyond the physical- and he was sure based on his observations of your character that you weren't vain or superficial enough to fall for him based on looks alone. 

Thankfully, he didn't have to ponder on these questions for much longer, because only a few short days after you finished all your unpacking and decorated your apartment to your liking, you returned to work. He could tell easily enough what your destination was when your routine suddenly deviated; for the first time since moving in, you had turned on a repeating alarm for 6 A.M, and your choice of business casual clothing and subtle, office appropriate makeup told him all he needed to know. 

Hyunjin followed you there, naturally; presence hidden, lingering in the shadows with the intent to best establish how to infiltrate your work environment. As he expected, you held a high ranking position inside a corporate office- head of human resources for one of the many subsidiaries of some conglomerate Hyunjin had never heard of, as typically there is no need or reason for him to be well versed in human's business dealings. 

Becoming someone you work with directly would be the best route, he was sure. Whether on equal ground or as someone answering to you on a team, it was the option that gave him the most opportunity to create a connection with you, and maybe be the start of one of those sappy office romances that humans seem to enjoy in their media. 

It was fine if there were no employment openings- it'd be simple for Hyunjin to create one by exerting his influence over a human's mind. He'd pick out whomever you liked the least, someone who bothered you either overtly or simply by being an inefficient worker, and he'd take their place. He could plant the idea of a career change, a desire to move across the country, or simply get them fired should the gentler, subtle approach be deemed too time consuming for Hyunjin's taste. 

Of course, Hyunjin knew jack fucking shit about how your job truly works or what would be required of him if he was on your team, but that was fine too- it would be easy for him to fake his performance when necessary, and charm any who questioned his work abilities. He wouldn't enjoy lying to you directly if there was ever a need for it but, well.. The ends justify the means, don't they? And while he wouldn't charm you for love, certainly it wouldn't hurt to do so to make him appear a better worker than what he would be in reality, right? 

No matter what his hypocritical justifications were, he’d do anything necessary to make you his, even if it meant having to lie at times. It was a foreign feeling, being conflicted about lying when typically lying came second nature to a demon, but he supposed his infatuation for you is what makes it feel different. Is that why truth was considered a godly virtue? It was the first time in his life that just the thought of lying, before it could even be an act done in the first place, felt.. wrong.

Maybe because on some subconscious level he recognized that love woven from lies isn’t true, no matter how much he’d wish it to be. Even if you fell sincerely in love with him, would it still satisfy him to have gotten there based on tricks and lies? When he determined that the answer to that question was a firm “no,” he vowed he would do his best to keep lies far from his lips when it came to you, even if that made his goal more difficult to achieve. Strange, how this was easily the most human he’d ever felt. 

In a way, it is almost natural to feel this way, to be met with internal conflict for the first time in ages; most demons are born directly from human sin, after all. What is he, if not the physical manifestation of a human who has fallen from perfection? More powerful than a mere human though he was, his proverbial soul still held an innate inclination towards sin, the struggle with temptation and decadence inherent to his very being, as hypocrisy and corruption went hand in hand with sin, hand in hand with the very human condition he would oft wrongfully deny he felt.

And that wasn’t the only human emotion that came to him when he watched you at work for the first time. Most of the morning was spent rather uneventfully, Hyunjin’s time dedicated entirely to scoping out the environment and determining where he’d best fit within your corporate world. He observed the people on your team, who was designated where and what their duties were, keeping track of what feelings and opinions you had for whom, looking out for who he would be able to effectively replace.

Without warning, he sensed it, felt it, tasted it- love, seeping out of your pores, heart suddenly alight and a smile that should be reserved for him lingering on your lips. Jealousy pricked Hyunjin’s skin before he could even fully process the scene before him, a deep fondness in your eyes as a man that Hyunjin could only assume was from another department approached you with a smile of his own.

Shit. It was expected that he would find out who you loved eventually, but he didn’t anticipate that it would be here, in the very environment he was setting up to be the stage for your romance with him. The man asked you questions and talked in ways you’d expect to hear between friends or coworkers- “how’d the move go?”, “are you settling in well?”, and “you should invite me over sometime!”

It was the last statement that made Hyunjin’s eye twitch with suppressed anger, not much liking the idea of the person you’re in love with being alone with you in your apartment. Every time you giggled at something he said or blushed when the man held your gaze, it nearly made him sick with envy. Fuck him, he didn’t deserve you, Hyunjin thought, I'm better than him in every conceivable way, that should be me.

This man didn’t love you the way you loved him; Hyunjin could tell, could feel the platonic affection that radiated from him. And instead of being happy about the implication that Hyunjin would have no rival for your affection when he pursued you in earnest, it almost made him more pissed off. This guy didn’t even know how fucking perfect you were, didn’t seem to notice the way your eyes sparkled with affection, how your heart raced when he hugged you, or the bashful smile that lingered when he invited you to share your lunch hour with him.

He’s a complete fucking idiot for not being head over hells for you- you, who’s only sin is lust, who is beautiful, intelligent, humble, and positively radiant in presence without even realizing just how much value she truly has. It’s okay, he has to remind himself, it’s a good thing his one-sided rival doesn’t share your sentiment; because when Hyunjin shows you how beautiful you are, treats you with the reverence you deserve, your heart would surely shift to beat for him instead. He’ll make sure of it.

You let out a sigh as you comb through the next resume that found its way to your desk, exhausted from the amount of interviews you've conducted today. This was probably your least favorite aspect of your job if you were being honest; being the head of human resources put you in charge of all recruiting efforts, scanning through countless applications to determine who was the best fit for the company, but you never enjoyed doing it. 

It always makes you feel guilty to determine someone else's worth based on a flimsy piece of paper and interview first impressions, where nerves are almost always at their peak as the person sitting across from you makes their best conscious effort to impress you. It is also not a job you can delegate to someone else on your team, unfortunately; your place at the top of the HR department made all hiring decisions entirely up to your own discretion. And apart from the guilt of knowing you couldn't hire everyone that walked through your door, it was so tiring to go over the same questions multiple times a day with a myriad of strangers. 

Hwang Hyunjin was the name of the last person you'd be interviewing today (much to your relief) and you hoped he'd be the person to wow you in the end, as you have lukewarm feelings to who you've met thus far. Despite the impressive credentials on most resumes you reviewed, none of the people you'd met seemed to be a good long term fit for the company; some of them would likely only be good as temps, needing to be let go unless they showed substantial improvement in the areas they were lacking in. 

It was a terrible thing to judge someone based on whether or not they were able to calm their nerves or had enough charisma, but when working for corporate conglomerates you can't afford to be meek. It was okay to be shy and reserved in your personal life, many people in the office were, but for the sake of professionalism you're required to have the ability to put meek tendencies aside. If the interviewee couldn't speak with confidence, then you had reason to believe they'd crack under the daily pressures of speaking with representatives of other departments or when handling sensitive negotiations. 

Unfortunately, you don't typically have the luxury of giving applicants the benefit of the doubt or the ability to give them the opportunity to change your first impression of them. You take a glance at the clock hanging above the door to your office, opposite of your desk; it's just a few short minutes until you meet your last applicant, and you pray he'll be the person you've been looking for. Despite how desperate you are to fill the hole in your team after Mina's extremely abrupt resignation and move out of the country, you still don't want to hire just to fill the gap she left- you want someone capable and confident on your team. 

You take one last passing glance at the man's resume, making sure you're familiar with his education and work history, not wanting to be mistaken on any of the details listed. A short succession of knocks are heard on your door a few moments later, and you look up from the resume you're rereading to see Nayeon opening the door just enough for her head to come into view. "M-Ma'am, H-Hwang Hyunjin, uh- he's here for his interview," she speaks in a timid voice, face flushed the brightest pink you'd ever seen on her. 

Your brows furrow ever so slightly in wonder and concern at her out of character demeanor; Nayeon is among the most confident and well spoken employees on your team, and you've never known her to stutter or appear so off kilter. "..Right, send him in," you say after a moment, wondering if her attitude shift is due to the stranger you'd be meeting shortly; if that is the case, you'll have to talk to her about it once the interview is over- you wouldn't want to hire someone the people on your team are uncomfortable around. 

She nods and opens the door further, the silhouette of the taller man coming into view just slightly behind her. "Right in here," she mutters, stepping to the side and motioning for Hyunjin to enter your office. It becomes immediately apparent what the reason for Nayeon's abnormal behavior is; Hwang Hyunjin is easily one of the most beautiful men you've ever seen in your entire life. 

Black hair that just begins to touch his shoulders tucked neatly behind his ears, a few strands left untouched to frame his face, accompanied by wide circle glasses that seem to further enhance his beauty. He's dressed well, his suit modern and sleek but not overly formal for the setting, his accessories tasteful and understated, as they should be in an office environment- just a simple, long chain necklace and small, almost dainty hoops on his pierced ears. 

The reason that a man this gorgeous would even be applying to work here when he could easily make a fortune being a model is beyond you. You're quick to correct the initial surprise on your face, hoping that the man you'll be interviewing didn't notice how struck by his beauty you were when he stepped in. And how could you even know that he did notice you had a reaction to him- and not because of any overtly obvious expression of attraction, but because he could hear the beating of your heart with his inhuman ears, its steady rhythm taking a sudden, erratic jump the very moment he first stepped through the door. 

Nayeon is quick to close the door behind Hyunjin once he has stepped fully inside your office, leaving you in privacy for what will likely be the most difficult interview you have ever conducted, and not for the reasons you would've otherwise expected. "Have a seat," you speak clearly, as if your heart wasn't stuttering just mere moments ago, motioning for Hyunjin to take one of the chairs sitting opposite of your desk. "Pleasure to meet you, Hyunjin," you say after he's taken a seat, politely holding out your hand to shake his.

"Likewise, ma'am. I'm grateful to be considered for this position," he responds with a smile so effortlessly charming that you have to once again remind yourself that this is a professional setting and you shouldn't be thinking about how handsome the potential new addition to your team is. If you were a worse woman with lesser morals, you'd hire him on appearance alone- his flawless skin, plush, soft, almost inviting lips, and the little mole that sits daintily under his left eye are all positively bewitching to look at. 

You collect yourself after a brief mental scolding, deciding to get straight into the most pertinent questions you have once he's settled in his seat, opting to waste no time in getting straight to the point. While this approach does make the interview more tense for the applicant, you find it best to go about it this way to make sure they're truly ready for the sort of discussions that will be expected of them should they get hired. You don't expect perfection, but more accurately determination- if they can maintain a confident air about them under pressure, that's typically a good indicator to you they'll be a good fit for your team. 

Equally, you don't mind if they stumble over their words a few times throughout the course of the interview as long as they show the ability to bounce back from any slip ups. Error is expected at some point, as we are all human- you just want to assess their ability to come back from a mistake when speaking, and to see if they are able to maintain their composure in situations that may not be the most ideal or comfortable. 

The ease at which Hyunjin answers your questions has you convinced that he's perfect. He speaks confidently, coming across as self-assured and charismatic, not at all stuttering or faltering when you ask him to speak candidly with his own words. You appreciate a well rehearsed answer of course, but you like to ascertain whether or not the person you're considering for the job is able to maintain confidence when not using an internal script or reciting their memorized resume. 

Some struggle to do so, losing confidence in themselves the moment they are expected to go off the cuff, while others find it to be a trick question of sorts, as if you're baiting them to say a flaw that would place them out of consideration for the position they're applying for. What you value most on your team is adaptability- it's okay to falter for a brief moment, as long as they are able to collect themselves quickly and continue where they left off. And Hyunjin's ability to do just that is utterly astounding. 

He has an almost effortless sort of confidence and charisma about him; something unique and special that you don't often see, a state of being that isn't learned, but rather is innate to who he is. Even when he briefly pauses or lets out a small "hmm" as he thinks about his answer to your question, it never feels like he's struggling to find his answer- more accurately, it seems that he already knows what his answer is, and is just pondering on the best way to phrase it before speaking. 

It seemed that even his unrehearsed, unfiltered answers were nearly perfect, his ability to speak leaving you almost in awe. Truly, in the year and a half it's been since you were promoted to head of human resources, you'd never conducted an interview where the person you were speaking to seemed this effortlessly natural and comfortable in what is otherwise a tense situation. Honestly, you'd be a fool not to hire him right on the spot- his ability speaks for itself, and you're confident that any weaknesses he has can be corrected quickly and easily with more experience in the work environment. 

So you congratulate him, smiling as you once again hold out your hand and welcome him as part of your team. And Hyunjin smiles too as he takes your hand in his, knowing that this is just the start of what is his grand plan to make you his.

In the months it’s been since you first hired Hyunjin, he’s come to learn so much more about you than he did just lingering around in your apartment, and with that has come an even deeper appreciation and desire to have you. Your good nature, which he knew you had from little interactions at shops and cafes, was now able to be fully seen by him- from the way you cared about your team, treated them like equals despite the fact that you were their superior in rank, and how you encouraged and fostered true friendships between everyone on your team. 

You held so much sincere care for everyone around you, and you lead with compassion and kindness at the forefront. If someone was sick, having an off day due to mental health, or simply felt the pressures of life weighing them down, you always met them with compassion, encouraged them to get better, and never made them feel bad about themselves for any small slip ups that occurred while they were struggling with something. 

Of course, in this line of work it’s vital that they show up always ready to do their utmost best and show others the best versions of themselves, but you weren’t some militant manager that expected people to always be at 100%. It’s unrealistic, and hypocritical to expect perfection, so instead you always did your best to accommodate them when they were low, and that consideration resulted in your coworkers and employees having a great deal of respect for you, and caused them to always put in their best effort. 

By extension, your care for your team resulted in equal care towards you, and it seemed they greatly missed you when you were absent due to your move. They had fine enough leadership while you were gone, sure, but it wasn’t the same without you- the one who made them feel comfortable, secure, and made them want to perform well at their jobs. What Hyunjin felt watching you was something akin to pride- and it was strange, as he had never felt pride for someone else before, usually not even for himself. 

He just liked seeing you succeed, if he had to guess; he liked knowing the woman he desired was not only beautiful in body but also in soul, just as he suspected her to be when he first came to put aside his anger and truly know her for who she is. What a happy accident it was, that he happened to be gone when you finalized your move to suite 13; because otherwise how would he ever have known what it was like to care about someone other than himself? To understand what it is that makes a human God’s greatest creation? 

He gets it now, he thinks- why God prioritized humanity, why he loves them despite how flawed and drenched with sin they are. And again, it occurs to Hyunjin how hypocritical he was before, and continues to be even now, how foolish it is for him, the very embodiment of sin, a being who is supposed to uphold depravity and ruin, to be infatuated with you, who is the very image of benevolence.

Hyunjin got to see so many new sides of you, sides that didn’t make themselves known within the 4 walls of your apartment, sides that made him fall for you more and more. A demon can’t experience love the way a human does, but he thinks this is the closest to love a creature like him will ever have. Obsession, longing, desire.. Isn’t that all a manifestation of love? Perhaps one does not need a true heart and soul to experience what love is, maybe all that one really requires is feeling. 

Most sins are a feeling- lust, pride, envy; all are an emotion you feel strongly within your gut, a natural reaction that cannot be prevented from pricking your skin or making your stomach twist. It’s innate, woven into the DNA of every creature with higher understanding. With all that mind, who is to say a demon can’t love? Maybe it won’t be felt in the same way a human feels it, but if love is a feeling, and sins are a feeling, then what truly prevents him from knowing love? 

As equally as he learned about you and himself, he also learned about the man you had developed feelings for- Yunho. According to Nayeon, who was apparently a wealth of information when it came to the subject, you met Yunho in college and have been friends with him since. You grew quite close in your time studying the same major, and as fate would have it, you both ended up working for the same conglomerate after college. 

While you ended up here, promoted to head of the department when the opening became available, Yunho worked for a different subsidiary within the same building; so while you technically worked for different companies, you shared the same CEO, and had ample opportunity to meet and talk during the company lunch hour and maintain the friendship you had in college. 

Well, he imagines you would’ve still been friends with Yunho regardless of where the two of you ended up in life after graduation, but still seeing him daily certainly didn’t help you get over the college crush you had on the man. And you had tried to move on- you’re not stupid, you know Yunho doesn’t feel the same way as you, but your relationships never worked out as you’d hoped, and you’d always be left still battling your unrequited love for your best friend. 

Though you are always professional, it was obvious, at least to the other women in the office, that you had deep feelings for Yunho. They could always tell in the way your face changed when he was near, displaying a timid smile that only ever showed up for him, the flush on your face subtle but recognizable to those who knew you well.  

And by extension, it became increasingly obvious to the rest of the office that Hyunjin was down bad for you, and hated seeing you with Yunho. His face too always changed when Yunho arrived, though in an entirely different way from you- Hyunjin would be positively seething with jealousy, always failing to mask the frown of disapproval when Yunho stepped into your office to talk and invite you out for lunch outside the building. 

And Hyunjin, who was always a gentleman anyways, was even more so when it came to you- holding open doors for you when walking somewhere together, carrying stacks upon stacks of heavy paperwork so you wouldn’t have to do it, memorizing the way you liked your coffee so he could get it for you and you could focus instead on your work. The only time Hyunjin ever wasn’t smiling, it was when you were giving your affection to Yunho, and it was painfully obvious how bad he wanted you. 

If Hyunjin was trying to keep his feelings a secret, well.. He failed to do so at every turn. Everyone in the office could tell how he felt, and while they would never admit it, most were just waiting for the day he’d ask you out, as it seemed to be more and more inevitable that he would. Some who had been your coworkers since long before you were even promoted and knew of your unrequited feelings, hoped that Hyunjin could be the person to finally give you the happiness you deserve. 

Even you yourself began to suspect that Hyunjin liked you as more than a friend or coworker, because why else would he go so out of his way for you? Why else would his face change whenever he saw Yunho? You can still remember the way his smile dropped when Yunho stepped into the room when you were having lunch with your team, how Hyunjin subtly clenched his teeth and tightened his fists, how he’d practically glare at the man before replacing his expression with the most forced smile you’d ever seen him have for the sake of professionalism. 

Were you being delusional? To say Hyunjin is fucking gorgeous is an understatement- he’s practically ethereal. And while you wanted to move on from your stupid school girl crush on Yunho that continued to grip you all these years later, wasn’t it too much to fantasize about Hyunjin being the person to finally make you happy? He could have anyone, and you couldn’t understand why he’d want you of all people when he could easily bag someone more impressive than you. 

You did well for yourself, but you didn’t consider yourself particularly desirable.. Maybe years of unrequited love and failed relationships made your confidence tank more than you realized, at least when it came to love and romance. And while there were other couples in the office, you worried it’d be unprofessional of you to date someone who you are technically the boss of.. Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the power dynamic instead of worrying about whether or not you were desirable enough for Hyunjin to want you? 

God, you really needed to get your priorities straight before you did something stupid; and certainly you were just reading too far into things. But still, while your feelings for Yunho didn’t go away, you still couldn’t deny that your heart would race whenever Hyunjin smiled at you, couldn’t ignore how goosebumps would erupt on your skin when his hand lingered on yours as he handed you a perfectly made cup of coffee, couldn’t help but linger on the the thought of what a perfect lover he must be.

As if sensing you were thinking of him, you hear a knock on your door, breaking you out of your thoughts and seeing Hyunjin crack open the door. “May I?” he asks, and you smile politely with a nod, motioning for him to enter your office. “Hey Hyunjin, what’s up? Need something?” you ask and he shakes his head, sitting on the chair in front of you. “Nothing work related, though I do want to ask you something,” he replies, and immediately your mind wanders to delusional territory again, though you quickly try to shut it down. 

“What is it?” you ask, trying your best not to fill your brain with the thought of Hyunjin making a move on you. Be professional for God’s sake. “I was wondering,” he starts, looking at you with that charming smile that is so natural to him and you always have to stop yourself from folding over, “If you don’t have any prior obligations today, would you like to have lunch with me?” 

Oh no. He’s adding fuel to your delusional fire. “Just us?” you ask, trying to mask your hope or the way your heart is picking up speed. You really want to be chill about the invite, but you really can’t help but hope the invitation means something more. He’s perfect, how could you not? You’re only human, after all. Isn’t it natural to want someone this fucking beautiful to want you? 

“Yes, just us. You don’t have to consider it a date, but.. I would be happy if you did,” he smiles, head tilting to the side in an almost playful display, and your heart jolts. He’s not just playing with you, right? He wouldn’t, would he? But you have to ask, “You make it sound as if you want me to consider it a date. Are you saying you like me?” 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, ma’am,” he replies without hesitation, confidence fully on display. It’s as if the possibility of you saying “no” has never crossed his mind. Well, you’d probably be confident too if you looked anything like him; you don’t imagine he’s been rejected often. And well, you certainly won’t be the person to hit him with his first rejection either; you’ll have to ask a third party to handle the necessary paperwork if things go well between you and Hyunjin, as the head of the department can’t approve and oversee her own consensual relationship agreement, but it’ll be worth it, you think. 

After all, if someone this beautiful and seemingly perfect wants you, why deny yourself the opportunity? Even if it doesn’t work out, maybe he’ll be the person to finally help you get over your stupid crush on your best friend that’s been going nowhere for years. Apart from his beauty, he’s always been chivalrous and attentive towards you, a true gentleman in every sense of the word. And even if it's only for a brief time, you think he can make you feel happy, desired, truly cared for.

You’re about to tell him you’d love to, when your door unexpectedly clicks open, your eyes moving past Hyunjin to see Yunho standing in the doorway. Hyunjin immediately scowls, having half a mind to rip him apart once the day is over, though he does his best to temper his aggravation. Can’t let himself lose face in front of the one he loves after all; he’s not sure you’d still be up for a date with him if he displayed his jealous, possessive tendencies this early on (not that he did a very good job of hiding them to begin with.)

“Shit, sorry- am I interrupting a meeting?” Yunho asks, and Hyunjin rolls his eyes, turning his gaze back to you instead. “No, nothing like that,” you answer, shifting your gaze back to Hyunjin, who for the first time looks concerned that you’ll turn him down. It’s subtle, but his eyes are softer, nearly pleading, though he tries his best to not display the desperation that lies underneath- the desperation for you to affirm that you like him too, that you want to go on a date with him, that you want to give him a chance. 

“Oh, good,” Yunho sighs in relief, knowing that sometimes your work bleeds over into the lunch hour. He glances at Hyunjin, a slight frown forming on his face. He’s never spoken to the guy, but Yunho would have to blind to not notice that Hyunjin hates him for seemingly no reason. “Well, uh- I’ll let you get back to whatever talk you’re having. I’ll see you for lunch when it's over?” Yunho asks, and you can see Hyunjin swallow, hands tensing as he waits for your reply. 

Please don’t reject me, his body practically screams, and you almost can’t believe that the confident man that you know is looking this nervous over potential rejection because of you. “Thanks, but I’m actually having lunch with Hyunjin today. Maybe next time?” you answer, smiling at Hyunjin to reassure him that yes, you are going on a date. No, you won’t be picking Yunho over him, despite the history that lies there.  

Relief instantly spreads through Hyunjin, and he returns your smile, his confidence returning as if it’d never left in the first place. “Oh,” Yunho blinks in surprise; that’s.. unexpected. You’ve never prioritized someone else over him before. Huh. He feels.. strange. Jealous..? No, that can’t be right. Why would he be jealous? Hyunjin stands, offering his hand to you, which you accept before you stand yourself. 

“Are you ready, ma’am? I know this cafe you’ll just love, but we have to hurry if we wan’t to make it back before the hour is over,” Hyunjin smiles, turning away to face the door, and subsequently, an almost bewildered looking Yunho. You miss the way Hyunjin shoots your best friend a smug, almost triumphant smirk; a smirk that says I’ve won, she’s mine. And even as Yunho watches the pair of you walk towards the elevator, hears you tell Hyunjin he can call you by your name when it’s “just the two of us,” suddenly he feels incredibly stupid. 

Even as he’s left standing there, watching the elevator doors close with just the two of you inside, he can feel his gut twist as Hyunjin shoots him one last smirk, one that affirms something Yunho is just now realizing- there was a reason Hyunjin hated him. All this time, Yunho was a rival for love, and he just lost the race without ever having actually participated. 

He scoffs, laughing at himself in near disbelief. What an idiot he’s been, and what a moment to realize it. He knew you had a crush on him, but what did he expect? That you’ll always be there, just waiting for the day he’d finally miraculously return your feelings after all these years? Of course you’d move on eventually; and maybe Yunho didn’t want to admit he found your infatuation with him to be a comfortable ego boost, now hit with the epiphany that his newfound jealousy over the loss of your affection is ugly and twisted. 

And truly, Hyunjin had him beat. Somehow, he knew that this was the end of your feelings for him. How ironic it is to lose due to his own complacency, his expectation that you’d always be there no matter what relationships you found yourselves in. How arrogant and selfish he’d been, assured that no matter whom he slept with or pursued, you’d be there just waiting for the day he’d finally ask you out. And now Hyunjin has you, and he’s certain he’ll never let you go.

[greenhorizonblog]

Classism in the Left

This has to be said because this is honestly the the left's biggest problem right now. The problem is classism.

So many proud leftists are still disgusted with the very people they claim to want to help and liberate. They sneer and roll their eyes at people in poverty who don't have the same access to education and are therefore not as informed and are therefore more easily seduced by the right because the right at least pretends to care about them. They are shun homeless people who have been through so much trauma and therefore have the mental scars and behaviour that come from that.

They still believe the illusion of free will, which is a christian holdover. Much of the left's framework and perspective is actually quite similar to evangelicals outlook on morality, just applied to socialism and marxism etc. This is something that really needs to be deconstructed asap.

Hold space, grasp nuance and patience. Be kind, let people grow and learn. And yes it is actually your job to educate. Because if we don't give people answers, the alt right will. I would go as far as saying it's our responsibility to educate. Kindly and leading with love. Understand where people are coming from instead of holding them to impossible standards and making them feel stupid which will only further radicalise them. People in poverty are humans, they want and need community like everyone else. We should not gatekeep that. Especially when we claim to champion their rights.

We need to have more patience and empathy with traumatised vulnerable people. We are all in fact products of our circumstances, genetics and conditioning.

We have to take a step back and try to see the bigger picture, be a bit more pragmatic and start playing the long game. Start a messaging group for your apartment building or local area. Lend out things you can spare. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Build benches. Learn communication skills. Talk an build bridges with people you wouldn't otherwise agree with. Let your actions (within your ability) demonstrate your beliefs. And please ffs stop the endless bickering and infighting online. Stand together for once.

I know it's hard but this has to be done. It is possible. And you can do it

(follow @ revpoppopandfriends on tiktok, he's a trans minister in Appalachia who talks in a lot more detail about all this)

[aew-kun-age-regression]

"Mini Winchester"

Pairings:Caregiver!Castiel x Little!Reader, Dean Winchester x Sibling!Little!Reader, Sam Winchester x Sibling!Little!Reader.

Summary: Castiel babysits reader whilst their brothers go on a hunt.

Warnings: Brief talk about a little being left alone, Nicknames (Cas, Mini Winchester)

(Gender neutral reader)

‼️THIS IS NOT NSFW‼️

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NOT Proofread

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The boys had a case and due to you currently being regressed they decided that someone would have to watch you. Normally during a small hunt they could leave you, knowing that you'd be good and able to cope on you own for a small period of time, however this Hunt would be more serious, it would take longer. They needed someone to help. Both brothers were needed for this hunt, especially since they were already down with the youngest Winchester sibling.

Fortunately Cas decided that it was a good time to stop in to check up on his new found family.

"Hey Cas, how'd you feel about watching them for a while?" Dean practically begged.

Castiel was confused to say the least. He was still new to humans and had no clue on why you, someone who was more than capable of looking after yourself would need watching.

It had taken about 20 minutes of explaining and questions before Castiel understood the situation. He quite happily agreed to watch the youngest whilst the boys did this hunt.

The boys left after saying their thanks to Cas and giving you a kiss on the forehead, although you were too emerged in the TV to truly notice.

You had noticed that Castiel had been staring at you for a while, trying to understand how to communicate with you to the best of his abilities.

"Cas?" You asked curiously.

He smiled at the nickname that felt almost foreign, coming from you.

"Yes Mini Winchester?"

You giggled before responding. "You okay?"

Castiel smiled at your innocence before sitting next to you on the motels sofa. "I'm good Mini Winchester"

Withing minutes Cas was also invested in the cartoon that had been playing for God knows how long now.

You yawned and rested your head against Castiel.

"Are you tired Mini Winchester?"

After waiting a second with no response he looked down to see you sleeping peaceful against him.

He didn't dare wake you, staying deadly still while you rested. Cas had learnt many things from this experience, the most important being you were his favourite Winchester.

[popatochisssp]

Could you possibly do a more in depth post about ascendswap?? I love all the swap aus and this one has me Intrigued!!

I sure can!

Ascendswap

There’s a human running loose in the Underground.

They’ve been there quite awhile.

Monsters are having…a very strange day…or maybe, a strange few days… or…no, it feels like so much longer, but it couldn’t be.

Things are just a little odd lately, is all.

In reality, monsterkind has been living the same handful of days over and over again, stuck in a loop of RESETs—at the mercy of a human who seems to be perfecting their ability to show no mercy.

The repeatedly looping timeline is beginning to take its toll.

Monsters are starting to realize that something is happening.

At first, it’s only a bit of déjà vu, feeling familiarity in their actions and conversations like they’ve been here before, done this before, said this before…

Then it’s a lot of déjà vu, being able to guess what someone else will say before they say it, what they do before they do it.

Monsters are starting to talk about it, starting to suspect that something may be happening around here.

But that’s as far as they’ve gotten before a human emerges from the Ruins, and they have far more immediate problems to deal with.

One monster is a bit further ahead of the curve, though—Sans.

Though he lacks full awareness of what goes on between RESETs, more of his memories seem to be sticking than others’ and between a gut feeling, the temporal anomaly data pulled from a machine his father left behind, and the first glimpse he gets at the human’s expressions every time he ‘meets’ them, he knows.

They’ve done this before, they’ll do it again, and they’re not stopping.

Not until someone makes them stop.

Unlike other monsters (or even unlike other Sanses, in other universes), this Sans is driven, determined—arguably to the point of self-detriment—to prove himself and to solve the problem himself.

He has knowledge the others don’t, therefore it’s his responsibility to act.

Sans tries a few things to put an end to it.

He ambushes the human earlier in their dusting spree. He tries to warn other monsters to get them out of the path of the massacre. Once, quite memorably, he tried taking all the human souls they’d gathered, absorbing them to make himself a formidable, hopefully final foe at the end of the line.

That was a grueling and nightmarish handful of runs…but of course, the human persisted.

They would not be halted, an unstoppable force.

But Sans aspires to be their immovable object.

There’s one avenue he hasn’t explored yet, in searching for a way to stop the cycle of RESETs, something he’s never explored before, too daunted by the deep and unknowable source that once granted him an arcane office that not even Queen Toriel could explain beyond that it has Been as long as monsters have been imprisoned.

In desperation, Sans calls upon the thing that made him The Judge.

It’s not easy, of course.

It takes him many attempts, more effort and concentration and force of will than anything he’s ever done, but eventually he reaches back, far back across that faint thread of connection within himself and makes contact.

With…something.

It’s old.

It’s big.

It’s strong.

It feels like something that always has been and always will be.

It feels like Justice.

Communing with such a thing—an entity, a concept—is strange, nearly impossible.

Later, Sans might describe it as trying to have a conversation with Cthulhu in its native R'lyehian, screaming it across fathoms of deep ocean trying to swallow the sound.

But he manages to get something through, or at least enough of something.

It seems to understand that Sans is trying to solve an injustice but is unable, and that assistance is being sought.

Naturally, such a vast abstract entity can’t interfere directly in the affairs of mortal creatures, but through its envoy—through Sans—it may tip the scales back to even.

Firstly, it will remove the hidden stars scattered throughout this universe’s version of the Underground. The human will not be able to SAVE their timeline, and will only be able to use their Determination to start their journey over from the very beginning.

And secondly, it will grant The Judge a greater measure of its power.

This will, of course, change him.

He will have access to much older, deeper, stronger magic than he’s ever known, and he will see and feel his world in spectrums and frequencies that will be entirely new to him.

However, he will also have the ability to share that magic with others, if he chooses. At cost to himself, but nothing can be given without taking from somewhere else.

This is the bargain that Sans is offered, in the face of repeated and unending slaughter of monsterkind.

It seems fair.

If what he’s reached out to truly is Justice, then of course, it would be fair.

Sans agrees to accept the gift.

………

Papyrus is very worried about his brother.

Sans has been comatose, unable to be woken by any means, stuck in what seem to be fitful dreams and seizing movements for…days? Weeks?

It feels like longer, it can’t only have been one day, time is so wrong lately and this isn’t helping…

But eventually, Sans does wake.

There are flecks of gold in his eye-lights and the first thing he does, without a word, is to grab Papyrus by the arm.

His touch burns, hotter than any fire ever could, branding a golden handprint in the bone.

A streak of yellow slices across Papyrus’ neck, and suddenly…

He remembers everything.

Every single RESET up to that point is perfectly, chronologically clear to him. Every day restarted, all progress made and lost, every single time that he died when the human—the source of this, the one who’s doing this—slashed at him with their blade and took off his head, no matter how many times they heard him say with his final breath that he thought they could be better, if they just tried.

Clearly, they didn’t want to.

Buzzing with power and new, horrible knowledge, he asks what Sans did.

“I’M MAKING IT FAIR. WE CAN FIX IT.”

Even in so few words, it’s obvious that Sans seems a little…different.

But Papyrus is feeling different himself, and knowing what he knows, how long it’s been going on, how bad this is…

That’s on the back-burner, for now.

They need to do something, they need to tell someone—and not just that, they need to be believed.

“what you did to me, to make me remember… could you do it again?”

“YES.”

Of course.

They go straight to the top, Queen Toriel.

Though bemused, Toriel allows her Judge to take her hand—and he burns his own into it, a golden starburst appearing on her breast where she was so many times run through by…the human! She remembers now!

And she also remembers that her ex-husband is alive and hiding out in the Ruins.

Despite his soft heart, he’s as much a boss monster as she is, and by his positioning, the first real line of defense that her people have against this vicious threat, though surely he doesn’t realize it.

Obviously he needs to know what’s at stake, his full and conscious awareness is needed to stop this repeated, savage decimation of their kind.

“Sans… What you have done for me…can—”

“I CAN DO IT AGAIN.”

They seek the former king, locked away in the Ruins.

Asgore is not best pleased that his ex-wife has come to call—especially when a human child has only just fallen down and he’s left them alone to gather ingredients for snail pie—but the trio pushes their way inside and the shorter skeleton puts his hand on his chest, and Asgore’s arms are adorned with bright yellow scars, remnants of the times he’d held them up before his face to block or just maybe not have to see the final blow, landed by…

…

Oh, no…

Asgore runs off, back to wherever he’d left the human, and he must put up something of a fight, because the timeline RESETs again before the rest can catch up to him.

They wait, for awhile.

No one emerges from the Ruins for quite some time, through several RESETs.

Perhaps…the newly strengthened Asgore is enough…?

…Well. No.

The human breaks through, eventually.

Papyrus resolves to hold them in Snowdin for as long as he can, while Sans goes off to recruit one more for their group—Alphys, the Captain of the Royal Guard.

“ONE MORE. I CAN DO ONE MORE…”

A handprint on her shoulder later—and a slash across her waist from hip-to-leg, a brighter yellow than her scales ever were—Alphys is in the know and furious, chomping at the bit to take the fight to the rotten little human making a game out of their lives.

The tide starts to turn.

The human is wearing down, getting frustrated in the face of stronger enemies, no SAVEs, and…other things that are just odd.

Nothing stays the same across RESETs anymore, fights that used to be quick take ages, and the terrain itself seems to be changing. No one is where they’re supposed to be and taking a turn they’ve taken a million times will now suddenly put them halfway across the Underground!

And every time they die, they now have to start all the way back at the beginning.

It’s annoying and it’s surely only a matter of time before they give up on their quest of destruction altogether.

But in the meantime, while the war is being waged…

Alphys asks Sans for a favor.

To do what he did for her, and the others, for Undyne too.

It’s not a need. Undyne isn’t a powerful fighter, she wouldn’t be able to combat the human that way, but she’s smart, and dedicated, and she can help somehow, probably…

And it’s…it’s so hard having to explain everything to her, over and over again, whenever there’s another RESET and she forgets but Alphys remembers…

And…

Well, the part she doesn’t say is that she’s afraid.

Whatever Sans did, whatever power he found that he’s sharing with them, they’re so much stronger now, the kind of strong that comes with a price tag.

Alphys is a Boss Monster now.

Effectively, immortal—at least in terms of aging and natural causes.

Does she really want to be that… alone?

Without Undyne…?

So…she asks.

What’s the harm in asking?

Sans seems oddly hesitant to share the gift again…but he agrees.

He takes Undyne by the wrist and the iris of her right eye turns yellow, brighter than her sclera.

Simultaneously…

Sans’ right eye-socket locks open, the eye-light and even the blackness around it bursting into a shimmering yellow cloud of formless, intangible magic.

Sans isn’t surprised, of course.

This was exactly the price that Justice—or whatever it was that felt like it—had warned of, the price he had been paying all along.

To share his power with others, to give them back their memories of previous RESETs, they would also have to experience again all the damage they took in those timelines.

Damage that killed them, many times over, and would again.

Unless Sans took it instead.

Bits and pieces of himself would be lost in the process, but pieces are only pieces in light of what—who he’s saving, replacing the lost parts of his closest friends and loved ones with his physical matter.

Many parts of him have become only loose stardust clouds of magic by now, but he’s strong enough to survive without them, bolstered as he is by his connection to the entity who gave him the gift.

There’s…a bit of agitation that goes around at this revelation, the eye-socket too noticeable to be overlooked like the other bits and pieces…

But what’s done is done.

And there’s still very much a war on, a task at hand that needs all of their focus and no squabbling.

In the end—between the six of them—they force the human to quit.

Apparently, for good.

When next the human begins their quest through the Underground, they say their name is Chara and that it feels like they’ve just woken from a very strange dream…or maybe a nightmare?

Between their Determination, the power of the other humans souls, and the deep, old magic of a few very powerful monsters, the Barrier is broken and monsterkind goes free.

It’s…a happy ending.

Xanth (Ascendswap Sans)

Never quite the same after his communion with Justice… He experienced a severe ego-death and was simultaneously opened up to several new perceptions of the people and the world around him, leading to a very divided focus that’s almost exclusively outward-facing. Missing as much of his body as he is, he doesn’t feel especially present within himself, more just…tethered, utterly fearless when it comes to himself and his safety, which—combined with his wandering attention and strange perspective—tends to make him seem a bit…dotty

Has a greatly heightened soul-sense and is much more aware of (and vulnerable to) the emotions of others, highly empathic and very attuned to the atmosphere around him. His eye-socket—the one mostly replaced by loose magic—amplifies his extrasensory perception significantly, so he tends to keep it covered to maintain what focus he can

Unfortunately lost a few friends in the aftermath of everything that happened Underground after it came out (or at least, rumor spread) that he was the source of some monsters’ cool new powers, but he only picked a few people to share it with… They don’t know the full story, but it’s a sore spot for him whenever it comes up…

Spiritual, very interested in matters of the soul and the universe and the cosmos, and all the ideas had and perceptions felt of it by people all around the world—he can and will talk mysticism with anyone who’s interested for hours

Cheerful, talkative, and generous, he can be a bit odd but perfectly warm and go-with-the-flow after some getting used to

Piper (Ascendswap Papyrus)

Considerably more confident than he ever was, the power boost of becoming a Boss Monster certainly didn’t hurt but mostly what changed him was the existential realization that nothing matters—or at least, not so much as to be afraid of what people think of you. (The memories of a few thousand RESETs where you did the exact same thing every single time because you were too nervous to step out of your comfort zone and be who you wanted to be work wonders for shaking off some of the rust and getting you started on making some changes to your life)

Has a new magical ability, courtesy of his rebirth as a Boss Monster, to push intent into his words as his speaks them, making him significantly more convincing. It has its limitations, as a Justice-born power—he can’t use his words to force people to go against themselves or do anything abhorrent to them—but he can influence a bit, making his words felt and persuading people to want to work with him rather than against him

A little protective of his brother…maybe more than necessary… He blames himself some for how much his brother ended up sacrificing, for being the first one to encourage him to do it, for not noticing sooner what it was doing to him—and it’s not only his imagination that there’s still plenty of people coming around looking to take advantage of Sans’ giving nature or apparent ‘naiveté’… Not when he’s around, that’s for sure

Aesthetic-conscious—spent a long time too self-conscious and insecure to present the self-image he wanted and making up for lost time now by dressing well, buying nice things that look good, and trying out hobbies he thought were ‘too cool’ for him… He's a cooler guy than he gave himself credit for, it all suits him wonderfully

Grounded, chivalrous, and charming, he might take a bit to really warm up but an unwavering pillar of support once he has  

[balkanradfem]

List of things m*n expect women to never use against them:

their lack of ability to carry or birth offspring

lack of ability (and desire) to effectively and consistently care for their spouse and children

lack of ability to socially and emotionally take care of themselves

lack of propensity to care about other people around them

lack of emotional maturity and no emotional intelligence

lack of control or willingness to control themselves in the matters of lust, violence, alcohol, power, exploitation, sexual violence, rage

being the perpetrators of 90% of all violent crimes and committing almost all sexually violent crimes

history of oppression, torture, rape and abuse of women

holding the largest percentage of all wealth, land, resources, jobs, economic power, media, entertainment, sports

being centered in education, healthcare, history, science and media despite producing the least helpful and the most harmful results across all boards

doing worse academically, socially, emotionally and sexually, while still using privilege and past of oppression to hold down majority of well-paid jobs and positions in society

taking credit for women’s work whenever possible

creating male-lead religions that do their best to guilt women into accepting the role of servitude and suffering

misogyny and world-wide mistreatment and sabotage of women’s success

blatantly caring for power, violence, wars, sports, other males and their own imaginary positions in society more than they care about women’s well being, health, safety, happiness, quality of life, or even survival

List of things m*n have used against women:

having bodies that prioritize vitality, health, defense from disease, agility, balance, surviving lack of nurturing, cycles of hormones and functions, carrying the role of reproduction instead of brute power and force

i.e female bodies being generally smaller and less physically powerful, while better adapted to survival and reproduction in any condition and environment (used to control women via threats of violence)

women having more responsibility and emotional maturity, this is used to coerce and corner women into being the sole caretakers of offspring, elderly, sick, wounded, and often the m*n too

women having compassion and giving anyone the benefit of the doubt (used to manipulate women back into abuse)

women being able to carry and birth children

women being able to preform tasks with more consideration, continuity, responsibility, accuracy, knowledge and within an expected time frame (used to take delegate all the task-heavy and continuous work to women while taking credit)

women being able to form bonds in the family and community, ability to keep the bonds based on mutual help, cooperation, sense of togetherness and community (this is used to have women sacrifice their time and energy to keep families together, often at their own expense and harm)

being considerate and polite (used to talk over women, take their time and energy, take their voice in the public and shut them down from speaking, also to force their sexual advances)

women being kind (used to coerce women into caring for their abusers and giving them money, resources, and allowances even with the continual hurt)

women’s propensity to care for their offspring (used to trap women in unhappy and abusive marriages, threatening to take away children if women refuse to be controlled, punishing them by punishing or manipulating the children)

young women’s innocence, lack of sexual experience, lack of experience in general (used for purposes of sexual control and sexual abuse)

women’s man-made position in the world where they are less likely to inherit shelter, survival resources, economic power or rights to their parent’s estate, and less likely to gain a high-paying position (used to coerce them into marriages out of survival, prostitution, human trafficking)

women’s propensity to feel shame, discomfort and self hatred at being told they’re unwanted, despised, not good enough, or unlovable (used to isolate women from each other and the society, to be abused in private)

women’s fear of not being socially accepted and liked (used to convince women they are each other’s competition in being liked, and turn them against each other)

women’s homosexuality (used to break sexual and physical boundaries of women who cannot possibly get actual pleasure out of it)

women’s attraction to men (used to sell them idea of love and trap them in marriages, use them for unwanted reproductive and sexual purposes and insist women must have wanted it)

women’s sweetness, joy, desires to please others, wanting to be useful (used to create sexualized and male-fantasy version of women who exist in male’s heads only to please and serve them and make them feel good)

the appearance of women’s bodies (anything that can be sexualized, demoted, humiliated, insulted, hurt, degraded and depicted in a role of service and non-humanity has been done)

[monstersinthecosmos]

mother wounds & maker wounds !

So I’ve talked before about generational trauma with vampires and the nature vs nurture aspect of how some of it is behavior, but how maybe the Blood can create an epigenetic thing too that’s just gonna be baked in forever.

BUT LATELY I’ve been daydreaming a lot about the concept of The Mother Wound and how it applies to vampires!!!! And like when you read about Mother Wounds it’s described as generational trauma and it gets brought up a lot that it can be part of family cycles, ie: I raised my child this way because my mom raised me this way, ad infinitum. So I’m interested in looking at like, how the behavior of makers influences their fledglings and what types of assumptions we can make about what it does to you.

And I think if you take any vampire from the books you can kinda ask how it applies, how was their turning traumatic, how did the combination of their deadbeat maker + inherent personality influence their lives and their OWN fledglings. Like, Lestat and Armand for example have extremely different personalities and handled Maker Trauma differently. Lestat continues to breed because he is so desperate for love and afraid of losing people, vs Armand is convinced he’ll be a terrible maker and that it isn’t worth it to hurt your child, so he doesn’t bother. (Except that one time where it became a self-fulfilling prophecy bc he didn’t know how to deal with it after.) Armand is completely cynical about the entire concept that you could have a healthy relationship with your maker because he’s seen it fall apart at every level, from down in the dregs of existence in the cult beneath the cemetery, the meaningless decadent vampires of the Théâtre who barely understand immortality, and all way the up to the absolute ideal of civility and domestic mainstreaming that he got to experience with Marius.

I just find it wild how like, within VC where we are working with Big Brained Vampire Feelings and relationships that exist outside social constructs because of it, which makes the lines between parent/maker/lover very blurry. The love the vampires have for each other is so all encompassing and bigger than human labels & social roles (ie YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING), and yet as a maker you still have a responsibility to usher your fledgling into immortality in a way that doesn’t COMPLETELY TRAUMATIZE THEM and so few of them actually know how to do it.

There’s something hopeful about human relationships in the way we (at least my aro-ace ND ass does, don’t @ me) see the permanence of relationships and the way we measure the hierarchy of loss. Like the way we respect the pain of a romantic breakup and don’t talk about the pain of a friend breakup. It kind of tells us that friendships or romantic relationships can be fleeting, but family bonds are supposed to be permanent. It’s the same way people leaving abusive families or refusing to respect older relatives are shamed for harming the sacred family unit. So it makes me wonder like, when you think of a Maker/Fledgling relationship, especially in a universe where they might live forever, where do we put the permanence of this relationship and how to we romanticize its longevity? The solution in the later books of turning fledglings as a favor to each other seems to be a huge progression for them and a way to avoid some of this. It puts more boundaries between Maker and Lover, where the Maker is providing your life and immortality and doesn’t need to be there for the rest of it.

And especially because of the barrier, it’s like, you CANT be here for the rest of it. You lose the ability to ever truly know each other again. You have to actually develop your verbal communication for this to work and so many of these characters are too fucked up and not ready to do that hhaha. I think there’s a lot of substance in here about like, relating to parents as adults and how that relationship shifts when you grow up. Something similar happens when  you turn someone, maybe, like you’ve given them life and now you don’t know each other anymore. And yet something very antithetical to being a mother when you’ve taken their life in the same moment. HMM.

I just really like the way the universe presents these relationships and how complicated they are. Or maybe they’re decidedly uncomplicated because everyone is just “everything” to you. Your maker is your parent and your lover and your companion, they are your everything. It’s only complicated when you try think about it like a human.

Still, anyway, for funsies. Thinking a lot about Maker Wounds today and how it affected Armand, and how it affected his future relationships and sense of self worth. 😊

 I was reading this article on PsychologyToday.com about mother wounds if you wanna read it and learn more about what they are and what they do to you and how you fix them haha. BUT FOR FUNSIES, WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU CTRL+F AND REPLACE TO VAMPIRE WORDS?? 

 The best way to think of the maker wound is a loss or a lack of makering. This is typically a deficit in the maker-fledgling relationship that is passed down through generations, and it is a reflection on how we have experienced parenting and how we parent. While not a specific diagnosis, it is a way of looking at how current codependency behaviors may be linked to missing elements in the past.

(Lol MAKERING good word)

So anyway I’m thinking about this concept a lot regarding Armand and I’m sure you could really take any set in the series and look for some of these patterns. But my main thing about Armand that I think harmed him the most was that

- Marius was very rigid with the person he expected Armand to be 

- Marius never rescued him.

When you look back at some of the times Marius was especially cruel to him (I always think about when he hits Armand for crying about his dad or whatever lol) and like all of Marius’s bullshit about I WANT YOU TO CHALLENGE ME … but wait not like that ! it’s like, was Armand just floundering with the cult and wondering what he did wrong?  (See also: Armand’s defectiveness schema haha)

It’s a loss he can experience twice—on one hand, if he didn’t think Marius survived the fire, there’s no reason to think that he would worry about this aside from dealing with the grief of losing his maker. But if he believed Marius was strong enough to make it, or if he had any indication that Marius survived, that gives him a few hundred years to feel bad about himself and wonder if he’s not worth saving. Then of course, when he learns that Marius is alive (from Lestat’s book?) he can go through it again. 

Like there’s always going to be two sides to a reunion like that. Half might be: I’m so happy that you’re alive, and the other half is: Wait you were alive that whole time and never came to get me wtf

I feel like Armand’s early life and even his centuries in the cult are so rich with trauma and grief, though. He loses and loses and loses. He was devout as a human, ready to dedicate himself to living in caves, and it makes me wonder if the cult felt right to him, like he got there anyway. Maybe he looked at his time with Marius as a brief period of sin. It’s no wonder that he doesn’t know how to fuckin behave haha. 

But you look back at what happened with Marius and it makes sense that some of his wounds and insecurities show up the way they do. 

 These types of feelings reduce self-esteem, feelings of self-worth, and feelings of worthiness to have a positive relationship. Individuals with a maker wound always feel incomplete and lacking in their ability to connect with others, while also having deeply rooted feelings about the need for perfection and control.

It feels kinda similar to the way Louis is like GUY WHO IS TURNED WHILE SUICIDAL, like they all have something that kinda sticks with them, I think. Like something about their mortal lives that gets written into their personality. Armand was not rescued! 

Here’s some other fun stuff from the article:

Signs of the Maker Wound

·  Never feeling they had their maker's approval or acceptance

·  Concerns about not being loved by their maker or not being loved as much as other siblings or family members

·  Difficulties in relating to the maker on an emotional level

·  Uncertainty about the relationship with the maker and if it could be lost with a mistake or an accident

·  Always trying to do better or to be perfect, to attempt to gain your maker's attention and acceptance

·  Feelings of having to protect, care for, or shelter your maker rather than them protecting, caring for and sheltering you

It’s funny like most of what we know about Armand’s relationships and how he behaves in them is from everyone’s POV except his own. So it’s almost like unfair to try to figure out how he is, how he feels, what last effect abandonment has on him when we’re not hearing it FROM HIM. But it’s like oscillates between being a needy baby or being a weird monster. I’m thinking of like, the “Love me” and pathetic way he threw himself at Lestat & Gabrielle, also the way he takes charge as a cult leader, also the way he introduced himself to Daniel. I just think there’s such a deep need for acceptance, but when that fails or when he’s too afraid to be vulnerable he’s gotta just be rigidly in control to cope with it. 

Anyway I don’t have a graceful offramp here, I just wanted to yell about this a little LOL. Also I wanna share one more bit from the article because it feels really potent to me:

These are makers who may provide for the physical needs of the fledglings, and even interact with the fledglings in a positive way, but simply do not provide the deep love and attention that all fledglings require. They may not have been abusive or neglectful, and they may never have engaged in negativity in their relationships with the fledglings, but they were also always distant and less tuned-into the emotional needs of their fledglings.

This one sums them up the most to me, I think. Like the way Marius provided for him even when it’s maybe not exactly what he needed. Giving him every material luxury he could need but slapping him because he’s sad. It’s such an enormous pressure to live up to. 

Rewinding back it’s so interesting because when you look at it as a family pattern like, Marius was abandoned by his maker too, even if it was a different circumstance. Marius would have also had to go through that loss more than once; if he ever imagined Teskhamen survived and couldn’t find him, or if he ever wondered why Teskhamen didn’t come to him sooner. Especially a vampire like Marius who was so known in the vampire world, and someone like Teskhamen who had connections to the Talamasca. But there’s sort of a thing here of like, my maker didn’t teach me how to vampire, I had to figure it out myself. But then he fucks up with Armand so bad that Armand falls into the “my dad sucks so I wouldn’t be a good dad” space. 

It kills me that we don’t know more about what happened with Daniel, when they drifted apart, how he wound up with Marius, etc. I tend to wonder if Armand fulfilled his own destiny by convincing himself he’d be a bad maker to the point where he barely tried. 

And where does that leave Daniel with all of this? Idk.

The thing ultimately that makes these stories so fantastical is that they have all the time in the world to heal, to grow, to get past grudges. This is what the article lists as solutions on how to heal this wound:

·  Exploring the feelings of the inner child and allowing those feelings of being ignored, unloved, unwanted, or not valued to be expressed in a safe, therapeutic environment.

·  Learning to validate and love ourselves creates a positive emotional and mental picture of our lives as they are in the present time, letting go of the past concept of self-developed by our interactions with our maker.

·  Setting boundaries—creating a relationship with the maker that is based on your needs and the ability of the maker to change and contribute to your emotional needs in a healthy, positive, and fulfilling way.

I wonder if Daniel has a hand in that, in bringing the two of them together. 

Personally I’ve always felt like, I don’t “””ship””” Armand & Marius because I think they’re awful for each other lol but there’s just so much unhealed baggage here. But, like I was saying, vampire relationships are so different from the real world. I would love if they could simply coexist, be there for each other as needed, love each other safely. I’ve talked enough so I don’t want to get distracted with like all the work they’d have to do to fix it and how they’d have to build a new version of their relationship that exists in the present but it’s nice to see that there’s a way through and I hope Daniel can help them.

I WONDER WHAT DANIEL’S FLEDGLINGS WILL BE LIKE — !!  🥸

[shubertblue]

I think Nai was on to something when he told Vash that his obligation to help humanity was out of guilt. However, that is not all of it. Vash let’s himself be injured and will put himself into harm’s way as a means of making people feel better if he feels that he is at fault (even when he really isn’t). He’s selfless to an unhealthy degree because he has seen so much suffering and death around him. I think he knows deep down that a large motivation for his strive for selflessness is rooted in guilt rather than a genuine desire to help. But it is a genuine desire to help if he has guilt in the first place.

Why does he care? Unlike Nai who kills and destroys without remorse, Vash cares about what happens to people. I do think it is important to include a point Nai brought up. Vash, due to lack of power, feels the need to be accepted by humans as a means of safety. I think this is wrong. It’s not a matter of preserving his safety is he allows himself to be injured so frequently. I think Nai recognizes this towards the end when Vash explicitly tells him that he will not stop until someday he is excepted even though he has the opportunity to use his power over humanity. Vash may have even had his power all along, but never felt the need to use it due to his empathy.

Now that’s the key word, empathy. What I said concerning Vash’s lack of power is not entirely true when considering his ability to communicate and heal fellow plants. This comes from a deep rooted place of empathy that allows him to understand. He is naturally drawn to life and the preservation of it because he grew up being able to feel it around him. As a result, he understands humans are much the same in the sense that they to are living beings with emotions. He’s seen it first hand. So Vash probably sees Nai’s actions as extremely hypocritical, because they are.

Nai, to avoid the harming of plants, wants to destroy humanity. However, Vash recognizes that humans harm themselves and it is not a persecution of plants but rather a struggle to preserve themselves. Not to mention, plants do need their powers regulated on their plane of existence otherwise they’d die. So plants and humans need one another to survive, it’s a symbiotic relationship. What Nai doesn’t understand is that his plan in question would result in the death of all plants that aren’t independents unless he also plans on using them like humans already do.

Therefore, Nai’s plan would result in the death of all humans and plants or at least result in the same pattern that already exists. You could argue that people manage the powers of the plants wrong, but I don’t think that is entirely true because Vash (who can truly understand plants) would have changed the system with humans rather than just heal plants.

Ultimately, I think Vash is what the world needs. After all, he saved them time and time again even when they blame him for the destruction as a result. Such as the decimation of July which resulted in so much death, it was the cost of saving the entire world. However, no one knows the truth and Vash doesn’t ask them to understand. He does it purely to help humans. So much so that he takes the guilt and consequences that applies to his Pyrrhic victories (When you have a hard time considering something is a victory because of the cost it took to get there.) Although Vash has amazing powers, the series proves that he isn’t a god. Much like what Nai disillusioned himself with and which led to his downfall. Vash is just a living and feeling being trying his best and taking the responsibility of his power . Even though his empathy makes him a little more self-destructive due to feeling guilty for being more powerful but not perfect.

Which I’m my opinion, makes him even more “human”.

[doctorguilty]

griping about popular post but I don't wanna comment on it and potentially get too much attention and dogpiled

bad and terrible take I'm sorry like the "individual action is not effective" because "the fundamental problem is [higher institution]" is applicable to stuff like, "reducing your carbon footprint by driving electric cars and using metal straws makes minimal impact on the planet because multi billion dollar corporations are deep frying the planet" and even THAT concept has more to do with like personal sacrifice vs personal accountability.

For example if I spend extra money on sustainable eco-friendly food products and exhaust my food budget so that I go hungry at the end of the month, for the sake of individual action to like help save the earth, it is not worth hurting myself for because no amount of only purchasing free-range eggs will make an impact equal to me as a human being with basic needs and rights to food. And being guilt tripped and told I'm selfish for eating cheap eggs instead so that I have enough money to eat every day is bullshit.

At the same time, it DOES NOT mean that because your individual actions are small in the grand scheme of things, it is a waste of effort to do actions that DON'T negatively impact your life, health, or wallet. Like separating recycles from the trash, buying affordable cotton/wool/leather clothing instead of stuff made of plastics, those are still worthwhile things to do if you HAVE the ability, if you ARE capable.

Equating masking to the like, propaganda of "individual actions are necessary self sacrifice, go green at the cost of your well being while we spill 300 tons of oil into the ocean" is stupid, it's not the same thing. It's more like the separating-your-recycles thing but not even that either. Because it's not about the nebulous concept of "the planet" or the "wildlife and forests", it's about your NEIGHBORS, your fellow people at their jobs and at the store and living their lives, doing something individual for THEM, and it does ABSOLUTELY matter and make an impact.

It makes a HUGE impact every single day what you choose to do around other people; wearing a mask could be the difference between, what, you wearing a piece of cloth over your face that is uncomfortable sometimes? versus a cashier getting sick and having to stay home from work and lose a chunk of their paycheck, versus a child at the store catching your infection and bringing it to school with them and they all bring it home to their families, versus an elderly person who lives alone taking care of themselves, becoming bedridden and no one can get them groceries or pick up their medication at the pharmacy.

That stuff REALLY fucking matters and that doesn't even start breaking ground of disabled people, that op was really quick to throw under the bus?? oh society has forsaken them, it's an institutional, such a shame. nothing we can do about it. (also like. who was even talking about cons or events when it came to any of this.......because as far as I know everyone was like, please just wear a mask when you go to the store. to the doctor's office. like wha?)

oh, you feel bad it's being "moralized"? you don't like feeling personally responsible? it's uncomfortable when us undesirables are forsaken by everyone in power and all we can do is beg and plead to be considered by the average person in our vicinity? like honestly, op is right in the sense that the hard statistics when it comes to how much of an impact 1 person in a crowd of 500 don't really matter, but you know when I see that 1 person I think, god at least someone cares. Like. I mean it's complete misinfo to say it does nothing for disease transmission but since people don't care about THAT anyway, then yeah it IS a moral issue and you should feel bad about it! you should feel bad ignoring our voices, you should feel bad when we die, and you should feel bad if all it takes to even communicate to us, "I hope my choice does matter enough to save even 1 person in the world" is wear a piece of cloth on you face and you think that's equitable to corporate ceos guilting you over not driving hybrid cars while they tear down forests to build parking lots over, you think disabled people asking for a sliver of consideration on par with like, taking the grocery cart back to the return so it doesn't smack into someone's car is the same thing as oppressive institutions scapegoating poor people and profit from it...... like I think you've lost the plot, terribly.

[some-assholes-familiar]

I’m pretty sure it’s already been said but god I just love how no one in Goncharov (1973) is innocent. There’s no good guys here, no one who doesn’t carry some form of regret for violence in their past.

Goncharov himself is probably the most explicit example of this, sparking a good amount of conflict in the film from almost the beginning by trying to outrun violence without confronting his sins and his own mortality, but as much as Katya models herself as innocent (dressing in white acting clueless when Aundre asks her about her husband, etc) she’s still got that violence in her past and seems (at least to me) less angry at goncharov for his involvement with the mafia than she is at his attempts to pretend all of that never happened (whilst still engaging in it! Like c’mon man just hang up the phone) and that’s not even mentioning her final decision to kill him at the clock tower, quite literally staining her with blood ( although if I’m being honest it reads more to me as her being honest with the blood on her hands, to Sofia and herself, a woman taking hold of her own story which is just phenomenal for a film made in the 70’s honestly). Then of course you have Sofia, herself having a violent past hinted at through her interactions with Katya and ice pick joe, loving Katya unflinchingly in spite of the blood on her hands (and saying she looks better in red guh I love that line) and knowing probably full well, without Katya even having to say it, that it’s Goncharov. Then there’s Andre who was right there alongside Goncharov working for the mafia and despite having an objectively better grasp on accepting his own mortality and the role he plays in perpetuating this cycle of violence (though honestly our boy gonch does not make that hard) still finds it so hard to accept it when he himself is directly responsible in goncharov’s death despite knowing full well his blood is on his hands going into this and being fully prepared to take his life seemingly from the get go).

There’s a lot of classic tragedies out there, but I’ve never seen anyone tackle themes like the cycle of violence and momento mori as well goncharov 1973, a story that is only as effective as it is because as much as you know no one is close to innocent from the get go, you still feel for them and hurt for their shared humanity and complexities that inevitably fall short as a result of their own actions.

Tragedy is only really effective as a result of an audience’s ability to see themselves in the characters, but I love just how much Martin Scorsese and Matteo JWHJ 0715 placed importance on the idea that no one here can be innocent, they’ve lost that right to call themselves unambiguously ‘good’ a long time ago. They are all flawed and they are all objectively not great people for a variety of reasons, but you still feel for them regardless. They’re all tragic figures not necessarily because they’re all victims of circumstance but largely as a direct result of the choices they made and the chances they didn’t take that eventually led to the tragic ending we all know and love. They’re the ones that set the clock on their own lives, and it’s spectacular that the filmmakers managed to make us understand that whilst communicating so effectively their own feelings of helplessness.

So yeah, homoerotic mafia movie and all that. Thanks for reading through this rant on a movie I’d honestly not thought to watch myself until very recently.

[bb-azurite]

If Soundwave/Shockwave took over the Decepticons

A lot of people go on about how much better the Decepticons would do if Soundwave or Shockwave were in charge but personally I don't see it. At least not for their Prime versions.

Like not including anything from other Soundwave incarnations or the books, I'm stuggling to think of an instance were he came up with a plan or really took any kind of initiative. I love Soundwave whenever he's on screen but the whole show he's pretty much just following orders and the times when does refuse (Starsceam/Airachnid trying to kill/abandon Megatron) he’s really only  maintaining the status quo. Dude had pictures of the human kids since like eps 5 and it took him until the end of season 2 and Starcream coming back with a plan for Soundwave to do anything with it. He’s already devoting all his time and energy to his work as communications officer, manning the ground bridge, decoding the database etc. that he has no brain power left for coming up with his own schemes. Let alone mustering up enough menace and charisma to command the troops and give orders when HE DOESN’T SPEAK (watching the show is both funny and cute when Decpticon high command have full conversations with Soundwave not responding but being understood anyway. You really get a sense of how long they’ve known him but charades just isn’t practical for an intergalactic army). I feel like it’s telling that Megatron, who might as well be Soundwave’s closet friend, was basically promoting any Decepticon who showed up to SIC before even looking Soundwave’s way.

Shockwave is a little better. He speaks and has initiative to get what he wants. His problem is that he’s just weird and does whatever will flex his science muscles the most, not what is most practical. I mean, his response to being abandoned on Cybertron for who knows how long was not:

A. Build an SOS beacon to be rescued.

B. Build a spaceship and get himself off the planet.

It was C. Resurrect ancient mythical creatures while waiting for them to eventually come back for you even though you gave no indication you were even still alive (Starsream was abandoned alone, on a hostile alien planet without fuel, shelter, resources or even the ability to transform. Starscream started walking). 

Shockwave lives his life according to logic but specifically Shockwave’s logic. Plus, unless he’s competing with Starscream, he seems more than happy to be left alone to tinker in his lab for the most part. He just doesn’t derive the same pleasure from yelling at people to do whatever he tells them that Starscream and Megatron do. Leading would definitely be a job to him that keeps him from doing what he’s really passionate about. If Starscream didn’t bring it up so much, would you even remember that he and Shockwave were BOTH SIC in the third season? Half the time he wasn’t even on the ship.

Soundwave and Shockwave are both geniuses at what they do and the Decepticon cause certainly wouldn’t survive without them. But being good at your job and being a good fighter isn’t all it takes to lead the Decepticons. Not that Megatron and Starscream are shining examples of leadership but it’s oppurtunity cost. The Waves are best doing what they do and the could not and should not be expected to do literally everything.

[notjustanyannie]

Everyone should know that we’re heading to a climate disaster that can best be modified by immediate actions addressing the causes. But it doesn’t appear that the excessively rich are feeling the heat and stepping up to the plate. Their philanthropic foundations announce commitments to fight climate change but in reality, they are building up endowments to save for the future.

Over $200 billion are sitting in donor-advised funds and over $1.3 trillion in private foundation endowments. Charitable giving to fight climate change, estimated by the ClimateWorks Foundation at $7.5 billion last year, is only 0.5% of the money sitting in private foundations and donor-advised funds–and amounts to about 0.04% of the assets of the ultra-rich.

It is estimated that it could take $3 to 10 trillion (twelve zeroes) per year to avoid climate disaster. Even if they wanted to fix the climate problem, it would require extraordinary collective action for philanthropists to pony up enough money to fix the climate problem. Only governments (funded by taxes on these very ultra-wealthy donors) can effectively do that. In short, the philanthropic investments now being made are necessary but insufficient.

We need to hold the ultra-rich responsible for the role their investments play in worsening the climate crisis, call out their insincere philanthropic efforts aimed at “addressing” climate change, and hold them accountable for paying their fair share of taxes to provide funding for clean energy.

Extreme inequality and wealth concentration undermine humanity’s ability to stop climate breakdown. The richest of the rich play the largest role in driving and accelerating the climate crisis with out-of-control carbon footprints due to extravagant lifestyles, excessive wealth-hoarding, corporate greed, and investments in polluting industries. Poor and middle-class communities who share the least responsibility for the problem will bear the brunt of climate change and suffer the most as shifting weather patterns, destructive storms, floods, wildfires, and heat waves wreak havoc across the globe, with the potential to displace 216 million people from their homes (and countries) by 2050.

According to the most recent data, the world’s top 125 billionaires have “an average of 14% of their investments in polluting industries, such as fossil fuels and materials like cement….Only one billionaire in the sample had investments in a renewable energy company.” When combining the impact from both their investments and lifestyles, carbon emissions exceed 3 million tons per billionaire, about a million times greater than the average person! The same report finds that through campaign contributions and lobbying, the wealthiest among us have an oversized impact on election outcomes and more political power than anyone else to protect their investments and shape climate policies in their favor.

And therein lies the biggest problem: We must have a functioning democracy to address society’s most pressing issues, including climate change–one where an exclusive ruling class doesn’t control our policies. When the government is beholden to the excessively wealthy, backroom deals influence laws and shape the rules without the public’s knowledge or ability to change the outcomes. The only way to limit the power of the excessively wealthy is to stop the hoarding of excessive wealth.

Extremely rich Americans hoard their wealth through tax loopholes and preferential policies enforced by their armies of lawyers, accountants, wealth advisers, and politicians. Four simple tax solutions would address excessive wealth hoarding: a multi-millionaire income tax, a robust wealth tax, closing gaping estate tax loopholes through an estate or inheritance tax, and finally, changes to the tax rules to foster increased, transparent and more equitable charitable giving.

We are facing a collective emergency: to save the planet from–and for–ourselves. The rapidly accelerating climate crisis is a class issue that impacts all of humanity. The reality is that our futures are interconnected with one another–and economic and climate inequality reinforce each other. To develop solutions that slow or solve climate change, we must address the deep-seated conflicts of interest and the systemic inequalities of our unjust wealth system.

Alan Davis is the chairperson of the Excessive Wealth Disorder Institute.

[humanwithfourheads]

Je suis humain.

I am human.

Humanity is a fickle thing. It’s constantly changing, at least, depending on who was asked. What does humanity mean to them? It can mean a lot of things, it can mean desire, family, the look of the skin and the body that holds the physical property of humans. The perspective of people is what made that definition.

It was a topic that made Antoine think. This idea that humanity was made up of the exact thing it was meant to define, humans, was beautifully crafted in a way. It wasn’t true by any means but the thought was there and it was so sweet.

The floating palace home had been coming along quite nicely. It had a lovely view of their moon and the shit towers beneath it. Nostalgia had been what drove him to craft the four pillars. Something as simple as dirt can be pretty too. Nobody really thinks about that. There’s so many prettier materials, why would dirt be their first choice? They forget the dirt is what holds them day by day in the cradle of a universe expanding beyond everyone’s earthly existence.

Oh! Dirt is also just fun. It can grow stuff and has smaller bits of rocks in it.

Stepping back for a better view Antoine gave a satisfied hum. The windows looked nice. The first wall wasn’t done but stepping back to see the progress of his creation is always so pleasing. Change was always happening and building was a perfect example of that.

This project has been keeping them busy. They still visit Pomme to take care of her of course. A lot has happened though, she knows that, she watches from afar like watching hamsters in a wheel spinning. The timing might have been bad to announce his newfound communication abilities, but oh well, Antoine hopes they know that while she doesn’t understand the fuss she’s glad most of them came out unharmed. That death message had given him a moment of shock, it didn’t stay as it never does, but it was definitely a surprise. Hm. Mortality was a rope their universe defied wasn’t it?

Moving on, Antoine smiled. She usually was but this time it was for a good reason. There was a mark left on this world by him. Something done by his two hands that would forever sit on in this world even if it were to one day slip into the distance of time.

“C'est parfait.” It was. It was perfect to them and that’s what mattered most. It didn’t need to be perfect to anyone else but her and that’s why it was special. Sure, Antoine would show their work off, but the responses of his friends mattered very little. What mattered was how it was to him.

Antoine approached the first wall, fishing out the blueprints from their bag. They weren’t very sure about their placement of the windows and just needed to double check that he had done it right. Perfection wasn’t what he was chasing but they just wanted to make sure it was correct so far.

As Antoine studied the glass she caught her reflection beaming back at her. The cardboard box smile greeted them with a loopy expression. Antoine was alone that day, no Pomme, so she wasn’t as bothered to hide their form with their robes. Their dark hands with red tops and claw-like nails visible holding the contrast of the blueprints.

Sometimes Antoine forgot his appearance wasn’t the most human resembling. It used to be. Hell, even on the plane to the island it was. She can recall as the flight progressed the ill feeling of being wrong creeping down their spine. The shock of running to the cramped bathroom to see his face fading into inky depths again. The disguise of human skin was slipping and only got worse the closer to the island the plane got. Antoine had taken some random box left stored away and drew silly expressions to distract from it, not that Antoine found it ugly, just that Antoine didn’t want their friends to be put off and ask questions. No one questioned it. It was Antoine, of course Antoine would do something silly like that! Wearing a box on her head! Being on the island though it worsened. The disguise wouldn’t come up anymore, his old form of skin wasn’t coming back.

Poetic, in a way, thinking about that now. That face died so many years ago but the person never did. That human lost their soul only to be graced again by the universe with the chance to walk once more. Antoine was lucky, he thought, looking into the glass. Those who are given second chances don’t always come back the same. She did. That weak humanity is still intact in their mind racing with the fear of life and death, but not the universe. The universe took their hand and showed them the course soil they walk on.

If the box was off Antoine would look fond. How could he not? It was a gift to be human again. Every few years that thought comes up and it’s such a loving memory to her.

Taking a final look at the glass Antoine picked up quartz and began to add fine details to the first wall. Soon the palace would be finished and there would be another mark in this world. This time the goal was to work until the two moons sat above each other waving like old friends of the world. Perhaps they could have a castle-warming party to celebrate? Maybe not. After that last party he had witnessed with her second pair of eyes it didn’t seem wise to try and have a party. Oh well. There’s only one thought Antoine holds for certain.

I am human.

Je suis humain.

[C'est parfait - It’s perfect]

[corvidmagicae]

ooc lore question for you to make a hc post about, how the heck do witches manage to do things like necromancy, being liches, general fucking around with life and death without pissing off Xerneas, Yveltal or Zygarde?

When you have the entire ask answer completed, and you are actively getting warned by tumblr that you are at the character limit. and then tumblr glitches and makes you lose the ENTIRE POST.... ANYWAYS, the answer is VERY CAREFULLY. Just kidding.

Truth is, they are incredibly aware that the balance trio might have opinions regarding their abilities, and the majority of their belief system and unspoken rules are set up regarding just that. At least, amongst the Kalosian sect, who actively worship them.

It is their belief that their evolution and extended lifespans are a gift given by those legends - or at least, they've been allowed to keep them. And that if they wish to continue keeping them, they need to give credit where credit is due, and be respectful of their creators.

It is their belief that Xerneas gave them their extended lifespans, and in exchange they respect and worship it. And Yveltal will take them away to it's side when it feels their time has come. They can play a cat and mouse game with it if they so choose, but ultimately they must be gracious losers when the time comes. It is not a true loss - just an inevitable change in department and direct supervisor. Zygarde is the ultimate deciding voice, and it's decisions are final - those who follow it ensure that the rest are following the proper balance of life and death, and that their great power is being met with appropriate responsibility. They view themselves as servants to the gods, a position they've willingly put themselves in, as payment for the gift they've been given. And that if they wish to keep their position, they need to safeguard it from those who'd misuse it.

Now, this is entirely a community's personal belief - whether or not it's the actual truth is another story, and one i leave up to those who roleplay those entities. They could very well be the servants of the legends, or the legends may be actively annoyed by them! Or they may not care at all. It's first and foremost a tale told by elders, to explain how they got their abilities and why they need to take responsibility for their own actions.

Not all mages follow these beliefs either - not all regions have the balance trio, so their belief systems and stories passed down may be entirely different and dependent on their own local legends. And not all mages are respectful of their peers. Some are active threats to the community at large, viewing their own kind as stepping stones or power batteries for their own ends... or may be detrimental to the world at large, irresponsible with their abilities and uncaring of what gets destroyed or injured so long as they achieve their own desires. Humans with no knowledge of these old beliefs can be a threat as well, as they may try to achieve a mage's ability with no respect or regard to the limitations or desire to maintain balance in the world around them.

It's also important to note that most mages don't actually have the ability to manipulate life itself - mages who practice necromancy are at most able to manipulate the spirit, often communicating with the deceased and respecting their wishes. Those who mess with remains don't truly bring back life to old bones - they just re-animate organic matter. There's no true life there. True ressurection, like with AZ's Floette, is the realm of the gods, the realm of Xerneas itself, and is thus beyond the average mage's ability. Necromancers (or ghost-type mages) are among the most polite and responsible amongst the society, due to general respect of their abilities and being hyper-aware of the consequences of their actions.

Now, some mages may be able to tap that deep into the current of life energy. Most mages don't stick their hands that deep, either out of personal restraint or inability to reach that far. But those who can revive or take lives at a single touch are reverred as legends even amongst their own kind. They are noticeable anomalies., even amongst their own kind.

It is also important to note that the majority of mages who follow these beliefs don't mess with the lifespans of others - they only mess with their own, using themselves as guinea pigs before attempting to use others. And those who do mess with the lifespans of others have rules and regulations they follow regarding it, even if those laws may seem nonsensical. This is all in an attempt to make sure they aren't pissing off the legends who safeguard those domains, and it's the mages who attempt to crudely break down those doors without care, or who use other living beings as guinea pigs before attempting things on themselves, that are generally the ones regarded as dangerous amongst their own society.

Even bridgette, who does actively mess with the lifespans of her victims by locking their ability to age in tandem with her own lifespan, as they are under the effects of her own magic until released from their position... won't interfere if Yveltal comes calling for them, and will actively try to safeguard those birds and keep them safe from harm until someone with a higher position of power tells her to do otherwise. She won't attempt to make them take a fall for her, and she will keep them safe until it is time to let them go. By tying the extent of their lifespan to be equal to hers, then they are her responsibility until their true masters come calling for them, and she has accepted that.

The general rule of thumb amongst mage society is that you can do something dangerous, but also that you are responsible for your own actions. you have to be willing to confront the consequences of those actions on your own. You cannot scapegoat someone else to take the fall for you.

ie: a lich can manipulate their own lifespan, but should not test their experiments on others if they are not willing to test them first on themselves. if a mage evolves into a lich, they understand that they are allowed to exist because of Xerneas and Yveltal's mercy, and should respect their wishes should one of the trio appear before them.

Some mages of course see their evolutions and extended lifespans as dodging responsibility rather than accepting responsibility - be careful of those. Those ones are the dangerous ones.

[kaijuconfessions]

This is more of a venting thing than anything and it’s wordy and. Not worded well so I’m sorry in advance.

I’m autistic and don’t know how to talk to people, and whenever I try they fucking hate me or stop talking to me without any explanation when all I was doing was just trying to be good to them and connect and make them happy

My confession is I talk to people on here on anon because at least then I know I won’t be pushed away by them and still have a chance at befriending them. I will do this for years. I’ve followed people for years and not dm’ed or talked to them off anon because I know I’m gonna fuck up, and I’ve learned to take a “don’t come out of the hole until you’re better” approach to being autistic which is not healthy or sustainable at all. So I’ll do this for years until I feel I’m “good enough” to talk. The fucked up thing is that it basically works- like, I do improve with time in my social skills and ability to understand people.

There was a person I didn’t really talk to for years— I followed this person for close to a decade. I wouldn’t even send many anons because I really liked them and just was very scared of talking Wrong. After I think 8 years, I sent an anon where I loosened up a bit and tried communicating something and connecting. They had this weird really inconsiderate reaction where they did a vague keysmash basically laughing at my ask, and nothing else. And like. It triggered me so bad I lost all ability to understand human communication and was so disoriented about what the keysmash could mean. I was dissociating really bad and STILL I decided to send another anon apologizing and trying to explain what I meant and just.. I was so fucking heartbroken. 8 years of being so careful not to be accidentally rude to this person, 8 years trying to essentially un-autism myself (impossible) enough to fucking socialize and they just gave me the vaguest, most inconsiderate response to an ask where I already mention I’m autistic.

They’re not a bad person at all but it really truly broke my heart to be treated that way, even though I know they didn’t even know me or anything. It just felt so awful. I unfollowed them after that, which was painful as well.

:(