#something extremely important to me about them

[balrogballs]

I'm still sad about this heartwarming and mildly amusing little section where feral adolescent Aragorn brings some joy to Maedhros in his unhinged little way, which I had to cut out of Cast in Stone for structural reasons, especially as I had gone to the trouble of illustrating it!

But I realised it reads perfectly fine standalone, so you guys can have my crumb of Maedhros-joy instead. No context required: Maedhros and Maglor are temporarily staying in the Shire during the late Third Age, Maedhros had a horrible night of traumatic dreams and was being maudlin — until young Aragorn, aka Elros II and the bane of his life, turns up like a bad penny, as he often does. Enjoy!

---

"You look unhappy," said Estel, sitting down before Maedhros, legs crossed. "Does your hand hurt? Surely it can't be as bad as when it got chopped off, can it?"

"No, but leave me be, Estel, I have —"

"All right, but let me ask just one question. I promise, then I'll go away. I just remembered something from my lessons, and every time I ask Ada he looks up at the sky and asks the Valar where he went wrong in raising me," Estel moved closer, looking around for eavesdroppers. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But I would like to know."

Maedhros frowned, swallowed the lump in his throat and dragged in a breath. "What?"

"Fingon rescued you on one of those enormous eagles, didn't he? On that mountain with Morgoth and all of that. It was one of those, right? Manwë's Eagles."

"Yes. He did. I do not wish to answer any further questions on the matter, clear off."

"And it was quite a long journey, wasn't it?"

Maedhros grunted.

"I've always had a question about it… and again, you don't have to tell me if it's too traumatising," Estel's eyes shone, as though he were about to hear a state secret. "And I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Spit it out, boy, or leave me now. I am in the mood for neither company nor memory."

"Did it… you know…?"

"If you're trying to ask me if losing the hand hurt, yes it did," Maedhros snapped. "Now leave me alone, I've had enough reminiscing for a damned century. Get off home, now!"

"Oh, shut up, I wasn't asking about your stupid hand, I don't understand why you think everyone sits around thinking about your hand," Estel scowled, pursuing his lips, before deciding his quest for scientific knowledge was more important than whatever had crawled up Maedhros' arsehole and died. He widened his eyes conspiratorily, looked around again. "My question has nothing to do with that! I just wanted to know, did the eagle… you know?"

"Estel, I am not going to repeat this, get out of my sight right this —"

"Did it take a shit?"

"Did… what?"

"Did it take a shit?" Estel flushed as he said the word, Elrond's parental touch finally taking hold, though in a predictably useless manner. "And if it did, how big was it? As in, was it normal bird crap, or was it, you know — like a bucketload of it?"

Maedhros blinked. Estel held his hands out to demonstrate.

"I've always wanted to know that about them, you know," the boy continued, stroking his chin like a philosopher. "Manwe's eagles, that is. Surely if they're big enough to carry two people, one being a towering beast like you, their droppings must be massive."

"What…?" Maedhros couldn't formulate words, a state of being Estel clearly had no familiarity with. "Their… what?"

"And yes, I know they're divine, all of that, but surely they can't be toilet trained, can they? I just don't see Manwë having enough time to toilet train an eagle, you know. Could you imagine just… going about your day, and having this massive tub of birdshite fall on your head? Oh, it could drown a person, I'm sure of it!" Estel grinned, as if said occurrence would be the best day of his life, had it happened to him. "So, did it? And if it did, did you see if it went on someone?"

Maedhros sat there blinking at the boy in complete silence before rising quietly, taking the now-extremely-familiar ear, and slowly — like he were a corpse — leading Estel to the village gate. He didn't say a word, only gestured weakly and put up three fingers, a signal the now sulky boy was very used to.

And as Estel, muttering darkly all the while, neared the completion of his first punishment-lap of three around the village green, he heard something that sounded like a donkey in immense pain. It was a sound so tremendous and unexpected that it brought Maglor running from the house, gaping at the source, having not heard such a thing in centuries. It was no donkey, but Maedhros in complete hysterics, sitting on the ground exactly where he was when he beckoned Estel to run, sobbing with laughter, actual tears pouring down his face, which itself was screwed up and flushed so pink he looked like he'd been badly sunburned. He was trying to explain the situation to Maglor (who had been glaring at Estel as if he had personally killed his brother, and now looked upon him like he was Iluvatar himself) but Maedhros was howling too hard to even stand, let alone form coherent words.

Estel pretended not to notice, and started on his second lap. Though objectively speaking, the laugh itself sounded like something between a foghorn, a pig and whatever noise he imagined Ungoliant would make — there was something rather lovely about it that brought an inexplicable little smile to his face.

[lilacstro]

ruler of 5th through the house: your dating styles and your love language (+ a lil moodboard)

back with another post! I hope you guys were doing good :)) I hope you enjoy reading this post :) lmk!! Did not plan on adding mood boards but felt like it lmao, you do not have to take it seriously at all but I felt like it :)

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Paid readings open :)

How to find the ruler: Let's say your 5th house is in Leo, who rules leo? Sun. Now find where is your Sun. Maybe 11th? Then your ruler of 5th is in 11th. Hope this helps :)

ruler of 5th in 1st You could be someone who gives their all while dating someone. You may not date someone until they really really are what you want. You may help your partner reinvent themselves, see things about them they never knew before, but often find yourself losing yourself in the relationship if you overindulge, which is ironical. These matters are likely to be very serious to you, whether you date just for fun or longterm, having that passion for someone is important. You may like attention to yourself, having your needs fulfilled when dating someone, which is good to some extent but must not be overdone :) Your love language may be physical touch and spending time with your partner.

ruler of 5th in 2nd You could be someone who probably would NOT date until they have something to offer to the other person. Money, values, stability, whatever that is. Your partner may learn from you a lot, a slow energy. I get Ace of Pentacle vibes from this. You may derive a lot of your values from your partner, ONLY when it feels really viable to you, you would not pick up everything. Your self esteem would be important in how you treat the person you date, and you would absolutely slow build your person, treat them with efforts and gifts and everything you can offer. You may not rush into relationships either. Your love language may be acts of service, gift giving :)

ruler of 5th in 3rd You may have dated in your high school/teen years haha. If not, when you date someone, the relationship feels young, friendly and exciting. You may not like boredom in your relationship, but not say y'all are reckless at all, but someone who you have shared interests to talk about, someone who is down for little things like coffee, or going on a walk. Someone who you feel young with :) Communication is very important and you may flirt a lot as well, words of affirmations may be your love language.

ruler of 5th in 4th Ah you may be quick to think about the longterm future with the person you are dating. A lot of love, may introduce them to family or treat them like family real quick. You are someone who gives the cozy, warm, comfortable feeling to the person you date, but you need to look that your efforts are being reciprocated as well, for you may be quick to oversee that and someone who gives too much benefits of doubt :) You may like your relationship to be extremely intimate and private. Quality time and acts of service may be your love language :))

ruler of 5th in 5th Ah you date someone, to date someone. I mean, you are not really thinking too much and too beyond things until you feel you need to. You enjoy the dating period fully being present, and make sure your partner does as well, and pamper them a lot!! You may love taking them out to fun places, do fun things and keep things light and fresh. Long term commitment is something you may take your sweet time for, but you would be sure that your partner has a good experience with you ! Quality time may be your love language.

ruler of 5th in 6th When you date someone, you wanna show up for them daily, consistently. You would not lack dedication and efforts anytime, and would absolutely make your partner feel cared for! I hope you do not do more than what is needed, overdoing stuff for someone just because you love them when the relationship is not in that label/commitment yet. You do not want anyone to take you for granted at all is what I am trying to imply :) You may want to do everything with your partner when you are dating them, but I hope it is done in moderation:) Acts of service may be your love language.

ruler of 5th in 7th You guys 9/10 times date to marry. You want fun in your partnerships, but not a fling for fun. Instead, a commitment that is fun and fulfilling. You may find yourself giving a lot of time to understanding your partner and strengthening your relationship more than anything, that is the main priority. Commitment and Loyalty is something very important and absolutely non negotiable. You may find yourself setting longterm plans with your partner as well. Quality time and acts of service may be your love language.

ruler of 5th in 8th You may be someone who is actually paranoid of giving their heart at all tbh, but once you do, its strong, dedicated, loyal relationship. You may see a lot of fluctuations, tower moments in your relationships often, maybe a lot of trust issues as well. Maybe you have had experiences of suddenly being ghosted or the connection being ended overnight, but regardless the connection is incredibly deep and transformative and you may find it very hard to move on from past relationships, or people may feel that way about you. Having proper boundaries is important. You may be incredibly invested and present in your relationships, BUT PLEASE KEEP AN EYE AND DO NOT OVERGIVE. Quality time, LOUD love, whatever that means to you, words of affirmations or physical touch, is important to you.

ruler of 5th in 9th A very jovial and beautiful relationship usually, no matter how long it lasts. You may be drawn to people from different race or culture or ones that are far away from you, but regardless, sincerity, knowledge and wisdom is something very important. You seek learning and growth through your relationships and the relationship may not work if you are not constantly evolving. On a side note, it is possible you find it hard to navigate through tough times of a relationship since you are so used to being happy and things being light and airy all the time. Your love language could be acts of service, words of affirmation, quality time!

ruler of 5th in 10th One thing I often see with this placement is that, everyone somehow knows or speculates your relationships status, or who you may be dating. I feel you do not lose a track of your purpose while dating someone, and you DO NOT***(edit)seek someone who does not have any purpose or skill or passion they work for. Your relationship must not be the center of universe for someone, and you may feel weird about people who are overly clingy. Your love language may be acts of service.

ruler of 5th in 11th Your relationships may usually start off as friendships, or having that kind of dynamic may be extremely important to you. You may like people who are ready to expand their world and their minds, and may absolutely avoid orthodoxial people in all ways. You may idealize your relationship and partner a lot, so that is one thing to look out for. You want your partner to feel incredibly comfortable and understood and may be interested in knowing them to minor details, having long conversations. Your love language may be quality time and words of affirmation.

ruler of 5th in 12th AHHHHHHHHH y'all seek for soul connections when dating someone. Dating for marry? No. Dating for lifetime? yes. May be extremely paranoid from the sole idea of break up I feel. You heal others, and heal yourself when you date people, and many people or one person you date may be karmic before you find your soulmate, which does not have to be all the time but usually happens. It may be hard to move on from someone, and you may dream about them a lot even when dating someone. You may also be extremely lovestruck very easily so please keep that in mind y'all lmao please see things clearly :) Your love language is everything actually.

[celuere]

I want you all over me.

pairing: feixiao x fem!reader

context: feixiao having never experienced a single mating cycle in her life was always something she has been relatively relieved about. That is until she met you

cw: feixiao has a dick here because I said so, breeding, mating press, feral feixiao, HSR didn‘t have any lore on how Foxians reproduce so I had to get creative, story takes place after she wiped the floor with Hoolay, biting 

First work on my iPad with the new bluetooth keyboard I ordered, truly a life changer. Not even my fever will stop me from writing Yuri. and also huge thanks to Ray for helping me with the gradient, not all heroes wear capes. Some of them are axolotls!

NSFW utc, MDNI!

Have you ever wondered if Foxians can enter a heat? Well, they do. Just not the way you think. There are a lot of factors that play an important role in a Foxians heat cycle.

For once their relationship status is a strong factor. Are they single, taken or even married? Are they happy in said marriage? Do they want to reproduce with their partner?

Then there is their age. A first Foxians heat cycle is usually triggered in the late 20s, some may experience it earlier, some later. There are even recordings of certain individuals not experiencing a single mating process in their entire lifespan, simply because they didn’t want to, have never found the right person and variety of other reasons. A Foxians urge to reproduce along with the frequencies of their cycles may decrease with age.

Now, once having lived through a mating cycle you are considered „Mature“. No, it doesn’t refer to your mental capabilities, it‘s simply the medical term for Foxians that can reproduce. Because until you didn’t live through at least one of these unbearable cycles, your ability to reproduce is -so the doctors call it- sleeping.

In the young days of the Xianzhou, where arranged marriages were still a thing, a certain medicine was to be used if one or both parties weren’t already mature to trigger their first heat, so they may produce an heir. That was until said medication was banned for good.

Once mature you only develop a steady, balanced heat cycle that may only occur when you’re in a happy, fulfilled relationship. A few may live through it two times a year, others every two months or even just once every year.

And during the actual thing? Unless not separated from their s/o, Foxians become extremely grumpy and frustrated, it‘s better to not bother them during this time. Just avoid them all together. They reach their breaking point once they’re reunited with their partner again. Be sure you won‘t be leaving the house or rather the bedroom for the next two or three days.

Feixiao usually was never bothered by the fact that she didn’t mature yet, never once was it a problem for her. Quite the opposite. Seeing how her Foxian friends and coworkers seemed to disappear off the face of society for a good few days actually relieved her. It meant no interruptions in her training schedule and left no room for distractions.

That was until you came along.

At first the general didn’t think much of it when you first started dating. She‘d touch herself to the memory of you, how good you‘d took her cock into your wet pussy last week, moaning and clawing into her trained shoulders as you begged for her to go faster. To fuck you harder.

She first didn’t think about how annoyed she got over the week because of the smallest thing, recruits being stupid, Jiaqou annoying her, she even gave Moze a whole earful when he tried his luck on her again. Only feeling better during the mornings and evenings she‘d spent with you in her arms. 

It reached a certain point on a Friday Night. Jingyuan sent her home after she almost lost her shit at Hana because of a simple misunderstanding from her side.

„Come back once you’ve calmed down.“, he said. 

The funny thing? Nobody was angry with her. Not Jingyuan. Not Jiaqou. Not Moze. Not Hana. Nobody. Everybody already knew what was going on with the Merlin‘s Claw. Except for the poor woman herself.

Or you.

Once Feixiao opened the door to your shared home and inhaled your scent, it‘s as good as over for the both of you. 

Poor you was just dusting off the shelves in the living room when your girlfriend practically threw herself right at you, hands clawing your shirt and pants right off of your body. Even your underwear covered too much for her liking. 

Her body felt too hot. The general had the impression she‘d burn to ashes from the inside out if she didn’t bury her already throbbing cock inside your cunt within the next moments.

„F-Fei, what- Hah!“, a bite mark on your most sensitive part on your neck never sounded better to her. 

She needed you carnally. Fucking wasn’t enough. She needed to breed you throughly until neither couldn’t think straight anymore. Until all that’s left inside of your spent pussy is her cum. 

„Quiet, darling.“, leaving your neck with a mark that will surely take on a pretty purple color during the next few days. Goodness, she might as well died without the tightness of your cunt.

In between the fog of clothes flying to the floor, sloppy kisses and Feixiao‘s growling right into your ear, you didn’t even notice when exactly she shoved her length into you. Suddenly she was all over you, inside you, digging her claws into your skin so she could drag you on and off her cock in a faster manner, soon forming creamy ring around her base that drove her close to madness. 

She wanted nothing more right now than for you to carry out her babies, the sheer thought only fuel to the fire that’s seemingly devouring her from the inside.

She didn’t try to angle her hips to hit your weak spot better, she didn’t care how you’re supposed to cover up the bite marks on your neck and shoulders, not even your beautiful tits were spared of her teeth.

„Fckin‘ take my cock into that pussy… g-get it all i-in there…“, she‘d mutter as she watches you melt over her for another time, your mixed juices oozing out on the sides whenever she‘d fuck back into you. That sofa will probably have to be replaced when she is done with you.

When your legs were pressed up against your chest that was probably the moment your soul disconnected from your body. Her using you more or less as a personal fleshlight was more than you could ever handle, even when she fucked her third load into your cunt, you just hoped she would keep on fucking out her heat with you.

If every cycle felt like this for her, Feixiao could only pray to Lan to be blessed by this amazing occurrence once every month. The warming sensation of your pussy tightening around her dick every so often, those pretty moans spilling out of your mouth with each time she rolled her hips against yours, only adding to the already torturous pressure against your cervix. She could go on like this for days. 

There was one time where she accidentally slipped out when pulling back, never in her life did something piss her more off than seeing her dick outside your cum-filled pussy. Her hands immediately went back around your hips and then she pushed herself back in. With one, smooth thrust you welcomed her back inside your warmth, that absolute guttural moan the both of you let out was surely to be heard outside by any random passerby.

But don’t think she will be done with you after a day. She‘ll make sure you fall asleep with your pussy warming her dick and she‘ll make sure you also get to wake up with it, only so she can mess you up all over again.

Maybe being mature isn’t so bad after all.

[phantomspren]

I was just going to put this in tags but I'll put it here.

This is why I'm uncomfortable when people make sweeping generalizations about conservatives/Republicans.

On a fundamental level, I do disagree with the political beliefs that lead people to holding those labels.

But at the same time, there's such a huge difference between someone who is Republican because they think that we should have lower taxes, and someone who is Republican because they think rich white men are the only people worthy of rights.

When we make those blanket statements of "every Republican is racist" or whatever, we're making it less likely that those people are going to do stuff like this. Often it leads to people doubling down on their beliefs, even if they are inherently harmful.

You also have people like my mom. She is a registered Republican, born and raised in Idaho, super super Mormon.

She's a registered Republican because she thinks that society should be built to promote the family and help families thrive.

But she also supports universal healthcare.

I tell her all the things I think are cool about Harris and Walz and she's always like "wow, yeah, that is really cool!"

She's a high school teacher and because of that now supports gun control.

She doesn't give a shit that I'm aroace. (Haven't talked about gender stuff but I'd feel pretty comfortable bringing it up at this point to be honest.)

The thing is that the public/left awareness of the Republican party has shifted, following the people who are in power. Because those in power are getting more extreme.

There are people who have always held really extreme right-wing beliefs.

There are people like many who are voting for Trump who used to be less extreme, but have followed those in positions in power in gradually making their views more extreme.

There are those like my mom and dad who have some not great but far more reasonable beliefs who feel like the Republican party no longer represent them.

It's important to talk about those problematic beliefs that people like my parents hold, but at the end of the day they are genuinely good people. They've got internalized racism and homophobia and misogyny just like everyone else, but they're still good people.

Honestly even most hardcore Trump supporters are good people. (My grandparents voted for him! They're some of the kindest people I know!)

But if we just throw everyone under the label of "Republican" and then assume that includes things like homophobe, white supremacist, etc, you're going to end up with a lot of people who don't want to get behind what you're behind.

It's so much better, in my experience, to build a report, built trust, try to genuinely understand where the other person is coming from. I've talked to my Trump voting grandparents about trans people and they listened to me. I may not have changed their minds, but they have at least seen that other side from someone they respect.

That's going to go a whole lot more good in the long run than just calling them Republican and never talking to them again.

Of course there's more nuance than this, and if someone has like genuine beliefs that. Really really not great. Dump their ass. It's not worth it. There's a difference between someone who's a white supremacist because that's what they deeply believe, and someone who's just parroting what they saw elsewhere. The later deserve time and understanding, because they have the potential to turn into the former but aren't there yet.

And of course there are people like my mom. If she took a political compass quiz it would tell her she's liberal, hands down. Still a registered Republican.

Anyways, these are thoughts I've had for a bit and maybe I'll write something later that's a bit more planned out. Hope that makes sense.

And there's just a ton of nuance here that I can't get into because I've almost hit my time limit on Tumblr and I need to go take an exam. Plus it's dumb to expect me to elaborate on every possible way this could be misinterpreted. Just assume I kinda know what I'm talking about please, unless I accidentally said something blatantly incorrect. O7

Please vote tomorrow.

Be compassionate.

Imagine those around you complexly.

Think about my mom. :p

Have a cat picture for the road.

i'm a huge fan of Republicans, conservatives or however you want to be politically labeled choosing country over party. please let me see more stories. it's a brave thing to do this. even if you voted for him in both 2016 & 2020 but you changed your mind now, WELCOME. it's a massive deal to get out of any cult successfully & MAGA is no different. being filled with anger & hatred, & fear is intoxicating & honestly easier than choosing to do the right thing. i'm glad you saw the light.

check your registration status often & don't stop talking about Project 2025. they can pretend they're distancing themselves from it as much as they want but it's absolutely their policy. we can do this though if we just show up & VOTE. we got this 💙

[cookies-in-chees]

I wish those Mouthwashing fans would stop attacking everyone who draws Anya as pregnant. First of all I'm pretty sure (Im not an abortion expert so I might be wrong) even if they got back to Earth safely Anya would be too far along to get one so it's not realistic but that's not even my main issue.

Mouthwashing is a PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR GAME that is about people's bodily autonomy being stripped away from them. Yes Anya could kill that thing in a perfect world, but the world of Mouthwashing is very specifically not a perfect world and Anya's pregnancy is incredibly important to the narrative. "But they said it was a good ending au" ok and usually Curly is still severely burned, obviously this is a good RELATIVE TO CANON AU, not the sunshine, rainbows and baby bunnies au.

Anya's pregnancy is the catalyst for everything that happens in the story. While yes there are definitely pro-lifers who are making content like that to push their agenda, that's not where most of this is coming from, and attacking random who people are drawing psychological horror art for the psychological horror game for it just makes you look like an asshole.

I know "Drawing something doesn't mean you condone it irl" Is largely used in shipping discourse but I feel like Mouthwashing fans should be able to understand that "Exploring dark/depressing themes in art, especially fan art of a game like Mouthwashing, does not mean that you think that this is the best possible situation in the real world"

Edit: Also (while I don't think people who do this are bad or media illiterate) I feel like just saying "Well in my AU Anya can just abort that thing and everyone else who does it differently is wrong" kinda misses the point of Mouthwashing. As I said Mouthwashing is a game about the horror of losing bodily autonomy and how these men have failed Anya, it is incredibly important to the narrative and horror of the game that Anya is forced to keep the baby. 

Obviously, I think people should be allowed to write AU’s where Anya has the choice of getting rid of the baby because it is a nice alternate universe but to me at least it feels like a bit of a cop-out. These au’s actively reject one of the main themes of this game and the creators tend to (not all of them, just some) act like they are better than everyone else who tries to engage with it because conveniently getting rid of one of the most important parts of the game's story and horror makes them feel better even if it ruins the narrative. Don’t get me wrong making an AU so you can feel better is great, I do that all the time, but you shouldn’t be harassing people for doing things differently. (Oh yeah and harassing people over AU’s is extremely childish and gross)

[cinnamonest]

I assume this is because I criticized Kamala Harris in my last post.

I want to address this because it's important to me and frustrations currently consuming my life, and I'm very emotionally unwell right now. I want to share my experiences and make a point I feel is important at this time.

Once again, this is very unfitting of the smut fanfiction blog and will be deleted later, even though I'm sure this is a huge follower-losing post, but whatever.

Forgive me for rambling so much, but I encourage you and people who think like this to read in entirety.

I realize things are tense right now in the US.

Part of the reason for my inactivity the past while (besides multiple hospitalizations) is that I'm glued to my screen every night now because I'm very scared. I've been spending all my time researching, watching videos from economists, etc.

(Preemptively, sources for everything I'm about to say: the FEMA Privacy Act Statement itself, the official CPB database, Helene People Finder, United States Council of Foreign Relations, Samaritan's Purse, NYC.gov, Starlink, Politico, ABC, CNBC, georgia.gov, nc.gov, tn.gov, my own life)

The US is an extremely high-tension, polarized political climate, largely due to the bipartisan system.

However, no one should be immune from criticism.

All politicians should be criticized when they do harm. I am allowed to criticize her, and I will.

Criticizing one candidate is not the same thing as endorsing/supporting their opposition.

3,000+ Appalachians are missing. The current death toll makes this the deadliest single event in the US since 1862. A higher death toll than Hurricane Katrina, a higher death toll than the events of 9/11/2001, a higher death toll than any mass shooting.

However, it is largely going completely ignored, and mainstream news media has barely acknowledged it, in part due to elections, but largely because the people who live in Appalachia are poor, rural people. And the harsh reality is that poor people's lives are not treated with the same value as people of higher classes.

FEMA continues to do nothing, and the feds are now threatening to take children away from homeless parents... yet they blocked donations of trailers and campers from nearby areas that would help those people to, you know, not be homeless. A kind group of Amish have come down from Pennsylvania to build shelters, and FEMA may tear them down too since they don't have "permits."

Harris had the opportunity to do something, and has the authority to order FEMA agents to act differently, but she chose to exploit the situation for publicity, then leave and otherwise ignore them. She then went on to pay Beyonce $10,000,000 to speak for 5 minutes.

That deserves to be criticized.

Her campaign continues to claim a good economy and job market, when inflation and cost of living has peaked, and just this month, their policies actually have officially led to one of the worst employment outcomes the United States has seen since the Great Depression, disproportionately affecting low-income workers.

That deserves to be criticized.

She has a bad track record during her time in the judicial system for the way her actions harshly affected underprivileged people, especially Jamal Trulove, who was terribly wronged.

That deserves to be criticized.

Furthermore, the reason FEMA/the government does not have money for Appalachia is for a few reasons, all of which were ordered, facilitated or allowed by the current administration:

1) we've sent over $100 BILLION to the IDF so they can keep blowing up hospitals and kindergartens,

2) we sent $175 BILLION to Zelensky so he can keep sending young men into violent deaths even if its against their will,

3) we just sent $100+ million to Lebanon even after the hurricane crisis, meaning the federal government explicitly chose to prioritize foreign aid over its own people,

4) money was taken directly from FEMA reserves for crises like ours, and used as part of a whopping $150,000,000,000 spent on mass migration — including free flights, a $20 million welcome center with a free-use "game room" with dozens of Xboxes plus free food/lodging, and in NY, an average of $1400 prepaid debit card per individual each month.

Meanwhile, Appalachians get a one-time $750 per family, and if you have insurance to cover anything, it's a LOAN you have to pay back (many "fact-checkers" are claiming this is false when its literally in the FEMA eligibility statement). Many of the independent line workers FEMA hired for repairs are reporting they have not been paid AT ALL since starting.

In other words, the money that was specifically reserved for saving lives in times of crisis was spent on video games and free money handouts.

That, holy hell, deserves to be criticized.

Secondly, I want to address the message itself.

I realize that a lot of the american tumblr userbase is 1) people young enough that they're still partially financially dependent on parents and/or 2) are, like most of the US statistically, earning middle-class incomes, and live in fairly population-dense environments.

Most people outside the US, on the other hand, are getting their perceptions of life, politics, etc in the US from the posts/narratives of people within the aforementioned groups, popular culture, and their own local media, so their perspective is often quite limited, to no fault of their own. I'm sure my perspective of life in other countries is also very limited.

Most of you live in places other than where I live, and live very different lives from mine. As humans, we are naturally prone to subconsciously assuming the lives of others are not too different from our own, and do not naturally stop to consider how various factors might affect people's lives and decisions.

We are social beings, prone to adopting the beliefs of others who have the same experiences and thereby the same limited perspectives as us, especially in ideologically homogenous environments.

However, I have just as much of a voice as anyone else.

My hope is that I can use my words and experience to foster empathy for one another between different people in a very polarized climate at a very tense time.

I'm originally from a fairly rural community of about 8,000 people, largely low-income, low-education, evangelical blue-collar workers and farmers, in the Bible Belt.

It is well-known that this demographic overwhelmingly voted for Trump. I don't deny that. I visit home a lot, I see the yard signs everywhere, flags hanging from pickup trucks and farm fenceposts, lots of red hats.

There is a reason for that.

The administration of the past four years has utterly destroyed many rural, low-income communities.

It caused a huge spike in job layoffs, leading to homelessness, drug abuse, hunger and poverty for many already low-income people, and for select communities, violent crime.

I'm fortunate enough to have had parents better off than most of the community, but I'm self-sufficient now, and I am in the bottom 20% of incomes in the US, even with a degree. I could write endless paragraphs on how hard it is to get by, but to summarize for the sake of shortening — it's very, very rough.

Everything has become drastically more expensive, very rapidly over the course of a few years. Groceries are 3x their 2021 prices. I had to get a guarantor for a one-bedroom apartment.

Many rural families resort to drastic measures to get by. Small farmers are being financially strangled out of their way of life.

The actions of the Biden-Harris administration is the reason a huge portion of my extended family was laid off and now face total destitution, as there are simply no jobs left available.

The Biden-Harris border and crime policies are responsible for the brutal rape of a significant number of women and girls in this geographic region. Statistically, these rapes have quadrupled compared to the previous administration.

A woman was raped and stabbed to death about a mile from where I live.

Our nearby neighbor, a cow farmer back home, was attacked on his own property.

I have personally faced multiple instances of sexual harassment and aggression, some of which were very frightening. I know other girls nearby experienced the same or worse.

Alcoholism and hard drugs due to the spike in unemployment and poverty has ruined many lives, and help is often hard to access in rural regions.

A woman my mom was acquainted with ended her own life in 2023 because her children were taken from her due to her drug addiction and poverty. People I played with on the church playground as kids are now unemployed heroin addicts.

I've watched my mom driven to tears after realizing how drastically her income tax increased, and how little she has left after them despite working around the clock.

All of these can be traced back to the policies and actions of the current administration, and the current Harris-Walz platform's proposals will drastically increase it all — largely voted for by people who live in economic situations and locations as such that they are fairly unaffected by these consequences, so they may not understand how it affects these people.

I could write endless paragraphs of all the people I know who have been at best negatively affected, at worst utterly ruined, by the current administration.

Since I have the unique background of understanding these people whilst having more liberal values as an individual, with a broad range of people I interact with now, I have tried to have discussions on this over the last year or so, in real life and virtually. I believed that raising awareness would make people on the left-leaning side empathize with them, and inspire dialogue to work to implement ways to account for the concerns and needs of the rural poor, and incorporate that into their existing proposals.

I was incorrect. I've been very polite and respectful in how I address others in these discussions. In the vast majority of interactions, I was not given the same in return.

A few were receptive, which I appreciate, but in most of my experiences, the same group that is known for encouraging empathy, apparently doesn't apply that philosophy to people they dislike — no matter how I presented it, they immediately rushed to demonize, censor, humiliate, shame and gaslight me, and expressed callous apathy at best, if not active contempt, for my people.

They say "that doesn't happen," and I think they genuinely believe that due to limited perspective — but the reality is that they're simply in a position of privilege as such that it isn't happening to them.

Similarly, what you have to understand is that from the perspective of many rural people in red areas, their experience is that more privileged people inflicted this suffering on them by voting for it, then silence and shame them for speaking out about it.

Likewise, they also have a limited perspective — for them, the issue I see is that they adamantly believe the "other side" is already well-aware of the effects their choices have on others. I don't think this is true, I think many on the other end are unaware of these issues.

This dual lack of understanding creates mutual resentment and bitterness, which fuels tension.

I will say that trying to explain how girls in my community were assaulted or my own harassment, only to have it spammed with replies along the lines of "don't care" or "deserved" or calling me a liar, seeing posts mocking or wishing harm on people like my family accumulate tens of thousands of likes, having people I care about referred to as "trailer trash," passive-aggressive statements implying I'm too unattractive for a man to harass — this, along with other distasteful actions I've seen, has pushed me away from the left as a community, and I don't think that's unreasonable.

Similarly, labeling people you know nothing about as bad people, without making any effort to understand their circumstances or what they actually believe and why, will drive people away and make them resentful.

My community is multiracial, women are highly valued in southern culture for various reasons, and they themselves are marginalized and underprivileged. They're kind people who have been good to me.

I haven't really met any people who are hateful, nor is hate the reason for their votes — they're all voting as they do because they are scared, exhausted, grieving and desperate. A lot of people in the area never voted before, but are now registering to vote in droves because they feel their backs are against the wall, so to speak.

Moreover, Orange Man himself redirected $14 million dollars to Appalachia, continues to raise awareness for them in speeches, and Musk, who is associated with him, has a team working to help Appalachians. He's also the only noteworthy figure that has acknowledged certain issues affecting them.

They realize that the situation in Appalachia could just as easily be them in the future, that they'd be given the same treatment.

This has resulted in a lot of rural poor people feeling that he cares more for their lives, compared to Biden/Harris who more or less neglected them. Which, considering that, is a fairly reasonable conclusion on their end.

Finally, it is true that blue voters tend to be in favor of abolishing or ruining crucial aspects of our way of life that, I say this politely, they do not fully understand, while the people here want to preserve their way of life.

So, while I have more liberal values that differ from most people back home, I don't believe they are bad people. They are reacting very reasonably to the circumstances they're in.

All I ask of others is to consider, no matter where you are or what beliefs you align with, and no matter what happens tomorrow, that the "other side" to your own may not be the evil people you have been led to believe they are, but are humans whose lives are simply different from yours, and they are acting in accordance to their experiences, circumstances, and fears.

The growing trend of demonizing political opposition with no attempt at empathy, only creates more pain in the world. I hope this has helped to foster better understanding, and that people can be kind to one another.

That is all I wanted to say.

[rough-handss]

just some thoughts about pierresteban because no one stands me talking about them anymore

@starlightiing posted about how reserved este normally is and how much he was open this weekend to pierre and thats so so true! I cant stop thinking about my theory (sorry not sorry for being insane) about why they fell off

because yeah, este barely talks about them but when he does its always so intense, its how they are so important, how he wouldn’t be there without pierre, it’s the two boys from normandie… i also think about how he’s the one most distant, considering pierre and charles.

one interview, when questioned about pierre, he started of by saying “my dad….” and then switched off to talk about pierre and him…….. in pierre’s diary when he was younger he also talks about how, when they were 14 or so, este’s dad disqualified him from a race (there was more context), and pierre always saying he tried to mend things between them but it never worked, este never wanted it. and pierre said he never truly understood.

I think he didn’t want to be distant, to fight with pierre like this. they were friends. this is not something that breaks so easily…. i think they stopped being friends because este’s dad said he had to stop being friends with him to get where he wanted. afterall, they gave everything up for him and he should also give up everything for them, paying them back by being extremely dedicated, by not having friends, just rivals. which also explains why he fights with almost everyone. kill or be killed, and the first thing he killed was his friendship with pierre…. but its still there, like an open wound

who would have thought back in the days formula 1 would have space for both of them….! and who would have thought back in the days it would have space for both of them on the podium… side by side, same team, same uniform… a children’s dream come true. i think este let himself hold to this dream and to enjoy it.

even if it was only for a day, they did it together.

este would never talk anything bad about his family, who gave up from so much to be living his dream, who gave him everything he needed. he would never explain to pierre it was his dad that made him go away , he would never say to his dad how much that friendship with pierre was important.

[lesbiantestsubject]

To my brothers on T I know this is gonna be harder for you so please listen up:

First, if your doctor is open to it, ask for the 2000mg/10ml vial, you'll need to be careful to keep it clean and free of contamination from the stopper, but the expiration dates will typically be a year plus. Please specify the 10ml vial and not a three month supply, the difference is minimal but important.

Next, have it sent to a busy, understaffed CVS (most of them are busy and understaffed). If your insurance doesn't cover CVS use GoodRx, at time of writing it should be about $50. Our system by default makes us mark the 10ml vial as a 28 day supply regardless of the dosage because we cannot guarantee a beyond use date beyond that (as I said, non-zero chance of contamination, use a 90 degree angle and a alcohol pad every time and you'll be fine). Only the most stickler of pharmacists or technicians are going to bother changing it - if they even know the system workaround to bypass it.

Then, come to refill it the next month. If they marked the first fill as 28 day supply (you can see on your label in the lower right near the price) it will process without any red flags in the system and will again will likely slip by all but the most stickler of pharmacists and techs. If they marked it as something longer just explain that your doctor told you to discard the vial after 28 days per USP guidelines and so you were a good boy and already threw it out, this should work against all but the biggest douchebag of a pharmacist. If that fails and your doctor is cooperative, have them call the pharmacy and authorize an early fill - if that doesn't work try another pharmacy.

If all goes well you'll probably be able to fill two to three vials in a row before anyone starts to question things.

I cannot speak for other pharmacies, but in general retail pharmacy is kind of a shit show right now so a busy store in another chain is also probably going to just go by USP even if their instincts or morals tell them to be jerks about it.

If anyone has any questions or if you need advice on a situation I didn't cover please DM me anytime, or hell send me an anon ask if you're shy. If anyone's insurance requires a non-CVS pharmacy and you can't afford the $50 let me know and I can find a tech at another pharmacy to see if they have any advice that would be relevant to their chain.

To my transfemme sisters, you've got it a little easier. Have your doc send your meds with a 12 month supply to a pharmacy you don't typically use, use GoodRx if you have to, none of the usual drugs in a transfemmes HRT regiment should be extremely expensive. Tell them you're going out of the country in a week or two and would like to purchase the entire year's supply at once. A year's supply of 2mg estradiol tabs taken four times daily (the max dose I've ever seen) is $75 on GoodRx at CVS right now. They'll probably need to order more tabs in but again only the biggest stickers are gonna question it. (You can also send to your usual pharmacy if you don't take any other meds, but I recommend not returning for at least a year just to be on the safe side. It's not illegal, but again you could run into some stickler pharmacist who calls your bluff and refuses further fills or tattles to your doctor or something.)

Again, please please please don't hesitate to send me DMs or asks if you have any questions or need specific advice.

Stockpile HRT now.

[doublejango]

I am already seeing virtue signaling posts from people saying "I don't care what you believe or how you voted..."

That's great. I care. I care a lot. The outcome of this election effects me, but so much more than me. I care. It matters. And if it really doesn't matter to you? Good for you. If you are privileged enough, safe enough, and entitled enough to truly not care about how the election will impact other people... I can't even imagine what that must be like. Nice, I guess?

I spent most of last night and this morning crying.

I'm done with tears now, and have moved on to rage.

And you know what? I promise not to let it burn out. Because smiles and positivity may work for many of us, and I'm not going to lose mine either, I promise not to lose my queer joy--they can rip it from my cold dead hands, not to get too damn dramatic here--but I'm also not in the mood to start forgiving and smiling and welcoming Nazis into the bar.

So. I will hold onto anger. I've been tolerant and accepting long enough in life... and have learned something important about what causes the worst harm.

I have been gay bashed before. Violently. Blood. Broken bones. Lost teeth. And you know what the worst part of the recovery of all of that was, the part that did the most psychological and emotional damage? It wasn't the actual bashing itself. It wasn't even the memory of exactly what it felt like to have something swung full force into my face with extremely violent intent. It was the denial from my "friends" and family afterwards. The people who wanted to deny that it was a hate crime. The people who wanted me to shrug it off and not be upset about it. The people who loved to say oh well it wasn't that bad. You know what helped? Letting myself feel fury. Letting myself name the attack as hate. "It wasn't that bad," though, they said, asif it was their judgment to make--endless hours of dental procedures, pain, wounds that never fully healed, the trauma, the lost work, the new experience of vomiting blood with broken jaws and knocked out teeth. Because it wasn't that bad. And there was so much self-reproach, because I could have avoided it. I wasn't the intended target. He was swinging for a lesbian with me. When the attacker burst out of hiding he was swinging for the side of her head, her temple. I jumped in between them. Didn't think. It was an impulse. Protect the people you care about. So I took it to the face. And I grabbed him. I threw him, and fell doing it. I remember being on my knees in the mud. Seeing my teeth in the mud. Seeing my blood just. Everywhere. And knowing I needed to push back to my feet immediately because it might not be over.

We were lucky. It was over. He hadn't expected anyone to fight back. He ran.

But the people who claimed to love me didn't want to deal with the idea that it was a hate crime. They wanted it to be random and meaningless. That made their world a little safer, I guess. And their denial made my world colder. And my recovery lonelier. Harder. They put me down for "bringing it on myself." As if it would have been more virtuous to let this woman take that attack to her temple, as if I would have been more valid for standing by and watching it happen.

There are so many more stories I can tell you, but the lesson is almost invariably the same: the ugliest hurt is often the one caused by the people who just turn away when you identify what happened to you. The hurts that cut the deepest and last the longest often come from the people we thought we could trust, because they want you to just get over it, don't talk about it, admit it could have been worse, don't call it That.

The betrayal from people who are supposed to have your back? That deepens wounds, deepens trauma.

I won't be that person. I won't tell you to smile and turn the other cheek when someone shows you they hate you. Do whatever you need to do to survive--physically, emotionally, psychologically. Just don't give up, and don't let the cowards force you into feeling shame for not giving up and letting the world break you.

Never be ashamed to refuse to break.

Never let someone shame you for choosing strength. For drawing your line in the sand.

I wanted the "exciting" times of my life to be behind me. But they're not--so be it. I'm not going to tone myself down to be safer. I don't care about my own safety anymore. Any self-preservation drive broke a long time ago when it comes to homophobia. I promise to always be ready to fight. To be a queer menace to "polite" society. I promise to be out and loud and gay, to be a shield however I can for those who can't be out, who can't fight back, who can't even speak up because it wouldn't be safe for them to do so. They are valid, too. And I love them. And I will have their fucking backs. I promise to, in my real off-the-internet life, be someone who will always jump in and speak up if I see queer people being harassed or shamed--especially if they're young. I am older. I will fight for my baby gays. I will love them.

And I will never, never put anyone down for refusing to welcome Nazis into the bar. We don't look the other way and quietly tolerate them. Not here.

I may not be around much for the next few days. I need to handle my own shit. My own fury. My own grief. Because right now, there is so much grief.

But I won't be going anywhere.

I will fight to stay.

Whatever it takes.

I'm not giving up.

If I end up on my knees in the mud again, staring at my own blood and teeth, metaphorically or in fucking reality, so be it. I will get back up. And I will keep getting back up. I won't let go of the anger. The spite. And I definitely won't let go of my love for every queer person, the ones I know and the ones I don't, because that love is what will give me strength to get through this. Whatever comes next.

I may not have much sense of self-preservation. But goddamn, I will fight for you.

[sicktrix]

To add to my last post something hits me about the fact that I think Tabby expresses care the best way he can; by trying to mirror the affection given to him.

Initially, Jammer is extremely confrontational towards him— his first action is to startle Tabby awake for no reason and then immediately starts spitting out accusations of being untrustworthy or out to get them. If all Tabby’s ever known of their relationship is “I don’t trust you, therefore I will not take the time to understand you, therefore I don’t like you” he’s obviously going to be extremely petty and childish back. (shoutout no jammer sign I miss his hater days). But then there’s a sudden shift, and both of them take the time to honestly understand each other down to their fundamental parts. That’s what matters to Tabby— true understanding. Because to understand is to connect, and to connect is to belong. Tabby’s nickname of TB2 later on only pushed him further into that place of belonging.

I think the little moment where Tabby draws K is also very sweet. K has been the most friendly to Tabby up to this point, constantly checking up on him and advocating for him in the group, and K is the first one to immediately humanize him (calling him “he” before anyone else). In the moment where K is kind to Tabby, it’s not necessarily the same as the experience him and Jammer went through, but it’s still important— the act of being seen. Not just as an object, but as a living thing. Of trying to connect to something even on a surface level. I think that’s why he drew K. Not just to better study them, but to convey a sense of reciprocity. “You see me, I see you”

Evan, on the other hand, got a (for better or worse) very emotional part of Tabby. The using of his own magic to repair something, to pour his hope for success and the joy of being with the people he loves into the act of fixing Tabby, immediately ricochets back at him. Tabby now gets the full “experience” of friendship and care past just initial connection. Is it good??? Eh. But it’s important to note that Tabby’s feelings on Weugan are a direct mirroring of Evan’s outlook at friendships amplified to the worst level given they’re on cocaine island where everything is pumped up to 11. He’s clingy and keeps cementing the fact that they are best friends and constantly tries to remind everyone that he is useful so there’s a reason to keep him around (He literally says Evan “taught him” that it’s only a matter of time before people leave) but is still bright and cheery and conversational. If an energy like this— if a kindness like this is given to him, he has no choice but to express a carbon copy of it back. And his personality shines! He’s playful and silly and so so curious, he find fascination in deep conversations and magical items and humour and people— it’s almost like he, for the first time, is genuinely alive.

[kotelok16]

“...can you promise that this conversation will remain just between us?”

Yoko said this very seriously, hugging herself tightly. I don't think I've ever seen her so tense.… During this time, I managed to understand that if someone wants to tell me something, it's better to listen to them. Then it may be too late.

“Of course,” I nodded immediately.

“It's *very* important to me that this stays between us”

“Okay, but then why did you... decide to bring it up at all?”

“Keeping it a secret from everyone is already a little unbearable. Besides, it would be very bad if it turns out that no one knows this, if... something suddenly happens to me”

She smiled nervously. “If something suddenly happens to me”… It's not hard to guess what Yoko means. It's crazy to think about it, but she seems to take it extremely seriously.

“I promise I won't tell anyone,” I replied as convincingly as I could

For a while, Yoko stared at the steps of the stairs where we had settled down. It seems… Is it hard for her to breathe? Is she going to be okay? But I didn't have time to ask her about it, because Yoko took a deep breath and said:

“I lied about not remembering my talent”

Yoko looked up at me.

“Actually, I am a Reserve course student”

[screampied]

miss vegas. how do u survive in college. please give me some tips. i am barely hanging on by a thread and it's only my first year. how do u do it. also ilysm.

hi nonnie 🌞. omg ofc! i used to live on campus, i don’t anymore which is way easier for me— also, don’t stress. first year can always be a lot and extremely overwhelming but i got uuuuu !!!!!! love u too

it's a lot of things i wish i knew as my first year LOL. i guess one thing that is probably super basic, don’t procrastinate. just get your stuff done so you don’t have to worry about it later ☝️ it’s easier said than done, but trust you’ll feel a lot better once you finish your assignments / projects early n on time !!! also, staying up late while working on stuff — don’t do that. it’s not good for you, and i always did that eheh. waiting ‘till the last minute of 11:59 to finish essays nuh uh. do your stuff as soon as it get assigned, DONT PROCRASTINATE 🫵 also, go to all your orientations. do nawt skip them

sleeeeeep. you need lots of sleep, regardless of what year you’re in it’s very important. i wish i knew that as a freshman 😀😀😀. i would stay up all night doin work, especially on the weekends. certified loser nerd. also, set an alarm !!!! if you’re a heavy sleeper like me, set a fuck ton of them !!!! or uh… have someone wake you up. i used to oversleep a lot, a way to prevent this is to usually go to sleep earlier than you usually do ( from my experience )

if you’re on campus, have some sort of map / guide so you know where you’re going !!!!! on my first day i literally got lost right away and i barely knew much english so it was even more embarrassing LOL. beeeee prepared !!!! ☝️ do research on ur school, they should provide those things — also, try to get those things ahead of time before your courses start so you aren’t askin random ppl where one of your rooms are. of course, its okay to still get lost anyway. it happens. ask for help if needed but make sure you’re prepared !!!

you don’t necessarily need friends to “survive” in college. everyone’s experience is different, but i found my experience easier by just keepin my circle small 🫂. IM NOT SAYING TO BE A LONER, you can have / make friends throughout your years ofc !!! in college, you’ll meet the best and worst people of your life. your main priorities should be yourself and your studies — but you come first at the end of the day. friends will always come & go, but eventually you’ll stumble across some nice ppl who share the same interests as you !!!

there’s prob super more important details but for the last thing i’ll say this— don’t let your grades define you 💓. it sucks majorly to get bad marks on something, especially if you stayed up countless hours on it, givin it your all. i personally have / had a habit of doing that, but never let it define you. if you truly think you didn’t get the right grade for any number of reasons, you can always talk to your prof about it in private. but don’t stress ab it !!! always remember you matter first over some exam 🫵

[cosmicjoke]

I wanted to add on to my initial answer to the anon ask I just got about Isayama confirming that the Ackermans lost their powers with the end of the titan curse.

I was talking to a mutual recently about this, and they said something that I think is so true, that it's actually such a positive, that Levi no longer has his Ackerman powers, because in truth, his strength was always such a burden to him. I think there was a lot of pain and a sense of guilt and failure in Levi that was rooted in his strength, for the fact that, despite it, he still lost so many people he loved. I think Levi must have often felt like he either wasn't using his strength well enough, or that he simply wasn't strong enough, for it to make a difference. Again, the reason Levi felt so compelled to use his strength to help others in the first place wasn't because of the strength itself, but because of his innate compassion and empathy. This mutual of mine also said that the ways in which Levi is able to help now, like handing out candy to children and planting trees, etc... is better for him, because it's more reflective of who he actually is inside, and that also is so true.

I've long maintained that Levi was never naturally inclined toward violence. I think Isayama intentionally contrasted Levi's story in "Bad Boy", the story of how his Ackerman powers awakened, with the panels of Eren killing Mikasa's kidnappers. Eren was always naturally inclined toward violence, and that's reflected in how really effortlessly he instigates and attacks Mikasa's kidnappers, how he had such a well-thought-out plan going in of how to kill them, etc... When you contrast that with Levi and his "plan" to retrieve his mother's tea set, it's really stark, because Levi went in without any sort of idea of how to fight back, of how to retrieve his mother's tea set, and when he was attacked, he didn't even fight back until they started insulting his mother, and even then, his initial attempts were totally ineffectual.

Levi was never a violent person, or someone who reveled in violence. He was only forced into becoming violent because of the desperate circumstances of his life. And that really highlights the tragedy of Levi being made into a human weapon, even if it was for a good cause. His Ackerman powers put him in a position that went against his very nature, in my view, for how they forged him into a living weapon. Because he felt he had to use them to help people, and the most effective way to do so with his strength was through physical brutality. But that was never who Levi was or is. He's a kind and compassionate man who cares deeply for other people. I think, deep down, Levi has always been a gentle person.

And that also brings up another point which I've argued again and again. We aren't meant to morally condemn Levi for being violent, we're meant to morally condemn the circumstances and the injustices of the world that forced Levi and every other character in the story into such extremes. When I see people accusing Levi of being "morally grey" or "morally wrong" for killing, it makes me want to rip my hair out. It absolutely destroys me that these people don't see the actual cruelty of judging and condemning someone for failing to be a pacifist when pacifism would get either them or other people killed. That they miss this crucially important distinction in AoT destroys me, too. AoT was never telling its audience that the people committing acts of violence should be condemned or judged for it. It was telling its audience that the unfair and unjust circumstances that pushed them into a corner and left them with no choice but to be violent is what we should be condemning. And I think no other character better demonstrates the tragedy of that than Levi, again, for how the cruelty and unfairness of his life forced him into becoming something he never was.

So, yeah, in many ways, Levi losing his strength is a blessing, because it allows him to be who he really is. His strength only ever forced him into embodying this role that wasn't reflective of his true nature. A "lunatic that kills people", as he said. Who Levi really is, is the man we see at the end of the anime, handing out candy to children. The same as in the many moments throughout the story that show Levi's great compassion, like him giving Petra's patch to Ivan, him comforting a dying soldier, him helping Historia to bring the orphans from Underground to the surface, him saving Ramzi, etc, etc...

[foreverurs222]

'babysitting' the Kaulitz twins °. 2003

₊‧.°.⋆ fluff ⋆.°.‧₊

your mother and the twins' mother are friends. When Miss Kaulitz wants to go on a trip with her boyfriend for the weekend, you are asked to look after her sons.

You don't really feel like it. You know Bill and Tom and you are well aware that they can be quite mischievous and naughty and constantly get into some kind of trouble. But your mother sends you over and now you have to spend the weekend with the little twins.

When you arrive, you sit down on the sofa, annoyed, and turn on the TV. The twins instantly come running up to you. Tom grins cheekily “I heard you really wanted to spend the weekend with us”

You roll your eyes “I think you've misunderstood something, little buddy. I'm here to babysit”

Tom tilts his head a little “and that means…” you sigh as you try to concentrate on the TV “that means you are a baby and I am going to sit around”

Bill chuckles a little mischievously and gives his brother a punch in the side “did you hear that? you're a baby”

Tom furrows his eyebrows “I'm not a baby. I'm almost a man”.

You're still trying to concentrate on the TV while the twins tease each other. “I don't see no man here…” you mumble, a little annoyed. Tom looks back and forth between you and Bill. Bill grins “'Told you so”

Tom snorts in annoyance "ok, whatever" he turns towards the tv and turns it off "no tv. Mom said we have to save electricity"

You sigh and chew on your bottom lip "alright guys, what then? you wanna... I don't know, play outside?"

Tom acts all cocky "I got a bed. We can play in there"

You shake your head in disbelief and get off the sofa "careful little buddy, you're way too young to be talking about any of that"

Tom acts like he's sooo grown and tilts his head a little "hm? I'm almost 14. So I'm almost 16 and that means I'm almost 18, so I'm about your age"

You can't help but giggle at this logic. Awww, he's such a little cutie. You take a step forward and pat him encouragingly on the shoulder "yeah sure. And if you keep aging this fast in a matter of seconds, we might as well say you're almost 80 too and then Bill and I would have to start asking around to find a place for you in an old people's home"

Bill breaks out laughing as Tom shakes your hand off his shoulder and frowns at you "not funny..." he grumbles.

you smile at the twins "ok, serious now. What do you want to do? We gotta do something"

Bill grins: “You know, Tom and I have a band. We play real songs and are extremely popular. We have 10,000 fans”

Tom clears his throat and pokes his brother in the side: "more like 10 fans…" you raise an eyebrow. so these two kids have a band now? cute, but what does ‘real songs’ mean to Bill?

you shrug your shoulders ”so are you going to play me something or what?”

Bill grins again: “of course!” Tom, however, chews on his lower lip a little sheepishly: “uhhhh…. well, half the band is missing. And Bill isn't a particularly good singer, so don't expect too much now…”

Bill gasps in offense “hey, you sing then, Tom!”

Tom quickly acts as if he would ever dare to do that “well, so… we all know I sing best here. but out of … reasons… I can't sing at the moment. Um… I have to rest my golden voice”

Bill and you burst out laughing, Tom grins a little proudly.

After a while you remember that the twins probably have to do something for school "say, don't you two have any homework?"

Bill's eyes widen slightly and he quickly diverts from the topic: "Uhhh, I know what we're doing next. We're writing a new song for our band. It's really super important, we can't put it off”

Tom nods and makes a very innocent face: "Exactly. That has to be done. Super urgent. The fans… They're waiting. We can't leave them hanging” You look at the boys, a little confused: "all 10 fans are waiting? Huh? Do you have homework or not?” Bill distracts you again: “10 fans, 10,000 fans, what's the difference? They're eagerly waiting for a new hit. Come on” Bill takes you by the hand and you follow the twins to the kitchen table.

Tom gives you a pencil and Bill places a block in front you. Tom grins: "Well, get started then"

you look back and forth between the twins with a look of surprise "Me?" Bill smirks at his brother: "Not so easy, huh? Well, not everyone is a musical genius."

Tom grins back and the brothers give each other a big high five.

You smile, thinking the twins are adorable: "Ok you two, i'll write it down and you think about the lyrics. then the next hit should be ready in the next few minutes, riiiight?"

Tom immediately backtracks a little: "Uh, it was mostly Bill's idea anyway. Don't look at me!" Bill rolls his eyes: “pff typical. What I wouldn't do to work with professionals for once” Tom snorts: “Yeah, me too!” You try to stifle a giggle at their little argument. Bill sighs. "Well, let me think for a moment. I'm only doing all this for our countless fans!" The three of you work on new songs, most of the ideas originate from Bill, and Tom and you only throw in a few words occasionally. The results are… ok. And the twins complain that your handwriting is soooo hard to read. As if.

You then make a few sandwiches together and have dinner. Later you put the twins to bed, although they whine that they're waaaay too old to be put to bed and they're not at aaaaall tired yet. They have to go to bed anyway. You sit down in the living room and read some tabloid you bought after school yesterday. After a while, you go back upstairs to see if the boys have fallen asleep.

You open the door to Tom's room a crack and are shocked to see that his bed is empty. Oh no, God please no! You get scared and start imagining the worst case scenarios in your head.

You can only hope that Bill is still there and can tell you where his brother might have gone in the middle of the night!

You go over to Bill's bedroom door and open it. Your heart skips a beat.

Relief fills your whole body. Tom is lying next to Bill in Bill's bed, back to back, eyes closed and breathing in sync. You can't help but smile

"Good night you little rascals" you whisper and close the door.

°. The End

[percyweasleyapologist]

Here's some reasons to write/love Percy x Penelope x Oliver

@guess1mjustheren0w, this is for you :)

OKAY, so basically we know that Oliver and Percy are both extremely passionate about their (subjects? hobbies? y'know what i'm talking about). They both want to be the top, BUT, they aren't competing. We also don't ever hear any mention of anyone else in their grade level.

Percy is especially stuck up and Oliver is kind of all over the place (not when it comes to quidditch, but just life in general). From this, we can assume that they probably argued quite a bit, or at least until they got used to each other. This means that their passion clashes in a contained environment, causing tension.

This is kind of the base of Percy x Oliver, kind of an Enemies to Lovers vibe, but also a forced proximity.

THEN for Percy and Penny, Percy isn't quite introverted, but not quite extroverted, while I headcanon that Penny is more on the extroverted side. Penelope brings out the "rebellious" or more laidback side of Percy, while he bring out the more thoughtful or peaceful side of her.

I'm not really sure how to explain it but kind of imagine a scene where they're in a dorm, no one else around, there's a fire going, it's super cozy, they're laying down and Percy is talking about something he's super passionate about. Penny is just looking up at him with that gaze, the one where it's just full of love, and she's just smiling and they're happy.

Percelope (Percy x Penelope) is more of a sweet, dancing in the rain, running through fields sort of ship. They match each others intellectual abilities and are just so cute.

FINALLY, Penny and Oliver. I don't know the ship name but I definitely see potential. Most of it does revolve around Percy, but i think that makes a ship with all three of them work even better.

So Penny and Oliver are both really important people in Percy's life. They both love him very much and with the other one still in the picture, I think they'd first kind of hate each other. Not really hate actually, more like a strong rivalry.

They both want Percy, and are both going to get what they want. They probably argue a lot, they glare at each other, they make snarky remarks and comments, but at the end of the day, that's what fuels their relationship.

Penny and Oliver have a Rivals to Lovers vibe. They like to rib each other about things, but their rivalry converts into fiery passion (that sounds weird but idk what else to call it) over time.

I feel like they have the kind of love that it's like two teammates in a sport, they both play the same position and are equally as good. It's like that moment right before the game when they look at each other and just smirk and say "i'll score more point a than you", but in the end, they both win because they're on the same team.

They both love the sport (percy), but they love each other equally as much.

All of them fit together because they all balance each other out. Percy's want, combined with Oliver's need, and Penelope's desire, it all balances out. They're like different version of the same person, but they're different enough, so that they still understand each other, but aren't the same person with the same personalities.

So yeah, that's it! If you write something, let me know what it's called! :)

I'll also try to find the post that made me think of it bc i think it does a great job of describing it pretty well!

[nathaniel-underwood-is-an-intj]

I was just gonna put this in the tags but it got a little long so I hope you don't mind me adding this on here!

At first I thought Nat's relationship to alcohol was funny- it seemed strange a 12 year old wanting champagne at a party, most kids that age would probably think it tastes horrible.

And then Nat managing to get served at 14 years old in Prague was pretty funny, especially as the way he looked and dressed at that time so clearly screamed TEENAGER! But no one really cared lol

But when you look deeper it's really sad- the slight hints throughout the book that maybe he can't deal with stressful situations without it. I think alcohol is one of those addictions that really sneaks up on you. Young people really never think about the longer term danger of drinking often, and are more unaware of how badly it can damage your organs, or how fast alcohol poisoning can happen. It's also very easy to justify, because it's often used as a social stimulant which is the majority of the time we see Nat drinking it (at parties and at lunch with Bart). These are times no one would question him drinking, and the thought wouldn't occur to people around him that he was using it more of a crutch than a social lubricant.

It's quite easy to wonder- if he's drinking because he's stressed at a party, how much is he drinking when completing paperwork at night? Or when he has an important deadline or meeting the next morning? Habitual drinkers are very good at hiding being drunk, even to people who live with them; and Nathaniel lives alone, hasn't really got anyone looking out for him anyway, so who's to know how much he using it to cope with his unreasonable workload at 17 years old.

Also, I'm reminded of the part where he summons Bart with the spear in his hand and they argue badly over Bart being summoned by someone else. Bart notes Nathaniel being extremely stressed and disheveled- probably from running his hands through his hair (a nervous habit he canonicaly has) but I like the idea that perhaps he could have been drinking beforehand!

Deveraux had problems with over eating due to stress as well by the last book which I found quite interesting because food addiction isn't covered a lot in media. And Nat comes across as a parallel to him - he admired Devereux at 12 and earned respect for saving his life, and by the end they're both so stressed they're both struggling with unhealthy coping mechanisms.

I always thought Nat would start to smoke as well to deal with stress - perhaps Rosemary flavoured ones to annoy the spirits (Bartimaeus). Especially because drinking alcohol a lot starts to inhibit your thought processes, and I don't think Nat would want to risk that happening, whereas smoking wouldn't. For example, continuing to use alcohol to stop himself being anxious at overwhelming parties but smoking while doing paperwork because he could keep his head clear.

Nat definitely seems to have an addictive personality type going by his extreme workaholic nature and the boderline OCD he develops throughout the books, so I wouldn't think it's out of character for Nat to start having more serious problems with alcohol.

I'd love to read a fix it sort of fanfic where Bart and Kitty realise Nat needs some help managing stress in a healthier way. I think he would struggle a lot but maybe he could support Kitty with her anger management because I think that's something she probably needs help with too😅

I read some post about Nathaniel's relationship with alcohol and the way he uses it to cope with stress (u know like normal teenagers do) and I loved this thought of Nat becoming so dependent at some point that he actually had to physically restrain himself from drinking in order to be able to work and the only times he allowed himself to relax were Devereux's parties

The post on the topic is by @winter2468