#practicing for oct 23

[six-legged-sea-leopard]

sproing

[toxicanonymity]

raider masterlist

dark!Joel x f!reader | updated: August 29, 2024: calling him daddy

moodboard by @milla-frenchy 🖤 a rb will not stay up-to-date.

SUMMARY: He's a bad guy, and you're his good girl. Joel saves you from bad men, but claims you for himself. His persona starts to crack, but he gets even more possessive. You're his world, and he'll do anything to keep you. Emotional slow burn but smut the whole time. WARNINGS: 18+ canon-typical violence, noncon via implicit threat, evolving to enthusiastic dubious consent (stockholm syndrome), depraved use of praise and pet names (sweet pea, baby), unsafe P in V, exhibitionism, extreme possessiveness, dark fluff (🖤), angst, and more. NO USE of Y/N, No physical description of reader.

Spotify: raider, sweet pea (smut) Optional reference: trailer floor plan

Carter masterlist

main story

Note, non-bold links in this section were written out of order and may contain spoilers or references to future events. their placement in this list is based on timeline.

Raider: (Mar 24, 2023) - He "saves" you, then has his way with you but is kinda sweet about it. Joel POV (Oct 3, 1k)

Failed Rescue (Apr 8 - 1.9k) Your bf tries to save you. Joel makes him watch then keeps you.

Stash House (Apr 11 - 850)- Joel takes you to the stash house and shows everyone you're his. Wash Bin 🖤 (Aug 27, 1k) Shooting Practice Drabble(Jul 28, 1.6k)

Failed Escape (Apr 23, 4k)- Joel saves you from FEDRA, bathes you, amd edges you.

J. Miller (May 19, 2k) - Joel labels you with his switchblade and claims all your holes. dark. Can be skipped.

Home (May 29, 1.3k) - Joel makes dinner at home, cleans your chest, and tucks you in. 🖤

Company (Jun 9, 2.2k) - Joel brings home a girl to distract his men. dark. Extra Scene - angst.

Close (Jul 3, 2.7k) - close call with other raiders. You-almost-died sex, and later, tender sex 🖤

Gun Hug (Jul 31, 3.7k) - Joel traps 2 bad guys with some help and kills them while you. . .🖤 If you want him (1.5k) - he holds out to see🖤

Night Air (Aug 30, 3.5k) - Joel is brutal with a bad guy and his POV reveals some feelings. 🖤 Bonus blurb, wakeup pwp drabble

Hunger (Sep 29, 7k) - Joel takes you on a trek, comforts you, kills a guy, and gives you head. 🖤 He's only human (1.1k) - 👱‍♂️Carter POV, overlaps w/ hunger.

Bodies (Dec 3, 7.8k) - Strangers show up and cause a shitstorm, but Joel takes a big step. 🖤 Raider POV

No cliffhangers. Bulletin from Tox

more (drabbles, etc)

🔥 smut

Trying to use him (800) (riding) 🔥

House meeting drabble 🖤

You get sick at night drabble 🖤

He goes down on you (oral f) 🔥

If you touched his scar

if men had hurt you in the past

if you got your period 🖤

magazine and makeup 🖤

yoga pwp drabble piv 1k 🔥

boots drabble (oral f receiving) 🔥

graveyard blurb (spice)

if you bit his arm drabble (p in v) 🔥

If you snapped (emotional spice) 🖤

face sitting on sofa 🔥

being bad, looking good (2.8k, smut) 🔥

Van ride drabble (800) 🖤

sleeping beast (<1k), PWP 🔥

If Joel was sick 🖤

If you were annoying

cutting his hair 🖤

waking up on top 🔥

tired 🖤

waking up on top again 🔥

Sweet pea overhears Joel 🔥

Choking on his dick (600) 🔥

his birthday 🥺

if she called him daddy 🔥

Note: not all content is linked. Asks can lead to lore, snippets, and previews or hints of future plot points, etc. which are not added here.

Headcanons (not written like fic)

If another man has his way (Q&A)

dacryphilia - evolved update (Q&A)

if you had scars or tattoos (Q&A)

👱‍♂️raider carter Qs, face claim (Q&A)

sweet pea by herself

If you sketched Joel and Jack

Apple picking 🖤

Responding to a Nightmare

accidentally hurting her

Analysis (#raider!analysis)

why does he keep her

why did he snap (in Company extra scene)

his eye contact

his affection / feelings, trajectory 🖤

falling for sweet pea

his self hate and her feelings

the dog and joel's concern for you

awareness of growth / why keep her

Raider Tommy

Birds of prey (2.6k)

Art, etc.

Mattress by esquire magazine

Stitches by @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog

collage by @milla-frenchy

lose control edit by @survivingandenduring

🌸 sweet pea mood boards by various

6 month collage by milla-frenchy

6 month cake by not-a-unique-snowflake-blog

🌸 sweet pea cosplay from night air

👱‍♂️carter mood board by @romana-after-dark

pts. 1-3 rb mood boards by @iamasaddie

night air gif by not-a-unique-snowflake-blog

raider/sweet pea collage by milla

sweet pea's pup by @dark-scape

want it that bad gif by @dark-scape

Bodies gif by not-a-unique-snowflake-blog

👱‍♂️carter mood board by milla-frenchy

Then and now drawing by @romana-after-dark

Raider/sweet pea drawings by @lumoverheaven

our stars moodboard by milla

raiding edits by gasolinerainbowpuddles

under the anger by iamasaddie

🎥 Trailer (video) by @carminepoison

birthday sketch by @lumoverheaven

In love w raider by @milla-frenchy

✨ checks that you're ok 🐺 by milla

If I've left yours off please lmk I prob tagged improperly

Back to Joel Masterlist

Fic recs: other raiders

🖤 If mine or another writer's work has inspired yours, it's always better late than never to share / shout-out 🖤

[cordspaghetti]

feeling nuts ok so i was looking at the full page of that High School Drag interview after um going thru the 5 stages of decomposition over it and i recognized one of gerard’s other answers (about people grabbing their package) as identical to something they said in a much older interview so i was like oh are we pulling quotes from other things here? can i Search the Web and find the og source for what he said about doing drag? so i DID and i found each sentence of his answer, which i bolded, within larger quotes from completely different places, like:

“I like to think of it as a cry for help trapped in a pop song...When I was writing it, I was remembering how hard it was to be a 16-year-old in high school. I always wanted to be an artist, so I was this loner kid who just got drunk all the time. I only had one real friend. There was a girl I really liked, and she ended up taking really sleazy photographs with her boyfriend, and that really crushed me...I was just swimming in this pit of despair, jealousy and alcoholism.” (June 23, 2004 from mtv archive)

“I went to school in drag, in art school and my day was completely different because everybody thought I was a chick.” (we all know this one, earliest place i found it was here from 2003ish but i think the site’s broken now)

“You’re going to come across shitty bands and a lot of shitty people. And if any one of those people call you names because of what you look like or they don’t accept you for who you are, I want you to look right at that motherfucker, stick up your middle finger, and scream ‘Fuck you!’” (found this in a bunch of places, the earliest so far being Oct 22, 2006 on imnotokay.net where it’s listed as an “old article”)

for reference again the lad mag interview goes like:

“How did you find high school? Hard. I always wanted to be an artist, so I was this loner kid who just got drunk all the time. I only had one real friend. 

In what ways were you a loner? I went to school in drag. People call you names because of what you look like, because they don't accept who you are.”

so this has me thinking that at least this portion of the interview is entirely collaged together, with the context abt high school for the second answer basically fabricated? idk how common a practice this is in like. music journalism but LAD Mag (which this is from) was a magazine that came with copies of Sugar for free, so maybe the standards were different OR SOMETHING. idk maybe gerard just happened to repeat himself here. i want to believe in high school drag. but also their history with gender is important to meeeee and i want to make sure i am not consuming Fake Info about it !!!! 

[mostlysignssomeportents]

One of America’s most corporate-crime-friendly bankruptcy judges forced to recuse himself

Today (Oct 16) I'm in Minneapolis, keynoting the 26th ACM Conference On Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing. Thursday (Oct 19), I'm in Charleston, WV to give the 41st annual McCreight Lecture in the Humanities. Friday (Oct 20), I'm at Charleston's Taylor Books from 12h-14h.

"I’ll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one." The now-famous quip from Robert Reich cuts to the bone of corporate personhood. Corporations are people with speech rights. They are heat-shields that absorb liability on behalf of their owners and managers.

But the membrane separating corporations from people is selectively permeable. A corporation is separate from its owners, who are not liable for its deeds – but it can also be "closely held," and so inseparable from those owners that their religious beliefs can excuse their companies from obeying laws they don't like:

https://clsbluesky.law.columbia.edu/2014/10/13/hobby-lobby-and-closely-held-corporations/

Corporations – not their owners – are liable for their misdeeds (that's the "limited liability" in "limited liablity corporation"). But owners of a murderous company can hold their victims' families hostage and secure bankruptcies for their companies that wipe out their owners' culpability – without any requirement for the owners to surrender their billions to the people they killed and maimed:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/11/justice-delayed/#justice-redeemed

Corporations are, in other words, a kind of Schroedinger's Cat for impunity: when it helps the ruling class, corporations are inseparable from their owners; when that would hinder the rich and powerful, corporations are wholly distinct entities. They exist in a state of convenient superposition that collapses only when a plutocrat opens the box and decides what is inside it. Heads they win, tails we lose.

Key to corporate impunity is the rigged bankruptcy system. "Debts that can't be paid, won't be paid," so every successful civilization has some system for discharging debt, or it risks collapse:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/09/bankruptcy-protects-fake-people-brutalizes-real-ones/

When you or I declare bankruptcy, we have to give up virtually everything and endure years (or a lifetime) of punitive retaliation based on our stained credit records, and even then, our student debts continue to haunt us, as do lawless scumbag debt-collectors:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/12/do-not-pay/#fair-debt-collection-practices-act

When a giant corporation declares bankruptcy, by contrast, it emerges shorn of its union pension obligations and liabilities owed to workers and customers it abused or killed, and continues merrily on its way, re-offending at will. Big companies have mastered the Texas Two-Step, whereby a company creates a subsidiary that inherits all its liabilities, but not its assets. The liability-burdened company is declared bankrupt, and the company's sins are shriven at the bang of a judge's gavel:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/01/j-and-j-jk/#risible-gambit

Three US judges oversee the majority of large corporate bankruptcies, and they are so reliable in their deference to this scheme that an entire industry of high-priced lawyers exists solely to game the system to ensure that their clients end up before one of these judges. When the Sacklers were seeking to abscond with their billions in opioid blood-money and stiff their victims' families, they set their sights on Judge Robert Drain in the Southern District of New York:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/23/a-bankrupt-process/#sacklers

To get in front of Drain, the Sacklers opened an office in White Plains, NY, then waited 192 days to file bankruptcy papers there (it takes six months to establish jurisdiction). Their papers including invisible metadata that identified the case as destined for Judge Drain's court, in a bid to trick the court's Case Management/Electronic Case Files system to assign the case to him.

The case was even pre-captioned "RDD" ("Robert D Drain"), to nudge clerks into getting their case into a friendly forum.

If the Sacklers hadn't opted for Judge Drain, they might have set their sights on the Houston courthouse presided over by Judge David Jones, the second of of the three most corporate-friendly large bankruptcy judges. Judge Jones is a Texas judge – as in "Texas Two-Step" – and he has a long history of allowing corporate murderers and thieves to escape with their fortunes intact and their victims penniless:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/07/hr-4193/#shoppers-choice

But David Jones's reign of error is now in limbo. It turns out that he was secretly romantically involved with Elizabeth Freeman, a leading Texas corporate bankruptcy lawyer who argues Texas Two-Step cases in front of her boyfriend, Judge David Jones.

Judge Jones doesn't deny that he and Freeman are romantically involved, but said that he didn't think this fact warranted disclosure – let alone recusal – because they aren't married and "he didn't benefit economically from her legal work." He said that he'd only have to disclose if the two owned communal property, but the deed for their house lists them as co-owners:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24032507-general-warranty-deed

(Jones claims they don't live together – rather, he owns the house and pays the utility bills but lets Freeman live there.)

Even if they didn't own communal property, judges should not hear cases where one of the parties is represented by their long term romantic partner. I mean, that is a weird sentence to have to type, but I stand by it.

The case that led to the revelation and Jones's stepping away from his cases while the Fifth Circuit investigates is a ghastly – but typical – corporate murder trial. Corizon is a prison healthcare provider that killed prisoners with neglect, in the most cruel and awful ways imaginable. Their families sued, so Corizon budded off two new companies: YesCare got all the contracts and other assets, while Tehum Care Services got all the liabilities:

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/prominent-bankruptcy-judge-david-jones-033801325.html

Then, Tehum paid Freeman to tell her boyfriend, Judge Jones, to let it declare bankruptcy, leaving $173m for YesCare and allocating $37m for the victims suing Tehum. Corizon owes more than $1.2b, "including tens of millions of dollars in unpaid invoices and hundreds of malpractice suits filed by prisoners and their families who have alleged negligent care":

https://www.kccllc.net/tehum/document/2390086230522000000000041

Under the deal, if Corizon murdered your family member, you would get $5,000 in compensation. Corizon gets to continue operating, using that $173m to prolong its yearslong murder spree.

The revelation that Jones and Freeman are lovers has derailed this deal. Jones is under investigation and has recused himself from his cases. The US Trustee – who represents creditors in bankruptcy cases – has intervened to block the deal, calling Tehum "a barren estate, one that was stripped of all of its valuable assets as a result of the combination and divisional mergers that occurred prior to the bankruptcy filing."

This is the third high-profile sleazy corporate bankruptcy that had victory snatched from the jaws of defeat this year: there was Johnson and Johnson's attempt to escape from liability from tricking women into powder their vulvas with asbestos (no, really), the Sacklers' attempt to abscond with billions after kicking off the opioid epidemic that's killed 800,000+ Americans and counting, and now this one.

This one might be the most consequential, though – it has the potential to eliminate one third of the major crime-enabling bankruptcy judges serving today.

One down.

Two to go.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/16/texas-two-step/#david-jones

My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

Today, Israel is voting in its local elections (for mayors and city councils). ALMOST all of Israel. The original date was at the end of October 2023, for obvious reasons, the elections were postponed. There were also a lot of mayor nominees, who were summoned for reserves service due to the war, and one of the reasons why the elections were postponed more than once, was to give as many of them as possible a chance to finish their service, and participate in their own election campaign. But even so, there are still hundreds of thousands of people from evacuated communities (displaced people, internal refugees, however you wanna call them), and therefore not everyone will be voting today. For the evacuated cities and towns, the elections were postponed until November. Looking at things, it's not sure they'll be back in their homes by then either, so IDK what their elections will look like. And then of course there are the hostages. Save for two, 4 years old Ariel Bibas and his 1 years old baby brother Kfir, they all had the right to vote, and none will get to. We remember them and hurt over their absence and everything being continuously being stolen from them on this day, too. On a side note, the national supervisor of these local electional is Rayan Ghanem. And if you know Jewish last names, you know Ghanem is not one of them. I'm trying to remember a time in apartheid South Africa when a non-white was a national supervisor of elections.

Despite still pointing out that the International Court of Justice has no right to judge the case brought to it by South Africa (becaue of SA's false claims to bring this case to court), Israel has filed a report in accordance with one of the ICJ's provisional measures, showing that its actions are in compliance with all of them (like providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, and doing all it can to protect civilians).

Meanwhile, at Harvard, just 6 weeks after she was appointed to lead the task force meant to combat Jew hatred, the university's antisemitism tsar has quit her position, with reports saying that she's frustrated over her inability to implement practical measures.

Remember when I wrote about Idan Amedi, the Israeli singer and actor that most people outside our country know from his role on Fauda? He gave a really moving speech when he was released from the hospital. I've wanted to share it for a while, but couldn't find it translated well. I found this bit:

But it really doesn't cover how moving the whole speech is (it's 9 minutes long). Among other things, he also thanked medical teams, assured Israelis we have the best ones, and apologized to his soldiers who died in the same incident in which he was injured. He also mentioned that he was unrecognizable when he was rushed into the hospital, and that doctors only identified him by the note that was attacked to his hand. It turns out, he really wanted people to see what he was talking about, and to understand that by the time he gave this public speech, he was already looking much better than on the day of he was wounded. So here is the image he shared himself on his IG (just scroll quickly past it, if you feel like it is too much for you, which is an understandbale reaction):

This is 68 years old David Edri.

On October 7, he was held hostage with his wife by Hamas for hours. At a certain point, he even covered his wife Rachel with his own body, in order to protect her from the terrorists' shots. They both survived. Yesterday, we got the news that he has passed away. His family said the trauma and stress from the massacre, and the news of its scale, had aggravated his medical problems for the last couple of months, until he could no longer go on.

This is 23 years old Raz Mizrachi.

In May 2021, she was injured in a vehicular terrorist attack in Jerusalem, but survived. On Oct 7, she was attending the Nova music festival. Her last phone call was to the police, to help instruct them on where she and dozens of others were hiding from Hamas terrorists, inside a public bomb shelter. Raz was murdered shortly after that. When her mom got a copy of the call's recording, she said it was a great source of comfort to the family, to know that Raz was a fighter till the last moment.

May their memory be a blessing.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[zvaigzdelasas]

[WAFA is the official outlet of the Palestinian Authority]

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates today said that ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is the only guarantee for peace, security and stability in the region. “We have repeatedly warned of the consequences of a deadlock in the political horizon and not granting the Palestinian people their legitimate right to self-determination and their state. We have also warned of the consequences of the daily provocations and attacks, the continued terrorism of settlers and occupation forces, and the raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Christian and Islamic holy sites,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement. “What guarantees security, stability and peace in our region is ending the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the 1967 lines, and recognizing the people’s right to independence and sovereignty.” The Foreign Ministry added: “Israel's disavowal of the signed agreements and non-compliance with international legitimacy resolutions led to the destruction of the peace process and the absence of a solution to the Palestinian issue after 75 years of suffering and displacement. The continuation of the policy of double standards, the silence of the international community regarding the criminal and racist practices of the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people, and the continuation of the injustice and oppression that the Palestinian people endure is the reason behind the explosive situation and the absence of peace and security in the region. Peace requires justice, freedom and independence for our Palestinian people, the return of refugees, and the full implementation of international legitimacy resolutions.”

7 Oct 23

[tylermileslockett]

8: ZODIAC CONSTELLATIONS The ancient Greek Zodiakos, or Zodiac, is a division of the celestial sphere into twelve equal parts; each one containing a specific group of stars with a mythic association called a constellation. Ancient Greeks used the constellations for sailing navigation, time keeping for seasonal agricultural practices like planting and harvesting crops, mythic storytelling purposes, and astrology practices. Hellenistic Astrology, taking influence from the Babylonians and Egyptians, sought meaning in the zodiac signs and how they influenced a person’s character based on the position of the sun when they were born. They also used this practice for divination, providing guidance and predictions for the future. Let’s take a look at the twelve Zodiac constellations and their mythic tales. 1.) Aries (March 21-April 19) represents the flying golden ram sent by the gods to save the royal children Phrixus and Helle from sacrifice, and whose fleece later becomes the quested prize for the Argonauts. 2.) Taurus (April 20-May 20) represents the bull which Zeus transformed into to seduce Europa, and is linked to the Cretan Bull and the myth of the Minotaur. 3.) Gemini (May 21-June 21) represents the twins Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus and Leda, known for their inseparable bond and heroic deeds. 4.) Cancer (June 22- July 22) represents the crab sent by Hera to distract Hercules during his battle with the Hydra, later placed in the sky by Hera as a constellation. 5.) Leo (July 23- Aug. 22) represents the lion, representing strength and kingship, associated with the Nemean Lion defeated by Hercules. 6.) Virgo (Aug 23- Sept 22) represents the maiden, often linked to the goddess of agriculture and fertility, such as Demeter or Persephone. 7.) Libra (Sept 23- Oct 23) represents goddess of justice Astraea, daughter of Themis, who carries the scales of justice. 8.) Scorpio (Oct 24- Nov 21) represents the scorpion sent by Artemis or Gaia to kill Orion 9.) Sagittarius (Nov 22- Dec 21) represents the centaur archer, often identified as the wise and skilled Chiron. 10.) Capricorn (Dec 22- Jan 19) represents the sea goat Aegipan, who aided Zeus in his fight against Typhon. 11.) Aquarius (Jan 20- Feb 18) represents the cupbearer of the gods, Ganymede, who was abducted by Zeus and placed among the stars. 12.) Pisces (Feb 19- March 20) represents the two fish, Aphrodite and Eros, who transformed to escape the monster Typhon.

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[phoenixyfriend]

Calls for Action, Call Your Reps: 2/26/24

This is USA-specific, as that is the place I live and know.

Find your elected officials.

As usual, most of my information on what bills are on the floor comes from GovTrack. I am including some suggested listening/reading (you can find text versions if you google the title and 'transcript') at the bottom of the post. I am also including a current event that is likely to be a very powerful argument, with the right politicians. The event is prefaced with a red warning tag, and followed by event-specific verbiage.

Suggested verbiage and strategies for calling your elected officials.

GovTrack has said that there are still no votes scheduled, in this blog post from Friday: What's Next for Congress? (Feb 23, 2024)

In practice, that appears to mean that they are arguing over the budget to avoid yet another government shutdown. Given that the delays to the budget so far have been tied directly to the Israel/Ukraine/Taiwan military funding and Southern border.

Use this time to call their offices and tell them to vote the way you want them to.

The most immediate and pressing issue at this moment is the famine in Gaza. Widely reported today is that a two-month-old boy recently died of starvation, and the World Health Organization is declaring that it has become famine and a mass starvation event, no longer just a threat of one.

At this time, the three greatest factors in that famine are:

Israeli bombardment (destruction of existing food stores and farming land)

Israeli blockades of the Egyptian border into Gaza, preventing aid trucks from places like the US from reaching people

The cessation of funding to UNRWA, which has been the lifeline to Palestinian civilians for decades, and is currently the best and possibly only chance to save the one and a half million dying civilians

This information is being reported by the WHO, UNRWA itself, UNICEF, and more, along with journalists that are in Gaza at this time.

The other issue, more domestically, is the rising tide of concern for US Reproductive Rights stemming from the IVF ruling in Alabama.

Both House and Senate:

Reinstate funding for UNRWA. While the claims made by Israel that employees of the relief agency were involved in Oct. 7th are troubling, THEY are not well supported, and western officials did not do their duty in investigating the claims before cutting funding. This arm of the UN is currently providing food, water, shelter, and medical care to the 2.3 million displaced peoples of Gaza. It is especially disturbing and concerning that the many children of Gaza, who are already suffering due to this conflict, are now having this support revoked. Many sources are also claiming that the evidence is flimsy at best.

Urge both Senate and House to refrain from funding Israel, or to at least put some strings on it. The IDF cannot be given funding without some regulations on what they can do with it. They have proven that they are unwilling to take steps to protect civilians.

Sanctions must also be placed on Israel for its continued impediment of aid intended for Gazans, including aid from the US.

Urge for the US to stop vetoing ceasefire demands in the UN. No, the suggested replacement written by the US is not an excuse.

Not directly related to Gaza: It looks like they’re gearing up for another push at KOSA. The canned email responses I’m getting are really proud of being in support of KOSA, which is… bad. It is also bad for people outside the US, including Palestine, apparently. VOTE NAY.

Not related to Gaza: Alabama's recent court decision has put IVF services in danger in the state, with multiple fertility clinics halting all related services for any pregnancy that is not yet in progress; there were implantation appointments for last week that were canceled with no knowledge of when they might be greenlit. Push for full spectrum reproductive rights protection (fertility services, family planning, birth control, abortion, and more), and if you have a pro-lifer as your elected official, cite the Alabama ruling as a cause for concern of how the lack of codified reproductive rights protection can impact even those who do want children.

FOR THE SENATE: Urge your senator to put their support behind Bernie Sanders and his motion to restrict funding to Israel until a humanitarian review of the IDF’s actions in Gaza has been completed. Cite it as Senate Resolution 504 if your Senator is right-wing enough to react negatively to the mention of Sanders by name. NOTE: This resolution was TABLED by the Senate on 1/16, but it is being brought back in as conditions continue to escalate.

Passed in the House recently, so bother your senators about it, is H.R. 3016: IGO Anti-Boycott Act. Vote Nay. This appears to be intended to force US companies to do business with US allies instead of participating in boycotts. This appears, to me, to be an attack on movements like BDS. To Dem Reps, argue that this refuses the right of peaceful protest to US citizens. To Republican Reps, argue that this is a dangerous government overreach and that it is not the right of the government to force US citizens to purchase products and materials from specific foreign partners.

FOR THE HOUSE: Recommend that they support House Resolution 786, introduced by Rep. Cori Bush, Calling for an immediate deescalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine. ALTERNATELY: Urge your representative to put their support behind Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s petition for the US government to recognize the IDF’s actions in Gaza as ethnic cleansing and forced displacement, and put a stop to it.

Alright, now the current big news story.

Warning: Self-harm, public suicide.

I will preface this with an explanation of a recent event.

The big American news of this week that is being talked about on all political news sources, from BBC to NPR to Al Jazeera, is the self-immolation in DC. A US Air Force service member walked to the Israeli embassy in Washingon DC, set up a Twitch Stream, and stated that he refused to be party to the genocide being committed with the support of his country's government. He then doused himself in a flammable liquid, set himself on fire, and shouted 'Free Palestine' on repeat until the fire grew too great for him to do anything but scream in pain. The man was rushed away to a hospital, but has apparently died since. Twitch has understandably removed the video for ToS violations, but the video has been saved and reshared to other sites since.

To be clear, the airman, a 25yo named Aaron Bushnell, explicitly stated that this was an act of extreme protest, but not as extreme as the current lives of Palestinians in Gaza. Please do not allow people to convince you this was just a random act of mental illness. It was tragic, yes, but this very public, recorded, in-uniform, motive-declared suicide was by all appearances a calculated choice based on centuries of precedent.

If your senator or representative claims to be pro-military, bring this up. Even if they don't, bring it up.

"A service member, someone who presumably has access to more information on what is happening 'on the ground' than the average citizen, someone who has proven their dedication to America, is dying in agony to prove a point: that Israel's actions cannot be condoned, cannot be justified, and most certainly cannot be supported with fourteen billion in military aid."

The above is one possible verbiage you can use when you call.

Today, I would also recommend listening to NPR's Politics Podcast as the episode contains some good information on The Michigan Problem, and the Democracy Now podcast, which has some good interviews on the confirmed famine going on in Gaza. I will note that there are some claims being made in the latter about the US government, including comments by Biden himself, using law enforcement and college administrations to punish pro-Palestine groups, from Students for Justice in Palestine to even Jewish Voice for Peace (notable since one of the major arguments for these actions is that anti-zionists are antisemitic). I am saying 'claims being made' as I have not had time to corroborate this with other news sources, and the other casts I listen to have not mentioned it.

If you wish to support my political blogging, I am accepting donations on ko-fi.

Alternately, I would also suggest that you send any spare money to PCRF (Palestine Children's Relief Fund), UNRWA, or Save the Children Sudan, which has been undergoing an incredibly deadly civil war for a year or so now, but that the US has significantly less involvement in on a bureaucratic level, so IDK what any of us in the US can do to help in that regard. But many of us do have money! So there's that.

[deadpresidents]

"We did nothing wrong. This is all Biden, indictments and impeachments and this is all about Biden, he can't do anything right. The only thing they know how to do is cheat in elections and election fraud. This is all by himself. All of these indictments that you see. I was never indicted. Practically never heard the word. It wasn't a word that registered." -- Former President Donald Trump answering questions from reporters while campaigning in New Hampshire on Oct. 23, 2023. In case anyone has missed it, Trump has been very obviously and publicly criminally indicted and arrested four times since March. Also, in case anybody has missed it, Trump remains, by far, the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination and still the clear leader of the Republican Party.

[opencommunion]

Palestinian Prisoners' Club: "Thousands of prisoners in occupation jails are facing starvation.

Ramallah - Thousands of prisoners in occupation jails are facing systematic starvation operations, in addition to continuous torture and abuse, which has intensified since October 7, threatening the fate of thousands of them, especially the sick, elderly, and children.

Since the beginning of the comprehensive aggression and genocide in Gaza, starvation operations have been one of the most prominent measures imposed by the prison administration against prisoners, including reducing meal portions, closing the canteen, and confiscating any remaining food supplies from the prisoners, not sparing any category from the prisoners in the jails.

Numerous testimonies from released prisoners have been documented by institutions regarding these starvation practices: The food is just morsels, with a portion meant for two prisoners given to 12 prisoners in a room, insufficient to quench hunger. The food is poor in both quantity and quality. The varieties offered over the past period are the same, often undercooked and many times inedible.

In the occupation prisons, many diabetic patients have experienced fainting due to starvation operations, directly threatening their fate, especially with the continued systematic medical crimes against them." 4 Oct 23 via RNN Prisoners

[s3thwrit3sstuff]

“I Haven’t Been To Therapy, I Should Go Again”

A drabble of me using YN as a placeholder so I can write and detach myself enough from the situation + makes some great writing practice | no. 1 | made 7th Oct. 23 |

warnings: none, just a drabble of a therapy session

"You think you're a hole?" He giggles, leaning back onto the couch with a certain aloofness. It doesn't reach his eyes but the doctor offers a quick dash across his writing pad. This catches his eye. He wonders for a moment if the way his limbs are arranged is wrong and if they convey the wrong emotions he is feeling. He was never the best at that; articulating his emotions.

Oftentimes, he's been told he came off as disingenuous. Perhaps a bit too friendly — then sometimes, he's called antisocial and sullen.

' Always staring at his phone '. Bemoaned his mother; 'Never seeing who looked at him in the hopes of getting to know him but complaining to me that you were alone '.

So he wonders what his doctor writes now. If the man across from him in that lint-free sweater is hoping to know him or if he already has. If so, was he that unremarkable that a few written words were enough for the therapist to know? "(Y/N?)" "When you put it like that it sounds pervy".

He brings his gaze to the carpet. The idea of curling up on this couch was pushed away at the thought of putting his shoes on the fine upholstery. Even if he knows that the therapist's cat scratched the sides to filth — the couch cover was a few sizes too big and sometimes ended up revealing more than it was meant to cover — and it's been ages since the couch's glory days. His parents taught him better. They didn't teach him enough to be better, but they did teach him manners. "But why do you think of yourself that way?" (Y/N)'s emotions bubble. It stings his eyes but he manages to swallow it down. "I think it suits me. A hole is an absence of something, a void that could be filled. Sometimes they are useful. But most of the time people get scared of them. Especially the ones that seem endless, cavernous".

"And you think you're cavernous?"

He takes a breath.

"I think I'm greedy". The doctor stays quiet and (Y/N) has been through the session enough to know it's a prompting for him to continue. "A neverending void that's desperate for...something. Love, money, fulfillment, companionship". "You feel like you lack companionship?" He sinks lower into the couch.

"No. I do have friends. It's just, it's hard to tell them everything. There's just...it's scary, alright? Fuckin' terrifying."

"They're your friends, they should understand you. You said it yourself that you'd take a bullet for them".

"And I would. A thousand times over, I would", his tone mimics his hardened expression.

"But talking to them about this void feels daunting to you?" The doctor speaks in a voice that's more comforting than prying. As if nothing would come out of (Y/N) simply talking. But (Y/N) looks at the clock on the wall and knows this is a paid transaction. The doctor taps the writing pad in thought. He's lost him. (Y/N)'s walls were as obvious as it comes. Drawn up shoulders, clenched jaw, furrowed brows, avoiding eye contact. His knee is beginning to bounce, although the doctor knows it's not due to impatience. The anxious habit was a mindless way for his brain to stimulate a part of itself enough to keep him from going stir-crazy. "I'm selfish", he mutters. The doctor barely catches it but he elaborates. "My friends are amazing. I value them and cherish them. But I feel like my thoughts make me undeserving of such a bond. I try to make more friends but I feel like a newborn calf, stumbling around like a moron, worrying about overstepping or being too closed off. I try to understand why I want new friends and I can rationalize it as just seeking companionship. But I know it's more than that.”

“It's because I'm scared my friends will leave me once they see me. Which is ridiculous since we've known each other for years, still, that fear sticks with me. It's vile and repulsive and it doesn't shut up."

He exhales slowly, his shoulder drooping.

"That's why I'm selfish, greedy, cavernous, void of neediness and wants and fears and impulses".

A chuff of laughter causes his face to wrinkle in confusion. The therapist, this sweater-cladded man with his hair brushed and swept back; looking so put together across from (Y/N) that it makes him feel uncomfortable just being in the same room as him, was laughing.

“What?” he bites out. Defensive but curling the corners of his lips up to soften that sharpness. Lest he be too rude.

“You’re scared of being human,” he answers. “You’re more anxious than most, but you’re human. It’s normal to have these fears and anxiety,” he pauses to gauge the boy’s reaction.

“You’re in that phase in your life where people are expecting you to put down roots. A job. A lover. A car. A house.”

(Y/N) grimaces. But he continues.

“You told me your friends seemed to have it all together and you feel stuck. Do you think, maybe, your fear is your feeling of inadequacy? You comparing yourself to your peers, makes this void inside of you grow larger and so you look for other friends. People who don’t know you like your old friends do.”

(Y/N) gazes at the couch and then at the carpet. The clocks tick on for a minute too long and one of them adjusts themselves in their seats. The other is too hyperaware of every movement he makes and forces himself to be still. Akin to prey being caught in the sight of its natural predator.

“...Same time next month?” (Y/N) mutters as he reaches for his bag. The clock hands revealing their session had finally ended.

“Of course, I’ll invoice you today’s bill later, yeah?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

[severalforraelee]

Mystic Beauty: Thor x Reader

Word count: 2,132

Posted Oct 23

Masterlist

Avengers Masterlist

“I cannot let you in,” the Hydra agent tells Steve. I watch through the trees as he narrows his eyes at the superhero. “And I suggest that you leave now so that it doesn’t get violent.”

“Violent?” A smirk tugs at Steve’s lips. “Why would it have to get violent?”

Just as the group of Hydra agents get ready to attack, Tony is the one to speak.

“You know what, I know just what will change your mind. Mystic, come out here, please.”

I take a deep breath, stepping out from behind the tree’s trunk with a soft smile on my face. Even though their faces are hidden behind their masks, I can tell that the Hydra agents' jaws drop at the sight of me.

I feel their eyes trail down my body, starting with my long, glimmering hair to the off the shoulder crop top that accentuates my collarbones, then onto the high-waisted shorts that show just a hint of my abs, the sheer cape attached to them highlighting the length and fitness of my legs, ending at the heeled boots that tie the entire gold outfit together.

My trademark smirk tugs at my lips, but my chest tightens as I see their eyes scan my body up and down.

“Morning, boys,” I say, taking careful steps closer to them. I watch the rest of the Avengers carefully watch the interaction out of the corner of my eye. “Listen, I’m really a lover, not a fighter. So if I just asked for us to enter the building, what would you say to that?”

They exchange glances with each other before quickly nodding, practically pushing each other out of the way of the entrance to the factory building being used to manufacture weapons.

“Thank you, boys,” I pat one of the guards on the shoulder as I walk past him. He faints behind me.

“Nice work, Mystic Beauty,” Spider-Man teases before running by me to explore.

I put on a smile for the rest of the superheroes at the mention of my superhero name. Mystic Beauty, because my beauty puts everyone into awe. I can do anything I want and get away with it because everyone is so fascinated by my beauty. I can get others to do things as well- that’s actually how I got into being a superhero. I started by using my beauty to influence high school boys into helping old women cross the street, or to influence couples into going on dates where they pick up litter.

Slowly my influence got bigger and bigger and when the Avengers picked me up, they gave me a uniform that highlights my beauty.

My outer beauty, that is. I don’t even know if they know what my inner beauty is.

“Come on, beauty,” Tony claps me on the back. “We have shit to get done.”

~

I love our Avengers dinners. I love sitting around a table with all of my friends, telling jokes and sharing stories with each other. It’s a chance to escape from the dangerous occupations that we’ve all chosen- it’s a chance to escape from Mystic Beauty and just be Y/N.

“Peter, how are things going with MJ?” Wanda asks the youngest member of the group.

“Oh, uh,” his gaze flickers to the plate in front of him and he pushes the small amount of food around with his fork. “Not good. We’re going through a bit of a rough patch right now.”

“Misgardian women can be so complex, Spider-Boy,” Thor teases.

I nudge him at the comment, giving him a stern look as he chuckles.

“What’s going on, Peter?” Natasha asks him gently.

She has a soft spot for the young boy. We all do.

“Oh, it’s, it’s nothing. I swear. I promise.”

His eyes remain on his plate and the fork scrapes loudly on the porcelain.

We all exchange looks around the table, trying to figure out if we should pry or not. Once our glances decide that we should pry, knowing that Peter needs some advice from wise adults, we exchange more glances to figure out who should be the one to ask.

“Peter…” Steve begins.

“Okay, fine, you want to know what happened?” The fork lands on the plate with a loud noise and he looks up at us with wild eyes. “She’s intimidated by how much time I spend with Y/N.”

My eyes widen, startled at the revelation. A blush begins to form on my cheeks as the other superheroes look over at me.

“She said it was just too hard for her to come to terms with the fact that I work with the most beautiful woman in the world. That she has shiny hair and the perfect body and it’s too much for MJ to come to terms with,” he explains.

It’s quiet, a tension forming in the air. I know that everyone is waiting for me to speak, react, or do anything to acknowledge Peter’s words. But truthfully, I don’t know how.

“Peter,” I speak slowly, forming the sentence in my head, “I’m- I’m sorry.”

We all wait for me to say more. To say something else, but I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what else I can say at this point.

“I um,” I swallow the lump in my throat, “I should be heading off to bed.”

My chair pushes out with a loud screech as I get up, hurrying down the hallway towards my room before anyone can say anything to me. I’m not sure that they would know what to say, though.

What do you say to the girl who has it all because of her looks? She can get her drinks paid for, get into any club she wants, she can get away with practically anything because of how beautiful she is.

But her beauty has a negative side, too. People treat her as just a pretty face, and that ruins her relationships and the relationships of her loved ones. She is valued only for her appearance, but she clearly wants to be known for more than that. It’s just difficult to figure out how to make that happen.

~

“Thank you again for your generous donation,” I smile sweetly at the older man, ignoring the way that his eyes drift down to the deep V-neck of the gold sequin evening gown I’m wearing.

“Anything for you, gorgeous,” he flirts.

“Well, I must get going, enjoy the rest of your evening,” I excuse myself before he can be the fourth man at this event to ask me on a date.

The charity event goes on and I feel more and more insecure in the fitted dress than I’m wearing, the thoughts from the other night echoing in my head. I can see the women looking down their noses at me and men staring at me with eyes of lust.

If I’ve ruined Peter’s relationship, it makes me wonder how many other relationships I’ve ruined. And how many I’m going to ruin today by simply existing.

“Y/N raised over $2 billion alone tonight,” Tony announces to the superheroes once all of the guests are gone.

They all begin to clap, turning towards me as I blush.

“It was for the kids,” I murmur, shifting uneasily on my feet.

“The men want her and the women want to be her. I’ve never met a person who doesn’t like you, Y/N,” Sam smiles at me.

I smile back, but my stomach twists at his words. I take a sip of my second wine glass of the night, trying to calm my nerves. Once I notice everyone sliding into conversations with each other and that they’re distracted, I move onto the balcony.

I’ve always loved to watch New York City at night. The hustle and bustle of the city never stops. There’s always flashing lights, car horns honking, and the sound of people laughing. I guess that’s why they call it the city that never sleeps.

It’s nice to be able to watch other people and not be the one to constantly be watched.

I rest my wrists on the railing, half-full glass of wine cupped between my fingers. The drop down to the street is a long one.

The sound of the door opening snaps me out of my thoughts and my head turns to see who it is. Thor stops in his tracks at the sight of me.

From the way the dim light glistens on my hair, highlighting my plump lips and long eyelashes, I already know what he’s thinking. I look beautiful.

I turn back to the view below, raising my hands to take a sip of the wine.

The feeling of fabric weighs down over my shoulders and I look down to see that Thor has given me his jacket.

“It’s a little too chilly to be out here in just a dress,” he half-explains, copying my pose.

“I guess,” I sigh.

I can feel the Asgardian glancing at me every once in a while. I don’t meet his gaze, mine remaining on the view in front of me.

Truthfully, I’m afraid to.

I’ve always felt more vulnerable around Thor than the other Avengers. While they stare at me with awe and admiration, he watches me with fascination. And it’s not fascination for my beauty, it’s more than that… it’s like fascination with my power.

It’s fascination with my ability to control others by the way that I carry myself and the charisma that I have. I secretly love missions with just Thor because of this. It makes me feel more confident and in control.

“What’s gotten you so down lately, Y/N?” He voices his question.

“It’s nothing,” I shake my head.

“It’s not nothing. You’ve had your hair down a lot lately and you only do that when you’re feeling insecure about something.”

I look over at him with a teasing smile, but my heart skips a beat at his words. “You've noticed?”

“Of course I’ve noticed,” he nudges my shoulder with his. “Now come on, tell me.”

I pause before downing the rest of my wine. Casually, I throw the glass over the edge of the balcony, followed by the gold bangles on my wrists. I pull out my earrings next and they go over as well.

Thor watches in confusion, but doesn’t stop me.

I throw my arms out dramatically. “Am I still beautiful?”

“Yes, you are.”

“Exactly,” I rest my back against the railing now. “That’s the problem.”

“Can you explain more clearly, please? I’m not sure that I understand,” he requests, but his eyebrows furrow at my behavior and words.

“No matter what I do, I’m beautiful, Thor. I’m not sweet or funny or smart or, or anything really! It’s always just beautiful. And it just fucks everything up,” I throw my hands up in the air, pacing the balcony ferociously. “I feel insecure because I’m always being praised for my looks, and I’m destroying my friends' relationships, and being pretty is all that I’m known for-”I pause, running my hands through my hair and running the perfect curls.

I bet I still look pretty, though.

“It’s just- my beauty scares me, Thor. Is this all that I was made for? Is this all that I will be known for?” I don’t realize that I’m crying until I wipe my face with the back of my hand and the black of my mascara imprints on it.

“Your beauty never ever scares me, Y/N,” he responds slowly. “And you were made to be so much more than just a pretty face. I see it. I wish you would see it too.” He reaches a hand out towards me. “I think you drank a little too much wine and it’s late. Let’s get you to bed.”

I take his hand.

~

I wake up in an oversized shirt, messy ponytail, makeup off, and a raging hangover. I lay in bed, soaking up the moments of peace and quiet.

That is until I remember the events of last night. The charity event, going out on the balcony, confessing all of my worries to Thor, Thor saying that my beauty never scares him.

Before I can even think, my feet carry me throughout the Avengers tower and I find myself in front of him in the living room where he’s watching TV.

“Thor,” I breathe out, my eyes meeting his. “Did you mean it?”

“I meant every word.”

My legs move to straddle him, arms winding around his neck as his hands rest on my hips, our lips attaching in a passionate kiss.

His lips portray his every thought.

I’m more to him than just a pretty face. I am sweet. I am funny. I am smart.

I am more than Mystic Beauty.

[bacusdraculacape]

I was discussing with @misskattylashes about what our big ideas about what people in the AM-verse seem to be teasing about or whatever. Then I got a Brianstorm of Big Ideas admist it...

First things first. Some relevant history; Arctic Monkeys first formed in 2002. They’re first live gig was 13th June 2003 at The Grapes, an Irish pub in Sheffield, UK (where AM are iconally from and formed). In 2004, some other icon stuff happened:

> 14th of August 2004; marks the first known live performances of: I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor / Bigger Boys Stolen Sweethearts / Choo Choo! / Dancing Shoes.

> 8th of October 2004; marks the first known live performance of: Fake Tales of San Francisco.

> 3rd of November 2004; Marks the first known performances of: When The Sun Goes Down / A Certain Romance.

> 12th of December 2004; Marks the first known performances of: Stickin’ To The Floor / Settle For A Draw.

AM’s demo album: Beneath The Boardwalk first surfaced in 2004 also.

As well 17th of October 2004 marks the official debut date of Am’s first ep / single: I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.

Moving onto the next iconic year of 2005:

AM’s first ever global tour started and happened in 2005. Introducing them to stages all over: UK / Ireland / Europe / and a couple stages in US.

23 October 2005; AM’s debut single IBYLGOTDF went straight to No.1 on the charts.

In 2005 more live debuts to Am singles were:

> 7 (22 Jan ‘05) /

> The View From The Afternoon / Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But.. / Mardy Bum / From The Ritz To The Rubble (4th Mar ‘05)

> Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured (5th Apr ‘05)

> an unknown new song (23rd April ‘05)

> You Probably Couldn’t See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me (26th Jul ‘05)

> Wavin’ Bye to the Train tr the Bus (23rd Aug ‘05)

> Still Take You Home (11th Oct ‘05)

> When The Sun Goes Down (21st Oct ‘05)

> Leave Before The Lights Come On (22nd Oct ‘05)

> Riot Van (3rd Nov ‘05)

> Fake Tales Of San Francisco (15th Nov ‘05)

Onto the most iconic year for AM: 2006

Their first world tour continued in 2006

Other songs saw their live debuts such as:

> AM’s cover of Love Machine by Girls Aloud (19th Jan ‘06)

> Who The Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? (27th Jan ‘06)

> Cigarette Smoker Fiona (1st March ‘06)

> Despair In The Departure Lounge (13th March ‘06)

> No Buses (24th Mar ‘06)

As well as the debuts of:

> their debut album: Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (21st Feb ‘06)

> When The Sun Goes Down SINGLE ALBUM (17th Jan ‘06)

> I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor SINGLE ALBUM (14th March ‘06)

> Who The Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? SINGLE ALBUM (25th April ‘06)

> Leave Before The Lights Come On SINGLE ALBUM (14th August ‘06)

Music Videos:

> Leave Before The Lights Come On (4th August ‘06)

> Fake Tales Of San Francisco (14th August ‘06)

(info above sourced from setlist.fm)

As i’m penning this it’s currently the year is 2024, next year is 2025, and the year after that is 2026. Currently, AM have been a band for 22 years. They started playing at giggs live 21 years ago. They began performing their original songs practically 20 years ago. I BET YOU LOOK GOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR is gonna be 20 years old 17th October 2024. So this ongoing train of thought starting thus metaphorical ball running in my mind:

What if the AM are working on an AM 20th anniversary thing? To celebrate 20 years of still being a band and to celebrate two decades worth of fans, and remarkable once in AM-verse lifetime memories, and everything fabulous that came about because of AM forming 22 years ago? Maybe that’s the mysterious thing that they have been planning at?

If it is an AM anniversary thingy here’s a list of theories of what it could be if that ever is in the cards for our beloved Arctic Monkeys:

> An AM greatest hits album. With B-sides from TBHC & The Car. Sorta similar to AM Live at Royal Albert Hall album that dropped in 2020. Cause sure if it was a new album it would likely be reported already. Also during The Car Tour Alex would have wacky beautiful moments playing random stuff on the piano and making Alex sounds sometimes before playing: Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?

> An AM documentary. - AM photographer: Zachary Michael I think it is, has been seen tagging Alex Turner around in a number of Alex Turner recents post the finale of The Car Tour. What if that’s to get shots for the AM documentary?

> An AM book / photo album. Think Alexa Chung’s IT, but if it were AM recounting their career with lots of snapshots and stills of them over their career being fabulous? Also, I can so imagine physical photo album books are still Alex Turner’s thing. I say still because Alex Turner was born in 1986, so he probably grew up with the likes of physical photo albums years before digital camera roles came into place.

> Also for either of my documentary or photo album thing; what if the AM recents with Nick, Jamie, Alex etc have been teases to them visiting iconic AM hotspots / venues etc that AM became and are famous for and that they’ve lots of gratitude towards those locations for giving them that boost in their career/ E.g. Mojave Desert & New York City & Los Angeles where AM recorded Humbug / Yellow Arch Studios in Sheffield UK where AM recorded some of their first ever songs at. / Vox Studios LA, La Frette Paris France where AM recorded Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino / The Grapes & Leadmill where they played they’re first ever gigs? -Jamie was spotted attending a concert in Yellow Arch Studios the other week for a Sheffield originating band.

> Strings added to AM songs. Think Glastonbury 2013 where’d AM had a whole orchestra add strings to Cornerstone and Mardy Bum. Exactly. Also, think back to the last four The Car Tour gigs. AM played in Ireland all 4 days with James Ford and an orchestra doing strings on a few songs. What if those four last gigs were the foreshadowing / prelude of Alex’s and AM’s big ideas of what's to come?

Also, Alex isn't seen much public-wise these days at all. If he’s working on an Anniversary thingy it would make so much perfect sense for his ‘hibernation’ / disappearance. Whatever you wanna call it. What if he’s just hardcore hyper focused on getting that right if that is what him and the band are working on?

Another wild thought I have: What if AM bring back songs in the Anniversary thing from Beneath The Boardwalk etc like songs that we’ve never heard the light of day of yet??!!

Thanks @misskattylashes your help and contribution 😘

[the-little-spiritual]

Different celebration?

As usual, I would like to explain that it is my beliefs that I practice spiritual syncretism and therefore that I put lots of small beliefs and traditions together to go with my practice. I'm sharing it all on this blog to help other people who are doing this and to provide them with a place where they can sometimes turn to help themselves in their research. I'm absolutely not saying this is something you should do, I'm just sharing something important to me.

In my beliefs there are several types of celebration. The Sabbaths, the esbats and the festivals that I call honoring.

This is how I celebrate the Sabbaths. Be careful, not everyone necessarily celebrates them on the same date.

Samhain (Oct 31 to November 1

Yule (December 21)

Imbolc (February 1)

Ostara (March 20-23)

Beltane, (May 1)

Litha (June 21)

Lughnasadh (August 1)

Mabon (September 22-23)

Then we have full moons, quarter moons and new moons. So the lunar phases as a whole. I do this because I have several deities who are hugely linked to the moon.

And on top of all that I do honors. But then what is it?

well it's quite simply a celebration in relation to one of the deities that we honor daily.

In addition to sabbats and esbats which can be used for honoring. There are days that are linked to deities. You can find them depending on the deities you wish to honor by searching on the internet or in books. Especially on pagan calendars.

So you can have a certain number of holidays celebrated, per month or not years.

In addition to all that you can also make a chart where each month and each day of your week is linked to one of the deities that you wish to honor. So every day of the week or every month of the year you can honor your divinity.

[macrolit]

Forbes article: "How Struggling College Bookstores Found A Way To Beat Amazon"

Oct 20, 2023,06:30am EDT

A new sales model adopted by hundreds of universities limits students’ ability to shop around for textbooks.

By Lauren Debter, Forbes Staff

As fall semester dawned at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, senior Olivia McFall turned to Amazon to shop for books — not only because its prices were better for certain titles, but so she could get her course materials quickly. The campus bookstore could sometimes take a week or two. Unacceptable.

“Teachers will start assigning reading on the first day,” McFall, a 22-year-old fashion-merchandising major, told Forbes. “You get behind if you don’t have that textbook. If I buy it on [Amazon], it’s usually because I can get it faster than the bookstore.”

For decades, Amazon’s lower prices and speedier delivery have blown a crater in the college bookstore business. Given the option to shop around, students only buy about one-third of their course materials at the campus store.

Now the bookstores are fighting back. They say they’ve hit on a plan that would, almost magically, quash competition from online rivals like Amazon. T.C.U. is among the colleges considering a model that would automatically charge students for textbooks on their tuition bills, which can be covered by financial aid, and get them to students by the time classes begin. Books are typically discounted 30% or more, said the bookstores, who negotiate volume discounts. Students must return materials at the end of the semester.

Despite reservations from education advocates who worry it limits purchasing options for students, the plan, dubbed Inclusive Access, is spreading like kudzu. It rose out of a 2015 rule from the U.S. Department of Education that permitted universities to include the cost of textbooks with tuition, as long as prices were under competitive market rates and students could opt out.

Bookstores latched onto the idea during the pandemic. They were looking to boost sales at a time when they were hamstrung by closures, declining enrollment numbers and the seismic shift to digital textbooks — and still are.

In the 2022-23 academic year, Inclusive Access already captured the business of 44% of students, worth an estimated $1.4 billion annually, according to the National Association of College Stores.

Illinois-based Follett Corp., a privately held company (annual sales: $1.6 billion) that operates roughly one-third of college bookstores, said the number of its campuses that have adopted the Inclusive Access model has tripled to 450 since 2019. New Jersey-based Barnes & Noble Education (annual sales: $1.5 billion), which spun out of the bookseller chain in 2015 and also runs a third of campus bookstores, said it has over 150 schools signed up for Inclusive Access, up from just four in 2019. (The colleges themselves operate the other one-third of campus bookstores.)

Overnight, schools that switched to Inclusive Access brought guaranteed revenue to booksellers. Sell-through rates, which measure the percentage of course materials students purchase at the campus bookstore, skyrocketed from about 30% before Inclusive Access to north of 80 or 90%, according to Follett and Barnes & Noble Education. Few students opt out, the companies said, because they like the prices and convenience.

It’s a clever way to beat Amazon. Unable to compete, Follett and Barnes & Noble Education separated their customers from the open marketplace and bundled their products with something Amazon couldn’t sell — college tuition. The bookstore gets the customer without ever having to go up against the online behemoth, which is currently being sued by the Federal Trade Commission for its own alleged anti-competitive practices. (Amazon has said it disagrees with the allegations, and will contest the lawsuit.)

“It’s a significant volume increase because you’re capturing all of the course material market share in an institution,” Jonathan Shar, who oversees campus stores operated by Barnes & Noble Education, told Forbes. “Plus, it’s much more predictable.”

Amazon Prices

An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the impact Inclusive Access is having on its textbook sales. Amazon said it may offer discounts to schools that buy books in bulk, but it’s been winding down certain aspects of its textbook business. In April, it stopped renting physical textbooks to students and in 2020 it stopped buying textbooks back from students.

Last year, 37% of students purchased books from Amazon. That’s down from 46% in 2019, according to the National Association of College Stores.

Selling textbooks isn’t the business it used to be. A decade ago, students spent $4.8 billion a year on textbooks, according to research firm Words Rated. Today, it’s about $3.2 billion. During the 2022-23 school year, students spent an average of $285 on course materials, the lowest figure since the National Association of College Stores began tracking spending 16 years ago.

That’s partly the result of a rapid shift to lower-cost digital textbooks, with 55% of course materials now digital, up sharply from 15% prior to the pandemic, according to Emmanuel Kolady, Follett’s CEO. More textbooks are being made available online for free from sites like OpenStax, too. Nearly three-quarters of students say they were assigned at least one free course material in the latest academic year, according to the National Association of College Stores.

Company’s ‘Cornerstone’

Barnes & Noble Education, a publicly traded company that runs 800 campus bookstores, has described Inclusive Access to investors as a “cornerstone” of its plan to return to profitable growth, noting that course-material revenue rises more than 80% and gross profit nearly doubles after schools switch to the new model.

The company has lost a cumulative $600 million since 2018. Last year’s sales were 23% below pre-pandemic levels. This summer, it had to negotiate an extension on its loan payments because it couldn’t come up with enough cash. As part of the deal, it gave up two board seats and said it would explore selling the company. Its stock price has lost 90% of its value in the last two years, tumbling to less than $1 a share.

“It feels like this is their first, second and third priority,” said Ryan MacDonald, an analyst at Needham who covers Barnes & Noble Education, referring to Inclusive Access, which the company calls “First Day Complete.”

Benefits For Students

The booksellers claim the program saves students money. Follett said that students spend an average of 30% less than if they were to buy new books and are better equipped for classes as Inclusive Access gets them their materials before the semester begins.

At New York University, for instance, where Follett runs bookselling, students are automatically billed for books unless they opt out. Most are digital rentals. A textbook for an introductory biology class is priced at $36.75, which gives students access to a digital copy for the semester. That’s 20% less than if they went directly to the publisher’s website and rented it for the term. It’s 40% less than on Amazon, which only offers the option to buy the digital version, not rent it.

The math, however, is not always transparent. According to a report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, which analyzed 52 book-buying contracts, it’s “hard, if not impossible” to figure out how deep the discounts are because schools don’t make it clear what the discount is based on.

Savings can be less meaningful for students who would have otherwise bought used books or borrowed books, said Nicole Allen, director of open education at SPARC, a nonprofit that advocates for more course materials to be free. The one-quarter of students who intentionally skip buying certain books each semester, usually because they don’t think they need it, are also charged, she said. As more schools migrate to Inclusive Access, Allen questions whether discounts will disappear since publishers have a long history of raising prices.

“This is already a captive market because students are told what to buy,” Allen told Forbes. “Inclusive Access makes it an even more captive market by telling students how they’re going to buy it.”

Even without Inclusive Access, students can be limited in their comparison shopping. More and more professors are assigning books with single-use access codes, available for an additional fee, which students use to access quizzes, homework and other materials online. Promoted by publishers who benefit from the new revenue stream, they’re often sold exclusively by the campus bookstore and cannot be resold.

Follett’s president Ryan Petersen predicts that a newer variant of the model called Equitable Access, where students pay a flat fee for their materials regardless of the courses they’re taking, will be adopted by most schools in the next five years.

“We’re having this conversation with every campus we can,” Petersen told Forbes, “potentially even to campuses who are sick of hearing about it.”

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Slicktober 2023

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