#this of course does not apply to political stuff

[a-small-writer-in-a-big-world]

Recently this year and last year I’ve realized that to keep your peace of mind and to be happy is to really just mind your business and not care what people actually think about you

[anartificialsatellite]

Confession: the satisfaction I get out of blocking smarmy Europeans who think they know everything about my country and our politics is unreasonable.

[yesimwriting]

oh my god yes i'm very much interested in a drabble about my favourite besties kissing as besties do!!!!!!!!

the one that i really can't stop thinking about is the "i trust you more than anyone else" stuff like it's me and you against the world i'm such a sucker for that!! especially since felix is surrounded by people who wanna be close to him all the time and as easy going and open as he seems with anyone, it's of course on an entirely different level with reader

ugh the intimacy of it all makes me melt i love them😭😭

you get the vision!!

also had to start off a little angstier than usual bc the bestie kiss ™️ is only justifiable if both of them are upset enough to be more focused on being close than anything else, y'know

----

The taste lingers. The bitterness infects all it touches, poisoning you from the inside out as you down the drink that some guy pushed into your hand a few minutes ago.

A familiar warning briefly flashes to the front of your mind. Don't take drinks from strangers...especially not drinks that you didn't see them make. One of a hundred safety rules that you usually adhere to.

You've never really under the self destructive urge after drinking thing. Maybe it's just being tired. Maybe it's just this.

You wipe at your eyes with your palm, only remembering the products you had so carefully applied to your skin a few hours ago after the fact.

"Are you--" A familiar voice cuts through the music. You blink once, but it's not enough to force your eyes to adjust, so you try again. After screwing your eyes shut for a second, you can finally make out the person in front of you. Annabel. "You don't look like you're doing too good."

Your irritation has nothing to do with her, and yet seeing her standing there, effortlessly flawless with a slight edge that just fits here, you feel the knot in your stomach tighten. But that's not her fault, so as stabiliy and politely as possible, you answer, "I'm...fine."

She regards you for a moment, eyebrows pinching together in uncertainty. "Why don't we find Felix, yeah?"

Why does everyone always assume that Felix is the solution to all of your problems? "I'm okay," you try again, voice a little more certain, "really."

Annabel still doesn't seem too convinced. She turns her head, scanning the crowded room. It doesn't take long for her to find Felix. It never does.

He's sitting on a loveseat that's been pushed towards the edge of the room. A few people are standing around him, a girl is sitting on the chair's arm, her legs swung over his lap.

"And he seems..." You force your face to remain neutral as your eyes finally land on him. "Busy."

Annabel looks back at you, her lips pressing together. Her expression only adds to your unease. "He wouldn't mind. It's you."

You shake your head, the motion adding to your slight nausea. Usually, you wouldn't think twice about sticking by Felix's side. Especially in this kind of setting, but after the words the two of you exchanged earlier, everything feels off its axis.

You're not used to fighting with Felix. It's such a foreign concept that the strange tension that had you walking away from him earlier probably doesn't even constitute an actual argument. But it's enough to make you feel out of place.

Swallowing once, you force yourself to focus on Annabel. "I think I just need some air." Annabel's still regarding you with uncertainty. "I'll be back in a minute, and if I feel sick or anything, I'll go get Felix." She doesn't move until someone calls her name. "Go. Have fun. I'll see you."

Annabel nods once, giving you a polite smile before leaving.

The door is near where Felix is sitting, which means there's no leaving without walking past him. There's enough of a crowd around him that him not noticing is a likely option, so you feel safe crossing the room.

You push your way through the room, eyes trained on the ground to help your balance. It's also a good excuse to not look at Felix as you reach the door.

There are stragglers--a group of girls chatting and giggling in front of the door, some guys doing shots, a girl in the middle of a phone call that looks painful.

You walk around the side of the house until you find an empty section of the sidewalk. The party feels far away here, even though the only thing dividing you is a few cars, a mailbox, and a streetlight. You sit and let yourself pretend that the bit of distance you've managed to create means something.

You could actually leave. Sure, this is a slightly off campus house party, but it's only a few blocks away from the street that'll take you to your dorm. You did walk here, but that was when you were focused, sober, and you had Felix with you.

But that's--you brought cash. You think. Maybe you should call a cab. It's not the worst idea. You drop your attention to the ground, instinctually searching for your purse.

Ugh. Your purse. Felix. You gave it to Felix.

Okay, you're still an independent person. This is probably for the best. It's never a good idea to leave a party without at least telling the person you came with, and this way it won't be a big deal. You'll ask for your purse so that you can call a cab. He probably won't even care.

You just need a minute to get it together. Then you'll be able to go back in, tap Felix on his shoulder, and get your purse. He won't even have to get that girl off his lap.

It is such a double standard. Felix completely forgetting about you is perfectly fine, but you talk to one person that isn't more Felix's friend than yours at one of these things and that must mean you're trying to replace him as a best friend.

Maybe you've been deluding yourself, convincing yourself that your friendship means more than it actually does. The thought makes it hard to breathe right.

"It's cold out."

Your palms press into asphalt as you snap your head to find the source of the sound. Felix. A lump wedges itself in your throat. "I'm fine." He takes a step forward. "I just wanted some air."

You turn your head, forcing yourself to stare ahead. Soft footsteps, the crunching of asphalt echoes, somehow sharper than the music coming from the house. Felix sits.

He's farther than he usually is.

You lift your hands, taking your time brushing your fingers against your palms to get rid of the debris that indented itself into your skin. "You um--you have my purse, right?" You fold your hands against your lap. "I need my phone. I--I need to call a taxi."

"What?" His voice doesn't come out angry, but there's a flatness there that burrows deep into the pit of your stomach. It almost feels disappointed. "Why?"

You squeeze your hands together, "I want to go home." You still can't look at him. "I want to go back to my room." Your voice starts to crack on the last word. Nails instinctually dig into your knee.

Felix sighs, angling himself towards you, "You don't have to do that." His voice is soft, cautious. "If you want to leave, I'll take you."

"No," you shake your head once, attention still focused forward to keep him from noticing the fact that your eyes are now watering. All of this feels so dumb, so small. Why are you almost crying? "It's okay, you're having fun, I can get back by myself."

He lets out another breath, moving his arm so that his hand sits between both of you. "You're drunk."

"So are you."

A beat of silence that feels like an attempt at admitting that he's more than just drunk. You saw Tyler--or Trevor, or maybe Timothy--wandering the halls. Some guy whose name you can never remember because he only shows up at the end of nights, when you're too out of it to do much more than just be happy. He's known for carrying--and sharing--harder stuff.

Not that you'd know. There's nowhere that Felix won't take you, nothing that he keeps from you. That's part of the beauty of your friendship, the lack of judgement. But Felix isn't fond of you participating in everything all the time.

If you ever show interest in anything on a night that Felix isn't feeling too sure about, he'll offer to get you whatever you want later, when it's just the two of you. Maybe you'd mind his concern if you cared about getting high more.

You can feel Felix's stare, the weight of his full attention. "You don't actually think I'm going to let you go anywhere alone, after drinking, in the middle of the night."

There's a patience there that makes it hard to sit still. You turn your head, finally looking at him, "I'm fine. I can--" You cut yourself off with a slight sniffle.

You wipe at your face with the side of your palm. Felix's eyebrows are pinched together. You don't know what to make of the way he's watching you. Felix lifts his hand, fingers finding their way against your jaw before you can move. "You're upset."

Pressing your lips together, you try to force yourself to look as neutral as possible. "I'm fine." He doesn't move. "You should go back to your party, Felix."

"The party?" His expression briefly contorts in confusion. "I don't care about the party." Your vision is starting to blur. "There are other parties. You're crying." Felix shifts his hand up your face, his thumb brushing against the apple of your cheek.

You try to take a stabilizing breath, "It's not a big deal." You will yourself to move, to rely on him less. "I don't think I'm going to be any fun tonight, you should go, and I--I'll talk you tomorrow."

He frowns. "You don't have to be any fun." Felix shouldn't have to coddle you. Embarrassment and guilt further knot your stomach. "If you want to sit here, we can sit here. If you want to go inside, we can go inside. If you want to go home, we'll go home."

"Earlier," you manage, focusing on keeping your voice as even as possible, "When we--" Tears pool in your eyes, something at the back of your throat constricts. "I didn't--I don't know--"

You're not making sense, forcing out fragments of thoughts that don't work together. Felix seems to understand anyway, his thumb grazing against your cheek. "We don't have to talk about that now." You nod slowly. "If you still want to go home, let me take you."

You attempt a full breath, "But what ab--"

He tilts his head in a way that makes it feel like he's telling you a secret, "If you ask about the party again, I'm calling you delusional."

You roll your eyes. It's a relatively lame threat, but it serves its purpose. The corner of your mouth tugs itself upwards, your lips pressed together to hold in a partial laugh. "Okay."

Felix's hand slips from the side of your face and finds a new place against your shoulder. "Yeah? Let's go then."

He stands first and then extends an arm to help you. His stability makes it easier.

There is no laughter or pausing on sidewalks to try to hold onto each other. The two of you are quiet, but Felix does keep your fingers intertwined the entire way back to his dorm.

You don't think to question where he's taking you until you're in his room. "Felix." The walk had been good for you, the fresh air and time to gather your thoughts providing enough of a reprieve for you to get it together. "I want to go to sleep."

"Yeah," he mumbles, "I know, I'll get you your favorite shirt."

Your eyes focus on the ground. "I think I should sleep in my room tonight."

Felix sighs, turning away from the door. "You're trying to leave again."

The accusation only half makes sense, but there's a quietness to his voice that gets to you. All the nervous, alcohol fueled energy is coming back with a vengeance. "When have I ever left you?"

Felix scoffs, the sound bitter. "You left me tonight." If his voice was any less raspy, any less urging, you likely would have laughed. He's the one that got mad at you. "You just--you walked away from me. Like I didn't even matter to you."

The a thinly veiled sadness there that almost feels nervous. He can't meet your gaze. The pride encouraging you to stand still bleeds from you. Without its heat, its fire, there's not much keeping you stable.

You move forward, footsteps cautious. "Felix." You stretch a hand forward, fingers brushing against his forearm. He doesn't move. "Of course you matter to me. So much." Your fingers bend around his wrist. "You're my best friend."

He turns his arm. Your body tenses, preparing for his rejection. Felix's hand squeezes yours. There's a tension in his hold, but you embrace it all the same. "You walked away from me."

You take another step towards him, freehand finding his arm. "That's why." He sets a hand against you waist. The contact is firm, unforgiving. There's still hurt, but the only thing more unthinkable than holding on is letting go. "What you say means so much to me, because you're my best friend." His fingers press into your side. "And you were upset--and there were so many people--" Tears prick the corner of your eyes. "And I couldn't do that there."

"No." He squeezes your hand. "No, don't--don't cry, we're okay." As if to prove his point, Felix pulls you closer. The movement's too sudden for you to keep your balance on your own. You tighten your hold on Felix's arm. "Still my best girl, yeah?"

This is nowhere near the closest you've ever been to him. He has a hand on your hip, but that's far from the touchiest he's ever been. It shouldn't--he shouldn't be this distracting. It takes you a second too long to remember to nod.

He angles his head downwards, his cheek finding a place against your shoulder. Felix's breath is warm against your neck. "Wouldn't leave me."

You nod, moving your hand to rest against his back. Felix relaxes against you. It's not easy to stay stable with the alcohol still in your system and Felix's weight on you, but you manage.

"No." You mean it so much it almost hurts to get out. You'd never walk away from him. There's nothing like your bond with Felix. You could talk to him, be around him forever without feeling drained. "Of course not."

Felix turns his head, brushing his lips against your neck. "Stay over, then?" The question is soft, fragile. It'd be smart to create distance. If tonight's proven anything, it's that you're too attached to him. "Please?"

You smooth your knuckles against his spine. "Okay." He presses a kiss against your shoulder. "Yeah. I'll stay."

He hugs you even tighter. "No more tears, alright?"

You squeeze him back. "Alright."

For awhile, the two of you stay like that. There's nothing left to say, and that still manages to be comfortable. Silence is never uncomfortable with Felix.

He eventually shifts to place a kiss against the side of your neck. "We should get ready for bed."

You hum once in agreement. Neither of you move. Things are simple when you factor out the rest of the world. Things are easy when it's just you and Felix.

An overwhelming wave of fondness brings you back. As gently as possible, you start the process of untangling limbs. Felix pouts at you, expression drowsier than before.

Your fingers carefully brush his hair out of his face. "I need to change."

Felix fully straightens. His hand finds the back of your head. He pulls you towards him, pressing a kiss against your forehead. "Okay."

He lets go of you before walking towards his dresser. Felix opens the top drawer and finds your usual sleep shirt. You take it before entering his bathroom.

Going out outfits are cute, but there's something about the moment you get home that immediately forces every ounce of discomfort to hit all at once. You shed the restrictive layers before pulling Felix's T-shirt over your head.

You swear there's some kind of rich guy secret to keeping clothes this soft. A combination of fabric, fancy detergent, and some third thing that's reserved for those in the know.

You turn on the sink, ready to wash what's left of the night off of your face. Felix has never gotten rid of or moved anything you've left in here. What's left of your buzz has you more emotional than usual, making the evidence of your life in his space heavier than it should be.

The feeling is good and bad all at once. Your attachment to Felix is the kind of thing that can only come from fully understanding someone. But there's an inherent danger in knowing someone like that, carrying about them like that. Especially Felix, who has everyone so he doesn't need anyone.

You splash some more water onto your face, attempting to shake off any lingering angst. You don't want to dissect your friendship until it eventually falls apart into nothingness.

When you finally step back into his room, Felix is sitting on his bed, back pressed against the wall. He's managed to change into pajama pants, but seems to be struggling with everything else. His shirt's half unbuttoned, and his fingers are actively working at undoing the rest of them. Felix's movements are slow and clumsy as he tugs on the fabric.

Wow. Maybe you were right to think he was high. "Hey." He looks up at you, hands still attempting to pull apart his shirt. There's something endearing about the clumsiness. He drops his head back down to refocus."Do you--uh--do you need help?"

He angles his head to one side, a smile playing at his lips. "Are you asking to undress me?"

Heat burns through your chest, leaving you hollow. You approach his dresser, leaving your neatly folded outfit on the wooden surface. "Figure out your own shirt."

"No," his sigh is light, almost a laugh, "'M kidding." Your glare only seems to add to his easygoing mood. He smiles, dropping a hand to pat the space next to him. "Come here."

You give in with a sigh, crossing the room and sitting at the foot of his bed. He reaches forward, briefly squeezing your shoulder before returning to work on his shirt. It's hard to watch him stumble through undoing a single button, just to have to start the process all over again.

You pull your legs onto the bed, turning to fully face him. Your knee is pressed against his thigh.

"Lovie," he hums, as if your presence is some kind of revelation.

"Felix." He grins, hands releasing his shirt in favor of trying to grasp your arm. "Wait--" His fingers wrap around your wrist. "I'm--trying--" He pulls your hand towards him, placing a kiss against your knuckles. You laugh. "I'm trying to help you."

He tugs on your arm. His pull isn't harsh, but the unexpectedness of it paired with your buzz makes it enough to throw off your balance. Your freehand presses against the mattress in an attempt to stabilize yourself. Felix laughs, tugging on you again.

Fighting your own fit of giggles, you instinctually push yourself onto your knees in an attempt to regain some control. Felix gives you a second to find your footing. You gently pull his hand off of your forearm and set it on his lap. He frowns.

You extend your arms, placing your hands on his shoulders. Part of the reason for it is to help keep you stable, the rest of it is to keep him focused. He looks up at you, eyes pools of hesitant affection. "Stay still."

He lets you reach for his shirt. "Y'don't have to, I'm okay."

Shrugging, you continue to work at unclasping his buttons. "It's okay, I like helping you."

You unbutton the few buttons that are left. "Better?" Felix nods. "I'll get you a pajama shirt."

Before you can get far, Felix grabs your hand. "We're..." He focuses on bending and straightening your fingers. "Good, right?"

There's something soft about the question, almost shy. "Yeah." He turns over your palm, tracing the lines etched into your skin. "Of course we're good." You adjust, crossing your legs beneath you to sit down.

"Honestly, I was thinking about it, and part of the reason I was upset is because..." This is harder to admit than you thought it'd be. "You seemed really okay without me, and that--I don't know. It's dumb, because I really do want you to be happy, but it made me feel a little replaceable, I guess."

"What?"

You sigh, dropping your attention to your intertwined hands. "I know, I said it was dumb." You pause, eyes darting up to look at him. His expression isn't judgmental or like he needs space. You can't fully read his expression, but nothing about the way he's looking at you feels unkind. "I only mentioned it to be honest, I don't like the idea of keeping se--"

He pulls on your arm again, this time his hold a little firmer. You're closer now. Felix's other hand finds your hip, anchoring you in place. You're too confused to do anything but blink at him.

Felix lets go of your arm, fingers finding their way beneath your chin. He angles your head so that all of your attention is on him. Your lips part, a half thought out question is on the tip of your tongue when Felix leans towards you. His lips meet yours.

You're still, shock and something a lot more electric rendering you in capable of anything else. This isn't the first time Felix has pressed his lips against yours. He's affectionate, especially when drinking is involved. He'll brush his lips against yours after taking a shot together, or just because at the end of a long night. It's not an everyday thing, but it's happened from time to time.

This--this isn't that. He's lingering, lips parting so that his teeth can graze against your bottom lip. Felix pulls away just enough to look you in the eye. His thumb brushes across your cheek.

"You're my best friend." Felix's words are so urging, so pleading you nod before you can think. "Best mate. You're the--the only one that gets me. Really gets me." His hand moves to the back of your head, pulling you back to him.

Any sense of hesitance vanishes the second time he kisses you. He's all consuming, lips dragging against yours with a desperate patience that's dizzying. It's disorientating, the desire to be that much closer to someone when there's no way to get there.

Felix's hand finds your back. He pushes you towards him. There's no good way to oblige. You try anyway, shifting your weight back onto your knees. Felix pulls you forward by your waist. You're too focused on him to realize what's happening until you're on his lap.

He takes his time letting you go, teeth tugging on your bottom lip. "I trust you more than anyone." Felix leans back in, placing a quick kiss against your lips. "You're not replaceable." He squeezes your shoulder. "You know that, right?"

Still breathless, you nod. He's watching you with so much patience, so much care it's almost hard to bare.

His thumb smooths circles against your shoulder. "Let's go to bed, yeah?"

You lift his hand off your thigh to press a kiss against the back of his palm. "Yeah, lets go to bed."

He squeezes your shoulder once before letting you go. You move off of his lap carefully.

Felix sits up enough to push his shirt off of his shoulders. Your eyes instinctually fall to his sheets. "Do you want me to get you a shirt?"

"Why? Distracted?"

You roll your eyes in an attempt to the fact that you are struggling to look at him. "Shut up."

He grins as he pulls back his sheets. "M'okay." You take the opportunity to slip beneath the layers of fabric. Felix waits until you're settled to crawl beneath the sheets. "It's warm enough, even with you stealing my blankets."

"I do not," the sentence is more of a mock gasp than anything else. Felix shifts onto his side before collapsing his weight on you. "Felix."

"What?" He rests his cheek against your chest. "This is the only way to keep you from taking my sheets."

You sigh, feigning annoyance as your fingers find his hair. "Rude. I'm a great bed sharer."

Felix lets out a partial laugh against the side of your neck. His hand finds your hip. "You are pretty great."

Your hand trails down towards his back, nails grazing against the bare skin. "You are, too."

Silence stretches between the two of you for so long you assume that he's already fallen asleep. Felix has a talent for drifting off in the blink of an eye.

"Lovie?" He whispers the term so lowly you almost convince yourself the sound is a figment of your imagination.

"Yeah?"

You can feel the shift in his breathing. "It's you and me--just you and me, when it comes down to it." His thumb brushes up and down your side. "You know that."

He relaxes as your fingers trail down the start of his spine. "Yeah. Of course I know that." A part of you feels naive for believing his words so easily. He's too adored to just be your Felix at the end of the day, and yet-- "Just you and me."

Felix leaves an open mouthed kiss against collarbone. It's the kind of warm that leaves goosebumps breaking out everywhere the contact can't be felt. "Good."

----

taglist; @vader-is-hot @spiritofbuddha @getosangie @freyafriggafrey @ilovehyperfixating @aryiannarae @willowpains @ker0senebunny

[odinsblog]

And you know that there are many journalists who are very concerned about the pressure that's being applied about the sensitivities of this conflict.

And let's just be very clear here. We have the Israeli government, has a lot of supporters in Congress, has a lot of supporters in the media, has a lot of supporters in activist groups on K Street. There is a, quote unquote, pro-Israel lobby which does apply pressure on media organizations.

If you've worked like I have, both in American media and British media, you've seen the emails from honestreporting .com, and Kamera. And some of these groups your listeners may never have heard of. But I'll tell you what, every newsroom has heard of these groups; “Why is your headline this,” and “Why is your reporter showing bias?”And, “Why do they tweet this?” In this recent case, it's Louisa Lovelock, who is a British journalist at the Washington Post. It's a fantastic Middle East correspondence. Covered Syria, covered Iraq, covered Gaza, covered a bunch of things.

It's so absurd, the dossier they've produced against her. One of the things they go after is she took part in student protests at university in England against tuition fees. And..? A) that's a bad thing? B) that means she can't cover Israel's bombing of Gaza? It's so absurd. The stuff that they pull with me. Of course, I've had stuff going back 20 or 30 years that they've thrown at me. And it's a real problem where people get intimidated into not saying, not speaking what they want to speak about.

And we live in a world where the right is obsessed about cancel culture and free speech when, let's be very clear, the greatest victims of, quote unquote, cancel culture in this country have always been Palestinian activists, both on campus, in the media, and in politics.

I mean, let's just be clear, we have a Congress filled with white supremacists. We have a guy, I think, Andy Ogles from Tennessee, this week who was caught on tape saying, “Kill them all.” Alright? None of these guys get any attention. No votes of censure. Who is the only member of Congress who's been censured since October the 7th? The one Palestinian woman.

So let's just be very clear who the victims of, quote unquote, cancel culture and suppression and intimidation are. It tends to be people who speak out on behalf of Palestinians. And that's the case with reporters who aren't even taking positions. They're just reporting what they're seeing, and what they're seeing of course, is not favorable to the Israeli narrative, because what they're seeing is mass starvation. What they're seeing are mass killings. What they're seeing are kids being pulled out from the rubble. And, of course, that doesn't help the Israeli narratives.

—Mehdi Hasan, on ‘cancel culture’ and how journalists and reporters are attacked for simply reporting the truth about Gaza 🇵🇸

[kinopio-writes]

Hello I was wondering if you would write a couple of head cannons of what Alastor,Husk, and Angel would do if they ever took in a child (like they just found them they somewhat surprised that a kid is down here the kid is also surprised that they're down there, like no one generally knows why this happened)

But like for whatever reason maybe it relates to them how they died, they're always covered in Moss and mushrooms and other forest stuff and always so damn cold, like this poor kid would probably latch onto anything warm if given the chance, also probably have to clean up anything that falls off or cough up from the kid (and of course the kid tries to help clean up because that's a nice thing to do)

But yeah this kid is basically is a pathetic little creature that is trying their hardest

Take your time with these little head cannons I don't want to over stress you 👍

A/N: I struggled with Alastor’s part here. He’s just…not the best parent. I also struggled with the title. I couldn’t just write, ‘reader who’s always cold ’cause they’re always covered with forest stuff’ because it’ll be too long.

Also, I wrote the taking-you-in-their-care part for Angel only. I didn’t include it in Alastor and Husk’s part because I dunno, so they’re pretty short in comparison to Angel’s.

Warnings: A bit of angst on Angel’s part

———

Angel Dust, Alastor, and Husk w/ a Child!Reader who’s always cold

Angel Dust

• Angel will try to find your parents at first

• but once he realized that you didn’t know or have any family you could go to, he was quick to bring you to the hotel, as it was probably the only place in Hell that was safe

• after you two went inside his room, he quickly started to hide his inappropriate items from your sight, shoving most of them in his dressers and whatnot

• he’ll stop midway when you dove onto his bed, wrapping yourself up in his blankets

• it was then he noticed that you were shivering

• “Aw…” Angel’s voice was soft as he clicked his tongue. “Here, I have more for you.”

• you quickly fell asleep all warm and fuzzy that night

• only to have the bed full of moss and mushrooms the next morning

• anyway, about that, it’ll probably make him feel bad for you even more

• it’s even worse when you’re so nice and polite

• your innocence hurts him (It’s old info, but it was said in an old stream that Angel values innocence)

• but, uh, moving on from that, Angel’s fine with you clinging to him like a koala

• he has four arms (six if he extracts the rest), and he doesn’t mind sparing one to carry you and keep you warm all the time

• and speaking of keeping you warm, you two would most likely sleep in the same room and the same bed, so you two get to cuddle each other every night

• if Valentino wasn’t making him work his ass off that day…

• he finds it comforting, actually, seeing you wait for him while you played with Fat Nuggets

• or your sleeping form if he was coming back late

• it makes his afterlife in Hell just a little bit better

• and during those times he does find you sleeping, he takes the time to sit beside you, gently stroking your head as he holds onto the hope that if Charlie’s silly little dream really did work, he can get you a better life up there than anything he has to offer down here

———

Alastor

• well, don’t you just fit right in with the bayou portion of his room?

• he might enjoy watching you struggle to clean up after yourself at first, actually

• if you were a boy (or masc-leaning)

• that also applies to any other gender except for girls (or fem-leaning)

• if you were one, he might be more nice to you

• regardless, Charlie will probably tell him to help you since you’re his responsibility

• so he’ll give you a shadow minion to clean up your messes

• if Niffty isn’t on your tail already

• other than that, he won’t really help

• so don’t even try to cling to him

• he won’t hurt you, but he’s not hesitant to try to shake you off of him

• especially if it’s sudden

• he’s probably not even that warm, anyway

• he’ll also probably try to shift the responsibility of you to others

• by that I mean he just doesn’t take on the role of a parental figure that much (Husk probably looks after you more than him)

• unlike Angel and Husk, he won’t sleep in the same room as you

• the best you’ll get is a sleepover (in your room)

———

Husk

• shit, what do you want him to do?

• he can’t exactly do much about the plants-growing-out-of-your-body predicament

• or about your constant state of coldness, either

• well, maybe a little bit

• he’s quite soft and warm because of his fur, so you’d cling to him a lot

• he doesn’t exactly mind

• he just gives a grunt in acknowledgment and doesn’t even react at all after he’s gotten used to it

• you two would probably sleep in the same room, so cuddles are common

• well, uh, more like Husk passing out beside you is common

• actually, I think you two would sleep in separate beds at first

• the moment you asked if you could sleep beside him for warmth and comfort was when it became routine

• the question is: would he wrap his wings around you?

• ...I mean, if you asked

• he’s really not that opposed to many things

• just ask, and he’ll lazily comply

• you’re probably one of the few people who’d get to see him purr freely (who’s the other few? I dunno)

[randomciabatta724]

Some Polites headcanons because they're good for the soul.

Note: these are a mix of details from the musical I wanted to expand on, stuff I've read from other posts, and things I randomly came up with.

He was in the frontlines (or at least near them) during the Trojan war. Not because he wanted to fight, he just thought "if I have to join the battle, I'll at least shield those behind me". I took this from Survive, because he had to be pretty close to Polyphemus to be the first one hit by the club.

Self sacrificial. Very self sacrificial. Would die for the crew, especially for Odysseus and Eurylochus.

Loves dates. Either on their own or with honey. I don't know why, he just gives me the vibe.

Had night terrors both during and after the war. Either nightmares about the people he killed (let's face it, you don't come out of a 10 year war without getting blood on your hands) or his friends dying in battle. Never explicitly told anyone, but he would stay with his friends a little longer the morning after. Also picked a lot more night watch turns as a result, just to get his mind off of things.

Bruises/gets injured extremely easily, and doesn't notice/care. Especially if someone else is hurt too. "Are you alright?" asks Polites to another soldier while coughing up blood.

Also very durable, somehow. That's why Polyphemus had to hit him twice/j.

Myopic king. The glasses are a gift from Athena, because she was like "I think you're a soft-hearted fool, but I'll be damned if you embarrass my Warrior of the Mind because you can't see beyond the bridge of your nose".

The type of person to keep eating horrible/possibly poisoned food just to not offend the person who prepared it. Odysseus had to smack the lotus out of his hand because he would have still taken a bite to not make the lotus eaters upset (he brought some with him anyway, that's where Odysseus got the lotuses to put in the wine).

Many have already said this, he's the therapist friend before therapy was invented.

Gives the best hugs.

Taller than Odysseus but shorter than Eurylochus (Odysseus reaches Polites' chest, Polites reaches Eurylochus' nose).

Apologises when he bumps into furniture. It's a reflex, he doesn't notice he does it. It's a remnant of his pre-glasses days, when he couldn't distinguish a person from a vase.

The ancient Greek equivalent of a Godfather to Telemachus.

Extremely trusting, sometimes a little too much (fun fact: in the Odyssey he's like the first one to enter Circe's palace).

Very forgiving. He gives second, third, even fourth chances like it's nothing, no matter how badly someone hurts him. You have to be pretty forgiving to still think about greeting the world with open arms after being clubbed to death. (Note: this does not apply to his friends getting hurt).

When he takes off his bandana, his curls reach his shoulders and cover his left eye, and it gives him a whole different vibe. He still radiates warmth, but it's not the same. Kinda like the sun at noon and the sun at dusk. The second is still warm and welcoming, but dimmer, softer, maybe a little darker. People have mistaken him for someone else because of this.

Super heavy sleeper. One time when they were younger, Odysseus and Eurylochus decided to try and wake him up by making the most noise possible. They did not succeed.

His first kiss was Eurylochus while Odysseus was away in Sparta to court Penelope.

One time, someone tried to rob him. The guy was like "Give me your money!" and Polites was like "Oh dear, look at you, of course I'll give you my money, you look like you really need it. Also, why don't you come to my house so I can give you some food and clean clothes?". The thief was so ashamed of himself he ran away.

He befriended Charon in the Underworld.

You know the plague that Apollo sent during the Iliad? He may or may not have gotten it, I haven't decided yet.

Considering that in epic the sirens have the ability to shapeshift into loved ones, there was definitely a siren Polites somewhere during Suffering/Different Beast.

He's generally a very calm person, the only thing that really gets him angry is when his friends get hurt. And when he's angry, he's not someone to mess with. He can and will kick ass. And the thing that rubs salt in the wound is that if you get beat up by Polites, it's almost certainly your fault, because Polites isn't the kind of person that goes around randomly beating people up. And very few people wish to carry the title "The person who got beat up by Polites".

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The last headcanon is something I've also based a scenario on. Basically, after Odysseus kills the suitors, they go to the Underworld. Most of them are still shaken up by the whole thing, which is understandable, getting shot by an enemy you can't see while unarmed in the dark is not fun, but not Antinous. Antinous is pissed. And so he rallies up the other suitors, he gives a whole speech where he basically says they can get revenge on Odysseus once he joins them there and also reveals all the shit they did while he was gone. And Polites is like, talking to Eurylochus or something, when he overhears. And so he goes to give Antinous the beating of his life because you do **not** disrespect his best friend and his family like that. And the suitors+Eurylochus are watching from a corner, with the suitors getting even more scared.

That's it. Nothing more :)

I know Eurylochus is married to Ctimene but I SHIP HIM AND POLITES SO BAD AAAAAAAAHHHHHH

[y-rhywbeth2]

Lore: Dating, Marriage, Sex, etc

Part 1/2

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. There's a lot of lore; I don't know everything. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest, etc etc etc]

DnD isn't exactly a dating sim, so most of this lore comes from mining Ed Greenwood's answers to questions, but since his answers are apparently canon unless and until contradicted in published realmslore, here you go.

It's mostly in regards to human culture (and the Heartlands, Waterdeep etc at that) but I'll throw in some demihuman stuff here and there.

So sexuality, and the norms and moral values Torilians build around it: More tolerant and kinkier than Earth, for the most part, and still not a perfect bed of roses. (You won’t face legal oppression; you can get called slurs.)

Attitudes in the Realms

Dating

Sex (and a bit about contraception and conception)

Sexual Orientation

Polyamory

Cut for space and expected in the follow up: marriage, sex work, religion, and the absolutely deranged shit going on in some noble families.

-

Attitudes about relationships in the Realms

The long and short of it is that the root of Toril’s mainstream attitude towards sex and relationships draws from the sexual revolution of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Cultural variations on and subversions of these norms occur, but the rule of thumb, especially as it applies to the video games is as follows:

Sex is not a terribly big deal nor innately taboo; pseudo-puritan attitudes are solely the province of some old high priests on a few religions in a minority of a minority. Virginity and the loss thereof is meaningless unless you're nobility.

Pretty much anything is legal so long as all parties involved are capable of giving and gave consent on most of the planet (though legal isn’t the same as ‘approved of’).

Of course TSR, and later WotC, fell very much on the side of ‘we can’t publish that!’ So it got massively obscured. It only really came through now and again, usually in sly little hints that could get past the radar/editors, becoming more obvious with 4e and 5e (Although Sune and Sharess were flat out stated even back in 2e to ignore gender when they’re in the mood to seduce mortals, and we'd already had Mystra saying that gender is basically just a costume for gods (which Mask illustrates.))

The Realms itself still has bigotry to go around, of course, but generally it's the clergy of a select few gods and the nobles who'll make a fuss about such things, and the latter only in regards to their own social circles and inheritance shenanigans. A traveling merchant who encounters a culture that practices forms of relationships he personally disproves of was probably raised to be polite and keep the slurs unsaid; diversity encourages trade, offending your neighbours does not.

What is and isn’t morally acceptable to an individual is determined by church doctrine and dogma (which determines many of life’s aspects, including love and sex and what's good or bad (chastity vs promiscuity, monogamy vs polygamy, whether procreation is mandated or not or even a sin, if loving people instead of despising them is a sin or not, and what acts are taboo))... and all that as interpreted by the local priests, who may not agree with their fellows’ interpretations. Some gods declare chastity a sin and want you to engage in as many romantic and/or sexual relationships with as many different people in as many different ways as humanly possible. Loviatar mandates BDSM and Ilmater doesn't frown on it either.

Most deities probably aren't going to discriminate. Gods see the universe in terms of their portfolio: what aids it is good what opposes it is bad. Most portfolios aren't terribly impacted by mortal love lives and hormones so I suspect the vast majority of gods could not care less, and, as per Faiths and Avatars, the gods 'generally try to be as liberal as possible to try and attract as much worship as they can.'

With Toril being polytheistic all of these gods are due respect and conflicting dogmas are just a fact of life. Several times a day a person is likely to be confronted with a choice – usually a minor one – where one action will serve some gods and be a sin in the eyes of others, and the rule of thumb is that everybody accepts you can’t please all of them all the time. You live according to the gods you favour above all others and respect the faiths of those you don’t: you expect that people will mind their own business and do them the same courtesy.

In the majority of the realms, including the cities and realms of the Heartlands, Silverymoon, Waterdeep and etc, at least, people are open minded and tolerant. A rule of thumb is that cities are more liberal and rural areas more conservative, but even then their norms and values don’t necessarily match the modern earth norms that might spring to mind; the nuclear family unit is not necessarily seen as default and polyamory is very common in some villages.

Largely, there’s not a whole lot of emphasis put on identifying your sexuality or making it a big part of who you are: most Torilians wouldn’t understand the point of drawing attention to sexuality outside of occasions where it’s actually relevant. If you were visiting Baldur's Gate and pointed out two men getting married at the temple of Tymora the people around you would be utterly confused about why you felt the need to single out the gender of the couple.

‘Individuals may find [queer relationships] too much for themselves to handle, but the laws and general attitudes of society don’t frown on it.’

You may have to ‘pick your neighbours and friends’ to live comfortably, but that’s significantly easier to do on Toril than Earth especially because you should have no reason to worry about persecution or discrimination under the law for deviating from whatever moral code a particular priest might be espousing.

Bastard children and wedlock don't cause a fuss so long as you're not a highborn (or found to have cheated on your partner, one assumes).

Contraception is widely available and family planning is emphasised; you are firmly encouraged to use it in a dangerous world where famines and disasters mundane and supernatural mean babies at the wrong times can lessen the chances of survival (for you and them).

-

Dating

Somebody who catches your eye is 'glim,' as in 'oh no he's hot' or 'she's well fit' or whatever. A Torilian who's very attractive is 'right glim.' As in they're 'glimmering.'

A term for a pair of lovers is 'brightbirds.'

Your 'fancyman,' 'fancylad,' or 'fancylass' is what your disapproving relatives will call your lover that you insist on seeing for reasons that escape them.

Waterdhavians call the target of their affections their 'rose,' which may get confusing as in other dialects a 'rose' is the slang term for a submissive woman in a Dom/sub relationship.

Red and black are considered the erotic/'sexy' colours. Garments featuring black lace and leather in particular.

Many priests, curiously, seem to find potential partners more attractive if they get a tattoo of their deity's holy symbol.

You can advertise your interest by wearing an artificial rose pinned to one shoulder: red signals that you're looking for a long-term romantic partner and black shows you're looking for sex. If the rose is made of steel then it indicates you're looking for a partner of the same gender. Wearing multiple roses indicates you're looking for multiple partners, but you might expect some raised eyebrows or comments if people think you're being overconfident. It's very rare to see women doing this looking for men, since it's thought of as a 'man thing' (wlw doing this to seek each other out apparently don't count to said men).

Sunites, as devotees of the goddess of love and beauty, are available for matchmaking services, advice and make overs.

Dancing - especially erotic dancing - is a large part of courtship trends across the cultural board. Which might tie in to the fact that all the goddesses of lust and love - Sharess/Zandilar, Sharindlar, Sune, Sheela Peryroyl, and to a certain extent, Lliira - are dancers or have dancing as a thing within their faith. Lliiran clergy give dancing lessons, and Sharessans and Sunites probably don't mind teaching either.

The only description of what a one might wear if one is feminine and wants to dress up and look fancy in human culture - the equivalent of a 'little black dress' - is a simple black gown with a high collar and plunging neckline in the front (the latter of which is optional). It's matched with a sash and boots and some small jewellery. If you want to 'dress down' the gown is pinned open to expose either bare skin or the underlying chemise (if you're going for a 'classy' look it'll be lacy and white).

Dwarven courtship involves a slow exchange of crafts made by ones own hand (this can be tools or physical artwork or things like poems and songs, the point is to illustrate your skill and the care you put in). You send it to the dwarf you're interested in, and hopefully they respond in kind. You then spend years doing this and slowly getting to know each other, eventually moving in and seeing if you can settle into something that can last past the initial spark before tying the knot.

Elven courtship apparently involves poetry, songs, and yet more erotic dances.

Drow have courting games called 'spider hunts' usually played at festivals by young drow, which are basically hide-and-seek.

-

Sex (and a bit on procreation)

You can't just fuck somebody right in the market square, but borderline public sex hidden on a rooftop, or ducking into an empty alleyway is pretty common and tolerated behaviour. You are, however, encouraged to keep your shenanigans off the streets lest you 'scare the horses,' take yourselves home or to the nearest festhall/brothel, and keep your 'public displays' limited to appropriate festivals (Greengrass, for example, which is a fertility festival and usually involves dropping all inhibitions for the day).

Lingerie comes in black and red and lace clouts (underwear) and dethmas (bras) which can be readily bought in most cities. Lace-up boneless corsets and shapewear are available as unisex garments.

Sex toys named as existing include whips, dildos, clamps and 'tingling creams.'

I've heard something about halfling orgies, but have found no details beyond 'exotic food.'

And in the Realms you're more likely to say 'rutting' rather than 'fucking' when being vulgar/casual about sex. Unlike 'fuck' it doesn't seem to double as a curse.

If you're considering bedding a priests be warned that as gods are said to derive power from having their name said aloud priests tend to call their gods name in bed. Fervently. The enthusiasm and emotion behind it is supposed to have a positive effect.

Elven foreplay involves sensory deprivation and ear nibbling.

Contraception, as mentioned, is stressed upon. People are concerned about plagues, famines, monsters and other concerns that lead Faerûnians to place a lot of importance on family planning. Contraception is generally delivered via divine magic - a cleric or druid can render you temporarily barren/sterile, guarantee conception or freeze a pregnancy at its earliest and least detrimental stages to be resumed at a safe date. People can ensure that their children will be born in times when it's best for them to be born. Elves have apparently mastered birth control, and it's basically impossible to get a child from an elf when they don't want one.

You can also ask the gods nicely and if you make sufficient offerings the deity can also rearrange your organs a bit to change the way you procreate (or possibly allow you both methods). Generally people will ask the deity they have the most positive relationship with, but Sune and Lliira are the favoured choices in the pantheon. Of the gods not recommended are Bane, Shar, Malar (whose idea of the perfect transformation is lycanthropy) and Selûne (who gladly supports you, but she's considered too mercurial and everchanging. She's not one transition she's eternal, ever shifting transition beyond the human physical endurance or mental comprehension.)

Arcane magic can manage physical modification via transmutation and glamours, which people often play with either as part of exploring their gender identity or just for fun, but transmutation via divine magic is vastly superior at allowing you to be fertile after the change if that's a goal. Arcane magic struggles with that. Arcane magic that allows for surrogacy and sort of IVF apparently exists, having been invented by a pair of liches that wanted a child for whatever reason, but I don't know how commonplace that is.

-

Sexual Orientation

Most people freely experiment in their youth, working out their preferences. Heterosexuality is the default, with bisexuality making up a sizeable second place and other sexualities constituting a fairly sized but unremarkable minority.

Obviously, the Isle of Lesbos does not exist and so neither does the world ‘lesbian’; Toril doesn’t have Earth’s terminology, it has its own words. It should be noted that some can be used in a derogatory fashion, although, considering reality, they could very well be reclaimed or have been stolen terminology twisted into slurs. The given terms, in Common, are:

Thruss - Lesbian Liyan - Gay man (elvish slang loanword) Praed - Gay man (gnomish slang loanword) Tasmar - Bisexual (masc.) Shaeda - Bisexual (fem.) (elvish slang loanword) 'No-thorn' - Asexual

Butches (‘harnor’) and effeminate mlm (‘dathna’) are liable to get scorn for their gender presentation more or rather than their sexuality.

-

Polyamory

In some lands (unspecified which ones) it's unremarkable and even expected for a relationship to be open by default.

While obviously it's not socially acceptable to jump into anybody's bed with no consideration of your partner's feelings on the matter, it's not a foreign idea to see love and lust as separate concepts.

In rural areas one can find villages that definitely don't follow the nuclear family model with mixed families living under one roof, and symbolic polygamous marriages may factor into the traditions of some seasonal festivals.

[the-leegend-99]

There's a reason this site sucks and is so profoundly hateable sometimes.

The reason is that since it's the nerd site (beaten out only by Reddit bc its r/topic function allows people to geek out to the max in one specific subject and build forums), where people dedicate essay-length blog posts to contrast (or compound) each other's interpretation of your favorite fictional characters through the most minute lore analysis possible, going "um actually" with all the casualness allowed by such a free reblog feature. And where is it used most of all? Why, to explain away absurdly mediocre or outright bad stuff like the Star Wars Prequels into being "Secretly Good™️" because let's face it, the alienation of living and working into capitalist society has stunted most of us (mostly us Westerners who get to enjoy the full breadth of consumerism) into needing to preserve their childhood security blankets. Of course, sometimes it's not that. Sometimes it's media analysis that wants to have a point and is actually done with more of a grain of salts. But most times, it is that. And sometimes it's cute, most times it doesn't involve the usual BS of manchild fannish behavior as Reddit does (probably bc there's a lot less cishet men).

But then some people here will apply that same mentality and behavior of politics.

And no, you just can't "um actually" your way of rightly being called a genocide and fascism enabler for supporting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Applying character arcs and lore to reality is brainrot. Yes, friend, I know that their hands are tied by the system. They made the choice to try and become top dog in it, nobody was expecting them not to comply in its basest crimes against humanity. But then you twist yourselves into hoops trying to rationalize the crumbs they throw at us to keep us content and not threaten their power, or better yet the system of exploitation they profit from, into actual progress. You try to rationalize them into being "Secretly Good™️" when they are the fullest representation of the banality of evil.

Sure, in doing so, you show more argumentative capabilities than Taylor Swift fans, but let's face it, it's not much of a compliment. All those Swifties, Beehives, Lil Nas X or Charli xcx fans who haven't taken their favorite celeb/artist to task for supporting the genocide, they cheer for these genocidal criminals because they've got far less awareness, and superficial diversity appeals to them. I'm not gonna go into who's more starved for crumbs from the master's table between them and you because it's not useful to this dissection. The actual difference is that they've formed a parasocial relationship with the *person*, with the celebrity, while you've formed a parasocial relationship with the *story*.

And you have to hammer the story into making sense, into being good, don't you? Because deep down, you're more aware. Deep down, you know it's wrong, you know that what's happening is wrong, bur you don't want to bring yourself to believe they've been stringing you along, asking you to be an accomplice. You want to explain your way out of letting this realization settle in, because if it does, then you are an accomplice.

Well you are, until you start doing something about it in the real world. Until you join protests, until you join working-class, anti-capitalist, anti-Zionist organizations fighting to overturn this system and build a better one instead.

And sure, that's a big jump, out of the realm of "permissibility", of "respectability", and it's scary. But maturity is having the courage to do the things that scare you the most, because you've analyzed them and realized that they're the ones that bring about the most material good for you and everybody. And everybody can reach that maturity. You, too, can be brave.

[kittyit]

One thing I don't like about trans critical spaces is how they are focused on trans women being unattractive and 'cringe.' this is just my personal experience, but I have been sexually victimized by multiple trans women, most of whom passed, many of whom were skinny and beautiful and most of which had high brow tastes and no interest in anime or other cringe topics. one of these TIMs was a serial sexual assailant and I think probably attracted to underage boys, and she was also beautiful and charismatic. Meanwhile, I also know multiple trans women who are good people and don't infringe on female spaces but who are conventionally "ugly", broad-shouldered, and have masculine interests. It also seems like the only thing TIMs criticize about each other publically is being "ugly", large, or fat.

my position has consistently been for about 15 years that mocking someone's appearance is not a feminist act. it simply isn't.

mocking appearance is essentially a cruel hobby, it's primate social aggression we're using our huge brains for. it's really fun, and that's why almost everyone does it. i sometimes do it too, in private, in intimate company, and it's enjoyable. i say this to clarify that despite my position, i don't set myself apart or above from women who do it. i do it too. and it's constant in basically every subculture online. julie bindel actually posted on her facebook recently troubled about this same thing. as you said, it's so common in queer/trans circles too, the long-forgotten 2013 values of tenderqueerism fallen to the wayside. stan culture, politics, just basically everything...i really can't stress enough that in my opinion, it is a hobby

mocking appearances is not feminist or activism. it quite often is anti-feminist. it's kindergarten stuff to not judge a book by its cover. it doesn't matter what a male person looks like - he is still male and all considerations that apply to male people apply to him. i don't need to think a male person has a hideous appearance to criticize him for any of the oppressive acts he's doing. focus on appearance (or other unrelated personal attacks) often takes the sting out of a criticism of someone's character, morals or actions and makes your argument easier to dismiss. and of course the now mocked & dismissed concept that when you rip into someone's appearance, you do friendly fire to anyone around who shares those features. but of course this doesn't matter to anyone because it's 1. so fun 2. we're so used to it 3. everyone is doing it 4. so who cares? (I do. However)

i also just can't really scrape up that much finger wagging anymore at women who do spend a huge amount of time blowing off steam mocking the insane parodies that trans women present as. it's basically evil imaginative play. it's just not activism and acting like it is, as you said, is really detrimental to radical feminism being understood as a feminist way of thought that deeply affects women's lives.

as for the rest of this, have you read pronouns are rohypnol? you do not have to call a serial rapist pedophile you knew she. there is no one here but us, he cannot hear you. i encourage you to free up processing power in your mind, especially if you've survived trans male violence. calling the men who harmed you he can be a turning point in reclaiming your own sense of reality, it was for me

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/749333039047442432/httpsolderthannetfictumblrcompost74884185043?source=share

Sorry, long rant incoming.

Someone in the replies said it, but I think it needs to be said again where everyone can see it: I think a lot of the attitude that anon is somehow secretly pro-censorship because they think certain preferences are skeevy, and strenuously insisting that bad attitudes can NEVER be media's fault.... idk, maybe take it out of the context of debates about sexually explicit/pornographic media for a moment?

There are works of media that had pretty direct effects on activist and political movements, good and bad. Uncle Tom's Cabin inspired a lot of people to fight against slavery. The movie Birth of a Nation, which showed a history of the U.S. with the KKK as heroic, is considered by most historians to be a major contributor to the revival of the KKK in the 1920s. The Nazis used films, books, music, art, and so on in their propaganda, knowing it would help their ideas go down more easily. The Soviets did too. Every dictatorship did. Even democratic countries have done it as well, usually but not always in more subtle ways.

Do none of those count, because "oh, people who were going to be convinced by Birth of a Nation would be racist anyway"? "Good, non-racist people wouldn't be convinced by it"? I mean, the latter is true: there were plenty of people, especially black Americans but plenty of white allies too, who boycotted the film at the time. The NAACP led a boycott. But do you really think NO ONE was convinced? (What about people who previously didn't feel any way about it one way or the other? Were they just innately more evil, even if it might've just been that they weren't aware? Do supposedly progressive people in fandom realize how much this sounds like Christian original sin rhetoric...) And does it matter purely about media fully changing minds, or also how it galvanizes people who already think one way? If it gives them new talking points, new ways of thinking about it and convincing others? If it helps them believe their cause is more important and worth fighting for?

So why does this all suddenly change when we're talking about sex? Is porn really this special class of media where somehow all the rules about how we can both like things and also be critical of how media (fiction, news media, whatever) influences us - "be critical of the media you love," as a tote bag sold by Feminist Frequency said - just stop applying for some reason? Or maybe if something is bypassing your rational brain entirely and going directly for the pleasure centers, there's all the more reason to think critically about what it's saying? Propaganda is designed to bypass all that, too.

Also, if media really has NOTHING to do with it, that just wouldn't explain why it's disproportionately anime that feature these specific elements that seem to attract more people arguing for why it's wrong to be upset by rape or child exploitation in real life. I don't believe that everyone who watches slavery isekai or lolicon approves of those things irl - I think for the vast majority of people, it IS a fantasy and that's the point - but I have noticed that in places like the Anime News Network or Crunchyroll forums, the comments become a cesspool of creepy people arguing for why ages of consent should be lowered and mean feminists who don't like watching media with rape in it just need to get over themselves, in a way they just don't when you're talking about Attack on Titan or My Hero Academia or Shoujo Romance #4891 or whatever.

As another person in the notes said, abusers ARE opportunistic. They'll use something like Twilight as easily as they'll use the most uwu, soft, "non problematic" ship to argue for why they're allowed to abuse you. But I don't think that means we can't be critical (not calling for censorship, of course! but like, writing op-eds and stuff) of media that makes their arguments a little easier, maybe even directly makes their arguments for them.

You can believe both that everyone has the opportunity to read, watch, listen to, play what they want and make up their own minds about it, and that it's wrong for the government to ever decide what media is and isn't "acceptable," and also believe that media often is saying things that aren't apparent on the surface and that you should be critical of those messages, *especially* with the stuff you like.

The point is just that porn isn't like, fundamentally different from other fictional media in this way. (Or, hell, I would argue that fictional media isn't functionally different from other mass media in this way. If anything, fiction's politics are often more insidious in a way that makes it easier for them to reach people who might not otherwise be open to those messages in the form of, say, blatantly right-wing news media.)

It's particularly strange to me when people jump all over someone for expressing how something can be insidiously creepy in a more mundane way. The line people are upset about that used the word "unpack" was just making the point that even if we can agree lolicon isn't outright advocating pedophilia, even if we agree the point is that it's a fantasy and they're not like real children at all and that's what people like, it's still working within an idealization/fetishization of helplessness, innocence, and dependence, and that still has a lot that you can critique from a feminist perspective. It's still a thing that plays into some crappy societal ideas about who women are supposed to be, and is selling that to men as a romantic ideal. There's still a lot we can talk about there! And it's still totally fair for women to be wary of men where that seems to be all they're into - because for some (and I believe this was what anon was initially trying to say was their experience), it does impact how they treat real women. It doesn't have to be everyone for it to have an impact.

There's a lot of anime that presents women that way, even way outside of lolicon. A lot of it's anime I like! I'm still critical of that aspect of it. I still wish that particular part of it were different.

I still don't see how this makes me "pro censorship" unless I believe some kind of institution should mandate that that not be included. And whether that's the government, or the industry itself (people do kind of narrowly focus on "the government" in a way that would make a lot of industry-run censorship that was still very harmful, e.g. the Hollywood Hays Code, not "count"), or anyone, I very much disagree with that. Creators should be able to create what they want. A lot of what creators are doing with this is unconscious, is reflecting societal biases they learned but haven't thought deeply about.... which is precisely the point of critiquing how those show up in a work.

People love to talk about "secretly 'anti' attitudes" but at the end of the day, support or opposition to censorship is pretty straightforward. You believe someone should be stopped from making a particular kind of media, or you don't. If you don't, you're not pro-censorship, no matter how much you personally may not like that that media or a particular aspect of it exists. Most people who care about media have some media they wish didn't exist. It's about what they do about it that makes them pro or anti censorship. Talk to people who donate to or even work for the ACLU or other anti censorship groups; most of them don't like racist or sexist stuff, but they also don't believe it should be banned and that's the point.

Bringing it back to the discussion at hand, I think the point was just that you can't be blind to how power dynamics influence this stuff. I wouldn't even say specifically cishet men are at fault here, since some people who read this blog seem to think that anyone saying that is automatically talking about bioessentialism as opposed to like, societal stuff (don't ask me why, this has been explained on here enough times in enough different discourses over the years, I think). I'd just say anyone with power in that particular context. There's a reason why it's specifically mainstream media, aimed at groups in power, that tends to draw in creeps excusing the real thing... in a way that just similarly is not true of people in fanfiction fandom, who are usually a member of one or more oppressed categories, exploring that in their own marginal work. Fans of rape fanfiction just don't act the way that fans of slavery rape isekai do. It's because there is fundamentally a difference both when you're someone whom society tells you are entitled to everything you want in this particular arena, and also when a work is mainstream, broadening its reach, and speaking a particular message from the lens of people with economic and social power (who are making these mainstream works) and given approval by publishers/media studios/etc. in a way that is not the case with amateur work with tiny audiences. And, frankly, there's a difference between something that eroticizes rape from the point of view of the perpetrator vs. the victim.

Not a difference in terms of how legal it should be. Not a difference in whether every single person who watches it or likes it is bad. But a difference in terms of what it's saying, how it's saying that, and often the effects they have as a result. That, too, is true with every topic, not just sex.

I feel like a lot of people getting mad at these do fundamentally agree with this, but just have a weird blind spot when it's put in any sort of terminology that reminds them of certain bad arguments they've seen in fandom, uses any words that can be dismissed as "radfem" or "anti" or whatever, and so just refuse to engage with the actual meat of what is being said.

If you do actually believe though that it's wrong to EVER think media can have a negative effect on what people believe about irl issues, because there was always something "already there" that was going to "come out anyway" if it affects you that way (again, people: this is "original sin" rhetoric), and if you ever privately judge people for the media they like you're secretly pro-censorship. You do have to recognzie that both you personally come up short and also most peopel doing real concrete real world things to fight censorship would also come up short!

I think sometimes of an editorial that said "if you love Return of the Jedi but hated the Ewoks you understand feminist criticism" in terms of how you can be bothered by the sexism of a piece of media in a way you'd be bothered by any one individual element of it, and still overall like the whole. And also, you can be offended by something, even wish it didn't exist (don't we as nerds all have entries in some franchise we like or another that we wish didn't exist for fannish reasons?), without believing that it should be officially made to stop existing or have never existed in the first place. That last part does actaully matter as like, its own thing. It is in fact separable from just being able to have personal judgey feelings about media and about the people who liked it.

And opposing it does not mean in any way that we have to just stop thinking critically about the media we love, or that we have to act like media can never have any influence on people. We on the left tend to talk about sexism, racism, homophoia and so on as being influenced by culture and society. Well, guess what is part of society and culture? Fictional (and other kinds of) media. That's part of that societal programming we get. It's why you'll see some of it even from people whose parents very much tried to resist teaching them certain things, because they get it from media anyway. I was raised by strenuously feminist parents: it was the media that taught me what gender roles were and how I was expected to adhere to them.

--

Look, I realize it's a bit rich of me to say this, but people are not going to engage with your actual points if you cannot be more succinct.

[itsclydebitches]

I think I sent an ask like this along time ago? IDK though.

The weird thing about Oz is that it feels like there was stuff they could have brought up if they wanted us to view him in a darker light that they just...dont

Like, that whole thing with Oz conquering the world with Salem and tricking people into worshipping them as gods. Yeah he eventually saw what he was doing was wrong, but that was after he and Salem had 4 kids. So for a long-ass time he was an imperialist god-king

Or the part where he nearly attacked Ruby once she asked Jinn the question.

It just...feels like those are totally things that should be discussed more. But instead they focus on a bunch of other things that are really weird to hold against Oz.

Like why focus on this you have way better things to hold against Oz right there.

That's very possible, anon! I don't know how many unanswered asks are sitting in this inbox now, but it's not a small number...

Totally agree. I think Oz gets criticized to an unfair degree by the canon and fandom alike (no one is shocked to hear this lol) but part of my issue is what he's criticized for, not just the extent. The show tends to take incredibly weird perspectives like, "How dare you give our uncle cool bird powers with no downside" and "How dare you save group members from a deadly airship crash." The fandom takes stances with larger political implications like, "How dare an abused man 'steal' his daughters away from the mother who wants to use them for a magical form of genocide" or issues that fundamentally break the core concept of the show: "How dare you let teenagers fight dangerous battles / How dare you reincarnate - something you have no control over - into a 14yo boy." The show does engage with some of Ozpin's morally complex choices with no easy answers like, "Is it okay to keep secrets if history has shown severe downsides to revealing that information?"... but then the answer the story decides on - "No it's not" - immediately doesn't apply to half the cast, with no examination of how that changes our perception of Ozpin's choice. And, as you say, the show simultaneously introduces HUGE mistakes - "You positioned yourself as a god! Then a king!!"- that the characters could absolutely mistrust him for... but they don't. Because they're too busy focusing on all of the above.

The only thing I'd push back against here is anyone being mad at Ozpin for "nearly attacking" Ruby. I'd consider that a highly unfair criticism as well given that:

We don't know if he would have attacked. He just charges with his and out-stretched, so Ozpin could just as likely have been intending to snatch the Relic

All these characters have aura and train/hit for funsies on a regular basis. It feels like a stretch - one working to paint Ozpin in an unfair light - to act like Ruby taking a hit is suddenly some horrific event that's worthy getting up-in-arms about

In this same scene the girls pull their weapons on Qrow and Oscar - someone WITHOUT that training/fully unlocked aura - gets punched into a tree. Again, consistent morality. Why is Ozpin in the wrong for charging with an open hand (ambiguous) but the girls are justified in pulling their weapons (clear intent)? Why should Super Fighter Ruby be defended for taking a hit after forcibly stealing secrets from Ozpin, but we should shrug off the newbie farm kid taking a hit for the "sin" of being an unwitting, passive vessel?

Plus... as said above, "forcibly stealing secrets." I'm not saying Ozpin is 100% justified in attacking Ruby over this, but I think he's a HELL of a lot more justified compared to actions like threatening Qrow or attacking Oscar. Ruby ignored his requests to give the Relic back; she ignored how terrified he clearly was. She wasted a wish (which Ozpin knew would happen). She revealed his entire, traumatic history to the group PLUS a total stranger (Maria) which, again, Ozpin knew would happen. Of course he tried to stop her. We will never know what lengths he would have gone to, whether he would have truly fought Ruby or just made a last minute grab, but even if he had fought her... It think that's understandable. We can argue about whether it's right, but it's not the sort of thing the heroes should be holding against him once tempers have cooled, especially when he has stuff like playing God that they have hold as a long term grudge.

Out of everything Ozpin has done, maybe being willing to fight the prodigy fighter to keep her from making one of the stupidest decisions we've seen in the show to date is pretty low on the sin list.

[aotopmha]

The difference between FFXIV's social media community and the in-game community becomes wilder by the day to me.

I did another round of roulettes today and it's a load of 'my bad' and 'gg' and 'let's go again' and 'it's okay'.

I haven't even gotten parties that play badly, either. And if I do, I think we've always been able to talk stuff out and had people who were willing to learn.

Even in Party Finder, about a month into having stepped into EX content, I still think the worst I've gotten is some sarcastic remark about being a WoW player, implication being, that the party was bad in terms of skill (and a lot of fake farm parties, which has actually very little to do how good or bad the people are personally towards you, it's just not being good enough to be in a farm party, the solution to which I think is to join maybe a couple more in-progress parties that are close to clearing.)

Outside of a few instances, none of the criticism I've gotten just hasn't had anything to do with me personally, just my skill at the game, and even then has been either neutral, kind of awkward or very kind.

Maybe I'm good at disarming it (because I generally assume good faith interaction and implications because communication by text doesn't always convey tone properly), whatever it is, I've had an unusually positive experience in terms of the in-game community.

Meanwhile on social media:

Pictures of Wuk Lamat being hung on a noose, her voice actress constantly being misgendered and given death threats, down to even YoshiP speaking up about it.

I guess it isn't as fake of an outrage if *even the director of the game* speaks out about it.

And I see people downplay the in-game positivity/decency as "only being there because of very strict moderation".

And at this point, I say, maybe fucking yes. Maybe that's the point. Maybe a decently moderated community that excludes and moderates the poison is indeed the solution.

Every single non-moderated space on the internet will become disgusting. This isn't some "conditon" that only applies to FF14 and "holds back" the "actually horrible" community. That's just humanity without any laws that need to be followed.

Since I see all of those screenshots on social media, the moderation is clearly imperfect and it sure is on the forums, but maybe, just maybe we need decent, paid human mods.

Maybe the forums, at least could be curated better because that's what SE can control.

Said social media outside of the forums is all run by disgusting human beings that SE or the FF14 team can't control, though.

So it kind of, really frustratingly, does fall towards the creators and voices in the space, but they're often super "centrist", not moderating their comment sections because "they can't control it" and want "nothing to do with politics". But that in turn allows all of the bad apples to fester and be loud.

Larger ones, I get. Of course you can't. But maybe, just maybe, if you truly, deeply care for this community to be good, go through your comment sections even just once in a while and pick out repeat offenders or the most deeply disgusting ones?

That's all there can be done because social media is ran by these indifferent, disgusting people.

Even I have gotten nasty ones, which I deleted, though, nothing on the level of some of those FF14 posts on Twitter.

The internet fully, truly sucks now.

But I can't deny all of the goodness that is still hidden behind the gunk, which is what keeps me on this ruined technological marvel.

I, as an extremely small creator will at least try to keep the fire going in any small way I can (and am equally awaiting Twitter's collapse).

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

Best and Worst of Both Worlds (part 36)

Tw: medical stuff, needles

This chapter is just flexing how Yves is this barbie character who had done all the jobs

Part 37

You twiddle your fingers as you wait for Yves to come back. He told you that his souvenirs were in his car, so he had to collect them.

Yves left his handbag next to you. He only took his keys with him.

Your fingers twitched as you fought back the urge to go through his items again, wondering what else he had packed after coming back from his trip. It looks slightly bigger than the previous one.

In the end, you decided not to. Instead, you went for your phone and skimmed through your notifications. Most of which are from nosy acquaintances asking you about what happened. They must have known it was you, because no one else wanted to associate themselves with Evangeline.

You frowned. It reminded you of the horrific incident and the fact that you didn't have a lot of real friends.

Yves's words during the first few days interacting with him stuck in your head, he told you that you tend to pull away when someone begins to reciprocate your willingness to form a bond; as a form of self protection. Well, you tried not doing that with Evangeline, look where it got you.

You reflected some more.

But then, you did lean into Yves's affection, albeit reluctantly at first. It earned you a beautiful, wealthy and caring boyfriend.

You took a deep breath and sighed. Looks like it depends on luck then. Is there really no way to discern whether a person will turn out to be another Yves or Evangeline? You still wanted friends as you belong to a social species after all, and you need to build up your contacts for the future of your career.

Perhaps you could use Yves as a litmus test. His instincts were right with the blonde, it would be very likely he could tell if someone is good for you or not.

But it left a bad taste in your mouth thinking that you have to rely on him for something as seemingly trivial as this. Are you really that hopeless? Do you really need your boyfriend to decide who you should hang out with?

You don't even know who his friends are! He must have loads, he's an older man with tonnes of experience, unlike a fresh-out-the-womb 20-something struggling with homework. This doesn't seem very fair, isn't it?

You need to find an appropriate time to bring this up to him. It wouldn't be nice if you were to ask him about it while you're opening his imported gifts.

The door opening caught your attention. It's your nurse. She gave you a polite yet tired smile and told you that she was going to prepare your next dose of IV antibiotics.

You watched her flutter around the dressing trolley, following proper procedures as she worked her way around glass vials and numerous needles. God knows what powder or liquid was she working with, but you just knew her pace was fast, rushed, even. Of course, she must have done this more times than you can count, you put your full trust into this nurse of yours.

She hung the infusion bag onto the metal stand. You were so invested in her movements that you didn't notice the door opened and someone else entered your room.

She was about to flush your cannula with saline, bringing the syringe onto the opening but suddenly a familiar, well-manicured hand shot out to restrain her wrist, preventing the professional from proceeding further. The pressure applied to her joint must be quite high, as she winced at the slender fingers digging into her gloved flesh.

You and her snapped your neck to Yves, who had a wide-eyed glower directed at your nurse.

"Careless." He spat, glaring daggers at your medical caretaker.

You looked at the setup. Everything seems fine to you, and you were embarrassed that Yves overreacted. What does he know about these? He's a mathematician, not a medical doctor. Yves ignored the uncomfortable expression on your face and continued scrutinizing the nurse under his dour stare.

His harsh comment made her recheck her work, from the contents of the syringe to the state of the tubing. She jolted in shock at her errors and sputtered apologies, she asked if Yves could let her go so that she could correct her mistakes.

"No. Fetch me your supervisor." Yves was undeniably stern, you even felt prosecuted despite his words not being directed towards you.

She wordlessly nodded, only then did Yves let her go. She scurried out of the room, leaving you and Yves alone.

Yves sanitized his hands, using the pump bottle of rubbing alcohol from the metal trolley. You were alarmed when he went ahead to reclamp your cannula himself.

You voiced your concerns over his actions, nervously eyeing when he took an alcohol wipe without prior permission to disinfect the opening. Was what she did so terrible, that Yves has to leave her to the brink of tears?

"Her negligence would have killed you, (name)." Yves nonchalantly stated as he disposed of the wrapper and wipes into a biohazardous waste bin.

You asked how so.

He lifted up the syringe that was about to inject sterile fluids into your cannula.

"Air bubbles." You saw that there was a small gap between the mouth and the liquid surface.

Yves sets it down back onto its tray, crossing his arms before turning his attention to the tubing. It's resting on the floor. "Contamination."

Yves picked it up and brought it nearer to your face, tracing his finger along it to show you the numerous air bubbles in the line. "Failure to prime."

He dropped it back onto the floor. Yves shook his head in disapproval when he looked at the label plastered onto the IV bag. "Wrong medication. It's a wonder how she managed to even step foot into a healthcare institution as anything other than a patient."

Yves tucked stray strands of his hair behind his ear. He stared at your astonished face, he knew you had a plethora of questions that you wanted to ask him. But all he did was smile before planting a kiss on your forehead, ruining his previous cleanup as there was a clear lipstick print on your otherwise clean forehead.

That was kiss number 48. You missed how the corners of his lips twitched downwards momentarily, Yves needs to control himself more. He wouldn't want you to be sick of him again so soon.

You had your attention on the door when a knock was heard. The door opens and a head poked in, someone who you didn't recognize. You assume that it's the Nurse's manager.

"Mr. Yves...?" She called.

Your boyfriend affectionately cups your face, staring into your eyes for a bit, as if silently telling you that he will be back later. He let you go and took his handbag with him, he didn't say a word until the door was closed.

__

Yves came back a while later, surprising you with his hair neatly tied into a bun.

"Hello again, beloved." He greeted you, placing his bag onto a chair. Yves rolled up his sleeves, revealing his sculpted forearms with old scars and washed his hands using the sink and soap dispenser installed in your room. You noted that he took his time doing so.

He dried it properly with the paper towels provided.

"I will be your attending nurse today." He threw the damp towel into the trashbin. Yves then disinfected his hands one more time using the rubbing alcohol from the dressing trolley. "...and tomorrow."

You thought and prayed hard that it was a joke. But it was clear it wasn't, when he began preparing your IV antibiotic drip like how the nurse did it, except he's doing it much more fluidly and confidently. There were steps that you didn't remember her doing, but his dexterity in utilizing the syringes, mixing the drug and even removing the packages was immaculate.

"...and the day after that." He continued, removing the previous infusion bag from the IV stand. Yves replaced it with a newly prepared packet. "...Until I deem you healthy enough to be discharged."

Your eyes were trained on his fingers, which are toggling with the roller clamp. Your eyes darted everywhere as he pierced, pinch and twist as needed. He never once spared a glance at your increasingly agitated state.

You told him only the doctor can make this decision for you.

He chuckled as if you told him something funny. "Then, I will be your attending doctor as well." Yves went ahead and flicked the tubing thoroughly until there were no air bubbles left. He then tucked it safely onto the clamp, ensuring that it didn't touch anywhere else.

You looked around, is there no one to stop him? Is this even allowed?

He disinfected his hands one more time with rubbing alcohol. You asked why he isn't using a pair of gloves.

"Gloves... used in administering Intravenous Infusions like this are mainly to protect the medical personnel from infection." Said Yves as he cleaned the cannula opening with an alcohol wipe. "I am not handling anyone else and the ones they're providing are non-sterile. I might as well use my bare, thoroughly disinfected hands."

Yves unclamped your cannula. "My skin is intact." He continued, flicking the syringe filled with sterile fluid and pushing the piston up to expel any fatal air bubbles. "I practiced proper hand hygiene. There is no risk of contamination." He assured.

Before you could protest, Yves already flushed the tube to ensure it was patent. You kept your mouth shut, hoping that he truly knows what he is doing and not sending you to an early grave.

You squeezed your eyes shut and let him do his magic. There was a sudden beep from the heart monitor next to you.

"(name)."

You turned to look at him. He looked at you with softened eyes.

"I know what I am doing."

Only after that, you realize your laborious breathing. There was something in his voice that calmed you down, enough to show your heart rate has slowed to a normal resting speed.

He completed the administration, taping the tube and cannula to your wrist using surgical tape.

You watched him adjust the drip rate, double-checking his work before cleaning everything up.

You were dumbfounded. Who is Yves? A wealthy mathematic researcher, who was once an attorney, lecturer, perhaps even a parole officer and now, an ex qualified Nurse and doctor?

He rolled his sleeves back down after drying his skin. Yves then took his time to write something down on a logbook that's strangely empty save for your name and details. He scribbled the name of your antibiotic, dose and signature.

He closed it and kept it away. Yves turned to you and caressed your cheek.

"Yes, my love?" He responded to your incessant staring. Yves sat on the edge of your bed as he began playing with your hair.

You have too many questions, they all tried coming out but it's jammed in your mind. So you sealed your lips and shook your head, dismissing his attention.

He smiled, giving you another on the forehead.

That was kiss #49.

[theshiftingwitch]

Holi. My sp is a guy from my university and I already knew him a year ago, I thought he was cute but nothing else. I only talked to him once, but for a course question and he was very polite. However, this year from one moment to the next I started to like him and I didn't understand why. He and I, we never spoke again since that one time, we have no friends in common, much less in networks and I know absolutely nothing about him, but his name. * I saw him with a girl, with a physical aspect very different from mine. She was kind of blonde and stuff) Back to the present * however, I started to claim that he is head over heels in love only with me. I didn't believe it at all, but I claimed only when I could and my negative thoughts were a bit stronger. The first week I started to pay more attention to him (before I didn't care what he did) but I was more attentive to him. I just got nervous when I passed him. Then I started to get confused if he was looking at my friend or me, so the doubts stayed in my mind and my friend started talking about him as if she was interested in him too, so I got sad. But I kept affirming, I only crossed paths with him a couple of times and his friends added me to talk but he never spoke to me, and he was on his cell phone, he ignored me. But then I saw him with the most popular girl in college, she is very pretty and obviously I am very insecure because I feel that I don't fit the standard of beauty or that I am not his physical type of him. Even more so when She is like the other girl I saw him with. I felt really bad, both because I saw no movement for me and I didn't understand how if I claimed that he was in love with me, he was with another girl flirting. What's more, he never talked to me or anything and I thought how would it happen. So I gave up and stopped affirming a couple of days ago, I feel really sad and I can't affirm because I'm kind of busy with my exams. But I really like that guy a lot, I feel like I left him in oblivion and I'm losing him, even when I try to affirm that he only has eyes for me. I remember his image with her. And even worse my friend told me that he was looking at her. What should I do? I don't even believe in my affirmations and I don't do them, maybe affirm two minutes a day or so. I want him to come closer to me and start something nice together. But I get depressed. Thank you so much and sorry for so much

Let me put this as bluntly as I possibly can:

I don't care if the entire female population of planet earth wants your man, if you stick to the rules, you will have him all to yourself.

I'm gonna need you to snap out of this self deprecating crap and start applying the law seriously before I slither out of this screen and knock some sense into you myself. You affirm for 2 minutes a day and it doesn't work and you're sad and he's ignoring you? Guess what, if you apply the law he won't ignore you, he won't care about any other girl, he will be head over heels for you!!!

So which outcome do you want? Because it's up to you.

Your self esteem is low and you think you're not his type? Work on yourself concept.

https://youtu.be/82HsdaAkC-Q?si=J7acMMLfYV9yCJCe

You don't like the way you look and you want a killer glow up? Work on your desired appearance!

https://youtu.be/p3t9w_2Hjio?si=ZZh5QWp2w7Lsk_8C

You want him to be obsessed with you and ignore everyone who isn't you? Affirm a thousand times a day that he wants you more than life itself.

https://youtu.be/cAFVEBnZXZk?si=IlqxOD_lxGNGtFem

At the end of the day, the girl doesn't matter. Only what you want does. So take a break, take a few deep breaths, relax , then get your head in the game.

Affirm, visualize, script, listen to subliminals... Whatever you want, just don't give up before you even start!

Happy manifesting ❤️ (a little tough love never hurt anyone)

[arumidden]

Hi, I've been wondering about your headcanons about how the nations work. What is their role in the government, how does family work for them, do they have any powers? And stuff like that 😊

I'm guessing you're asking about my Public Nations AU and how Nations work within that universe? Get ready, this is gonna be a long post. I'll break it into parts for each section of your question :)

Note: I edited this recently so it reads more smoothly.

Role in the Government

As long as Nations have existed for, they've always been important advisers to their leaders. I think they mostly functioned as advisers, ambassadors, translators, etc. I imagine they have to remain apolitical when it comes to modern systems like political parties; they don't want to seem too supportive of any one political party, no matter what their personal opinions are. If they are gonna make a statement about something, they're expected to do it not as a Nation, but as an individual. That's partly why America's youtube channel uses his human name; it signifies that the channel is just a place for him to goof off, so nothing he says there is to be taken as a representation of the country. I think people still get those roles confused though. There’s gotta be tons of people who see Alfred stating his personal opinion and assume that that’s the government’s official statement as well. Plus I think lots of people just aren’t well versed in how the government works, so they probably misunderstand Alfred’s role as well.

I also think they've been put in the military ever since ancient times. After all, kings used to lead their militaries into battle, so I imagine their Nations would be right alongside them, both for the symbolism and because of how useful it would have been to have an immortal with lots of battle experience on their side. I can’t say that Nations always wanted to be on those battlefields, but they would often times get put there anyway.

Family

What counts as family is incredibly fluid and ever-changing for Nations. Nations aren't created through reproduction, so I don't think very clear-cut blood relations are truly possible. As a result, how Nations are related can vary and change. Why do America and Canada resemble each other so closely? I don’t think even the Nations themselves know. Sometimes Nations take this resemblance to imply familiar relations, sometimes they don’t. (I think this is more just my frustration with canon. Who is related to who makes no sense and has changed over time as Himaruya wills it. Why are England and America brothers instead of father and son? Why are America and Canada clearly twins when they didn't even belong to the same empires when they were born? I give up)

I also don't think they have the same standards for what is taboo and what isn't. Things can get waved away as "human ideas” which doesn't apply to them. Plus, Nations can't reproduce the way humans do after all, so I don't think they consider “incestuous” relationships to be nearly as scandalous. America and England might have a father-son relationship or a romantic one and I don't think they would have a problem going back and forth between the two. Not to mention the fact that after however many centuries, I assume practically all of them have slept with each other.

Of course, humans get uncomfortable with that fact, so that aspect of their relationships is usually kept private. Basically, Nations can have any kind of relationships with each other, but stick to only letting humans know about the ones that are socially acceptable.

Powers and Abilities

Nations draw life from their human populations, and as a result have a connection to those humans. Nations can tell if a human is theirs or not and identify them by name.

They can suffer from two different kinds of injuries: Direct and Indirect. Direct injuries are when their bodies are injured; they can heal from practically any direct injury, but the rate they heal depends on how well their country is doing. An injury incurred during a war may take multiple weeks to heal, while a random injury incurred during everyday life will heal much quicker.

Indirect injuries are what happens when their population is harmed or killed. Major tragic events can result in injuries suddenly appearing on their bodies. Some rare events can leave them with permanent scars (9/11, London Blitz, French Revolution, Atomic Bombs, etc). If their people are sick with a disease, they will show symptoms as well despite not actually being able to get sick themselves.

For either type of injury, if a limb in severed, it can be reattached, but will otherwise turn into dirt if left separate for too long. If the injury is direct, the limb will grow back. An indirect injury resulting in a missing limb will likely be permanent.

Whether or not they have super strength depends on their status as a world power. America only gained his strength in the 1880s when he became a major economic power, and even then, he wasn't as strong as he eventually became post-WWII. America currently has this superhuman strength, but during the height of the Cold War, Russia had it as well.

Nations can sense other Nations around them, and also when a foreign Nation enters their territory.

They cannot leave the Earth. Once they've been outside Earth's atmosphere for 72 hours, they start to become violently ill and will begin to decompose into dirt unless they return to the planet.

Okaaaaay, I think I've covered everything! Let me know if I answered all your questions, and if you have any others! I always love to talk Nation lore XDDDD

[tumblingxelian]

Political Discourse - Retrospective

So, regarding some political discourse that happened on my blog earlier, I want to clarify some things.

1: Hyperbole doesn't translate well across text, this applies both to me and those I've spoken/argued with. Hyperbole doesn't translate well when one can't see the associated dramatic body language or tone that would serve to convey that.

2: Context is key, so if one does want to take issue with something its best to have all the pieces in place rather than expecting context clues to create a common frame of reference as it might in a verbal conversation.

3: Its much easier to just not bother and direct one's energy into more helpful and practical goals than arguing online.

On the more political front, I do have some thoughts however:

I am posting this in a good faith effort to not argue or antagonize:

Firstly, I feel that for all Americas horrifically out-sized influence on the world one cannot just dismiss domestic issues as unimportant. Even if we ignore the ripple effects of a right wing VS left wing president on a purely cultural level, the sheer number of queer people, women, and people of color who will be actively targeted if Trump gets back into power is staggering.

There is a marked difference between the parties on these fronts and people will live or die based on that. Let alone stuff like Trumps handling of Covid and how his intransigence basically fucked the rest of the world over, along with killing millions of Americans.

Basically, when the difference between the the parties of the most powerful nation on earth are so drastically different in terms of who even counts as human, being a one issue voter doesn’t really work as an ethical or even practical approach to politics —especially not addressing the kinds of issues making it hard to stomach voting for someone like Biden.

Secondly, I feel a lot of the discourse around the US & Israel's ties are not very helpful or accurate as they often seem to frame it as though they just became allies under Biden or otherwise that this is a new relationship. As it is, ties between the two countries are nearly a century old at this stage and disentangling from that is not easy.

What's more, a politically active American friend said that they feel a lot of Americans, themselves included, often oversimplify foreign policy and that it's never as simple as a good or bad decision.

In this case, America's main focus is trying to keep the war from going regional while not losing what influence they have over a nuclear equipped state in the Middle East.

(It was also notes how the messages of trying to "fight antisemitism" as opposed to just being blunt about the political realities was manipulative and poorly thought out at best.)

But the fact is, as horrific as what Israel is doing is, it's not something Biden just started supporting at random. America's ties are decades long and not easy to divest from without creating more instability and bloodshed in the long run.

So while I of course advocate for pushing for action on these fronts, its integral to both remember that foreign policy is a nightmare and that one will have far better luck using protest to force a Democratic president to change course than a GOP one who will just tell the police to shoot you.

Thirdly, I think its quite reasonable for none Americans to take an interest in these matters. Hell, I have been an activist for years, donating and campaigning on everything from America's forever war, to Palestinian rights, Queer rights both locally and internationally and beyond since childhood.

Add in that, even aside from morality, I've no shortage of friends in other nations who will be impacted by who is president and friends in America who are justly terrified of dying or having to flee the country should Trump get back in.

Put simply, I feel my and other none Americans persistent presence on the matter of who ends up in the White House can be regarded as selfish or coming from a place of privilege. We're asking you to vote because we can't and far more people will die and be hurt if Trump is in power, including yourselves.

We're trying to help.

Finally, I will not see eye to eye with other leftists, they will not see eye to eye with me. That's fine. Ultimately, though we disagree on how best energy should be directed for the common good, I don't think my counterparts, or I have ill intent or selfish motivations.