#please can we handle things offline

[qqquib]

dreams response video:

- my summary and thoughts

he ignored the allegation that he’s misogynistic, after it being proved by multiple ppl that he has called numerous women whores, enough to get them mixed up. 0/10 not based

he called tommy and his group racist, gave no evidence. im thinking that he did that as a satirical thing to tommy providing “no proof” on his claim of being misogynistic despite above situation. if he means that they are deadass racist i would love to see proof on that. 2/10 interesting but still not based

he said tommy’s merch factory was run by slave labor, and that his wasn’t (idk anything about that). 5/10, i am uninformed on overseas labor and what merch company mcyt ppl use. i do not buy merch 👍

told tommy off for saying he was child when he was 16, said it made dream look bad purposefully, said that tommy wanted to be treated like an adult so that’s what he did. i can see where he’s coming from, but also reading the message he sent tommy that he showed in his stream, it still doesn’t feel cool. they both just need better communication. and, 16 is still a child? me personally, i would not be caught lacking. 3/10 i guess i can see why that would be okay but still not based

says that his message to tommy’s mom isn’t bad and out of place (it is fucking weird, why are you tattling on your supposed friend to his mother) 1/10, if that is the only msg he sent it is less strange, but also dude what the hell

said it was bad for tommy and them to keep saying he’s a pedo when he isn’t, which is fair and it’s fair to be upset by that. 10/10 based as hell

said that saying the r-slur was wrong, he regrets it, but he censored it fucking weirdly in his video and it feels weird. 8/10 thanks for taking some accountability here, i guess? mostly based

thanks for the reminder reblog ppl, telling tommy that growing a backbone involves deleting all his videos about the dream smp, or any video that includes dream. 3/10, like okay. i get it, and why he would be like “uhm actually! take those down! you can’t be mad at me and also use me for money!” which makes sense, but also. let’s be so so so so so so so so for real life here. that is never going to happen, and it’s not the power play slay move you think it is

[lynnsenpai]

MIS ch.6, p.172 - Lights On

You can also find this page (and all the ones before it) on these sites: Comic Fury Tapas DeviantArt Now that we've checked up on (almost) everyone, let's really get the ball rolling here. The next several pages will be sticking with this crew, and it will run for a few weeks.

So we open the scene with Theo, Eiji, and Belial, now on Oleander Street where they've been told they can find the thieves. Theo is frustrated because searching for the thieves isn't quick and easy. Eiji is frustrated because he wanted to handle this alone. And Belial seems a bit more than frustrated, if we're being honest.

Everyone's a little tense (relatable). It's been a long day (very relatable). Hopefully, these kids won't get overly emotional and say or do things they know they shouldn't. ***

Also, just so you all know: I'm not going anywhere. Shit's scary right now for us in the US, and there's a lot of despairing going around. I definitely don't blame anyone. I'm not going to sugarcoat it: I feel it too. That said, as miserable as I am today, it's all the more reason to keep at it. It is my job to write comics about found families, self-acceptance, recovery from trauma, and hope in dark times. And maybe it's obvious, but I think people are going to continue to need stories like this for a while yet.

My plan after this is posted is to take the day to myself. Eat some comfort food. Play some Metaphor:ReFantazio. Open some virtual Pokemon card packs. Do some light reading. And stay offline as much as humanly possible. Just… do everything in my power to ease up a little. And then it's back to work. I hope you'll be there to read what comes next.

I love you all, so please, take care of yourselves. No matter how hopeless it feels, don't give up. We need to all be in this together.

[doshi-sukiru]

Divergent au Pt. 2

So I'll mostly be talking about Orion/Optimus's side of this au, but I'll add exactly what happens to Starscream and the remaining decepticons.

Part 1!

Check out our megop server too!

**TW!! I might get a bit graphic with some details so please tread carefully! I don't want to scare any of you with what I have for this au, it is disturbing in some areas**

So to start, Starscream doesn't get captured. He along with the remaining decepticons escape the battle and temporarily recover in the old energon depot we see in the beginning. He did this after the quints took Megatron, and quickly assumed that if their strongest mech got taken, it was better to escape. He does play the rolling joke of "being the new leader" and later goes to Optimus to seek a compromise for him and the guards, not taking his chances with the surface anymore now that the energon has returned to Cybertron, which means more frequent visits from their enemy. Essentially, he works as an advisor and a strategist amongst the autobots, and often butts heads with Prowl for it.

Optimus, when informed about this compromise, allows it but also takes a team up to the surface to see if there are any surviving mechs, and if his old friend can be found and saved too. However, they only see a mess of corpses between the mechs and quintessons, as well as the arm that Megatron lost in his fight. Heartbroken, Optimus hosts a funeral for D 16, and buries the arm with it.

I will mention right now I hc that OP was an artist while D was a poet for this au. And the two often made pieces for each other.

And so, Optimus takes one of his old sketches of D 16 and has it turned into a portrait. He also keeps D's old poems in his berth with the portrait, and occasionally visits them whenever he feels down. Only Elita and Bee know about this, and will sometimes join him to ease their own worries.

With Starscream's and the high guard's help, he slowly rebuilds Iacon and shows more determination in destroying the quintessons, no one knowing the full truth of what happened to Megatron. Through the cycles, Optimus is rarely seen outside of meetings or the training grounds, or at the surface. Elita acts as the face of the Autobots, and handles the speeches more often than not, with Prime only ever coming when his presence demands it to give the people reassurance and hope.

By the time Megatron is used for the quintesson's cruel plans, it's been almost a deca-cycle, and Optimus is mostly moved on from the loss. When autobots first found random mechs going offline, Optimus believed it was just a rogue mech and could be handled properly. But after the fifth death, he decides to join in the search and visit the streets and alleyways where they keep being found.

These bots don't have a simple shot in them or whatnot, no. Their bodies are mauled- their faces destroyed beyond the point of recognition, their limbs twisted or broken off, and their cogs smashed in their chassis to prevent transformation. In the fluids, there's always something odd in it- sometimes there's a servo-print or pede-print nearby stained and fading, sometimes their scratches, sometimes there's blast marks.

And then when Optimus is just walking through his areas, he sometimes sees a familiar glimpse of his old companion, and he always tries to follow them in order to confirm his desperate thoughts. The desperate belief that he wasn't just 'seeing things', that he never really lost his friend, that his old companion survived in some way or form. But every time, he's left with nothing but hollow sadness in his spark.

As the murders continue, so does his constant glimpses, and it starts to drive him mad. He decides to stay inside his berth more often to ease his mind, and starts getting more snappy. He's not sure why, but a part of him is sure that those glimpses aren't just moments of weakness or false hope, that they are true. And the matrix hasn't tried to sway him away from that idea, so his determination only deepens.

I'll just add any other convos I've had about this au with my friends in our server (pls check it out). Inbox is open if you guys are curious about anything else!

Bonus art again!

[sorcerous-caress]

Hello! I’m the anon who talked about the modern au loser high elf a little while back and I’m back with an idea that hit me like a truck :) After the adorable pathetic loser and you establish a friendship (and start banging like a screen door in a hurricane), what if you start hinting at possibly making homemade porn videos with your best friend >:) Initially teasing him about his disgustingly huge xhuman porn collection, suggesting that if he struggles to find something that caters to his tastes then maybe the two of you could figure something out 👀… And maybe one day, after some creative camerawork, editing, and maybe some illusion charms to hide both your identities, he gets to post a homemade video to one of the dirty human kink forums he frequents of you bouncing that soft, squishy, sinful human body on his dick while he b e g s for you to let him cum in a mix of elvish and common ☺️ (Also may I be 🩵 anon? I know I’m gonna be back for more later 😁)

Screendoor in a hurricane indeed, gonna make the big bang look like a tea party.

We should probably give him a name eventually huh?

But fuck can you imagine it? This loser elf guy who frequents the kink forums and keeps sharing links and fantasies so much that he is definitely well known amongst the degenerates there.

One day, he just goes offline, maybe for a week or a month, and his online friends are asking about him.

And when he eventually comes back, his first post is a video of a cute human on his lap, his cock squeezed between your soft thighs with the camera only showing up to your chest.

He's leaking pre-cum just by being squeezed between your thighs, cock twitching and painfully hard. His hands squeezing your chest as he struggles not to thrust his hips forward and fuck your thighs.

The camera audio is picking up his quiet voice, shameful whispers in elvish as he begs you to let him fuck you. Pleading to allow his cock inside you and let him feel your hot wet walls clamming down around him. You coo at him as you rub your thighs together and the most pathetic moan leaves him, his fingers visibly shaking.

You're not even touching him, your hands are on the bed as you sit comfortably on his lap. He's been keeping you inside all day, orgasm after orgasm was coaxed out of you since sunrise until now.

This is payback for him being such a greedy pervert, for not being able to sit next to a human without his cock getting hard, and suddenly his fingers are pulling at the hems of your clothes and he's eyeing the space between your legs while licking his lips.

What's a better way than to teach him some discipline than edge him endlessly while on being recorded? So you can show all of the human kink losers he calls friends in the forum how much they can't truly handle a human in bed.

The second you post the video, it suddenly shots up to the top of the page. Comment after comment, hit after hit. People wonder if that's a real human, did a human actually find their forum?

But even the mods of the forum can't keep their braincells from slipping away while watching your video. Especially with how you keep pushing the elf until he crumbles, whining and crying for your human hole, talking about how he's willing to do anything just to make love to you again.

High elves really rarely use dirty words, yet the camera stand witness to all the perverted things you made him admit. Telling him to ask to fuck you, it's not make love.

The camera can't see the way his lips tremble as his pointy ears lower down slightly. He's using common this time as he asks to fuck you, please have mercy.

And you let him, giving him the permission.

He slips in you, his cum still inside you from earlier makes this easier. And fuck he's cumming already, just barely bottomed out as he's switching back to elvish and becoming a moaning mess while filling you with his cum.

But he still goes on, continues pumping and fucking into you through the overwhelming pleasure. It's like he's addicted to your body, the way his hands grip possessively at whatever they can hold, the way he keeps calling you these sweet titles in elvish that are normally only reserved for your spouce.

With the first video being such a massive hit, people are already overflowing his inbox with requests, even offering to pay for commissions.

Most of the focus is on you, they want to see the cute human ride dildos in shapes of various races. A dragonborn's massive one with rigges scales, a demon's shaped one with blunt spikes and a mean big head, an aasimar's one that curves just right to bully that sensitive spot inside you with the most beautiful colours.

People want to see the human take two or three at once, see you in a collar with a leash or on a throne with a leather whip. Some want you in frilly pink lingerie with your ass out, others prefer a classy red tight dress with your chest exposed.

A smaller group that's made of fellow elves, want to see you with your loser high elf boyfriend. Want to see him dress you up in traditional elvish clothes before ripping them off of you. Want him to teach you the most lewd words in elvish and make you repeat them while he fucks you.

Whenever you're busy or away and he can't bother you with his kisses or needy cock, he's browsing the forum and answering all the questions thrown his way.

Asking how the inside of a human felt, how much did he pay you to agree to sleep with him? What do you mean it was fully voluntary- so the rumours are true? Humans are whores?

Somehow, these questions are starting to irritate him.

A lot of them ask him if he's willing to share you, or if they can get your socials. He ends up blocking and reporting them, not even bringing them up to you.

Because...what if you leave him for one of them? What if you'd prefer a tiefling with cool horns or half-orc who could manhandle you with ease? He can't ruin the one thing in life that has made him happy- the single time fate smiled his way.

So he convinces you to let him take care of the online account, you can worry about the videos and making them, he will take care of everything else for you.

Also he still hasn't corrected anyone in the forum who call him your boyfriend, that title is making him happier more than it has any right to. So what if he didn't bring it up to you yet? He'd rather live in this fantasy where he is your boyfriend.

[cozzzynook]

Since we are diving into the angst. I have come offering another angsty idea.

Optimus and Rodimus are having an intense argument with each other while Bee and Cliff are trying to calm them down.

It gets pretty heated and messy until it suddenly stops when Optimus yells something he shouldn't have. It even shocks Bee and Cliff who look at their Carrier with horror while Roddy runs off trying not to cry.

Ooooooooh!!!!

I can see this argument happening when he’s hot rod and its hot rod calling Optimus out on his own personal beliefs holding him back from taking Megatron out. He tells him if he can’t handle the thought of Megatron dying or taking him out even after all this he needs to allow someone who will.

Hot rod argues how its dangerous to let him live when the mech starts coming after Bee and Cliff, the mechs own sparkling twins he sired before the war started, and that Optimus needs to get a clue because the mech very well could offline or brain wash them to do unspeakable things.

Optimus tells him continually to stop but Hot rod does not because he’s right and they all know it but Optimus doesn’t want to hear it and he doesn’t want this conversation happening in front of Bee or Cliff.

Hot rod fumes for a moment and then growls with his fists balled up and his teenage emotive neurons are firing up because he just wants Optimus to listen to him for once and not think he’s just being a youngling or brash or doesn’t know a chip from a bolt for once.

“Slaggit! Carrier! Please! Don’t let my brothers die by that aft hole who abandoned us! He’s not the mech we once knew! He doesn’t love any of us anymore! Please! Don’t get yourself or them killed because he will do it and he won’t think twice about it! Stop being a stubborn prime and leader and be our fragging carrier again just this once please!”

“Shut up, Hot rod! Stop saying things you know nothing about and stay in your place! Do not speak to your commanding officer that way and do not speak on my love for my sparklings nor the love of my sparklings sire when you never had one to begin with! Don’t question my love for my family you meddling mistake!”

And that…

He can never take that back..

He knows he’s messed up the moment he hears it, the moment he sees Bee’s outstretched servo and horrified expression. The way Cliffjumper looks accosted, the way Hot rods spark stops for a moment and how optics run tears without his permission.

He knows.

He knows.

He knows.

He knows!

Hot rod’s sob and gasp that can’t be suppressed shatters him and when he turns running out the door.

He doesn’t immediately go after him.

Bee does. Cliff glares at him.

And he knows.

Primus he knows….

He’s almost down on his knees when he collapses but instincts kick in. Instincts he’s long ignored when Hot rod was involved. Those Instincts push him forward and he’s running out into the night looking for red and yellow.

He comes home many days later, caked in grime and with his antenna down and two sparklings who refuse to look at him.

They go to Ratchets where he promptly gets a call from the medic saying he’s keeping the sparklings for a while and his conjunx Deadlock went looking for Hot rod but couldn’t find him.

…he doesn’t see his sparkling for a long long time after that and the next time he does, he’s no longer Hot rod but Rodimus.

Rodimus prime.

His baby died.

Died at the servos of megatron who shot and killed him through the spark.

The mech who once helped him carry his bitty shot him straight through the spark and didn’t care to tell him or get him help.

The matrix saved Hot rod. No. Rodimus. The matrix saved Rodimus.

His bitty.

The bitty who warned him of this happening and he didn’t listen because he couldn’t handle that possibility.

And that exact outcome did happen..and where was he?

Nowhere near his sparkling to help or save him.

Because he didn’t know where he was or if he was alive and its all his fault.

His bitty…

Who looks and speaks to him as if he doesn’t know him as more than an officer and prime.

He gets a shake of servos before Rodimus is off talking to someone else.

And all he can do is stare and silently cry.

Rodimus doesn’t look back and he Doesn’t say a thing else to him.

[pearls-and-vignettes]

Spaceway 70 - Anna

The makeshift cell has a steel table and chair—like in old detective films. He reconfigured the room lock with a passkey only he knows, though he doesn't know how to turn off its failsafe.

With a shudder in the station, the lights turn off for a moment, and a different set of colder lights take their place, dimly. I walk through the now-unlocked door and into the hallway outside. A wall panel confirms my fears.

[Alert: Hull breach in multiple sectors | Primary power offline | Check workteam communications for further instructions]

He's scared. Worse than that, he's scared and paranoid. Pablo has the fear from another life of destruction and bloodshed in him. Maybe it's warranted—I couldn't say. Only he knows his past.

Out in the next sector I finally see someone. Two new guys, lazing on some hallway chairs.

"Anna!" One of them says brightly.

"Good evenin'," I float back.

"Quite hot in here?"

"Aye," I say tersely "A waste reactor's nearby. Makes heat. Ventilation won't be turned on 'till someone turns it on."

"Then who will?" The other man says, daftly.

"We don't waste power on climate control when there's a big hole in the ship."

Another pause, the two men look at each other. It's possible they have thoughts going through their heads, though that's difficult to confirm.

"Aren't you two supposed to be working this emergency?"

"Haven't got an assignment yet," One of them replies whilst the other is still taken aback by my question, almost falling off his chair. A moment, then he too regains his composure.

"Keep your pagers out, lads," I bark, wanting to laugh. I puff my chest and walk with intent, into the next room.

I enter my quarters to the right; a modest room, yet a little more spacious than most. To my left, a workbench with some parts scattered around a broken network module, and my PDA.

[Hello, Anna]

[32.061]

[[%% DIRECT COM %%]]

[Notice - There seems to be a system outage; operating in P2P mode | Ten unopened messages - Priority: Low - Three unopened messages - Priority: Medium - Five unopened messages - Priority: High]

I punch in my code.

[=-= Carol F. =-=]

[CUR.32.050 > L | You got your PDA on you?]

[CUR.32.053 > M | Of course he took it. Meet me at central processing when you can -- they hit deep and I need welding done. All the fabricators are out patching the hull.]

[CUR.32.057 > H | A big chunk of power routing is out. I paged John for a fabricator or two but he says he's tied up. Please be here ASAP!]

[=-= Pablo C. =-=]

[CUR.32.049 > H | ==TO GROUPS: W.G. LEADERS, SPECIALISTS, ADMIN== | Attention -- we have been attacked -- this is a matter I will handle personally -- communicate emergency plans with your workgroups.]

[=-= Jonathan L. =-=]

[CUR.32.055 > H | I know you're busy. We need to patch an LS manifold. I have a fabricator to spare. Just ping me when you're free.]

[CUR.32.057 > M | On top of that, all the cable to kitchens is out. I have a few workers patching it up but we need you for some tight wiring.]

No rest for me. I grab my toolbag from the foot of my bed and run to a utility closet in the hallway. The reserve welding cart creaks from disuse as I roll it toward me, yet it still seems to work just the same. I dust off some goggles and shove them in a pocket as I make for Carol.

Eventually, I arrive at central processing, winded from running with so much stuff. Carol is buried deep in her assistant, probably typing out one communication after another.

"God, this thing is so slow!"

"I'm here..?"

"Yes. Hi, Anna," she finishes another message before she finally looks up, "Let's fix this thing so I'm not stuck on peer to peer."

She moves to the wall, which holds an impressive array of cooling pipes and circuits. Indicator lights flash off and on erratically whilst a monitor spits out warning after warning. At the far end, away from the corner where she started, there is a series of busted conduits supposed to hold thick cable against a hastily repaired wall.

"Here, where the cables go into this contactor array."

She pries the panel off the array's enclosure and exposes a beautiful mess of small, printed traces and goliath cables interfacing with one another. The leftmost portion of this box has severed wire and shattered boards.

"I isolated this module from the rest of the processor. And there's no voltage through the cables." She hands me a drawing and walks to an electrical cart. "Just replace the broken components. It doesn't have to be pretty." The cart, being twice the size of mine, is filled with wires of all gauges, components of all kinds, a work surface with a solderer, and has board printing capabilities. "All the files you might need are on that printer."

"Got it," I reply.

She looks back to her PDA and her eyes betray her exasperation, briefly. "I'll be back in a few to turn it on and debug," she shouts whilst having one foot already out the door. I grab a screwdriver and begin to pull away at the broken components. When they don't budge, I pull out the angle grinder. Rinse and repeat.

At least I have a simple life...

[shunin-gumis]

Mistery on the Moonlit Passage - Track 07

Seasonal Event Story

The next 3 chapters are handled by Jelly!

Location: Cruise Liner - Party Venue

Nanaki: Here’s what happened before Kamina-san and I met up with Ryui-san and arrived at the party venue―

~~~(flashback)

Nanaki: …That’s strange.

Ryui: The fuck you mean by that?

Nanaki: Oh, sorry, I wasn’t talking about you, Ryui-san.

Nanaki: I was thinking that it’s too quiet in here. There was music playing until just a while ago… Did they forget to set it on loop?

~~~(end flashback)

Location: Cruise Liner - Party Venue

Yukikaze: Now that I think of it, that did happen.

Nanaki: The music playing onboard should be determined by the hospitality robots. The fact that it stopped means that whatever put everyone to sleep affected the robots, too…

Kinari: …...

Muneuji: (Indeed… The fact that even Azekawa-san, who is an android, is asleep is quite mysterious.)

Nanaki: It might seem kinda trivial, but I wanted to focus our investigations on that.

Muneuji: I see. In that case, is it correct to assume that our next course of action is to investigate said robots within the vicinity?

Yukikaze: Sounds like a plan. I’ll help as well.

Nanaki: Yowa-san, what do you think?

Netaro: I think this paella looks scrumptilicious!

Nanaki: I-I see. Then, let us know if you figure anything out.

Netaro: Aye-aye, Captain.

Muneuji: Now, the robots in question…

Yukikaze: …Are over there! 

*Yukikaze dashes away*

Muneuji: What a magnificent crouch start…!

*Yukikaze makes his way through the bodies*

Nanaki: …Into some intense, high-precision zigzagging through the bodies…!

Yukikaze: *lands*

Muneuji: He made it all the way to the corner of the venue, picked up the four robots that were lying there, and carried them back like it was nothing. An active athlete is truly remarkable.

Yukikaze: Would this be enough?

Nanaki: Yeah, thank you. If we just connect it to Andy in offline mode, like so…

Muneuji: Oh my… It’s displaying a screen similar to the one you have whenever you compose.

Nanaki: Yeah. With this, we can see exactly when the BGM was cut and the robot went into sleep mode―

Nanaki: …Hm?

Yukikaze: What’s wrong?

Nanaki: Well, it looks like it was streaming a famous Lo-Fi radio…

Nanaki: But the audio waveform it’s displaying at 5 minutes before entering sleep mode is kinda sus…?

Netaro: Hmm? Euh auyoia mmnghh oah.

Muneuji: Yowa-san, it is a bit hard to understand you while you have food in your mouth. Please speak after you finish chewing.

Netaro: *chews*...

Muneuji: It is recommended to chew your food 30 times before digestion.

Netaro: *CHEWING INTENSIFIES* …*swallows*.

Netaro: The audio waveforms suspicious? You can tell just from a glance, Nana!?

Nanaki: Well, I don’t know, it just feels a bit weird for a relaxing song to look like this.

Netaro: What’s weird?

Nanaki: For example, the “V”-like shape over here—

Yukikaze: I don’t get it.

Muneuji: Why don’t we enjoy some paella while we wait for the two of them to finish their analysis?

~~~

Netaro: You’re able to figure out this much in such a short time~! Amazing! Amazing!

Nanaki: But I don’t know if this is even related to the mass-sleeping incident or not…

Netaro: This has no relation to relations. My comment was about how amazing your talent is!

Netaro: But why didn’t you mention anything before? I fail to comprehend.

Nanaki: Umm… well…

Ryui: YOWAAAA!!!!!

Netaro: *jumps in shock* Uoh?

Ryui: You bitch, you’re hiding somethin’, aren’t you.

Muneuji: Ryui-san, did you happen to catch a lead?

Ryui: (Not like I can just go around blurting out stuff like “The spirits said this fucker was suspicious!” ‘That case, I’ll just have to do things the hard way…! If it’s this shitprick, I can go all out!)

Ryui: I know it was you, bastard. The quicker you give, the easier it’ll be for you!

Netaro: Okay, got it!

Ryui: Don’t think you can fuck around with me by makin’ a bunch of excus—... What?

Netaro: Just as Ryui said, ‘twas I that transformed this venue into a sleeping forest!

Nanaki: Huh…!?

Netaro: Speaking of which, it’s almost time.

Muneuji: Time for?

Toi: Mmg… *yawns*...

Ryui: Toi!?

[skyler10fic]

It's amazing sometimes the very offline world my family lives in. In their (conservative, but moderate, not the culture war people) bubble, they have no idea why anyone would not want to go to Hobby Lobby or Chick-fil-A. They were only vaguely aware of the evangelicals boycotting Harry Potter or Disney in the 90s and 00s and even more unaware of anyone's reasons for boycotting them now. They have no idea Rowling is on Twitter or what the word transphobia means, are somewhat unsurprised that something is happening in the Middle East but aren't very interested in what it is this time since there's always something horrible there, and have no context for who JD Vance is outside of being their party's VP nomination. They hate Trump but would never say so or do anything about it besides be disgrunted and roll their eyes at their more conservative friends.

They don't want gay people or abortion to be criminalized, but wish we could all just stop talking about them, and the need for gay rights and abortions would just magically go away so no one would have to fight over them anymore. And by go away, they mean "I don't know have to know they still very much exist." Out of sight, out of mind. Same for poverty and homelessness and racism and religious division and political parties. Let's just all stop acknowledging uncomfortable things and we don't have to ever deal with them.

Which is why they can't click on articles describing Harris's political agenda or qualifications, acknowledge COVID didn't go away after getting the original vaccinations, read posts about queer history or allyship, talk about mental health, or watch videos about the police or military being anything other than "imperfect heroes." In their minds, all parents have their kids' best interests in mind, the GOP in power is the only way to keep their hard-earned money as small business owners, Israel is our troubled rookie ally trying to do the right thing but needs our help and mentorship to get out of their version of Trump years, most men (historical and modern) are just trying their best and we're too hard on them, and corporations are generally good and earned their profits fair and square through old-fashioned hard work.

Their brains are literally incapable of handling information that counters this.

Why don't I correct them? I do, as carefully, slowly, and amicably as I can for them to be able to handle it. But they can't hear it. They simply do not have the ability to say "I was wrong. I'm sorry. I need to learn more and will do so. My friends and community are all getting this wrong. I can't stand by in silence." They don't have that wiring. At no point will they have the emotional capacity and maturity to be able to go there. These are the voters who show up to every election, who consider it an important civic duty, even when they have no idea what these candidates actually stand for or how their policies will impact them. We have to keep trying to reach them and educate them, but sometimes the best thing we can do is simply not let them be the highest represented group at the polls. Being informed and showing up, not giving into nihilism and despair and perfectionism, using pragmatism to get us closer to where we want to be, and understanding these very offline, intentionally ignorant people are going to show up regardless out of tradition. Even if they don't understand what they are voting on and don't want to know. PLEASE please outvote them. Please show up.

[firespirited]

everywhere but here, I am the mom.

not the 'mom friend', not fun aunt or godmother, the big sister type you go to when you're at the end of your tether and you need a mom to clean up something nasty, kill a spider, unload on someone who can handle it and not make it about them, help you pull the trigger on a hard decision you've already taken but haven't accepted. I make things happen, I connect people, I do mediation and emotional prep; I tell people their full options and help them weigh it all up. You were pondering it for a while but you left here with a lawyer's appointment and a loan we both know is a 'pay it forward' gift. I carry the secrets and the bad memories so it makes sense you move on without me when all's well. The big sister thing means I feel like family and shelter but not really like an everyday friend

Here, I get to be Saffy, bit of a klutz, silly brained with a childlike wonder for creatures and well-designed things who can talk about fear of crowds, slowly healing the relationship with my own mum, I watch horror and post about my dog. That's who I want to be, a large facet of who I am internally buuut life rarely fits the idea we have of ourselves does it?

Part of repairing the imbalanced relationship with mum was letting her do some protective mothering so i can fill the desperate ache to have one person in the world who has my back, while making my support of her more streamlined and unspoken. You know the concept of the toilet paper fairy who makes loo roll appear and always knows when to buy more, that but for groceries, electronics and paperwork, and big decisions we carry together but it has to be very businesslike and unemotional: she's as much a big sweetheart as she is fiercely independent (and ashamed/angry her daughter had to carry half the load). So now she's the one who notices or who I go to when the world has asked me to be The Mom again.

I imagine it's a lot like gay penguins: there's an ecological vacuum of big sister-mom types and some of us just have the vibes.

This winter I've done a metric ton of non-judgmental, non-condescending temporary 'parenting' of women with parents who are gone or who can't handle it and friends who aren't friends-for-that-kinda-thing. I'm really good at it, at weathering a storm for someone and being an anchor. It doesn't hurt any more because mum can be an emotional mum to me.

but I'm never sure how to talk about it here between dolls and shitposts and if i'm not specific... I mean... "chronically ill/special needs person currently or previously in abusive relationship with parent/partner who takes a while to realize and accept abuse isn't just fists but sleep depravation and symptom minimization and all sorts of tiny things that add up to life-threatening injury to the body and mind" applies to many of us dollblr folks as it does like 80% of my social circle offline.

and there's no way of saying that being around some folks is like experiencing a slow motion train wreck without sounding like an asshole.

I am that asshole.

I am goatsed out and want to be a hermit.

Did I tell you guys my doctor vented for 45 minutes about having to put her "dumbass hysterical" sister (deaf and never put in school) into care and the paperwork involved in getting disability (the thing that took me 14 years and she got her sister's transferred in 3 weeks). and I truly empathize but that wasn't very professional and your sister is a person. please.

and I can't cut M out of my life now that her kid is, as predicted, like her (and the facebook-chosen not-yet-divorced deadbeat-dad of 3 special needs kids), an adorable barely verbal two-year-old. She won't be able to navigate special needs care alone but she's still staunchly anti-vax and had a diatribe of ableism mixed with mystical pseudoscience for me, interspersed with thanks for being more family to her than her sister in helping her know how to leave a bad relationship. hokay not making this easy.

S is going to be on the hook for tax evasion if she stays with the shady useless guy she's been babying (and resenting) for 20 years solely because she doesn't like to do activities alone. three times now I've been cornered for the vent sesh. I am sitting on the floor the next time, I need blood in my brain to emote properly. and that unneutered bulldog living in the south is a crime, it can't breathe it can't think, it's all hormones and anxiety covered in fur, of course it's a nuisance around the house.

and there's more but i'm tired of typing and thinking.

[jpitha]

Just a Little Further 24

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Well.

This is new at least.

I've never had to quell a riot before.

Empress, please. This is more a brawl. When there's a riot, we'll let you know. We have seen riots, and this is no riot.

Okay, fine. There's something like two dozen people here and I see what looks like to be more security people, Mariens and Aviens and some Azurians on the edge of things, trying to get a handle on what is going on. Note to myself, I should go visit their offices later. Chairs from nearly restaurants have been taken and broken into clubs, and there is shouting and smoke and the clashing of flesh on feather on bone.

Wait, why is there smoke?

"Ava, Um'reli is there a fire here? I see and smell smoke."

"Um, one moment Melody.... Yes, there is a report of a small fire, but there's also this warning - it says something like Fire Suppression Offline, local assistance is needed." Sounds like we had some kind of Starbase wide fire suppression system but it doesn't work anymore."

All the Builder controlled parts of this place are broken. What is going on here? Was it on purpose or did they just fail because nobody was around to maintain them? "See if you can get it back online. It doesn't have to work forever, just to see if we can knock down the smoke. Turn the air scrubbers and air cycling too here, I don't want people getting ill from the smoke."

"On it, Melody." Um'reli is checking into it while Ava is helping with an overview of the area. It's a wide open area, kind of like the promenade on the lower level, but this area is... nicer? It has parks and gardens! We need to come up here more often. Why is it so drab down closer to the docks.

Well, it's nicer when a riot isn't going on I mean.

Sigh. Fine. Let's stop the riot and figure out what is going on. I take a moment and concentrate, and my crown and wings spring into existence. In fact, let's make those wings bigger and brighter. I'm going to need to be seen and heard. I connect to the Starbase, locate the local public address system - mentally wave to Um'reli and Ava as I go by! - and then...

S̴̨̲̗̥̯̯̩̤͒̎̔̽͊̐̚ṫ̸̝̱͈̙̆͋̌o̴͎͗̌̿̀̍̏̿̚͝p̸͚̐̀̕ ̶̯̌̈́f̵̤͙̪̖̗͖̳̼̺̐̏̊̒͒̈́̀̚̚i̵̡͈̼̱̭̼̻͖̳͋͒̄̊̾͌g̵͚͐͆̀͂͑̌h̶̛̤͙̆̋̍̄͑̓͠t̶̘̖̪͒́i̴̢̞̜̠̠͋n̷̛̪͚͙̞͚͒̀̃̔͂͊̊g̶̢̡̠͍̥̙̹̼̓̃͗ͅ!̶̨̥͎̄͘͝

I swear, it never gets old. Like I pressed pause on a video, everyone immediately stops. I put some work into my command this time, I specified fighting so that they can still move and breathe, but sure enough, everyone stops.

I put a little extra oomph into my presentation and tower over everyone. They turn towards me, fearful and I have their attention.

"Now then. What is going on here. Why are you fighting?"

Everyone starts talking all at once.

"-They started it when-"

"Those liars said that the Empress wasn't-"

"-There isn't enough food for-"

Wait that one. Another one about food? I heard a few of those at the presentation earlier.

"Cease your chatter. You. What was that about food?" I point to the Azurian close to me who mentioned food when they were all talking at once.

"Empress, the results of the last two harvests have been 15 and 20 percent lower than in previous seasons. The population here isn't dropping either. If this keeps up, the garden planetoid won't be able to support us!"

Okay that's serious, but it's not like ' drop everything and have a riot' serious - at least not at the numbers they gave me. What else is going on?

"Thank you, it's important to learn this. Please come to the Throne later and explain to me in more detail about your concerns. That's not enough to have a riot though, is it?"

"Oh the riot? No, that's not about the food supply. It's about them-" They point across the plaza "-not believing that you're holy."

Oh.

One of them, a Aviens, shouts from across the area "You're just someone who showed up and got lucky! You're not holy at all!"

Hisses and curses from this side of the plaza.

Awkward.

Well hold up now. This isn't fair to me. I never said I was holy, they just decided.

You did elevate The Smell of Soil After Rain to bishop during that presentation yesterday. I wonder if they're going around causing trouble in your name.

Hmm.

I stride out across the plaza to the other side. As I approach the people who think I'm not holy they shrink back. I wonder why for a moment and realize my wings and crown are still burning bright. Oops. Nothing like trying to convince people to stop arguing about my alleged godhood while looking like an angry God. I tone down the wings and crown (but I don't remove them entirely) and approach the Aviens who yelled that I wasn't holy. "Was The Smell of Soil After Rain coming around, giving you a hard time?"

The Aviens visibly crumbled. "They said that my family would be forgotten if I didn't attend services. That you ordered it. They said they'd remove my children from school."

What.

"What? No. Absolutely not. I am Empress, I don't need to be your God too. So long as you recognize me as Empress and Builder that's enough. Worship the way you please, or don't worship at all. Atheism it not forbidden."

I turn back to both sides of the crowd. "I will not punish those who choose not to worship me! So long as you accept that I am Empress, that I rule here, that's enough. Nobody here has to also worship me. I will... speak to my Bishop about their... enthusiasm. Nobody here will be compelled to worship. So please. Return to your homes after you assist the security forces here in cleanup."

Everyone looks around at each other, then back at me, still with crown and glowing wings, then back at each other and starts picking up litter and broken pieces of chair.

I turn back to the Aviens who I was talking to, put away my wings and crown and kneel down gently to speak just to them very quietly. They look up at me wide eyed.

"Just for your own information - and if pressed by anyone else I will deny it forever - you're right. I'm just a person who did something stupid, and now I'm Empress. My name is Melody, I like coffee and computer systems and being able to have time alone to read." It's almost a whisper.

They blink in surprise. This was completely unexpected for them. "Hi Melody, my name is Roar of Thunder and I work in an office building down on the docking level. I'm not entirely sure what our job is, but it's not difficult work. I enjoy cooking during my free time."

I stand back up. "It's wonderful to meet you Roar of Thunder. I love your name too." I look around as people continue cleaning up. "Tell you what Thunder. Come up to the Throne tomorrow. I bet we can find a more... stimulating job for you with us."

"That's... that's a wonderful opportunity Empress. I will be there tomorrow."

I spend a few minutes helping clean up the riot. I mean, why not, I'm here already, everyone will love it, and it's something to do. In the meantime Ava and Um'reli seem to get the fire supression going enough to fog some water over the smokier parts of the plaza and soon enough the smoke has dissipated and things are - if not clean - then at least cleaner. I give my thanks and as I get up to leave, one of the Mariens in the security coloration approaches me.

"Empress, thank you for coming up. We didn't even get to report back to headquarters that a riot had broken out yet, how did you know?"

This time I grin impishly. "This is just one of the things that can happen now that the Builders are back. We have eyes and ears all over and can assist quickly when needed. If you'll notice, we even got the old fire suppression foggers going in this sector. Hopefully soon we can get them operating everywhere again."

The Mariens looks amazed and salutes me sharply, then bows. "I am known as Kilad, Empress. I know my supervisor would love to thank you personally."

Ah wonderful! I was hoping to go see more of the security forces. What a nice coincidence.

"Please lead the way Kilad. I would love to meet them."

Kilad walks me across the plaza and through a park. There are trees and greenery, but of course I don't recognize any of the plants. They're very dark green and fragrant though. I wonder if they originated on a planet that has a dimmer star than Earth or our other colonies. Less light might cause them to evolve darker coloration to squeeze every drop of energy out of a weaker star.

We walk through the park and come out in another plaza, just like the one near the train station. At the far end of this one is another large, original looking building made out of the same stone as the Starbase and Administration offices and Bank. Clearly some of the institutions here were original - or the buildings were and they have been repurposed.

Kilad opens the door and I follow. Inside is a bustle of activity. Mariens, Aviens, and all the others are here. The Mariens are all colored the bright yellow of security while those without chromatophores are wearing smart yellow uniforms. Kilad walks up to a low desk in the back of the atrium. There's an Azurian sitting there in a yellow uniform with silver piping along the top. They must be the supervisor. Kilad salutes the Azurian and gives a report.

"Kilad, returning from the suspected riot near the hub station. Suspicions were confirmed, it was a riot between people arguing about the holiness - or not - of the Empress. Luckily the Empress herself showed up to quell the riot and explain that while people can worship her if so desired nobody will be forced to. She also explained that she will speak to her new Biship, The Smell of Soil After Rain about his proselytizing and ask him to tone it down." Kilad gestures behind themselves to me. "Additionally, the Empress herself is here, she'd like to speak to you."

At that, the Azurian looks behind Kilad and nods. I love how it seems like every single Azurian doesn't really care that I'm the Empress. It's refreshing. "Empress." They nod. "Thank you for your assistance, and for the official confirmation that nobody is required to worship you."

"It's quite all right. I'm glad to be able to get the word out that worship is not compulsory. Everyone is free to worship - or not worship - however they see fit. Can you explain to me what the role of your forces is here? It doesn't have to be a whole history, just the basics."

"Yes, Empress. We are the Security force on Reach of the Might of Vzzx" He pronounces Vzzx with a pop on the end. "This station is 100 people, and there are at least a dozen more across the whole of the Reach. We mostly help settle small disputes, assist with investigating petty crime and quell the occasional riot. For the most part, the residents of the Reach are relatively calm and open to working together. There is friction here and there, same as with anywhere, and with living spaces so tight conflict can break out. But, there is a strong sense of collaboration and community here too. You probably saw people cleaning up the riot they caused after it was quelled. That's not because you were there, that's a normal occurrence"

"Do you know any history? Do you know the role of your forces when they Builders were here in force?"

They indicate no, and seem a little sad about it. "Few records exist from then. When I was young, I asked some of the oldest staff here and they made it sound like things were much the same back then as now. It was probably different in that there were Builders able to detect and react to things sooner - like you and your Builders did today - but I imagine the day to day operations were much the same then as now."

"Thank you for the history lesson. What's your name?"

"I am Commander Sep."

"Thank you again Sep!" I incline my head slightly and walk out. I do wonder if I'm being too casual with everyone for a moment, but really this is who I am, how I want to rule. I hear FarReach's words and I'm reminded that she thought I was changing. That's not what I want to happen. I'm going to keep on walking around and talking to people and trying to learn as much about my new home as I can.

My new home. That's what the Reach is.

And I'm here to protect it and its residents.

I spend the evening up here visiting shops, talking to people, trying to learn as much as I can. It turns out most everyone here went down to the Throne this morning, so people are open later today to allow folks who missed their morning shopping to be able to get things.

I stop by a restaurant that looks nice and go to get dinner by myself. After I shoo away the entire staff who practically fell over themselves to be the one who took care of me and gently remind them they have other patrons who also need help, I enjoy my meal and even try out some of the tea that everyone here seems to drink. It's no coffee, but it's pleasant in its own way. It's hot and sweet and herbal and smells slightly of anise. I should see if I can get more to bring back. I think Um'reli might like it.

After dinner, I stroll slowly back towards the train and connect to the Reach and look for Ava and Um'reli. "Ava, Um'reli, where are you?"

"We're back at the Royal Dawn. Where are you Melody, it's so late!"

Is it? Hmm, I should figure out timekeeping here. It's hard to believe it's only been a few days since I left FarReach, I'm probably still on ship's time.

"Oh, after the brawl, I went and met the Security forces up here, and then I walked around talking to people, and got a nice dinner. Um'reli you have got to try this tea they have! I think you'd really like it."

"Oh? Thanks Melody, I will check it out next time we eat. Um, are you coming back? Omar is back too, he has a report about the High Line."

"I'm walking back to the train station now, I'll be home in a bit. No more than half an hour probably. Omar, do you want to tell me about it now while I walk or wait until I get back?"

"How about when you get back Melody. It still odd talking to people like this, it feels like I'm having a discussion with myself."

"Sure thing Omar, see you in a bit."

I make my way back to the hub station just as a train pulls away. As I watch it go, an Aviens is running down the platform. "No no no no, I can't miss my train! They're going to be so mad!" They reach the end of the platform and their feathers ripple and they look despondent.

"What's wrong? What about the next train?"

They look up at me and then see who I am and jump a little." E-Empress! I didn't expect to see you here. Um" And they bow.

"Yes yes, that's fine, but not really necessary unless I'm like, doing royal stuff. What's the matter? You sounded so sad."

"Oh Empress, that was the last train! There isn't another until tomorrow! I have to get back down to my home, my parents are going to be so upset to find out that I missed the last train home again and have nowhere to stay." They're practically in tears.

"Oh no! Well, I have to get down a level too so I can go home. I had no idea that was the last train - I'm still getting used to time here, it's different than where I'm from. Let me see what I can do. What's your name?"

"Oh, thank you, thank you Empress! My name is Sound of the City."

"It's so nice to meet you Sound of the City! Let's see about finding a way for both of us to get home."

I lead them to a seat on the platform and sit next to them. They snuggle up next to me and yawn deeply. Surprised, I look over and realize they're so young! It's just a child. If they were human, they might be a teen. All the more reason to get them home. I lean back a little and connect and search for the train subsystem.

Ah, there it is. They were right, that was the last scheduled train. Luckily though, when you're a Builder, you don't have to worry about things like schedules. Let's see, what train is closest... hmm? Whats that? There's something here marked 'Royal transport - offline' and it very close. Looks like it's over in a siding near here.

I dig a little deeper and it seems like it's a whole train just for the Empress. They must have used it when the previous Empress was traveling around the Reach. I remember in my dream how proud Aeche was of the transit system, I wonder if this was related to it? Well, it's the closest train, and this way I won't mess up tomorrows schedule either. I touch the train gently, and it activates. Basic systems check indicates nothing is wrong. I call the train. After only a minute, there's the trilling chime that indicates a train is coming.

"Sound, look. I found a train."

They blink sleepily and look up and gasp at what they see.

I have to admit, it is impressive. The Royal Transport is a subway train, but turned up loud. It's royal blue and gold and gilded with sweeping flowery designs. It's only three cars - the other trains seem to be between 6 and 10 cars - but what it lacks in length it makes up for in elegance.

I'm almost sad that the station is empty, this is something that needs to be seen.

"This train is beautiful, Empress! This is how we're going to get home?"

"Yup. It's the Royal Transport. It was designed for the Empress to move around the Reach in style."

We approach the door and I step in. It's carpeted! It's so plush. Sound of the City stands at the door, not coming in.

"What's wrong Sound? Come in"

"A-are you sure? It's a train for the Empress."

"And as Empress, I'm telling you it's fine. Please, come aboard. I'll take you home. It's only two stops."

I reach out my hand and they nervously take it and step in. The doors hiss shut behind us. I lead us to a seat and we both sit down. Only after we are seated does it begin to roll away, nearly silently. Sound once again snuggles up and is nearly asleep instantly. While we ride I search the train mentally. Oh! There's a log! The last time this train was used was...

74 years ago? That's it?

My head spins a bit. That's not that long at all. The Administrators had said that there hadn't been an Empress for 'three generations' I guess if they're not that long lived that could account for it. Also, given the robustness of what we build for space on our side of the galaxy, it would explain why things didn't really break down over here. It would also explain why the Gate system was almost completely intact. 74 years though. That's hardly any time at all in an interstellar empire.

But, the K'laxi! My last memories were of touching the Gate and doing an upload before going to visit them. They said that their histories and religion that mentions me and the Gates is a thousand years old.

What happened? Why were the K'laxi ignored? When did the last Empress touch the directory stone? The timing of everything doesn't make sense.

I really have no way of finding out here. Once High Line has been refitted, I think I need to go to the Wilds of Besmara, that mostly destroyed Starbase we saw first and see what happened there.

Then, the train rolls to a stop. Just as silently the doors hiss open and were back at my station. "Sound, wake up, we're here." I say gently. They rustle and blink and realizing they were sleeping on the Empress jump up, embarassed. "I'm so sorry!"

I laugh gently. "It's find Sound. I'm pretty tired too. Let me walk you home."

This is the latest I've been out, and the Reach is so quiet! The lights are down low, but it's still easy to see. Sound said they lived close to the station and they lead me there. It's a little block of apartments in between the bank and the Administrative offices. Convenient location, I bet this place was expensive.

As we approach the door, an older Aviens opens it ahead of us. Clearly upset they point a finger. "Sound of the City, you are late. How did you even get home, the last train arrived a while ago. Were you wandering around causing trouble after you got here?"

"No Father! I was working late to help Gemli finish up inventory and ran to catch the last train. I missed it, and thought I was done for when..." Sound gestures behind them to me. In the low light, I flare the crown and wings just for a moment and darken them again. There's a gasp and the adult Aviens bows low. "E-E-Empress! What are you doing here?"

"I too missed the last train home, and ran into Sound of the City weeping that they were going to be in trouble and had no way of getting home. I was able to call the Royal Transport and bring them and myself back home. I just wanted to make sure they made it home safely. I don't believe Sound should be punished, it seems that they got caught up helping a friend."

"O-of course Empress. Sound, get inside and wash up, it's past bedtime." Sound of the City hesitates a moment, then runs up and hugs me tight. "Thank you, Empress." and they wave and run inside.

"You're very welcome Sound of the City." I look at their parent and narrow my eyes just a bit. "They did not bother me, they did not put me out, I was helping because I wanted to. Do not give them trouble about this."

Their head bobs a nod. "Of course Empress. Thank you Empress, I really am grateful you brought them home. They get caught up helping friends and lose track of time. It's a regular occurrence with them."

"There are worse problems to have than being late because one is helping friends. People like that are what makes the Reach home."

"You're absolutely right Empress. I will do well to remember that."

"Good night then."

"Empress." The bow again and close the door gently.

I walk home, my head filled with worry about why the timeline for things isn't lining up. Something is wrong here.

Part 25

[imperiuswrecked]

The main difference i think is the justice systems of the us and mexico. Not that the u.s. is good, i just heard mexico does things differently?

It's very late, I'm very tired, and I've been trying to stay offline because the sheer amount of racism, misogyny, and hate I've seen directed to both Tenoch and Elena is honestly horrible and I've been feeling very burned out from people in general but I assume this ask is about the recent statement Elena released, which I had to translate and piece together so if I'm wrong please let me know.

Tw: sexual abuse discussion

Elena released this as a response to Tenoch's statement:

Basically what I understood is that Tenoch is a flirter, a womanizer, and has had lots of flings, casual consensual sex with women with no promise of commitment and often ghosts them after sex, or sometimes hooks up with them again later.

Elena felt used because this happened to her. Ghosting after sex isn't a crime, it might make Tenoch a cad, and it's a shitty thing to do, but its not a crime, flirting/making you feel loved isn't a crime either. Again it seemed like even after they broke up last year things were fine between them up until sometime this year.

Then she goes on to say that Tenoch abused her because one time during (consensual) sex he removed the condom, and she says that even if sex acts start off as consensual they can turn non consensual and removing a condom is what changed it to abuse. That's the issue here, and she goes on to claim that other women have told her he does this, but she doesn't name or reveal any information about the others, the one other woman (an actress) who posted a public tweet about Tenoch saying she had a bad experience with Tenoch once (7 years ago) has gone private on twitter after deleting that tweet.

Elena accuses Tenoch of Stealthing, which isn't a crime in Mexico, but in the U.S. only California recognizes Stealthing and the guilty party can face fines or up to 6 months in jail, and yeah I googled it for this answer bc I'm not a lawyer.

Stealthing is when someone removes a condom (known or unknown) without consent from the other person.

Which brings me to your question, yes the way Justice Systems work are different and not all things that are registered crimes/civil offenses in the U.S. are recognized in Mexico. Which is probably why Elena did not file a police report because they do not recognize it as a crime or abuse.

This is once again a "He said, She said", and when/if other women speak up then there nothing else to say, because again, we don't know what happened between them in the bedroom. Speculation about whether Elena was ok with it then and later changed her mind or that she wants to extort money from Tenoch which is why he hired lawyers or if she's lying or if he's lying or anything else is just that, speculation. It doesn't mean anything.

I will say personally I think there could be truth in her words but I wasn't in the room with them to know so I do not know if this is truth or if she decided to exaggerate what happened, but if more of his past partners come out affirm this then it's likely true.

However I will say that the way Elena handled this, tacking the accusation on during a dispute about money, leading people to believe that Tenoch is a huge rapist who assaults and preys on women in the worst way (I'm not downplaying or ignoring her experiences with him or questioning if she was abused) and not stating things clearly from the start have created a super toxic environment that could have been lessened if she had just posted that statement or done an interview outright. I'm not victim blaming here, but I am pointing out that her handling of this made it worse because it gave people time to speculate, create wilder accusations, and go on a near week long harassment spree directed not just at her but also at Tenoch, if she wants to claim cyber bullying from Tenoch's "fans" (I don't doubt that Tenoch fans harassed her but I'm pretty sure a huge chunk of those vile people don't even like Tenoch, they just hate women) then it's only fair to point out that he is also cyber bullied because of the racists who hate Tenoch and thats not either of their faults because people suck. What's also sad is many people who are nice people in the Namor/Tenoch fandom also got harassed because of this, mostly on the Spanish speaking side of things. I don't think that all of this hate wouldn't have happened even if she had come out with a clear statement from the beginning but I do think that it was worse because of how it played out.

I tried to keep up with what's going on but it's actually super depressing to see so much gross hate from all directions.

Anways I'm done with this whole thing and this is the last I'll be talking about it.

[matrixxsystem]

Terripin Soup Part 2

NotoriouslyPrimary420 [NP] Started A Chat With AuspiciousHunter1989 [AH] At 11:07 PM

NP: Hey I have a random question AH: Because you never have random questions any other time of course. NP: Oh haha- But seriously. My brothers keep asking questions about where I'm going and I don't want to lie about it but I mean I can't tell em I'm sneaking out to go eat morally grey soup and not hang out with a friend like I've been saying..

AH: So you want advice on what else you can lie about? NP: Well.. When you put it that way it sounds worse... AH: I don't know what to tell you man, find some rando on the street to hang out with :P NP: I feel like that'd make it worse? Oh! You live in NY too right? AH: Kinda. NP: Kinda? Okay well... You wanna hang out? AH: Can't. NP: Cant or wont? AH: Fine. Won't.

NP: Why not? C'mon dude I'm panicking here! I can't even go to my favorite pizza spot with my brothers cause I can't handle them cornering me about this-

AH: Hm.. What was that one called again? NP: Like Run Of The Mill Pizza or something, idk, why does that matter?

AH: I see what you meant now. Okay, I've changed my mind. I will meet you there tomorrow night, 8pm. And we'll talk about it alone, but don't push it.

NP: Oh thank god- Wait you.. Know that place?

AuspiciousHunter1989 [AH] is offline

Leo sighed to himself as he made his way home, he wasn't really sure what he was going to tell his family, or what was going to happen when he met his friend, or how he knew the pizza spot for yokai... How did he even know about it? Was he just a chill human or a yokai himself? It might explain a lot but.. There were  still so many questions on his mind that he wasn't able to answer and that frustrated him more then having the questions to start with. He hadn't gone very far having been preoccupied with his phone, looks like he'd have to wait a bit longer for his monthly fix. He'd try and wait at least till his brothers suspicion was cleared.  

Once he was home his brothers managed to corner him one last time before trying Donnie's plan, they hoped it wouldn't come to that. "Hey Leo!" Mikey called, alerting the others who sprung from their seats and covered the exits, they looked.. Friendly but also concerned. "H-Hey.. What is this an intervention? C'mon guys, I stopped defacing shells like five years ago-"

"Nope, its not about that, though I don't appreciate your phallic pictographs on my shell you know how hard it is to scrub off and-" "Not the time Dee, we just wanna.. Talk." "Raph please I'm just tired and wanna go to bed, I have this thing tomorrow so-" "Thing?" Raph asked, "Well as your older brother what's stopping me from grounding you? You've been going out a lot and not doing the responsible thing of letting us know anything! What would happen if you left and got hurt, if you couldn't get home or if you were attacked and outmatched? If you couldn't call us for help how would we ever know where to look for you? ...I'm.. I'm not just being nosey Leo, it's my job to look after you guys, my job to make sure you always get home safe. My responsibility to watch out for you. And I know you might not need it or whatever you wanna argue but I do. I need it, to know what's up so I can be there and to at least put my mind at ease-" Leo sighed a little, he always hated when Raph said things like that to him, making the weight over his chest double as he saw the honest compassion in his eyes. "Fine.. I... Look I can't tell you everything, not yet. But I'm gonna meet my friend tomorrow and we're gonna talk about all of us hanging out, he's- He's just really shy so it's not like I was trying to hide it, I just didn't want to scare him off. We can get pretty rowdy y'know? A-And I just.." Leo paused when Raph's hand gently set itself on his shoulder, "Okay okay, I'm not mad-" He pulled Leo into a hug, not staying for too long before pulling away, "I just wanna know what's going on sometimes okay? We're family, we care about you, and we're all really happy you met someone. We can't wait to meet him." Leo let out a little sigh, at least part of the anxiety dying down from his reassurance. "Thanks.. I'll... Try to talk more, and I'll let you know tomorrow night what the plan is. Promise." Raph smiled and gave him a pat on his shell, there was still a lingering anxiety that his brother wasn't being fully honest but he looked tired so he wasn't going to push it. Looks like it came to plan B after all. 

Once Leo headed off to his room Raph turned to Donnie giving him a little nod, the 'okay' to put the tracker on. "I know we shouldn't but you all saw that right.." "Leo doesn't lie to us.. He wouldn't... Right?" "Well technically speaking Mikey, he lied to Raph, we didn't ask him about anything. But no you're right Leo isn't one to lie about small stuff, usually when he does something stupid he owns up to it pretty easily. Its only when he starts avoiding the question and actively avoiding us that we should consider it a problem. I like Raph's plan on listening in first before confronting him again. And not just because it gives me a chance to use my new audio data recording device-" They all nodded in agreement before splitting up for the night. This was for the best right..?

Donnie was able to install the recording app though his computers since he was the designer of the tech they all wore. And with his other concealing app Leo wouldn't be aware it was recording or shouldn't be if it worked properly. And that night when Leo was ready to head out Donnie stopped him for a moment, it didn't happen often so Leo decided to listen. "Nardo hold on a sec, I wanted to ask, and you don't have to tell me. But are you and this 'friend' of yours.. More then friends?" "What?" "Now hear me out- No one cares if you have a boyfriend, I mean dad might be a little furious no one told him about it and he didn't do that stupid blessing thing he always talks about like they do in movies- My point is. If you've really been seeing this guy for a year now it just seems a little.. Weird that a casual relationship would go unmentioned since you love to talk" "Do.. Do all of you think I have a secret boyfriend?" "Well-" "Dee seriously.. We just talk when and hang out, and eat food. Nevermind, doesn't matter. I gotta go, I'll see you guys tonight." "You didn't answer my question Leo." "You're the smart one how bout you figure it out m'kay"

Leo opened a portal and vanished, leaving Donatello with a few more questions then he'd hoped he would have. He headed back to his lab where Mikey and Raph were already waiting, Raph having dragged in bean bag chairs for him and their little brother. Donnie sat in his chair and turned on his computer setting it all up with the improved tracker. In just a few minutes Leos icon was outside of their usual pizza spot. They all looked to each other, knowing he hadn't been there to see his friend before since they'd gone out some night's when he didn't come home. 

"Hey bone man! I'm here to see someone, I uh, how do I put this..." "Ah pepino, it's been a while. I was almost excited to have no repair bills this year. You're looking for the booth in the back. You're here for a date yes?" "Oh- Uh- Right. Okay, thanks. I mean, did he say it was a date? Cause I mean I- Are you sure its the right table?" "He said something about, meeting with a hyper mutant with three other brothers. I can think of no one else whos fits that description." He nodded a little, "Ah.. Kay, good too see you too then" There was the sound of shuffling as Leo made his way towards the booth, peeking his head around he saw the table already had someone sitting one one end, a white rabbit yokai who was staring down at the menu, his expression was impossible to read. "NP?" He asked, eyes not moving from the paper, Leo tensed up and nodded, "Uh- Y-Yeah uhm." "Just call me Usagi like you've known me for years, a long name wouldn't look good. Sit." Leo did as directed and sat across from him, "Right, I'm Leo. So.." Usagi glanced up to him, taking a quick moment to look at him, his expression softening a little seeing how nervous he looked. "Didn't expect another yokai hm?" Leo rubbed the back of his neck, this guy was kinda... Cute.. "Heh.. Yeah I was a little curious how you knew this place, sorry for dragging you into this. So.. What kinda cover story do you wanna have? They seem to think I have a secret boyfriend but I don't wanna ask that much of you-" Donnie saw the blue icon unmoving and turned to device on from his end, listening to whatever voices came though the speakers.

"No no, boyfriend is fine. I think in this situation that label would best suit us." Everyone looked to each other, jaws nearly hitting the floor. "G-Good! I.. I mean, they're all really excited to meet you. I know we can get a little crazy sometimes but they all mean well." There was a soft chuckle, "I don't think the kind of crazy you speak of could phase me, Leo. Since you know what I'm capable of." Donnie handed Mikey the five dollars he was owed for their bet of if Leo was really seeing someone. Hesitantly, Raph handed the youngest the same amount as well. 

"Right.. Wish I could be that calm about it." "I think after a while it gets easier, or maybe you just need some help? I know I probably shouldn't be so forward but.. My teacher will not be at the house tonight. If you are able you may join me." "Join you..?" "For desert." "You mean, you want to do that stuff? With me? I dunno. I mean half of me is like, screaming yes cause I want to but, this also feels kind of like the plot of some b list horror movie yknow? Hot guy invites you over late at night and says all the right stuff then boom you're in a basement for the rest of your life- N-Not that I think you would but.. Yknow." "So you think I'm hot~?" Leo's face went red, enough to match his markings, there was another chuckle. "You don't have to answer. Perhaps you can decide after I meet your family hm? There will always be another night where we can do those things together." "Mm.. Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay you've twisted my arm, you do this for me and I'll do that with you. Which brings me to another question." "Ask away" "Are you a good cook? Or like, you don't just eat it raw right? Cause I tried that before and got really sick-" "Leo, I may have a unique taste but even I'm not dumb enough to just eat it raw c'mon. I mean when you do your own hunting you have no idea where that meats been, you have to be very careful and clean it and cook it properly. I can show you in fact, if you ever plan to cook for yourself one day." "Why would I ever do that if I have a skilled cook like you as a boyfriend~" 

"Touché. Does tomorrow work then? Why not go some where in the hidden city? There's a beautiful garden not far from where I live that would be nice. We could pack lunch or something, something your brothers would like of course." "I haven't been in the city that much actually, they'd probably love it. I think we can arrange that. But enough about them, I have like a zillion more questions." "I as well. Tell me more about when you were younger." 

Donnie turned the device off there, mouths still hanging open. "I can't believe Mikey was right-" Dee said quietly, spinning around in his chair to face the other two. "And him and his boyfriend are doing stuff!!" Mikey yelled, "Do you think they've been... Kissing???"  Raph quickly collected himself, very glad Leo and his 'friend' hadn't said anything too risqué.. "Well he's what 15 now? He's allowed to have a boyfriend.."

The rest of the night they talked about their childhoods, not daring to mention their quirks out loud, but rather alluding to them. Trying to get as close as possible in the hour and a half they had before heading home to rest before meeting up tomorrow. It was interesting to hear both sides, how Leo had been suppressing his feelings for a long long time while Usagi on the other hand was encouraged to indulge in them by the one who raised him. He was taught to be merciless and survive by any means available. While had been turning all his frustrations inward hurting and isolating himself Usagi and been turning it outward letting those feelings guide his training. Both vastly different worlds they lived in. But it only made Leo more curious to see how the rabbit yokai handled his food. He ate their pizza normally, seeming more then content with its flavor, but for Leo there was something in the back of his mind saying it was missing something. Even his favorite food seemed to mock him for being different... Part 3 Part 1

TS Master Post

[burning-sol]

You know, I've always felt that the discussion around CWs for food was a bit strange because, "food is everywhere, how do you avoid FOOD, you need to get over it," is weird when you remember that literally anything could be triggering and it's not your place to tell someone to get over their issues just because you personally don't understand it. But I was too cowardly to bring it up because it's one of those opinions that make me worry I'm going to lose the respect of people I know.

I looked up discussions of it and read through the comments of reddit posts and it was very easy to find people with valid reasons to be triggered, including two instances where the person in question struggled with binging which is its own eating disorder and a part of bulimia nervosa. Someone else just found it gross and has misophonia, which is also a valid reason for wanting a content warning I think. There's plenty of reasons people could want a content warning for food other than being the stock character of anorexia.. Who, if we're being real, is not going to be FIXED because you made the oh so bold decision not to put a cw for food. Like, at worst you could definitely trigger some sort of negative reaction from a pwAnorexia you didn't forsee happening, and you will likely never know about because people don't tend to make a habit of discussing all their issues online.

Like, yeah, maybe some people find the content warning itself to induce negative thoughts, but what makes THAT group take priority over the other? What does it say about you that you're inadvertently siding with the Right who likes to argue and poke fun with the argument, "you can't put a content warning on EVERYTHING, that would be ridiculous!! There are no content warnings in real life!"

People also just make a lot of conflation between the online and offline world like... "Well if you see it in real life, you shouldn't need a comment warning online," when the two are completely different contexts. Even just in framing, food in real life isn't inherently framed to look appealing unless purposefully displayed that way, whereas the majority of photos of food are made to be tantalising and trigger a completely different reaction. We don't have offline equivalents of cooking content (TV broadcasts of cooking are even MORE easily avoidable than those online) or of mukbangs in our daily lives. Food online is an entirely different kind of way of interacting with it than in your offline life.

And people DO get triggered offline by things by the by, people DO struggle in their offline lives, and maybe they just prefer to have control over their online lives where it's possible to have accommodations. One time I was out with friends, and obviously I didn't have a content warning for mirrors in real life, nor do I ask for one, but it still severely freaked me out to see a mirror and I was cowering away from any reflection I COULD. I would much prefer NOT to have mirrors all over my house except for certain designated spaces, but I can't change that due to my circumstances, so I just quietly suffer. And it's not that I don't WANT to get over my fear, it's that there's NO possible way to get over that fear if I don't have a support network to help with exposure therapy; because the key to exposure therapy is that you make the patient feel in control and safe and you expose them to whatever they're scared of in amounts that they can handle. You are not a professional, you are a rando on the internet.

Maybe we shouldn't have to keep circling back to the, "you don't have a right to talk over people with triggers," thing just because of the superficial change as to WHAT thing is being trigger tagged. I trust people to know what they want tagged. This shouldn't be a hot take amongst leftists. You shouldn't find some kind subconscious, righteous enjoyment in flaunting that you don't get triggered by something that others do. Please.

[mionghairearracht]

Oh shit yeah huh... do you think part of the reason why so many teens are anti fiction is because of the mandatory reading in schools so when they get on the internet they don't know how to exercise the choice they now have.

ALSO please check out "does the dog die" for mandatory readings as it has an extensive list of trigger warns and I hope it will help take the edge of atleast!

so like preface that we're on the end of a 4?5? day migraine and not the best with words right now. also pretty much any time you is used it's the general you

honestly we think the whole "force kids to read triggering material with no support or warning" is probably the cause of a ton of media related issues not just people* not understanding that the can disengage with triggering material, or that reading things can trigger you and that's completely independent of morality on anyone's part**

like the whole "you need to keep engaging with current events even if your triggered and/or burnt out" is basically what many people where taught for years directly and indirectly in school and by many authority figures.

kids and teens are constantly told their boundaries around media don't matter and that those bounderies can be violated for education. thus a shit ton of people thinking that the proper way to educate on current issues being expose yourself constantly even if you are triggered is a pretty natural consequence.

this also ties into the whole "people can't do media analysis" yeah no shit. if you are spending most of your time and energy dealing with the effects of being triggered by the thing you are supposed to analyze, you probably aren't actually learning much about the media or how to analyze it, that's what happens when you're triggered repeatedly

and yeah no shit you're going to think analysis is bullshit if your experience is "the thing i was forced to trigger myself into breakdowns to do" because that's fucking bullshit and a disgustingly normalized experience.

basically i think the lack of choice, respect for the bounderies and triggers of kids/teens, and the normalization of what's basically emotional abuse under the guise of education has fucked shit up

also does the dog die is great, i think we actually made a post about it a while ago thanks for reminding us of it

for books specifically we hightly recommend storygraph***. its a book tracking app that has an extensive inbuilt trigger list that users can add with reviews and there are a ton of books from bestsellers to indie and self published on there.

if you want to start reading but worry about triggers its a great resource.

and since this is long enough already, tangents/context notes are under the read more

*in our experience this effects people of all ages, and despite the idea of teens being particularly pro-censorship our experience is that its more a case of specific fandoms just having more young people in general and thus more young people who are pro-censorship (and those people being extremely loud and aggressive in general) driving/drowning out others; and the fact that a lot of pro-censorship groups online vs. offline are pretty different demographics wise and having issues with one doesn't guarantee experience with the other

**often people are taught that not being able to handle certain topics is basically a moral failing or willpower issue of their part, which is not true. this can lead to thinking that the moral failing actually came from the topic that hurt them, also not true.

the real problem was being forced to engage with it to the detriment of health under the threat of varies penalties, but that is a huge complex problem which isn't as easy to grasp or readily apparently

*** we really recommend it if you are a reader or looking for information on books in general not just triggers. its much better then goodreads imo and as a bonus you can actually filter out certain warnings from being shown in recommendations.

[local-playground]

hello everyone! we are a cluster of sonic fictives who both are age regressors and caregivers, and this is our agere & cg blog!

so, without further ado;

Welcome to Mobius, little one!

Asks are open!

BYF ; we are fictives in a system and might not always be active as we don't always front! additionally, most of us are teenagers/early adults, so we might not be very good at giving advice! DNI if you're ; anti-agere, nsfw, ddlg, proshipper, a meanie

any and all types of regressors are welcome on this page!

a masterlist for introductions of the members on this blog :

SONIC (flip, agere lean)

blog rules and info :

we are fictives in a system, keep that in mind and be nice to us!

no bad words, we don't say those!

be nice to other people!

if you're uncomfortable with any nickname, please do tell us, we don't bite!

some of us might handle certain things better than others, be mindful of this as not everyone can comfortably handle these things (things like tantrums, vents, etc...)

tagging system :

# mobian speaks : any of us talking # mobian answers : any of us answering asks # mobian reblogs : anything any of us reblogs # mobian babbles : small mobian posts # more tags might come...

extras :

status: online # offline # hiatus age: big # teen # little # ??? links: who's fronting? # prns.cc

[chloeinletters]

Hi Chloé! I just wanted to ask you a question. I noticed you have been silent online when it comes to recent news about war and politics. Please know that there's no judgment in this, I firmly believe on the freedom of what we post in social media, and that being quiet about things online or in our niches doesn't and shouldn't imply indifference or neutrality or even silence offline, and that online presence is not the only way to speak up. I haven't even followed you for so long so I can't be sure about this. But I just wondered, as a writer that you are, were you ever afraid of being perceived as privileged or nonchalant about these things? How do you not give in to the pressure that artists have a responsibility by using their voices to speak up about these matters? There's been a lot of pressure online now with the Israel-Hamas war, people are either pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, and I don't even know which side I'm on other than that I'm pro-peace, and I don't even know if that's acceptable to say or if that's a correct thing to say because I don't even know what's correct anymore, and so I have been quiet about this. And I know this, my being quiet, should matter less than the actual events that have been terribly happening across the world, even those wars that are less talked about, but I'm pressured, and so, you being someone I look up to, I'm just wondering where you stand in these things, and how do you handle it well? Thank you for your advice!

This isn’t really the question you’re asking, but my answer to put it as simply as possible, I’m more concerned with facilitating conversation in my real life. Posting on social media in the past has given me a sense that I have checked something off a box, counted myself as “good” and not part of a problem, rather than having done any of the actual work to challenge my views or perceptions. As a result I’ve spread misinformed views because I didn’t understand fully what they were saying. As my knowledge and understanding develops on all topics I use that the best I can, sharing what I feel I myself can explain or talk about too. I know the power of words. when im forced to confront my own ignorance whether by misspeaking or simply not knowing something, real life allows me to do that with people who know my intentions and can properly point me to resources or ideas without causing as much hurt as I might if I were to do so online publicly for thousands of people. Learning to listen and to sit with that discomfort for what you didn’t/don’t know is important.