#priority = acquiring food

[kells-studies]

August 19th 2024, Monday .ᐟ .ᐟ

Accomplished:

• Took my pre-test and scored a 62.2% (56/90) !! That’s amazing for not having studied yet - it’s a good knowledge base and I’m looking forward to building on it. I’m gonna do a deep dive into what sections I got wrong, what sections I got right, solutions, formulas to start practicing, etc.

• Started the medications section intro and learning objectives - hoping to get a chunk of the actual section done Tuesday, 8/20 and before my next job training session (my next session is on medications and I want to already be super prepared)

• I also (SUPER BIG NEWS) completed my first day of training at my pharmacy today 🎉 !! It was a lot of background about the company and rules mostly, but I was still so happy to be there :D I’ll be getting my official training schedule soon and I’ll be able to better plan out everything from my study sessions to free time to meal planning

Still to do:

• get through a chunk of the medication section in my textbook

• finish 200 most common medication flashcards

• review pre-test and do thorough breakdown

• study the packet for my next training session

• OMG MEAL PLAN AND FOOD SHOPPING !!! gotta get this outta the way finally

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Expert agencies and elected legislatures

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/2024/11/21/policy-based-evidence/#decisions-decisions

Since Trump hijacked the Supreme Court, his backers have achieved many of their policy priorities: legalizing bribery, formalizing forced birth, and – with the Loper Bright case, neutering the expert agencies that regulate business:

https://jacobin.com/2024/07/scotus-decisions-chevron-immunity-loper

What the Supreme Court began, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are now poised to finish, through the "Department of Government Efficiency," a fake agency whose acronym ("DOGE") continues Musk's long-running cryptocurrency memecoin pump-and-dump. The new department is absurd – imagine a department devoted to "efficiency" with two co-equal leaders who are both famously incapable of getting along with anyone – but that doesn't make it any less dangerous.

Expert agencies are often all that stands between us and extreme misadventure, even death. The modern world is full of modern questions, the kinds of questions that require a high degree of expert knowledge to answer, but also the kinds of questions whose answers you'd better get right.

You're not stupid, nor are you foolish. You could go and learn everything you need to know to evaluate the firmware on your antilock brakes and decide whether to trust them. You could figure out how to assess the Common Core curriculum for pedagogical soundness. You could learn the material science needed to evaluate the soundness of the joists that hold the roof up over your head. You could acquire the biology and chemistry chops to decide whether you want to trust produce that's been treated with Monsanto's Roundup pesticides. You could do the same for cell biology, virology, and epidemiology and decide whether to wear a mask and/or get an MRNA vaccine and/or buy a HEPA filter.

You could do any of these. You might even be able to do two or three of them. But you can't do all of them, and that list is just a small slice of all the highly technical questions that stand between you and misery or an early grave. Practically speaking, you aren't going to develop your own robust meatpacking hygiene standards, nor your own water treatment program, nor your own Boeing 737 MAX inspection protocol.

Markets don't solve this either. If they did, we wouldn't have to worry about chunks of Boeing jets falling on our heads. The reason we have agencies like the FDA (and enabling legislation like the Pure Food and Drug Act) is that markets failed to keep people from being murdered by profit-seeking snake-oil salesmen and radium suppository peddlers.

These vital questions need to be answered by experts, but that's easier said than done. After all, experts disagree about this stuff. Shortcuts for evaluating these disagreements ("distrust any expert whose employer has a stake in a technical question") are crude and often lead you astray. If you dismiss any expert employed by a firm that wants to bring a new product to market, you will lose out on the expertise of people who are so legitimately excited about the potential improvements of an idea that they quit their jobs and go to work for whomever has the best chance of realizing a product based on it. Sure, that doctor who works for a company with a new cancer cure might just be shilling for a big bonus – but maybe they joined the company because they have an informed, truthful belief that the new drug might really cure cancer.

What's more, the scientific method itself speaks against the idea of there being one, permanent answer to any big question. The method is designed as a process of continual refinement, where new evidence is continuously brought forward and evaluated, and where cherished ideas that are invalidated by new evidence are discarded and replaced with new ideas.

So how are we to survive and thrive in a world of questions we ourselves can't answer, that experts disagree about, and whose answers are only ever provisional?

The scientific method has an answer for this, too: refereed, adversarial peer review. The editors of major journals act as umpires in disputes among experts, exercising their editorial discernment to decide which questions are sufficiently in flux as to warrant taking up, then asking parties who disagree with a novel idea to do their damndest to punch holes in it. This process is by no means perfect, but, like democracy, it's the worst form of knowledge creation except for all others which have been tried.

Expert regulators bring this method to governance. They seek comment on technical matters of public concern, propose regulations based on them, invite all parties to comment on these regulations, weigh the evidence, and then pass a rule. This doesn't always get it right, but when it does work, your medicine doesn't poison you, the bridge doesn't collapse as you drive over it, and your airplane doesn't fall out of the sky.

Expert regulators work with legislators to provide an empirical basis for turning political choices into empirically grounded policies. Think of all the times you've heard about how the gerontocracy that dominates the House and the Senate is incapable of making good internet policy because "they're out of touch and don't understand technology." Even if this is true (and sometimes it is, as when Sen Ted Stevens ranted about the internet being "a series of tubes," not "a dump truck"), that doesn't mean that Congress can't make good internet policy.

After all, most Americans can safely drink their tap water, a novelty in human civilization, whose history amounts to short periods of thriving shattered at regular intervals by water-borne plagues. The fact that most of us can safely drink our water, but people who live in Flint (or remote indigenous reservations, or Louisiana's Cancer Alley) can't tells you that these neighbors of ours are being deliberately poisoned, as we know precisely how not to poison them.

How did we (most of us) get to the point where we can drink the water without shitting our guts out? It wasn't because we elected a bunch of water scientists! I don't know the precise number of microbiologists and water experts who've been elected to either house, but it's very small, and their contribution to good sanitation policy is negligible.

We got there by delegating these decisions to expert agencies. Congress formulates a political policy ("make the water safe") and the expert agency turns that policy into a technical program of regulation and enforcement, and your children live to drink another glass of water tomorrow.

Musk and Ramaswamy have set out to destroy this process. In their Wall Street Journal editorial, they explain that expert regulation is "undemocratic" because experts aren't elected:

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/musk-and-ramaswamy-the-doge-plan-to-reform-government-supreme-court-guidance-end-executive-power-grab-fa51c020

They've vowed to remove "thousands" of regulations, and to fire swathes of federal employees who are in charge of enforcing whatever remains:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/20/24301975/elon-musk-vivek-ramaswamy-doge-plan

And all this is meant to take place on an accelerated timeline, between now and July 4, 2026 – a timeline that precludes any meaningful assessment of the likely consequences of abolishing the regulations they'll get rid of.

"Chesterton's Fence" – a thought experiment from the novelist GK Chesterton – is instructive here:

There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, "I don't see the use of this; let us clear it away." To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: "If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.

A regulation that works might well produce no visible sign that it's working. If your water purification system works, everything is fine. It's only when you get rid of the sanitation system that you discover why it was there in the first place, a realization that might well arrive as you expire in a slick of watery stool with a rectum so prolapsed the survivors can use it as a handle when they drag your corpse to the mass burial pits.

When Musk and Ramaswamy decry the influence of "unelected bureaucrats" on your life as "undemocratic," they sound reasonable. If unelected bureaucrats were permitted to set policy without democratic instruction or oversight, that would be autocracy.

Indeed, it would resemble life on the Tesla factory floor: that most autocratic of institutions, where you are at the mercy of the unelected and unqualified CEO of Tesla, who holds the purely ceremonial title of "Chief Engineer" and who paid the company's true founders to falsely describe him as its founder.

But that's not how it works! At its best, expert regulations turns political choices in to policy that reflects the will of democratically accountable, elected representatives. Sometimes this fails, and when it does, the answer is to fix the system – not abolish it.

I have a favorite example of this politics/empiricism fusion. It comes from the UK, where, in 2008, the eminent psychopharmacologist David Nutt was appointed as the "drug czar" to the government. Parliament had determined to overhaul its system of drug classification, and they wanted expert advice:

https://locusmag.com/2021/05/cory-doctorow-qualia/

To provide this advice, Nutt convened a panel of drug experts from different disciplines and asked them to rate each drug in question on how dangerous it was for its user; for its user's family; and for broader society. These rankings were averaged, and then a statistical model was used to determine which drugs were always very dangerous, no matter which group's safety you prioritized, and which drugs were never very dangerous, no matter which group you prioritized.

Empirically, the "always dangerous" drugs should be in the most restricted category. The "never very dangerous" drugs should be at the other end of the scale. Parliament had asked how to rank drugs by their danger, and for these categories, there were clear, factual answers to Parliament's question.

But there were many drugs that didn't always belong in either category: drugs whose danger score changed dramatically based on whether you were more concerned about individual harms, familial harms, or societal harms. This prioritization has no empirical basis: it's a purely political question.

So Nutt and his panel said to Parliament, "Tell us which of these priorities matter the most to you, and we will tell you where these changeable drugs belong in your schedule of restricted substances." In other words, politicians make political determinations, and then experts turn those choices into empirically supported policies.

This is how policy by "unelected bureaucrats" can still be "democratic."

But the Nutt story doesn't end there. Nutt butted heads with politicians, who kept insisting that he retract factual, evidence-supported statements (like "alcohol is more harmful than cannabis"). Nutt refused to do so. It wasn't that he was telling politicians which decisions to make, but he took it as his duty to point out when those decisions did not reflect the policies they were said to be in support of. Eventually, Nutt was fired for his commitment to empirical truth. The UK press dubbed this "The Nutt Sack Affair" and you can read all about it in Nutt's superb book Drugs Without the Hot Air, an indispensable primer on the drug war and its many harms:

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/drugs-without-the-hot-air-9780857844989/

Congress can't make these decisions. We don't elect enough water experts, virologists, geologists, oncology researchers, structural engineers, aerospace safety experts, pedagogists, gerontoloists, physicists and other experts for Congress to turn its political choices into policy. Mostly, we elect lawyers. Lawyers can do many things, but if you ask a lawyer to tell you how to make your drinking water safe, you will likely die a horrible death.

That's the point. The idea that we should just trust the market to figure this out, or that all regulation should be expressly written into law, is just a way of saying, "you will likely die a horrible death."

Trump – and his hatchet men Musk and Ramaswamy – are not setting out to create evidence-based policy. They are pursuing policy-based evidence, firing everyone capable of telling them how to turn the values espouse (prosperity and safety for all Americans) into policy.

They dress this up in the language of democracy, but the destruction of the expert agencies that turn the political will of our representatives into our daily lives is anything but democratic. It's a prelude to transforming the nation into a land of epistemological chaos, where you never know what's coming out of your faucet.

[ghostlyferrettarot]

🍜🍣The Houses in the Birth Chart🍣🍜

❗️All the observations in this post are based on personal experience and research, it's completely fine if it doesn't resonate with everyone❗️

✨️Paid Services ✨️ (Natal charts and tarot readings) Open!

🫧Join my Patreon for exclusive content!🫧

🍜If you like my work you can support me through Ko-fi. Thank you!🍜

🍣Masterlist 🍣

🏵The houses represent the fields of experience where specific energies will be most easily expressed and most directly encountered. The positions of the houses show how the individual's personality manifests in the world. While in a birth chart the signs indicate internal and psychological characteristics, the houses usually indicate external factors as well as the way personality traits manifest in the world🏵

🍣First House:

The native's appearance, disposition and manner, outlook on life, behavior, capacity for personal development, vitality, health, inherent strength and physical condition, mental and emotional qualities.

🍜Second House:

Hereditary and social background, financial situation, money, possessions and personal property, earnings and losses, earning and spending capacity, personal debts, manner in which money is acquired and how obligations are met.

🍣Third House:

Power of the mind, skill, ability, education, short travel, close relatives, neighbors, writing, communications, recording, lecturing.

🍜Fourth House:

Home and domestic affairs, memories, residence, end of life, private affairs, old age, early home life, lands, houses, property, mines, stored things, the occult or unconscious, social concern and care, the sea.

🍣Fifth House:

Offspring, creative and procreative impulses, recreation, games, pleasures, artistic endeavors, romantic affairs, gambling, speculation, risks, acting, theater.

🍜Sixth House:

Food, clothing, pets, serviceability, employees, health, illness, employment, daily work, servants, diet, hygiene.

🍣Seventh House:

Partnership, cooperation, marriage, war, legal contracts, lawsuits, divorces, treaties, enemies.

🍜Eighth House:

Birth, death, regeneration, sexual instincts, occultism, legacies, other people's property, research, life after death.

🍣Ninth House:

Philosophy, religion, law, travel, exploration, research, foreign lands or people, higher education, publications.

🍜Tenth House:

Personal image, authority, honor, prestige, career, ambition, father, organizations, rulers, employers.

🍣Eleventh House:

Friends, contacts, clubs, social groups, humanitarian enterprises, altruism, hopes and desires.

🍜Twelfth House:

Sacrificial service, repressions, neuroses, hidden enemies, institutions, occultism, mysticism, secrets.

🏵Houses may be without planets, indicating less prominent or active areas in the individual's experience, or that related issues are not a top priority or require less attention. It could also mean that the area represented is not as influenced by specific planetary energies🏵

[zephyrspace]

even if you have a rosary, who will save you now?

gn!yuu, very short headcanons + scenarios

summary: yuu accepts that there is no way home and that the world will keep turning no matter what. with no worth to their name and no real purpose in this twisted wonderland, except for solving other people’ problems, they decide to stop caring.

cw: swearing, violence, blood. dm me if i’ve missed anything!

a/n: title is translated lyrics from the song US by ruby ibarra. imagine yuu as however and whoever you want!

“woe is me, prefect! i just have so much paperwork to do that i completely forgot about your weekly food allowance. however, to speed things up a bit, if you lend me a hand here, i could probably get the allowance before the end of next week!”

yuu slinks over to one of crowley’s stacks of paperwork and ruffles through it. not without noticing how some pages were completely blank, ‘probably to bulk up and exaggerate the stack,’ yuu thinks and their eye twitches.

crowley gulps at being caught. but neither of the two say anything about it.

“i’m sure at your grown age you’re supposed to be able to manage your time better than this, but of course i didn’t expect anything from you.” yuu throws the binded document carelessly over their shoulder and onto the floor.

“wha-”

“as a minor under your care, this kind of thing could be considered child labour and abuse. especially for not prioritising my allowance.”

“but, prefect-”

“in other words, this isn’t my problem, bird shit for brains. so, unless you want me to call whatever magical bullshit equivalent you have of child protective services you have in this world, go ahead, give me your work documents. i would be ever so happy to oblige.”

the prefect’s eyes were icy and the atmosphere in the office turned chilly. crowley attempts to smarten up and clears his throat.

“i will have the cheque ready before noon.”

looking down at crowley, yuu sends him a smile with no trace of warmth.

“that’s better.”

unhinged!yuu wouldn’t actively seek out to fight people unless students do it to them first, which is all the time. kind of like ‘i’m nice to you if you are to me. but the second i deem you an enemy, you’re done’ mindset.

those who knew and were ‘friends’ with yuu, didn’t believe in their newly acquired attitude at the beginning, but after a group decided it’d be funny to poke at yuu a bit during lunch, that’s when they realise that yuu was serious about not caring for anything at all.

“oi, magicless runt.”

taking a bite from their sandwich, yuu looks up at the senior holding a tray of food, “hm?”

“get up.” the senior’s friends behind him snicker.

“why?” they take another bite. ‘i wish adeuce and grim would hurry up with their food.’ yuu thinks.

“there’s no more seats.”

“mhm?”

“as your seniors, we get priority.” the senior’s smile widens.

“hm.” another bite. “ish that shou”

with crumbs and sauce at the corners of their lips, yuu wipes it off with their thumb and licks it. they gulp down the remainder of the sandwich.

“sorry, senior. but i don’t see that rule anywhere in the canteen.” they swipe off the leftover crumbs on their hands.

“i thought you’d might say that.”

the senior picks up a bowl from his tray and dumps soup onto yuu’s head.

it’s still boiling hot.

it hurts.

“scram, first year. before i do something worse-”

the senior is on the floor, on his knees and doesn’t realise blood is seeping from his nose until it drips onto the tile.

by now, the whole canteen is silent.

he doesn’t even get time to process what happened until he feels a shin connect with his side and launches him onto another nearby table, his legs dangling off the side, uniform ruined.

“why you-” one of his goonies attempt to throw a punch back at the prefect.

yuu grabs his wrist and used the momentum to throw the senior onto his back. he chokes on the impact.

the rest of the group stays at their spots. ‘smart choice,’ yuu scoffs.

the prefect walks over to the first senior lying against the now abandoned table and grabs whatever food was on the nearest plate and forcibly stuffs it into the senior’s mouth. a whole bread roll.

“oh, senior! i see you’ve found a table to sit at!” the senior had tears along his waterline from the gag reflex of having a whole roll of bread in his mouth.

yuu shoves the bread roll further down the seniors throat. twisting and turning it. the senior makes sounds of retching and pain. “although, preferably, it’d be better to sit on the seat rather than on the table, no?”

the senior could only nod at yuu’s words.

yuu pats his hair demeaningly.

“good boy.”

in essence, yuu becomes very assimilated to nrc. scarily so.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Do you think it's possible that Trey actually hate Riddle and baking?! I mean I never thought about that nor I thought about it until nowdays but I have read Trey's labwear vignette and some spoilers from the current chapters of book seven and I'm confused (I play through the English account only but I don't mind spoilers)

To recap for those who haven't read Trey's Labwear vignettes, it's a story that centers around him growing strawberries which he will use in a strawberry tart for Heartlabyul's next tea party. I will only be discussing these vignettes in this post, as the book 7 Heartslabyul update that's out so far currently does not cover Trey's dream and I believe what's already present in the vignettes is sufficient to answer Anon's question.

So firstly, here is how Rook responds when Trey tells him about his plans for the strawberries: "Heh, and here I thought you were just a strawberry enthusiast. But the real reason was Riddle—the Roi des Roses. [...] Such profound loyalty! That's what makes you the Chevalier!" Trey replies with, "Profound? That's laying it on a little thick. Riddle and I go way back, so I happen to know what he likes. That's all there is to it."

The vignettes continue and lead into Trey giving his strawberries away to Jade, who needs them to replace the fruit meant for an important customer's birthday cake. (Floyd ate the fruit, lol) In exchange for doing Jade this favor, Trey asks that he acquire a strawberry tart from a very fancy and exclusive bakery so he can present said tart at the Heartslabyul tea party. This surprises Rook, who says, "I was wondering if a strawberry tart made with your love might make Riddle happier, that's all." Trey just replies with, "Ha ha. As if."

Both Rook and Jade express that they believed Trey was "the type who'd rather feed Riddle homemade treats baked with love", only for Trey to shatter their expectations of him. "Just what kind of guy do you think I am, anyway?" Trey asks. "I mean [...] I can see how others would get that impression of me... But honestly, love has nothing to do with it. My main priority is keeping my housewarden/dorm leader from going berserk with his tyrant mode. That way, all's right with the world, as they say." Rook then states that though he thought of Trey as Riddle's loyal knight, perhaps his perception of him was off--because, in reality, Trey is very cunning. Trey just laughs it off and claims to be "normal".

Now, based on just that summary alone, it's easy for someone to judge Trey's comments as uncaring towards Riddle. He doesn't claim to have a profound loyalty to Riddle, dismisses his knowledge of Riddle's tastes, is willing to take shortcuts to obtain something for him instead of handmaking it, and then outright admits he doesn't bake with love in mind. However, this does not mean Trey hates or even dislikes Riddle or the act of baking itself.

Trey states "I DO enjoy cooking [...]" (which also includes baking) in these same vignettes, so the latter claim that he hates baking is already debunked. If you want to believe he’s lying, that’s up to your discretion. However, I believe he does have a real interest in it, as he bakes even in situations where he is not expected to serve others, like in Science Club. Furthermore, Trey considers an internship in the food industry and potentially getting a patisserie license. He also consistently asks for cooking-related items as gifts for his birthday (aprons, flour sifters, cookbooks, etc.) and wishes for a food processor in Wish Upon a Star. If he despised cooking or baking, why would this be a consistent part of his career plans and free time?

To debunk the idea that Trey actually "hates" Riddle, we need to read between the lines and seek out supporting evidence.

You also need to keep in mind that Rook and Trey are the two main conversationalists in these vignettes, and these two have VERY different perspectives and ways of communicating. Rook is over-the-top and emotional, whereas Trey is grounded and realistic. If Rook is going to claim Trey is a total Riddle loyalist, it's quite an extreme comment and of course it's gotta be Trey to remind him to tamp down his expectations. Their personalities will inform how they act and interact with one another.

We should also remember that Trey—yes, Mr. “I am Normal” Clover—is a student selected by the Mirror of Darkness. That means that he, like everyone else at this NRC, has problems with being honest about his emotions and being open “friends” with others. However, it’s also true that Trey is often mistaken for a nice guy and a caring older brother figure because of how often he plays mediator or helps others out. Trey is aware of this perception that others have of him as well (“[…] I can see how others would get that impression of me…”).

In any case, the focus here isn't Trey rejecting a love for Riddle, he is rejecting the notion that he bakes "with love". As in, he doesn't subscribe to being all sentimental about his cooking. He just... makes food, and is honestly probably sick of it given how often he has to take charge of the baking for the tea parties they have (see: his own Dorm Uniform vignettes). Trey has to cook for his younger siblings when he's at home too, maybe even help his parents with the bakery. On top of that, he has to frequently manage other people and make sure they don't cause a mess (and if they do, he has to help clean it up). It's so routine yet also so demanding to him, so the guy probably wants a break. And honestly? Is there genuinely something wrong with wanting to take a shortcut once in a while (especially when you already work your ass off) and buy a nice high-quality snack instead of making it yourself? It was the easier way for Trey to save himself the hassle (not to mention the time, effort, and ingredients) by buying a cake. It's not even like he's cheaping out or providing an inferior product in the place of the strawberry tart Trey would have baked. In the end, he would still achieve the same result with a lot less pain on his part. Riddle would still be given a tasty treat, he would still be satisfied. Trey says as much himself: ""[Riddle]'ll be delighted when he finds out this's from a famous patisserie. I don't have to make a whole tart from scratch for him to be happy."

As vice dorm leader, Trey has to deal with a lot of things. Chief among these things and exclusive to him is managing Riddle's temper, which Trey clearly states ("My main priority is keeping my housewarden/dorm leader from going berserk with his tyrant mode."); this conflict is also present several times across the rest of the main story, events, and other vignettes, like Trey's Ceremonial Robes ("Well, we managed to avoid having Riddle explode in a blaze of anger, so I'd call today a success."). Can it be stressful to deal with someone who's very anger-prone? Yes. Does it wear on Trey to always have this job fall to him? Also yes. But does he despise Riddle for this? No. If anything, Trey is INCREDIBLEY patient with him, and he grants him this grace because they are friends and he understands Riddle's background, where that rage and the need for control is learned from. (You may also want to consider that Trey himself may harbor guilt about the role he played in Riddle's trauma; that's a topic I have written about at length in this analysis.) Rook remarks on this too: "From where I'm standing, your bond appears to go far deeper than that."

I think it's made pretty clear in book 1 that Trey cares a lot about Riddle, even if he may also get worn out with him at times or not always want to put 100% of his efforts in. Recall that it was Trey that intervened when Riddle summoned rose bushes to attack Ace--because he didn't want to see his friend turn into a murderer. Recall that it was Trey who called out to Riddle after his OB--because he doesn't want to lose him. This might be hard to visualize from the in-game assets alone, so I implore you to read the official manga adaptation. Trey's raw emotions really come through in his expressions. The concern, the sorrow, the fear he feels witnessing one of his childhood friends spiral into his worst tendencies, reliving his trauma... and then there’s Trey’s stone-cold determination to pull Riddle out of the dark… It's all there:

***Lots of images from the manga below the cut!!***

And then???? The relief and joy Trey wears when he realizes Riddle is okay… that he can finally apologize for not being there for him… that Riddle is improving as a person… that he can still laugh with him, advise him… This is a genuine friendship here.

Look at this splash page as well! Trey is glancing in an almost forlorn way at Riddle. The text, as well as the framing, implies a longing to be closer—to reconnect after so long apart and emotionally distant.

The had so much fun together as children too!! And look at how heartbroken Trey looks after having lost the ability to hang out with Riddle 😭

BUT THIS PART REALLY GETS ME THE MOST…

In Twisted Wonderland, hands are a very important symbol. It's what links--what connects--two people. The hand beckoning you in the mirror begins our journey, NRC's prideful students refuse to hold hands or to band together, etc. And what do we see recurring in Trey and Riddle's friendship? That's right, it's hands.

Trey offers his hand to Riddle when they first meet as children. You can tell from the panels just how hesitant Riddle is to accept him. Then, in modern day, when OB Riddle has been defeated, he reaches out toward a keyhole which is shining with a light. As the blot drips away from his flesh, Riddle finally comes back to reality... and whose hand is he holding? Whose hand is he squeezing so tightly? Yeah, it's Trey's--and I think that this, in of itself, speaks to the strength of their bond.

The light novel makes Trey’s care for Riddle even more obvious. There is an entire chapter dedicated to Riddle’s post-OB flashback, and towards the end of it, Riddle remarks that he hears a voice calling out to him gently. He wonders if it is his mother, but the next chapter then opens and it’s made clear that it was Trey all along.

I genuinely don't think that Trey, would go to so many of the lengths that he does if he secretly hated Riddle. He supports him, advises him, and eventually stands up to him (when he was so hesitant to do so before).

I definitely don't think we're supposed to interpret Trey's Labwear vignettes as "oh, he hates Riddle". It's meant to be more of a piece on Trey's cunning and how he's not as 'nice" as many other characters see him as. He's willing to take conveniences that are offered to him, and he'll make deals with others to get those conveniences--but at the end of the day, it's all for a good cause: maintaining the peace.

[skaldish]

...Can we talk more about how the US economy basically relies on the psychology of resource scarcity to function as an economic model?

"Resource scarcity" is a situation where we lack sufficient, reliable, and/or consistent access to one or multiple things critical for human development and livelihoods, whether it's food, housing, money, community love, sleep, comfort, bodily autonomy and freedom, the freedom of expression, the freedom to authentically engage with the world, or something else.

Chronic resource scarcity does something very fucky with our psychology. We stop operating from a place of curiosity and start operating from the desire to acquire, to pursue, and to win. Our focus narrows. We stop thinking of things in terms of interrelationships, and start thinking of things in terms of "how do I get from point A to point B?"

USAmerican culture tends to paint a "competitive nature" as a noble characteristic. But I'm starting to wonder if the kind of thrill-seeking behavior we see associated with competition is not just the behavior of a starving persistence hunter.

(Even the rich experience scarcity, in the form of the fact they constantly have to earn and maintain their worth in order to stay in their communities.)

When people have resource security, they are at ease. They are open, relaxed, inviting of silliness and playfulness, and their priorities turn to activities of personal development, innovation, and life-enrichment.

Operating from resource scarcity makes people less discerning, less considerate, more emotionally volatile, more one-track-minded, and far more spendthrifty. It's not a moral or intellectual failing on our part either. It's literally instincts kicking in because we're regularly lacking something we need to maintain our human condition.

I think the reason why many people defend keeping a competition-based society is because they want to secure their ability to gather resources, not realizing that social animals aren't interested in being competitive with members of their own species unless resource scarcity is involved.

I already figured "We can't afford to have universal basic income" didn't actually mean "Universal basic income costs too much."

But now I'm beginning to think it means "Universal basic income would change US consumer behavior patterns, which would change the mechanics we've developed around money-making, and this would render our current profit-making strategies obsolete."

And I think we should be talking about this psychological fuckery 24/7.

[totally-sick-blogger]

Sustainability is rarely accessible

This post is dedicated to Audrey, hi king!

Like many people, I think sustainability and taking care of the environment is really important; however, something that I feel isn't talked about enough when discussing ways to be more sustainable is how it's often inaccessible to disabled people and low-income people.

A lot of "alternative products" aren't viable options for disabled people because of factors such as cost, how easy they are to acquire, or physical accessibility issues.

some examples include:

paper straws and wooden cutlery - I know that for me both of these products give me major sensory issues and as for wooden cutlery I'd also like to note that they're much more difficult to eat with which could cause problems for someone with poor dexterity or fine motor skills.

pre-packaged foods - a lot of disabled people rely on pre-packaged meals and snacks for all kinds of reasons such as sensory issues, having specific safe foods, fatigue, and physically being unable to prepare foods. etc. One example I see often is being told off for buying precut produce because why not "just cut it up themselves" when in reality, some people physically cannot cut it up themselves or don't have enough spoons to make that a priority; not to mention that frozen and pre-cut produce is often cheaper than fresh produce.

medical supplies - A lot the medical supplies that disabled people rely on every day are made up of single use plastics and most of the items aren't meant to be used more than once (though some products can be used for multiple days if cared for properly) that being said, disabled people tend to produce more plastic waste but it's not our faults so we shouldn't be getting flack for it!

Another element of environmental advocacy that a lot of people talk about is veganism; which is of course great thing to practice if that's what works for you but a lot of people (disabled or not) cannot be vegan for dietary reasons. This could be because of allergies, intolerances, restrictions, location, finances, etc. For example, I've got a soy allergy and I've got a friend with a severe nut allergy. This means that neither of us could be fully vegan because the majority of vegan products are made with soy and nuts. I also rely partially on tube feeds for nutrition and as far as I know, there aren't any vegan, soy-free formulas yet (and if there are they're probably absurdly expensive)

This brings me to my final point about cost. A lot of alternative options for vegan and sustainable products are significantly more expensive; making it much harder for people who are already struggling financially to afford those products. Not to mention people who live in food deserts (areas of a city that don't contain grocery stores) or rural areas. There are very low chances that either of those places is going to have specialty food stores or even have alternative options in the few stores that they do have!

In conclusion: stop blaming poor and disabled people for the awful state of our environment and start blaming billionaires and massive corporations!

[jester-lover]

Felix General Headcanons

Author's Note and CWs- I've had a thing for this arrogant boy since middle school, the lack of fics about him is criminal! No CWs this time, GN! reader and fluff.

Oh, he would be so utterly in denial that he has soft feelings for anyone, much less someone he thinks is (shudder) attractive. I mean, that totally messes up his stoic persona! Felix would go about acquiring your love and affection the same exact way he’d go about hunting, carefully and cautiously, with a focus on hitting some weak point and getting you to fall into his arms.

The start of your relationship is very stiff; he’s got a set idea of how things should go and how he should act towards you. The stifling culture of masculinity on the island doesn’t really prepare him for gentle behavior, but when it finally clicks for him, he’s kind of a sweetheart. 

Felix is somehow both overly smug and shy when it comes to you; I mean, obviously you're his first everything, but he’s also the only guy on the island in a stable relationship. He’ll act all cool and mysterious, but it’s easy to tell he just has absolutely no clue how to navigate a relationship.

Is he a black cat boyfriend? He’s more feline-esque than you think; every time he hunts something down in those horrifying Neverland woods, he’ll try to show you to impress you. He’s a little bit of a show-off by nature, but he just loves receiving praise from you on his abilities. (Especially if they make him look better than some of the other lost boys.)

Speaking of Neverland, doesn’t that place give you the heebie-jeebies? Felix watches over you as you navigate that tough terrain, making sure you don’t get hurt over the tumbling vines and scenic waterfalls. His cool, lithe hands grip at your back, guiding you through narrow treelines and over muddy ponds; his arm wraps around you when he knows you're about to tip over onto some particularly jagged rocks.

Felix definitely gets you food; making sure you’re well fed is a top priority for him. He’ll be a little standoffish about it, though, leaving hand-carved bowls of sweet berries and slightly burnt meat in whatever little tree you sleep in.

That huge, billowing cloak he wears will be wrapped around your shoulders as soon as he senses you’re shivering; he doesn’t care if it makes him look soft in front of the guys. Felix has a particular thing about the cold; he’s more wary of it than anything else, and he doesn't want it biting at you.

His features are so striking and beautiful, and he doesn’t understand that at all. He doesn’t understand why you take the time to comb the tangles from his flaxen hair or run your fingers down the jagged scars on his pale skin; he doesn’t see himself the way you see him.

Affection is complicated for Felix; his instincts tell him to avoid it, but he yearns for it so badly too; leaning into your tender touch has become second nature. His own affection toward you is rough and inexperienced, smashing his lips against your face clumsily or pulling you into a tight, spinning hug.

 Those stormy blue eyes of his pierce through people, but for you, there’s a softness that's almost imperceptible, something that tells you he’d do anything for you; that he believes in you.

[emeraldspiral]

A venn diagram of the queer/neurodiverse content depicted in Invader Zim. I've already talked about the inherent queerness of Zim and mentioned a few times that there’s a big overlap with autism/neurodiversity but I thought this would make a handy reference. Note that “neurodiversity” isn’t just autism/ADD/ADHD but also includes mental illness, personality disorders, mood disorders, learning disabilities, and anything else that isn’t “neurotypical”.

On the queer side there is actual canon queer rep in the show and comics:

Irkens are canonically aroace and intersex.

Groyna from the comics was confirmed by Eric Trueheart to be a lesbian.

Commander Poki from the comics may be trans, as she has eyelashes normally only seen on female Irkens, but lacks the curled antenna every other female Irken is shown to possess.

Recap Kid's gender is deliberately ambiguous.

There are also many instances of queer-coding that can be seen throughout the show such as:

The homoerotic rivalry between Zim and Dib.

Red and Purple basically being Zim's two gay dads.

Zim and several other characters having campy and dramatic mannerisms.

Zim using Keef and Tak as beards.

Zim and GIR wearing make-up/cross-dressing and generally not concerning themselves with or even being aware of gender conformity.

That time Dib's personality was copied into the body of a female ship which became very distressed at being told it wasn't really a boy and changed its physical appearance to match its brain.

Other queer elements featured in the show include:

Female characters who aren't love interests/show no interest in romance.

Most characters showing a general lack of visible interest in the opposite sex or romance.

The Membranes being a non-traditional family (single dad with no mom, later acquiring two more dads in the form of Foodio and Clembrane). Irken society not being structured around family units at all.

Satirical depictions of nuclear family units (Zim’s roboparents).

Transhumanism.

Kink/Fetish content including tentacles, bondage, domination, tongues, sadism, mind-control, body morphing, gore, food/eating, bodily fluids/fluids in general, Giger-esque designs, etc…

On the Neurodiverse side we have:

Zim’s food sensitivity.

Zim’s germophobia.

Zim’s dislike of being touched or hugged.

Zim seeming to suffer from sensory issues in general.

Zim getting overstimulated on the bus in Walk of Doom.

Zim and Dib infodumping.

Zim’s idiosyncratic speech mannerisms.

Characters having high intellect paired with poor social skills/low emotional intelligence.

Hyperfixations and special interests.

Zim’s struggles with multi-tasking and keeping his priorities straight.

GIR being easily distracted and unable to focus on anything that doesn’t immediately interest him.

Characters having poor volume control.

Characters having mood swings or trouble regulating their emotions.

Zim’s issues with memory.

Dib hyperfocusing to the point of neglecting hygiene.

Zim’s “problem with listening”.

And in the middle where they overlap there’s:

Zim and Dib being outcasts, misunderstood by everyone around them, and only able to connect with other misfits like Gaz, GIR, Keef, each other, and random hobos.

Zim masking his otherness and putting on performative displays of “normalcy” and having a well-founded fear of the consequences of being discovered.

Dib being open about his otherness and looking for respect and acceptance in the face of overwhelming ridicule and contempt.

Dib being pressured by his father to conform in order to please him.

Dib finding that the social benefits of conformity aren’t enough to outweigh the pain of not being his authentic self in Mopiness of Doom.

Dib’s experiences and perspectives being trivialized, dismissed and medicalized as indicators of mental illness.

Dib actually being mentally ill, but only as a result of not being accepted or supported for being different.

The eugenicist dystopia of the Irken Empire, where Zim is labeled “defective” and sentenced to death rather than treated for the mental health issues caused by the society that created him.

Daddy issues/familial rejection/non-acceptance.

Zim and Dib’s struggles with depression.

Zim and Dib’s need to prove themselves to gain validation and acceptance.

Zim and Dib being victims of bullying and in turn bullying others to feel a sense of power.

Dib’s self-loathing.

Zim’s default state being paranoia and anxiety.

Zim and Dib’s self-image issues.

And of course the one thing that binds us all: alternative fashion.

[slothquisitor]

To Be Seen

Summary: There's a coffee date and some wandering around Minrathous and Lucanis trying and failing to claw his way back to normalcy. Eventual Rook/Lucanis, 4.4k.

Read on AO3.

_____________________________________________________________

It’s late when Camina, Bellara, and Harding return from Arlathan Forest. Camina only knows that it’s late because it had been dark when they’d passed through the eluvian to come back. The Lighthouse is as it always is, bright and glowing in whatever approximation of day it is imitating. She knows she’s tired, but it’s hard to believe she should sleep when she’s greeted by the brightness here. She used to be better at ignoring her brain’s protestations about time having spent years in the eternal dimness of the Necropolis, but this feels like a different beast entirely.

She wanders into the kitchen, looking for something to eat. It had been lightly stocked when they’d gotten here, and over the last week or so they’ve been slowly adding food stuffs and taking turns cooking for each other. It’s still pretty bare though, and she stands staring at the shelves trying to convince herself that any of the options sound good.

The door to the pantry opens, and Lucanis drifts out towards the fire with a quiet, “Rook.” He moves confidently in the shadows like they were made for him. The shorter strands of his hair catch the light, but the shadows of his face are more pronounced, making him look more tired. He’s dressed far too formally for simply hanging around the Lighthouse, but she thinks this is what passes as casual for him. Like Neve, the clothing is just another part of his armor. In contrast, she looks down at her faded tunic and worn pants and does her best to suppress a snort at the marked difference in priorities. 

“Sorry, if I woke you…I realize it’s late,” she says. She’d sort of forgotten that he’s sleeping in the fucking pantry. That’s got to be hard when people also use the kitchen at all hours. 

“You didn’t,” he replies. “It’s easier for Spite to take control while I sleep, so I try not to do it much.”

Lucanis hides his possession well enough, and it’s not a true possession, is it? Not at least when he has control. “So you just don’t sleep?”

“Not unless I have to.”

“That seems dangerous.”

He flashes her a wry smile. “I know my limits.”

She settles for some salted meat and bread leftover from the latest culinary disaster Harding had made for them. It’s not a meal, but she’s not actually very picky about food. She takes a seat at the table and is surprised when Lucanis joins her. She hasn’t really known what to think of their newly acquired assassin. He’s polite enough and clearly grateful to her for rescuing him. There’s just something distant about him, like he can’t quite bring himself to really be around any of them. But that could also be the grief of losing his grandmother. She doesn’t know him well enough to say. 

“I’d offer to make you some food, but you don’t have much that’s edible here,” he says. 

She snorts. “You’ve only been here two days and you’re already criticizing the way we live?”

“Because the way you live is atrocious. Neve only eats fried fish, and whatever it was what Harding made for us…that was…it was…those ingredients should never be put together like that again.” He’s careful even in his criticism as if he’s not quite sure if he’s allowed to say any of this. 

Camina can’t help the laugh that escapes her. “Are you saying you could do better?”

“Yes,” he says, full of confidence.

“An assassin who cooks?” 

He shrugs. “What can I say, I’m a man of many talents, but even I cannot make something edible out of what you have in these cupboards.”

“Can’t say I really gave it that much thought. Food is food.”

He looks like she kicked his dog. “No, Rook. Just…no.”

“I grew up on the streets, and I didn’t always know where the next meal was coming from, so I’m usually just glad there is food at all,” she explains before tearing off a piece of bread. She’s not ashamed of her past, though other Watcher’s faces would tighten when she’d bring up her childhood. 

And maybe it’s a little bit shitty to drop a tidbit of her life casually like that, but she’s still trying to gauge the type of person Lucanis is. He surprises her by not looking sorry or full of pity or like she’s managed to make him uncomfortable. “How did you come to be in the Mourn Watch?”

She doesn’t expect the question, but it’s not unwelcome. “My magic found me when I was nine. As kids we’d swap stories, you know? Of other kids who’d turned out to be mages getting off the streets, making it rich…they were probably embellished, but even the Circles didn’t sound that bad. Not when you were promised three meals a day and a chance of being something. When my magic manifested, it felt like something out of a fairy story. I could have gone to Cumberland or Perendale, but the Mourn Watch wanted me, and I wanted to be in the Necropolis.”

“Even as a child?” he asks, clearly incredulous. 

She smiles. “Oh, the Necropolis is the best, besides, I love dead things.” She doesn’t tell him that the Necropolis had called to her, that she’d dreamed of it even when she wasn’t there. She doesn’t tell him that hearing the Mourn Watch had wanted to be informed if she turned out to be a mage had felt Maker sent. She might not really be a Watcher anymore, but she’ll always love the order. Love what they stood for and what they saved her from, even if she didn’t understand it at the time. 

The admission startles a chuckle out of him. “Says the necromancer.”

“We’re not the worst, allies. You kill them, I raise them,” she jokes. “That’s not going to be a problem, is it? With you being the famous mage-killer and all that?”

“Not unless you’re secretly a racist blood mage,” he says, voice deadpan. 

She grins and then gestures at her ears. “I tried to apply, but they wouldn’t let me in.” That earns a true laugh from him, and she is especially pleased about it. “What about you? Did you always grow up wanting to be a Crow?”

“My grandmother is…was First Talon. I didn’t have a choice,” he replies. “But yes, of course, everyone in Antiva wants to be a Crow.”

She frowns. It’s not a real answer, and it certainly doesn’t feel like the most honest one, but she barely knows him so she won’t press. “Or at least dress like one.” 

He taps his fingers against the wooden table. “Even before the Ossuary, so much of my life was decided for me. It’s…strange to have it back again. Sort of.”

Ah yes, the demon in the room. He’d seemed rather uncomfortable when she’d spoken to Spite before, so she decides to steer the conversation in a different direction. “Well, I know that the world’s ending and there are two ancient elven gods on the loose, but is there something you’re simply dying to do?”

He glances around their threadbare kitchen and smiles. “I would like to go grocery shopping.”

A year locked away, and this is what he asks for? “Just name the time and place.”

The time and place come a mere day later, an evening in Treviso, wandering the market and watching the master assassin buy groceries and strangely enough, little gifts for everyone. Some part of her brain keeps telling her that she should be careful with him, but there’s no denying just how endearing it is watching him pick out the perfect spearmint plant for Harding or remembering that Bellara wanted to try a certain recipe, so she decides to like him anyway. He’s being so nice that she almost doesn’t have the heart to tell him she doesn’t like coffee and prefers tea when they get to the cafe. He makes a small disgusted sound but goes to order anyway, leaving her alone with his cousin. 

“So, Rook,” Illario says, leaning across the table and lowering his voice to something some might be best described as a purr. “How is my cousin, really?”

She’s not sure what’s happening here. He’s wearing an expression of concern, but there’s something too sharp about it. Illario strikes her as a person accustomed to getting his way when it comes to people, and though she’s sitting in a lovely cafe in a beautiful city, she reminds herself she’s surrounded by assassins. “Well, he was trapped in a weird underwater prison for a year. How would you be doing?”

If he is annoyed at her nonanswer he hides it well. “My cousin isn’t the best at being open, and I know what he has been through must have been terrible. But are there…any changes to him? Zara is known for her terrible blood magic experiments.”

So he doesn’t know that Lucanis is an abomination. Interesting. Well, she’s not about to be the one to let the demon out of the bag. “I only met Lucanis a few days ago, so you’re probably a better judge than me on that front.”

“True,” Illario smiles. “But you will tell me if there’s anything I should know? I worry for him.”

There’s something happening here, some play being made, and she knows she doesn’t have the whole picture, but she doesn’t quite trust Illario. He wants something from her, but she’s not sure it’s his cousin’s safety. But she can let him think she’ll play whatever game he’s playing, and maybe she’ll bring it up to Lucanis later. “Of course. What’s more important than family, after all?”

He leans back in his chair, seemingly content. “Too true.”

Lucanis returns with his coffee and her tea. “So Illario, you have something?”

“The Crows I have sent after Zara have picked up her trail. They say she’s gone to Vyrantium,” Illario says. He seems confident, but that doesn’t make any sense. Vyrantium is not a small distance from Treviso. Too far for Zara to already be there if she’d just killed Caterina. 

Something about all this doesn’t sit right with her. Is Illario so desperate for revenge that he’s putting trust in obviously false leads? Is that what this is? “Vyrantium is far. There’s no way she could already be there.”

Lucanis nods in agreement. “Rook’s right. Zara’s given you a false lead, cousin.”

Illario dips his head. “You have better information?”

“We’re compromised. There’s no other way Zara could even touch Caterina. You need your eyes here in Antiva.”

She spends the rest of the conversation watching the two Crows, trying to figure out what’s going unsaid. Lucanis believes there’s someone in the Crows protecting Zara, and Camina has no reason to believe he’d be wrong, only that all his information about the Crows is a year out of date. In the back of her mind, she’s got Varric’s voice telling her that if she doesn’t have enough of the players on the board not to make any sort of bets and play her own cards close to the chest. 

It is only after Illario leaves in a huff, and Lucanis gives her a slightly embarrassed look that she is able to actually enjoy a sip of her tea. It’s nice, bright and citrusy. “He was asking about you, while you were gone.”

“Of course he was,” Lucanis sighs. “And?”

She shrugs. “Didn’t see any reason for me to tell him anything you hadn’t.”

Lucanis looks grateful but says nothing else about it. “I’d prefer not to worry him. He’s got enough on his plate with everything here in Treviso and getting everything he ever wanted.”

“And what’s that?”

“The seat of First Talon. With Caterina dead, he’s the obvious choice,” Lucanis explains. “The Crows thought I was dead until you broke me out of the Ossuary, and I’ve been gone for a year. Besides, I may have been Caterina’s favorite, but I never wanted her seat.”

“Why not?” She hates nepotism as much as the next person who could never benefit from it, but at least in what she’s seen, Lucanis seems to be the more obvious choice unless she missed the part where Illario also had a badass nickname and a reputation for killing Venatori.

“Probably because it was just another thing decided for me.” He takes a deep inhale over his coffee cup before taking a drink. It’s the most at ease she’s seen him since the boat ride back to Treviso when he’d closed his eyes and turned his face into the breeze. 

“You called that blend bitter and sweet like ‘a kiss goodbye’.” She’s teasing him just a little, but there’s such a clear obvious opening there. She’s curious about what happens if she takes it. “So what would a first kiss be?” 

No hesitation. “Honey and lavender cream…sweet, intriguing. And you? How would you describe it?”

He’s flirting back, and that delights her. “Been a while. Might need a refresher.” The Necropolis is large, but the Mourn Watch is not. When she’d been younger it hadn’t mattered, but she’d learned quickly the importance of only pursuing something she was serious about lest she spend the foreseeable future perpetually running into them. 

He chuckles. “I see. You lead an adventurous life.”

She smiles. “Just the one, really.”

“How’s your tea?” he asks, head tilted and dark brown eyes watching her in interest. 

It feels good to sit and flirt and feel like a person after the events of the last few weeks. To not have Lucanis look at her like she’s the only person in the world with all of the answers or that he expects her to know what happens next. “Unexpected and surprising, but in a good way.”

***

This part of Minrathous isn’t familiar to Lucanis. In fairness, most of Dock Town isn’t, but it feels familiar enough. At their hearts, all cities behave the same, contain the same people, or the same sorts of people anyway, and move to the same rhythms. Because cities are just people and people are predictable. He’s happy to defer to Neve for the nuances of this place because he’s not interested in those, he’s interested in the patterns. And how people break them. 

Which is how he notices that they have a tail. The man looks pretty ordinary and isn’t wearing anything that immediately identifies him as any of his usual enemies. They’d picked up the tail in the market outside the Shadow Dragon’s hideout, and he’s been following them through their winding route as Neve tracks down leads on a Venatori deal. Neve’s used to being followed, she points out the tail almost as soon as he notices it. Which makes sense, Neve doesn’t exactly try to blend in. Even if she wasn’t wearing her trademark fascinator, there’s the sharp metallic clank of her prosthetic on stones as they walk. 

“Let’s split up,” Neve murmurs. “Take Rook with you. I’ll be able to lose them more easily by myself, but maybe they’ll follow you. Buy me twenty minutes?”

He gives her a nod and falls back a step so he’s beside Rook. “Stay close.”

Lucanis can see Neve’s plan even before she implements it. At the next corner, Neve makes two hard lefts to double-back the way they came, so he takes Rook right. He’s hoping it doesn’t come to a fight, fighting mages in crowded spaces almost always leads to collateral damage. Rook is damn useful in a fight, but it’s clear she learned by doing not through training, her style mostly relies on being cleverer than her opponents versus winning by brute force. 

And she might be the leader of their group, but she knows when to defer to others’ expertise. Like now, as she quietly keeps up with him. The street curves, and he glances over his shoulder. Good, the tail followed them and not Neve. 

“What’s our plan?” Rook asks. 

He grins and looks over at her. “Neve asked for twenty minutes, so we’re going to lead them on a wild nug-chase.” There’s something familiar about this, something that feels so much like before it’s like an ache in his chest.

Rook’s eyes light up. “How wild are we talking?” 

Their tail followed him and Rook, so there’s a chance they weren’t out for Neve at all. They have a few options: pretend like they don’t know they’re being followed, try to lose them, or try to catch them. 

Spite hovers near his ear. “Or we could. Kill them.” 

Lucanis ignores the lilting sing-song of Spite’s voice. “That depends, how important is it that we know who they work for?” 

Rook shrugs. “That’s a better question for Neve, but maybe they’re connected to her investigation? I’ll never turn down more information.”

So catch them it is. “We’re going to go to that one square, by the Cobbled Swan. You remember it?”

Rook nods. “Yeah.”

“How do you feel about playing bait?” 

“Well, it doesn’t exactly fill me with warm fuzzy feelings. But sure. What do you need me to do?” 

Her job won’t be difficult, and he carefully explains what he needs from her in quick snatches as they approach the square. There’s a bit of concern in Rook’s amethyst eyes, but she doesn’t question him. There’s a trust she’s putting in him, and he desperately wants to deserve it. 

Once they arrive at the busy square, Rook breaks away, slowly and obviously wandering over to the nearest vendor. Lucanis carefully slips into the press of the crowd. He intends to skulk between people, arching back around to catch their tail unaware and pull him into a nearby alley so they can question them. All Crows are trained for this, he barely has to think about the plan. 

He slides between groups of people without a second thought, the movement smooth and practiced. It’s strange, it’s the smallest thing that does it too, someone’s shoulder knocking him into another person, and suddenly the press of people is too much. He had forgotten during his year in that pit just how many people can be contained in a city, in a square. The crowd is loud, but the rushing sound in his ears is louder. Their hands are everywhere and there’s magic in the air, and he feels as though he’s being held down and Dock Town fades away as his vision swims. When it clears he has the lurching feeling that he’s lost time. He’s somehow across the square, tucked into a dark corner. Mierda. Did Spite do this? Did he lose control somehow? 

“Too. Much.” Spite snarls. 

Too much what? He has a job to do. A plan to follow through on; he’s a professional. Where’s Rook? He’s left her unprotected as bait for their tail. He presses onto tiptoes and frantically searches the crowd for her. There’s no sign of her from here, so he skirts around the edge of the market until he sees her. She’s fine. She’s doing a good job of looking casual, but there’s a tension in her shoulders that wasn’t there before he’d proposed this plan. There’s no sign of their tail, must’ve gotten spooked or given up on them. It’s his fault. 

He feels the anger building within him, but he pushes it down and tries to make it something useful. Since he can’t catch their tail, he’ll ensure that he loses them. He watches Rook’s movements, guesses where she’s going to end up, and gets moving. He’s able to duck behind one of the stalls into an alley that cuts into another one where he can wait until Rook passes near enough for him to grab her. 

He closes his eyes and listens. The city is loud, so very loud. For a moment, he feels that same sense of overwhelm he’d felt in the square, but he’s prepared for it now. He shoves it down, pushes through it and sifts through a deluge of sound to listen for her footfalls. Time passes, it could be seconds or hours, but he hears her, hears when she’s near enough for him to reach out and snatch her, quick as an adder. 

He pulls her by the arm, a hand covering her mouth to muffle her exclamation of surprise. It is something to see the fear and terror in her eyes fade immediately when she realizes it’s him. Most people wouldn’t find themselves comforted by realizing the person pulling them into an alley is an assassin. The second there is the spark of recognition in her eyes, he releases her and puts as much space between them as possible. “I apologize.”

She waves off his concern and looks around the alley. “You didn’t get him?”

“Change of plan,” he replies, already moving deeper down the narrow alley.

“What happened? Did I mess it up somehow?” she asks. 

He watches the entrance to see if anyone has noticed her if somehow he’d missed their tail and they are still being followed. But there’s nothing, so he turns his attention back to her. She looks so concerned, so clearly sure she hadn’t done what he’d asked her to. He sighs and doesn’t bother hiding his frustration. “No, it was my fault…I…it’s been a while since I was around this many people.”

“Too. Loud.” Spite agrees.

He hates admitting this, but hiding the mistake feels worse. Feels like maybe it makes him everything he fears he is. 

Rook’s eyes do that thing where they go wide in understanding and her eyebrows bunch together in concern. It’s not what he wants. “Do we need to go?”

“No, I’m fine. I can handle it. I just…I didn’t want you to think it was you when it was my fault.”

She nods. “Okay. So what now?”

He wants to fix this. Fix him. It’s not supposed to be this way. He told her he could work, and he meant it. “Neve asked for twenty minutes. Hopefully, we bought her that. We can probably try to link back up.”

“Alright.”

He’s expecting frustration or disappointment or something that never comes from her. She’s in charge, so she should be angry at him. He’d taken initiative, told her what to do, and he’d failed. He could’ve gotten her killed today, and she’s acting like there’s nothing wrong. Like there shouldn’t be consequences. She should be upset with him. 

“You don’t have to let me off easy like that.”

She looks utterly confused. “I’m sorry, did I miss where this was a life or death situation?”

She’s not understanding. In the Crows, there would be consequences for this. “My plan lost our tail.”

Rook shrugs. “It’s not every day I’m important enough to get followed, but maybe you’ll get another chance soon.”

Is she capable of being serious about anything? “Rook…”

“Should we go find Neve?” she asks lightly. 

This close to her he can see the flecks of gold in her eyes, the scar across her nose. He’s not often taller than people, but he’s got a good two or three inches on her. “I’ll follow you.”

He’s hypervigilant as they retrace their steps back towards where they’d broken away from Neve, but even so, he feels the cold trickle of fear sinking in. He wonders, not for the first time, just how much Zara has taken from him and if he’ll ever feel like himself again. 

He has tried to take comfort in the routines and rituals that he had shaped his life with before the Ossuary. Exerting a rigid control over what little he can. And there is some comfort in it, some ways in which he feels like his old self: same clothes, same blade sharpening ritual, cooking the same foods. He’d made dinner for the group last night, and Spite had been quieter than ever before. It had been a relief to find something that felt exactly the same as before.

He snaps back to attention when Rook bends to drop a few coins on a beggar’s plate. He very nearly yanks her back. Does she not realize how vulnerable she makes herself? How likely it is for the gratitude she’s met with to just as easily be a knife? 

Somewhere in his mind, he hears Illario taunting him about being paranoid.

But then the moment is over, Rook has dropped her coins, offered a smile, and moved on. Helping seems reflexive for Rook. Casual even. He’d been surprised at it the other night in Treviso too, when she had tossed him a wyvern tooth dagger she’d purchased him with a grin and a tease to buy himself something too. She’d had no way of knowing the hole her kindness had filled and hadn’t sought gratitude or praise or any of the things he might have expected. The gesture had caught him by surprise, had come so unexpectedly he hadn’t been able to smother it down, hide it. He’d told her something true, something vulnerable, something dangerous. 

Wanting things is dangerous in his line of work. Worse even if anyone sees you do it because then they know a weak point. He’s spent most of his life keeping his list of things he’s allowed to want slim, and he has seen enough of the world to know that it being a choice is a privilege in itself. A good cup of coffee. Well-made food. Tailored clothes. These are the things he’s allowed to want, simple, inviolate. The problem with wanting things is that they can always be taken away. 

He knows this. And yet. 

He finds himself wanting. Simple things really: Neve’s gratitude when there’s hot coffee in the early morning hours, Bellara asking for advice on a recipe, Harding making a joke with him instead of a threat, and the easy approval in Rook’s gaze all the while. As if bonding with these people, enjoying their company…was all she wanted of him to begin with. Those things are probably fine, so long as no one else sees him wanting them. 

He hangs close to Rook and hopes he won’t have to do much more to keep her safe. And then Neve is there looking smug enough to tell him that she’s got a lead, and they’re off again and when she asks about their tail he lets Rook respond. 

“We lost them in the square.”

He can’t decide if he’s more grateful or insulted by the omission. Perhaps it’s a bit of both.

[sea-you-in-paradise]

♡  a o t   l o v e   l a n g u a g e s  ♡

summary: attack on titan characters’ love languages  word count: 2.217 setting: any! (canonverse, modern au, etc) features: armin, connie, eren, hange, jean, levi, mikasa, reiner, & sasha genderneutral!reader warnings: none

a r m i n 

expresses his love through quality time. armin goes through life feeling like there are never enough hours in the day. he just has so much stuff to get done that tasks get pushed off because he overbooks himself. since his time is so valuable, blocking out time for you and planning how you should spend it is not something that he takes lightly. this doesn’t mean that every date is extravagant, he just wants to show you how important you are to him. he does his best to put effort into thinking of something you could enjoy together, even if it’s just reading in near silence. always shows up. you are a top priority.

armin needs words of affirmation to feel loved. he has a hard time believing that he is deserving of good things, armin really appreciates reassurance. hearing you, someone he has so much admiration and care for, insist that he matters reminds him that maybe, he is worthy afterall. tell him how lucky you are to have him in your life. armin is one of a kind and should be appreciated for it. “simple” affirmations are important too; “that sweater looks great on you,” “i missed you today,” etc. remind him that he is so, so loveable.

*bonus* - armin could tear up at an act of service from a friend. he is always willing to help with whatever you need, even if deep down, he doesn’t really feel like it. like i said, he always shows up. the moment you show up for him without him needing to ask is the moment he feels important. you could literally just pay attention to how much he is working/studying and making tea accordingly. he’ll never forget about it. 

c o n n i e

is all about gift giving. but not because he spends all his time/money on it. he just finds shit that he thinks you would like and gives it to you. expect to acquire a (genuinely interesting) rock collection. he would have specific reasoning as to why he picks each one, like if they’re shiny or heart-shaped. 100% picks wildflowers for you whenever he sees one. if he gets bored and there’s paper nearby, he’ll make “origami” (he can make the basic swan and then everything else is up to interpretation). also buys some smaller items when he’s just out and about, but he goes all out on important occasions. rarely gets you food despite buying it for sasha though. 

connie wants to hear words of affirmation. tell this man every single positive thought you’ve ever had about him. this might cause him to make some jokes at your expense, like teasing you for being “all obsessed” with him, but hearing such thoughtful things coming out of your mouth gives him the much needed reminder that people care about him. you care about him. there’s a reason he makes so many jokes, and it is not (just) because he is a funny guy.

*bonus* - connie likes having physical touch in his friendships. he just wants to platonically hold hands on walks with his friends (Jean has slapped his hand away more than once). he wants greeting and goodbye hugs whenever you have plans to hang out. expect him to give you hair ruffles/head pats and playful shoulder punches. he wants you to take turns giving each other hand massages. he’s also down if you ever need a piggyback ride, but keep in mind that he’s expecting one in return.

e r e n

is a quality time guy. eren is a fan of deep conversations. can these get depressing sometimes? yes. is that one of his favorite things about them? also yes. if you can handle that shit, then he knows you’re the one for him. he is a small talk hater, and if you’re taking the time to understand his deepest, darkest thoughts and let him in on yours without making light of it, he’ll feel very connected to you. of course, no one can keep that up all the time and while he isn’t a fan of small talk, he likes really bizarre hypotheticals, comfortable silence, and head scratches.

eren is so grateful when you lend him a hand. this man is by no means lazy, but he is 110% a procrastinator when it comes to any practical facet of his life. he’ll be so focused on doing his tasks for work that his home is just a total wreck and it never seems to get better on its own. to be frank, he would not notice if you helped him with a little bit of everything. but if you helped him with one specific task, like doing his dishes or making him a grocery list, he would be elated. of course, he would never use the word “elated” or allow his face to show that emotion, but it would relieve a lot of his stress when he gets home. please remind him that every task is an accomplishment, no matter how small. 

h a n g e

is dying to get their hands on you. take that any way you want. scientifically, romantically... very romantically. there’s lots to experiment with. all jokes aside, hange is a physically affectionate person with most people (probably more so if she wasn’t friends with levi and erwin, the least physically affectionate duo ;-;), but mostly in a proximity sense. like, they’re the kind of person who comes to sit beside you on the sofa and their thigh is basically on top of yours they’re so close. they also get closer when they talk to you, like if you back up, you will end up walking backwards to the other side of the room by the end of the convo. but in a relationship, hange is three times more intense. expect them to actually sit on you when you’re on the couch. hugs when they’re super excited, forehead kisses when they’re sleepy, shoulder rubs after long days. if you’re sitting in a chair, they’ll come up behind you and wrap their arms around you

hange loves that you spend time listening to them. to have a successful relationship with hange, the key is paying attention. they have a lot to talk about and they need someone who will not only listen, but expand upon what they’re saying. if you demonstrate even an ounce of critical thinking on one of the subjects of their interest, expect hange to be visibly excited. they will shake you by the shoulders with excitement before taking your face in their hands and calling you smart and looking in your eyes, and- well, the rest is up to you.

j e a n

jean wants to spoil you. he thinks you deserve nice things and he wants to be the one to provide them. as someone who has always yearned for a taste of luxury, he feels that the best way to show his love is sharing that taste. he wants to take you to fancy dinners, buy you flowers every time you’re feeling down, and take you shopping (he totally loves it when you try on outfits for him. he gets all blushy, but plays it “cool” ofc). and if he’s really in his feels, he might even draw a little something for you. pretty please put it in a special place in your home.

jean feels closest to you when you’re touching. he feels like there’s nothing quite as intimate as being physically close to someone (hence why he’s quick to slap connie for trying to initiate platonic hand holding). knowing that you want him close to you, so close that you have to touch him, makes jean feel important. he seeks comfort in your hugs and kisses, knowing they provide a level of safety and compassion he can only get from being near you. there’s something very exclusive about it for him.

l e v i

loves through acts of service. his acts are often masked by what some (levi included) might deem as “ulterior motives.” for example, washing/ironing your clothes because he didn’t feel like having dirty/wrinkled clothes around. mostly cleaning service tasks: something like brushing the dirt off the soles of your shoes or organizing your drawers (says he has a thing about privacy, until it comes to cleaning). he assumes that you’ve never had any organizational system in the first place. he will not explain the new system to you. he thinks it’s obvious. but sometimes, when you don’t wake up to him reordering your stuff, you wake up to a cup of tea or a plate of toast. be sure not to make a big deal out of it though or he’ll get embarrassed and "misplace” your birth certificate next time he’s cleaning.

levi secretly craves words of affirmation. frankly, “words of affirmation” might even be a stretch for what he desires most. he doesn’t need to be told how good he is at his job or how much others care about him. he wants you to pick up on little things about him that he hasn’t even realized. tell him if you like the way he pronounces a certain word or how lovely he looks while he’s focusing on the newspaper. he doesn’t let people get close to him easily, so by approaching your position as his partner with such attention to detail, you’re reminding him that he made the right decision letting you in. not even levi is immune to compliments.

*bonus* - levi’s friendship love language is quality time. let’s face it. the only way you’re getting close to levi is if you spend a lot of time together. the problem is actually getting that quality time with him. for levi, this would usually mean doing independent tasks like reading or doing paperwork together. also, doing group tasks (cleaning, cooking, etc) in comfortable silence. being friends with levi is the definition of being alone together. perhaps when you get really close you can have a little conversation with your tea. 

m i k a s a

will jump at the chance to perform an act of service. she loves to feel helpful, and since emotions aren’t something she is super comfortable expressing, she finds that assisting you with your day-to-day tasks is a good way to show she cares. she especially likes helping out with physical activities. after years of hanging around armin, she knows how vulnerable they can be, so it’s her own special cheat code. besides, she likes that her strength is useful for a variety of reasons.

mikasa feels seen when you gift her something. the fact that you saw something and thought of her makes her happy beyond comparison. mikasa’s typically focused mind will definitely wander to giddy little thoughts of you. how often do you think of her? what kinds of things would you like? what can she do to make you know that she cares? she’ll try to center herself, but part of her is glad to have something so wonderful to be distracted by. gifts are never wasted on her. she will treasure whatever you get her, even if it’s not something she would typically buy herself.

r e i n e r

loves spending quality time together. honestly, he just wants to talk. reiner wants to know your thoughts on everything. he wants you to play with his hair while he lays his head in your lap as you tell him about your day. he gives (somewhat) good advice and always remembers small details. he views the people you tell him about like characters and gets invested in your stories.

reiner is eternally grateful for the acts of service you perform. putting out his slippers in the morning, making him a plate for dinner, asking if he needs anything while you’re up/out. he also views the anticipation of his needs as a huge act of service. for example, if he tells you that he doesn’t need anything, but you come back with a blanket because he looked cold, reiner will never stop thinking about it... or you.

s a s h a

will hype you up with words of affirmation. it’s not even something she does super intentionally, and frankly, her encouragement is not something that she provides exclusively for her partner. however, every time sasha has something nice to say about you, she will say it. and since you two are together, she has a lot of really nice things to say. she has a feeling personality, so of course she’s going to gush over you! plus, she thinks that the way you react is really cute and she wants to keep seeing the look on your face as often as possible.

sasha feels appreciated when you perform acts of service. obviously this woman will go feral if you cook her food. that is no secret. but she will also be completely enamored with you if you help her out with other things as well. fold her laundry?? sasha is raving about it for a week. offer to brush her hair? she will give you little kisses all over your face. for sasha, devoting your time and effort is the kindest thing someone could do.

[dangermousie]

My Country is steeped in class in the way very few sageuks do nowadays - to be fair most of them nowadays are fluffy ahistorical confections - but in a way few did in the old days of adult sageuks either.

The few other sageuks I can think of that took on class as head on were Slave Hunters, Hong Gil Dong, Rebel the Thief Who Stole the People, Return of Iljimae, Maids, The Nokdu Flower and, in a different more domestic way, Bossam. It is not a common topic.

But MCTNA takes it on and on and on. It never disappears. Hwi's priorities are those of a man who is one mishap away from death by starvation for himself and his sister. He can't climb up the Maslow hierarchy of needs because he hasn't gotten out of the bottom level of having enough to eat.

The way Hui Jae, who has clearly never had to skip a meal in her life, genuinely does not get it, is genuinely angry at his lack of revolutionary ardor - is so realistic. As the old saying goes, where you stand depends on where you sit. She is not evil or lacking in empathy - it's just everyone operates with in-built perspective from their position.

And Seon Ho, while he has no issue with Hwi being this way, also does not share Hwi's practicality - he has political ambition and desire to overthrow the regime that kept someone of his birth down (ironically, the Joseon dynasty that is about to be ushered is going to be stricter on those of his birth - but how realistic that you do not know if what replaces what you knock down will be more congenial to you, you cannot fully control it - look at all the revolutionaries who end up devoured by their own revolutions.) But that is because while Seon Ho's existence is its own kind of hell (his father is monstrous in a realistic, pervasive, unceasing way that would warp anyone), he like Hui Jae, never has to worry about having enough to eat.

Both SH and Hwi yearn to address the biggest problem of their life - only it's a different problem.

One of the biggest tragedies of MCTNA is that until the end, even as he goes through hell and becomes a leader of men and a trusted and loved follower of a dynastic founder, all Hwi wants in life is peace from the demons he's acquired and enough food to eat - and yet despite those modest wishes, that world will not let him have that. He is not allowed that. Seon Ho wanted too much when he should have wanted - not less - but different - not power per se but freedom from his monstrous father not by playing his power games and trying to acquire more power. He needs to step sideways out of the narrative, not forward into it. All he needed, as he realizes too late, was a peaceful life with Hwi and Yeon - a family to love and be loved by. (Hwi's country is having enough to eat for himself and his loved ones and Seon Ho's country is being with his loved ones.) But Hwi did not want too much - he barely wanted anything, he wanted the minimum necessary to keep alive. And the world is bleak enough, the narrative is bleak enough to look at that desire and go "you cannot have it. This is still too much for you."

[loving-n0t-heyting]

okay "failure" is an exaggeration. but am I not wrong that your priorities are in feeling morally superior to vegans, just as those vegans priorities are (according to you) in moral purity? Why else would you hope for opposition to lab grown meat? idk seems hypocritical.

there are many countries where theocratic religious conservatives weaponise dietary prohibitions on (certain kinds of) meat against religious minorities that do not accept these prohibitions, for whom the social and political freedom to eat these corpses becomes bound up with the project of their social and political emancipation. i do not like when muslims in hindu-dominant countries, christians in muslim-dominant countries, etc are treated as morally backward and spiritually impure second class citizens (not least of all bc of my religious sympathies with abrahamic monotheists over brahminist hindus and with christianity over islam!), but i also dont care for them or anyone else eating corpses (of cattle, pigs, etc) obtained thru systematic mass slaughter. it would therefore be nice if food industry supply chains and the process of acquiring meat changed in such a way that these dietary prohibitions served even incidentally no purposes worth defending so they could be fought unqualifiedly on behalf of persecuted minorities violating them

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 21, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 22, 2024

During her confirmation hearings in 2021, Interior Department secretary Deb Haaland promised “to responsibly manage our natural resources to protect them for future generations—so that we can continue to work, live, hunt, fish, and pray among them.” Noting her Indigenous heritage, Haaland tweeted, “A voice like mine has never been a Cabinet secretary or at the head of the Department of Interior…. I’ll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all of our protected land.”

Her approach was a shift from the practice the Interior Department had established at the beginning of the twentieth century when it began to prioritize mineral, oil, and gas development, as well as livestock grazing, on U.S. public lands. But the devastating effects of climate change have brought those old priorities into question. 

Republicans, especially those from states like Wyoming, which collects more than a billion dollars a year in royalties and taxes from the oil, gas, and coal produced on federal lands in the state, opposed Haaland’s focus on responsible management of natural resources for the future  and warned that the Biden administration is “taking a sledgehammer to Western states’ economies.”

On Thursday, April 18, the Interior Department finalized a new rule for a balanced management of America’s public lands. Put together after a public hearing period that saw more than 200,000 comments from states, individuals, Tribal and local governments, industry groups, and advocacy organizations, the new rule prioritizes the health of the lands and waters the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management oversees. Those consist of about 245 million acres, primarily in 12 western states.

The new rule calls for protection of the land, restoration of the places that have been harmed in the past, and a promise to make informed decisions about future use based on “science, data, and Indigenous knowledge.” It “recognizes conservation as an essential component of public lands management, on equal footing with other multiple uses of these lands.” The Bureau of Land Management will now auction off leases not only for drilling, but also for conservation and restoration. 

Western state leaders oppose the Biden administration’s efforts to change the Interior Department’s past practices, calling them “colonial forces of national environmental groups who are pushing an agenda” onto states like Wyoming. 

The timing of the Interior Department’s new rule can’t help but call attention to Earth Day, celebrated tomorrow, on April 22. Earth Day is no novel proposition. Americans celebrated it for the first time in 1970. Nor was it a partisan idea in that year: Republican president Richard M. Nixon established it as Americans recognized a crisis that transcended partisanship and came together to fix it.

The spark for the first Earth Day was the 1962 publication of marine biologist Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, which showed the devastating effects of people on nature by documenting the effect of modern pesticides on the natural world. Her exposé of how the popular pesticide DDT was poisoning the food chain in American waters illuminated the dangerous overuse of chemicals and their effect on living organisms, and it caught readers’ attention. Carson’s book sold more than half a million copies in 24 countries. 

Democratic president John F. Kennedy asked the President’s Science Advisory Committee to look into Carson’s argument, and the committee vindicated her. Before she died of breast cancer in 1964, Carson noted: "Man's attitude toward nature is today critically important simply because we have now acquired a fateful power to alter and destroy nature. But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself? [We are] challenged as mankind has never been challenged before to prove our maturity and our mastery, not of nature, but of ourselves."  

As scientists organized the Environmental Defense Fund, Americans began to pay closer attention to human effects on the environment, especially after three crucial events. First, on December 24, 1968, astronaut William Anders took a color photograph of the Earth rising over the horizon of the moon from outer space during the Apollo 8 mission, powerfully illustrating the beauty and isolation of the globe on which we all live. 

Then, over 10 days in January and February 1969, a massive oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, poured between 80,000 and 100,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific, fouling 35 miles of California beaches and killing seabirds, dolphins, sea lions, and elephant seals. Public outrage ran so high that President Nixon went to Santa Barbara in March to see the cleanup efforts, telling the American public that “the Santa Barbara incident has frankly touched the conscience of the American people.” 

And then, in June 1969, the chemical contaminants that had been dumped into Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River caught fire. A dumping ground for local heavy industry, the river had actually burned more than ten times in the previous century, but with increased focus on environmental damage, this time the burning river garnered national attention.

In February 1970, President Nixon sent to Congress a special message “on environmental quality.” “[W]e…have too casually and too long abused our natural environment,” he wrote. “The time has come when we can wait no longer to repair the damage already done, and to establish new criteria to guide us in the future.”

“The tasks that need doing require money, resolve and ingenuity,” Nixon said, “and they are too big to be done by government alone. They call for fundamentally new philosophies of land, air and water use, for stricter regulation, for expanded government action, for greater citizen involvement, and for new programs to ensure that government, industry and individuals all are called on to do their share of the job and to pay their share of the cost.”

Meanwhile, Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic senator from Wisconsin, visited the Santa Barbara oil spill and hoped to turn the same sort of enthusiasm people were bringing to protests against the Vietnam War toward efforts to protect the environment. He announced a teach-in on college campuses, which soon grew into a wider movement across the country. Their “Earth Day,” held on April 22, 1970, brought more than 20 million Americans—10% of the total population of the country at the time—to call for the nation to address the damage caused by 150 years of unregulated industrial development. The movement included members of all political parties, rich Americans and their poorer neighbors, people who lived in the city and those in the country, labor leaders and their employers. It is still one of the largest protests in American history.

In July 1970, at the advice of a council convened to figure out how to consolidate government programs to combat pollution, Nixon proposed to Congress a new agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, which Congress created that December. 

In honor of Earth Day 2024, Democratic president Joe Biden has called for carrying on the legacy of our predecessors “by building a greener, more sustainable planet and, with it, a healthier, more prosperous nation.” 

In a statement, Biden noted that no one can any longer deny the impacts and staggering costs of climate change as the nation confronts historic floods, droughts, and hurricanes. 

“Deforestation, nature loss, toxic chemicals, and plastic pollution also continue to threaten our air, lands, and waters, endangering our health, other species, and ecosystems,” he said. He noted the administration’s efforts to build a clean energy economy, providing well-paid union jobs as workers install solar panels, service wind turbines, cap old oil wells, manufacture electric vehicles, and so on, while also curbing air pollution from power plants and lead poisoning from old pipes, the burden of which historically has fallen on marginalized communities.

Biden noted that he brought the U.S. back into the Paris Climate Accord Trump pulled out of, is on track to conserve more lands and waters than any president before him, and has worked with the international community to slash methane emissions and restore lost forests.

And yet there is much more to be done, he said. He encouraged “all Americans to reflect on the need to protect our precious planet; to heed the call to combat our climate and biodiversity crises while growing the economy; and to keep working for a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all.”

Happy Earth Day 2024.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[neuroprincess]

Yellowjackets - They cook for you (Preferences)

Classification: Fluff

Pairing: Lottie Matthews, Misty Quigley and Natalie Scatorccio

Warnings: None

Word count: +800

Lottie Matthews

Having been raised with treats and a maid to make anything she wanted to eat, learning to cook was never a priority while growing up. After the crash and time in Switzerland she acquired some autonomy, enough to learn the basics and not starve, scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, if she risks pancakes with uneven edges. And when she's inspired often risks it, so begins a Saturday morning, the weather is mild, it's a rare quiet day in Camp Green Pine and you're sleeping over the clock, perfect moment to surprise with a breakfast in bed... and maybe almost set the stove on fire while trying to make pancakes.  

"Lottie!" you yell running to the windows, opening them all so the smoke clears as soon as possible while she coughs trying to put it out "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" 

In fifteen minutes everything stabilizes after the scare, she tries to explain and in the end you are both laughing about what happened, but the intention of the act warms your heart, Lottie is so attentive, kind and dedicated. She'll do anything for you, even if it means almost killing herself in the process.  

"How about a sandwich?" the brunette asks excitedly and gets up without even waiting for an answer "We have bread, cheese, ham? Do you want some? I can make sandwiches." 

Misty Quigley

This woman has a lot of talents and one of them is cooking, however it's not a big hobby that she dedicates herself to, in fact routine makes her more practical when it comes to food. She keeps tupperware everywhere for a reason. Was and is like that for a long time, at least until she meets you, not pretentious at all when she shows up with brownies on your doorstep and a spaghetti at lunchtime, but Misty goes crazy in euphoria when you say that you loved everything. It doesn't take long for her to show up with more and more recipes, somehow mysteriously she knows all your tastes, from what you love to the little things you don't like to eat, there's never anything in the dishes you're allergic to.  

"Dinner at your place tonight?" she asks taking a bite of her own lunch salad "You can see the chef working." and winks, a little smug, especially since you're still smiling, eating contentedly.  

"How about yours? I want to see the chef in her natural habitat." you propose genuinely "And I'd really like to meet Caligula."   

Hours later you're together in her small kitchen, not caring about the lack of space because this feels comfortable and nice, it's almost a slow dance, she asks you to get something for her, hips rubbing, fingers touching slightly, music playing in the background and lots of smiles exchanged. Caligula is at the table, wanting some of your attention too, he just adored you and that's a great sign for both of them. Misty leans over, spooning some of the sauce into the palm of her hand and stretches it out for you to taste, it's automatic, by the time she realizes it's too late and she's sure you'll, at the very least, think it's weird. But you just put your lips there, soft and tempting. She almost faints.  

"It's perfect." 

Natalie Scatorccio

She grew up before the time in some ways, with parents like hers Natalie had to learn many things for own survival, one of them was cooking, while her mother was too busy watching some show on TV and father drinking she managed in some way, that's how she started and after a few weeks found herself doing almost everything. She knows how to make the necessary things, but it doesn't guarantee that it's of the best quality or that she remembers the recipes no matter how simple they are. When she became an adult not much changed, except that she barely has a place to do it, patience, memory, most meals are made in cafeterias, junk food and, the most practical, snacks from the vending machine near the hotel room.  

"Will this work?" the brunette asks as she re-reads the website, a page of recipes on the screen "One egg still seems like a bit much."  

"But works, if they say it works, then it probably will. Who lies on a recipe website?"  

"People lie everywhere, Y/N." she defends her own point and rolls the eyes, picking up a fork to mix in the mug, still a little disbelieving. 

After a lot of mixing and one minute that feels like an eternity in the microwave, a nice and soft chocolate cake is done, it doesn't smell as good as she thought it would, but the taste seems to have won Nat over. She soon makes another, and another, and another, just in case you're not satisfied. There's also a small stock of instant noodles in the cupboard, snacks she bought earlier in the day. Popcorn is already popped, beers are on the table, if you prefer wine it will be there too.  

"I'm a master at the art of improvisation." Natalie says handing you the mug cake, a proud smile on the lips "Ready for movie night?" 

Join my taglist here ^^

[pearlprincess02]

selena gomez and justin's composite chart houses

1st house: the composite 1st house rules the relationship itself and your outward identity together. It shows how people view your relationship, and how you come across together.

libra 1st house : libra is the sign of relationships, so having the composite 1st house in libra is the most natural position for a relationship of any kind (even enemies!). you can come across really well together, and seem good together, whether personal or professional. you may seem like a charming couple, diplomatic and aware of your surroundings, and avoid fights as much as you can, preferring compromise. but this can lead to problems and resentment if you’re not being open with one another, and indecision can also be an issue.

1st house ruler in 8th house: usually, this person’s childhood is rocky and not the greatest.  the 8th house rules over occult things which might be considered taboo from general society (dark matters), so these people could have seen things that were inappropriate for their age very early in their childhood and secrets of their family that were generally hidden. because of the vulnerability that was created from their exposure to occult things so early on in their life, these people are reserved and often ‘hidden’ in a room full of people (whether intentionally or not). these people also try to avoid confrontations and prefer to deal with problems in a more sly or twisted manner to get what they want. 

jupiter in 1st: with composite jupiter in the 1st house, you can greatly enjoy this relationship/partnership, and you can feel good when you’re together. you may each have more opportunities together than apart, and you can work together to expand your lives in new ways and have new experiences. you can have a more optimistic outlook together, and you can open up doors together than may not open alone.

2nd house: the composite 2nd house can show what you value in the relationship, how you approach money together, and how secure you are in the relationship together.

scorpio 2nd house : with the composite 2nd house in scorpio, you may be able to acquire a lot of value and financially together, and this can be a good professional placement, but you do need to be mindful of not trying to control one another through your money and resources. one of you may be in control of the finances, or even dominate with your values, but this can lead to issues down the road. there may need to be a transformation of your values together.

2nd house ruler in 2nd house: this indicates a person who is financially complete in the sense that they have it all - a house, a car, a pool, a good stable job, etc. so, they could have a well-respected or top position in society, especially in the financial ladder. this also indicated a person who is a bit of a foodie because they enjoy good, luxurious food. they might also have a good face (and great eye sight usually) and voice which can be used to lure in large audiences (in public speaking) and even their family members, this could be why these people are likely to receive a lot of financial benefits from their family members. if ill-placed, this placement could mean the person will have challenges in gained wealth and might have medical concerns related to the eye and/or face. 

pluto in 2nd house: you both bring dramatic and profound transformation into each other’s lives when it comes to changing each other’s sense of values and priorities. this often manifests as bringing dramatic loss, change, and rebirth in your finances. you can help each other release insecurities related to lack of abundance and in doing so, you can inspire each other to bring out your power and confidence in manifesting abundance in new ways. this relationship can help you both draw wealth into your lives but also transform and redefine what wealth means to you both. you may also help each other transform your beliefs about power and authority and the priorities you give these concepts.

3rd house: the composite 3rd house can show how you are together in your immediate environment and what you focus on together day-to-day. this is a house of communication, so it can also reflect how you communicate in the relationship, and what you can think about together.

sagittarius 3rd house : with the composite 3rd house in sagittarius, you can be a pair that is quite optimistic, focused on the positives together. your view may be wider together than apart (depending on other placements), and you can expand your daily lives and immediate environment, and open your minds. you may find communications to be light and fun between you. you may focus together on the big picture.

3rd house ruler in the 1st house: this placement allows a person to gain in life through personal efforts. individuals are hard-working and try to become self-dependent from a young age. indicator of a personal establishment, such as a business. this placement is also considered good for their siblings. they could be famous and you could experience fortunes through your siblings. as the 3rd house also indicates short-distance travels, these individuals could often travel in close proximities to their home. gives a person bravery and courage, but if ill-placed, could indicate a revenge-seeking nature. if ill-placed, this placement could indicate health issueswhich start during a young age, but may improve over time. 

north node in 3rd house: you help each other advance and evolve by inspiring each other’s ideas. through your communication with each other you can both transform each other’s viewpoints. you may be in each other’s lives to help each other understand your purpose in a unique new way. through communicating your thoughts and beliefs you can inspire each other to take risks. you can find freedom and liberation to break free from insecurities and doubts. this relationship can help you both find the validation you always needed to work through your preconceived ideas. you can help each other embrace your true gifts and move toward pursuing your destiny together because of open, direct communication.

4th house: the composite 4th house can show how we connect emotionally, what we build together from the ground up, and what the base of our connection is (since this is the bottom of the chart).

capricorn 4th house : with the composite 4th house in capricorn, you may feel more emotionally responsible for one another in the relationship (even to a degree in a professional one). you can be more traditional, mature, and cautious together, and may have to work on forging a balance between internal and external focus. the base of your connection together may be to create a solid internal and external foundation.

4th house ruler in 5th house: the native may have been encouraged in their early life to express themselves freely and creatively. their mother may have been someone who used art a lot as a medium for self-expression and she may have influenced the native to do the same. they may find that they have a gift with children and that there tends to be a caring, symbiotic relationship between themselves and other children. towards the end of their life, it is important for them to connect with their inner child and have as much fun as they can. 

uranus in 4th house: you both fill each other’s homelife with excitement. this relationship is full of surprises, and you can bring eccentric and unusual changes to each other’s home and family. you may have an unconventional view of family and your family ties may seem shocking and unusual. through this connection you can help each other dramatically change your views of love, nurturing and home. this is an intense relationship, and you can have shocking and unconventional views about what home and family means. this relationship can also help you both break with tradition in some dramatic way. you can help each other break with social conventions related to security and stability at home.

neptune in 4th house: you are both likely to bring healing and mystical connection into each other’s lives when it comes to home and family. this relationship brings out your unconditional love for each other particularly when it comes to creating a shared sense of home. your mystical and spiritual connection influences your desires for security and stability. you may share an understanding that your family connections and relationships with mutual friends who are like family is rooted in a spiritual mission related to emotional healing. this relationship can help you both become more open to sharing your spiritual side when you are in the comfort of home. you find rejuvenation when you’re in the comfort and privacy of your own shared space and may find it easier to let your guard down and strengthen your emotional ties to each other. this connection can help you both express your unconditional love for each other, and you can encourage each other’s creative expression especially in the comforts of home.

pallas in 4th house: you both work together to easily solve problems related to home and family. you may share a passion for housing issues or stand out as advocates for women, children, and families. you can both find unique solutions to housing and family issues because you see patterns and connections that others miss. through this connection you are both able to help lead others who are working on setting a solid foundation. you may stand out as an advocate who helps others find security in the midst of family crises. you may help each other find unconventional solutions to problems related to home and family conflicts as well. this relationship can help you both become more confident in pursuing your ideals and mission related to home, stability and family connections.

5th house: the composite 5th house can show how we express affection, what we love and take pleasure in together. this house can bring creative energy into our relationships and allow us to express creatively together. the 5th house also rules children, so they can be impacted by the composite 5th house with someone you have children with.

aquarius 5th house : with the composite 5th house in aquarius, you can enjoy doing things that are unusual and outside of the box together, and can experiment. you can push each other outside of your comfort zones and try out what's new and different. you can express affection in unusual ways, and may not be too outwardly affectionate in personal relationships. if you have children together, you can encourage them to be independent individuals.

5th house ruler in 4th house: with this placement, the family tends to be very important for the native’s ability to express themselves. they may take part in hobbies or creative activities that allow other members of the family to join in or the native’s interests may be linked to their culture. the native’s children are a strong source of their emotional security as are their romantic partners. the native’s romantic partner may be someone who grew up in the same area as the native or the same country. 

saturn in 5th house: in your relationship maybe you can not show your love, your affect to yourselves as a couple. maybe you can have fertility problem as a couple (it is not certain but a possibility). also your love can hold on longer than you think because it’s rock solid.

6th house: in the composite chart, the 6th house can show how you approach daily life and the mundane together, how you work together (whether professionally or personally), and the general health of the relationship

pisces 6th house: with the composite 6th house in pisces, you can focus together on doing things in your daily lives that you feel have some meaning, or that you’re both emotionally connected to. If that is lacking, then you may struggle with connecting in your daily lives. sacrifice may be a part of your daily lives, and that may be your automatic reaction when issues arise in the relationship, but this may cause further issues and stress for both of you. boundaries may work better.​

6th house ruler in 4th house: routine is often centred around the natives family and home life, the importance of routine was likely to be taught in the home. routine may provide the native with a sense of emotional security and can prove to be important in the native’s retirement years. the native may be inclined to work from a home office or studio and may even specialise in work that is relating to the home such as renovation or interior design. the native’s work may be done with their family and can often be continued into retirement. when it comes to pets, it’s likely that the native’s pets will be considered one of the family and is often vital to the native’s sense of emotional security. their pets may bring out the native’s more nurturing side and can often be important to the native in the years before death. health and fitness may be very important to the native’s sense of emotional security and illness are likely to affect this. illness is likely to make the natives find it difficult to feel grounded. it’s likely that illness is experienced by the mother which may be passed on.

lilith in 6th house: you can help each other find your authentic routines and practices that help you express your creative inner power. through this relationship you empower each other to break with tradition. your work, routines and daily habits may be highly individualized. through this connection, you can inspire each other to share your rebellious and quirky nature in the ways you help others. your daily plans and regular routines and even your diet and lifestyle may embody autonomy and independence, you both refuse to conform to the status quo. you also resist being limited by highly rigid schedules or routines that require conformity.

ceres in 6th house: composite ceres in the composite 6th house can mean you show support for each other in small ways. you may need to nurture the relationship regularly or on a daily basis, and it doesn't have to be big. this can be especially helpful for a work relationship.

celeb's masterlist / moodboard / 7H - 12H

crd:

1h + 1h ruler + composite jupiter in houses

2h + 2h ruler + composite pluto in houses

3h + 3h ruler + composite north node in houses

4h + 4h ruler + composite uranus in houses + composite neptune in houses + composite pallas in houses

5h + 5h ruler + composite saturn in houses

6h + 6h ruler + composite lilith in houses + composite ceres in houses