#this is why communication is important people

[zarathelonewolf]

I can remember only one person from the top of my head which did not mind using this slur for themselves. It is definitely not something that should be used by people outside of Romani communities ESPECIALLY because you never know which people in them do not mind the term and which of them DO.

And even then I suppose it's tricky. I am not sure I would use the g-slur even if someone preferred it as designation. But it is evident from the comments that there are some Romani people who prefer the term I guess, so idk how to feel ab this. I mean I technically agree with them but I am experiencing doubts. Because I am supposed to listen to Romani voices, do I just exclude some of them and only listen to others?

My perspective has usually been something like this: I call people who are Romani, Romani, always, and change tune only if THEY want me to. But I am kind of having doubts about it. It's still the way I think I should do things for now but could it be wrong? Or is it a situation similar to the use of the "queer" word in the LGBTQIA+ community, which I am part of?

Though perhaps it's different. The history of the term queer in, well, queer spaces is peculiar, many do not think it a slur at all. Idk idk. Can anyone correct me if I am wrong on my go to strategy for the eventual (and I hope it does not happen) use of the g-slur?

I am here to get educated and hopefully boost the signal of this post.

In the tags, my train of thought is more streamlined. I said the same things but in a way that felt less rambly.

I only mean to receive more information because what I have may be limited.

Anyway, daily reminder from a culturally isolated Romani person.

Gypsy does not mean wanderer.

It literally means ‘people from egypt’ or similar, as europeans believed Romani people were from Egypt. It has become known similar to nomad due to how our ancestors have been forced to be nomadic due to racism and ostracization, but it is a SLUR.

Romani people are STILL being forcibly sterilized.

Romani people are STILL being forced into ghettos.

Romani people are still facing violence and danger in countless European countries- and recently, I’ve seen the beginnings of the extremes in the United States.

Have a little fucking respect and DON’T USE A SLUR THAT’S BEEN USED FOR CENTURIES AGAINST US.

And for the love of whatever’s up there, ESPECIALLY do not use it to describe your witchcraft. It is playing on the ‘magic gypsy’ trope, and is EXTREMELY insulting.

non romani people, please reblog this.

[jyndor2]

I'm sorry, I do not want to be condescending or disrespectful to people who were more casual fans of rogue one, but it does not escape my notice that the initial response to this show before it aired was mostly "who asked for this???" so for those people, people who did not care a lick about cassian before the show, yeah of course they did not come in with expectations about who he is or the things he has to be and do in order to fit with a film that they don't really care much about.

for many of us who HAVE cared, who WERE ride or die for a cassian show from the moment it was announced, this has been an exercise in frustration and frankly even hurt. so when I say what I am about to say, it isn't because I think we are the only people whose opinions matter. but I am tired of being told since s1 aired that I just don't get what tony gilroy is trying to do, or that I am just a petty shipper, or that I lack media literacy which LMFAO. and I am also aware that my love of this character and the film has absolutely colored my feelings about the show - which I think is probably a better watch for people who did not come into the show knowing or caring about cassian andor as a character.

I understand what gilroy was trying to do. I think he was very successful with s1 even if I didn't like the choices he made for cassian's backstory. but s2 is a different story, and I think the show failed to deliver on what was setup by the first season but more importantly by the film. rogue one is about love - same as andor. the different kinds of love that exist between people, that people have for their communities and for all living beings. the idea of a revolution, to rogue one/andor, is beyond just hating the oppressor - but loving the oppressed, and having a clear understanding of what is to be done to build a brighter future.

this is why the relationship between jyn and cassian in rogue one is the HEART of the film. full stop. whatever the end result (which is of course what matters the most) this was a central part of the story very early on in development of the film, and it also is present in so many of the supplemental works - including in official art, in comics, and of course the novelization.

basically at one point in development, the character who ends up cassian andor is an isb spy who is in a relationship with rebel soldier jyn erso, and only when he sees what happens at jedha (probably jedha, may have been called something else at that point but i don't remember, this is all off the top of my head) does he become a true rebel. at another point, the film ends with jyn and cassian escaping scarif, and then there is a wedding, presumably theirs in the future. of course this ends up getting scrapped because lucasfilm lets the writers kill off everyone at the end, but that doesn't mean that jyn and cassian do not have a romantic element to their relationship.

jyn and cassian are loosely named after the original legends characters who get the death star plans - jan ors and kyle katarn, who are romantically involved.

multiple people involved in the film have said there is probably a kiss that was filmed in the elevator. diego luna was always VERY clear even through andor s1 press that jyn erso was at the very least extremely important to cassian (and back in the day he even said they'd be together and selling fridges lmfao), was his mirror and someone that he felt a serious connection with. diego and felicity clearly played their dynamic as romantic, even if nothing ever happened between their characters because they did not have the time.

the novelization by alexander freed is FULL of clear romantic subtext and outright text especially from cassian's pov. absolutely none of this makes it canon that they WOULD have gotten together had they lived, but it does show an intention that existed for almost as long as the characters did in development - that jyn and cassian's story is a love story, and that it is a love story that ends before it can really begin. that is the tragedy of rogue one - these are people who finally find their home (all of them, not just jyn and cassian, in the cause) and they have to die to save that home. and also it is their home because they WOULD die for it - for the rebellion.

though rebelcaptain has one of the most intimate scenes i have ever seen in star wars (the elevator scene) it is not physically intimate. so to many people that means it's not romantic. which is a shame because it's such a beautiful moment of emotional vulnerability, where these two people finally have a quiet place to just be together, to let all their walls down and belong, but since people are fucking idiots now they think cassian is wishing jyn was ANYONE else lmfao

but that doesn't change the reality of how beloved rebelcaptain is. rebelcaptain immediately inspired so much from the fans - for a mf ship to get as much love as it does to this day is a real testament to how much it is loved by fans. over 5k fanfics on ao3 for a niche non-explicitly canon mf ship is wild. it's the 7th most written about ship on ao3 for all of star wars media. again, for a ship in ONE movie.

of course, a prequel was never going to make jyn and cassian's relationship canon before they even meet. still it is a core part of rogue one and as such I would expect it to haunt the narrative of andor, which it does to some extent, especially in the first season but also in the second. this is not my issue with the show at all because again i understand where they are going with it.

my frustrations with the show are not about cassian having a committed relationship with someone else either. arguably that could have done a lot to move his character to the man who we see in rogue one - and to me it didn't all that well imo because the show doesn't treat cassian andor as if he is an established character with established motivations that we have known for almost TEN years.

my problem is that the show spends more time and energy building up a wonderful ensemble and doing pretty great plot for THEM than it does building cassian into the man we see in rogue one. it wastes too much time in s2 doing a whole lot of nothing, actual nothing, when it needs to be GIVING us what we need. not just what we want. meaning, if you are going to make the case that cassian is talking out of his ass on eadu, you better make that case well - or it won't fucking work.

SHOW us your work, gilroy. don't just tell the audience that cassian is suddenly a great leader, we need to SEE IT. i believe he is but the show does not give any real evidence for it.

it's storytelling 101 - show, don't tell. and considering this is CASSIAN'S backstory, it's a cardinal sin for so much of the development of cassian's core motivations in rogue one to be afterthoughts told to us offhandedly.

an egregious example of this is his relationship with bix.

in a single film, we see more evidence as to why cassian and jyn are so well suited to one another - be it as partners in the rebellion, as friends and/or as potential lovers - than we see of cassian and bix in the entire show. i do not say this to disrespect bixcass shippers, you do you boo, but because honestly I believe this is part of a fundamental problem with andor.

because I actually think the intention of the show is to make that point to us - that bix and cassian are NOT well suited to one another, that they may each be someone that the other WANTS to love, but they are not who they NEED. but I don't think the show gives this the time and attention it deserves.

we are told that bix and cassian are exes in s1, and we see that they broke up because of various incompatibilities - cassian running off and being inconsistent, cassian prioritizing his own needs and wants over bix's, cassian not being open to emotional vulnerability, bix wanting a normal life with a normal guy, etc. no matter how clear it was to me that they had unresolved emotions between them, it was also clear that one of them was always going to hold the other back.

s1 has the room to breathe but also isn't trying to overcome these issues. that is why their friendship, their dynamic, in s1 works on multiple levels - even if I do not ship them - because the show isn't trying to push aside their issues in s1. the first season sets up multiple paths: one that is two first loves who romantically reconnect after a period of personal growth, and one that is two first loves who find that they are better off as friends because their incompatibilities would not be sustainable under the weight of building a revolution. both of which, in order to line up properly with rogue one, would have to end in great tragedy of some sort. not necessarily fridging, but a separation or complete severing of ties because their GOALS ARE NOT THE SAME. not necessarily their goals for the rebellion, although the show does make that clear, but their PERSONAL goals.

it seems as though the show understands this too. the problem comes down to s2 not having the time to explore some very important foundational parts of this supposedly central relationship - or the interest in doing so either.

we do not see them reconnect, which is whack. so not only do we not see how their first teen romance worked (we are just told about cassian sneaking into bix's room lmao) but we also do not see how they fall back in love. because I'm sorry, love is a choice. love is an active thing we must work for. it is not easy, especially in conflict. we see how not easy it is between them once they have already committed to each other, but we do not see WHY they made the choice to rebuild their relationship with one another again, or HOW.

yes, cassian saves bix at the end of s1. okay? bix is deeply traumatized, and we never really see her deal with it. no, the girlboss 2015 era bad bitch coruscant blowout does not count. we also do not see cassian deal with literally any of his traumas either, but we don't see him deal with much.

it seems as though they get back together because they feel like they SHOULD - okay, well then show us WHY. this is supposed to be the heart of the show, right? well show me why that heart beats.

because what I see is cassian and bix fighting, being unwilling to let the other make choices for themselves (bix especially but cassian is guilty of this too) and bix basically reverting to a version of herself we never see in s1, which is a docile, tea-making housewife. cool cool but WHY?? where has it ever been established that bix caleen wants to be a homemaker? that CASSIAN wants that in a partner??

in fact, in the first fucking episode of s1, cassian EXPLICITLY mocks timm for picking a woman who is unruly and rebellious. that moment establishes that cassian understands bix will never be passive, it is not in her nature, and that he doesn't WANT her to be. he thinks timm is a bad match for her because of timm's own preferences for a partner being kind of incompatible with who cassian understands bix to be.

and yet - am I supposed to believe that bix's traumas have changed that core part of her? that a woman who chooses the rebellion is content with not doing ANYTHING? with tea making???

not only is this strike three for tony gilroy passifying a rebellious woman in some way for another character's story (jyn erso, cinta kaz and now bix caleen) it is also totally hard for me to buy because it's not even EXPLORED.

WHY does bix spend her time doing very little (except of course all the stuff she does earlier on offscreen apparently)??? WHY is the rebellion not utilizing her very important skillset (comms and mechanics) when the same revolutions that gilroy has clearly studied so much for this story would have made her very, very useful?

as I said earlier, I think the show makes a decent case for why they ultimately are incompatible. in the end, it comes down to a lack of trust that the other will do the right thing. bix leaves cassian (when she is pregnant; clearly the baby is meant to be cassian's) to go back to the place where she was sexually assaulted for Reasons because she is "choosing the rebellion" but what she is really choosing is to raise a child that cassian would probably want to know about without him even being aware of their existence.

what she is choosing is to not distract cassian from ~his destiny~ which lmao okay sure whatever but GIRLFRIEND you should not have to make that choice. you should trust that he is committed to this ideal you believe so strongly in that you are willing to leave everything behind for good.

because the truth is that yes, bix says that she'll find him someday, and yes, cassian thinks he'd like to find her someday too, but the truth is that this is a betrayal. this is a partner not only forcing the hand of someone they love for an ideal they both supposedly believe in, but also taking away the choice of the partner to have any say in whether or not he has a relationship with a baby that he helped create lmfao. of course a woman has no obligation to involve the genetic father in a baby's life but it's clear that we are supposed to think this is an act of love on bix's part, but... i'm sorry, bix seems to understand (like cassian) that there really is no likely future for their relationship. so if anything, it is selfish. okay. cool, then why is the final scene shot in a way that makes it look sweet and hopeful??? lmfao it looks insane because it IS an insane thing for a person to do.

and am I supposed to believe that cassian and bix would be having unprotected sex during a war???? with their traumas of losing their parents young????? sorry its always been a no for me with rebelcaptain and its a no period.

cassian, who has had his choices taken from him all his life, has this choice taken too - and fuck no I do not get with that, especially not when bix was not forced to do any of this. she CHOSE to leave cassian at his most vulnerable, after witnessing a genocide, something he himself is a survivor of, in order to keep him in the rebellion? girl bye

cassian is overprotective of her to a fault, and it gets them into fights. after her girlboss moment does she even do anything for the rebellion besides "choose" the rebellion for cassian? i literally do not remember a second of her doing anything besides pouring tea and yapping.

so we do not see her recover from her traumas, but we are to assume that she's better now because she tortured her torturer. okay cool, that COULD have been an interesting way to show the audience that revenge does not heal, and certainly not using the pain and suffering of oppressed children to do so will not heal. this could have played into cassian telling jyn to leave krennic at the end of the film, juxtaposing the way he led bix to harming herself further with the way that he asked jyn to spend their last moments together, free from the taint of an easy kill when he knew it was likely krennic wasn't gonna make it.

nope instead we get absolutely nothing. bix suddenly seems okay! great, cool but how did she go from drug addled and struggling with ptsd to beautiful sexy housewife who just so happens to never do anything with any of her skills again from that point?

and that does not serve cassian's story at all. it doesn't even serve her own.

one thing the show does well for her is how it handle's bix's assault. but again, this is how tony gilroy radicalizes bix, as if being tortured by the audio of oppressed murdered children is not enough. there's another avenue for her radicalization: in the first episode, timm mentions a wobani job. meaning bix and timm are working with the prisons (aka labor camps aka concentration camps) for her business. okay well imagine what it would be like to realize that you've been directly profiting off of a system that your friend/lover was enslaved by???

bix as an undocumented woman of course IS of course at risk, and it isn't wrong to show us what that means. the show does make a point of exposing how at risk marginalized women are - from kerri possibly being at the brothel to the way the imperials speak about the dhani women to bix's assault, it's a part of the story and i have no problem with it.

but the purpose was to radicalize her. and what is the purpose in radicalizing bix? to force cassian into serving the rebellion.

even though by then, cassian should be BEYOND committed.

and it's not even something he gets to confront, not really. while it seems to me that they both know their relationship is done for good, while the show seems to recognize that bix was out of pocket for that, why then the image of bix with baby??? why make it seem like she did something good for cassian?

i know, i know. legacy. but i'm sorry that's a legacy that cassian has no ties to but blood. and that's just genetics. not relation, not choice, not family. not necessarily.

it would have made far more sense to show a scene of what cassian was running TO - maybe to jyn, which would have made sense given the shot of saw, but also maybe to bodhi and galen, maybe to anything but what who left him behind and what he was always supposed to LEAVE behind in order for the show to stick the landing.

[mintyys-blog]

Hi I love your writing and invincible stuff so much if it’s not too much, could you make the mark variants with reader who is still trying to recover from a bad relationship and she’s healed from it but she’s just afraid to date anyone because she’s afraid that she’ll have to deal with it again .

Please and thank you 🍰

HEADCANONS | variants with s/o who came from a toxic relationship

INVINCIBLE MASTERLIST | WARNINGS: mention of toxic relationships, murder, toxic behaviour (Sinsiter Mark)

Kindly respect my work. No reposts, translations, or rewrites — AI-generated or not — without my consent. © @mintyys-blog

MAIN MARK

Mark doesn’t rush her. He knows what it’s like to be hurt, to question everything, to feel like love might never be safe again. So he’s patient — endlessly so. When she hesitates, when she pulls back even after they’ve laughed all night, he doesn’t get upset. He just smiles, soft and steady, and says, “It’s okay. Take your time.”

He makes sure she knows she can talk to him, always. “Communication’s important,” he tells her one night while they’re watching the stars. “Even if it’s hard. Even if it’s messy. You don’t have to keep anything inside when you’re with me.”

And he means it. He never pushes her to share, but when she does — even in fragments — he listens. No judgment. No pressure. Just a boy who cares, who wants to be the safe place someone else couldn’t be.

He shows love in small, quiet ways: warming up her favorite food after a long day, sending her random messages just to check in, holding her hand just long enough for her to squeeze back. Every time she opens up, he treats it like a gift. Because to him, it is.

“You don’t have to be perfect,” he whispers into her hair once, holding her close. “You just have to be you. I can handle the rest.”

MOHAWK MARK

The second he finds out what her ex put her through — the control, the emotional bruises, the way she still flinches when people raise their voices — his entire mood shifts. The air stills around him. His fists curl at his sides, jaw tight. He doesn’t say anything at first, just seethes.

“He’s still walking around like nothing happened?” he mutters, voice low and dangerous. She panics a little, tugging at his sleeve, already telling him not to do anything reckless.

“I’m not gonna kill him,” he says, but it sounds more like a promise to himself than to her. And yet with her, it’s different.

Mark isn’t soft by nature, but he’s steady. Protective. When she admits that she’s scared of dating again — scared that maybe this is just how love goes — he doesn’t laugh or dismiss her. He doesn’t rush her either. He just nods, quiet, and says, “Then we take it slow. No pressure.”

He doesn’t know how to say I’m proud of you without sounding gruff, so he shows it in little things — letting her vent without judgment, brushing her hand when she gets nervous, standing behind her like a wall when things feel overwhelming.

“If you ever feel like things are too much,” he says one night, “you can lean on me. I’m not going anywhere.”

And she believes him — not because he says the perfect words, but because he means them. Because no matter how messy things get, he’s not afraid of what comes with her healing. He’s not here for the version of her that smiles all the time — he’s here for all of it.“You’ve been through hell,” he says, brushing her cheek with his thumb, “but you’re still standing. That matters.”

SINISTER MARK

He’s not interested in healing her — not really. He’s interested in owning her. And the moment he learns about her past relationship, something cold and calculating flickers behind his eyes. “Oh, so that’s why you flinch when people raise their voice,” he mutters once, with a faint smirk. “Cute.”

He tracks down her ex — doesn’t say a word about it, doesn’t even seem angry — but the man disappears shortly after. And when she asks if he had anything to do with it, Mark only shrugs, indifferent. “Doesn’t matter. He won’t hurt you again.”

That should be comforting. But there’s something in his tone that makes it feel more like a threat. He starts slow. Subtle. He doesn’t berate her — not outright — but he plants seeds.

“You’re lucky I’m not like him, right?”

“You always get so emotional. Maybe that’s why he treated you like that.”

“You’d fall apart without me.”

And the twisted part is: he makes her feel loved. In his own warped way. He touches her gently after every cold word. He praises her just enough to make the insults feel like truth. He keeps her just high enough that she doubts the fall.

He never tells her she’s worthless — but he lets her believe she’s only safe in his orbit. That he is the upgrade, the savior, the one who knows her better than anyone else.

And when she finally catches on — when she’s staring in the mirror, trying to remember when she stopped recognizing herself — she’s already in love. Already tangled in him. Already his.

And that’s exactly how he likes it.

OMNI MARK

Mark wouldn’t make a grand show of it.

He wouldn’t shout, wouldn’t threaten — he’d just disappear for a few hours after finding out about the ex who hurt her. No costume. No fanfare. Just him, moving like a silent weapon across continents. When he returns, there’s blood on his knuckles, a shallow cut on his lip, and a calmness in his expression that makes her stomach twist. He doesn’t even bring it up unless she asks.

“He won’t be a problem anymore,” he says simply, wiping his hands on a towel, like he just finished fixing a car instead of ending someone’s life.

It’s terrifying. But also strangely… comforting. Because Mark is not a gentle man. He doesn’t pretend to be. But if he’s with her, it means she’s someone he’s chosen — someone he protects with the same ruthless force he uses to crush enemies.

He’s not soft about it. Not emotional. But sometimes, when she’s quiet or distant — still flinching from ghosts that aren’t there — he’ll wrap an arm around her and press a kiss to the top of her head.

“You don’t need to be afraid anymore,” he murmurs. And he means it. Because in his eyes, love isn’t just affection — it’s annihilation of anything that dares to harm what’s his.

VILTRUMITE MARK

Mark doesn’t need to raise his voice. His presence alone speaks louder than any threat ever could.

The first time someone dared mention her ex in a dismissive tone — just a joke, they said — Mark didn’t even blink. He just stepped forward, calm and composed, and stared them down with the kind of quiet that made the air hard to breathe. “No one disrespects her,” he said, tone even, almost cold. “Not in front of me. Not ever.”

He doesn’t give speeches. He doesn’t need to. The look in his eyes — the weight of centuries of Viltrumite power behind his silence — says everything.

And that reputation follows. People learn quickly that she’s off-limits. Not because she’s fragile. But because she’s his, and Viltrumite Mark doesn’t tolerate disrespect to what he considers sacred.

At home, though, he’s different. He listens. He learns how much the past hurt her, how much she’s trying to rebuild. He might not fully understand human fears — heartbreak, betrayal — but he wants to. For her.

“I can’t erase the past,” he tells her once, fingers brushing her cheek. “But I can make damn sure nothing like that touches you again.” And he means it — with all the terrifying, unwavering certainty that comes with being born a weapon, and choosing to love instead.

PRISONER MARK

Mark isn’t perfect—he’s rough around the edges, scarred inside and out, and built more for survival than softness. But with her, he tries. God, he tries so hard.

He knows what she’s been through. He sees it in the way she flinches at sudden changes in tone, the way she hesitates when she speaks her mind, like she’s bracing to be shut down. And it pisses him off—not at her, but at whoever made her feel that way.

He doesn’t always know what to say, but his actions scream louder than words ever could.

He’s patient, in his own way. He holds her tighter on bad nights. Doesn’t push when she pulls away. Lets her set the pace. And when she questions why he even stays—why he bothers—his voice goes low, serious.

“Because you deserve someone who doesn’t make you afraid to love again.”

He never calls what they have perfect, but it’s real. He brings her little things—stupid trinkets he finds, pieces of the outside world he knows she’ll like. Cooks for her when he can. Rests his scarred head in her lap, looking up at her like she’s the only soft thing left in his world.

He might’ve come from a place built on cruelty, but with her, he’s learning something else—what it really means to protect. To love. To be more than what he was made for.

TAG LIST ; @onlybatsyy

[plaidos]

This isn’t really directed specifically at you (despite the fact I’m putting it in your inbox) but why the hell do we have to pull shit on each other? Like, trans masc, trans femme, NB, intersex, why are we fighting amongst ourselves when we have a much larger and more dangerous common foe?

(And to be clear, I’m not saying “stop defending yourself when someone starts shit at you”, I’m asking “why are any of us starting shit in the first place?”)

(Gawd, I feel like a fucking centrist saying this shit but I just don’t get it)

because you are being a centrist saying this shit ngl 😭😭😭 standing up against transmisogyny isn't "fighting amongst ourselves" unless you consider transmisogyny crucial to trans liberation.

your problem is that you're looking at this through a childish lens of "what side" everybody is on, like this is Star Wars or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. but in the real world people don't just line up into Good Guys and Bad Guys. trans people aren't significantly less likely to reproduce the misogynistic structure of the wider world in the trans community, and so it is crucially important that trans women can call out the transmisogyny within the trans community.

You're treating this like it's just people blindly hitting at each other rather than reflecting the power structure of the wider world. We shouldn't be providing any space for misogynists in the trans community or the trans liberation movement.

[whicheveroneisthecoolest1]

This post is the one that scares me. So it’s rant time.

Why?

Because in the comments, there’s a couple people saying, “Death to Politicians.” “Torture for politicians.”

Have you…ever met a legislator? Have you ever met someone running for office? Do you know your state representative? Have you ever spoken with your congressional representative? Have you ever bothered to show up for the civic process? Have you ever cared about any feature of politics other than sitting on your phone and reading every recycled news bite fed to you like a good little dog?

I HAVE, because I worked on the 13th amendment exception clause FOR SLAVERY in racist, southern states, and I also worked on multiple laws for human rights. I have seen nasty, sneaky politicians, and hate filled religious lobbyists eager to strip your rights, in person, way up close and personal.

Elon Muskrat is showing up. I don’t want him there, sure, but he’s doing the exact same thing I am (for selfish purposes, and I hate him, but he’s showing up and YOU are not). Showing up and participating. You can do that too, did you know? With your 1st amendment right, and our constitution, you can show up and become involved.

I’m here to tell you that maybe about half of your local state leaders, no matter which party, are real people trying to do their version of helping people. They don’t touch hot button issues. They just write and pass laws.

Do you know which ones? Some of them are nurses, engineers, teachers, scientists, and lawyers. Some of the people who run are poor af, and just want to pass a law to prevent insurance companies from stealing the money you get from your child dying in a hit and run. Some of them are career women’s rights activists.

Then some of the legislators ARE hard core politicians. And the only way to tell which are which is if they’re barkers, loud mouth pieces for news outlets, or if they haven’t actually passed a bill or made a single new law in years.

If you did get to know the civic process and your local leaders, you may recognize something important:

Being a career American legislator is a part time, volunteer position.

Why is that important?

Because only the independently wealthy can afford to do it long term.

You want real change? You want to empower your community, your second grade teacher, or your best friend who is at EVERY PROTEST?

Try this stance:

Legislation and lawmaking should be a REAL job, not a hobby for wealthy elites.

Anyone who wants to make it harder to have normal people be our leaders is an authoritarian. Fuck off if you want to be a bureaucratic fletcher for the wealthy.

You think it’d be fun and cool to cannibalize or murder everyone in office? Torture them? Light representatives on fire? Because you feel powerless? Because you like licking the geopolitical boot of authoritarianism? Because you want to do all the work for regimes using anarchism as a ploy to get you to give up your right to due process and representative democracy?

Because I think that just makes it even harder to get normal people to run. And I DO want scientists, teachers, doctors, psychologists, construction workers, engineers, etc. in office.

Believe it or not, but that’s how you breathe life into authoritarianism: you get the little guys to give up, and stop showing up. You don’t HAVE to kill the legislators, because this isn’t an absolute monarchy. That’s what this process is for. You can vote in different people, but the only way to GET different people is if us poor folk can have a shot at it.

Anyone unwilling to be murdered to help this country effectively take a back seat to the wealthy who want everyone else to be too afraid, too powerless, and too vulnerable to run for office, and would hire security to protect them as they gutted human rights for whatever group they don’t like.

You want to rip the wind from their wings? Elect a poor man.

Every poor man, little guy, peon legislator does 5X the good of every yapper in your local government. Maybe try standing up for them instead? Show up in matching shirts, testify on a law that affects you personally? Read testimony for someone who cannot be there? Use your strength for someone who can’t, not the jerks who just WON’T.

Because as far as I can tell, only six people show up to defend your rights during the regular session: disabled people, old gays, young trans people, old POC, retirees, and college students in poly-Sci.

I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SAY THIS BECAUSE I WAS RIGHT THERE WITH THE SLAVERY ABOLITIONISTS DURING THE FEW LAST RUNS AT THE 13TH AMENDMENT TO FINALLY ABOLISH SLAVERY FOR GOOD. WHERE WERE YOU “EAT THE GOVERNMENT” PEOPLE THEN? AT HOME? BULLYING SOMEONE ONLINE FOR A BAD TAKE? WHILE DEMOCRACY DIED?

Or is it that you “Eat the Legislators” people don’t actually want to show up to kill and cook them yourselves, you’ll only show up for the free food, and demand that the few who actually do the work kill them and cook them for you?

Posting jokes online about murdering members of your local government? That’s what you were doing while only one trans woman POC in a wheelchair showed up to defend your rights?

Every joke about eating your legislators is a nail in the coffin of the right of a poor man to run for office. You don’t want to eat them, you want the volunteer too broke to afford rent right now to run.

Make it a job. Make it pay enough that the poor can afford to do it. Make everyone take a test to qualify to run for office. Make a news network that only shows local legislative session activity, 24/7.

Also? Eat the rich, you fool, the obscene billionaire class, not the one poor bastard in your local government who tried to show up for you.

Friendly Reminder That...

Politicians are not doctors. Politicians are not scientists. Politicians are not teachers. Politicians are politicians. Politicians do not belong in healthcare. Politicians do not belong in science. Politicians do not belong in teaching. Politicians belong in politics.

[tarotbyjam24]

Pick a pile : Your future spouse\lover 's 4 am spicy thoughts and advice for you mdni [LGBTQ friendly]

pile 1 pile 2 pile 3 pile 4

Masterlist pick a piles feedbacks

Hi there! Hope you found the readings helpful.

Your likes, reblogs, and feedback are so important to me 🩷. Which pile did you connect with? 🫶🏻 I'm curious to know! These are general, so take what resonates.

Want a reading just for you? Book a personalized session! Keep an eye out for free offers please support me to kick off the may 100 dollars goal lovely people 💕

While channeling these thoughts I felt as if I was being a chicken when you two were talking 😭 because like tell me why am I here while you two are talking in your bed cuddling eachother and laughing dearly 🫠

Pile एक

I think every woman wants a man to look her in the eyes, caress her cheek and tell her to take her fucking pant*es off...

You know you're fuc*ed when their voice turns you on.

When you're so turned on that you can't even think or talk.When all you want is to feel that body against yours.

Date someone you can have rough s*x with and deep conversations with whether it's two in the morning or two in the afternoon.

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Pile दो

Getting fu*ked to sleep every night by the love of my life is what I deserve tbh.

When their gentle side makes you weak & their dominant side makes you w*t.

Casual s*x is dead.I wanna fu*k you and feed you and care for you and support your goals and do shit with you and help you out and nap with you dammit!

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Pile तीन

I like that "morning baby" kinda relationship. The no games, great communication, lots of s*x, lots of ki*sing, lots of cuddling, lots of flirting, lots of being goofy kind of relationship. That makes you want to run 100 miles, read books, clean up your bad habits kind of love.

Every person deserves to wake up in bed next to a man\woman that is happy to see her\him\them beside him\her\their , that kisses her\him\them in spite of morning breath, and can't get out of bed before making love to her\him \ them again.

It's easy to take off your clothes and have s*x. People do it all the time. But opening up your soul to someone, letting them into your spirit, thoughts, fears, future, hopes, dreams... that is being nak*d.

I'm sorry but s*x will never be enough just for me to stick around. I need my soul fed. Spiritual growth. Teach me. Mold me. Guide me. Talk to me. Love me. Connect with me and UNDERSTAND ME

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Pile चार

Intimacy is such a huge fucking turn on. Not just physical intimacy but the kind where someone lets you in their mind. The closeness of being mentally, emotionally and energetically connected is hot.

I like that "morning baby" kinda relationship. The no games, great communication, lots of kissing, lots of cuddling, lots of flirting, lots of being goofy kind of relationship. That makes you want to run 100 miles, read books, clean up your bad habits kind of love.

Forget about sleeping together. The real question is, can you still love her\him\them when she\he \they is\are overthinking, sending you 10 messages in a row because she\he\they need(s) reassurance? Can you support her\him\them when she\he\they is\are anxiously making sure she\he \they still wanted, and that you won't leave her\him\them when times get tough? Real love is about being there through her\his\their insecurities, calming her \him \ them fears, and proving that your commitment is strong. It's about showing her\him\them that she\he \they is\are loved and valued, even when she\he \they feel(s) most unsure and vulnerable.

You can be a genuine, loyal, and good-hearted person. AND YOU CAN ALSO BE A DIRTY, H*RNY, LITTLE S*X MONSTER. They are not mutually exclusive.

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Thanks for being here and allowing me to share. Sending good vibes your way! Love, jam

[patricia-taxxon]

With all due respect, you are very tactless when you phrase certain things and when people, politely even, tell you that it was thoughtless or mayhaps even racist, as has been the time before, you flip and go in defensive mode and finding different excuses instead of internaly trying to parse why exactly is it that people, black people in particular, have told you that what you said was racist. That is not a good look no matter how you twist it into victimhood, SPECIALLY when people are actually being very polite in informing you about it instead of assuming the worst. Introspection is important there. Like with the latest posts you made, it's not up to autistic black people to "realize" they are autistics, that's systems that have put them in that position and the framing on them as the group that is missing something rather than a group that is being DEPRIVED of something feels at odds with what you supposdely where trying to say, specially as a white person. If you were talking about it you simply would've talked about the systems and their effect on that community instead of whatever is it that you hoped to convey with that post. It really has a stench of white savior to as if autistic black people hadn't formed interiority about their own reality and I hope you realize that and hear friends telling you that instead of assuming everyone out there is just "not understanding you" or even missconstructing it on purpose.

Thank you, I don't think I'm flipping out, I feel like I explained myself & I'm leaving it at that instead of hiding it or doing a performative apology for approval. I'm not going to tokenize anyone to defend myself, as i feel is being suggested by the last paragraph. i will continue to be tactless as long as the people i care about are able to know what i mean, because i used to deal with disagreements online by fawning at strangers & endlessly explaining and clarifying in a way that helps no one & i'm trying to change that.

[seat-safety-switch]

Folks, sit down for a second. I'm pretty sure I've finally found it. That's right, the Holy Grail. All my life, I've been searching for this, and it's finally here. I have discovered a hobby that doesn't require you to immediately spend $1000 on tools and materials for it.

Now, for a lot of people, that's what a hobby is. You get into vintage cameras, and then you dump a paycheque into eBay before you realize all you take pictures of is your cat. Motorcycle riding? Four digits at least, if you're doing it at all safely. Mahjong? You might as well just hand your wallet directly to the nice old ladies at the Cultural Centre and tell them to take whatever "feels fair."

I'd bounced around various hobbies, including those that supposedly have a cheap cost of entry. Every time, I would end up with at least a metre less of workbench space, and an exceptionally expensive knowledge of the harsh realities of braiding horse manes or de-gunking public sewers. After awhile, I had lost all faith that it was even possible to enjoy a hobby without spending what a good used car used to cost. And then I found it.

Are you ready? That hobby is called Annoying Civil Servants. All you need is your city's little service-request "app" on your "phone." Costs nothing, assuming that your parole officer already expects you to have one of the latter. What do you do? Wander around the city, complaining about whatever you see. Rusty lightpost. Weird-looking pothole. Shitty fence. Not enough grass. Too much grass. You'll be a hero to everyone in your community. Why let old people have all the fun of being a weird crank? Save your hobby money for things that are really important, like bail and... hey, what are you kids doing over there? Beyblades? Do those cost more or less than a thousand dollars?

[tootkin-goblin]

That's also a very important thing to be aware of, especially with things like posting online. Because sometimes you don't know what you're trying to obtain with your post and it can be very upsetting when you don't get it!

I think mostly about posting art online: as a beginner artist with a very small following, it can be very disheartening and feel like you're "screaming in the void". Why? Because you're not posting just for the joy of sharing your art, you're expecting something in return, and it can help a lot to know What Exactly Is It?

Maybe it's Validation: comments that says they loved your art, that you did this and that well, that they love how you handled lighting, or that your characters are very expressive, etc.

Or is it Engagement: people commenting on your ideas behind the drawing. They love that ship too, they find your worldbuilding cool and want to know more, they think your OC slaps and beg you to tell more about them!

Or it could be Reach: people reblogging your art far and wide, sharing with their friends, bringing you in front of as many eyes as possible. If you need commissions or patrons, that can be an important motivation.

Or maybe it's something else, that's for you to determine.

It's important to pinpoint what you want because, well, social media is kinda shit actually.

If your goal is to have some reach, you can follow marketing methods and have a very emotionally detached approach. Queue up reposts, use hashtags, self-reblog regularly, participate in jam/events/trends/fandom, etc. At some point it should work. But it will probably not get you any of the rest, the engagement, the validation, the human connection.

To get any of that, simply posting might not cut it, what you actually need is a small community! Be it fandom, discord, tumblr communities, or anything else. If your goal is actually to feel connected to other people, you need to find a small group of people and talk to them. Comment on their art, share your own in those smaller spaces of like-minded people, get some conversations started, etc. Not everyone will become a friend, but you only need a few.

And I know that's terrifying, I've only been able to do it since a few months. It's still hard sometimes. But realizing that I had actual need behind my actions, that I expected something in return for posting, was the first step in getting it.

Sometimes your actions are not what you need to do to get what you want. And sometimes your actions used to help you get what you needed years ago, but we change, and it's important to be aware of our need to reevaluate our actions.

there's a fine line between being wary of manipulation and becoming completely paranoid because you get very close to the realisation that pretty much all human interaction involves doing things we hope will lead to a result we like

[elexuscal]

Welcome to the Murderbot Diaries Fandom!

Hello, hello! Our favorite anxious half robot, half-human security construct has made it to streaming, introducing it to a whole new audience! While that leaves the temptation to put on our helmets and hide in the corner, I'm putting my best foot forward to mimic Dr. Mensah and welcome you all to our hab!

My intention with this post is to give a little bit of a guide to newcomers to get them situated, and generally just say hi.

What's Murderbot?

Murderbot is the titular character of The Murderbot Diaries, a book series by Martha Wells. Book 1, All Systems Red, is currently being adapted by a new streaming series on Apple TV. The (two) series follow a rogue ‘SecurityUnit’ as it befriends humans and robots alike, steals its freedom, and does what it can against the hyper-capitalist companies that rule much of the galaxy.

Spoilers Abound!

As far as we can tell, the (presumed first) season of the Murderbot show will cover only book 1 of what is currently a six-book series (with two additional short stories, and two more entries planned).

As such, there will be spoilers lurking in the tags! This includes future events, reveals, and characters.

If you're new and don't want to be spoiled, stick to the tags #Murderbot Show and #Murderbot TV. It's also a courtesy of fans of the book series to keep TV show discussion in that tag as opposed to the book tags #Murderbot Diaries and #TMBD. (Though I'm going to be honest, there's like a bazillion tags at this point so this might be a losing battle. Oh well, we try!)

Sharing Spaces

The fundamental themes are Murderbot are about the power of kindness and compassion, and the importance of respecting those different from you. Those are ideals I hope we can continue to foster as our little fandom grows.

What does that mean?

Primarily, it means recognizing that there are going to be different perspectives, and that's okay! Some people are really excited by an adaptation of the books they love; some are skeptical. Plus, of course a whole bunch of folks who have only just been introduced to MB via TV! All are valid! Let's not be rude to those who disagree with our own perspective.

It also means respecting different interpretations of the character and stories. We don't know how much the story of books and show are going to diverge; certainly, even faithful adaptations need to make changes to take advantage of a new medium. And indeed, even when you're reading the same text, people can come away with very different perspectives. We need to make room for all those perspectives to hang out together.

Identity and Representation

The Murderbot of the books is nonbinary, using it/its pronouns. There’s heavy emphasis in the text that Murderbot is wholly uninterested in both sex and romance, and it is therefore very commonly interpreted as asexual and aromantic, not to mention touch-averse and neurodivergent. As such, you'll find many folks from these communities within the fandom. Please try to be kind and respectful of these groups!

As always, the fandom principles of 'Ship and Let Ship' and 'Your Kink Is Not My Kink (And That's Okay)' applies. That said, it's a two way street, and there are ways to approach shipping that recognises why many other fans won't share your interests. Write shippy fic, draw shippy art, just tag appropriately and be respectful of ace and aro-spec identities as you do.

Respecting representation also extends to visual depictions of the characters! With a new show out, it of course follows that many people will be making fanart reflecting its cast! However, the books themselves are often very scant on physical descriptions, reflecting Murderbot's often laconic style. This leaves a bit of a blank canvas for fanart. While we're definitely going to be seeing a lot of fanart representing Skarsgard's Murderbot (as well as the rest of the show's cast), you’re also going to be seeing pieces  taking inspiration from other places, such the official book cover art by Tommy Arnold,  the voice actor of the audiobooks, Kevin R. Free, and artists’ own imagination! This means other interpretations of the characters in terms of racial background, build, and gender presentation. That's awesome! Let's keep enthusiasm for all ways of depicting this awesome universe going!

Fandom Is Fun

Above all, fandom is a place of joy, connection, and creativity. Be kind to others; block those who are bringing you down; share and emphasize the things you love!

If this is your first time finding Murderbot; welcome! I think you've got a real treat ahead of you. I'm glad you're here. 👋

[meiyvsdesire]

VII. HIS VESSEL

Ryomen was never a soft spoken person and likes to say it as it is without considering how the other person would feel, what was important to him is the answer his looking for. Which was you, admitting that you were after something much more than just this marriage.

"I'm positive that this marriage was all your father's idea, correct?"

This wasn't his first rodeo. He had been offered marriage many times because of his status but because some families were greedy, he proposes to meet with the candidates alone to get to know them but mostly to investigate about their intention.

But you were an honest person yourself, it is very hard to communicate your own emotions to your family so you learned that speaking in an honest manner is what gets attention. You desire transparency with anyone you communicate because you knew how it felt being misunderstood. You nodded with your eyes down on the table like it wasn't a hard question at all.

Ryomen proceeded to ask.

"Why didn't you oppose to his idea?"

The question made you smirk as if you never tried and your mind just flashed back the day you ran away after finding out your father's plan.

"Do I look like I have a choice?"

You questioned as you shifted your eyes to look at him.

"You do. Everyone has a choice."

He answered quick finding bluff in your previous words and he leaned back on his seat crossing his arms against his chest.

"Unless you're in it for the prize."

At first you never really understood what he meant about the prize, like what prize? This is basically torture. But then you slowly realize that he was hinting the wealth his family possess and it you scoff feeling offended of how he thinks of you. Do you look like a woman who's after money? For all he knows, your family is wealthy too but just not in the same level.

You wanted to walk out, tell him to fuck off. You wanted to say keep your fucking wealth. You shook your head thinking this was gonna be somewhat peaceful meeting but who are you kidding? your marrying into a group of criminals, of course their gonna interrogate you.

The room became silent as you still thought of your answers and Ryomen allowed you take your time because no lies can escape his ears. No action can go unnoticed. His been too experienced in this things that every move you make similar to the people he handles in the basement he'll be able to read.

On the other hand you can tell he was observing you but you were into psychology as well but didn't go deep into it. Saying what you thought of earlier will only make things bad for you so you decided on answering him with the facts that you experienced growing up.

"As you know, I am my father's eldest and being a woman in this role doesn't give as much as freedom as a son is given."

Ending your answer with an isn't obvious? tone. Ryomen didn't speak after realizing your answers could be true and factual. He had been seeing women in the industry with less opportunity and always standing behind their husbands. Suddenly, all the questions in his mind started to fade as if they were quickly answered with one word.

It was his turn to be silent, eyes down on the table trying, to think of other questions to throw at you. But the silence made you feel awkward and it helped made you think of a question. Since he started fo asking you questions, you decided that you'll be doing that as well.

"What about you? Don't you feel tortured by all of this?"

Ryomen was quick to shift his eyes back on you and shook his head confidently.

"Not at all, my grandfather's choices were always of great intention."

Your eyebrows slowly furrowed after realizing that this was his grandfather's doing. You thought he had a word on this but it seems like he too was in the same predicament as you, only that he wasnt reacting to it negatively.

"So you just trust him to decide for you? in this marriage? Or in everything?"

Hearing your question Ryomen felt slightly offended, that to you he portrayed himself as a fool following another man's order. He soon realized that you'll think his in the same situation as you but no, his was different. His more independent, unlike you he is a man of his own decisions, although sometimes in order to have his grandfather trust him with the family throne he had to follow his commands until the grandfather decides for him to get married.

"For the meantime, until I'm able to take his position."

"Position? What position?"

Ryomen scoffed and shook his head finding your question ridiculous. Slightly covering his smile by rubbing his fingers under his lips.

"Have you not done this before?"

He smiled in a mocking manner, like he was talking to a fool. He couldn't believe you asked that. The seriousness of your face made him realize that you weren't joking at all and just shook his head but his smile remained.

"Boss, as boss."

You tilted your head to the side trying to make sense of the term boss, like isn't he already a boss? A CEO?

Ryomen smirked clearly seeing your cluelessness upon entering this marriage.

"The family ruler."

Your mouth slightly gaped open now that you slowly have realized he meant being the head of the family. The ruler, the monarch, the once who call the shot. Ryomen saw the change in your expression and smirked, grabbing this opportunity to pressure you.

"And if this proceeds, that makes you the mother of the family."

He placed an arm on the table with his index finger reaching out and started tapping on the table while the other fingers folded.

"Are you even able to cater on that responsibility?"

Your eyebrows furrowed at his question not completely understanding of what he meant by being this mother. Ryomen was ready to eat all that confusion up and tear you slowly a part. Maybe then he'll get answers from you or get you to back out?

"The mother is the representation of her husband's ruling. She takes care of young affiliates and mediates between them and her husband. Wives and partners of the members support the group in a peripheral way."

Ryomen licks his lower lip not even close to bring done about torturing your mind.

"Although you won't be participating on business activities because you'll be baring the most important responsibility aside all that."

You lifted your eyes and met his sharp red once staring down at you as if he was sucking all the life out of you. Your body language changed into a timid type crossing your arms and legs, showing how uncomfortable you are.

"Baring the future heir."

Your brain slowly connecting his words but you could barely utter a reply and suddenly noticed him eyeing parts of you that you felt sensitive about. He scanned you from your head to your breast as if he could see through your clothes and you just felt the need to cover your chest.

Ryomen exhales sounding a bit disappointed. It was clear to him that you knew so little of the position you were going to have and caught himself having his own second thoughts about this marriage.

"You know little yet you never opposed to your father's idiotic plan."

His comments were true, no one really prepared you for the responsibility. You were just told that you were going to be married which you greatly opposed too because who would want that!? And now his telling you that your greatest purpose in marriage is baring his child?

"It's clear that you're a family of leeches."

What. The pressure on your shoulders suddenly felt more tensed, your mind quickly shifted to the most offensive thing you ever heard. Hearing him insulting your family struck you and easily boiled your blood, getting into your skin.

You scoffed admitting to yourself that it is true, this is an idiotic plan that your father decided on but what gives him the fucking right to insult your whole family? Calling us leeches? Parasites? when this is something his grandfather initiated.

Your eyes couldn't help but shift into a glare once you laid your eyes on him with anger filling your thoughts. Suddenly all your fears and worry were replaced with anger and without you noticing.

Ryomen did not feel a single fear from you though he does feel offended that you suddenly got some guts starring at him like you can take him down.

"Don't look at me like that."

He commanded but you only stood up from your seat with both of your arms placed on the table.

"You, do not. Insult. My family. You desperate fuck!"

You say as if you spat at his face with venom in your mouth. Although your intention was only to say how rude he was and to never say such thing again, to him you sounded like you were warning him - giving him an 'or else' tone.

Now Ryomen can take any insult you throw at him, all his life his been hearing how much of a dinasty child he is, how criminalized his family is and how much of a mole they are in the industry. He was able to take all the harshest things in but what he doesn't take lightly is when you raise your voice at him.

He demands respect at all times and for him, respect is given to him all his life that even the person who wanted him to get killed had given him that.

Ryomen was quick to hear that change of tone, he was a ruler himself and no one under him has ever again raised their voice at him especially after an event where he had to cut out an affiliates tongue. Ryomen felt disrespected and carefully stood up himself with his shadow slowly took over your small figure. His face blank but his demeanor carried so much authority.

Slightly your body twitched in fear that you hoped he didn't noticed it.

"Do not. Raise your voice."

His tone was deep and frightening. It was weakening the strength of your feminity but you kept your stance cause one thing you've learned from your family is being a hard head gives you peace.

"Then don't. Disrespect. My family."

A stare off is happening between the two of you but the longer the seconds came by, the awkward it was making you feel inside since he wouldn't back down. Your anger subdued by the second and your eyes shifting back into your normal round once where they were round and filled with emotions that can easily be read.

Ryomen remained silent, still in the same aura but once he started to notice the change in your eyes, his mind started to question about the sudden change of mood in the room. Is this fake? A tactic? Usually in business it takes a lot of days or even years before enemies become allies but in this case those puppy eye orbs was giving him a feeling that he hasn't come to understand yet.

Women have always been so submissive and pleasing towards him. They were the once to make the first move. At first he didn't understand why but two things were always reaching his ears and those were his looks and status. He had come to understand his gifts and once took advantage of it to which got him in trouble from his mother, who telling him how important his genes are and that it must not be thrown away nor given to reckless decisions for it was far more precious than gold. Thus why he never physically acts on his lust and releases it on other activities.

Ryomen trust his mother but she was always scaring potential women away, the reason why his grandfather always had a hard time finding him the proper partner because he wasn't the only final boss these women have to face.

Ryomen's mother reminds him to look for someone who was is pure and true to her traidtion, religion, family and most importantly to herself.

Suddenly the small event between the two of you went back into his mind and realized how protective you are to your family even though you were being forced into something against your will, you remained loyal and respectful to your blood. That was something that didn't go unnoticed.

"Welcome back, Master."

Uraume greeted and watched his master enter the passenger seat behind him. He was observing his Master's expression since he looks preoccupied.

Uraume gave him a moment to relax before he decided to ask how he was.

"Did it go as you expected, Master?"

Ryomen releases a heavy sigh. He barely rested everyday, an 8 hour of sleep is never enough to get him through the day of facing the fuck ups of the people in his life and now he has to deal with this arranged marriage that will probably be another disaster on his shoulders considering how clueless you were.

"No."

Ryomen coldly answers and leaned his head back on the seat and slanted a bit starring at the ceiling of the car before closing his eyes. He doesn't know what to think because he was too tired.

Uraume kept silent seeing how tired his master is and proceeded to start the car.

As Ryomen was relaxing, his mind suddenly remembered the look on your face as you tried to fight the cowardness crawling in your skin. Yes, he could see through you. It's a talent he was able to possess, the ability to read people during their weakest moments. It was always so funny to him watching the iris of his prey shiver in fear, but you? It wasn't so funny when your eyes strated to shift back to normal. He suddenly asked himself if your eyes had always been so round and...beautiful.

They weren't begging for mercy, your eyes they were...deep and empty. Pitch black and mysterious that every second he looked into your eyes, it made him feel fragile. Just like how he saw fears, yours were telling him that you saw his past. Your eyes were speaking for Sympathy. To be understood. They looked, Authentic...Innocent. What the fuck is this? It felt like witchery.

Ryomen felt the vehicle's vibration as it was turned on. He opened his eyes and turned his head to the window next to him seeing his other vehicle that he told to take you home. It wasn't as heavily tinted as his but it was dark enough to blurr the person's face inside. He easily spots your figure sitting at the back seat. He tried to analyze what you were doing without realizing that you were looking out your window as well. As soon as he knew you were looking at his window he turned his head to the front of the car catching Uraume's blank stare at the rear view mirror, starring back at him.

"Should we head home, Master?"

But Ryomen ignored his request only looking out the window. He didn't want to to answer because answering might just show an emotion he wasn't familair with and he doesn't want to be unprepared for whatever it is this annoying emotion was.

Uraume hasn't moved and looked to the side without moving his head, the car you were present in had started to leave the parking. His eyes then shifted back to the rear view mirror where he found his master still looking out the widow with his chest heavy breathing.

Now, Uraume had been standing beside Ryomen for decades, through thick and thin. Uraume can easily tell if something is of his master's insterest. The moment your vehicle was out of view, his master then shifts his head to the rear view mirror. It was clear to Uraume that his master found some interest in you which will be good news to the boss.

This is actually not his master's first time to meet up with his brides. His been offered a lot of marriages for years considering their family's background in the industry, a lot of families have been offering their daughters to him. Some were genuine, some were greedy and some were simply trying to get by life.

So far, a lot of these women have not caught his interest simply because Uraume could see how his Master can barely spared a glance at them after meeting them in person. His master was always putting his responsibilities first. But this meet up with you gives a different air judging by how his Master reacted after parting ways with you.

"How was it, darling? Was it bad as the others or perhaps even worst?"

Mrs. Sukuna had approached his son the moment he stepped into the living room of the house. She had been waiting for him the whole day as she usually does, a mother simply wants to check the health of her child every moment she can.

Ryomen doesn't answer her and let's her remove the coat he was wearing. Mrs. Sukuna handed the coat to the maid on her right before grabbing the glass of whiskey from the maid on her left, handing it to her son and dismisses them.

"I saw her pictures, read her background and ugh! I must say she looks cheap. Not in our level, your grandfather always picks the worst one."

His grandfather experienced this many time during his lifetime thus why it was their role to lead the grandson's future. Old Mr Sukuna had introduced a lot of candidates to his grandon that he found suitable but they don't last after meeting up with his family.

Ryomen's mother has a bit of a high pitch voice when she finds interest in the topic she talks about. One of those topics were judging the women that her son meets. Sometimes these women look good but never fit enough to be married to her son.

But Ryomen doesn't really care much about marriage or women. He just wanted the throne, the sole purpose of why his allowing himself to be married, wanting his own way of ruling the clan, his authority. His grandfather has been feeding him all his life the ego he has now and thus why he was always been aiming for the throne.

But because of his mother's judgment, it causes the delay in dethroning.

"Xayah is the perfect choice and I am sure of it."

To the mother and son's surprise, old Mr. Sukuna had joined them in the living room. The old man usually rested in the west wing of the mansion, loved his own peace without hearing any nags since he became a widower. He adores his alone time and likes to be away from Ryomen's mother since she was a fiesty, mouthy woman whom his son married but barely understood the tradition of the family.

On the other hand, Mrs. Sukuna is indeed as he described but only wanted the best for her son...and the fact that old Mr. Sukuna doesn't let her in the decision which causes her to intervene more.

"You're always so sure of the women you introduced to my son yet where are they now? They cannot bare the responsibility of being his wife. If anything, I should do the picking."

Mrs. Sukuna snobbishly answered as she sat at one of the single seater.

One of the reasons why Ryomen doesn't interfere is because of this ridiculous opposing statements that his mother and grandfather have. He just sits back at one of the single seater and let's them argue.

Old Mr. Sukuna shook his head feeling displeased with the mother's idea and tapped the edged of his wooden cane on the floor causing a thud that echoed in the room.

"A woman who is blinded by her son's worth could not choose a proper partner. Thus why I take over since Ryomen here barely knows anything about dating."

Ryomen smirks after taking a sip of his glass and comments.

"I believe I was told that violence is far more important than dating."

Old Mr. Sukuna took a seat at one of the velvet couches facing the lightened fireplace.

"That's your mother's doing."

He mumbled before landing himself on the couch. Mrs. Sukuna rolled her eyes since she was always hearing the blame as to why her son thinks so highly of himself but in her eyes it was all the Grandfather's doing since her husband was mostly ruling the clan in Nagoya, the one that was able to shape Ryomen was the grandfather since he spent so much time shaping him to be his next heir.

"So tell me, how is she? I personally haven't met her but her father tells me so much about how wife material his daugther is."

Mrs. Sukuna couldn't help but role her eyes hearing the old man's words. She knows how naive he can be when it comes to trusting people, especially where these people agrees to his accord.

Meanwhile Old Mr. Sukuna wore this hopeful look on his face that his grandson indeed had a great time. False, he did not. After you raised your voice at him he found you disrespectful and not emotionally intelligent. His moral compass is too weak to make him realize his fault on the situation because what he said was factual to him.

Ryomen circled the glass of whiskey that his fingers held as he recalls the meeting with you. He remembered how you told him so easily that you did not like the marriage at all.

"She's...tactful."

And how you asked him about his point of view on the marriage.

"Nosy."

How you didn't know much about the position you were going to be responsible for.

"Naive."

And the reaction he received when he insulted your family.

"Reckless."

Old Mr. Sukuna's hopeful face slowly changed into disappointment. His face suddenly looked drained losing hope in his grandson's case. Meanwhile Mrs. Sukuna felt victory was on her side once again wearing that small smirk ok the side of his face as she took a sip on her glass.

Meanwhile Ryomen was still in his thoughts remembering how you glared at him, raised your voice at him in defending your idiotic father's honor.

And those deep...depths, in your eyes. That made him feel...fragile, weak.

"She should be kept near me if that's the case."

⊹ ⊹ ࣪ ˖🪷₊ ⊹ ⊹ ࣪ ˖🪷₊ ⊹ ⊹ ࣪ ˖🪷₊ ⊹ ⊹ ࣪ ˖🪷₊ ⊹ ⊹ ࣪ ˖🪷₊ ⊹ ⊹ ࣪ ˖🪷₊ ⊹ ⊹ ࣪ ˖🪷₊ ⊹ ⊹ ࣪ ˖🪷₊

[communistkenobi]

Not annoying at all! I appreciate the response, because I think your examples do in fact speak to the point I’m trying to make, which is: my problem with ‘groupthink’ as a term is that it locates the mechanism of social coercion at the level ‘the group’. To use groupthink as an explanation argues that people’s opinions are swayed and disagreement is discouraged because they are in a group setting. It is the group ‘doing’ the coercion. And I think this has pretty limited explanatory power, because “group” is being treated like a coherent category. Human beings are social, we have lived in “groups” for many many centuries, but what those groups looks like, how they are arranged, how these groups form, the boundaries of how those groups are negotiated and understood, the internal dynamics of those groups, the external pressures on those groups, how they relate to other groups, and the types of power individuals can accrue within those groups has been so variable across time and space that “group” quickly becomes an unusably vague container of explanatory value. “Group” does not reference an actual social arrangement of people in the real world, it is an abstract and imprecise stand-in that gestures at a large variety of social arrangements, and as a result of this abstraction, it leads people to what I think are deeply anti-scientific conclusions about how coercion, social influence, and power operate in social spaces.

The Challenger example is fantastic for this, in fact, because using “groupthink” to explain the reasons for the explosion forecloses any broader historical or political explanations, such as the monumental pressures of the Cold War as the United States competed with the USSR for technological dominance which compelled rushed launches, the failure of scientists and engineers to effectively communicate the severity of the problem to politicians (being an effective public scientific educator, even to high-ranking politicians, is a social and political process - it relates to mass public education curricula, it relates to how the academy relates to the profession of teaching, it relates to who has access to this knowledge, etc etc), or the massive sweep of governmental deregulations happening under the Reagan administration at the time that produces less checks and balances. “Groupthink” as an explanatory framework tells us nothing about the wider social and political conditions of what is an incredibly political event. 

Now why does this matter? Maybe that explanation is unimportant for your purposes. Maybe you (generic you, not you specifically) don’t need to account for those things if what you’re describing is a very local level of social pressure. But if that is the scale at which you want to describe social phenomenon (ie, the abstract category of “the group”) then you run into trouble pretty quickly if you want to make generalisations about social coercion in general, group dynamics in general (such as The Challenger explosion). And that’s what I’m describing in the above post (in a very cheeky, cavalier way, ofc) - if you wanna talk about like, why your friends all agreed to watch a movie nobody actually wants to watch, then that’s fine, maybe groupthink is a good term to use. But it is methodologically ill-equipped (in my view) for anything more substantial than that. I disagree with it because it produces bad and unhelpful epistemic assumptions when attempting to scale up its explanatory use.

It's not meant to be a fun or fancy or word or do anything, it's like, oh what if we came up with a name for this?

And I would push back on this point you made specifically because to name a phenomenon is to argue that it is important to identify; groupthink places a conceptual boundary around “the problem” (social coercion) in an attempt to articulate its effects in the world and explain why it occurs. All terms have value because their existence arises from the assumption that the phenomena they describe are worth consideration in the first place. And “groupthink” is not just a casual term, it comes out of American psychology, an academic discipline with immense social and political power (the power to pathologise people; the power to imprison; the power to deny rights to those deemed “unfit” for society; the power to define the conditions under which groups are allowed to exist in society, such as transgender people or disabled people; the power to deny or grant insurance coverage for medications via diagnoses; and so on). “Groupthink” as a concept actually has very important stakes because it was produced out of a position of power, and it should be treated with the seriousness it deserves, which is what I’m attempting to do in this reply and others I’ve given on this post

groupthink is such a nothing phrase. oh your thoughts are socially influenced and mediated? unlike me, who forms all my opinions in complete isolation. enlightenment philosophers who spent their lives inventing phrenology and writing racism textbooks beat you to the punch like four hundred years ago you’re gonna need to come up with something more original. sounds like you’re engaging in groupthink honestly

[thydungeongal]

People are really determined to confuse cause and effect with the "cishet men in queer spaces" thing. The most healthy spaces might be more likely to include cishet men (whether as allies or eggs or whatever), but not every healthy space will have cishet men and not every space with cishet men is healthy! Crappy toxic queer spaces are perfectly capable of having crappy toxic cishet men in them. Why is this concept so hard for everybody?

This too is an important way to look at it. And like, it's not automatic but cishet men too can bring their own issues into a queer community in a way that can make it less safe for the queer people in it. Is the solution to that to ban all cishet men from queer spaces? Nah. But like. Could we maybe consider not talking about cishet men like they're mandatory for a healthy queer space?

Also if I may I literally saw someone say that "cishet men are often the most denigrated people within queer spaces" and at that point I was like okay bye. Literally some "cishet men are actually the queer people of queer people" shit.

[highprincessofthenightcourt]

RANT FOR AZRIEL

(Disclaimer , this isn’t for the girlies peacefully enjoying their headcanons or favorite characters. This is for the hostile, demonizing posts I keep seeing against Azriel lately. And let me be clear, shipping whoever you want is fun and totally valid. This isn’t about that. This is about people villainizing others for not liking what they like and twisting canon to suit their narrative and I just needed to rant.)

It pisses me off that people act like Azriel doesn’t truly see or value Elain just because he didn’t tell Rhysand about it in the bonus chapter. The thing is, Az had no plans for a future with her because he was doing everything in his power to stay away—he believes he’s unworthy of her, he knows she was given a mate, and he wants her to have a choice.

So, he stayed away. He tried to do what he thought was right—to give her the chance to be with the guy she was “supposed” to be with. He accepted that, even though we saw how much it pained him. And this is just another example of Azriel caring about Elain. He was putting his feelings aside because she is important to him. Even the fact that he almost gave in to her on Solstice was because he finally knew she wanted him. He was overwhelmed and dazed and hadn’t thought anything through in that moment—but he knew she felt for him as he did for her, and that’s what mattered to him.

Azriel has shown us, time and time again, how much he cares for Elain. From the very beginning, when he tried to appear harmless because she was scared of fae, to being the one who wanted to show her the garden and give her a safe space in this strange land. From being the one who noticed she was a seer, thus saving her from being trapped in her own mind, to being the one who immediately realized she was missing when Hybern took her—and had zero second thoughts about risking his life to get her back. From not spying on Lucien out of respect for Elain’s privacy, to finding the perfect necklace that represented her secret lovely beauty and the roses she lovingly tends to. Azriel has been there. He sees her, just as she sees him and all the times he rubs his temples.

Now, I do have my little personal quibble with Lucien for not being a better friend to Feyre, but that’s beside the point and it really isn’t the reason I don’t ship him with Elain. He’s had good moments, and I get why some people might want to see him as a MMC in the next book.

But Lucien is the one who has been written to see Elain superficially. Their first real interaction, where she asks if he can hear her heart and he says he can’t…it tells you everything. He’s the one having sexual thoughts about her without knowing or even really liking her—not Azriel.

Az is the one who yearns for her so deeply that it pains him to even see her near someone else, to the point where he needs to stay near exits so he can leave if it gets too unbearable.

This is not unintentional, guys. SJM even had Nesta, who was obsessed with Elain, tell Azriel he would die if he tried to save her—that’s how badly she needed to communicate to us that Az would do anything for Elain, including die.

And one last thing: Azriel is not a pervert for being turned on by a very attractive woman who, mind you, wants to fuck him back. Not even Lucien is a pervert for wanting her. Elain is hot, it’s not their fault. Plus, these fae are all horny as hell—the Spring Court needs literal orgies to generate magic. Maybe go deal with that instead, lol.

[psshaw]

ai communists piss me off so much because like. they will go "the idea of corporations having the same rights as people is bad, and the copyright system is used to abuse artists" and i'll go "YEAH! and well it's not that simple i almost went into copyright law but YEAH!" and then they'll go "so actually me using an ai art generator is communist and if you hate it you're actually oppressing everyone alive ever, you are petit-bourgoise, and if you're mad about art being stolen to use it you just support corporations". and it's like... no.... that's not what those words mean...

Well, I can follow the logic. If you say you want a revolution, then the people who would protect the old ways of living are necessarily your enemies. And some people really do react to genAI by asking for more restrictive copyright, so it becomes easy and convenient to slot every dissenter into that dangerous category. I can empathize that most people involved in the discourse are just repeating stuff mindlessly, and it's exhausting to sort through.

But then the fact that UBI isn't even a conversation in most governments becomes a chafe point. If you set out to paint artists as traitors for being defensive of their $40 commission economy, what exactly do you want them to do, materially? It works the same way as making abortion illegal before addressing the issues of wages, maternity leave, childcare or education. I don't see the makings of a better world on the horizon any time soon. So why is it wrong to be distrustful?

They seem out-of-touch. Which isn't shocking imo, because I know of a lot of internet communists who persist without having a career to defend.

Then there's the matter of "everyone is already tired and helpless and lonely, so what's the further harm in giving the option to replace effort and thought and friendship with a company-owned, automated maybe-accurate yes-man mommy therapist?" as if that question doesn't already have answers freely available.

I don't think it's a coincidence that most Tumblr users are childless, and that there's a lot of intersection between genAI communism and self-infantilization. I think the appeal of Free Stuff, even with a horrible societal catch, will always go over well with people who see themselves as central and needing extended mothering.

But yeah. As far as I can tell, the important thing isn't making life materially better NOW, it's in fighting over exactly which way corporations should be able to control us: Copyright, or increasing reliance on a brain with opaque intentions?

[forestsandfables]

Important to note: this bans parties, not people.

Hell, Glasgow Pride even go out of their way to welcome politicians as "elected representative of your local community. Not on behalf of whichever party you represent." So it even allows politicians to attend in a professional capacity, not just a private one. From what I'm aware of the other bans aren't as explicit in this, but the wording is very deliberately "parties" there too.

Honestly though, why even waste energy thinking of nuance to it? They've segregated Holyrood. Ban everyone and use whatever time or energy you save to make any queer life a tiny bit better.

Those who actually care will understand the purpose.

Glasgow Pride has banned all politicians from attending due to lack of action after Supreme Court ruling.

Good shit tbh.