#she’s more and more anti Union with each day

[morose-magnetrix]

If you ever think your boss isn’t a monster, just wait until they have a chance to advocate for you to receive livable wages and healthcare.

Management and administration doesn’t give a shit about you. They will only ever advocate for themselves.

[mariacallous]

As the world marks 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, one of Germany’s most prominent Holocaust scholars says twisting the facts about the Nazi extermination of 6 million Jews is far more harmful than outright denial — and that such distortion is “a stepping stone from antisemitism into the mainstream.”

Kathrin Meyer, secretary-general of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA, said she considers Holocaust distortion particularly dangerous, especially as the number of survivors dwindles with each passing year. This week, when the world focuses on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, only 50 survivors took part in ceremonies at the Nazi death camp in Poland – down from 300 just five years ago.

“Obviously, it’s an insult to the victims, but it’s also a threat to our democracy because you will not find a single radical, anti-democratic, nationalistic, imperialistic group ideology that does not have a distorted view of the Holocaust,” Meyer said about distortions that are often disguised as differing opinions rather than outright lies.

Tracking Holocaust denial and distortion is part of its wider mandate to address “contemporary challenges related to the Holocaust and genocide of the Roma people,” according to its website.

One example Meyer offered is that of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s constant vilification of neighboring Ukraine as a “Nazi government” despite the fact that Ukraine’s Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was democratically elected.

“It’s always those who attack freedom, liberal views, diversity and pluralistic societies,” said Meyer, who is stepping down from her position after two decades. “They use Holocaust distortion for their political gain.”

Meyer, who is not Jewish, has led the Berlin-based IHRA as the definition of antisemitism it developed became a flashpoint in political debates.

While many Jewish groups and a number of governments and municipalities have adopted the definition as a useful tool in identifying and fighting antisemitism, some critics say it could stifle free speech by chilling or criminalizing legitimate criticism of Israeli policy.

Meyer recalled that it took IHRA three years to adopt a definition of antisemitism that satisfied all its members, which include 35 member states, eight observer countries and nine global partners including the United Nations, the European Union, UNESCO and the Claims Conference. 

That definition, Meyer said, is now “one of the most important tools ever” in the fight against Jew hatred.

“Before the adoption of this definition, I was confronted time and again with statements like ‘Oh, in our country, there is no antisemitism.’ We don’t have this discussion any longer,” said Meyer. “We discuss what should and shouldn’t be considered antisemitism, but antisemitism as such is acknowledged as a problem in all our societies.”

IHRA defines antisemitism as having a “certain perception of Jews that may be expressed as hatred” toward them. That perception includes certain kinds of rhetoric and action aimed at Israel and its supporters — for example, denying Jews the right to self-determination or calling Israel a “racist endeavor.”

Proponents of the definition see those examples as an important response to events like the sharp rise in vandalism of synagogues and cemeteries, verbal and physical attacks against Jews and “anti-Zionist” incitement since the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza.

“The events of Oct. 7 have tragically proven us right. There cannot be a debate on antisemitism without looking into the completely biased criticism of Israel that we often see,” Meyer said. “This dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents came right after the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. The fact that this didn’t lead to more solidarity but to more antisemitism shows how deep this hatred goes, and how irrational it often is.”

Meyer, 60, knows a thing or two about deep and irrational hatred of Jews — and about the power of pushing back against it. She was born and raised in Celle, a village in Lower Saxony, just a few kilometers from the infamous Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where Anne Frank died.

“This really picturesque little town, with these medieval houses and a castle, looks almost like a Disneyland film set. It wasn’t affected by the war. No bombings, no nothing,” she recalled. “I was born in 1964, only 19 years after World War II ended. But there was a big silence in my town about Bergen-Belsen.”

That silence extended to her own family, said Meyer, describing her “liberation” at facing the facts of what her country had done to the Jews.

“I was among the first Germans for whom the Holocaust was part of the school curriculum,” she said. “My mother’s side of the family was very much opposed to the Nazi system, but my grandmother on my father’s side was a very committed Nazi. I grew up with her views as well, and I’ve had to fight that my entire lifetime.”

Later on, she earned a master’s degree in educational science and a PhD in history from Berlin’s Technical University, specializing in denazification and reeducation in Germany after 1945.

“For me, it was liberating to face the facts, to step up to the responsibility I have as a German of this generation — and to not shy away from it,” she said.

IHRA was founded as a temporary task force by then-Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson. Along with Britain’s Tony Blair and U.S. President Bill Clinton, he organized a Stockholm forum held 25 years ago — on Jan. 27, 2000, that was attended by 46 heads of state and foreign ministers. There, they signed the Stockholm Declaration and committed their countries to support Holocaust education remembrance and research.

“That was revolutionary, because until then, it was mainly Jewish organizations that had commemorated the Holocaust, but it was never really seen as a governmental responsibility,” she said. “This is where we started. We had very few member countries at that point, but the others were invited. The snowball effect started, and soon it became an international institution with 35 member countries and global impact.”

Besides Jewish victims, IHRA also advocates on behalf of the Roma people, the minority ethnic group which Meyer said “are definitely the most discriminated group in Europe when it comes to hate crimes on a daily level.”

During World War II, the Nazis operated a concentration camp near Prague specifically for slaughtering the Roma. For years after the war, Czech farmers used the camp as a pig pen. Eventually, local authorities erected a small memorial.

“However, when I visited this place in 2016, I was astonished,” she said. “You see these plaques and rebuilt barracks, and some references to the Roma community that was destroyed, and then in the background, you hear these pigs screaming and you smell ammonia. It was so terrible.”

Thanks to IHRA’s then-president, Romanian diplomat Mihnea Constantinescu, Czech authorities moved the pig farm elsewhere and constructed a proper memorial site.

One of Meyer’s biggest concerns is the immense power of Big Tech, she said, citing “the problems we face just with Meta getting rid of fact-checking” on Facebook, and the increasing virulent hate speech spread on platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

A recent UNESCO study of 4,000 pieces of content collected in June and July 2021 showed that 10% of such content on Facebook, 15% on Twitter (now X) and nearly half on Telegram either denied or distorted Holocaust history.

“These tech giants do whatever they want, and I have the feeling this is so unbalanced. It’s something that worries me tremendously,” Meyer said, though she’s not necessarily concerned that artificial intelligence will worsen those problems.

“There’s no question AI brings huge risks, but it also brings great opportunities, because AI cannot only be used by the bad guys. It can be used by us too—for example, in keeping the memory of survivors alive,” she said. “It’s not a curse. It’s in our world, and we need to use it.”

Asked about her legacy, Meyer said she’s proud to have helped turn IHRA into a “global player” while putting Holocaust distortion on the agenda.

“Making that a major topic was definitely one of the big passions I brought to this job,” she said. “We live in a world of deep divisions within our societies, and since we’re a consensus-based organization, we need to keep the consensus alive to confront antisemitism, extremism, hate speech and the challenge posed by AI and social media. This is a huge challenge, but I think that’s also the only way to go.”

Meyer’s successor at IHRA is Michaela Küchler, a veteran German diplomat who chaired the organization in 2021, and who currently serves as Germany’s consul-general in Chennai, India.

“She brings the drive we need to move this organization ahead and to not shy away from challenges,” Meyer said of Küchler, adding that “after 20 years in this business, I need a break.”

[batboyblog]

hey thanks for not being super doomer over these anti-trans bills. i kept on seeing so many people being defeated over them and it messed up my mental health for a while, like nothing could be done. but you did bring up some good points and shed some light onto people who are actively fighting for us so i thank you again

The queer movement, in the US any ways, has always been cyclical, we make big gains and push forward, then there's a super scary backlash. We're right now at the hight of a really scary backlash thats focused on trans people in particular but is anti-queer more generally. It's intense but its important to remember these backlashes don't generally last very long, they are scary, but each time they've happened, the mid to late 1970s, the 1980s, the early 2000s, the tide has gone out and gay rights, LGBT rights, and society's acceptance of LGBT people has been farther along than before they have never ever managed to turn us back in the years since Stonewall.

And as intense and scary as this is in some ways it's better than last time, when I was a gay teenager. in those days... in 2004 and 2008 the Democrats running for President were uniformly against gay marriage (the big issue of that time) they were trying to get us to settle for the not marriage alternative of civil unions. Only a handful of Congresspeople (some of them gay themselves) in DEEP! blue districts dared to support gay marriage outright. Today the Democratic Party is the most pro-LGBT major political party in the world, you had the President and every Democrat of any note making statements for TDOV a few days ago and you're not seeing even red state Democrats back down and agree to be "a little transphobic" for votes. It felt a lot more lonely last time when it was us and a handful of allies fighting the backlash with most of the Democratic Party on the side lines handwringing and saying "well can't you wait?"

any ways this movement is and will always be a struggle, the rights we've won, the acceptance we've received has never just been given, it's been won, through hard work. Everyone has to dedicate themselves to work in their corner of the earth to the best of their abilities and to push themselves past what they think they can do. That means hooking up with LGBT rights groups on the ground to protest, to rally, to try to support and comfort those queer people who are down and out in whatever way right now, it means digging deep and having hard and awkward conversations with the people in your life, if you're gay or trans or whatever and you got that one aunt/uncle/cousin/whoever in your life that loves you to bits but you know still votes Republican and you just don't bring it up because you don't want to hurt the relationship... have the talk keep having the talk as many times as you need to. Tell your grandparents if they don't know, tell your parents (if its safe or if you don't need their money any more) tell co-workers who don't know etc, they vote for us 2 to 1 if they know they know one of us. Finally register to vote, make sure all your friends particularly if you're young are registered and vote, vote in every election. Trust me it's AMAZINGLY easy to find the email of candidates for school board or city council and it's amazingly easy to ask questions. Last election I emailed every school board candidate about Holocaust education, and the state rep candidate about trans rights, she wrote me back a lovely note and mailed be a sticker she'd picked up from a trans rights group. It's amazingly easy to get involved, I volunteered with my local democrats for one election and they offered me the #3 spot in their local party, I have the phone numbers of my state rep and state senator without trying really, you can get in the room with these people, with candidates for governor, congress, I have my picture with 3 US Presidents? its not hard to do, and you can use chances like that to talk to them and show them your humanity and leave an impression that really matters in the long run.

sorry to RAMBLE but it's important that everyone do their part, pick a little something, a project to push this thing forward, people doom scrolling, particularly posting about how its hopeless does not help, posting in general doesn't help much even if its not doomerism, I think in the years after the anti-gay marriage Bush backlash we got very online and we got very "progress just happens" and a lot of people fell out of the habit or came of age without the habit of protest and without a local queer community or local progressive community and its very important in the face of this to find or build those and also understand in some places its gonna be years of work to get where we want to go, but we will and it'll be worth all the work.

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Neither bombs nor permanent aggression will be enough to break hope

Havana marches for Palestine

By Carmen Maturell Senon, Granma

The lords of war, which is the horror of the peoples, are indifferent to children, women and men; the human being. It is strange for them to become sensitive and end it in the face of so many deaths; that is why they continue to agonize what is not theirs, what is alive.

The more than seven decades of the Palestinian people resisting the onslaught of Zionist colonialism are not enough; nor are the lives taken from more than 42,000 people since October 2023. The offensive continues, and it hurts.

That is why, aware that solidarity knows no decoys or borders, and that to fight for Palestine is also to fight for humanity, a representation of the Cuban people marched through the streets of Havana, from the Martí Forge to the Anti-imperialist Tribune.

"Our solidarity and sensitivity with just causes summon us to the most anti-imperialist of the tribunes, to repudiate the massacre being committed against the people of Palestine and which is also intensifying against Lebanon, Syria and Yemen," expressed Meyvis Estévez Echevarría, first secretary of the National Committee of the Union of Young Communists.

In view of the vile scenario experienced by the Palestinian people, she affirmed that it is not a question of figures, that they are entire families martyred, disappeared, and that every time a person from that land is murdered, the shame of the world also dies.

"This march of thousands of Cubans, and the rallies that have been held in the country during these days, honor each life taken by Israel; in addition, it reaffirms the political will and commitment of the Cuban State with peace, justice and respect for national sovereignty," highlighted Meyvis Estévez.

The march was led by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, accompanied by members of the Political Bureau, Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly of People's Power and the Council of State, and Manuel Marrero Cruz, prime minister, as well as other leaders and representatives of political and mass organizations.

[peachybeom]

Valentine Blues

Taehyun x reader

ex-best friends to lovers

Please reblog if you like this!

You were currently experiencing the worst day ever and were about one more tragedy away from having a breakdown.

Huffing violently you stood in the middle of an alleyway, watching your home route bus disappear with the main traffic.

Your phone beeped at the same time and you reached for it while taking rest on a wall nearby.

[10:51pm] Roomate.

Hey Y/n,

I just wanna thank you again for staying out tonight!! Because of you me and Josh can FINALLY enter the home base tonite and get extra juicy iykwim ;)))

Happy Valentines day babes!

Okay yeah now you can feel the breakdown coming.

You were so engrossed in storming all the libraries in town, looking for a specific book for your asshole Professor, to get him to reward you some extra credit, that you had conveniently forgot the stupid promise you had made to your roommate.

As much as you wanted to crash on the soft mattress of your bed and mute the world for rest of the weekend, you weren't desperate enough to walk into your roommate having sex with her co worker while roleplaying as a nurse.

In your peripheral vision, you could see couples huddled together, walking hand in hand. Some sharing an ice cream, others practically devouring each other with their intense stares.

Love was definitely in the air, and it made you nauseous. It wasn't that you were anti love or something, in the past you actually looked forward to this cliche holiday.

But recently you had managed to convince yourself that after several bitter breakups and unrequited crushes, being in a loving, healthy relationship seemed just impossible for you at this point.

Shaking your head, you pushed aside all the pointless worries and tried to focus on your current problem which was being homeless for the night.

You racked your brain to think which one of your crackhead friend would be available to offer you a lodging.

Kai? No. You knew he had plans with his girlfriend in her dorm to watch some random Disney movie and cry like a baby while she consoled him.

Soobin? Doubtful. His still had problems prioritising his girlfriend over odi, so that was a territory you didn't want to enter.

Beomgyu and Jeongin? Never. Those two would definitely be somewhere wasted in a club while they humped their way through another round of beer pong. They had actually tried to convince you for an entire week to join them at the club tonight and form a 'Singles Union', An association which helped each other to get laid. No way you were walking into that trap again.

That left you with Yeonjun- ehhhh. You actually had no idea what he was upto. Last time you heard from him, he was 'Single like a Pringle and definitely ready to Mingle'- his words not yours.

Sighing, you crossed your fingers as you dialled his number on your phone. Hopefully he could be your saving grace.

After a few rings he picked up the phone.

"Hey Junnie, I know it's kind of late and well.....Valentine's day but I really really need a favor from you," You said rushing your words. The cold weather was definitely peeking under your raging emotions.

"Oh hi Y/n, yeah sure what's up," Yeonjun replied, in a whisper.

"Yeah so I actually- I hear a woman's voice. Are you on a date?," You asked, cutting off your own words.

"Yes I am, but I can help you. What's the problem?" He answered.

To this you stifled a laugh. Choi Yeonjun on a date? The no strings attached Choi Yeonjun taking some lady out to have a nice dinner? This day was getting more trippy minute by minute.

"It's a speed dating thing. Now tell me what do you want, I don't have much time." Yeonjun said in an annoyed tone, taking the silence as a way of you teasing him.

Ah that makes so much more sense.

You almost felt bad for interrupting Yeonjun on his 'date' but you knew he was the only one who could save you right now.

So you told him about your problem.

"Hmmm you are aware that you can just crash at my place right? You already know where the key is kept, I won't be home for the night anyways" Yeonjun stated matter of factly.

Your ears perked up at his suggestion and you almost cursed yourself for not thinking about it earlier until a face flashed up in your mind.

"And what about Kang Taehyun?" You questioned grimly.

"Beggars can't be choosers Y/n. Besides it's not like he's the spawn of Satan." Your friends responded.

"But Yeonjun-,"

"Listen I have to go but consider this. It's not like you have any other option. Byee happy love day!" And then Yeonjun abruptly ended the call.

You groaned loudly and stomped your feet like a baby, earning glances from a few pedestrians. But you couldn't care less about them.

You started to weigh your options.

Spending a night at a run in shady motel full with horny couples or with your friend's roommate, the annoying, son of a gun- who also happened to be your ex bestfriend, Kang Taehyun.

After giving both of them intense thought. You decided to swallow your pride and take up Yeonjun's offer. Atleast his bed would be free of mysterious bodily fluids unlike the motel's.

After almost walking for half an hour- a consequence of missing the bus earlier, you finally reached Yeonjun's apartment.

Your feet were giving up on you and your teeth began to clatter lightly due to the cold February weather.

You could hear faint music from the other side of the door.

Great. Taehyun was home.

You weren't surprised though.

Even though you despised Taehyun, you decided to knock on the door instead of unlocking it out of common courtesy.

Nothing happened for a few moments and you knocked again. Still nothing.

Growing impatient you reached for the key and was about to use it when Taehyun opened it.

Correction: A very shirtless dripping wet Taehyun, with a towel around his waist opened the door.

"Lover boy isn't home tonight," Taehyun started with a stern tone. Oblivious to the fact that he was basically half nude standing in front of you.

"I-uh," You gulped, trying to compose yourself.

Taehyun is annoying and irritating and an asshole. His chiseled abs could not facade his shitty personality.

"Yeonjun said I could stay here tonight, Now move." You continued before making your way inside the apartment.

You did feel a bit intrusive and rude but your day had already been a mess and dealing with Kang Taehyun was icing on the cake.

Ignoring and engaging in minimum conversation with him was your goal.

Reminiscing the comfy feeling of a bed, you made a beeline for Yeonjun's room and turned the knob to open the door.

"What the fuck," A string of curse words left your mouth as you saw the room before you.

It was completely trashed and the stench of freshly applied paint almost made you dizzy.

"Yeonjun's room is being renovated, didn't he tell you that?" A voice mocked you from behind.

Taehyun was now leaning against the door frame -now fully dressed- and drying his hair with a hand towel.

You wanted to cry. You knew that this proposition was too good to be true. Breaking down over a trashed room was childish but anyone in your place would feel the same way. Everything was getting on your nerves.

There was no way you could sleep in the living room too, your fingers were already numb and your throat felt scratchy.

"I'm gonna kill him," You muttered under your breath before taking your bag and making your way to the exit only to be stopped by Taehyun midway.

"Hey I can't let you leave. Yeonjun would kill me, also not to forget you are sort of homeless aren't you?" He said raising a hand.

Your eyes widened. So he knew, great.

The last thing you wanted to be infront of him was vulnerable and embarrassed, but here you were.

As much as you hated to admit it, he was right you didn't have any other choice.

"So where will I sleep?" You asked raising an eyebrow, refusing to admit defeat.

"In there," Taehyun replied pointing to his bedroom.

"No way I'm sharing a bed with you. You pervert, " You answered him in disbelief.

But the thing was even though you hated Taehyun, you knew that he won't make a move on you without consent.

Deep down you still trusted him.

You, Yeonjun and Taehyun went way back. They were the first two people you ran into on your first day of college, when you were a naive, insecure friendless student. They were the ones who took you in and made you feel welcomed.

"Oh no, You'll take the floor," Taehyun answered bringing you back to reality.

What?

You stared at him blankly as he broke out in a fit of laughter.

"God it feels so good to have the upper hand," He continued.

Suddenly the thought of walking home alone and witnessing your roommate doing the dirty didn't phase you anymore.

So once more you picked your stuff and started walking towards the door when you felt Taehyun grab you wrist.

You'd had enough. Fuck avoiding him.

"What the hell do you want Taehyun. I've already had a crappy day as it is, spent my entire day searching a useless manuscript for that Professor dimwit, ran two fucking stations only to miss my bus home and walked here in this freezing weather with people sucking off each other's face all around me. So No, I don't have the energy to deal with your petty humiliations. Let go." You turned around lashing at him.

Your fists were bawled and your lips quivered. Taehyun always worked you up, he made you feel weak and vulnerable and you hated him for that.

Something changed in Taehyun's expression and his eyes softened. He loosened his hold on your wrist as you pulled it away from him.

"You can take the room. I didn't plan on sleeping there anyways, got some assignments to finish," Taehyun finally spoke up, his voice soft and laced with guilt.

You stared at him for a minute too long and then without saying another word you made your way to the room and shut it behind you.

You sunk down on the floor, once inside.

Grabbing a fistful of your hair you let out a shaky breath.

This wasn't fair. While the rest of the world was busy celebrating love and happiness with their significant others, you were left here moping in the bedroom of the boy, one you managed to successfully detach and despise in your mind for almost a year now.

The reason you were so hostile towards Taehyun wasn't because he was sort of pretentious or his face was too annoyingly perfect, it wasn't because he was so calm in situations where one shouldn't be.

The true reason was that Taehyun made you feel things that you would never allow yourself to feel.

Everything thing he used to do drove you wild. Made your heartbeat like crazy whenever he was around you, the touch of his hands, the small comforting smiles which adorned his face when your eyes met.

You were always rational with your love life, never reaching for places you couldn't but Taehyun was an exception.

He led you on, starred in all your hopeful fantasies and dreams but then left one day only to leave them shattered on the ground.

"Y/n I think you've got it wrong. It's best for us to remain friends don't you think? Best friends can't hurt each other,"

Except Taehyun was wrong. Best friends can hurt each other, they can leave scars which can take ages to heal. Those words still haunted you to this day.

He had rejected you that day.

But it wasn't the response that upset you the most, it was the shitty excuse he gave you, because the promise to remain friends was just as difficult. You could never look at him the same way again, the pain eventually grew into hatred and here you were now.

Holding back tears, you finally looked around the room. Nothing had changed since the last time you've been here, Taehyun had always been a pretty minimalistic person. Everything felt the same except for two photo frames which were placed on his bedside table.

You went up and examined the two pictures closely. One was of the day when Yeonjun, Taehyun and you decided to take a spontaneous road trip to your home town. A smile spread across your lips as you recalled the happy memories.

However it was the second picture which earned a gasp from you. In it, you were shoving a handful of Chocolates into Taehyun's mouth laughing while he looked at the camera with mischievous eyes, hands wrapped around your arms.

You couldn't understand why Taehyun would still keep this picture with him, nevertheless framed and on his bed side table.

Before you could think about anything else, you felt a knock on the door. Startled you dropped the frame on the bed and went ahead to open it.

Taehyun stood there in front of you, holding a jumper in his hands.

"I have to grab some books and here, I figured you would be cold," His expression still apologetic.

His hair was messy and a hint of sleepiness evident in his eyes.

You took the sweater from him and moved to the side to let him in.

Your heart skipped a beat when you brought the jumper closer to your face. It smelled like him.

"I'm sorry Y/n. I acted like an asshole earlier," Taehyun said minutes after, eyes still settled on his giant bookshelf.

For a moment you didn't know how to respond but then you spoke,

"I'm sorry too for lashing out on you, it's just today's been a pain in the ass for me,"

As you were speaking you realised, how much time it had been since the two of you spoke without bickering, let alone apologize to each other.

"I thought you'd probably be out tonight celebrating," He continued now looking at you.

You scoffed at this.

"My love life has been in shambles since forever," you replied letting out a pathetic laugh.

Since you.

"Same for me, if that makes anything better,"

Even though the three of you did not hang out together anymore. Yeonjun always used to give you updates on Taehyun's life even though you pretended not to care.

You had no idea where this conservation was leading. At any moment you could ask him to leave, but there was piece of you that wanted him to stay just like it did a year ago.

"Actually I- uh got something to give you, just a second," Taehyun said abruptly before leaving the room.

He exited the room in such a hurry that you didn't even have time to process what he said.

Something for you? What could it be? The thumping of your heart making it hard to concentrate on anything.

The door opened again and this time Taehyun returned with a mug in his hand.

He stood beside you next to the bed and placed the mug in your hands.

"What's this?" You asked him, puzzled.

"I know the circumstances aren't the best but I couldn't break the promise," Taehyun replied, his expression soft and a little embarrassed.

You still couldn't get it.

"I can't cook or bake to save my life so here's some hot chocolate instead....Happy Valentines Day Y/n."

That's when it hit you. A few years ago you and Taehyun had made a made a pact with each other, for every valentine's if either of you were single or sulky the other person's job would be to look out for them and cook them a 'comfort' food of their choice.

Taehyun remembered. Of course he did, that explains that picture he kept on his nightstand.

You were overwhelmed to say the least.

"Hopefully this makes everything just a bit better," Taehyun finished off.

That's when you heard your own sniffs and felt a tear running down your cheek.

Taehyun looked at you with a panicked expression as he sat beside you and opened his mouth to say something but you cut him off.

"I can't do this anymore Taehyun, it's too unbearable. I did everything to get over this Despised you, avoided you but I'm just so weak. I'm pathetic," Even though your vision was blurry, you could still clearly see Taehyun's sculpted face in front of you.

It was pathetic really. The facade you managed to pull off for so long came undone the moment he confronted you.

Beomgyu and Jeongin would probably laugh their heads off and label you a loser if they ever got to know about this.

But Taehyun pulled you into a hug, his warm embrace enveloping the whole of you.

"Don't say that, I hurt you and it's my fault. I was a coward Y/n, I didn't want to ruin or complicate things but it only caused pain for both of us,"

He pulled back to face you.

"I know I can't ever make up for the things I said that day, but- fuck it I miss you. There are so many things I want to say that I couldn't back then but most importantly Y/n I- I love you."

Although your mind was an emotional mess. Hearing those three words from Taehyun made the butterflies in your stomach wild. The school girl crush, the giddy feeling you felt everytime Taehyun was near you returned.

"Same," you blurted out meekly not trusting yourself to form coherent sentences.

This earned a wide grin from Taehyun, giving a perfect view of his pearly white teeth and adorable eye whiskers.

He placed a hand on your cheek, wiping the tears and then leaned in dangerously close.

"May I?" He whispered against you lips and without thinking twice you smashed your them against his. This exact moment, you dreamt of it countless time. Being in Taehyun's arms was something you thought you could only see in your dreams. Actually you still weren't sure if this all was real or you were just lost in another dreamland. .

"I've missed you so much y/n oh my god" Taehyun breathed against your lips.

What eventually started soft and slow turned hot and steamy in a matter of seconds. Hands roaming all over and your entire body melting into his.

When Taehyun slipped his hands under your jumper to take it off you suddenly pulled away from him, breaking the kiss.

"What happened, did I do something wrong?" Taehyun asked with a worried look.

You shook your head quickly and pointed to the mug now placed on the nightstand.

"The hot chocolate will get cold," You replied.

Hearing this, Taehyun visibly relaxed and entwined his fingers with yours.

"I can make you a thousand cups of hot chocolate later but right now let's focus on us," He said in a deep voice, laying you down further on the bed.

"Am I really going to get laid with Kang Taehyun on fucking Valentine's day? Past us would be cringing so hard," You teased him further.

Taehyun replied by burying his face in your neck.

"Happy Valentines Day baby. Lets believe in love again."

The next day when you woke up to a naked Taehyun sleeping peacefully beside you. You had to pinch yourself to convince yourself that this wasn't a dream.

Never in a million years you thought such a disastrous day could have such a perfect ending.

Taking a sip of the cold chocolate milk from the night before, you started down at his beautiful face.

He gently stirred beside you, eyes opening slowly.

"Good morning, you're real" He speaks in a hoarse voice, eyelids still heavy with sleep.

"Yes Tyun, I am" You smiled at his cute state.

Taehyun pulled you closer to his side and whispered in your hair, "Did I tell you, you make all my problems go away"

"Speaking of problems-" You started but were cut off by the loud bang of a door opening.

"Hey Taehyun, Did Y/n come here- WHAT THE FUCK MY POOR EYES. DO YOU TWO NOT KNOW THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE LIVING IN THIS HOUSE" Yeonjun screamed covering his eyes.

You giggled at Yeonjun's mortifying reaction and slipped yourself deeper into the sheets.

"You're the one walking in without knocking, get the fuck out yeonjun" Taehyun screamed back, throwing a pillow at his direction.

[sotomato06]

Leaving the US?

Following the events of last night, its likely a lot of you want to leave the United States. I don't blame you and can't say I haven't entertained the same thoughts. So I complied this list of the easiest countries to move to from the United States, and the pros and cons of each nation

Mexico

Mexico is close to the United States, not requiring a flight to get there (though it is recommended if within your price range) The nation allows residency of US citizens for up to 180 days without a visa or permit, allowing plenty of time to apply for the temporary residency visa which is normally valid for 4-5 years. After 5 years of residency, you can apply for permanent citizenship. https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/leamington/index.php/non-mexicans/visas/115-temporary-resident-visa

Mexico has a much lower cost of living than the USA, with the average Mexican spending around $1000 usd or MEX$20151.55 mxn. Jobs do pay lower, but the cost of living still works out lower than in the United States and the work environment in Mexico is known to be more healthy. Along with the great weather (and food) Mexico is a good choice for Americans trying to escape the country.

 Claudia Sheinbaum, the current president of Mexico was recently sworn in and is a strong advocate for women's rights. She has fought for Abortion rights in Mexico, along with other reproductive rights. She is also a Champion of LGBTQ+ rights and has been fighting to help queer people in Mexico for the majority of her career. She is expanding Mexican welfare and is an environmental advocate. Same-Sex Marriage has been fully legal in Mexico since 2021 and Abortion is not criminalized and preformed in almost all Mexican states. For more information, I suggest the Wikipedia article on Abortion in Mexico, as it is a complicated subject. Although currently, it is ranked around the same as the USA on access across the whole country, Mexican Abortion legislation is moving in the opposite direction to the United State's, as according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, once all of the Mexican states properly reform their laws to comply with the 2023 court ruling, Mexico will be a rank one on Abortion laws, or Abortion available everywhere on request which is expected to be soon. Changing one's legal name and gender is protected under Mexican laws, and the majority of states have anti discrimination laws in place. One state even allows one to change their gender to something other than male or female, recognizing non-binary identities legally.

Portugal

Portugal is a good option for those who have funds to put into leaving. Portugal offers a program for a Golden Visa which can be obtained through owning a certain amount of real estate although there are other ways. This Visa offers the chance at citizenship after holding for only 5 years. https://getgoldenvisa.com/portugal-golden-visa-program

Portugal offers a lot of benefits for retirees as well, so if your grandma also wants to flee the country, Portugal may be the country for her. The weather is good and it is known to be incredibly peaceful and pretty.

Portugal is also in the European Union, meaning citizenship here also means EU citizenship and access to the whole Schengen Zone, allowing a lot of opportunity for education and location, as you don't have to obtain another citizenship to move to another EU nation. Abortion is legal in Portugal as is Same-Sex Marriage and both are protected under the laws of the EU. Trans rights are also protected and a trans person is allowed to change their legal gender without a medical diagnosis.

Ecuador

Ecuador is another option that is good if you aren't looking to leave the Americas. Ecuador allows visa free residency for up to 90 days and grant Permanent resident visas after only 21 months of living with a temporary visa. There are many temporary visa options including an investment one similar to Portugal's and a retiree option. Another option would be the Professional Visa, although that one is more likely to be granted if you have a job lined up and a university degree, it is the only one that does not require a lot of money. Get in touch with an Ecuador embassy here https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/consularnotification/ConsularNotificationandAccess/Ecuador.html

Ecuador also has a lower cost of living compared to the United States and the English language and dollar are often used in the country. The weather in Ecuador is an incredibly good feature of the nation as well.

Ecuador does not allow abortion upon request, but they do allow it to save the life of the mother or for other extreme cases involving rape. There are multiple organizations working to change this however and extend these rights to be more like those of Mexico or Argentina. Same-Sex marriage is protected in Ecuador as of 2019 and transgender people are able to change their legal gender without needing to go through gender affirming surgery.

Spain

Spain has an education based program where citizens of Canada and the United States are granted temporary visa's to come and teach English in the nation. You are compensated and only expected to work for 12-16 hours a week. Under this visa, you can find other work and apply for a more permanent professional Visa, which only have to be renewed every few years and leads you on the path to permanent residency. https://www.educacionfpydeportes.gob.es/eeuu/convocatorias-programas/convocatorias-eeuu/nalcap.html

Spain is also a member of the EU and residency here allows access to the Schengen zone of Europe as well. Spain has abortion on request up to 14 weeks and allows emergency abortions when the mother's life could be at risk even after that. Spain also allows same-sex marriage and has trans protection laws in place, with somebody over 16 allowed to change their legal gender, no parent, judge or doctor involved. Spain also has a very relaxed work culture with the maximum allowed work hours a week being 40 and the average worked being 36.

South Korea

South Korea has a very similar program to Spain, where you can live there for up to a year and teach English, although the South Korean program often requires a bachelors degree. Following the stay with the temporary teaching visa, you could apply for a more permanent option. A "resident visa" in South Korea is typically referred to as an "F-5 visa", which signifies a permanent residency permit, allowing foreigners to live and work in the country indefinitely; to qualify, you must meet certain criteria like significant investment in a Korean business, marriage to a Korean citizen, or a long-term stay with exceptional skills in a specific field.  https://www.internations.org/south-korea-expats/guide/visas-work-permits

As of 2021, Abortion is fully legal in the nation and is available upon request, although due to the nature in which it was legalized it is a bit iffy. I would recommend reading further into it. However, although Homosexuality is not criminalized in the country, South Korea has no official recognition of any sort of Marriage or civil unions between same-sex couples and they often face discrimination. So if you are in a same sex relationship, South Korea may not be the place for you.

Australia

Australia is one of the easiest nations for Americans to live in under a temporary Visa, as they have a program called the working holiday program and you can live there up to 3 years under it. However, this program does not lead to permanent residency and you would have to apply for another visa, either a work or family, to move there permanently. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/permanent-resident

Australia allows abortion up to 23 weeks upon request, although specifics do vary between states. Queer rights in Australia rank among the highest in the world, as marriage has been fully legalized since 2017 and they are also a world leader in trans rights. All Australian states allow the changing of one's gender legally and support gender affirming care. Non-discriminations laws are also present in all the states.

Canada

Canada allows American citizens to stay in their country for up to 6 months visa free, although they are not allowed to work without any sort of visa. The easiest way to gain Canadian residency is though the express visa system. This immigration program targets skilled workers than can contribute to three economic fields in Canada. Canadian citizenship is available after five years of residency. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/works.html

Cost of living in Canada is slightly higher than in the US, but the benefits are greater with more affordable education and universal healthcare.

Canada is known as one of the best nations for LGBTQ+ people. It was the third nation in the world to legalize same sex marriage. Since June 2017, all places within Canada explicitly within the Canadian Human Rights Act, equal opportunity and/or anti-discrimination legislation prohibit discrimination against gender identity or gender identity or expression. This includes trans rights, who are protected under Canadian law. Abortion is publicly funded and available throughout the entire nation in Canada.

If you live in a red state and aren't interested in leaving the country, but don't want to stay where you are, here's some stats that may help make your decision on where to move to;

States with no abolition ban:

Washington DC, New Jersey, Maryland, Oregon, Vermont, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico, Alaska

Best states for LGBTQ+ individuals:

New York, Oregon, Minnesota, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, Washington DC

Hope this helps whoever may need it.

[asongofstarkandtargaryen]

What do you think Sansa ending will be like?

I was thinking she could do something artsy or creative.

That's a very interesting question!

First of all, let me say that I believe that Sansa will survive the series and have a happy ending.

With that being said, I don't mean a fairy tale like ending where she gets everything she ever wanted as a kid because a. Sansa has moved from her childhood dreams, when once she was dreaming to marry a handsome prince and become his queen one day, she now dreams of her home and what it represents (aka unconditional familial love, safety etc) and b. I doubt that Martin will give any character - even his most important ones - a fairy tale ending where they will get everything they even wanted.

I have many different predictions on where she could end up with, and since there are only speculations on my end I could totally be wrong.

Could she marry Harry the Heir ( if/once her marriage with Tyrion gets annulled) and become Lady of Eyrie? It fits her arc and her anti-parallels the previous Lady of Eyrie, who was also a Tully woman - remember all Stark kids are half Tully from their mama- and she in would be a Lady of an Important House like her Mother - with whom she shares some great parallels - once was. And not any castle, but the place her father spend many years . Thus a place that connects to both her Stark and Tully heritage. The only negative in this theory is that Harry currently seems an arse and I don't want her after everything she had to endure with an asshole. Maybe he's actually not that bad? Who knows we have two more books to find out, assuming that Harry survives them.

Another option would be for her to remain married to Tyrion. And I don't mean for them to suddenly have a great passionate romance but a mutual understanding that their union could benefit them both. They get to be the Lord and Lady of Castelry Rock and visit/or even stay at Kings Landing as I can imagine Tyrion will be heavily involved in politics and probably have a place in the small council of whoever gets to become the next ruler of Seven Kingdoms. I don't think that Tyrion would have a problem with his wife following her arty talents, and Sansa could continue hosting parties - like the one in Eyrie- and be an important influential Lady popular among the other nobles- especially if she is the wife of the Hand of the King/Queen/ whoever sits on the Iron Throne. That could even help elevate her husband popularity and in return Tyrion could offer her security and freedom to pursue her talents and hobbies. It's not the ideal fairy tale marriage but it's better than most arranged marriages in Westeros- her own parents started their union with even less and they managed to be happy together.

Or she could eventually marry a Northern Lord and live close to her childhood home and visit Bran and Rickon ( and anyone else reciting at Winterfell) more often than most ladies of her status visited their family.

Speaking of Winterfell, I personally believe - and as I said before since those are only speculations I could be totally wrong- that the younger Starks ( Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon) at the end of the series need to spend some futher time on their home before they consider moving out due to marrying. Because they are still very young and I believe that they would all benefit by being close to each other.

Sure not of them is an adult and therefore they can't act as the guardians of the younger ones - Maybe their older brother Jon who is adult could temporary do that?- but they can still help each other. Like for example, Sansa who learned how to act like the sort of Lady of Eyrie - while posing as Littlefinger's daughter - could help her brother, Bran, with the ladyship duties until he's old enough to pick a wife to fill that role. And more importantly than usefulness in managing to rule Winterfell, these kids are all traumatized and they deserve to spend some time to their home in order to heal. And to get to reconnect as a family - and least those who are still alive :/.

In Winterfell, I believe that Sansa could also purse her artistic talents because I can't imagine Bran, who is not only the sweetest kid according to his family but also very observant and empathetic, stopping his sister from doing something that gives her pleasure.

And I wasn't supposed to write so much but I was carried away bc I like speculating about characters I've interested at.

( And if you noticed the lack of mentioning Sandor as Sansa's possible endgame isn't because I don't believe that Martin has given them romantic undertones. It's because I unfortunately don't see him surviving the end of the books - again my personal prediction, feel free to disagree- so anything that happens between them I believe it won't be at the epilogue of the series).

[gacha-incels]

Been boycotting limbus but it's a bit disheartening seeing everyone continue around me with this passing intl women's day. I don't know how to convince my friends to stop without getting into an argument because they're all knee deep into these games. But my real question was.. why? These people are boycotting other products for other things, why are they so adamant with sticking on this when it's proven to have harmed so many people in the small team that made it?

Had a discussion with one who is boycotting and I feel like that "political correctness" seeps into the themes of the game, actually, despite how people tout it as the ultimate anti capitalist game; The City is suffering, workers gruel and die at the whims of corporate overlords, people struggle to find housing, and whatever the fuck Carmen's doing in the light, while it could help people survive longer, is just giving everyone guns ignoring the power structures underneath. It's very strange to me now there's.. no suggestion of uprooting the system at all in the games. No true strikes or protests or even any mentions of unions as far as I know. There's no effort to change what is given

[outside of the seed of light project, which 1. famously Didn't Work and 2. having everyone manifest ego is still just giving everyone guns and going "now don't shoot each other!"],

which is very strange and kind of sad? Like sure maybe an arbiter or something would come and tear it down but surely people would come up with countermeasures? People are really good at adapting around things out of desperation, and surely at least an effort would be mentioned

And then my friend, she suggested something; without project moon's suffering, there would be no project moon. Without the city, project moon can't make games. To end the hell that the characters are in and truly resolve the city's hypercapitalist dystopia, they must stop making money off of them. But they don't want to. They definitely DO want to make more games, noted by the interviews which mention future game concepts such as the distortion detective visual novel. But in order to do so, they must keep the current games "clean" and consistent in their suffering to perpetuate conflict. There is some commentary about capitalism to be had; but it feels more like a "oh, look, people are dying, this is so sad" layer of paint on it at this point rather than something more in depth and meaningful. And I think in enforcing this sort of "we can't fix the system in any meaningful way, let's just live our lives instead and hope something better happens" mindset, it reflects into the players. Kind of ironic how the anti capitalism game must sustain its own horrible systems internally so the owners of the series can: make more money through a very predatory money making system, no less!

Limbus fans don't give a fuck about feminism in kr, they think its a system they cant help fixing so they just play the game as they please and any attempt to disuade them is met with a "stop ruining my fun!!" And "who cares?" The worst ones are the ones who KNOW their money is being funneled into stupid misogynistic shit but don't care! It's insane! I've never seen this level of apathy towards a serious issue before!

Sigh. I hope this ramble is coherent. If I missed talking about something or if you want me to talk more I'm game. Project moon's characters are some of my favorites but you have to admit the themes are surface level shit at some point, especially in later installments of their games. So tired but I'd figure I'd share my thoughts somehow. Take care account admin, youre doing gods work

yeah regarding your first point about fans that keep playing, back in August there was a discussion on this blog here regarding contemporary fandom “culture”- how it makes dropping a piece of media hard for some people and why they feel so quick to defend it. the nature of gacha is also that it gets you into the habit of doing “dailies” which makes them harder to drop, this is not even mentioning sunk cost fallacy. I’ve seen a recent post on the FGO subreddit asking why people still play the game and the top posts by a longshot were ones saying only because they spent so much time and money on it. For a lot of people (even people who think themselves progressives) misogyny is a non-issue as well so they will not take the situation in South Korea that seriously to begin with. This is in addition to it happening to “other” or “foreign” women in the eyes of the western fan. There is also an aggressive “fuck you, I’ve got mine” attitude some of the fans who want to keep playing have in regards to these women. It’s disturbing to watch happen but unfortunately not uncommon. I find some of the worst of it, in this situation specifically, is when westerners try to tell Korean women (who are boycotting and spreading information) that they are the ones spreading misinfo, or there’s no reason for them to boycott, how it’s not that bad for them, how PM actually didn’t do anything wrong, “both sides” are crazy and wrong, “let people enjoy things”, shit like that. like doesn’t it raise any flags for you that the people most affected by PM’s actions, Korean women, deleted entire accounts of fanart, took back fanmade items from PM’s cafe, started a boycott of LC and made posts in english to try and get the word out to international fans? you must think they’re idiots if you believe this is all some misunderstanding and vellmori quit of her own free will. Come on. imo it’s impossible to make any meaningful statement critiquing capitalism when you’re writing it in a game that uses one of the most exploitive types of gambling mechanics. I hope I don’t have to explain to anyone why this is absurd. You don’t need to expose young people to gambling addictions in order to fund new games. At the same time, things an author writes (or things that the reader infers from the writing) do not always reflect their ideologies or actions in real life and they can sometimes seemingly be at odds with one another. This is something fans have to reckon with, and not just by saying “actually hatsune miku made limbus company” or whatever. Personally, I can’t take PM’s “anti capitalist” or “feminist” or “revolutionary” work seriously when in reality they have mistreated employees, sued labor unions, acquiesced to incel demands and then later added a meme into the game from that incel community. On the other hand people struggle to believe Project Moon could do anything wrong like this because of the stories in their games so they vehemently defend PM, which at some point just feels naïve. well hopefully this is the type of answer/discussion you were looking for lol thanks for writing 👍

[gothimgem]

𝔇𝔯𝔞𝔨𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔞𝔯𝔡 1.3 𝔖𝔦𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔢

TW for mentions of violence, assault, war, murder, abuse, bloodletting and death under the cut, also spoilers for 1.3 ending A

similar backstory to her dod1 universe but with some revisions.

for starters, sirene was to be a precautionary heir for the kingdom of rheged. she was to be arranged to marry to a king's eldest heir by queen buer's request, but sirene rejected as she believed that her parents were going to abandon her like her creator/"mother" did to her.

when the red eye disease spread her kingdom, sirene was forced to watch her parents become possessed, killing them in the process and went days on end killing red eyes outside of her home kingdom, worsening her homicidal curse

she was captured by the empire by the orders of one of the priests of the cult of the watchers, whom she later killed, claiming he was "old and cruel" to her; she suffers severe nightmares as a consequence of the abusive behavior from him

sirene joins the union for hatred on the cruel suppression the empire and the cult endured on her, having been aquianted with caim and leonard before he left the union

the former she had been rumored to have become close to due to their shared interest of revenge on the red eyes; during their time within the union, sirene and caim have developed a mutual respect and interest for each other, with him being one of the few people to make her genuinely smile. after the empire's defeat, the two were married yet verdelet would later exploit their growing powers within their blessed union...

knowing of her status as an intoner, verdelet allowed the union between sirene and caim in hopes that their consumation of the marriage will bear children to serve the union with her abilities and his strength yet this never came to light due to rumors of sirene being unable to conceive

eventually the utilization of her song power that started to turn soldiers to slowly become insane gave the idea of verdelet promoting her to commander, having her use the power of her song to craft more super-soldiers who only answered to her

spreading terror and malice in her wake lead to her killing anyone who betrays or leaves the union, such as the village leonard forms and the anti-allied forces led by furiae; this exploitation of using her curse to the point eventually begins to lash out at him when sirene breaks verdelet’s legs to the point where they will never heal and begins losing any hope of humanity as she dives into nihilism...

as the years passed, being a woman of a high position with immense magical power, her connection of being somewhat immortal rendered sirene being afraid of nothing anymore that she becomes cold and cynical and views everything in a nihilistic take; almost everything becomes meaningless to her after living for so long; every day, she does her job, murdering innocent villagers, exploiting the abuse of dragonkind, as if it's just another day of a soulless productive day; she still commits to the horrible atrocities by the union as well as her own curse without batting an eye, becoming terrifyingly detached

she is tired of the responsibilites that come with her position, she never asked to be a commander of the union or marry caim for verdelet's twisted purposes of having powerful soldiers with their abilities, the endless suffering of her immortality and control over the people

with even her own husband and the man she once loved becoming insane, sirene meant to make an attempt on his life when they began attacking the cult of the watchers, embracing him with a knife but finding herself unable to kill him when the dragons went berserk

this leads her to allowing berserk dragons to taking her left arm and right leg until she bleeds of her injuries is laid to rest beside caim's half-eaten corpse by the dragons as the red dragon consumes her in a blazing fire...

[berniesrevolution]

IN THESE TIMES

For nearly 40 years, Berlin Nightclub has set itself apart through its progressive, come-as-you-are atmosphere, late-night dance floor extravaganzas and bold, diverse drag performances. Now, workers at the club are seeking to set Berlin apart in a new way — by becoming the first nightclub in Chicago’s gay enclave with a unionized staff.

According to Jolene Saint, a bartender who has been working at Berlin for more than six years, on February 28th, workers at Berlin filed for union election with UNITE HERE Local 1 — a union representing more than 15,000 hospitality workers in Chicagoland. Two days later, staff notified management of their decision.

Saint says workers’ decision to unionize is ​“not personal, it’s not because we hate anybody — it’s because we know we could have better working conditions.” Two of Berlin workers’ key priorities resemble those of most union drives: better pay and healthcare. Saint, for instance, currently makes $9 an hour plus tips as a bartender, and does not receive health insurance from the club — both things she’d like to see improve. Workers In These Times spoke to said they would also like to see improvements such as proper breaks and consistent scheduling.

Yet other demands at the club have to do with its nature as a queer bar in a time when those spaces are under threat. As homophobic and transphobic rhetoric and violence increase nationally, Saint says she and her coworkers are also worried about violence coming towards the club from the outside. Workers In These Times spoke to mentioned security improvements they would like to see, including proper uniforms for all security staff as well as cut-proof jackets. Chelle Crotinger, who has been part of the club’s security staff for about five months, says they want to use the union as a way to ensure that security team members receive more in-person de-escalation and standard self-defense training.

“People often say that gay bars or queer bars are community spaces,” Saint says. ​“If they want to live up to that promise, they need to take care of the people who are making that happen … so that we can make people feel welcome, and loved.” Leo Sampson, who has been working at Berlin since fall 2021 and performs at the club as drag king Luv Ami-Stoole, sees fighting for the union as an act of community care.​“In a time where the political climate is so anti-drag and anti-trans, I think it’s important to remember we are all we’ve got is this community and we have to support each other,” he says.

Berlin’s union drive follows other recent efforts to improve conditions in Chicago’s queer nightlife scene. During the summer 2020, Chicago drag queen Jo MaMa and other local drag performers held a Drag March for Change, which drew 15,000 protestors. In the wake of the march, a group of performers formed the Chicago Black Drag Council, which held town halls to address racism in the nightlife scene in Northalsted and launched a mutual aid fund for BIPOC nightlife workers. Since then, workers at two of the city’s largest LGBTQ nonprofit organizations, Howard Brown Health Centers and Brave Space Alliance, have been fighting to unionize, which Sampson says has made the community more aware of labor issues. On Friday, members of Howard Brown Health Workers United joined Berlin workers on a picket line outside of the club. ​“We’re sort of inspiring each other to fight for what is right,” he says.

Crotinger sees their union drive as a way to help ensure Berlin remains a safe space for future generations amid larger-scale systemic attacks on queer and trans people. ​“In queer communities, we don’t really have the privilege of relying on legacy because it’s largely been taken away from us, whether it’s been through legislation or been through neglect of medical intervention for the AIDS epidemic,” they say. ​“I feel it’s our responsibility now … to establish something that is going to last beyond us.”

(Continue Reading)

[madamepestilence]

Welcome to my blog!

About me:

My name is Holly, or if you'd like the long form, Heosphoros. You can call me Holly, Heos, or Heo if you'd like. I have a preference for Holly, but I don't mind if you use names interchangeably.

I use She/Her (capitalized) or she/her (lowercase) pronouns - again, can be used interchangeably. I'm a queer trans woman, and I'm monogamish but open to polyamory.

I'm autistic, and I've got some unknown medical problems I need to see a doctor about. I like creating things, but I have trouble finishing projects.

Other places you can find me:

Twitch (Currently inactive due to my PS4 having Red Light of Death'd and my laptop having low RAM)

YouTube (I upload literally anything I want here - gaming videos, shitposting, video essays - whatever I want, whenever I want. I upload very slowly)

Bluesky (I rarely upload here and mainly just lurk)

Ko-Fi (I don't upload anything here, you can just donate to help financially if you'd like)

Considering making a Cohost.

Current projects:

The New Communist Manifesto

(I feel that The Communist Manifesto, while a good document, needs to be updated for the modern age, having been outdated by 200 years, which makes it harder for people to truly understand Communism in an age of reborn Red Scares and US Cold Wars overlapping each other. I would appreciate some input on African and West Asian contributions to leftism.)

Hypixel Skyblock but it's played by an idiot

(A Minecraft YouTube series tracking my slow progress in Hypixel Skyblock)

Video Essays (continual)

(Video essays ranging from video games to serious topics. These take weeks to months to create, and days to weeks to edit. I also take the time to subtitle every video I release, sometimes before release, and sometimes after - this may take me weeks or months, depending on video length and IRL issues.)

Special tags I'll be using in the future:

#mdmp art, #mdmp art (year): Self-explanatory, I'll be using this for my art

#fav: This'll help me find things I really like

#it me, #mdmp irl: If I ever take selfies I'll slap them in these

#gaia union: Topics related to the Gaia Union project

#ncm: Topics related to the New Communist Manifesto project

#video essay, #video essays: Self explanatory; I'll put video essays under here

#mdmp rambles: Random text posts from me

Stances: (More can be found beneath the cut on account of length)

2024 US Election:

Vote for Dr. Jill Stein. I was previously advocating for Dr. Cornel West, Ph.D., but it seems unlikely that he'll gain enough ballot access. Dr. Jill Stein already does:

Claudia de la Cruz is a bad option, as the Party for Socialism and Liberation has a Conservative 5th Column, and has frequent problems with discrimination, so Dr. Cornel West, Ph.D. continues to be the ideal option.

Political and socioeconomic:

I'm a Communist - this means that I believe in a stateless, classless, moneyless society. As a shorthand: I believe that workers should own their workplaces, with CEOs being democratically elected by their employees,

and the government functioning mainly as representatives for their people, processing the public's votes and distributing resources without denying human rights as a threat for employees not working at, "peak efficiency."

AI:

The name, "AI," is a misnomer used to describe a variety of improved versions of technology we've had for decades, and the modern use of it is generally used for crypto pumping, art theft, and money laundering.

Programs such as Midjourney and ChatGPT use large amounts of electricity and water, as well as contributing negatively to climate change via rare earth metal mines.

I would recommend this excellent video essay by Philosophy Tube on this subject. I tend to refer to it by a variety of terms, such as (but not limited to) Digital Hapsburg Generators, Long-Form Autocorrect, and Automated Theft Engines.

J.K. Rowling:

Rowling is an anti-feminist misogynistic transphobic prick who doesn't just actively make things worse for trans women, but women in general. You can't participate in death-of-the-author if the author is still alive. Do not buy her products, including Hogwarts Legacy.

As an aside, I also recommend this video essay about the problems with her Harry Potter series, critiquing her work as an author, even outside of her Twitter politics and donations to far- and alt-right organizations.

Russian invasion of Ukraine:

Russia doesn't have the right to invade Ukraine, even if the USSR previously had Ukraine as a state within it.

This is a gross misrepresentation of how the states of the USSR worked (though the USSR had many flaws; I recommend these video essays by Socialist YouTuber Hakim discussing the fall of the USSR and flaws with former socialism attempts), and is an excuse to be an expansionist fascist, and is just rooted in Russian nationalism.

Even the Russian people have been losing their shit over their president's actions and don't agree with him.

Atomic Heart:

Atomic Heart is a Russian nationalist game, which calls Ukrainians swine/livestock, demonizes Ukrainian technology, uses a floral symbol of Ukraine on a hostile drone, and bases the sex robots off of a prior Ukrainian official.

This game also explicitly uses a military photograph of Russian soldiers participating in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Do not purchase or play this developer's games.

The Last of Us:

The Last of Us is a game made by a Zionist, based on the Israeli occupation and later holocaust of Palestine, and the second game was explicitly made as, "revenge against Palestinians." As I had the first game gifted to me years before I knew about this, I may make a video essay about this in the future, but I'm not purchasing the second game.

Do not purchase or play this developer's games.

Palworld:

Palworld itself is a questionable game, but despite it being pretty much confirmed that they didn't use ATE technology, they do have a lot of blatant theft from other games, independent creators who make Fakemon, and even have a model directly stolen and slightly modified from Game Freak.

The company that made Palworld also has a history of blatant theft, as well as having a game that uses ChatGPT as an actual game mechanic.

Do not purchase or play this developer's games.

Israeli holocaust of Palestine:

This is very blatantly a genocide, and calling it a holocaust is in fact justified. Benjamin Netanyahu is actively being antisemitic by attributing this as a Jewish necessity, and is souring Judaism for people who've already been indoctrinated to be antisemitic.

The Israeli holocaust of Palestine has not only been, well, a fucking genocide, but has also increased both Islamophobia and antisemitic violence globally.

[bjornolf-bjarki]

Revamped Sigurd reference sheet(Hellsing AU Lore bits included) Mature content ahead btw

Name(s) of character and explanations:

1: Sigurd Fenryka Magnusson (primary full name given by his father Petr Odayev Aleksander, nicknamed Magnus, and his uncle Wayland Gunther)

2: Constantine Valdorius Pendraco (Secondary full name given by his mother Irene Adriana Pendraco and grandfather Anarawd Pendraco)

The reason for his two full names is that it's a Welsh cultural (at least for my au) norm for families/clans to name their child with two full names to confirm their union in a marriage once it bears a child, thus unifying the two families together.

Art Credit: @v4nt4bl4ck On tumblr as name is shown)

and this one from @cry-ptidd

Classification: Thor Class Supersoldier, Psychically gifted individual.

Species: Human, infected with a curse from a Varcolac (Werewolf/vampire hybrid creature)

Condition and medical treatments: Undiagnosed ADD/Autism, treated Rage addiction, werewolf/vampire hybrid curse with wolfsbane pills and UV light treatment to keep the beast(s) at bay, and a fully enacted super soldier implantations and treatments to help his body grow into the curse so his body wouldn't be ripped apart by physical mutation and enhanced growth.

Age: in 1999 he'd be 20 years old, birth date is January 7th, 1979.

Gender: Male (amab) pronouns being he/him. He's pretty comfortable with how he was born but he does have some oddities he's got in this sort of identity he's got.

Sexuality and Kinks: Considered himself straight for most of his life but realized he was Pansexual/Bisexual when one of his best friends came out to him and they started dating for a little while. He's discovering more about himself each day in that department, especially since he's a confident switch in the dynamics.

NSFT part: He's got a breeding kink, some light bdsm, brat taming, competitive sex, fight play, biting kink, exhibitionism, and other loosely tied kinks as well.

Voice claim: Aiden Caldwell from Dying Light 2

Scars/body details: Incredibly chiseled and well muscled due to genetic modification, scars all over from scratches, deep cuts, stabs, gunshot wounds, notable scars on his face over his right eye and two parallel cut scars diagonally rising from his jaw to his nose, and a large bite wound at his side. He is also covered in Norse-style tattoo at the front of his body to help keep his powers in check and as a retelling of his life story since the 5 years of war beginning in 1994 after what he thought to be a temporary vacation when he met his first love Seras Victoria and was with her for a month while she was in the orphanage. Then he continued the rest of his trip with his older brothers to a huge medieval-themed festival in Kosovo and all the way to his oaths to avenge his oldest brother Joshua. Only for them to be dragged into the grim plans of millennium's schemes for their war against Alucard, England, and then the world. Years of conflict and loss painted his body with not just scars but with tattoos as well. Each rune recounted atoning for old shames and liberating lost lands from vampire hordes spurned on by rebellions in the Balkans. These things are how he bares his soul to those who truly begin to know him. He also has a wedding ring on his finger, though he won't talk much about it to anyone.

Personality: Strangely positive, yet still marked by a deep determination fueled by his grim past. He's also remarkably calm under most pressure he faces. He also feels very strongly about injustices against people and will vocally stand up for more vulnerable, oppressed people since he is deeply anti-authoritarian. He's also very gentle with most people since he still has a hard time gauging his own strength in some moments. He's also a massive adrenaline junkie too, often doing things like parkour in Urban environments if bored enough or maybe something like hunting dangerous games with minimal equipment in rural areas. He's overall a very casual, fun person to be around like Pip would be in Hellsing. Though, with people who would be his sexual/romantic partners, he is much more sensual in his mannerisms. For a morally grey-ish character, he's turned out better than most of the other characters in the Hellsing universe as a whole.

Powers/abilities: He's not only stupidly strong since he's a super soldier but he also has some psychic abilities. One is that he can instill panic/general emotional distress into people around him. It's almost like a full-power sonar blasted in a general area or directly aimed at a spot and you're underwater when it happens as a diver. It's not just loud, it's disorientating, literally to the point you get sick or possibly even die underwater from drowning. Sigurd's powers of course aren't exactly like that, but it's just a heavy, smothering presence in the air that makes you feel like walls are closing in around you. He's caused people to have heart attacks before at its worst. So not only can he bench press a whole-ass black bear and leg press one too, but he would also scare you half to death by getting a little frustrated at you. So he's had to really tone himself back from his angrier past. Another ability he has is being able to communicate to most animals due to his curse.

Professions: To put it bluntly this guy would put the famous doctor, surgeon, therapist, plumber, professor, mechanic, pizza delivery guy, etc Johnny Sins look like a chump. Sigurd's been a commander of entire armies before and more than that too. But he's also had a very humble background in more working-class jobs like being a butcher, factory worker, and construction worker, even tried working in fast food but quit after a week when calling a rude customer a "rambunctious hoe" and slapping his boss across the face for being a dick about it. He's also been a mercenary before for a short period of time during the beginning of the war he was in. He was also a sex worker of sorts after his 19th birthday. So yeah he's had a wild time. Finally, he's found a new job with Hellsing after a war in Italy when Alucard fought him to a near stalemate until Sigurd ran out of steam and surrendered after sending his soldiers away. And instead of being executed, he was spared to recruit him and see what he could do.

(more might be added soon since I posted this at 2:45 am or whenever, kinda going stir crazy)

[mariacallous]

Last spring, customs officers in the tiny nation of Moldova struck gold. Acting on a national intelligence tip-off from, they intercepted more than 100 passengers arriving from Russia via Armenia, each carrying bundles of cash just shy of €10,000 – the threshold for mandatory declaration. In a single night authorities at Chișinău airport seized more than €900,000.

Moldovan officials swiftly announced that the cash couriers were part of a scheme allegedly led by a Kremlin-linked fugitive oligarch and aimed at financing protesters and buying votes in this month’s presidential election and pivotal EU referendum.

The operation offered an early indication of what Moldovan and western officials have described in interviews with the Observer as an unprecedented effort by Russia to undermine the country’s bid for EU membership and weaken the authority of its pro-western president through a series of destabilising campaigns.

“Russia is pouring millions in dirty money to hijack our democratic processes. This isn’t just meddling – it’s full-blown interference aimed at destabilising our future. And it is alarming,” said Olga Roşca, a foreign policy adviser to the pro-western president, Maia Sandu.

The election, set for 20 October, in which Sandu faces re-election, is to be held on the same day as a referendum asking Moldovans whether they support constitutional changes that could eventually enable the country – one of the poorest in Europe – to join the EU.

Roşca said the government estimated that at least €100m was being funneled into Moldova from Russia to manipulate the elections and EU referendum. It is not the first warning about Russian interference: in June, the US, UK and Canada said Moscow was trying to meddle in Moldovan politics and would seek to provoke mass protests if its campaign fails.

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Moldova has gravitated between pro-western and pro-Russian courses, though the shadow of the Kremlin has always loomed large. Moscow also has 1,500 troops stationed in Transnistria, a region run by pro-Russian separatists who broke away from the control of Moldova’s government in a brief war in the 1990s.

Sandu, a former World Bank official, was elected president in November 2020, riding a wave of popularity as an anti-corruption reformer with a pro-European agenda. She has advocated a humble lifestyle – a sharp contrast to the bombastic, predominantly male politicians who have long dominated Moldovan politics.

In a recent interview, the president said she was sharing a two-bedroom apartment with her mother, while in her asset declaration from 2023 her bank balance was recorded as $600.

In 2021, Sandu’s pro-western party, PAS, won a majority in the country’s parliamentary elections, giving her unprecedented power to implement reforms and push the country toward the west. But, three years later, Moldova remains mired in economic and political instability.

First, the country was plunged into an energy crisis when Kremlin-controlled Gazprom slashed gas supplies to the country by one-third and demanded more than double the previous rates to maintain the flow, in what was widely seen as political payback from Moscow for Sandu’s pro-western stance. Then, Russia’s war on Ukraine pushed Moldova into a broader financial crisis.

Located just a few hoursdrive from Odesa, Moldova took in the highest number of Ukrainian refugees per capita, placing immense strain on its healthcare system, public services, and infrastructure. Inflation surged by as much as 40% as trade with both Moscow and Kyiv sharply declined.

Stray Russian missiles from the conflict added to the growing sense of danger, while the Russian troops stationed in Transnistria further amplified anxieties.

“Sandu promised a lot, but the geopolitical situation has been very tough on her. They have not been able to deliver on all promises,” said a western official in Moldova, reflecting on the growing frustration among some Moldovans with Sandu and her party.

“There is growing apathy and disappointment, which provides a fertile ground for Russia,” the official added.

Sandu remains the favourite to win the first-round presidential vote against 10 challengers, but she is facing a tricky second-round runoff.

She is also leading the “Yes” campaign for the EU referendum, with polls showing 55-65% of voters in favour of joining the bloc. In a major boost for Sandu, Moldova officially began EU accession negotiations in June. However, scepticism remains high about the country’s ability to implement the necessary democratic and judicial reforms in the near future.

Critics from the opposition have accused Sandu of politicising the referendum by holding it on the same day as the presidential election, suggesting that the move is designed to boost her own political chances. “The referendum is a very cynical move,” said Alexandr Stoianoglo in Chișinău, one of Sandu’s main rivals from the Russian-friendly socialist party, who is polling at 12%.

“EU integration should not be used for personal gain,” he added.

But those close to Sandu said Russia’s growing influence means the country cannot afford to wait. “We have a unique opportunity: Moldova has a pro-European president, parliament, and government. The EU is open to our membership, with all countries backing accession talks last June,” said Rosa. “Moldova’s survival as a democracy is on the line, and the geopolitical stakes are higher than ever,” said Roşca.

The biggest threat for Sandu comes from abroad, say her supporters. In particular, the fugitive pro-Russian businessman Ilan Shor, a vocal – and wealthy – opponent of EU membership who has been sanctioned by the west.

Shor was sentenced to 15 years in prison last year in absentia in connection with his role in the disappearance of $1bn from Moldova’s banking system. He fled to Israel and then Moscow where he set up a political movement aimed at destabilising the current government in Chișinău.

At a press conference last Thursday, national police chief Viorel Cernăuțanu accused Shor and Moscow of establishing a complex “mafia-style” voter-buying scheme and bribing 130,000 Moldovans to vote against the referendum and in favour of Russia-friendly candidates in what he called an “unprecedented, direct attack”.

Officials in Chișinău also believe Shor is behind a wave of pre-election vandalism attacks on government buildings, accusing him of recruiting young people who were allegedly trained in Moscow to cause unrest in the country. “We are prepared for anything in the coming weeks,” said a security official in the city. “It will be a variety of misinformation campaign, violent street protests and crude vote buying,” they added.

Shor did not reply to questions from the Observer. But he has done little to distance himself from the accusations of trying to interfere in Moldovan politics from abroad. Through the social network Telegram, he has offered to pay voters the equivalent of $29 if they registered for his campaign, promising money to people who would “convince as many people as possible at their polling station” to vote “no or abstain” in the referendum.

He has publicly pledged to pay Moldovans for publishing anti-EU posts on Facebook and Telegram.

The central “fear-mongering” narrative that Shor has been promoting centres around the claim that Chișinău’s pro-European policies are pushing the country towards war with Russia, said Vadim Pistrinciuc, the director at the Institute for Strategic Initiatives of Moldova, a thinktank.

“We have never faced this level of foreign interference,” he added.

Worryingly for officials in Chisinau, Shor’s tactics have proven effective elsewhere the country.

Last year, Yevgenia Gutsul, a previously unknown Shor-backed candidate, caused a political earthquake by winning the elections of governor in Gagauzia, another small, Russian-speaking semi-autonomous region in the south of the country.

Pro-Russian sentiments have always been high in Gagauzia, a region populated by a Turkic ethnic minority, which has had an uneasy relationship with the capital Chisinau since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.

But Gutsul’s rise from obscurity and her ties to the Kremlin has stunned even seasoned observers and have prompted questions over Moscow’s role in her elections.

“She was polling at zero two weeks before the elections and then suddenly she appears and wins,” said Mihail Sirkeli, founder of Nokta, an independent media outlet based in Gagauzia.

Gutsul, who has openly declared running “a pro-Russian party” and travelled to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin after her election, is currently under investigation for allegedly funnelling Russian funds to a party associated with Shor.

“Shor is looking to repeat the Gagauzia playbook across the country,” said a western diplomat in Chisinau.

For now, officials in Moldova believe Moscow is concentrating its efforts on influencing the EU referendum, rather than the presidential elections where Sandu remains by far the most popular politician.

“If the referendum passes, it will lead to constitutional changes, which are harder to reverse in the long term compared to election outcomes,” said a senior Moldovan official.

But even if Sandu survives this month’s vote and referendum, her team expects renewed Kremlin efforts next year when her party faces re-election in the country’s parliamentary elections.

“Russia’s goal is clear: to keep Moldova stuck in a grey zone,” said Roşca. “If they lose Moldova, they lose a strategic foothold in the region.”

[soul-wanderer]

06x15//What Are You Willing To Lose - weekly recap

I don’t think I can cover everything in this recap, because man, there’s so much happening in this episode and I have a whole lot of feelings and thoughts about certain plots, but let’s try to get to it (aka almost one week later because man, that ep was a lot, and then I got sick, hence the slight delay, so consider this a refresher after the break between eps):

- Andy telling Ross “I can’t afford to lose you” - can we talk about this, please? Can we? This still hits me right in the feels a week later, and I don’t think I’m gonna be over that anytime soon, thanks for asking

- Ross being genuinely surprised that Andy and Maya did not tell anyone else about the photos (apart from Carina) and that they’re on her side - that moment just had it all, and I love that they have them sticking together instead of them tearing each other apart. Ross clearly did not expect that, probably didn’t think she’d ever deserve this type of loyalty, but Andy and Maya still show up for her, and my god, am I here for this. And Andy is totally right that they need someone like Ross in a position like that.

- Andy and Travis both trying to be a good friend to the other, and it’s just the silliest and cutest thing, and I’m here for that friendship, too  (especially because “hos over bros”), especially the scene in the end where Travis is there for Andy

- I’m gonna try to keep the Theo as captain recap short, but let’s just say: He was rightfully upset about the house being a trap for both the people living there and his team. It’s his job to keep the team and everyone else safe and out of burning buildings alive, and that job was made impossibly harder when he figured out what was going on. It’s not his job to be empathetic or to counsel anyone at the height of an emergency, BUT we see him backpedal one moment later, when he sees how desperate this woman is and IMMEDIATELY softens and tells her they were gonna do their best, before going back to work and that’s really all that needs to be said about this situation. Same with him having to make the decision to leave Warren behind - Ross was right there and watching him, and he cannot possibly risk more lives to save the life of one team member (+ it’s protocol, too), even if the mere idea of leaving someone behind hurts. He would have made the call, and he would have been right about it, too

- Ross owning her “mistake” in front of a bunch of dudes and giving a goddamn fantastic speech while she is at it. Man, that episode really gave us all of that. I mean: “You know, in the short time that I have been here, I have seen this union look the other way when sloppy firefighters who should have retired years ago made fatal mistakes on the job. I've seen it allow a serial sexual harasser retire with full pension instead of face discipline. And this is where you want to draw the line? [...] No, I am pro-union! I am anti a system that has a million things wrong with it. [...] I fought to drag this department kicking and screaming into the 21st century, to make your jobs safer and better", they really gave us that and I love it

- Maya being cute on her date with Carina, that’s all. That smile is gonna kill us all one day, and it’s gonna be a fucking fantastic death

- I will never, ever forgive the editors/producers for making these goddamn awful cuts between Maya and Carina in the shower and a man fucking dying in a burning house. I mean, what the hell? That was a downright horrible decision.

- Andy. My goodness, Andy. And her trauma. Like, finally? They’re finally acknowledging that trauma doesn’t simply disappear? Thank goodness. Thanks to whoever remembered. And thank you for the portrayal of such raw and heartbreaking emotions when Andy told Warren, “You fell through the roof”, that just about wrecked me in a million different ways, but in a good way, so thank you for that

- Ross telling Theo he did the right thing. Thank you for that, too. And I guess Jack confirming that wasn’t too bad either.

- And they acknowledged Carina’s trauma too, and the contrast was so beautifully portrayed. Carina wants them to be okay. She wants their marriage to be okay. But it isn’t. And she can’t pretend, and she realizes that and realizes they got more work ahead of them. And Maya just...acknowledges Carina’s pain and is there for her. It’s heartbreakingly beautiful, that’s all. Now, let’s hope Carina finally accepts some professional help as well.

- Sullivan being an ass. Honestly, will there ever be a week where I don’t have to type this out? I can only hope so, because that man is getting on my nerves, badly.

- Theo and Vic are not communicating well right now. That doesn’t make them toxic, that doesn’t mean their relationship is about to end, this doesn’t mean that they’re awful human beings. It just means they’re both fighting their own battles and they suck at talking and they’re being human and sometimes relationships just are like that, okay? They’ve been through so much and they’ve come so far, this will not be their breaking point (or at least not forever)

- last but not least: I am not here for them trying to create fake drama between Theo, Vic and Travis via that “old friend” they introduced. They need to stop recycling that storyline in Shondaland, before I flip some tables, seriously.

[sonofcoulson]

1970 Blue Marvel II

This is long BTW guys.

We open on Lichidus overseeing a global watch on their hybrid army. The vampires are weak from giving blood, the werewolves are underfed. He monologues about how the streets of the world shall soon be slick with blood. The pain and suffering caused by brutal sacrifice will bring forth the elder god, Cthon, to this dimension as he feeds on the tormented souls.

A Deathwalker cleric interjects, informing him that the Blue Marvel and his followers have almost stumbled upon a second Deathwalker base. Lichidus orders him to release the werewolves…

Cut to scene in a forest near Tunguska. Adam, Blade, the Bear and James Falsworth, in Union Jack uniform, have been searching for the Talisman of Kamar Taj which has been used to create hybrid warriors for the evil Deathwalkers. They are also searching for James’ brother John. John was subject to the Deathwalker’s hybrid program, mutating his DNA together with that of a vampire. He has managed to evade the group for 5 days but they had finally spotted him and the trail has led them here. Adam is in touch with Candace and Kevin who are monitoring their progress using the instruments in the appropriated Deathwalker base.

They hear the pad of footsteps in the snow, approaching rapidly. They can't see much in the dark, save for the occasional reflection of the torchlight in moving pairs of eyes. Union Jack hurriedly lights a flare as they hear several growls. In the red light of the flare, they see they are surrounded by werewolves. The three super-powered allies surround James, for protection, as the werewolves attack.

Blade has silver blades (obvs), Union Jack has silver bullets and the Bear has a silver tipped bear claw manicure (though she holds back from going full bear). The silver was meant to give them an advantage over vampires but find it works well against the werewolves. Adam is using his anti-matter blasts to great effect but can't fly up or Union Jack will be exposed. They have become an effective fighting unit after encountering several vampire clusters in this desolate part of Siberia.

Blade is caught by a werewolf claw and Union Jack is momentarily exposed. An assailant takes the opportunity and is closing on James. Adam considers using a concussive blast (it's risky as it will knock everyone out, even him), but is caught off guard as vampire John leaps down and saves his brother.

Fighting alongside them, Blade has to fight his instincts to not stab him. John is injured but they fight off the werewolves till each is unconscious or deceased. Blade's fighting style and modus operandi has led mostly to the latter, while the others tried to be more careful. This causes some conflict in the group, particularly between Blade and the Bear, who is a hybrid herself.

The final werewolf is left to flee. Blade and the Bear pursue while Adam takes the survivors back to base. John's love for James is holding his vampire side at bay and he submits to a power dampening collar and then first aid. The wound is not too serious and James gives a temporary patch up. James sits near a cadaver for warmth, John is not bothered by the cold being a half-vampire. They sit and talk. John was captured by Hydra and was hybridised by them without the Talisman, though they thought they had killed him and discarded him in a mass grave nearby.

John, now feeling a bit more human thanks to the collar, is ashamed of what he's become and how many people he's hurt. James says how much control do you have? John says not much, though some days are better than others. Then Adam returns to take them back to base one on each arm.

The Bear and Blade have followed the werewolf to an entranceway, where a heavy metal door has been torn off its fixings and lies in the snow.

The enter carefully and quietly but encounter no resistance. There are only bodies and not enough of each one left to turn. There is one young Deathwalker, dressed in the tattered remains of their uniform, among the cadavers. The sight of their fallen former comrades awakes their human half and they weep for what they have done. This was the fleeing werewolf. They lament the curse given them by Lichidus and wish that someone could release them from it.

Blade obliges and stabs him through the heart from behind, killing him just as the Bear had begun to explain that S.H.I.E.L.D. were working on a cure.

Livid, she angrily tells him they could have saved the youngster. Blade says there's only one cure for a werewolf. Death.

In a rage at Blade's lack of compassion, she nearly turns full bear. The sudden arrival of Adam brings them back from the brink and he tries to help resolve their differences. 

Blade shushes the group and they all hear metallic clanging from within the base.

Cut to Lichidus being informed that the group have destroyed the Tunguskan werewolves. Lichidus reasons that they may still have an advantage, there is one surviving cleric at that base.

Back at the base, John and James are convalescing. Candace is in conversation with Peggy about the vampire hybrids. Kevin is bored.

Curiosity gets the better of him and he looks in on them. He sees a little vampire girl has dropped her toy and he slowly, carefully moves over to give it back to her in her holding cell. She and her family are grateful, but a lot of the others hiss at his prolonged presence. Kevin freezes at the intense response, not knowing quite what to do.

Hearing the commotion, Candace puts her hand on his shoulder and takes him back into the main area and says I told you quite clearly not to go in there young man and asks him what he thinks he was doing. Kevin explains about the little girl and the doll and reminds her that she said they used to be like us and how his parents are always talking about doing the right thing, no matter the cost.

Candace relents a little and admires his compassion and bravery. She says he is turning into a fine young man, and asks him not to get too brave.

She then goes to try and check in with Adam, but there is only static.

In the other base Adam, Blade and The Bear have followed the sound down a broken lift shaft and along a corridor. It is a cell block. There is one cell door not busted out of or busted into by werewolves.

Inside is a man (Keith David) dressed in robes more colourful than a Deathwalker's, though they have faded over time. They ask how he alone was able to survive the werewolf onslaught. He says a simple incantation held the door firm against attacks, though it was difficult to keep his concentration under the circumstances. His name is Kaluu. 

They cautiously free him and he is very grateful and offers to assist them, swatting away a fly. He seems to know a lot about the Talisman of Kamar Taj, what the Deathwalkers were doing with it (Bear confirms this) and, most importantly, where it is now.

They ask him how he knows so much about the Talisman and he suddenly clams up.

He tries to change the subject and asks for help to find a sling ring, swatting away the fly again. He receives no response so starts ransacking corpses. Bear fears he may be a Deathwalker mage that was hiding from werewolves. Blade continues to question how he knew so much about the Talisman. Adam tries to keep things calm but it's not working. Under pressure, Kaluu blurts out that he was a student at Kamar Taj who found out that a lot of people wanted the Talisman so he snuck in and stole it, selling it to the highest bidders, the Deathwalkers. The whole gang rage in disbelief as he works to pry a sling ring from some cold, dead fingers. His admission causes the Bear to go full bear, who pursues Kaluu down the corridor in a rage. He manages to get the sling ring and portals out just in time. Only he is out of practice and ends up in a cell down the corridor and keeps popping in and out of the corridor from different doors as the Bear gives chase with other two caught between the destruction of the cell block and an angry Bear. Chaos.

Eventually they are all portalled out one by one with a wary Adam last followed, at the last moment, by the fly.

He arrives at the Sanctum Santorum with Blade poised to strike, Bear suspended in mid air and Kaluu begging forgiveness from a bald woman.

She is, of course, the Ancient One (Michelle Yeoh, I figure it's a better part than a Ravager cameo or a magical auntie). She is astounded at his audacity, to return after all these years to the scene of the crime. She is still angry about the theft but is more concerned with who he sold it to. She also points out how reckless it was to use magic in a Deathwalker base and bring their artifact (the stolen sling ring) back to the Sanctum as it could give them access to Kamar Taj.

Adam says they were alone.

She says that doesn't matter, they have other means.

Kaluu protests that he was trapped in an enclosed space with a bear and didn't have time to think.

The Ancient one replies that he had time to think of himself and not the consequence to others.

He says he didn't know what they were going to do with it.

She says you didn't care. You just cared about the price, now that price is about to be paid by the whole world, possibly the universe.

At this moment, the fly moves from Adam's shoulder to the stolen sling ring on Kaluu's finger. We zoom in on it and see that it is a fly/Deathwalker hybrid and it activates the ring opening a massive portal which floods with Werebats and Deathwalker mages.

The gang, Kaluu, the Ancient One and the Kamar Taj defenders fight valiantly and gain the upper hand. Then they hear sounds of battle from elsewhere. The Ancient One deduces what they're after and takes Adam to the library. They are just time to see Lichidus himself unshackling the Darkhold and taking it into his hands. They try to pursue him but he sends mages and hybrids to stop them. They eventually win out but Lichidus is gone, swiftly followed by the remaining mages. They swiftly overpower the were-bats and the Ancient One catches the were-fly. The Deathwalkers had managed to magically cover their tracks however.

She thanks the gang for the help in defending Kamar Taj. She admonishes Kaluu for allowing Lichidus in but recognises that he stood and fought, he didn't run or turn on his team like before. Perhaps, she says, there is hope for him yet. She asks him to tell her everything he knows about Lichidus’ plans.

Lichidus and his cronies celebrate their victory and he tells them to prepare for the ritual, Cthon is coming!

Meanwhile Peggy has arrived and scores of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are cautiously escorting the vampire and werewolf hybrids into cells on Howard's 70s-looking Quinjets. Candace is telling Peggy her concern over not being able to raise the team and is suggesting storming the base when a portal opens and Adam casually asks Candace, Kevin, Peggy and the others whether they'd like to join them in the stronghold of the Sorcerer Supreme. 

The Ancient One explains that the Talisman of Kamar Taj is actually of extra terrestrial origin. The practice at Kamar-Taj was to use it to bond with or absorb animals, spirits and demons.

If the talisman is broken, it will undo all that it has done. It is said that it will transport the one responsible for breaking it across the stars and itself too. They don't know where it takes you.

The Ancient One takes Adam, Candace and Peggy to One side as they seem to be the most level headed in the group. They leave Kevin with James and the Bear. Blade and John brood separately and Kaluu studies a volume of Ancient wisdom.

Ancient One: A very unusual group you lead.

Adam: Our coming together was haphazard, but we share certain…interests.

AO: It is a brave man that fights alongside a woman that could transform into a bear at any moment.

Candace: Bear knows who her allies are.

AO: You gave consideration to her turning on her allies before? You are taking a former Deathwalker to battle Lichidus.

C: Bear knows who her allies are.

AO: And the vampire and the one who hunts them…do they know who their allies are?

Adam: Well, John, I can't vouch for, but James trusts him. Eric is headstrong, but we can't do this without them. I see how hard they are fighting their instincts.

AO: What happens if they lose that fight?

A: They answer to me.

Meanwhile:

Kevin (noticing lots of withering stares and whispering directed at Kaluu): Why are they looking at you like that?

Kaluu (not looking up from his book): Because I was once partners with Yao.

Kevin: Who?

Kaluu: The (*sighs*) Ancient One…and then I betrayed her. Twice.

Kevin (now fascinated): What did you do?

We flashback to Kaluu and Yao being good friends and the most prominent sorcerers at Kamar-Taj. Yao is tasked with leading the training programmes and Kaluu is head of temple security.

When the Sorcerer Supreme passes, Yao is chosen to succeed them. Kaluu tries to be supportive but finds it difficult to take orders from his friend. When she starts to remove herself from the others and appears occasionally sporting an item that had been forbidden under the previous regime, like the eye of Agamotto, some jealous sorcerers suspect she is using the Darkhold. Kaluu,  his resentment growing, uses the Darkhold himself to increase the jealousy and resentment among the other sorcerers (psychic hypnosis, denoted by a purple flash in the eyes), eventually staging a coup and putting a spell of immobility on Yao. His ambition is corrupted by the spellbook and he gives Kamar-Taj wealth and prosperity at the expense of nearby villages and starts raising an army to conquer the earth. Eventually he leans too heavily on the Darkhold and the energy drawn (from the Dark Dimension) starts being pulled back, leaving Kamar-Taj in disease and pestilence. The disaffected sorcerers turn on him and free the Sorcerer Supreme who overpowers Kaluu and sends all the energy he drew back to the Dark Dimension, restoring balance. Kamar-Taj begins to recover and Kaluu is forced to undergo the Runes of Kof-Kol, causing him to forget all the dark magics he has learned. This also, accidentally, causes him to forget all his sorcery.

Yao forgives him and patiently begins to teach him again. Harbouring humiliation and resentment for centuries, Kaluu slowly builds up his powers. But one day, he steals the Talisman and a sling ring and doesn't come home…

Back in the present, after some consideration, the Ancient One agrees to help them. She portals Adam's team back to the Playground while the sorcerers prepare an assault team.

Back at the base, Howard has been busy. He has identified the unique signature of the Talisman and has traced it back to a disused subway station in New York. They discuss the personnel, how best to coordinate with the Kamar-Tajians, plan of attack etc.

Cut to Lichidus reciting from the Darkhold. Back at HQ the captured hybrid's eyes flash purple (indicating psychic hypnosis). Lichidus is repressing their human half, causing them all to go feral. Distracted by the commotion, the staff don't notice an operator being psychically controlled to turn off the power dampening collars. They are soon breaking loose and causing death and havoc in the base.

In the chaos, a small number of Deathwalkers portal in and try to snatch hostages/sacrifices (this is shown happening all over the world). One tries to take Candace but she whups them. One tries to take Peggy but she whups them. One tries to take Howard but Candace and Peggy whup them.

They seem particularly interested in Kevin. Kaluu is trying desperately with his limited magic to keep him safe.

The Ancient One portals in with her assault team and helps gain the upper hand. Kaluu runs over and says that they have Kevin. Peggy tells them to go as they can deal with the remaining hybrids, they have Spitfire and Union Jack II. She sends them with the Howling Commandos. They are reluctant to leave the base under siege, but want to help James. And they have to do what Peggy says anyway.

The Ancient one says she must stay to protect against further magical intrusions and psychic hypnosis attacks. She tells Kaluu she trusts him to make the right choices after seeing how he tried to protect Kevin, restores his memories and tells him to lead her assault team. 

Adam and Candace, distraught but determined, lead Bear, Blade, James, John and the Howling Commandos.

They are portalled to the tunnels either side of the abandoned station. They Ancient One had seen that one side is protected by Deathwalker mages and the other by hybrids.

Adam's team are against the hybrids and Kaluu's against the mages.

Kaluu is a little rusty but improvises well, his team is well trained and they advance quickly.

Adam's team is finding it harder due to sheer numbers of hybrids, but they do slowly make progress. They take a defensive formation and shuffle along while Adam alternates between keeping a chasing pack at bay and clearing a path ahead. This method is ammo heavy for those without powers and there are a limited number of silver bullets. The variety of hybrids also makes it difficult as some fly and some crawl, and they attack in different ways. John asks to have his collar turned off as they need him at full strength. Adam reluctantly agrees and James turns off his brother so collar.

Attacks are now taking place across the world; were-panthers in Wakanda vs Dora Milaje, were-bears and were-wolves in Russia vs the People's Protectorate (https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/People%27s_Protectorate_(Earth-616)); were-sharks in Talokan vs Namor and his army etc.

Back in the tunnels, Kaluu's group reaches the platform. They see Lichidus reciting from the Darkhold as his mages sacrifice their prisoners (he wears the Talisman). Kaluu calls for him to stop.

Lichidus (stopping): You may interrupt the ritual but you cannot stop it.

Kaluu: I can stop you, permanently.

L (indicating the other tunnel): Your friends are close to their doom.

K: They would want me to save the universe rather than them. Do the right thing, no matter the cost.

L: Are you sure you can stop me before they are overwhelmed? As you will then be overwhelmed?

Quick cut to Adam's group, beset on all sides, mostly out of ammo. The Commandos are brandishing silver daggers and only use their pistols when they are in trouble. John is able to fend off hybrids when they get too close as he is immune to their bites. He is struggling to keep his blood lust under control; Blade has seen this and is struggling not to take him out too. Adam can't use a full blast as he might take out the whole tunnel.

Kaluu realises that Lichidus is right and takes his team (who think he's making a bad choice) to rescue Adam and Candace's team.

As Lichidus continues the ritual, they manage to trap the hybrids in the mirror dimension which is quite a feat as they are many. The sorcerers have to stay to keep them trapped.

Scores of Deathwalker troops and mages pour out from the platform exits and the battle restarts allowing Lichidus to continue with the ritual. He notices that it is beginning to take effect and encourages his cronies to spill more blood for Cthon.

We cut to Mount Wundagore where a portal opens and we see a faint likeness of Cthon in the blackness within.

Kaluu is beginning to get his confidence back and is dealing with the mages single handed, though he is thwarted in his attempts to get to Lichidus. Adam's team are making short work of the troops.

Lichidus confronts them with Kevin and Adam makes them all stand down.

As they're about to be captured Kaluu sneakily snips the Talisman from round Lichidus’ neck by quickly opening and closing a small portal. He then traps them all in the mirror dimension and they battle Lichidus and the Deathwalker mages and troops. He manages to keeps Kevin out of it to protect him, but Lichidus is formidable and takes all of Kaluu's attention. The other Kamar-Tajians are starting to tire and they can't keep their mirror dimension going and they are being overwhelmed by the hybrids, though they put up a fight.

Kevin realises what he has to do and smashes the Talisman on the floor saying “Do the right thing no matter the c-” as he disappears and his parents look on in horror. The hybrids are restored to human form and run into the tunnels away from the battle. They are portalled out by remaining sorcerers.

The battle scenes around the world see confusion as the hybrids return to their human (or Talokanil) state.

Adam, in his rage, rapidly takes out the other Deathwalkers. He is starting to build his power level. Kaluu binds Lichidus so he can't escape.

Lichidus appeals to Kaluu saying that he can have the Darkhold if he stops Adam. Kaluu will not ignore Kevin's sacrifice. Lichidus appeals to Blade saying the book contains the Montesi formula, a spell to destroy all vampires. Blade would rather fight vampires than demons.

Lichidus appeals to Bear saying he can tell her who she is. She says she would rather eat him.

Adam tells the other sorcerers to get everyone out and he brings the tunnel down on Lichidus, ending the ritual and closing the portal.

Adam protects Kaluu and brings him out too. It is a victory, but not a complete one.

Kevin is gone to goodness knows where in the universe.

Bear is not cured. The Ancient One hypothesises that she was hybridised so long ago that her dna has mutated and the bear is now part of her.

John is not cured as he was hybridized by Hydra without the talisman. Having had his collar switched off and subsequently broken he had gone feral during the battle and fed on many enemies. He is ashamed and runs away into the night.

Mid credits:- Blade is not sure he made the right choice. James insists he did, but Howard admits he was only close to a cure for vampire hybrids, not full vampires, so Blade will have to continue to do his thing. James offers to go along with him if Eric helps him track his brother down to see if Howard's cure will work. He agrees.

Post credits:- At Adam's base Peggy, some S.H.I.E.L.D. staff and the Ancient One are brainstorming ideas on where Kevin might have gone and how they might travel to find him. Howard (calling on his brand new video screen technology, which goes slightly awkwardly) says he he can get them up into space but is a good few years away from intergalactic travel. Adam says again if he travelled alone he might be able to travel fast enough…Candace replies there is no way she's leaving her boy out in the universe all alone. She insists there has to be a way. Kaluu says there is, according to the Darkhold…he volunteers to help Adam and Candace cross the universe to find Kevin, using the Dark Dimension. The Ancient One urges them not to let the Dark Dimension corrupt them, particularly Kaluu. He says that Kevin was the first person to treat him with dignity and respect for centuries, he will not let his standards drop again.

They gather equipment and supplies, say their goodbyes, are wished good luck and leave.

Peggy then approaches the Ancient One and wants to work more closely with Kamar-Taj. The Ancient One says, “Have you ever heard of the Runes of Kof-Kol?”, implying she is going to wipe S.H.I.E.L.D.’s memory of the battle.

NB:-

Regarding MichelleYeoh as the Ancient One instead of Tilda Swinton. There is nothing wrong with Swinton's acting, just reversing the ethnicity switch whilst keeping the gender switch. I can see that marvel were trying to avoid the magic asian/wise old man trope but you can't ditch an Asian character and make them white instead! This conversation will be revisited when we get to Iron Fist…

Also, I think Lichidus is underwritten in these two movies. So I may revisit this if I come up with any ways to improve that.

Possible adventures in space while looking for Kevin:

Herbert Wyndham (a very talented human scientist) expressed an interest in buying the Talisman from Kaluu, so they track him down. He had been commissioned (abducted from earth) by the Spartoi to terraform a planet as a waystation for their Empire. However, they did not care for his work and withdrew his commission so he decided to start his own terraforming business.

The team discover the Talisman was made by a being called Enitharmon who had told Herbert it could aid the terraforming process as a shortcut to genetic hybridisation to optimize things like plant growth and pest resistance. 

The team will end up helping the woman who would become Meredith Quill escape her death sentence at the hands of the Spartax royal family. She is also part of the royal family.

Meredith and J'Sonn

Possibly Enitharmon? Rintrah?

Definitely Adam, Candace and Kaluu.

Also:- Union Jack and the Blade Series

Eric and James adventures as they stop vampires, thwart conspiracies and search for John. John is now calling himself Baron Blood.

Regularly featuring James’ children (Spitfire and Union Jack II). 

Peggy will make at least one appearance 

They will visit Bear, now calling herself Ursula. She has joined the People's Protectorate and we will get to meet that team.

There has to be a storyline about James wife (she was an Inhuman, but why did she run away? Where did she go?)

And Dracula has to get in there somewhere as well.

[richardsondavis]

Okay, okay. Sit down. This is a ride.

About how I came to terms with accepting the official translations of Chainsaw Man and how to be very critical of it as well.

So long story short, I am a fan official translations. I still am. I still find them good and trustworthy. I do find it unfair to criticize a company based on the oopsies they have made. I prefer to look at certain situations on a case by case basis.

So Chainsaw Man. In the official translations, Chapter 4, Denji is in a bathtub singing about "Paid Days Off" and "Union Jobs" whereas the scanlations does not have a mention of that at all, that and the anime.

So that's that. A small thing. Inconsequential to the greater narrative (this is just a best guess, I haven't finished CSM to warrant having a full opinion on this) of the manga itself.

So there was this Twitter thread about it, very toxic and lots of likes for the anti-localization crowd and the people who don't think anything of it.

If ever, the original Japanese has katakana that reads and sounds like the terms that say union job and paid days off.

The works. I believe that one. Why? Because in chapter 3, Makima says something about paid days off and benefits to Denji. She said it and it was present in the scanlation one as well.

I overlooked that for a while. But I also talked with other people, people who aren't consumed by the culture war of America. Those who aren't so into it, unlike me.

There's this dude on Discord, who told me:

And this is quite nice. I plan on reading CSM while reading the scanlations and testing each other out just for the heck of it. It's actually nice doing so. I like it. It gets the story into me more clearly than when I read from one source. Although rereading would help maybe.