#press address

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"FEAR AND FORCE RULE PRISONERS, SAYS WITHROW," Hamilton Spectator. October 10, 1933. Page 9. --- Spoke at Calvary Church on Sunday ---- Told of Conditions at Portsmouth "Pen" --- Had Difficulty Securing a Bible ==== Religion in the penitentiary was the subject of a discourse upon conditions of Portsmouth penitentiary given at Calvary United church last Sunday night by Dr. O. G. J. Withrow, who has been campaigning for prison reform since his recent discharge from this penal institution. According to Dr. Withrow, there is grave need for improvement of religious services in this place of confinement, so that, through a psychological and religious study of the inmates, reform might better be accomplished.

Kingston penitentiary was oppressively ruled by a "system," Dr. Withrow charged, and the influence upon prisoners was very harmful. All prisoners were considered "just liars" by the authorities, he said, and had difficulty securing fair treatment. Despite that fact, he had not become embittered, he claimed, but was giving publicity to his views on the prison in the hope that good would come from them.

The church services at the penitentiary were very stereotyped and had not a beneficial effect upon the prisoners, said the doctor. Some of the prisoners could be heard muttering curses all through them. The chaplain was paid $2,400 a year, but he did not bother to secure personal contact with inmates, according to Dr. Withrow.

Mental Defectives He said that a large percentage of the prisoners were mental defectives who should be receiving treatment for their ailment, and not serving time for something for which they were not responsible. There were two laws, one for the rich and one for the poor, according to Dr. Withrow, and it was as easy for a camel to go through the eye of a needle as it was for a rich man to get into the penitentiary. He said that he was going to write a book called Jail Birds De Luxe.

The doctor told of spending much of his time in prison at study, but declared that he had had difficulty in getting a Bible. The warden had told him that "there was too much of that stuff around" when he had asked for this book.

"I'm not a communist and I'm not a socialist," said the doctor. "I am for law and order - a Canadian pure and simple. I have no brief for the prisoner; there are some who should never be let out. But I think that much could be done to better prison conditions by the application of religion and psychology in an at- tempt to understand the prisoner's case. The prison is ruled by fear and force, and no one in the world ever gained anything by those means."

There was a large attendance at the church to hear Dr. Withrow. The pastor, Rev. John Ward, spoke enthusiastically of the doctor's work for prison reform

[il3x]

i know Logically that people who only talk about themselves are red flags. but i looooove the chance to never divulge any personal information ever

[projectiondepartment]

forever by thomas moore

[winepresswrath]

I do love it when Lestat attempts little Claudia do-overs like I cannot see Rose and Mona except through that lens and for this reason I am desperate to see them in the AMC show. Lestat will forget that Mona exists when she leaves his sight line or at least choose not to think about her on purpose but she IS a Claudia defender and explicitly connects their situations and I love that.

[neixins]

maybe if zeno realized the folly of wanting to end the other dragons’ lives along with his own without ever asking them if that’s something they’d even want (which mirrors the injustice of the dragon gods not letting him die regardless of his wishes) i might be able to sympathize with him more. or whatever it was that jane austen said

[softquietsteadylove]

Would you continue something for the president one? Maybe Gil protecting her against someone who is very angry during a meeting and is about to attack her but he intervenes very fast and powerful?

"I believe the treaty is fine as it stands."

"I believe it requires amendments."

They hadn't made all that much progress since those two mission statements, unfortunately. They had been in this meeting upwards of an hour and everything, but with no real progress to speak of. Thena maintained that they needed a new agreement according to her new term and policies.

Kro was of the mind that the treaty - already tenuous and reluctant - was fine as it was.

"Perhaps we should reconvene," Gil suggested from the side, keeping Thena's schedule in his hand. He had a few notes he'd taken, but more than that, he had his eyes on Thena.

She was tired, the stress of their meeting weighing on her, the worry of what to report to the press, even just the fact that Kro gave her the creeps on a personal level. She was obviously on edge.

"What amendments would be made?" Kro asked, all but ignoring Gil and his attempt at intervention.

"Amendments which would prevent the repetition of my, " she blinked, "predecessor. Amendments which I believe would better protect both our peoples."

Kro was unmoved by her attempt at convincing him to amend. "Madame President, I do not know if this is the kind of agreement into which you would like to enter."

Thena glanced at Gil. They knew that Kro and Ikaris had made some sort of arrangement. That was most likely the real reason behind his reluctance to make changes. It would seal any cracks he was currently using to his advantage.

"My assistant is correct, we should reconvene," Thena declared. They would have to look at things from an investigative standpoint before continuing. She stood.

"Oh, we're done, are we?"

Gil bristled, uncomfortable with the tone that was being used with Thena, but stood his ground. He held out his hand for her to join him, "our meeting time has already gone over, sir. The President has other obligations."

Thena's hand drifted to Gil's subconsciously. Kro rose from his chair in the same second, extending a hand from an arm that looked longer than anticipated. She barely blinked.

"I don't believe I dismissed you."

Gil moved between them, his security training kicking in. He grasped Kro's wrist, twisting it and forcing it back to the table. He used his other hand to grab the elbow, pressing it in the wrong direction. "Don't!"

Kro snarled at him, and his own security reacted from the back of the room as well. "Let go of me!"

"Do not attempt to touch the president," Gil repeated, although it was equal instinct for him to tell the bastard not to touch his girlfriend.

"Stand down!" Kro's security ordered, their weapons already held and pointed.

Gil didn't look up from holding Kro down. He wasn't wearing a vest - because this was a diplomatic meeting - but he was at least in front of Thena. He looked at Kro, growling up at him like a caged animal. "Call them off."

"Gil," Thena whispered behind him. She snuck her hand up the back of his suit jacket to tug at his shirt from behind.

Kro held up his other hand to signal his security to stand down. "Excuse me--a reflex from my days in service."

Gil released the diplomatic leader, stepping back and straightening his suit. "Excuse me--my reflexes are the same."

The two men looked at one another, fully understanding that both statements were at least partial lies. But Kro sank back to the far wall of the room, his security slipping their weapons away. "We will have to revisit the treaty at a later date, ma'am."

"Indeed," Thena answered evenly, although she hadn't moved, even amidst all the commotion. She kept herself poised properly as Kro was led from the room.

Gil looked back at her as the door closed. Thena was tough, even for being the president. But he saw the extra pallor in her cheeks. "You okay?"

Thena looked around the room. It was just her and Gil. She moved forward, pressing her face in his chest, "never a dull moment."

Gil chuckled, rubbing her back as she let herself relax against him. "I guess you could say that."

Thena sighed, intaking his scent, "I knew you had it under control."

"Can't let the foreign bodies get handsy with you, sweetheart," he smiled, enjoying Thena's brief moment of being touchy-feely. "You sure you're okay?"

"I never liked him," she sighed, wilting against him even more. "I should have known he and Ikaris had some kind of underhanded deal laid out between them."

It was suspected that Ikaris had made his escape through Kro's protected territory.

"No use worrying about it now," Gil attempted to reason, still rubbing her back. "We'll have Druig look into some stuff, then we can come back and negotiate better."

"That does make sense," she conceded, turning her cheek against his shirt. "And I'm exhausted after all his blathering."

"Sorry love," he kissed the top of her head, "you have two more meetings today."

Thena pressed her face into his chest again just to let out a pained groan.

"I know," he kissed her hair again, "but I managed to squeeze in some lunch for you."

Thena tilted her head up at him, leaning up on the toes of her sensible heels, "what would I do without you?"

Gil sighed into the brief but luxurious kiss. "That's my line, hon. Now, let's get outta here, hm?

"Let's," she agreed, slipping her hand into his more properly. It was a courteous hold, perfectly appropriate for helping the president about her daily duties. And it was one of the few small luxuries they could afford as a couple. "What's on the menu?"

"There are a couple options, but how would you feel about a sandwich from that place you like?" Gil helped her into her coat, catching the way her eyes sparkled at the notion. "And a cup of soup?"

She sighed anew at the promise of a cup of tomato basil and a hot grilled cheese. He liked to tease her for being the president and also having very basic tastebuds.

But every night they had in the house together, he would make her fresh tomato soup and a sourdough grilled cheese if she asked.

[deityofhearts]

apparently allegedly supposedly there’s a ship zine on twitter and one of the artists is being literally harassed by shippers because they switched the dynamic of the characters meaning that the character who is usually portrayed as a top is a bottom now and the other character who is usually assigned to be the bottom is the top now and it’s just so absurd I hate twitter and fandoms in general so much

[steveyockey]

I truly have no idea how the ari and dante film will play to you if you haven’t read the book but for ME as someone who loved it dearly as a teen the movie is like a letter from an old friend 💗 it’s very special to be able to reconnect with something previously important to you that makes you thankful for everything you have experienced since that point and I feel like aitch alberto created a faithful adaptation best appreciated by the people familiar with this story

[sunbackeddog]

I finally completed the first leg of my holy grail.... It only took three years

[street-corner-felines]

Zero Day Director commentary - With actor Andre Keuck

[asteropewpew]

DOKJA. KIM.

WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO KIM DOKJA ❓

it's been a huge loss for the int'l orv fans *on the verge of tears*

just imagine dokja kim's narrative when he reveals that he often says, "I am Joonghyuk Yoo," for about a decade to survive his shitty life who the hell is Joonghyuk Yoo, Big Bro Joonghyuk, Mister Yoo?$!$?

[mutualmango]

liberals will really say “put your own oxygen mask on first before helping others” then not help others

[fisheito]

i understand you perfectly!! i think maybe some people have less coordination to catch the bouncy ball brain that can happen when someone's excited and passionate abt smthn is maybe why others have said they have trouble understanding what you mean sometimes? but it made perfect sense to me and YHHEEESS!!!!! YES I WANT YAKUMO TO BE SEEN BY CHICKENS!!!!!!! i think about him as a wee one a lot bc there's SO much sand in the sandbox to make little sandyakus out of. like are forest animals less likely to be wary of him because more yokai (as far as we've seen) are in the forests? COW YOKAI WHEN?? (just olivines halloween costume and i just finished polishing my milk bucket)

thinking of a very scared little snakey boy crying hysterically over a duck flapping at him is so sad but also. too funny im so sorry yakumo. grandma and grandpa have their work cut out for them to not only raise a semi feral child but whatever yard birds they have keep trying to fight and there's only so much you can do while holding a long and terrified child on your hip who may or may not understand the common language at this point!! child yakumo is FASCINATING and i want to know so much more about what they had to deal with, like the only humanity he's ever known was 1) cave murals for him to base his DIY human form and 2) fuckers both small and adult size terrorizing him in the cave

personally! i like the idea that even after operation cave adoption yakumo was pretty immediately in fawn mode and probably had a very deep understanding of behavior that gets smiles and soft touches vs behavior that gets loud and angry (like most full ass human children do) but like? what if he had a biting streak like a lot of other full ass human children do? is it just instinct? does he have fangs?????? (i say yes but im a monsterlover first human third) i also think it would be funny and also sweet if the chickens are PISSED at a snake coming into their yard and their hutch but wait! snake has corn? corn? corn? corn? this snake can stay. i think little yakumo should get to hug a chicken!!! they're very friendly and like people and many of them like to be pet and snuggled it's his right as a country boy to show up at his grandparents and have many excited birds running to see him. ladies LOVE this guy

also grampa harvesting(?? is that the word. collecting. idk) eggs and yakumo helping for the first time and he's like "look :) this is an egg for us to eat. it's how the chickens say thank you for giving them a house :)" and baby yaks just. holds egg every carefully. eyes big with wonder. places a raw ass unwashed still has some straw on it egg into his mouth and swallows it whole. grampa watches his jaw pop in and out of place. grampa needs a smoke after this one. stories to tell eiden while looking at the baby pictures when yakumo is in the bathroom. he comes back to the main room and eidens like "aww yakumo why didn't you tell me you solved your grandparents mouse problem within the first month of you staying here 🥺 that's so sweet" "mmhmm mmhmm. he just slurped them up like spaghetti and i only fainted twice seeing the tail hanging out of his mouth" (yakumo is so embarrassed he levels the entire klein continent)

AND AND speaking of small animals and me having 0 memory of canon did bring it up i DESPERATELY want to know how topper felt the first time he had to meet yakumo. did he get super poofy and do the weasel war dance because predator with essence close to Quincy range? or did he just scamper into the kitchen one day and tug on the hem of yakumos pants like "excuse me papá said you would make me a sandwich" bc we know they can understand each other and that topper is a chill little guy, but just how smooth was the first interaction!!!

i also! feel like i am a bit incomprehensible here ahaha. i think a lot of it is the excitement, and my very scattered attention span and energy levels. we are playing intellectual racquetball. but you are very understandable to me and very funny and very kind! thank you for appreciating the creatureness of yaks and giving him lots of thought and love and chickens. and for allowing me to put this long ass ask in your box 🩷🐟

I AM ADDING TO UR LONG ASS ASK WITH MY LOMG ASREPLY wEEEEE

i didn;t think any of that was incomprehensible but then again who am i to act as a baseline for comprehension sfoijiseojclokls thank u for ur long ass ask every paragraph filled me with visions and made me engage in More THan Just Sensible Chuckle

(side note: i kno we all joke about olivine being cow but . kinda makes sense. they're curious and intelligent... they have complicated social structures and bffs... they are gentle but also tanks and will destroy u if that is their true desire. does olivine like being brushed? i'll have to wait to find out)

-i cannot believe it didn't click but grandma and granpa rly DID raise a feral baby. i always wonder how lil yaku ... ebven formed his human body? like, what informed his knowledge of human anatomy? behaviour? processes and??? uhhh i'll just pretend it was magical Great Serpent generational knowledge embedded in his DNA or smth bc aint no way yaku learning how to be People from the bullies, like u said 😥

DO SNAKES MOUTH ON THINGS? like, gnaw on things with their gummy litl mouths to figure out the world? i know they usually use their tongue to investigate but the image of a baby snake... who doesn't know that a certain food item is too big for them... so they keep trying to eat it from diff angles. but it's not working and tehy're not venomous so their only weapon is to squeeze something , which is not helpful in subduing the stationary giant food item but i guess this is the point where they try to figure out how to unhinge their jaw properly (technique is important!!) so. i guess they succeed in the end? How big is too big for an unhinged snake jaw?? child yakumo pouting because he can't eat an entire pampo in one bite? 😅

-desperately necessary visual: yakumo and eiden pulling up to the ol' farm in their carriage. they disembark. eiden spots the ladies (hens) running from the horizon. the chickens keep comin'. some are HAULING FEATHERY ASS. some are more casual trotters. eiden starts to recognise the speed demons in the flock (he will name them and narrate a race in his head every time they visit). yakumo is surprised they recognise him, even tho they do this EVERY TIME he visits. he promptly gives them snacks from his stash.

re: topper... i'd guess that since topper met yakumo post-eiden, he wouldn't register yaku as a threat. yaku has chilled out by that point, and always smells like tasty human food. WAS THERE A CANONICAL MOMENT ALREADY DISCLOSED WHERE TOPPER MET YAKUMO FOR THE FIRST TIME??? I DO NOT KNOW. topper just seems abnormally chill and friendly sooo I shall guess that topper would survey the vibes of yakumo and go "that seems like. a quiet fella. smells like meat. will he give me treats? paPA, does he provide treats???" quincy: idk go ask topper: NOICE (hops off to investigate yakumo's treat quotient) so drama-free. finally someone who speaks your language. both squeaks AND food 🥰

anyway your entire ask is just a compilation of things i need to see PLEASE FORTHE LOVE OF SNAKES the images are so vivid. so cute. i simply must (clenches fists) (clenches toes)

[hoodienanami]

since were living in this new age of understanding when it comes to how becoming famous (especially tabloid famous/infamous) at a young age negatively effects your mental health and psychological development i think its time that ppl start reevaluating how they talk about the sex pistols

[bookwyrminspiration]

Fallacies Anon Here (Part 1, split up for your convenience :D)

I can't find the Fallacy Of The Fallacy quotes so I'll move on to the Straw-man

Definition Of Straw Man:

A straw man fallacy (sometimes written as strawman) is the informal fallacy of refuting an argument different from the one actually under discussion, while not recognizing or acknowledging the distinction.[1] One who engages in this fallacy is said to be "attacking a straw man".

Your Point:

"A pro-life person acts based on that...and then those authorities...create a society where abortion is less accessible, where sex education is less thorough, where contraceptive/sexual health is expensive/hard to find, etc."

Where You Used Straw Man:

The definition of a pro-life person is one that opposes abortion and euthanasia, and here you conflated that into voting for officials that don't support forms of pre-contraception. To properly oppose pro-life rhetoric, we have to get what they actually stand for right!

Hi, Nonsie! Thank you for your patience--topics like these take up more attention and intent than others, and I used up quite a bit of my reserve in the active discourse.

You're right, I did address pro-life individuals and voters against contraception as basically equivalent, which is not true. I didn't make it clear I understood or had considered the distinction in my original posts. You have no disagreement from me there--you're not the only one to have caught it.

I will say though, that while I should've been clearer that I wasn't confusing the two for one, I did have a reason for referring to both in tandem. I talked about that a bit in this ask, though that's more about conservative (or at least what's widely considered conservative) voting as a whole--but there's still an applicable sentiment here.

While being opposed to abortion/euthanasia is not ubiquitous with "conservative" voting, being against contraception, etc. (many republicans support the right to contraception, even (one source does not a case make, but I hope you'll forgive my informality in this instance)), they coincide often enough to merit talking about them together, I think. Which is why in my broader posts, I did so, and being against contraception was one of multiple facets to that.

But you're absolutely right I wasn't very clear about it, and the way I presented it allows for a justified strawman critique. I'll do my best to be clearer about how I'm defining/understanding terms and groups and for what reason going forward, though I of course won't be without faults :)

[pinnedbishop]

you remind me of rory gilmore from hit television show gilmore girls. journalist DISASTER who sucks at managing her personal life and occasionally gets death threats. she's probably hotter than you though

i would not call myself a disaster but i do get death threats on the daily so i suppose she and i have something in common