#you absolute buffoons that's not what we want

[bandzboy]

well this is just a god awful response and they should be ashamed

[snoodoodle]

There has been a push from wildlife activists over the years for governments to consider the reintroduction of these missing species to the UK. (It's previously been done with beavers but no doubt it'll stop there. Boars are a keystone species, after all.) But it'd be fucking insane to bring the larger animals known to maul things to death back into a country where possession of a knife, gun or weapon is illegal... Y'know?

Red squirrels are still under threat due to the invasive american grey squirrel, while scottish wildcats are numbering under 300 total population these days due to being killed by game-bird folks and unattended domestic outdoor cats breeding them out of their own gene pool. (Keep your cat indoors or walk it using a harness for fucks sakes) It's truly sad to see and I don't really say I blame anyone for their kneejerk reaction to "wolves in scotland" to be dumbfounded and stunned when it sounds like it'd make those struggling populations of endangered animals worse off lmao.

There are efforts being done to return nature to it's roots! Whether that's having rivers meander again to prevent flash-flooding (and let the flood plain make use of the excess water before it reaches the sea) or leaving land fallow to become a natural habitat to insects, birds and rodents again. You can do that too if you have a garden and a few wildflower seeds - a dandelion puff works fine too. Bugs and molluscs appreciate the coverage!

[confused-canid]

Ngl, I don't think us aspecs should have to be nice and delicate when explaining why it's honestly fucked up to ship canonically aspec characters without nuance and understanding of the identity. If a canonically lesbian character was pretty much only shipped with men and like 90 percent of fandom content of said character was straight smut fics about that lesbian character, people would get mad, and rightfully so. (The same goes for a gay man character reversed).

But we aspecs can't be mad about that without some absolute BUFFOON coming onto our post like "Erm akshualy, it's just fiction 🤓."

And literally every time I see that the creator of the post is like "Well, yeah, people have the right to do what they want and erase our identities and we can't fucking speak up about it but it's not swag :/ Don't come at me though! I'm not a Puritan!!"

Do you guys see how fucking exhausting that gets? How we can't be ANGRY, a very understandable emotion to have about how ANY SPEC of representation we get is swept under the rug and forgotten about and willfully ignored? Do you guys see the problem?

It's fucking ridiculous. Allos, get your shit together before I start bashing heads in.

[riririnnnn]

So, do you guys remember what exactly Sae said about Isagi to Rin after the U-20 match was over?

Yeah:

The instinct part to be exact.

I never looked into that too deep, y'know. Yes, I thought it was sweet that Sae mentioned it, but other than that, I always thought, "Um, was that necessary? Hm?" I then used to brush it off by thinking, "Eh, it's just the usual anime-esque speech, nothing else."

HOWEVER.

The recent chapter (271) changed my whole thought process and when I had finally thought that I had seen everything the Itoshi brothers had to offer, I got whiplashed again.

Rin's 'instinct' can be interpreted as his berserk mode (yeah, that crazy drooling one) and Sae knew about it for the longest time:

And that's exactly what happened a few minutes before the U-20 match ended, right? Rin went into his destruction/berserk mode and went head-on against Sae, right? And he won, he WON against Sae in their 1V1, right?

So, guess who was the one who pushed Rin into that state.

Guess, guess.

Yep:

Exactly. Yep.

Exactly.

EXACTLY!?

It was that very moment when Rin was like, "I want to fight on my own!" And realised that Isagi and the whole team just didn't let him be alone!

I understand that he included the whole team in his inner monologue later, but the start of the spark was Isagi! It was Isagi who slid into Rin's blind spot and sparked the start of his berserk mode!

You getting me where I'm going with this one?

Even before Rin's goal, it was Isagi who low-key and unintentionally riled him up:

It was after this small chit-chat that we saw Rin going straight to lock horns with his Nii-chan and then scored a goal!

You getting me?

YOU GETTING ME!?

And this panel has always stood out to me:

The above happened after the the first half was over and he was ready to leave with a reasoning roughly saying, "I saw what I had to see." And then we see the above—the rather soft gaze—I thought maybe he was just thinking about Rin celebrating his goal?

But now that we know more about them, I can say that it meant much more.

Please say that you are getting me.

And if we were to take everything I said with a grain of salt, then we can say that Sae was subconsciously also looking for the one who can bring out Rin's true potential, and Shidou happened to be just the right person—I don't think I need to elaborate on this; no wonder Sae changed his mind and hopped back into the game once the demon was taken out of the reserve.

So, if you were to look into things through my perspective, Sae acknowledging/praising Isagi makes so much sense now—he is still trying to keep his promise after all.

And this idiot.

You dumbass. You buffoon. You absolute donkey. Have you learnt nothing!? Your Nii-chan still cares for you! Open your goddamn eyes, you stupid Itoshi!

[grifonecoronato]

Hot Take: Oshamir is One-Sided

[Spoilers for The Acolyte]

Star Wars fans know that Osha and Qimir’s relationship is doomed to end tragically. The Sith is a culture that eats itself: the apprentice either kills the master and takes their place, or is killed by the master in the attempt. So even if Qimir kills Darth Plagueis (and we know this won’t happen), he’s just going to have to deal with Osha attempting to kill him one day.

(Side note: I have a sneaking suspicion that Qimir is not actually Sith, since he never calls himself one, he just says "a Jedi like you would call me, Sith." But that's a topic for another day...)

Given what I know about The Acolyte fandom, a doomed romance is hardly something we'll shy away from; we’ll revel in the tragedy of it all, and the sadder it is and the harder we hurt, the more we'll love it!

No, I want to discuss something else; something I don't think many Acolyte fans really want to acknowledge... that the “romance” as shown at the end of series is one-sided: Qimir's side. The last shot of the series implies that Qimir and Osha are ready to face the galaxy together, hand-in-hand, but...

Qimir cares for Osha; Osha does not care for Qimir.

Hey! HEY!

Put your pitchforks down and just hear me out, please!

What Qimir Desires and Fears

Qimir -- his arms muddy, his dark hair slick against his sweaty brow, holding Mae hostage with his lightsaber threatening to ignite through her skull at any moment -- explains his motivation to Sol:

"[I want] freedom: the freedom to wield my power the way I like, without having to answer to Jedi like you. I want a pupil. An acolyte."

Qimir wants acceptance and connection, to be seen and appreciated by someone else. But he mentions several times that he wants a pupil, which by definition would put him in a position of power and authority over someone else, even if it's to help build them up.

This presents an underlying contradiction in what Qimir says he wants, versus what he really wants:

Does he want an equal who sees and cares for him?

Or does he want a pupil that he can teach from a position of power?

The show leaves the answer ambiguous, but nestled in this contradiction lies Qimir's biggest fear.

Qimir fears opening up and being seen. He wears a mask to conceal his identity, but he also hides his character behind his personas: the buffoon, the nervous helper, the murderer, the teacher, the seducer...

From Qimir's point-of-view, he's been betrayed before, and that betrayal left scars...

"I was [a Jedi]. A long time ago... [...] It was a really long time ago."

...so he needs to protect himself from getting so close to someone that they harm him again.

Betrayal and Murder on Khofar

So, on Khofar, when Mae reveals that she was only ever using "The Stranger" for her own revenge, Qimir chooses to kill her.

He could have chosen to run back to his ship and let Mae rot in Jedi jail (or wherever they take murderous Force-users...), rather than risk discovery. Attacking Mae and the Jedi was not a smart move if he feared being seen. But that doesn't matter: he's Sith, and he finds strength in his emotions, including his own fear.

So, he resolved to commit murder against Kelnacca, then slay the whole Jedi posse hunting Mae, and then deal with Mae.

But here's the thing: Qimir likes to frame his actions as self-defence...

"I killed Jedi. I killed those who threaten my existence."

..but this isn't actually true, is it? He didn't need to kill Kelnacca in his home -- Kelnacca, who knew nothing about Qimir, or Indara's death, or Torbin's death, or any recent event really, and who was absolutely no threat to him -- nor didn't need to face off against the entire Jedi posse.

He chose to commit murder and engage in combat because he couldn't stand the fact that Mae used and betrayed him.

Osha Sees Through Qimir

The conversation between Qimir and Osha seems to be him slowly convincing her that the Jedi are terrible, and that she should find her own path to power.

And, of course, that he can be her guide.

After all, he answers nearly every one of her questions with a question of his own, in a kind of socratic method designed to make her question her own judgment.

All the while, Qimir uses a gentle voice and gentle touch to signal that he yearns for her, that he craves her acceptance, that he can help her if she just accept it, that she can trust him.

To make her feel safe, he even lets her hold his lightsaber...! (😏 ...ladies...!)

This seems to work since Osha is engaging him in conversation. But Osha has seen Qimir in action, and knows that there is no possible way for her to defeat him directly.

Osha has the lightsaber, but Qimir holds all the power here.

Despite that, Osha calls him out many times on his choices.

"You killed Jecki."

"You killed Yord."

"I'm not my sister. I'm not so easily corrupted."

Osha never takes her eyes off her objective: to escape Qimir, get back to Sol, and confront her sister for her crimes.

Osha's Fatal Flaw

Mae and Osha are binary opposites in their personalities and motivations. Where Mae is community-minded, Osha is independent. Where Mae values tradition, Osha values freedom. And where Mae tries to repair frayed relationships, Osha does not forgive those who cross her.

It is this last trait that proves to be the fatal flaw that leads her down the Dark Side.

Osha. Does. Not. Forgive.

When Osha first saw Mae as an adult, she shot her!

She didn't try to reason with her. She didn't try to help her escape. She didn't say "how did you survive?" or "I missed you."

She just fired.

But you know what? Maybe emotions were running high, right? The moment was very heated, so spontaneous violence like that could just be a one-off thing, surely?

Except that the second time they meet, Osha tries to arrest Mae without listening to her story.

And the third time they meet, Osha is downright raging and trying to kill Mae...

... which is a little confusing to Mae because she's trying to help Osha!

And it is Osha's inability to forgive which leads her to committing her first murder, when she finally learns that Sol had lied to her for years.

Osha falls to the Dark Side all by herself, of her own volition.

Doomed Romance

After she kills Sol, Qimir continues to use gentle touch with Osha, pursuing his seduction of her.

But when Mae asked Osha "what do you want, Osha?", she didn't reply with "I want to be with Qimir."

She said:

"Let [Mae] go, and I will train with you."

It was a bargain, for which she offered Qimir what he wanted most: a pupil who accepts him.

Osha is signalling that she cares for him. But she doesn't.

Osha cares for her sister. And Osha does not forgive.

She remembers that Jecki and Yord were her friends, and they had nothing to do with Sol's crimes. They were innocent, and he killed them when he went out of his way to engage the Jedi in combat.

Osha is playing Qimir, just as Mae did. She will learn from him to use the Force, and then take those teachings to fulfil her own goal of rescuing Mae and restoring her memories.

Qimir will learn the truth of their relationship one day, and on that day, like all Sith masters and apprentices, he will kill her, or she will kill him.

(because that is not the face of a happy couple)

[newtonsheffield]

Ok I’m a sap but poor baby uni student Anthony. That love at first sight or the literal fall have got him actually loco already. Iconic. I am here yet again begging for a snippet a crumb of happier times in these two’s future to sustain us through these angsty times. Peace and gratitude as per ✌🏼

Oh boy, imagine how excited Anthony would be to share the story of how they met with their children though.

He’d sit with Neddy on his chest, flat out on the sofa, nose to nose with his three week old son.

“Neddy boy, let Papa tell you a story. It’s the greatest love story that was ever told.”

“If it’s Wuthering Heights, I’ll scream.” Kate said from the floor beside him, watching them carefully as she folded washing.

Anthony scoffed, “Heathcliff and Cathy have absolutely nothing on us, thank you. Now, When Papa was young and virile-”

“Don’t say virile to our son”

“Me being virile is how he came to be. It’s pertinent.” Anthony plotted on, “Let me tell my story please, I’m an award winning author. I know how to tell a story.”

“Oh, by all means, proceed then master wordsmith.” Kate chuckled, running her hand over Neddy’s hair gently.

“Thank you for calling me a master wordsmith.” Anthony said quickly, kissing Neddy’s forehead before he continued. “When Papa was young, he was playing a game with Uncle Simon, he looked very cool doing it by the way. And while he was playing this game he ran into the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen in your life.”

“You trampled her is what you did.”

“There was minor trampling, Neddy, it’s true.” Anthony allowed, “And I fell in love with Amma right away but she didn’t care for poor old Papa. She thought he was an idiot, a fool, a buffoon.”

“I don’t think buffoon is fair, I had narrowly escaped with my life.”

“Semantics. Anyway, Papa waited and waited and they became best friends and finally Papa wrote a book to tell Mummy how much he loved her and finally she fell in love with him too.”

“I loved you much sooner than that.” Kate scoffed, Kissing Anthony’s cheek. “You know that.”

Anthony squinted one eye at her, “How soon would you say?”

Kate scrunched her face up at her husband, “We’ve had this conversation before, you really want me to tell you?”

“I always love to hear how irresistible I was to you.”

She flicked the end of his nose playfully, “I think I started falling in love with you that first night at that seedy pub not far from my dorm. You had written me a short story, because I made that crack about you being a bad writer and I… Well, I’m glad I was wrong. It was beautiful, and… you… had no reason to write that for me. You had no reason to have it in your bag that day and you slid it under my glass when I was at the bar and… I never would have said it at the time but I’m glad you ran into me that day. I’m glad I met you. Almost every thing good I have in my life is because of you and I love you.”

Anthony swallowed the lump in his throat. “We did make a great baby. I don’t think it’s any exaggeration to say he’s a genius.”

“Clearly not.”

[gegengestalt]

Thinking about Mitya and Ivan

I think a lot about the unexplored dynamic of Mitya and Ivan. There is so much potential there, yet we only have the pieces.

Imagine being Ivan and meeting your half brother for the first time. You didn't know he existed until recently, he's practically a stranger. His manners are rough, he drinks, he makes scenes, he's debauched, just like your father, who made your mother suffer. He throws around money when you have to work to sustain yourself. It saddens me, but I can understand why Ivan dislikes Mitya so much.

But Mitya is no buffoon: he holds respect for Ivan and sees him as superior to him, even if part of it comes from his own self- pity. He's not the brightest, but he appreciates education and smarts when he sees them and wants to know what's on Ivan's mind.

Mitya is most likely eager to make a connection, but the obstacle is exactly the source of the personal pain in both of them and the only thing they had in common from the beginning, their father. Ivan pushes away those he cares about, but he can't escape Mitya, who will keep seeking attention from people and taking them for granted even when he knows they don't like him. And Ivan is too proud to not put up with it. This dynamic is a goldmine.

Ivan's relationship to both Pavel and Mitya is the answer to why although his idea has not been refuted, him as a person with prejudices had his downfall. In Mitya is the bestial man who was once one of those weeping children.

Mitya, a body aware of the mind, and Ivan, a mind aware of the body, as some critics say. Mitya, who would love God from the depths of Hell, and Ivan, who returns the ticket even in the face of salvation.

Perhaps they do have more in common than they think. I believe readings of Ivan as the rational one are very reductive, when his rejection of harmony is a question of his feelings towards the suffering of the innocent. His passions are bubbling under the surface. Both grapple with the tension between their pathos in front of reality and their unexplainable love for life, they have questions about sin and salvation expressed in different ways. Ivan presents the idea that if there is no God, everything is permitted, and Dmitri echoes it as a question that receives no answer. Even when Ivan became a representation of the intelligentsia and "Westernised" himself, he knows the eternal questions still plague his mind. Mitya barely thinks about God, loving God seems natural in him, and Ivan may think about God more than anyone else.

Despite their not- so- perfect relationship, it was Ivan who in the end dragged himself to court and claimed to be the guilty one, it was Ivan who came up with an absurd plan to free Mitya, and doing so he showed that he cared more than any of Mitya's relatives, who did absolutely nothing to help him (except for Alyosha, who could at least offer emotional support). It's almost poetic: the culmination of a relationship that was damaged from the start, as "Free the monster!"

Note: Their relationship to Katerina is also an essential piece to their dynamic, something that takes even more to explore and that I hope to see more clearly in future chapters of my fic, as well as the Ivan- Mitya dynamic I talked about here.

For now this is all I'll say about them.

[animentality]

"periods are a universal woman experience that trans women could never relate to-"

Except not all women have periods frequently or at all, due to a cavalcade of medical issues or simply age. Are women in menopause just not women anymore?

"having a uterus is what makes a woman a woman-"

except women get hysterectomies. For a million medical reasons. Are they not women if they develop ovarian cancer?

"being pregnant/giving birth makes a person female-"

A lot of women don't do this or want to do this. Some women get c sections and some have natural births. Some miscarry, some get abortions. You don't get to decide what they call themselves, based on how you define your own female experience.

"a woman is someone who grew up with misogyny and the male gaze. a trans person could never understand-"

You don't understand because you're an idiot.

Different women experience different forms of misogyny. Black women experience harsher forms of misogyny based on their gender and their race. White women don't know the lived experiences of latinas and their relationship to womanhood. Chinese women live different versions of womanhood from Korean women or Cambodian women.

Some women experience blatant misogyny such as being outright forbidden from leaving the home or the country without male guardians.

Others experience more subtle misogyny, being discouraged from sports, expected to take on the role of mother even if they're working full time and their husbands just expect them to still be a housewife.

Womanhood has never been universal.

You are not born a woman. No one is.

You become a woman.

Just as you become whatever society teaches you to be.

A student, a laborer, a wife, a mother.

None of these things are biological facts. They are cultural.

They are the things we taught one another. But they are not immutable law, and your world is frightening and strange and nothing is as controlled as you'd like to think.

So choose now to stop being a fucking moron and think.

These people claim to be feminists but then turn around and insist they can label and brand real women and not women.

That is because these people are not progressives, but fascists who want to limit personal expression and civil freedoms.

You tell me that you don't think trans people should be able to choose what they do with their own bodies and then turn around and insist you're prochoice and pro women's rights and pro bodily autonomy?

You raging buffoon. you absolute joke.

The path you've chosen trails downward.

You have no other recourse, you're just too dumb to see which way you're going.

[tinietaehyun]

Forsaken [XIV]

[Sorcerer!Taehyun x Royal!Reader]

[Series] [Chapter Fourteen]

Pairing: Sorcerer!Taehyun x Royal!Reader [Ft. Sorcerer!Yeonjun]

Genres: royal!au, fantasy, romance, enemies to lovers, supernatural, action, fluff, angst.

Contains: Profanity, mentions of injury and death, implications of mature/suggestive themes, arson. Actions demonstrated by character are not by any means reflective of the idol in real life.

Links: Forsaken Masterlist || Masterlist

Summary: With the two of you nestled in, wrapped in each other’s arms contently, you both begin to make plans for the next steps. You were back in Fortuna but needed to focus on your main goal. Getting your throne back.

As Taehyun and your feelings reach their brim, alongside hope mounting, it was only a matter of time before the universe had enough and rips away your moment of happiness.

“There’s no way to just charge into the palace and confront Sehun,” Taehyun murmurs deep in thought. Your brows furrow, “But you said we directly need to confront him?”

“Yes, but I highly doubt asking to meet the prince is going to work for you. I’m going to get imprisoned for treason and most likely be executed after you. You’ll go straight to him get ruthlessly insulted, he’ll toy with you and off you go to your demise,” he drawls out outstretching his legs on the decrepit sofa.

An appalled expression crosses your face as he snorts, “It’s a realistic outcome, no?” Glaring, you reply, “Well, yes. I was hoping to hear an alternative. A better one.”

A smirk laces his lips making you roll your eyes, “Take this seriously, come on, how long are we going to lounge around here in your cabin?”

He pouts, “Come now, lounge around?” His eyes sparkle mischievously as a sly smile appears, “Is that all we’ve been doing these last two-three days?” Taehyun’s gaze drops to your neck and you huff as your fingers instinctively go to brush over the large bruised mark. “I told you not to bite so hard,” you huff.

“You weren’t complaining when I did, rather I heard you make a quite different soun-“ He retorts before you interrupt him abruptly.

“Stop speaking immediately,” you glare, eyes burning into his as embarrassment floods your features. He was right, but that was beside the point!

A low chuckle escapes his lips as he runs his fingers through his soft blonde locks, “Just a bit of kissing here and there, lips and neck, had you so riled up, princess? It even surprised me.”

You glare in deathly silence with folded arms. He raises his hands in surrender, “Goodness, with that glare you could take down a dragon.”

A scoff leaves your lips at his sarcastic remark. Taehyun sighs laughing at your exasperation, “Okay, okay. Back to the topic at hand, what I was thinking is, we get intentionally caught.”

You deadpan, “You are joking.” “I am very much not, sweetheart,” he muses. What was he thinking? Doesn’t it lead to the same outcome as just charging in?

“Hear me out, we both enter Fortuna, cloaked, hidden as if we’re trying to buy, I don’t know, food or goods something along those lines, then by oh so pure chance, one of the guards on their patrol spots a glimpse of you. A chase ensues, we intentionally get caught. And then, we’re presented as prisoners of treason and you, a wanted bounty in front of Prince Sehun,” Taehyun explains.

You process his words, your brain churning and whirring its gears. Indeed large scale crimes were personally handled by the royal court in front of the monarch. You both had committed what he saw as treason and well, you were a wanted bounty. You’d both be presented to Sehun in the throne room as you had seen with other criminals whilst growing up.

Knowing your pitiful excuse of a brother, he’d miss absolutely no chance of rubbing his victory in your face.

“Mm…indeed, you are correct. We would be presented in front of Sehun. He’s an absolute imbecile, so he no doubt would gloat like a buffoon in front of us,” you murmur. Taehyun smirks, “So? Giving me time to work my skills, no?” You raise a brow, “Such as?”

“We are going to be bound by chains. Those I can whisk off easy with a little enchantment. Next I need to scatter the surrounding guards and leave Sehun alone. Easy pickings after that. Can he fight?” Taehyun questions.

“Remarkably well, he’s a great swordsman. He spent most of his time training after all,” you utter sighing. Taehyun hums unfazed, “No weapon has anything on sorcery. Even if he is the most skilled swordsman to ever exist.”

Biting your lip, you run back through the haphazard plan. Having the both of you caught so suddenly, would definitely lower Sehun’s guard, knowing how arrogant he is. This roughly put together plan may just work.

“Once he’s cornered. You can talk to him. Expose his crimes to the court, no?” Taehyun hums. “The court supports him,” you huff.

“Of course they do, fucking idiots,” Taehyun groans. You snicker at his frustration. It was natural he felt that way, he had a bad experience with them after all.

“Noble pieces of fucking shit; nothing in their skulls just money in their pockets,” he mutters irritated. “Can’t you bribe them or something?” He mutters. You nod slowly, “I suppose I could do that. I doubt they’d want to go against me when their present figurehead is cornered.”

“You could always have me threaten them, I could turn them into stone, into toads, into whatever you or I please, teach them a real nice lesson,” Taehyun muses bitterly.

“That’s…certainly an idea. I suppose we’ll handle that obstacle when we get to it,” you smile, “At the end of the day, they’re all spineless cowards who are unloyal. I’ll be firing numerous of them. Furthermore, I’m sure a little wave of your wand will have them quivering.”

He chuckles, “Oh I do look forward to a sight such as that. Those bastards have what’s coming to them for what they did to me and my father. Exiling the both of us.”

His harsh gaze softens as he peers at you, “You…you do permit me to have a little fun with them don’t you?” You smirk, “I suppose a little lesson is in order. Just don’t…do anything violent.” Taehyun sighs, “How unfortunate but I suppose I can do that for you.”

You both remain in a comfortable silence as Taehyun suddenly puts his arms around you from behind and leans his chin on your shoulder. “What are you thinking about? Haven't I told you numerous times not to worry. You’ve got me. We’ve got each other. We can do this.”

Placing your hands atop his, you murmur, “Yeonjun is there. You’ll have to see him. He’s in a powerful position too; royal sorcerer and Sehun’s advisor, what are you going to do if he tries to stop us?”

A moment of silence passes. The mere mention of Yeonjun makes him stiffen. The air around the both of you becomes gloomy. “I’m sorry I-“ you begin.

He releases a breathy laugh, “No, no. You’re right, sweetheart. If we are destined to cross paths again…well, then I do not plan to back down so easily.” Taehyun clears his throat, “If we must fight whether that be verbally, physically or through our sorcery, so be it. He means nothing to me anymore.”

“He does, you’re lying,” you frown, twisting yourself to face him and notice his dull expression. “It will hurt to see him, won’t it? After all these years,” you frown.

He becomes quiet for a second before answering, “I suppose you can see through me, hm? It just…reminds me of that painful time. The feelings I felt when I saw my father getting dragged away. The…condescending smile he gave me when I called to him for help - like, like he enjoyed it. Twisted bastard.”

You cup his cheek, thumb caressing it lightly. His gaze meets yours. The mention of Yeonjun left a bitter taste in his mouth. You lean forward, “If he sets foot in front of you, show him. Show him who deserves to be the true Royal Sorcerer. Him or you?”

A bitter laugh escapes his lips. “Show him, despite your exile, you’ve only continued to improve. That you’ll always surpass him in every way possible. Not just sorcery. You are a better person. You know why?”

Curiosity gleams in his dull eyes as he watches you speak so determinedly. “Because, unlike him who’s hurt you, your father, to get where he is today. Through betrayal. You still surpass him. You have your father’s ability and affinity for magic. To manipulate mana with ease.”

You shakily breathe, “You could have rampaged, exacted vengeance, lunged at Yeonjun back then. All these years in the Woods of Mors, you could have meticulously planned revenge, yet you didn’t. You held yourself back. You’re more mature, you know your boundaries. You are wise, Taehyun. You are merciful.”

His voice cracks momentarily, “No, I was…I was a coward. I knew it would land me in more trouble.”

“You knew it would land your father in more trouble, possibly even execution,” you firmly state. “…yes. I-“ he murmurs lowly, “Yes, exactly. My father said not to. Even after he’d passed away, that I should never risk myself by going after the foolish notion of revenge, that we- we were better than that.”

A small smile forms on your lips. You notice his eyes glazing over. “Your father was a good man, you, you are a good man.”

“I’m not half the man he was, but thanks, sweetheart,” he solemnly smiles. Shaking your head, you grip his chin tilting it down to make him meet your gaze, “Where’s that arrogance and self-confidence I’m so used to, sorcerer?”

He remains quiet merely peering into your gorgeous eyes. You had a heart of gold; something he didn’t find himself deserving of. Why did you have to settle for less? When you could have any noble man you wanted? Yet you treated him so fondly. With such care, like a lover. You loved him right? Then why did he feel so terrified of reciprocating?

Was he afraid that as soon as you gain your throne back, that you’d toss him aside? Was he afraid that you, too, would betray him in the future? To place his cracked and beaten heart into your soft and sweet palms.

“Taehyun?” You call out; a flash of worry on your features. He gives you a subtle smile, “Sweetheart?”

“If you meet him, I want you to show him who you are. You’ve not once taken the step toward revenge. Well? If revenge presents itself to you, why not take the opportunity that the universe above has presented you with? If revenge walks to you with his wand pointed at you and an arrogant smile, will you let this opportunity slide too?” You ask with a stern expression.

“Being the better person. Yes, as good as it may be. Some people are not deserving of our kindness, of our mercy. That goes for Sehun. That also goes for Yeonjun.” You speak with a melancholy tone. Your gaze hardens, “So…”

Taking his hands and intertwining your fingers with yours, you squeeze them reassuringly, “So, let’s close all our unresolved regrets and close that chapter on our lives and move forward towards a future where no one can bring us down and we only experience prosperity and happiness.”

You hold yourself back from speaking further as you notice him staring at you wordlessly. Did you cross the line? Goodness, you must have talked his ears off. The last thing he probably wanted was an entire speech. Though you couldn’t help it, you despised seeing him hurt, so down.

“Sorry, I-“ you start before your eyes widen, feeling his arms suddenly wrap around you tightly; his head laying on your chest. Your heart palpitates rapidly. Your fingers run through his hair, caressing it tenderly. Taehyun parts from you, his gaze intense, almost restrained in a manner.

“Everytime, every fucking time,” he breathlessly laughs. Confusion appears on your face, how adorable he thinks.

“You continue to do it again and again, no matter how anxious I feel, how dreadful this feeling makes me feel. To think I shouldn’t, that I can’t get too attached, to not raise my hopes, to not think of a future together. To not kiss you again, not to lead you on, to not lead myself on, I can’t help it. I just can’t fucking help how I feel, you continue to make me feel worse,” he utters almost frustrated.

With an uneasy expression you murmur, “T-Taehyun?”

“You make me go insane, in the most addicting and best way possible. Whenever I have the slightest doubt you pull me right back in,” he laughs strained.

His gaze meets yours taking your hand and placing it on his chest; you feel his heart pounding like his life depended on it. Your eyes widen in surprise, realising your heart was doing the same.

“Do you feel it? Do you feel what you do to me? I hear yours too. I see the way you look at me. Do you see the way I look at you, sweetheart?” He speaks yearningly. You find yourself feeling breathless.

Running his hand through his hair once more, he inhales deeply, seemingly gathering courage. You await in anticipation at his next words.

“I love you.”

“I love you y/n. It’s driving me fucking insane at this point,” he utters with almost a light edge of desperation. Your lips part; you wish you could be surprised. But, you knew this was coming, it was only a matter of time of who would put their high walls down and crumble first.

You didn’t expect Taehyun to do it. That much more he made himself vulnerable, to think that he thought of you so highly. You regard him with the sweetest gaze and a subtle smile on your lips.

Suddenly, you lean forward pressing your lips against his, moving your lips against his with a ferocity that took Taehyun off-guard. His arm slides around your waist as his other hand takes your hand placing it on his shoulder. The intense kiss lasts a few seconds before you part breathless; an imbecilic smile on your face.

“Princess, you-?” His eyes glimmer unsurely.

“I love you too, Taehyun,” you murmur letting your fingers caress his cheek, “Let me repeat it once more, I love you too.”

“But-“ he begins in initial surprise, you shush him, “No, I reciprocate your feelings. I’ve felt this way for a while. Don’t doubt it. You have too, haven’t you?” He remains quiet before a chuckle escapes his lips, “It was a matter of time, wasn’t it?”

“Who was willing to become the most vulnerable, first,” you resume. “I suppose you’ve allowed me to be more comfortable with expressing myself,” he murmurs with a genuine smile. “I’m glad, Taehyun,” you hum, joy filling you.

“What does that make us then, hm?” He muses as his hand once again takes yours. “What do you think, Taehyun?” You hum back.

“Lovers? A princess falling for a sorcerer rather than a prince or her knight?” He murmurs smirking. You muse, “Why must the story always be the same? Who said the princess must always go for those two?”

“The court won’t approve,” he states. “They won’t,” you nod, “But that doesn’t stop me from loving you. Perhaps, perhaps if my parents were around, this wouldn’t occur. But,” you shakily sigh, “They’re not. My word, as the heir to the throne, is final. If they disapprove, so be it, it is a hardship I am willing to handle.”

Taehyun gazes at you so longingly that it leaves you quiet. “As you wish, your highness,” he coyly hums. Rolling your eyes, “Oh hush with that nonsense.”

“Do not think for a second, I’ll ever leave your side, sweetheart,” he murmurs seriously. With a smile, you murmur, “I never thought that for a single moment, Taehyun.”

He gives you a smile, a rather endearing one, in fact making you release a laugh. “What?” Taehyun questions. Shaking your head, you wrap your arms around him and hug him, “Nothing.”

You feel rather content for the first time in a long time. A sense of safety, security and being cherished. You felt unstoppable with him by your side, perhaps it was naive, no, foolish to think that way but he truly did give you a newfound confidence.

After lounging around more and discussing a few more things related to confronting Sehun, Taehyun gets up, beginning to slide his cloak over his shoulders and hoisting his boots on.

“Mm, I need to restock on some herbs otherwise the food we make will taste shit. Perhaps, I can also hunt while I’m out there. Pick some berries too, I’m overdue.”

He slings his satchel over his shoulder and grabs two wicker baskets. “I’ll be out for a few hours, don’t panic if I run late after the sunset.” You nod with a frown, “Try to come back quickly.”

Taehyun grins, “Why? Scared the Bloodmoths are going to get you?” You scoff, “No, I’m just worried that you have only just healed and you’re already putting yourself in danger.”

“I do not plan to eat different variations of soup for another day longer, sweetheart. So, off I go,” he hums.

“Don’t open the door if you hear anything. Creatures here are rather different due to the magic phenomena here. Keep all the window curtains closed and always keep the candles lit alright. I’ll be back quick,” he smiles.

You nod, slightly at unease. He had done this several times even before you knew each other. It was his way of life here, why were you so paranoid? Perhaps, because you were both so happy for once. Afraid that he wouldn’t come back.

He bids you adieu and you’re left to your own company in the dimly lit cabin. It felt empty without him. You spend the next half an hour getting comfortable on the sofa, finding the drafty cabin to make your eyelids feel heavier and heavier. A nap, would perhaps suffice to allow the time to pass and prevent your mind from wandering. Yes, a nap indeed - you close your eyes content.

A pair of sharp eyes peer as he finally ascertains that Taehyun is far enough away. A smirk lines his lips, “My, my, you really have made yourself at home here, haven’t you?” His gaze darkens as he stands up from his crouching. Of course he did, not like he’d die out so easily; a scoff leaves Yeonjun’s lips. Of course he’d be a thorn in his side all these years later.

The palace in Fortuna was oddly in pindrop silence. A malicious smile appears on Yeonjun’s lips thinking about the events that had transpired these last few days. Sehun’s death came as an apparent shock rattling the Royal Court and the citizens of Fortuna who considered this to be a terrible omen. Now, there was no Royal Family to head the country.

“Oh poor Sehun, the poor boy. To think suicide would be his cause of death.” Well, if only the public and court knew. Everything was transitioning smoothly.

He still remembers when some of the members of the Royal Court naturally approached him. His eyes riddled with fake tears; and sniffling as though Sehun actually meant something to him. It was laughable to Yeonjun, really. He knew damn well why the members of the court approached him.

After all, he’d be the most apt choice to be placed at Fortuna’s figurehead. “Yeonjun, think about it, alright? We know it’s a lot to ask and we’re not pressuring you. If not, we can arrange for someone else.”

Bastards, he knew everyone in that damn hall wanted the position he was now set up for. These empty words and fake reassurances. Ha! These lords, chancellors and barons, all of them, they were just as filthy, just as happy as Yeonjun was about Sehun’s death.

It left the ruling spot empty, that’s why. Not for long. Currently, Yeonjun was the figurehead, temporary monarch, per se. Well, he’d make it permanent.

His mind drifts back to two days ago; when he found himself sitting on the Royal Throne. The servants all grimacing with disgust or appallment. The chancellor and treasurer were infuriated.“What is the meaning of this insolence?” “How dare you sit on the throne, as though you were King?”

“Because I will be.” The words had left his mouth sharper than any blade sending shivers into the two men. He had summoned his wand pointing it at the two as the guards in the room held their weapons up. “I will be King. The beginning of a new era. The Kim Dynasty is over.”

“Guards, stop this. This is treason,” the chancellor had yelled but to no avail. The guards held still. They were ordered to do so, after all.

The treasurer had been horrified at this stumbling back. Perhaps the recent deaths had some meaning after all. A purpose.

The foolish chancellor had rushed forward in his fury, making Yeonjun smirk. Well he had supposed, it was about time he taught these sorry fools a lesson, albeit, he didn’t think it would be so soon.

Thus, he had turned the chancellor into stone, in front of the guards and the treasurer’s very eyes. He still enjoyed the terrified expression on the treasurer's face as he fell to his knees, mortified.

Oh how good it felt to finally hear, “Your highness,” fall from his lips. He would stop at nothing, not even a rebellion to lose this position. Not with his sorcery. He’d make the people love him.

Yeonjun shakes his head; shattering his memories. Well now, he’d take matters into his own hands. There was still one glaring problem. The two of you. Not even you, rather insignificant as you were. It was mainly Taehyun that he was after.

Yeonjun mutters walking out from the shrubbery and brushing himself off, “Fucking nuisance, always has to get involved.” A breathless laugh leaves his lips, poor you. Because Taehyun had gotten involved, now you’d be an extra casualty. He may have even left you alone, if you’d been just a good little princess and ran off and started afresh.

Not many could traverse the Woods of Mors, rather difficult terrain, strange creatures and illusions. Any ordinary human would go insane in here, but of course, any magic user would be safe. Yeonjun had not expected much when he stepped foot in here. Though when he cast a spell; he was shocked to find an intense mana source resonating from within the woods.

Who would have thought it would be Taehyun's lovely little decrepit abode? Yeonjun chuckles, stepping forward towards the cabin. His eyes widen as feels a light buzz and he notices a subtly glowing dome around the cabin.

How very clever, of course he wouldn’t leave you so vulnerable. A force field, just enough to stop the dim-witted creatures here - but not him. He reaches his hand through it and grunts in pain as he utters an enchantment. Within seconds, the force field dissipates.

Smirking, he strides ahead reaching the door and gives it a knock. Hm, how would your pretty little face look upon seeing him and not your beloved companion?

You’re woken up by a sudden knocking. Yawning, you peer at the door. Was Taehyun back already? Abruptly, you stand and walk over, but before you could open the door. You hesitate. A nervousness permeates your lower stomach and swirls uneasily. Why were your instincts acting up?

Who else would be here? No creature would knock like a human would, could they?

You halt; you were smarter than this. Perhaps, peeking through the curtains would be better first. Thus, you do. You delicately peek through the curtains and immediate nausea fills your senses. No. No. No.

No way. Had Sehun sent Yeonjun to come find you? How could they have possibly known? You were all alone, against a formidable sorcerer? Your hands tremble as your lips quiver. Perhaps he’ll leave when he realises no one is home. Maybe he’ll think you’ve gone out with Taehyun.

You slink down onto the floor shakily, your breaths tumbling out of you as panic sets in. This wasn’t good. This came out of nowhere! You really hope Taehyun will come back soon!

Another knock resounds out, harsher this time. Another one. Fear consumes you as you find your legs unable to get up. This couldn’t be happening.

It goes eerily silent all of a sudden. Your breath hitches and muscles stiffen. Did he leave?

Just as your shoulders begin to ease, the door creaks. You hear a small sound reminiscent of chimes and the muffled murmur of his voice. Instantaneously, the front door flies off its hinges crashing into the wall and what little furniture there was with a humongous clatter. A scream rips out of your lips as you cover your head and curl up onto the floor.

Of course! Of course he uses his sorcery! Tears drip down your face as you clamp your eyes shut. The floor creaks as footsteps walk towards you accompanied by an incredibly demeaning chuckle.

“Goodness me, princess. Did I scare you?” Yeonjun muses. He coos, “If only you had opened the door, the first time I knocked. Too bad you’re a cautious little thing aren’t you? Did Taehyun teach you that? To not open the door for anyone, hm?” A breathy chuckle escapes his lips, almost as if he’s restraining his excitement.

You shiver, pitiful whimpers leaving your lips as you sit up peering back at the broken door. “Oh, I'm sure he can replace it. Just a little wood and his wand, hm? He won’t be too mad will he?” Yeonjun grins. The light from outside gleams in around him, making his tall figure that looms even more menacing.

He takes a step forward; his gaze trailing your frightened form as you scoot back. “Oh? Do you not recognise me, princess? Or was I so insignificant in your eyes? I suppose your brother was more keen.”

You steel yourself and speak with hatred in your tone, “Did Sehun send you here?”

For a moment he ponders your question before throwing his head back laughing. “How funny! Oh princess, princess, no. I came here of my own volition.” You stiffen. What? Did he come for Taehyun, not you?

“Did…did you come for Taehyun?” You stammer shakily. Yeonjun walks forward with a sinister smile, “Oh? Why do you ask that? Did he tell you about our little history?”

You go quiet. “Oh so he did,” Yeonjun darkly hums. “Oh, you must hate me, no? Despise me for my betrayal. I could sit here and plead for your approval, beg you to hear my side of the story princess, but you know what? I won’t.”

You tremble; the look in his eyes. It scares you; it’s deranged. The look of a predator who had finally locked in on its prey, knowing it would succeed with its kill.

“To think that pitiful waste of space got tangled up in your mess. What? Did you bat your pretty lashes up at him, beg at his feet and cry your little heart out, princess? He’s not easy to sway or get to open up, y’know?” Yeonjun muses looking down at you. Tears drip down your face.

He crouches down right in front of you with a dark smile. “Hm, just how much has he told you? Everything about me?” You seethe shakily, “You’re despicable, being partly responsible for their exile. You could have spoken up against your father.”

Yeonjun chuckles running his fingers through his blonde strands of hair, “Against my father? My, he really went into the gritty details, huh? You two have gotten real close, hm?”

Yeonjun’s eyes gaze at your nervous visage before dropping to your neck, his eyes catch a glimpse of a dark, almost bruised patch and a mockingly amused gleam lights up his eyes. “My, my… I’ve got my answer. Very close it seems. Huh, didn’t think he was that type. No…I didnt think he was your type.”

He laughs as you feel disgusted; your hand flies up to hide the love bite. “Oh, then I’m sure he won’t like me taking you away from him then.” You stiffen. “What?”

“You’re coming back to the palace, princess,” Yeonjun utters nonchalantly. “No-“ you yelp, scooting back and he sighs almost in a frustrated tone, “Oh don’t make this difficult.”

“You plan to hand me over to Sehun. He’ll- he’ll imprison me, no- execute me!”

Yeonjun stands up, looming over you with a malicious laugh leaving his lips, “Oh? I suppose I should break the news, eventually, though I suppose you’ll be happy.” He leans down slightly as his voice deepens, “He’s dead. Sehun is dead, princess.” His words seems to send whiplash throughout your body, “W-What?”

“He took his own life, tragic, hm?” Yeonjun muses. You quiver, “No, no. I don’t believe you. Surely, he wouldn’t after all he’s done…” Your eyes flicker panicked, “Who’s running the kingdom? The people?”

Yeonjun smiles and hums, “Look at you, getting worried for your beloved people, how noble. No need to fret,” he reaches his hand out grabbing your wrist, “I’m in charge.”

Writhing your wrist in his vice-like grasp, you grit out, “What? Temporarily, you mean.”

“Oh no; I plan to make it quite permanent princess,” Yeonjun tugs harshly and you stumble forward, your face inches from his. “And the last thing I want is the two of you ruining everything at the last minute,” he darkly whispers; his breath caressing your face. He almost says with sudden hushed glee, “So, come with me. Or I’ll make you. Who knows, maybe taking a walk with me may be good for both of us?”

You snarl, shoving him away and getting up, “You disgraceful man, all you care about is yourself. The nation is hanging on by a thread, thousands of lives are dependent and here you are. You selfish bastard!” You rage. Yeonjun’s jaw tightens, “Don’t piss me off, princess. It will not be pretty, I really am trying to be gentle with you.”

You bitterly scoff, “You are just a pitiful excuse of a man. No matter how much power you wish to have, nothing will change the weakness that lies inside of you. The pitiable jealousy you have. The urge to show others that you are superior.” His gaze becomes malevolent as he summons his wand in his right hand.

“Mm, aren’t you quite the talker? Reminds me of your brother, he was always quite foolish in these situations. Never really knew when to keep his mouth shut,” he sends a shot of mana aimed at you and you duck with yelp; it barely misses you.

He steps forward, his wand prickling with intense mana energy. The air was heating up, he was infuriated. “You have no idea what I’ll do to get what I want. How far I’m willing to go. And what I want now is you back in the palace.” You snarl, “You are insane!”

Yeonjun marches forward, grasping your forearm and you scream with all your might. You stretch your arm, leaning over to the kitchen counter and grabbing the knife and swinging it towards him. He lets go with a breathless laugh, “Now that was dirty move, princess.”

You really hope Taehyun heard you, or at least comes back by instinct. Your eyes peer at the opening where the door was. You were trapped here within these walls, you had to get out. Yeonjun catches your gaze and he menacingly murmurs, “Don’t even think about it.”

Immediately, you bolt, shoving past him and make your way to the exit. Before you can even make it one step outside, you feel your body suddenly buzz; a similar feeling when mana has entered your body. You feel electrified before a sharp pain pierces you. Your knees buckle and within moments; your vision blacks out.

Yeonjun sighs as he hears the thud of your body fall against the cobbled path. How unfortunate, he wanted to kindly escort you back, but no, you just had to take the hard route, as most people did. Well, he supposes it will do you some good to get some shut eye for the next few hours.

He can’t help but smirk as he sees your unconscious face, brushing the hair out of the way. Huh, no wonder Taehyun didn’t say no. Who could deny such a pretty face? Perhaps, if he’d waited a bit longer when he was younger, he’d have manipulated you, instead of Sehun. It would have been far more enjoyable for so many years. Having you as a lover, would have made it much easier to get the crown, no, you’d have probably handed it over to him, yourself.

Yeonjun muses, “Mm, if only you’d have been a little more cooperative.”

Wherever you were.

He was bound to follow.

Yeonjun’s eyes peer at the cabin and the messy interior, scattered books and broken furniture. Hm, surely he couldn’t leave without leaving a little gift for his dearest old friend. He snaps his fingers murmuring a few words as a spark escapes his fingers landing at the doorframe. Not like he’d need this place for much longer anyway.

Immediately flames begin travelling up the rickety wood and the house groans as if in pain. A twisted expression of admiration appears on Yeonjun’s face. His years of hard work, burning down. Perhaps, it was a touch too cruel, but he had to be humbled. After all, he shouldn’t have gotten involved. He needs to learn his lesson again.

With a prompt grunt, he scoops you up into his arms, beginning to walk. He smiles malevolently peering down at you.

“See you soon, old friend,” he hums, taking one final glance at the now blazing cabin before walking off with you in his arms.

Smoke rises from atop the forest canopy, though this time, not from a chimney, but from the burning remains of one’s desire to hope and dream.

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[thecurioustale]

A Supreme Court Ruling that Should Not Be Enforced

I think the Chevron Defense ruling last week is the most dangerous decision by the Supreme Court this year, as it will immediately begin to disrupt the the entire federal executive's ability to function and will directly lead in the coming years to the dismantling of environmental protections, worker protections, regulatory oversight, and much more.

But today's ruling on presidential immunity is, by far, the most unconstitutional ruling of this term, and one of the most breathtakingly unconstitutional rulings I have ever seen or learned about by the US Supreme Court. It is up there with Citizens United (corporations are people), Plessy vs. Ferguson (segregation in schools), and Dobbs (stripping people of acknowledged constitutional rights).

I understand the need for individual officeholders to have blanket immunity from civil litigation (so you sue the organization, not the person) and even some qualified criminal immunity for that officeholder's official activities. But what the Supreme Court did today, in its 6–3 ruling, is declare that the US president need only declare or construe or even simply believe that they are acting in an official capacity, and, therein, they are immune from all criminal liability unconditionally.

The President of the United States is now above the law. Full stop.

For years I have wondered where we should draw the line on lawless behavior and extremism from our courts, especially the US Supreme Court. The thing about our rule of law is that you have to accept the outcome of court cases; if you don't you are basically calling for violent revolution whether you realize it or not, and at an absolute minimum you are calling for chaos and unrest.

I have always asserted that Neil Gorsuch's votes on the Court should not be recognized, as his appointment to the Supreme Court was the result of a power grab by Mitch McConnell. But of course as more time passes this becomes more and more unlikely. And Kavanaugh and Barrett's appointments I have no choice but to accept as legitimate, so even if Gorsuch were not counted this ruling would still have been a significant 5–3 majority.

Citizens United was real close for me to delegitimizing the ruling majority on the bench at the time, and the more recent Dobbs ruling actually crossed my personal line and made all of the justices who signed it unfit to hold their offices, but I figured that it would still be better to resolve the problem by passing a federal abortion rights law when Democrats next have the opportunity and continuing to try to flush the fascist judge problem out of the judiciary through maintaining control of the White House and Senate and appointing new judges over time.

But this ruling, now, raises the possibility by at least an order of magnitude that our constitutional system of democracy and rule of law in America will be dismantled by the next sufficiently extreme or unscrupulous Republican president, be that Trump himself or whomever else.

Just to give you an idea of the landscape that we now live in, Joe Biden could, at this moment, order military special ops teams to assassinate Donald Trump. Hell, he could do it himself: He could walk up to Trump and pull the trigger. And he would be completely immune from criminal prosecution for it now or ever. And that's just the beginning.

If not corrected, this will be used someday to overthrow our democracy. And by then it will be too late for us to do anything about it through peaceful means.

In 2020 I worried that, even if Biden won the presidency, it would just be four years of calm before the real storm began. At the time I wasn't thinking about another Trump presidency but rather the committed fascists high in his party who want to succeed him. Cruz, DeSantis, the usuals. Trump is a buffoon with very little self-control, but a lot of these other people are smart cookies. In 2024 my worry remains relevant: We are one step closer today to handing the fascists our country.

If I were the president at this moment, I would declare this ruling invalid. Because it is. Not only does it have no basis in the Constitution, but it upends some of the most fundamental assumptions of our Constitution and our whole legal regime. I would go before the public and say "This ruling is illegal. This ruling gives me the power to assassinate anyone I want; to run criminal enterprises from the Oval Office; to commit fraud and extortion and embezzlement of your money as taxpayers; to imprison my political opponents, shut down the free press, and forcibly remove from office any judge or police officer with the gall to rule against my actions or try hold me accountable. This ruling makes me a king. That is what makes it illegal. As the leader of the executive branch of our government, I have a duty not to enforce an illegal and unconstitutional ruling, and I am directing all federal agencies to similarly disregard it. Neither I nor any other US president should be placed above the law."

And believe you me, I would be tempted to go a lot further, including appointing six new justices on the Court and no longer recognizing the old six. But for the sake of the country and the way we do things in this country I would limit myself to the above action of refusing to recognize this one ruling.

I understand that this opens a Pandora's box. That's how the fascist resurgence in this country has worked: Republicans will do something completely unreasonable (like gumming up judicial nominations), forcing Democrats to break norms just to get the people's business done (like eliminating the judicial filibuster), which Republicans then turn around and exploit to their advantage (as by using their time in power to appoint whomever they want to the courts). But I think this is the way it has to be. We can't let this ruling stand. The other problems—Citizens United, Dobbs—can be fixed through legislation. This one can't, except maybe by a law that specifically declares that a president is not above the law, which I'm not sure would itself be constitutional. In any case, another problem with that is that fascists are selective in their application of the law. They have no problem ruling in favor of conservatives, but will never permit that exact same legal reasoning to then benefit their ideological enemies.

But yeah, this is bad. The Chevron ruling will begin to erode our federal executive in horrible ways, and this immunity ruling sets the stage for nightmarish conduct by a future president.

I didn't watch the debate the other day, or any of the analysis after the fact. I know who I am voting for, and, on some level, I didn't want to have to watch Biden's inevitably uncharismatic performance. And then everyone started melting down and crying that the sky was falling, so I went and watched a short clip of Biden's worst moments, and I get it. That performance goes beyond the stutter that often wrongly gets conflated with dementia. But in this case he clearly lost his train of thought and he did it on-stage in front of millions of people. That's a rough day.

I still don't think the mate is senile. I have seen plenty of people have the meltdown that he had, and I have had that meltdown myself. It doesn't necessarily mean anything. But even if Joe Biden were hunched over in a wheelchair drooling out the side of his mouth, I would still vote for him, and gladly. Because not voting for him is a vote for Trump, and I would not vote for a candidate who spent the whole debate lying and who himself is a traitor, an egomaniac, a convicted felon, a con artist, a failed coup plotter, and an ethically bankrupt, intellectually stunted manchild. And because, moreover, he has run a good administration. He has good people around him, and can be ably succeeded by Vice President Harris if needed. When you vote for a president you are voting not just for an individual but for a team, and that team's ethos, and I have no doubt which team, which ethos, I support. We are asking the wrong person to drop out of this race.

Anyway! President Biden is going to speak to the public tonight about this court ruling. I don't know what he will say. I don't expect anything meaningful a la refusing to enforce the Court's ruling, but it sure would be nice. President Trump should be prosecuted for his alleged crimes on January 6 (which is the trial most directly impacted by this ruling), crimes of which Trump is unambiguously guilty and which are "alleged" only in the blindfolded eyes of Justice for the sake of due process. America needs this accountability, or we will suffer terribly for want of it in the future.

[blacclotusss]

Like the Light by Which God Made the World Before Light

I mainly want to talk about three main things that I gravitated towards in this episode: Claudia & Madeleine, Armand & the Coven, and The Trial. 

Claudia & Madeleine

I didn't expect to be all for this companionship the way that I am, but this relationship is so sweet and as pure as it can get between a human and a vampire turned immortal love. I think their connection and their relationship represent what all these immortal relationships could be. They seem to understand one another and learned how to work with what the other was offering and I think that's the sweetest thing. I knew they would get along and probably form some sort of bond from their first interaction (absolutely loved Claudia in this scene and how she moved). I'm glad Claudia found someone who is all for her without their being any weird animosity, like with the coven, or feeling as if the most important person in her life is choosing everyone else but her. The description of the little scene of Claudia in daylight with her beautiful yellow dress being from Madeleine's mind was so, so beautiful and nearly moved me to tears. Finally, even if it was just a vision, we see Claudia happy and cheerful as she deserves to have been all her life. This woman has been through enough and it stinks that things end for her the way the way they do, at least in other versions of this story. I'm glad she was able to find a companion, even if it were just for a short period of time. Oh how I wish they would have stayed traveling the world...

Armand & The Coven

Let's start with Armand by himself and everything he has going on. Armand is a powerful, yet insecure guy that needs some structure in his life and will fall apart if he doesn't have it. My personal belief is that's the reason why he doesn't let that coven go not does he really get too physical with them, I mean he's got the whole mind thing going on so he doesn't really have to. But, as much as he is insecure and powerful, he's also manipulative. Manipulation is literally this man's day job and it was hilarious when he said "Are you asking me, Maitre?" when he and Louis was like "...okay girl we ain't doing this today." But, he knows how to work a crowd and a room, which we've seen with the dinner and in San Francisco and even in Dubai with the whole "you asked for it" thing. He likes to spin things like he's a DJ playing a set and even I had to come to the realization of just how bad he is. Again, he is a beautifully tragic individual (the third tragic beauty I have attached myself to) but that's a sneaky little thing. 

Now, in regards to him and the coven, Armand was never going to fight that coven on matters regarding Claudia. Louis? Probably. But he has the same goal of getting Claudia out of the way that Louis' previous man did. Not only does he feels she's in the way of their relationship, but she is the living embodiment of a broken immortal law. I think he probably wanted her out from the moment he figured them out, which was day one. I was also trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but there was absolutely no way he didn't hear them plotting. Maybe that's why he told Louis they should leave...O don't know! My question is if he will actually interfere with them, and I'm assuming, trying to kill Louis? Like, that's supposed to be his love, I'm hoping he does something. And, I need to know what Louis' reasoning was for staying with him after that, unless it's some more memory stuff. Did he know Lestat would be there? Also, cannot wait to see how Daniel will aid in unfolding all of this. 

The Trial

This whole thing is really a damn headache and I hope every coven member gets burned down to a crisp, especially that bleach blonde heifer parading around like he's the best actor to walk the earth. I'm glad Armand AND Louis yoked him up! Buffoon! I always knew there was something with that man, he gave too many mysterious looks for me as if he was trying to pick them apart from the inside. He even goes on to try and get close to Claudia just to put her on trial for killing her abuser. Guillotine! Go meet you maker, thesp! And speaking of abuser...it's so funny how they bring Lestat into this whole thing when he's definitely a part of the problem. Aside from all of the nonsense and abuse he's put Louis and Claudia through, he also broke one of the rules by turning Claudia at 14 years old all because his miserable self couldn't bear to be alone or without Louis. Are they going to try and kill him, too? Or is he their God just like Armand once was? This is sarcasm if you didn't catch it. It's just...very questionable that they overlook everyone else's faults to get rid of her. And why is Madeleine on trial? That girl ain't do a thing to them people. Will they torture Armand as well by making him watch? I'm just rambling my thoughts at this moment, but I can't help but notice...something about the way these people move. 

[xmo-rmon]

You know, I am by no means a fan of anything joe smith did, but I feel like, despite what he might have said or thought, his intentions were ultimately relatively small-scale because his con was entirely for immediate personal gain. ie: getting to do whatever he wanted with no consequence, mostly in the form of fucking as many women (and girls) as he wanted to while also claiming ownership of them. It was entirely about his own ego. I think mormons like to go “well he allowed a few black men to have the priesthood! he wasn’t racist!” No, he definitely was. He held no respect for black people, but he held no respect for anybody. You think a man who manipulates everyone around him into being his loyal followers is choosy about who can come and tell him he’s a good boy and back him up on the idea that he should get to do whatever he wants? That’s like saying “well he allowed women to be mormons, so he wasn’t misogynistic.” Uh-uh.

And I really do wonder, if things had gone differently, if he had not met the people he did, if he had lived out his life, if his little cult would have fizzled out or at least ended up very fringe today. Men like him start cults all the time. I mean look at jared leto and his harem island.

What I mean to say is, I wonder where the church would be if he never met brigham fucking young.

mormons love to either bury the horrendous things that man did or said, or even say “he said some things that would be considered racist today” and “we need to forgive past prophets for saying things that were normal at the time” and “the church as a whole can’t be represented by one man alone and it’s easy to understand what we truly believe.”

You absolute buffoons, the things he said and did were outrageously racist even for his time. He was a completely batshit mass-murdering maniac. Yes racist sentiments were common in his time but they were not universal, and even then, the average consensus was absolutely not “black people were cursed by god and the greatest blessing we could give them would be to kill them all.” Even in the speech where he says that he acknowledges that most people will not agree with him.

And you cannot create a system where one man is the king that speaks to god and go “well one man doesnt represent the church.” Yes he does, by your design. And no, it’s not easy to understand what you believe, because you’re so flowery and vague in order to avoid taking responsibility for anything. You worship joe smith for giving you the church as you know it today, but he fucking didn’t. You have the church as you know it today because a heartless, cruel man turned it into a colonizing force and literally called to exterminate the indigenous people that stood in his way. The church as you know it today was only made possible by mass fucking murder; you don’t get to go “well that’s not what the church is actually about”. If all that never should have happened then you are basically saying that there should be no mormon church. The very foundation of your institution was built on suffering and death.

“At some point the church stopped giving the priesthood to black men and we have no records as to why”

I wonder who you named your fucking university after then you fucking lying coward

[radfemfox5]

you just hate trans men bc we decided to reject our womanhood. you want to be us, and your projecting insecurities.

kys, you absolute buffoon. stay in your fucking lane and bow down, bitch.

I don't usually respond to any anon threat, as this just gives them more attention, which is what they want.

This one stood out to me because I think I know who sent this. That's not super important, I mostly wanted to address this specific point:

you just hate trans men bc we decided to reject our womanhood. you want to be us

No, I don't want to be you. I had sex dysphoria and body dysmorphia as a teen, and it was awful to put it mildly. I don't envy you for having sex dysphoria to the point that you've transitioned. You must be suffering every day, to the point that you write messages like this to other women to try to make yourself feel superior. It's sad, truly. I'm not even trying to be condescending, though it may seem that way.

"Rejecting womanhood" is an odd way of putting it. You can reject womanhood all you like, that doesn't negate the fact that you're a woman. That's like if I rejected my humanity. I'm still human, no matter how much I'd like to be an eldritch monstrosity.

It's weird that you think womanhood is inherently flawed in a way that can't be fixed, to the point that you believe I wish I were a man to escape it. Acknowledging that women are oppressed on the basis of our sex shouldn't be seen as resignation, but rather a call to arms.

[silverflqmes]

໒⦂ 𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏 𝐇𝐂𝐒.

notes. seijoh hcs if they were on the road together!

genre. crack

ft. tooru oikawa, issei matsukawa, takahiro hanamaki, hajime iwaizumi

gender neutral! reader. ( not rlly mentioned tho )

     ➫    𝓞𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗪𝗔   𝓣𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗨   ୨୧   ˎˊ˗

⌗ alright alright, he WANTED to drive.. but the vote went towards iwaizumi, and to double check they did rock paper scissors ( iwaizumi still won )

⌗ tooru was petty for the first thirty minutes, i mean it’s his car???

⌗ but eventually thought it was for the better! let him be on light duty while his subjects- i mean ahem, teammates, manage the car situation.

⌗ he does however, have control of the radio and has already plugged in his phone ( there goes one outlet ) to play spotify!

⌗ everyone complained at first but tooru’s music taste ate and left not crumbs because everyone was singing. even kyotani was nodding his head to some songs.

⌗ position wise, tooru is well, obviously in the passenger’s seat. what’s annoying is how far back he has his seat😐 and watari is like right behind him BUT SAYS NOTHING.

⌗ if the road trip is long, tooru however, will step in as a backup driver because poor poor iwa-chan gets so sleepy at night from having a NORMAL sleep schedule!! ( tooru doesn’t, this is why he has this job.. )

    ➫ 𝓜𝗔𝗧𝗦𝗨𝗞𝗔𝗪𝗔   𝓘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗜   ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

⌗ dude him and makki are ALL the way in the back in the makeshift seats in the trunk because they are menaces and were banned from being close to the front.

⌗ jokes on them, they can pull pranks from the back — like yk that thing where they pull the string and the headrest drops, yeah. he pulled it and makki pulled the other NUMEROUS TIMES. free the second and first years.

⌗ brought all the snacks and is gatekeeping them with whoever is closest to him ( makki, kyoken and kindaichi )

⌗ ROAD GAMES!! and songs or whatever ft his besti ( and totally not boyfriend ), makki

⌗ brings almost half his bedding with him to be comfortable where he’s sitting ( so real of you mattsun ) and if you’re not oikawa, he MIGHT share lol

⌗ honestly sleeps for a good bit of the ride, just feel like he would lol especially with the pillows and blankets.

⌗ reverse, some of the boys fall asleep on him bc he’s the tallest so there’s more of him to go around LMAO he’s just stuck between makki and kindaichi

    ➫ 𝓗𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗜   𝓣𝗔𝗞𝗔𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗢   ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

⌗ matsukawa’s second half✌️🤟🤙🤝🤞

⌗ yeah he’s in the very back too causing chaos yk the usual ( annoying the shit out of hajime and tooru because they are the real parents uncles of the team )

⌗ he brought a load of pastries tbh but the minute they ran out he got a little delulu and thought yahaba ( who sat in front of him ) was a cream puff, and was ready to pounce LMAO

⌗ mattsun held him back from doing so, thankfully — seijoh needed its back up setter, pinch and future captain in case iwaizumi finally lost his patience and put oikawa out of commission.. or because oikawa has to graduate and go be a girlboss in the big leagues!!! so hot of him- ahem anyway

⌗ dude him, kawa and mattsun are that one meme where they’re like “DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT, EVERYBODY, FEELING WARM AND BRIGHT” in the worst tone ever while iwa is just questioning his life choices

⌗ “are we there yet” every few minutes — iwaizumi literally pulls over at some point to get in the back seat and tape his mouth😭 bro was absolutely done oml

⌗ he brought a stack of cards only for them to be pokemon cards LIKE HOW DO YOU GET THAT WRONG- ( they played, anyway )

➫ 𝓘𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗭𝗨𝗠𝗜 𝓗𝗔𝗝𝗜𝗠𝗘 ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

⌗ the driver ( mother ) lol

⌗ free iwaizumi he is tired and has a severe headache from these buffoons and he swears blood will be shed if SOMEBODY dares to ask AGAIN for another rest stop or if they’re there yet.

⌗ he’s got a stash of yellow red bull in a compartment for himself in case he needs to take the night shift on the road — tooru insists that no one drives but him ( unless iwa finally throws in the towel and he drives )

⌗ in terms of driving tho he’s pretty smooth, goes at a reasonable speed and is fairly calm in terms of IDIOTS on the road — but he has his moments occasionally where he gets annoyed

⌗ probably has the super specific thing he wants to see that convinced him to go on this road trip and see it through to the end ( it’s something godzilla related i bet )

⌗ usually likes to snack while he’s driving, helps keep him awake — but since he doesn’t wanna get the steering wheel dirty, he has cherries his mom pack him LMAO ( “share with the others!!” and he gatekeeps )

⌗ packed a volleyball in the trunk and portable beach volleyball set up

notes. i was gonna do all the boys originally but it became time consuming and well.. i ran out of ideas LMAO hope it was still decent<3

↳ return to main masterlist . request rules . send an ask

[ivy-is-fine]

Kratt Drones

Part twooooo~

“Oh,” said the guy in green. “It is?”

Tessa made motions with her hands, flapping them about. Then, she checked the air quality and found that this was indeed, a pocket of hospitable environment on the planet of death. “Oh, you’re right.” She shook herself out. They should wait, V would surely come down any second after blasting all of the sentinels into bits. That was just a show. She couldn’t really be dead.

Meanwhile N over here was a mad wreck, he was visibly panicking, and Uzi appeared worse than usual.

N was pacing back and forth, eyes looking at the ceiling as the faint sound of sentinels roaring drifted down the elevator shaft. “We have to go back up and help her! If maybe we work together we can— but if we— but Uzi—” he started to ramble, tail lashing side to side.

Tessa turned her gaze to N. “Do that and you’ll get flashbanged and all sad and dead.”

“Is there something up there?” The guy in blue asked, the sound of the sentinels dying off.

“Yes, the sentinels. Robot dinosaur basilisk things,” Tessa said. “Where did you guys even come from?”

They shrugged. “We walked through this big fleshy door and it brought us here. I suppose we probably should have thought it through a bit more,” Green Man said. N and Uzi exchanged glances. Her arm was regenerating extremely slowly, millimeters at a time. “Oh, and I’m Chris and this is my brother Martin.”

They slid towards each other and made finger-guns. “And we’re the Kratt brothers!” they said in unison.

“Well I’m Tessa, that’s N and Uzi,” she said off-handedly. She glanced over at the elevator before looking away quickly.

Uzi stood up. She still seemed dazed, and N shifted to stand next to her. They were all in the labs now. Whatever the absolute solver had wanted, it was probably in here. This was where the answers were. Focus turned over to her. One of her eyes was shut and was glitching. N winced. “Are we gonna keep standing around like buffoons or what?” she snapped, voice breaking a bit. She didn’t want to think V was dead. In fact, she was probably going to appear in the elevator now, laughing at their faces, how stupid they were for thinking that she couldn’t shoot down a couple of cranky lizard-bots, and they would all laugh and cry and find out why the SOLVER OF THE ABSOLUTE FABRIC THERE WERE MORE HUMANS HERE? DIDN’T THEY ALL HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS?

There was a silence for a few minutes as they all looked at each other. The silence from above wasn’t reassuring either.

Tessa shook herself out like a dingo and twirled a pistol around on her finger, as if nothing at all had happened. “Well, let’s keep going then, ey? No point in crying over spilled milk!” She began a very determined walk down the dark corridor.

N, Uzi, Chris, and Martin looked at each other before trailing along behind Tessa.

“She’ll be back,” Uzi tried to whisper to herself. “She’ll just be in the shadows as a giant freaky centipede and we’ll have to kill her again and then a new clone will be shot back and we’ll be back to normal.”

N gave her a nervous look as they descended into the darkness. There were no lights other than the screens of the robots and N’s nanite tail.

One of the Kratt brothers lit a flashlight. Uzi felt too sick to use her tail. Her arm felt like it should have still been there. It was a terrible jolt everytime that she looked down and found it missing.

The hand that N had been holding. It was gone, and so was V. And there was a solid chance that the sentinels could be down here too.

Uzi tripped over something, and when N switched his hand to a flashlight it was a piece of an eldritch Disassembly Drone. A long claw curled in eternal agony.

Uzi looked up and saw that the halls were covered in gaping holes, broken walls, stained oil, and scattered drone parts. Many, many parts.

And it was warm down here. The two humans seemed cold. HOW COULD THEY BE COLD IN THIS SWELTERING CLIMATE?

They passed by a draft, and Chris coughed into his elbow violently. Martin didn’t appear as affected.

Tessa checked the air quality again. “You guys are gonna want filters and a suit, it’s ‘bouta get real nasty down in the pits,” she said. “One of these rooms ought to have filters.”Uzi thought it was stupid. That’s one good thing about being AI, she thought.

<;- Part One Part Three ->

[typellblog]

so we all know 'seeing with love' in the umineko sense but let me introduce you to 'seeing with hate' i.e. my approach to fate/zero

i don't think its good but i think if you see with hate it's secretly the funniest fate entry of all time. the trick is not taking any of the characters struggles seriously

for example kiritsugu is just an incredible guy he's constantly moping about circumstances he directly put himself in. like he's so edgy and such a pathetic sopping mess at the same time that it goes past tragedy and crosses back around into comedy. i mean he cheats on his wife because otherwise he can't cope with the fact that he needs to kill her. he cheats on her with his personal adopted child soldier that hes also treating as expendable. oh no how are all my family members dead i only fired my special family killing rocket at them

kayneth is another character where the tragedy is so over the top it becomes absurd. like he's very much a tragic figure of the classic mold who starts in a high societal position and is undone by his hubris except. his hubris as presented in the show is. being kinda mean to waver? underestimating kiritsugu? and in exchange for this his life rapidly flips from blessed to possibly the worst two weeks any human being has ever experienced. the fiance fucking the hired help to getting crippled pipeline

speaking of lancer its like. genuinely moving to me that he can't find a single fucking person to fight for real in the entire grail war but his whole dying speech with his own spear stuck through him is crazy because he fucking. curses the grail in the name of diarmuid o'dyna and its just. buddy thats not why its cursed. its already cursed its okay. THIS IS A PREQUEL WE ALREADY KNOW ITS CURSED YOU JUST "GOT LUCKY"

you also have to love kariya he's a very sympathetic character apart from the one catch that he seems to have deluded himself into thinking he can steal tokiomi's wife by killing him. its so funny once you realise it. what are you talking about dude you're not gonna get to go hang out with sakura and rin and aoi after all this is over YOU'LL BE THE GUY THAT KILLED THEIR DAD. killing tokiomi is half the reason he joins the war and as soon as kirei puts tokiomi's body in front of him and aoi hes like oh fuck and the whole thing collapses around him

on the subject of tokiomi. what an idiot. what an absolute buffoon. like truly how dumb do you have to be to stack the entire deck in your favour and then invite kotomine fucking kirei to be your appprentice. the scene where kariya confronts tokiomi is so fuckign good because you can see him losing it as he realises the guy with everything he ever wanted is an absolute basket case

okay who next i guess berserker. look. i just love how. genuinely surprised saber is. when she finds out. Sir lancelot how could you hate me so much i never knew!

HE WAS FUCKING YOUR WIFE!!!!!!