#tbc it doesn't exist (that i know of) but it should...

[bijoumikhawal]

also it really is shit how several popular bloggers were like. Horribly bigoted towards ace people when it was cool, but once it stopped being trendy they 1) deleted those posts so receipts couldn't be pulled 2) maybe put up claimed "redactions" or said "omg its been years if you really wanna know wether i still hate those people dm me" but never apologized for their behavior lmao. I don't think any of the people who did that actually changed, I just think they know it's not such an acceptable/fun target to bully anymore. It's really sick how that type of bullying was encouraged for years and how few people repented for their behavior.

[fideidefenswhore]

mary boleyn fanvid set to the bolter.

[notwarriorswiki]

Besides Starclan what was another thing you changed because the execution in the main series was bad/could've been better?

The Tribe is written in a racist and offensive fashion so I reworked a lot of their structure, naming, dynamics - just really wanting them to be a culture equal with the clans. I also gave them nine lives.

Tweaked a lot of The Sisters and how they carry themselves. I like facets of their existence but they're also... yeah. I didn't give them nine lives since they instead have the spirit walking connectivity.

StarClan exists for all cats - everyone has an afterlife - what gives StarClan their power is the belief and groups that follow. So basically different groups have different blessings, these blessings the embodiment of their ancestors taking form.

Kittypet xenophobia is super weird with how solid Firestar becomes so I just tweak things here and there where like... the clans have obviously learned it doesn't matter where you're born, like most of them know that. Natural wariness of outsiders in some respects I get.

Kill cats at a better rate, which is also hard because I need to keep some around to eventually give birth to said later important characters - but also I cannot just hoard all these first gen cats. Dustpelt died earlier, so did Thornclaw - Snowbush and Dewnose never even got to their warrior days - they died as kits. I love Brightheart as much as the next but they need to let these older cats die and characterize their newer gen. I know nothing about Hollytuft - so she got written out.

I always imagined the Great Battle really should've been a pivotal point for the clans? Like more change. I'm glad we got SkyClan back in AVoS, that we're changing up the code in TBC, allowing clan changes (based on mates but it's something) but I kinda want more?

So I made Mediator a full position that every clan has. They travel between clans and are hosted there for a few days at a time before moving along to the next. I never got why it was just Tree. Dovewing was built to be a mediator.

Seer - after StarClan was locked away and the views on their ancestors shifted, Shadowsight saw that Medicine Cats were in a difficult position. Many cats wished to heal in the physical realm, while others sought to understand the spiritual world now far more inaccessible. Medicine Cats became more focused on healing and were allowed to take mates and have kits in change with the code, however a Seer would discover their full focus needed to be on the stars should they wish to commune, therefore they could not take a mate. A Seer's cannot even reach StarClan if their mind is clouded by other things, hence an actual detriment to their job.

Proper Nurse position - Queens are the ones actually carrying and give birth - Nurses are caretakers who learn herbal knowledge, and also are emotional pillars for the clan. They help Queens, kits, elders - any member of the clan who may need an additional helping hand in that time. Sometimes they forage, jump in to hunt, but rarely are patrolling or battling too much. They help keep kits and elders engaged and sharp. Development is their expertise! Lionblaze's son Bramblesong (Fernsong) becomes one.

No Lights in the Mist title - I don't care.

[daz4i]

listen. sometimes idm ads. i do want sites i use or youtubers i watch frequently to earn money so i can keep using/watching them, and i won't spend money myself, so this is a good compromise.

the problem is!!!!! ads make these sites lag, sometimes cover pages and make them unusable, or they clog videos and pop up so often and are so long they're practically as long as the video itself, to the point i just stop watching youtubers who have too many ad breaks even if i do like their content

and i gotta say, i don't get it? like being annoyed with an ad won't make me want to get the product - and i know that's not the point, the point is to put it at the front of your mind for when you or someone you know need the product this company provides - and i do end up clicking ads for things i find interesting sometimes

and the thing is. with video ads especially. i think smaller is better for everyone. one 5 seconds ad is so much less annoying than a 20 seconds one or even just two 5 seconds ads, even if it appears multiple times per video, bc psychologically it feels more bearable, yknow? the product is still gonna be in my subconscious or w/e but now i won't associate it with being painfully annoyed, so this is better for the advertisers too. so why not go for that!

also, sometimes ads are taken straight from tv directly to youtube (probably why some are very long), and the problem with that is their volume. like. if i'm watching smth in the middle of the night and your car insurance ad is twice as loud as the video i'm watching, i'm gonna hate it even more (a friend who learned copywriting told me they make ads louder on tv bc if you lower your volume during an ad break and tune out or just change channels quickly, it's more likely to catch your attention this way. i get that but why not just do this very minor adjustment when you sell that ad to youtube. please)

as for websites, some of these ads are so fucking evil 😭 i ranted abt this before but oh my god weight loss and especially fasting apps ads should be illegal i am not even slightly exaggerating. ads literally being malware??? not even getting into how scary algorithms can get.

and as i mentioned about lags, so many ads running at the same time, or the same ad space changing rapidly make things so slow that i once again have to wonder who's benefitting from this. i can't even see what some of the ads are bro, and i don't want to, but like, you're just losing money here, and if i know a site doesn't work well with ads enabled i will either switch to a browser with adblock (tbc, talking abt mobile here. firefox's app is shitty but necessary) or, if i can't use adblock, won't use that site anymore. so again. who's benefitting from this.

idk what the point of this rant is. ads today literally exist for the sake of existing i swear. i don't think they help sell things more at this point, which is the whole point of ads in the first place. and for smaller or newer businesses, they sometimes have to raise prices to make up for paying for their advertising campaign (drew gooden's videos about buying random items he gets ads for showcase this phenomenon well i think) which makes people less likely to buy them, and i can't help but wonder if some products would be better if their companies spent less money on just advertising them and instead actually invest in quality (see also: any shady company that targets youtubers for sponsorships constantly while having an extremely bad product, or barely paying their employees a living wage, etc)

anyway yeah these are my probably not too uncommon thoughts on the matter. have a nice rest of the day

[ante--meridiem]

Every time I see this post and others like it I have that "wow! This is intended for a very different genre of person" experience, because clearly people who worry about this exist or there wouldn't be so many posts about it, but my concern has always been the exact opposite - that if helping others is supposed to be the most joyful, fundamentally fulfilling experience possible, am I a bad person if for me it... isn't? Like, I definitely try to be decent to people, and help when I can, and I get some pleasure and satisfaction out of it, but it isn't the central aspect of my life and I can't bring myself to want it to be and it seems trivially obvious to me that if it were more joy-inducing and energy-refuelling and meaningful-feeling to me I'd be able to do it more, so the fact that people for who it is those things worry that they might be less altruistic for it just does not compute.

Like. People are getting happiness from helping others and thinking "this means it's actually selfish" and not "oh good I have the right incentives"? People are failing to get happiness from helping others and thinking "oh good, true altruism" and not "what is wrong with me that this doesn't feel more satisfying than it does"? Not saying these thoughts would be more correct or anything, just that they're the worries I have that I would have thought would be... more common, given how much people (wrongly tbc) obsess over determining morality by whether they feel the right things.

Especially since I don't really see "if helping people makes you happy that's less altruistic of you" narratives out in the wild, what I see is "helping people should make you happy and should be the most meaningful thing to you and if it isn't there's something wrong with you but also it probably actually is and you just haven't realised it yet".

So yeah. Those posts must have a target audience but I just don't know who it is.

[nervoustragedyluminary]

Every fucking time

Transmasc: "so these are issues I face as a transmasc person & or trans man. I recognise that it's not a contest of suffering and that talking about my own experiences doesn't invalidate those of trans women, nor am I arguing that trans women opress me "

TERFS: "see this is trans women's fault because they dominate all spaces because male-socialisation /'narcissism'" - *long rant about how trans women are just unstable power hungry cis men who cosplay as victims by transitioning for clout and face no violence akchually* "and you're basically a woman & what's going on here is clearly the same power dynamics that happen with cis men and women - you should detransition and be feminine or you're asking for violence by betraying womanhood and being ugly "

MRAs: "see this is feminism's fault because women dominate all spaces and nobody cares about men and trans men are opressed because we live in a matriarchy& *long rant about how women are all 'narcissistic' fake victims who use their victimhood to dominate society & how trans women only transition because society hates men*" and no ofc trans men don't experience things as bad as cis men do because you're basically women akchually & really you'll never know what it's truly like so you should detransition if you can't prove that you're a man by being misogynistic or you're asking for violence by trying to be a man which you can't ever be"

Like seriously try searching "trans men" (same shit happens for trans women too I'm not saying it doesn't tbc) and it's all self centred cis douchebags with their takes on " what does trans men's existence/what they say about their struggles say about male/female privelge for us cis people who are obviously the most important people to focus on here ?!"

Like trans people don't exist for you we aren't your little toys you can use for your bigbrain BS 1950s takes on gender like actually listen to trans people instead of just talking over us and scheming on how to missapropriate our words for your own BS

Twisted miserable cis people in gender separatist cults stop trying to glom onto trans people talking about Anti-Transmasculinity/ transandrophobia in order to try to push MRA and or TERF talking points challenge:

apparently fucking impossible

[the19thduckpotato]

Author’s Note: Ok, so, this blurb isn’t done just yet but guys, GUYS, I just want to show off @my-favorite-aesthetics so much, she’s SUCH A DELIGHT TO WRITE WITH and ack!  SO hey, there’s feels ahead.  And several personal headcanons.  and much stream of consciousness which I’ve always enjoyed as a personal writing style.   And I challenge you, challenge you, to admit this wouldn’t be Toshinori’s initial reaction.  

*   *   *   *   *   *

Naomasa Tsukauchi had held up the folder; it was plain looking, nothing out of the ordinary. But its contents had been shocking, unthinkable. As he had set it down on the table, opened the folder, spread the crisp white sheets with their simple black letters, he grimaced. "I'm really sorry, All Might," the cop said, honest eyes meeting the retired hero's. "But it's true. This is my affidavit confirming the session with All for One."  Toshinori hadn't responded. Naomasa sighed and closed the folder. "You know how my Quirk works," he had continued, almost apologetically. "You know that--" "Human Lie Detector," the older man grunted darkly. "I know, friend." Naomasa looked like he was casting about for words, something comforting. But maybe despite or because of his Quirk, the cop wasn't the best at sugar coating. "You should talk to him." More silence. In front of Tsukauchi, anyway. Mentally, Toshi felt himself thrashing about, trying to make sense of it all. What awful joke, sick twist of fate, was this? Afraid he might do or say something he would regret, Toshinori had risen to his feet, curtly nodded thanks to his friend, then strode out the door. Pausing only when he saw young Midoriya had been hovering beside the door. Toshi had stared at the kid in shock-- "And I had walked away," he whispered to himself. That had been this morning. He ran a hand through his wild hair, thinking.

Izuku's skin was tingling. His mouth tasted like metal. He was quiet. Even his mind was quiet, burbles of half-realized thoughts murmuring in the background. He looked to All Might to see his reaction... only to find him turning to stare at him. That was fine. He could deal with that. He stared back, meeting his hero's eyes with what he imagined was a blank, accepting look. He didn't know what other expression he could have, numb as he was. All Might turned and walked away. A pit dropped in Izuku's stomach. ...Okay. Okay. That was fine. He'd deal with that. He'd deal with that. He turned his head to meet Tsukauchi's eyes, finding a slight sense of stability in the honesty there. He nodded to him, and left the precinct. ... What now? ...What now...?

He hadn't waited for young Midoriya. He hadn't taken Naomasa's advice. All he seemed capable of doing was squeezing his fists as fiery rage and cold shock ran through him in alternating waves.  And just when it seemed he could accept the truth, it rose up and struck him once more as if for the first time.  Each time, he was just as unprepared for it. He had wanted to laugh and ask if Naomasa was kidding.  But they had a mutual unspoken understanding: the cop didn't joke when it came to All for One. He had wanted to tear the crisp sheets apart, crumple the pieces until the simple collection of letters were no longer visible.  But that wouldn't erase the knowledge he now knew. Izuku Midoriya was All for One's son. The current holder of humanity's most powerful safeguard against evil was the child of One for All's creator... evil in human form and the world's destructor.  How could I have been so stupid?  I handed humanity's last hope to the one person that should never be allowed to have it. He let himself think on the kid (innocent kind heroic my kid) a moment:  but And then Was it a set up this whole time?  All for One has done horrible things before...this wouldn't be out of his ability to Toshinori bit one of his knuckles, stifling a noise of despair. Why him?  Why did it have to him?  I like him.  He helped me open up, accept myself, to-- "You'll regret not dying when you had the chance, All Might."  The madman had gleefully cackled in his restraints. "And this is why," he angrily whispered to himself, "this is why you never let anybody in." His face was fury, his heart anguish, and his mind confusion, unsure of anything but that one simple dark truth. Why did it have to be him...?

He won't look at me anymore. Why won't he look at me anymore? I haven't changed. Please, look at me.... I'm sorry... for... something... I'd fix it, I would if I could-- I didn't DO anything! I can't change anything!! Look at me, I dare you. Tell me why you've been avoiding me! Say it to my face! ...As if I don't already know. Wow, hated for my genes again. That's ironic. I have a quirk now, though. Will he take it back? He can take it back if he wants to. It's still his, I haven't earned it-- What makes you think you could earn this? It's impossible power, and it was a gift-- Functionally, though... he can't. I hold it now. Do you feel like deciding the future of the quirk? Taking it out of his hands, going against his wishes? What? No!! Why would I do that? I trust him! He hates you now. He doesn't want anything to do with you. Do you still want to place yourself under his command? He'll take it away from you as soon as he decides what to do with it. Then he can have it. That's his choice. I can't even vote yet, I don't think I'm allowed to wield the most powerful quirk in existence without permission.

It was the second day. He had worn the blandest suit without even thinking about it: navy with the maroon tie.  His hero suit's colors but muted.  He didn't want to call attention to himself.  He knew he was a powder keg waiting to go off and he couldn't let anyone bear the brunt of his mistakes and failings. He had to stay in control.  And he had to watch his the student.  God only knew what nefarious purpose All for One could use Midoriya for. You sound crazy, you know.  Talk to him. Was that the voice of reason?  It sounded so uncertain, soft. He could be spying through the kid right now--  Oh come off it, old man--! Toshinori's eyes immediately sought out the boy (--my boy, oh, kid, listen--) as if expecting Midoriya to already be knee deep in some despicable scheme and if he could catch it in time, he could put an end to all this nonsense once and for all! But the boy was merely leaning against one wall, watching everyone else.  He met Toshinori's eyes for a moment (--kid!!) then quickly looked away as if...ashamed?  Disgusted? Toshi stared at him a moment longer look at me please look at me kid I'm begging you if you look back at me I swear I'll break and come talk to you but nothing happened. The older man breathed a silent sigh then turned and walked the opposite direction down the hallway.

Oh no I looked at him I didn't mean to I'm sorry please don't say anything I'll cry and then I'll look stupid in front of everyone Don't look at me don't look at me is he still looking at me?? ...Oh. He's leaving. No don't leave-- I.... ??!?!..??. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME 

That night as a storm rumbled its way through the city, Toshi bent over his tea cup and poured hot water over the leaves.  He held the warm cup in his hands as steam wafted about his face. This isn't going away, you know. I know. You need to talk to him. He doesn't look like he wants to talk. Well, you haven't made yourself look very inviting. The careworn teacher grimaced as thunder cracked loudly overhead, as if emphasizing the truth of this thought. But what if What if what?  Have you done anything with these what ifs of yours? Well, I'm observing and trying to figure out the best course of action --just like Izuku does? His face contorted and he pressed his lips together tightly.  Focus, Toshi.  Be logical about this. Rain poured down in a steady beat against the window.  Beneath that, the steady ticking of the clock.  He glanced at it. That's odd, the kid's late.  I was sure we-- Another heavy rumble of thunder, this one lower but longer. "Oh.  Right." Toshi set his trembling tea cup down so as not to spill any on himself.  Outside, the rain was growing heavily, blurring shapes. So why did it look blurry in his room as well? No fool like an old fool. He was heartsick.  He didn't feel complete.  And it was worse knowing he himself had instituted this separation.  Without talking like he should have. But talking means we acknowledge it. And then you work on it together, yes. I tried that with Nighteye.  It didn't work. Did it stop you from doing what you wanted? No. Ok so talk to Izuku. But But what? He's still All for One's son.  You can't talk that away. So what are you going to do? He buried his face in his hands. ....I don't know....

((--TBC--))

[queensgaybeach1d]

Hiya love, how are you? Lately I've been thinking a lot about Larry and all the other 1D ships. I know it's very possible that Larry is real, there are so many facts that hint to it being real, but 1D doesn't really exist anymore and the boys moved on. We haven't seen H and L in the same room since Lou's X Factor performance in 2016. I don't know if they really could sneak around without being seen considering how famous they are. [1] tbc

 [2] And as much as I love the idea of Larry being a thing I still have my doubts. Babygate has been going on for 4 years now, it’s hard to believe that Louis would fake paternity for so long. Maybe he just fucked up and drunkenly hooked up with Briana, resulting in her getting pregnant? And the older Freddie gets the more he looks like Louis (I know you don’t believe this, trust me I don’t want to believe it either). tbc

[3] This whole thing just messes with my head. I miss fetus Larry when they openly joked around with each other and randomly hugged each other. But as the years went on they interacted with each other less. Harry went out with beautiful women, Louis has been in longterm relationships (fake or not doesn’t matter) and they don’t even acknowledge each other anymore. How can I still believe in them after everything that happened since 1D went on hiatus? tbc

[4] Ugh I’m just so frustrated. Sorry for spamming your inbox, I hope you don’t mind. I just needed to get this off my chest. Have a nice day! xoxo

——————————————————————————————————

Hi my rose, 

How are you? I am doing fine. My apologies for not answering your question as soon as possible. I just saw it in my inbox. ;)

My heart just broke in two pieces when you wrote that 1D have moved on and are not together, they are, love. I definitely think they will reunite within the next two/three years and not for a final performance, but as the gorgeous band they are. 

I do not think you (and many more people) understand how sly the media actually is. So If you are okay with it I will give you a few examples. When Louis travels to visit his sisters in Doncaster, where are our pictures? Nowhere to be seen. When Louis travels with is beard, where are the pictures? Everywhere, plus a double doses of headlines the next day. Louis went to an animal sanatorium with his sisters. Tons of people go there, why did the paparazzi not picture him there? Back in 2012 Louis and Eleano were ‘visiting’ (stunting) Disneyland. There was even a video of some bodyguards telling girls to stop taking pictures. Still, we got tons of hq paparazzi pics from them in Disneyland. Where is the privacy then? They try to make them look all private, but they ruin it on the other side again. Lots of people go to the animal sanatorium too, but no fan gave their location, no fan took a picture and no paparazzi was there.

 People call paparazzi, because of money. They want to show off a certain brand or they want to be seen in public with someone else to get relationship rumors spread about them. All of this happens. There was even this one paparazzi picture in which Louis looked so cute and next to him there was a huge sign. On the sign was written that paps were not allowed in that area. I can not find the picture, right now but I will add it to the post if I find it. (I found it)

Moving on, there is something you also need to know. The celebrity does not hire the paparazzi in 1D’s case. The label does that, the boys told us themselves about their ‘freedom’. They could not dye their hair, be chubby and grow their facial hair. Think about this, do you genuinely think that the boys could and would call the paparazzi on themselves? They complain day and night about them and rightly so. The only celebrities who would do such a thing are The Kardashians. 

So in short: they can move around in private without paparazzi following them. It happens daily. Where has Niall been this week? Did he not go outside? Yes he did, but no paparazzi was called on him. Imagine that in some different universe paparazzi would actually follow them everywhere, how about private doors, they could dress up as different people. There are endless possibilities, but still they get papped. That is not right.

Babygate is indeed going on for a long long time. People start to doubt it, something I indeed do not understand. I have made a post about it too. I do not think you should think something is real because it lasts so long, when there is proof that her bump is fake. That has been proven, multiple times.  Why would she actually steal Amberfillerups pictures? If someone could please give me a solid answer to those question and more. Look love, Brianas whole pregnancy could have been real, but I would still not believe the kid is Louis’. I am not believing a man like Louis compared him to a dog, said he was not really excited with the baby etc. 

Also love, it is not that I do not want to believe that Freddie ‘looks like him’. I just do not believe it, nor do I see it at all. It feels like you think that I am lying to myself, and believe me I am way to old to fool myself like that. Like, even if someone would point a gun to my head and tell me to believe it, I would still say ‘’No NO NO NO’’ it is just a big NO to me. I have not thought for a second that it was Louis’ baby, but I think it is difficult for you to understand it if you think these things are not possible. The kind of fear they put into you. You could check out my tag #pr industry or #music industry. Not to mention Louis not cooperating with the stunt at all.

Honey, stuff like this do not exist because he was joking. It exists because he is trying to tell them something. Everyone can literally see that this is a fake doll. Everyone. Remember that in 2012 a doll was also tossed on stage with ‘’Larry’s love child’’ on it and Louis did NOT toss it away. He put it next to him without reassuring it was a fake doll, everyone can see that. He also wore a MJ shirt for a teaser. The shirt has something to do with Billy Jean. 

I miss 2011/2012 1D more and more each day. They were pure and real. It is unfortunate and weird that they can not do that stuff in public anymore. That can never ever happen because of the Larry rumors. I do think you know how I debunk those fake relationships that is why I did not go to much into it. 

The answer to your question is quite easy, my love. Look between the lines. There have been gorgeous 2019 Larry moments. If you would like to check it out: https://queensgaybeach1d.tumblr.com/post/185227803529/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-larry-broke-up

We indeed do not see them in public anymore, but patience is the key to all you want right? Just have patience and everything will be fine. That we do not see something does not mean that it is not there. We just see the part they (the label) want us to see.

 It is okay, love. There is no need to worry. It is totally okay to ask me stuff like this. I love answering your questions. I hope you will have a nice week, my love. Thank you so much for the question, love. ;)

Little gift: If you know the history behind this picture, you are a blessed soul. If you do not know it you are still a blessed soul. (I would never want to wish someone a bad thing).

[raisedbyfandomwolves]

HAVE NOT AND YES I DO! Hahah, no, I know it's an expression, I was just confused on how you got to that since I already said I'd happily drown in YouTube, so wouldn't even bother fighting/challenging it😉😉(Oh yes, absolutely 😭😭) NO IT DOESN'T AND YES IT IS! WHY SHOULD SHE MOURN HIM INSTEAD OF SAVING HIM?!? AND HER LESSONS ONLY EXIST BECAUSE NOONE IN HER SUPPORT SYSTEM BOTHERED TO CORRECT HER THINKING!! Oh yes, they both absolutely need it... *YOU* SAID NOTES DON'T COUNT! (TBC)

(TBC:) I DID NOT DO THAT!! KARA JUST WENT BACK UNTIL SHE COULD FINALLY SAVE HIM AND HEY, STILL BETTER HE EVEN GOT TO SEE HER AGAIN AND BE WITH HER AND EVEN HAVE HIS HEA WITH HER THAN WHAT YOU DID IN THAT WEEK, LEAVING THE POOR GUY TO SLEEP FOR ALL ETERNITY!! AND STILL NOPE TO THE MITIGATING! On a more serious note, I feel ya on the real life not cooperating part, but hey, don't stress it, as I repeatedly said, you're mental and physical health is more important anyway😊

HAVE TOO AND YOU DO NOT, *I'M* THE ENTIRE CHAIN OF COMMAND! YOU'RE AN INTERLOPER!

Not sure if I should worry about you or not... >_>

YES IT DOES AND NO IT ISN'T! SHE SHOULD MOURN HIM *THEN* SAVE HIM, IT'S THE DECENT THING TO DO! BUT SHE STILL PASSED THEM ON TO HIM SO SHE HAS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT! WE'LL INDICT EVERYONE ELSE AFTERWARDS! THAT WAS A DIFFERENT SITUATION, THEY COUNT NOW! YOU MADE HIM SEE HER THEN DIE *SIX* TIMES IN TOTAL BEFORE YOU ALLOWED THE HEA TO HAPPEN AND HE WAS *SLEEPING* THAT WHOLE WEEK, HE DIDN'T HAVE TO FEEL A SINGLE SECOND SO HOW IS THAT CRUEL AT ALL?! YES TO THE MITIGATING! No but you don't understand, this is the longest I've gone without updating, I'm having some kind of withdrawal... T_T

[vegandoughnut]

PART 1: Right Meow

"Wow this is dumb" says Kitt, swinging into the passengers seat of the hauling truck. "How much did Stuff It and the gang shell out for the stupid truck and the storage rental?"

"Probably enough money to raise our checks to minimum wage" says Pradeep, turning the key and starting the truck. He fumbles with his phone in one hand and the steering wheel in the other. "Kitt. Wanna pull up the place on Google Maps?"

"Okay gimme the phone" says Kitt. "It's brick in here. Why is the AC on? Stephen must have high blood pressure. Ugh"

Pradeep turns it off immediately. "I can't stand this guy. Plus the new guy probably doesn't know how to take care of the cats or make a latte to save his life. I was supposed to finish training him"

"Was he clueless?"

"Yeah"

"Then how'd he get the job? Stephen and Boris turned down my friend and I hear she aced that interview"

"Obviously nepotism. Carl is related to Boris"

"Oh disgusting"

"Yup".

Meanwhile at Cat Cafe...

"Move that table, no, just put the chairs in the basement. Halloween is coming so we want to get into the spirit" says Stephen, fixing his thick rimmed glasses and skimming something on his work tablet. "Hey, Clark"

"Carl"

"Hey Carl, you mind helping Anekke with that lamp? Yeah that one. The shoji lamp"

"Of course"

The doors burst open, startling a few of the cats lounging and meowing on the freshly washed black-with-kitty-skulls floor cushions; Shadow dashes out of the way, startling Cinnamon and Mochi.

Kumlyun bustles in. Huffing and panting, pulling her beanie hat off her head and rushing past with her purse held close to her body. She was out of sight before Anekke could express her confusion.

Stephen disappears into his office.

"What the?" Anekke begins, tucking a loose blond strand behind her ear. "I thought she was out sick! You telling me I showed up on my day off for Kumlyun to actually come in?"

Carl could see the tomatoes growing in Anekke's cheeks.

"Hey maybe something came up..."

"No, just no. In fact. I recommend not talking to her--ow! Bon Chan!" Anekke shoos Bon Chan away. The friendly kitty scampers away and up onto the purple velvet chair by the window to lick his paws.

"Did she scratch you?" Carl asks.

"Guys! Pradeep and Kitt are back with the truck. We gotta help them carry the tables and stools inside" shouts Harper.

"They couldn't take a little longer? We were just moving the old chairs!" Says Anekke, stomping her foot.

"So extra" Kumlyun mutters as she bristles back into the cafe, setting up behind the counter and getting a tea kettle and french press ready.

"Are these doughnuts fresh?" She asks no one in particular.

"Yeah they're fresh" says Carl. Anekke grimaces at Carl.

"Those are from yesterday. But don't tell her that-- she's crazy, she'll toss them" Anekke whispers. Carl looks taken aback but nods and gets back to moving things.

The cats meow loudly and dart back and forth between the moving pieces of mismatched furniture. Salem tries to climb up onto the counter but gets swept up into Pradeep's arms for a scruff behind the ears.

Kitt rolls a hand truck with a sideways and very large dark chest on it into the cafe. It looked like something from a vampire's mansion.

"A little help here? I'm not Hercules. I'm literally skinnier than half of the people here. What the hell"

Carl rushes over to help, ever the eager newbie. Anekke rolls her eyes.

"Kumlyun, do you need help cleaning the bar?" She says with faux politeness layered on thick.

"I could use the help" replies Kumlyun, pouring everyone a mug of steaming coffee, not hiding her frown.

Anekke goes to the bar and Harper takes over the furniture arrangement from her, trailed at the heels by Rad, whose short toasty hued fur matched Harper's short toasty hued haircut.

"Nice to meet you. Sorry I didn't get around to it before. Stephen kind of just threw me onto you" Pradeep says to Carl.

"Oh, same, hi I'm Carl. Nice to meet you"

"I'm Pradeep"

"Pra.... excuse me"

"Pra-DEEP like bro that was deep. Anyway, welcome. Ever worked at a place like this before?"

"No. I mean you were showing me the basics which I kind of get but honestly I'm kind of allergic to cats and I don't know what macarons taste like and we sell them. I don't know how to describe that to customers"

"You can eat one. I recommend the pistachio one. It's the green one, in case you needed to know"

"Gotcha"

"Do you know how to use the french press?"

"Honestly no. I've never even seen one before today. Crazy I know"

"Trust me, I know" Pradeep says with a glance to the side and a slight chuckle. Clearly annoyed.

"Can you at least operate a NutriBullet?"

"A what?"

"A high speed blender, Carl. Did Stephen show you what it looks like?"

"Oh, that thing. I have one at home. Well, my dad uses it to make green smoothies. I prefer Dunkin Donuts for breakfast"

"Interesting" Pradeep replies, walking away to help Kitt set up the purple victorian stools around one of the dark chests that served as the new decorative tables. Kitt passes Pradeep one of the spooky kitty books to Pradeep who places it on one of the other dark chest tables.

Kumlyun hands Pradeep and Carl cafe lattes in cute cat head mugs.

"Thanks so much Kumlyun. I need the caffeine" says Pradeep. "My cortisol is through the roof"

Kumlyun smiles. "So who started the rumor that I called out sick? I only said in the email that i might arrive late due to the buses acting up"

Pradeep chokes a little on his coffee. "What? Who said that?"

"Anekke said--"

Pradeep cuts Carl a look, cutting him off mid sentence. Carl gulps. Kumlyun's eyebrows furrow and she crinkles her nose in distaste.

"I should've guessed" she says before taking a long long drink of her coffee and thumping the mug down on the counter. "Look how dirty the waffle maker is. Are you kidding me?"

Carl covers his mouth to hide his chortle.

"Hey man, just, let's get those decorations up" Pradeep warns. Carl follows him.

"But I need barista training"

"We open in a few. Look, I didn't put this mess together, i wish it made more sense, but, time is ticking"

Everyone fidgets when Stephen comes striding out from his downstairs office with his travel mug and bicycle helmet.

"I'll be back. We open soon everyone so please, let's have the place looking presentable in the next.." he deliberated, checking his watch, shifting from one foot to the next. "Twenty minutes. That should be enough time to get the tables set up with the tea light pumpkins, display books... and some of the cats need to be groomed"

He goes out the door as quickly as he appeared. Kitt sucks her teeth as she sets up the corner table with pumpkin tea lights, a hard cover copy of Emily The Strange with its characteristic black cats on the cover, and a small basket of cat shaped cookies.

She goes behind the counter to start prepping the food for the first customers. Pradeep joins her.

"You were going to tell me something before we left the storage facility" he says, swirling a sugar cube in his latte, leaning against the shiny black refrigerator.

"Oh yeah" says Kitt, tying some of her burgundy dreadlocks up into a ponytail with the elastic band that was hanging from her mouth. "Stuff It Stephen gave me a verbal for describing a customer to hin as 'the Arab guy with the mustache', but didn't listen to me when I said describing somebody's hair as 'nappy' was insensitive and offensive"

"Ah, typical Stuff It. He's a virtue signaling weenie boy who thinks he knows better than hmmm staff like me, you and Kumlyun who kind of know what we're talking about in terms of being actual ethnics, but, you know, The Stephen is always right"

"Yeah. So annoying. I don't know how long I can take working here" she says, adjusting her knit scarf and putting on some cinnamon bun scented lip gloss. Pradeep inhales nonchalantly.

"Don't leave me here with Carl O'Clueless. I don't even think Boris wants to deal" says Pradeep, running a hand through his gelled-back hair that was shaved on the sides.

The two of them laugh. Kumlyun joins them, snacking on a cat eared oatmeal cookie.

"What's so funny guys?"

"Oh. Stuff It. His antics. You know" says Pradeep.

"Ugh. Yeah. Tell me about it" says Kumlyun, before taking one final big bite. "The cafe is looking good though. He can't complain about that. I have all the appliances running and the baked goods should be ready for display in 5 minutes"

"Sshhhh. Don't talk too loud. You might give Anekke a heart attack for existing" whispers Kitt. The three of them laugh.

Kitt points one caramel brown finger in the direction of the entrance door.

"Hear that? That's the stock truck. Carl has to learn how that works"

"Right. Let me go show him. Wish me luck" says Pradeep with a heavy sigh. "By the way" he turns back around on his heel before going, "are their cinnamon buns in the oven?"

"No" says Kumlyun.

Kitt bites her bottom lip and smiles slightly. "Hurry up Pradeep" she says.

TBC

[raisedbyfandomwolves]

2. Yes 😈 Since you said it I'm kinda worried about scary agents showing up tho haha Q2. Oh, HELL YEAH! 💃 (And of course there's only Kara for him, too!) Q. Haha, Yess! 😍 She'll do brilliantly! About the Reboot: Oh God... That sounds... I don't even know what to say... 😳 And to Cole: Well, the better question is what DIDN'T they do to him... They tried painting him as the villain (tho most often he was actually a victim), had Phoebe play with and disregard his feelings 24/7 [TBC]

TBC: downplayed his mental health continually, even made crazy!Cole Kind of a "joke" (there is even a scene a few seasons later where he tried different ways of suicide and the sisters didn't blink twice), killed him painfully again and again, sent him of to spent eternity in limbo able to see Phoebe etc but not interact with them (or anyone, really) and this is just the stuff I remember off the top of my head!! 😠😭 I mean, yeah, he had his evil moments but he did NOT deserve all of that...

2. If anyone asks, say you have really clogged drains or something. That should work. >.>

Q2. Yep, they're made for each other and belong together!

Q. That's a given.

About the reboot: Don't say anything... The sooner we just move on and pretend it doesn't exist the better...

About Cole: ...Wow. Okay, now that you mention it I remember some of that and... yeah...

[mallowstep]

@jaceladag

Anyway, much as I love DotC I think if I hadn’t read it first it would tick so many boxes in the “lore retcons that were utterly unnecessary and/or made the world feel smaller” category that I’d absolutely decanonize it, lmao. (Assuming I still got into the series, which I might have given the right circumstances.) But as it stands it is the mental standard against which everything else is measured, so I tend to view it as generally reliable history.

yeah, that's valid.

i don't want to like. say how one Should view dotc because i don't think there's a right answer and even if i did i'm not sure the right answer would be mine.

but i think starting w/ dotc gives you a fundamentally different perspective into the modern clans.

dotc is really Good because, like tpb, they don't feel the need to avoid killing fan favourites or looping in future or past protags or all of the things that make po3 and oots rough. (avos and tbc also suffer from this, but to a lesser extent. and their general writing is better imo.)

anyway yeah that does like. make sense, ig? for me it's kind of like. the clans don't need an origin story and getting one doesn't feel great, especially with certain parts of it. that's not because i dislike dotc, it's because there are a lot of little things that don't make it work as a clan origin story. names are a big one for me: the names of cats are now consistently two words. why would that change? why is that not the standard pattern going forward? we know loners don't have two word names now.

some things change far too fast.

don't get me wrong, dotc works better than, say, code of the clans, a book i read once and am now cursed to remember in far more detail than i want to. (not very well, just enough to know i didn't like it.)

i think dotc was a great way for warriors to find its footing. the erins needed something disconnected to modern clans to reacclimate the audience, so to speak, to the concept of characters dying all the time and less intensely magical plots, and dotc works really well as that, and means that avos can jump in head first, with surprisingly little connection to previous arcs. frankly, i think i'd recommend new readers start with avos if they didn't want to start with tpb.

that's not because i don't love po3 or oots or tnp (everyone* who hates** tnp can fight me), but because avos is a very strong narrative that doesn't connect deeply to the past three series.

* you're excluded from this if you can actually articulate it with more words than "travelling book bad."

** admittedly what i mean here is "you think tnp is exceptionally badly written." what i'm saying is, i don't actually care if you dislike tnp, and i'm not going to say it has a strong narrative, but it's not as weak as people often act. i'll defend this position.

uh. what was i saying.

oh! dotc.

yeah, i don't think my view on this is necessarily the correct view, even if i thought there Was a correct view. i've been worldbuilding for warriors since i first started reading it, and dotc fucks up a lot of my existing lore. sure, i've written a lot of new things, and read some more books, but. the core of some of my ideas are pretty old, and they're the ones dotc fuck with the hardest.

they're not even things i can always articulate well, but i think -- having five leaders with the names of the clans. that's something that gets to me the hardest. because that is -- that is a really new invention. and i could go on at Length about how i feel about that and this new trend of leaders getting a life from one of the original leaders but. i never thought the clans had that, and i never thought they even had the concept of that.

they had the concept of tigerclan, leopardclan, and lionclan, and a vague idea of three leaders*, but not. the five clans are a decomposition of those three clans. god have i never explained? okay so there's this...generic idea of how the clans came to be that clashes with a lot of other things about the clans because of Reasons, but it's kind of like...a trial run, i suppose? the original three clans and. it's a whole thing.

* there's a whole thing with nine leaders and organization and giving up lives and then realizing that's a bad idea but they keep their lives and

this is older ideas from before i read dotc and had the idea of cats following the river down. i'm not sure...it doesn't integrate well and i'm holding off on talking about it in detail until i can fit it in a bit better.

anyway. yeah. i don't begrudge anyone for wanting to take dotc at face value, i'm just old and hard to change. it certainly has given me ideas for mythology, but i don't consider it canon, i suppose? just fun stuff. like y'all will get to see what people will call an original leader but. that's just because of annoyance around names.

but with that exception, unless i'm writing fic about them? dotc cast probably won't be showing up in my fic.

Some idle thoughts for you since they pertain names and DotC characters and I know it's one of those things you have like opinions on.

I like to think -star suffix names are retroactively applied to the founders (much to their annoyance in StarClan, just imagine the comedic potential of them exasperatedly and repeatedly having to correct people about it), but why stop there? I have my sights in particular on Emberkit and Mud Paws. Having died so soon after being born, it makes sense why they'd retroactively remember that kit (perhaps simply named Ember?) with that name.

Mud Paws, though, that one gives me a bit more of a think. In my SkyClan Gray Wing AU I made it so he stays in WindClan and is apprenticed to Lightning Tail (who's now a tunneler and Wind Runner's deputy), and thus he's the originator of the -paw suffix in the first place. If he had more of a role in canon I could make it so that the clans retroactively remember him with a different warrior name each (cue the arguments about it whenever it comes up in conversation at a gathering). But as it stands he's like a fairly minor figure in WindClan and ShadowClan history at best. IDK, maybe if he's even remembered at all his name leads them to assume he like died an apprentice? Maybe cats who go to StarClan and meet him for the first time are just surprised at his age, they certainly expected someone younger.

ohh yeah forgive me for not having a Ton to add you just said lots of things i already agree w lmao.

i completely agree with -star suffixes! it remains my greatest gripe with dotc that they felt the need to shoehorn in both the names of the clans and the -star suffixes despite it making no sense! like! it is such a rapid thing that comes out of no where and like. i had. it doesn't make sense!

clans are just me being picky n a lil petty, but

leader names really don't work! the -star suffix only makes sense if you already have 2 part names, which they don't! it just looks like they do. like i think the difference between greywing and grey wing is a lot more meaningful than most fans realize (?)

that's not shade! nothing wrong with that! especially given that the erins are priming us to think that way Because of skystar. fucking skystar. i will. i want to know who is responsible for clear sky. there is.

my gripes with -star aside, there is no reason for clear sky and tall shadow to become skystar and shadowstar. literally. no reason. it makes no sense.

why didn't river ripple become ripplestar? that would actually make more! sense than skystar. oh my god. oh my god.

wind runner and thunder are fine because runnerstar doesn't make sense, but! i will. oh my god. if you're going to do it make it clearstar.

(also, aside, but remind me to rant about how we're supposed to believe different cats have different naming traditions when all the cats the dotc cats meet have two word names???)

tbh i was thinking the star suffix was going to have to do with star flower. as soon as i find a way for that to make sense i might write a fic about it. if someone else figures it out first you have my permission and encouragement to write something about it. please share it with me.

and yeah, i think ember retroactively remembered as emberkit makes sense. in some way. dotc might make more sense re names and clans and so on if we try to understand it not as an accurate account of the founding of the clans, but rather the narrative the clans tell themselves. obviously this isn't supported by canon (i will Kill to have leopardclan mentioned. just once. please. someone talk about the three clans again, but leopardclan is forgotten about and it makes me sad bc spots), nor is it what i say about folklore, but that's how dotc makes the most sense (wrt names).

anyway. i can see...the problem is that there's no like. there's not a sensible way to go from: two word names to two part names.

like by that i don't mean so much that there isn't one as i haven't been able to think of one, but. i mean dgmw it's a hard problem to surmount. i face it in my own writing.

why doesn't riverclan remember dawn as dawnstar? because i said they don't, that's why.

(were a kit to ask, they'd be told something mumbling about nine lives and that being later...i have a story for why leaders have nine lives in the works but it's disjoint from other founding lore bc i wanted to write about tigerclan, lionclan, and leopardclan, which takes place Before all the other stuff, but look. look. look me in the eyes and tell me any other mythology has no plot holes.)

anyway. it's a hard problem to surmount but i like this idea wrt mud paws. even if his name makes me laugh like. mud paws. ldksjf;dsf.

[ante--meridiem]

The distinction you make between independence and autonomy is completely fair, and I'll agree that the thing I think is actually valuable is autonomy and in a world where people helping each other came no-strings-attached and people would never use someone's dependence on them to control that person, maybe they could be fully separated. Needless to say, we don't live in that world, though it would be much better if we did. Colloquially I think people who say independence often do mean autonomy, though, which is part of why independence-isn't-real conversations skeeve me - I think they end up talking about the attitude of bunker survivalists while addressing people who just don't want someone to have full control of their life because they're providing them with basic necessities, as though those are remotely similar kinds of people in similar kinds of situations. (I do really appreciate that your response seems to mostly address the ways the latter group would see independence, rather than assuming anyone who values independence in any way is a privileged guy who hates society and not a person at particular risk of losing autonomy.)

I hope it's clear for the rest of this post that I'm not trying to argue with your main point that people should have interdependence + autonomy, but rather, musing on how that can be done without a high likelihood of the autonomy half of it being lost, and what it would have in common with the colloquial understanding of independence (as opposed to the more extreme survivalist-in-a-bunker understanding).

I'll be honest, the way people promoting interdependence talk about community tends to skeeve the hell out of me. Maybe it's that my association with "community" is more like "my grandmother's conservative and homophobic church group" than anything approaching what I would call "my people", though even a lot of progressive communities I've been around struck me as claustrophobic and forbidding in terms of... demands of social skills and energy and conformity, along with a level of in-group insularity - if you're not part of their existing in group culture it's very hard to break in, and being in seems suffocating and exhausting. I'm not saying this is all communities, but it may be all communities a person has in proximity to them. (I don't want to tag her here because I don't know her well enough to bring her into this conversation, but tumblr user soulvomit's blog has a lot of posts about how having to conform to various social expectations for survival fucked with her sense of identity - I don't really relate to the details because she's from a very different culture and generation, but it's still a great example of how not everyone can find a community that doesn't require they give up some measure of autonomy or self expression).

I do want to very genuinely and in good faith ask - why is it that people acknowledge how dangerous it is to be solely reliant on a romantic partner, even if the partner is not currently abusive, because people change and you don't want to be out of options if they eventually turn out to be - but rarely acknowledge the same about closed communities? Tight groups can turn toxic just as easily and badly, if not more so, as romantic relationships. (Tbc, I'm not saying you personally don't acknowledge this, I just see a lot of "depending on one person opens you up to abuse! Therefore the answer is community" as though communities can't be abusive.)

I don't think there are no solutions to this. One is to take the intuition of "a broader net means less danger" and apply it not to mean "form a single closed community" but "know people from multiple communities so you are not reliant on a single person or a single group dynamic". This is great if achievable, but it does require the ability to form a lot of social connections, which is going to be even harder the more marginalised and lacking in autonomy someone is to start with.

The other, in my opinion better, option is that society as a whole just agrees to formally and impersonally provide for people's needs regardless of who they are. This is why I like the idea of universal basic income so much - it's not true independence, obviously, you rely on being provided with it, but it's given based on a collective, general agreement that everyone should have autonomy and not based on the specifics of how you present yourself or how you socialise. I know a lot of people who strongly value community would dislike the value I place on "impersonal" here but I really do think that removing reliance on social presentation and likeability is a necessary step in actually assuring autonomy for all people. This is, I think, the kind of thing people generally think of as "independence" even as they acknowledge they're getting the help from somewhere - not full independence, which is indeed impossible, but dependence on a broader social contract rather than individual people. People can form social ties to fulfil other needs in this scenario, but there's at least some stopgap to help assure they don't outright die if they fail at forming those ties or if the people they could form them with demand unreasonable things or otherwise try to curtail their autonomy.

Obviously, that last option would require a restructuring of society and isn't something a person can just achieve on their own, but it's an example of what I think is the valuable component of what people intuit as independence.

I get what people mean by "there's no such thing as full independence" in the sense of nothing exists in a vacuum etc but independence is still a meaningful concept in the sense of "being able to make decisions about your life both important and trivial without having to justify them to some kind of caretaker, being able to leave relationships without losing life stability, not having to change yourself to people's whims for access to necessities" and these are good things for adults to want without implying they're going to become survivalists in a bunker somewhere.