#otherwise there are so many possibilities!

[grison-in-space]

dreamy take that, Vance, you nasty little convert panting after the tradcaths. it's hard to fuck up converting to Catholicism so bad that you wind up being specifically admonished by the Pope.

the actual letter itself is also well worth reading and pulls no punches for a Catholic audience; it's the kind of reading someone for filth you can only pull off from someone who knows you very well and shares a lot of theoretical values with you. on a theological level, invoking the thirty days of wandering lost in the desert, Jesus as a god-become-man, and Joseph-Mary-and-Jesus in Nazareth as refugees are all extremely powerful metaphors within context; so is invoking the story of the Good Samaritan as the source of the central insight in the fullest maturity of humankind.

Then he ends by speaking to three groups. The first is American Catholic bishops, who he very pointedly praises for the efforts to support immigrants and refugees they are most assuredly making, for which God will of course reward them. (The American bishopric as a whole is a particularly conservative faction among international Catholicism and in fact most recently had a scandal when the second Catholic US president ever was elected in 2020 and a bunch of them threw fits at the idea of congratulating the new President on account of it was Biden; the Pope, by contrast, is a Jesuit out of Argentina whose parents fled Mussolini, and he is not into that shit.)

The second group he addresses is American lay Catholics and "all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters." He's just taken some time to extremely clearly demand that the lay faithful "consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa," and otherwise strongly imply that unjust laws should be opposed by as many of the citizenry as possible. In that light, he's juuuuuuuuuuuust one level of plausible deniability away from calling for all Catholics to oppose this administration, root and stem, as a grave matter of high-stakes faith.

Then he ends by invoking Mary to protect all refugees and immigrants worldwide, just to really grind it in where his concern lies and what he thinks people of good conscience should do. it's written very strongly and very sharply. deeply satisfying to read, thank you, and about what you'd expect from the first pope ever to name himself for St Francis of Assisi.

[b1asho]

I swear I'm not a wof blog I swear. Anyway, here's the bugs and a plant for some reason

Some info:

silkwings are the smallest pantalan tribe amd they're omnivores, primarily eating plants but opportunistically scavenging when possible. they have a long tongue and a set of spinners in their mouth, the tongue being their to access the flowers,bugs, and fruit from the giant plants on the continent. the spinnarets from both their mouth and wrist have to be mixed to create the strong substance they use for building and defense (there is a ratio they can mix it at that causes it to combust when exposed to air and slung at enemies) the scakes on their wings are a bit poisonous but otherwise they have few defenses beyond this, they're also slow clumsy fliers. they have an exoskeleton but they also have an active respiratory system (so they actually breathe in and out unlike a real butterfly i think) unlike hivewings, they're not eusocial but they have been forced into those roles by the hivewing occupation. they're what's left of the beetlewings, having changed drastically in appearance over the years due to a lot of different pressures.

hivewings are large and omnivorous, but primarily eat meat to help fuel their flight. they're bipedal when on the ground, standing in a weird splayed fashion but able to run at fairly high speeds. when in flight, just like silkwings, they use both their leg wings and chest wings. hivewings can buzz them both at extremely high speeds and therefore fly much quicker and with more agility. also like silkwings, they have an exoskeleton and lungs, and their ither organs are stored in their abdomen tail thing to keep them away from the massive internal muscles needed to twitch their wings that fast. they are eusocial, and have several different classes. soldiers, workers, and queens are all female, and while they're larger than drones the queen is the largest (laying all the eggs in the colony. there are several dozen queens and hives on the continent, but they all answer to one). workers have a setup similar to silkwings where they can mix substances from their mouth and wrist to help them build the hive and trap prey. soldiers can't do this, and only have venom in their mouth and tail like a queen. drones are only there for the queen and don't do much else, having very little political or social power. hivewings are another offshoot from beetlewings that was mixed with some nightwings (which is why their faces, horns, and spines look a bit nightwing-ish and where their black coloring and sparkles of white dots on their wings came from)

leagwings are the only vertebrates, and look very scary to the others with their transparent skin,large eyes, and bones. they spend most of the day immobile somewhere in the sun,only occasionally moving to get water or ambush prey. their many frills help maximize surface area to photosynthesize with. they're entirely carnivorous when not getting energy from the sun. they're much more active at night, using the battery of energy they got from the day before returning to somewhere high and exposed to the sin so that when morning comes they can start to recharge. their main defenses are their teeth and claws, but they can also secrete a poisonous substance from their mouth and skin to deter others. it's mainly disorienting, but in a high enough dose it will kill. their long frog like kegs are for jumping from tree to tree and gor climbing because it's harder for them to work up the energy for takeoff from the ground. some of them are also magic and can control plants (magic is also how the One Queen can control all hivewings, but they also have their own natural pheremone signals) they have largely been wipes out thanks to outcompetition, habitat loss, and deliberate extermination on sight, but pockets of them are still around. they may have been from the same place as rainwings and share some of their features, but have changed drastically from those roots.

no one really knows a lot about beetlewongs because the version I drew is now extinct, but they were likely omnivores with both acidic spit and spinnerets, along with heavy armor. unlike their descendents they're still built more like a dragon from phyrria (idk if I spelled that right) with their big wing limbs being in front with the little arms being behind them instead of the other way around.

I decided to keep them all hexopods even though I think the hive and silk officially have another smaller pair of wing things (bringing them closer to being 8 legged in my version of things)

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Captain's Orders 1

No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, controlling behaviour, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: The Captain takes it upon himself to change your life.

Characters: Steve Rogers

Note: I am still dizzy her and there but feeling a bit better.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

You wouldn’t call it doom scrolling. That’s not what this is. You try not to search out the depressing headlines or the studies of the human character assuring you of your race’s inherent flaws. Yet, all those boastful posts about engagements, weddings, and promotions still make you feel crummy. 

Jealous? Sure. You don’t have any of those things and it isn’t as if you can hope for as much, either. You’re in a dead-end job, living in cramped apartment with your sister and her irresponsible friend, and your romantic life is next to non-existent; not that you’ve been looking. None of that is meant for you, otherwise, you’d have had some glimmer of interest by now. 

It’s like quicksand. Not very quick but it pulls you down lower and lower. Sinking and sinking until all you can see is the muck. There’s no way out now, you’re waist deep in it. 

You click under your favourite communities and start a new post. You don’t make many. Mostly you read and judge silently. You’re a lurker. Like in many facets of your life. You watch, you don’t do. But you’ve had a shitty day and you need to just let it out. 

Your fingers move as your thoughts boil in your head; your nagging manager, your lazy landlord, and your immature roommates. Nothing ever goes your way. Everyone else has it figured out and you’re just left to rot. You try! You do. Resumes, profiles on friendship apps, online courses; free, of course, it’s all you can afford, but you do try to improve yourself. It just doesn’t work. 

You hit ‘post’ and close the lid of your ancient laptop. It’s as thick as a book. The battery doesn’t hold a charge and the fan is as loud as a jet. You fall back onto your bed and look around your tiny room. That’s all you have. This space is as much as you can call your own and not really. You rent it, it can be taken away with one of those red stamped notices. 

You yawn and drag yourself up. A whole shift and you didn’t bother to have more than the bland break room coffee spewed from the off-brand pod machine and a couple sticks of gum. Tia got herself sushi before her shift but she can just ask her parents to send her money to cover her Door Dash addiction. 

You plod out to the kitchen. Your sister closes the fridge and cracks the tab of a beer can. You’re sure it isn’t her first.  

“I didn’t hear you come in,” Shea bobbles her head. 

Funny since Donna pretty much hollered at you for interrupting her TV show. You all pitched in on the flat screen yet it’s never your turn with it. You shrug and go to the cupboard. It’s not sushi but the spicy shrimp ramen isn’t too bad... 

“You work?” You ask. 

“Pfft, no. Didn’t I say I was going to lunch with Mason?” 

“Did you?” You take down at bowl. She probably did. You never remember. She’s always got a date or a party or a fall back. If she can’t make rent, she’ll smile a cute guy and get some money. 

“He bought me some shoes! You’ll never believe.” 

“Right,” you try not to seethe. 

You’re scraping the bottom of the barrel. You’re eating sodium-laced noodles and holding back tears against old people wanting to print out their life story from a corrupt PDF. She’s pretty. She doesn’t have to try. Shea is all the proof you need that some people are just lucky. 

You put the electric kettle onto boil and the smell of burnt—something makes your lip curl. You pop the lid and look inside. It’s brown. What the hell? 

“What’s wrong with this?” You ask as you flip off the switch. 

“Donna!” Shea yells, “what did you do to the kettle?” No answer. Your sister hollers again. 

A door swings open and Donna stomps out with a huff. Her face is green as she has a mask spread over it and eye masks pasted beneath her lashes. 

“I’m getting ready--” 

“The kettle stinks,” you reach for a pot and find none. They’re all stacked and waiting to be washed. You snatch one off the top and flip on the faucet. 

“Oh, I heated up some bone broth in it. I’m doing a cleanse,” she smirks. “Tasted kinda weird.” 

“Bone broth?” You scoff. See. You try, they can’t even clean dishes. “Great.” 

“I’m sure it’s fine, just rinse it out,” Shea says. 

You scrub the pan and ignore her. You glance up as she slurps noisily from the can. Pre-drinks. Her and Donna are going out. Again. They can afford to because they don’t buy their own drinks. They don’t need to. You went out with them once and paid for all of your own, even though you’d have been happy enough with a single round. 

“Have fun,” you dry out the pan and slam it on the burner. 

“Jeez, maybe you should loosen up?” Donna chides. 

“Yeah, come with us. Dance it out,” Shea drawls. 

“No thanks,” you twist the knob and light the burner. “I have work tomorrow.” 

“Call innnnn,” Shea insists. 

“I can’t,” you sniff and step back to wait for the water to boil. 

“Boring,” she chirps. 

“Yep, I am,” you cross your arms. Your annoyed. When the go out, you’ll have to clean up this mess. You can’t handle another bout of fruit flies. 

You put the noodles in and let them soften. You stir in the oil and powder then retreat to your room with the bowl of boiling cholesterol. You let it cool and put a video on your phone. You don’t want to think. 

You eat deliberately. You savour the processed flavouring. You can’t go out sneak a midnight snack; Donna ate all your cookies. You label all your stuff in thick marker and she apparently can’t read. 

You hear them leave. They’re loud. They leave the television on. At high volume. 

You go out and shut it off. You need to sleep soon. Opening always comes after a late shift. Otherwise, how else would the corporation keep you disempowered. 

You open your laptop. You’ll but on some lo-fi while you charge your phone. Heck, the fan is like white noise on its own. 

The little red number at the bottom of the page stops you. You left the browser open. Someone actually responded to your post. You click and your stomach drops as you read the first sentence. 

‘Sounds like you cause a lot of your own problems. Maybe try some mindful exercises and get out more. You should also consider making some friends.’ 

You read it over and over. You’re angry. Hurt, too. But most that first thing. You can’t stop from replying. 

‘You got all that from me venting? I wasn’t asking for advice. I walk to and from work and I have friends.’ 

It’s mostly true. You do walk. Most days. And your sister is a friend, isn’t she? By association, so is Donna. 

Before you can look up your favourite twelve-hour lo-fi, another notification pops up. 

‘Looking at your post history, your diet could use some improvements. More veggies. And walking is a good starting point but you need to increase your endorphins. I’d be happy to send you some helpful guides. They’re easily searchable on the internet. We live in the age of information, you should consider taking advantage of that.’ 

Wow, what an asshole. He’s smug and obviously better than you. You click on his username and scroll through. Just as you expect. He posts in fitness communities. Not any videos of him but sharing tutorials and recipes for high-protein smoothies and fibre-laced juices. He wouldn’t know flavour if it puked in his mouth. 

You his ‘esc’ and go back to your own post; ‘thanks for the advice. Have a good one.; 

That’s it. You’re not arguing with some faceless douche on the internet. His response is as quick as the first. 

‘A helpful link.’ He hyperlinks the words. ‘You should at least stretch in the morning and go outside on your breaks at work. You might work long shifts but it’s no excuse to be lazy. If you’ve been in that role for so long, you should have more than enough references to move on to something that doesn’t make you miserable.’ 

You don’t answer. You know if you do, you’ll just embarrass yourself. Judging by the few pics of his real life and his cadence, he’s got everything. He just thinks it’s a matter of mindset. There can’t possibly be anything else which could make things more difficult for people. You just don’t work hard enough. Duh, everyone always says so. 

You close out of the page. If he replies again, you’ll block him. Simple as. You put on a lo-fi track and dim the screen. You roll over and tuck into bed. You fall asleep in a ball of stress; you have to wake up, shower, do all that human stuff, then make yourself face another eight hours of hell. 

���

“I hate working at the fucking copy desk,” you hiss as you take your bag from the cubby in the break room. “Good luck.” 

Darcy gives you a look as she sits at one of the tables, waiting for her shift to start. You grit your teeth as you should your purse and grip your jacket tight. You punch your employee number into the clock then head out. 

As you march down the aisle of toner, a customer tries to stop you. “I’m off duty.” 

“But I need a keyboard.” 

You ignore them and keep going. 

“I’m going to tell a manager, young lady!” 

You don’t care. Besides, why are they looking for a keyboard in the toner aisle. The signs above with the giant letters clearly show that the computer accessories are in the opposite corner. 

People are stupid. They might be able to read, technically, but they definitely lack comprehension. Just like Donna who can’t keep her hands off your snacks. 

You walk home in a simmer. If you let your temper get away from you, you won’t be able to hold back when you walk into the inevitable shit show waiting for you at home. Shea and Donna hungover, probably having got into more of your sparse groceries, and amidst a brand new mess for you to tidy. You won’t not this time. 

You have a mission. Go to your room and don’t come out. 

As you enter your building, you find the elevator non-responsive. A tiny post-it is stuck to the doors. ‘Out of Order’. Couldn’t have made something a bit more legible? 

You take the stairs. The hallway smells like onion and dirty clothes. You take out your keys as you get to your door, ignoring the rabble coming from the apartment next to yours. Before you can get your key in the slot, the door opens. 

“Heyyyy, she’s back,” Shea greets. You blink at her in confusion. Is she already drunk again? 

“Starting already?” You ask as you try to get past her. 

“Hm, no,” she says tritely, “you have a guest.” 

You roll your eyes, “don’t be a bitch, alright?” 

“No, really,” she grins. You stop and look her up and down. She isn’t falling apart like usual after a Friday night. Her hair is done, her makeup too, and she’s not in her sweats.  

“Is it mom?” You whisper. 

She snorts, “you’re stupid. No, it’s your friend. Steve.” She backs up with a shimmy, “I think some people call him Captain.” 

You make a face. What? 

“Who...” 

“Ahem,” a figure appears by the corner of the kitchen counter, “I didn’t mean to intrude.” 

You crane to see over Shea’s shoulder. The man behind her is tall. And familiar. Steve Rogers. Your expression contorts as your lashes flutter in confusion. 

“Not at all, Stevie,” Shea spins, “I’ll give you two the room. So nice to meet you.” 

She squeezes by him and touches his forearm as she does. He doesn’t react. She giggles and flits off. Her door shuts but you can tell that the latch didn’t catch. She’s listening. 

“Should we go outside? Get some sun?” He asks. 

You glance at him again. You’re lost. 

“Do I know you?” You grimace. 

“After all day under fluorescent, you should really get out--” 

“I-- I’m sorry, can you slow down and explain--” 

“Outside. Privately,” he says. 

You peek past him then look into the hallway behind you. You search your mind for an explanation. The only place you know him from is the internet or a history book. 

“Like I said before, going outside can really help with mood issues.” 

You hesitate and your mouth falls open. It can’t be... 

“Was that you? Last night?” You shake your head. 

“How about I buy you a smoothie?” He offers. 

You snap your mouth shut. He can’t be serious. This can’t be real. 

[dapperprincess]

I think that plastic surgery isnt you doing anything to your body. It’s you paying someone else to do something to your body, and as such needs regulations in place so that these surgeons, who are motivated by money, do not exploit vulnerable populations, such as anorexic people.

In the same way that a doctor treating a disease should be held accountable if she botches the treatment in order to accumulate more money through repeated services, plastic surgeons should be held to much higher standards than they are currently. All of the onus should be on the doctor accepting pay for a service, not the patient who is paying for the service. Also, much like a doctor treating an illness, plastic surgeons should have to have undeniable proof that their treatments actually work to alleviate the patient’s problems at least the majority of the time. This is not currently the case. Plastic surgeons have almost no regulations on their work. One plastic surgeon can do a nose job and the next won’t touch you because she doesnt know what the first one actually did. There need to be a set of standard practices.

Not to mention that a regular doctor would be fired for malpractice if they told you you looked flu-like as an outright lie to bolster treatment sales when you were just in for stitches, whereas a plastic surgeon can accept a patient for a nose job and throw in a few jabs about her belly and all of a sudden the plastic surgeon has more money made off of insecurity and lies.

That being said, I dont think as many people would desire to risk their health for aesthetic changes to their body if our society did not place such a high value on appearance, especially upon women, who are expected to be thinner than healthily possible if they wish to be respected in the public eye.

But to reiterate, none of this responsibility should fall on the people getting the plastic surgery. These all need to be put in place to regulate the doctors, because otherwise all that motivates them is money made from the job, just like any other job under capitalism.

crazy to me how some people think conversion torture/forced detransition is actually a privilege when it happens to trans men/mascs

[slytherweasel]

MC is still MC! There is no ‘original’

Spoilers most likely

Let me start that saying that this is my opinion based on the game and my personal knowledge and understanding of general science fiction logic and the game itself.

The Love and Deepspace timeline is very complicated and confusing. I will fully admit that I don’t even fully understand it, but based on my understanding MC is always MC. She is the same MC no matter what. What differs in the timelines are the love interests. Past lives are not necessarily a different person. So you have a Rafayel timeline, Xavier timeline, Zayne timeline, Sylus timeline, Caleb timeline

Rafayel’s and Xavier’s timelines fairly up front with them being the same.

Rafayel- a Lumerian, the Sea God, 800+ years old (as long as I’m understanding his timeline correctly), and he’s found MC throughout her many lives. I do not have his limited myth pair but from my understanding that was their first meeting. MC does not retain these memories when she essentially reincarnates as herself, but Rafayel stays bond to her, she is still his “devout follower.”

Xavier- my most basic understanding of it is the MC of the future was being used as the life source of the planet and Xavier (rightfully so) was not happy about that and wanted to save her, so he left her (wrongful so), but he came back and she died in his arms. I would also like to add while I think Xavier’s timeline is pretty up front about who he is, the actual events of his timeline hurt my brain to comprehend. Being as this is a very far ahead in the future MC she would have no memories of Xavier anyway. The lack of memories is what makes her seem different (especially to Xavier, at least at first).

Zayne- He also has no memories of his past lives, but Zayne is still Zayne. He is still cursed by Astra to suffer and die for loving MC instead of killing her. If Zayne was a different Zayne why would he still be cursed by Astra? I do need to reread his Dawnbreaker stuff but it seems to be a future Zayne and he is remembering a past version of himself (Dr. Zayne) that has MC (I assume MC has already died in this future). And present time Zayne is having dreams of future Zayne. I do hope they’ll properly explain the connect these Zaynes are having with each other. I am guessing there is a sort of rift or something due to future Zayne not having an MC to love/kill. I believe that is what Astra wants, he feels Zayne betrayed him the first time just for loving her, so he will continue to torture him until he does give in and kill her. Same timeline, same people, different lives.

Sylus- We are out a good chuck of info compared to the OG 3 but we do have his limited myth which helps. My understanding is his limited myth is the first time MC meets him. MC then curses Sylus after he dies to always live by her side until she says otherwise. Sylus is born again and finds present time MC only to realize that she has no memories of their past together, but it is still their past. He still loves her because she is still his MC, she is still the girl he fell in love with. You can also draw many characteristics and habits Sylus carries over from when he was a dragon with horns (because he is still a dragon at heart). He still doesn’t understand music and is tone deaf but he loves it because of MC, he is still a treasure hoarder and loves buying MC things, and he is still a creature of the dark just more figurative speaking.

Caleb- He was just released and only has a present time myth at the moment, so I don’t have much for him yet. But we can infer he watched MC die multiply times, that he is all too aware of how she loses her memories after dying. I assume the controlled environment of the lab is what controlled where and possibly how old MC would be when reborn. She was still the same MC, just without the memories.

The overall of this is that guys fall for who MC is, not what she looked like. The fundamentals of who MC is never changed when she died, she always remained the woman they love. There is no reason for these ‘would he leave present MC for the one he first met’ videos. That is just not how timelines work. The myths are not AUs, they are past, present, or future lives. Based on my understanding of science fiction, those are two very different things.

Spoilers for Catch-22 banner

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This banner takes place in an alternate universe. It very obviously states that for us, so there should be no questions about that.

I will be using Rafayel for this because 1. He’s my main and I love him lol and 2. I’ve watch his card like 4 times already.

We’ve established who Rafayel is in the original universe. He is none of those things isn’t this AU. He’s not even a painter. He’s an opera singer who got bite by a Praedator (basically a werewolf). They also do not have that Lumerian bond but they do give you a parallel for it. He gets that chip implanted in him that allows only MC to essentially control him. This is a different Rafayel and a different MC, while you can draw parallels that match the original universe they are different people, different timeline, completely different universe. Xavier’s also has a similar and obvious parallel with the plant Philos (original universe) and organization Philos (Alt universe) and him being the Prince/Heir.

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This rant is basically due to all the sad photos with the frame background and the posts I’ve been seeing talking about the guys leaving present MC for the MC of the past or future. I just don’t agree and feels like is causing unnecessary heartbreak. That’s not my understanding of how the LaDs timelines works.

[b-skarsgard]

Bill Skarsgård’s transformation into the hideous-looking vampire Count Orlok for Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” was an arduous process — with the end goal of making the Swedish actor completely unrecognizable.

“I was not so interested in Bill’s features, aside from his eyes,” Eggers says of Skarsgård. “The things that make [Orlock] not just an intimidating, masculine human being, is the fact that he’s also decaying and dead. Even the design of the teeth needed to be something that could be fucked up.”

Oscar nominated makeup effects designer David White created over 62 prosthetic pieces that required a team of six to apply. Skarsgård was covered from head to toe, including elements for his tongue and eyes. Only the soles of his feet were untouched.

read the at the link or under the cut

The film reimagines F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic starring Max Schreck, whom Eggers wanted to reference when it came to Orlock’s look. One such detail was in Orlok’s hands and fingers. “I wanted to extend Bill’s fingers ever so slightly, and I [asked] David about creating something to push the envelope,” says Eggers.

In coming up with a concept for the hands and fingers, White had one that was quickly scrapped. “I was playing with the idea of soft mechanics to extend them, but they’re really long and they weren’t as dexterous,” he says. The idea was too cumbersome for something that had to be very sharp. Orlok also needed to hold things, open boxes and write letters.

White used a dense material so Skarsgård could feel things. It took a while to get to the final design, but in the end, the nails were a quarter of an inch longer on the tips. They were custom-made to be “gnarly and weathered,” White says. “‘Arthritic’ was a word we looked at, as well as having them slightly unusual in their angle.

“They’re not quite right, as if they’ve been used for so many years.”

In a nod to Schreck’s silhouette, Eggers also wanted Orlok to be hunchbacked. White built a one-piece prosthetic with a thick foam insert. “That took away the weight, otherwise, it would be 46 pounds of silicon,” White says. Breaking down the application, he adds, “The back goes on first, the front overlaps the back, but the rest is all in little sections across the arms and the legs. It’s between 18 to 25 different pieces of muscle which overlap. They were pre-painted and ready to go.”

Orlok’s full reveal comes when Ellen’s (Lily-Rose Depp) husband Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) heads to the crypt and finds the sarcophagus. Orlok is in a state of decay with intricate veining and coloring.

White made it darker on the underside because he’s been lying down, but his front is lighter and waxier.

Florin Lăzărescu, the film’s Romanian folklore consultant, was the inspiration for the blood-pooling color. Says Eggers, “He reminded me that the vampire is often described as being red-faced in Romanian folklore, which was a concept that was very intimidating to do. What David came up with was beautiful, and he did paint jobs where this guy was red as hell.”

White was tasked with creating full body prosthetics, including a penis. “It was a necessary piece to make,” he laughs. Eggers adds, “I was allowed one penis [for] this movie. He rises out of the coffin naked. That in itself is a bit of a phallic act, as is most of everything that Orlok does in the movie.”

Every detail of a decayed Orlok was considered, including a dead eye made possible with special contact lenses. “I even made a sock of a tongue that Bill could use in certain scenes, which was all gnarly and scored and black and horrible, you know. So poor Bill, he took it well,” White says.

[africanotaku92]

A Little bit of Ghost Zone worldbuilding/DP AU yapping

Long post incoming, kept under a Read More for your convenience!

Ok, so i imagine that, as the Highest ranking Monarchical authority in the ghost zone, ranking second only to the Zone itself, The Ghost King is allowed to have a Harem. Actually, it's encouraged for them to have a harem with as many members from as many nations within the ghost zone as possible, as it would ensure political security between the Ghost King and the other lands within the Infinite Realms.

Now the Harem is tiered and divided into different sections based on their importance as well as favourability too the King. The first tier are his Queens. These are the spouses that are the most near and dear to his heart, his life mates if you will. They are the King's truest romantic interest, his equals and his true spouses.

The next tier are the Consorts. These are the official spouses of the king. They are usually beings of great political and societal importance or are just super powerful entities. They don't necessarily marry the king out of love, although it's possible for them to do so.

The last significant tier are the Concubines. These are basically the official side chicks of the King that have been approved to enter the harem by any of the King's official spouses. They can be of minor political or none at all, social standing doesn't matter. They enter the harem for a multitude of reasons, anything from being given to the King as collateral for a debt to being protected by the King or his spouses from any danger they deem a significant threat. They don't have even have to belong to the king, and can belong to one of his Queens or Consorts. Of course there are other roles in the harem, such as servants or guards but these three are the only significant tiers of the Harem. Harem members may also still retain roles and titles separate from their identities in the harem, but it is still considered polite and respectful to refer them to their harem titles unless instructed otherwise.

Now how the King claims his Harem members differs from monarch to monarch, but they all commonly leave something significant; a permanent mark. Typically this would be an imprint of the Ghost King's ectosignature left on the ghosts core, with more pronounced intensity the more significant they are to the ghost king, but in the rare occasions that the King takes in a still living spouse the mark may manifest physically, resembling a tattoo or birth mark.

Becoming part of any of the three most important tiers of the Ghost King's Harem obviously comes with it's perks. Apart from being subject to a life of luxury, opulence and opportunities one would never have had, they also come with guaranteed ghosthood (for those still alive members), personal protection from one of the most powerful beings across the known multiverse, and significant power boosts and life exstentions, pertaining to ghost, non-human, and liminal members.

Which brings me to my next topic of discussion; Liminality!

Liminality is often referred to as the quality of something being in between two stages or states, and in this context, the stages between being a non-ectoplasmic and a fully ectoplasmic being.

With this definition stated, I can safely subscribe to the whole 'Liminality is a spectrum' theory, With one extreme end being a non-ectoplasmic being ( Using humans as an example here) and the other extreme end being pure ghosts.

Normal humans tend to fall in between the ranges of 0 to 9%, where ectoplasmic contamination is considered negligible compared to their main biological makeup, and this has little to no effect on them.

Humans that live in areas of low and/or mainly impure ectoplasmic densities, such as Gothomites, are typically within the 10-18% range of liminality. At this range, people have started to exhibit visible signs, such as increased strength above the norm and increased resilience to substances and actions that would harm the a typically normal person. Of course Gotham in itself is a slight exception because you have liminals harming other liminals within the same or even lower range, so it functions on a level comparatively  like that of a normal city.

Adults that have been exposed to larger and/or purer densities of ectoplasm for long amounts of time typically fall into the 19-29% range. At this range they experience significant boosts in natural abilities, develop better resistances on a much larger scale, and develop slight physical changes, such as eyesight better than 20/20 vision and bigger and better physiques, and longer lifespans of up to 500 years. The changes are slight as they happen with individuals that are farther past their developmental years. This is also when people start to give off detectable traces of an ectoplasmic signature.

Individuals ranging from child aged to young adulthood in areas of high density and/or increasingly pure ectoplasm will typically fall within 30-45% liminality, with the younger and longer the exposure of the more pure and intense ectoplasm the higher the percentage would be. They begin to have significantly defined ghost abilities at this stage and have developed significant non human features at this stage, such as slited eyes, claws, fangs, non human physiques and features, etc. They also have incredibly long lifespans at this range, with the potential to live up to 3000 years in the mortal world. Jazz, Sam and Tucker are the three most liminal beings in Amity Park, due to their close proximity to purer sources of ectoplasm. Jazz has 44% ectoplasmic make up, while Sam and Tucker have about 46% ectoplasmic make up. They have strongly defined ectosignatures at this range, and are almost guaranteed ghosthood.

Next up are halfas, incredibly rare occurrences as most people cannot handle further levels of ectoplasmic exposure and just straight up die. They are beings that permanently have one foot in death and the other foot in life. Vlad is an Imperfect halfa at 48% liminality, Danny is a Perfect halfa, evenly split at 50%. Dani (Ellie or Danielle for future references) is slightly more ghost at 52%, and Dan (short for Dante) is more ghost than human at 63% (still has a human form though.) For future references, Ellie and Dan have been adopted by Danny's parents, both ghost and human, so when i refer to Danny's siblings i'm talking about all three of them.

Liminality may also occur in other non human species, though it might be more common or rare and the percentages may vary depending on the species and how ectoplasim affects their biological makeup.

But Jay, you might be asking, while this is fun and all, why bring up ghost harems and liminality? Well, my dear readers, if you have lasted this long into my rant you know exactly where i'm going with this!

Or you don't. But not to worry, i'll explain either way.

I present to you the dumb AU idea that had to have a stupidly long post to get to; Ghost King Danny AU with his entire class as his Harem.

So this is a Town-wide reveal gone right AU. After Danny defeats Pariah Dark, everyone in town knows who he is and accepts him, his parents stop trying to hunt ghosts and focus on researching about them instead. Danny goes back to his school life and hashes out any beef he had with anyone, settles any unrequited feelings and basically becomes friends with everyone. Even the A-listers are on good terms with him, any resulting violence between them the unserious kind with no bite to it that happens between friends. His rouges are at peace (or what counts as peaceful between a culturally violent race such as ghosts) and are practically part of the town. Clockwork informs him of the rules by conquest and as recognized both by the Zone and by law he is now Heir Apparent to the Throne of the Infinite Realms. It's hard at first, dealing with school and Realm matters/education, but with the support from his family and friends, he makes due.

As time goes on, Danny grows closer and closer to people. Sam and Tucker are the first and he falls in love with them hard. They fit into the empty slot of his core that he didn't know he had like snug, warm gloves on his hands on a cold winters day.

Paulina, Valerie, and Dash are next, basically becoming his queer platonic soulmates. He also holds the other former A-listers in high esteem, but not as much as those three.

Wes has become Danny's bestfriend and rival, taking up the previous spots Sam and Tucker had when they were still 14. They have video game wars and egg each other on in the best ways possible.

The rest of Danny's class are also good friends of his. He holds them all close to his heart as his most trusted confidants, and so shows them as such.

He looks through Pariah Dark's castle--now his through his conquest inheritance-- and finds what he's looking for; gems that represent all who he loves and how much they mean to him. With the help of some ghost craftsmen, he makes all of their gifts with their own personal touch, and infuses them with shards of the pure essence of his ectoplasm.

He gifts Sam and Tucker first; they each get a necklace, and later rings that he uses to propose to them. Valerie, Dash and Paulina are next, each of them getting a kick out of their matching earrings. Wes get's a choker with the centerpiece shaped like a spade, which to Danny's confusion and slight fear he cackles madly at, but never takes it off. The rest of his class all get various other crafted jewellery or trinkets that would best define them. Life is good.

Until it becomes a lot more complicated.

Shortly after he had given the last of his classmates their gifts, while he was enjoying breakfast with his beloveds, Danny was suddenly bombarded with the several angry yelling voices of the Observants invading his kitchen, accompanied by a wary looking Clockwork, demanding to know why he would overlook them on the most basic of procedures; that they were offended that he didn't even consult them before he made his decisions!

"What decisions?" Danny asked, confused and a little annoyed that his peaceful morning was interrupted by the giant eyeballs.

"The decision on your spouses!" One of them frustratedly yelled at him. Danny's face instantly darkened; he did not like the implications of those words. He rose from his seat, anger rising.

"Now listen here, you wannabe Jonathan Sims! Sam and Tucker are literally the best thing that happened to me! I'd never need your approval to marry them! And even if i did i--"

"Not those two, Phantom! Your heart and your Core ring true even as you say their names. The Daughter of The Wilds and The Pharaoh are the perfect matches to be your Queens, no one is denying you that." Another one of them interrupts Danny's rant. He immediately stops, relief washing over him at the observant's words.

"No, we are here to demand explanation on your other spouses. Your Consorts and your Concubines. Honestly, it's all just one big mess! We know nothing of whomst you have chosen, not their social standing nor their power levels, we do not even know which is which amongst the whole lot! How did you even get Concubines with no Consorts to approve of them!?!?" The former one demanded, and the others made noises of approval. The trio at the table looked at the Observants with varying degrees of confusion. Tucker was the first one to speak up.

"Erm, sorry, but what other spouses?"

It was at this point that Clockwork had decided to intervene. He managed to get the Observants to back down and retreat back into the Ghost Zone, then he sat the trio down, along with his siblings and parents, and explained the situation to them. All those gifts Danny gave his friends? They were engagement gifts. Not regular gifts, not even courting gifts. As they were personally crafted by the King himself and literally contain a part of him, no matter the intent given to them they were sacred and special enough to be considered him basically asking for their hands in marriage. And all of them accepted. The engagements can't be annulled, as they were all approved of by the Zone itself and so are binding in all planes of existence. All that's left now is to sort out who's who, gain approval from their various guardians, and plan the ceremonies in tandem with his coronation.

Danny is, understandably, freaking out. Not only because he literally accidentally got engaged to his entire class but that he has to explain it to them. Clockwork could only comfort him and reassure him that the sooner he told everyone the better for all of them in all time lines. He could only sigh.

So, he called everyone and planned a class-wide hangout at a nearby park. Everyone came, all of them laughing, talking, having a good time, and wearing the gifts that Danny had given him. It pained him to see that something they would have cherished so deeply would cause them grief. But with reassuring squeezes from his fiances, he took a deep breath and explained the situation to them.

Their reactions were...far better than he expected them to be. Sure, some of them were upset, they were either dating outside of the class or would have a hard time finding romance once they learned that they had been unknowingly engaged. But after the initial shock wore off, several people were ok with it, as they were either dating within the class and were at least assured that they could stay together this way, or they weren't really hopeful on finding love outside the town due to their liminality, and this ensured their future. Dash pulled him into a hug, reassuring him that he wasn't the worst person to be married too, and that they would be fine. Danny sobbed into his shoulders in relief. Things were going to be OK.

Until they weren't.

See, the GIW were absolutely furious with the Fentons sudden lack of cooperation at first, then outright baffled when they changed from ghost hunters to ecto-entity researchers. They were very suspicious indeed, and kept a closer eye on the town. Then they noticed things. First, it was the new influx of ghostlly inhabitants in the town. Then, they noticed that it took a long time for anyone to age. Almost 50 years of observation had passed, and all the middle aged adults had barely grown in one wrinkle. They also noticed that all the children that grew up would practically stop aging once they reached their 20s, and the kicker was when they started to develop powers and inhumane features. Clockwork had warned Danny about the impending attack and gave him the best solution; move the entirety of Amity Park to the Ghost Zone. It was no easy feat, but Danny with the collective efforts of his parents and several other powerful ghost entities successfully moved Amity Park to the Ghost Zone and destroyed the portals in that dimension. Once they were moved, things progressed really quickly. Several people grew into their liminality in the ectoplasmic dense environment and many things were discovered and moves made.

Danny, Sam and Tucker all began training to take up their full duties once they come of age. Paulina became a dragonoid, and trained her dragon powers with Dora. Dash turned out to be a Changling, and caught the attention of the Fae King Obridon, who adopted him and made him a member of their court. It was discovered that Kwan was a rare male Kumiho, with his grandmother being an especially powerful spirit amongst the East Asian spirits, and was acknowledged and taken into his household as a proper member. Wes had loudly proclaimed himself to be Danny's Kismesis (YES I SAID IT), much to the confusion of many ghosts and the embarrassment of a few others. Once it was explained exactly what a kismesis was, Fright Knight was so delighted by the proclamation that he immediately took him under his wing. After all no rival and right hand of the King could be as lacking in fighting ability as he. Valerie also received training under Fright Knight as one of his commanders. Amity was firmly established as pert of the King's personal Haunt and lair, and became a noble land. Engagements were all documented, finalized and sealed.

Once they all came of age, Danny was crowned King of the Infinite Realms. His wedding ceremony was held soon after, and all his spouses had their positions secure and established. His Court had been formed, consisting of his Family, his Harem, his Haunt and his most trusted allies.

Harem members:

Queens: Sam and Tucker (yay everlasting trio!)

Consorts: Paulina, Dash, Valerie, Kwan, Star, Wes

Concubines: All his other classmates

Now this was supposed to be a DC x DP au specifically, but unfortunately i don't know enough about DC to write something extensively regarding it. However, here are some fun prompts i thought of;

His Consorts (i like to think Paulina and Dash) Visit the DC universe for diplomatic ties and the meeting happens in Gotham

One of Batman's children catches the eye of one of his consorts (or other court member!) and they want his permission to bring them into the Harem/Marry them into the court

Child adoption bcs that's always fun

Incredibly powerful members of the Harem/Court visit their earth and cause chaos unknowingly, etc, etc.

Alternatively you can make it it's own thing with other characters/fandom crossovers! If you decide to take this and write or make something with it, please tag me! I want to read it all!

[ramblingandpie]

[Image description: screencap of tags reading #so many thoughts about the notes here

#i'm just gonna say that the civil servants i know who are just trying

to make society work are often begging for more people to opine

#there are secure white people with nothing better to do who spend

all their time making their opinions heard

#just to feel alive

#i cant guarantee anything but i know there are people in

government who would want to help your voice be heard

#if only you knew who to speak to

#so start saying what it is you need to say to everybody you might

possibly need to say it to

#and get better at saying it #and make your thoughts known

#because there are people who your thoughts matter to

#yes even in a red state

#i don't in any way believe the way our government works is ideal but

you need to use the tools that are available to you to make life bette

#civil and otherwise.

End description.]

This particular civil servant would love if folks would use alt text.

And also, yes, please send in feedback. We want to know. We need to know. Sometimes I know something is An Problem but unless people complain I am not allocated resources to fix Yon Problemme. We literally keep binders of program feedback sorted by topic. We use them to make our plans and agendas of what to work on and where to allocate resources.

We care!! We want the program to go smoothly!! And! If you're like "oh but this is a minor problem" we may genuinely have no idea!! Typically, the people who are doing the regulatory work and procedure updates and such? Are NOT the frontline staff who sees "minor" problems. Like. I see the most messed up of claims where everything has gone wrong and while yes obviously those DO need to be addressed... I also am completely out of the loop on more minor issues unless someone tells me. And sometimes it's a really easy fix!!! Or it's something we can incorporate into something else we're working on!!! And I try to be proactive (like... if I'm working on an update for A Chonker Of A Problem, I try to reach out to people who deal even remotely with that problem and ask them to please tell me any and all issues they run into, because like... if I have to remake a form? I'd rather do it right????)

Anyway wow this has turned into a rant but yes there are definitely civil servants who care. Most of us, I reckon.

Strongly recommend calling your reps and freaking out on the phone, both as a self care practice and so they can know that their normally chill constituents are saying things like “I guess if I can’t teach kindergarten teachers to be nicer anymore I shall have to become a bonus army”

[foreststarflaime]

A paranoid aroace’s guide to surviving Valentine’s Day

DO NOT LET THAT BASTARD CUPID GET YOU.

Best not to venture outside or anywhere with lots of people today. Too many potential targets for the arrow bastard to attempt to sic on you. Instead lock yourself in a defensible location

Following up on the previous, an apartment a few stories up is ideal—people have to funnel through limited number of chokepoints to get to you. Board up all your windows so he can’t shoot through them. If you live on the ground floor DO NOT go on a roof, the feathery shit can fly, try a basement instead

Give yourself lead poisoning. His gold arrows (the ones that make people fall in love, lead are the ones that sew hate) probably won’t work on you anyways depending on how much of a repulsed aro you are but better safe than sorry

On a similar note, arm yourself with a nail gun. Make sure the nails have as much lead content as possible. Don’t try to beat the little baby bitch at his own game—instead, turn his game into Splatoon and be determined to win.

Sharpened pencils are also acceptable in a pinch if you can’t find nails. Also maybe keep some on you for close range combat

You may be tempted to put up decorations such as roses dipped in blood or severed human hearts on pikes to mock his theming. This can be effective, but better is to still have your decorations up from Halloween. As an aroace that was the day your power waxed the strongest. Keep symbols of it around as a threat display

Do not touch anything gold. Just in case. Especially golden apples marked “for the most beautiful goddess.” That will get you wrapped up in the stupid love polygon squabbling called the Trojan War

Also do not trust the animals. Or suspicious otherwise inanimate objects for that matter

If all else fails, make like a tree

And now a moment of silence for our fallen comrade Daphne 🫡🕊️🍃🌳 good luck all of you out there stay strong

[axylotls]

⌕ s͟e͟a͟r͟c͟h͟i͟n͟g axyl's pg . .

zᶻ ( ABOUT ME ) ⨟ ♡

hi guys!!! my name is axyl / rivera — i don't mind whichever, but as you can tell my account is branded after axyl. i go by many nicknames such as river, vera, riv, ax, but i'll ask you to refrain from calling me any pet names ( babe, honey, love, etc.) as they make me uncomfortable! my pronouns are they / she / he btw if you choose to just use one please use they

i am nineteen years old, turning twenty this year on july 4 ('05 liner!!) and i'm from canada! canadian shifters please moot me especially if you're from ontario . . i'll let you know that i'm neurodivergent (undiagnosed but i'm like 99% sure i'm autistic so i simply say that most of the time) so i might react in ways that aren't conventional. also, i have extreme anxiety, so please understand if i'm a little intimidated by certain interactions

zᶻ ( MY LOVES ) ⨟ ♡

k-pop stan at heart forever and always!!! currently obsessed with zerobaseone and boynextdoor<3 my other ults are stray kids, enhypen, aespa, and njz. although i stan more boy groups, i listen to girl groups the most overall. other musical artists i enjoy are taylor swift, gracie abrams, sza, doechii, sabrina carpenter, and . . many more that i'm forgetting off of the top of my head but!!!!

my favourite tv show and comfort series is criminal minds (i haven't finished it yet ㅠㅠ) and my favourite movie is little women ♡ i'm also a huge fan of k-dramas and have just recently started delving more into j-dramas so i'm always open for recommendations if you have any :]

rapid fire of my other favourite things: the colour yellow. cheesecake. cinnamon buns. hello kitty. my frog plush. vie & rei. books. heartless by marissa meyer. reading. books. have i mentioned i love books. spending money i don't have on books. writing. pink and green. brownies. baking. finding new recipes. my sister. shifting. astrology. witchcraft.

zᶻ ( DNI CRITERIA ) ⨟ ♡

basic dni criteria including bigots, homophobes, transphobes, misogynists, etc. anti shifters. race changers (srry not srry) - follow up: people who judge people for shifting with their cr morals - anyone who wants to come into my inbox simply for hating on me, my friends, or anything in general

i do not tolerate any sort of hate on my page so please take your leave before you even try, otherwise you will be blocked and possibly put on blast!

 layout inspired by hrrtshape

[mysterymachine67]

Pairing: Dean Winchester x M!Reader

Summary: You two have the bunker to yourself, so you decide to surprise Dean for Valentine’s Day.

NSFW. Minors DNI.

A small Valentine’s Day special 🤭

Dean’s room was filled treats of his liking. Including you. There was a box that was shaped like a heart filled with chocolates, a cherry pie that you made, and a few other things. Hell, you even decorated his room a little.

He was supposed to be back from a store run in a few. That gave you time to fix or freshen things up that needed to be.

When he got back, the bunker was quiet. Way too quiet for his liking. “Baby?” Dean called out, voice echoing. But there was no response. Only the quiet creek of the floor when he began to move his feet. He damn near dropped the bags on the floor and sprinted toward his room when he heard nothing. Maybe you were asleep. His thoughts ran and ran but suddenly came to a stop once he was at his room door. Before turning the doorknob he swallowed, bearing himself for what’s possible to come.

But when he did all he was met with was you, sitting at the edge of his bed while drinking a can of soda, dressed in clothes of your liking. Dean let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and his face softened. “You scared me,” he chuckled nervously. Walking in and setting down the bags on the floor; kicking the door shut with his foot.

As Dean got closer, you stood up. Setting down the soda you had, then making your way toward him. “‘M sorry, sweetheart,” You apologized, then pressed a kiss to his lips. When you pulled away you spoke again, watching as his eyes darted around the room. “I can make it up to you, and besides, it’s Valentine’s Day, baby.”

Dean smiled, looking back at you once he finished looking around the room. He kissed you again, pressing his lips against yours before pulling back. “I’ll be looking forward to that. Plus, love what you did with the place. And the pie? You spoil me.” He said, a big smile on his face; pleased of what you did for him. Once you placed one of your hands on the side of his face, and the other down on his hip, he practically melted.

Dean’s mouth touched yours again. Only this time more passionate and rough. Things escalated, his hands gripped your flesh while yours roamed, then you both moved to the bed.

♡︎

Dean’s moans were loud. Probably way too loud but you weren’t complaining, nor was anyone home so it didn’t matter. Your cock pushed against his sweet spot with every deep thrust. His moans and quiet whines were one of the many things that kept you from stopping. He felt so good around you. All tight ‘n warm just for you. Only you.

Your cock throbbed—needing to feel more of him but you knew he could only take so much. Though with how stubborn he is, he’d argue otherwise. Your hands gripped his thighs tight. Possibly tight enough to leave bruises. It’ll be just another reminder of this night. You’re sure he noticed how loud he was being when he put a hand to his mouth. His other gripping the sheets beneath him. “Uh-uh, non of that, let me hear you, Dean.” You spoke, and just the sound of his name rolling off of your tongue send shivers throughout his body. Before Dean released his hand he groaned and his legs tightened around you. Clenching and pushing you further into him.

Soon enough you both felt the incoming, familiar feeling of needing to cum. In which you helped him out by bringing your hand to his cock. You started pumping your hand, watching as he lifted his hips while letting out a whimper. And when he finally came it was with a shudder. Cum spurted from his tip and landed on him. You helped him through the aftershocks, and though overstimulation made its way to him, you kept going. Chasing your own release.

Small protests left his mouth and his hips jerked back. But soon you filled his hole with your cum. Painting his walls white while a moan fell from your tongue. All that was now heard was heavy breathing and panting. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” You breathed out, a smile playing on your face.

Once things were all cleaned, you both laid in the bed. Intertwined with each other while watching shitty romance and horror movies, and eating the snacks you got him.

[lookinthymirror]

important to add: in 1934 there were pogroms against the jews of turkey in the thrace region that occurred in the months of june and july.

the main factor that led to this was the 1934 turkish resettlement law which allowed the government to transfer the minorities of turkey into zones where they would be forcefully “turkified”.

description of the pogrom:

On July 2 a mob of Turkish nationalists descended on the Jewish quarter in Adrianople, attacking the inhabitants, pillaging, burning and murdering the helpless Jews of the district. The attack had evidently been well prepared for it took the Jews by surprise.

PANIC PERVADES QUARTER

An indescribable panic reigned in the Jewish quarter, with the moans of the dying mingled with yells of the nationalist Turks as they looted the Jewish shops and homes. For days the district was in the hands of the pogrom bands, who combed the town looking for Jewish survivors.

The Jews fled from Adrianople as best they could. Those who had money were permitted to take trains to Istanbul, while the vast mass of poverty-stricken Jews were compelled to camp in the open fields and make their way towards Istanbul and the Greek frontier.

Similar scenes of murder and looting took place in every town in Thrace with Jewish communities. At Kirklisse the barbarism of the nationalist pogrom bands surpassed anything that took place elsewhere. Jewish women and young girls were violated by the pogromists. Young girls were forcibly separated from their parents. Indescribable scenes of horror were enacted. Within a few hours not a single Jew remained in Kirklisse.

The few Jews who remained in Adrianople hid where they could and lived in a state of continual terror. Food dealers of all kinds received orders from the nationalist pogrom bands not to sell food to the Jews under pain of severe reprisals. Bakers refused to sell bread to Jews. Some Jewish families were able to procure bread only by paying five Turkish pounds for a loaf.

PREMIER ORDERS HALT

Many days later orders arrived from Premier Ismet Pasha to halt the persecutions, but the frightened Jews continued to leave Thrace. The Turkish government sent troops into Thrace and halted the pogroms, but the panic-stricken Jews continued to leave, on foot and in carts, traveling secretly at night to avoid the pogrom bands.

A detailed account of the pogroms in Thrace was published by the Salonica newspaper, Action. The story, which was written by a special correspondent, ended with the following declaration: “It is generally believed that these attacks were carried out with the full knowledge of the Turkish government, otherwise how was it possible for Turkish soldiers from so many surrounding villages to arrive in Adrianople to participate in the pogroms?

“The order issued by the Turkish government at Angora to halt the attacks came when everything was over, and though the aggressions, the violations and the looting have ceased, fear is so deep in the hearts of the Jews who remain in Thrace that no one wishes to expose his life or the honor of his wife and daughters.”

Following a series of pro-Turkish, anti-Semitic articles, the pogroms in Thrace began with a boycott of Jewish businesses. At first, this meant looting and burning buildings, but the violence steadily increased throughout the month of June. It is even rumored that a rabbi was chased naked through the streets, and his daughter raped. Over 15,000 Jews were forced to flee before the government finally took action on July 4th.

gendered antisemitism and when jewish violence is exceptionalized (is everyone except the jews allowed to be violent?):

elza niego, a turkish jewish woman, was murdered by an older turkish man for adamantly rejecting his advances. he stabbed her to death more than 8 times in 1927. he had stalked her for years and was enraged at her engagement to her jewish coworker. he had even tried to kidnap her with other accomplices. elza and her family complained to the police and as a result he also spent time in prison (only some months). he refused to stop asking elza's family for her hand in marriage and was rejected each time, making him more upset. after his release from prison, he stabbed elza to death and severely injured her sister who was present at the time and tried to protect her. he did this in broad daylight. she was 17 when he first approached her and he was in his 50s. elza died at the age of 18. her murderer was osman ratip, the son of ahmet ratip pasa, former ottoman governor of the hijaz.

her murder sparked an intense emotional reaction from the turkish jewish community and her funeral attracted hundreds of jews to the streets. the turkish press claimed jews had flocked to the streets, blocking traffic and yelling calls for justice. jewish public outrage was unacceptable, seditious, and ungrateful. the press reaction led to the arrest of nine jewish leaders and the curtailing of the jews’ right to free travel in turkey. niego’s murder was an early indicator of the new government’s determination to quash any public jewish expression.

the funeral march of elza.

now these accusations of jews being disruptive and "violent" are mostly BS. but it is always possible that a few were, indeed, violent and unruly. because 25,000 turned up for elza’s funeral, demanding justice for her. it is only logical that some of those 25,000 acted poorly. or maybe even more than just *some*. with post oct 7th logic, does that make the antisemitic campaign demonizing and punishing jews for flooding the streets in support of elza okay and justified? these accusations of violence were mostly false but the world truly fears jewish violence, exceptionalizing it as "the worse of all". i'm not saying we should just do whatever we want and be violent to get back at them but it is important to recognize that jewish violence is treated very differently than others.

the police protected osman, not allowing him the punishment of being lynched and instead sending him to a mental asylum.

the antisemitic press demanded that turkey break off all ties with the jews. anti-jewish demonstrations spread to izmir: jewish schools were closed down and jewish newspapers prevented from publishing. meanwhile the press demanded that the jews be expelled from turkey. hmm...sounds familiar?

a handful of jews (around 9 or 10) were arrested for bad behavior and some reports state they were also arrested for insulting turkishness.

while the trial for these jewish men was being orchestrated, elza’s murderer osman had been deemed criminally insane and remanded to an asylum instead of being convicted for murder and sent to prison.

limitations on travel were then imposed on turkish jews. jak pardo, an elderly jewish teacher, wrote a letter to his former student prime minister inonu during the trial, complaining of maltreatment of the jews, which led him to be arrested for contempt of court. 

as the prosecutor complained in court about jews not speaking turkish enough in public life and being ungrateful, it was evident to all involved that this was a show trial regarding the jews’ national loyalty to turkey. the case did not hinge on the facts specific to the funeral of elza niego. looking for evidence of an organized anti-turkish contingent, the police investigated the chief rabbinate and other jewish communal institutions and interviewed prominent jewish businessmen and communal leaders like albert karaso and marko nahum. and the anti-jewish campaign that was sparked by elza’s funeral was not strictly local. in izmir, the local turkish press relentlessly published anti-jewish screeds, a young jew was arrested after brawling with a man who hassled him for speaking ladino (anti zionists mad at jews for speaking hebrew is the same energy lmfao), and local teachers organized a petition protesting against jews, including a call for taking down hebrew signage at the jewish hospital and rabbinate—which an anti-jewish mob promptly did. 

immediately after the trial, notable works of jewish apologia were published by prominent jewish writers such as muhsin tekinalp (formerly moiz kohen) and avram galante. 

the jewish memory of the elza niego affair, as the jewish turkish press called it, was focused on the proven innocence of jews against accusations of disloyalty, while turkish memory centered on the unfortunate death of a young beautiful girl, minimizing the surrounding politics and pretending like the antisemitism that ensued never existed.

[beneathsilverstars]

okay the loop pronoun thing its like its like the splinter in my mind that sticks out just enough to get caught on stuff and irriatate the stuff further in.

because they start off with the royal we before going oh wait thats a personal thing not how other people refer to you. so that with the masking literally everything i am genuinely completely undecided on if the pronouns are like they actually just dont associate any with themselves anymore, their lying and covering it up so siffrin wont suspect anything or if its like they just need some time to be around people again and then itll be like ohhhhhh thats why i like these right.

and from there it goes into we literally have no idea how they act around people. okay they were siffrin but now have been so completely transformed by the looping that they are different enough to qualify as someone else.

they get called shy by the party but is that because they realize talking to them will have permanet consequences? is it because they remind them of who theyve lost? is it because they just havent talked to anyone aside from siffrin?

if they got comfortable around others would they be sassy like they are around siffrin?

loops everything is so wrapped up in the timeloops that its like there is almost nothing that can be said for sure about how they would act outside them at this point its like yeah they were siffrin but theyve forgotten all that and are different at least somewhat from everything.

the looping time really has utterly crushed them and then remolded them into something new and it is shown so so well through what is and isnt there about them and its so irritating they are literally a puzzle begging to be solved and the pieces are all blackened from fire and some are a bit out of shape and its like this used to be a solvable puzzle but at this point who knows!

yesss i do think the they/them was just the quickest default that they at least knew they didn't hate, and they're no longer Siffrin Enough to share siffrin's preference for he/him or they/them, though they may now (or one day) have their own preference for they/them. sometimes i give loop more pronouns later because there's no way they won't change a lot post-loops! (or in aus where they've otherwise had more time to think about it and try things out.) i'm fond of she/they/it loop but i may be biased lol

WE JUST KNOW SO LITTLE ABOUT THEM!!!

we know they were siffrin, a long long time ago.

we know how they act with siffrin, who doesn't yet know who they are, during the timeloops -- which are all three very big and specific criteria.

and then we know how they acted in acts 5 and 6, which are also super unique and unreplicable situations! obviously in act 6 they were just faced with the fact that a happy ending was possible all along but it can now never be theirs, on top of this being the first interaction in which siffrin knew loop's identity and loop knew siffrin knew. and then in act 5, this was their first interaction with the party as loop, which only happened because of desperate circumstances, and started off on the very wrong foot of utter devastation at not being recognized, which meant they abandoned their plans and improvised, all while everyone is super worried about siffrin and then trying to navigate the fucked up house. very weird and overwhelming situations!!

you can draw clues about how loop might act post-canon from all of these things we know, but you can't just straight up extrapolate, yknow? their in-game feelings and motivations just will never again apply in the same way, post-canon. and on top of the new contexts in which they'll be living, their trajectory will surely be strongly affected by their immediate post-canon circumstances, to the point that even putting them back into more-familiar contexts somehow would now provoke new responses. they could go in so many directions!! we just don't know!!!

sometimes people are talking about how loop would act post-canon and they say things so definitively and im like. man i think it depends 😭 we know so little about them and they know so little about themself.

[httpuckdrop]

ashes – day 138

jack had your valentine's day planned out long before the day arrived. a cute little picnic out in the february sun, with all of your favorite snacks and possibly even some painting. but when the day finally arrived, you both woke up to a storm.

typical jack to not check the weather beforehand.

however, the day was far from ruined. instead, you had your picnic in jack's living room, spending the day listening to the raindrops against the windows and just enjoying each others' presence. jack eventually brought out his old photo albums from when he and his brothers were still kids – ones you had never seen before, because otherwise you would've been obsessing over them every day up until now.

"this is from luke's tenth birthday," jack said, pointing at a picture of his brother with his face stuffed full of cake. in the next one, a dalmatian was licking whipped cream off his face. "our dog, amber. not nearly as calm as you could think from just looking at her."

"she looks sweet, though," you commented, eyes flickering over another picture of amber fast asleep in jack's embrace.

"her looks betray her." jack shuffled a little closer to you on the couch, side of his head leaning against yours. "i've been thinking about getting a new one, actually."

"a dog?"

"no, a new brother." he hissed when your elbow thrust into his side. "maybe not a dalmatian specifically, but… i don't know. i've just thought about it."

the next page showed a few pictures of jack on a stage, sitting in front of a grand piano in a pretty suit. he can't have been more than 13, and your eyebrows rose at the sight. "a piano man, huh?"

he rolled his eyes. "mom forced me to take classes. i hated it at first, but then…" he shrugged. "i kept it up for five years, and it grew on me. it was kind of nice to have something else to focus on other than hockey."

you never could've guessed that he would have done something like that. jack was so sporty, a very typical jock boy – he seemed more likely to be the one making fun of the music nerds than be one himself.

even when you'd spent so much time with him, you realized that you still had so much to learn about him; so many new sides to discover, so many layers to unravel.

frightening? no, exciting.

"i remember this one time when i was fourteen… quinn and luke were at some friend's house, so i was the only child at home. and our parents were fighting." your gaze fell to his hand which was resting all lonely on his thigh, so you took it in yours. "they were, like, yelling and everything. and i couldn't do anything about it. so i just sat down at the piano at home, and… played." you could feel the shakiness in the deep breath he took, but you didn't say anything, instead settling for a squeeze of his hand. "i think i did it to drown out the sound. it was the only thing i could control."

of course. his need for stability and to always be in control was deeply rooted in him. it made so much sense being put in perspective with your relationship; he craved the stability of knowing you're there with him and he hated the way you pulled away, leaving him unsure.

"what made you quit?" you hummed after a few long moments of silence.

"hockey was getting more serious… and the guys on the team didn't really think it was cool to spend my free time learning how to play classical pieces."

"i'm sure you still remember something," you said, head resting on his shoulder. "you should play for me sometime."

"i promise." he kissed the top of your head before flipping over to the last page of the book, revealing even more pictures of little jack – this time with a big, red bruise on the side of his cheek and boxing gloves covering his hands. "oh, right. i used to box."

"oh, you were a little fighter, huh?" you joked. "how come?"

"hockey wasn't enough. i wanted to be physical off the ice, too." his tone was lighthearted, yet there was a hint of sincerity in it. "something about it made me feel… invincible, you know? knowing that i could take a hit and still stand to deliver one of my own."

"uh uh. sounds totally sane."

he reached up to flick your forehead with his fingers, before giving your hand a gentle squeeze as an apology. "i guess, as a kid, i felt… powerless? a lot of the time. especially when my parents argued. and boxing helped with that," he said, and you could feel him nodding along to his words. "once, my dad came home from a night out with a black eye, and i've never felt so useless. i wanted to be able to fight back for him. or myself. or anyone else who needs it."

you want to protect them, you thought to yourself. his protective instinct was clear as day – even in the way he couldn't not be there for you, even when you said you didn't need a relationship or someone to take care of you.

he didn't fight just to fight. he fought to protect. it was the same thing with his fight at the first game of his you attended; he punched that rangers player to protect his teammate, not because he wanted to injure him.

"my coaches told me that i had to quit once i joined the ntdp, though. it made sense, since i never thought i'd have to use it in real life," jack said with a shrug. "so i didn't argue. but, in some twisted way, boxing made me less physical on the ice. like i had an outlet, somewhere to just let it all go, so i could just skate away from arguments on the ice."

"you're a good man, jack hughes," you said, leaning slightly to the side so that you could look up at him, glistening eyes studying his features. "you know that, right?"

he paused for a few moments, merely breathing as his gaze fell on you. "i'm good because of you. you make me want to be good."

[crushedsweets]

How would the proxies react if they saw someone (that they don’t know) being affected by the slender sickness? Like an outsider having a hard time because of the sickness

OK i have two versions of slendersickness in my au! one from slenderman, and one from the operator!

so, i usually just call it O/S syndrome. I'll start with how the proxies would react, and then i'll explain the difference between the infections! this is written VERY casually cuz im lazy

PROXIES REACTING TO SLENDER SICKNESS

if its the first infection, the proxies are more curious on how you got it. were you in the forest? did you touch some of the pages? did one of them leave a pill behind?

tim, brian, and toby would try to like....either stalk you to figure out what you did to get infected, or they'd try to subtly ask questions. say you're a waiter, they'll come to your restaurant and point out your coughing LOL.

...kate will just stalk you and tell the others.

if its because you're snooping, well. depends on what slenderman wants. if the proxies can scare you away from the forest, then cool. if you try to bring friends back? ur all dead soz that was dumb

if it's cuz of something not your fault, like they're regulars at your job and forget to wash their soot-covered hands? then they'll just move on, stop seeing you - or clean themselves better before . . LOL

PROXIES REACTING TO OPERATOR SICKNESS

they either kidnap you and force you to recover or kill you. thats literally it. they usually try to work with EJ to keep you sedated so they can TRY to return you home without getting caught but . . . thats a longshot .

it's just that killing too many people causes a lot of police activity so they avoid it when they can, even if some are. . . more violent than others

OK SO THE TWO FORMS OF O/S SYNDROME.

slender sickness, a more traditional virus/illness. aka inhaling fumes of slenderman's tar/coal will give you symptoms. this is pretty avoidable by just...not going into the forest. >inhaling enough of these fumes leaves you immune to the operator! >these symptoms are the coughing, headaches, nausea, hallucinations, the usual >if slendy DECIDES he wants you to be a proxy(and he is VERY picky), then symptoms evolve into having a sort of... proxy..mode? aka hoody, masky, the chaser. >otherwise, you can eventually make a full(?) recover

operator sickness, from the operator infecting you directly. moreso in a paranormal, demonic way rather than a virus. he targets vulnerable/violent people, no way to avoid it >you can get rid of the operator by taking pills filled with crushed-up coal mined off of slendy in the mines. >symptoms are him literally controlling your body for a period of time. usually results in causing as much violence as possible or tearing down pages >slendy usually wants operator-infected people killed, but if the proxies can get them to take enough pills, he dgaf >luckily it takes a LOT of energy for the operator to infect someone, since its like giving them a piece of himself. so he cant do it a lot

[vanillaflavouredyoghurt]

Wiege makes me realise how much I love alien stage.

There’s so many small moments and details to pick apart at and analyse, things you have to look at closely to figure out.

I need to watch wiege frame by frame, dissect and scrutinise any possible thing i can out of every one of them. the colours the expressions the characters the framing the small little bits of symbolise the cutting and editing everything that gets put into that music video i need to understand all of it, see all of it, know all of it. I wont be satisfied otherwise.